Chapter 3 – Not cute enough (?)
You're beautiful . . .
Don't hide your figure . . .
No one has ever really seen you . . .
Do you think all the famous actresses look naturally beautiful . . . ?
You'll grow to be a hot, young woman . . .
No pain, no gainy . . .
Those were the thoughts that had been in Dot's mind during the entire morning. She and Hello Nurse had gone to the gym, just like they had planned. But it was Dot's first time to ever step into such a place. She had no idea how Hello Nurse could keep on going while she herself was exhausted the whole time. But those thoughts kept her going. Knowing that if she'd just go on, she'd become a very good-looking toon – that was her click. But afterwards, she was suffering from sore muscles. Extremely sore muscles, that is. When she returned to the movie lot, she had to make Yakko help her up the tower ladder in order to get in.
"You don't look so good, Dot," he said when they were both inside. "What were you doing at seven thirty in the morning?"
"I went to . . . the gym with . . . Hello Nurse," Dot panted. "It was . . . awesome. I . . . feel so healthy!"
Yakko gave her a funny look. "You do? If I were you, I'd just feel tired." He paused. "Wait, did you say--"
"Don't go there, Yakko." Dot cut off Yakko's sentence, mostly because she hated when he had fantasies about Hello Nurse – especially now when they had become best friends.
"Are you sure you don't need any support?" Yakko asked when Dot began walking towards her room. Her body was completely stiff and she could hardly move.
"No, I'm fine," said Dot. "I'm going to have to get used to this anyway." But she had hardly let go of the word 'anyway' when she tripped. She hit her face hard on the ground and her body ached like never before.
"Whoa!" Yakko said. "Told you, didn't I?"
"Yeah, yeah," Dot said coldly while doing her best to stand up again. When she managed to lift her head, she saw Wakko directly in front of her. She frowned. "Well, well. Look who's here. What's up with you? Were you the one who made me trip? Or are you too cute to help me get up?"
Wakko reached out his hand so Dot could hold on to him, but she just slapped it away. "Don't bother, little man. I'll probably ruin your cute gloves." She then struggled to get up on her own. It hurt badly and she almost regretted to not have accepted Wakko's help. But there was no way she was going to show it! Even if it was extremely painful, she was going to reach her room on her own! She held on to the wall for support and when she finally reached her room, she practically jumped into bed.
"Get me a magazine, Yakko!" she yelled. No way was she going to move any more! In a few seconds, Yakko handed her a magazine. 'Seen and heard' was the title.
"It's a new one," Yakko explained when he saw Dot's 'what-is-this?' expression. "It's the very first issue. I think it's a gossip magazine. You like those, don't you?"
"I guess," said Dot. She couldn't help but notice that Yakko looked afraid. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," said Yakko before he hurried out of the room and closed the door.
Dot opened the magazine and read the first headline: Are old celebs becoming new ones? –Tori Spelling about her career.
"Boring. Boring. Boring. Boring," Dot repeated as she flipped the pages. This magazine was nothing but trash! Some of the articles were completely useless! Who wants to know about how much fun it was in Bill Gates' birthday party? Dot continued flipping the pages, trying to find a flicker of something interesting.
Then she saw it. The name she despised most of all: Wakko Warner. But what was his name doing in a gossip magazine? Dot was curious enough to read the article. There was a photo next to it, which showed Wakko walking in front of a house carrying a stack of notes, it seemed. Dot noticed that the house in the back had a logo on it: 'Here and Now'. That was the paper that did that survey! Dot was now confirmed that she had to read the article. As she did, her hatred rose:
Middle Warner a fraud?The following picture of Wakko Warner was taken a few days ago. Writers can't help but wonder what he was doing. Was he picking up garbage for the city? Not likely. Was he practising weightlifting with papers? Like he needs it. Was he sneaking out with the script for the newest 'Animaniacs' episode? Probably not, he's not in charge of those anyway. So what was he doing? Alert readers must note that the house he's in front of is the very 'Here and Now house', like it's called. Wasn't 'Here and Now' the magazine that published that survey? Look at the notes, now at the house, now at the Warner's sneaky walk. Anyone notice a pattern here? Could it be that Wakko Warner was the one who caused the known results? Is it possible that the notes he's holding are fake votes for him? It certainly looks that way. But isn't this a bit unlike the younger Warner brother? Or is he simply desperate for attention? Who knows? Maybe he just wants to be considered cute. Writers are left with many questions. But we're in the same position as our readers: we're just as confused.
There will most probably be an interview with the Warner in our second issue.
Seen and heard/: Berry deHexDot crushed the magazine in her hands and looked at the photo. That boy was . . . Dot didn't even know a word bad enough to describe him. All she knew was that she hated Wakko more than ever.
Ever since she saw the results, Dot had wondered what could have caused them. This article was enough evidence. Her own brother had plotted the results! Her brother! Of all people! And for attention, to boot! Dot couldn't believe it. It was so unlike Wakko. But it all made sense! The photo showed everything! Sneaking with a stack of notes in front of the 'Here and Now house' was good enough proof.
But maybe Wakko only made the number higher. Maybe he had been the winner the whole time and just wanted a bigger gap. It could be that he had seen the results before everyone else (being the winner, and all) and wanted to add more votes to him. That made even more sense! Dot sat up quickly, only to feel a major pain in her muscles. She decided to take a warm bath to smoothen them.
She had a hard time reaching the bathroom, but eventually managed to get there. She groaned when she opened the door, and when she began filling the tub with water, she sighed in relief – happy that she would be in relaxation soon. But when she was done struggling to stand up, she had a look at herself in the mirror. She scanned her image, as if she was looking for something on her body. She took the flower off her ears and let her skirt flow down her legs. She scanned her image again.
I look a little different, she thought. But I'm still not skinny enough. There's got to be a quicker way to get skinny.
That's when she eyed the toilet.
I could do it. Just once. It won't hurt me to do it just once, right? Yakko won't find out. I won't tell him.
She slapped herself. "No! I'm not going to!"
I haven't eaten anything anyway . . .
. . . is that good or bad . . . ?
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Yakko paced worriedly around the living room while thinking about his siblings. They had all had their share of rivalry, but the whole survey-thing was too much! To think, his little sister was now going to the gym to look better! What could possibly be a worse thought? She was only seven, for heck's sake! Seven-year-olds are not supposed to be worried about how they look!
"What's troubling you?" Wakko said suddenly, starting Yakko a bit – he hadn't noticed his brother at all.
"Uhh . . . I'm just . . . doing a bit of thinking, that's all," said Yakko.
"It's about Dot, isn't it?" said Wakko. "You're worried about her, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm worried sick!" Yakko shouted, stopping in his tracks. "Geez, Wakko! Haven't you noticed? She's changed! I mean, I know she's got a big temper, but telling me to stop pretending to be her dad? Slapping me a telling me to shut up?"
"What about me, huh?" Wakko said, pointing at himself. "Not only does she hate me like I'm Mel Gibson's wife, but every time she talks to me, it's always mocking! She can't get over this, Yakko!"
"Well, neither can I!" Yakko shouted directly in Wakko's face. When he saw the scared look his brother had, he started to calm down a bit. He breathed heavily before speaking again. "I'm sorry. Look, let's try and give her a chance. It's only been a day or so. She'll be over it by the end of the week, I'm sure of that."
There was a short silence between the two. It was broken by the sound of a flushing toilet.
"I guess she's done bathing," said Yakko. "You ready with a hiding place?"
"Yeah, I think I'll jump inside that sofa," said Wakko. He then hurried off to one of the sofas around them. Before Yakko could comment on anything, Wakko jumped into the air and took a dive in one of the sofas – disappearing under its cushion. He couldn't have picked a better time because Dot came out of the bathroom at that very second. Yakko couldn't help but notice that her face looked different. It looked slightly more tanned than usual.
"I think I'll take a little walk," Dot said when she passed Yakko.
"A walk?" said Yakko, pretty confused. "Didn't you go to the gym just this morning? Weren't you complaining about sore muscles? Why would you need another walk?"
Dot gave Yakko a look. "Because I don't want any sore muscles tomorrow. Do you know how embarrassing it is to work out next to Hello Nurse? Let me tell you: it's very embarrassing. She can hold out for two hours when I can hardly hold out for fifteen minutes! I want to get in better shape. What better way to do it than to take a walk by day?"
"What's with this sudden obsession for a healthy life?" said Yakko. "Normally, you wouldn't give a hoot about your health."
"Let's just say that Hello Nurse taught me a lot about living," said Dot and smiled at her brother. She turned to get out of the tower but before she opened the door, her body shook in disgust and she gave a little "bleh!"
"You all right?" said Yakko.
"I'm fine," said Dot. "Don't worry. I'm just a teeny tiny bit tired, that's all." And with that, she jumped out of the tower and closed the door.
"Well, that's that," said Yakko when Dot was gone. "You can come out of that sofa now, Wakko."
"Nuh uh!" Yakko heard Wakko say. His voice was a little muffed. "It's comfortable in here. I think I'll stay here for a couple of minutes, just to enjoy the cosiness."
Yakko sighed. "Go ahead, enjoy. But I still want to talk to you."
"Feel free to do that," said Wakko from inside the sofa. "Even if you can't see me, I'm still listening."
"Okay," said Yakko. "Anyhow, I think Dot has make-up on."
By hearing those words, Wakko rose up from the sofa so fast; he broke it. "What? What are you saying? She's only seven!" He paused. "Does she even own any?"
Yakko shrugged. "No idea. But I still think she does. And you know what? I think she's trying to look better. Trying to be cuter than she is to top you."
"She's nuts!" Wakko yelled. "Are you sure your eyes weren't fooling you?"
Yakko raised his right hand. "Positive. I know powder, mascara and lip gloss when I see it."
"Why? Do you have experience?" Wakko teased.
"The point is," Yakko continued, ignoring Wakko's random comment, "like I said, that Dot is trying to become cuter."
"What do you think I should do?" Wakko asked. "I mean; I'm technically the one who started all this, right? Should I try and talk with her?"
"Nah, I wouldn't go there just yet," said Yakko. "Let her come to you when she's ready. But I'll say it again: I'm not going to be your messenger."
"I get your drift."
"Bright lad."
There was a slight pause before Wakko said: "So, wanna get something to eat?"
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Dot hadn't gone anywhere out of the movie lot, but simply skipped around it. Sometimes she'd walked, sometimes skipped, sometimes jogged, and sometimes run. She had had a blast. She was so full of energy! She felt like she could go on running forever!
But every time she had passed a window – or something else that reflected – she had to stop and look at her figure. As she did that, she had a sudden urge to measure her weight. But she hated those stops. It made her remember how much her throat ached.
Maybe I should have skipped . . . nah, it was worth it!
And with that (very confusing) thought, Dot jogged off to the tower once again. She felt refreshed enough to go back, as long as she wouldn't see a certain boy's face. She climbed the ladder and when she reached the balcony, she heard a noise from the inside.
Wakko's probably off to hiding. Good! Then I won't have to see his oh, so cute face!
Dot opened the door and saw Yakko at a dinner table with eight pizza boxes. Five were empty.
"Where'd those come from?" she asked.
"Ordered them just now," said Yakko and smiled. "Wakko and I just ate. You can have some of it if you want. Don't worry about leaving anything. We'll just throw--"
The sight of Dot cut his sentence. She wasn't eating her pizza in a normal, zany way. She was eating it in a less appropriate way than Wakko. She brutally snagged all the slices from one of the boxes, curled them all together in one big ball of goo, and forced it down, gulping it all at once. She did the same thing to the rest of the pizzas. Yakko was stunned. He had never seen Dot so greedy before. Well, he probably had once, but it was very rare! After the 'pleasant meal', Dot gave a big belch.
"Excuse me," she said and giggled in her own, cute way.
"Don't worry about it?" said Yakko and smiled sheepishly. "What got into you? Were you honestly that hungry? I mean, sure, Wakko ate three boxes too, but you practically swallowed them all at once!"
"I wasn't very hungry at all," said Dot. "Just a tiny bit." She stood up. She felt like such a fatty! She felt like all the food she had eaten was leaking right on her sides, creating a fat-layer. "I got to use the loo," she said and headed for the bathroom once again.
"Okay," said Yakko. What weird behaviour, he thought. She's become obsessed with how she looks, she's going to the gym in the morning, she takes a walk during the day, she eats like a hippo, and storms to the bathroom right after that. Strange . . .
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Wakko lay silently on his bed, thinking what he should do. He desperately wanted to talk to Dot – tell her his side of the case. But the coward within kept him from even looking at her. She hated him with all her heart and he knew it. But he still wanted to talk to her, at least tell her he was sorry. For what he had no idea. But forgiveness was clearly what she was expecting from him. But what was he supposed to do? Walk straight to her and say: "I'm sorry"? That'd be too weird. But he couldn't let it pass by like he enjoyed being called 'the cute one'. After all, that was partly Dot's nickname.
All that thinking was making Wakko tired. He looked at the time. It had been an hour since he ate and half an hour since Dot went to the bathroom. Surely she'd be out by now. Wakko stood up from his bed and went to wash his face at least. On the way to the bathroom, he came across a magazine lying on the middle of the floor, right outside his room. He picked it up, had a quick look at it, and then threw it on his bed.
New magazine, he thought. I'll read that one before I go to sleep.
He then tiptoed pass Dot's room so she wouldn't wake up and slowly opened the bathroom door. But just before he opened it, he heard a strange sound from the inside. It sounded like the toilet was leaking a waterfall. Wakko sighed, grabbed a mallet from behind his back and went in to 'fix' it. But when he came in, he didn't see a puddle of water on the floor. He didn't see the toilet leaking. In fact, the toilet was fine. But what he did see made his eyes widen, his jaw drop and the grip on the mallet loosened.
Dot was sitting in her knees, her head right above the toilet's bowl and she was forcing a finger down her throat – in other words, willingly puking. Wakko watched as his sister puked out everything that was in her stomach, and then some. It made him want to shake with disgust, but he couldn't move. He just stood there, watching every drop of puke fall from Dot's chin. She hacked, and then turned her head to only see Wakko, who was too scared to budge a hair on his body. She flushed the toilet, stood up and looked at him angrily.
"So, did you enjoy the show?" she said weakly.
"I . . . the . . . you . . . toi . . . foo . . . me . . . to . . . I . . . I . . . I . . . ay-ay-ay!" Wakko stammered. He looked at Dot, who had major bags under her eyes. "How long have you been doing this?"
"What's it to you, cutie?" said Dot sarcastically as she passed Wakko. She felt extremely weak and tripped on the way out. Fortunately, Wakko was quick enough to grab her. They looked at each other in the eye: Dot's full of hatred and Wakko's full of fear. "Not a word about this to Yakko, got it?" Dot added before she clumsily stood up again and went to her own room. Wakko was left in the bathroom with a horrifying sight stuck in his head. He then washed his face like he intended to do, in an attempt to make it go away. He took a wet hand towel along with him to his room where he sat down on his bed and read the new magazine.
"Boring. Boring. Boring. Boring," he repeated as he flipped the pages. But in between, he saw something rather interesting: his own name. He was excited. His name hadn't appeared in a magazine for a while, so he read the article. But the more he read, the more shocked his expression became.
"What the fuse?" he quietly said to himself.
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Dot sank her face in her pillow and cried her eyes out. She felt like she was the lamest person on earth. Not only did she suck at working out, but she had also failed during dinner. Eating so much hadn't been the intension at all. It was a big relief to throw it all up afterwards, but she still felt like she couldn't do anything right.
She dried her eyes, stood up and looked at her figure.
Starting tomorrow, I'm going on a strict diet! I want to have the same, skinny figure as every model on the block! I want to be as hot as Hello Nurse. And the only way to do that is to go to the gym; not eat too much; and if I do eat, only make it little. If I happen to eat too much, I'll just throw it up afterwards. I know I can look hot! I'll give that bastard brother of mine a room for his oh, so cute face next time he dares to touch me!
I just hope Yakko doesn't find out about the bulimia . . .
A/N: Random fanfiction fact: 'Seen and heard' and 'Here and Now' are actual magazines. Very popular gossip magazines, I might add. (;