CHAPTER TEN
Timmy and Tootie – after being discharged from Dimmsdale Hospital early in the afternoon – were taken back to their respective homes by their parents. Timmy was in the back seat of the family car being driven home. Mr. Turner was driving while Mrs. Turner was riding shotgun. Cosmo and Wanda were disguised as a watch and backpack, and were listening to the conversation.
"Don't be too happy, Short-Stuff", Mr. Turner admonished Timmy, misinterpreting his smile in the rearview mirror, "You'll be going straight back to school tomorrow morning. Your homework for today is being delivered by one of your friends".
"That wasn't what I was smiling about, Dad", Timmy replied, "but I thought that Mr. Crocker would be responsible for delivering homework assignments".
"After he tried to take my wife?" Mr. Turner snarled, "No way!" Besides, Mr. Turner thought, he was so jealous of Crocker's physique. In any case, since Crocker was still in Dimmsdale Police Station jail, waiting for a bail hearing, Crocker's non-appearance was a rather moot point.
"So what were you smiling about, Dear?" Mrs. Turner asked Timmy, distracting her husband from thinking about Crocker.
"I was thinking about Tootie", Timmy sighed, "She really looks great with her new makeover!"
"Not only that, she is a very brave person for doing what she did", Mrs. Turner added, "It was so nice of Britney Britney to give her that makeover as well".
"You can say that again", Timmy sighed.
Cosmo and Wanda smiled at Timmy's expression as he uttered that last sentence. Wanda thought that Timmy's unintentional wish turned out quite well. Tootie was experiencing how well it worked at the same time…
At the Flannigan residence, Tootie – with her parents – walked inside the front door, and stopped when they saw Vicky standing there glaring at them.
"W-what are you doing home from school so early, Vicky?" Mrs. Flannigan stammered.
"If you must know", Vicky said testily, "there was a bomb scare and the school entered early. It makes it convenient for me to welcome my kid sister home!"
Tootie gulped. She was sure that Vicky was displeased at her Britney Britney makeover.
With that, Vicky grabbed Tootie's hand and marched her upstairs. Tootie was sure that she was going to get swirled in the bathroom commode, but to her surprise, she was led into Vicky's room instead.
"Sit down over there, Twerpette!" Vicky ordered, gesturing to the chair in front of her armoire. As Tootie did so, Vicky brought out her own makeup kit and started working on Tootie's face, improving what Britney Britney had done..
"You may be a Twerpette, Tootie", Vicky said while applying some mascara to her eyelashes, "but I have this urge to make sure you look pretty, and you're going to sit there and take it!"
Tootie barely suppressed an urge to gasp. Her big sister was helping her get made up further?!!! It was more surprising a few minutes later when Vicky brought over a trunk and opened it. Inside were nice-looking dresses and other outfits.
"These are what I wore when I was your age", Vicky explained, "so they should fit. You make sure that you wear something appropriate to your facial. Got it?!!!" Vicky demanded.
"Yes, Vicky", Tootie quietly acknowledged.
Listening outside Vicky's bedroom door, Mr. and Mrs. Flannigan could not believe what they were hearing! Vicky going out of her way to make Tootie look pretty, instead of the reverse?!! Both of them walked downstairs, wondering what happened to Icky Vicky…
After hoisting A.J. and Chester on the school flagpole – by their underwear, thus making it a super-wedgie – Francis went back into the school building whistling cheerfully. He was a little saddened to hear that both Timmy and Tootie would not be back in school until tomorrow, but he was willing to wait. At least that wimp of a substitute teacher Mr. Bickles, who was taking over the class while Crocker was in jail, was even more permissive of his bullying, and thus enjoyed making it clear to everyone that he was back to normal.
Timmy would normally be playing games on his V-cube while sitting up in his room, but for some reason, he didn't feel like it. He tried calling Tootie on the phone, but Mr. Flannigan politely told him that Tootie was busy and could not come to the phone to chat.
"Aw, Timmy's really smitten with Tootie", Wanda commented to Cosmo. Both were back in the fishbowl, looking at Timmy's demeanor.
"Well, that was a great makeover she got", Cosmo commented.
Timmy spent the rest of the afternoon laying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a wistful look on his face. To Timmy, time just seemed to fly. It seemed just like a few minutes had passed when A.J. and Chester waddled in – the tell-tale evidence of a wedgie attack – carrying Bickles' homework assignment.
"Dude", Chester commented, "you were lucky you were weren't at school today. Francis got tough again and he's inflicting payback. Watch out for him tomorrow".
"Uh huh", Timmy absently replied. A.J. noticed the distracted look on Timmy's face. Normally, such a warning would make Timmy cringe.
"Timmy? Are you all right?" A.J. asked, "you look distracted".
Timmy blinked. He couldn't tell A.J. or Chester about his newfound crush for Tootie, so he decided to fib a little.
"Sorry, A.J.", Timmy replied, "staying overnight at the hospital was on my mind".
"Yeah, especially with Tootie there as well", Chester commented with a smile.
Timmy glared at Chester. Chester recoiled some.
"What's up with you?" Chester asked.
"She came in that cave and risked her life to save me, Chester", Timmy reminded him, "and so I owe her".
"But you saved her afterwards", Chester replied, "so that makes you even, doesn't it?"
"Let's change the subject, okay?" Timmy asked, wanting to deflect the conversation about Tootie. The longer before those two found out about Timmy's infatuation with Tootie, the better.
A.J. talked about Bickles filling in for Crocker, who have been arrested for causing the cave-in at the Dimmsdale cave. Timmy grinned at that piece of news. So did Cosmo and Wanda.
A little while later, both A.J. and Chester excused themselves and left to head back to their respective homes. Timmy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sweetie", Wanda said after she poofed back into fairy form, "don't you think that misleading them about Tootie was a good idea?"
"If they knew now, they would make my life hell and start calling their friends at school. They'll find out, but I'd rather they didn't know just at this moment". He went to pick up the assignment so that he could start to work on it.
Just then, Mrs. Turner called "Timmy" from downstairs. Timmy put down the schoolbook and went downstairs to see what she wanted
"Yes, mom?" Timmy asked when he got to the bottom of the stairs.
"You have a visitor", Mrs. Turner said, gesturing to the door. Timmy looked toward the door, and his jaw dropped!
"Hello, Timmy", Tootie said, "I came over to deliver a message".
Timmy hardly heard Tootie as he looked at her. Not only was her facial stunning, but also she was dressed tastefully in a skirt-and-blouse combination. It complemented her makeup perfectly.
Tootie blushed some as she basked in the look that Timmy was giving her. She walked up and handed Timmy an envelope. Timmy opened it, and read the brief note:
"Twerp, I just spent a good amount of time making Tootie look pretty. If I hear that you have spurned my kid sister, or make fun of her new look, I'll personally kick your rear end up and down Main Street, then turn your hide into a doily for Doidle's drinking bowl. Ignore this warning at your peril! Vicky."
Timmy could not believe what he was reading! He knew that Vicky treated Tootie like crud! But he wasn't going to question this, let alone argue!
"Uh", Timmy said after reading the note, "please let Vicky know that I don't think that there will be anything for her to get angry about".
Tootie smiled. After all, she knew what the note read. Why Vicky suddenly decided to dote on her, she didn't know, but she was not about to argue either!
"Remember what you said to me this morning in hospital after you woke up?" Tootie asked. Timmy nodded.
"I replied that I would have to smooch you for the comment", Tootie said, smiling even more broadly, before our parents came into the ward.
"So you're here to collect?" Timmy asked with a similar smile.
Nodding, Tootie came up and kissed Timmy on the cheek. Blushing, with clouds of hearts floating around him, Timmy's legs buckled and he fell to the floor. Tootie giggled at seeing Timmy like this, lying on the floor with a silly grin on his face.
"I have to go home now, Timmy", Tootie said, "but I'll see you on the bus tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Uh-huh", Timmy said weakly, still lying on the floor.
Elsewhere, there was one other person lying weakly on the floor, but it wasn't from any infatuation. Rather, it was from acute physical pain. Binky had endured Jorgen's little session of payback rather poorly. So while Timmy had hearts floating around his head, Binky was seeing stars instead…