Arthur
Moving On/Summertime Is Primetime
Original Name: Melina Saramaku Tatakashi
Cover Name: May Maruka Akatsuki
Adoptive Name: May Read
Age: 8
Abilities: Morphing, Being able to see and hear Nadine and understand Babies, Animals and Toys
Attitude: Outgoing, Shy and Determined
Friends: Arthur, D.W., Mr. and Mrs. Read, Kate, Grandma Thora, Grandpa Dave, Pal, Nadine, Buster, Francine, The Brain, Sue Ellen, Muffy, Binky, Mei—Lin, Prunella, Jenna, Vecita, Alberto, Amigo, Bubby, etc.
Secret Agency Protection: C.R.U.S.H. Children Relocation Unite Serving Humanity
Weapon: My Whole Body
Epilogue
Hi, it's me, Arthur again. You know, since May became my sister she's really opened up. If you hadn't met her when she first came, you wouldn't believe me if I said she'd been really shy and quiet. She's really great a soccer. Being so small means she can run under another players legs and still keep the ball. When she plays her Akaria in music class, you can lose yourself in the music as she plays. Arthur, the ball's heading your way! Got it, May! I still can't help but wonder though. What exactly happened to May back in Japan? And when will she tell us? Oh, well. Until then, I'll just have as much fun as I can, playing with her. I'm passing the ball to you, May! I got it, Arthur!
Hey, there. It's me, May. I know Arthur's already done the intro but I wanted to tell you something myself. I'm Stay with the Molina's while mine and Arthur's parents are away in Crown city. This is a good chance for me to learn more about Vecita. I mean, even after all the time I've been in Elwood City, I haven't really gotten to know Vecita. But now, I had a long time to do so.
Moving On
Mom had been called to a seminar in Crown City and Dad had been called to do a massive catering job in Crown City. So Arthur, D.W. and Kate went to stay at Grandma's house and Pal and I went to stay over at the Molina's.
'Be good now, okay, May?' Mom said, kissing me on the forehead at the door of the Molina's house.
'Don't worry, Mom,' I said, giggling a little. That kiss had tickled. 'But how come I'm not staying at Grandma's like Arthur, D.W. and Kate?'
It was a little confusing for me. I'd stayed at Grandma's when I first came to Elwood City, so why wasn't I going there now.
'Well, we thought, since you and Vecita are the same size that it might be a good idea to have you stay over for a while,' Dad said smiling, giving me my backpack. 'You sure you don't mind Ramón?'
'Of course not,' Ramón said, smiling. 'We've also been thinking it is about time May and Vecita got to know each other better.'
'Thanks,' Dad said, shaking Ramón's hand.
'We'll be back in a couple of days, okay, sweetie?' Mom said, kneeling down and smiling.
'No problem,' I said, closing my eyes and smiling.
'Okay,' Mom said, smiling. 'Give Mommy one last hug before I go.'
I hugged her tightly.
'See ya, kiddo,' Dad said, winking at me. I winked back.
They got into the car, started it and waved to me. I waved back as they drove off.
When the car was out of sight I went inside.
'Vecita,' Ramón said, looking at her.
'Yes, papa?' Vecita asked, smiling.
'Why don't you help May bring her things up to your room?' Ramón said, smiling.
'Okay,' Vecita said, smiling.
She grabbed my bag and ran upstairs.
'Race you,' she called down.
'Hey, no fair,' I called happily, running up after her. 'You got a head start.'
'I think things will be just fine,' Ramón said, nodding to himself.
Vecita and I entered her room. Roulito was sitting on Vecita's bed as if to greet us.
'Hello, there, Roulito,' I said smiling, waving to him.
'Let's unroll your sleeping bag,' Vecita said, putting my bag down.
I took my sleeping bag off my back and rolled it out. A small stuffed South Indian monkey wearing a pink kimono toppled out.
'What is that?' Vecita asked, pointing.
'It's Koru,' I said, picking the monkey up and giving it a hug. 'She was a gift from my Mommy, back in Japan.'
'She's beautiful,' Vecita said as I placed Koru next to Roulito.
'It'll feel good to sleep outside of that crib again,' I said, taking the pillow I'd brought from home, out of my bag and put it at the top of the sleeping bag.
'Why?' Vecita said, looking at me. 'Don't you like it anymore?'
'It's not that, Vecita,' I said, looking up from my sleeping bag at her. 'It's just that my Mom insists that I use it until I'm definitely too big.'
'How come?' Vecita asked, looking confused.
'She wants me to keep using the crib in case I end up turning into a baby again,' I said, standing up and stretching.
'Did you like being a baby again?' Vecita asked, looking at me.
'Hmm,' I said, thinking about it. 'There definitely were some good things about being a baby again. But there were some bad things too.'
'Like what?' Vecita asked as we left her room.
'How about having to have your diaper changed whenever you went to the toilet when you didn't want to?' I said as we started walking down the stairs.
'Was it that bad?' Vecita asked, looking at me.
'They were the most embarrassing Moments in my life,' I said, shaking my head. 'I was eight-years-old but I needed my diaper changed? I don't think anyone in the history of the world was more embarrassed than me.'
'You have a good point,' Vecita said as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
Pal started barking outside. Vecita and I ran out to the backyard. Pal was barking at something on the other side of the fence.
'Pal, what's wrong?' I asked, bending down to look at him.
'Well, well, well,' a snide voice said. 'Did the Reads finally give the two of you away? How wise.'
I looked up. Nemo was sitting on the fence, sneering down at me.
'Hello, Nemo,' I said coldly, folding my arms. 'And for your information, Pal and I are staying here, with the Molinas, while my parents are away, doing work in Crown City.'
'Are you sure they weren't just saying that, so that they didn't hurt your feelings?' Nemo asked snidely.
'Oh, shut up, fur ball,' I said angrily.
'May, are you talking to that cat?' Vecita asked, looking confused.
'Unfortunately,' I said, frowning at Nemo.
'A bit thick, isn't she?' Nemo said, sneering.
'Don't you dare talk about Vecita that why, you mangy ball of fur!' I said angrily, glaring at Nemo.
'You can understand what that cat's saying?' Vecita asked, looking amazed.
'Believe me, I wish I didn't,' I said, still glaring at Nemo. 'Nemo is the most rude, arrogant, obnoxious, self—centred cat in the world.'
'Flattery won't get you anywhere, little girl,' Nemo said, licking his left front paw.
'Is he that bad?' Vecita asked, looking surprised.
'He never says anything nice about anybody aside from Francine, Muffy or Binky,' I said, glaring at him. 'He insults everyone else, without a second thought.'
'Well, now that she knows,' Nemo said, stretching on the fence. 'I'd like you to tell her that she looks like an unripened tomato with pigtails.'
'She does not, you flea—bitten wad of fur!' I said angrily.
I grabbed the hose that was at my feet and turned it on. Nemo screeched as the water knocked him of the fence.
'What did he say?' Vecita asked, looking at me.
She could tell it was something that had really upset me. I looked away.
'I'd rather not say,' I said, not meeting her eyes. 'It was really mean.'
'You can tell me,' Vecita said, putting her hand on my shoulder.
I took a deep breath.
'He said you look like an unripened tomato with pigtails,' I said, hating myself as I said it.
Vecita looked shocked. Then she started crying.
I hugged her, feeling awful.
'What's going on?' Alberto asked, running out and seeing me holding Vecita while she cried.
'H— he said, I l— look like an unripened t— t— tomato with pigtails,' Vecita said, crying into my shoulder.
'Who said that?' Alberto asked angrily.
'It was—' Vecita began.
'Uh, we don't know,' I said, cutting her off. 'It was someone walking passed. We'd never seen him before.'
'How old was he?' Alberto asked, looking at me.
'W— we didn't see him,' I said, thinking quickly. 'But he sounded like he was a teenager. Around your age, Alberto.'
'Okay,' Alberto said, calming down.
He put his hand on Vecita's shoulder.
'Don't worry about what that guy said,' he said, smiling. 'You look nothing like an unripened tomato. In fact, I think you look more like a beautiful flower.'
Vecita sniffed and smiled.
'Okay, you two play nicely, now,' Alberto said, standing up and walking back inside.
Vecita looked at me.
'Why did you lie?' she asked, looking confused.
'Because Alberto would never believe that a cat said you looked like an unripened tomato with pigtails,' I said, looking at her.
'He believed you about your powers,' Vecita said, looking confused. 'Why wouldn't he believe you can talk to cats?'
'It's kind of complicated,' I said, feeling uncomfortable.
We decided to forget about that and started playing with Pal and Amigo.
That evening, at dinner, Ramón had made sushi, since I was from Japan.
'What is this?' Vecita asked, looking at the salmon rolls, curiously.
'It's sushi, Vecita,' Alberto said, smiling.
'What's it made of?' Vecita asked, poking it. 'It's not even cooked.'
'It's not supposed to be,' Mrs. Molina said, smiling. 'It's raw fish.'
'Raw fish?' Vecita cried, staring at the food. 'Ew! Why would anyone eat raw fish?'
'It's actually quite nice, sis,' Alberto said, eating a piece of tuna. 'You should try it.'
'No way!' Vecita said, shaking her head. 'You couldn't make me eat that!'
'Would you please try it, Vecita?' I asked, looking at her and smiling. 'For me?'
'Hmm,' Vecita said, thinking.
We waited for a few seconds.
'Oh, okay,' she said, shrugging.
She picked up a piece of salmon, put it in her mouth and ate it. We all watched. Vectia chewed, smiled and swallowed.
'Hey,' she said happily. 'This tastes really good!'
She took another piece and ate it happily. We smiled and started eating ours. Later that night, Vecita and I had a bath together. We both fitted into the bathtub so Mrs. Molina thought it would be quicker if we both had our bath together, than separate. It saved a lot of time, and I had to admit, it was kinda fun. After we'd had our bath we got into our pyjamas. Vecita got into her yellow pyjamas with feet and I put on my nightdress. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't like wearing pyjamas with feet. Vecita got into her bed and I got into my sleeping bag. Ramón came in, kissed both of us goodnight and I turned out the light.
'Goodnight, May,' Vecita said, snuggling into her bed.
'Goodnight, Vecita,' I said, snuggling into my sleeping bag.
The next morning, Vecita was the first to wake up. She sat up in bed, yawning and stretched. She noticed a humming sound. She looked over her bed, down at me. I was still asleep, but I was humming in my sleep. What Vecita found odd was that I was humming the tune to Crazy Bus.
'May?' Vecita said, looking confused.
I stopped humming, opened my eyes and sat up stretching.
'Good morning, Vecita,' I said, yawning.
I noticed Vecita was looking curiously at me.
'What's wrong?' I asked, standing up.
'You were humming Crazy Bus in your sleep,' Vecita said, pointing at me.
'I was what?' I asked, raising an eyebrow.
'Well, you were,' Vecita said, getting off her bed. 'I know Crazy Bus when I hear it and you were definitely humming Crazy Bus.'
'Odd,' I said, thinking. 'I hate Crazy Bus just as much as Arthur. I wonder why I'd be humming it in my sleep.'
We got up, got dressed and went downstairs. Breakfast was toasted with honey and jam. I certainly didn't complain. I liked honey and jam. Since I had school that day, I packed my backpack and headed downstairs.
'Have a good day at school, May,' Mrs. Molina called from the kitchen.
'Thanks, Mrs. Molina,' I said smiling and heading for the door.
'May, where are you going?' Vecita asked, coming downstairs.
'To school,' I said, turning to her, my hand on the doorknob.
'Why?' Vecita asked, looking confused.
I sighed, shaking my head.
'I might be the same size as you, Vecita, but I'm still in the 3rd grade,' I said, opening the door. 'See you after school.'
I went out the door, closing it behind me.
'Hey, Arthur,' I called, running up to him in the hall a couple minutes later.
'Oh, hey, May,' Arthur said, smiling as I stopped in front of him.
'How was you first night over at the Molinas' house?' Buster asked as I opened my locker.
'Pretty good,' I said, taking some books out of it, putting them into my bag and closing my locker. 'Although, something really weird happened this morning.'
'Weird?' Francine asked, looking at me. 'What do you mean?'
'Did you see any of them trailing green slime?' Buster asked, looking at me. 'If you did, it's the first sign that they're aliens.'
I frowned at him.
'Oh, right,' he said, looking uneasy. 'You're part alien. It's getting really hard to talk about aliens without offending your sister, Arthur.'
Arthur shrugged.
'Well, in answer to your question, no,' I said, strapping my bag over my shoulders. 'I didn't see them trailing green slime.'
'So, what was the weird thing, then?' Francine asked as we headed towards the classroom.
'This morning, Vecita was the first to wake up,' I said, as we walked into the classroom and sat at our table.
'Yeah, so?' Francine asked, looking at me.
'She said I was humming Crazy Bus in my sleep,' I said, frowning.
'Huh?' they said, looking at me.
'I know,' I said, shrugging. 'I don't understand it, either.'
Later that day we had a basketball game in P.E. It was the Mighty Mountain 3rd graders against the Lakewood 3rd graders. Even though the Mighty Mountain kids were bigger than us, we had a secret weapon. Me. My being the size of a three-year-old made it easy to slip by other players and get the ball from them. The game ended with the score being ten—nine, Lakewood. We all cheered and everyone kept slapping me high—fives. Some of the Mighty Mountain kids weren't too happy about it though.
'That little pip—squeak thinks she's so great,' said the boy who'd teased me on the first day, glaring at me.
The girl who'd been with him was next to him.
'Let's see if she can catch this,' the girl said, grinning and holding the basketball. 'Hey, kid!'
I turned around and the basketball whacked me in the face.
'May!' Arthur cried as I fell to the floor, unconscious.
'Uh, oops,' the girl said, looking worried.
A couple of minutes later I was in the infirmary. I was lying in a bed, still unconscious.
'Well, she doesn't seem to have suffered any head injuries,' Nurse Blanely, a brown cat—like woman from Mighty Mountain told Arthur, Buster and Francine a few minutes later. 'But we'll have to send her home for the day. Just in case.'
'Okay,' Arthur said, nodding.
Suddenly everyone noticed a humming sound. They turned to the bed. I was humming in my sleep again. Only I wasn't humming the tune to Crazy Bus, like I'd told the others Vecita had told me. I was humming the tune to Mary Moo Cow.
'May's humming Mary Moo Cow in her sleep?' Francine said, looking at Arthur.
'This is weird,' Arthur said, looking at me.
A little while later, Ramón arrived at school and took me back to the Molina's place. I was still asleep when the car pulled into the driveway. When it stopped I opened my eyes, looking around wearily.
'Huh?' I said sleepily, looking around the car, confused. 'What am I doing here? Where's the school?'
'You were knocked unconscious during a P.E. class, May,' Ramón said, undoing my seatbelt and picking me up. 'The school called me to bring you back so you could rest.'
'Okay,' I said, sleepily, just awake enough to understand.
Ramón carried me inside, took me up to Vecita's room and tucked me into my sleeping bag. Then he closed the door and went downstairs. I slept until late that afternoon. At half past 2 I opened my eyes and sat up, stretching. I got up and went into the bathroom. When I'd closed the bathroom door, Vecita walked up the stairs and went into her room. She saw Koru lying on top of my sleeping bag. She picked her up and smiled.
'May's right,' she said, holding Koru. 'You really are quite pretty.'
Just then flute music started playing. Vecita looked around, confused. Then she noticed my pillow was shaking. She bent down, stuck her hand into the pillow and pulled out a Portilex 390.
'Is this May's phone?' Vecita asked, pushing the green phone button and putting it to her right ear. 'Hello?'
'Hello, there,' a man's voice on the other end said. 'Is this May Read?'
'No,' Vecita said, shaking her head. 'I'm Vecita Molina. May is stay over at my house until her parents come back from Crown City. Who is this?'
'I'm John Zrongman,' the man said, sounding proud just for saying the name. 'I'm the producer of the Bionic Bunny movies.'
At that Moment I walked in and saw Vecita talking on my phone. I remembered that I'd brought it with me, from Japan.
'Vecita, who's calling me?' I asked, walking over to her.
'It's some person called John Zrongmen,' Vecita said, looking confused. 'Why is he calling you?'
'I can't believe he's calling me,' I said, putting the phone to my ear. 'So you got my E-mail, Mr. Zrongman?'
'Yes, I did,' Zrongman said, sounding pleased. 'And I must say, your idea for this Zipstream character is brilliant. But I'm afraid we can't put it in the TV show.'
'Oh,' I said, my heart sinking a bit.
'Instead,' Zrongman said, sounding energetic. 'We've decided to make it into the newest Bionic Bunny movie.'
'What?' I cried, stunned. 'You want to turn my idea into a Bionic Bunny movie?'
'That's right,' Zrongman said, sounding pleased at how I'd reacted. 'Now, we want to start filming right away, so we'll need your permison. Is that okay?'
'Sure,' I said, happily. 'Who's going to play Lucy Dilton? The little girl who becomes Zipstream?'
'Well, we were hopping you would,' Zrongman said keenly.
My jaw dropped.
'Say what?' I said, not sure I'd heard him correctly. 'You want me to play Zipstream?'
'Correct,' Zrongman said, sounding pleased at my reaction yet again. Now, we'll start filming right away. when we start on your scenes we'll make sure to come and get you. Okay?
'Sure,' I said, a wide smile on my face. 'No problem.'
'Well, then, we'll be in contact,' Zrongman said firmly. 'Goodbye, miss May.'
'Bye, Mr. Zrongman,' I said, hanging up.
'What are you talking about?' Vecita asked, looking confused.
'Vecita, I'm going to be in a Bionic Bunny movie!' I excitedly, jumping for joy.
'Wow,' Vecita said, looking as excited as I was. 'I'm friends with a movie star. Cool!'
Later that night, after we'd had dinner and our baths, we all went to bed. It took a while for me to get to sleep though. I was just too excited. I was going to be in a Bionic Bunny movie. How cool was that?
The next morning I got up and stretched. Today was another fine day in Elwood City.
After breakfast I went back to school again. When I walked into the classroom I took in a deep breath. It felt good to be back.
'So, May, what did you do yesterday?' Francine asked as we sat down at our desk.
'Would you believe I was told I was going to be in the new Bionic Bunny movie?' I whispered.
'What?' the three of them gasped.
'Shh!' I said, looking around quickly.
'You mean, you're idea for an episode of Bionic Bunny is going to be a movie?' Francine asked, looking at me.
'Who will you be?' Buster asked, looking at me too.
'The new character I created,' I said grinning. 'Zipstream.'
'What?' they gasped, staring at me.
'The producer from the other Bionic Bunny movies, John Zrongman called me,' I whispered, making sure no one was listening. 'he said he liked my idea. But instead of making it an episode, he decided to turn it into a movie.'
'So, when are you leaving for the filming?' Francine whispered.
'After they've done all the scenes my character isn't in,' I whispered back. 'I've no idea when that will be, but I can't wait.'
'Quiet please,' Mr. Ratburn said and we all looked to the front of the class.
'For now, things should be just fine,' I thought, as Mr. Ratburn began class. 'Just as long as there aren't any other big surprises in store for me or anyone else this year, things should be fine.'
Oh, but there were a lot more big surprises in store for everyone. A lot more.
Later that night Muffy was sitting by her computer, thinking. It was a little before bedtime. She sighed.
'Why can't I think of anything to write for tomorrow's paper?' she asked herself, holding her head in her hands and shaking it.
Just then the computer made a blipping sound.
'Ooh, e—mail,' Muffy said excitedly, opening the e—mail.
It had come up in the Ask Muffy column.
'Dear, Muffy,' Muffy read, scrolling through the e—mail. 'I'm smaller than all of my friends in school, even though I'm the same age as them. But I'm worried that they'll start treating me like I'm a little kid instead of their age. What should I do? Signed, Small Girl.'
Muffy thought about that for a few seconds.
'Dear, Small Girl,' Muffy said, typing as she spoke. 'I say the best thing to do is to be yourself and if your friends start treating you in a way you don't want them to, ask them to stop. If they don't stop and continue treating you that way, then they're not real friends. Sighed, Muffy.'
She clicked the send button and the message was sent.
'Ah,' Muffy said, stretching. She turned off her computer and went to bed.
At the same time, at the Molina's house, I sat in front of the computer, reading Muffy's answer.
'Thanks, Muffy,' I said, getting and stretching. 'I needed that. I really did.'
'Okay, May,' Mrs. Molina said, walking up behind me. 'That's enough for today. It's time you were in bed. Vecita's already asleep, so be quiet when you go up, alright?'
'Okay, Mrs. Molina,' I said, smiling.
I got up and turned the computer off. Then I walked upstairs, crept into Vecita's room, as not to wake her, snuggled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep. The next morning I got up early, went downstairs and looked out the window at the beautiful morning sky. Today was Sunday, January 25th.
'Happy birthday, mother,' I said, a tear leaking out my left eye and trickling down my face.
A couple of minutes later, Vecita woke up. She sat up in bed, giving a small stretch.
'Good morning... May?' she said, looking towards my sleeping bag.
Koru was lying on my pillow, but I wasn't there.
'Huh?' Vecita said, looking around the room, as if expecting me to be hiding somewhere. 'I wonder where she could be.'
I was out in the backyard, sitting in a meditation position, my eyes closed, listening to the sounds of the morning. I recited a song my mother in Japan had sung for me on my second birthday.
I didn't really sing the song. It was more like the song sang me. I allowed the song to flow through me. Make me its instrument. By doing so, the song would send me into a trance, allowing me to see my mother in the song's words. A world of piece and tranquillity, where the problems of the real world were nothing but a distant memory. I did this often, when I needed to relax and relieve myself of the stresses life gives. Particularly my life.
'There you are, May,' I heard Vecita's voice say, as if from very far away.
I came out of the trance and opened my eyes. Vecita was standing in front of me, looking confused.
'What are you doing, May?' she asked, looking at me.
'It's my own type of meditation,' I said, smiling. 'I could show it to you, if you like.'
'Okay,' Vecita said, sitting next to me in the same position I was sitting in.
'Now,' I said, closing my eyes. 'Close your eyes.'
Vecita closed her eyes.
'Breathe in, slowly,' I said, breathing in.
Vecita did the same.
'Let your mind wander,' I said gently. 'Allow it to flow with the wind.'
Vecita did so. I knew because I could sense it.
'Relax your body, and allow you mind to open to the world,' I said, my voice still gentle.
Vecita did so.
'Now, the song will let you see things as you have not seen for a long while,' I said, taking another deep, slow breath.
'What song?' Vecita asked quietly, not quite herself yet.
Vecita heard as I started to sing in Japanese. But the odd thing was, she could understand me.
'Oh, listen to me, my dearest child,' I sang, a gentle breeze blowing through my hair. 'Listen well, to this song I sing. For I shall always be here for you. Though you may not see me standing by your side, I am always there. In the scent of a beautiful flower in bloom, you will always find my heart, beating as softly as your own. In the sound of the morning song bird's call, you will hear my voice, singing, softly to you. On the breath of the gentle breeze, softly, blowing on your cheek, you will feel my kiss, comforting you. In the light of the warming sun, you will find my love. Flowing over you, as it always will. Be well, my child. Be safe. For I will always be here with you.'
As I sang, Vecita felt the words washing over her, opening her mind and soul. Without even opening her eyes, she could see all around us. A bird fluttered down from the tree next to us, landing on Vecita's open right hand, the words of the song and my voice still flowing all around her.
'A nice day, we are having, isn't it?' the bird said, looking at Vecita.
'Yes,' Vecita said, smiling and nodding. She didn't even question why the bird had spoken.
The bird gave a small twitter and flew away, the song's words still echoing all around.
Vecita felt a hand shaking her shoulder. Suddenly she felt herself falling through emptiness and opened her eyes with a gasp. She felt as if someone had thrown her around as all her senses slammed back into her. She fell backwards, feeling too much at once.
'Whoa, sis, are you okay?' Alberto asked, helping Vecita sit up again.
Vecita blinked and Alberto came into focus.
'Alberto?' she said, rubbing her eyes. 'What happened?'
'Well, I was coming out to tell you it's breakfast time, when I saw you and May just sitting here, with you eyes closed,' Alberto said, helping Vecita to stand. Her legs were a little bit wobbly.
Vecita looked at me. I was still sitting there, singing softly.
'What is May singing, anyway?' Alberto asked, looking at me.
'I know, I know,' Vecita said, trying to remember what the words to the song had been. 'Oh, I know I heard the words, but I can't remember them.'
'Strange,' Alberto said, scratching his chin.
'I'm singing this song because it was my mother who sang it to me,' I said, making them jump. 'I sing it today, because it is her birthday.'
'She means her mama from Japan,' Vecita told Alberto. Though she didn't quite know how she knew that herself.
'By singing this song, on this day, at this time, I am able to feel closer to her than any other time,' I said, not opening my eyes.
Alberto and Vecita just looked at each other, amazed. Later that day I visited the Shady Pines Retirement Home. I'd brought my Akaria. All day I sat under the pine tree by the gate, playing the song on my Akaria. It gave all of the elderly people a calm, kind feeling.
At lunchtime, Arthur, Buster and Francine walked through the gate and stopped next to me. Ramón had told them that I was there.
'May, why are you playing music here?' Francine asked, looking confused.
'Yeah?' Buster said, looking just as confused. 'Mr. Molina said you said you were going to be here all day, just playing music. Why?'
'It's my mother birthday,' I said, holding the Akaria in my hands.
'But, Mom had her birthday before you even came to Elwood City,' Arthur said, looking the most confused.
'I meant my other mother,' I said quietly.
'Oh,' they said, realizing I meant my Mom from back in Japan. 'We didn't know.'
'It's alright,' I said, quietly. 'I'm playing my music so that her spirit may fill all of these elderly people with new energy.'
'Is it working?' Francine asked, looking interested.
'You tell me,' I said, lifting the Akaria to my lips and continuing to playing my music again.
As I played, Arthur, Buster and Francine felt a wave of positive energy flowing through them. I continued to play until sunset. After that, Ramón drove to the retirement home and picked my up. That night I went to sleep, the song still flowing through my mind and heart.
'Happy birthday, mother,' I thought, as sleep took me over.
As I fell asleep, my mother's spirit kneeled next to me. She put her hand on my cheek and smiled.
'Thank you, May, my child,' she said, moving a strand of my hair off of my face. 'But the Reads are your family now. You must learn to let go of your past, and look towards your future.'
She faded away, leaving a Cherry Blossom in my hair.
The next morning I got up early and stretched. I felt so energized. Mom and Dad were coming home today. I rolled up my sleeping bag, being sure to put Koru in my backpack. I then stood up and walked into the bathroom. When I looked into the mirror, I saw the Cherry Blossom in my hair. I lifted my hand to it, closed my eyes and smiled.
'Mother,' I said softly. 'Thank you.'
I splashed some water on my face, dried off and smiled.
'Today will be a great day,' I said, hanging the towel up and walking out the bathroom and back into Vecita's room.
At noon Mom and Dad came home. Arthur, D.W., Kate and I were waiting in the front yard for them.
'Mom! Dad!' Arthur and D.W. shouted, hurrying forward and hugging the two of them. I walked up to them, carrying Kate in my arms. And that's not very easy when you've got the body of a three-year-old.
'Oh, it's so good to see you all again,' Mom said, kissing Arthur and D.W. on their foreheads.
Arthur and D.W. let go off Mom and hugged Dad. Mom walked over to me and Kate, taking Kate from me and giving me a big hug. I hugged her right back.
'It's good to see you again, May,' she said, kissing my forehead.
'It's good to see you too, Mom,' I said, tears dripping down my face.
We all went inside. Arthur, D.W. and I all wanted to hear how everything had been for them while they were away. It turned out to be nothing much at all. Mom had spent most of her time in board meetings and Dad had been catering for a couple different functions. What Mom and Dad really wanted to know was what had happened to us while they'd been away.
D.W. told them how she and Nadine had ventured to the moon. They just thought it was D.W. having a game with her imaginary friend, but I knew otherwise. Though Nadine was imaginary she really existed. I had a feeling that D.W. and Nadine had somehow been to the moon. It was just a question of how. But what really interested Mom and Dad was when Arthur and I explained how I'd started humming Crazy Bus and Mary Moo Cow in my sleep. As soon as we mentioned this D.W. suddenly seemed nervous.
'Is it possible that being in a three-year-old's body could make May start to think and act like one again?' Dad said, thinking.
'Maybe,' Mom said, frowning. 'But I can't help thinking that there might be another reason why May has started humming those tunes in her sleep.'
We followed Mom up to mine, Kate and D.W.'s room. I couldn't help noticing that the closer we got to the room, the more nervous D.W. seemed to get. I thought that was rather odd. We entered the room and started looking around. I watched D.W. while I searched. She kept rubbing her hands together nervously, glancing every few seconds at my crib. I frowned, curious about that. Why was D.W. so worried? Did she have something to do with why I'd started humming Crazy Bus and Mary Moo Cow in my sleep? I began to walk towards my crib. D.W. started fidgeting furiously. Something was definitely up. I bent down and looked under my crib.
'Hey, what's this doing here?' I said, looking under the bed.
Everyone turned to look at me, crouching under my crib. I came out, pulling D.W.'s CD player with me. It was the one she'd gotten for her fifth birthday. It was a dual disc player, able to have two different discs in it at a time. I opened the player. Inside of it were two CDs: Crazy Bus Hits and Mary Moo Cow's Barnyard Fun House. We all frowned at D.W.
'D.W.,' Mom said, folding her arms. 'Could you, please explain why your dual CD player was under May crib?'
'And why it has the CDs with the songs May has started humming in her sleep?' Arthur said, folding his arms too.
D.W. looked ashamed with herself.
'Aright,' she said, sighing sadly. 'I did it. I put my CD player under May's crib and played those CDs when she was asleep.'
'I started humming the song in my sleep because I'd been hearing them in my sleep,' I said, looking at D.W. 'But why, D.W.? Why did you do it?'
'I wanted you to like the same things as me,' D.W. said, looking at me.
'So you played those songs to me while I was asleep?' I said, looking at her. 'That's not the right way to get someone to like the same things as you do, D.W. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. It's what makes us all unique. If everyone liked the same things, everything would be really boring.'
'I know,' she said, looking ashamed of herself. 'I'm sorry.'
'Well, we'll let you go with a warning this time, D.W.,' Mom said, shaking her head. 'But you will stop playing those songs underneath May's crib while she sleeps. Understand?'
'Yes, Mom,' D.W. said, still looking ashamed of herself.
When I went to bed that night, Mom first checked that D.W.'s CD player wasn't under my crib. It was in the cupboard, where D.W. wouldn't be able to reach it. Mom said goodnight to the three of us, and we went to sleep.
Summertime Is Primetime!
It was summer at last. Or it would be in a few minutes. I was really excited. For the first half of the summer, my family and I were going to Hollywood. John Zrongman had called me just the other day. They were ready to start filming the scenes I'd be playing Lucy Dilton and Zipstream. As soon as the bell went everyone ran out of the school.
Arthur and I slapped each other a high-five.
'It's summer vacation!' we all cheered, punching our hands in the air.
The next day, me, Arthur, D.W., mom, dad and Kate were at the airport, ready to board our plan to California.
'I can't wait,' Arhtur said excitedly. 'I can't believe you got me a part in the movie, May.'
'No problem,' I said, smiling.
When Mr. Zrongman had called me, he'd asked if I knew anyone who could play as Lucy Dilton's older cousin, Jeremy Wain. I'd told him about Arthur and well, here we were.
'California, here we come!' D.W. cheered as we boarded the plan.
Not long after the plane took off, Arthur and I realized something. We were stuck on a plane with D.W. We were in first class, but Arthur, D.W. and I were all sitting next to each other. And what was more, because it was first class, D.W. was able to watch the Crazy Bus movie, so Arthur and I were stuck having to put up with that song going over and over again. I had a feeling this was going to be a long flight.
'Attention, ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking,' the captain's voice said over the planes intercom as the large Hollywood sign became faintly visible below from my window. 'We will soon be landing at California airport shortly and we thank you for flying with us. '
'Is it just me, or do all pilots sound posh when they're speaking on a plane?' I said, frowning.
It was 7:30am. I still wasn't used to changes in my body's time clock whenever I travelled. I felt a little grouchy. I hoped it wouldn't last all day.
The plane landed about ten minutes later. We got off the plane, grabbed our bags and headed for the area all arrivals went to when their planes had landed.
'Hey, I think that's for us,' I said, pointing as we walked out.
Where I was pointing, there was a dog-like man, very similar to Bailey, Muffy's butler/Schafer, wearing a tuxedo holding a sign saying, "Read Family".
'That's us,' dad said, smiling and heading towards the man.
We all followed.
The man turned out to be Mr. Marcus Sanders's, the Director of the previous Bionic Bunny movies personal limo driver. His name was Reginald. Reginald Aay Searman. Reginald lead us to the limo and we all got in. Inside the limo it seemed so much bigger than it had on the outside. The walls were padded with red wool. There was a mini-bar with soft drinks, like cola, soda and fizzy orange drink.
'So, where are we going?' D.W. asked, opening a can of soda as the limo stopped at a red light.
'First, miss D.W., I am to take you all to your hotel room, which Mr. Sanders has paid for at the Hollywood Hills hotel,' Reginald said, not taking his eyes off the road.
Even his voice and the way he spoke was like Bailey. I was starting to wonder if the two of them were retaliated.
'Whoa, the Hollywood Hills hotel?' I said, stunned. 'That's the most expensive hotel in California.'
'Oh, my,' mom said, looking worried. 'I hope we don't accidently bankrupt Mr. Sanders while we're staying.'
'I highly doubt that will happen, Mrs. Read,' Reginald said, giving a small smile. 'Mr. Sanders makes over a billon dollars a year. I highly doubt you'll cost him more than that in the time you'll be staying here.'
'Oh, alright,' mom said, still looking a little unsure.
'After you've settled in, miss May and Mr. Arthur need to be at the Majesty Pictures studios, before ten,' Reginald continued, turning a corner and stopping outside of a huge pink building. 'We have arrived.'
We all got out of the car.
'Whoa,' Arthur, D.W. and I said in unison.
This place was huge. How the heck did something this big even get built. Then I remembered that it wasn't the biggest thing I'd ever seen. I'd been to china after all and the Great Wall beat this by miles... and miles... and miles... and miles...
Some members of the staff came out, picked up our luggage and showed us to our room. The inside of the hotel was even more breath-taking than the outside. The walls were all freshly polished. There were bouquets of flowers all around the edges of the ceiling. And everyone was so nice. But it didn't stop there. Our hotel room was extravagant. It was like all the hotel lobbies were fitted into our one hotel room. There was a mini-bar, filled with chocolates, soda and heaps of candies and drinks. Talk about kid paradise.
After we'd unpacked and settled in, Arthur and I got back into the limo and Reginald drove us to the Majesty Pictures studio. We kept looking left and right as the limo drove towards Film Set 12. Here was where the first scene Arthur and I had together was to be filmed. When we reached the set, Arthur and I got out of the limo, thanking Reginald and hurried towards where we could see the Director.
'Mr. Sanders,' I called as we ran over. 'Mr. Sanders, we're here.'
'Ah, good,' Mr. Sanders said as we stopped in front of him. 'My Lucy Dilton and Jeremy Wain. Take them to make-up. We haven't got all day and we're already so behind.'
Arthur and I were whisked off to the make-up rooms. We each went to separate ones, of course. What with me being a girl and Arthur being a boy, it made sense that we'd be in different make-up rooms, didn't it?
When we arrived back on the set a few minutes later, we stared at each other in amazement.
Arthur had been given some new clothing. He was wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt and a red vest. He looked cool.
I had had my hair done. It looked like a fancier style to the one I'd had before. There were two light-blue hairclips in my hair too. I was wearing a turquoise-blue dress with a small red gem on the chest.
'Very good, very good,' Mr. Sanders said, walking over and smiling at the both of us. 'Now, in this scene, while Bionic Bunny is fighting Hothead, Lucy runs to the rollercoaster cart, accidently slips and falls into the cart, next to the uranium power core and the laptop connected to it, which is set to detonate the power core and turn the entire city into a city of fire and magma.'
He lead us over to a small cart with a dragon head painted on it. Inside the cart was a medium sized, glowing green cylinder. Next to it was a laptop.
'Of course, it's not a real uranium power core,' Mr. Sanders said, smiling. 'It's just a glass cylinder with a glowing green light inside it. So, did you read your scripts?'
'Yep,' I said, nodding.
'Sure did,' Arthur said, nodding too.
While we'd been in the limo, we'd found two copies of the movie script and read through it.
'Very good,' Mr. Sanders said, turning to look behind him. 'We will be using special affects and CGI to make it seem to the audience that there is more than what you have seen here. Is Wilber ready yet?'
'Right here, Mr. Sanders,' Wilber Rabbit said, walking up to us. He was wearing his Bionic Bunny costume.
'Whoa,' Arthur and I said, looking up at him.
'Hey, Mr. Rabbit,' Arthur said, holding out his hand. 'It's an honour to see you again.'
'Oh, yes,' Wilber said, smiling. 'You were that boy who helped me out while I was sailing.'
'Yes,' Arthur said, smiling.
I cleared my throat.
'Oh, this is my little sister, May,' Arthur said, introducing me. 'She'll be playing your co-star.'
'It's nice to meet you, May,' Wilber said, holding out his hand.
'It's great to meet you, Mr. Rabbit,' I said, taking his hand and shaking it. 'I'm a huge fan.'
Wilber chuckled.
'Just call me Wilber,' he said, smiling.
'Okay,' Arthur and I said together, smiling.
'Okay, everybody, get into their positions,' Mr. Sanders called out loudly, speaking into a megaphone.
Everyone moved to their positions. Arthur stood at the edge of the set. I stood a few metres into the set. Wilber and the guy playing Hothead were hanging in the air by some wires.
'Okay, and... ACTION!' Mr. Sanders shouted into the megaphone.
'Bionic Bunny fights Hothead, take one,' a mouse-like man said, holding the black and white board in front of the camera, clicking it and moving it away.
'You won't get away with this, Hothead,' Bionic Bunny said, swooping down at Hothead.
Hothead avoided him, and cackled.
'You're a fool, Bionic Bubblebrain,' he sneered. 'Once my uranium core explodes, this city will be my own, personal magma playground.'
'Lucy, get back here.'
The camera went down to the ground. Lucy ran across the set, skipping and humming like any ordinary three-year-old girl. Jeremy was running after her.
'Aunt Agatha said that I was in charge, so you have to listen to me,' Jeremy said, glaring at Lucy as she continued to skip out of his reach.
'I do not,' Lucy said stubbornly. 'You're not the boss of me.'
'Man,' Jeremy said, putting his hand on his head. 'There's just no reasoning with that girl.'
Just then, Lucy saw the rollercoaster.
'Ooh,' she said, her eyes sparkling.
She ran over to it.
'CUT!' Mr. Sanders called out through the megaphone. 'That was brilliant, everyone. A perfect take.'
'Take?' Arthur asked, looking at me.
'A take is when small bits of either a TV show or movie are made,' I said, glad that I could stop pretending to be as silly and narrow minded as a child my size. 'It's how they keep track of what scene they're doing.'
'Okay, everyone, back into positions. Next scene,' Mr. Sander said, sitting down in his chair again as we all got back into position. 'And... ACTION!'
'Scene Lucy is exposed to uranium power core, take one,' the mouse-like man said, holding the black and white board in front of the camera, clicking it and moving it away.
Lucy hurried over to the rollercoaster.
'Luc, wait!' Jeremy said, stopping as he tried to get over the turn dials leading to the rollercoaster. 'Man, that kid is fast.'
Lucy stopped at the front cart of the rollercoaster and looked in. She saw the laptop with the count down on it. It said it was one minute and ten seconds until the core exploded. It was then that Lucy spotted the uranium core.
'Ooh, pretty green light,' she said, reaching out to touch it.
Suddenly, she slipped and fell into the cart.
The sound of an engine started and the cart began to shake.
Jeremy just got over the turn dials to see the rollercoaster about to move.
'Lucy!' he cried, his face full of horror.
'CUT!' Mr. Sanders called out and we all stopped.
'How was that?' I asked, popping my head out from within the cart.
'Beautiful, perfect, acquiesced,' Mr. Sanders said, smiling at me. 'You should have started acting months ago.'
I looked at Arthur and smiled. This was great.
'Okay, now here's the tricky part for you, May,' Mr. Sanders said, looking at me. 'You are going to have to pretend that you are actually on a rollercoaster. We will have a wind machine to give the illusion that you actually moving.'
'Because it's the speed the uranium core is going at that causes it to give Lucy how super powers,' I said, nodding.
A wind machine was wheeled in front of where I was.
'Good, you know what I am talking about,' Mr Sanders said, smiling. 'Okay, everybody get ready. Action, wind machine!'
The wind machine was turned on and I moved back into the position in the cart I'd been in at the end of the pervious take.
'And... Action, May!' Mr. Sanders called from his megaphone again.
Lucy screamed as the rollercoaster sped along its route. As the speed intensified, the uranium power core shown brightly. The increased speed was causing it to react. As the rollercoaster sped even faster, the laptop hit Lucy on the head.
'Ow,' she said her head stung from the impact.
At that moment the uranium reacted, increasing the speed of Lucy's molecules. As well as that, all of the data from within the laptop was flowing into her brain...
'That's a wrap, everybody!' the assistant-director called out much later that afternoon.
'Oh, I'm exhausted,' I said a few minutes later as Arthur and I got back into the limo, after having changed out of our costumes, and plonking ourselves down on the seats.
'I've never been so tired in my life,' Arthur said, yawning.
'Reginald, take us back to the hotel,' I said, yawning. 'We really need to get some sleep.'
'Very well, miss,' Reginald said, smiling.
A couple of minutes later we were back at the hotel. We didn't talk to anybody. Arthur just had a shower and I had a bath. Then we went to bed, too tired to do anything else.
Several months later we'd finished filming and been to the premiere. We were all wearing our best clothing. The movie was great. I was glad I'd sent the idea in the first place. As the end credits started I watched with intrigue. The words Based On the Idea By May Read appeared on the screen and everyone cheered. I was a little embarrassed. Two days later we all returned to Elwood City. Most of the rest of the summer went by relatively quickly. Three days before the end of summer, Bionic Bunny in Zipstream Speed In came out in the Elwood City cinema. Arthur, D.W., Buster, Brain, Binky, Fern, Sue Ellen and all of our friends went to see it.
'Do you really think you can stop me, you super fool?' Hothead said, standing over Bionic Bunny, who was exhausted. 'You've used all of your strength defeating my army of Magma Soldier Army. And my storm of fire will consume you and the rest of the pitiful city.'
'I may not have the strength to defeat your fire storm,' Bionic Bunny said, looking up at Hothead, grinning. 'But I know someone who can.'
'Who?' Hothead said, frowning.
'Now, Zipstream!' Bionic Bunny called out.
A blur of red flew passed the two of them and swirled around the fire. It span in a circle and began to disappear.
'What's happening to my storm?' Hothead cried, staring in horror.
'Zipstream is able to travel faster than the speed of sound,' Bionic Bunny said, standing up. 'As she runs around your fire storm, Zipstream is draining the oxygen from the air in the fire. And without oxygen, fire cannot burn.'
'No!' Hothead cried as the swirl of red stopped, just as the flames disappeared.
Standing where the flames had been was a three-year-old girl wearing a one-piece red skin suit with a red eye mask on her face.
'Zipstream!' Hothead said angrily, glaring at her.
'If you hadn't put that Uranium power core and laptop in that rollercoaster cart, I mightn't have fallen in, gaining my speed powers and my heightened intelligence,' Zipstream said, grinning. 'If none of that had happened, you might have won.'
'I haven't lost, yet,' Hothead said, flames scorching around his hands.
'You will never learn,' Zipstream said, shaking her head.
She zoomed at Hothead, swirling around him.
The flames around Hothead's hands and head disappeared. He collapsed to the ground, defeated.
'Thanks for the save, Zipstream,' Bionic Bunny said, holding out his hand.
'No problem, Bionic Bunny,' ZIpstream said, shaking it.
'Maybe I'll see you around,' Bionic Bunny said, smiling.
'Maybe,' Zipstream said, grinning. 'If you can catch me.'
Bionic Bunny laughed.
Zipstream grinned and zoomed off into the distance as a red blur.
'I have a feeling Zipstream will be a fine asset to this city,' Bionic Bunny said, smiling. 'Until we meet again. Up and away!'
He flew up into the sky and the words: THE END appeared on the screen in big yellow letters.
'Wow, that was amazing,' Francine said as we all walked out of the cinema a few minutes later.
'May, we're you really the person who played Zipstream?' Muffy asked as we walked down the street.
'Yeah,' I said, smiling.
'You were really great,' Buster said, giving me a thumbs-up.
'Well, I did kind of have to act all my life,' I said, putting my hands behind my head. 'I guess that's why it was so easy for me.'
'Three more days and school will start again,' Brain said, stretching.
'And we'll all be 4th graders,' I said, looking up at the sky and smiling.
Arthur, myself and D.W. stood outside of Lakewood Elementary.
'Are you ready for this, D.W.?' Arthur said, looking down at her.
D.W. gulped and put on a brave face.
'No problem,' she said firmly. 'If you could do it, it should be a breeze for me.'
'But back when Arthur went to kindergarten, Ratburn wasn't the teacher,' I said, looking at her. 'It's a good thing I taught you how to read during the holidays or you'd be in serious trouble.'
'Yeah,' D.W. said, smiling. 'Thanks again, for that, May.'
'Hey, what are good sisters for?' I said, smiling. 'Come on. It's a big step for all of us today.'
'That's right,' Arthur said, looking up at the school. 'Not only does D.W. start kindergarten today, but we start 4th Grade.'
'Well, everything starts with the first step,' I said, smiling. 'Let's go for it.'
'Yeah,' Arthur and D.W. said, smiling and nodding.
With that, the three of us walked in through the school doors. Today, we went forward. D.W. started kindergarten and Arthur and I went into the 4th Grade. From here on out, it was all up to us.