"Mom!" Sue Ellen yelled happily as she hugged her tightly.

Mrs. Armstrong was overwhelmingly happy, but it was overshadowed by the truth, "Sue Ellen, you shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous…"

Sue Ellen sighed, "I gave up on it I was too discouraged of the truth, I couldn't stand being away from here, home is where the heart is I am sorry for what happened before I left, I was embarrassed, kids were picking on me at school because you were teaching my class..."

Mrs. Armstrong was happy, "I am proud of you but at the same time disappointed, you are grounded for what happened before you left," The cat girl had taken her punishment with a lot of stride, it was expected to happen, but the most important thing was that she was home, "Now get ready for bed, we have school tomorrow."

Mr. Read and Mr. Ratburn were relaxing in the hot tub that Mr. Ratburn had, they were in the buff as they sat there relaxing, "Jane won't be home for a while why don't we play hide the soap in the hot tub?

"I still am surprised you actually liked having a same sex relationship, I figure you would have tight knit morals.

"Jane doesn't know I am gay, neither do the kids, it is going to be a bit tough to tell them."

They started playing hide the soap.

---

The Benneditto's were watching one classic mafia movie, the Godfather in particular.

"The godfather always makes me cry..." Tony stated, "It was a complex movies about a complex godfather who had complex issues about keeping the family together through and through despite betrayal."

"We aren't going to knife people in the back," Sonny replied, "We are going to get rid of that monkey girl once and for all!"

"She is trouble..." Giogio stated, "I could have dealt with her myself, and she could get very well acquainted with what her brains looked like."

"That makes me sick, we are not going to kill her... yet, we are going to hold a ransom of $1 Million dollars." Sal explained, "PLUS... 60 hot cars, because our friend Roscoe is gone to team up with us as an associate but first to defeat these cultists in any means possible. I want am going to place a vendetta on these cultists, they aren't from Earth and are using our turf to kill people, we are the ones who are going to send them back, we are going to kill them."

---

The next day at school Fern and Sue Ellen were back in class, but Muffy wasn't of course, it was the mafia after Buck and Muffy, it seemed like they were trading places. Muffy was away now, it was odd how her parents wanted her to leave but explainable, with what happened last time Muffy got the jump and since they are practically 'disappeared' off the face of the earth it would be nearly impossible for the Benneditto's to find them.

Max had walked in giving Mrs. Armstrong yet another apple, while standing at the door D.W. leered at him, she didn't like him at all but at the same time she did, she expected him to take her to the studio for Mary Moo Cow to be one of the kids on the show. The sad thing about it was Max felt he was being intimidated by this and he didn't really need this. Aside from that everyone was now thinking Max was sucking up to Mrs. Armstrong by giving her apples everyday.

Buster joked, "So what's next? Chocolate? Or an apple called a pineapple?"

Max thought;

That isn't a half bad idea.

"Where can I get one of these pineapples? From pine trees?" He asked but he didn't need anyone to know he had a crush on the teacher. However it had seemed so obvious that he did, "Be right back I am going to get a pineapple."

Buster was shocked, there was no possible way Max could get a pineapple and be back in time for Mrs. Armstrong to start the lesson.

Max walked in with a pinecone instead and placed it on Mrs. Armstrong's desk, "A pineapple..."

Mrs. Armstrong didn't know whether to laugh or chide the tiger boy, "No Max... that is a pinecone..."

Max sighed and lowered his head, "Are you going to keep it?"

Mrs. Armstorng smiled at him, "Yea I think I will, I never had a student who gave me a pinecone as a gift before."

Buster just laughed, "The grocery store sells them…" Buster continued chuckling, "Are you going to give it to your girlfriend?"

"No."

Mrs. Armstrong just smiled at Max while she ignored Buster. He sat there in his own little world with his own imagination running wild.

Fantasy scene Mrs. Armstrong was wearing a red dress and Max was wearing a black suit with a rose in his mouth as they were doing the tango.

He snapped back as Buster got his attention, but Max was thinking the teacher would appreciate these things, and to him… she probably did, she had a rough few last days and didn't really need any more bad news.

Sue Ellen and Fern collectively were happy that they were back in class; they have managed to run off, presumably the heresy lords thought they both died on Terra, but are scouring every square inch of the planet looking for their bodies. But it still worried them both. What if they came to Earth? What if Muffy and Buck get involved in their affairs?

After class Max just waited for everyone to leave he was upset about something, "I need help…"

Mrs. Armstrong was curious, the tiger boy wearing blue jeans and a black long sleeve shirt always needed help adjusting to different situations, "What is it?"

"D.W."

Mrs. Armstrong knew something was up, it was an obscure question but it had to be resolved, she just smiled at him sympathetically, "Are you being bullied by her?"

"She is being rude and mean to me, and I never did anything to her!"

"You do baby-sit her; she thinks that since her parents are gone, she feels that she can get into trouble."

"She kicked me down there, because I ate some cake her father made, but he said I could have the slice!"

As Max and Mrs. Armstrong were chatting Arthur overheard and he walked in, "I am sorry about D.W. she can be a pain at times, you need to get used to it… Unless you want to try and baby-sit the Tibble Twins…"

Mrs. Armstrong was shocked, "They are royal terrors, and I often came home with headaches because of them… I don't think Max is ready for someone like that."

Max was scared, "I got to look after them tonight."

Arthur chuckled, "Good luck I hope you well, survive… I will come over to see if you are ok."

Max lowered his head in sadness, "I can't understand living here… it is too complicated, back home life was so easy..."

He had only been here for a few weeks and was finding it way too hard to adjust. He walked outside with Arthur, and D.W. confronted them both, she was berating them both over something very trivial, "Don't you have your own friends to play with? Because I am very tired of you bothering my friends…"

"I wanted to tell Max that I expect him to take me to the place where Mary Moo Cow is shown so I can be on TV."

"It ain't going to happen," Max argued, "The reason is because you are too bratty, and rude, they will kick you off the show after only one episode" and Max walked away saying nothing more.

Arthur had just smiled at her while D.W. was wide eyed and speechless, Max actually stood up for himself and this was very rare.

But Francine was a completely different ballgame… "Max, why are you sucking up to Mrs. Armstrong?"

Max liked Mrs. Armstrong; many could say he has a crush on her, "Why?"

"Because ever since Sue Ellen and Fern left, you have been giving her apples every day,"

Max blushed a little bit and he walked away without saying anything, he had seen Sue Ellen and Fern talking, both girls smiled at him, Sue Ellen started to talk, "I heard you were giving apples to my mom every day. And what was that thing about giving her a pine cone?"

"I thought it was a pine apple..."

Max just kept on walking to class, he was tired of the stuff his classmates had been saying, he was tired of D.W. nagging him, change was in the air, and his first objective of course was to stop D.W. from nagging all the time. His second was try and ignore his classmates, he didn't care that he was sucking up to the teacher.

After school, Max walked to the Tibble house across the street from Arthur's Max walked into the house and he saw the two hyperactive bear cubs.

"Well here they are," The Tibble's mother stated, she turned to them, "Tommy, Timmy, this is Max, your new babysitter he will be looking after you both as your father and I are going out for a relaxing evening."

The twin's parents left and well got started.

Half an hour later the Tibble's were well too out of control for Max, he had called Arthur over, "I need help I can't handle them!"

They had both done their jobs and the Tibble's managed to tire themselves out in two hours just as their parents came home.

"You both did a good job, thanks."

Max left but there was some more fish to fry as he walked home, and it was the issue pertaining to Mrs. Armstrong, there were several things he could do, and that was…

Write love notes to her…

To Be Continued.