----

"So from that day on," said Arthur into the microphone, "we did our best to keep Mr. Frensky happy, and keep him looking for a job. It wasn't always easy. There weren't many jobs available in Elwood City, and Mr. Frensky started to get annoyed with us after a while."

----

Mr. Frensky sat at a picnic table in the city park, looking dejected after a long and fruitless day of job searching. Buster and Fern, who were playing nearby, saw him and reeled in their kites. They approached and sat down at the table opposite him.

"Hi, Mr. Frensky," said Fern cheerfully. "How are you feeling today?"

"I've had better days," Mr. Frensky mumbled drearily.

"Any luck finding a job?" asked Buster with an insincere smile.

Annoyed, Mr. Frensky slapped his hands on the table. "Why can't you leave me alone? You kids follow me everywhere! Is this some kind of vast third-grade conspiracy?"

Mr. Frensky rose from the table and walked away, his hands in his pockets.

"What a grouch," Fern remarked.

"We're a conspiracy," said Buster, smiling vacuously. "Cool."

----

"And what about Francine?" asked Fox Hansom. "How did she feel about having to leave Elwood City and all her friends?"

"I don't know for sure," said Arthur. "Pretty sad, I guess."

----

In a passenger bus traveling down an interstate highway, Mrs. Frensky sat together with Francine and Catherine. Two suitcases rested on the floor next to them, in addition to the luggage they had stowed in the overhead compartment. On Francine's lap sat a pet carrier box, in which Nemo obliviously groomed himself.

The bus approached a sign that read, LEAVING ELWOOD CITY. PLEASE COME BACK. Francine's eyes welled up with tears as she watched the sign pass. Mrs. Frensky noticed her sorrow and placed an arm around her shoulder.

Moments later the bus passed another sign, which read, TOWN CITY 156 MILES.

"I hope Dad will be all right," said Francine.

"I feel more sorry for him than I do for us," Catherine added. "After all, we've still got each other, but what does he have?"

Mrs. Frensky said nothing.

The bus passed a sign that featured a smiling, waving persimmon, and the words TOWN CITY, PERSIMMON CAPITOL OF THE USA.

"Mmm," said Catherine. "Pershimmonsh."

Another sign passed by: TOWN CITY ACCORDION FESTIVAL, MAY 16.

"I don't know how Sue Ellen does it," said Francine. "Leaving her friends behind again and again. It's hard enough for me to do it once."

"I suppose she'd get used to it after a while," Catherine observed.

A few more signs passed by, advertising such Town City attractions as the Temple of Cosmic Awareness, the World's Largest UFO Museum, and the International Headquarters of the Flat Earth Society.

"Mom," Francine asked earnestly, "are you sure Uncle Max lives in Town City and not Crown City?"

Finally, a large sign appeared with the simple message, TOWN CITY WELCOMES EVERYBODY. The word EVERYBODY was written in huge, psychedelically colorful letters.

The Frenskys remained more or less speechless for the remainder of the trip to Town City (population 65,000).

The bus came to a stop at the station, and Francine, Catherine, and Mrs. Frensky pulled their suitcases out to the curb, where they awaited a taxi.

Francine and Catherine looked around at the strangely dressed and groomed individuals who stood at the curb. There was a punk rabbit woman whose left ear had been split halfway down the middle, a pig man whose T-shirt bore the message I WAS PROBED AT THE TOWN CITY UFO MUSEUM, and...strangest of all... a human couple.

"Whoa," said Catherine. "Just when you think you've seen everything."

"You'll meet all kinds of people here," Mrs. Frensky told her daughters. "It's a very accepting place."

"In other words," said Francine, "people come here after they've been kicked out of everyplace else."

"We will soooo not fit in here," said Catherine gloomily.

A taxi pulled up to the curb and drove away with the punk rabbit woman. Seconds later, a pair of male Siamese twins, joined at the forehead, walked over and stood next to Francine. (The twins were, naturally, anthropomorphic Siamese cats.) She looked at them curiously, having never seen two people like this before.

"Hi there," said one of the twins.

"New in town?" asked the other.

"Uh...yeah," said Francine bashfully.

Several seconds passed in silence as Francine and the twins stared at each other.

"If you don't mind my asking," Francine inquired, "how did you get that way?"

"We don't mind you asking at all," said one of the twins.

"Elective surgery," explained the other.

Francine was stunned momentarily. "You mean...you chose to be like that?"

"Does that offend you?" said one of the twins indignantly.

"No," said Francine. "Not at all."

"Good," said the other twin.

Another taxi arrived shortly thereafter, and Mrs. Frensky and her daughters stuffed their suitcases into the trunk. As they climbed into the vehicle, the driver, a dog man, asked, "Where to, ma'am?"

"Washington and Sumac," Mrs. Frensky replied.

As the girls fastened their seat belts in the back, the taxi driver pulled away from the curb.

"You don't look like you're from here," said the driver. "And it's not tourist season. Are you visiting someone?"

"Yes, we are," said Mrs. Frensky. "We have relatives."

"Where are you from?" asked the driver in a friendly manner.

"Elwood City," Mrs. Frensky answered.

"Ah," said the driver. "I lived there for a short time become I came here. Beautiful city. There's this great ice cream shop called the Sugar Bowl..."

"We know," said Francine.

The driver looked at Francine and Catherine out of the corner of his eye. "So, you boys are in school?"

"We're girls," Catherine corrected him.

"Sorry about that," said the driver. "It's not always easy to tell around here."

"So what brought you here?" Mrs. Frensky asked the driver.

The driver was quiet for a moment. "Well, I certainly enjoyed my time in Elwood City, but after I had the operation, I felt I would be more comfortable living here."

"Operation?"

"Yes," said the driver. "I used to be a cat."

(Chapter 7 coming soon...)