"Vince, what's wrong?"
"You wouldn't-believe me- if I-told you." Said Vince, gasping for air.
"Try us" said Spinelli.
"Alright, well, this afternoon, when I was preparing dinner, Gretch was in the basement working on-whatever it is you were working, and the rest of you were making a run to the warehouse, I heard shouting."
"Go on" said an inquisitive TJ.
"Well, when I went to see what all the shouting was about, I ended up in King Bob's kingdom; well it used to be his kingdom."
"Whatcha talking bout Vince?"
"Well, guys, it appears, King Bob has been overthrown."
"WHAT"
"BY WHO?"
"Why?" Gretchen chimed in "All things considered, I think he's done a pretty good job as king."
"Well, that's the worst part."
"What now Vince, just spit it out already!" Said a slightly aggravated Spinelli.
"Well, it seems Lawson has taken over as the new king."
"NOOO!"
"But Vince, the odds of Lawson pulling off a successful coup d'etat like this are approximately 1 in 37,000."
"Yeah, I'm with Gretch on this one, Lawson couldn't plan his way out of a wet paper bag, are you trying to pull something on us Vince?"
"No Gus, I swear I'm not lying, Lawson is the new king, I saw him on the throne with his crown and everything."
"Well guys" said TJ gravely "I guess we should start getting ready."
"Getting ready? Getting ready for what TJ?"
"The invasion Mikey, if I know Lawson, the first thing he'll do is try to get at us. Face it, he's hated us for years, he would love nothing more to destroy us. We're the Yankees to his Red Sox. He'll come after us with all he's got."
"So what should we do Teej?"
"Well Spin, we better set up defensive positions around the house. Vince, Mikey, you two go out and get some rocks, as many as you can find, and bring them here. Gretch, you and Gus put up a short wood wall around the perimeter of the roof. My plan is to put up the wall on the roof, with the rocks behind it. When Lawson and his men get close, we pull the wall down, unleashing the rocks on him like water from a burst dam."
"Clever TJ, We'll get right on it."
"Good, Spin, you're with me."
"What are we gonna do?"
"We're gonna get some help."
"Is everything ready yet?"
"Not yet King Lawson, we still have to put together an army. Under King Bob, we didn't really need one, so this is all new to us, we're starting from scratch."
"Very well, but make it quick."
"Yes, your majesty."
He made a hasty exit, leaving Lawson alone on the throne with his thoughts. 'Man, this is gonna be sweet, finally taking out those losers. He would get revenge for all those pranks, all those lost kickball games.'
"Incompetent fools" said an irate Randall.
"Huh?"
"I said they're incompetent. How long could it take to muster together an army? We don't even need a big army; just a few dozen kids ought to do the trick."
"That Jarvis kid you put in charge said things would be ready soon."
"They'd better be."
"Whoa, Lawson the new King?!? I sure didn't see that one coming."
"Neither did us Dave, but it's true, and we need your help."
"Need our help, for what?"
"Come on Sam, this is Lawson we're talking about here. If he had his way, he'd beat every kid worse than I ever could."
"Yeah guys, and Spinelli could beat you pretty badly, besides, you'd be doing what you love."
"What do you mean?"
"You two would be digging trenches, moats, bunkers, all kinds of stuff like that. It's a kid's dream, especially a kid like you two."
"Okay TJ, count us in."
"Come on Guru Kid, we need every kid we can get."
"I'm sorry TJ, but I believe violence is never the answer."
"But G.K., we already got the diggers, the swinger, upside down girl, and about a dozen other kids that live nearby."
"Then why do you need me?"
"It's like TJ said, every kid makes a difference."
"A viscous kid like you could make up for my absence."
"Viscous?"
"You heard me."
"Why you little..." She lunged at Guru Kid, but TJ had anticipated this, and managed to grab a hold of her waist, keeping her back. Spinelli soon forgot her anger, feeling content to have TJ hold her. TJ was concerned about her temper, but then he too noticed the position they were in. He held her a little longer than he had intended, then they both backed away in embarrassment.
"So..."
"Ummm... let's see go see if that Gordy kid will help out."
"Right behind ya Teej."
"You wouldn't-believe me- if I-told you." Said Vince, gasping for air.
"Try us" said Spinelli.
"Alright, well, this afternoon, when I was preparing dinner, Gretch was in the basement working on-whatever it is you were working, and the rest of you were making a run to the warehouse, I heard shouting."
"Go on" said an inquisitive TJ.
"Well, when I went to see what all the shouting was about, I ended up in King Bob's kingdom; well it used to be his kingdom."
"Whatcha talking bout Vince?"
"Well, guys, it appears, King Bob has been overthrown."
"WHAT"
"BY WHO?"
"Why?" Gretchen chimed in "All things considered, I think he's done a pretty good job as king."
"Well, that's the worst part."
"What now Vince, just spit it out already!" Said a slightly aggravated Spinelli.
"Well, it seems Lawson has taken over as the new king."
"NOOO!"
"But Vince, the odds of Lawson pulling off a successful coup d'etat like this are approximately 1 in 37,000."
"Yeah, I'm with Gretch on this one, Lawson couldn't plan his way out of a wet paper bag, are you trying to pull something on us Vince?"
"No Gus, I swear I'm not lying, Lawson is the new king, I saw him on the throne with his crown and everything."
"Well guys" said TJ gravely "I guess we should start getting ready."
"Getting ready? Getting ready for what TJ?"
"The invasion Mikey, if I know Lawson, the first thing he'll do is try to get at us. Face it, he's hated us for years, he would love nothing more to destroy us. We're the Yankees to his Red Sox. He'll come after us with all he's got."
"So what should we do Teej?"
"Well Spin, we better set up defensive positions around the house. Vince, Mikey, you two go out and get some rocks, as many as you can find, and bring them here. Gretch, you and Gus put up a short wood wall around the perimeter of the roof. My plan is to put up the wall on the roof, with the rocks behind it. When Lawson and his men get close, we pull the wall down, unleashing the rocks on him like water from a burst dam."
"Clever TJ, We'll get right on it."
"Good, Spin, you're with me."
"What are we gonna do?"
"We're gonna get some help."
"Is everything ready yet?"
"Not yet King Lawson, we still have to put together an army. Under King Bob, we didn't really need one, so this is all new to us, we're starting from scratch."
"Very well, but make it quick."
"Yes, your majesty."
He made a hasty exit, leaving Lawson alone on the throne with his thoughts. 'Man, this is gonna be sweet, finally taking out those losers. He would get revenge for all those pranks, all those lost kickball games.'
"Incompetent fools" said an irate Randall.
"Huh?"
"I said they're incompetent. How long could it take to muster together an army? We don't even need a big army; just a few dozen kids ought to do the trick."
"That Jarvis kid you put in charge said things would be ready soon."
"They'd better be."
"Whoa, Lawson the new King?!? I sure didn't see that one coming."
"Neither did us Dave, but it's true, and we need your help."
"Need our help, for what?"
"Come on Sam, this is Lawson we're talking about here. If he had his way, he'd beat every kid worse than I ever could."
"Yeah guys, and Spinelli could beat you pretty badly, besides, you'd be doing what you love."
"What do you mean?"
"You two would be digging trenches, moats, bunkers, all kinds of stuff like that. It's a kid's dream, especially a kid like you two."
"Okay TJ, count us in."
"Come on Guru Kid, we need every kid we can get."
"I'm sorry TJ, but I believe violence is never the answer."
"But G.K., we already got the diggers, the swinger, upside down girl, and about a dozen other kids that live nearby."
"Then why do you need me?"
"It's like TJ said, every kid makes a difference."
"A viscous kid like you could make up for my absence."
"Viscous?"
"You heard me."
"Why you little..." She lunged at Guru Kid, but TJ had anticipated this, and managed to grab a hold of her waist, keeping her back. Spinelli soon forgot her anger, feeling content to have TJ hold her. TJ was concerned about her temper, but then he too noticed the position they were in. He held her a little longer than he had intended, then they both backed away in embarrassment.
"So..."
"Ummm... let's see go see if that Gordy kid will help out."
"Right behind ya Teej."