A Promising Start
One April afternoon, Velma sat alone on a park bench near her school. Shaggy's mother asked her to meet at this place. The park was shady and calm - a good place for a discreet meeting in private. However, she never met any of her friends' parents in such circumstances. She was wondering what caused it. Did she do something wrong to Shaggy? Hurt his feelings? Has she been mean to him? She knew that's pretty unlikely.
Velma and Shaggy have known each other for 10 years. They met in elementary school, when Shaggy defended her from Red Herring's bullying. It turned out that their parents' houses are next door to each other, so they began to visit one another and walk to school together. Velma has learned to tolerate Shaggy's quirks so she could discover lots of interesting things he had to offer: new flavours, cool music, video games... He even, despite her reluctance, taught and encouraged her to dance at school dances. And despite his terrible cowardice, he did not allow local bullies to tease her, though. In exchange, she was his voice of reason who has helped him study, tried to give him more courage and bailed him out of troubles he used to get in along with his dog... Despite being sometimes sarcastic to each other, they learned to live together in harmony, helping themselves in need. She was sure they were good friends.
At some point, she saw a familiar figure. It was Shaggy's mother, Kelly Rogers - a tall woman with a long face and long hair with a color identical to that of Shaggy's. However, hair color wasn't the only thing Shaggy had with his mom in common. Mrs. Rogers was a woman with an easy take on life. It could be seen from her clothing. She was wearing an ordinary loose pink top with long sleeves, gray sweatpants and pink trainers. In addition, she didn't have a makeup. It was enough for her, because she belonged to that kind of mothers who entirely devoted themselves to children. Even professionally, because she was also a kindergarten teacher. She was perfect for this job, Velma didn't know a warmer person with such an approach to children as Mrs. Rogers had. She took great care to ensure that Shaggy and his little sister had everything they needed, including a lot of tasty food, of course. It was not difficult to guess through whom Shaggy was such a glutton. He probably got that wonderful metabolism after his mom too. Or after his dad? Never mind... Surely his mother passed him those bizarre movements and incredible flexibility on... Surely not his solidly built father, after whom he got facial features and that distinctive chuckle.
"Hi, Velma," said Shaggy's mum with her warm but rather comical voice.
"Hello, Mrs. Rogers" Velma answered politely, and went straight to the point: "Why did you want to meet me here? Everything's fine?"
Mrs. Rogers made an oddly familiar giggle.
"Zoinks, Velma! There's always everything okay with ya! That's why I wanna talk to you here... ",
After a short pause, she continued: "It's all 'bout Fred's van..."
"The Mystery Machine?" Velma asked uncertainly
"Hahaha! Did you really name it like that?!" Mrs. Rogers laughed. "Oh gosh, ya'all really have wit ...
"It rides properly. Fred and I have checked its mechanics a few times." Velma said quickly, trying to figure out what Shaggy's mother meant.
"It's not about the car, it's about Norville." said Mrs. Rogers seriously. Velma sensed that it was a bigger deal because she used his real name. She usually used to call him with his nickname, which probably came from her maiden name - Shagford. Only Shaggy's father insisted on calling him Norville, but not very consistently.
"You know him" continued Mrs. Rogers. "He is a boy with a golden, but chicken heart".
Velma raised her eyebrow at this comparison.
"I worry about him 'cause he has a great talent for getting into troubles along with Scooby. With that van, you'll go out of Coolsville very often, as Fred's announced. I'm afraid that when my Shag will be far away from home, he'll get into trouble again and we won't be able to help him as quickly as we would like to help... That's why I wanted to ask you for help, Velma.
Velma was surprised, she didn't expect this is what Mrs. Rogers really wants from her.
"Me and Shaggy are friends, we always help each other, Ma'am."
"You're his best friend. The human one, of course ..."- Mrs. Rogers cleared her throat and added: "You are also the most sensible one. That's why I wanna ask you to make sure you'll always be around and be his voice of reason. I know you already are, but this time it'll involve some additional responsibilities for ya...
Mrs. Rogers pulled a small piece of paper out of the bag. Velma raised both eyebrows at the sight. It was a list of medicines.
"Please, make sure he takes his medication. Especially this one..." woman pulled a cough syrup out of her purse. "He gets cold so easily. Please, make sure that he'll take it every time he'll need it.
"I promise, Mrs. Rogers".
"And promise that you'll make sure he'll make a man out of himself." Mrs. Rogers winked to Velma.
"That's what I do all the time." the girl smiled. "But with mixed results ..." she added sarcastically.
"Haha, I can always count on ya, Velma".
Mrs. Rogers and Velma got up and left the park towards the street where the Rogers' and Dinkleys' houses were located. It was easy to predict, that Shaggy's mother will invite her for a dinner, but she had to refuse. Visits in Shaggy's house always have ended with a terrible overeating.
When she finally got home, she went into her room, sat down on the bed and got into thoughts. Velma took a list and a packet of medicines given by Mrs. Rogers from the bag. In fact, she never felt so responsible for another person in her life, not counting situations when she had to look after Madelyn when she was ill. Also being appreciated for her reason gave her a lot of satisfaction as a genius. Velma felt like a fish to water, being able to use her organizing skills and having everything under control, also such a beatnik like Shaggy.
Suddenly Velma heard a sound of an incoming message. It was Fred:
"Have you ever heard of the Franken Castle? It's kinda groovy! Check this link out! What do you think, Velm?"
XXX
The Mystery Machine, despite being not new, rode like a dream. Fred has fine-tuned every, even the smallest part of his long-coveted machine. But the paintwork was the thing he was most proud of. The blue and green pattern with orange flowers shimmered proudly in California sun. Fred had dreamed of a such paintjob his whole childhood, since he saw colorful hippie vans in some of his mother's magazines. With a little help of the rest of the gang, he managed to paint the old Chevy exactly how he came up with it. Except flowers, which were supposed to be red. It was Velma who insisted that orange will fit better. Although Daphne - a fashionista, agreed with her, Fred was more than sure that it was really about Velma's weird orange-mania. He didn't get involved. She helped with the design and painting, so he didn't protest.
The gang were going to pick up Velma at her house that day. They intended to go to a mysterious castle that was moved brick by brick from Transylvania. Shortly after taking Shaggy and Scooby, the gang arrived at the Dinkleys house.
"I can't see her." Daphne said, looking around for a familiar orange figure.
"She probably has not left yet..." Fred said, switching off the car's engine.
"Like, maybe her mother is keeping her at home again?" Shaggy said and left the van.
"Come on, Scoob! We have to go for her, she has our Scooby Snacks!" he said with a laugh.
Then, the front door opened and they saw the holder of snacks of the gods herself.
"Hi, guys! Ready for the first adventure with the Mystery Machine?" Velma greeted them with excitement and left the house.
"As long as you're around with Scooby Snacks, we're ready for everything!" Shaggy declared.
"If you didn't mention the snacks, it would be perfect. But there are no miracles..." Velma snorted with an ironic smirk. Then she turned around to the interior of the house: "Bye, we will be tomorrow!"
Mr. Dinkley appeared on the threshold of the house and said:
"Have fun, Velma! But remember to let us know if everything is all right..." he answered. Then, after a few moments, he called: "Shaggy? Scooby? Please, come here for a while."
Shaggy and Scooby immediately stopped and looked at each other with surprise. They went back to Velma's dad. Velma, as surprised as Shaggy and Scooby were, watched those events while she was getting in the Mystery Machine. On the way back, Shaggy looked around to see if Madelyn was nearby, but luckily he did not see her..
"How can we help you, Mr. Dinkley?" Shaggy asked uncertainly the man with a glasses.
"I always say that you're a good boy, Shaggy." Mr. Dinkley said so quiet that nobody else could hear him. "You and Scooby care for Velma like nobody else... So please, keep taking special care of her now, when you leave the town and in the future, wherever you will go... "- having said this, he took discreetly a small box out of his pocket and handed it to Shaggy.
"Velma's spare glasses..." Shaggy whispered.
"That's right. You know how poor her eyesight is without them..." the man sighed. It's an undeniable fact, that Velma without glasses is like a mole in the fog. To make things worse, when she accidentally loses her glasses, she loses her mind in shock and does, not entirely consciously, things that are pointless and dangerous. Shaggy with Scooby have already no longer counting the number of times they helped her find her eyewear. However, Shaggy never carried her spare glasses. Velma did not like when anyone else had access to them.
"But Velma doesn't..." Shaggy protested, but Mr. Dinkley quickly interrupted him:
"Velma is the most stubborn little beast I know. She thinks she'll always deal with everything, but in a strange place, far away from home and civilization, it's reasonable to have a support. Promise me that you will provide it to her, Norville."
"I promise, sir." Shaggy said without any hesitation.
Suddenly Velma appeared next to them and said impatiently:
"Jinkies, Dad! Why are you keeping them here for so long?! We must leave now..." she stopped when she saw the box with her spare glasses. "So you gave them to them?" she said helplessly with visible dissatisfaction and crossed her arms.
"As we've spoke earlier, that's the wisest thing we can do." said Mr. Dinkley firmly and put his hand on her shoulder: "Velma... I'm not giving your glasses to none other than your friends - Shaggy and Scooby. Don't you trust them?"
The answer was obvious for Velma. She trusted Shaggy even more than her sister, and she loved Scooby with all her heart and vice versa. She just felt ashamed of her defects, even in front of them. However, she had to overcome it. She looked straight into their eyes and said after a moment:
"Of course I trust them... Let it be." and smiled at them.
Scooby immediately licked her face, causing a laughter among everyone.
"Ah, Scoob ..." Velma laughed. She loved that mutt. He looked after her during her childhood and continued to do so even though he was the most cowardly dog in the universe. Velma pulled Scooby Snack from her bag and threw it up very high in the air. Scooby Doo jumped into the air, devoured it in-flight, made a triple flip, and landed on the roof of the Mystery Machine, causing an admiration among the gathered.
"As I always say - what a ham!" Velma said, moving along with laughing Shaggy to the van. "See you soon, Dad!"
"See ya, sir!" Shaggy said and waved to Mr. Dinkley.
"Have fun and be safe." repeated Mr. Dinkley as they boarded the van.
And they set off, starting the first of their countless journeys for mysteries of the world. The journey towards the adulthood, they decided to step into together. With less fears than they could have, because they had themselves. They took care and were responsible for each other. As it was then, is today and, as all members of the Mystery Inc. are more than sure, it shall be for the rest of their lives.
THE END
The end song: Booker T. & the MG's - Time Is Tight yt: watch?v=dHXkfLRSTeI
Author's Note: It seems that with this story I made "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts" the first episode of Scooby Doo, Where Are You? ;) I hope you enjoyed the fic. If so, please leave feedback!
All characters belong to HB/WB