Random Blots of Ink
"How curious! Such a curious, curious dream."
As each of the characters appeared on stage one last time, surrounding her, May couldn't help but to smile brightly as the audience applauded. It surprised her a little that a couple of roses had been thrown on the stage.
But, as she found a rose that fell by her feet, with just the right shade of crimson that she loved, she needed not to raise her head to know who it was that threw it.
Clapping, Double D smiled to her. The blonde suddenly became aware of the number of people around her, and hope that such was the reason why she felt so hot at that moment...
"Truly it was worth the wait."
"Yeah... Thanks..." May giggled to her boyfriend. "I just wish mom could've seen it..."
"Aw, don't worry sis, I taped it!" a rather unusually bubbly blue head spoke beside her. "You were awesome!"
"Yeah!" Another blonde seconded. "I didn't know you had it in you, May!"
May could only laugh, as she felt Nazz's arms envelop her. Then, she laughed some more as she felt another pair of arms wrap around her a little lower.
"Gee, girls. I wasn't that great..."
"Oh, c'mon!" Sarah intervened, as she undid her embrace. "You were great out there!"
"Yeah, listen to her! We have to celebrate!"
"Hey! Did you guys see the new ice cream shop they're opening next to the candy store?"
Upon hearing the strawberry blonde's words, the three other girls smirked.
"Ookay! Let's go!"
In their excitement, Both Nazz and Sarah grabbed May by a hand and dragged her along as Marie walked alongside them, leaving a rather surprised Double D.
"M-May! Remember, we have to plan for the..."
"Yeah, I know, lambchop!" She called back. "I'll meet with you in a couple of hours!"
Four girls sat around a round table outside of the ice cream shop, two of which banged their hands on it from time to time. The blondes opted for chatting instead.
"So what is it that Double D and you are gonna do later?" the cheerleader said, elbowing her friend.
"N-Nazz! I... What the heck's on your mind right now?" May could only pout as the girls with her laughed.
"We signed up for Peach Creek's science fair, so we have a month to plan for our project..."
"Oooh!" Sarah and Marie wowed in surprise. "That sounds great, May! I'm sure you guys are gonna win!"
"Ha ha! Well, I hope so! They're giving five hundred bucks to the first price!"
"Whoa, that's a lotta money!" Marie couldn't help but to exclaim.
"Well, have you thought of something to submit yet?"
"Um, Double D did tell me he was working on schematics for a pellet launcher of sorts, but he did sound rather... uncertain about it."
After thinking for a few seconds, Nazz shrugged. "No duh, like, I'd have no clue what to do with a launcher myself..."
Soon enough, a server walked by with four menus which he handed to each of the girls.
"Let's see... I'll have this one!"
"Oh, this one looks good!"
"I'm okay with this one."
"Me too!"
"Very well." The waiter said, as he jotted down each of the girls' orders. But, just as he was about to leave, he turned around to address them again.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Here you go!" And thus he placed paper placemats for each one of them. "And, for you..." Lastly, the waiter handed Sarah a few crayons as he quickly made his way inside.
"But I am not a baby!"
This time, it was her turn to pout as the other girls laughed.
"Oh, relax, shrimp. Nobody's asking you to draw stick figures for us..." And with that, Marie snatched a couple of crayons to quickly stroke what to the untrained eyes of her sister and friends looked like doodles. No sooner had they wondered on what she was doing than the middle Kanker dropped the paper and set it to the center of the table.
"... Wow. Marie... How did you do that?"
"Is this supposed to be the shop? It's so... lifelike!"
Both Nazz and Sarah were surprised, while May studied the drawing differently.
"Um... Don't you think you made my head a bit big?"
"Argh... May, you know I'm not as good with character design..."
And so, the girls kept chatting and laughing, until the server returned with their orders.
"You drew this?! Wow, your little sister sure has talent!"
Sarah awkwardly pointed a finger to herself, when she felt an arm wrap around her neck.
"Yes. Yes, she does. Thank you!" Marie answered.
"What's the book for?"
"It's not a book, May," she said, as both sisters were walking towards the cul de sac. "It's a sketch pad. The professor let me keep it."
"Oh! You're gonna try to draw something bigger then?"
"Yeah..." Marie said, rather dully.
"What's wrong?"
Marie paused, as she looked up to the sky. "How do I put this? Oh, I know. How did you feel when everyone praised your acting?"
"Well," may said while scratching the back of her head. "Good, I guess?"
"They said you were the best..."
"Aw, I think Milena from seventh grade was..."
"Seriously, May." Marie lowered her gaze to meet her sister's eyes. "You were better than her. What I'm getting at is, don't you feel like... I don't know... you're at the top of your game?"
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with..."
"No offense, but when we're in art class, none of the guys draw like me. Heck, even the teacher seems pretty laid back about it."
She then understood it. While May had a drama teacher who would push her to become better and better, their art professor did seem rather dispirited. She wondered for a second how Marie would have felt had her old professor been alive and teaching them at the moment...
"I guess I see where you're coming from, but it's not like you're not going to improve anymore."
"Yeah, maybe you're right..."
As the blonde Kanker made her way to ring the smart Ed's doorbell, Marie looked at her surroundings to try to find a good angle.
Bush, bush... not a single tree. Man, this is annoying...
"May, is your beau not coming?"
"Ha, apparently not... wait..."
"I'm gonna go to the park... maybe there's something interesting to draw for a change..."
"I see the guys, over there!" May said as she pointed to the center of the cul de sac. "C'mon, Marie!"
Bored, the blue headed girl followed her blonde sister rather slowly.
"Step right up, guys! Cartoonize yourself over here! You gotta try it!" Eddy yelled, loud as only he could be.
"What are you plotting this time, no-neck?" Kevin called to him, as he walked towards the outside of the cul de sac.
"Hey, I'm not scamming anyone, alright? It's a real drawing service, I promise!"
Double D, who was sitting next to him, sighed as boredom was started to get to him.
"Which can only mean he's running out of ideas..." He said rather softly. "Eddy, why do I have to be here? Your drawing chamber's already built, and Ed's sitting on his desk..."
"C'mon, Sockhead! We've always done this together!"
"... Fine..." He said, as he sighed again. But his boredom had to take a step aside, as he saw the two girls who walked toward them.
"Step right up, ladies! You wanna see a cartoon version of yourselves? Then come on inside Eddy's Cartoonalandia! Yessire, we have the fin–"
"Double D, where've you been? I thought we were supposed to work on our science fair project..."
"Um, you see..."
"May!" Eddy interrupted, "Don't you see that he's working? You can work on your little toy some other time..."
"Hmph!" May pouted to Eddy, while Marie simply snorted.
"This I gotta see. How much for a drawing, chump?"
"Fifty cents."
"What? Don't you think that's a bit steep?"
"... I have to feed a family of seven..."
Marie laughed. "... What family, you're fourteen! Whatever, here you go..."
Upon receipt of the money, Eddy's eyes brightened up as he signaled Double D to the door.
"Marie, please come this way."
As she entered, Marie was surprised to find a grey room with a white wall, opposite to a rectangular frame from which she thought of hearing noise.
"Now, please stand on any pose you'd like for the artist to draw you..."
"Artist? Who's the artist?" Curious, Marie squinted over the rectangular frame on the opposite wall.
"Ed?!" From the other end of the frame, Ed waved his hand at her.
"Yeah... he usually handles these things... Please take a pose and let him draw you..."
But all he does in class is fool around with whatever Eddy asks him to do! Incredulous, Marie stood over the white wall as she put her hands in her pockets and smiled slightly. Barely moving her lips, she spoke to Double D, not losing her position:
"Tell Eddy he's gonna give me a full refund when we're done here..."
Contrary to the nervousness she expected to ensue from her words, Double D just laughed. "Please wait for a bit, your drawing will be done in a bit."
She wanted to roll her eyes so badly, but just as she was about to give up and lose pose, she thought she heard strokes, which did not fail to remind her of her time with the girls hours before...
"Okay. You may come out now!"
As Marie was scorted out by the beanie boy, she made her way to the back of the booth.
"Where is it, lemme see..."
"Actually..."
As soon as Double D spoke, Eddy moved to where they were, taking a piece of paper from a small slit on the wall.
"... He says he should also be in charge of delivering the drawings..." Double D added, starting to get annoyed.
"Here's your drawing, Marie!"
The blue headed girl grabbed the piece of paper, turning it to see what the big doofus had come up with. From behind her, she could hear her sister approaching her.
"Hey, wait a minute! Her nose is not that round..."
"Well, you see, it's–"
"And her hair is not as pointy... and why does she–"
"C'mon, May!" Eddy protested. "This is a cartoon business, not a portrait studio! She's not gonna look as lifelike as you want"
"But..."
"Wait..." Marie spoke over them, silencing any more of the blonde's remarks. "This... this is amazing..."
"Really?" May asked, surprised
"Really?" Eddy followed suit, taking praise for effort that was clearly not his
"Yeah! See the way he's traced the curves of the pants, the creases of the front due to my hands, the creases from the back of the shirt..."
"You see all that in just some lines?"
"They're not just some lines, May!" Marie retorted, excited. "Ed! Ed, how'd you do this?!" she said as she looked through the slit on the wall.
Eddy, ever confident and cocky, rubbed his knuckles on his shirt and brought them forth to the front of his face, eyes closed, as he softly blew on them while leaning on a wall edge.
"C'mon, Marie. Let the artist rest. Why, he has a few more customers to–Wah!"
But no sooner had he started his boast talk than he fell to the floor, as the edge where he was resting on had come loose.
"Wait, Marie! We haven't finished busin–"
"Ed, come out!"
Finally, the whole wall was torn apart by a tired Marie.
"Oh. Hi!"
"You gotta show me! How did you do to draw me like this? What technique did you use? What pencils did you use? What..."
The remaining two Eds and May could only stare in confusion as Marie, grabbing Ed by an arm, walked away from them, bombarding the ever gentle-but oblivious-giant with a series of questions that overflowed her head with interest and intrigue. Soon enough, all they could hear was whispers as she became less loud the farther away she was from them.
"My... my drawing booth..."
"I'm sorry, Eddy... I don't know why she got so excited..."
"W-Well, look at it this way: At least you made fifty cents!" Double D said, unsure if his optimism injection would salvage whatever was left of Eddy's ego.
"Look, I actually have to work on the project with May. You could... I don't know... go on and 'feed the children' at the candy shop..."
They took the con's silence as a form of approval and quickly made their way to Sockhead's house.
She tried her aim, carefully, carefully...
This time, May's paper entered the trash bin from the opposite end of the room. And yet, a few of them remained around the base of it.
"So why can't we...?"
"We'll need several tests, but not enough material for them..."
"And this..."
"The reaction takes a long time..."
The girl sighed as she rested back against the chair.
"Maybe we should not focus on the chemistry side of things that much..."
"What about inventing something then?"
"... I'm drawing a blank myself..." Double D sighed as well.
"You really can't come up with anything else?"
"I mean, I'm envisioning this idea for some form of robot aide, which could work as an extension of a person while at the same time attaching itself to him or her. I have the schematics and all... but I miscalculated, and we're gonna need a lot of money to build it... so now, it's back to the drawing board..."
"Well," May tried to be reasonable. "If we can't create something sophisticated, then how about something simple?"
"But everyone's tried a baking soda volcano already..." He said, standing up to stretch. "I even have pictures of the first one I mad–Whoah!"
A random pencil made the smart Ed slip and fall on his bedroom floor.
"Are you okay?!"
"Ow... Yeah, I guess... I think I scraped my elbow..."
"Let me see..." May kneeled next to him, as she brought up his arm for her to see. Kindly, she caressed the affected area, making the boy with her blush. "It doesn't seem to be too serious. I should still have some with me... oh, here it is!"
With a precision only she could manage after years of giving and receiving hits, May put a band-aid on top of Double D's wound. "There! You should be good as new in a couple of days..."
"May... thanks..." It was all the boy could reply, his soft tone of voice reddening the Kanker next to him to a similar shade.
"No... it was nothing, Double D..."
Slowly, the boy in the beanie hat seemed to move ever closer. "I guess I'm a bit clumsy..."
"Nah... it's not like we wear protective gear at all times..."
The silence they experienced at that moment would slowly fade, as their proximity to each made their hearts beat ever harder. Closer, ever closer, May started to close her eyes...
"Wait... protective gear... that's it! You're a genius, May!"
"Huh?" The boy's sudden reaction made her open her eyes abruptly.
"What if... there must be a way, yes. Maybe if we would all wear some form of protective suit, something that would be ergonomic and easy to maintain... Yes! We can do this!" Excited, Double D stood up, anxious to immediately start working on the idea that had been communicated to him.
May remained kneeling down on the ground, a bit lost in the moment, as she heard her boyfriend leave the room and grab what in the distance she recognized as a toolbox, given the metallic noises. Resigned, she was about to stand...
... But she stopped mid-getting up, as Double D returned. His face revealed there was something in his mind. May felt his hands grab her cheeks as he went ahead and kissed her. And yet, contrary to what she expected to be a quick kiss as a form of thanks, turned out to be a rather long, affectionate display of his love as she noted how his eyes closed, how he seemed to want to grasp her face firmly but with the utmost care. May allowed herself to be entranced, as she placed each of her hands on his shoulders. It was moments later that their union was undone, and she could feel the air finally coming back inside of her...
"You're amazing, you know? Now, please come with me. I have to show you what I've come up with!"
Double D returned to his usual energetic state, one he could only show when he put his mind into work, and left the room. May giggled to herself.
"How I love you, you cute nerd..."
"Yeah, for that, we'll take advantage of the mini-level to register sudden movements..."
"Ooh..."
"And then we have to find a way to reduce the size of this pump to..."
"YOU HAVE INVADED MY PERSONAL SPACE. DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING AND LEAVE VIA THE DESIGNATED EXIT..."
"Double Deeee!"
The boy sighed. "Eddy must have gone into my room again..."
"I thought after the little incident with Kevin you had added me to your 'safe' list!" Eddy yelled, as he held against the door frame of Double D's room, a cushioned spring attempting to push him from behind.
"Sorry, Eddy, I've been a bit busy with other things..."
From behind the boy, May spoke. "That's funny. I don't remember seeing that thing when I entered"
Double D could only cover his eyes with a hand as he braced himself for the mayhem to come.
"What?! So you include May and not your best pal here?"
He chuckled to try to alleviate the mood. "Please, Eddy. We have been meeting at Ed's more often these past months-and, and May has spent more time here than... you..."
Eddy looked at both of his friends with wide eyes and an arched eyebrow, making the couple blush.
"You pervs."
"Ehem... A-Anyways, I thought you would be at the candy shop..."
"I was! But I got bored, so I thought of hitting you guys up. You think Ed would be free now? Why don't we go find him?"
"Actually, Eddy," May intervened, "We are kind of in the middle of preparing our science fair pro–"
"I bought chocolate bars..." Eddy declared, pulling out a few of them and displaying them as if they were a hand of cards.
Seeing that they now had most of the schematics completed for their new invention, Double D looked at his girlfriend and shrugged along with her.
"Well, don't you have a gift for persuasion..."
"And then after the sticks I make rounded ovals to simulate body parts, then..."
Marie was at a loss for words. She knew she wasn't that smart, but even she could tell that Ed was using a rather different, more sophisticated way of expressing himself than the times when he would normally speak to others. He sounded like an expert on the field, something she had only been able to see in herself when her drawings or car engines were involved.
"But then, how..."
"Then I grab a thicker pencil and draw through the desired shape. Then when I erase the drawing remains almost the same, but without the helper lines!"
It all seemed so natural to Ed, and yet, he was doing exactly what she had mocked Sarah about hours ago!
"And you really need to draw sticks and balls to make your characters?"
"No, but this is the fastest way I know how!" He replied, and as he did, he grabbed a new piece of paper and began sketching a random character. Marie's eyes widened slowly as she saw the same speed and efficiency she would apply when drawing landscapes, only that Ed would do it to draw people.
"If you're this good, how come you've never turned in any assignment in class?"
"The professor lets me draw what I want and drop it off whenever I see him at school!"
Well, considering how laid back he is, I guess it is rather possible...
"Mmm..." She noticed something, and tried to test her theory. "How about you try drawing a landscape?"
To that, Ed simply made a curve line over the character he just drew, and a happy face sun which consisted of a circle and lines.
"That's... rather simple. Can't you draw something more realistic?"
"I was never good at tri... tri..."
"You mean, three-dimensional projection?"
"Yah! That's the stuff!"
"But it's not that hard, Ed," and having said that, Marie grabbed a piece of paper on which she drew a depiction of his room, minus the gravy stains all over.
Silence ensued as she smiled, realizing the tall Ed was flabbergasted at Marie's talent.
"How'd you do that?"
"The same way that you draw your characters. Say," an idea crossed her mind. "You're good, Ed. have you thought about what you want to do with this?"
"With what?"
"Your drawing abilities"
"Uhh..."
"So, you never even considered it?"
"... Now that you mention it... I only draw because Eddy tells me to..."
"That's... just plain weird, but then again... Never mind. So, if you don't draw as a pastime, then what do you like?"
"Comics!"
She turned to see Ed leave quickly and return with a tall pile of magazines, from which different drawings of characters were, much of which resembled the ones he drew.
"Huh? But I don't get it... If you like them so much, then why haven't you..."
"Don't tell Eddy, but..." Ed spoke, softly, as if to maintain secrecy. "I've been working on a novel based on one of the stories here..."
And just as quickly as he said that, he left and returned with a binder, which had a few pages written, front and back, which he handed to the Kanker.
"This is pretty interesting." She said, eyeing over the words in the papers. "But why only five sheets?"
"Oh, I just wanted to rewrite the end of the comic, I didn't quite like it."
"Don't you see it, Ed?" She set the papers aside. "You have a real talent, and, and... if you don't work on improving it you're throwing it away!"
"Uh... but how can I..."
Marie raised her voice, annoyed yet at the same time amused by the brute. "You have the solution right in front of you, stupid! Tell me, you've never wanted to create a comic book sometime?"
Instantly, the tallest of the Eds's face change to that of a bubbly smile. "Yes! Yeah, I can draw some monsters here, and... ooh! And the main character here, looking in the dist... No..."
Marie deflated along with him, having let herself get infected by his enthusiasm. "Why not?"
"I can't draw space... or landscapes... or tridi–"
"You doofus! Did you hear anything I say?"
Ed's stare was a blank. "Uh... yes?"
"I said, you have the answer right in front of you... You can do the characters, and I'll draw backgrounds. How's that?"
Once again, the boy's smile brightened. "You would do that?"
"Eh, I have nothing else to do..." She said, sounding barely interested, but deep inside of her she knew she had found an occupation to her free time she had been yearning for. She couldn't help but to smile back.
"Well then," Ed said, swerving his arms to a side to move all the comics out of his bedroom desk. Then, he grabbed a bunch of white papers and a small black box. Upon opening it, Marie stared in awe as she found a mini set, consisting of a few brushes and watercolor ink buckets. "Let's start! Soo, the main character..."
"Ehem!" She cleared her throat.
"Uh... characters?"
"That's more like it..."
"So, the main characters are seven headed monsters from the planet of the..."
"Wait, wait. No, no, no, no! Seven heads? That's a little too much..."
"Um, then how about five heads?"
"How about just one head, and... why do they have to be monsters?"
"Because..." Ed replied, thinking back on his comics. "Because... yeah, why?"
Marie slapped her forehead.
"Look, if there're gonna be two main characters, I'd like for one of them to be young, talented, beautiful," and then she added, "Like me!"
Silence.
"Uh... yeah, sure."
"What the heck does that mean?!"
"Er, n-nothing!" Quickly, Ed drew with his pencil the design for a character which reminded Marie of the picture he drew for her earlier. Then, as the drawing was done, he opened the watercolor containers and brushed away, combining color after color, while making a huge mess of the desk, but eventually coming up with and creating a unique design, resembling the blue headed Kanker.
"It looks great! Really! Now, how about the other one?"
Ed looked at Marie with pleading eyes.
"What? You already made a character for me, so the other one's all yours!"
Smiling, Ed started drawing the design for what appeared to be an octopus, but stopped halfway as he erased the tentacles. Then he started adding horns to the creature, but changed his mind and erased them, leaving only two. He thought of adding wings, and drew long strokes...
"Watch out, the ink!"
As he swiftly moved, his arms managed to collide against the art set, dropping some of the watercolor ink buckets on another paper. Ed simply stared and paused.
"Hi, Marie, Ed! How nice to find you... Err... what are you doing?" Double D stopped in his tracks, weirded out at the ink spilled on the desk.
"Hey, sis"
"Hey guys... We were–"
"Oh, you were here? I thought us guys could watch a movie!" Eddy said, emphasizing his words, which made May and Marie pout.
"Oh, buzz off, shorty. Ed and I are working here..."
"So what? I'm not going to be a fifth wheel!"
May simply grabbed hold of Double D, hugging him, while at the same time sticking her tongue out at Eddy. Ed remained oblivious, but Marie seemed to blush slightly as her tone of voice barely wavered.
"W-Well, it's not my fault you are too chicken to ask Lee out!"
Laughter ensued, leaving a red Eddy who could only do as little as to close his mouth.
"Okay Ed, so what did you come up with for your character?"
"This!" Ed proudly grabbed the stained paper and showed it to Marie.
"But... That's just messy stains..."
"Exactly!" He raised his voice, and then proceeded to draw on top of the stains. "A couple of eyes, a mouth and nose, and you get this! Just like the blob monsters of galaxy thirty seven!"
Marie stared in surprise, but couldn't help it as she laughed. To think that Ed could develop a character out of simple, random blots of ink was a true testament of how creative the boy could be...
... And of course, since they were going to work together, she rejoiced in the fact that it was her who could channel that much creativity.
"Okay. If we're gonna do this, then we'll need to make sure that you draw plenty of characters, but that I also get to draw a lot of backgrounds, so as to not overlap each other's art."
"Okay!"
"Pass me that bolt, please"
"Here you go!"
Double D was about to tighten the pump mechanism he and May developed, when a scream stopped his course of action.
"Sockhead! Are you guys done yet?!"
"... Eddy. Must you keep interrupting us? The procedures we are working on to ensure our device works properly must be handled with extreme caution..."
"Yeah. Can't you go and find Ed? We'll rest in a bit and then you can come back..."
"Hmph!" Eddy complained. "I bet he's busy with your sister. Just how long are you gonna take, Double D?! You always used to build things on the fly, but it's been two weeks and nada!"
"Please, Eddy. This invention of ours needed to undergo several tests and modifications. Why, I'm not even sure if once we finish this prototype that it will work well one hundred percent of the time."
"Ha, you and your big words. I'm out..." Eddy declared, going downstairs and out of the beanie boy's house.
"Sorry, Double D. Maybe this project is making him feel rejected."
"I know." He replied. "But the sooner we finish, the better..."
"I know! A giant explosion!"
"Wait, no no. You just can't leave it at a cliffhanger!"
Ed paused for a bit to process the words of the blue head next to him. "... But if people like this, wouldn't having a cliffhang thing mean they would want another one?"
"Ooh, you're talking business! Yeah, I guess you can put a cliffhanger..."
"Yay!"
As Ed happily doodled away, Marie heard the squeaky sound of his basement window rolling.
"Oi, Ed, Marie! You guys busy?"
"Just about done, short stuff. What'cha up to?"
"How much longer? I'm booored..."
"Oh, give it a rest. Ed..."
"IT'S FINISHED, IT'S FINISHED!" Ed yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran around his basement, the hundred or so pages of comic book drawings in his hands.
"Good. You happy now?" She said, addressing Eddy. "I'm gonna go up and say hi to Sarah."
"Well, congrats... I guess... So now what're you gonna do with it?"
"Oh I don't know, Eddy! I'm just happy to have my own work–"
She turned around, close to the door. "You mean our work, right?"
Ed looked at the girl who was his partner, and smiled. "... Uh... Yeah..."
Marie smirked. "I think that the best thing for now would be to find a way to publish it."
"You know, the school has a machine that we could use for free, then we could sell copies to the children for a–"
"Save it, Eddy. If we wanna get somewhere with this, we need for our comic to be read by more people than just the ones in our little cul de sac."
"Aww... Well. Ed, is there anything good on TV?"
"Yeah! Actually..."
Rolling her eyes, Marie resumed her way outside of Ed's room.
"Are you sure that you can find a publisher here?" Marie asked, doubtful, as she and Ed's little sister made their way past the library.
"Yes! A couple of years ago, Jimmy and I wanted to release a song, and the agent here told us he could hook us up"
"Really? How come I never heard your work?"
"... Because the idiot said we needed to improve a bit and to come back in a couple of years... But maybe you'll have a better chance with your comic book."
"Uh... Yeah. Let's hope for that..."
"I could certainly contact my superiors in Washington to have your comic published, but are you sure you're good?
"I–"
"Puh-lease, Jeff! Marie's awesome at drawing! You're gonna be blown away by her and my brother's art!"
"I guess... You're going to need to submit a script of the story and some artwork for evaluation, though."
"I can run back home and bring it! You're open late, right?"
"Sure..."
"Okay, I'll be back! C'mon, Sarah!" Marie grabbed her younger friend's wrist and ran away.
Jeff could only sigh. He hoped that for once his niece would be right. The thought of her friend's brace ring strumming and her high pitched notes, along with excruciatingly painful guitar scratching from three years ago made him shudder, even to this day.
Marie Kanker... Marie Kanker! Please come to the principal's office...
"What'd you do this time, blue?"
"Oh, can it, pipsqueak! Heck if I know..."
Sluggishly, the blue headed Kanker made her way out of Geometry class towards the principal's office.
"Mr. Antonucci, it wasn't me"
"What? Oh no, child. I didn't call you for that. Someone called the front desk asking for you, something about very important stuff."
Worried, the girl walked a little more hurriedly to the adjacent room, hoping nothing had happened to her mom at work.
"Yes?"
"Someone's at the phone for you, Marie." The receptionist said, as she handed the Kanker the phone. Slowly, the girl put the receiver on her ear.
"Hello?"
"Marie? Thank goodness. Sarah gave me this number..."
"Oh." She slapped her forehead as she held a chuckle. "Mr. Jeff?"
"I'm calling you on regard of your comic book. My producers have evaluated your works and agree that it is good! If you wish to hire us to publish it, we can make the necessary arrangements to have it published within two weeks!"
Excited, the girl jumped for joy. "Two weeks?! That's –That's amazing... wait. You said... hire?"
"Yeah. That is, if you wish to publish with our company."
She gulped a little. "And... how much would it cost to... publish?"
"Well, given the length of the work I would say around $500."
Her heart dropped as she let go of the receiver. Where am I gonna get so much money?!
"Um, Marie? Hello? Hell–"
"Mr. Jeff? I... I'll get back to you, okay? I'm... I'm not sure yet..."
"But–"
"B-Bye..."
She sighed. It was rather naive of her to think that the breeze at such a height would relax her.
"Are you gonna mope there all day? We're going home, you know."
"I know... I'll catch you guys later, Lee..."
Marie saw her sister open the door that led to the school field and walk away. She looked up to the sky. Her dreams had been crushed and faded away, as quickly as the ever changing position of the clouds that never seemed to stay still...
Suddenly, the door opened again. I wonder what Lee forgot...
But, contrary to what she was thinking, Kevin had come out to the field, dressed in his training gear. Up next, Rolf, Johnny, Ed and Double D followed.
"Uh... But Kevin, Nazz put me on charge of being the mascot..."
"Put a sock in it, pal! I spoke to her, and she's willing to give Eddy a try! For what's worth anyways."
"Rolf does not understand. We got crushed last time against those Lumpers, so why do we have to play them again?"
"Because that was a qualifier match. We need to win this one to have a chance at qualifying for state playoffs. Now, everyone, line up! We gotta get this team together by next week or it's curtains for Peach Creek!"
"B-But Kevin, " said a shaky Double D. "Why c-can't you borrow players from the other sports teams? I-I mean, you did win last game like that..."
"I wish I could, but the coaches refused. So I'm stuck with you guys..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Johnny complained.
"Enough talk! Line up! Move, already, today!"
Marie adverted her gaze from the clouds to look down at the boys. She chuckled as she noticed Double D's knees bent to the inside, shaking.
"Now yer all gonna run with me! 5 laps around the field, c'mon!"
Now this is interesting. Practically unbeknownst to her, Marie moved down the bleachers little by little, until she found herself sitting down at the row closest to the floor. As time passed, Kevin finished his laps, panting slightly. Right after, Rolf stopped alongside him, unfazed. Ed came next as he panted a little, stopping just at the right time to bump over Rolf, who couldn't help but to push Kevin. A few minutes later, Johnny finished, visibly tired.
Double D was on his fourth lap, reducing his running to that of a snail.
"Ah, forget it, Double Dweeb! You're gonna have to work on that! Come over here, now!"
Panting, the smartest of the eds formed a line along with his friends.
"You made fools of yourselves last year, but it's all going to change! Now, we're gonna practice with the dummies! You're all gonna run and hit one as hard as you can! Rolf!"
"Yes, sir!"
"No paddles!"
"Aww."
Marie guffawed as she saw the son of a shepherd completely misunderstand Kevin's instructions and produce a wooden palette.
She never expected for the blue headed boy to hear her and turn around. All of her colors let her face as the tall boy raised a hand and waved at her, smiling stupidly.
The girl was about to form obscene expressions with her hand to show to him but Rolf was gone. Looking farther, she noted the boy had started sprinting.
Kevin smiled proudly as his best friend charged the training dummy with such strength that it was a miracle not to see it come off its hinges. For once, his mind filled with thoughts of hope. Maybe we can win this!
"Hey, great push, Rolf! Everyone! Do the same!"
After a few tries at the dummy, the blue headed boy returned to his spot, turning to salute the damsel on the metallic stands, but Marie quickly turned away, her face red with anger, or so she was dead set to believe. He shrugged his shoulders as the other boys returned to their positions.
"Oh, my back... Are we about done, Kevin? I have to work on my science project with M–"
"No wimping out now, man! We still got catch practice!"
"Unh..."
If there was one thing Kevin loved about practice, it was the newly acquired football launcher the school bought.
"Okay. I'm gonna show you how to do it! Rolf, man the launcher!"
"Sure, Kevin boy."
As the first ball flew, the guys stared in awe as Kevin managed to catch it. But even though Kevin stood at the proper position, no more balls came his way.
"Rolf, you gotta point the launcher to me!"
"But..."
Suddenly someone pushed him. "Step aside. I'll man it, Kevin."
"But Marie... whatever. Launch!"
This time, the footballs flew to the bike boy at an appropriate speed and within range.
"Okay, dorks. You saw how it's done. Double D! Your turn!"
"Mee?!"
Sadly for the brainy boy, he could only catch one ball out of seven, the rest impacting with different body parts. Having had enough, he dragged his feet as he made his way out.
"Sorry. This thing only has one speed..."
"Okay, next! Johnny!"
One after the other, each of the kids tried their luck catching the balls, not succeeding as much.
"Rolf, you're last! Come on!"
The tall boy cracked his knuckles as he stood in position to catch balls. Marie smirked. Ooh, I'm gonna get you good... Excited, the middle Kanker loaded the first football, which flew straight to Rolf's head. It was too late as the boy raised his hands a moment later, the ball bouncing off his fingers and hitting him in the forehead.
"Mwa ha ha ha!"
"What the hell, Rolf?! Stand up and try again!"
Rolf got up from the floor, wading around a bit as his focus and balance were compromised. His vision, which had started to clear, managed to make out and present to him a sight of the laughing Kanker.
"Oh ho! You dare mock the son of a shepherd, little lady? Throw. Rolf will catch now!"
"Fine!"
This time, it was Kevin's turn to watch, his mouth open, as Rolf jumped and stretched himself in the air, or dived back with open arms, as he caught all the balls Marie threw. No one noticed that the blue headed pair, entangled in what seemed to be a personal battle, had gone over the seven ball catch exercise every other kid went through. Footballs started piling up around Rolf, until Marie reached out to the floor to grab more, but she found none.
"I'm a good catch, no?"
Kevin rolled his eyes. "You mean, catcher?"
But not everyone took his banter as light-heartedly, as the other blue head abruptly grabbed something from the floor, setting it into the machine.
"Oh yeah? Why don't you catch this!"
Rolf could only react fast enough to duck before the mud ball collided against his face. The small object, lighter and more aerodynamic, made its way far to crash against one of the training dummies, its momentum splashing it all around the front.
"What'd you do that for, Marie?"
"What? Tell it to this guy, he won't stop gloating!"
"Gee, are you really that mad that I saw your–"
A well placed shoe on the same spot where the ball collided against him was enough for the tall boy to fall to the floor again, the object of offense bouncing off, ending up close by where the dummy was.
"Shut your mouth! Damn pervert..."
Grumbling, Marie made her way to pick up her shoe. Once on, she stood up to see the stain her mud ball made. There was something about the gradient and spread she couldn't quite explain, which made her feel comfortable.
Huh... I guess you really can find art anywhere...
"How'd you get that bruise?"
"Falling."
She chuckled. After moping around for the whole day, May thought she'd never hear her do that again. "Gee, May. I haven't seen you trip since you were six..."
"I know! But Double D and I were testing our invention and it still needs some work..."
"Wait... weren't you going to do something with that pellet launcher of yours?"
May turned from her program to tend to her sister. "Marie, what use could we possibly give to that other than to throw stuff? Double D thought of something much much better!"
"Yeah, sure..." Marie said, as she boringly turned a page of her magazine.
"I just know that when we're done, it's going to look great! Our invention will win first prize for sure! Yeah, I don't see why, sis, but technology should really be considered an art!" Enthusiastic, May raised her hands to emphasize her point, knocking over her juice glass on the coffee table.
"Aw, look what you... did, May..."
Marie stopped, just as she turned to see the spill. I've seen that shape before...
"Sorry, sorry. I'll clean it u–"
"Wait!" Marie held a hand to her sister. She couldn't help but to stare at the mess. A familiar soothing feeling filled her up again.
This is just like that splash I made with the football... machine...
She thought she was going crazy. "M-May... What kind of projects are allowed at that science fair of yours?"
"Well, anything, I guess. As long as it has to do with technology somehow?"
Bingo. "You think Double D's asleep right now?"
"I... don't know... where're you going?"
The blue head stopped with the trailer door open. "I'll be right back."
"Can I clean the spill now?"
"No!" She commanded, and closed the door in a haste.
He ran downstairs. The sudden ring of the bell excited him. Is it?
"Hey, Double D! How's my favorite brainiac?"
"Oh. It's you." The boy deflated.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Marie replied, somewhat undignified.
"Nothing. Did you need something?"
She cleared her throat. "May told me once you had designed a launcher... I was wondering if I could look at it..."
"That thing? Let me see..." As he made his way upstairs, Marie followed. She almost gasped at the number of papers on the table. If there was one thing that never changed between them, it would be her admiring of his enormous intellect, or so she would say to herself.
"This is it... What do you need it for?"
"Oh... em... uh, just a... thing I have in mind..."
The boy arched an eyebrow, but shrugged off. "Alright. If you don't mind, I'd like to sleep now..." Double D said, as he yawned.
"Yes, we are still accepting entries. But there is only one week left until the fair. Are you sure you have a project?"
"Of course!" Marie answered to the professor in charge of the participating students. "Just out of curiosity, the winning prize... is it...?"
"Five hundred dollars, yes. It's the same prize we have awarded the winner project each year."
"Perfect" her eyes shone with mirth as she smiled brightly.
"Whoa!"
Even though he had his eyes closed, he felt no pain after the impact.
"It... worked!"
May and Double D hugged each other. After the fifty second test, their protective suit was finished. Still, the beanie boy sat back down on the floor, set on keeping up his work.
"Now to make a second suit for you. Pass me that wrench, May"
"Sure thing, Doub–"
"Here!"
Double D looked up to see who handed him the tool. "Eddy?"
The pink boy had a rather exasperated look on his face. "Do you really have to do another one? I'm bored!"
"Well, Eddy, now that the final design is finished, it won't take long to build a second suit. In the meantime, why can't you go play with Ed?"
"I wish I knew!" He yelled, making both of his friends cover their ears. "He's cooped up in his basement with blue, working on who knows what! I though they finished the comic already..."
"My sis? That's weird..."
But Double D did manage to connect the dots May failed to put together.
"Alright, May. Final test. Pressure system, is it ready?"
"Ready and working, Double D!"
"Cool. Now we just have to wait to be called... How about I get us some sodas?"
Double D walked across the cubicles each student and young resident of Peach Creek had set up to display their projects. Just as she was reaching the vending machines, she caught sight of two familiar faces.
"Okay. Try again... No, Ed. The pellet goes... yes, there! Now, shoot!"
A soft bang propelled the paint pellet towards the canvas... but alas, it fell down to the floor halfway...
"Argh! No!" Ed lowered his gaze to the floor as Marie exclaimed her disappointment. "I told the teach we had a project, but... but this is not ready."
Just as Marie finished talking, Ed got a bit closer to her. "So we are not going to win?"
"I'm afraid not, Ed. I really wanted those five hundred..."
Double D scratched his head, as he looked at them from a distance. The girl had surprised all of their friends and himself, when she announced she was competing in the fair as well, but he couldn't understand her intentions. Why does she need the prize money?
"So, Uncle Jeff can't give us a discount or anything?"
"He told me it wasn't up to him... Looks like we'll have to get our comic published some other way... I need some air..."
Double D stared, eyes widened, as he saw his friend and Marie step outside, sad looks adorning their faces. He remembered, in between the work he went through with May, how excited Ed and she sounded whenever they would talk about their comic. He knew that, while Marie wasn't a picture of emotion and Ed wasn't always coherent...
... Both of them were really happy then...
He wasn't certain of what made him take a step forward, but he welcomed it as soon as he realized. Double D's steps soon took him inside his friends' cubicle.
He was amazed. They really reproduced it well! So why is it failing?
A quick unscrewing revealed the cause to him. Hmm... The coiling is not quite right... One twist, and...
He inserted one of the pellets and pointed the machine to the canvas. Now, to pull the trigger...
He had to step back quickly. The splash had reached the floor, almost falling on his sneakers. Satisfied with what he did, Double D walked on. Orange was out, so maybe May would have to settle with cherry soda this time.
"Oh. I finished. Sorry, May. Would you mind throwing these away?"
"Sure!" Unsuspecting, the blonde grabbed Double D's can and walked outside.
Both of the suits laid on the table. Even though it may disappoint her, I think they deserve it more...
Quickly, the boy changed the pressure configuration on one of the suits.
She was happy. Both of them had worked hard on their project, and that's what mattered. Still, May couldn't help but to be sure that they would win. Just as she threw the cans in the bin, she saw her sister sitting down among the audience.
"Yo, Marie. Why are you here and not in your cubicle?"
"Hey. Didn't feel like it..."
"You're gonna be called after us, though."
"Yeah, I know. But... you know? I think I'm gonna get me a part time job as soon as this thing ends..."
May frowned. "Why are you telling me that?"
She couldn't help but to spill over. "I thought I could do it, May. You know I always liked cars, and I thought building that thing was going to be just like assembling an engine, but... but the blasted launcher doesn't even work properly... I..." Despite it all, she chuckled. "It was fun while it lasted, I guess."
"Marie..."
"But I'm not giving up, you hear? I'm gonna get that comic published if it's the last thing I do!"
"... Okay. But you still have to present your project, right?"
"For what's worth..."
"You still have a bit of time. Why don't you go back and see if you can somehow fix it?"
Marie sighed. "I guess I could try..."
May watched as her sister walked back to where she set up her launcher. Something she said made her pensive.
If she wants to publish her comic, then why did she enter in the first place?
First place. Suddenly, she understood her motives. Quickly, she walked through the projects and stared at her competition. Taking a leap of faith, she walked back to her cubicle.
Even though it may disappoint him, I think they deserve it more...
"Now, Mr. Eddward Marion and May Kanker will show us their protective suits..."
The crowd quieted down a bit. Hearing the name of the boy with two d's brought an atmosphere of interest in the audience, knowing of the young boy's constant victories year after year, as well as the listening ears of a certain man in a business suit, taking note of each of the projects presented.
"Where the heck are they?!" Eddy yelled from his seat, at the front, making Kevin cover his ears in annoyance. "This is taking forever!"
"Oh, quiet down, will you, dork?!" Kevin yelled back, his ears aching.
"Shh, both of you!" Nazz's remarks effectively quieted down both of the boys.
"Just be patient!" Sarah added, somewhat annoyed. "They're about to start!"
All it needs is but a small hole... May held both of the suits as she inserted a small needle inside the sides of one of the suits.
"May, are you here?"
Panicking, the blonde threw away the needle just as she was going to puncture the second suit.
"D-Double D? What is-is it?"
"They're calling us up front, we need to put on our suits, quickly!"
Unbeknownst to him, the boy grabbed the first suit she was carrying, the one on top. Wait! That's... She called out loud, but in her mind. Gulping, May put on her suit as she followed Double D, who was changing as he walked to the front.
"Oh! You did it, Marie! You're a genius!"
She couldn't believe it. Just as she made her way back to the cubicle, the canvas had been splashed, and judging by the length of the splatter, with enough force not to cover just the distance from the launcher, but probably more than twice the length. Just as she finished shooting another one, Ed had come in, congratulating her...
"I... well, it is fixed."
"We're gonna win for sure! We're gonna wiin!"
There was something about her partner's excitement that suddenly filled her with enthusiasm. "I truly hope so, Ed."
"Now, Mr. Eddward Marion and May Kanker will show us their protective suits..."
"Hey, Double D and May are up! Wanna go see?"
Ah, but there's that one rival team... Marie, wary of the genius that Double D was, still found herself curious as she followed Ed to the front.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what we propose for you today is a mechanism that can be carried around at all times, useful for any kind of emergency in which the probability of incurring into pain may be present. This simulation should inform you of how our devices are to work."
People stared in awe as Double D and May put up a projector display in which a computerized animation of a person fell, yet their protective suit would keep the person protected. Someone was taking notes desperately.
"This protective suit operates on the simple detection of displacement and downward acceleration, inflating itself appropriately to protect its user." He said.
"By injecting enough air pressure based on the distance and speed of movement, the protective suit will grow in size to cushion a person's fall!" She said.
"Precisely. And now for a final demonstration, May and I are going to simulate a fall, so you see how they work."
Both of the children stood up straight, moving their bodies to a side. The audience awed in surprise, as both suits recognized their wearers were falling, but such surprise had soon become a rather uncomfortable silence, as Double D's suit produced a whistling noise, while May's suit stopped inflating midway, causing both of the teens to fall on the floor, hurting themselves.
"I-I'm sorry," Double D said, surprised. "I'm afraid we had some... unresolved difficulties..." Double D said, inspecting the hole in his suit.
"Yeah, h-huh?" May added, rather nervous. "I think mine stopped too soon...", her words, while brief, did not fail to surprise her partner
Silence ensued, until someone in the audience laughed. "Mwa ha ha ha ha! You spent two weeks working for this?!"
Just like that, the cul de sac con succeeded in bringing up chuckles and giggles from the audience, who shared a laugh with him. Only two people weren't laughing, one of which was Marie.
"Well, that sure surprised us all. Now, last but not least, please welcome Mr. Edward and Ms. Marie Kanker who will show us their art launcher."
Ed stood behind, smiling but sweating profusely. It was all up to her...
"Um... H-Hello. I'm Marie, and... and this is Ed..." Just as she turned around to signal to her partner, she saw the two behind the curtains.
"You can do it!" May whispered.
The look the middle Kanker dedicated her sister was one of doubt, but eventually her lips arched up. May walked back in, followed by her boyfriend.
"I hope she wins this..." They turned around to see each other say the same thing.
"Um, whatever do you think may have happened to the suit? I thought it was strong enough to hold the air in..." He asked.
"And I thought we had calibrated the pressure pumps correctly..." She asked back.
Silence was followed by lighthearted laughing, the boy and girl hugging each other right after, guessing the other's intentions.
"I know everyone here has displayed projects which involve some form of invention, but seeing how this fair allows for projects to deal with other specialties, we decided to create our project based on an..."
"Artistic point of view!" Ed chimed in.
"Yes. Exactly. What we have here is a simple launcher, which basically takes objects entered here, and are shot through here." Marie said, as she launched a color pellet. The shades of red formed in the canvas captured the attention of the audience in such a way that Marie felt her confidence soar.
"So as you see, technology can contribute greatly to art. The diverse shades, combined with a number of colors..." Marie said, as she kept shooting the launcher with different pellets. "... Allow for a quick creation of abstract art, which brings out a rather relaxing and harmonious picture."
After a minute of gazing the canvas, Marie kept going. "Ed, change it, please."
The boy complied, as he brought for a blank canvas. "Lastly," She said, referring to the audience. "If we so decide to combine two pellets, we are sure to create different effects..."
That was it. People left and right clapped, as Marie felt herself blushing. Both she and Ed said their thanks as they stepped back behind the curtains.
"Mr. Eddward, Ms. May, please step forward..."
Marie frowned. What could I expect? With them around, there's no competition...
"Mr. Edward, Ms. Marie, you too come forward"
WHAT?!
Smiling, Ed walked to where the beanie boy and the blonde Kanker were, Marie standing next to him.
"We are aware of your many interesting projects ever since we have had the pleasure to have you in Peach Creek. But this time, I'm afraid that we have decided, under voting, that your work merits you the second place!"
Wait. So there was a second place? Marie thought. Then, that means...
"I present to you the winners of the Peach Creek annual science fair, Mr. Edward and Miss Marie Kanker, both from eighth grade!" The announcer declared, to which the audience clapped, happy for the two teens who won.
Ed jumped for joy and stepped forward, eager to receive his first prize ribbon.
"Miss Kanker?"
But the girl couldn't yet believe it.
"Marie, we won! We won! Come take your ribbon, it's shiny!"
It was then, through the words of the dopey boy who worked alongside her, after the grueling hours of scavenging for materials and meticulously assembling their device, that she realized that all of their work had borne fruit, in the form a golden ribbon which now hung on her neck. Her vision blurred, as warm tears started falling across her face.
"I told you, look how it shine–"
"Ewww!" Sarah gagged, attempting to tease her big brother with what was occurring. Despite her better opinion of the brute, she had never seen someone hug him the way Marie did then, willingly.
"Thanks... for everything..." She smiled, as the tallest of the Eds stared at her, smiling. The fair's organizer stepped forward, handing the two of them a large carton check, with the winning money written in it! It was all a matter of getting in touch with the publisher, and soon their art would be known across the country. As soon as the celebrations were over, Marie rushed to the payphone outside.
"Are you gonna order pizza? I'm hungry!"
The blue headed Kanker just laughed. "Maybe later, Ed. Right now, there's something I have to do that's even more important..."
Note: Thanks to DMan51, who came up with the idea for this fic!