The Green Poncho stood on the Overpass, breathing in some fresh air after finally getting rid of that old Easter egg. He was looming over the river while waiting for the Stump Kids to come back after that dangerous fight with King Xavier's BFF, Maya.
He was starting to worry, but he was mostly worried about Craig, because he took a crazy risk to smuggle sweets from his side of the Creek to some kids of the Other Side of the Creek who were sick and tired of eating candy corn that is only eaten by Pals, the low-ranked kids of the Other Side of the Creek.
The Green Poncho let out a deep, quiet sigh when suddenly, he heard familiar voices coming close, and one of them sounded teasing to the other voice demanding it to stop. Then the Stump Kids in their blue pool raft came into view, but the Green Poncho noticed something between Craig and Kelsey. It kinda looked like Kelsey was annoying Craig. I wonder what's going on? He thought curiously as the voices came closer.
"Kelsey! You can stop now!" the voice coming from Craig exclaimed.
"Kelsey! You can stop now!" the voice that definitely came from Kelsey mimicked annoyingly. "Haha! Craig you rule ghoul!" she added mockingly as Craig's face twisted in anger. "I told you for the last time, I AM NOT A RULE GHOUL!" he exclaimed angrily, finally having enough of being called that bad nickname while JP was trying to calm him down.
The Green Poncho narrowed his eyes down at Kelsey. He'll need to have a serious talk with her once the raft was near the Overpass.
With relief coming to him, Green Poncho jumped off the Overpass and landed on the Stump Kids' raft, making them jump in surprise. "You made it! You guys okay? How'd it go with the Other Side?" he asked as JP rowed the raft to shore and Craig started to explain. "It's alright, Green Poncho. The kids from the Candy Bar just stayed to listen to Raj's songs. Turns out they have each other, so they won't be needing the Sugar Smugglers anymore."
Confused, the Green Poncho raised an eyebrow behind his dreadlock bangs. "The Sugar Smugglers?" he asked, not knowing who the Sugar Smugglers were. "Oh. It's our alternative name for us when we went to sneak some candy to the Other Side of the Creek." JP explained, pointing a thumb at himself, Kelsey, Mortimer, and Craig, who all nodded.
"Oh. I see." replied the Green Poncho in his usual monotone voice. "Well, anyways," began Kelsey. "We should get going now. See ya around, Green Poncho." She waved at the Green Poncho and walked behind her friends to get back to their raft so they could head home before dinner.
But before Kelsey could join Craig and JP, she was stopped by the Green Poncho who blocked her way with his arm stretched out and his palm facing her. "Wait Kelsey! Before you go, I need to talk to you… alone!" he said in a stern tone as his bangs moved to reveal his left eye glaring down at her, like a father giving his kids a "you're in serious trouble" look when they do something bad. Kelsey gulped while Mortimer shook his feathers in fear from the death stare the Green Poncho was shooting.
Then, the Green Poncho subsided his glare to slowly nod at Mortimer, who blinked until he understood what he meant as he flew off of Kelsey's head to land on Craig's head. After the boys and the bird rowed into the darkness of the Overpass, Kelsey stood in front of the Green Poncho, who had his fists on his hips. "Now… What's this thing I heard from Craig, who said to you that he's no "rule ghoul?" he asked demandingly.
Kelsey glanced down at her fingers that were pressed together and she began to sweat. She felt her throat dry up, but managed to let her words out as Kelsey looked back up at the Green Poncho. "Do you really wanna know?" She asked nervously as he nodded his head impatiently.
She felt herself shaking, but with a deep breath inhaled into her nose, Kelsey slowly exhaled and began to speak. "Well, for starters, Craig, JP, and I were playing this game at the Stump." she explained as the Green Poncho kept glowering at her with his left eye as if he wanted to listen more. "And what game was it you guys were playing?" he asked as Kelsey resumed. "It's– uh– it's called Push Foot. It's a game where the players have to use one of their feet to push the other player down. We made up this game about two minutes ago before you sent us a message."
The Green Poncho straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. "Really?" he responded sarcastically.
"Well yeah. But then Craig told me that I couldn't switch feet when I pushed his foot with my other foot and triumphantly defeated him!" She replied firmly while crossing her arms and continued, "He also told me that rules are rules. But whatever! Ugh! Craig can be such a rule ghoul sometimes!" Realizing what she just said, Kelsey gasped and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.
But it was already too late as the Green Poncho overshadowed Kelsey and gritted his teeth in anger while he scowled down at her. "You called Craig a rule ghoul?!" he bellowed as Kelsey backed two feet away from him. "Um! Well, yeah I did." she admitted. "But it wasn't to hurt his feelings or something! I was just playing with Craig! You know, teasing him– not in a bad way, though!" she tried to explain, holding up her hands in defense, but the Green Poncho was still shooting daggers down at her. "Sheesh Kelsey! That's even worse than calling Craig a rule ghoul, just because he said that rules are rules! And if what he says is true, then he's right! You should never switch feet just to knock him off his foot! It's, as he said when you guys played Push Foot, against the rules! And not only that, it's cheating!" The Green Poncho snapped.
Kelsey rudely ignored the Green Poncho with her narrowed eyes rolling and scoffed. "Like I said, Green Poncho, whatever! If Craig is gonna keep following rules, then I'll just keep making fun of him and call him a rule ghoul all the time from now on!" she arms crossed again in annoyance. "But honestly, he didn't have to take it personally and then smuggle candy to those kids on the Other Side of the Creek because he wanted those kids to see him as a hero and prove that he doesn't always follow rules!"
As Kelsey said that, the Green Poncho groaned in annoyance while he facepalmed. "That's what got you guys into this mess!" he shouted angrily, throwing his arms up in the air. "If you hadn't made fun of Craig for following rules and called him a "rule ghoul"," he said that in the same tone Kelsey talked in when she teased Craig. "Then he wouldn't have to risk his own life smuggling candy from your side to the Other Side of the Creek," He pointed a finger to the Other Side of the Creek, "just to not only have those kids see him as this rebellious hero who doesn't care about cavities or dentist appointments, but to prove to you– and only you– that he doesn't follow rules all the time!" he swung his arm in front of him to point his finger accusingly at Kelsey, who flinched from the Green Poncho's short-tempered tone.
"Yeah, but-" Kelsey tried to reply back, but the Green Poncho cut her off with his voice still sounding angry. "And you wouldn't have to get yourself into a fight with Maya like you did today! Uhh! You were lucky that I came just in time to save your butt out there before she crushed you with her bat!" he added in irritation.
Shaking, Kelsey felt herself suddenly becoming intimidated by the Green Poncho's words, but pushed herself to stay tough. "Come on, Green Poncho! It's not my fault that Craig decided to sneak some candy from our side of the Creek to those kids because I called him a 'rule ghoul!'" she protested, placing her fists on her hips and saying that bad nickname in that annoying tone of voice again. "He was only doing it because he wanted Raj to sing more songs about him being this hero, and that he was being nice! And besides, I'm the real rulebreaker around here!" she pointed a thumb at her face and let out another rude burp, only much louder. "Ah yeah!" she grinned and dropped the burp on the ground.
The Green Poncho scoffed in disgust at Kelsey's rude burping as he shot another angry scowl at her with his one angry eye and crossed his arms over his chest again, only he did it like grown-ups did with their kids. "Maybe, but even though Craig did do it because he was being nice like you said, you guys almost got killed by Maya because of you!" he accused. "Honestly Kelsey, I thought you were his best friend! But after today, I'm starting to wonder if you really are his best friend!" The Green Poncho concluded as Kelsey glared back and stood her ground firmly.
"Wha-?! I am Craig's best friend, okay?!" Kelsey argued. "It's just that Craig takes things too personally, and that he always does these crazy dumb things to prove to the world that he's no rule-following and scaredy cat geek, but a cool and rebellious hero who thinks he saves the day all of the time. Plus, he can be so boring when it comes to following rules sometimes." she added carelessly. "Ugh! Craig should know that rules are made to be broken and that some things aren't meant to be taken personally but are only a joke, so don't blame me for getting us into danger because I called Craig a "rule ghoul!"
The Green Poncho gasped at that insult to Craig. He couldn't believe Kelsey and her attitude towards him and her best friend. He decided that he had enough as he growled through gritted teeth, then stamped his foot furiously on the ground for Craig's defense. "DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT ABOUT CRAIG, KELSEY!" he barked, making Kelsey almost jump out of her water lily costume. "I know it's true that rules can be boring sometimes, but not all rules are made to be broken! Because some rules are there to keep us safe and keep everything in balance! Craig has the right to follow rules as well as me, and YOU should know that even rulebreakers like you have to follow rules sometimes!" Again, the Green Poncho pointed his finger at Kelsey.
Kelsey flinched then snapped back, "Look! I'm sorry Green Poncho, okay? I didn't think that all of this would happen! Craig was the one who had the idea to smuggle candy to the Other Side of the Creek after we gave some candy from our side of the Creek to Raj and Shawn, who were the ones that sent us that list of candy their side of the Creek didn't have!" Kelsey glanced down at the ground and looked back up at the Green Poncho, who had crossed his arms over his chest once again. "Well maybe none of this would've happened if you had listened to Craig's rules about this Push Foot game you guys were playing!" he ranted. "And don't apologize to me Kelsey, apologize to Craig! He's the one that you called a 'rule ghoul' after all!"
"But Green Poncho-" Kelsey responded with sudden anxiety, but again, the Green Poncho interrupted her as he held up his hand to her face.
"NO! No more of your excuses, Kelsey! I don't wanna hear any more from you!" he snapped as Kelsey was starting to lose in this argument. "And maybe next time, before you even think about making fun of Craig again and calling him another bad nickname… KEEP! YOUR BIG, FAT MOUTH! SHUT!" he yelled at the top of his lungs that it made the birds in the Creek fly away in fright.
After the Green Poncho had finished his yelling, Kelsey felt defeated as she looked down at the ground in shame. She felt her lips quivering, and turned away from the Green Poncho to narrate while rethinking the time she and her friends had a Creek Council to make rules for the Circle Game.
Maybe he was right to say that it really was her fault for getting her friends into trouble by teasing Craig.
As Kelsey kept narrating, the Green Poncho saw the depressed, downcast expression on her face that his angry expression subsided when he realized that he took it too far and had really hurt Kelsey's feelings. He let out a deep, solemn sigh as his bangs covered his left eye. "I'm sorry Kelsey," he apologized, scratching the back of his hoodie-covered head. "I know I shouldn't have scolded you like that, but I had to. Because I care about Craig, and I worry about him as much as I worry about you guys. Especially when you go off to the Other Side of the Creek doing some crazy stunt like sneaking some forbidden candy to a bunch of Pals." he said, glancing at the ground and then looking back at Kelsey with a small frown. "Plus, I know how Craig feels because…" he paused to bite down on his bottom, which was quivering. "I've been in the same fit he was, back in my 1st grade year. Believe it or not, I was known as the smallest kid in my class." The Green Poncho concluded, letting his shoulders slump.
Kelsey looked up at the Green Poncho with a slightly surprised look. "You were the smallest kid in your 1st grade class?" she asked in disbelief as the Green Poncho nodded slowly. "Yeah. Back then, my life was a total misery. When I was in class, the kids there would always make fun of me for my short height or walk past me when I tried to talk to them, and some kids even called me these bad nicknames like Pipsqueak, Short Stuff, Tiny Kid, Baby Boy. And when I came into class wearing my dad's old long-sleeved shirt on my fifth day to show that I was like the other big kids, they started calling me an even more bad nickname, Long-Arms John." he slowly shook his head at the bad memory and felt his cheeks burn. "Ah man. That hurt real bad." he whispered solemnly and sighed.
Frowning, Kelsey started to feel sympathetic for the Green Poncho. "Wow. I had no idea." she said under her breath, then placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that. That must've been really hard for you to deal with being short." She smiled meaningfully, and the Green Poncho smiled back as he felt a bit better from her comforting words.
"Yeah. It is what it is. But none of that didn't matter anymore since I met my first friend, and later became the Green Poncho, so now almost everyone kinda respects me like how those kids from the Other Side respect Craig." he let out a small chuckle before sending Kelsey a half smile. "Anyways, sorry again for having to yell at your face like that. I gotta admit, I sounded like an adult when I told you to apologize to Craig, did I?"
Kelsey chuckled back and sent the Green Poncho a small smile. "Yeah, you did, but that's okay." replied Kelsey with a shrug, "You only did that because you were trying to defend Craig. I completely get it now…" she paused to look down while rubbing the back of her neck. "And well, you're right, Green Poncho. Maybe I should go and apologize to Craig for making fun of him and calling him a rule ghoul. That did hurt him real bad." she added, meaning what she said as the Green Poncho nodded in agreement. "Yeah, good." he replied, in a monotone tone he always talks in, as Kelsey makes her leave, but not before the Green Poncho tells her one last thing. "By the way, I'll try to go easy on ya next time, Kelsey."
With that said, Kelsey nodded back. "Cool. Well, I gotta go. And I promise to be a way better best friend to Craig from now on. See you." She waved goodbye and the Green Poncho waved back, while hoping that she would keep that promise.
THE END
And that's the end of the Sugar Smugglers after story! You gotta admit, Kelsey really dropped the idiot ball when she made fun of Craig for following rules and calling him a 'rule ghoul', which I find very annoying as the other nicknames the other Creek kids called him in the S4 episodes, The Quick Name. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed my after story fanfic.