emma jean

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even this theory.

Chapter 1,

"Carl, Hey, Carl." Ellie called as she rushed over to Carl.

"Hi, Ellie, how are you?" Carl asked and Ellie smiled.

"Well, I'm just fine, I was at the library to check out this book, and guess what I found?" She asked and Carl smiled.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Well, remember that picture I have in the adventure book. The picture that I ripped out of a library book. They still have that book, isn't that just the neatest thing?" She asked and Carl nodded.

"Yep, it's pretty cool. Although, I suppose there is a chance that they can't afford to buy a new copy of that particular book." He said and Ellie gave a slightly nervous chuckle.

"So, Carl. Do you want to head down to the malt shop and have split an egg-cream?" Ellie asked and Carl thought about this.

"That sounds fun, but don't you need to be at the zoo today?" Carl asked and Ellie nodded.

"Yeah, but not for a while. Besides, ever since I got that job, we just don't spend as much time together, like we use to." She said and Carl nodded.

"Well, that's true. But you have your job at the zoo and I have my job delivering the paper. We should try to hang out more." Carl said.

"So we're going to the malt shop?" Ellie asked and Carl smiled.

"Alright, let me just go inside and drop off my school stuff." Carl said and Ellie blinked. She hadn't even noticed the fact that they were in front of the Fredricksen's house.

"Alright, want me to go with you?" She asked and Carl laughed.

"I think I'll be fine." Carl said and he ran inside. He saw his mom taking muffins out of the oven and he walked over to her.

"Hi, mom, I'm just dropping off my stuff." Carl said and she looked over at him.

"I'm guessing that you are going to spend some time with that Ellie girl?" She asked and Carl nodded.

"Yes, and afterwards I will stop by the paper. I'm hoping that they will let me roll some of tomorrows paper tonight, instead of tomorrow morning." Carl said and his mother looked at him. He couldn't tell if she was bored or disapproved, but she said nothing.

"Um, can I take a few muffin's please." He asked and she nodded.

"I have a batch on the table that is still warm. Blueberry, your favorite." She said simply and Carl smiled.

"Thanks mom." He said grabbing a cloth and placing a few muffin's within it.

"I do hope you two aren't going to spend anymore time in that decrepit building. The good lord knows that two children shouldn't spend time in a place like that. Especially since you keep breaking yourself there." She said and Carl stared at her.

"Mother, we aren't going to the house. Just the malt shop and then the paper." He said and she walked towards her sink.

"Well, perhaps not today, but what about tomorrow? Or the next day? Or the next day?" She said and Carl paused.

"There is just something special about that house, mom. It's difficult for me to explain." He said and his mother scoffed.

"Go, if you leave now then you'll have plenty of time to roll the paper." She said and Carl left.

"Hey, buddy, how was your mom?" Ellie asked when she saw him.

"Oh, you know. Same as she always is." Carl said and Ellie smiled.

"You know, after you left I realized that I forgot to ask you to tell her that I said hi. But I suppose that she has heard me say 'hi' so many times, that it doesn't make much difference if I forget to ask you to say 'hi' once or twice." Ellie said and Carl nodded. At the malt shop, Carl gave Ellie a muffin and she smiled.

"Awe, that's sweet. Thank You." Ellie said and she took a big bite.

"Heh, you know, I just realized that your always so happy when you eat. It's kind of attractive." Carl said and Ellie stared at him with large eyes that made him blush.

"Um, generally speaking of course." He said before quickly taking out a muffin and taking a bite to keep himself quiet. Ellie smiled and giggled softly which made Carl raise an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked, accidentally spewing crumbs unto the table.

"Oh, nothing really." She said brushing the crumbs unto the floor.

"It's just that for two people who have been friends as long as we have, well... I think that we should be able to call each other attractive. The word 'attractive' can be used universally. Like an 'attractive lawn' or an 'attractive dress' or an 'attractive child' or an 'attractive couple'. It's complimentary without the romance that is attached to words like 'handsome' and 'beautiful'. So just because you think it's attractive when I eat, that doesn't mean that you find me beautiful." Ellie said and Carl nodded.

"Well, that does make sense." Carl said and their egg cream arrived.

"This place really does have the best egg cream." Ellie said and Carl smiled.

"Your only saying that because they use Fox's Syrup." Carl said and Ellie smiled.

"An egg cream isn't an egg cream without Fox's Syrup." She said and Carl nodded.

"I suppose that you are right." Carl said, taking a sip of the drink.

"So, tell me about the paper, anything new?" Ellie asked and Carl shrugged.

"John quit the other day. He got a better job at the bank. I hear that his replacement is coming tonight or tomorrow morning." Carl said and Ellie smiled.

"Oh, well, that's nice. Do you know who it's going to be?" Ellie asked and Carl shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure. I saw a couple people yesterday, but honestly, most of them looked lost. Although in class I heard that this family moved into town a week or so ago, and they have a son that's looking for a job. Perhaps he will got the job." Carl said.

"Wow, what luck for them. Moving into a town is stressful enough, it's good that they don't have to worry about things like work." Ellie said and Carl smiled.

"Yeah, your right." Carl said and Ellie gasped.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Guess what Shelly told me today?" Ellie asked.

"Shelly? Well it could be anything from 'The Creature from the Black Lagoon' to 'Which dog has had puppies recently.'" Carl said and Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Just because Shelly enjoys a wide variety of topics, doesn't automatically give you the right to mock her or her heart." She said and Carl smiled.

"Mocking? Whose mocking? Is Shelly mocking, because if she is, we should tell her that it's wrong and then she will tell the whole school." Carl said and Ellie laughed.

"Finished?" She asked and Carl nodded.

"Yeah, so what did she tell you?" He asked.

"I heard that our school is going to allow a few of those, um... Oh, what did Shelly call them? Oh, right, Rock and Roll. Our school is allowing us to play a few Rock and Roll songs at the next Sock-Hop." Ellie said excited and Carl blinked.

"I've heard that people have created a genre of music called Rock and Roll, but I heard that it was very scandalous to play." Carl said and Ellie shrugged.

"I don't know, but it's something new. Our own little adventure that we can share with our whole school. Isn't that exciting and grand?" She asked and Carl smiled at her.

"Well, when you put it like that, it's impossible to disagree." He said and she laughed.

"Yeah, I know. And mom saw this skirt, with such a design, so wicked, she insisted upon making me a skirt like it." She said and Carl blinked.

"What's that?" Carl asked and Ellie smiled.

"It's a skirt that has this dog called a poodle and stitches that look like the poodle's leash. It's called a poodle skirt." Ellie said and Carl imagined this.

"Sounds very interesting. I may not have the most accurate information about women's fashion, but that sounds like it can change the game that is fashion." Carl said and Ellie nodded.

"That's exactly what mother was thinking." She said, followed by a giggle.

"Yeah, how is your brother?" Carl asked and Ellie smiled.

"He thinks that his wife is pregnant with their second kid. But he doesn't want to tell mom and dad until the doctor can confirm it." She said and Carl smiled.

"That's nice. But, why did he tell you and not your parents?" Carl asked and Ellie shrugged.

"Well, I suppose he knows that when I cross my heart to something, I'm true to it." Ellie said and Carl smiled.

"You sure do." Carl said and he went to go take another sip of egg cream and he saw that it was almost empty.

"Is it just me or do the egg creams just don't last as long as they use to?" He asked and Ellie glanced at it.

"Well, we got bigger, and the egg cream is the same size. I suppose that it was just a matter of time." Ellie said and Carl smiled.

"Very logical, Ellie." He said and she smiled.

"So, do you want to go to the house?" Ellie said and Carl paused.

"Actually I was hoping to go to the paper." Carl said and Ellie's smile twitched.

"Oh, well, that's alright, we could always spend time there tomorrow." Ellie said and Carl gave a said smile as he remembered what his mother said.

"Yeah, well, I guess I should go ahead and head over there." Carl said standing up.

"Ok, Carl. We can just pay and leave." She said and Carl waved absentmindedly.

"You know what I'll pay for the egg cream this time and you can get the next one." He said, walking over to the register and paying. Ellie watched him walk out of the door and she couldn't help but feel a little hurt by his quick exit. Carl on the other hand, had no idea how his actions made Ellie feel. His mind was focused on heading to the office. When he entered the door's he saw this boss, Harvey, who blinked when he saw Carl.

"What are you doing here? You know that your shift is the morning paper, not the afternoon paper." Harvey said and Carl smiled.

"Well, sir, I was hoping that I would be able to get a jump start on rolling the paper's. That way the routes are a little faster." Carl explained and Harvey smiled.

"Sure why not. And I'm glad that your here, because John's replacement is here and I was hoping that you could show her John's old route tomorrow." Harvey said and Carl nodded.

"Sure, no problem. I can definitely show hi- her?" Carl paused.

"John's replacement is a girl?" Carl asked and Harvey laughed.

"Yes, she's new in town, so she may not know her way around, which is why I need someone to show her." Harvey said and Carl nodded.

"Ok, I'll be happy to help her out, sir." He said and Harvey nodded.

"Good, come meet her." Harvey said and Carl followed him into Mr. Harvey's office.

"Carl this is Emma Jean. Emma this is Carl Fredricksen. I'm sure that you two will make an excellent team." Harvey said and Carl looked around and saw a sweet looking girl with brown hair and blue eyes and a slightly square jaw. She had on a simple pink dress, and just enough makeup to enhance her beautiful features. Carl nearly passed out when she smiled at him and held her hand out to him.

"Hi, Sugar." She said with a slight Southern twang, and Carl forced his numb hand into hers.

"Hi, I'm Carl."