Bessie reached into her desk and pulled out a sheet of business paper. She wrote quickly in cramped, sharply leaning to the right, handwriting. Her thoughts were flying faster through her mind than her writing on the page. While she searched the office for a postal tube, the Mayor glanced at the note.
Dear Sportacus,
The Mayor is in dire need of your assistance.
Please help.
Do come, quickly.
Sincerely,
Bessie Busybody
"Miss Busybody, I really don't think the situation is quite as urgent as you've made it sound." The Mayor was worried about what Sportacus might think when he recieved the note. Perhaps there was a bank robbery, a fire, or Robbie Rotten up to no good. That's what superheros took care of, not babysitting.
"Milford! This is an emergency! We need to leave tonight and Stephanie needs a sitter. Who could possibly be a more ideal sitter than a superhero?"
Bessie rolled the note to Sportacus into the postal tube she had found, grabbed up her cell phone and purse, and walked briskly out the door. Mayor Meanswell followed her out, shoulders slumped in defeat, closing the door behind him.
They walked to the mailbox where Bessie slipped the note into the mailtube, grabbed the handle with both hands, and pulled hard. The note shot into space. Bessie and the Mayor both stood watching as it disappeared from sight.
"Now Milford," Bessie locked eyes with the Mayor, "you wait until Sportacus gets here. Tell him exactly what he needs to know and what time he should be at your house tonight. Don't get distracted. And don't take no for an answer! Then go back to the office and finish up. I shall phone you later with details. See you later!" Bessie took off walking up the street before she was finished talking to the Mayor, all atwitter with barely supressed excitement.
Once Bessie turned the corner, the Mayor looked up to the sky. A shadow passed in front of the sun and he heard a, whoosh. He spun in place trying to follow the shadow and the sound. All he wound up doing was getting himself dizzy. Sportacus grabbed the Mayor to help him stop spinning.
"Oh, Sportacus, thank goodness you're here! The world seems to be spinning out of control!"
"No, Mayor. You are a little dizzy. I've got you. Your brain just needs to slow down." Sportacus still held the Mayor by the shoulders so he wouldn't fall over.
"Oh, I doubt that. My brain has never had a problem moving too fast before."
"Was this the dire assistance you needed me for?" Sportacus asked. He slowly took his hands off the Mayor's shoulders to see if he could stand up. The Mayor's eyes were still going in circles a bit, but he could now stand up without help.
"Oh, no, no, no."
"Has there been a bank robbery?"
"No."
"A fire?"
"No."
"Is Robbie up to no good?"
"No."
Sportacus squinted his eyes in thought and scratched his head. "Then Mayor, why did Bessie send a note to me talking about you in 'dire need of assistance'?"
The Mayor was quite embarrased that his earlier prediction about what Sportacus might think when he got the note, was true. He really didn't want to waste Sportacus' time with an assignment to babysit. He wanted to tell Sportacus that Miss Busybody had made a mistake. Then the Mayor remembered the look in Miss Busybody's eye. If he couldn't get Sportacus to watch Stephanie for the weekend...AGHHHH! He didn't want to even imagine what Miss Busybody would be like, what she might do!
The Mayor was beginning to tremble, again. Sportacus didn't know what was wrong but he was getting worried.
"Mayor, are you alright? What is the problem? Can't you tell me?"
"I NEED A BABYSITTER!"
Sportacus opened his Icelandic blue eyes as wide as they could, in surprise. The Mayor began to explain the situation, putting emphasis on Miss Busybody's feelings in the matter. Sportacus crossed his arms over his chest while he listened to the Mayor. He smiled a little as he imagined just what Miss Busybody's reaction would be if she couldn't spend the weekend with Mayor Meanswell. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.
"I'll do it, " Sportacus said with a smile and shook hands with the mayor.