This fanfic is centered on the background LH character, Maggie.
I picked up an interesting idea for her, and this story also includes Luan and Benny.
Three friends: Luan, Maggie, and Benny are all hanging out at Maggie's place. They decided to watch some TV. Benny found a comedy show that he and Luan liked.
"Man, I love this show!" Luan said as she had popcorn.
"I know." Benny said, as he had a bag of popcorn too. "I could totally watch it all day."
On TV, a cat is shown trying to catch a bird in its birdcage.
"It's so much better than last season." Luan commented.
"Yeah. The cat never learns." Benny mentioned. However, while Luan and Benny were enjoying the show, Maggie was completely silent. On TV, the cat tries to get onto the birdcage. But the feline falls right onto a fishbowl, getting the bowl stuck on its head and then falling into its own kitty litter. Luan and Benny burst out laughing and fall off the couch.
"The cat got its head stuck in a fishbowl and fell in kitty litter!" Luan laughed. "Now that's PURR-fect entertainment!"
"I'm gonna...pee myself!" Benny giggled.
"I already did!" Luan laughed. Then she and Benny noticed Maggie wasn't laughing. "Maggie, why aren't you laughing?"
"Why does it matter?!" Maggie yelled. "Why do you care?! Just get off my back, okay?!"
Maggie left the living room. Benny and Luan were left confused.
"What was that all about?" Luan wondered.
"Maybe you should go check on her." Benny suggested.
In her room, Maggie was listening to depressing emo music. Luan came in.
"Are you ok, Maggie?"
"I'm fine." Maggie said, as her tone was bitter.
Luan gasped. "You're listening to depressing emo music! You're not fine. You only listen to this type of music when you're upset."
"Just go back and watch your show."
"Aw, do you need a hug?"
"Not today."
"Come on, talk to me girl. Let the power of the hug open your heart."
Then Benny came in. "Is everything...OMG! Maggie's listening to depressing emo music! Maggie, listen to me. Whatever's troubling you, you'll make it through. I promise."
"I don't wanna talk about it!" Maggie said.
"Should I use the puppet?" Benny asked Luan.
"It's the only way." Luan assures. "Just go gentle on her."
Benny got out an emo puppet and spoke in a stoic voice, as he talked for the puppet. "Maggie, look at me."
Maggie turned around. "Emo puppet?"
"Yes, it's me. The emo puppet who is unjudging and you can tell anything to."
Maggie hesitated. "I-I-I don't get it! I don't get what's so funny about that show!"
"That's it?" Luan said. "You didn't laugh at the cat? No biggie, Maggie."
"I don't get what's funny about most things you guys laugh at. And it makes me feel...kinda different and...stupid."
"Emo puppet feels sorry for you." Benny said, still voicing the puppet.
"You should probably stop that now." Luan told Benny.
"Sorry." Benny said in his normal voice. He comforted Maggie. "Maggie, don't worry. I mean, a sense of humor is number one on a guy's list of cute girl traits, but you have other good qualities. Like….your snarkiness."
"Oh, and you collect skulls." Luan added.
Maggie teared up and sobbed. "Please help me! Help me to laugh!"
"You think we can do this Benny?" Luan said.
"We have to, Luan." Benny said. "For Maggie!"
"For Maggie!" Luan cheered.
"For me." Maggie cheered.
Maggie is seated in the living room.
"Ok, just relax. Relax your face." Luan rubbed Maggie's face. "I was thinking about your condition and you know how some people are color blind. Well, I think you are funny blind. So I got you these special glasses to help."
Luan puts Groucho glasses on Maggie's face.
"I feel ridiculous." Maggie complained.
"Now you're ready for the masters to teach you what's funny!"
"I hope this works."
Benny took out a script. "Ok Luan, here's your script."
"Ah, no thanks. I'm more of a winged kind of guy."
Benny threw the script away. "Improv. I could do that." Benny started to tell a joke. "Knock knock."
Luan didn't say anything.
"It's your line." Benny reminded her.
"What?"
"It's your line."
"Oh, right. Little old lady who? Oh wait, I messed up. Let's start over."
"Are you sure you don't need the script?"
"It's just a knock knock joke and scripts are for suckers."
"Am I supposed to be laughing yet?" Maggie questioned.
"Not yet." Benny said. "Come on Luan, we're doing this for Maggie."
"Right. For Maggie." Luan saw Benny visualizing.
"What are you doing?"
"Visualization. I'm imagining I'm the world's funniest comedian, about to tell a joke at a packed nightclub."
"Oh, well I'm gonna imagine I'm a dancing cowgirl." Luan danced like a cowgirl. "Yeehaw!"
"Luan, we have to tell the whole joke or Maggie will never learn how to be normal."
Maggie took off the Groucho glasses and sighed.
The emo was in her room, searching for humor advice on her laptop. She typed on the SearchEngine website. "Now let's see, how to find a sense of humor."
She searched and found a specific video titled: Comedy 101. She clicked on it and the video was loading.
"Hurry up."
The video played. It was that stupid cat video. The cat video they watched earlier, and Maggie was not amused. Luan came in and saw the video, making her laugh. "Play it again! Play it again!"
The emo girl banged her head against the wall in frustration. Luan noticed this and stopped her. "Maggie, don't do that!"
"It's no use, Luan. I'm never gonna learn to laugh at anything."
"Hmm...hey, you remember that time you bet me that I couldn't eat that sardine pie?"
"Yeah, you sure love pies."
"You bet I do. But there was no way I was eating a fish pie so I just pretended to eat it."
Maggie was surprised. "You what?"
"I pretended."
"I gave you twenty dollars for that!"
"Exactly. See, if you pretend to laugh at everything then everyone will think you have a great sense of humor."
"People will like me?"
"Yep."
"If I pretend to laugh at everything."
"Laugh at everything!"
"I'll do it." Maggie pretended to laugh, but it was a weak one.
"Hmm, that sounds like a dying hamster. Try again."
Maggie laughed slightly better.
"No. Come on, you can do better than that."
Maggie laughed again.
"Laugh like you mean it!"
Maggie laughed louder.
"Bigger! Give me a big lady laugh!"
Maggie laughed crazily. Luan stopped her. "Whoa, too big. We don't want people to think you're a psychopath."
Maggie let out a regular toned laugh.
"Better."
At Royal Woods High School, Luan and Benny were chatting in the hallway. Luan was telling a joke.
"And the mime says "I'm not a big fan of street entertainers, but then again I'm a mime artist so I can't talk."
They both laughed. Then they noticed Maggie laughing with them.
"I get the joke!" Maggie laughed.
Benny was surprised. "Maggie, you're laughing."
"I am."
"Good for you." The three friends laughed some more. Luan gave Maggie a thumbs up and Maggie gave her two thumbs up.
We go to a montage of Maggie pretending to laugh throughout the school day. In one classroom, the class was having a super serious lecture. But Maggie, Luan, and Benny laughed, earning themselves detention. However, they still laughed in detention. Then in the library, Maggie sent a text message to Benny. She texted "LOL". She laughed and the librarian told her to be quiet, but everyone else started laughing. Maggie, Benny, and Luan were in detention again with a bunch of other students. At lunch, Luan let out a big burp. Maggie spit out her drink and laughed, which made everyone else do the same. (the emo kids remained quiet though) Maggie, Luan, and Benny were sent to detention for the third time, along with other students. Later, Maggie is walking down the hall as she's getting good comments from other kids.
"Lookin good, Maggie!" One handsome boy said.
"Hey Maggie." Another boy said.
"Thanks boys." Maggie replied.
"I was down in the dumps when I got a D+ on my history test." One girl said. "But your laughter made me happy again."
Maggie gave her a high five. "Glad to hear it."
Then Maggie walked by her emo friends.
"If we laughed at anything, I guess it would be you." One emo boy said.
"Thanks guys."
Then Maggie bumped into Principal Rivers.
"Maggie, I want to see you in my office-"
We cut to Maggie in the principal's office. "-to tell you about the award ceremony-"
We cut to Maggie in the school auditorium. "-in which I present with you the most popular student award!"
The other students cheered and applauded for the emo. Maggie smiled tearfully as she held her trophy. "This is the best day of my life!"
Later at school, Luan and Maggie were walking through the hall.
"Luan, I just wanna thank you for teaching me how to laugh." Maggie said. "Or at least how to pretend to."
Maggie and Luan started laughing. Then the school bully, Yasmine, who was a muscular jock came jogging by. She was one of the older students who was in the eleventh grade. She had blonde hair in a ponytail and was wearing a tracksuit.
"Move it, wimps!" She pushed Luan and Maggie out of the way. Then she tripped and fell, and Maggie laughed at this, which was a big mistake! The other students were dead silent, as they stared with fear. Maggie's laughter was heard throughout the whole school. The angry bully got up and marched towards the emo girl. Luan gave Maggie the "look begins you" warning. Maggie stopped laughing and turned around. Yasmine grabbed Maggie and lifted her up to her face.
"Me and you, three o clock!" The bully dropped Maggie. "I'm gonna punch that smile off your face!"
The bully walked off. Maggie was so terrified.
"No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Maggie grabbed Luan by the collar. "I just wanted to fit in, not get beaten to a pulp!"
She ran away. "I gotta get outta here!"
Then she was blocked by two other jocks. A male and a female jock.
"Don't you go nowhere!" The male jock warned.
"Yeah." The female jock warned. "Yasmine gets cranky if she doesn't do her daily pounding."
Then the female jock picked the emo up and threw her against the lockers, right between Benny and Luan.
"Maggie!" Luan exclaimed.
"Are you ok?" Benny asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Maggie replied.
"Ok, everyone relax." Luan advised.
"Good idea." Benny agreed. Then the two friends freaked out at Maggie.
"Are you bananas?!"
"Why would you laugh at the school bully?" Benny questioned.
"I thought if I laughed at everything, I would be more fun to hang out with." Maggie explained.
"That's the stupidest thing I've heard." Benny deadpanned.
"That's what I said." Luan mentioned. Maggie glared at her.
"Maggie, I like you the way you are." Benny said.
"That's what I said." Luan repeated.
"Luan, Maggie needs our help right now."
Luan got an idea. "Wait Maggie, I've got it! You can just pretend to laugh."
"Uh, yeah. That's the same idea that got me into this mess."
"I know, but this time it'll be even more genius." Luan whispered her plan to Maggie.
The clock struck three. All the students were gathered outside as Yasmine the bully waited for Maggie to show up.
"Where is she? She better not have chickened out! My time is valuable!"
"Oh Yasmine!" Luan yelled out. Luan and Benny walked Maggie over the jock.
"Are you sure about this?" Maggie asked Luan nervously.
"Have I ever been wrong?"
Maggie just stared with a hopeless look. "I'm doomed."
Luan pushes Maggie closer to Yasmine. "Maggie is ready for her pummeling now."
The big bully grabbed Maggie, lifting her up and stared at her, menacing. "Never has a pummeling felt so good."
Maggie sweated nervously and looked back at her comedian friend, who gave her a confident wink and a thumbs up. Maggie smiled at the bully and gave a little laugh. This made the bully angrier.
"You still think this is funny?!"
Maggie laughed nervously. The bully slammed Maggie's head on the hard ground. Maggie was still laughing though so the bully slammed her harder a couple times. Maggie laughed harder and Yasmine was surprised at this.
"What's wrong with you? What kind of freak LIKES getting bullied?"
"Go ahead Yasmine!" Luan said. "Give her your worst! Maggie loves it!"
Maggie continues laughing as the bully looks uncomfortable.
"Seriously, you're freaking me out."
Maggie laughed like a crazy person.
"Stop it!" Yasmine yelled. "Stop laughing at me!"
Yasmine let go of Maggie and Luan, Benny, and the other students began to laugh at the bully along with Maggie. Even Yasmine's jock friends and a few teachers laughed. The bully sweated nervously, looking embarrassed. "Why are you all laughing at me?!" The bully ran away crying.
Maggie had her eyes closed as her laughter died down. "Is she gone?"
"Yep." Luan said proudly.
"Good." Maggie frowned as she opened her eyes.
The three friends were at Maggie's house again, sitting in the living room.
"Man, I think I liked it better when I was a laughless emo." Maggie said. "Laughing at everything sure is tiring."
"And painful." Luan added. "Don't forget painful."
"You did it Maggie. You survived." Benny congratulated.
"I knew you could do it." Luan said.
"Yeah, I guess I did." Maggie said. "You know, as that bully was smashing my head against the ground, I realized something."
"Gravel is hard?"
"Yes, and I don't need to laugh to enjoy my time with you two. You like me for me and that's all that matters."
"That's what we've been saying, silly." Benny reminded her.
"Guys, the show's on!" Luan was referring to the show with the pet cat. This time the cat's owner got the fishbowl off his pet as the cat was soaking wet. Luan and Benny laughed at this.
"I still don't get it." Maggie said.