Phineas and Ferb
The New Adventures of Phineas and Ferb
Episode 44: Baggage (Part 3)
Episode Summary: Isabella plans to take Phineas out for a day of "easy, non-romantic" fun, hoping to clear his mind of the painful thoughts that have traumatized him so. But Phineas has other plans. Meanwhile,, Kurt & Jeremy's bout for Candace continues, and Stacy goes on a new dating game show named "Baggage", a show where contestant reveal embarrassing and emotional secrets, for a chance at love.
Disclaimer: Phineas and Ferb does not belong to me. It belongs to the two geniuses Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Keep up the good work, gentlemen!
There's just so many days of adolescence vacation
'Til adulthood and old age come to end it,
So the problem for children of this generation,
Is finding a good way to spend it
Like maybe...
Building a rocket, or fighting a mummy,
Or climbing up the Eiffel tower,
Discovering something that doesn't exist,
Or giving a monkey a shower
Surfing tidal waves, creating nano-bots,
Or locating Frankenstein's brain,
Finding a Dodo bird, painting a continent,
Or driving the adults insane
This could possibly be the best day ever,
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be
a million and six times better,
So make every minute count
jump up, jump in and seize the day,
And let's make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is Gonna to Be a Great Day!
The sun rose up on a new day in Danville. The blaring sun blasted right through Isabella's window and disturbed her peaceful sleep. She turned on her side and stared lovingly at the love of her life, who was snoring lightly right beside her. He's such an angel. She thought. It appeared as though Phineas had not slept much at all, and had spent the better part of the night crying, as his eyes had really dark circles around them. She stroked his hair lightly and pulled herself into a hug. Phineas, upon sensing that Isabella was embracing him, opened his eyes and allowed his blurred vision to see the girl he loved so much hugging him.
"Good morning, Isabella." He said gently as she hugged him tighter.
"Good morning, my sweet little hero." She replied, wiping a bit of drool from his mouth and tears from his eyes.
"Please, you don't have to call me that."
"But you are my hero, Phineas."
"No I'm not."
"Yes you are, and I don't mind telling you that. Now, did you sleep well? Because I see you were crying for a bit last night."
"Yeah, I had a bad dream last night. But then, it got me to thinking, and...I guess I realized that it doesn't matter what the two of us do together, just as long as we are together. To be absolutely honest with you, I just want things to go back to the way things were before we got together, while at the same time, I don't want to lose these wonderful feelings I have for you."
"Trust me, you won't." She sat them both up and kissed him again. Seeing a smile on his face lit her up and that alone would be able to get her through the day. "I'm glad you're feeling better, and hopefully, this won't happen again."
"Isabella, you know there are going to be times where I feel like I'm not good enough for you. So, when those times come, promise that you'll be there for me to comfort me and to tell me otherwise?"
"I promise I will. You'll never have to worry about that. Now come on." She quickly took the blankets off of her and got out of bed, excited over the day they were planning to have. However, Phineas wasn't so quick to jump out with her. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I just...I just don't want to get out of bed yet."
"You mean you don't want to go on our "date" today?"
"NO! No, not that!" He sat up quickly and jumped out of bed, and rushed over to her. "See? I'm ready."
"No, that's not what I meant, and you know it." She took a closer look at him and saw dark circles under his eyes. "You look exhausted, Phineas. Do you want to go back to sleep for a little while?"
"Uh-uh, Isabella. I promised you a date today, and you're going to-" She interrupted him by placing a finger over his mouth. He was once again doing exactly what she didn't want him to do. But he couldn't help himself. He was just overcome with guilt again and he looked like he was about to cry again. He really wanted to cry, and Isabella could see that.
"Do you want to go back to sleep?" She asked again; this time, he reluctantly nodded his head.
"But not for the whole day. Just for a little while longer. Then we'll go out on the date."
"Hey, if you don't want to, just tell me. I don't mind just staying in bed all day with you, watching you dream the day away and letting you know how much I love you." Phineas let out a soft chuckle. "Why don't you crawl back under the covers for a little while? I'll go down and see if breakfast is ready, and I'll ask my mom to save you something. Then, when I'm done, I'll come back up here, and if you don't want to go on our date, we can just lie in bed all day. I wouldn't mind."
"OK, Isabella. If you say so."
"Now, is there anything I can get you before you go back to sleep?"
"Well, there was one thing I wanted, but..."
"But what?"
"I guess a hug and a kiss goodnight would be out of the question, huh? I thought so."
"Stop it, Phineas." She leaned in and hugged & kissed him. "Physical and/or emotional affection is never too much to ask for. I'm here for you better or worse, and I'll always have a hug and kiss ready for you. Now come on. You could use some more sleep."
She slowly led him towards the bed, and he reluctantly climbed in. But not before he gave Isabella one last kiss as she left the room to have some breakfast. "I love you too, Phineas." She left the room quietly as he got comfortable and closed the door behind her, and it was only after she heard Phineas start to snore lightly again did she feel satisfied and leave to have some breakfast.
"How is he?" Her mother, Vivian, asked when she arrived at the table.
"He's getting better. He just went back to sleep. When I'm finished eating, I'm gonna go back up and check on him, and do what every loving wife does: make him a nice breakfast and give him a good morning kiss."
"I think he would like that very much."
"I hope so. I love him so much and it hurts me to see him upset in any way. Hopefully I can use today to cheer him up."
Meanwhile, somewhere out deep into Tri-State Area, a game show taping was about to commence.
"Live from Danville! It's time for everybody's favorite dating show: Baggage!" Yelled the announcer as the audience erupted into cheers. "And now, here's your host...Christian Potenza!"
The "Total Drama" star took the stage as the audience's cheering grew louder. "Thank you, thank you. You're all too kind." He responded, quickly calming them down. "Welcome to Baggage, the game show where guys and girls reveal embarrassing and emotional secrets for a chance at love. Let's meet our lucky Bachelorette..." Who just so happened to be standing on stage with him. "She's a 17 year old girl of Hispanic Japanese descent, likes to play the guitar, and her mother hopes to one day have her commit to a major profession. Please welcome Stacy!"
The audience gave her a quick round of applause before Christian continued. "Now, Stacy's got a little secret of hers that she's going to share with us at the end of the show. What could that secret possibly be?" The audience let out a light "oooh." "Did she attempt to send out a hit man on her best friend's mom because she was being mean to her?" The audience let out a slightly louder "oooh". "Was she tricked by an ex to drain her parents' bank accounts?" Now came "oooh's" and "aaah's". "Or...Did she kiss one of her friends after mistaking her for a guy with a buzzcut?" This secret really pushed all the audience members into overdrive, as they all started shouting stuff to Stacy in amazement. "Hold your horses, people. We'll get to that later on. But first, Stacy has to meet her lucky bachelors. First, he's a Senior graduate who is looking for a master's degree in Economics...let's meet Roger."
A very tall, lean, but not masculine boy, about 6 foot, came into the studio and stood by a stack of suitcases, organized from smallest to biggest.
"Next, we have a very fine looking genius here, if I do say so myself. He hopes to. Please welcome Jesse!"
A much taller and much more masculine, darker-skinned boy, came in and stood next to the second stack of suitcases.
"Finally, he's a baseball fanatic who is currently awaiting his call up to the big leagues in the hopes of playing for his favorite team: The San Fransisco Giants. Please welcome Rick!"
A shorter, but extremely cute boy, around Stacy's height, came in with a #25 San Fransisco Giants' jersey, in memory of his favorite Giants player, Barry Bonds. Stacy took an instant liking to him, as she had done with the other two boys.
"Welcome, boys. Now, here's the basic lay-down. As each round progresses, each gentleman will open up a piece of their baggage, starting with the smallest, gradually working our way up to the biggest piece of baggage. By the time we're done, Stacy will have to choose between one of these three guys. But more on that later. First, let's get this party started. Roger, would you please open your smallest piece of baggage?"
Roger clasped his hands together, and then proceeded to open the baggage. As soon as it was revealed, the audience gasped, with a small mixture of laughter in it, as Potenza read aloud the message inside. "'I watch 21 hours of television a day.' Yikes."
"Dude, there's only 24 hours in a day!" Stacy shouted once the mockery from the audience died down. "What do you do with the other 3 hours?"
"I work out. Gotta keep myself in shape." Roger replied.
"What about sleep?"
"Sleep is for suckers."
"OK, moving on. Jesse?" Jesse proceeded to open his baggage, and once again, there were shocked reactions from the audience. "'I'm terrified of stuffed animals.'" Potenza read. "OK...I'll buy. What gives?"
"See, when I was younger, my mother bought me an E.T. stuffed doll." Jesse explained. "And ever since there, any kind of stuffed animal gives me the creeps. I mean, have you seen them? They're creepy looking."
"Alright then. That's original. Rick?" Rick opened his baggage, and again, shocked reactions. "'I eat 8 sticks of chalk a day.'"
"Wow, that's kind of...strange." Stacy remarked. "OK, what's up with that?"
"To be honest, I don't know myself." Rick replied. "One day, I was drawing on the sidewalk with my chalk, and I got curious. I got curious and wondered what they tasted like. I ate a small piece and I...I kinda liked it. So I ate another piece, and now, 2 weeks later, I'm eating 8 sticks a day." He took out a stick of chalk and took a big bite of it.
"Isn't that kinda unhealthy?"
"Eh, I don't know. Don't really care, either."
"Now I know why lots of people love this show." Potenza remarked. "This is...kinda sad. But funny as heck anyway. And this is only the beginning. Stick around, because next round is the "Deal-breaker" round, where Stacy will have to send one of these gentlemen packing. Stay with us."
Back at Isabella's house, Isabella had just finished up her breakfast and was about to go back upstairs carrying Phineas's breakfast, when Phineas had decided to come downstairs and head home. "Where are you going, Phineas?" Isabella asked before he was about to head out the door. She put his breakfast down on the table and approached him.
"I'm going home." He replied.
"But don't you want breakfast?"
"Of course, Isabella. That's why I'm going home."
"But I said I would cook you a nice breakfast."
"I know that. It's just...I-I kinda feel weird saying this, but..."
"But what?"
"I miss my mom making me breakfast."
"Wait, so is this what it's about? Do you miss your family? But you get to see them nearly every day."
"Yeah, but Mom always goes out running errands or hanging out with your mom, so I don't get to see her as much as I want to."
"Aww, you miss your mommy. I think that's so sweet." She hugged him tightly and kissed him. "You just want to spend time with your mommy. OK, how about you stay and have some breakfast, and then, when you're done, I'll take you home and we'll talk to your mom about this. How does that sound?"
"You would really do that?"
"Sure. I love you, and I hate seeing you upset. Come on. Let's have breakfast. My mom made up big, juicy pancakes with thick strips of bacon on the side."
"Mmm, sounds tasty. Except...doesn't that sound a little bit...fattening, to you?"
"Phineas, you took off over a pound in less than a day. You've gotta put some weight back on. Besides, I want to keep your cute little tushie as firm as I can."
"Alright, alright, I get the picture. OK, I'll eat something. But then I wanna go home to see my family. I miss them alot."
"Don't worry. I promise you'll get to see them soon."
Meanwhile, somewhere deep in the Tri-State, Kurt and Jeremy were just about to finish their marathon. They both crawled, literally crawled, to the finish line, with the other 26.1 miles of the race having zapped them of every strength they had. The hope of the race was to get Jeremy off of Candace's case once and for all, but unfortunately, that plan did not come to fruition, as both were somehow able to crawl across the finish line at the exact same time.
"Oh...*pant*...my...*pant*...god!" Jeremy said between wheezing and gasping for air. "That was..." Another huff. "...the worst physical activity...ever."
"What a dumb idea!" Kurt responded. He wasn't nearly out of breath, like Jeremy, but his muscles hurt twice as much. "And we even tied! This didn't work at all!"
"How am...*pant*...I...*pant*...going to...*pant*...explain this to...*pant*...my mom?"
"I don't know. But this isn't over yet!"
"What are you...*pant*...talking about?"
"It was a tie! Duh. We can't have a tie. We need a winner."
"Well what...*pant*...do you have in mind...*pant*...punk?"
After taking some time off to recover their strange, the two men decided to head off to the training facility. "Alright, you want a challenge? I'll give you a challenge." Kurt responded as they headed over to the weight area. They both grabbed empty poles and lifted them up, onto their shoulders. "Whoever can hold the most weight on their backs without dropping the dung-bell wins. Got it?"
"One problem, genius. Who are we gonna get to put the weights on our poles?"
"We could help you guys." Two very fit and lean women responded as they approached them, holding 25 pound weights in their hands. "We just love watching a weight lifting competition."
"Good. Hey, how much are you holding?"
"25 pounds? Why?"
"No reason. OK." Kurt turned to Jeremy. "Every few minutes, the girls will tack on 25 pound weights onto our poles. Last man standing wins."
"Sounds good to me. You ready to lose?"
"Eat my dust, Johnson."
Back on Maple Drive, Phineas had just finished up his breakfast and was taken back to his house by Isabella, who was more than willing to walk him home. Once they arrived home, Isabella explained the situation to Phineas's family members, who all took an expression of surprise by this revelation.
"Phineas, why didn't you say anything to us?" Linda asked as she hugged her son tightly.
"I was embarrassed, Mom. What was I supposed to say? "I'm lonely and I want you all to stop what you're doing and spend time with me!"? I couldn't possibly say that to you guys, because I know you like to go out, Mom, and hang out with your friends."
"Well, yes, I do like to spend time with friends. But that doesn't mean you should keep something like this bottled up inside of you. If you were feeling this before, you should have come to us."
"Yeah, and stop you from having a life?" Phineas replied sarcastically, and rather bitterly. "I'm sorry, Mom. I was way out of line, there."
"But Phineas, it's OK to say that you're lonely sometimes." Isabella said. "Sometimes we all just need a day to spend with our families."
"I'm sorry if I made you feel lonely." Linda pulled her son into a tight hug.
"It's not your fault, Mom. I guess I'm just anxious and exhausted."
"I'll tell you what. How about we all go out for a family fun day. No distractions, no worries, just family fun."
"But you have your cooking class today."
"So? I can afford to miss it once in a while. Besides, knowing how to cook a flambeƩ is not worth my son's happiness."
"Is Candace going to be there?"
"No, I'm sorry, Phineas. She said she had to go out; wanted to support Stacy for something. She said something about a game show."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lawrence jumped in quickly. "Let's get ourselves ready and go."
As the family all erupted into cheers, Isabella, seeing the smile on Phineas's face led her to believe that he would be OK. So she stood up from the couch and proceeded to leave, only to be stopped by the sound of his voice. "Isabella!" He shouted. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going home, so you can enjoy your day with your family." She replied calmly, hoping not to disturb his peaceful state of mind.
"But...But I..."
"Phineas, you wanted to spend the day with your family. And I'm not your family-"
"Yes you are, Isabella! You are!" He shouted as he ran up to her and tackled her to the ground, hugging her as tightly as he could. "I love you so much, and I consider you a part of this family. You have to come with us! I couldn't bare to spend a minute without you." He cried loudly into her chest as she wrapped her arms around him and embraced him.
"It's OK, Phineas. I'll be here when you get back. But right now, you should spend today with your family."
"But Isa-"
"I'll be fine. An you will, too. I guarantee you that you'll have so much fun you won't even think about me."
"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that I'll enjoy it so much I'll forget all about you. I don't want to forget about you."
"Phineas, I'll be right here when you get back. I promise. Then we can spend more time together doing whatever you want. But right now, your family is waiting for you."
Phineas turned around and glanced at his family, seeing all smiles on their faces enlightened his spirit, but seeing Isabella's smile diminished it again. "I don't know if I can, Isabella."
"Trust me. Once you start having fun, you won't even think about me."
"And you'll be here when we get back?"
"Yes."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Pinky swear?" He held out a pinky finger.
"Pinky swear." She replied as she held up her pinky finger. "I'll see you later." She kissed him once more before heading out the door. She was truly confident that Phineas would be able to let go of her for just one day in order to have fun with his family. But Phineas wasn't. Tear swelled up in his eyes again as Ferb went up to comfort him.
"Don't be discouraged. It's just for a few hours." He told him. "Besides, we're all going to Adventure Land."
"Adventure Land? I love that amusement park. But wait, what about Candace?"
"I told you, she's not going to be with us." Linda replied. "She's doing something with Stacy."
"Oh. OK, then. But she's going to be missing out on the fun."
"That's the spirit! Now, go get ready, boys."
Phineas and Ferb both ran upstairs as fast as they could and got themselves ready to go to the amusement park.
Meanwhile, Stacy had her own problems, as her search for a boy was taking a turn for the worse, as the game progressed. Candace and Jenny were both in the audience, cheering Stacy on.
"Welcome back to Baggage." Potenza spoke. "Now that we've gotten to know our gentlemen a little, it's time to go deeper into the realm of emotional and embarrassing secrets. As you can see, we've sat down our gentlemen in our waiting area and have shuffled their medium sized baggage, so the only ones who know what's inside the suitcases are the owners themselves. One by one I will reveal another piece of baggage, and at the end, Stacy will have to choose to choose one and label that as her "deal breaker", the one which she feels she simply cannot handle, and the owner of that baggage will have to leave immediately. Clear? OK. Let's begin with Bag #1."
Potenza moved to the piece of baggage closest to her, and proceeded to open it. Slowly revealing it, the audience let out shocked outbursts, a routine which would follow for the remainder of the game. "'I've been in 2 separate accidents with the same driver.' OK, so is this guy like, a stalker or something?" Laughs came from the audience and Stacy. "Bag #2." Potenza moved to the next baggage and opened it, and read it aloud. "'I traded my father's guitar for a pack of cheap baseball cards.'" The audience released even more shocked outbursts, as Potenza chuckled. "Wait, I'm confused? So the baseball cards were on the receiving part of the trade? Yikes, this guy would make a horrible economist. Bag #3." He moved onto the final bag and opened it, and this one was the worst of them all. "'I use a ditch I dug up in my backyard as a bathroom.' I wonder what he uses as toilet paper." The audience laughed as Potenza walked over to Stacy.
"Wow...this is, uh, very creepy." Stacy said to herself, though Potenza was able to hear her.
"I know, right? It's awesome. Now that we've opened all three pieces of baggage, I want to hear your concerns over them. Let's start with number one, over here. 'I've been in 3 separate accidents with the same driver.'"
"I don't even know what to say about that one." Stacy commented. "It's like he's a very bad driver, or even a stalker of some sorts. It just makes me feel uncomfortable."
"'I traded my father's guitar for a pack of cheap baseball cards.'"
"Um, obviously, this guy doesn't know the value of a dollar. Unless, of course, it was a cheap guitar, because then, the trade would've been plausible."
"O...kay. And, uh #3: I use a ditch I dug up in my backyard as a bathroom."
"That one is just disgusting. I can't imagine how that would work."
"Me neither. Alright, so now that we've seen all three piece of baggage, I need you to choose the one that you just can't handle. Whoever claims that baggage will be going home. So, Stacy? What is your deal breaker?"
The audience members starting yelling suggestions out to Stacy, who took a long moment to think over the agonizing decision. "My deal breaker is..." She finally said after making a choice. "'I use a ditch behind my house as a bathroom'." The audience groaned upon hearing this announcement.
"Ooh, I had a feeling you would say that. OK, gentlemen. The time has come for you to claim your baggage."
The three boys stood up from their chairs and walked over to the suitcases. Initially, each stood beside one of the cases and everybody believed that it was a done deal. But, as per their contracts, they quickly swapped places numerous times to fool everybody before finally stopping at their real destinations. When all was said and done, it was Roger who was packing up to go.
"Roger." Potenza appeared physically surprised to see him standing there. "What happened? Come on. Enlighten us."
"Well, see, a few months ago, we had this big plumbing problem and as a result, we had no access to toilets for, like, a week. I was desperate, and I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I resorted to digging a ditch behind our house. The plumbing came back a few days later, but, I realized that I liked relieving myself in the wilderness that I stopped using toilets altogether-"
"OK, OK, I get it. No need to go any further. I'm sorry, Roger. But it's time to pack up and go."
Roger was disappointed that Stacy had chosen his baggage as her "deal breaker", but he accepted it gracefully, closed his luggage, and left the room. (A/N: His biggest piece of baggage was "I owe $14,000 in speeding tickets")
"And then there were two. Which one of these devilishly handsome gentlemen will Stacy choose? And later, will they be able to accept Stacy's baggage?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait, what are you talking about?" Stacy shouted, clearly confused.
"Haven't you ever seen this show? At the end, we get to reveal an embarrassing secret from you, and then they get to choose whether to accept it or not."
"I never agreed to that!"
"Yes, yes you did. Next time, try reading your contract, moron. What embarrassing secret is there to reveal about Stacy? Did she hire a hit man to try and harass her best friend's mother because she was mean to her?" The audience groaned in excitement. "Was she tricked by an ex boyfriend to drain her parents' bank accounts?" More shocked reactions. "Or did she once kiss her best friend after accidentally mistaking them for a guy with a buzz cut?" This possibility brought out the worst expressions from the audience. "We'll find out later one. Don't go away!"
Back at the Danvile Training Facility, Jeremy and Kurt were at each other's throats trying to out-do the other. Each were going at it for about 20 minutes now, and both were holding approximately 100 pounds on their barbells. Both of them appeared to still be maintaining perfect composure.
"Getting heavy, huh?" Kurt remarked after noticing that Jeremy started sweating a bit.
"No way. This is nothing. I do 10 times this in my sleep." Jeremy lied, chuckling a bit to try and convince Kurt otherwise, though he wasn't buying it.
"Please. Nobody could do that. You're talking out of your butt."
"And you're any better than that."
"Yeah I am! First of all, unlike you, I don't judge people based on the way they act or look. I try to look past that and see them for the person they are on the inside. Yes, Candace is clearly not the most beautiful girl out there. But, she is intelligent, elegant, funny, and I feel comfortable around her. I could only imagine what you felt around her."
"That's all a bunch of garbage."
"You're a bunch of garbage! Ladies, more weight, please." The ladies obeyed and put another 25 pound weight on their barbells. "Feeling the burn? You're starting to sweat."
"You'll cave before I do."
"I doubt it, Johnson."
"We'll see, whatever-the-heck-your-last-name-is. Ladies, more weight!" The ladies added another 25 pound weight to their barbells. Both were now holding up 150 pounds. "You're going down, and Candace will be mine once and for all!"
"Not if I have anything to see about it! Ladies, more weight!" And the ladies put on another weight on their barbell.
"More weight!" Jeremy yelled again. Pretty soon, each boy took turns yelling that very command out to the ladies, and the ladies simply kept stacking on the pounds.
Phineas and Ferb, along with the rest of the family (excluding Candace) had all piled into the car and had driven off to Adventure Land with the intention to have a wonderful time as a family. However, during the car ride there, Phineas continued to have only one thing on his mind: Isabella, the love of his life. His agitation led him to clench his seat tightly with his hands, almost to the point where he ripped the fabric off the seat. He did his best, though, to hide it from his family.
They found a parking space and bought all-day-game-wrist-bands, which gave Phineas and Ferb unlimited tickets so they could ride all the rides as much as they want. This little gift from his parents boosted Phineas's morale as he and Ferb began to ride some of the rides. Although Phineas was able to express genuine excitement, deep inside, he still had his best friend on his mind.
"Man, that roller coaster was awesome!" Phineas remarked. "I almost lost my breakfast." He turned to Ferb. "We could do better than that in our sleep."
"Definitely." Ferb agreed.
"Still, it's nice to just get out once in a while and not worry about having to build anything extraordinary. So Ferb, what do you want to do now?"
Ferb was about to reply when his stomach started growling, indicating that it was close to lunch time.
"It sounds like you're hungry. Yeah, I'm getting a little peckish myself. Let's find Mom & Dad and go find a food court."
They found their parents and the four of them decided to head over to the nearest food court, where they were treated to only the most delicious hamburgers sold in an amusement park. "So Phineas, are you enjoying yourself?" Linda asked her son.
"You know what? I am." Phineas responded honestly. "I am enjoying myself. And the best part is that I haven't thought about Isabella once since we got here-" It was then that he caught a glimpse of a little girl with a pink bow, much like Isabella's, holding a teddy bear in her arms and giggling, a laugh similar to Isabella's. "Uh oh."
"Phineas, it's OK." Lawrence said. "It's not Isabella. It's another little girl."
"I know, but she looks and sounds a lot like Isabella. I'm starting to miss her now."
"That's OK. We've been here for nearly 2 hours. What do you say we stay for another hour and then head home?"
"Well, OK. I guess that sounds alright. I can't wait to see her again. I miss her a lot. Maybe I should just give her a call to just hear her voice." He took out his cell phone and dialed Isabella's cell number, and waited for her to answer.
"Hello."
"Hi, Isabella."
"Oh, hi, Phineas. How's your family day out going?"
"Fine, fine. I'm really having a good time."
"Glad to hear it. So, why are you calling?"
"Oh, you know, cause I miss you."
"Aw, that's so sweet. I miss you too, but I know you're having fun."
"We'll be back in about an hour or so. OK?"
"Sounds like a plan. See you soon, Phineas."
"Oh, and Isabella...I love you."
"I love you too, Phineas." The line suddenly went dead, and Phineas hung up his phone. He grinned from ear to ear having heard Isabella's voice.
"OK, I feel better now. Let's go. There are still some rides I want to go on before we leave here."
Back with Stacy, she had narrowed her options for boys down to two, and it was time for the second-to-last round.
"Welcome back! We've opened up tons of baggage and gotten lots of laughs out of them. But now, we're down to two men, and Stacy has to choose between one of them. It's time to reveal their biggest piece of baggage! Jesse, we'll start with you."
Jesse took in a deep breath and opened his luggage, which was met with shouting and harassing from the audience. "I'm a high school dropout." Potenza read. Stacy's mouth nearly hit the ground once those words were spoken. "Whoa, dude. That's heavy. Wanna explain that to us?"
"It all started a year ago. See, I got in trouble for defacing the school's cafeteria with spray paint, writing profanity on the wall and stuff. Problem was, I didn't do it. One of my friends did. But the staff wouldn't believe me. I got suspended for a month, and even after I was proven innocence, they were so stuck up and arrogant that they wouldn't let me back in. So, after a long and painful lawsuit with such excruciating details that I won't go into, my parents got me back in. But, I wasn't satisfied."
"So to get back at them, you dropped out at high school?" Stacy asked.
"No, I lit the entire building on fire." Everybody in the room gasped. "Don't worry, nobody was killed. But the principal was so mad he was going to expel me, and that's when I dropped out, so I could leave on my terms, not theirs."
"OK...moving on." Potenza said quickly, almost cutting Jesse off. "Rick, please open yours, and save us before we all bolt for the door." Rick opened his baggage quickly, and was again met with shocked and amazed reactions. "I've legally changed my name 3 times. Alright, that's just...that's just wrong. Rick, what's the deal with that?"
"The thing is...Rick isn't my real name."
"I gathered."
"My real name is Rhonda."
There was a slight pause in between exchanges, before Potenza broke out into hysterical laughter. "Rhonda? Are you serious?" Soon enough, the entire audience joined in, including Candace, as well as Jesse, and the production crew. The only one not laughing was Stacy, though she really wanted to. Inside, she was laughing her butt off.
"It's not funny, man."
"It's hilarious, dude! I can't wait to meet your mom someday and tell her what a moron she is!" It took a couple of minutes for Potenza to settle down before he could continue with the show. "Sorry, dude. But that's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Ahem. Anyway, Stacy, now that you've seen all 3 pieces of baggage from each of these gentlemen, it's time to send one more of them on their way."
"So, Stacy, I have to ask you...which one of these gentlemen has too much baggage for you? Is it Jesse, who is terrified of stuffed animals, once traded his father's guitar for a pack of worthless baseball cards, and is a high school dropout? Or Rick who eats 8 pieces of chalk a day, has gotten into 2 accidents with the same driver, and has legally changed his name three times?"
Stacy had to think long and hard about this decision. It was agonizing for her, as she didn't want to hurt either boy's feelings. She completely ignored the suggestions coming from the audience, and came to a decision herself. "I'm sorry...Jesse, but you've got too much baggage."
The audience "ooh'd" and "ahh'd" at the choice, as they had all assumed that she would pick him over Rick. "I'm sorry, Jesse." Potenza said. "But it's time to pack up and go."
"That's OK. It's your loss, babe." Jesse said, rather bitter over the fact that Stacy didn't choose him. "You don't know this, but I've just received a scholarship to Yale."
"OH yeah?" Potenza questioned. "What is it? A clown scholarship?" He broke out into laughter, though it didn't last long, because Jesse walked up to him and kicked him in his private parts, causing him to fall to the ground, moaning in pain. "Ow!"
"Martial Arts, jerk."
"OK, you've made your point. Ugh. Cut to commercial!"
The Flynn-Fletcher day at the amusement park was coming to an end, and they were all piling into their car, having enjoyed an adventurous, fun-filled day at Adventure Land.
"So, I take it you had fun, Phineas?" Linda asked as she started up the car.
"You bet! It was one of the best days of my life." Phineas replied, having enjoyed himself at the park. "Thanks for doing this, you guys. It wasn't really necessary."
"Not necessary? I beg to differ."
"No, really, it wasn't."
"Phineas, I hardly consider "family quality time" not necessary." Lawrence jumped in. "Now let's all go home."
"Aw, do we have to?" Phineas whined.
"Yes, Phineas. They're closing for the day. And besides, Isabella's waiting for you at home. Don't you want to see her?"
Phineas gasped in delight. "Oh yeah. I forgot. I was having so much fun. Boy, she was right. This day out with my family was just what I needed. But now, I can't wait to get back home and play with her. I love her so much."
"We know." Ferb answered monotone.
"Hey, I can't help it. She's just so affectionate."
And so, the Flynn-Fletcher drove off into town, and back to their neighborhood, where they pulled up to their house, and prepared to relax in the comfort of their home after spending nearly a whole day out. And sure enough, Isabella was waiting in the front yard for them, and was delighted to see a happy Phineas come out of the car.
"Phineas!" She shouted happily as he ran up to her and hugged her as tightly as he could.
"Isabella! I'm so happy to see you."
"Aw, looks like somebody missed me."
"Of course I missed you. But, I put you in the back of my mind for the time being and enjoyed the amusement park. I only thought about you once."
"That's great, Phineas."
"Yeah. In fact, I feel so great that I don't even want to hang out with you today." He suddenly clasped his mouth shut, realizing what he just said. "Oh no. No, no t-th-that's not what I meant at all. I-I didn't mean it like that. I mean...I-I-" He began to stutter as he tried to recover. He didn't mean what he said; he was simply feeling joyous and optimistic again. "I..."
"It's OK, Phineas." But Isabella was quick to understand. "I'll go home if you want me to. I know you really wanted to-"
"No, NO! I finished my family time with them. I want to spend time with you, now. I-I didn't mean any of that stuff I just said. I love you, Isabella. Honest. You gotta believe me!"
"I do believe you, Phineas. You're just confused and tired. Come on, let's get you inside and tucked into bed."
"But it's only 4:00."
"Yeah, and look at you. I've never see such dark circles around your eyes. Come on, Phineas. It's nap time." She slowly took his hand, and led the exhausted boy inside the house and up the stairs to his room, where he changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed. He didn't fall asleep right away, as he waited for Isabella to crawl into bed next to him and comfort him, which she didn't do right away.
"Isabella, what are you doing?" He asked as she tried to leave the room. "Where are you going?"
"I'm...I'm going home, Phineas."
"But why?"
"So you can rest. I figured you wouldn't want me to hang around and disturb you."
"Are you kidding, Isabella? That's what I was counting on. I want you to stay with me and keep me company."
"You do?"
"Yeah. Y-You're the only thing that helps me get to sleep lately. I love you so much and I want to wake up knowing that the first thing I see is your adorable, cuddly face."
"Aw, do you mean that?"
"Yeah. So come on. Jump in. I could use a cuddle buddy."
"I have to go home, though. I want to be in time for dinner, and I don't think my mom would appreciate me being late."
"I'm sure she'll understand. Please, Isabella." He gave her the old "Puppy-dog eyes" routine, which she usually didn't fall for. But this time, she could tell that Phineas was being genuine and that he wasn't joking around with her. He really wanted her to stay and comfort him. Tears started falling from his eyes, as he couldn't bare to spend another minute apart from her.
"How about I stay until you fall asleep? Seriously, Phineas, I have to go home. But, I'll be back for you later."
"But it's not the same!" And it was then that he started crying his eyes out like a bay, jumping out of bed and rushing over to her, hugging her tightly.
"Oh, Phineas. Shh, it's OK. I'm right here." She quickly returned the hug and tried to calm him down. "Listen, I have to go. But I promise you I'll be back to say goodnight."
"P-Promise?" He looked up at her.
"Promise." She replied as she kissed him sweetly on the cheek, then helped him back into bed. "I love you, Phineas. Never forget that." Were her last words before she left the room to return home.
Meanwhile, Kurt & Jeremy's bout had come to a screeching halt. After going at it for about 2 hours, and carrying a whopping 500 pounds each, both had to stop their little competition, as both had succumbed to the enormous weight they were holding. They both suffered muscle & shoulder soreness from the barbells and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. During the ride, they both had some time to think about what had transpired over the past few days.
"Hey, Jeremy?"
"Yeah, dude?"
"I've been thinking, and...these past couple of days, we've kinda been doing some stupid stuff, huh?" Kurt proposed.
"Yeah. I mean, none of this was really worth it, when you think about it. And all for a girl? Look, dude, for what it's worth, I'm sorry I put you through this."
"That's alright, man. I would've done the same if I was as big of a jerk as you were. Let's just make a promise to each other right now that we'll never do anything this stupid over a girl again."
"I don't know about that. I like lifting weights. It's how I stay in shape."
"No, that's not what I said. I said let's never do it over a girl again."
"Oh, OK. I get ya. Alright, deal. Never over a girl."
"And Candace never has to find out about this."
"Gotcha."
"I'd say let's shake on it. But, I can't feel my arms at all."
"Yeah, me neither. I hope this isn't permanent."
"Nah, I don't think so. We should have the feeling come back to us in about 24 hours, give or take."
"My mom's gonna kill me if she ever finds out I did this."
"Yeah, I wouldn't want to be you."
Back with Stacy, the time had come for the all important final round, where the tables were turned against her.
"Welcome back to Baggage!" Potenza announced as the show came back from commercial. "Now it's time for our final round, where the tables are turned, and now, it's Rick who has to decide whether or not Stacy has too much baggage. Inside this big red bag is an embarrassing secret of Stacy's, and now, she's going to reveal it to you all."
"Do I have to?" Stacy asked.
"Yes, you have to. What is the big secret that's lurking in the bag? Did Stacy attempt to send out a hit man on her best friend's mother? Was she tricked by an ex boyfriend to drain her parents' bank accounts? Or did she accidentally kiss her best friend after mistaking them for a guy with a buzz cut?" All three choices caused the audience to send various reactions. "Rick, of those three choices, which would be the hardest to accept?"
"I would say that last one." Rick replied. "I mean, I don't know the whole story, but that's just kinda weird, unless she's talking about another guy."
"Let's hope so, pal. Stacy, please reveal your baggage." The audience clapped in anticipation as Stacy slowly began to open her baggage. She was hesitant, but eventually, she did open it, and the results were shocking to the audience.
"I kissed my best friend after mistaking them for a guy with a buzz cut." Potenza read aloud, and waited for the audience to settle down. "Wow. That's kinda...Stacy, please explain yourself."
"Well, see, a couple of years ago, I was at this crazy party with my best friend, and I got all hyped up on chocolate mousses, because, well, chocolate mousses kinda mess with my head and cause me to not think straight. Anyway, after having about 4 or 5, I started feeling really dazed and my vision was blurry. And then, I saw what I thought was this really cute guy sitting at the bar ordering a soda. And my instincts at this point were so messed up, and they were telling me to just rush up and kiss him, and that's what I did."
"Sounds like you got a good one in."
"Oh yeah. I managed to sustain a 3 1/2 minute kiss."
"Impressive. I know I'm probably going to get fired for this, but...who was this dazzling guy you kissed. Where is he?"
Stacy hesitated in her answer. She looked over at her best friend Candace and slowly lifted her arm to point at her. "She's right there." At this point, the audience had lost it and started yelling some random things out as Candace sunk deep into her seat. Regretfully, she remembered that fateful day as well, and had never lived it down. After Stacy came to, and realized that she had made out with her own best friend, both had sworn to never tell a soul, and nobody had known since that day...until now, of course. "Her name is Candace, and she's my best friend in the world."
"What?" Rick shouted in pure shock and disgust.
"I second that. What?"
"Hey, don't blame me. I was hyped up on chocolate mousses. I couldn't think straight."
"You made out with your own best friend for nearly 4 minutes!" Rick shouted, frustrated and visibly confused.
"And that's not even the worst of it."
"You mean there's more?" Potenza asked.
"Out of all the guys I have kissed, she was the best." The audience got riled up once again, and Candace sank even deeper into her seat until she was visible no more.
"OK, OK, folks. Calm down. I know this is good television, but we can't risk burning down the place. Now, Stacy, Rick has to make a choice. If he believes he can accept your baggage, you two will enjoy a romantic dinner, all expenses paid, to the Araxi restaurant in Whistler, British Colombia. If he doesn't-"
"He's leaving." Stacy interrupted, noting that Rick was trying to leave.
"Hey, buddy!" Potenza shouted, turning around and seeing Rick. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to change my name again! To something that you don't know and can never pronounce!" He shouted back and left through one of the emergency exits. The audience "aww'd", feeling bad for Stacy, as she sulked in her spot.
"Well, nice knowing you...Rhonda."
"IT'S RICK!" He was heard shouting before being out of sight for good. Potenza turned to Stacy.
"I'm sorry, Stacy. Tough luck, there. But hey, look at the bright side."
"What bright side?"
"There is none! Hahaha! You just humiliated yourself in front of 50,000 guys that will never want to go out with you! And that's just in our studio audience. Just imagine the ratings when this hits TV. But remember...life is a journey, so travel light. I'm Christian Potenza, and Total Drama Reloaded hits the Television Summer of 2011! Goodnight, everybody!"
Later that night, Phineas was about to settle down for the night in bed when he heard a knocking sound at his window. He turned to see that it was Isabella, wanting to climb in. But, still feeling dejected from earlier, he turned his back and crossed his arms, hoping that she wouldn't see his tears.
"Phineas, let me in." She said calmly. No response. "Don't make me force myself in." She took out a laser pen and prepared to turn it on. Phineas realized that it would mean a hole in the window, something he would have to explain to his parents, and got out of bed to let her in.
"What do you want?" He asked as he shut the window and returned to bed.
"I came to keep you company, just like I said I would. Are you OK?"
"OK? OK? No, I'm not OK." He got himself comfortable under the covers. "Isabella, do you have any idea what you put me through earlier. I was relying on you to pick me up when I was down. I wanted you to keep me company. You know, as a sign that you would always be there for me. But, you left. You left me hanging there."
"But I told you I'd come back, and here I am."
"I know, but it's not the same. I felt...I felt betrayed, Isabella. It felt like you were betraying my love. I don't know how to explain it, but these last couple of hours have been a nightmare without you. It's like you practically gave up on me."
"I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I didn't mean to."
"I know. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I had no right."
"You had a right to be angry with me, but please understand that even though we may not be able to spend every single waking moment together, it doesn't mean I love you any less."
"Really?"
"Really. I didn't stop thinking about you at all. And now that I'm with you, I feel so much better."
"I feel better too, Isabella. I love you so much and I just don't want to spend a moment apart from you."
"Come on. Let's get you back to bed. You could use a full night's sleep more than anything." She led him back to the bed and helped him get comfortable under the blankets. Before she climbed in beside him, she turned to his alarm clock, and shut it off. She didn't want him waking up at 6 in the morning.
"Why'd you turn my alarm clock off?"
"Because I don't want you waking up at 6 in the morning tomorrow. You could use the extra sleep."
"Oh alright, Mom." He joked, as she climbed into bed and they shared a goodnight kiss.
"Goodnight, Phineas." She said to him as she shut off his lamp and they closed their eyes.
"Goodnight, Isabella."
"I love you so much."
"I love you too." He wrapped his arms around her neck, as did she, and they both drifted off into a wonderful, calm sleep, with only thoughts of the following day's adventures and their endless love for each other filling their minds. They each took one final look at each other before finally falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.
End of Episode 44!
A/N: I do not own the gameshow "Baggage".
Next Time: When an invention of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's goes astray, the kids of Maple Drive all fall in love with Phineas and Isabella respectively, and it's up to them and Ferb to snap them out of it. Meanwhile, Candace goes for her driver's license, but an old foe might stand in her way.
Expected Update: Check my Profile Page.
