"Fireside Diaries"
Story Written by Freedom Fighter

So here's another new installment of the "Fireside Diaries," and this one stars Ginger! Doing something unbecoming of a Fireside Girl...

Disclaimer: The characters of 'Phineas and Ferb' belong to Disney.


Ginger was pulling a small cart, one filled with large boxes of candy that each carried anywhere from a dozen to 40 small, sale-size boxes, bags, or paper- or foil-wrapped bars. One at a time, she was removing old, near-empty boxes, and replacing them with new ones.

Entry #246 - Written by Ginger

The Fireside Girls are looked up to as role models for girls our age. You know, ones they can directly emulate, and whose actions are proven as appropriate by adults. But we aren't perfect. We are prone to making bad decisions... and we regularly do. But the idea is that we're supposed to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them.

The tale I'm about to tell you involves me making a decision that I'm regretting now, and certainly will for years to come. By reading this entry, hopefully you'll learn from me and not do what I did! Or else you'll be spending your Sunday doing what I'm doing right now.

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Entry #246 [FSD104] - The Wrong Kind of Discount (07.21.11)
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It all started a few Saturdays ago...

Isabella was leading the girls into a convenience store. Once they were clear of the doors, the group went their separate ways, some already with an idea of what they wanted to get, while others decided to wildly browse and hope that something stuck out to them. One of those in the latter category was Ginger.

She walked right by Milly and Katie, the former of which had a triangular-shaped long box in hand that she was suggesting to the latter.

Ginger kept walking, and moved on to the next aisle. She walked up to Adyson, who was staring intensely at a box that had a caramel-covered apple in it.

"It's still healthy because I'm eating an apple, right?" Adyson asked rhetorically.

Ginger shrugged her shoulders, then continued on. She continued her tour of the aisles, with nothing really popping out to her. That is, until an endcap display caught her attention.

"'The Ultra-Amazing-Sweet Granola Bar!'" she read it aloud. "'Tastes good to kids AND approved by members of the American Parents Association of Healthy Eating!' Sounds like... THE BEST THING EVER!"

She grabbed one bar off of the right side of the display and read what was in it. She stuck her tongue out upon reading what flavor it was.

"Tofu? BLECH!"

She put it back and grabbed one from the left side. This one was marked 'honey-flavored.'

"That's better!"

She flipped it over and saw the price tag on it read 95 cents. She reached into her pocket...

And that's when I came to a startling realization...

"No! I forgot to bring my allowance!"

Ginger quickly glanced around the store, looking for help. She saw Holly, then Isabella, and lastly, Gretchen.

"I can't ask any of them! I owe all of them money already!"

She searched for other options. She ran to the window, and saw Milly already in the car, having made her purchase, and Katie on her way there with hers. Ginger then saw the meter on the gas pump Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro was using climb past 35 dollars.

"She's almost done! Gotta hurry..."

Ginger was down to one option, and she found her where she had last seen her. Still in front of the caramel apples - but not for long, as she had plucked one of the shelf and was about to head for the register.

"Adyson!"

Adyson stopped and turned to face Ginger as the Asian girl ran up to her.

"Adyson! I need to borrow some money!"

"Can't. I only have enough money to buy this."

She held it up for Ginger to see the price tag. It read $2.25.

"Couldn't you get something... cheaper?"

Adyson frowned. "Why would I do that?"

With that, Adyson walked off. Ginger lowered her head and made the slow trek back to the display to return the bar. But upon getting there, she suddenly got a new idea. She peeked around the corner and saw that the clerk was busy ringing up the rest of the girls. Ginger took a deep breath, then did the unthinkable.

She slipped the bar into the right side of her uniform. The top half stuck out of the top of her skirt, so she covered that portion by untucking her shirt and leaving it hanging out. She then casually made her way to door, making it look as if she had bought nothing at all. She got outside, noticed that the clerk was still behind the counter, and breathed a sigh of relief. She walked to the car and joined Milly and Katie in waiting for the others inside. A minute later, the others piled into the car, and Isabella's mom hopped in to continue the drive to where the girls were going today.


Soon after, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro dropped the girls off at a public self-storage facility, where they had volunteered to help a friend of the family move a bunch of extraneous stuff into a storage unit. They first walked over to a portable mini-fridge, which had been brought for them to store their food. Ginger quickly pulled her granola bar out and slipped it into Holly's bag without her noticing. The others placed their bags inside, and then they all walked over to meet their clients - a couple in their 70s.

"Thanks for letting us help you so we can get our Movers' Apprentice Patches, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis!" Isabella thanked them in advance.

"You're welcome, dear," Mrs. Lewis said in response.

"We're just happy to see that kids like you are still willing to assist us elderly folk," Mr. Lewis told them.

"No problem! So, what are we moving?"

Mr. Lewis snapped his fingers, and two moving trucks backed into the alley. They came to a stop, and then their roll-up doors rose to reveal boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations. There were three adult movers there to handle the really heavy stuff, but it was up to the girls to take care of the rest.

"Just think of it as Christmas in July!" Isabella told her troop. "In... March. It'll be fun!"


One hour later, all of the girls were exhausted and aching in pain. Most of them were lying on the pavement, with the exception of Adyson and Isabella, both of whom were draped over a couple boxes that had been taken out of the truck but had not been put in the garage yet.

"It'll be fun, she says," quoted Adyson, in a sarcastic tone.

"Thanks, girls," Mrs. Lewis said, pointing out the fact that one truck was now completely empty and the other only a quarter-full. "Why don't you all take a break?"

They all took her up on her offer and went over to the mini-fridge to get what they had bought from the store. Ginger got there last, and was aghast when she saw that all of the bags had been claimed. To make matters worst, she had forgotten whose bag she had dropped her stolen bar in.

"Oh no," Ginger said in a panic. "If someone pulls out my bar, they'll know for sure I stole it!"

Ginger closed her eyes, not wanting to watch as the others sat down on the ground and pulled their purchases out. All she could do is wait for someone to ask the inevitable question...

"Hey... I don't remember buying this!"

Ginger opened her eyes back up, and joined everyone in looking over at Holly, who was the one who made the remark - and was the one holding up the honey-flavored Ultra-Amazing-Sweet Granola Bar.

"I surely would've remembered getting this," Holly said out loud before holding it up to the others. "Did one of you buy it and accidentally slip it in my bag?"

Everyone shook their heads in denial, including Ginger.

"Girls!" they heard Mr. Lewis shout to them. "Could you help me with something?"

The girls, all having not yet opened up their treats, placed everything on the ground, then walked over to see what was up.

"I know my wife sent you on break, but can I get you girls to help rearrange a couple things real fast?"

"Sure!" agreed Isabella.

She then turned to Ginger.

"Ginger, could you go back and keep an eye on our snacks?"

Ginger smiled. This was her chance to get rid of the evidence.

"You got it, Chief!"

She ran off from the group. Upon reaching their makeshift 'snack picnic' spot, she gathered up all the treats, making sure to put them all in their respective bags. That is, except for her granola bar, which she clenched in her left hand.

"I have to get rid of the evidence," Ginger told herself.

She tossed all of the bags back in the mini-fridge, made sure no one was looking, and then ran behind one of the moving trucks. Needing to work fast, she ripped off the wrapper with one pull and bit into the bar, gathering an entire third of it in her mouth. Instantly, she felt as if she was in heaven thanks to the sweet taste.

"The display was right..." she murmured. "It DOES taste good to kids!"

"A-HA!"

Ginger froze in place. She slowly turned her head to the right and saw both Isabella and Adyson standing there, with scowls on their faces and their hands on their hips.

"Caught you red-handed!" Adyson continued. "Shame on you, Ginger!"

"How could you?" Isabella asked, in disbelief. "It's wrong to steal! ESPECIALLY for a Fireside Girl!"

"It's a founding principal. Izzy, you know, as troop leader, that's an expulsion-worthy offense. You could kick her out of the troop for that."

"I could, couldn't I? Hmmm..."

Seeing that Isabella was seriously considering the worst-case option, Ginger knew that begging was her only chance to keep her sash. So she dropped to her knees in front of the girls and started to do so.

"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! I didn't want to steal it, but I forgot my wallet, and I... I didn't want to ask to borrow money because I owe you all so much. Look, once we're done here, we'll go to my house, I'll get some money, we'll drive back to the store, I'll confess to stealing and pay for my granola bar! If I do that, can I stay in the troop?"

Isabella and Adyson conferred, and Ginger waited anxiously to hear their decision...


The next day, Ginger was back in the store, wheeling a cart out of the stock room and heading for the candy aisles...

So I did everything I promised, and Isabella forgave me and allowed me to stay in the troop. After I confessed to the store owner and paid for the bar, he forgave me too. But he still thought I needed to make sure I had learned my lesson, so he told me to come in today, an hour before opening, to stock the shelves.

I don't envy anyone who has to do this dull job for a living.

The owner walked up to Ginger just as she finished her task.

"That's enough, Ginger. You may go home!"

"Thanks!"

The moral of the story? Don't steal!

She was about to walk out, but then she passed by the rack of caramel apples - and there was only one left. She plucked it and headed for the door.

"AHEM!" coughed the owner.

Ginger stopped, realizing she was about to walk out without paying. She sheepishly returned to the counter, reached into her pocket, and put three dollar bills down.

End Entry

Author's Notes:
Apologies for the moral-laden tale, but this is a family-friendly series, and sometimes these stories are needed because you just really can't think of anything else good.

Stay tuned for the next new entry! New ones posted every Thursday!