Dressed in an artist's smock, Bella Tarski sat on a stool in her bedroom,
applying acrylics to a canvas. About a dozen of her paintings adorned the pale
yellow walls, each one of them a homage to a classic work, but involving Arthur
characters: Arthur and Buster in Grant Wood's "American Gothic", Francine in
Edvard Munch's "The Scream", Brain in Vincent van Gogh's "Self-Portrait with
Bandaged Ear", Muffy in Erte's "Glamour", and the largest, Georges Seurat's
"Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" with the whole gang. The
picture she was working on was half finished, and resembled Gustav Klimt's
"The Kiss", with herself and Brain as the participants.
As she labored carefully, the doorbell suddenly rang. Excited, she placed her brush on a tray, stood, and hurried out of the bedroom. Her mother was peering through the peephole in the apartment door, which was secured by several deadbolts and chain locks.
"Who is it, Mom?" asked Bella enthusiastically. "Is it him? Is it Brain?"
"Yes, it's Brain," answered her mother, not moving her eye from the peephole. "And it looks like he brought the whole neighborhood with him."
"Let them in, Mom!" cried Bella, almost jumping with anticipation.
Ms. Tarski turned around and brushed a few unruly strands of brown hair from her face. "I'm not letting in any strange kids in costumes," she said firmly.
"But they're not strange," Bella lied as she stood on her tiptoes, looking through the peephole. "They're my friends from school."
"In that case, go ahead," said Ms. Tarski, walking away from the door.
Bella turned the deadbolt knobs, unlatched the chains, and opened the door to allow Buster, Francine, Muffy, Brain, Binky, and Fern to enter.
"It's you, Brain! It's really you!" gushed Bella, hardly able to contain her excitement. "And Francine! And Buster!"
"Yeah, it's really me," said Brain, smiling and shaking hands with Bella.
"Greetings from Earth," said Buster. "We come in peace."
"So you're Bella," said Francine. "It's nice to meet you."
Ms. Tarski watched curiously as the six visitors exchanged greetings with her daughter.
"Nice place you have here," Fern commented.
"Is that your mom?" asked Binky, gesturing at Ms. Tarski.
"Yeah, that's my mom," said Bella. "My dad doesn't live with us anymore."
Ms. Tarski spoke up. "You said they were your friends, Bella. You talk like you've never met them."
Bella stared at her blankly for a moment.
"Oh, we're just acting," she finally said. "We're going to put on an Arthur play at school. I'm the director."
"My name's Elizabeth," said Fern. "Elizabeth Barrett."
"I see," said Ms. Tarski, folding her arms. "And which of you is Robert Browning?"
Fern feigned ignorance. "Who?"
"My name's Brenda," said Francine. "And this is Yolanda," she added, waving a hand at Muffy.
"I hate that name," Muffy muttered.
"Make yourselves at home, kids," said Ms. Tarski as she started toward her bedroom. "Don't make too much noise. I've got some case work to finish." She closed the door after her and disappeared.
Bella went to the kitchen and opened the freezer. "We've got plenty of ice cream," she said, pulling out a few half gallons.
"All right!" exclaimed Buster happily. "Got any calamari ripple?"
"Nope, sorry." Bella opened a drawer and pulled out an ice cream scoop. "But we've got prawn praline. And pepperoni fudge."
Buster rubbed his stomach. "Mmm. This planet has good taste."
As he grabbed a bowl and prepared to serve himself, Muffy tapped him on the shoulder. "You'd better not eat any of that alien ice cream," she warned. "It might turn you into a mutant cyborg or something."
"Oh, don't be silly." Buster grabbed a large spoon and began to shovel ice cream into his mouth. After several bites, he stopped, laid down his spoon, put his hand to his forehead, and grimaced.
"What's wrong, Buster?" asked Binky, who was filling his bowl with scoops of Rocky Roadkill (featuring animal-shaped marshmallows).
"Brain freeze," said Buster painfully. "Oh, man, one of these days I'm gonna have that part of my brain removed."
"You'll be all right in a few seconds," said Bella. "We also have some peanut butter and rhubarb cookies in the cookie jar."
Binky suddenly set down his bowl and put both hands to his forehead. "Ow! Oh, my head!"
Francine, who was about to take a bite of prawn praline, set down her spoon and bowl. "Are you okay, Binky?" she asked with a look of concern.
"I've got brain freeze too," he moaned. "But I've never had it like this before."
"I'm gonna sit down," said Buster, who was still rubbing his forehead. He made his way to the couch, followed by Binky.
"Well, maybe we should skip the ice cream part," Fern suggested.
Bella started to place the ice cream boxes in the freezer. "Maybe later, then."
Brain wandered into the living room and began to examine a shelf full of video tapes. "What are these tapes, Bella?" he asked.
Bella walked over to his side, smiling. "I recorded all the episodes. How many of them have you seen?"
"Uh..." Brain began.
"Oh, silly me," said Bella bashfully. "Why am I asking you that question? You're one of the characters." She giggled.
"Let's watch one of these," said Francine, grabbing the leftmost tape on the shelf. She carried it across the room to the entertainment center, where she inserted it into the video player.
Bella picked up the remote control from an end table and turned on the power to the TV. The kids, except for Bella and Brain, sat down on the couch and love seat next to the somewhat sick-looking Buster and Binky.
"While you're all watching the show," said Brain to his friends, "Bella and I have a date with a math book."
"Oh, yeah," said Bella. "Excuse us." She led Brain into her bedroom, and closed the door halfway behind them.
In the meantime, Buster, Francine, Muffy, Binky, and Fern watched the TV screen as an actor in a purple dinosaur costume danced about, surrounded by playing children.
"This looks really stupid," Muffy remarked.
"This must be what comes on before our show," Fern theorized.
"I'll bet it's this planet's version of Mary Moo Cow," said Buster.
"I...like...it," droned Binky, his eyes starting to glaze over.
Moments later, the scene on the TV screen changed to one of a little dog running down the sidewalk.
Francine lunged forward in her seat. "That's Pal!" she cried in astonishment.
This scene was followed by Arthur walking alongside the dog, and D.W. poring over a children's book.
"D.W. always wanted to be on TV," said Buster.
"I wonder how she'll react when we tell her Arthur's dead," said Francine seriously.
After the opening credits ended, images of a grade-school science fair appeared on the TV screen.
"Ooh, a science fair," said Francine. "This must be an episode about The Brain."
At that moment, Brain was staring with amazement at the paintings hanging on the walls of Bella's bedroom. The blond girl sat at her desk, in the act of opening her algebra book to the third chapter.
"It's...it's incredible," Brain stammered. "You're such a talented artist. But...why do you paint us?" He looked at the partially filled-in canvas, with its image of himself and Bella sharing a tender smooch. "Why do you paint me?" he added, his voice sounding a bit nervous.
"For inspiration," said Bella, slowly rising from the desk chair. "Nothing inspires me more than watching you and your friends on TV."
Brain swallowed. "All right, then," he said, trying to change the subject, "let's get started on that math homework."
Bella took a few tentative steps toward Brain. When she saw that the boy didn't back away, she smiled gleefully. Her eyes sparkled.
Fear rooted Brain to the spot. "Uh...er...you...you didn't bring me in here for mathematical purposes, did you?"
"I always dreamed you would be the first boy I kissed," said Bella ecstatically. "But I knew it was impossible, because you're not a real person. But now...oh, Alan..."
The petrified Brain could only make inhaling noises. "Eep..."
In the living room, the other kids watched with interest as the events of the episode unfolded.
Suddenly Muffy leaped to her feet, an expression of outrage on her face.
"That's not me!" she cried indignantly, her fists clenched. "I would never bribe someone! I would never cheat!"
"Sit down, Muffy," said Buster with an annoyed tone.
Muffy, still angry, turned and walked toward the kitchen. "I'm not watching another minute of this...this pointless farce!" she yelled.
"Nobody's forcing you to watch," said Fern callously.
On the TV screen, Brain laughed manically as he plotted his revenge against Muffy.
"Well, at least they've got Brain's personality right," Francine quipped.
Then she heard a sound coming from the kitchen that concerned her. She rose and walked in the direction of the sound, followed shortly by Fern.
To their alarm, Muffy was sitting at the kitchen table, covering her face with her hands and sobbing bitterly. They quickly took seats at either side of her.
"I'm sorry," said Fern comfortingly. "I didn't know it offended you so much."
"You can talk to us about it," said Francine.
Muffy lowered her hands; her cheeks were wet with tears.
"Won't this nightmare ever end?" she lamented. "I want it to end! I want to go home!"
Francine put a hand on Muffy's shoulder. "I know. I want to go home too. We all do."
Muffy's voice grew more frantic. "But we can't go home. There's no such place as Elwood City. There's no Lakewood Elementary. There's no Crosswire Motors. It's all a stupid freaking kid's show!"
"Don't cry, Muffy," said Fern gently. "Everything's all right."
"Everything's all wrong!" Tears gushed from Muffy's eyes. "We're not supposed to be real! We're cartoon characters come to life!"
As Francine and Fern tried to calm the panicking Muffy, Buster and Binky watched one tape of recorded episodes after another, laughing and joking through every one. Before long the sun set, and the clock struck nine P.M.
In Bella's bedroom, Bella lovingly massaged Brain's shoulders as he sat at her desk, coaching her through a long division problem.
"...now nine goes into twenty-two twice, so you put a two at the top, then subtract eighteen from twenty-two..."
"I want to be just like you, Alan," said Bella sweetly. "I want to be good at math and science like you are."
"One step at a time," said Brain. "Now you get forty-five, which is nine times five, if you recall your times table..."
Brain's explanation was interrupted when the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who that could be," Bella mused as she hurried out of her bedroom.
She reached the front door before her mother did. When she glanced through the peephole, she gasped with delight. "Omigosh!"
Buster and Binky turned their faces from the TV screen. Muffy, Francine, and Fern looked up from the kitchen table.
"Who is it?" asked Francine.
Bella turned and smiled.
"It's Arthur!"
(To be continued...)
As she labored carefully, the doorbell suddenly rang. Excited, she placed her brush on a tray, stood, and hurried out of the bedroom. Her mother was peering through the peephole in the apartment door, which was secured by several deadbolts and chain locks.
"Who is it, Mom?" asked Bella enthusiastically. "Is it him? Is it Brain?"
"Yes, it's Brain," answered her mother, not moving her eye from the peephole. "And it looks like he brought the whole neighborhood with him."
"Let them in, Mom!" cried Bella, almost jumping with anticipation.
Ms. Tarski turned around and brushed a few unruly strands of brown hair from her face. "I'm not letting in any strange kids in costumes," she said firmly.
"But they're not strange," Bella lied as she stood on her tiptoes, looking through the peephole. "They're my friends from school."
"In that case, go ahead," said Ms. Tarski, walking away from the door.
Bella turned the deadbolt knobs, unlatched the chains, and opened the door to allow Buster, Francine, Muffy, Brain, Binky, and Fern to enter.
"It's you, Brain! It's really you!" gushed Bella, hardly able to contain her excitement. "And Francine! And Buster!"
"Yeah, it's really me," said Brain, smiling and shaking hands with Bella.
"Greetings from Earth," said Buster. "We come in peace."
"So you're Bella," said Francine. "It's nice to meet you."
Ms. Tarski watched curiously as the six visitors exchanged greetings with her daughter.
"Nice place you have here," Fern commented.
"Is that your mom?" asked Binky, gesturing at Ms. Tarski.
"Yeah, that's my mom," said Bella. "My dad doesn't live with us anymore."
Ms. Tarski spoke up. "You said they were your friends, Bella. You talk like you've never met them."
Bella stared at her blankly for a moment.
"Oh, we're just acting," she finally said. "We're going to put on an Arthur play at school. I'm the director."
"My name's Elizabeth," said Fern. "Elizabeth Barrett."
"I see," said Ms. Tarski, folding her arms. "And which of you is Robert Browning?"
Fern feigned ignorance. "Who?"
"My name's Brenda," said Francine. "And this is Yolanda," she added, waving a hand at Muffy.
"I hate that name," Muffy muttered.
"Make yourselves at home, kids," said Ms. Tarski as she started toward her bedroom. "Don't make too much noise. I've got some case work to finish." She closed the door after her and disappeared.
Bella went to the kitchen and opened the freezer. "We've got plenty of ice cream," she said, pulling out a few half gallons.
"All right!" exclaimed Buster happily. "Got any calamari ripple?"
"Nope, sorry." Bella opened a drawer and pulled out an ice cream scoop. "But we've got prawn praline. And pepperoni fudge."
Buster rubbed his stomach. "Mmm. This planet has good taste."
As he grabbed a bowl and prepared to serve himself, Muffy tapped him on the shoulder. "You'd better not eat any of that alien ice cream," she warned. "It might turn you into a mutant cyborg or something."
"Oh, don't be silly." Buster grabbed a large spoon and began to shovel ice cream into his mouth. After several bites, he stopped, laid down his spoon, put his hand to his forehead, and grimaced.
"What's wrong, Buster?" asked Binky, who was filling his bowl with scoops of Rocky Roadkill (featuring animal-shaped marshmallows).
"Brain freeze," said Buster painfully. "Oh, man, one of these days I'm gonna have that part of my brain removed."
"You'll be all right in a few seconds," said Bella. "We also have some peanut butter and rhubarb cookies in the cookie jar."
Binky suddenly set down his bowl and put both hands to his forehead. "Ow! Oh, my head!"
Francine, who was about to take a bite of prawn praline, set down her spoon and bowl. "Are you okay, Binky?" she asked with a look of concern.
"I've got brain freeze too," he moaned. "But I've never had it like this before."
"I'm gonna sit down," said Buster, who was still rubbing his forehead. He made his way to the couch, followed by Binky.
"Well, maybe we should skip the ice cream part," Fern suggested.
Bella started to place the ice cream boxes in the freezer. "Maybe later, then."
Brain wandered into the living room and began to examine a shelf full of video tapes. "What are these tapes, Bella?" he asked.
Bella walked over to his side, smiling. "I recorded all the episodes. How many of them have you seen?"
"Uh..." Brain began.
"Oh, silly me," said Bella bashfully. "Why am I asking you that question? You're one of the characters." She giggled.
"Let's watch one of these," said Francine, grabbing the leftmost tape on the shelf. She carried it across the room to the entertainment center, where she inserted it into the video player.
Bella picked up the remote control from an end table and turned on the power to the TV. The kids, except for Bella and Brain, sat down on the couch and love seat next to the somewhat sick-looking Buster and Binky.
"While you're all watching the show," said Brain to his friends, "Bella and I have a date with a math book."
"Oh, yeah," said Bella. "Excuse us." She led Brain into her bedroom, and closed the door halfway behind them.
In the meantime, Buster, Francine, Muffy, Binky, and Fern watched the TV screen as an actor in a purple dinosaur costume danced about, surrounded by playing children.
"This looks really stupid," Muffy remarked.
"This must be what comes on before our show," Fern theorized.
"I'll bet it's this planet's version of Mary Moo Cow," said Buster.
"I...like...it," droned Binky, his eyes starting to glaze over.
Moments later, the scene on the TV screen changed to one of a little dog running down the sidewalk.
Francine lunged forward in her seat. "That's Pal!" she cried in astonishment.
This scene was followed by Arthur walking alongside the dog, and D.W. poring over a children's book.
"D.W. always wanted to be on TV," said Buster.
"I wonder how she'll react when we tell her Arthur's dead," said Francine seriously.
After the opening credits ended, images of a grade-school science fair appeared on the TV screen.
"Ooh, a science fair," said Francine. "This must be an episode about The Brain."
At that moment, Brain was staring with amazement at the paintings hanging on the walls of Bella's bedroom. The blond girl sat at her desk, in the act of opening her algebra book to the third chapter.
"It's...it's incredible," Brain stammered. "You're such a talented artist. But...why do you paint us?" He looked at the partially filled-in canvas, with its image of himself and Bella sharing a tender smooch. "Why do you paint me?" he added, his voice sounding a bit nervous.
"For inspiration," said Bella, slowly rising from the desk chair. "Nothing inspires me more than watching you and your friends on TV."
Brain swallowed. "All right, then," he said, trying to change the subject, "let's get started on that math homework."
Bella took a few tentative steps toward Brain. When she saw that the boy didn't back away, she smiled gleefully. Her eyes sparkled.
Fear rooted Brain to the spot. "Uh...er...you...you didn't bring me in here for mathematical purposes, did you?"
"I always dreamed you would be the first boy I kissed," said Bella ecstatically. "But I knew it was impossible, because you're not a real person. But now...oh, Alan..."
The petrified Brain could only make inhaling noises. "Eep..."
In the living room, the other kids watched with interest as the events of the episode unfolded.
Suddenly Muffy leaped to her feet, an expression of outrage on her face.
"That's not me!" she cried indignantly, her fists clenched. "I would never bribe someone! I would never cheat!"
"Sit down, Muffy," said Buster with an annoyed tone.
Muffy, still angry, turned and walked toward the kitchen. "I'm not watching another minute of this...this pointless farce!" she yelled.
"Nobody's forcing you to watch," said Fern callously.
On the TV screen, Brain laughed manically as he plotted his revenge against Muffy.
"Well, at least they've got Brain's personality right," Francine quipped.
Then she heard a sound coming from the kitchen that concerned her. She rose and walked in the direction of the sound, followed shortly by Fern.
To their alarm, Muffy was sitting at the kitchen table, covering her face with her hands and sobbing bitterly. They quickly took seats at either side of her.
"I'm sorry," said Fern comfortingly. "I didn't know it offended you so much."
"You can talk to us about it," said Francine.
Muffy lowered her hands; her cheeks were wet with tears.
"Won't this nightmare ever end?" she lamented. "I want it to end! I want to go home!"
Francine put a hand on Muffy's shoulder. "I know. I want to go home too. We all do."
Muffy's voice grew more frantic. "But we can't go home. There's no such place as Elwood City. There's no Lakewood Elementary. There's no Crosswire Motors. It's all a stupid freaking kid's show!"
"Don't cry, Muffy," said Fern gently. "Everything's all right."
"Everything's all wrong!" Tears gushed from Muffy's eyes. "We're not supposed to be real! We're cartoon characters come to life!"
As Francine and Fern tried to calm the panicking Muffy, Buster and Binky watched one tape of recorded episodes after another, laughing and joking through every one. Before long the sun set, and the clock struck nine P.M.
In Bella's bedroom, Bella lovingly massaged Brain's shoulders as he sat at her desk, coaching her through a long division problem.
"...now nine goes into twenty-two twice, so you put a two at the top, then subtract eighteen from twenty-two..."
"I want to be just like you, Alan," said Bella sweetly. "I want to be good at math and science like you are."
"One step at a time," said Brain. "Now you get forty-five, which is nine times five, if you recall your times table..."
Brain's explanation was interrupted when the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who that could be," Bella mused as she hurried out of her bedroom.
She reached the front door before her mother did. When she glanced through the peephole, she gasped with delight. "Omigosh!"
Buster and Binky turned their faces from the TV screen. Muffy, Francine, and Fern looked up from the kitchen table.
"Who is it?" asked Francine.
Bella turned and smiled.
"It's Arthur!"
(To be continued...)