Day 3

It's a perfect day! It's in the mid-70's. Humidity is sixty percent...

Oh, come on! Candace panicked. She looked through drowsy eyes at her nightstand, where a certain pencil wasn't. Okay, if I do everything exactly like the first day, I might escape this, she thought, It can't hurt to try.

It's a perfect day, not a cl-

Wait, it can hurt, Candace realized, turning the alarm off. A fall down the stairs, soap in my eye, and a couple of nasty sunburns had better be worth it.

Candace tried her best to recreate the first day. Putting up with her brothers, Suzy, and her own clumsiness wasn't as difficult as it was the last time, and Candace discovered that it was interesting to know exactly what was going to happen and when. It was a feeling that she could - and surely would - get used to.

This was because, despite Candace's efforts, the day continued to repeat. Holding onto the hope that all would be right soon if she continued to not mess up her routine, Candace was able to repeat her actions and dialogue from the first day over and over again.

Until, of course, she wasn't.


Day 7

The fifth morning after making the resolve, Candace broke it like one would break an indicational pencil. "Okay, that's it!" She stormed, flipping off the alarm. "There will be no more of this Missy Nice Candace. Now we do things for real, universe!" The teen shook her fist at the ceiling with this vow.

Getting dressed was a blur. The girl sped out of her room, slid down the staircase railing, and rushed out into the kitchen where her brothers were, making the same phone call they had every day. "Hey, Phineas, Ferb," she greeted halfheartedly. She took no care in grabbing the pencil from the clutches of Ferb's abnormally colored locks. "For you, bro. Gotta run," she said, handing over the utensil. Candace was gone as soon as she came, leaving her brothers open-mouthed and with furrowed brows. No one spoke until Phineas realized that he was still on the phone.

"Wh-What's that?" He stuttered into the mouthpiece, "Oh, yes. Yes I am."


The teen almost ran crazily out the front door to face the world, but she came to a realization at the last second. "Wait a minute," she started, "I-I can do anything today. If today keeps repeating like it has been, then nothing I do will have any effect on my life, ever! Oh, this is great! I would burst into song if the circumstances were different!"

Now, if I could do anything, what would I do? Candace thought as she headed out the front door. Well, that's a dumb question, she realized, I would bust my brothers, for real.

But wait, if I actually busted them and the day keeps repeating, they won't actually be busted. That's not fair, that's not fair at all!

Candace grumbled out the door and across the street, not quite sure what she was doing. So she just kept walking, eventually finding herself at the front door of Isabella's house. Suddenly, the idea struck her - such a silly idea, and Candace thought herself foolish to have expected it to work, but when she could do anything, she figured, why not?

The teen knocked happily on the door, and let herself in once Vivian opened it. She knew that if she hadn't, they would stand there for fifteen minutes while Isabella's mother rambled on about how tall Candace had gotten or where were her braces? "Hola, Mrs. García-Shapiro," Candace greeted once she was a safe distance inside. "Uh, may I speak with Isabella for a moment?"

"Oh, sí, sí. She should be in her room. Did I mention how pretty you look today?" Candace had sped off by the time she heard the last sentence start to form.

"Unn, What?" Isabella snapped awake at the sound of her door opening. "Uh, hi, Candace; whatcha doin'?"

"Well, first of all, good morning; second, what are you doing, sleeping at your computer?"

"...Are you wondering if I was up too late looking at pictures of Phineas?" Isabella explained, groggy from her nightly endeavor and uncomfortable sleeping position. "Seriously, though, why are you here at this hour? What time is it, anyway?"

Candace chortled, "Late enough. So, I was wondering if you can help me with something. I've been reliving today for about a week by now, and I'll be honest, I'm getting kind of sick of it."

Isabella sat upright, trying to look as sophisticated as she could in her pj's and unkempt hair. She wiped her mouth to remove any drool that could have escaped. "What can I do?" She asked slowly, beginning to grasp the situation.

"I need some... Whaddyacallit... Action. If I can get around to actually doing something worthwhile, maybe I can get out of the cycle. I would ask my brothers to help, but they would probably take the time machine out and mess things up even worse."

Isabella considered her options. "How do I know you're telling the truth?" She inquired, not yet familiar with her friends' sister.

"I guess there's no way to prove it, but a little birdy told me you are going for a certain Interrogatives patch today, right?"

"How did you know?"

"I'm magical," Candace stated. "Anyway, is there anything in the Fireside Manual about repeating days, or time loops?"

"Do you really think that would be in there?"

"...Fair point, but are you going to help me or not?"

Thinking for a moment, Isabella asked, "What's in it for me?"

Candace laughed. "You do know who you're looking at, right? I can hook you up with Phineas if you're interested."

"...Would you like to continue?"

Her plan ready to be acted upon, Candace did so. "I'm going to need you to knock it off with the questions. They'll only make things harder."

"Why? What about the patch?"

"Ah, you will have the chance to do that tomorrow and..." Candace looked out of the bedroom window, saying, "Oh hi, Phineas. Nice bathing suit."

"Oh, my gosh! Hi, Phine-! Hey, wait a second, you were just tricking me!" Isabella complained, landing a playful sock to Candace's arm.

"Hey, check it out. It does say 'Gullible' on the ceiling." Candace paused, waiting for the girl to look up. "Seriously, why is there a big, spray painted word across your ceiling?"

"Don't ask," Isabella said flatly, crossing her arms. A moment later, she gave in. "Alright, you have a deal. I'll be over when you're ready."


"Alright. The bait is on the hook, the Dorito has left the bag, and the lettuce is out of the salad," Candace summed, "Now, you just have to wait and leave everything to me."

"Well, if you're sure it'll work, it can't hurt to try," Isabella agreed.

"That's the spirit! Now, here he comes." With this, the teen slid out of the room and watched from the doorway as her redheaded brother entered it.

A tap on her shoulder directed Candace's attention to her other sibling, an unimpressed look plastered on his rectangular face. "Lettuce?" He whispered, appearing to be angry.

"Uh, well, I just thought..."

"I prefer cabbage."

Candace sighed in relief. Ferb was always forgiving, and he wouldn't jeopardize the operation out of dislike for the code word Candace had chose to represent him. "Great. Now, be quiet and don't mess this up for Isabella and Phineas." Ferb simply nodded in cooperation.

Inside the living room, things were going smoothly. Isabella had directed the conversation to an appropriate place. "So, do you like dancing?" She asked, hopeful.

"Oh, sure," started Phineas, "You've seen how many spontaneous musical numbers Ferb and I have done."

"Hm, that's true. Hey, how about we do one now?"

"Right now?"

"Sure."

Phineas strolled over to a speaker on the wall, ready to start a song. "Any requests?" He asked.

"Well, I do have one." Isabella invited, flashing a 'Do it, do it now,' look in Candace's general direction. The teen got the signal and pressed a button on her cell, wirelessly starting up the song.

The boy backed away from the speaker as it started spewing out lyrics. "Woah, how did-" he listened more carefully to the tune, realizing why it sounded so familiar. "Hey, I love this song!" He beamed.

'Bow, chicka bow wow!'
That's what my baby says!

Isabella smiled grandly. "So do I."

And my heart starts pumpin'.

"'Chicka chicka choo-op'," Phineas sang along, advancing the girls' plan quickly.

Isabella did backup, just like she had onstage. "Never gonna stop!"

"'Gitchee gitchee goo' means that I love you!" They both exclaimed, and Isabella dropped out for a few lines.

My baby's got her own way of talkin',
Whenever she says something sweet.

And she knows it's my world she's a-rockin',
Though my vocabulary's incomplete!

"How true," Candace snickered from where she watched behind the doorway. To Phineas's dismay, Isabella sang the next stanza.

"I know it may sound confusin';
"I wish that I could give it to ya straight!
"But I'd never feel like I'm a-losin'
"If you'd take the time to translate;

"Here's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

"'Bow, chicka bow wow!'"

Phineas, wanting to get back in somehow, decided that he would take backup for this chorus.

"That's what my baby says!"

'Mow, mow, mow!'

"And my heart starts pumpin'!"

Behind the doorway, Ferb offered his sister a hand and they started to dance and sing as well.

Oh, 'Chicka chicka choo-op!'

Never gonna stop!

'Gitchee gitchee goo' means that I love you!

"Well, I don't know what to do," Phineas continued, demanding his proper place.

"(I don't know what to do!)" Isabella and Candace repeated.

"But I think I'm gettin' through..." Phineas's face showed that the lyrics were the truth.

"(I think you're gettin' through!)"

"'Cause when I say, 'I love you'..."

"(When ya say, 'I love you'!)"

"You say, 'I gitchee gitchee goo you, too!'"

"I gitchee gitchee goo you, too!"

"Gitchee gitchee goo you, too!"

"Gitchee gitchee goo you, too!"

I won't need a dictionary.

'Bow, chicka bow wow.'
That's what my baby says!
'Mow, mow, mow!'
And my heart starts pumpin'!
'Chicka chicka choo-wop.'
Never gonna stop!

'Gitchee gitchee goo' means that I love you!

"I said, 'A-bow chicka bow wow'!" Phineas sung with the soundtrack. He held one of Isabella's hands above their heads and spun her in a circle.

"That's what your baby says!" Candace and Isabella told him. The younger one held on and waltzed around the room with her partner.

'Mow, mow, mow!'

Ferb took both of his sister's hands and slid underneath and through her legs, then kee-ed up, spun in a 540 degree turn, and continued to dance on her other side.

And your heart starts pumpin'!

Candace preformed the classic hand-in-fist heart-pumping motion, turning this way and that with each gesture.

'Chicka chicka choo-wop!'

All four children exploded into, "Ah, I'm never gonna stop!"
'Gitchee gitchee goo' means that I love you!
'Gitchee gitchee goo' means that I love you!
'Gitchee gitchee goo' means that I love you, baby!

Baby!

Bay-bay!

Ferb's delivery of, "Babe-ah, babe-ah, babe-ah, babe-ah!" was so in tune even Candace couldn't tell the difference.

'Gitchee gitchee goo' means that I love you!

At the conclusion of the song, Phineas dipped Isabella. Ferb let go of Candace and the two peered into the living room to see Isabella bury her head into Phineas's chest and smile, tears in her eyes.

Phineas brought the girl back to her feet, hugged her tightly, and whispered, "I gitchee gitchee goo you, too."


So, if you didn't catch it, Isabella admitted her feelings through one of the first songs ever written for the series. I changed some of the lyrics on purpose to do this; note where there are or are not quotation marks.