This story is to fill a request by joebev910. This reader asked for a story with Phoebe and kendo in it. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Arnold had heard Gerald Johanssen mention his parent's attic numerous times in the context of finding odd but useful objects in it. That's where Gerald had found his father's jammin' trunk full of party clothes. It was also the place where Gerald had found the wind-up siren horn that he had used to save Arnold when the boy had made some bad friends. But today was the first day Arnold had ever actually seen Gerald's fabled attic. Arnold had arrived at Gerald's house to find a mysterious staircase bared. The door that had always concealed it was hanging wide open. Arnold could hear the voices of Gerald and his mother upstairs, and so he had poked his nose in through the open door.
"Hello?!" Arnold had called up the long, half-dark stair.
"Oh, Arnold! Come on up!" Gerald hollered back. Arnold made his way up a creaky flight of steps. Then his eyes fell on a treasure trove of family relics going back a century or more.
"Woah!" Arnold said peering through a glass gypsy ball. He spun his head around. Within the room there were a number of a very unusual family heirlooms. Like part of a colonial-revolution, cast-iron cannon. There was a mannequin wearing an Elvis suit, a trophy fish larger than Arnold, old fireman equipment, boxes of old papers, maps, and a large number of hard-hat helmets from all such professions that use them. Arnold picked up one such helmet, perhaps one from Gerald's father's Vietnam years, and turned it over in his hand to study its interior. He dropped it to pick up a rivet-worker's helmet instead.
"Hm," said Arnold eyeing the vast helmet collection.
"Hey Arnold!" Gerald paused a moment to speak to his friends before resuming his dig through a box. "Mom and me were just looking for some of my old playthings. There's a toy donation drive and I recall putting a box full of my old bears up here." Gerald squinted one eye shut as he thought, one hand under his chin and one hand on his waist. Arnold surveyed the mess around him.
"Could it be over there?" Arnold asked. He pulled a large cardboard box from its precarious perch on top of a stack of wooden crates.
"Yeah, this is it!" Gerald grinned. "Thanks man. This place is a real mess sometimes!"
"A mess isn't exactly what it strikes me as," said Arnold watching Gerald's mother put away some weird relics. "It's more like the backroom of a museum. Seriously, how long has your family been collecting these things?"
"I dunno!" Gerald commented. He tossed a pair of brass balancing scales back into the box where he had found them. Gerald shrugged.
"My grandparents gave some of their things to my parents since they have an attic, and some of my aunts and uncles, too. So I guess you could say this place is sort of a repository for all kinds of knick-knacks nobody wanted to throw away."
"I'll say!" said Arnold peering into a box. He waved a cloud of dust away from his nose, then sneezed.
"Hey, look at this freaky thing!" Gerald laughed as he held up a really ugly jackalope bookend.
"Or this!" Arnold said pulling out an over-sized, animal mascot mask.
Elsewhere in the same house, Gerald's little sister Timberly was seated in front of a television. On the screen, a kid's fairy tale movie was playing. Timberly rocked back and forth. She wore a little purple and pink pointed witch hat on her head. Clasped tight to her left side was Wally the Alligator, her trusty plushie. But clasped to Timberly's right side was a new plushie. This time, Timberly had a plushie fairy doll. At the movie's end, Timberly jerked her doll high up into the air. Timberly held the doll eye-level, then spoke to it.
"Oh, Fairy Glennerik!" Timberly chirped before smashing the toy to her chest. Timberly then bounced up and down on her feet. "That's the best ever! I want a magic wand, too!" So saying, Timberly dropped both her toys into a tangled mess on the floor and dashed off to another room in the house. She just missed seeing Arnold let himself out of the house by the front door holding a bizarre piece of abstract art from Gerald's attic that he had been gifted with.
Soon, Timberly was rooting through the kitchen drawer. Timberly found a wooden mixing spoon. She held it high, looking at it it with hope. Then, with a frown, Timberly returned the spoon to the drawer. Quick as a flash, she galloped up the house's steps to Gerald's room. After taking a sneaky peek inside the room to see that it was vacant, Timberly crept up to a pencil can belonging to Gerald. She poured the pencils and pens out of the container, all over the desk and on the floor.
"Oooh!" said Timberly pocketing a coin that had dropped along with the pencils. "A quarter!" She shifted through the pencils, looking for an unsharpened one.
"Timberly!" the angry voice of an older brother rang out. "What are you doing?!"
"I... I was just looking for a magic wand!" Timberly stuttered out. She held the number number pencil aloft. "See?"
"Yeah, sure. Now put all of those things back!" Gerald demanded fiercely. Timberly shuffled three handfuls of pens and pencils back into the can.
"Can I keep this pencil, Gerald?" Timberly asked with hope. She held up the unsharpened, boring yellow pencil she had found. Gerald glared at her, then sighed.
"Yeah, sure fine! Now go away! I'm expecting someone!" Gerald muttered out.
"Hooray!" Timberly cheered. Clicking her heels together, Timberly dashed out of the room. She left five or six pens outside of their can, so with a sigh, Gerald cleaned the remaining mess himself.
"Little sisters!" Gerald grumped as he threw the remaining writing tools into their can. Gerald picked up cd from his bedside nightstand, then slammed the door to his bedroom shut behind him.
But Timberly's enthusiasm did not wane in the face of Gerald's annoyance with her. Instead, Timberly took the pencil she had forcibly borrowed to her room. There, beneath a nursery mobile of smiling suns and stars, Timberly cut vague star-shapes out of construction paper. She taped them to the end of the pencil and then held up her creation- her wand.
It was very unlikely that a number 2 pencil had any magical powers in it, but Timberly did not seem to care. Instead, she trotted out to sidewalk while still wearing her pointed witch hat. She did so just as Sid, from P.S. 118, showed up to ring the doorbell, which was answered by Gerald.
"Poof! Poof!" Timberly said poking her wand at Jamio who was working on his car by the side of the road.
"Not now, Tim!" Jamio complained lightly before sliding himself back under the car to fiddle with it. Timberly stared. Her oldest brother could not be convinced to play, so she trotted back into the living room.
"Poof, poof!" Timberly said whapping a small side table with her wand. A flower vase full of water tumbled and fell onto a tape cassette player. Music stopped as the electronic device fizzled and broke with a real, audible "poof". But Timberly did not seem to notice. Instead, Timberly wandered the house. Back upstairs in his room, Gerald was entertaining Sid, along with his pet frog Sydney.
"I don't have that comic book, Sid," Gerald explained as he painstakingly scrutinized the comic books the other had brought to trade. "But it's a real fine series. I'll tell you what! If we go half on it, then once I'm done reading it, you can keep the comic later. Sound good?"
"Deal!" Sid agreed happily.
"Ribbit!" Sydney the frog croaked from beneath Sid's hat. The frog hopped down onto Gerald's bedspread, bulging its throat. Both boys glanced at Sydney, then largely ignored her. They were accustomed to Sid bringing his frog everywhere.
"Here Sid," Gerald spoke with kindness. "I'll let you have a few sheet protectors for your comics so they don't get crumpled. I have some extra ones down in the living room."
"Gee, wow, thanks!" Sid said. "That's awfully nice of you!" Sid hopped up onto his feet. He and Gerald walked out of the room, leaving the frog Sydney resting comfortably on the bedspread during their quick trip. But in that space of time, Timberly arrived at Gerald's door. She knocked on it with her wand.
"Gerald!" Timberly said smacking her wand against Gerald's door. She pressed her ear against the door to listen. Then, when Gerald didn't answer, she pushed open to door to find Sid's pet frog sitting on the bed.
"Ribbit!" panicked Sydney with alarm. A minute later, Timberly skipped over to her mother who was sorting through the family's used clothes to find out what needed to be tossed or given away.
"Mommy!" Timberly said holding up a frog. "Look! I turned Gerald into a frog!" Timberly spoke with pure matter-of-factness. Mrs. Johanssen took the frog from Timberly's hands and set it down in an empty clothes basket.
"Um-hum!" her mother said. "Don't worry, honey, I'll take care of it!" She hummed and went back to folding her clothes. Timberly pranced back out of the room.
"Oh, hey Gerald?" Gerald's mother asked as she strolled into the living room. "Does this belong to your friend?"
"Sydney?!" Sid gasped. He plucked the frog up from the clothes hamper.
"Hm. Well, all's well that ends well," quoted Gerald. "Here Sid, you should take your pet frog home with you and go. No boy or frog's safe around Timberly."
"Yeah, you're right. Well, I'll see you at school!" Sid said. He soon retrieved his comic books and went home. Timberly returned to the room.
"Wow, Gerald!" Timberly observed. "You're not a frog anymore! I guess mommy can use magic, too!" Timberly poked Gerald experimentally with her wand.
"Ah, stop that Timberly!" Gerald said swatting his little sister away. Then he adjusted his sports jersey to get the wrinkles out and swept a hand through his hair. Gerald grimaced.
"Well, I hope you're hungry, kids. Because I have ham with cauliflower and carrots in the oven."
"Bleh!" Timberly observed waving her fake wand above her head. "I hate vegetables!"
"Timberly, a growing girl needs her vegetables!" Gerald's mother observed in a warning voice. "And boys, too!" said the woman, her eye falling on Gerald. "So don't even consider faking it Gerald!"
"Well, you got me!" Gerald shrugged. "Besides, some of those glazed carrots are starting to grow on me. They aren't all that bad." His mother smiled with ironic mirth at her son's almost compliment.
"When will we eat?" Gerald asked. He rubbed his rumbling tummy.
"I'd say half an hour. When the timer goes off," said their mum pointing to a timer on the stove, and that was all there was to the conversation. Everyone wandered away to do their own thing until the time came.
But Timberly swished her eyes backwards and forward, thinking hard. She had only just begun her very fun game. It was too early for dinner and much too early for bedtime. Enthusiastic that she had finally turned her older brother into a frog, Timberly found her little red toy wagon and loaded it with her two favorite plush toys. Then Timberly returned to the kitchen to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After she had added an old canning jar filled with juice to her wagon, Timberly was prepared to make an epic journey. Unnoticed, she began to pull her little red wagon down the street as rapidly as it was possible for the little, round wheels of her wagon to turn.
No one noticed Timberly's departure from the Johansen family house. She yanked her wagon behind her. To increase her speed to a trot, Timberly balanced on the tips of her toes at the end of the long handlebar. After a few minutes at this rapid pace, Timberly spotted Arnold's backyard. After scaring a curious Abner off with a punt to the nose, she scooted straight through Arnold's yard so fast the boy never saw her.
"What is it Abner?" Arnold spoke aloud from where he was doing yard work, trowel in hand. "Cats?" But Timberly had used Arnold's backyard as a shortcut for the street beyond and now, Timberly looked around herself and grinned. She had arrived at a street she did not recognize. But Timberly was not afraid. She had gotten lost with adventure as the purpose.
"Ooooh! Beyond the mystic meadow is the mountains! I'll bet if I keep walking, I'll find a faerie wizard like me! And you, Princess Glennerik!" Timberly emphasized this point by making her toy doll nod her head in agreement. Timberly then pulled out a crayon. With her little pink tongue sticking out in concentration, she began to make a wildly inaccurate map of every telephone pole or moveable object (like a cat or car) she came across. Timberly pulled her wagon further along only to be startled by a sudden, faintly familiar voice.
"Oh my!" Phoebe Heyerdahl blurted out with an astonished gasp. "What are you doing way out here by yourself, Timberly? Does Gerald know you're here? Would you like me to call him?" Phoebe said coming to hover over Timberly's wagon. The girl crossed her arms to pout.
"Nah-ah!" Timberly muttered. "GERALD," she said disapprovingly, "doesn't need to know! I'm a wizard and I'm going on a journey to use magic and never eat vegetables." Timberly shook her head back and forth obstinately. By appearances, it would seem that Phoebe would have to throw her into the little-red wagon by force to get her back home and un-lost. But Phoebe was probably the most clever child in all of Hillwood.
"Well, gee that's too bad! Because I'd like it if a real wizard came to my dojo! My family's dojo, I mean. We have guests over right now who are practicing for their upcoming tournaments. Would you like to come over and watch?"
"What's a Dojo?" Timberly blurted out in reply. "And are those snacks? Aren't you Gerald's friend- the one he goes gushy-mush over sometimes? Why do you like Gerald? Don't you find him annoying? I find him annoying!" Timberly gushed. She bounced on her feet as she tried to get a glance inside a brown paper shopping bag which Phoebe carried. The girl stopped her blathering for one moment when Phoebe reached inside the bag to pull one can of soda out. Timberly paused her speech for a mere breath's worth of time as Phoebe handed the unopened soda can to her. Timberly glanced at it long enough to guess the flavor. Then a torrent of words came out of the girl's mouth again.
"You're Phoebe, aren't you?" Timberly stated narrowing her eyes and placing her hands at her hips. Then she took on a friendlier manner. "I know 'cause I've seen you at school. Did you know Gerald broke his toe last year? Do you like wizards? Wizards are better than brothers. And faries. Fairies are cool. They don't eat vegetables. Did you know I can turn people into frogs? But you know, Mom turned him back and he wasn't even green! Mom is amazing don't you think?"
"Uh-huh?" Phoebe hazarded a guess as she led Timberly by the hand up to her house. At the doorway, Phoebe rung to doorbell. The front door swung open.
"Why hello, dear!" said Reba, Phoebe's surprisingly red-haired mother. "Who is this new friend you've bought here?"
"She's the little sister to my friend Gerald," Phoebe explained. "Mother, can she watch the Gorons practice kendo?"
"Well, I don't know dear!" Reba said. "Ask your father. But it might be a little scary for your new friend to watch if you don't explain it to her."
"Right," Phoebe said turning to Timberly. "Kendo is a kind of sport based on sword-fighting except the swords aren't real. We use bamboo kendo sticks instead of brutal weaponry in order to emphasize the virtues of a formalized system of scoring. The point is to win a match through superior technique and skill. Does that make sense?"
"No!" Kimberly chirped with joy. "But I wanna watch!"
"Well, for a minute at least!" Phoebe said, anxious what the girl's reaction would be. Removing her shoes, Phoebe entered a training dojo with glossy hardwood floors.
The Gorons were a trio of unattractive but muscular siblings of middle-school and high-school age. They were in the midst of a kendo drill, swinging their bamboo swords high out in front of them. Timberly hopped around.
"Ooh!" Timberly bounced. "They're warriors! Just like knights or generals with horsies and elephants. Can you do that, too?"
"Well, actually... I can," said Phoebe. "Only kendo isn't really my thing. It's European sport-fencing I'm good at!"
"Don't beat-yourself up!" the oldest of the Gorons said as the bunch stopped their practice. "You are at least as good as we are. You should think of entering the tournament. Miss Heyerdahl."
"Oh, no, I couldn't!" Phoebe blundered. Phoebe shook her head vehemently.
"Would you please spar with me?" the eldest Goron asked politely. One of the younger sibling handed Phoebe a kendo stick. Phoebe smiled softly at the stick she held clenched in her hands.
"I guess I could do that! Just give me a moment to put on the proper protective padding!"
"We'll wait," another Goron, a middle-school-aged girl this time said. Phoebe hurried away to a stack of gear. Soon she was wearing a suit and a face-shield with lots of bars on it reminiscent to a football helmet. The mask would protect her face from any damaging strikes with the light but solid wooden stick. Phoebe wore a sizable guard across her chest and long-sleeved, white suit, too.
"Tell me when you are ready to proceed!" Phoebe uttered. Her eyes narrowed in determination.
Phoebe took her place on the practice room floor. Then her trampled-flower gaze fell away. A bolt of lightning seemingly rippled through the air behind her as a ferocity gleamed in her eye and curled down the jowls of her face. Like a tigress, Phoebe pounced at her prey. Strike, smack, whack! Phoebe cut through her opponent's defenses like butter on a hot sandwich.
"Incredible, Phoebe!" Phoebe's father Kyo said clapping on hand onto his palm in an approving gesture. "You make your mother and I very proud when you show such passion and skill."
"Really?" Phoebe said clutching her bamboo sword tight against her chest. The Gorons clapped, too.
"Our friend is right, Phoebe." Phoebe's father announced. "You are skilled enough to enter a formal competition in the sport. You might even have a chance of winning such an event," Phoebe's father explained. But the shyness on Phoebe's face grew bigger.
"Oh, no! I couldn't!" Phoebe spluttered out. "There would be all these people watching me! I couldn't do that!" said Phoebe shaking her head. "Not if everyone might see if I make a fool of myself."
"If that is your decision, I will respect it," Phoebe's father said smiling down on his daughter. A grateful Phoebe gave him a hug. Just then the door to the dojo slid open. Timberly's eyes grew wide.
"Hey!" Timberly raged. "You ratted me out!"
"Timberly?" Timberly's mother said staring down at the girl. "Why don't you come home with me now, sweetheart? I'm astonished you wandered all the way over here but I'm even more glad you're alright! Don't take off like that again, okay, Tim? Why did you take off like that anyway?" the woman said kneeling to use a handkerchief to wipe a smudge of dirt off Timberly's face.
"I'm a wizard!" Timberly said with joy as she waved her wand overhead. "I'm sorry to worry you, Mom! But it was fun! I met a warrioress! See?"
"Oh, no, I'm not!" Phoebe sad shaking her head in self-depreciation. "I just can do a little of what I've been taught."
"Nah, aw! You can't fool me!" said Timberly. "You're a warrior! I'll see you again. Bye!" Timberly said with a wide grin before running off down the hall. Mrs. Johanssen paused long enough to smile at her neighbors.
"Thanks for taking care of her," she said.
"You're welcome!" her parents said. "We only hope you would do the same for our little girl." Then Mrs. Johanssen and Timberly went home, walking hand in hand.
"I can't believe she didn't get grounded!" Gerald complained while opening a bottle of chilled Yahoo soda at the outdoor lunch table at school. Gerald, Arnold, Phoebe, and Helga were gathered around one lunch table as was their current norm. "When she got home, she didn't get sent to bed without supper or nothin'! If I had pulled a stunt like that, my allowance would have got docked for at least a month!" Gerald wiped the soda stain from around his lips in disgust.
"Well, maybe it's because she's so young," Arnold observed.
"Or so spoiled!" Gerald said waving his sandwich before chomping into it. "Almost makes me wish Mom and Dad would have another kid, so Timberly would stop being the youngest. That would fix her little red wagon the right way!" Gerald complained bitterly before turning to his lunch for comfort. Phoebe lay a consoling hand on his arm.
"I'm certain everything will be okay, Gerald!" Phoebe said soothingly. But Phoebe's time with her amore was interrupted by a firm, persistent tug on her sleeve. She looked down to see Timberly beaming up at her.
"What are you doing here?" Gerald frowned severely. "You're supposed to be in class!"
"I wanted to see the warrior princess!" Timberly said, grinning. "I know you're Gerald's friend! Do you wanna come over and play? You don't have to wear tights if you don't want to." Gerald sighed, suddenly not hungry. He slid his sandwich away from himself across the table and draped one arm over the back of his chair as he leaned back in it with hooded eyes.
"You'd better or she'll never leave you alone!" Gerald advised.
"Well, then, how about I walk home with you and Gerald after school?" Phoebe ventured.
"YEAH!" Timberly shouted.
"Yeah, so go on back to class before I have to cart you there!" warned Gerald. But there was no need. Timberly skipped back to class.
After school, Phoebe was looking left and right ahead of her when suddenly a small person hurtled herself against her back with nearly enough force to knock her to the ground. Phoebe looked down to see a pair of small arms encircling her. Timberly was clinging on as tight as she could.
"Don't forget me!" Timberly sang out.
"I wish I could, but I can't. I can't ever forget!" Gerald lamented. He placed a hand across his forehead to suggest that his sister invoked constant suffering. "Alright Tim, let's go home so you can go wave your favorite pencil in the air and yell, 'swoosh'!"
"Oh goodie!" Timberly said. She hopped up and down with glee. Then she put her hand in Phoebe's to let herself be guided along the streets
"Door-check!" Gerald's mother said as they reached the house. "Give me your schoolbag, Timberly." the little girl did as her mother asked. The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a little plastic wand sealed inside a transparent pencil case.
"Alright, Timberly, here's your magic wand back. Don't put any eyes out with it, okay?"
"Goodie!" Timberly said nearly cartwheeling for joy. She tugged at Phoebe's hand. "Come on, let's go to the park!"
"Well...okay?" Phoebe had to guess since Gerald was refusing to say anything. Gerald, Phoebe, and Timberly walked to the park. One kid was attempting to get his kite airborne. A few others were congregating at a merry-go-round. Timberly snuck off between two fir trees and poked her wand out from behind one of the trees to suggest an ambush. She jiggled its paper star fiercely.
"Poof! Poof! Take that warrior! Now you are under my spell! You have to help me hunt goblins!"
"Goblins?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.
"Goblins!" Timberly said pointing to some rounded rocks leading to a culvert. "They live in there!"
"If you say so!" Phoebe said a little nervous to be venturing into the unfactual. But Gerald strode alongside Phoebe to give her a practiced piece of advice.
"Just go along with it. She'll get bored in a half hour, tops!" he recommended. Phoebe nodded to demonstrate a perfect comprehension.
Soon, Timberly had grown bored of cracking twigs and poking imaginary creatures among the landscape stones of the park. It was time to walk home. Jogging down the sidewalk behind them, Timberly sped up. She looked up at Phoebe and said, "so when is the contest? I wanna see!"
"Huh? What contest?" asked Phoebe, stopping along the sidewalk.
"You know," said Timberly twiddling her fingers cutely before engaging in an even more adorable kitten-like stare. "The competition! I wanna see you compete! I'm sure that you'll win!"
"Oh, Timberly!" said Phoebe remembering the only competition that was on her mental calendar. "I'm not entering that competition! The Gorons are going to be participating."
"Why not?" Timberly demanded.
"Oh, because I'm not that good!" Phoebe said, trying to excuse her lack of interest. But Timberly hopped up and down with frustration.
"Liar, liar, liar! You're the best one there! I bet you're the bestest!"
"Ah, Phoebe? What is she talking about?" Gerald said calmly. His face towards Phoebe was peaceful and friendly, yet when he glanced down at Timberly, there was a scuff of irritation tugging the corner of his lips into a frown. Gerald placed a hand on top of Timberly's head to keep her in place.
Timberly squirmed but couldn't figure out how to get away by bending her knees. Instead she kept trying to run forward. She gave a frustrated little, "urk."
"Oh! Timberly saw me do a few kendo moves when she came over to my house, that's all!" Phoebe explained.
"How come I don't get to come over to your house?!" Gerald complained. "Hm, kendo? I don't exactly know what that is but if you do enter, I'll be sure to come and cheer ya on!"
"You... would?" Phoebe asked. Her cheeks grew a bright pink.
"Of course I would!" grinned Gerald. "Well, here's our house! Tim, go inside now!" Gerald said pointing a finger towards the front door. After the girl had shuffled away, peeking out the door only once, Gerald turned his attention back towards Phoebe.
"So, it's getting late in the afternoon. Do you want me to walk you home?"
"Um, sure!" said Phoebe, still thinking. Later, Phoebe closed the front door to her house behind her. She shut her eyes and leaned back against the door to rest. Then she walked into the living room.
"Arigato, Phoebe!" Phoebe's father greeted his daughter. Phoebe walked up to the man in a brown business suit.
"Father?" Phoebe faltered. "I...I've changed my mind! I do want to enter the kendo competition! Can I?"
"Of course, daughter!" Phoebe's father said. "It is your decision. But may I ask what changed your mind?"
"Um, lots of things," Phoebe mumbled to herself.
Phoebe did not need to practice endlessly for the kendo competition. Sword practice of one kind or another was already part of the family's schedule, much like breakfast or dinner. But she did do a few pushups, check her gear and uniform so that they were perfect, and examine herself in the mirror. "Growl!" Phoebe said to the mirror as soft as a kitten. In reply to her remark, one of those mean tom cats in the alley next to her jumped up to her window and spat at her.
"GROWL!" it said with a hiss so fierce that Phoebe hid.
But scaredy cat or not, Phoebe showed up at an auditorium of a high school somewhere in Hillwood. There in the bleachers were Phoebe's friends Helga, Gerald, Timberly, and even Arnold. Phoebe gave them and her parents a cheerful wave as she stood in line beside the Gorons.
"You'll do great!" one of the Gorons assured her.
Phoebe watched. There were many other kids here and their matches were fun to watch. But then it was nearly Phoebe's turn. She looked up at the ceiling lights. The ceiling began to waver above her and almost in a delirium, Phoebe imagined a desert like the Sahara. The roar of the crowd grew more deafening than ocean waves during a storm. Phoebe sunk to the floor and curled her arms round her knees.
"I… can't!" Phoebe muttered out. "I wanted to look good in front of Gerald but that was silly of me! I'll just look stupid instead! Oh what was I thinking?!" Phoebe lamented. Then she felt a jerk at her sleeve that was becoming quite familiar.
"What's the matter?" asked Timberly. "Does your tummy hurt?"
"A little," Phoebe acknowledged. "It's just nerves. Being in front of all these people makes me a little scared."
"Oh, don't worry about that!" said Timberly prodding Phoebe with her pencil-wand. "I can put a spell on you to make you feel better!"
"Ah, I'd like that, thanks." Phoebe said as Timberly came up with an imaginary spell on the spot.
"Woosh, whoosh swish! Grant this warrior courage and no mercy for her foes! Go get'em for me and Gerald, 'kay?"
"I'll try," Phoebe said forcing a small smile onto her lips. After taking a deep breath, she stood up as straight and tall as she could. When her name was called, Phoebe stepped out into the competition area. She clapped her hands together and bowed in salute to her adversary. She held her kendo stick out in front of her and somehow, someway, a bit of the fierce tiger within her broke out. Phoebe's skill shone throughout the competition, where she defeated one opponent after another.
"And in a shocking upset, Phoebe Heyerdahl is the champion of this year's regional kendo competition!" the announcer for the event read out loud over the school's loudspeakers. Phoebe's parents and friends broke out into fierce clapping.
"We must celebrate your victory and all the efforts that went into it!" Phoebe's father declared as Phoebe returned to the stands with the champion's prize.
"Way to go, Phoebe!" Gerald cheered. "If you get angry, be sure to go easy on me, okay?"
"You rock, Phoebes!" Helga cheered. She gave Phoebe a small noogy out of affection before hugging her. Phoebe brushed it off.
"Gee, thanks Helga! But can we all go get something to drink? I'm really thirsty!"
"I'll go down and fetch you something from the coolers!" Gerald volunteered leaping onto his feet. "You coming, Tim?"
"Yeah!" Timberly cheered. "Pretty warrior lady?" Timberly said. She looked around and curled a hand up to suggest whispering. When Phoebe bent her head down, Timberly spoke a secret into Phoebe's ear.
"Don't tell anyone, but I think my brother likes you!" Timberly whispered. Phoebe blushed.
"Well, see you later!" Timberly grinned mischeviously before rushing off to catch up to Gerald. They soon came back with four glasses of ice water to share with everyone. Gerald refused to drink anything. Phoebe's parents shared one of the small cups. Timberly had a whole cup of water to herself. Helga nearly died of her crush when Arnold casually took the water glass from her hand and took the last swig for himself. It was a good day for everyone, especially Phoebe who found that sometimes she could be fierce inside.