A week had passed and Charlie was feeling like he and Anne were growing closer than ever. During that week, both Anne and Charlie were a bit more playful than usual.
At one time during the week. Anne and Charlie were having a friendly dance battle. They were starting to become a bit mischievous as it would lead them to playfully pinning each other on the ground to ether tickle each other or to briefly snuggle each other.
"Hahahahahaha, Anne, not there!" choked Charlie with laughter.
"Annie's got Charlie." laughed Anne teasingly.
Another time during the week. Sprig and Polly would have both of them joining in with Anne and Charlie on a mini adventure that involved teaching Charlie how to parasail which they had Sylvia, Felicia, Hop Pop and Ivy there with them as they were out on a family fishing trip.
"Are you guys sure about this? I've never done this before. The closest thing to parasailing I've done was jumping out of a tree with an umbrella opened and I only had to float down safely from floating down seven feet." said Charlie feeling nervous.
"I've done this before. Sure, I did have one rough landing and some big bugs bumped into me like a blind man walking face first in a wall but I turned out alright." said Anne reassuring him.
Charlie felt a bit of alarm from what Anne told him but he felt a sense of comfort when Anne, Sylvia and Felicia kissed him on his cheeks as if they were to reassure him. The wind picked up and Charlie could see the parasail was about to lift him up into the air. Anne turned her phone on and pushed a button that was playing a song that sounded like it was both heavy and glam metal music.
"I wanna rock!" sang Charlie proudly.
The wind picked up and Charlie was pulled into the air, flying in the air by about over twenty feet high in the sky or higher. The music kept going as it sounded like metal guitar music playing. Anne would use her phone to record on video phone as Charlie was having the time of his life parasailing for the first time. They heard Charlie singing out to the music.
"Turn it down you say but all I got to say to you is time and time again I say, "no!" No! No, no, no, no, no!"
As Charlie sang out to the music. Anne was dancing a bit while both Sprig and Polly would sing along with him at times.
"He's on top of the world!" cried Sprig happily.
"Yeah Charlie! Cry freedom!" cheered Polly.
Charlie would do some spins and flip around the hand rail of the parasail to show off as he would face the front of him.
"Tell me not to play. Well, all I got to say to when you tell me not to play I say, "no!" No! No, no, no, no, no!"
As the music kept going. Charlie would wave to Anne and blow her a kiss. Anne blushed as she cheered Charlie on.
"So, if you ask me why I like the way I play it. There's only one thing I can say to you."
The song or the music got to the best part of the guitar music as Anne, Sprig, and even Polly sang along with him on the next words. Everytime Charlie sang out "I wanna rock!" Anne, Sprig and Polly would sing "Rock!"
Charlie eventually landed on the deck of the boat and he landed on his feet. He looked like he just did something on his bucket list.
"I'm the king of the world!" cried Charlie happily.
They cheered with him and Anne ran to him and pull him in for a hug and couldn't stop kissing him on his cheeks.
Another time during the week. Anne and the Plantars took Charlie out to Stumpy's Diner as they were thinking it would be a great way to show him around other places in town he hasn't been to yet. The food was incredible and Charlie never knew that the restaurant was Thai-Amphibian fusion cuisine restaurant themed.
"The food here is good. But I wonder where they got those huge crabs at? I didn't think anyone here would eat meat like meat from a crab." said Charlie with a grin.
"Well, I did help Stumpy a bit with the place when he felt like things were not going so good. We had to convince the food critic otherwise." said Anne explaining.
Charlie felt like hearing that was hearing Anne doing a good deed for someone in need. Charlie had seen Stumpy from a distance as he saw him using the interchangeable hands of his and he suddenly had an idea coming to mind.
"Hey guys, give me a minute. I got something to help Stumpy." said Charlie.
Charlie walked off towards Stumpy as he saw Stumpy was closing the restaurant for the night and Charlie pulled out a golden apple that he remembered.
"Stumpy, got a minute?" asked Charlie.
The large male greyish-blue frog turned to Charlie as he was wondering what he was about to do.
"What's on your mind, lad?" asked Stumpy curiously.
Charlie showed him the golden apple and Stumpy was a bit curious but not sure what was happening as if he didn't recognize the apple or the type of apple itself.
"Maybe you could use something to fill the soul with a fruit from this green world." said Charlie.
"Aye, I don't have the right tools on me hands to hold onto it." said Stumpy sadly.
"You won't need them for this. Open up." Charlie instructed.
Stumpy had no idea what Charlie was getting at but he obeyed as he opened his large mouth and Charlie pressed the golden apple to his mouth which the large male frog took a large bite of the apple, chewed on it till he swallowed it down.
"That apple sure tastes good. It's like it was organically grown." said Stumpy feeling optimistic.
Suddenly, Stumpy felt a strange sensation growing in his body. He felt like all pain and exhaustion from his body disappeared and he felt weightless. His body tingled pleasantly like he was having a deep body massage to relax him. He looked and saw that his scars were rapidly disappearing and next thing he knew was the shocking part. His leg where he has a peg started to slip off and the interchangeable hands he has suddenly had the belt on one of them come undone. Them interchangeable hands slipped off and he saw that the limbs he used to have rapidly grew back like magic. The hands he lost in an accident were back and the foot he lost in an accident was back, it was like they grew back within seconds. Any injury or scar he had on his body was completely gone, his hands and his foot was back. He was shocked as he looked up at Charlie.
"Lad, what did you just do?" asked Stumpy.
"Me and Wally were given these golden apples that are very rare but are said to heal anyone of anything. That's at least what Wally told me." Charlie told him.
Stumpy felt like a big amount of happiness grew inside him and he grabbed hold of the rest of the golden apple and devoured it.
"Me hands, me foot. I have me hands and me foot back." said Stumpy happily.
Stumpy pulled Charlie in for a hug as he let out a hearty laugh of relief.
"Charlie, me lad. You're just as big a blessing as Anne." said Stumpy shedding a tear of joy.
"And they say miracles don't happen anymore." said Charlie chuckling.
Stumpy and Charlie had hugged for a minute and parted ways as Stumpy shook Charlie's hand and felt good that he had his limbs back. As Charlie walked back towards Anne and the Plantars, they wondered what he just did.
"Charlie, what just happened?" asked Sprig.
"That golden apple Wally told me about. I gave one to Stumpy and he's got his limbs back. I figured he could use a miracle." said Charlie.
They were wide eyed at first but smiled afterwards as Anne pulled Charlie in for a hug. The young male human smiled from this.
"Charlie, that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for someone." said Anne with a grin.
"As they say when a miracle happens." Charlie began.
"Praise God. Praise the lord." they all said in unison.
The week was over and the party that came along was here. Anne, Charlie and the Plantars were in the center of town and a lot of frogs were there as they had a stage set up that had a podium on top of it as there was a sign that read "Most Valuable Citizen" that hung above the stage.
"Charlie, you're telling me the whole time you've been afraid of me? What were you afraid of me for?" asked Hop Pop curiously.
Charlie and Anne both ended up explaining the reason to Hop Pop as they knew that Charlie was hiding such a fear from him and they figured it was time to tell him. After they explained the whole story to him, he was wide eyed but suddenly understood.
"Charlie, I'm sorry you went through such a tragic event but you should know I'd never hurt a child. I was taught better than that. I may have times when I lose my patience or when I do get mad but I'd never hurt a child and I'd never hurt you, Anne, Sprig, Polly or any children. I prefer to use my words and the worst I'd do is have you on dish duty for three weeks or a month." said Hop Pop kindly reassuring him.
Charlie felt like a big weight was lifted off him as if his fear of old men with canes was disappearing. He pulled Hop Pop in to hug him and he hugged back.
"I've been hiding that from you for a while now, Hop Pop. It feels so much better to know this and that I can tell you this without fear." said Charlie shedding a tear.
"You know you can always tell us when something is bothering you. We'll always be there to tackle the issue. I told Anne the same thing and she's turning out alright." said Hop Pop kindly.
Charlie looked towards Anne and she winked and grinned at him to show him that they were telling the truth. Everyone turned to the stage as Toadstool walked up on the stage towards the podium.
"Alright folks, it's time!" said Toadstool over the microphone.
Toadstool adjusted himself as he would stretch his legs, arms and back before he spoke out more.
"As you all know. The most valuable citizen award goes to the most selfless, noble, blah, blah, blah, lets get it on with it." Toadstool continued.
Toadie had walked over towards Toadstool with an envelope and as Toadstool took it. He looked towards the townspeople. He opened it and was about to read the name out loud.
"I hope I'm reading this right as the most valuable citizen is...Charlie Matsuda?" said Toadstool wide eyed. "Did I say that name right?"
"Yes." many of the people answered.
Charlie was wide eyed as he let out a cough. Everyone cheered as they were seeing that Charlie had won yet Charlie was stunned to hear this.
"I actually won?" said Charlie shocked.
Anne pulled Charlie in her arms and smiled.
"Go get'em, little man." Anne encouraged.
Anne planted her lips to Charlie's lips in a kiss. Everyone smiled and blushed.
"Wooooo." many of them said in excitement.
After she pulled her lips off him. Charlie felt like his shock turned to confidence. He walked up towards the stage.
"That's my boy." said Hop Pop feeling proud.
As Charlie walked up on the stage towards the podium, he stood near Toadstool which the large male toad blushed and looked at Charlie with an expression of confusion than looked away as if trying not to look at him as if trying to avoid someone he used to date.
"Charlie." said Toadstool with a cough.
"Toadstool." said Charlie being nonchalant.
Toadstool nervously walked a few feet away as Charlie looked towards the people of the town. He leaned forwards towards the microphone to speak into it.
"Thank you ladies and gentle frogs. I'll admit, I never won anything like this before. Unless you count that martial arts tournament which that was more of a team effort. I don't know too much else to say as this is kind of a surprise to me like surprising someone with a party and that said someone nearly jumps right out of their pants from the startle. Kind of like my cousin Kadaj and he's quite the athlete, he jumped so high that he could jump clean over me." said Charlie making a bit of humor.
Many of them chuckled at the joke.
"I don't know too much else to say as this is sort of new to me." said Charlie.
"I do have something to say about it." came Toadstool.
Toadstool nearly walked towards Charlie but stopped. He felt like he was lost for words and thought. He blushed and tugged at the collar of his suit. Charlie was wondering what got him so flustered.
"Well, this is awkward." Toadstool said nervously.
"Maybe we should tell him about the party he'll host." Toadie chimed in.
Charlie was now looking at Toadie with confusion. He was wondering if he heard the little frog right.
"Ima nani?" said Charlie. "I mean the what now?"
"Oh right, we didn't tell you. That's my bad on my part. It's one our traditions. Who ever wins the most valuable citizen has to host and put on a party for the whole town." Toadie explained.
Toadie showed Charlie a scroll that read "Ye olde Most Valuable Citizen bash" as Charlie looked right at it, he was now showing that he understood but on the inside, he was nervous as he never hosted a party before.
"The party demonstrates the most valuable citizen selfessness." Toadie continued.
"I see. If I'm to do that, than just you all know. While at this party, no alcohol and no smoking. We got children here and they shouldn't be exposed to that, we've all been taught better than that and so have I." Charlie warned.
"You got it!" the crowd said with a salute.
Toadstool walked a bit closer to Charlie but he stopped. He looked as though he was trying to say something to Charlie but he couldn't figure out what it was. Charlie seemed to notice.
"Charlie." Toadstool said nonchalantly.
"Toadstool." Charlie replied nonchalantly.
Toadstool walked off while hanging his head as he let out a sigh like he was feeling disappointed that he couldn't think of anything else to say. Anne ran up towards Charlie to the stage and pulled him in for another hug and kissed him on his cheeks which got him to smile and blush. Everyone adored the sight as they let out an adored "Awww"
Meanwhile, at the Plantar's farm
Charlie paced back and forth in the living room and Anne could tell this meant something was on his mind.
"Charlie, you feeling alright?" asked Anne curiously.
Charlie stopped pacing as he stood in front of Anne, Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop as they could tell he felt nervous.
"This might be dumb question to ask but have you guys ever hosted or planned a party?" asked Charlie feeling a bit embarrassed to ask.
"Let me guess, you never hosted or planned a party before?" Anne guessed.
Charlie blushed and tried to look like he was not embarrassed but it was hard to pull that off.
"No, I haven't. I never did that before. Them two other friends back at home, well, I don't think they hosted or planned a party before ether, they've told me they were invited or they've been to a party before yet they told me that the said parties were not what they expected." said Charlie sadly.
"How long have you known those two other friends?" asked Anne curiously.
"Since I was eight but the parties they told me about were, well, they just told me it wasn't what they've expected and everytime they said that, they looked like they regretted going as if the party was a let down." Charlie explained. "I've never been to a party before. I don't think my own birthday party counts."
They all looked a bit surprised to hear that Charlie never been to a party before. Anne knew that Charlie felt like he was in a bind.
"This is embarrassing of me to ask but could you guys help me out here? I got no idea how to even host such an event." said Charlie blushing.
They all took a minute to think and Anne remembered that Charlie is a good singer and a good dancer now that she taught him how to dance. She remembered how good Charlie is at martial arts and knew that he's familiar with Japanese culture as he is Japanese-American, even if he is biracial. Anne had something in mind to suggest.
"Charlie, if I know anything about hosting and planning a party from what little experience I've got. A party always needs entertainment, exclusivity, and spectacle. I've been through it before." said Anne showing confidence. "Oh, I forgot one. Some parties are good with themes. Well, maybe not all parties have that. But this one would be cool for it."
Charlie listened to Anne as he seemed to have full trust in her since he's been in love with her for so long. Suddenly, an idea popped into Charlie's head. A smile formed upon his face.
"You got an idea, do you?" asked Hop Pop.
"I do. I'll need assistance with this though." Charlie informed. "How does Japanese theme sound? I'm familiar with the culture but don't know if it's a good idea for this."
"That martial arts tournament gave everyone a good view of it. Sounds like a good idea. Charlie, the three things I've mentioned, someone will be in charge of entertainment, who gets in the party and who gets out, as for spectacle, it's almost like entertainment but it's more like something that surprises people, something like how Sprig did when we did an event like this. He told Ivy how he felt about her. But that's an example of it." explained Anne.
Charlie started to think about it and figured that if there was entertainment, exclusivity and spectacle. He started to think of ideas but something popped into his head. He felt like the ideas in mind was swimming in his head like a leopard seal swimming in the water.
"Charlie, anyone home?" said Polly looking worried.
"Light bulb." said Charlie. "Hop Pop, you'll be in charge of entertainment, remember that joke you pulled when you pretended you broke your leg but it was really a stick? Maybe you could tell jokes, but here's the thing about stand up comedy, don't make stuff up, comedy is relativity, maybe some event you've experienced that you find funny could be a good idea for jokes or jokes about some crazy things we did when we were younger, come on, you've been around the block before, you must remember some funny events about how when you were a kid and you did something that made you laugh, or a time when you saw some kids doing something crazy that you find funny. That'll be a good idea."
Hop Pop started to think and he did remember some funny stories from back when he was younger and even some times when he saw other kids do some crazy things that others would find funny. He smiled and chuckled.
"Oh I know a few of them." chuckled Hop Pop.
"Polly, you're going to be like security. If anyone is misbehaving, don't kick them out of the party, just have them do five minutes of time out. You've shown to be the tough one who isn't afraid of kicking booty and taking names." Charlie instructed. "But if you have to get physical, only do that in self defense."
Polly smiled and chuckled at the idea.
"Charlie knows just how to butter me up and it's working." said Polly looking excited.
Polly jumped up and bounced up high into the air and she landed on Charlie's left shoulder as she planted her lips to Charlie's cheek in a kiss.
"Just don't go staring at them ladie's big butts. No matter how huge they are." joked Polly. "You know I'm joking about the butt thing."
"Oh Polly, you party animal." chuckled Charlie.
Charlie turned towards Anne and Sprig.
"You guys, you'll be helping me out in setting things up." Charlie instructed.
"What about the spectacle?" asked Sprig.
"I'll take care of that. I got an idea in mind for that and oh Otokonoko it's going to be killer." said Charlie looking so excited he might jump.
"My boy is a genius." said Anne.
They all shook hands as they talked about how to plan the party as they knew that others will be helping out in setting things up but they talked about what they should do and what they should watch out for in case of an accident since Anne spoke about that sometimes an accident can happen and she knew a way to prepare for that.
Two hours later
Everyone was back at the same place where the announcement was made. Everyone was setting up the party decorations and where else they would have other festivities. Charlie had advised some of the other frogs to wear work gloves in case they were handling anything tough that could hurt their hands and hard hats in case anything were to fall on their heads and cause injury. Anne, Charlie, Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop were doing what they've been instructed to do. Hop Pop was working on some jokes that Charlie suggested on the subject he spoke of, Polly was making sure others didn't get into conflict, Sprig, Anne and Charlie were helping out around the area. Charlie would be helping out with a lot of the heavy lifting as he felt like he was strong enough to do so and he felt like he was used to such work when he would go around helping others with the heavy lifting when he saw others struggling with the tougher parts of the manual labor.
"You three gentle frogs, keep those hard hats on. Like our parents always say. Safety first." Charlie kindly instructed some male frogs nearby.
"You got it!" said the male frogs with a salute.
"If anyone here has to fart or burp. Just let it out. There's no shame in letting it rip." Charlie called out to everyone.
Some of the people felt happy to know that as some of them let out a loud burp or a loud fart.
"I've been holding that one in since this morning." chuckled another frog.
Charlie walked over towards Leopold Loggle as he suddenly thought of something as he reached inside his pocket and pulled out another golden apple.
"Leopold, got a minute?" said Charlie.
The tall blue male axolotl turned to Charlie as the young male human held out the golden apple to him.
"What's the apple for?" asked Leopold.
Charlie looked around and back at him.
"Leopold, you look like you could use a bite to eat to keep you going." said Charlie.
"I absolutely...don't know." said Leopold pausing for a minute.
"I'm all for it. Everyone else knows if they got to use the bathroom, we got port-a-johns nearby and if anyone needs a break to drink something or to eat something to keep them going, than I'm all for it." said Charlie kindly.
Leopold looked right at the golden apple and his eyes looked like they lit up like a christmas tree as if he recognized the apple. He took the apple and devoured the entire golden apple in a flash.
"Easy now, you don't want to choke." Charlie advised.
As Leopold swallowed the apple down. That's when he felt something tingling in his throat and neck as he reached inside his neckerchief to feel his scar but he felt no scar at all. He felt like his scar was gone. The tingling eventually stopped and he looked right at Charlie with surprise.
"Was that a golden all healing miracle apple?" said Leopold speaking normally.
"That it was. I knew the lord wanted me to do that for you." said Charlie with a grin.
Leopold pulled Charlie in a hug as he hugged back.
"Thank the lord for you." whispered Leopold.
"Praise God. Praise the Lord." whispered Charlie.
After the pulled their arms from each other. Leopold got back to work on the six foot tall wooden statue of Charlie.
"Leopold, don't overwork yourself. Your health always comes first." Charlie advised walking off.
"You got it!" Leopold replied.
The decorations were up and they were an assortment of paper lanterns with Japanese ideograms on them, tables were set up with each one of them having a white cloth on them. The food that they would prepare later on was going to be Japanese but plenty of it was going to be involving fish, soups rice bowls, pastries, drinks being green tea, water, lemonade and it seemed like those who were preparing it were getting the hang of it. Charlie had showed them how to prepare such dishes but they showed they were learning fast as Stumpy had shown some experience in such preparation of the food since Thai and Japanese had some similarities.
"In case there's an unbearable smell, put on the masks and they'll shield your noses of the smell." Charlie advised.
"You got it." they said with a salute.
Charlie and Anne walked over towards Hop Pop as he was practicing his jokes on a stage that was already set up.
"Hey Hop Pop, how's the humor coming?" asked Anne curiously.
"Well, I thought about the subject that Charlie suggested for the source of comedic material and I think I got it." said Hop Pop clearing his throat. "As kids, we do all sorts of stupid things. When I was at least ten years old, my daddy told me that one day I'm gonna have to learn how to drive and he takes me out to learn how to drive a snail. He told me where I shouldn't drive and I was like drive where daddy? I drove off in the wrong direction and we almost crashed. My daddy never screamed so loudly before."
Hop Pop mimicked a high pitched scream which got both Anne and Charlie to laugh.
"We got home and my daddy decided that if he ever taught me how to drive, he'll where a helmet and on the outside, he's looking optimistic and told me your doing good son while on the inside he's screaming we're gonna die." Hop Pop finished.
Anne and Charlie laughed about that joke and smiled.
"Now that's a good one." chuckled Anne.
"I knew that subject would lead to something funny." chuckled Charlie.
"I'll probably be working on more of that. I actually like that sort of thing when it comes to the humor." said Hop Pop laughing.
Charlie glanced over to where Polly was and he stared as he saw that Polly had at least two male frogs sitting down and they looked like they had guilty expressions on their faces. Charlie walked over to her and was curious to what just happened.
"Yo Polly, what happened over here?" asked Charlie scratching his head.
"These guys were working on a part of the decorations and one of them had a box fall on one of them. They were almost getting into a fight, thinking that one of them dropped the box on one of them on purpose when it was an accident. So I broke it up and had them in a five minute time out." Polly explained.
Polly looked at the two male frogs and she gave them a disapproving expression while crossing her arms.
"You boys gonna be careful and behave now?" said Polly looking serious.
"Yes ma'am. Sorry we got into a fight. It was an accident and we'll never do that again." said the two male frogs in unison.
"Alright boys, time out is over. Back to it." instructed Polly.
The two male frogs got up from the log they sat on and went back to where they were working. Charlie was impressed by what he just saw.
"Polly, you actually handled that better than I predicted." said Charlie surprised.
"Now I know why our parents give us a time out when we act up. I can't wait to go crazier as a bouncer." said Polly giving a laugh of mischief.
"Should I be worried?" asked Charlie.
Polly blushed and chuckled while trying to look innocent but she had that devious look in her eyes.
"Maaaybe." giggled Polly.
As Charlie was looking worried about that, he figured that Polly wouldn't go too overboard but he sensed that she would only go nuts if she had to do something in self defense since he remembers that she uses a mace or a blunt object as a weapon at times. He turned one direction and saw Toadstool standing nearby. Toadstool had that same expression on his face the last time he crossed paths with Charlie.
"Toadstool." said Charlie.
Toadstool opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, not even a sound escaped his voice. Toadstool looked as though he was trying to say something but he reacted like he choked under pressure.
"Something on your mind?" asked Charlie.
Toadstool gave a nervous smile and a nervous chuckle.
"I think I hear my momma calling." said Toadstool quickly. "Coming ma!"
Toadstool took off running as if he was having something to do. Charlie was now left a bit curious. Did Toadstool have something to say to him but couldn't find the words? This was the second time Toadstool had approached him and felt like he was having an awkward moment that had the large male toad taking off. Anne seem to see this as she came towards Charlie's side.
"That was weird." said Charlie.
"Was Toadstool being mean again?" asked Anne curiously.
"Not really, last two times he was anywhere near me. He looked like he wanted to say something but he looked as though he choked under pressure or as if he couldn't figure out what to say. He's been acting weird all day." explained Charlie.
"That's not like Toadstool. He's never had those moments before." said Anne taking notice. "Worry about that later. If he comes to try and say something again, we'll ask him what's on his mind."
"Alrighty." replied Charlie.
Ten hours later
It was night fall in Wartwood and the party was set up as the townspeople were all headed for the party as many of them were all wearing comfortable kimonos, comfortable sandals and they all seem to be feel comfortable wearing such outfits. There was a DJ that was playing traditional relaxing Japanese music, there was a large outdoor fountain that had water flowing out of it, there was a few stands that the food and drinks were served at while there was places to sit down at, tables, even a dance floor. There was a purple banner that read "Most Valuable Citizen" nearby.
"Whoa, Charlie's culture must really be relaxing." said some female frogs.
As the townspeople arrived at the party, they saw Charlie was there to greet them. He bowed to them like the Japanese did to greet them. Charlie was wearing a black kimono.
"Welcome to the party, everyone. Have some fun, boogie on the dance floor with that special someone, enjoy the entertainment and let your spirits feel lifted." said Charlie calmly. "Welcome to the most valuable citizen party of the year."
They saw some fireworks launch into the air and explode as they would form colorful lights from the sparks. They were all wide eyed and mesmerized by such a party. Everyone went to take part in the fun of the party. Some people gathered at the stage where Hop Pop was telling jokes.
"I'm a grandparent and also a parent to my own grandchildren. I'm also a parent and grandparent to two human teenagers as well. I had two grandchildren and now I got two more that are teenagers, so now I got four kids living with me. So I'm a parent, and if you do stupid things as parents, you try not to, but you eventually do something stupid when you don't mean to. Just a few years ago, I see kids playing outside and it looks like they're rough housing, one of the kids hits his friend and his dad comes out and says to him "Hey, we don't do that" and he actually tapped his son on the head." joked Hop Pop.
The people that were listening to his jokes started to laugh as they found the joke to be funny. Knowing parents try not to do anything dumb but they'll eventually do something that's not the smartest thing to do. They found the joke to be relatable.
"The boy looked at his daddy and he was like "Here's your sign, daddy" and I was looking at the parent and I felt like I could see that sign floating above his head with an arrow pointing to his forehead and the sign reads "Moron Alert" boy that kid's daddy proved himself wrong, right there." joked Hop Pop.
The frogs were laughing a bit harder at his jokes. Hop Pop could see that what Charlie suggested for a subject to tell jokes about was working and was a good idea.
"Some adults say that kids got respect for nothing anymore, I'd hear them say their kids run wild so much that one of them is thinking "No more sugar for him today" because he probably had too much candy, cake and ice cream." joked Hop Pop as he sees more of them laughing. "They say parenting has changed over the years, when we were growing up as kids, we do something we shouldn't do, we hear someone saying "Someone's gonna get his butt whooped" and now, some adults believe that no one disciplines their kids anymore, they fear that if you spank your kids, they're afraid they're going to get arrested, it's sad but it's true."
The frogs listening to his jokes were laughing harder and were having a good time as they found the jokes funny yet relatable.
"Sure, spanking your kids is wrong. But when I got older, I found out that if your kids act up, you got to do something else to discipline them so they know not to act up. I once got invited to eat out at a fancy joint with a family that were townies, they're nice people, but their kid was acting up so much that the parents said "Just let the kids express themselves" Alrighty. Is the kid expressing himself when he spray paints swear words on the wall?" joked Hop Pop as he saw them laughing more. "If the kids use swear words, you automatically think "Time to have a talk with grandpa, again"
As the frogs that listened to his jokes laughed. Hop Pop realized that Charlie had some good advice on what sort of jokes to tell and how making things relatable like funny stories that actually happened in his life was actually working. Hop Pop and the frogs that saw him telling jokes, they got up and figured they can come back in a minute to take a break. Hop Pop and them frogs walked off. Hop Pop saw Charlie nearby as he could tell he was thinking when he looked on at the nearby dance floor. Hop Pop walked his way towards him.
"Hey Charlie, the subject you suggested for jokes turned out alright." said Hop Pop feeling giddy.
Charlie turned to face the old male frog and he could see that Charlie was nervous from the expression on his face.
"Something on your mind?" asked Hop Pop.
"I'm a bit nervous on what I'm going to do for the spectacle." Charlie replied.
"Nervous? What are you going to do for the spectacle?" asked Hop Pop growing curious.
Charlie looked around and back at Hop Pop. He let out a sigh.
"Hop Pop, for a while now I've been having feelings towards Anne. Before I met you and everyone here. Back at home around over a year by now, when I first laid eyes on Anne, I felt like my heart just couldn't stop beating so fast. Ever since than, I've been in love with Anne this whole time. Back than, I wanted to work up the courage to talk to her or even so much as tell her how I feel but fear held me back. Now, I actually talked to Anne when I first met her, she's been the nicest girl I've ever met, she's done so much for me. And now, I got an idea on how I can confess to her how I feel but I got no idea if I can actually do it." Charlie explained.
Hop Pop heard every word and a smile formed on his face. Charlie was starting to wonder if he knew or if he was about to make a joke out of this.
"So you've been in love with Anne for over a year now, huh?" chuckled Hop Pop.
"Does it show?" asked Charlie.
"Charlie, I'll admit, there's been quite a lot of signs. Anne kissing you, hugging you, you two go to the same school back in your world, you show you two got quite a lot in common, she taught you how to dance when you only wanted to dance with her, she seems to help you feel better when your down or terrified or nervous, you two seem to make each other laugh, you show you don't like it when someone harms her, you two sort of snuggled each other at theater night, she's encouraged you to stand up for yourself when someone bullied you, she found a way to help you get through the martial arts tournament by having you visualize all the people that have been mean to you and use that as your battling fuel to stand up to Toadstool, she's been the most supportive towards you." said Hop Pop listing off the signs. "That, and between you and me, I sometime saw you two staring at each other when the other wasn't looking. So it's obvious you like her."
Charlie blushed a bit but also knew that Hop Pop was right. He did feel an odd sense of relief knowing that Hop Pop was aware of his feelings towards Anne.
"Although, how were you going to confess your feelings towards Anne?" asked Hop Pop.
Charlie leaned down and whispered to Hop Pop what he was going to do to confess his feelings towards Anne. Hop Pop was wide eyed at first but he smiled afterwards.
"That's what your going to do, huh?" said Hop Pop. "Anne would be thrilled if you confessed your feelings to her that way."
"You really think so?" said Charlie hopefully.
"She's shown signs she likes you back. When Anne started living with us, she was a bit out of place at first but she showed everyone that she's a kind, big hearted girl and she cares about the people here. I accepted her as a Plantar, she's like another granddaughter in the family. I've considered you like another grandson in the family." said Hop Pop kindly.
Hop Pop pulled Charlie in for a hug as he was now feeling his heart race from being considered a "Grandson" to the old male frog.
"You're a Plantar, no matter how many times you make mistakes, I'll always love you like family as I do the same for Anne." Hop Pop told him proudly. "I know your real dad was never there for you but that's alright, you don't need him, you have me."
Hearing this sent a shot of love to Charlie's heart. Hearing Hop Pop consider him a part of his family and that he has Hop Pop as a father figure. He knew he was right as he shed a tear.
"That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard. You've been more of a father to me than my real one ever was." said Charlie wiping the tear away.
"Just like what Anne has said, no one messes with you or they'll hear from me." said Hop Pop. "Go get your girl, champ."
"I will." said Charlie.
They hugged once more and released their arms from each other as Charlie walked over towards the dance floor as Sprig had showed up.
"Charlie, you about to dance or what?" asked Sprig.
"Sprig, go get Anne. I'm about to do something for her that's part of that spectacle." Charlie kindly instructed.
Charlie pulled out something in his pocket and it was another golden apple. He handed it to Sprig.
"Also, give this to Mrs. Croaker." Charlie added.
Charlie explained to Sprig why bring the golden apple to Mrs. Croaker and what he's going to do as part of the spectacle, he winked at Sprig and the young male frog somehow caught on and went off to go get Anne. Charlie went over to the DJ and whispered something in his ear or where ever his ears should be since he knew that frogs don't have ears like humans and knew they listened differently. What he whispered to the DJ had him smile with excitement.
"Oh yeah, little man. It's about to get romantic up in here." said the DJ excitedly.
Charlie walked out towards the dance floor and the DJ looked like he was getting ready to make an announcement as Hop Pop, Sprig, Anne, Polly, Sylvia, Felicia, Ivy, Wally, Maddie, Leopold, Mrs. Croaker, Maddie's father, Stumpy, and many others that were at the party started showing up where Charlie was at. The DJ tapped the microphone to get their attention. Charlie set up his portable radio to get it ready to play the song he had in mind.
"Ladies and gentle frogs, we got ourselves a little surprise tonight. Love is in the air and it looked like our most valuable citizen is about to show how he feels towards the lucky lady. This is for you, Anne Boonchuy." announced the frog DJ.
Many of them murmured excitedly but Anne was left blushing and grinning at the sounds of this.
"Wait, I'm that lucky lady?" said Anne excitedly.
Charlie had turned his portable radio on and had it loud enough for all to hear the music as mid-tempo pop rock music was playing and Charlie began to sing as he sang like a beautiful voiced pop singer. Anne could see he was looking towards her direction as he did this.
"He-e-ey, h-e-e-ey, he-e-e-ey"
Charlie sang out beautifully and Anne felt her heart racing from the joy of this romantic gestures being made.
"Your lipstick stains, on the front lobe of my left-side brains. I knew I wouldn't forget you and so I went and let you blow my mind"
The music kept going as everyone was able to dance a little to the song and it's musical tune. Anne felt her heart swelling with pride at the sight of this as Charlie kept going.
"Your sweet moonbeam. The smell of you in every single dream I dream. I knew when we collided. You're the one I have decided, who's one of my kind"
The music got a bit louder as Charlie was even doing a bit of a dance like movement with his feet, he would be slowly wiggling his hips as he sang to Anne.
"Hey, soul sister! Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo? The way you move ain't fair, you know. Hey, soul sister! I don't wanna miss a single thing you do-o-o, tonight"
The music got louder and Charlie's singing got more powerfully beautiful as he was not holding back.
"He-e-ey, h-e-e-ey, he-e-e-ey"
As the music sounded so beautiful, so did Charlie's singing as he sounded like he was having the voice of an angel.
"Just in time. I'm so glad you have a one-track mind, like me. You gave my life direction. A game-show love connection. We can't de-e-e-eny. I'm so obsessed. My heart is bound to beat right out of my untrimmed chest. I believe in you, like an angel, you're Madonna. And I'm always gonna wanna blow your mi-i-ind"
As the music was playing a bit faster, sounded like it got even more powerfully beautiful. Charlie winked at Anne which got her to smile and blush while Sprig playfully nudged her, she playfully nudged Sprig as well.
"Hey, soul sister! Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo? The way you move ain't fair, you know. Hey, soul sister! I don't wanna miss a single thing you do-o-o, tonight"
Charlie was slowly wiggling his hips and doing a dance like motion with his body as if to show Anne he was so in love with her that he wanted to dance about it.
"Way you can cut a rug. Watching you's the only drug I need. So gangster, I'm so thug. You're the only one I'm dreaming of. You see, I can be myself now finally. In fact there's nothing I can't be. I want the world to see you'll be, with me"
The music got a bit softer as it was sounding so beautiful that Charlie's singing was serenading not just Anne, but every female frog there.
"Hey, soul sister! Ain't that Mr. Mister on the radio, stereo? The way you move ain't fair, you know. Hey, soul sister! I don't wanna miss a single thing you do, toni-i-i-ight"
Charlie was looking directly at Anne as he sang to her. If Anne had to decide if she likes Charlie back, than the romantic gesture Chalrie was doing for her had her heart screaming "Yes"
"Hey, soul sister! I don't wanna miss a single thing you do-o-o, tonight"
"He-e-ey, h-e-e-ey, he-e-e-ey, tonight. He-e-ey, h-e-e-ey, he-e-e-ey, tonight"
The music eventually died down and Anne felt like she was at her happiest. Charlie finally confessed his love towards her like she's been hoping for as she knew he had the courage to do so.
"I love you, Anne Boonchuy!" cried Charlie.
"Come to momma!" cried Anne.
Anne ran towards Charlie and pulled him in her arms for a hug and lifted him up off his feet as she spun him around twice. They were excited to know this. After Anne stopped spinning him, that's when Charlie pulled Anne in for a kiss to his lips for a change. Anne was wide eyed from this and closed her eyes as she kissed him back. Their hearts beat at a fast rate while everyone was applauding.
"Looks like he kissed her this time." joked Sprig and Ivy in whispers.
They both pulled their lips off each other after a passionate kiss as both were blushing with grins.
"Is this the best party you've ever been to?" said Anne giggling.
"That it is. Well, it's the first party I hosted, even with help from you, Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly." Charlie admitted. "Just out of curiosity, if I was voted for Most Valuable Citizen, than what was it that got people to vote for me? I'll be honest, I'm not perfectly flawless like those super models we hear about. I may be the physically strong guy but I'm not perfect. I've shown some flaws and even the people of the town know that."
Everyone heard him admit that he wasn't perfect and they heard him admit it. Yet they felt love towards him. Hop Pop came up towards him.
"Charlie, we didn't vote for you because your flawless or perfect. We voted for you because you've grown so much in your time here. You've even shown you're quite the strong man on the inside. You used to have a hard time telling people about your problems and you had struggled with trust at times. But you've grown so much since than, you no longer keep your problems problems all bottled up, which keeping it in isn't a healthy thing, I'll admit, but you've grown so much in your time here that even this town wouldn't be the same without you or Anne." Hop Pop proudly.
The townspeople had applauded for Charlie as they murmured in agreement. Charlie felt his heart swell with surprise and relief and love. Toadstool walked up towards Charlie and he looked like he was blushing deeply as if he was working up the courage to say something again. They all saw that Toadstool was nervous about this.
"Charlie, I've been trying to say this all day and I felt like I couldn't because things between you and me are, well..." paused Toadstool.
"Maybe Toadstool needs a minute?" suggested Anne.
"Lets not put pressure on him." Charlie kindly advised.
Toadstool let out a sigh and without warning, he pulled Charlie in his arms and everyone was worried at first, thinking he was about to do something violent, but to their surprise, they saw Toadstool hugging Charlie. This caught the young male human by surprise.
"Charlie, I saw that you've given me that golden all healing miracle apple last week when you had Toadie bring it to me. At the time, since the martial arts tournament, I had a broken arm, a broken leg and I had to walk around in crutches, which after how I've been towards you this whole time, I was probably asking for it. Especially since I cheated at that match. But that apple healed me of all the injuries I've had." said Toadstool finally.
"I'm sorry you were in that sort of pain." said Charlie regaining his mindset.
"I couldn't believe that you've given me that magical healing fruit. I just wanted to know, why? Why heal me of my pain and injuries when I've been such a monster towards you? I don't get it." said Toadstool admitting his confusion.
Toadstool faced Charlie after he released his arms from him.
"Toadstool, the reason why I did that was because although you and I didn't get along, someone once told me that to forgive is to live, seeking vengeance is to die. Vengeance is like a bad drug, it's gonna kill us one day. You and me may not have gotten along but I don't want to see you dead, you deserve a chance, even if some would disagree. Who we are today, we know we were never like this in the beginning of our lives. I knew that you healing from an injury is no fun and I should know." Charlie explained. "I did that for you because you deserve a chance, even if we don't get along at first, still, forgiveness has us sleep better at night, it might be hard to forgive but we can do it if we try hard enough."
Toadstool blushed at some of the kind words. He felt like compassion was being wrapped around his heart which some people believed he didn't have a heart. Toadstool looked up at Charlie.
"Well, I do agree that I wasn't like this in the beginning of my life. And I apologize for how I treated you." said Toadstool kindly.
Charlie and Toadstool shared a good moment with each other for the first time. They reached out and shook each others hands. This brought a tear to everyone's eye.
"Ladies and gentle frogs, while this is an emotional moment, I'll admit. Why don't we spend the rest of the party being with those we love. It is a party for families to be together after all." Toadstool told them.
Everyone cheered for this and plenty of people started to see that the fun is still going strong. Another hour had passed and everyone was ether eating good, dancing and having a good time with the festivities. Anne and Charlie were doing slow dancing on the dance floor as they felt like they were on cloud nine after Charlie confessed his feelings to Anne.
"So you've been in love with me for over a year now, huh? I want to know, we go to the same school, why didn't you try to talk to me sooner?" asked Anne curiously.
"Well, to be honest, fear held me back. I really like you and I wanted to talk to you and work up the courage to tell you how I felt when you were alone because you know how other teens are, they'll voice their opinions and the jokes would be flying like arrows." answered Charlie.
"I see, I'll admit, I've seen situations like that before and I can see why people would be nervous. But having the courage to tell me is the bravest thing a guy like you has ever done. I know a girl likes a guy whose confident, but in this case, it's understandable to be nervous and there's nothing wrong with that." Anne told him kindly. "But just so you know, I've actually liked you for a while too."
Charlie looked at Anne with a curious yet surprised expression. She liked him as well for a while? How long did she like him he didn't know.
"How long have you liked me?" asked Charlie.
"I liked you since the day I found out you can sing and since you could make me laugh." said Anne with a grin. "The songs you would sing was like your way of expressing how you feel about someone and they said the key to a successful and healthy relationship is making the other laugh."
Anne kissed him on his cheeks which left him to smile and blush.
"Although, now that you and I are boyfriend and girl friend, I know we got some learning to do when it comes to how a relationship works. But we'll be able to learn how it all works since we'll both be learning it together. I know that honesty is one way of having a successful relationship, that, and being able to make the other laugh and always being supportive of each other in anything." said Anne giving a word of hope.
Charlie heard knew that Anne was right and that he had to be honest with Anne about something or more he didn't tell her about yet. He knew that what ever else he kept a secret from Anne had to be told to her. He let out a sigh and looks at Anne.
"Anne, when you say we have to be honest with each other, well, you're right. And there's something I got to tell you that I've never told you, Sprig, Polly or Hop Pop. But if I tell you, promise me you won't think of me any less for it?" said Charlie looking serious.
Anne's smile faded a bit but she showed him a sympathetic expression.
"Charlie, I know that since we're sharing our lives together, both good times and bad times, I know that no matter what happens, I'll always love you." said Anne with a word of comfort.
Charlie felt a sense of hope and comfort from those words and he felt ready to tell Anne what he hasn't told her yet.
"Anne, you're not the first girl I've dated. The previous girl I dated was my first." Charlie finally said.
Anne showed she wasn't bothered by this but she was curious.
"Okay, that's the first step and that's good to take the first step. Just out of curiosity, who was this other girl?" asked Anne curiously but showing support.
Charlie felt his heart sink a bit at this moment. He knew that this could surprise Anne but Charlie didn't know that Anne knew Sasha.
"The first girl I dated, she was-" Charlie began.
They got interrupted by sounded like a loud crackling like boom that was heard all over the place. Suddenly, both Anne, Charlie and others saw what looked like grenades being tossed from an unknown area and landing on the ground. The grenades started to emit smoke that was a white color and many people started to try and run but many people were falling to the ground and looking like they were being knocked out. Charlie began to panic and so did Anne. Charlie looked towards Anne with a serious expression.
"What's going on?" said Anne holding onto Charlie.
The smoke started to affect them as well as they tried to run or look for others to help but the smoke started to make them feel dizzy as if they were getting sleepy.
"Anne...it's an ambush...this is...an attack." said Charlie slowly loosing consciousness.
"Charlie...I'll protect you...run..." said Anne loosing consciousness as well.
Anne fell to the ground like everyone else around them and Charlie fell to the ground as well. Charlie was filled with panic as he tried to stay awake as both Anne and Charlie reached out to grab each others hands. He turned his head slowly in the direction towards his left and saw what looked like three or more large shadow like figures coming over towards him. As his vision was fading, he couldn't see them very well, even when they reached him.
"There he is! Grab him!" came a deep male voice from one of them.
These people that came towards Charlie looked like they were wearing masks to prevent themselves from being knocked out. One of them grabbed Charlie by the legs and try as the two humans might but they weakly tried to hold onto each others hands but their hands slipped.
"I got him. Lets move out!" came another voice from them.
"The smoke will only knock them out for a while, hurry, we don't have much time!" came the deep male voice.
The one that grabbed Charlie had swung him over their shouldersto carry him. The last thing Charlie saw was Anne now unconscious while Charlie was now unconscious.
"Anne...help...me." Charlie said weakly.