For disclaimer on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, please refer to chapter one.

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Chapter Two: Chaos in Mr. Herriman's Office

The clock struck five as Bloo sat on the couch lazily, watching television with a plastic bowl full of potato chips. He felt his eyelids beginning to droop. Boredom had made him very sleepy. Suddenly, a sharp ringing of the house's doorbell startled Bloo awake, and causing him to knock the potato chip bowl off of his lap.

Staring at the scattered chips on the floor, he decided to ignore cleaning it up, and instead he walked over to the room's exit, stepping on some chips in progress. He poked his head through the jarred door, and saw Frankie talking to a dark-skinned man and a fair-skinned woman with dark red hair and freckles at the front door. Beside Frankie stood a sad-looking imaginary friend. It was in a shape of a deflated life preserver with stick-thin arms and legs, and small, broken wings.

"She probably tried to imagine something that could save her," the man told Frankie, who looked stunned, "but it was too late. She couldn't think of it fast enough, and got entangled in the tarp." Tears started to form in all three adults' eyes. "She drowned quickly," the man manage to finish.

"We also called her good friend to let him know what happened," the woman added as she adjusted her grip on the handles of a plastic box she held in her arms. "He didn't take it very well." She handed the butterfly sticker-decorated box to the young Foster. "This is stuff she would probably wanted him to have. Would you please give this to him?"

"Certainly," Frankie replied. "And I'm so sorry for your loss. We will miss her terribly." As the couple left, Frankie carried the violet-colored box to a stairwell step and set it down. She sat down beside it, and loosely placed one hand over her mouth. Tears started to form in her eyes again.

"Frankie," Bloo called out, coming out of the room. "Could you call Mac now?" Frankie recomposed herself.

"Yeah, let's get going." Picking up the box, she carried it while leading Bloo and the lonesome imaginary friend the couple had dropped off into Mr. Herriman's office. Frankie set the box down on the desk, and picked up the phone.

Bloo stood behind her, watching her dial Mac's number. Bloo's face lit up when he heard, "Hey, Mac. It's Frankie." Then his lit-up face faded away when he heard, "Once you get this message, could you give me a call back at Foster's? Thanks." He had hoped that Mac was really there on the other end of the phone line.

As Frankie hung up the phone, she and Bloo heard the tap tapping of a cane making its way across the hall, closer and closer to the office. "Mac won't be coming today," Madame Foster called as she slowly made her way into the room. "He had called earlier to let us know that he'll be unable to visit for the rest of this week. Mr. Herriman is aware of his absence, so no need to worry, dearie."

"THE WHOLE WEEK?" Bloo screamed, "WELL, WHERE IS HE? IN SINGAPORE?" Frankie kneeled down to Bloo and put her hand on his shoulder. "Bloo, calm down. Everything's going to be okay."

"OKAY? OKAY? WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?" He pointed to the lonely imaginary friend sitting in an armchair. "WHO'S THE NEW GUY?" Then he pointed to the plastic bin on the desk. "WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE BOX? AND WHY ISN'T MAC HERE?" He began to hyperventilate.

"Oh, sh…" Frankie muttered as she quickly searched for a brown paper back in one of the desk drawers. Luckily, she found one and put it to Bloo's mouth. "Breathe, Bloo! Don't freak out!" Thankfully being able to calm him down, Frankie had him sit in the armchair next to the deflated life preserver.

"Is everything alright?" asked an extremely tall creature, poking his head into the room.

"Wilt!" Frankie called, "Perfect timing!" She led the newest addition to Foster's home over to the basketball-loving friend. "Could you do me a favor and get this guy fixed up, then give him a tour of the place for me?"

"Sure, Frankie."

"Thanks, Wilt."

The young Foster shut the door behind the two friends, and turned to see her grandmother patting Bloo on the back of his hand. "It's alright, dearie. Mac's just going through a rough patch. He'll be back soon."

"Like, what is that suppose to mean? When is he really going to be back? For all that we know, that could be a whole eternity away!" Bloo shouted, although a lot more relaxed now. Madame Foster smiled, and guided the blue blob out of the room. Frankie shifted awkwardly. After everything she could think of, she was still unsure how to reason with Bloo.

End of Chapter Two

29 August 2007