Secrets and Surprises
Blossom spent
the rest of the afternoon at the kitchen table, trying to work on homework,
but her mind kept drifting back to her sister's notebook. What could be
in there that Buttercup felt needed to be kept secret? It was one mystery,
Blossom knew, that couldn't be solved no matter how much she analyzed the
little information she had. Buttercup was too impulsive to develop a habit
and stick to it for any ammount of time.
So she developed a
plan.
Blossom acted sorry
when she saw Buttercup at dinner that evening, and was sure to let her
have the bathroom first before they went to bed. Buttercup, as well as
Bubbles, gave her some odd looks, but didn't say anything. Buttercup was
playing into the plan perfectly.
After the Professor
turned out the lights in the room the Girls still shared, Blossom closed
her eyes, pretending to sleep until she heard her sister's fall asleep,
Bubbles snoring lightly and Buttercup breathing deep and even. Now was
her chance.
She floated out of
her bed to Buttercup's bright green dresser and quietly opened the bottom
drawer, Buttercup's underwear drawer, the most obvious place to hide something
you didn't want your sister to find.
Buttercup proved to
be as predictable as she often was when it came to subtle matters such
as secrecy. The notebook wasn't even buried, just laying on top of Buttercup's
undergarments. Blossom looked around quickly, but her sisters were still
fast asleep. She took out the notebook, carefully shut the drawer, and
carried the notebook to the bathroom where she could turn on a light and
read it.
Blossom rolled up towels
and placed them on the floor by the door, not wanting anyone to see the
light and come to investigate. Feeling sufficiently secure, Blossom sat
on the counter and opened the notebook.
The first several pages
were boring, once Blossom had deciphered Buttercup's terrible writing enough
to understand what was being said. Mostly they were complaints: about school,
about the kids at school, about Blossom and Bubbles, about the Professor,
nothing surprising, or secret, there. So what was so important that Buttercup
had to keep secret?
Abruptly, Blossom came
across an empty page, and she still hadn't found anything even remotely
interesting in the notebook. Was Buttercup just trying to mess with her
and Bubble's heads?
Blossom flipped ahead
a few more pages, to see if Buttercup had simply skipped the pages for
reasons only she would ever understand, and was rewarded with a page full
of doodles. The most prominent was a large scribble in the center of the
page, two sets of initials, B.U. + A.M., surrounded by a heart.
The rest of the page
was filled with similar romantic doodles. Hearts, crude cupids, etcetera.
The average doodlings of a love struck girl.
The next page was more
of the same, but never was a full name mentioned. B.U. was obviously Buttercup
Utonium, but who was A.M.? Someone from school? Mentally, Blossom ran down
the list of their classmates, but no one had the initials A.M.
So she likes a boy
that isn't in our class, Blossom figured. But who?!
"Blossom?" Blossom
jerked up, nearly dropping the notebook. "Blossom," Bubbles called again,
a little louder.
Blossom stuck her head
out the bathroom door, "Sh, Bubbles! Do you want to wake Buttercup?"
"What are you doing
in there?" Bubbles whispered. "Are you sick?"
"No, I was simply...reading."
"Reading? But why are
you in the bathroom when you could just be in your bed with a flashlight?"
Blossom rolled her
eyes. She loved her sister, but sometimes Bubble's naivety annoyed her.
"Get in here and I'll show you."
Bubbles floated to
the bathroom, glancing at Buttercup's bed as she went past. The green Powerpuff
Girl was still fast asleep, with a slight frown on her face. She was probably
fighting monsters. And royally kicking their butt. As usual. Blossom closed
the door tightly behind her and replaced the towels. "What is it?"
Blossom picked up the
notebook from the counter. "I found Buttercup's notebook."
"But the Professor
said we shouldn't look in that."
Blossom shrugged. "I
was curious."
"But curiosity killed
the cat."
"And satisfaction brought
her back," Blossom shot back. "Now, do you want to know what I found?"
Bubbles nodded and Blossom opened the notebook to the pages of doodles.
Bubbles gasped.
"Buttercup has a crush!"
she squealed.
Blossom quickly put
a hand over Bubbles' mouth. "Sh!"
"Who is it?" Bubbles
asked in a whisper.
"I don't know. It isn't
anybody in our class, no one has the initials A.M. So it has to be somebody
else."
Bubbles made a face.
"I don't know anyone with a name that begins with A and M."
Blossom sighed. "I
know. That's what makes this so hard." She yawned. "I'm going to sleep
on it. Maybe I'll remember somebody in a dream or something. Can you put
the notebook back for me? It's closer to your bed."
"Okay," Bubbles said,
yawning herself. She took the notebook from Blossom and both girls floated
out of the bathroom to their beds, with Bubbles stopping at Buttercup's
dresser to carefully replace the notebook.
