Make it Work
Summary: Baileywick gives Sofia some valuable advice when she grows frustrated with a school project.
Disclaimer: I do not own "Sofia the First" OR Tim Gunn's catchphrase of "Make it Work!" lol I love both though.
A/N: …It had to be done. :D That's all I have to say. :p
Baileywick walked into the dining room, where Sofia had her supplies scattered out all over the table. He was about to ask her if she could relocate so he could prepare for that evening's meal when he noticed that the girl was slumped over on the table, a look of defeat etched on her face. He smiled kindly as he moved closer to her. "Princess Sofia," he began, seeing her look up toward him quietly, "is everything all right?"
"No, Baileywick," she admitted with a sigh as she sat up, removing a piece of paper that had somehow attached itself to her cheek. "I'm all out of ideas for this school project… Ms. Flora wants us to create a story booklet about our lives in fewer than twenty pages, and I just don't know where to start. Do I include my royal life only, or do I also add in the years I spent in the village? How am I supposed to put all of that in only twenty pages?" She sighed again, folding her arms and resting her head on them.
Baileywick chuckled and sat next to her in a chair. "I think you should include everything, Sofia: your life in the village, your years you've spent here as a princess, your adventures you go on…minus the situations we've had with people like Slickwell, of course."
She giggled. "Of course." She sat up and picked up a few crayons. "But I don't know where to start."
"When that happens, it is best to start at the beginning." He reached for a piece of paper. "May I?"
Sofia nodded and watched as he grabbed the paper and a crayon.
Baileywick drew a little stick figure of what Sofia assumed was himself as a child. She giggled when he added the famous pocket watch (really just a yellow circle, but she'd let it go). "See, here I am as a young boy," he said, gesturing toward the stick figure.
"You were really skinny."
He smirked as she giggled. "Very funny. Now I was much like you, Princess Sofia. I started off as a villager too."
"I remember you saying that. Did you do the things the village kids do these days? Like playing games, going on camping trips…?"
"Oh, heavens, no!" He chuckled. "I was more of an inside child, and I certainly couldn't handle the outdoors. In my mind, it wasn't very clean…" He shrugged as she grinned. "Well, it sort of isn't. Now you try."
She nodded and drew a bit more detailed version of her younger self with her mother and birth father standing outside their old house. She of course colored her dress a vibrant purple. She then gestured toward it. "That's the dress my dad bought me when I was little."
"It's very nice," Baileywick encouraged as he smiled at her. "I think you should include everything you can in these twenty pages. It may not seem like a lot, but you can do it."
"Will you help me?" Sofia asked curiously as she saw him move to stand.
"Well, I…" He nodded. "I suppose I could stay for a few minutes. I still have a schedule to keep, but I'll stay for a little bit."
"You really think this project is going to turn out all right, Baileywick?"
The steward smiled and handed her some scissors and glue. "Of course it will. You just have to make it work."
Encouraged, Sofia smiled and got back to work, talking with her friend about all sorts of things as they both added extra details to her project while time slowly melted away.
The end
A/N: I know. It's short for me. Lol. I just love to see Baileywick helping out Sofia in any way, so this made me smile. I'm thinking about maybe creating an actual project book based on Sofia's assignment and posting it to my site. We'll see. Depends if I have any time. :) And now I'm off to work on my two big stories: "Lavender Legend: Secrets of Avalor" and "Obscure." They'll take a bit longer, but they should be out within the next few weeks. Meanwhile, you may see a little surprise story here and there. :D Have a good day, everyone! ~AquaTurquoise