Chapter 9


The school bell rang releasing the students from their kindergarten classes. There was an unanimous cheer as the little five and six-year-olds rushed out the classroom like a stampede. Ms. Green smiled brightly at the students fleeing as though chased by rabid dogs. Lastly were the three children who had entered her class late that day.

The trio had grown to be fast friends. They were now finishing cleaning up their work area where they had spent most of arts and crafts time talking rather than painting. She had to force them back to work more than once. Ms. Green couldn't get over that mark on Bubbles's cheek though. She promised herself today would be the day she confronted the child about it.

"Hurry up, Bubbles!" Buttercup called heading toward the door in a yellow dress now splotched in rainbow blotches of paint. It almost seemed as though she'd purposefully tried to ruin the dress.

"I'm coming!" She replied and began to head towards her two new friends waiting by the door.

"Bubbles," Ms. Green's voice made the child pause. "We have to have a talk." Bubbles whimpered hoping Ms. Green had forgotten. She looked forlorn toward her new friends.

"It is all right Bubbles," Blossom smiled warmly, "Buttercup and I will be outside and wait for the bus. I am positive you will be along shortly. Come on Buttercup." Blossom gave a reassuring grin back to Bubbles. Blossom didn't want to upset the teacher on her first day.

"Yeah, don't worry about it! If the bus tries to leave without ya, I'll lie down in front of it!" Buttercup nodded and smiled. Bubbles returned with a beaming grin of her own.

"Okay! Thanks you guys!" Bubbles waved a good-bye as the other two left, leaving the teacher and student with some privacy. "What did you want to talk tome about, Ms. Green?"

"Bubbles, Sweetheart, have a seat." Ms. Green patted a tiny chair next to her. Bubbles scrambled on it and looked up at her beloved teacher. Ms. Green cleared her throat and began. "Bubbles, Honey, I've been noticing lately that you've been coming in with a lot of marks on you." Ms. Green noted looking at the bruise on Bubble's cheek about the size of a fist.

"I...uh…keep falling down the stairs." Bubbles responded quickly.

"Each and every time, Bubbles?" Ms. Green asked with concern.

"They're some pretty tricky stairs." Bubbles chuckled lightly looking away. There was an odd silence as Bubbles looked around the room at the bright colors and childish drawings. The clock ticked loudly as the class's bunny scurried around in its cage.

"Bubbles…is someone hurting you…at home?" Ms. Green had a very big problem with subtly, as demonstrated.

"NO!" Bubbles practically shrieked. She calmed down and shifted uncomfortably, "Uh…no Ms. Green, that's silly. It's the stairs. Those darn stairs…" Bubbles looked at the carpeted floor. Ms. Green sighed.

"Those stairs are pretty mean, huh?" Ms. Green asked. Bubbles nodded. "Don't you wish you could stop falling down them?"

"Yeah, but I'm so clumsy and they're so big." Bubbles commented.

"Well…why do you think you keep falling down those stairs?" Ms. Green asked. Bubbles looked away a second pulling at one of her pigtails.

"I'm not careful a lot. Sometimes I cause accidents and then I fall down the stairs. It's not the stair's fault though! They're just stairs. He doesn't mean it and it teaches me to be more careful and more balanced and not cause more accidents." Bubbles answered truthfully without revealing the identity of the stairs. Ms. Green paused. The child was miraculous in the way she played perfectly into the whole hidden meaning. Except one part.

"Bubbles…you said 'he'." Ms. Green pointed out. Bubbles looked kind of frightened.

"What…no, no I didn't!" The blonde tried to defend, squirming in her seat.

"Honey…you're not really being hurt by the stairs…are you?" Ms. Green asked seriously. Bubbles's eyes welled up with tears; she touched the bruise on her cheek and whispered softly.

"Maybe…" Bubbles grew silent again.

"Bubbles, if someone is hurting you I can help. I can make sure that they won't hurt you again. What this person is doing is wrong." Ms. Green put a comforting hand on Bubbles's arm. The blue-eyed child shook her head violently.

"I…you CAN'T! Oh Ms. Green! If you tell, they'll take Mommy and Daddy away and I'll never EVER see 'em again. And they'll hurt 'em!" Bubbles wailed, beginning to cry.

"Huh? Who will take your parents?"

"The…bad men." Bubbles whispered so low. She spoke as if the "bad men" would rush in from every part of the city, burst through the grade-school window and say "we've got you now." Ms. Green scoffed.

"Who told you that?"

"Daddy." Bubbles whispered again, staring at her mitts. Ms. Green knelt down to Bubbles, looking into the child's eyes.

"Bubbles, no 'bad men' will come and take your parents and hurt them. There will be a few NICE people who will help your daddy understand that what he is doing is wrong so he won't hurt you again. No one will hurt your parents." Ms. Green looked sincerely into Bubbles's eyes, "And no one will hurt you. I'll make sure of it." Bubbles tears were spilling onto her white skirt. She wrapped her arms around Ms. Green's neck and wept softly into the woman's shoulder. Rachel Green rubbed the child's back softly closing her eyes.

The two stayed there, the rhythm of the ticking clock and Bubbles's calming sobs were the only noises. Ms. Green didn't want to let go. This poor child. Bubbles clutched onto the woman's shirt tightly while sobbing into her shoulder.

"Oh no." Bubbles uttered.

"What's wrong?" Ms. Green rubbed the child's back gently. The little blonde took in a broken whimper and wiped her eyes.

"Daddy says I'm not supposed to tell. He'll be mad. Really mad." Bubbles managed out. Ms. Green frowned but comforted the child further.

"Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you. I'll make sure of that." Ms. Green encouraged, Bubbles smiled slightly.

"Okay. But…don't tell him I told you. We're supposed to be a good and happy family. So if he asks, you don't know that he sometimes, accidentally, makes me stop being bad like that." Bubbles insisted. Ms. Green hated that the child obviously thought it was her own fault. Ms. Green looked Bubbles in those oddly large blue eyes.

"You know this isn't your fault, Honey. Your daddy shouldn't do this to you, understand? It isn't your fault at all." Ms. Green put a caring hand to the child's cheek. Before Bubbles could respond, there was a loud honk from outside and some yelling.

"Hey, kid!" Someone shouted from outside, "Get out from in front of the bus!"

A faint "Never" was heard as Buttercup yelled back. Bubbles giggled.

"I better get going." Bubbles began to get off the chair.

"I don't think that it's safe for you to go back home until someone who can help your father has spoken to him." Ms. Green expressed, concernedly. Bubbles smiled warmly.

"It's okay, I'm staying over Buttercup's house anyhow. Thank you, Ms. Green. And remember. Shhhhhhhh!" Bubbles put a hand over her mouth trying to mimic the way she'd seen adults but a finger to their lips. Ms. Green smiled but still seemed worried.

"All right…good bye Bubbles." Ms. Green sighed as Bubbles waved and ran out the door. The remittance of the child's tears had now faded and disappeared. At least now Ms. Green could help her.

* * * *


The bus bumped and jolted as its rickety wheels slammed against the pavement. Luckily though, most of the children had remembered to wear their safety belts. But, being rambunctious children, whenever a speed bump approached, the children would all unbuckle their seat belts and wait for the large bump. Then, the children would see how high they could be bumped and some even struggled to touch the ceiling. It was during this particular activity that the three girls (who had been quiet most of the time) began their conversation.

"Hey, Buttercup…" Bubbles began, bracing for the bump.

"What?" She asked.

"Thanks for standing in front of the bus for me." Bubbles stated as they hit the bump. The two flew into the air and Buttercup touched the cold ceiling with her mitt. Blossom, the more dignified (and possibly more intelligent in this case) remained seated and buckled in. Bubbles came close but didn't quite touch.

"No problem....hey Bubbles…" Buttercup started.

"What?" Bubbles responded another bump approaching. Buttercup paused.

"Does your dad really hit you?" Buttercup said quickly. The bus flew over the bump suddenly and Bubbles hit the ceiling harshly.

"OW! WHAT?!" Bubbles shrieked.

"Does your dad really hit you?" She repeated.

"Buttercup!" Blossom yelled in a very familiar way. "We were not supposed to discuss the events we had overheard! Have you forgotten so quickly?" Blossom sighed.

"I had ta know!" Buttercup insisted. Bubbles was bawling.

"How do you know?! Why were you SPYYYYING?" Bubbles whined out the last part, dragging it a bit. Blossom and Buttercup blinked.

"We were in no way spying." Blossom seemed slightly insulted. She put a mitt over her heart. "Buttercup and I were having a discussion of the days activities when we heard Ms. Green and yourself discussing a notorious staircase in your abode. The rest of the conversation we also inadvertently overheard. There was not any espionage involved." Blossom reassured. Bubbles blinked.

"So…you just heard me?"

"Yes."

"Although you were out of the classroom, down the hallway, outside the building, with a bunch of revving school buses and screaming kids around you?" Bubbles recited the list. Buttercup and Blossom looked at each other.

"Um…yes that would be correct." Blossom looked back at Bubbles.

"I dunno." Buttercup scratched the back of her head. "We just did. We weren't spying. It was like we had…super hearing or something." Buttercup suggested, shrugging. The phrase pinched in the back of their minds. Super hearing? That seemed right. All these thoughts began to hurt thinking about them. Blossom quickly spoke.

"Well…I would like to know if what you and Ms. Green were speaking of was true." Blossom let her curiosity take the better of her. The two leaned in towards Bubbles (her being in the middle) as if to block her from the other children. Buttercup's large bow fanned out from behind her head almost like a blocking screen. Bubbles took in a deep breath.

"Yes." Bubbles said simply clutching her skirt. "But you guys can't tell ANYBODY! You can't, you can't, you CAN'T!" She pleaded with them grasping one of their mitts. "No one's supposed to know! Please don't tell. PLEASE!"

"But, Bubbles, it is not right for a father to do such a thing to his daughter. Heavens knows my father has never struck me once." Blossom said but in her mind she finished with possibly because I don't ever see him.

"But…but you can't. Daddy doesn't mean to. He's just telling me that what I'm doing is wrong and that I shouldn't do bad things." She looked down at her lap and then squeezed her friends' hands tightly. "You guys gotta promise that you won't tell." Bubbles looked at them pleadingly.

Buttercup looked to Blossom and Blossom to Buttercup. They could both see the uneasiness in each other's eyes. Buttercup sighed squeezing Bubbles's mitt back.

"I promise." She sighed.

"I, as well, give you my word." Blossom clasped onto Bubbles mitt. "But I still do not like it."

"THANK YOU!" Bubbles smiled and hugged them both happily and changed the subject. "How will we know when we get to your house, Buttercup?"

"My house is big." Buttercup began, uneasily trying to adjust to the change in subject.

"Not as big as mine, I bet." Blossom challenged.

"Oh yeah?" Buttercup smiled. "My house is huge. First you go in through the front door and there's a man who'll open the door for you. His name is Bob. He'll say 'Hello Buttercup how are you?'" Buttercup mimicked the man's voice best she could, "And then I'll say, 'I'm fine Mr. Bob, thank you very much' and he'll say 'C-ya later kiddo' and I'll say bye."

"I NEVER have that long of a conversation with MY butler." Blossom commented.

"Well he's NOT a butler. He's just the doorman. Then you get to the elevator and wait. Then the door opens and there's a guy inside that's name is Terrance. And I say, 'Terrance, fifth floor.' And he says, 'yes ma'am.' And then he presses the button."

"You have an ELEVATOR in your HOUSE?!" Bubbles mouth dropped open in awe. Buttercup nodded proudly.

"And you have an elevator man?" Blossom questioned. Buttercup nodded again. Blossom began to look worried I want an elevator man named Terrance. Why don't I have one of those? "How many floors DOES your house have?"

"Nine." Buttercup said after thinking a moment.

"Nine?" Blossom gulped. I don't believe it! Someone else has a better house than me? But…but her clothes are so…and she seems like such a…Blossom's mind raced while Buttercup babbled on about her home. Blossom knew she shouldn't be so upset, this person was her friend. But…the Lukan's were one of the wealthiest people in all of Townsville, how on earth could such an unsophisticated little girl be so rich?

The bus came to a jolty stop in front of a tall building with a redbrick façade. There were two large glass doors in front and a man in a red and gold outfit letting people in.

"Here's our stop." Buttercup leapt down from the seat gleefully followed by Bubbles and an uneasy Blossom. Bubbles wished the bus driver a nice day and hopped down the tall steps to the ground. Buttercup motioned for Blossom and Bubbles to follow her. Blossom looked around cautiously and stepped off the bus. Where was the giant mansion? Where was this amazing house? All she saw was a crummy apartment…building. Blossom began to laugh as the bus sped off with a cloud of smoke.

"What's so funny, Blossom?" Bubbles inquired.

"I…It is an" Blossom chuckled and laughed between words, "It is (chuckle) an (snort) apartment!" Blossom burst out into a fit of laughter managing to say tiny phrases like "nine floors", "door man" and then would break out into an oddly cute laugh. Bubbles and Buttercup looked at one another and shrugged while they waited for Blossom to finish.

"Um…okay."

"I am sorry." Blossom laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. "You see, I thought you actually lived in a HOUSE. Not in an apartment." Blossom felt a lot better.

"Uh…well an apartment is a house." Buttercup noted.

"Well not a REAL house. I thought you owned the whole BUILDING not just one measly apartment. Heck, my house is MUCH bigger than this." Blossom bragged as a Lukan had been informed to do. Buttercup shrugged.

"That's probably so." Buttercup said in a non-confrontational manner. Red's teachings of nonviolence had not gone un-rewarded in some departments of Buttercup's demeanor. "Come on!" Buttercup marched up toward the tall glass doors. A bright and happy man, probably in his early thirties tipped his hat at the girls and opened the door saying:

"Hello Buttercup, how are you?" The two girls looked to Buttercup who had recited this very same conversation earlier.

"I'm fine, Mr. Bob, thank you very much." Buttercup and her posse went through the front door into the cool air of the apartment building. Mr. Bob tipped his hat again and said:

"C-ya later, kiddo!" He smiled. Bubbles giggled.

"Bye Mr. Bob!" She waved over excessively. Buttercup lead the way proudly. The halls were covered in a dark carpet which Blossom wasn't sure was dark blue or even black. The inside of the building seemed to be taken care of nice enough. The building wasn't very expensive with the only assets to make it seem to be expensive were the two service people, the doorman and the "elevator man." The walls had very bland and humdrum paintings of flowers and fruit and other still life, which hung on the wall in an uninteresting manner. But, the way Buttercup proceeded down the hallway in such a proud manner; one would expect the little girl to be showing people around the White House!

Blossom snickered a bit at the place. To think she was almost jealous of this. Her house was covered in imported African rose-colored marble that was long since "extinct", and gold leafed wallpaper in frivolously overdone designs. Soon the trio made it to the elevator.

Buttercup reached as high as she could to reach the "down" button but couldn't. Bubbles quickly climbed on top of Buttercup's arms (considering there were no shoulders) and reached, her mitt pressed against the button easily and Bubbles jumped off smiling.

"Good teamwork, guys." Blossom congratulated without thinking. The three paused as another spark of remembrance zapped through their minds. Suddenly the hum of the elevator and a loud "DING" as the door open awoke them from their thoughts. A young man smiled brightly, he couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen years old. He smiled warmly at the three girls.

"What floor, ladies?" He questioned. Buttercup smiled up at him.

"Terrence, fifth floor."

"Yes, ma'am." Terrence grinned pressing the button. Bubbles frowned. She wanted to press the button. Well, perhaps the next time. Terrence's eyes caught sight of the little blonde and his eyes brightened. "Hey there, are you that girl from the commercials?" He questioned. Bubbles nodded and began a small tap routine on the elevator floor. She did this almost on reaction to the mere mention of her commercials. Terrence laughed and clapped a beat for Bubbles (which probably only helped screw her up). "That's wonderful."

"Why thank you Mr. Terrence, sir. I just love to dance." She giggled and Terrence's teenage heart melted.

"Awwww," He rubbed Bubbles hair playfully. "You're sure energetic." The elevator stopped with a ding and the doors slid open expectantly. Bubbles made a cute curtsy and skipped out. Buttercup waved a good-bye and followed Bubbles. Blossom began to strut out when she remembered something.

"Oh yes," The little Lukan recalled, "the matter of your tip."

"Don't worry about it." Terrence bent down to her and winked. "It's on me."

"Pish-posh!" Blossom declared digging into her jacket pocket. "A Lukan never gets ANYTHING for free, besides that lunch I had today but that doesn't count. We are NOT cheap." Blossom pulled out enough Benjamin Franklin's to bribe God to bring the man back! Terrence's jaw dropped. Blossom stuck it in his vest pocket and gave him a light tap on the cheek. "Terribly sorry I couldn't give you a bigger tip, but I only have a weeks worth of allowance one me." She tucked the remaining money back into her pocket (there's more!) and said a good-bye to Terrence as she hurried to catch up to her friends.

As the elevator doors closed, Blossom thought she heard a "Woo-hoo!" and the sound of someone doing a cartwheel and clicking their heels but she shrugged it off.

"Hurry up, Blossom!" Buttercup called. Blossom hurried, but not much. A lady does not run. Buttercup reached up high and tipped the doorknob enough to open the door. Blossom could see the key in the lock and noted that Bubbles and Buttercup had probably performed the same maneuver they had downstairs to reach the elevator button. The redhead scolded herself for not tipping the doorman. She'd have to later. "This…is my home." Buttercup opened the door as if displaying the Statue of Liberty to the World. Bubbles "ooed".

The apartment was small with few rooms but just enough to comfortably support two or three people. The door opened directly into the living room, with the kitchen off to the right and a hallway that branched off from the kitchen. The living room was relatively small and had some space in back where a grand view of the city could be seen through the vast window. One could walk out onto the terrace and get a full view of the city from there. The tiny hallway consisted of a bedroom with a bathroom. The living room had a small room branching off from it. That led off into a bedroom. Buttercup stood proudly in front of it as Bubbles and Blossom entered. Blossom made one comment:

"How…quaint."

"Oh I like it, it looks real nice, Buttercup." Bubbles smiled. The house wasn't disheveled and was actually quite nice. Ms. Robins tried very hard to at least keep it clean.

"Thanks, it suits me." Buttercup crossed her arms beaming. Bubbles began to look at the various knickknacks and pictures around the living room area. There was a couch and a love seat with end tables and a coffee table set comfortably in the middle. "My Mommy's usually home before me or has Mrs. Drake from next door come over and watch me if she can't be here. Mrs. Drake says she was busy today, so she'll just pop her head in every now and then." Buttercup informed. Blossom was staring at the bookcase up against the far wall.

"How quaint."

"Ooooo." Bubbles squealed. "Look at all the little glass animals." Bubbles began to play around with a little collection of glass creatures placed carefully on the mantle.

"Yeah, my Mommy calls that her 'glass menagerie' and then she laughs…and I never know why." Buttercup shrugged as Bubbles played around with a little glass unicorn.

"How…quaint." Blossom spoke again. Buttercup seemed annoyed.

"Yeah…anyway, why don't you guys all come down to my room. I'll show you all my cool stuff!" Buttercup ran down the hallway attached to the living room and Bubbles put down the unicorn and motioned for Blossom to follow.

"Come on, Blossom, Buttercup's showin' us her room!" Bubbles raced after her new brunette friend.

"I bet it'll be…quaint." Blossom responded and followed the energetic blonde.


* * * *


Red Robins moaned softly thumping her briefcase down on the floor in front of her apartment door. She sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. She hoped Buttercup wasn't too much trouble for Mrs. Drake. Red put her key wearily into the lock only to see that Buttercup's key was still inside. One of these days our whole house is going to be robbed. Red sighed. She also wished that Mrs. Drake had been watching over her more carefully although she was busy.

As she pushed open the door she heard the sound of children giggling. Sounds like Buttercup made some friends. Red smiled to herself. That just meant she'd have to talk to Buttercup later. Besides, it wasn't too late in the afternoon and she would be able to talk to her daughter soon enough.

She opened the door with a creak and put her briefcase down on the sofa. Red turned around taking the key out of the knob and locking the door tight. She looked at the clock and smiled that it was only almost four. Thank goodness Mr. Martin let her off early, even with all the work she had to get done. She decided to announce herself, she'd been dying to hold her daughter in her arms all day.

"Sweetheart! Mommy's home!" She called out. She heard an excited cheer and the door down the hallway flung open as the little child ran down. Buttercup had long since removed her bow and yellow dress and was running around in her play clothes. Buttercup had also tied her hair back (or had Bubbles tie her hair back) into a cute ponytail that stuck out the back of the green baseball cap she was wearing. She leapt into her mother's arms excitedly, two pairs of eyes peeking out to watch the mother and daughter.

"MOMMY!" Buttercup shouted and hugged her mother close. The two remained in silence with Red holding her "baby girl" kissing the child's forehead softly.

"Hi Baby." She whispered rocking the child softly. Bubbles and Blossom felt a sting of jealousy. Red looked up and spotted the two little girls in hiding.

"I see you've made some friends, Buttercup." Red noted and placed her daughter down. "Come on out you two. I won't bite." Bubbles took a bold step out and brushed down her skirt while Blossom lingered a bit.

"Hi." Bubbles gave a wide smile.

"Hello, I'm Buttercup's Mom, you can just call me Red." Red shook hands gently with the little blonde-haired girl. "Hey, aren't you little Bubbles Fisher? From the commercials?" Bubbles nodded and once again began her tap routine on reaction.

"Oh brother," Buttercup rolled her eyes. Red smiled pleasantly and applauded the little girl's talent.

"Wonderful!" Red complimented as Bubbles made an adorable curtsy.

Blossom took a coy step from behind the doorframe, not quite sure why she was so shy. The woman seemed nice enough with beautiful red hair tied back in a sweet bun. She looked young and had a warm look about her. Suddenly, Ms. Robins looked toward Blossom with shinning green irises. Blossom took a step back.

"Don't be shy. My name's Red. What's yours?"

"I am Blossom Laura Lukan. How do you do?" Blossom held out her hand. Red shook it casually trying to remember where she'd heard the name "Lukan" before.

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Ms. Robins smiled politely. Bubbles and Blossom decided that she was a nice enough lady and agreed that she, too, was a pleasure to meet.

Red couldn't help but notice how amazingly similar the three were to each other. Seeing the three together seemed to light something in Red's mind. She thought she's seen the three together somewhere before. When that thought seeped into her mind; she couldn't get it out. Buttercup stopped those thoughts though.

"Mommy, can Bubbles and Blossom and I please go to the park! Blossom says she's never played baseball before and I gotta show her how!" Buttercup pleaded, her long black hair brushing the top of her back in its sweet ponytail. Red frowned.

"I don't know, Honey. I seem to remember getting a call from your teacher today." Ms. Robins gave a disappointed look to her young child.

"Gee, Mommy, I'm sorry. But she was being so mean. I tried! I really did try not to hit her. Mitsy started making fun of you, Mommy. And she just kept on pushing me and hurting me." The child let out a sigh. "If I could of stopped myself I would've. I'm sorry. I let her get the best of me. I'll try my hardest never EVER to fight again." Buttercup promised sincerely looking into her mother's eyes. A part of Buttercup went off like a siren. Part of her practically died when she spoke those words. But Buttercup couldn't quite pinpoint why.

"Well…all right. We still have to talk about this, but I suppose we can go to the park for a little bit." Red agreed. The three children cheered happily.

"I should most like to try this 'baseball' and wear these 'play clothes'." Blossom smiled brightly. "I've never gotten anything dirty before. Mother would be irate." The little Lukan smiled.

"Well, it's been a while since I played ball." Bubbles pretended to hold the bat over her shoulder and take a wild swing.

"Yer out!" Buttercup laughed. Bubbles frowned and put her hands on her hips. Blossom…looked confused.

"All right, Buttercup, why don't you lend your friends some of your play clothes so they won't ruin their nice school clothes." Red suggested. Buttercup agreed and headed down the hall with Blossom and Bubbles.

"I'm sure they'll be…quaint." Blossom noted.

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Buttercup yelled and Blossom just laughed.