Anne Planter's betrayal
It was the middle of the day when everything went wrong.
"Okay kids break time," Said Hop Pop.
"About time," said Polly.
"Hey Anne, do you want to go to the book store?" asked Sprig leaning on the stand with his elbows "They might have some new books today."
Anne looked at him and shook her head, "Eh, maybe you could go on your own today Sprig." she said offering a gentle smile
Sprig frowned, "Why?"
Anne rubbed her arm, "Sorry Sprig, but we always go to the book store, I want to try doing something different today."
Sprig looked at the floor. "Let me guess another Anne Plantar thing?"
The looked Sprig gave Anne, wained on her heart, She couldn't just hurt the little guy.
"How about this," she said handing Sprig half of her allowance for the week. "You get me the next book in the Trist of the heart series, And we'll read outside tonight"
Sprigs face lit up "On it. Meet you in the Tea Shoppe?"
"Depends," said Anne narrowing her eyes playfully. "Are we getting tea, or are you just going to stare at Ivy?"
"TEA... And maybe talk to Ivy for a bit," said Sprig turning an impressive shade of Crimson, especially since he was pink already.
Anne laughed. Sprig was adorable when he blushed.
Sprig ran off to the book store and Anne turned in the opposite direction.
When she left the stand. Anne briefly saw the toad watcher still standing there. She would hate to see inside his basement.
….
Loggle was sitting down waiting to sell some of his woodwork.
He was doing somewhat well today. People were buying his art and others asked him for custom jobs. (He was still proud of the toads surveying the prostrated frogs on the Mayor's cane.)
However, right now things were starting to slow down. And he was stuck here. He was waiting for Maggie to deliver him a pastry from her father's bakery, He hope she would show up soon, his stomach was screaming in hunger.
Hey Loggle IS my family awesome or not?" said a voice from below
"What..." Said Loggle looking for the source of the voice, had the wood pixies finally returned. "Leave me alone wood pixies. I won't raise another wooden frog boy, The other one barely calls back as it is."
"I'm down here."
Loggle peered over the edge of his stall and saw Polly Plantar sitting there.
"Oh, Polly... Are you supposed here to be alone?"
"Never mind that, Tell me what you think about my family."
Loggle looked left and right again, this time out of awkwardness.
"Well to be honest Your family is... fine?"
"Why did you make that sound like a question." Asked Polly continuing this integration
"Well, See you're kind of awkward... there was the time you, your brother, and the scarecrow destroyed my business and the time Your grandfather took me underground into your family bush, and quite frankly I still have nightmares from what we saw down there."
"Okay fine but other than that. We're not that bad right?"
"Loggle looked at her awkwardly, This is why he didn't interact with kids, "Hey I'm needed in the basement" Said Loggle who proceeded to mine walking down the stairs behind his stand.
Polly sat there waiting for a minute then shrugged. She didn't have time to wait on an insane Axolotl. Besides he was probably going to be in the basement for a while. There were others who would confirm that her family was the best in town.
…
Anne Plantar had discovered one thing on her first day living like a frog.
She missed shoes. Not only were they fashionable but quite frankly walking barefoot was awful. Now in all fairness, she had only been wearing one shoe for a while now. But quite frankly it was better to be half protected than feel another small sharp rock on the soles of her feet. Hop Pop had offered to buy her some, but she had decided that if she was going to be a frog, she was going to be a frog, Though when she saw him again maybe she'd agree to be a frog that wore shoes.
It was after the fifth time stepping on another stone she saw the fountain (briefly shuddering at the bad memories from the day before.) And that's when she heard it. Laughter. Not the normal laughter like most, but instead laughter that reminded her of home, One of mocking self-satisfaction that could only belong to those who sought out to inflict emotional pain. Teenage girls.
Anne rushed to see three Teenage Amphibian girls gathering around the other side of the fountain. One was a surprisingly tall frog. She wore a red dress, a tall Toad who was wearing a blue dress, and surprisingly a short Newt wearing a green dress. All wearing dresses that made Anne Dress look like rags. (Though to be honest a decent set of rags looked better than Anne's new dress)
"So I hear, Mille is getting married to a Newt." said a frog.
"Oh Is he a rich Newt?" Replied a newt.
"No he's Poor just as poor as her, and he matches her in looks as well." finished the toad. With that, the cruel laughter started.
These were the Spring sisters.
The Spring family held the biggest land in the valley. Their fields were quite far away from Wartwood, however, They choose to live here because it was so unknown that they were in less danger of being attacked by the many enemies the Springs had. Considering this was a town constantly attacked by monsters, that was saying something.
Mr. Spring was a frog however he had daughters from all the major Amphibian races. Their names were Ruby (The Frog) Sapphire (the toad) and Emerald (The Newt). The people of Wartwood wondered if they were his biological children. That and how someone could raise three obnoxious daughters and not spend his time trying to repent for his sins.
Sprig had told Anne about them. He considered them bullies and told Anne it was best to stay away from them.
Anne Smiled a little, If there was anywhere she could fit in it was going to have to be with others her kind.
She tied to join in with the laughter. The Amphibian teens looked at her like she was a human awkwardly trying to join in with conversation with talking Amphibians.
"Who are you?" said Ruby. She had been filing her nails.
"Um, hi I'm Anne Plantar," she offered her hand. None of them took it.
"Plantar?" asked the Emerald peering through a book.
"You know those Icky Vegetable farmers that live near the town," said Sapphire.
"Oh, those losers."
Anne wanted to stand up to these girls and tell them they were wrong. The Plantars were some of the kindest people she knew on earth or Amphibia But saying that would have only made her more of an outcast. So swallowing her pride she did what would help her fit in.
"Yeah, those losers." She said fighting back that voice screaming at her.
…
Felicia Sundew was busy, she had dozens of customers coming into her small cafe. She had even sent out Ivy to get more tea from the storeroom meaning she had to serve the customers on her own. She was glad her mother was returning soon, she hoped she would at least help out. Right now she did not need any other Distractions she was currently carrying five, Any distractions and there would be trouble.
"HEY FELICIA." Yelled a distraction.
Felicia jumped and the plates flew into the air, Felecia moves her arms and caught all five plates. Two on her right arm, two on left, and the final one landed on her back. For a lesser frog, this would have been a problem. But she was Felecia Sundew. Years of Yoga from the newt's monks of western lands in preparation in how to make the most serene tea in Amphibia came in handy yet again. She turned to see where the voice came from. It had come from a Polliwog standing in her kitchen.
"Polly Plantar?"
"Hi, Your not busy are you"
"A little," replied the yellow frog her voice strained.
"Oh well, I won't bother you that long. My family is awesome right?"
"No," said Felicia straining.
"What?"
"Remember how some time ago how Hopediah, promised Sprig to my Ivy."
"Yeah?"
"Well, I discovered that he was already promised to Mr. Bakers Oldest Maddie. So quite frankly I'm a little miffed at your grandfather."
"... Oh"
"Yes now, could you please hold the door open, My arms and back are full."
However, Polly wasn't listening, she had left before anyone could say, Bye Felicia
…
"So then Hop Pop spent the entire evening covered in bees"
The Sprig sisters laughed at her story
"Oh My frog, that's hilarious, They're such losers"
"Yeah they are," Said Anne fighting back the guilt.
These girls reminded her of some girls back home, They usually seemed to gravitate towards Sasha, back home they either did three things to Anne. The first was to ignore her, she was just Sasha's slightly less weird friend. The second type was the one that admired jocks, Which Anne supposed she was. Being a part of the tennis team usually led to a few fangirls. Then there was the third. The ones that sensed when someone was weaker than them and turn them into a victim
Jessica Pym back home was the one she remembered the most. She had tried to bully her away from Sasha. It was part of a plan of Jessica's to replace Sasha at the top of the popularity pyramid via a prank. Dumping paint on the blonde.
Anne had taken the bullet for her then, She was humiliated and Jessica had tried to humiliate her even more, inventing a new nickname for her, Paintbrush head. Over the weekend Anne had locked herself in her room dreading the school week, On Monday one said a thing. during lunch Sasha had come up to her and told her that no one would say a thing, that she had promised a lot of people invitations to her next pool party and that Jessica would no longer be going to this school, she never apologized, but that was how Sasha rolled.
These girls would have gotten along with Jessica. But right now Anne Plantar was trying to be their friend and that was perfectly fine. When they became friends she'd try to change them.
"How come we've never met before?" asked Emerald
"Oh well, I have to work for the Plantars, I mean it's the least I could do."
"Ugh. Please work is for the poor. No offense" Said Sapphire.
Anne laughed "None taken." she said despite being a little offended.
"Why do you live with them anyway?"
"Well, I first met Sprig and ..."
"That little freak who runs around town screaming all day?"
"Well yeah, but he's ..."
"Oh, my Frog I would die if anyone ever thought I was related to him."
"Yeah what a freak."
"I heard he plays with dead bugs."
Anne swallowed her pride. She needed this. "Oh Yeah, what a freak. I mean you should see how he stares at Ivy Sundew."
The sisters started to laugh "Oh my frog. That's hilarious."
"I mean It's not that funny. It's kind of cute," said Anne feeling defensive.
"Oh No not that, Look behind you." pointed Ruby.
Anne turned around and her blood froze.
Sprig was standing there. With two books in his hands.
Anne stood up. "Sprig, I didn't mean..."
Sprig didn't give her the chance to explain. He ran off dropping the books.
She wan after him picking up the books and following him "SPRIG WAIT" she yelled. Behind her, The Spring sisters sat there laughing at the human freak who dressed in rags.
"Well, that saw fun." Said Emerald.
"Yeah. Can't believe that freak thought she could talk to us," added Shappire.
"Hold Up girls," Said Ruby looking at the town crier, "I think we can have a little more fun, with little miss scarecrow."
…
Mayor Toadstool was walking through town, Alone. He had decided to go for a walk and let Toadie stay at the office to finish off some paperwork. His little flunkie agreed to stay there.
He happened to enjoy walking through this town. It was his kingdom. People listened to him. There was no one who could ever stand up to him or even run against him. Not only would he win but also such an idiot would paint a target on this back for the toads.
"HEY TOADSTOOL."
Mayor Toadstool stopped and turned around to face the little pink ball lying in the road.
"TELL ME HOW AWESOME MY FAMILY IS." the ball roared at him.
It took him a second to recognize the ball. "Polly Planter?"
"That's right. And again tell me how awesome my family is."
This was a problem for Mayor Toadstool. Not that he needed to think of his answer. He already knew what to say. No. the Plantars were the bottom in a town full of people who were bottom class. Their farm could be attacked by monsters, and he would just consider using the land for a private spa.
The problem is saying this to the child was political suicide, It was a nearly multiversal truth. Emperor Belos of the Boiling isles could accidentally knock a child over and rebellions would sprig up overnight. Lord Hater could accidentally scare a child, and he would have half the galaxy would fight back. So he needed to come up with something good.
"Ms. Plantar, I don't think that any sort of Frog in this town is what we would call awesome, What I think about this town is that we're all equal we all have our strong points, and we all have our downsides, So What I'm saying is... Your family is adequate."
Polly looked at him.
"So we're losers then?"
"I mean I wouldn't say it like that."
"Then what would you put it like." Said Polly glaring at him.
Mayor Toadstool wanted to get out of here as fast as possible, This Pollywog was scaring him.
"Um, This interview is over." He muttered
Polly hopped a little closer to him.
"I don't think so, you're answering my questions or else."
Mayor Toadstool stepped back a little.
"Polly Plantar step away from the mayor."
Both the Mayor and Toadstool looked to their left Hopediah Planter came walking up.
"Mister Mayor I apologize for everything," He said to the mayor and then turned to Polly, "Polly, Where have you and the others been?"
"I was just proving to everyone that our family was the best family in town."
Hopediah shook his head "Polly, your twenty minutes late from break come here."
The old frog tried to pick up Polly, but she squirmed in his arms Mayor Toadstool looked at them and decided to move while the going was good.
…
Sprig Ran, Holding back the tears.
Anne would joke around on him, but revealing his secret, she betrayed him in the worst possible way, Right now he wanted to get as far away from her as possible.
Sprig turned back a little and saw Anne trying to follow him. She was begging for him to stop. He didn't care he just wanted to get away from her.
All of a sudden he bumped into something. Sprig went flying to the floor.
He turned back to see Hop Pop. Was lying in the road "Oh what happened" the old frog said before Polly landed on Hop Pop's stomach.
"Hop Pop," Sprig cried as she rushed over to him. "Are you okay?"
Anne rushed. Up to the two. "Hop Pop, your back. Are you..."
"I'm fine I just need some time to, ugh, relax," he said trying to pick himself up.
Anne turned to Sprig. "Spirg I'm..."
Anne's attempts to apologize were interrupted by the sound of a bell ringing.
"Hear Ye, Hear Ye," came the tones from the town crier A tall newt, "I have been paid by the Spring sisters to announce this latest gossip."
Anne's heart froze.
"Guys we have to get out of here now!"
"Why Anne?" Ask Hop Pop.
"Please just let's go" Anne pleaded, but it was too late.
"Hopediah Plantar, has recently been trying to get into making honey, said business has gone horrible wrong leading to him being covered in bees running screaming around the Plantar farm, in his underwear."
Hop Pop, Tensed up all of a sudden, the family had agreed to keep that a secret. The crowd that had gathered around the crier started to laugh at the old frog.
"Next Polly Plantar secretly pees in her water bucket when she thinks no one is looking."
Polly Turned red. It was hard to tell but she did. The crowd laughed again.
"And Sprig Plantar has a crush on Ivy Sundew."
The crowd remained silent.
"Yeah that's old news but I'm paid to say it." continued the Crier.
"How could they know?" Asked Polly. Now everyone knew. they were all laughing at her.
"It was Anne" Said Sprig nearly crying. "she was talking to the Sprig sisters, and she told them our secrets."
"Anne is this true?" Asked Hop Pop however but Anne was gone.
….
Anne Plantar didn't promise herself not to cry this time. The moment she had seen Polly turn red she realized just how much she had hurt her friends. She ran home. When she got there she ran to the basement and closed the doors and started to cry. She had only been Anne Plantar for a day and already she had hurt the Plantars in a way that she could have never dreamed of.
Anne Boonchuy or Plantar, It didn't matter. She didn't belong, On Earth or Amphibia.
