"Okay, so we need to get started with the new show."
The entire Veggie Tales cast was gathered to prepare for the next show. This would be the first show with the new cast members. The main story would be a fairy tale based on the story of Ruth, set in the kingdom of King George and the Ducky. Everyone was excited about that, but the kids were excited about the short before it. It was going to be based on Miriam being Moses' older sister, and it was still undecided who would be the cast.
"Let's start with Miriam. It will be easier to decide the rest of the cast if we get her figured out," Bob commented. Annie gave Ellie a little smile. It made since to all of the kids that Ellie and Alex got the roles of Miriam and Aaron.
"Hey! Why not Ellie for Miriam? Plus, she has an actual older brother that can be Aaron!" Annie brought up, trying to get her new friend her first role.
All of the other cast members seemed excited about the idea. Alex's face brightened up at the idea of working with his sister for his first character. Petunia loved the idea so much, she stopped gazing at Larry. Larry, however, was still staring at the stunning new rhubarb. Annie looked over at Ellie, and they both knew that they could use that. Annie made a mental note of that.
"Good idea, but do you remember the last time we didn't include a character's name in their first show?"
Oh yeah, Annie thought, Scallion #1 still doesn't have a name. I don't want that to happen to Ellie.
"Okay, so maybe Ellie being Miriam is not such a good idea," Annie admitted, slouching back into her seat.
"What about Laura as Miriam? It would make sense for the rest of the carrot family to be the rest of the show family," Alex suggested.
"That's a great idea! Great first choice!" Larry exclaimed, finally snapping out of his gaze. Petunia noticed and gave a slight giggle.
"Um… Larry?" Bob started, not sure what to say to his best friend.
"Next up, we have two letters from kids being bullied. Any ideas? Remember, try to come up with ideas that include new cast members!"
This was Annie's favorite part of the meetings. There was no telling what would come up for the next show, and there was no telling which idea would be chosen.
"What about Robin Hood? In a way, he was bullied by the giants and the sheriff and everything else he faced!" Junior suggested.
"Not bad, but let's hear some others. Anything else?" Bob asked.
"Now wait a minute! Maybe not have that be the main thing, but I could see us working in something Robin Hood," Nick volunteered, "What about having that be a part of a short?"
"Having even that sounds like a stretch to me," commented Larry, "Could we have more of an explanation?"
"Maybe like a young Robin Hood story: The Reason He Started Doing Good!"
"Not bad Nick, but we could still do better."
"Why have you been so into Robin Hood lately, Junior?" Laura asked.
Junior just shrugged his shoulders, without an answer.
"You've got to admit though, pretending to live in Sherwood Forest was a lot of fun." All of the kids couldn't argue with Junior. Annie remembered how much fun they had all had.
"I've got it! First off, Gordon, do you mind your first role being mean?" Bob got excited quickly when he had an idea.
Gordon thought for a moment. "I don't know."
"Trust me. It's fun to play the bad guy as long as it doesn't change you." Everyone knew Mr. Nezzer was right. He was most known for playing villains, and he was one of the nicest guys any of the cast knew. Anyone who had ever played a villain nodded at Mr. Nezzer's comment.
"Alright, I'll do it!" Gordon said with a smile.
"Then what about doing a show based on Junior's imagination? Think about it: It would start out with the kids playing their Robin Hood game, and Gordon just interrupts their game pretty much to be a bully. Along with that, Junior can have daydreams where he's a brave hero!"
All of the kids got excited about pretty much getting their own short. The last time anything close to this had happened was when they did The Toy that Saved Christmas, and Annie didn't do any scenes with the other kids.
"Okay, so we'll work out more exact details at the next meeting. Anyone have ideas for a main show?"
"I was cleaning up the costume room, and I found a cap! Does that spark any ideas?" Mr. Lunt told everyone.
"It was not a cap! It was a fedora!" Larry almost yelled. Annie knew this meeting was still going to have plenty of ideas.
