Proud Predicament
[The scene opens with a shot panning down from a building's perspective, down to the streets where Cinderella, Mittens, Jinks, and Daffy are seen walking before it cuts to a house with the name "Proud" embedded above the front door. A young girl of mixed race, donning a magenta shirt and twin tails, opens the door and slides down the railing of the steps before heading off down the street]
Penny: Bye, momma, I'll see you later!
[Penny's mother, Trudy, comes out to see her daughter off]
Trudy: Bye, sweetheart! Remember to be back before six!
[A crash is heard from inside the house, causing Trudy to gasp before scowling]
Trudy: What was that?
[The scene cuts to inside the house where Oscar is trying to balance the cabinet while BeBe and CeCe are on top of it]
Oscar: The twins are climbin' shelves again! Now, now, c'mon, get down fa' daddy, children. You know it ain't safe fa'-
[The twins jump from the top shelf just as Oscar puts his hand on it, right into Suga Mama's puffy hair. Oscar meanwhile isn't so lucky as the cabinet falls right on him, right as Puff, the family poodle, walks underneath, covering them in books]
Suga Mama: [gasps] Oh, ma' poor babay!
Oscar: [tries to pry himself from the pile] Ah…don't worry, mama, I'm-
SM: [reaches into the pile to pick out a disoriented Puff] Oooooooh, lookit you, is momma's lil angel alright, oh, shu-shu.
[Puff whines deflatedly]
Oscar: Hey! What about me?
SM: Boy, what you doin' layin' down there? Clean up this mess.
[Trudy dons an unamused expression as she picks the twins out of her mother-in-law's hair]
Trudy: Why can't we eva' be a normal family…?
[The scene cuts to Penny walking down the street, stopping before the crosswalk with Bagheera, Octavia, Starfire, and Fox as the sign shows an orange hand. Toby passes by with Henrietta in tow, to which the light changes to a person walking in white. Everyone proceeds to head over to the other side, and once there, Penny heads off in the direction of the Sweets Shop, sliding to a stop in front of the entrance]
Penny: Right, now where's the crew? Said they'd be here waitin' for me.
[The camera pans over to a clock reading 12:00. A timeskip turns the large hand to 1:00 and pans back to Penny leaning against the wall with her arms crossed]
Penny: Ugh, what is takin' them so long? I swear, I can never-
Dijonay: There you are, Penny, hope we didn't keep ya' waiting too long.
[Three girls of various races, one African American with gold hair, one Caucasian with ginger hair, and one Mexican with brunette hair, approach Penny from her left]
Penny: Where were you, I thought we were meetin' here at twelve o'clock.
Dijonay: Oh, right, about that, well, we were on our way, but then we saw they were doin' a special at the salon, and I just had to get ma' nails done, ain't they shinin'?
[Dijonay shows off her fresh violet nails with a grin]
LaCienega: Not bad, though it's nothing compared to the ruby red they gave me, hmmhmmhmm, positively stunning.
[LaCienega flicks her hand out as her red nails glimmer in the sunshine]
LaCienega: Guess you could say we lost track of time, you understand, don't you?
[Penny crosses her arms indignantly]
Zoey: I didn't forget the time, it's just that…[silently shudders in delight]...I could help myself! They had just my shade!
[Zoey extends out her hand, Penny quirks a brow at her seemingly plain nails]
Penny: Uh, where's the polish?
Zoey: Oh, it's peach, didn't wanna go too extravagant.
Penny: Man, I coulda gone with ya'll if you just called.
LaCienega: Hmm, must have slipped my mind, better luck next time, I suppose.
[Penny is about to retort before she stops and tries to recompose]
Penny: Neva' mind, you're all here now, let's go and get ourselves a treat.
Dijonay: Get us the usual, won't you, Penny?
Penny: What, ain't ya'll gonna buy your own stuff?
Dijonay: Yeeeeeeeeeah, the thing is; that nail session kinda cost us a pretty penny, pardon the pun, sooooooo, if you could pitch in, as a friend, that'd be great.
Penny: Wha, but I…[sighs]...don't worry, I'll take care of it.
[Penny smiles as innocently as she can, and turns around to walk into the shop]
LaCienega: Be a dear and don't be long, I'm feeling peckish.
[Penny closes the door and her eye twitches before she scowls and grumbles to herself]
Penny: For cryin' out loud, ya'll make me wait for an hour and get your nails done without tellin' me, and now I gotta pay for all your junk, you nasty a-OOF!
[Penny bumps into the back of Daria standing at the counter]
Daria: Ow.
Penny: Oh ma' gosh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't payin' attention.
Daria: Mumbling about why your friends suck will do that to you.
Penny: Yeah…wait, how'd you know what I was talkin' about?
Daria: You're not particularly subtle for a start.
[Daria picks up the chocolate dessert from the counter and walks past Penny, leaving her befuddled]
Muriel: Can I help whoever's next?
[Penny turns back to the counter before reluctantly approaching the older woman behind it]
Penny: Hey…we'll take the usual.
[Muriel reaches into the glass display and pulls out two chocolate truffles, a brownie topped with white frosting, two chocolate chip cookies, and a marble cupcake topped with vanilla frosting and puts them in a paper bag]
Muriel: There you go, dear…um, dear?
[Penny looks up suddenly, having slouched on the counter and looking back to see Dexter, Yogi, Fluttershy, and Mirta looking at her]
Penny: Huh, what? Oh, yeah, here ya' go.
[Penny hastily hands Muriel her money and grabs the bag of treats before rushing out the door]
Muriel: Oh my…
Penny: Here, I got it!
LaCienega: Hmph, took you long enough.
[LaCienega snatches the bag from Penny and picks out the truffles]
LaCienega: Hmmm…fresh enough, so I'll give you a pass.
[Dijonay snatches the bag herself]
Dijonay: Girl, gimme that. [pulls out the brownie] AH, haha, there you are, sweet and delicious, momma's been waitin' on you.
[Zoey shudders in delight from a bite of one of the cookie]
Zoey: Aaaaaaah, after all that dry air, I needed some sugar in my system.
[Penny holds her cupcake, facing away from the rest of the group]
Penny: Not even a thank you from this lot…[she looks at the cupcake and slowly takes a bite, feeling a little better]...hmm, I guess it's not all bad.
[The scene cuts to a montage of Penny in the same pose; looking unamused with her arms crossed, as Dijonay is shown making a deal with Moe before it cuts to the quartet at the police station with Nick coyly twirling a set of cuffs before cutting to Oscar and Trudy lecturing Penny before it cuts to her laying down on her bed]
Penny: [sighs] At least it can't get any wor-
[A crossfade happens as Penny's eye twitches during the session happening over the next few days; handing money over to Dijonay, left to handle an engagement between Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed while the others stand back, carrying several bags for the other three as they carry a single item each, squashed in between Simba and Duchess on the train while Dijonay, Zoey, and LaCienega have the seat all to themselves, struggling to hold ice cream cones while Dodger watches in bemusement and Huck in mild concern, all while Penny grows more and more irritated until…]
Penny: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
[The scene cuts to Penny walking down the street on her own, an exasperated expression on her face]
Penny: Ugggggggh, finally! Some time away from those low down bi-
[James' whistle cuts Penny off as he rushes past with Annie and Clarabel in tow]
Penny: Huh, they got fixed up fast…ah, neva' mind about that, I just can't even…haaaaaaaaaaugh…
[The scene cuts to Penny walking through the park before slumping onto a bench. She watches over the other people in the area; Bluey and Bingo on the seesaw, Chance and Exile chatting casually to one another, Kipper and Tiger laying down on the grass, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo playing with a frisbee. Penny looks at the scene and then looks down at the ground]
Penny: Man, why can't I have somethin' like that…instead of all this stupid drama? "Oh, do this, Penny, I'll pay ya' back, Penny, you take care of it, Penny", how about "back off from Penny?!"
?: Um, excuse me?
Penny: What?!
[Penny blinks to see Rocko sitting on the other side of the bench, riled back from the human girl's outburst]
Rocko: [cautiously] I just wanted to see if you were alright…
Penny: Oh…oh, I'm sorry I snapped, it's just…ugh, it's just stuff that's botherin' me.
Rocko: Well…pardon the pun, but penny for ya' thoughts?
Penny: Hmm, I dunno, it's kinda personal…[sighs]...might as well spill if someone's willin' ta' listen. It's…it's gotta do with my friends, or so-called 'friends', I've thought about this before, but never really considered leaving…like, they're the only people I mostly hang out with…okay, I'd rather not hang out with LaCienega, but since she and Dijonay are close, I've gotta put up with her and her nasty attitude, and Dijonay, don't get me started on her, girl would sooner trade me for ten dollars and a fix over keeping our relationship stable, and Zoey, she's got the backbone of Jello, always followin' whatever people say because she ain't got no independence…wait…do I even have independence…oh god, I'm so pathetic…
[Penny slumps further back in her seat while putting her hands over her face]
Rocko: Well…I guess you could say we're sorta similar in that regard.
Penny: How do you mean?
Rocko: What I mean is that I've experienced stuff like that in the past, and really, I think I only hung out with those people was due to being the only ones who paid attention to me…not sure how lucky that was in hindsight.
Penny: Hmm…well, I guess there's that, but like…how do you deal with them?
[Rocko stares for a few seconds as a chainsaw can be heard in the background before blinking]
Rocko: Oh…I handled it in the way I knew was best, I decided that I needed to meet new people and not give my time to people who took advantage of me.
Penny: Oh…ya' know, I dunno why I didn't do that sooner, like, the girls are never gonna respect me for who I am, or what I do, so why should I waste ma' time on them?
[Penny pauses]
Then again, they're the only people I really know, and even if I don't like it sometimes, who else would be interested in me…?
Rocko: I mean, I think you've got potential, you're a nice girl. I'm sure there's people who'd be interested in that.
Penny: Well…I suppose you're right there, maybe I'm just bein' too hard on myself. After all, nothing gets done if ya' don't try…thanks for the chat.
[Penny stands up from the seat]
Guess I've got somethin' to think about…
[Penny walks away as Rocko watches her off]
Rocko: Take care.
[Penny is shown walking down the street before stopping to lean against a wall]
Penny: [sighs] Was I really that desperate for friendship? I even said I wouldn't take their nonsense before, yet…I backpedaled…I should have done something sooner, so why didn't I…?
[Penny looks up at the sky before shutting her eyes]
Penny: Yet…who says I can't have other friends…?
[Penny feels something buzzing in her pocket and reaches down to pick up her phone. She sighs at the name on the contact]
Penny: Of course, Dijonay…[presses the call button]...hello?
Dijonay: Heeeeeeey, girl, soooooo, you think you could spare a minute?
Penny: Yeeeeeeh? What's up?
Dijonay: Okay, here's the thing; we got in a biiiit of trouble with ticket prices, we're currently out in the middle a' nowhere, so if you come pick us up, that'd be great.
[Penny remains silent as Dijonay awaits a response]
Dijonay: Penny…Penny, you there? Hello? Girl, you gon' say anythi-
[Penny presses the button to end the call and places the phone back in her pocket]
Penny: Nope…
[Penny begins to walk off, a smile slowly forming on her face before she gets cut off by traffic at the crosswalk, two sets of rolling stock going in opposite directions. Penny inhales…and then exhales]
Penny: Ya' know what, it don't even bother me.
[Penny patiently waits for the light to change to "walk" before heading to the other side of the street. It then cuts to her arriving back at home, closing the door with a spring in her step, the shot panning out to reveal Trudy reading a book on the couch]
Trudy: Well, you seem perky about something.
Penny: Oh, I am, momma, I'm feelin' free as a bird.
Trudy: Oh, really, why's that, hun?
[Oscar pokes his head out from the kitchen]
Oscar: I know that face, you just got noticed by a special someone…wait a minute, who's the punk jockey?
Penny: Oh, daddy, it ain't anything like that, in fact, it's better than that.
Oscar: OH, you won the lottery, didn't ya', yes, I knew we'd be livin' the good life one a' these days!
Penny: Oh no, better than that!
[Oscar zips up to the couch]
Oscar: Me and ya' momma get to retire early?!
Trudy: Oscar…
Penny: I ditched Dijonay, Zoey, and LaCienega!
Oscar and Trudy: …What?
Suga Mama: [off-screen] FINALLY!
Oscar: Mama!
Trudy: Penny, how could you say somethin' like that, they're your-
Penny: Oooooooh no, those girls ain't ma' friends, in fact, I don't know if we were ever friends, you've seen how they treat me, how I'm always pickin' after their stuff, well, no more, I did somethin' I shoulda done a looooong time ago, and cut those bi-uh, jerks, outta ma' life.
Oscar: Penny, you sure you're makin' the right call here?
Trudy: After all, you four were close to each other.
[At that moment, Suga Mama's cane smacks over Oscar and Trudy's heads]
Suga Mama: I told ya'll that Dijonay in particular was no good, and them girls leavin' all their baggage for Penny, if ya' ask me, you did good, girl.
Penny: Oh, well, thanks, Suga Momma, I guess I just wanted to move on from that crowd, and now I'm gonna find new people.
Suga Mama: Now that's what I'm talkin' about, find ya'self the right people, and none a' them nasty bimbos.
Oscar: [rubs his head] Ah, jeez, mama, ya' didn't have to go that hard.
Suga Mama: Dummy say what?
Oscar: What? Oh, hey!
Trudy: [rubs her head] Oof…okay, disregarding that…Penny, are you sure you wanna do this?
Penny: Yes, momma, I wanna go out and meet new people, and have new friends, friends who appreciate me.
Trudy: Well…if you really wanna do it, then…[smiles]...you have my support.
Penny: Hehe, good to hear, well, I'mma go upstairs now, I've got some plans ta' make.
Trudy: [watches Penny go up] Ya' know, she did seem happier than usual. And now it makes sense.
[As Penny walks into her room and looks out the window, she smiles]
Penny: Ya' know, I feel like this is the start of somethin' great…
[As the shot pans up from Penny's window, it then transitions to Dijonay, Zoey, and LaCienega standing at a platform, specifically at Pine Station where the area is practically desolate, barring the three girls standing under a light]
Zoey: [shivers] I'm cold…
LaCienega: [shivers and grunts] If only we'd had enough cash for a ticket home…where's that stupid Proud, she should have been here.
Dijonay: Yeah, where's that girl, she wouldn't just leave us here…
Zoey: Didn't you call her three times?
Dijonay: Yeah, and she didn't pick up.
LaCienega: What could she possibly be doing right ab…she ghosted us!
Zoey: Wait, she wouldn't actually do that…right…right?
[The light above them flickers before shutting off]
Dijonay: …MotherFU-
The End
Character Appearances:
Penny Proud, Dijonay Jones, Zoey Howzer, LaCienega Boulevardez, Oscar Proud, Trudy Proud, Suga Mama Proud, BeBe and CeCe Proud, Puff - The Proud Family
Daria Morgendorffer - Daria
Muriel Bagge - Courage the Cowardly Dog
Bagheera - The Jungle Book (1967)
Bluey, Bingo - Bluey
Chance Furlong - Swat Kats
Cinderella - Cinderella (1950)
Daffy Duck - Looney Tunes
Dexter - Dexter's Laboratory
Dodger - Oliver and Company (1988)
Duchess - The Aristocats
Exile - Road Rovers
Fluttershy, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Octavia Melody - My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Fox McCloud - Star Fox
Huckleberry Hound - The Huckleberry Hound Show
Jinks - Pixie, Dixie, and Mr. Jinks
Kipper, Tiger - Kipper the Dog
Mirta - Winx Club
Mittens - Bolt
Moe/Mr. Wolf - The Bad Guys
Nick Wilde - Zootopia
Rocko - Rocko's Modern Life
Simba, Shenzi, Banzai, Ed - The Lion King
Starfire - Teen Titans
James, Toby, Annie, Clarabel, Henrietta - Thomas and Friends
Yogi Bear - The Yogi Bear Show
