Before you get to the story, there's a few things I want to say…
First: Thank you for all of those who made the first Springfield Chronicles, my most read story out of anything I've released.This time, I ask that you read this next installment and review it, so I can get the necessary feedback I need to improve. Tell me what you like, please, and tell me what you don't like. For the last Springfield Chronicles I got a "WTF" review. What does that mean? If anyone doesn't like the story, that's fine, but please tell me what's wrong so I can fix it.
Second: As Simpsons fans, I'm sure you know about the ratings for the last few Simpsons episodes of the nineteeth season. If you don't, I'll give you the bad news: The 2007-2008 season of The Simpsons was viewed by 7.7 million viewers, with two record lows for the episodes Mona Leaves-a and All About Lisa, the season finale. Both episodes avereged about 6 million viewers, almost hitting the 5 million mark. Yikes! At the same time, the show gets more and more expensive to produce. I'm sure you know about the deal FOX had to sign with the cast (If not, I'll give you the links to my maybe questionable information). My point is: The Simpsons is getting more expensive to produce, while it loses viewers season by season. And to top it all off, FOX only signed a one-year deal for the 20th season. After that… only time will tell.
The reason I'm telling everyone this is because if things keep going this way, as it looks like, the 20th season, where The Simpsons ties the record with Gunsmoke for the longest running primetime show, may be its last unless Al Jean and co. can get it together. So support The Simpsons if you wanna see it continue until we're all old and gray! Or don't. Personally, I think the nineteeth season was decent, some horrible episodes (That 90s Show, anyone?) and some great ones (Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind). But still, I loved seasons 1-8 the most…
Third: ENJOY THE STORY!!
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The Springfield Chronicles: Season of Changes
Chapter I
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The chilly fall air hung over the small town of Springfield. The summer had long gone, replaced by fall. The once vibrant green leaves that decorated the trees were gone, replaced instead, by shades of red, orange, and yellow. Some trees were becoming bare, as most of the leaves began to fall off and sofly land on the ground. The warm air was now chilly, and t-shirts were replaced by sweaters. Shorts were replaced by thicker jeans. And the day of the pool was gone. The pools had closed and the schools had reopened. The students at Springfield Elementary were anxiously awaiting the end of another school day. In Three… Two… One…
RING!!
The sound of the school bell signalled the release of the children at Springfield Elementary. With a shout of joy, the children burst from the halls of the school and into the waiting streets. Some boarded the school bus, docked in the driveway by Otto Mann, the stoned bus driver. Others preferred to walk and simply enjoy the release from the tedious task of learning and studying.
Among the students who chose to walk were a boy and a girl. The boy was of average height and weight for a fifth-grade ten-year old boy. Between the months of May and September, a few changes had occurred that allowed the beginning of the school year to be a little more than constant detention, chalkboard writing, failing tests, and clapping erasers. In appearance, he decided to outgrow the blonde spikes that had been his hair. Too lazy to actually cut and groom it, he'd allowed it to grow and stretch just behind his neck. Instead of a red t-shirt and blue shorts, he wore a black sweater, complete with a hood and a pair of jeans to adjust to the climate change.
The pretty girl who walked with him hadn't done much changing for her appearance. Aside from the removal of her pigtails in her fourth grade years and allowing her hair to reach her shoulders, and the removal of her school girl dress and skirt into a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt, she still looked the same. Her attitude had changed to become a little less devious and a little more kind, though she could, and often did, resort back to her old ways when needing something done that she considered important. She was, without a doubt, the smarter of the two. Unfortunately, for all her intelligence, she'd neglected the weather and was now suffering the consequences.
"Man, it's cold out here!" she exclaimed, holding her shivering shoulders.
"Really? I hadn't noticed," the boy said, rubbing his warm sweater. The girl glared at him.
"Shut up, Bart."
Bart Simpson smiled with smugness in his features.
"And wipe that stupid grin off your face."
"Hey, don't blame me if you forgot to wear a sweater this morning, Jessica," Bart said. "You knew what the weather would be like."
Jessica sighed, defeated. "I heard the weather report, but I didn't think it would be this cold. It's still only Fall."
And then she shivered.
The couple turned a corner on the sidewalk, headed towards Downtown Springfield. Jessica looked up at the gray sky. And then she shivered again. "… So cold…" She complained.
Bart sighed and unzipped his sweater. Jessica saw him. "You don't have to give me your sweater, you know."
"I'm not," Bart replied. "Here." He offered her part of the sweater, which was obviously too small for the both of them.
"Thanks."
Awkwardly, Jessica slipped into the left portion of the sweater, which tightened its grip on the two of them. In the beginning, they began shuffling, but soon they fell into step with each other.
"Hey, let's go through the park," Bart suggested, "We don't want anybody seeing us and saying stupid stuff like 'they're so cute', or anything like that."
Jessica nodded silently and they headed off into Springfield Park, down the concrete path.
"So," Jessica began. "You have any plans for the weekend?"
Bart shrugged. "Nah, not really. I might hang out with the others or something, but, you know, nothing really."
"… Oh…" Jessica turned her head forward, looking out to the path in front of her. Bart got the feeling there was something she wasn't telling him.
"Jessica, is there something you wanna ask?"
Jessica said, "Well, yeah… You know how we've been keeping this thing of ours a secret right?"
"Yeah?"
"I think it's time that changes," Jessica said. "It's a new year, a new season, and I want to change some things. Don't you?"
Bart scratched the back of his head. "Well… yeah, but I know your mom and dad will kill me once they find out."
Jessica scoffed. "Who says we have to tell them?"
"They'll find out," Bart repeated.
"Eventually, yes," Jessica agreed. "But what can they do about it, when you really stop and think."
Bart did. And he was unhappy that he had done so. A dozen images of Reverend Lovejoy forsaking the Bible's commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' against him flashed through his mind.
"Tell you what," Jessica said. "We can discuss this later tomorrow. I have to go home." She slid out of Bart's sweater. "See ya!" And with a wave, she disappeared in the forest, leaving Bart alone and worried.
--
Lisa chuckled, a bit embarrassed by the way things were going between her and the new kid, Donny. "Thanks for carrying my books for me." On her cheeks, the faintest blush appeared.
Donny, Bart's newest friend, replied nochalantly, "No problem. You said you were Bart's sister?"
"Yeah, my name's Lisa," she said. "Lisa Simpson. And it's Donny, right?"
"Right."
Lisa shifted her gaze to the street in front of them. "I'm sorry you had to miss the bus. And it's so cold out too."
"Yeah, it's funny," Donny said. "I never remembered Fall being so cold. It feels like Winter already."
Lisa shrugged. "Global Warming. What're you gonna do?"
"I never remembered ever caring about that stuff," Donny continued, barely noticing Lisa's words. "But now I'm starting to actually feel it. For one thing, the leaves began to change way earlier that they usually did. I mean, it's only mid-September, why are the leaves changing like this already?"
Lisa had noticed it too. Since late August, in fact. Faint spots of yellow, red, and orange had begun to appear. And now, mid-September, the trees looked like they were ready to lose their leaves. But already? That didn't happen until October, usually.
"What have we done to the world…?" Lisa asked herself mournfully.
"Hey listen," Donny said, breaking into her solemn reflections. "You know about the party I'm throwing this weekend?"
Of course Lisa had heard of it. Everyone in school had heard of it. Donny was one of the most popular fourth graders in Springfield Elementary, right up there with the bullies, Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearny, Nelson Muntz, and her brother, Bart Simpson. Everyone who'd gotten invited by either Donny or one of the aforementioned (who'd helped him plan it) was definitely going to be there. Lisa herself hadn't been invited as of yet.
Still she wouldn't give any of them the satisfaction of her jealousy. "Yeah… a little. What about it?"
"Well, me and your brother have invited some of the guys from school. And here's my last invitation for the day." And he slipped her an invitation.
Despite all odds, Lisa managed to hide her excitement without seeming uninterested or even condescending, like she didn't want it. "Cool! Thanks a lot, Donny!"
"It's nothing," Donny said. "I don't think you're as nerdy as Bart says you are."
Lisa let that pass, as if she hadn't heard it. "I'll be there," she said.
"Well, I have to go home," Donny told her as he gave her books back. "See ya there."
--
"C'mon Maggie, open wide…" Marge pressed, pushing a spoonful of spinach against Maggie Simpson's closed mouth. "… Open the tunnel…"
… Stubborn as her father… Marge thought bitterly when Maggie kept her mouth shut, refusing to take in the slimy green mush.
"Open up Maggie," Marge continued to press.
Maggie shook her head.
Wait a minute. It was 3:50pm, Marge thought. Where was Homer?
She sighed, he was probably at Moe's Tavern again.
"C'mon Maggie, eat the spinach."
At that moment, the phone rang.
Annoyed at the irritating interupption, Marge put the spoon down and went to answer it. A mistake. As soon as Marge wasn't around to stop her, with a swipe of her hand, Maggie sent the spoon of spinach tumbing in a green mess on the floor.
"Argh…" Marge groaned, before picking up the phone. "Simpson residence."
"Marge!" It was Homer, her husband.
"Homer?" Marge asked. "Where are you? You were supposed to be here…" She checked the clock. 3:52pm. "… Twenty-two minutes ago. We were supposed to go to Luigi's tonight for a romantic dinner alone."
"Listen Marge," said Homer on the other end of the receiver. "I won't be able to make it tonight because, well, you know… it's a funny story… Chief Wiggum caught me 'drinking and driving', as he calls it, and I'm gonna be spending the night in jail."
"WHAT!?" It took all of her strength for Marge not to yell out a series of profanities. "Drinking and driving!? Why Homer? Why?"
"Well… Mr. Burns caught me coming into work late again, so he fired me, and…"
SLAM!
The phone landed hard on the cradle.
"Ugh!!" Marge pounded her fist against the wall. The noise startled Maggie so much that she accidently knocked over her bowl of spinach (that she was just about to actually try) and began crying.
"That inconsiderate oaf of a husband!!"
Unable to control her emotions, Marge closed her eyes, unable to stop tears from slowly leaking out.
Maggie's screaming filled the house, which caused the family dog, Santa's Little Helper, to yelp and bark uncontrollably. He ran throughout the house, and knocked over a vase. Maggie cried even louder. A mere two minutes and the house had dissolved into chaos.
And then the door opened.
"Hello?"
--
When Bart opened the door to his home, he could immediately see something happened. Maggie was screaming, Santa's Little Helper was barking, and neither Marge nor Homer were anywhere to be found.
"Mo-om!" Bart called.
"In… the… kitchen…!" Marge's voice sounded even more strained than usual. As if she were crying.
"Mom?" Bart asked as he arrived in the kitchen. "What's going on?"
Marge quickly wiped her eyes. "Oh? Nothing Bart. Really."
"Are you crying? And where's dad?"
"Your father is in jail. He got fired from work and ended up getting drunk, but tried to drive anyway."
"… Idiot…" Bart breathed, frustrated.
Marge nodded. "Anyway, he'll be out tomorrow." And she made an effort to cheer up. "But tell me more about school." As Bart began talking, Marge went to the crying Maggie and scooped her up in her arms, rocking the baby while looking sadly at the broken bowl and the spilled green glop that she called spinach.
"… And me and Donny gave away the invitations today. The party's going to be huge."
"What about Lisa?" Marge asked. "Aren't you going to invite her too?"
"I think Donny's going to do that," Bart said, knowingly. "He's been drooling all over her this week."
"HA!!"
The exclaimation shocked both Bart and Marge. Lisa walked into the room, looking smug. "Look what I've got Bart." And then she held up the invitation to the party. "Looks like I'm coming to the party too."
Bart gave Lisa a wink and said, "I'm sure Donny wouldn't have it any other way." In a voice that confounded Lisa.
--
"Hi Alison!" A high-pitched voice greeted her from behind. The brunette didn't need to turn around to know that it belonged to Todd Flanders.
Sighing, she turned around, wondering what new pamphlet the Flanders duo would be bugging her with next.
"Hi Todd," she said, turning around to meet both of the Flanders boys. Todd was the younger, with brown curly hair. Rod was older, taller, and had red curly hair. "Hi Rod." They both held a stack of pamphlets.
"Alison, have you heard? Obama's actually gaining in the polls! Daddy says the time of Jesus' second coming is coming very quickly now."
First off, Obama's "gain" wasn't really much of a gain. He was still too closely tied with McCain for Alison to see a victory for him. Second, she was atheist.
"O…kay…" She mutterd. "I'm just going to be leaving now…"
"Wait!" Todd grabbed her arm. Alison turned around, marveling how much of a height advantage she had on him. In fact, she matched Rod at this point. Then again, that was normal. Girls tended to be taller than guys around the 5th-8th grade years. "Don't you want a pamphlet?"
"Uh… I don't think so."
"But Alison," Rod said. "Events are happening all around us that Jesus is coming very soon. The leaves are changing way faster than they should, it's colder than it should be, a Democrat might actually win the White House, and to top it all off…"
"Look." Alison silenced him with a hand to his mouth. "I'm atheist, okay?"
Rod sighed. "… It's your afterlife… By the way, did you get invited to the party?"
Alison stopped. "Yeah, Sherri gave me an invite. Why? Did you?"
"Yeah, but Daddy says we're not allowed to go."
Despite the fact that she really didn't care, Alison asked, "Why?"
"He says there'll be girls there. And girls are a vice that we should avoid. Which means I shouldn't be talking to you right now. See ya!" And they turned around and left her feeling a little offended.
"A vice?"
--
That night, Jessica sat at the dining room table, eating dinner, with her parents. "Mom? Dad? You know Bart Simpson?"
Revered Timothy Lovejoy said, "Oh yes. That Simpson boy, or as I call him, the son of the devil."
Jessica chuckled. "How would you react, hypothetically, if I were to tell you that, we were… good friends?"
Helen gasped and dropped her fork. Tim looked up sharply. "What!?"
"Just… hypothetically."
Tim and Helen glanced at each other and then laughed. Tim said, "For a second there, I thought you were serious." At the word "serious" his face turned solemn. "Jessica, Bart Simpson is the devil's child, alright? You are NOT to get friendly with him, do you understand?"
Jessica sighed. "… Yeah, dad…"
Just then, the phone rang.
"I'll get it," Helen said, getting up.
A few moments later, Helen returned, looking panic-stricken.
"Who was it?" asked Tim.
"It was Bart Simpson," Helen responded, casting a long, unforgiving glare at Jessica. Jessica gulped and sank in her chair.
--
" A vice?" Alison repeated angrily, grabbing the smaller Flanders boy by the wrist and spinning him around. "Is that what you're calling me?"
Todd, fearful glanced up at the taller, angrier, female.
Rod stepped between them. "Please Alison, don't take it the wrong way--"
There were two things one never did with Alison Taylor. The first was to belittle her intelligence. The second was the belittle her for being a female. And poor Todd, standing over and inch shorter than her. He would never be able to defend herself had Alison decided to become violent.
After her year in second grade, Alison had grown taller. Although only eight years of age, she already stood about as tall as Rod (genetics). Ditching her plain white outfit and skirt, she now wore a black sweater and jeans. Unlike the Flanders boys, who, despite their new ages, hadn't yet changed their appearance at all.
"You bet I'm going to take it the wrong way!" Alison said, advancing on the boy. "And you know what I'm going to do about that?"
"… Please don't hurt me…"
Although it wasn't usually her method of getting things done, Alison had always wanted to try it on some unsuspecting boy.
What was the one thing that boys feared more than getting beaten up?
She grabbed his shoulders roughly.
"Rod! Help me!"
The other boy grabbed her shoulder.
She squatted down to meet his face.
"Alison, what are you doing?"
And she kissed him right on the left cheek, making it longer than usual. When she came up, both boys were shocked speechless.
Girls.
"A vice, huh?" Alison asked, giving Todd a smug look. "Looks like you enjoyed it." And she walked off.
By the time she had disappeared, Rod looked down to realize that Todd was blushing.
--
"Kids," Marge said to Bart and Lisa. "I need to gather my thoughts for awhile. So, against my better judgement, I'm leaving the two of you in charge of the house." She scooped up the crawling Maggie. "It's the weekend, so you know that you can go to bed whenever you feel like. I left pizza money on the counter. Goodnight."
Marge turned and left. From the living room, Bart and Lisa heard the slam of the door. Bart said, "Looks like she's really mad."
"Yeah," Lisa muttered. "What was dad doing to make her so upset anyway?"
"Drinking and driving. Cops caught him."
Lisa shook her head. "I wish Dad could see how much his alcohol addiction hurts Mom."
Bart shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going upstairs for a bit."
"Going to call Jessica again?" Lisa taunted.
Bart froze. "What do you mean?"
"I heard you talk to her on the phone once," Lisa said.
"… Oh…"
Lisa smiled a smug grin. "Yup. Though I think she's gotten better from the last time."
"Hey, what about Donny?" Bart asked. This time, Lisa began to blush. "He talks about you all the time, you know."
"Really?" Lisa sounded a bit too eager.
"Yup."
"C'mon Bart, stop it," Lisa said, shoving her brother around a bit. "Tell me what he said."
"Why don't you tell me you like him?"
"Because I don't."
"Well why do you want to know?"
"BART!!"
--
… To be continued…
Well, after much typing, retyping, outlining, and thinking of new ideas, the next segment of The Springfield Chronicles is in.
Author's Commentary:
This one will probably flow more like a short story than a collection of loosely related one-shots like The Springfield Chronicles: Bart Simpson Series as I'm no longer experimenting with the story. With this one, I semi-know what I'm looking for, which means I know the rough plot and how I want it to turn out. Although it'll probably be a bit… untasteful… for an author to comment on his own story, I'm doing it anyway.
The Homer/Marge marriage crises (I know, I know… not again…) is simply there because I want the story to keep from being entirely child-oriented. Rest assured, more adults will come into the picture soon. As you can see, I tried to scale down the romance level between Bart and Jessica, so they act more like kids and less like hormone-crazed teens. Lisa and Donny will be the same. And probably the most confusing of the lot, Alison and Todd, is simply there because I wanted something new.
And I don't know how Obama's doing against McCain, I just put that there because hey, what would The Simpsons be without a little political commentary?
I'm more pleased with this one, because I've been working on it for a while, been really careful with it, and tried to finess it so it comes out entertaining and will leave you wondering What happens next?
So, keep a lookout for the next installement!
AND REVIEW!!
For the last Springfield Chronicles, I understand that you didn't review because you've seen the stories before, already reviewed them, and didn't feel like reviewing them again. Fair enough. For this one, please, REVIEW IT!