Eleven year old Franny rang the doorbell to the huge house and waited patiently for someone to answer. The cardboard box in her arms twitched every now and then and a 'ribit' or two could be heard from within. Finally someone pulled the door open and a friendly looking woman with round glasses smiled down at the girl.
"Why, hello there, Franny," she greeted, opening the door wider.
"Hi, Mrs. Robinson, is Cornelius at home? I have something to show him." She hoisted the box up higher and smiled. Mrs. Robinson nodded and waved her into the house.
"He's up in his lab like always, go right up. I'll bring you two up some lemonade in a few minutes."
"Thank you," Franny called over her shoulder, hurrying to the stair case leading up to the lab. When she reached the top her head popped up from the steps and she glanced around. The once spacious lab was now cluttered with Lewis' inventions and the floor was barely visible under all the pieces of scrap paper. "Cornelius?"
Hello, I got something to tell you
But it's crazy I got something to show you
So give me just one more chance one more glance
And I will make of you another believer
There was a clang and a muffled 'ow!' before a cart rolled out from under one of the larger inventions. Cornelius Robinson lay on it, rubbing his head against the bruise that was forming. His trade mark glasses were lopsided on his face and his spiky blonde hair had soot on the ends of it. He wiped his arm across his eyes roughly before they focused on his best friend.
"Franny!" he said excitedly, hopping off the cart. He ran over to her and took the box from her arms, setting aside on one of his many tables. "I'm working on a new invention and you've just got to see it!" He grabbed her wrist and ran across the lab, Franny tripping after him.
"Oh, but, Cornelius, I wanted to show you-"
"Here it is!" he interrupted, coming to a sudden stop, making Franny bump into him.
Guess what you got more then you Burgan
Aint it crazy, you got more then you paid for
So give me just one more chance, one more glance
One more hand to hold
The machine stood as tall as the thirteen year old boy and didn't appear to be on. It looked like a large cylinder with a rounded top and a sliding door. It was blue and strapped to the side was something that looked like a laptop and a large red button.
"Isn't it great?" Cornelius asked, gazing at the contraption. Franny raised an eyebrow at him before looking back at the invention.
"Um…what is it?" she wondered. Cornelius' face split into a smile and he rushed to the side of it, clicking away at the button. The invention revved to life and a light above the sliding door shown green before the door itself slid open.
"Get in and I'll show you!"
"Oh, I'm not sure about this, Cornelius-"
"Come on don't worry, I worked out all the bugs this time!" He moved forward and rested a hand on her back, pushing her towards the opening. Franny stuck her hands out and grabbed the edges of it and turned to glare at her friend.
You've been on my mind
Though it may seem I'm fooling
Wasting so much time
Though it may seem I'm fooling
What are we gonna do
What are we gonna do about it
"Cornelius, I came here 'cause I wanted to show you something," she said in annoyance. Cornelius rolled his blue eyes and nodded quickly.
"You can show me afterwards," he said, moving to push her forward again. She stopped and narrowed her eyes at him.
"You promise?" she asked him seriously. He nodded impatiently and waved her forward.
"Yes, I promise." It was good enough for Franny. She stepped into the cylinder and the door slid closed behind her. Everything went dark.
"Cornelius?" she yelled in worry. Her voice echoed inside the metal walls.
"Don't worry, just stand still." His voice was muffled. She nodded her head and froze on the spot. She could hear him run over to the side of the machine and start fiddling with the keyboard. There was an odd whirring sound and the invention shook.
Slow down, that is all for the moment
Until next time, until than do not worry
And give me just one more chance, one more glance
And I will make of you
Yeah I'm gonna make of you
Another believe
From outside, Cornelius heard Franny scream and bang on the side. "Cornelius! I want to get out now!" His brow furrowed in concentration, his tongue sticking out slightly.
"Almost have it," he murmured. Franny pounding on the inside of his invention got louder as the humming sound got louder. "Stand still!" There was a loud 'bang' and smoke rose up from the top of the machine. The light on the front flashed red as the door slid open again. Franny stumbled out, hair disheveled and coveredin soot. She coughed before turning to glare at her friend.
"What kind of stupid invention was that?!" she screamed, "All it did was scare me half to death!" Cornelius shrank away from her. She had never really yelled at him before and he found she was quite terrifying when she was angry.
"No, no, no! It did more than that!" he assured her, glancing downwards at her clothes. She did the same and gasped. Instead of the white dress she had worn over there she was now in a pair of Cornelius' red pants and wearing one of his white shirts and blue sweater vests. The only thing missing was his brown shoes. Franny's face turned scarlet red and she glared at her best friend angrily.
You've been on my mind
Though it may seem I'm fooling
Wasting so much time
Though it may seem I'm fooling
What are we gonna do
What are we gonna do about it
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DRESS!?" she screeched. Cornelius' jaw dropped at her volume and he started apologizing. His clothes hung loose on Franny and she had to grip the top of his/her pants just to keep them up. From the look on her face he knew he had messed up bad this time.
"Franny, I'm so, so sorry-" he began.
"Save it, Cornelius," she sniffed, tears coming to her eyes. She stomped back towards the stairs, kicking papers and wrenches as she went. Cornelius felt terrible and ran after her. When he reached her she was sitting on the floor, propped up against the table that her box was sitting on. He moved forward and sat down slowly next to her. When he went to put his arm around her shoulder she shoved him. "Go away, Cornelius," she choked out, her eyes squeezed shut trying to lock in tears. Cornelius felt like kicking himself for making his future wife cry.
"Franny," he said timidly, "I'm sorry about your dress. I'll buy you a new one if you-"
"I don't care about the dress!" she yelled, smacking her hands on the tile floor. Cornelius arched a confused eyebrow.
"Well then…what's the matter?"
Hello…
Franny rubbed her eyes roughly and turned to her friend. "Cornelius," she hiccupped, "I wanted to show you something. But you're too wrapped up in your crazy inventions to care!" She let her head fall into her folded arms and cried some more. She felt Cornelius' hand rest lightly on her back and rub comforting circles on it.
"What did you wanna show me, Franny?" he asked sincerely. She sniffed loudly and didn't lift her head.
"Why? You don't care," she murmured.
"Yes I do!" Cornelius insisted, "You're my best friend, I wanna see what you had to show me." Franny lifted her head and looked at the boy sitting next to her. He looked insanely guilty for making her cry and like he really wanted to see what she had brought.
"Well…ok."
You've been on my mind
Seem I'm fooling
Wasting so much time
One more chance
"Ok, everybody," Franny said proudly, "from the top." She waved her conductor's stick and her frogs broke into 'Stand By Me'. She'd wanted to show Cornelius how she'd finally proved everyone wrong. Her frogs could sing. And good too. Cornelius sat in awe, watching the little green amphibians croon out the famous song as Franny instructed them.
"Wow," he breathed. Franny turned to him and smiled proudly, still waving her conductor's stick.
"Taught 'em everything they know," she said before winking and turning back to her amazing pets. Cornelius smiled at her back and ran a hand through his insane hair. He was going to marry his best friend who could make frogs sing. It was crazy and unbelievable and he wouldn't change it for the world.
Hello…