Disclaimer: "The Fairly Oddparents". You know how it goes.
Chapter 1 - Girl Trouble
The cafeteria is abuzz with the usual pre-teen chatter: homework, what they did last night, who they think is cute, homework, what they're going to do tonight, homework, who they don't like very much and, of course, homework.
A girl walks through the crowd, a tray in her hands. She has a plaid skirt, a white shirt, a black vest and glasses. She has braces on her teeth and her dark hair is in pigtails. In looks and demeanor, this is not a girl to whom people pay a great amount of attention, even when it comes to getting picked on.
On her tray is...well, it hasn't been classified by science, yet. The twelve-year-old girl had sometimes wondered why this was served at least three times a week. 'They must get this really cheap', she thinks to herself with a grimace.
She stops near a table occupied by a trio of young boys. One of them shuffles through some papers. The girl can't help but wonder why the boy with no hair would worry about homework during lunch...but if it takes his mind off of the food, more power to him. Another boy, one with braces, shovels the food down. Given the law of averages, there has to be someone who'd enjoy it.
The girl focuses on the boy in the silly pink hat. She takes a huge gulp and walks to the table. The boy laughs at a joke, one the girl most likely missed. She stands before the party of three. She clears her throat. He shifts his head to the right and stops laughing.
"Hello, Tootie." His tone suggests that he's quite annoyed, like he's been through this before and would rather have teeth pulled than go through it again.
"H-hi, Timmy." To hear her stammer, one would barely guess that she nurses a monster crush on him.
"Is there something you want?" The query is tainted with impatience.
"Um...yes. I was wondering if you...if you would..." She bites her lip and pokes at it with her braces. "Ow! Um, if you would like to do something sometime."
"Oh, I'd love to, Tootie, but I have this...thing to do at this place with this guy I met one time."
"Oh. Well, I guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah, I guess", he states dismissively.
Tootie walks away sadly. She takes two steps before she's bumped aside by a girl in a pink sweater and white skirt. Her dark hair flows down her back, with a pink headband giving it a bit of style. Given the smirk that develops on the prettier girl's face, that was no accident.
Timmy notices the girl in pink and stares intently at her. "Ahhhh. Trixie."
"Huh. Is it 11:53 already?" The bald boy checks his watch.
Trixie is joined by another girl. Her outfit is like that of a cheerleader (which is unusual, given that the school has no cheerleading squad) and her blonde hair is in a ponytail. She walks by, giving Tootie a little shove.
"Hey!" Tootie manages to keep her tray from falling, though, after considering the contents, would that be any great loss?
"Veronica, did you hear something?" Trixie looks around the cafeteria, including right through Tootie.
The blonde shakes her head. "No, I didn't." Veronica sounds genuinely concerned, like she honestly didn't hear anything.
Tootie adjusts her glasses, pushing them closer to her face. She glares at the two girls strolling by. What right did they have to (literally) push people around? Her eyes focus on Timmy, who stares at Trixie longingly.
She sits down at an empty table, still looking at the boy. She lets out a low growl. It didn't matter if anyone heard her or not; it's not like they ever did before when she'd do this.
The day passed rather uneventfully for the unpopular girl. She had problems concentrating on her classes. How could Timmy be so taken with Trixie? There's more to a girl than beauty. This got her into some trouble with the teachers. Luckily, she's a good enough student that her supposed flightiness could be attributed to the hard work she puts forth.
XxXxXxXxX
Timmy runs into his house. His day was just as mundane. Focusing on his studies was a lost cause. His mind was, as ever, still on Trixie. That and he just barely cares about the classes.
He heads up the stairs and enters his bedroom. A smile graces his face. After a long, agonizing day of school, nothing can cheer him up quite like...
His face falls as he gazes upon the goldfish bowl on his night table. The empty goldfish bowl on his night table. Timmy lets out a small groan of disappointment. After all, goldfish bowls are supposed to have goldfish in them.
However, there is something special about Timmy's goldfish. They are, in fact, fairy godparents. Wands, wings, floaty crowny things and the like; able to grant any child's wish.
Timmy collapses on his bed and, with an "Ugh!", stares at the ceiling. This boring day is not gonna get any better any time soon.
XxXxXxXxX
Tootie sits at the dinner table and stares at her plate sadly. She pokes her fork at the slice of meatloaf before her.
"Oh, sweetie. Aren't you hungry?" A woman with dark hair reaches over and massages Tootie's hand with her own. She can always be counted on for a kind word or helping hand.
"Not really, Mom." She sets the fork down.
The red-haired man at Tootie's left looks up from his nearly-empty plate. "How was your day, Toots?" Though more content to leave the heavy lifting to his wife, the man can be a firm source of support to his daughter.
The girl sighs. "Fine, Dad."
"Well, you sure don't sound fine." The woman's tone is instinctively concerned.
"Ah, she probably has a certain twerp in mind." The red-headed teenager at the end of the table cackles a little. She seems to revel in the misery of others, even if they are blood relatives. Two sets of parental eyes narrow in her direction. The cackling tapers off and the eighteen-year-old girl folds her arms.
Tootie's head rests in her hands. The adults turn back to her. The woman puts her hand on the girl's shoulder and kneads it. "Whatever is going on in your life, you have to understand that we'll be here to help you."
Though reassured, the girl is somewhat apprehensive about divulging the nature of her problem. "Thanks, Mom, but I think I'd like to be alone."
The girl ascends the stairs slowly. As she walks up:
"Vicky! What is wrong with you?"
"What? I'm the only one who knows what happening here? She's in love."
"And that's a reason to give your sister a hard time?"
XxXxXxXxX
Tootie gazes out of her window. With the twinkling stars splayed across, the night sky is luminous.
She walks to her bed and dives onto it, head first. She looks down at her backpack. Homework was not something she had to worry about; more often than not, she got to work on it the moment she got home from school.
She rolls over and stares at the ceiling. Her sullen expression changes to an angry one. "Every single day this happens."
Tootie leaps off of the bed. "Always drooling over that stupid Trixie Tang."
She storms toward the window. A shooting star falls through the sky. It does not go unnoticed by the brunette.
"I wish...nah." A wistful tone soon changes to one of derision. With a wave of the hand, she turns back toward the bed. "That's a dumb idea. I could never get Timmy to like me, no matter what I try."
Tootie takes off her glasses and slips under the covers. She puts her glasses on the table beside her bed. Her hand switches off the lamp. "It's like the only way to win Timmy's heart is if I could be like Trixie Tang."
The girl yawns slightly, her head hitting the pillow. "I wish...!"
As she closes her eyes, a shadow casts over the twelve-year-old girl. The figure seems to have a crown floating just off its head and the outline of a wand waves slightly.