The New Adventures of the Backyardigans
An Original Backyardigans Fanfiction
Chapter 8: More New Neighbors? (Rewrite)
"I still can't believe you took down those guys all by yourself!" Pablo exclaimed. The gang was sitting around the picnic table, talking about the incident from the night at Chili's. Though it had happened two weeks ago, the memory of it was still quite vivid in their minds. "I know," agreed Nathaniel. "Even I was surprised. I've never fought anyone like that before, much less people twice my own size." "Yeah," agreed Tasha. "How's your stomach feeling, Tyrone?" she said, turning to the moose sitting across from her. "The pain's completely gone, thankfully. I feel so much better," he said in relief. "That's good," Uniqua smiled. "We're glad to know you're doing OK."
"I wonder if our summer's gonna get any more exciting than this," said Pablo. Everyone looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?" asked Austin. "Like, if any more unexpected or surprising events occur over the rest of the summer. First Nathaniel moved here, then there was the whole Chili's incident, what's next?" The Backyardigans were all intrigued by Pablo's suggestion. Judging from the events so far, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for something else to happen. "That is an interesting thought," said Nathaniel. "Though we don't know what they would be exactly or if they'll happen at all," Tasha pointed out. "True," Nathaniel replied. "For now, I think we should just expect to have a relatively ordinary summer from this point on." "Agreed," Tyrone said.
The gang continued hanging out and chatting for a while before a voice coming from Uniqua's house abruptly interrupted the conversation. "Uniqua!" Mrs. Robinson's voice rang through the air. "Can you come here, please? I need to talk to you about something!" "Sure, Mom!" the pink spotted creature called back before turning back to her friends, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry about that. You know how my mom is when she wants me to do something," she said. "That's fine. We don't mind," Tyrone replied. Uniqua gave a quick thumbs up before heading through the back door.
Inside Uniqua's home, Mrs. Robinson was waiting for her daughter in the living room, comfortably seated in her armchair. It wasn't long before Uniqua joined her, plopping down onto the couch. "So, what's up, Mom?" Uniqua asked.
"Not much. I just wanted to ask you how you're doing with Nathaniel. I know it was kind of a shock to you when a new kid suddenly moved into your neighborhood."
"No, actually, we've gotten used to him being around," Uniqua replied. A smile formed on her face as she started thinking about the aforementioned tiger. "He's been really fun to be around and is a great friend. In fact, I've even got-"
"A crush on him?" The older pink spotted creature smirked at her daughter as the latter suddenly whipped her head toward her mother in shock. "How did you know about that?"
"Oh, come on. It's totally obvious," Uniqua's mother chuckled. "Whenever you're with him, your face goes as red as a ruby. Everyone can see it from a mile away. By the way, have you told him about it yet?"
Uniqua, her face now pointed toward the floor and flaring a deep crimson, muttered out a small "Yes". Mrs. Robinson decided now was a good time to change the subject. "Anyways, the actual reason I wanted to talk to you and why I brought up Nathaniel is because I was wondering if you would be comfortable with meeting a couple of other new kids."
Uniqua looked up, now curious. "You mean more new neighbors?" she asked. "Yes," her mother replied. "See, a friend of mine from work recently told me that her family, along with her brother's, were planning to move her to Oaksburg, and they each have a daughter about your age. I was wondering if you and your friends would like to introduce them to the neighborhood tomorrow."
Uniqua was surprised, if not somewhat excited. On the one hand, she was always excited to meet new people, but on the other, she couldn't help but wonder how'd they react or what they'd be like. What if the new neighbors were rude or weren't interested in making friends? There were many possibilities to consider. Still, Uniqua hoped for the best.
"Sure, I'd like to come," Uniqua said. "But I'll have to talk to my friends first and see what they think about it."
"Alright then," Mrs. Robinson replied. As soon as her mother finished her sentence, Uniqua dashed back outside toward the backyard. This was big news, and the others had to know about it as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the other Backyardigans were passing the time, chatting among themselves about various topics. The lull of the conversation was soon abruptly interrupted by the sound of Uniqua bolting through her back door.
"Woah, slow down, girl, you're not running a marathon," Tasha joked as Uniqua stopped to catch her breath. "Was whatever your mom told you really that important?"
"It is…actually," Uniqua replied, having to pant between words. "My mom just told me that, you won't believe this, but…"
"…but what?" Nathaniel asked. "We're getting more new neighbors!" Uniqua exclaimed with excitement, almost jumping a foot off the ground as she finished her sentence.
Just as when Austin had told them about the first time someone new moved here, the Backyardigans lit up like supernovas, with equally intense reactions to match:
"No way!"
"More?!"
"That's awesome!"
"Can't wait to meet them!"
"So when are they coming here?" Austin asked. "Actually, my mom asked me to come with her to meet them tomorrow," Uniqua explained, sitting down at the table. "Apparently, her friend from work moved here and so did her and her brother's families. They've each got a daughter about our age, so at least we'll have more girls in the group."
Upon the mention of girls, the boys' eyes collectively widened. Pablo and Tyrone exchanged a mischievous grin, while Austin and Nathaniel blushed slightly and looked at each other in surprise. Tasha simply rolled her eyes in annoyance before turning back to Uniqua. "Do you mind if I come with you? I'd rather we go than have one of these dummies slobber all over them."
Ignoring a sharp retort from Pablo in the background, Uniqua thought for a moment before coming to her decision. "Sure, you can come, Tasha," Uniqua said. "You're right, it would be better if you came. No offense, boys."
"None taken," Tyrone replied. "Yeah, it's not like we won't get to meet them later on," Nathaniel agreed. "I just hope they're nice," Austin muttered.
"Great! I'll let my mom know about it," Uniqua grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me," Tasha said. After bidding goodbye to her friends, Uniqua headed back to her house, it wasn't long before the rest of the Backyardigans eventually went back to their own homes.
The following day, Uniqua, Tasha, and Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were walking down the street toward the new neighbors' house. Mrs. Robinson had decided not to drive that day, much to the girls' chagrin.
"Couldn't we just drive over there?" Uniqua complained, wiping beads of sweat off her brow. "Yeah, it's way quicker anyway," Tasha said, equally uncomfortable from the summer heat. "And I think this sweat is melting my mascara."
"Oh, relax, you two, it's only a block away," Mrs. Robinson said. "Yeah, and you two need the exercise anyway. It's nice to be out and about once in a while, isn't it?" her husband added. The girls said nothing, but begrudgingly continued walking. Even with the sweltering heat making their walk excruciating, at least they had meeting their new friends to look forward to.
Fortunately for them, it wasn't long at all before they arrived at the house, or houses, to be more precise. The new neighbors' houses were located at either end of a cul-de-sac at one end of the street. Both seemed to have been freshly painted, with the leftmost house donning a brilliant scarlet coat, while the rightmost home bore an extremely pale blue, bordering on off-white.
"So…which house do we go to?" Mr. Robinson asked. "They said they'd all be waiting for us at the left house, so there, I guess," Mrs. Robinson replied. The group approached the scarlet house, and once they arrived, Mrs. Robinson rang the doorbell.
Almost as soon as the bell's ring could be heard, sounds of clattering objects, indistinct voices and frantic footsteps could be heard from inside. Eventually, several footsteps could be heard approaching the door, increasing in pace as they came closer. The door then opened to reveal a middle-aged female red fox standing in the doorway. She wore a purple short-sleeved dress and white shoes, with her auburn hair shoulder-length and neatly combed. She smiled warmly as she opened the door.
"Oh hi, Alexandra, Keith! We've been so excited to meet you here!" the woman joyfully greeted. "Hi, Holly, it's so nice to see you," Mrs. Robinson happily replied. "I hope your family and Jacob's had no trouble moving here."
"No, not at all," the woman, apparently named Holly replied. She was soon joined by another fox around the same age, this time a male fox with snowy white fur and dirty blonde hair, which was slicked back. He wore a plaid jacket over a white undershirt, long grey pants, and dark blue shoes.
"Yep, it was a piece of cake," the second fox replied. "Good that we made it here in one piece, huh?" he joked. His eyes were then drawn to the teenage girls standing behind the Robinsons. "And who are these two? One of them is your daughter, right Keith?"
"Yep, this is my daughter Uniqua and her friend Tasha," Mr. Robinson replied, gesturing to the two girls. "Girls, these are Mrs. Keats and Mr. Anderson," he continued. After briefly shaking hands with the two foxes, Uniqua spoke up. "So, my mom told us that that you had kids about our age, and we'd really love to meet them. Do you know where they are?"
"Oh, you mean Juliet and Leila? Yeah, they're still inside. I'm sure they'd love to meet new friends, especially so soon after moving here," Mrs. Keats smiled. She then turned back toward the doorway and called into the house. "Juliet! Leila! Come on out, the neighbors are here!"
More fast-paced footsteps could be heard, before two more figures joined the group. Both were teenage foxes, about the same age as Uniqua and Tasha. One had red fur fading into white, with warm brown eyes and auburn hair tied back into a ponytail. She wore a lavender blouse, coupled with a pale blue skirt, white leggings and white shoes.
The other, in contrast to the first' appearance, strongly resembled Jacob, bearing similar white fur and loose dirty-blond hair. Her outfit consisted of a teal tank top, jean shorts and a pair of gray sneakers.
Uniqua extended her hand as she happily greeted the pair. "Hi, I'm Uniqua and this is Tasha. It's great to meet you!" The red fox also smiled as she returned the gesture. "Thanks, it's nice to meet you too. I've got a feeling we can be great friends. Right, Leila?"
At least we know who's who now, Uniqua thought. Leila looked less enthusiastic than the other fox, who Uniqua assumed was named Juliet. "Sure, whatever," Leila muttered, not bothering to look at Juliet, much to the latter's agitation.
"Ugh, why do you always have to be such a downer? Can't you at least try to be excited about moving here for once?" Juliet complained. "Maybe if you weren't always so in my face all the time, I wouldn't complain so much, jerk!" Leila angrily shot back. Uniqua was a little taken aback by the sudden argument, while Tasha simply rolled her eyes, muttering a barely audible "Oh, for goodness' sakes," under her breath.
Before the argument could escalate further, Mrs. Robinson spoke up. "Uniqua, we're going to head inside and have a chat with Mrs. Keats and Mr. Anderson. In the meantime, why don't you head back and introduce Juliet and Leila to your other friends?"
"Sure, Mom," Uniqua replied. "Just try not to let them argue too much. The two of them are like fire and ice," Mr. Anderson said with a chuckle.
"You have other friends?" Juliet asked, curious. "Yeah, there are four other kids that live on our street," Tasha replied. "Come on, they only live about a block from here," she continued, turning toward the street.
"Don't come home too late!" Mrs. Keats called after her daughter and niece as they headed down the street after Uniqua and Tasha. She then turned to Mrs. Robinson, slightly concerned. "Are you sure they'll be alright with their other friends, Alexandra?" she asked. "The girls tend to be somewhat shy around new people, and their arguments get a little…intense."
"Don't worry, they're very nice kids, and I know they'll be delighted to meet them. You don't need to worry about them," Mrs. Robinson reassured. "In fact, they recently met another new neighbor, and they took it very well," Mr. Robinson added. "I'm sure they'll be just fine."
Mrs. Keats turned back toward the street, a smile now forming on her face. "Yes…I'm sure of it too," she murmured, watching the girls head down the street in the distance.