12:00 PM PST
Land of Colour Universe
Linda was feeling somewhat apprehensive, as she was riding home with her brother, the Keatons, and the Greenwood family. Despite the fact that she didn't always get along with her brothers, she always valued family time. She was also missing her big brother, Dave, as well as her parents. She couldn't, for the life of her, figure out why the name Mallory Keaton sounded familiar to her - as did the name Alex Keaton. She was stunned to discover that Alex Keaton looked exactly like her brother, Marty. Still, she was quite certain that they weren't related - or else, if they were, then they were very distantly related. She had to admit that this world was a rather nice place to be.
"All right, everyone!" called out Todd. "We're home, now! Later on, our relatives will be stopping over for Christmas dinner. Then we can open up our presents. So, Linda and Mallory, just make yourselves feel right at home. I'm sure your brothers will be happy to show you around. Feel free to help yourselves to the Christmas snacks, but see to it that you don't eat too much. You want to save room for dinner later today."
"Thank you so much for inviting us over, Todd and Victoria," Linda gushed, as soon as she entered the house. "This house sure looks nice and festive! It smells so nice, as well! Your children are also very adorable! I hope to have children like that!"
"I'm glad you enjoy being here," Victoria said, warmly. Then, turning to her children, she added, "Why don't you kids entertain our guests, and make them feel welcome?"
"Sure, Mom," replied the oldest girl, August. She said to the four visitors, "Would you like to go outside and play Helicopter, Helicopter, Over My Head? It's a fun game to play. You mention what you're thinking about, then you spell out the word."
"Oh, cool, I remember that game," Marty said, smiling. "Would you like to go first, August? I haven't played the game in ages, so I need my mind to be refreshed."
"Oh, sure," gushed August, as she grabbed the skipping rope. "All right, stand back, everyone!" Then, after everyone stood back, she was swinging the rope over her head, as she called out, "Helicopter, Helicopter, Over my head! I'm thinking of a colour, and the colour is orange." Then she lowered the rope to the ground, and she spelled out the word. Then Alex was next one to go.
"All right, everyone," called out Alex, as she took the skipping rope from August and swung it over his head. "Helicopter, Helicopter, Over my head! I'm thinking of a US President, and the US President is Richard Nixon." Then Alex lowered the rope to the ground, as he spelled out the name. Marty was then the next one to go.
"Helicopter, Helicopter, Over my head!" called out Marty. "I'm thinking of a rock band, and the rock band is Huey Lewis and The News." Marty lowered the rope to the ground, as he spelled out the band's name. April was the next in line to go.
"Wow, you picked a long word, Marty!" April said, impressed. "Helicopter, Helicopter, Over my head! I'm thinking of a shape, and the shape is a circle." April then lowered the rope to the ground, as she correctly spelled out the word of a shape.
"You're a very smart girl!" Linda said, impressed, as she grabbed the rope. "All right, here we go! Helicopter, Helicopter, Over my head! I'm thinking of a singer, and the singer is Lionel Ritchie." Linda then lowered the rope to spell out the singer's name.
"Here we go," gushed June, as she took the rope from Linda. "Helicopter, Helicopter, Over my head! I'm also thinking of a singer, and the singer is June Greenwood." With a little smirk, June lowered the rope to the ground and spelled out her own name.
"You can't do that, June!" Marty protested, sticking his tongue out. "You have to use the name of a professional singer!"
"Says who?" countered June, also sticking out her tongue. 'When was that a rule?"
"All right, it's my turn!" called out Mallory, grabbing the rope from June. "Helicopter, Helicopter, Over my head! I'm thinking of a rock band, and the rock band is Styx." Then Mallory lowered the rope to the ground, as she called out the four letters that made up the band's name.
"Hey, that's not how you spell sticks!" protested May. "It's spelled S-T-I-C-K-S!"
"You're a very smart girl," Mallory said, impressed. "However, the band's name is spelled with a Y and an X."
"Then the members of that band don't know how to spell," insisted May.
"I guess that means the members of Def Leppard don't know how to spell either," Linda said, laughing. "Or Led Zeppelin."
"Actually, Led Zeppelin is spelled correctly," Marty said, smiling. "That is, if you use the word led to mean the past tense of lead. They dropped the A from their name, because they didn't want people pronouncing the band's name as Leed Zeppelin."
"I thought led didn't have an A in it," April said, confused.
"Well, it does," Marty explained, "when you refer to the thing that's inside of pencils."
"Okay, now I'm all confused," April said, sticking his tongue out at Marty.
"Why don't we play something else?" suggested June. "Why don't we play school?"
"Well, actually, I think we should..." Marty started to say.
"Hey, now that's a very good idea!" gushed Alex. "How about I be the teacher?"
"I don't think so, Alex," protested Mallory, sticking her tongue out at her brother. "I remember how you played teacher when we were kids. The kids don't need that."
"What's wrong with the way I play teacher?" Alex asked, innocently.
"Let's just say that not everyone is blessed with your intelligence," replied Mallory.
"Yeah, you've certainly got that right, Mal," Alex said, smirking.
"Hey, come on now, you two," protested Marty. "We don't need another fight, now."
"A fight?" Alex asked incrudulously. "Well, I was just, uh..." Then, realizing that Marty maybe did have a point, Alex turned to Mallory and said, "I'm sorry, Mallory! I guess I shouldn't be giving you a hard time - especially since today is Christmas. I do love you, Mallory."
"Well, uh, Alex, I, uh..." Mallory stammered, stunned.
Alex then threw his arms around his sister and drew her close. "Just relax, Mallory, okay?" whispered Alex. "I'm sorry I get carried away sometimes. I really do care for you, Mallory. If anyone lays a hand on you, that person will have to answer to me!"
"Oh, Alex," murmured Mallory, as she threw her arms around her brother.
Linda then threw her arms around Marty and held him close. Marty hugged his sister back. Linda realized just how precious her younger brother was to him.
"Okay, everyone," suggested August, "why don't we go pick some berries? We have lots of delicious berries in our patch over there."
"That's a good idea!" gushed Marty. "Do we have to worry about bramble bushes? I really don't want to end up getting all scratched up."
"Me neither," added Alex. "Picking berries sounds like fun, though. I have to say that blueberries and raspberries are my favourite."
"Those are my favourites, as well," added Marty, smiling.
"What about strawberries?" asked Mallory. "I really love strawberries."
"We have all of them," April said, smiling. "So come on, everyone! Let's go!"
Linda felt herself bursting with joy, as she went to join the kids. She was amazed by how many berries the Greenwood family had. She wanted to bring some of them home with her. She began to really enjoy being in the world.