COUSINS
Chapter 14: Orange Ribbon
The weather was very mixed for the following two weeks: it was generally cloudy and rainy during the day and clear at night. A day after Penny's departure a meeting was held at the Wishing Well. Few animals attended since it discussed the likeliness of the Veltron government letting the mouse have her freedom or not. Lieutenant Booker announced that they would not chase her, but that she was not permitted re-entrance at any given time. The police station held a party to commemorate the awkward event.
"It's Saturday afternoon and I feel like I just woke up," Olive complained. She sat in a new orange living chair that Cheri had purchased from Tom Nook's three days before. "The sun is shining like a diamond and the wind is calm as the village's current mood. Oh, and of course, my head is hard as rock, which is kind of like Susanna Ester's cooking! We'd best avoid it." The grey bear laughed.
In the kitchen Cupcake was baking a cake. "If you asked me to get out of this house," she began as she placed colourful sprinkles on the frosting, "my answer would be, 'it's dazzling outside! Why would you waste your day in here when nothing exciting happens anyway? Visit your friends or go down to the dock and try fishing for a while!'" She shrugged at her own suggestion.
Despite the day's beauty, Olive was not feeling up to leaving the abode. She was tired and in no mood for perking up.
"Honestly, Olive!" Cupcake exclaimed in a peachy voice. "You need to go have some fun. Light a spark in your imagination and you'll be hopping out of here on your left foot! Cheri and T-Bone have been at Nookington's since 10:00 AM, but here's the other bear lounging about without a thing to do. I warn you that you don't have all of forever to live." She picked up the cake and placed in on the counter. "Now I really hope Maple enjoys this cake. It's chocolate-covered vanilla, her favourite! Coincidentally, my favourite too." Cupcake licked her lips unintentionally.
"Zesty," joked Olive. "Maybe you're right. I'll go see Cleo! Since she's relatively old, she might require some help. I could do her grocery shopping or retrieve an item that one of her neighbours borrowed." The grey bear levitated from the chair and slipped her feet into her sandals. "Then I will see you later, Cupcake."
Cupcake was glad that Olive was gone. She was capable of playing her hard rock music as loud as she wanted to; there would be no complaints! She quickly opened the CD player sitting on the counter and inserted one of her favourite albums. It was dated 1995.
"I've made up my mind! One thousand times! Is this why I've been left behind? Please don't leave me to survive! 'Cuz there's no way that I'll stay alive! You've got to quit counting! Such torture is mounting! Here we go down from five! Here we go down from five! Down, down, down, down, down from five! Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Undoubtedly, "Down" was Cupcake's favourite song—even one decade after its release.
"A couple more touches on this cake... ooh, it really does look unbelievable! I'd better make sure that the others don't do anything suspicious to it. I should be very careful too." She started to laugh hysterically. It had been three hours since she started baking the cake and she was adding the finishing touches. From the top of the cake would hang one slice of banana: another one of Maple's favourites.
"Now this is what I call a cake!" Cupcake beamed at her work.
The cake would not be eaten for some days though. Cupcake continued singing "Down" as she placed the cake in the refrigerator, which was still fairly empty. There was a lot of room and she didn't have to worry about it tipping over; the cake would be fine. After she closed the door, the pink bear mumbled a few words to herself. Deciding that she would visit the Able Sisters and design patterns for clothing, she grabbed her purse and put on her high heels. She exited the house.
---
"Blast through the waves!" Cheri cried out. She waved her hands as she pretended that she was water-skiing. "Man, I haven't done something like this since my mother wanted to spend her Bells on a lavish boat ride around Crossing Lake! That was such a long time ago! This experience is so much more than just nostalgic. It's also a great way to rid of your worries! Stand up and scream! Scream!" The red bear collapsed backwards. She laughed.
Cheri, Dizzy and T-Bone decided to use their additional money by renting a boat and have some fun. Exhausted from the entire fiasco with Penny, Dizzy was interested in doing something that he referred to as "mind-reassuring" and "relaxing". He was feeling better about himself and began telling stories of his promiscuous father and the problems that his mother dealt with. Cheri and T-Bone listed attentively. When he was finished talking, he laid on his back and looked up at the cloud-driven sky.
It was still unusual for T-Bone to wake up and see an empty house next to his. What shocked him more than that was when Olive explained how Penny held a serious crush on him that she wanted to elevate to the next level. The bull was strongly taken back by this; he had always felt that she was someone he could become very good friends with, but not get involved romantically with. Secretly, he was somewhat pleased with Penny's departure since they would be unable to hook up with her gone.
T-Bone turned his attention away from Penny and to his two friends. Dizzy was still looking at the sky and Cheri was about to fall overboard. She was screaming different phrases and claimed that she owned the animal world. "Look at me! Woo! You cannot steal my pride from me!" she repeatedly bellowed. "You cannot do anything to me, for I am immortal! I am more than free, because I am more than just me! It is awesome to be me...!" She wasn't planning on stopping. The boys feared she was going to fall into the water and not care about what she had landed in. They looked at each other. Dizzy then looked in Cheri's direction.
"Ah... why don't you settle down, Cheri?" he asked her. "You're right—it's the greatest feeling to be free; I concur and whatnot. But did it ever occur to you that people might consider you a basket case aboard a little speed boat in the middle of the water near the shores of Veltron beach? Please watch your sanity, thank you." He ended his sentence reluctantly and ignored the red bear.
Cheri calmed down. "Yes, I think I can settle down now. Sorry about all the energy I've got today. And it's because of all this energy that I'm going to stand up again"—she rose as she spoke—"and start screaming very publicly, 'Yay! He accepted my proposal! Oh, my heaven, we're actually going to be married! This is the best moment of my life! We're actually getting married! MY GOD!'" The bear began jumping up and down, which caused the boat to heavily rock back and forth.
Dizzy and T-Bone were fired up. They pushed their friend overboard and watched her scream as she fell into the water.
Fifteen minutes passed. Dizzy and T-Bone resisted the temptation to allow Cheri back in the boat. Eventually, she became fed up and swam for shore. The boys followed swiftly, and when they arrived, she was involved in a conversation with Mathilda and Susanna Ester. They were mind-boggled at why she was speaking with them. All around fruit was falling, courtesy of Static, who was setting up a picnic. It looked like the animals were going to have lunch on the beach.
"Hey everybody!" Cheri called out to Dizzy and T-Bone. "Since I'm soaking wet now, I figured that I'd join the girls and Static on their fabulous picnic this afternoon. After all, it is darling today and the sun is absolutely ravishing! Not that I don't find everyday—rainy days included—ravishing. Whether it's rain or sun, I'm happy. Get it? Whether it's rain or sun? Ha ha!" She started laughing at her joke.
Susanna responded to the joke. "It's interesting, Cheri; I saw that you were having the time of your life out at sea," she said. "Dizzy was with you, and so was T-Bone, I see. We're all out and soaking up the sun today, even if it's partly cloudy. That must mean we all share similar longings. I'm not certain whether that's a good or bad thing, but here I am with my best friends. We're going to be enjoying a lovely picnic here. And it seems as though Cheri has already invited herself. Mathilda is a splendid chef and would never give away food for free, that being a ham sandwich or pepperoni pizza, which are delectable. Everything she cooks is simply five-star worthy."
"Enough compliments now, Susanna! You might be my best friend, but you must know when to stop pulling a lady's teeth!" Mathilda cried. The two laughed instantly as they flicked their hair at one another. "I made some fantastic food; yes, watch me toot my own horn. You may snack on it or stuff it in your face. It doesn't matter which, as long as you are satisfied and do not complain to the chef." She poured the animals a mug of boiling tea. "Cheri and friends, you are welcome to join us if you'd like. Don't fret over the month's now-infamous dinner. I'm over that and Susanna wrote the evening's events in her diary and transformed it into a rather amusing parody. Please, sit down, all of you." The kangaroo sat on the blanket and motioned for them to join her. "Really, please join us. There's enough food to go around."
T-Bone wiped his brow. "I wasn't present at the dinner, but let's not reminisce on such a... tragedy. It did result in Penny's exodus."
Susanna spat. "How dare you refer to that ugly being! Not only is she—"
"Please, forget about her!" Static interrupted. "Can we have an everyday, ordinary conversation without exploding on each other? Let's put it most blatantly: Penny is gone and there is nothing we can do about it. The story ends here. Now on a new topic... Dizzy! How is that train station model coming along? A number of very reliable sources indicate that you are having much difficulty and very little success. Do tell us the story." The squirrel sipped his tea, which was still hot.
Dizzy laughed sarcastically. "Difficulty? Difficulty you call it? It has already collapsed three times! I call it bewildering lunacy. One, it's been incomplete for many years, and two, it's become my number-one aggravation. There is no use in discussing the train station model. I still can't grasp the concept that the experts have been using for the past forty years. It's something that... walks through my ears, I'spose."
"You're working on the train model station? Dizzy, you are?" Mathilda asked. She seemed skeptical. "Hasn't it been five years now? If you're not having any luck, you should return to work full-time. You haven't been in the Able Sisters cellar for over two years. I have been keeping count."
Shocked, Cheri almost spilled her tea as she turned to Dizzy. "You work at the Able Sisters? I never knew that!"
The elephant shrugged. "I guess most people don't."
---
It was 8:00 PM. The sun was setting on the horizon as it started raining.
Cheri, Olive and Cupcake were at the train station wearing their most-prized outfits. Momentarily, a train would be pulling into the station; the same train that carried their friend Maple, along with her graduating class. The three waited impatiently. The scheduled arrival time was 8:05 PM, but the cousins did not take their eyes off the tunnel the transportation vehicle would come from, even as the clock read 8:15 PM. The train was delayed.
Finally, it came.
As the doors opened, a very plump male octopus stepped onto the platform, taking his first breath in Veltron. A pencil was resting on his left ear, which revealed that he was one of Maple's much-talked about professors. The cousins were unable to confirm which he was, however, because she had three professors that were octopuses, and coincidentally, all were red. After he descended the train station steps, the octopus scanned the terrain. He turned back to the train, nodded, and then waved, which signaled nine animals.
First, a cat stepped off the train. He was followed by two mice who looked like younger relatives of Penny's and a female eagle with large wings. The fifth animal was a petite alligator and an orange-coloured squirrel followed after him. A taller brown bear was the train's seventh departed customer and the eighth was a male sheep. The final animal to exit the train was Maple. Her brown fur sparkled in the raining moonlight and her red lips glared like a distant mirror. Cheri, Olive and Cupcake were blinded by its flash, but mobbed her the moment she placed her feet on Veltron's soil. She was wearing a lot of make-up.
"How long has it been?"
"Oh my, you've grown so tall!"
"That orange ribbon in your hair is beautiful! Fabulous, really!"
Maple informed her professor, Mr. Octavian, that she would not have to reside with her graduating class for the following three days. He already knew of the general details and said that everything had been arranged. The four bears were ecstatic and headed towards the cousins domicile before the professor dismissed them. They were too excited to bother with school-related topics at this moment.
"Talk about a revolution!" Maple couldn't believe her eyes. She examined her friends. "You girls look so spiffy. When you left home two months ago, I feared that running your lives and becoming independent was going to be challenging. Not only have I been proved wrong, but those are some of the most stylish outfits I have seen in a long time. Wow! This is so... I don't know what to say!"
Cupcake gasped. "Wait... what? Are you implying that my Zebra Print is uglier than this outfit? What are you talking about, Maple? This is one of the ugliest clothing pieces I own!" The bear started throwing a paroxysm. "...Oh, whatever! You're just being nice." Maple laughed. Cupcake continued, "Although you've barely seen any of Veltron, what do you think of it thus far? Personally, the décor was hard adjusting to. In the beginning I didn't like it, but now I like it! Can you believe I'm saying this, girls? I like it!"
A smile came to Maple's face. She applauded her friend.
"That's rather entertaining. Whatever happened to that Cupcake I used to know?" asked the brown bear. "Remember, the one who would declare something and never turn back on her diagnosis? She's disappeared! She's been replaced by a positive, rebellious and sensitive Cupcake! Sometimes change is the best thing that can happen to an animal, and in this case it's more than the best! My pink-furred friend, you've done so much! You continue to brighten my face with every work you speak. I really am every word you ever said." Thrilled, the two bears shared a lengthy embrace in which Cheri began making fun of after a while. They just laughed.
Maple eyed Olive peculiarly.
"Olive, sweetheart... you no longer possess the negativity of being embarrassed. It looks like your time here changed you too. Now you're outgoing... I can see it in your eyes. An adoring and spunky young woman. Hiding your face from the world never did you any good, but that's not at the top of your list anymore, is it? Instead of dwindling at the bottom, you've ascended... to the top of your own list! ...Was that cheesy? I'm sorry!" Olive punched her friend in the arm and they quickly hugged.
Then she looked at Cheri.
"I believe... you have changed greatly. That girl I remember... that girl who would spend her days writing sad songs in her closet. She... died, leaving this world a realistic bear who wanted to spend her days not having to care about what the world wanted to do or say—the world is in your command, and you can run across the desert without having to wonder what your friends are thinking. It's dignity. It's more important than being locked in your room. You're free, Cheri." They nodded, but didn't exchange a friendly welcoming.
The cousins were excited to show Maple their house.
"Girls," whispered Maple. "Don't wither away. You've evolved from what you were to become the divas you are. I wouldn't consider any of you—because it would be wrong—better than the other, but I would like to thank you for being there anytime I needed a friend; a hand to hold or a foot to fit a shoe... and everything else I cannot think of right now." She shook hands with her three friends. Maple began crying softly.
They entered the house.
Maple wasn't surprised. Either way, she released a piercing gasp. "This is gorgeous! Your interior design has not failed you at all, Cupcake! Awesome job! Absolutely mind-blowing!" She clasped her hands and sighed with ease. "You really know how to make a girl jealous, you know that?" She sighed again, this time growling to no one's realization.
Maple didn't take all her time to scan every single point in the house, but she constantly searched through the bureaus and drawers, ensuring that everything was in order. The brown bear was selective whenever she was picky about a certain stench or lukewarm toward a decoration; sometimes she felt that it was best for the cousins to make their own choices. Truthfully, she thought that the house could have been more proper, but she didn't complain. Most of it was ordered nicely anyway, which was the way Cheri and Olive generally liked it.
"It's great knowing that you keep this house clean and tidy. Since I'm going to be leaving my parents, I too will be able to experience the long-awaited peace I've been dying for. We'll see if I make it on my own... it doesn't look that difficult. Wow, how do you manage to live such staggering lives? I haven't even been here fifteen minutes and I'm already dying to know your secrets! Good job!"
There was no doubt that Maple was enjoying herself.
"Don't be so sweet," Olive snarled sarcastically. "It's not going to make us love you anymore than we already do. Pace yourself."
It was certain that the next tow days would be filled with exhilaration. The 30th would be filled with enjoyment so indescribable that all the daily-planned touring was likely not going to be completed. July 1st was the Fireworks Festival, which would be the best way to end their adventure together. The cousins didn't want to say goodbye to their friend, but Maple had to attend her prom and graduate appropriately. Things were not going to take a turn for the worse—they wouldn't count on it; they didn't need it.
They had two days to have fun.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, that's it! I can barely believe that there is only one chapter remaining! I'd like to thank all of my reviewers who stuck through this story with me the entire way: Whinnie, Greki, MeowZaa, Sparklypiggy, and Queenofmarine. You have all been a barrel of inspiration, and thank you for your positive reviews on this what I figured was a wannabe fanfic. Now I think the exact opposite of it! And it's all thanks to you guys and girls!
I know this is going to seem strange (especially for me), but I didn't think writing from third-person was going to be simple. I suppose I was wrong. It came to me, and Cheri, Olive and Cupcake definitely blossomed from three girls with three different personalities: peppy, shy and snobby. The bear that went through the most radical change would definitely be Olive, hands-down.
Well, that's it for me! The next chapter will be the last! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sticking with me the whole way through! May your days be filled with happiness and joy! Goodbye for now... perhaps we will meet again.