"The last people to see Alan were his parents, this morning," said Principal
Haney. "I've talked to all the teachers, and they haven't seen him."
"Can't you make a public announcement?" Muffy/Brain urged him. She had gathered in front of the principal's office with Arthur, Buster, Binky, Francine, Fern, and Prunella.
"I don't want to get everybody needlessly worried just yet," said Mr. Haney.
"As soon as school's over, I'll go straight to my crystal ball and ask the spirits to lead me to him," said Prunella.
"That's fine," said Mr. Haney, glancing at his watch. "We need all the help we can get. Now if you'll excuse me..."
As the principal walked away, the kids talked among themselves about what might have happened to Brain.
Buster spoke first. "Maybe he was abducted by..."
"Oh, Buster!" Francine moaned. "This is no time to talk about aliens."
"Maybe I wasn't gonna say aliens," said Buster. "He could have been abducted by terrorists. Or spies. Or the monsters under his bed."
"I hope nothing bad happened to him," said Binky. "Who will I ask for help with my math homework?"
"If anything bad happened to him," Muffy/Brain secretly feared, "the exact same thing will happen to me."
As they conferred among themselves, Sue Ellen approached the group.
"Is it true?" she asked. "Is Brain missing?"
"That's the story," Prunella replied.
"About your party tonight, Sue Ellen," said Fern, "if Brain doesn't show up by then, maybe our time will be better spent..."
"No, we can't cancel Sue Ellen's party," said Francine.
"That's right," said Arthur. "If worse comes to worse, then we'll just call it a search and rescue planning meeting...with snacks."
"Mmm...snacks," said Buster dreamily.
"Besides," said Fern, "we're all dying to know what the big announcement is."
Suddenly the class bell rang.
"Oh, no, we're late," said Arthur. "Let's get going."
----
The kids looked glum, and it wasn't hard for Mr. Ratburn to tell that their thoughts were with their mysteriously missing friend.
"Now let's not get too worried about Alan," he said as he stood at the front of the classroom. "Kids go missing all the time, and they usually show up safe and sound. For all we know, he might walk right into the classroom during the middle of my lecture on synonyms, which I'll now begin..."
As Mr. Ratburn wrote word after word on the chalkboard, Muffy/Brain struggled to ignore the fears running through her mind.
"Where could he be? Maybe he found a way to make me stop being Muffy, but he has to go to a lab in another city for ingredients. Or maybe he thinks if he goes far enough away, he'll stop waking up as Muffy. But...what if he does something that makes us become separate people? What if he becomes Brain all the time, and I become Muffy all the time? Or vice versa? What if the real Muffy never comes back?"
The school day lumbered on, with Muffy/Brain becoming more and more worried about the whereabouts and safety of her male half.
"With all this time travel going on, I wouldn't be surprised if he fell into a rift in the space-time continuum..."
Soon after the final bell rang, the downcast Muffy walked slowly toward the school exit. Fern approached and walked alongside her.
"Gosh," she said. "You look depressed. You're taking it harder than anyone."
"Uh-huh," mumbled Muffy without looking up.
"I'm sorry for teasing you about him," said Fern. "I know he's not your boyfriend, but I can tell he means a lot to you."
"Yeah," said Muffy/Brain a little less mournfully. "I see a lot of...myself in him, if you know what I mean."
"I wouldn't mind much if he was my boyfriend," said Fern, smiling faintly.
"Don't give up hope," Muffy reassured her.
----
As Muffy/Brain approached the front door of Sue Ellen's house, carrying a bag of chocolate bars, she had a disturbing thought.
"Alan knows everything that will happen to me today, because it's already happened to him. What if something terrible is going to happen, and he's running away from it?"
She scowled and shook her head. "That's impossible. I would never run away."
Muffy rang the bell, and shortly Sue Ellen answered. "Come on in, Muffy. You're the first."
As Muffy entered, she heard some unusual-sounding music coming from the stereo. "What is that?" she asked.
"It's Ayahuasca music," Sue Ellen explained. "They're a Native American tribe who live in the Peruvian rainforest."
"Sounds interesting," said Muffy as she placed the bag of chocolate bars on a table.
"Thanks. You never liked my music much before."
"Oh..." said Muffy/Brain. "Well, it's interesting, but it's not the Backstreet Boys."
Sue Ellen pointed at a bowl brimming with popcorn. "Have some popcorn, Muffy."
Muffy glanced at the popcorn bowl and looked away...she wasn't in the mood. She took a seat on the couch.
"Any word on Brain?" Sue Ellen asked.
Muffy sighed. "Nothing. I've been calling my...er, his parents every half-hour, but there's no sign of him yet."
Sue Ellen sat on a chair opposite Muffy. "Too bad. I was really hoping he'd come tonight. Have some popcorn."
"Not just yet," said Muffy weakly.
The doorbell rang, and Sue Ellen answered it. "Hi, Arthur. Hi, Buster. Come on in."
"What's up, Sue Ellen?" asked Arthur as he and Buster entered.
"Oh, you'll see what's up. Have some popcorn. I just made it."
"Popcorn!" Buster exclaimed! "Awright!" Grabbing the bowl from the table, he carried it with him to a chair, sat down, and started to shovel handfuls of popcorn into his mouth.
"Don't eat it all," Sue Ellen admonished. "I do have other guests."
Before long, Francine, Binky, and Fern had also arrived for the party, and were seated in a circle with the others. The popcorn bowl sat empty on the table, surrounded by various other types of snacks.
"They still haven't found Brain," said Francine. "His parents have gone to the police."
"Did they look in the Sugar Bowl?" asked Buster.
"I'm sure they did," Francine replied.
"I've been wondering about something," said Arthur. "After Brain, who do you think is the second smartest kid in our class?"
"Well, duh," muttered Muffy/Brain silently.
"It's certainly not me," said Sue Ellen. "I can't even get all the presidents right."
"It's Fern," said Francine. Fern looked surprised, but didn't speak.
"Why Fern?" asked Binky.
"Come on, guys," Francine continued. "You all know that under that quiet exterior throbs the brain of a genius. Have you even read anything that she's written?"
Finally Fern spoke. "You're starting to talk like Alan...er, Brain isn't coming back."
The other kids looked at her and didn't respond.
"Besides," Fern went on, "we didn't come here to talk about who's smartest. We came to hear Sue Ellen's big news."
The kids all smiled. "That's right," said Buster.
"Don't tell me," Francine said to Sue Ellen. "Your dad has a new assignment, and you're moving to another country."
Sue Ellen stood up and stared intently at the others. "You're half right, Francine. Yes, my dad has a new assignment..."
The other kids' mouths gaped open. Bits of partially chewed popcorn were still visible in Buster's mouth.
"...but it's not to another country," Sue Ellen concluded.
She reached into a nearby cabinet and pulled out an object; Muffy observed that it was the African figurine that she and Brain had handled on the evening before the first time that Brain had turned into Muffy.
Holding the object in one hand, Sue Ellen grasped the skin of her neck with the other.
As the kids watched in unbelieving astonishment, she proceeded to pull off her face...
(To Be Continued. Duh.)
"Can't you make a public announcement?" Muffy/Brain urged him. She had gathered in front of the principal's office with Arthur, Buster, Binky, Francine, Fern, and Prunella.
"I don't want to get everybody needlessly worried just yet," said Mr. Haney.
"As soon as school's over, I'll go straight to my crystal ball and ask the spirits to lead me to him," said Prunella.
"That's fine," said Mr. Haney, glancing at his watch. "We need all the help we can get. Now if you'll excuse me..."
As the principal walked away, the kids talked among themselves about what might have happened to Brain.
Buster spoke first. "Maybe he was abducted by..."
"Oh, Buster!" Francine moaned. "This is no time to talk about aliens."
"Maybe I wasn't gonna say aliens," said Buster. "He could have been abducted by terrorists. Or spies. Or the monsters under his bed."
"I hope nothing bad happened to him," said Binky. "Who will I ask for help with my math homework?"
"If anything bad happened to him," Muffy/Brain secretly feared, "the exact same thing will happen to me."
As they conferred among themselves, Sue Ellen approached the group.
"Is it true?" she asked. "Is Brain missing?"
"That's the story," Prunella replied.
"About your party tonight, Sue Ellen," said Fern, "if Brain doesn't show up by then, maybe our time will be better spent..."
"No, we can't cancel Sue Ellen's party," said Francine.
"That's right," said Arthur. "If worse comes to worse, then we'll just call it a search and rescue planning meeting...with snacks."
"Mmm...snacks," said Buster dreamily.
"Besides," said Fern, "we're all dying to know what the big announcement is."
Suddenly the class bell rang.
"Oh, no, we're late," said Arthur. "Let's get going."
----
The kids looked glum, and it wasn't hard for Mr. Ratburn to tell that their thoughts were with their mysteriously missing friend.
"Now let's not get too worried about Alan," he said as he stood at the front of the classroom. "Kids go missing all the time, and they usually show up safe and sound. For all we know, he might walk right into the classroom during the middle of my lecture on synonyms, which I'll now begin..."
As Mr. Ratburn wrote word after word on the chalkboard, Muffy/Brain struggled to ignore the fears running through her mind.
"Where could he be? Maybe he found a way to make me stop being Muffy, but he has to go to a lab in another city for ingredients. Or maybe he thinks if he goes far enough away, he'll stop waking up as Muffy. But...what if he does something that makes us become separate people? What if he becomes Brain all the time, and I become Muffy all the time? Or vice versa? What if the real Muffy never comes back?"
The school day lumbered on, with Muffy/Brain becoming more and more worried about the whereabouts and safety of her male half.
"With all this time travel going on, I wouldn't be surprised if he fell into a rift in the space-time continuum..."
Soon after the final bell rang, the downcast Muffy walked slowly toward the school exit. Fern approached and walked alongside her.
"Gosh," she said. "You look depressed. You're taking it harder than anyone."
"Uh-huh," mumbled Muffy without looking up.
"I'm sorry for teasing you about him," said Fern. "I know he's not your boyfriend, but I can tell he means a lot to you."
"Yeah," said Muffy/Brain a little less mournfully. "I see a lot of...myself in him, if you know what I mean."
"I wouldn't mind much if he was my boyfriend," said Fern, smiling faintly.
"Don't give up hope," Muffy reassured her.
----
As Muffy/Brain approached the front door of Sue Ellen's house, carrying a bag of chocolate bars, she had a disturbing thought.
"Alan knows everything that will happen to me today, because it's already happened to him. What if something terrible is going to happen, and he's running away from it?"
She scowled and shook her head. "That's impossible. I would never run away."
Muffy rang the bell, and shortly Sue Ellen answered. "Come on in, Muffy. You're the first."
As Muffy entered, she heard some unusual-sounding music coming from the stereo. "What is that?" she asked.
"It's Ayahuasca music," Sue Ellen explained. "They're a Native American tribe who live in the Peruvian rainforest."
"Sounds interesting," said Muffy as she placed the bag of chocolate bars on a table.
"Thanks. You never liked my music much before."
"Oh..." said Muffy/Brain. "Well, it's interesting, but it's not the Backstreet Boys."
Sue Ellen pointed at a bowl brimming with popcorn. "Have some popcorn, Muffy."
Muffy glanced at the popcorn bowl and looked away...she wasn't in the mood. She took a seat on the couch.
"Any word on Brain?" Sue Ellen asked.
Muffy sighed. "Nothing. I've been calling my...er, his parents every half-hour, but there's no sign of him yet."
Sue Ellen sat on a chair opposite Muffy. "Too bad. I was really hoping he'd come tonight. Have some popcorn."
"Not just yet," said Muffy weakly.
The doorbell rang, and Sue Ellen answered it. "Hi, Arthur. Hi, Buster. Come on in."
"What's up, Sue Ellen?" asked Arthur as he and Buster entered.
"Oh, you'll see what's up. Have some popcorn. I just made it."
"Popcorn!" Buster exclaimed! "Awright!" Grabbing the bowl from the table, he carried it with him to a chair, sat down, and started to shovel handfuls of popcorn into his mouth.
"Don't eat it all," Sue Ellen admonished. "I do have other guests."
Before long, Francine, Binky, and Fern had also arrived for the party, and were seated in a circle with the others. The popcorn bowl sat empty on the table, surrounded by various other types of snacks.
"They still haven't found Brain," said Francine. "His parents have gone to the police."
"Did they look in the Sugar Bowl?" asked Buster.
"I'm sure they did," Francine replied.
"I've been wondering about something," said Arthur. "After Brain, who do you think is the second smartest kid in our class?"
"Well, duh," muttered Muffy/Brain silently.
"It's certainly not me," said Sue Ellen. "I can't even get all the presidents right."
"It's Fern," said Francine. Fern looked surprised, but didn't speak.
"Why Fern?" asked Binky.
"Come on, guys," Francine continued. "You all know that under that quiet exterior throbs the brain of a genius. Have you even read anything that she's written?"
Finally Fern spoke. "You're starting to talk like Alan...er, Brain isn't coming back."
The other kids looked at her and didn't respond.
"Besides," Fern went on, "we didn't come here to talk about who's smartest. We came to hear Sue Ellen's big news."
The kids all smiled. "That's right," said Buster.
"Don't tell me," Francine said to Sue Ellen. "Your dad has a new assignment, and you're moving to another country."
Sue Ellen stood up and stared intently at the others. "You're half right, Francine. Yes, my dad has a new assignment..."
The other kids' mouths gaped open. Bits of partially chewed popcorn were still visible in Buster's mouth.
"...but it's not to another country," Sue Ellen concluded.
She reached into a nearby cabinet and pulled out an object; Muffy observed that it was the African figurine that she and Brain had handled on the evening before the first time that Brain had turned into Muffy.
Holding the object in one hand, Sue Ellen grasped the skin of her neck with the other.
As the kids watched in unbelieving astonishment, she proceeded to pull off her face...
(To Be Continued. Duh.)