Foster's Home for Bean Scouts
Chapter 1
One summer day at Camp Kidney, the Bean Scouts were gathered around the flagpole. They were summoned to the flagpole by Raj and Clam.
Raj and Clam got the Bean Scouts' attention to come to the flagpole by playing a tune on trumpets.
"Fellow Scouts!" Raj exclaimed once he and Clam were done playing their trumpets, "Lazlo has a very important announcement to make!"
The Bean Scouts were wondering what Lazlo was going to announce.
"One moment, please," Raj said as he was watering the ground.
Suddenly, a plant began to rise from the ground in the spot Raj watered. The plant somewhat resembled a venus fly trap.
"Camp Kidney, it's time to celebrate….." the plant said. The plant talking was actually Lazlo, who was somehow inside the plant.
The plant then exploded, and out popped Lazlo. He was wearing a cauliflower costume.
"….CAULIFLOWER DAY!" Lazlo exclaimed.
There was no response from the Bean Scouts. They just stared at the group of three.
"CAULIFLOWER DAY!" Lazlo repeated, pointing to his costume for emphasis while Raj and Clam gestured towards Lazlo.
Realizing what was going on, the Bean Scouts began to cheer.
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" a voice suddenly shouted.
Edward was the source of the voice. He was behind the other Bean Scouts, so Edward picked up the campers, and put them down to reveal himself.
"First the sunflowers, then the Gooseberry bush, and now this!?" Edward exclaimed as he approached Lazlo, Raj, and Clam, "You three are always celebrating a day about SOMETHING, whether it's a stupid weed, a stupid bush, or even a stupid vegetable! What made you decide to celebrate something as stupid as cauliflower!?"
Lazlo, Raj, and Clam gasped.
"Cauliflower isn't stupid, Edward," Lazlo said, ""Cauliflower is delicious!"
"And it's good for you," Raj added.
"Builds strong bones," Clam added.
"Cauliflower is NOT delicious," Edward retorted, "It's just like every other vegetable. It's dull, crummy, and disgusting. Am I right, guys?"
There was a small moment of silence.
Lazlo made some clicking sounds with his mouth. "Maybe this will help persuade you," he said, "Jellies….CAULIFLOWER CHA-CHA!"
Raj and Clam ripped off their Bean Scout uniforms. When they did, they were also wearing cauliflower costumes.
"Oh, no, not this again," Edward said as he facepalmed himself.
Lazlo, Raj, and Clam performed a dance routine in front of the Bean Scouts to honor Cauliflower Day.
Edward cringed throughout the routine.
When they finished their dance routine, Lazlo, Raj, and Clam panted, as they put a lot of energy into the routine.
Edward shook his head, and smiled. "Well, once again, I think I speak for everyone when I say that was the…."
"BEST THING WE'VE EVER SEEN!" the rest of the campers, minus Edward, exclaimed.
All of the campers, except for Edward, went over to the Jelly trio, and hoisted them up in the air, celebrating Cauliflower Day along with them.
Edward was not happy with the other campers for siding with Lazlo, Raj, and Clam.
Edward groaned. "Idiots," he said to himself, "Why must those Jellies always come up with a holiday for everything?" He sighed. "Well, at least they didn't decorate the camp with cauliflowers like they did with the sunflowers. I mean, what can you even DO with cauliflower? They're just a stupid vegetable."
Later that evening, it was dinner time. The campers were in the mess hall, waiting in line to be served a meal.
Pizza was supposed to be served tonight at the mess hall. Edward was looking forward to this. He was even the first camper at the serving line with a tray in tow.
"Come on, come on," Edward said impatiently while tapping his foot on the floor, "I've been waitin' for pizza, all day, and I can't wait any longer."
Chef McMuesli came out with a stock pot. He set the stock pot on a counter.
Edward was suspicious when he saw this.
"Hey, where's the pizza?" Edward asked.
"Oh, hey, Edward," Chef McMuesli greeted, "Um, we're not having pizza, tonight, I'm afraid."
Edward was shocked when he found out that pizza wasn't being served.
"WHAT!?" Edward exclaimed, "But it's pizza night! We're supposed to be having pizza!"
"Yes, yes, I know you're disappointed," Chef McMuesli said, "But don't worry. We're having something even better."
Chef McMuesli picked up a serving spoon, and dipped it into the stock pot. When he pulled the spoon back out, some soup was on the spoon, which he then poured into a bowl. He put the bowl on Edward's tray.
"What the heck is this?" Edward asked.
"It's cauliflower soup," Chef McMuesli replied, "Lazlo and his friends celebrating Cauliflower Day inspired me to serve this instead of pizza."
Edward was shocked when he found out Lazlo was the reason as to why pizza wasn't being served for dinner.
"Hey, Edward," Lazlo greeted, who was standing behind Edward in line, "Boy, that cauliflower soup sure looks delicious."
Lazlo, Raj, and Clam were still wearing their cauliflower costumes.
Edward growled at Lazlo.
"Next in line, please," Chef McMuesli said.
Edward left the serving line, sat down at a table, and angrily slammed his tray down on the table.
Since he didn't want to starve, Edward tried the cauliflower soup. The taste of the soup made him gag.
The other campers, however, enjoyed the cauliflower soup.
"Mmm, mmm, this cauliflower soup tastes delicious," Samson commented.
"It's better than I imagined," Dave added.
"WAY better than pizza," Ping-Pong added.
The other Bean Scouts, minus Edward, agreed.
Edward wasn't happy with the other campers liking the cauliflower soup over pizza.
After dinner, the Bean Scouts were getting settled in for Movie Night. Scoutmaster Lumpus was getting a movie ready for the campers while Slinkman was collecting tickets for admission.
Edward was still not happy with everyone celebrating Cauliflower Day.
Edward, Chip, and Skip each handed a ticket to Slinkman.
"Thank you," Slinkman said, "Enjoy the movie."
"Oh, I will," Edward replied as he, Chip, and Skip walked over to the seating area.
The group of three found themselves a place to sit, and sat down.
"Man, that cauliflower soup was the worst thing I've ever tasted!" Edward exclaimed after he sat down, "I would have enjoyed a delicious slice of pizza, if it wasn't for the Jellies' love of cauliflower."
"I liked the soup," Chip said.
"Yeah," Skip agreed, "Who knew cauliflower tasted so yummy?"
"Nobody asked you," Edward retorted.
Lazlo, Raj, and Clam were siting in the row beside Edward's row. Edward saw them, and glared at them. They waved back cheerfully. The Jellies were still wearing their cauliflower costumes.
Edward groaned. "At least I'll be able to enjoy the movie," he said, "Now THIS I've been waiting for an entire week."
"What movie are we watching?" Chip asked.
"James Bear: Goldenpaw," Edward replied, "My brother, Mel, saw this movie, and told me that the actors actually performed their own stunts, and the gadgets used were state of the art. I even got a copy of the movie poster signed by James Bear himself!"
Edward showed off his signed movie poster, which amazed Chip and Skip.
Once Slinkman was done collecting tickets, he walked over to the seating area, and faced the campers with a microphone in tow.
"Attention campers, attention campers," Slinkman addressed through the microphone, "The movie is about to start."
The Bean Scouts cheered in excitement.
"Now, we were going to show you James Bear: Goldenpaw," Slinkman said, "But thanks to someone's appreciation of the cauliflower, we're going to be showing The Great Cauliflower King, instead.
Edward was shocked when he found out that they were going to be watching a movie about cauliflower.
"WHAT!?" Edward yelled, "You can't be serious. I've been waiting for James Bear: Goldenpaw all week! You can't just switch movies at the last minute."
As Edward said this, he approached Slinkman, and grabbed onto his uniform.
"I'm sorry, Edward, but The Great King Cauliflower seemed more appropriate for the occasion," Slinkman apologized.
"Yeah," Scoutmaster Lumpus agreed from the projection booth, "I may not like cauliflower, but it IS a great movie. Even better Mr. Cotton Goes to Bubbleland."
"Now please let go of my uniform, Edward, and take your seat," Slinkman requested.
Edward sighed heavily, let go of Slinkman's uniform, and went back to his seat.
Slinkman dusted off his uniform. "And now, our feature presentation," he said.
Slinkman walked away from the movie screen. As soon as he did, the movie began to play.
Most of the Bean Scouts enjoyed watching the movie, especially Lazlo, Raj, and Clam.
A compilation was shown of the Bean Scouts watching the movie. During funny parts, they laughed, and during sad parts, they cried.
Edward did not show any emotions throughout the movie, as he was bored watching it. He obviously wasn't enjoying the movie.
After Movie Night concluded, the Bean Scouts went back to their cabins to turn in for the night.
"Wow!" Samson exclaimed, "That was the best movie I've ever seen!"
"I must say it had the perfect combination of humor AND drama," Dave added.
"I give it two thumbs up," Ping Pong added as he gave two thumbs up with his hands.
"Did you guys see the part where the great cauliflower king saved all the little cauliflower children?" Lazlo asked, tearing up in a happy way.
Raj teared up happily, too. "That was my favorite part," he said.
"Favorite part," Clam responded, also tearing up happily.
"Hey, Edward, did you enjoy the movie?" Lazlo asked as Edward was passing by the group of three.
"Yeah, it was the best movie ever," Edward replied. He wasn't being sincere with his opinion.
"Glad you liked it," Lazlo said. He didn't realize that Edward was being sarcastic.
Edward angrily went back to his cabin. Obviously, he did not enjoy the movie.
When Edward went inside his cabin, he angrily slammed the cabin door.
Edward got ready for bed by doing everything angrily, from putting on his pajamas, to brushing his teeth.
Edward was laying down on his cot, reflecting on how the day went. It was hard for him to get some sleep because he was livid with Lazlo for ruining his day.
"Leave it up to Lazlo and his buddies to ruin my day, and all because of a stupid vegetable!" Edward exclaimed quietly to himself, "Their love for that thing ruined pizza night AND movie night for me. Sometimes, I just want to run away from here so I don't have to put up with them!"
Edward was referring to Lazlo, Raj, and Clam as "them".
Suddenly, Edward had an idea.
"You know, what?" Edward said to himself, "That's EXACTLY what I'm gonna do."
Edward got up from his cot, pulled out a piece of cloth, and began putting things, like his doll, Veronica, on top of the cloth. He then picked up the cloth, wrapping everything in the cloth, and tied the cloth on the edge of a stick.
Edward then pulled out a balloon, and blew up the balloon. The balloon resembled a life-size version of himself.
Edward put the balloon version of himself in his cot. He was using a balloon version of himself to fool the others so they wouldn't realize he ran away.
Edward laughed quietly. "They'll never even know I'm gone," he said.
Edward looked at Chip and Skip. Chip and Skip were sleeping, so they didn't realize that Edward was leaving.
"So long, fellas," Edward said, "Thanks for sticking to my side….most of the time."
With a bindle in tow, Edward exited his cabin, about to make his escape out of Camp Kidney.
Edward quietly, but quickly, tiptoed his way through camp, hiding behind objects. He had to be careful, as he did not want to get caught. He did, however, stop by Jelly Cabin, and made a quiet raspberry sound at the cabin before continuing his escape.
Luckily for Edward, it was the middle of the night when he tried to run away, so Scoutmaster Lumpus, Slinkman, and the rest of the Camp Kidney staff were already asleep.
Once Edward exited Camp Kidney, he turned around, and took one final look at the place.
"Adios, Camp Kidney," Edward said. "It's been nice knowin' ya…..not."
As Edward said 'not', he turned around, and walked away from Camp Kidney.
Also, Edward was still wearing his pajamas when he was running away from Camp Kidney.
Edward had no idea where he was going, as he did not plan on going anywhere specific.
Edward had been walking for a while. His feet were getting tired from all of the walking.
"Man, it feels like I've been walkin' forever," Edward said, "I don't even know where I'm going." Edward sighed. "I probably should have thought about where I wanted to go before leaving. But I can't turn back, now; I've gone too far. I sure could use a lift, though."
Suddenly, Edward heard a sound.
Edward looked behind him, and saw a truck approaching him. Whoever was driving the truck was honking the horn, warning Edward to get out of the way. This is the sound that Edward heard.
Since he was walking on a road, Edward quickly got out of the way so he wouldn't get run over by the truck.
As the truck got closer, Edward had an idea.
The truck drove past Edward, and as soon as it did, Edward hopped into the bed of the truck. He landed in the bed of the truck safely.
Luckily for Edward, the truck driver did not notice him doing this.
"Finally, a chance for me to rest my aching legs, and still be on the move," Edward said to himself.
Edward saw a raft that was beside him. He got into the raft to use as a cot.
Edward was glad that he found a way to continue on his journey without having to walk. This gave his legs a break.
"I don't know where this truck is goin', but wherever it's goin', I sure hope it's better than that stupid camp, and especially away from Lazlo," Edward said to himself.
Now that he had a lift, Edward could get some sleep. He didn't have any pillows or blankets to bundle up with, but he didn't mind. Edward fell asleep instantly.
Later that night, the truck was driving over a bridge. Edward was still fast asleep.
The truck was approaching a pot hole that was on the bridge.
When the truck hit the pothole, it caused the truck to become bumpy.
The truck became so bumpy that it caused Edward and the raft to fall out of the truck.
When Edward fell out of the truck, he and the raft landed in a river. The raft fell in the river first, and Edward landed on the raft. The raft ended up going down the river. Edward was fast asleep through all of this, so he did not realize what was happening.
The flow of the river carried Edward from a river in Prickly Pines to a river near Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. It took the rest of the night for Edward to get from the river in Prickly Pines to the river near Foster's.
The next morning, Frankie was driving the Foster's bus. She was out running errands for Mr. Herriman.
Frankie sighed heavily. "Stupid rabbit," she grumbled under her breath, referring to Mr. Herriman, "Wanting me to do this and that without ever catching a break."
Frankie drove by the bank of a river after saying this. She saw something at the bank of the river.
"What in the world?" Frankie said to herself.
Frankie was curious as to what was at the bank of the river. She pulled over, stopped the bus, and ran over to the bank of the river.
What Frankie saw was Edward on the raft, still sleeping.
Since Edward was not a human, Frankie assumed that Edward was an imaginary friend who had been abandoned by his creator/owner.
"Is this an imaginary friend, abandoned by their own creator!?" Frankie asked herself.
Frankie was scared, because she didn't know if Edward was even alive. She leaned in close to his chest to see if she could hear a heartbeat, which she did.
Frankie was relieved when she found out that Edward was okay, but she assumed she was correct about him being an abandoned imaginary friend.
"Oh, you poor thing," Frankie said as she picked up Edward and his bindle, "I can't believe somebody would do this to an imaginary friend."
Frankie felt bad for Edward. Since she didn't know about Edward's predicament, and thought he was an abandoned imaginary friend, she thought the best thing to do was to take Edward to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and have him stay there for the time being.
"Don't worry, little buddy," Frankie said as she carried Edward and his bindle to the bus, "We're going to take good care of you."