Author's Note: Yay! Second chapter! Much thanks to the people who reviewed. ^__^ This chapter is longer than the last one.
Disclaimer: I don't own Codename: Kids Next Door, the Muppets, or Lord of the Flies
CHAPTER 2—What's in a Name?
"Hello, Piggy. Still need a bass player for the Scumbucket Punks?"
---Phone call intercepted at 3:11 P.M., June 17th---
"Chad? You'll join?" Piggy asked.
There was a click, and then the soft ringing of the phone.
"Hm." It sounded like him. But Chad wouldn't leave such a weird message. It couldn't be him. It couldn't be him. I bet it wasn't him.
Piggy tried to bring down her hopes before they got too high, but it was like talking in code. Every sentence brought a hidden meaning, felt, rather than articulated, by Piggy. "Chad wouldn't leave such a weird message," meant, "It probably wasn't Chad... but it could've been."
"It couldn't be him. It couldn't be him. I bet it wasn't him," meant, "Could it be him? It could be him. I wish it was him."
---11:32 P.M., June 19th: Chad's house---
Chad's mother paced around the living room, tapping her turquoise gloved hand to her chin. Destructo Dad sat in a chair in the corner, checking off a list. They had already "fixed" nearly all of the "damage" that Chad had done: with quick work they were able to get back the play's lead role; they explained to Coach Wetterhahn that Chad hadn't thought through his decision to quit football team carefully; the Honors Society and Young High Society Society hadn't even understood the call at all.
Now, only one matter remained. "We've handled everything except for Piggy and the Scumbucket Punks," Chad's father said, looking up from the list.
"I see," Mega Mom said. "I'll make the call." She went over to the bottom of a flight of stairs and called up, "Chad, what's... er... Piggy's phone number?"
Chad answered from his room, "Um... I think it's in the directory. Her last name is Alvace."
Mega Mom looked it up in the school directory. She dialed the number. After three rings, the phone was picked up and a female voice said, "Hello?"
"Hello, this is Chad's mother. May I speak to the parents of Piggy or Piggy?"
"This is Piggy."
There was a small silence. "I'm sorry, was your name Piggy or Peggy?"
"Piggy."
"Oh, my. What an odd name."
...
That's what I thought, too, when the story was spread around the organization that Numbuh 274 had saved all the operatives from his own parents. One thing that caught my attention was her name. "Piggy." It was odd. Was it her real name? A shortened version of her real name? A nickname? Curiosity had always been my most prominent trait, so I had to find out how she came by that name. I called her on June 18th in order to get the answer from her. The conversation went something like this:
Piggy: Hello?
Me: Hi. Is this Piggy?
Piggy: Yeah.
Me: Oh, good. I was wondering, what's your real name?
Piggy: Uh... Who is this?
Me: Sorry, that information is for me to know and for you to not know currently, in the past, and anytime in the future.
Piggy: Ah, well, I hold the same policy for my name.
Me: ... [silence] Darn. [hangs up]
I gave up a bit too easily, I know, but I think that the worst thing is, Piggy probably forgot about the call, but I am still wondering what her name is. After extensive research, however, I have found two other people named "Piggy" and I hope somehow that they'll be helpful.
1. Miss Piggy—She's part of a group called "The Muppets." She looks like a mix between a pig and a person and has blonde hair. My theory is that her name is a reflection of her looks. She doesn't seem to have much of a connection with Piggy, but you could argue that they both resemble pigs to some extent (although this is coming from a biased me).
2. Piggy—He's from a book called Lord of the Flies. In the book he says, "I don't care what they call me...so long as they don't call me what they used to call me at school...They used to call me 'Piggy.'" Aggravatingly, Piggy's real name is not revealed in the book. Darn. I think I'm seeing a parallel here.
Oh, well. Now where was I? Oh, yeah.
...
---11:33 P.M., June 19th: Chad's house---
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that in a rude way. Anyway, Piggy, are you the person who has a band called the Punky Buckets or whatever?"
"Scumbucket Punks, yes," Piggy corrected.
"Yes, well, I'm Chad's mother and—"
"Oh—!" Piggy exclaimed as it clicked in her brain. Chad's parents. Asking about the band. Two days after she had received an acceptance phone call from someone that seemed like Chad. It had to have been him after all. Now, was his mother confirming the practice time? Or maybe—
"I would like to inform you that Chad made the decision to join your band without my permission or that of his father."
Piggy froze. Now that she thought of it, it made sense. Why hadn't she thought of it before? Her body sagged dejectedly, but her head and her mouth were still working. "Oh, but why don't you approve? They're lots of skills you can develop by playing in a small band," she said.
"Like what?"
"Well, uh..." Piggy's mind was working like mad to think of something. This was a chance, but probably her last one. "Uh... musical skills. And um... teamwork skills."
"But," Mega Mom interrupted, "Chad already takes private violin lessons and he's inside the school orchestra."
"Yeah, but in private lessons, you don't play together with other people."
"Yes, that's what orchestra is for," Mega Mom explained patiently.
"But in an orchestra, a conductor keeps the group together, while in a small band, the members conduct themselves and they have to listen to each other."
Chad's mother paused to think about Piggy's argument. "Hm... I see your point. Is there anything else that it improves?"
"Um... social skills... experience with audiences... it looks good on a résumé... um... helps understanding musical-what's-it-called... oh—musical theory, you know with all the harmony and stuff, and um... learning a new instrument is always good—you know, more flexibility—and um... it improves hand-eye coordination, memory skills..." Piggy stopped, as she was afraid her reasons were getting worse.
It didn't matter, however, to Mega Mom, who was convinced as soon as she heard the words "looks good on a résumé." She nodded to herself and said, "I see. Well, how about this: we'll observe the first meeting and then make our final decision. Is that okay?"
"Yes, that's fine," Piggy said, smiling widely.
"Good, now when are practices?"
"Every Saturday, at two, at my house."
Mega Mom jotted the information down on a pad near the telephone, and realized that it was Saturday. "Oh, so the next practice is today, in around two hours?"
"Yes."
"All right. And Chad's playing the..."
"Bass guitar."
She made another note. "Okay, and do we have to bring anything?"
"Don't think so."
"Okay, thank you very much. Good-bye."
"'Bye."
Mega Mom hung up the phone and turned to her husband, who was trying to swat a fly with the newspaper. "Honey?" she said to get his attention.
"Yes, dear?" he replied. "Augh! Why won't it die?!"
"I think we should give the band a try. It'd be good for Chad to learn the bass guitar and at least experience what it's like to play in a small band."
"You know, I agree. Bass guitar, did you say?"
"Yes."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go buy one!"
"Yes, let's go. Oh, it's so exciting." Chad's mother paused at the bottom of the stairs. "Chad, we're going out for a bit. We'll be back soon."
With that, Chad's parents exited the house, got into the car, and pulled out of the driveway. A bass guitar was only eight miles away.
...
To be continued.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to all of you who reviewed. I appreciate criticism in reviews too, so please review! Good-bye for now. ^__^