Konnichiwa minna-san! Moon Angel signin' in! I'm finally ready to start
this story. I had (and still do) high hopes for this kind of plot. I find
it very... adorable.
Remember: This story takes place when the Ham-Ham's are still human. If you've read my "Ham-Ham's Gone Human!" story, you'll see how this one slides thinly into the plot lines.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hamtaro. Ritsuko Kawai does.
Claimer: I do own Ginger.
~*Chapter One*~
~*Just A Little Girl*~
Have you ever felt like you were too little to do something? Like tying your own shoes, going to school, getting a job, driving a car? I couldn't wait to do all of those things and more! I couldn't wait till the day when I could finally hold my head up high. But Pashmina told me I had to live life "one step at a time". What exactly does that mean? I'm 6 years old – I know how to tie my shoes. Why can't I go to school to learn to read and write and get smart?
"How come?" I asked these questions to Pashmina one day while waiting for my grilled cheese sandwich.
"Because..." Pashmina searched her mind for the right words. "Because... uh..."
"You're too young to understand, Penny," Boss walked by and pat my head.
"But everyone else knows!" I argued.
Pashmina handed me my sandwich and then agreed with Boss, "Don't make a scene Pen. And he's right – you are quite young."
"But I see other 6-year-olds go to school everyday. Their mommies and daddies drop them off."
I knew Pashmina was starting to get frustrated at my all questions. But I wanted to know what made me so different. But before she replied, I remembered. I was a hamster, not a human.
"Is it 'cause I'm different?" I asked.
"Geez, Penny, for such a little girl you ask a lot of questions," Maxwell chuckled. "Maybe one day you'll be as smart as Einstein."
"Who's Einstein?" I asked naively.
"He's a genius," he explained. "Father of Knowledge. Smartest man to ever walk the planet."
"Max, you're explaining again," Sandy groaned. "She's just a kid. She doesn't need to know this."
"I am not just a kid," I yelled. "I'm 6! Practically a grown-up!"
Sandy chuckled, "Ah, youth."
I didn't understand what she meant by that, but I knew it wasn't in my favor.
I hopped down from the bar stool and ran over to the nearest window to see what was going on outside. It was raining again. As it pitter-patted outside, I noticed it formed bars on the window. It reminded me of those cop shows Howdy watches late at night. You know, where the good guy puts the bad guy. In Jail.
I continued to stare outside as Oxnard walked from the bathroom and said something. I didn't hear him, but it made Ginger mad, 'cause she yelled at him. But then again, Ginger yells a lot. But not around Howdy...
I turned around from the window and complained, "It's raining outside! I wanted to go swimming! And jump on the trampoline!"
"Its okay Penny," Pashmina pat me on the head and put on her coat. "They have an indoor pool."
But I still wasn't satisfied, "But what about the trampoline?"
Ginger stopped brushing her hair and turned to look at me, "They have a trampoline here?" She then turned to Howdy and murmured something. I don't know. I wasn't listening.
I was about to crawl back in bed when I heard, "I'm going out with Maxwell, Bijou, and Hamtaro to play Indoor Golf. Does anyone else wanna come?"
"I DO! I DO!" I hopped off the windowsill and ran over to Sandy. "Can I come?"
"Okay. Just get your shoes on and have Bijou put up your hair."
"Okay!" I ran over to Bijou and begged her to do my hair for me. She looked a little shocked but then ended up giving me half-hair. I then jogged over to the front door and slipped on my shoes, tying each one slowly so everybody could see how great I was at it.
"I'm ready!" I jumped up. "Can I go wait in the car?"
"Not all by yourself," Sandy handed me my windbreaker.
"Why not?"
"You're still a little girl, honey. No matter how old you may think you are," she told me and then hailed the others.
I sighed unhappily. I was too little to understand, too little to ask questions, too little to go to the car by myself, too little to do anything! It was really starting to bug me.
"I'll take you down," Hamtaro guided me out the door and down to the car. He opened up the car door for me and helped me jump into my seat. He then went over to the opposite side of the car and sat down next to me.
"Ready for Putt-Putt?" He asked like he would a little child.
"Yep!" I smiled and dangled my legs. "And one of these days, I'll own Putt- Putt!"
Hamtaro chuckled lightly and then unlocked the rest of the doors so the others could get in. What was so funny?
Once we were on the road, Bijou couldn't stand the silence and politely asked for Sandy to turn the radio on. As soon as she did we heard:
"...Your child could become a star! Sign-up sheets are outside 64th street Putt-Putt arena. This contest is open only to ages 6 – 12."
Bingo. I was finally old enough to do something! I could sign up for the contest!
"Ugh, talk radio," Maxwell took one hand off the wheel and changed the station to rock and roll. "Much better."
"We can't listen to this," Sandy snapped at her boyfriend and changed the station to soft rock. "Penny's in here!"
"I don't mind!" I chirped from the back seat. "I don't listen to mus-mic anyway."
"Music," Hamtaro pronounced. "Say it, mu-sic."
"Mu-sic," I repeated slowly. "I don't listen to the mu-sic."
Before anybody could reply, Maxwell pulled into the 64th street Putt-Putt arena. It was a pretty big place, enough for a 5-year-old to get lost in. But since I was 6, I couldn't possibly get lost.
"All right, Penny, hold my hand," Bijou prompted me to grab her hand.
"Why?" I asked. "You know where you're going, I know where I'm going..."
"I suppose but-" Bijou wasn't going to make the effort to argue with me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me across the parking lot to the front door, where she let go.
"C'mon all," Sandy hustled us into the building. She then got in line with Bijou to wait for something.
I wandered aimlessly over to the bulletin board hanging in the entrance hall. There I saw the slips to enter the contest on the radio. I yanked one off the board and neatly folded it up and placed it in my pocket.
"What do you mean there are no other indoor courses?" I heard Sandy snap at the manager. "I am not playing outside."
"Then looks like you're not playing here at all," the manager said clearly. He then walked away from Sandy and the others.
"That's cheap," Sandy continued to complain. "And I had a coupon!"
"Let's go hon," Maxwell pushed his girlfriend out of the building with the rest of us trailing behind. We ended up getting back into the car and driving home. But Sandy did not want to stay inside, so she dragged everybody but me down to some Sushi restaurant on 36th street. Sushi? Blech...
"You've never even had sushi," Dexter scolded me when he heard my opinion. "You should never judge a book by its cover!"
"A book?" I was confused. "No, I'm talking about sushi!"
"She wouldn't understand a proverb," Boss looked up from his morning paper. "She's too-"
"Young!" I finished for him. "Is that it?!"
Boss didn't reply, he just went back to reading.
I stomped angrily into the TV room and plopped myself on the couch. I pulled the paper out of my pocket and read:
CHILDREN'S TALENT CONTEST: SINGING AND MUSICAL
NAME:
AGE:
GRADE:
CITY OF RESIDENCE:
SONG:
INSTRUMENT:
It then went on to describe some legal stuff that I didn't understand. But I did know one thing. I was going to enter this contest. But it was a musical thing. I didn't know how to play!
I then groaned and peered into the corner of the room. There it was. A beautiful piano. I jogged over to it and hopped up on the piano bench. I then fingered the white keys and pushed down lightly and one of them. And then another. And another.
"Hey Penny," Pashmina walked into the room. She was soaking wet from the rain and looked cold, "Practicing?"
"Yep," I continued to plink on the keys.
She seemed intrigued, "For what, may I ask?"
I hopped off the bench as soon as she finished speaking and showed her the entry form, "The announcer guy on the radio said it was open to me."
"Really?" Pashmina read the form. She then grinned, "You wanna enter?"
I smiled, "Yes!"
Pashmina then led me out to the main room where Stan and Boss were putting away groceries. She then held the form to Boss's face, "How much money do you have?"
"I don't know," Boss shrugged. He grabbed the form from her, "What's this?"
"Penny wants to enter. Frankly, I think she'd do pretty well."
"A 6-year-old in a singing contest?" Stan scoffed.
"The radio man said it was open to 6-year-olds," I jumped up on the stool.
"I heard about that contest," Ginger walked over. "The grand prize is supposed to be a lot of money."
"It says you have to play an instrument as well," Stan continued reading. "Looks like you've just been disqualified, babe."
I frowned, "I can play the piano."
"Since when," Ginger raised an eyebrow.
"Since 5 minutes ago," I said proudly.
"Face it, you can't enter," Stan looked me in the eyes. "You can't play, you can't sing..."
"Way to crush a little girl's dreams!" Pashmina yelled.
"What? He's stating the obvious," Ginger agreed with Stan. "I hardly doubt she'd win."
"I think she'd do a great job," Pashmina stood up for me.
"It also says that you have to think of your own song," Boss looked up from the form. "I'll make a deal with you: if Penelope can learn to play piano and write her own song, I'll pay for her."
"All right!" I raised my arms in the air. Victory at last!
"Okay then," Pashmina leaned against the bar. "You're on."
"Where you gonna get a piano teacher?" Ginger asked. "I know my money ain't paying for one."
Pashmina smiled eagerly, "I'm going to teach Penny everything I know. And then, she's going to win this contest... Bud."
Remember: This story takes place when the Ham-Ham's are still human. If you've read my "Ham-Ham's Gone Human!" story, you'll see how this one slides thinly into the plot lines.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hamtaro. Ritsuko Kawai does.
Claimer: I do own Ginger.
~*Chapter One*~
~*Just A Little Girl*~
Have you ever felt like you were too little to do something? Like tying your own shoes, going to school, getting a job, driving a car? I couldn't wait to do all of those things and more! I couldn't wait till the day when I could finally hold my head up high. But Pashmina told me I had to live life "one step at a time". What exactly does that mean? I'm 6 years old – I know how to tie my shoes. Why can't I go to school to learn to read and write and get smart?
"How come?" I asked these questions to Pashmina one day while waiting for my grilled cheese sandwich.
"Because..." Pashmina searched her mind for the right words. "Because... uh..."
"You're too young to understand, Penny," Boss walked by and pat my head.
"But everyone else knows!" I argued.
Pashmina handed me my sandwich and then agreed with Boss, "Don't make a scene Pen. And he's right – you are quite young."
"But I see other 6-year-olds go to school everyday. Their mommies and daddies drop them off."
I knew Pashmina was starting to get frustrated at my all questions. But I wanted to know what made me so different. But before she replied, I remembered. I was a hamster, not a human.
"Is it 'cause I'm different?" I asked.
"Geez, Penny, for such a little girl you ask a lot of questions," Maxwell chuckled. "Maybe one day you'll be as smart as Einstein."
"Who's Einstein?" I asked naively.
"He's a genius," he explained. "Father of Knowledge. Smartest man to ever walk the planet."
"Max, you're explaining again," Sandy groaned. "She's just a kid. She doesn't need to know this."
"I am not just a kid," I yelled. "I'm 6! Practically a grown-up!"
Sandy chuckled, "Ah, youth."
I didn't understand what she meant by that, but I knew it wasn't in my favor.
I hopped down from the bar stool and ran over to the nearest window to see what was going on outside. It was raining again. As it pitter-patted outside, I noticed it formed bars on the window. It reminded me of those cop shows Howdy watches late at night. You know, where the good guy puts the bad guy. In Jail.
I continued to stare outside as Oxnard walked from the bathroom and said something. I didn't hear him, but it made Ginger mad, 'cause she yelled at him. But then again, Ginger yells a lot. But not around Howdy...
I turned around from the window and complained, "It's raining outside! I wanted to go swimming! And jump on the trampoline!"
"Its okay Penny," Pashmina pat me on the head and put on her coat. "They have an indoor pool."
But I still wasn't satisfied, "But what about the trampoline?"
Ginger stopped brushing her hair and turned to look at me, "They have a trampoline here?" She then turned to Howdy and murmured something. I don't know. I wasn't listening.
I was about to crawl back in bed when I heard, "I'm going out with Maxwell, Bijou, and Hamtaro to play Indoor Golf. Does anyone else wanna come?"
"I DO! I DO!" I hopped off the windowsill and ran over to Sandy. "Can I come?"
"Okay. Just get your shoes on and have Bijou put up your hair."
"Okay!" I ran over to Bijou and begged her to do my hair for me. She looked a little shocked but then ended up giving me half-hair. I then jogged over to the front door and slipped on my shoes, tying each one slowly so everybody could see how great I was at it.
"I'm ready!" I jumped up. "Can I go wait in the car?"
"Not all by yourself," Sandy handed me my windbreaker.
"Why not?"
"You're still a little girl, honey. No matter how old you may think you are," she told me and then hailed the others.
I sighed unhappily. I was too little to understand, too little to ask questions, too little to go to the car by myself, too little to do anything! It was really starting to bug me.
"I'll take you down," Hamtaro guided me out the door and down to the car. He opened up the car door for me and helped me jump into my seat. He then went over to the opposite side of the car and sat down next to me.
"Ready for Putt-Putt?" He asked like he would a little child.
"Yep!" I smiled and dangled my legs. "And one of these days, I'll own Putt- Putt!"
Hamtaro chuckled lightly and then unlocked the rest of the doors so the others could get in. What was so funny?
Once we were on the road, Bijou couldn't stand the silence and politely asked for Sandy to turn the radio on. As soon as she did we heard:
"...Your child could become a star! Sign-up sheets are outside 64th street Putt-Putt arena. This contest is open only to ages 6 – 12."
Bingo. I was finally old enough to do something! I could sign up for the contest!
"Ugh, talk radio," Maxwell took one hand off the wheel and changed the station to rock and roll. "Much better."
"We can't listen to this," Sandy snapped at her boyfriend and changed the station to soft rock. "Penny's in here!"
"I don't mind!" I chirped from the back seat. "I don't listen to mus-mic anyway."
"Music," Hamtaro pronounced. "Say it, mu-sic."
"Mu-sic," I repeated slowly. "I don't listen to the mu-sic."
Before anybody could reply, Maxwell pulled into the 64th street Putt-Putt arena. It was a pretty big place, enough for a 5-year-old to get lost in. But since I was 6, I couldn't possibly get lost.
"All right, Penny, hold my hand," Bijou prompted me to grab her hand.
"Why?" I asked. "You know where you're going, I know where I'm going..."
"I suppose but-" Bijou wasn't going to make the effort to argue with me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me across the parking lot to the front door, where she let go.
"C'mon all," Sandy hustled us into the building. She then got in line with Bijou to wait for something.
I wandered aimlessly over to the bulletin board hanging in the entrance hall. There I saw the slips to enter the contest on the radio. I yanked one off the board and neatly folded it up and placed it in my pocket.
"What do you mean there are no other indoor courses?" I heard Sandy snap at the manager. "I am not playing outside."
"Then looks like you're not playing here at all," the manager said clearly. He then walked away from Sandy and the others.
"That's cheap," Sandy continued to complain. "And I had a coupon!"
"Let's go hon," Maxwell pushed his girlfriend out of the building with the rest of us trailing behind. We ended up getting back into the car and driving home. But Sandy did not want to stay inside, so she dragged everybody but me down to some Sushi restaurant on 36th street. Sushi? Blech...
"You've never even had sushi," Dexter scolded me when he heard my opinion. "You should never judge a book by its cover!"
"A book?" I was confused. "No, I'm talking about sushi!"
"She wouldn't understand a proverb," Boss looked up from his morning paper. "She's too-"
"Young!" I finished for him. "Is that it?!"
Boss didn't reply, he just went back to reading.
I stomped angrily into the TV room and plopped myself on the couch. I pulled the paper out of my pocket and read:
CHILDREN'S TALENT CONTEST: SINGING AND MUSICAL
NAME:
AGE:
GRADE:
CITY OF RESIDENCE:
SONG:
INSTRUMENT:
It then went on to describe some legal stuff that I didn't understand. But I did know one thing. I was going to enter this contest. But it was a musical thing. I didn't know how to play!
I then groaned and peered into the corner of the room. There it was. A beautiful piano. I jogged over to it and hopped up on the piano bench. I then fingered the white keys and pushed down lightly and one of them. And then another. And another.
"Hey Penny," Pashmina walked into the room. She was soaking wet from the rain and looked cold, "Practicing?"
"Yep," I continued to plink on the keys.
She seemed intrigued, "For what, may I ask?"
I hopped off the bench as soon as she finished speaking and showed her the entry form, "The announcer guy on the radio said it was open to me."
"Really?" Pashmina read the form. She then grinned, "You wanna enter?"
I smiled, "Yes!"
Pashmina then led me out to the main room where Stan and Boss were putting away groceries. She then held the form to Boss's face, "How much money do you have?"
"I don't know," Boss shrugged. He grabbed the form from her, "What's this?"
"Penny wants to enter. Frankly, I think she'd do pretty well."
"A 6-year-old in a singing contest?" Stan scoffed.
"The radio man said it was open to 6-year-olds," I jumped up on the stool.
"I heard about that contest," Ginger walked over. "The grand prize is supposed to be a lot of money."
"It says you have to play an instrument as well," Stan continued reading. "Looks like you've just been disqualified, babe."
I frowned, "I can play the piano."
"Since when," Ginger raised an eyebrow.
"Since 5 minutes ago," I said proudly.
"Face it, you can't enter," Stan looked me in the eyes. "You can't play, you can't sing..."
"Way to crush a little girl's dreams!" Pashmina yelled.
"What? He's stating the obvious," Ginger agreed with Stan. "I hardly doubt she'd win."
"I think she'd do a great job," Pashmina stood up for me.
"It also says that you have to think of your own song," Boss looked up from the form. "I'll make a deal with you: if Penelope can learn to play piano and write her own song, I'll pay for her."
"All right!" I raised my arms in the air. Victory at last!
"Okay then," Pashmina leaned against the bar. "You're on."
"Where you gonna get a piano teacher?" Ginger asked. "I know my money ain't paying for one."
Pashmina smiled eagerly, "I'm going to teach Penny everything I know. And then, she's going to win this contest... Bud."