Cherry and Atticus were on their way, as the theater cleared out, but there was Darla, now in a blue jumpsuit and a pink bandanna as she had been reduced to as a janitor and was forced to clean up the mess she made.
"Should we help her?" Cherry asked Atticus as they were the only ones left.
"Might as well." Atticus said.
Darla was mopping around and glared up at her two 'assistants'. "What do you two want?"
"We're gonna help you clean up." Cherry offered.
Darla scoffed. "Yeah, right, like you'd really help me after what I'd done."
But she was surprised to see that they were helping her clean.
"So, Darla, what do you think you're gonna do now since you're not a celebrity anymore?" Cherry asked.
"I don't know what else to do..." Darla put the mop up as she looked at the stage. "I could go home, but Max won't be there and they're probably gonna auction it off..."
"We could help you out with that too, wait, what about your parents?" Atticus asked. "Can't they help you?"
Darla looked to him, then looked down drearily. "I-I don't have parents... Not anymore..."
"What happened to them?" Atticus asked.
Darla held herself as she walked to the distance, looking up to the sky as if it provided an answer. "They died in a car accident with my big sister... I was only four-years-old and with a nanny... I didn't have any other living relatives, so I was sent to an orphanage, but that's where I also got my start..."
"You first movie was about an orphan girl who becomes a celebrity when a movie producer adopts her." Cherry remembered.
"Yes, that one is true," Darla sighed. "LB Mammoth came to the orphanage to look for a new kid to represent since he thought children were just adorable and would see a lot of his movies with a child, so there was a talent show, the winner would be adopted by him, this bully girl was going to outshine me, but I was better than her, so I got to win."
"What happened to the bully girl?" Atticus asked.
"I don't know," Darla shrugged. "I was just told to go pack up my bags in my room and I went with Mr. Mammoth in his limo and drove off to my new home of Hollywood. But now... I'm not famous anymore and he won't represent me because of you and your dumb animal friends!"
"We didn't intend on making you a street urchin, Darla..." Cherry tried to soothe.
"Well, you did, and now I have nowhere to go!" Darla huffed. "I'm not going back to that orphanage! Neither of you can't know what it's like to have a family and then have them be taken from you, then finally get a home where no one takes care of you except someone like Max, then have yourself be taken away from the only happy place you'll ever have!"
"Darla, would like to come back home with us?" Atticus asked.
"What?!" Darla gaped at him. "Where would I stay!?"
"Yes, Atticus, where would she stay?" Cherry asked, a little on the edge, it was a nice thought, but could they handle it?
"With me and my family." Atticus said.
"Oh, I don't know..." Darla rubbed her arm.
"Come on, it's about time we got home anyway," Cherry said. "I'm sure Mrs. Fudo and Atticus's sister maybe have some new clothes for you."
"Can we at least see the mansion before anything happens to it?" Darla wondered, she had some hidden stuff there after all.
"Sure." Atticus said.
The three of them went to the glittering mansion.
Darla opened the basement door and went down the stairs. "Help move this thing."
Cherry and Atticus went with Darla and pushed out the chest that was inside the house, if anyone destroyed the house, they shouldn't this too.
"Hey, it looks like it'd been opened," Darla put her hands on her hips, looking a little cross.
"That's a little bit of our fault." Atticus said sheepishly.
"Sorry, but you did lock us down here, we couldn't help but notice..." Cherry admitted.
Darla sighed. "It's fine... Well, goodbye, house... You were the perfect place for me to roam in when not posing for the newspaper, starring in a short film, or winning a youth award just for being me..." She looked back to her mansion in all its pinkness in glory. "I just hope whoever owns this place now will take good care of it..."
"Well, let's get going." Atticus said.
Cherry and Atticus got their stuff and got on the bus to take them home. Darla was joining them and was trying to ignore the bus driver's remarks about her now and she shoved up the trunk under the long seat in between her new friends, if they wanted to be her friends.
"I'm really sorry about this, Darla..." Cherry tried to console. "You must be emotionally crippled."
"You know, I never realized how lonely I was until everyone started to hate me for being a bratty kid..." Darla sighed in depression.
"Well, you won't be alone with where we're going." Atticus said.
"Thanks, guys..." Darla sounded confident now. "I never had a real friend before..."
"Well, we're your family now and you'll be Atticus's new sister, I don't know them very well, but I'm sure Atticus's parents will like you, even his sister." Cherry encouraged.
"Yeah, they're very nice and my sis is a fantastic singer." Atticus said.
Darla smiled, then her eyes felt heavy, she started to lean over Cherry and fell asleep on the way back to their homes. Cherry let her arm out and she put it around the little girl.
Three hours passed until they arrived at their home town. Cherry decided to let Atticus and Darla get to his place alone for more time for them to get to know each other better while she went to her house to see her parents after a long week away from the house.
Darla held Atticus's hand as they were going to his house, wheeling the trunk behind them. "Atticus, what if your family doesn't like me?"
"They'll love you, of course, I'll explain everything to them so then they will understand." Atticus said.
Darla heaved a struggled sigh. "Okay... Looks like this is it..." she bit her lip with her gapped teeth as she and Atticus got to the front door.
They both then entered inside.
Darla walked in, looking around. "It's so ordinary looking..." she muttered, not aware that not everyone could afford big luxuries like she could.
They both then took off their shoes.
"They must be in the living room." Atticus said.
Darla shrugged and followed him to see a couple of adults with an older girl indeed in there. She quickly hid behind Atticus as they started to notice he was back from Hollywood and wanted to know how the trip was.
"Well, it was exciting and I brought home someone that I think should be a part of our family," Atticus said, before looking behind him. "Come on out and meet your new family, Darla."
Darla poked her head out and came out to see the Fudo family face-to-face. She had a small smile and had her arms behind her back, still nervous about what Atticus's family would think of her.
"She really needs a loving family." Atticus said.
Mrs. Fudo came over to get a closer look. "Why, it's that adorable little girl on TV! What on Earth are you doing here?"
"Atticus said I could come and stay..." Darla rubbed her arm, staring at the floor. "I got into trouble back home..."
"What happened?" Mr. Fudo asked, sounding a little strict, but not meaning to scare the girl.
Darla saw she had no choice and it would be painful if Atticus explained for her, so she told the new family what had happened and what she had been reduced to.
"Wow, bummer..." Atticus's sister remarked.
"So, can she be a member of our family?" Atticus asked them.
"Well, if she can promise to be good now." Mr. Fudo made a compromise.
"Oh, yes, I learned my lesson, please!" Darla was on her knees with her hands together. "I don't have anywhere else to go! Please let me stay with you all!"
The older girl shrugged. "It's fine with me, I always wanted a sister... Welcome to the family, I'd say, my name is Jessica."
Darla smiled. "Okay, Jessica..."
"I'm Emily Fudo and this is my husband, Patrick, you can call us Mom and Dad if you want, but you will not be bossing us around or throwing an angry temper tantrum to get your way, okay, Darla?" Mrs. Fudo added.
"I understand... I promise to be a good girl from now on." Darla agreed.
They then had went to the orphanage and signed the adoption forms making it official. Darla had some shines of her old bratty self, but she quickly got over it and realized that she had only missed something that made her apart of who she is, she had missed her family. Not only did she get new parents and a new older sister, but she had a brother now.
Darla was given new clothes by Emily and Jessica as promised and soon enough, she would be able to be enrolled into an elementary school and maybe even make some friends. She was nervous though on her first day when Emily dropped her off, but when she came back to see Atticus and Jessica again, she told them about this new friend she made on her first day of second grade named Sophia. And where they were proud of her. Darla found out what the common saying money can't buy happiness truly meant and she was very proud of herself for having Atticus help her and she never missed being a spoiled brat with treasures from the public as she had her own family to love her unconditionally and was never a spoiled princess ever again.
The End
