The unhappy, barefooted Francine, her floral dress now accessorized by an ice
pack over her left eye, shuffled hesitantly into the classroom. When the other
kids saw her, they erupted into cheers.
"You da man, Francine!" shouted George. "You da man!"
"You sure showed that creep Rattles," said Arthur.
"What do you mean, I showed him?" asked Francine as she sat in a desk between Arthur and Sue Ellen. "He mopped up the playground with my butt."
"It's good to know someone's standing up to the bullies while I'm out of the action," Sue Ellen remarked.
"That was really something, Francine," said Fern, who was seated two desks behind her. "You proved you're a woman AND a man in the same day."
"Francine! Francine!" the kids began to chant.
As Mr. Wald held up his hand to restore order, Francine shot an angry look at Binky, who sat at the other end of the room. Like her, he wore a gloomy scowl and an ice pack over his left eye.
----
During afternoon recess, Francine returned to the spot where she had kicked off her high-heeled shoes, and found them still lying where she had left them. Picking them up and starting toward her locker, she chanced to encounter Beat, who started to walk alongside her.
"Well, your secret's out," Beat remarked. "Now what?"
"I don't know," muttered Francine as she shifted the ice pack over her eye. "Everybody's forgotten about it. All they can talk about is my fight with Rattles."
The two girls remained silent until they arrived at Francine's locker.
Opening the locker door, Francine inserted the shoes and closed it again. "I guess when you're my age, nobody cares that much," she mused. "As long as I keep it to myself."
"Yes, Frankie," said Beat comfortingly. "By tomorrow, all this will be forgotten."
Francine groaned. "I painted my nails, I put on a stupid dress, I got a black eye and two weeks' detention, and for what?"
"A valuable lesson," said Beat.
"Right." Francine turned around and rested her back against the lockers. "We could just end the story here, you know."
Beat shook her head. "Oh, we can't do that. What about the mysterious and powerful enemy who wants to destroy Christmas?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot."
"And it's taking us a long time to get there, innit?" Beat remarked.
"Yeah," said Francine, "but something will happen at the end of this chapter."
Beat thought for a second. "Maybe I should stay away from your for a while," she suggested. "At least long enough for you to get rid of your feelings."
"Forget about it," said Francine, sounding more assured. "The only thing I'm attracted to right now is a mattress."
----
As Fern sat on a chair in her bedroom, reading from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen, she heard the doorbell ring. "Fern, get that, please," came her mother's voice from the laundry room.
When she opened the door, she was surprised and delighted to see her new friend Greta standing on the welcome mat. "Hi, Greta," she said, smiling. "Come in."
"I'm sorry, I can't," said Greta regretfully. "I only came here to say goodbye."
Fern's face fell. "What? Goodbye?"
"I can't come here anymore," Greta continued. "But we can still meet each other online."
"But why?" asked Fern. "Is it your parents?"
"It's not my parents." Greta lowered her voice. "It's Mr. Baker."
Fern eyed her curiously.
"I don't trust him," Greta went on. "I think he may try to hurt me. He may try to force you to tell him where I am. Don't turn your back on him, Fern. I'll see you in the chat room. Goodbye."
Speechless and confused, Fern watched as Greta turned and walked hurriedly down the street away from her house.
----
Seated on a dining chair, dressed in her regular clothes, and holding a beefsteak over her damaged eye, Francine sweated under the accusing glares of her parents and older sister.
"It was very foolish of you to pick a fight with Rattles," said Mrs. Frensky sternly. "He's a boy, he's bigger than you, and he's a good fighter. What did you expect to happen?"
"I don't know, Mom," said Francine in an anxious voice. "I was just too angry to think."
"What were you angry about?" asked Mr. Frensky.
"Rattles and Binky put a microphone in the girls' room," Francine replied. "They recorded me talking to Beat, and then they told everybody what we said."
"And what did you say?"
Francine lowered her head in shame. "Catherine, remember when you were my age and you liked that girl?"
"Yes," said her sister.
"Well..." Francine's voice started to break. "I've got the same problem."
Catherine began to stammer. "You mean...you and Beat..."
"We haven't done anything," Francine went on. "We just have a crush on each other, that's all. I've been trying to do something about it."
"That's what this is all about?" said the surprised Catherine. "What's the big deal? You'll get over it, Frankie. I did."
"But what if I don't?" Francine's eyes filled with tears. "Some people stay this way. Like uncle Max."
"We accept uncle Max the way he is," said her mother.
"You're too young to be worried about this," said Catherine. "Just forget about it. I'm normal. You're my sister. You'll be normal, too."
Francine wiped the tears from her right eye with her hand.
"I wonder what will happen to Beat," she mused. "I don't think she cares if she's normal or not."
"Well, the Simons are more liberal than we are," Mr. Frensky remarked.
"Dinner's almost ready," said Mrs. Frensky. "Let's put this behind us and move on."
"I'm not hungry," said Francine. "I think I'll just take a nap."
"Have it your way," her mother responded.
Francine made her way to the bedroom, carefully clutching the steak to her left eye. She took off her shoes and stockings, and climbed into her bed, sighing drearily.
The inviting smell of split pea soup wafted through the open door, but she ignored it. After about ten minutes she felt herself becoming drowsy.
Suddenly she heard a soft, soothing male voice in her mind.
"I know where Nemo is."
She glanced around frantically. "Who's there?"
----
At roughly the same time, Pal was wandering and sniffing about the neighborhood, his collar attached to a leash with Arthur on the other end. As he followed his dog along the sidewalk, the parka-clad Arthur curiously examined the lost pet posters on each phone pole. Neighboring the pictures of Nemo that he had helped to place were photos of various large dogs, including a pit bull, a greyhound, a German shepherd, and a Doberman Pinscher.
As Arthur wondered why his dog hadn't fallen victim to the rash of pet disappearances, Pal suddenly began to bark, howl, and tug vigorously on his leash. "What is it, boy?" Arthur asked.
He started to walk forward in the direction that Pal was lurching, but soon found himself running. The excited dog led him through several city blocks and to the end of the pavement, which bordered the forested area surrounding the creek.
"We shouldn't go this way," said Arthur, but Pal persistently yanked on his leash. The boy reluctantly followed his dog a little way into the woods...
...where he was suddenly taken aback to see Francine, standing in the trees with a small, long-haired dog in her arms.
Arthur speechlessly walked closer to the girl. Upon closer analysis, he noted that the dog was a Shih Tzu, and had a canine wheelchair strapped to his hind quarters. He also observed that Pal had fallen completely silent, and ceased to tug on his leash.
"I think he's one of the lost dogs, Arthur," said Francine, whose black left eye was exposed to the cold winter air.
"I don't know, Francine," Arthur replied. "I didn't see his picture anywhere." He reached for the dog's collar and grasped the tag in his fingers. On it were inscribed the words, THE PROFESSOR, followed by a phone number with area code.
Then Pal began to sniff the air and growl angrily.
"Let's go to your place and call the number on the tag," Francine suggested.
The two children left the forest and were soon walking along the paved street, Arthur holding Pal with his leash and Francine cradling the Shih Tzu in her arms.
They had only gone a block when a fierce-looking Doberman Pinscher leaped out from behind a fence, growling viciously. Arthur quickly bent over and picked up the frightened, whining Pal, then he and Francine backed away slowly.
The Doberman matched their movements, growling and drooling.
Gripping the Shih Tzu in one arm, Francine reached down and picked up some rocks that lay near the sidewalk. She hurled them at the Doberman, causing the animal to yelp in pain.
"Run!" she cried. She and Arthur turned on their heels and sped away with all their strength. The Doberman, battered but not bowed, pursued them with haste.
Arthur and Francine had run half a block when they saw an angry-looking German shepherd charging toward them. Still clutching the small dogs, they turned down a side street and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. As Arthur turned his head to look at the two barking, panting beasts tailing him, it dawned on him that they looked very similar to dogs whose pictures he had seen on the phone poles...
A moment later, Francine saw two brutish-looking pit bull terriers racing in their direction. The only available side street was a cul-de-sac, so she and Arthur turned into it and continued their desperate flight.
They came to the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, and found that a tall wooden fence blocked their escape. Before they had a chance to look for another escape route, the pursuing dogs had surrounded them on all sides. Terrified, they noted that three more large, vicious dogs had appeared, swelling the canine ranks to seven.
There was no way out. The growling, snapping dogs slowly but inexorably converged on Arthur and Francine from all directions...
(To be continued...)
"You da man, Francine!" shouted George. "You da man!"
"You sure showed that creep Rattles," said Arthur.
"What do you mean, I showed him?" asked Francine as she sat in a desk between Arthur and Sue Ellen. "He mopped up the playground with my butt."
"It's good to know someone's standing up to the bullies while I'm out of the action," Sue Ellen remarked.
"That was really something, Francine," said Fern, who was seated two desks behind her. "You proved you're a woman AND a man in the same day."
"Francine! Francine!" the kids began to chant.
As Mr. Wald held up his hand to restore order, Francine shot an angry look at Binky, who sat at the other end of the room. Like her, he wore a gloomy scowl and an ice pack over his left eye.
----
During afternoon recess, Francine returned to the spot where she had kicked off her high-heeled shoes, and found them still lying where she had left them. Picking them up and starting toward her locker, she chanced to encounter Beat, who started to walk alongside her.
"Well, your secret's out," Beat remarked. "Now what?"
"I don't know," muttered Francine as she shifted the ice pack over her eye. "Everybody's forgotten about it. All they can talk about is my fight with Rattles."
The two girls remained silent until they arrived at Francine's locker.
Opening the locker door, Francine inserted the shoes and closed it again. "I guess when you're my age, nobody cares that much," she mused. "As long as I keep it to myself."
"Yes, Frankie," said Beat comfortingly. "By tomorrow, all this will be forgotten."
Francine groaned. "I painted my nails, I put on a stupid dress, I got a black eye and two weeks' detention, and for what?"
"A valuable lesson," said Beat.
"Right." Francine turned around and rested her back against the lockers. "We could just end the story here, you know."
Beat shook her head. "Oh, we can't do that. What about the mysterious and powerful enemy who wants to destroy Christmas?"
"Oh, yeah. I forgot."
"And it's taking us a long time to get there, innit?" Beat remarked.
"Yeah," said Francine, "but something will happen at the end of this chapter."
Beat thought for a second. "Maybe I should stay away from your for a while," she suggested. "At least long enough for you to get rid of your feelings."
"Forget about it," said Francine, sounding more assured. "The only thing I'm attracted to right now is a mattress."
----
As Fern sat on a chair in her bedroom, reading from The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen, she heard the doorbell ring. "Fern, get that, please," came her mother's voice from the laundry room.
When she opened the door, she was surprised and delighted to see her new friend Greta standing on the welcome mat. "Hi, Greta," she said, smiling. "Come in."
"I'm sorry, I can't," said Greta regretfully. "I only came here to say goodbye."
Fern's face fell. "What? Goodbye?"
"I can't come here anymore," Greta continued. "But we can still meet each other online."
"But why?" asked Fern. "Is it your parents?"
"It's not my parents." Greta lowered her voice. "It's Mr. Baker."
Fern eyed her curiously.
"I don't trust him," Greta went on. "I think he may try to hurt me. He may try to force you to tell him where I am. Don't turn your back on him, Fern. I'll see you in the chat room. Goodbye."
Speechless and confused, Fern watched as Greta turned and walked hurriedly down the street away from her house.
----
Seated on a dining chair, dressed in her regular clothes, and holding a beefsteak over her damaged eye, Francine sweated under the accusing glares of her parents and older sister.
"It was very foolish of you to pick a fight with Rattles," said Mrs. Frensky sternly. "He's a boy, he's bigger than you, and he's a good fighter. What did you expect to happen?"
"I don't know, Mom," said Francine in an anxious voice. "I was just too angry to think."
"What were you angry about?" asked Mr. Frensky.
"Rattles and Binky put a microphone in the girls' room," Francine replied. "They recorded me talking to Beat, and then they told everybody what we said."
"And what did you say?"
Francine lowered her head in shame. "Catherine, remember when you were my age and you liked that girl?"
"Yes," said her sister.
"Well..." Francine's voice started to break. "I've got the same problem."
Catherine began to stammer. "You mean...you and Beat..."
"We haven't done anything," Francine went on. "We just have a crush on each other, that's all. I've been trying to do something about it."
"That's what this is all about?" said the surprised Catherine. "What's the big deal? You'll get over it, Frankie. I did."
"But what if I don't?" Francine's eyes filled with tears. "Some people stay this way. Like uncle Max."
"We accept uncle Max the way he is," said her mother.
"You're too young to be worried about this," said Catherine. "Just forget about it. I'm normal. You're my sister. You'll be normal, too."
Francine wiped the tears from her right eye with her hand.
"I wonder what will happen to Beat," she mused. "I don't think she cares if she's normal or not."
"Well, the Simons are more liberal than we are," Mr. Frensky remarked.
"Dinner's almost ready," said Mrs. Frensky. "Let's put this behind us and move on."
"I'm not hungry," said Francine. "I think I'll just take a nap."
"Have it your way," her mother responded.
Francine made her way to the bedroom, carefully clutching the steak to her left eye. She took off her shoes and stockings, and climbed into her bed, sighing drearily.
The inviting smell of split pea soup wafted through the open door, but she ignored it. After about ten minutes she felt herself becoming drowsy.
Suddenly she heard a soft, soothing male voice in her mind.
"I know where Nemo is."
She glanced around frantically. "Who's there?"
----
At roughly the same time, Pal was wandering and sniffing about the neighborhood, his collar attached to a leash with Arthur on the other end. As he followed his dog along the sidewalk, the parka-clad Arthur curiously examined the lost pet posters on each phone pole. Neighboring the pictures of Nemo that he had helped to place were photos of various large dogs, including a pit bull, a greyhound, a German shepherd, and a Doberman Pinscher.
As Arthur wondered why his dog hadn't fallen victim to the rash of pet disappearances, Pal suddenly began to bark, howl, and tug vigorously on his leash. "What is it, boy?" Arthur asked.
He started to walk forward in the direction that Pal was lurching, but soon found himself running. The excited dog led him through several city blocks and to the end of the pavement, which bordered the forested area surrounding the creek.
"We shouldn't go this way," said Arthur, but Pal persistently yanked on his leash. The boy reluctantly followed his dog a little way into the woods...
...where he was suddenly taken aback to see Francine, standing in the trees with a small, long-haired dog in her arms.
Arthur speechlessly walked closer to the girl. Upon closer analysis, he noted that the dog was a Shih Tzu, and had a canine wheelchair strapped to his hind quarters. He also observed that Pal had fallen completely silent, and ceased to tug on his leash.
"I think he's one of the lost dogs, Arthur," said Francine, whose black left eye was exposed to the cold winter air.
"I don't know, Francine," Arthur replied. "I didn't see his picture anywhere." He reached for the dog's collar and grasped the tag in his fingers. On it were inscribed the words, THE PROFESSOR, followed by a phone number with area code.
Then Pal began to sniff the air and growl angrily.
"Let's go to your place and call the number on the tag," Francine suggested.
The two children left the forest and were soon walking along the paved street, Arthur holding Pal with his leash and Francine cradling the Shih Tzu in her arms.
They had only gone a block when a fierce-looking Doberman Pinscher leaped out from behind a fence, growling viciously. Arthur quickly bent over and picked up the frightened, whining Pal, then he and Francine backed away slowly.
The Doberman matched their movements, growling and drooling.
Gripping the Shih Tzu in one arm, Francine reached down and picked up some rocks that lay near the sidewalk. She hurled them at the Doberman, causing the animal to yelp in pain.
"Run!" she cried. She and Arthur turned on their heels and sped away with all their strength. The Doberman, battered but not bowed, pursued them with haste.
Arthur and Francine had run half a block when they saw an angry-looking German shepherd charging toward them. Still clutching the small dogs, they turned down a side street and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. As Arthur turned his head to look at the two barking, panting beasts tailing him, it dawned on him that they looked very similar to dogs whose pictures he had seen on the phone poles...
A moment later, Francine saw two brutish-looking pit bull terriers racing in their direction. The only available side street was a cul-de-sac, so she and Arthur turned into it and continued their desperate flight.
They came to the house at the end of the cul-de-sac, and found that a tall wooden fence blocked their escape. Before they had a chance to look for another escape route, the pursuing dogs had surrounded them on all sides. Terrified, they noted that three more large, vicious dogs had appeared, swelling the canine ranks to seven.
There was no way out. The growling, snapping dogs slowly but inexorably converged on Arthur and Francine from all directions...
(To be continued...)
