"Who says you can't go home?"
Those words were spoken by the driver of the bus Stephanie was riding on. She hadn't been paying attention—why should she, after all? She had her own things to think about—but out of a hard-wired need to be polite, she responded with, "I'm sorry?"
The bus driver turned and smiled at her in the rearview mirror, showing off straight, white, rather frightening teeth. "You must be heading home, eh miss? Why, this morning we began our journey with-with, oh, let's see…ten of yous! And two old ladies got off at Quaintville, and then that young couple with the little baby left at Breezy Britches, and three of those business-type fellas went away at Technopolis, and then that last sad-looking little man made his way away at Parched Falls—sad, sad little old place, believe me—which just leaves you! And the last stop is Lazytown, which is the only place I could take you to, unless you just like making trips for the heck of it, and no one ever visits Lazytown unless they live there—or used to live there! So you must be going home, ain't yous?"
Stephanie smiled uncomfortably. "Yes, sir. I used to live in Lazytown a while ago. I'm coming back for a visit."
"Ah, well, there you go! Welcome home, Miss!"
Stephanie gave another polite smile, but she stayed quiet after that and hoped the driver would do so too. She didn't want to talk. You all should know that someone like Stephanie Meanswell, who'd lived in a small but amazing place like Lazytown for a good part of her childhood and then spent her remaining teenage years traveling and going to college, had so many things she could say that it was almost impossible for her to say anything at all.
Weird, huh? She'd always been an outgoing, loving child, and in many ways had grown into an outgoing, loving 20-year old woman, but she still sometimes felt like something was missing.
This was the first time she'd been back to Lazytown in six years.
Do you know that Stephanie hadn't ever said that out loud, not even to herself? Let's all make a mental note of that.
She'd never really ever considered leaving. But one morning, a morning just like any other, the phone rang in her Uncle Milford's cheery yellow kitchen while her Aunt Bessie made Stephanie some pancakes. Her uncle answered, and from the look on his face, Stephanie knew it was something serious. Silently he handed her the phone, and she was speaking with her mother.
"Hello, darling," Anastasia Meanswell greeted her daughter. "Would you like to come live with me in New York and attend high school here? In the summers we could travel together, and…really, finally get to know one another."
The conversation wasn't that cut and dry, obviously. I'm just putting in the meaty bits. And while Stephanie's first reaction might have been to tell her mother to sod off in the politest way possible at one time in her life, at 14 years old, she was already beginning to feel the itch, the need to escape and cut loose and have adventures. Being the oldest of her friends in Lazytown meant that sometimes she had to be patient with them, knowing they weren't where she was yet. She knew her friends loved her, but sometimes it was frustrating. She often felt there was no one to talk to; her friends didn't understand her because she was older, and the adults, like Sportacus or her uncle, still thought of her as a child.
So when her mother called her, Stephanie decided that maybe this was the time. Her friends were hurt and sad, especially Ziggy, her best friend, most of all, but unlike the time when Robbie Rotten tricked her into thinking she'd been accepted to a prestigious dancing school, she had several months to spend with them and say goodbye before she left.
So, everyone, that was six years ago. And our little Stephanie went to a fancy private school in New York, and traveled with her mother in the summers—just like her mother had promised. They got to know each other over those years, and they both came to a mutual realization that the most they could ever be to one another would be caring friends. That mother-daughter connection wasn't there, had never been there, really. And when Stephanie was 16 and accepted to a prestigious science university, there was no reason why she couldn't start her higher education one year early.
Through it all, she kept in touch with her friends and family through phone calls, texts and emails, but little by little, she was drifting away from them. It was getting harder to imagine the cheery little town, with its bright colors and neat landscaping. She tried to remember Sportacus' airship flying high above the town, or his amazing flips when he came to their rescue. Even Robbie Rotten's elaborate and sometimes ridiculous costumes were beginning to get blurry in her mind.
So when Uncle Milford called her for Christmas as he usually did, practically the first thing out of Stephanie's mouth was, "I'm coming for a visit when the school year is over."
Fast forward several months, and here she was, sitting on that bumpy blue bus, headed back to Lazytown, the only passenger left. Stephanie closed her eyes for just a brief time, it seemed, but soon she heard the driver call out loudly, as if it were a full bus:
"Here we are! All off for Lazytown!"
"Do you see it yet, Mr. Meanswell?"
The former mayor squinted into the distance. "No, Ziggy. Not yet. But I'm sure the bus will be here soon!"
"Aw, nuts!" Ziggy swore. He couldn't wait to see Stephanie.
Just then, the faint roar of an engine could be heard. Just a few seconds later, the big blue bus came into view and stopped at the bus stop sign.
Milford and Ziggy waited eagerly for the doors to open, and sure enough, there was Stephanie, climbing down to meet them.
She threw herself into her uncle's arms. "Oh, Uncle! I missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too, dear." He held her at arm's length to look at her. "My, how you've grown up!"
"Hi, Stephanie," Ziggy said shyly. "You look…really pretty."
Stephanie smiled down at Ziggy. Even though he was now sixteen years old, he was still shorter than her. She pulled him against her. "Ziggy. I missed you too!" She looked around. "Where is everyone?"
"Oh, waiting in the town square! Come, come, let's head over!" her uncle told her.
As they walked to the square, Stephanie had a chance to look around. Lazytown had gotten larger, with more businesses all over the place. The town looked like it expanded too, and now took up more land. There were more people walking around than she remembered too. Suddenly remembering something else, she looked up and saw the beautiful blue and white airship flying overhead. Her heart began to race, thinking of the man who occupied it. She hoped he would be there too.
"So how are things working out with the new mayor? Ms….Marvelous, right?" Stephanie asked.
"Mayor Maven Marvelosa," her uncle corrected her. "Yes, she's only been mayor for two years, but she's made quite a few improvements in our town, really built it up, as she's always saying!"
"She's very am-bi-tious," Ziggy added. Stephanie smiled, wondering if that was supposed to be a compliment or not.
Before they even reached the square, Stephanie could hear their voices. She could make out Stingy's high-pitched whines, Trixie's husky admonishments, even Pixel's soothing baritone. They turned the corner, and sure enough, there was a small crowd, waiting to greet her with a large banner that read, "Welcome Home, Stephanie!"
Her friends practically ran her over with their excitement. She was surrounded by them, all throwing questions at her: "Hey Pinky, when'd ya get so tall?" "How's college? Are you almost done?" "Why, dear, you've filled out wonderfully!" "Did you bring me anything?"
"Now, now, everyone, let's give Stephanie some room!" Uncle Milford chided them. Now being freed of the affectionate onslaught, Stephanie took the opportunity to give hugs to Stingy, Pixel, Trixie, and her Aunt Bessie.
"It's great to see you all! I missed you so much!" she told them.
"We've missed you too, dear! I'm so glad you've come back to see us!" Aunt Bessie told her.
Stephanie smiled, but started looking around when she realized one of her friends was missing. "So, um…where's Sportacus?"
"Oh, there was a poor little dog that he found injured on the side of the road. He's taken him to the vet to be looked at," Trixie told her. "He'll be here soon, don't you worry," her friend added with a gleam in her eye.
Stephanie smiled and pretended to be confused, but she wondered if Trixie knew—had always known—about her crush on Sportacus.
"So how long do we have you for?" Ziggy asked. "We have a lot of catching up to do!"
"I…haven't really decided how long," Stephanie answered. "I don't have to go back to the university until August, so I guess I could be here for a while."
"Oh, cool!" Pixel exclaimed. "Trixie and I are staying all summer too before we have to go back to college." He wrapped an affectionate arm around his girlfriend.
Stephanie smiled. She remembered reading Pixel's emails over the years, telling her about him and Trixie getting together and deciding to go to the same college in New York City. She was happy for them; they seemed so happy together.
And then, here came the familiar sound of a body flipping through the air. It wasn't a sound Stephanie had heard in a while, but it was one she'd never forget.
He landed, effortlessly, on the grass behind the gathering, so most of their friends were blocking Stephanie's view of him. "Hi everyone!" she heard Sportacus say.
God, he hadn't aged a day, at least in Stephanie's estimation. His blue eyes were still bright, his smile still sweet and boyish. And his body…oh, his body was still just as tight and muscular as it had been six years ago. Maybe it had something to do with being a superhero. Ultimately, Stephanie didn't care. He was here and just a few feet away.
"Sportacus! You're just in time!" Aunt Bessie told him.
The superhero smiled. "Wonderful! Is Stephanie almost here?" Stephanie saw him scan the crowd, and briefly glance over her. She frowned; didn't he see her? Next to him, she was a tallest person in the group.
"I'm…right here, Sportacus," Stephanie called out, coming forward.
Sportacus' smiled faded, replaced with shocked expression. "Stephanie?"
She smiled, trying not to show her embarrassment that everyone was watching them. "It's great to see you again." She held her arms open for a hug.
Slowly—well, slowly for a firecracker like him—he stepped forward and gave her the briefest of embraces. When they pulled away, Stephanie smiled to hide her disappointment.
"You…you look so…different!" he exclaimed.
"Well, it has been six years," Aunt Bessie pointed out gently. "Our little Stephanie has grown up!"
Everyone chuckled lightly, and Stephanie's eyes met Sportacus's and she looked away, hoping her cheeks weren't turning too pink.
"Stephanie, dear, we have such fun things planned while you're here!" Uncle Milford piped up. "Your aunt has been making a feast for us to have tonight, and then tomorrow we plan to take you to the lake and then to dinner!"
"And then we're all getting together for pizza and catching up the day after!" Trixie added.
"And of course there's the town hall meeting right after, so you can meet the new mayor!" Stingy chimed in.
"And then a welcome home party!" Ziggy added.
"Everyone, please! Let's give Stephanie some room to breathe!" Aunt Bessie intervened. She affectionately put her hands on her niece's shoulders. "Come, sweetheart. Let's get you home so you can rest. You must be exhausted from your traveling."
Stephanie allowed her aunt to lead her away, turning back to wave goodbye to her friends. Once again her eyes met Sportacus', who had a look on his face she'd never seen before. Here's a good analogy: remember that first time you saw the harvest moon, and it's so full and round and golden, like the sun? And you know you're looking at it, but you still can't quite bring yourself to believe it's real? Yep, that's what the above average hero's face looked like.
After the Meanswells had left, the group turned to look at each other. "I've got a new game I've been working on; you guys wanna come over and play it?" Pixel asked.
"Sounds good!" Stingy and Ziggy replied.
"I'm gonna go to the store and pick up some things for my mom," Trixie added. "You guys have fun."
"See ya, babe," Pixel said, giving her a kiss.
"Not if I see you first," she told him. As the boys left, Trixie turned to Sportacus, who was still rooted in the spot where he stood.
"Wow, Pinky's really changed! It's hard to believe it's been six years!" Trixie remarked.
"Yes," Sportacus said distantly. Then, he snapped out of it and added, "Yes, it's good to have her back."
"Mmm," Trixie intoned, her eyes narrowing. "Well, it looks like she'll be staying a while, so we'll all get the chance to…rekindle our relationships with her."
Sportacus gave Trixie a friendly, somewhat clueless smile. "That's true. Well, I'd best be off. Take care!" And with that, he flipped away.
Trixie rolled her eyes. "Oh lord. I have so much work to do with those two." She walked off to the store.
"Mmm. Oh, Aunt Bessie, I've really missed your cooking," Stephanie said as she took a bite of the roast beef on her plate.
"And I've missed you being here to cook for! You were always so easy to please, sweet child. Milford, have more mashed potatoes. You need the fiber." Bessie piled another heaping spoonful on her husband's plate.
"Really, my dear, I'm quite satisfied," Miford protested.
"Nonsense! Eat what you have there," Bessie ordered. With a deep sigh and an ingrained need to please his wife, Milford began to eat.
Stephanie smiled sympathetically and decided to change the subject. "So…how does it feel to be retired, Uncle Milford? Do you miss being the mayor?"
"Oh, now and then! But it was time for me to move on, my dear. I'm not as young as I used to be you know," he told her in a confidential voice.
Stephanie tried to be cheerful, but her uncle's comment left her feeling sad. She realized that as she got older, becoming an adult and being able to have more freedom, it also meant that the adults in her life that she loved were also getting older. Uncle Milford was far from being feeble, but she also knew that he was not a young man either. She worried about him; her father had died when she was too young to remember him, and her uncle had been the closest thing to a father she'd ever known. Still, he was quite happy with Bessie; they'd been married for six years now, the wedding having taken place right before she left Lazytown for high school. It gave Stephanie comfort to know that they were together, looking out for each other. She had to admit it, even it was just to herself: if Bessie hadn't been there for her uncle, she might have not left Lazytown. She would have felt too guilty, leaving him.
"But Maven is wonderful!" Bessie insisted. "She's young, vibrant, and has such great ideas for this town. You'll meet her on Friday evening, Stephanie, dear, at the town meeting."
"I can't wait," Stephanie replied with a smile. She spent the rest of the dinner asking her aunt and uncle about the various people in the town: if they were still there, if they'd moved, what they were now doing.
She saved the best—or perhaps worst?—for last. "And…Robbie Rotten?" she asked. "Is he still the bumbling nuisance I remember him to be?"
Milford and Bessie looked at each other, apparently searching for the right words. Finally, her uncle replied, "Well, no, dear, that's the interesting thing. He hasn't come up with an elaborate scheme in, oh…years now. Oh he tried to pull off a fiasco during our last parade, but it was a bit half-hearted."
"He mostly keeps to himself these days," Aunt Bessie added. "He still has his—what would you call it? A lair?—but he actually ended up building a house for himself up on the hill. He still makes appearances every now and then."
"Oh," Stephanie tried not to sound disappointed. Why should she care? He was always trying to ruin their fun. If he finally grew up and wised up, then that was good and fine.
"Yes," Aunt Bessie agreed. "It just seemed after you left town, dear, his antics just sort of…fizzled out. Well, good riddance." She shrugged and began to clear the dishes from the table.
"Can I help you, Aunt Bessie?" Stephanie asked.
"Oh no, dear. You've had a long day! Go on upstairs and rest yourself. Your room is just as you left it."
As Stephanie started to walk up to her room, her uncle followed her and took her hand. "I'm so happy to have you back home, dear. It just hasn't been the same around here without you."
Stephanie smiled and squeezed his hand. "I'm glad to be here too, Uncle Milford."
She said goodnight and went upstairs to the room that used to be hers. When she opened the door, she gasped and had to suppress a laugh. It was so pink! Pink walls, pink curtains, pink sheets, even pink furniture. She remembered loving it when she was a little girl, but now it was so garish. She shook her head, grateful that her tastes had evolved.
Stephanie sat back on her old bed, and finally realized how tired she was. It really had been a long day, and was glad that her aunt had insisted she rest. She turned to the window near the bed and looked outside. Her eyes drifted to the west, to the big hill. She had to squint, but she could just make it out, a large, dark, rather gloomy-looking Victorian-style house that had not been there the last time she was in Lazytown.
Robbie Rotten's house. It looked like Dracula's castle, in her opinion, but it seemed to echo his style as she remembered it. She wondered what he did now, if it wasn't making trouble anymore. She also couldn't help but wonder what he'd think of her if he saw her. Everyone seemed taken aback by how much she'd changed, and Sportacus hadn't even recognized her. Would he be surprised too?
Would he even care?
So...the usual band of idiots was getting together today. Robbie had spied them through the telescope he kept on the roof of his house. While he had now devoted more of his time to his inventions and less to his scheming, he still liked to keep tabs on Lazytown's residents. He wanted to ensure they weren't planning anything that would disturb the peace too much.
He could see them putting up a "Welcome Home" sign in the town square, and based on the heresay he was able to gather, that nauseating pink cheerleader Stephanie Meanswell was coming home that day. Ugh, he could just see it now: all the bouncing, cheering, and dancing that was going to go on! Those kids might be older, but they could still let loud and irritating. Robbie felt dread in his stomach so deep that not even a slice of cake and a glass of soda could remedy it.
Finally his telescope picked up the image of three people walking towards the square. Robbie adjusted the scoping to get a closer look. Sure enough, there was Meanswell, wearing his usual mustard yellow atrocity; that short, chubby kid who always hung on Meanswell's niece; and…wait. Who was that?
That old geezer must be losing his mind, because he clearly picked up the wrong person from the bus stop. Instead of a pink monstrosity with a brassy pixie cut, he saw a tall, slender, curvaceous young woman. True, her hair was pink, but it was a several shades lighter and longer and pulled into a sleek, chic high ponytail. Instead of a ridiculous cheerleader outfit and sneakers, she wore tight black pedal pushers, a white v-neck tee, and a black denim jacket cuffed at the elbows. The only pink on her besides her hair were on the toes of her black pumps. There was a kind of simple elegance to her—whoever this woman was.
"Couldn't possibly be…" Robbie grumbled to himself. But when he saw the Meanswells taking the woman home, it made sense.
Could it be? That was the mauve menace, returned? He'd have to do some reconnaissance, find out what had changed in those six years. He'd go to see this woman in person, and perhaps—if it was worthy of his time—talk to her.
Not that he cared. Not at all. He was only mildly interested, and it occupied the time left since his inspiration for inventing was running temporarily dry.
He would start tomorrow…