Though college is tough, I managed to get a chapter out. I hope you enjoy!
"Thanks again, Ma'am!" a man called out as he took his box to his car, excited to have gotten a good deal at the yardsale.
Bonnie's mom waved to him and went back to totaling up their yard sale money. Bonnie was back in her room, writing and working on her new story, not knowing what toys had been sold and sent off with new owners. Buzz watched from the video, feeling dismay about what he saw. The Potato Heads were holding hands in the box and, no doubt, Slinky was becoming nervous. Since Jessie had been sold, Buzz felt the world speeding to a stop. He never wanted to realize how fast Bonnie was going to grow up and that they would be sent away. He just never imagined that they would be separated.
"There's a volcano in the distance!" Albert growled as he stomped around with Rex," There is nothing to stop this force except...except...be right back!"
Albert dropped the dinosaur and ran for the bathroom. The toys got up from their place and happily discussed playtime. Rex was proud of himself for getting played with for the longest time. They were all cheering the dinosaur on, with Buzz dropping his plastic smile to watch the car drive away with three of his closest friends inside. Forky noticed and decided that he had to help out his friend. He hopped over to the windowsill and threw himself next to Buzz. The toy recognized that his friend was there, but he didn't say much. Forky looked outside and then back to the spaceman.
"Are you...okay?"
"I never expected this time to come," Buzz admitted," Sure, I've thought about it, but now and then, I wonder what I could have done to made us all stay together."
"There was nothing you can do," Forky softly admitted," I think you've done all you can. Times change, I suppose, and we do what we can for each other. After all, we're a family."
Buzz smiled at the spork and thanked him for his kindness. Albert ran back in right after the toys went back to their natural state. He called out that it was time for vikings vs. spacemen. He grabbed Buzz and Rex and a playful battle began, as Buzz tried to keep a positive outlook. But it was getting harder to do so.
Cindy was so focused on playing that she forgot the world around her. Each and every toy was involved, especially Chelsea, Sandy, Sarah and Jessie. The four of them were the center of every playtime activity for the day and she was so happy to have all four girls together. When her mother called her to lunch, she dropped the dolls and ran out of the room. The others soon got up and walked around, happy to be out for playtime. Jessie, Sarah and Bullseye felt relief for the first time in years. They were finally getting playtime in! Chelsea and Sandy listened, but they were too busy glancing over at Sid, a raptor who immediately knew his cue. He hopped in between two pillows and let out a vicious scream. The others turned to look in the distance. Sarah gasped as she saw the toy struggling.
"I'm coming, good sir!" she shouted as she switched costumes, running over with her cape in the wind.
The others watched as she ran to the dinosaur. Chelsea and Sandy made sure the hero was distracted before turning their attention to Jessie and Bullseye. They walked over and complimented how well they were playing together.
"Thanks!" Jessie laughed, "You know, it's been such a long time since we've had playtime. Cindy is such a creative kid, just like Emily and Andy and Bonnie…"
"That's great!" Chelsea interrupted," Listen, the two of us want you to come to the playroom tonight. We want to initiate the two of you the proper way."
"An initiation?" Jessie asked excitedly," YEE-HAW! But wait, what about Sarah?"
The group glanced over at the hero tried to pull the dinosaur out. The hero pulled out the toy successfully. The two dolls glanced to one another, having to come up with an excuse as to why Sarah could not join them. Then smiles came to their faces.
"Sarah gets her own initiation!" Sandy interjected, Chelsea surprised that her partner was quick to react," You two are a part of the same set of toys, which means having a joined initiation makes sense!"
The two toys seemed to accept this idea and they were excited. As they went to tell their friend, Chelsea told Sandy how impressed she was with her quick thinking. This immediately confused the one doll.
"That isn't a real rule?"
"Sarah!" Jessie called as the hero was switching costumes," Great news! Tonight, Bullseye and I are getting initiated by the other toys! And you're gonna be initiated tomorrow! We're finally going to belong again!"
"Initiation?" Sarah's smile dropped as she went into thought," That reminds me of an issue that is in my comic series. Issue 27, where the evil Dr. Bartholomew Henderson got me to join 'The Intelligence', a group that wanted to take the source of my powers and make me a simple human," to this, she gasped," at their initiation!" she grabbed Jessie by the arms," Do you know what this means?"
"...It means that your comic has good writers?"
"It means that this initiation is a lie! Those girls are probably going to hurt you or throw you out and leave you for the wolves! A nightmare or nightmares! If we escape now, we won't have to deal with being slobbered all over.
"Sarah," Jessie gently grabbed her friend's arms," they wouldn't hurt us. Besides, that's just some kind of comic plot. We finally got played with for the first time in years and now we're getting accepted into our new home. We finally have a new home... "
Chelsea and Sandy called for the cowgirl and her horse. As they left, Sarah vowed to protect her friends. Something was fishy and she wouldn't let it go.