Disclaimer: The TV series "LazyTown" was created Magnús Scheving and is owned by Turner Broadcasting System. This work of fanfiction is solely for entertainment purposes. I do not own the characters depicted in this story, nor do I gain any profit from using them.
It was a perfect day to be outside, the sky a clear blue and free of clouds. Strong sunshine made the lake sparkle as it lapped against the dock. It was good swimming weather but the kids weren't splashing around. Instead they were waiting up on the boardwalk, and had been for some time.
Stephanie sat in the cabana with her chin in her hands while beside her Pixel was keeping tabs on the weather with his computer. Leaning on the counter Stingy drummed his fingers with increasing impatience. He checked his watch for the fifth time.
"I don't think he's coming," Stingy said.
"Just a few more minutes," Stephanie said.
"You said that ten minutes ago," Stingy grumbled. The girl sighed.
"Maybe he didn't get our letters?" she suggested. Pixel shook his head.
"I don't think so. I put tracking on them before we sent them. The signal got faint when it went underground, but it looks like they were received, see?" He pushed a few buttons on the palmtop computer strapped to his arm and showed Stephanie the screen. While the exact location was unclear the device showed that the canisters had stopped traveling at some point, presumably reaching their destination.
"I don't understand," Stephanie said. "I thought for sure it would work. Sportacus always comes when we send him letters."
"I think Robbie has made it clear that he's not Sportacus," Pixel said. "But still, he could at least RSVP yes or no. He's had all morning to decide."
"Not if he sleeps in until noon," Stingy suggested dryly.
"Did we not give him enough time to get ready?" Stephanie considered the idea. "Should we write him again and reschedule?"
"Do NOT send more letters," Robbie said. The kids looked up in surprise as the villain rounded the fence and stalked onto the boardwalk.
"You're here!" Stephanie said, half in greeting and half in relief.
"You're late," Stingy said. Robbie gave the boy a narrow look and Stephanie darted out of the cabana to move things along.
"Let's not waste any more time, then. Are you ready?"
Robbie turned his suspicious gaze onto Stephanie. "Ready for what? That chicken scratch you call a note barely said anything."
"Just come this way," Stephanie took Robbie by the elbow and pulled him down the boardwalk. Robbie gave a startled jerk for being manhandled by the pink girl but found himself following her direction and heading for the dock with the rest of the kids following.
Four beach chairs sat in a row on the dock overlooking the water. Next to each chair a fishing rod lay ready with one large tackle box to share. Stephanie walked Robbie right over and guided him to sit down in one of the chairs. He shook his arm a bit once she let go of him and looked around himself at the setup. His expression remained guarded.
"What's this supposed to be?" he asked.
"It's fishing," Pixel said, taking one of the seats beside Robbie's. He picked up his fishing rod and showed it to the man. "You've got your line right here, and it winds up in the reel all the way down to where you hook your bait on the end. See?"
Robbie saw, and his expression soured. "Another one of your games," he said, sounding like he was chewing a lemon.
"This is one even you should like," Stephanie said.
"And why," Robbie asked, "should I like anything about it?"
"Because to play this game we all have to sit still and be really quiet," Stephanie said. "If we don't we'll scare the fish away, and we won't catch anything."
Robbie's ears perked at this. It sounded too good to be true. The way the kids watched him so intently for his reaction, there had to be more to it. He picked up the rod beside his seat and turned it over, trying to appear casual.
"And you use this thing to catch fish," he supposed. It felt like a flimsy piece of metal and wire. A delicately sharp hook was already tied at the end of the line. He wouldn't have expected the kids to be capable of laying traps to catch anything, not even fish. "How does it work?"
"First you put some bait on the hook," Pixel explained, "then you cast your line into the water. After that you just wait."
"That's it?" Robbie looked from the rod in his hand out to the open water before him, and back to his seat on the dock. "Well. That's easy."
Stingy took the chair on the other side of Robbie and opened the tackle box. Besides spare hooks and reels of wire there was the bait, a can of whole corn kernels. Robbie watched and held back a gag as the kids picked out their corn to place on their hooks.
"Go ahead, Robbie," Pixel encouraged him. "You won't catch anything without some bait."
"What kind of bait is this? Do you think fish want this disgusting sportscandy? Yuck!"
"It was this or worms," Stingy said. "And I wasn't letting some dirty old worms in MY tackle box."
"Fair enough," Robbie muttered. The thought of having to hook a wriggling worm was about as bad as corn. He was still loathe to pick out one of the yellow kernels. In his fumbling he managed to prick his thumb and stuck it in his mouth, only to yank it back with his tongue sticking out. Ugh, the taste of vegetable juice!
It was time to cast. Taking his cue from the kids around him Robbie wound back with his rod and threw it forward. The rod almost flew out of his hands but he tightened his grip on the handle just in time and watched in awe as the line shot out over the lake and landed with a plop into the water. One by one the bobbers resurfaced and floated out there together.
"Now we wait," Pixel said. He settled back in his beach chair with his fishing rod tucked in his arm, slid his visor down over his eyes, and let out a contented sigh.
"Out here, in the sun?" Robbie asked skeptically.
"We made sure to put on sunscreen," Stingy said, getting comfortable as well. He adjusted a small white sailor's cap on his head— not much for protection against UV rays but it was stylish enough.
"Here, Robbie, you can borrow this if you need it," Stephanie leaned over her beach chair and pulled out from under it a big floppy straw sun hat. Robbie juggled his fishing rod in one hand and took the offered accessory in the other with an uncertain sneer.
"This is just going to make me look silly," he said. Stephanie shrugged, put on her own more colorful flower-print bonnet, and laid back in her chair. When it was apparent the kids weren't keeping an eye on him to see what he would do Robbie grudgingly palmed the sun hat over his head. It felt ridiculous and probably looked even more so, but nobody said a word. At least now the sun was out of his eyes.
Robbie sat hunched on his beach chair with his fishing rod clutched in both hands. He glanced furtively around between the kids and the lines that reached out into the water. Were they really going to just sit there quietly? They weren't even talking amongst themselves with their usual grating prattle. Weren't they bored?
He leaned back slowly into his seat, a frown still cemented on his mouth. Well, two could play at this game— or in this case, was it four? Whatever. If it kept them from being noisy and active by sitting up here with them, Robbie supposed it wasn't the worst use of his time.
It was actually sort of relaxing, Robbie found the longer they stayed there. The only sounds were the occasional chirruping bird and the repetitive splash of water hitting the dock below them. The lake was smooth and calm, only the red and white bobbers interrupting the serene blue surface. Why didn't he come nap out here more often? It was downright peaceful, really...
"Robbie, you did it!"
Robbie jumped in his seat and grabbed at the fishing rod jerking around in his lax grip. He'd fallen asleep sitting there and now the rude awakening had him confused and alarmed.
"No I didn't— Wait, what's going on?" Robbie asked. The line was tensing and unwinding fast on the reel with a sharp whizz noise. Out in the lake his bobber had disappeared under the water, nowhere to be seen.
"You got a bite! Reel it in!" Pixel said excitedly.
Robbie grappled at the reel and struggled to wind it back up against the tension. The rod bowed with the pressure of whatever was on the other end of the line fighting back. It tugged hard and Robbie felt himself pulled forward off his chair.
"Is it a big whale?!" Robbie cried out in dismay. The creature would pull him underwater and swallow him whole! "Why did I let you talk me into this?" His heels skidded on the dock as he was dragged towards the edge. The kids jumped out of their chairs and rushed to his aid.
"There aren't any whales around here, it's just a fish! Now hang on!" The kids grabbed onto Robbie however they could, taking fistfuls of his vest and wrapping their arms around his legs, anything to help keep him grounded.
"Then it must be a very-very-VERY big fat fish," Robbie grit through his teeth. That was just as scary. Was there any way to unhook it without having to reel it in first? His fists ached with how hard he held on as he strained and pulled back on the rod and wound it up as fast as he could.
For every time he managed to pull the line in closer it yanked back ferociously and nearly took the villain and the kids over the dock. Robbie could see something shadowy taking shape in the water as the disturbance caused huge ripples and waves around the line. It was a tug-of-war with a monster from the deep! His heart pounded in his chest and the sun hat tumbled off his head when he next pulled back as hard as he could, giving a great yell.
The water exploded and splashed up on the dock as something huge, green, and thrashing flew through the air connected to the line. It crashed into Robbie and knocked him back into his beach chair and scattered the kids.
"Get it off!" Robbie shrieked and tried to push the slimy wet thing off of himself, but the line had tangled around him and it. The kids ran back to Robbie cheering and laughing as they helped to free him.
By the time the line was untangled the fish had stopped flailing as much and sat heavily in Robbie's lap. He stared down in amazement at the enormous largemouth bass gulping and staring back up at him. Its scales were a striking green color, shining like deep emeralds and grassy peridots. Had he really caught this? Him?
"That was AMAZING!" Stephanie exclaimed.
"IT'S MINE!" Stingy proclaimed.
"It's Robbie's catch, Stingy," Pixel said. "Man, it's huge! I wonder how much it weighs?"
While the kids babbled Robbie felt something fluttering in his chest besides his racing heartbeat. It was a ticklish sensation, pulling the corners of his mouth up at first in an involuntary twitch. He chuckled a little from the adrenaline rush. Then, he let out a wholehearted laugh.
The kids stopped talking and stared at the man, not believing their eyes or their ears. This was no menacing leer or evil cackle like he normally did. It was sincere and pure. Could it be possible? Was Robbie Rotten actually happy?
The sound was contagious. Stephanie giggled and Pixel and Stingy started to hoot and guffaw along with them. The only one not joining in was the fish. They laughed together for what felt like a good long time until Robbie wiped at one eye and took in a shaky breath to calm himself.
"You all lied," Robbie said, his voice still thick with mirth.
"No we didn't," Stingy denied, "about what?"
"You said all we had to do was sit around and be quiet," Robbie said. "That was a lot of moving around for doing nothing."
"Yeah," Stephanie said, "but you were so good at being still and quiet that you caught the biggest fish ever! Isn't that great?"
"I suppose it is," Robbie said. It was strange to hear anyone complimenting his ability to be lazy, especially one of the children. Strange, but good. "Now you see how important it is not to move around so much, don't you?"
"Maybe sometimes," Stephanie said with a grin, and the boys nodded. The kids didn't try to argue with Robbie, and Robbie didn't argue any more with them. Even stranger. It seemed like for the first time ever, they all had found a way to get it.