2017 It was a hectic morning at the Muppet boarding House. Everyone was rushing around trying to get themselves ready for rehearsal at the Muppet Theater. There was a long line to the bathroom, a lot of people were going around the kitchen, trying to get breakfast ready, and a few were sitting at the dining room table, eating breakfast or sitting patiently until it was time to go.
Kermit, Robin and Walter were among these few people at the dining table, Walter and Robin eating cereal and Kermit flipping through a newspaper, waiting for all the other Muppets to get ready.
"So Kermit," Walter asked, breaking the silence. "What's the plan at the Muppet Theater for today?"
"Well, we need to rehearse a few skits for the show and a reporter from some sort of newspaper is going to come by and interview some of us," Kermit answered.
"Didn't you say yesterday that we were also going to be meeting with some possible new employees today?" Robin asked his uncle.
"New Muppets are going to audition today? That's great! We could use some new performers," Walter said.
"Actually, not all of them are going to be completely new. Some of them are going to be people we've worked with in the past but didn't show up to partake in the 2011 movie. Since we've been gaining a lot of popularity lately, some of them want to get involved in the old show again," Kermit explained.
"Wait, you mean like characters from Muppets Tonight and The Jim Henson Hour? Wow! I wonder which ones want to rejoin," Walter said, thinking of every character that he knows hasn't been seen onscreen in a long time.
Fozzie entered from outside, clutching a small stack of envelopes and an issue of the Daily Scandal. "Okay, I've got a couple of letters here, and an issue of the Daily Scandal!" the bear announced. "Who here is subscribed to the Daily Scandal?"
Miss Piggy popped out of her bedroom and said, "Oh, that must be moi's! Would someone bring that up to my room, please?"
Walter retrieved the magazine from Fozzie and went upstairs to Piggy. "Miss Piggy, you don't actually believe the articles that are written in that magazine, do you? I heard that a lot of the stories are made up nowadays," the Muppet fan stated.
"Oh, I've know, but some of the articles are hilarious! Like this one right here: 'Prince's Ghost spotted near Paisley Park Records'! I wonder what kind of idiot would fall for that?" Miss Piggy read aloud.
"What's this about Prince's ghost?" Dr. Bunsen Honeydew asked, walking into the room followed by his assistant, Beaker.
"It was spotted near the recording studio he used to work at," Walter answered.
"Really? Incredible! Beaker, get out the ghost investigating equipment and see if we can find someone to take us to Paisley Park Records later today. This incident is worth looking into!" Bunsen instructed his friend.
"Me-meep!" Beaker nodded, running down into the basement where the duo's home laboratory was located.
Miss Piggy slapped the magazine onto her forehead and muttered, "I had to ask that out loud."
Rizzo entered the room and said, "It's a shame that Prince had gone so soon. He was a really cool guy." The rat looked down at the ground and sighed, "There'll never be another person like him."
"Aw Rizzo, I didn't know you were still a little torn up about his death," Gonzo said, patting his best friend on the back.
"Well, who isn't? We all mourned him that day, well anyone who was in Muppets Tonight did," Rizzo stated. "I wonder how Clifford took the bad news. He and Prince were pretty good friends."
"Well, Clifford was probably just as depressed about it as we all were," Kermit guessed. "Like you said, he and Prince did stay friends after that episode of Muppets Tonight. The news of Prince's death probably destroyed him."
Lips then entered the dining room, asking, "What's this I'm hearing about Clifford?"
"We were just talking about Prince's death and how Clifford might've reacted to the news," Gonzo explained.
"That's a weird topic to discuss, but I can't blame you for thinking about it. I kind of expected Clifford to call us when it happened, like he needed support to cope with the grief or something like that," Lips admitted. "Guess he's the type to mourn alone."
"Yeah, that might be true," Gonzo agreed.
"So, speaking of Muppets Tonight," Walter said, changing the subject. "Why weren't you in it, Lips? You could've had a chance to meet the more modern celebrities."
"Yeah, you could've been a trumpeter for our house band," Rizzo added.
"You could've gotten more screen-time," Gonzo threw in.
"You would've been able to hang out with Clifford more," Zoot said, walking into the room.
"Well…" Lip started, twiddling his thumbs. "I just wanted a break from showbiz for a while. The pressure was really starting to get to me."
"Pressure? What pressure? Nobody knew who you were!" Rizzo stated.
"That's the point, nobody would've recognized me," Lips explained.
"And being on Muppets Tonight could've allowed fans to see more of you so you could be recognized more," Gonzo told the trumpeter.
"And what are you talking about being unrecognizable? You're part of the Electric Mayhem! People would've know who you were!" Walter exclaimed. "I'm sure you met Clifford once. I mean, you were both in the Muppets at Walt Disney World tv special."
"I remember when you first met Clifford," Zoot stated. "You were so nervous around him that I thought you would faint!"
Lips threw his head back and groaned, "I know! It was awful! He probably thought I was a dork or something."
"Nah, man. Clifford thought you were cool. He told you himself, didn't he?" Zoot reminded his bandmate.
"Yeah, but-," Lips started to say until Walter cut in, "See! Clifford knew who you were! I'm pretty sure he would've let you be on Muppets Tonight!"
"Yeah but that doesn't matter now; Muppets Tonight may be gone, but we got the Muppet Show back on the air, and I'm in that. But Clifford's not in the Muppet Troupe anymore," Lips said.
"But Clifford might come back one day," Walter suggested.
"Yeah, and when he does, he's not going to remember me," Lips said. "Out reunion will probably go like this: I'll say 'Hey Clifford! Welcome back! How are you?' and he'll say '...I'm sorry, who are you?' or he'll ask someone else 'who's this weirdo?'."
"Oh come on! Clifford doesn't have bad memory. I mean, sure, you two only spoke to each other on one or two occasions, but I'm sure he'll still know who you are," Rizzo insisted.
Lips justed nodded and left the room, Zoot following close behind.
"I can't believe how negative you were just now. That's not like you at all," the saxophonist pointed out.
"I know," Lips sighed. "Sorry. I think it's because I feel a lot of regret for not keeping in touch with Clifford after the Disney World special."
Zoot patted his friend on the shoulder, "Hey, Walter said Clifford could come back one day. If he does, you could try to be a closer friend to him."
"Yeah, I guess I could," Lips agreed.
"Heck, maybe this time, Clifford will want to join the band," Zoot added.
"That'd be cool. He's a groovy musician and singer."
"And maybe you could finally confess your undying love for him."
"Yeah, I-WHOA! HOLD THE PHONE! I can't believe I nearly waltzed right into that one," Lips said, shaking his head.
Zoot laughed, "Don't deny it! I know that you had such a bad crush on him back them. That's why you were so nervous."
Lips nodded, "Yeah, it's true. I can't deny the fact that I found him attractive. But the day I confess my love to Clifford will probably be the same day you admit your feelings to Dr. Teeth!"
Zoot immediately covered Lips' mouth with his hand and looked around to make sure that nobody was around to hear that statement. Once he was sure that they were still alone, he pulled his hand away. "Keep your voice down! John might've heard you, and I'm still not sure if he feels the same way yet!" he whispered.
"Okay, sorry," Lips apologized, lowering his voice. "I think I'm in the same boat regarding Clifford. Last I checked, he had a girlfriend who he talked to on the phone a lot on Muppets Tonight and I don't know if they're still together. Also, I don't even know if he has a preference for guys."
"He kissed Rizzo once," Zoot stated.
"Yeah, but not intentionally. Paula Abdul made that happen," Lips reminded the blue Muppet. "Also, how do we know if he'll even come back to the Muppets. It's been nearly 12 years, so I think he's gone forever."
"Hey, you never know. A miracle might happen. I heard Kermit saying some old Muppet co-stars are going to come back to work with us again today. For all we know, one of the might be Clifford," Zoot suggested.
"No, I doubt that. I've lost him for good," Lips stated.
Then the two musicians heard Kermit holler, "Okay! Everyone to your designated carpools! We're heading to the theater to get rehearsals started!"
And with that, all the Muppets in the house flooded out of the building and into their vehicles and drove to the Muppet Theater to get their work started.
So, some former Muppet co-stars are going to return to the Muppet Troupe! Who could they be?
Find out in the next chapter of Scandal!
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