The spring-loaded uppercut to Vicky's jaw didn't break it, but she was certainly dazed for a while. When she finally got orientated enough for her to stand up, she stalked back into her bedroom. First, she looked out the window down at their front garden. She saw that her dad was right: the camouflaged cover over the outsides weapons stash had been removed and it looked like it had been emptied out.
"Well, what can be emptied can be refilled", Vicky said to herself, and made a phone call to the Dimmsdale National Guard. The way that she had amassed all of those weapons in the first place was by blackmailing several officers in the local National Guard. Their access to their armory enabled her to get her own weapons stash set up. However...
"I'm sorry, Ma'am", the voice at the other end of the phone said, "All of the officers you wished to speak to have just departed. They received immediate orders to deploy to Iraq".
"What?!!!" Vicky shouted.
"Yes, Iraq", the voice confirmed, "and the strange thing is that those officers you named seemed quite overjoyed to leave. Perhaps they know something we don't".
Vicky slammed down the phone. Still, there was one other thing, and perhaps there would be an opportunity to use it soon - at dinner perhaps...
"Looking for this?" Mr. Flannigan said at the dinner table. Vicky looked at the bottle in Mr. Flannigan's hand in shock.
"Now that Mom and I are preparing all our meals, we will have no further need of your 'seasoning', Vicky", Mr. Flannigan said smugly.
What Vicky had used in the past to help cement her contol over the family was by preparing the evening meals. She had introduced a drug into food meant for her parents that increased anxiety levels tenfold. That, plus the threat of her using her weapons, had made it so easy to cow her parents, but now even that had been denied her.
The 'electrician' had found the bottle during his shake-down of the premises yesterday, and after making a quick phone call, had a courier deliver an antidote to counter its effects. That - plus the stripping of all of Vicky's weapons - had really done its job in shaking off the fear they had had for Vicky.
For her part, Tootie was enjoying her meal. It was an excellent one. For some reason, Vicky was not enjoying hers, and Mrs. Flannigan's directive about her washing up the dishes really made her day! When Vicky went up to her room after cleaning up in the kitchen, she had the look of utter defeat on her face.
"Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad", Tootie said as she went up to her room to go to bed.
"It certainly is, Tootie", Mrs. Flannigan replied, "Have a good sleep, and don't forget to set your anti-Vicky alarm system before you turn in".
Tootie nodded. Still, Vicky was not the uppermost thing on her mind at the moment. She was eagerly awaiting seeing Timmy on the School Bus tomorrow morning. She did have to remind herself about restraining her enthusiam for Timmy, as Trixie had suggested, but still, she was eager to see just how Timmy regarded her makeover.
The following morning - a bright a cheerful morning with no storm clouds looming over a certain house - The Flannigan household woke up. Vicky had been hoping that the experiences of yestersday had been nothing more than a very bad dream. Her hopes were dashed at the sight of her stripped armory, and the crushed remote control on her dresser.
"Vicky!" Mr. Flannigan shouted from below, "get dressed, get your breakfast, then get going to school". Still reeling inside from her loss of power, Vicky glumly complied.
For her part, Tootie had aslready been awake. She took her time doing her ablutions, brushing her newly styled hair, then selecting one of the outfits that Trixie had chosen for her. After dressing, she looked at her reflection in the mirror, and nodded in satisfaction at what she saw. She left her room and ran downstairs past Vicky to the breakfast table.
"Good morning, Tootie", Mrs. Flannigan said cheerfully as she put a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her at the dining table.
"This is going to be a good day", Tootie cheerfully replied, "Looking good, and eating a substantial breakfast as well".
"We'll all be eating substantially from now on, Tootie", Mrs. Flannigan replied, finishing up with a glare at Vicky as she walked into the dining area.
Vicky quickly ate without speaking. Seeing Tootie eat well, and seeing her dog Doidle stuck outside in his kennel eating dog food reinforced the fact that her reign had truly ended. Quickly eating her breakfast - which actually was quite good - she grabbed her backpack and headed out.
Tootie and Mrs. Flannigan exchanged smirks.
On the other hand, a smirk was not on Timmy's face. His breakfast - the usual 'Mold Merial' that Mr. and Mrs. Turner had stockpiled - was unappetising and monotonous. For their part, Cosmo and Wanda had magiked up their usual breakfast banquet up in Timmy's room.
"Mmm-mmm", Cosmo said as he finished his repast, "there's nothing like a good breakfast to start the day right!" He stopped speaking as Timmy walked into the bedroom in order to get his backpack.
"Have a good breakfast, Sweetie?" Wanda asked as she poofed away hers and Cosmo's breakfast.
"Oh yes", Timmy said sarcastically, "so good in fact that I wish that all of the Cold Cereal we have in this house was all gone to Darkest Africa!".
As Wanda nad Cosmo raised their wands to grant the wish, Cosmo mutted, "Oh, those poor Darkest Africans!". POOF!
"Hey, where's my Mold Merial?" Timmy heard Mr. Turner say downstairs. Nodding, Timmy picked up his backpack. Cosmo and Wanda poofed themselves onto the front of Timmy's lunchbox.
"Have a good day, Mom. Dad", Timmy said as he left the house. Mr. and Mrs. Turner didn't acknowledge. They were busy looking for their cold cereal that had somehow vanished.
"Darn", Mrs. Turner said, "I guess we'll have to use cold oatmeal from here on out".
"Oh, goodie", Mr. Turner responded, "Mold Moatmeal!".
Timmy caught the school bus okay and was seated down in his usual seat. A.J. and Chester were in the seat in front of him. Timmy saw Trixie's bodyguard Rochford standing watch in the popular section. Behind Rochford, Trixie was talking to Veronica in their almost-incomprehensible girl talk.
Timmy heaved a sigh at the sight of Trixie. He wondered what plan he could come up with today to get her attention. Just then, the bus came to a stop. Timmy realized that this was the stop where Tootie gets on. Hastilly, Timmy placed his backpack on the empty part of the seat he was in.
Other kids in the bus liked seeing Timmy squirm at Tootie's attention. They expected Tootie to do the usual routine. What they didn't expect was the sight of a very pretty girl step onto the bus. Lovely flowing hair, stylish clothes, and a great set of glasses that accentuated everything she wore, the kids fell silent as this girl walked down the aisle.
"What's everyone gone silent for?" Timmy asked A.J. before he caught a glance at what what walking down the aisle. His jaw dropped at the sight of this girl. It dropped even further as the girl said quietly, "Good Morning, Timmy", before sitting down in the seat on the other side of the aisle from him. Timmy recognized the voice, and he could barely stutter a reply.
"T-t-t-t-Tootie?" he managed to get out. Tootie nodded, then - with a great effort - turned her attention to the front of the bus. Timmy couldn't take his eyes off the beautiful young girl who had previously been someone whom he DIDN'T want to see. Tootie did a wonderful job of feigning disinterest, but she felt so warm inside seeing Timmy's reaction.
Back in the popular section, Trixie looked at Timmy's reaction with a look of satisfaction. Looks like the makeover worked, she thought smugly to herself...
