Summary: Calvin and Hobbes celebrate the arrival of 2008

And now a Calvin and Hobbes: The Series Holiday special!
Written by Garfieldodie and Swing123

New Year, New Disasters

Calvin was on the phone.

It was two days after Christmas.

"Hello?" he said. "Yes, for Christmas, a generous donation was given to you in my name, and I just wanted to know how your return policy works. Yes, I'm serious. I want some of that money! Hello? Hello?!" he shouted.

Calvin grumbled as he hung up the phone.

Just then, Mom came in with the mail.

"Mail's here," she said, sorting through it.

"Did I get anything?!" Calvin asked eagerly.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Calvin," she replied.

"But you never know! Maybe I got some last minute Christmas gifts from Santa! He could have sent me the grenade launchers by traditional postage!"

Mom rolled her eyes and continued to sort the mail. Then her eyes opened wider.

"Oh! You got a letter," she said, handing it to him.

Calvin eagerly took it.

"YES!" he cried. "Maybe it's a Christmas card with cash in it!"

"Calvin, why do you always demand money in your cards?"

"It's my only real source of income."

Calvin quickly opened it. His face fell.

"Oh," he said. "It's an invitation to a party."

"We got invited to a New Year's party?" Mom asked.

Calvin read it.

"It's an invitation to the New Year's party at the mansion a few blocks down," he said, reading it over.

Mom's eyes popped open.

"What?!" she cried.

"Yeah, Hobbes and I are cordially invited to take part in the New Year's party this week. There's going to be cake, cookies, games, fondue…"

"Fondue?!" Mom asked excitedly.

"Yeah, Mom, nothing says New Year's like the stink of a fondue pot," Calvin said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, this is great!" Mom said. "DEAR! GET IN HERE!"

Dad came downstairs.

"What?" he asked.

"We got invited to the party at the mansion down the block!" she cried excitedly.

Dad's face lit up.

"Are you serious?! We got invited?!"

"Yes!" Mom said happily.

They both started jumping up and down excitedly.

Calvin stared at them, and then reread the invitation.

"Uh, actually," he said, "it doesn't say anything about you."

Mom and Dad immediately stopped.

"What?!" Mom asked.

"Yeah, it just says me and Hobbes."

"Let me see that!"

Mom snatched the invitation away from Calvin and began reading it. She read it three times. She stared at Calvin.

"Oh…my…," she said slowly. "They only invited our son…and his stuffed tiger?!"

Dad looked it over.

"It…looks like it," he said, the excitement draining.

Calvin simply grinned.

"But…but…why were you…?" Mom asked.

"Hobbes and I know the tiger who lives there, Socrates," Calvin replied. "He must have put a word in for us."

Mom and Dad stared as Calvin snatched invitation back.

"I'm gonna tell Hobbes. We're gonna go down to the mansion and see what's going on for the party. See ya!"

Calvin ran upstairs to get Hobbes.

Mom and Dad continued to stand and stare at him, their mouths hanging open.

"I can't believe this," Mom finally said.

"Well, it looks like it's just us and the neighbors again," Dad said, clapping his hands together. "We can have pizza rolls and watch Humphrey Bogart."

Mom groaned.

Calvin and Hobbes had stopped by Andy and Sherman's on the way to the mansion.

"I've never understood the big deal about New Year's," Sherman said.

"What do you mean?" Calvin asked.

"Well, it's just so arbitrary! The Earth makes one orbit around the sun, and then comes right back to this random point. The man who figured out the calendar thought the Earth was flat!"

"Yeah, and we don't want to be on his side, now do we?" Andy said.

They arrived at the mansion and saw that lots of lights were being hung around it and some decorations were in the yard. Lots of people were helping put it up.

Socrates was in the yard when they arrived.

"Hey, guys!" Socrates said cheerfully.

"Hey, Socrates," Hobbes said. "You guys setting up for your party?"

"Absotively posolutely, Hobbo!"

"Man, looks like a lot of work," said Calvin.

"Yeah, we could stand to have a few more helping hands…," Socrates said, "…or paws."

The others rolled their eyes.

"So, you all wanna help?" Socrates asked. "We need a party coordinator."

Calvin grinned.

"Uh-oh," said Hobbes, stepping aside.

"Socrates, I am willing to step in and help you out!" he said.

Socrates grinned. "Can you count from 1 to 10?"

Calvin frowned. "You mean from 10 to 1?"

"Ooh, you're gonna be good!"

Later on, they were in Socrates' room watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

"So, anybody here look back on their accomplishments from the past year?" Calvin asked. "We've gotten so much done! I mean, for example, I gave the MTM his voice chip, this year."

Socrates nodded. "Yeah, I pulled some gnarly pranks this past year," he said proudly.

"I saved us from our future selves," Hobbes said, grinning.

"I conquered my fear of the vet," said Sherman.

"Conquered your fear?" Andy asked. "You went in kicking and screaming!"

"Yes, but I came out with restored vigor!"

"Shermie, you were barely conscious from the sedatives they gave you to calm you down."

"Yeah," said Hobbes. "And Socrates and I were stuck talking like ducks for three weeks!"

Sherman simply grinned.

"What'dyou accomplish this year, Andy?" Calvin asked.

"Well, I…," Andy started, but then he paused to think. Then he frowned. "Uh… There's just so many, I can't really pick one. Well, there was the…er…" He thought as hard as he could.

The others watched him expectantly.

"Well?" Socrates asked.

Andy scrunched his face up as he thought.

"Uh…I stopped the evil Inquisitor from deleting people, I changed a sparrow into a dinosaur, and I vanquished an evil computer virus in the style of an old western movie!" he said triumphantly.

The others stared at him.

"Andy?" Sherman asked.

"Yeah?"

"Those were all episodes of Red Dwarf."

There was a pause.

"Oh," Andy said meekly. "Then I guess I never kneed the Grim Reaper in the groin, did I?"

"Nope," said Hobbes.

Andy snorted.

"Fine!" he said, getting up. "I shouldn't be bothered with these trivialities! My achievements are grander, and if as such they are harder to define, then they are much grander for it!"

There was a pause as Andy looked nervous and he left the room very quickly.

"What'd he say?" Calvin asked.

"Something about being grand," Sherman replied.

The next day, Calvin, Hobbes and Socrates were decorating the main room of the mansion.

Calvin and Hobbes were just finishing hanging a giant sign.

It said, BLAST OFF TO FUN!

"There," said Calvin, climbing down the ladder. "Now this says fun!"

"Yep," said Socrates, looking at it. "It says so right there!"

There was a pause.

"Yeah, I think he means the vibe of the sign says fun," said Hobbes.

"Yep," said Socrates. "It says so right there at the bottom."

Calvin rolled his eyes.

At their house, Andy and Sherman were reading through the newspaper.

"Would you look at this?" Sherman said, looking at an article.

"What?" Andy asked.

"This man just gave a billion dollars to the UN! Can you believe that?!"

Andy gulped.

"You know, I once invited the whole family to Sizzler," he said. "And for no real reason but to do it!"

Sherman ignored him.

"And it says here that someone spent eight months building an orphanage in Bosnia!" he said.

"Big deal," Andy said. "War torn countries are just full of places and opportunities for show-offs!"

Sherman rolled his eyes.

Calvin and Hobbes came home that afternoon when they saw Mom and Dad getting ready to leave.

"Where're you two going?" Calvin asked.

"Keep your coat on, Calvin," Mom said. "We're going to the Cider Festival."

Calvin waved her off.

"Actually, Hobbes and I just came back to have lunch, and then we'll be heading back to Socrates' mansion to help with the party some more. We have to help bring all the cake and cookies and brownies."

Mom and Dad stared at him.

"Just go without us. Bring us back some cider, but make sure it's not cold, because then it's just juice."

Calvin and Hobbes exited to the kitchen.

Mom glared after him.

Dad pulled her back.

"Come on, dear," he said gently. "You can drown your sorrows in the cider."

Mom growled angrily as Dad dragged her out the door.

"Don't worry," he said soothingly. "Just think of all the character you're building."

"If I do that, I'll want to kill you!" she grumbled.

Dad gulped and hurried her along.

Later that day, Calvin and Hobbes had gone back to the mansion, and they were going around the house.

Hobbes was looking at a clipboard and walking around the den with Socrates.

"Okay," he said, looking everything over. "If we moved most of the furniture out of here, I'm thinking we could make room for a conga line!"

Socrates got excited.

"Oh, can I be the one who yells out 'conga'?" he asked. "You know, to get things going?"

Hobbes looked at him.

"Eh, why not?" he said.

Socrates grinned madly.

Just then, Andy appeared in the doorway.

"That's it!" he cried.

Hobbes and Socrates whipped around and stared at him.

"Uh, what is, Andrew?" Hobbes asked.

"I may have squandered three hundred and sixty-two days, but there is still time! I can make a difference! I'LL SHOW THE WORLD! I'M GONNA REACH FOR THE STARS AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!" he shouted, sticking his fists in the air dramatically.

There was a pause before Andy finally turned around and left.

Hobbes and Socrates watched him leave, and then stared at each other.

"What a loser," Socrates sighed.

Hobbes nodded and got back to work.

Two days later, Mom and Dad were sitting in the living room.

There were several jugs of cider sitting around.

"Where's Calvin?" Dad asked.

"He and his stuffed tiger are finishing up the mansion for the party," Mom replied.

There was a pause.

They were both bored stiff.

"I've never drunken so cider in my life," Dad moaned. "My mouth feels so funky."

Mom simply nodded off to sleep.

Calvin and Hobbes were now staring at the fully decorated mansion.

"Wow…," Calvin said, staring at it.

"We did good," Hobbes said, nodding approvingly.

"Yep."

Socrates entered the room with a bunch of balloons. He looked around the room.

"Alright!" he said. "Nice work! And now for the piece de resistance!"

He let the balloons float up into the ceiling.

"Yes!" said Calvin. "I now officially declare this party ready for action!"

Socrates checked his watch.

"Okay, we've got twenty-four hours until the New Year," he said.

"Good. We're going home to rest up for it," said Hobbes.

"What? You don't wanna stay and throw water balloons filled with cider at the neighbors?" Socrates asked.

"Cider?" asked Hobbes.

"Yeah, we got a ton of cider leftover from the Cider Festival from two days ago. We must have at least ten gallons of the stuff!"

"Thanks, Crateso, but for a party like this, we need our rest so we can party like there's no tomorrow," said Calvin. "Come on, Hobbes."

They all said their goodbyes and left.

Socrates simply grinned and pulled out a cider balloon.

"Oh well," he said. "More fun for me!"

And he ran to the roof.

That night, Andy was up in his room, writing down the various things he could do before the year ended at his desk.

Sherman was watching him from the bed.

"So," The hamster began. "How's it going?"

"Fine," Andy said, quickly. "There has to be something that I can do tomorrow before the year ends!"

Sherman hesitated.

"Well... What do you have so far?" He began.

Andy held up the list.

"Save the planet from blood thirsty alien dictators, start a home business, find a cure for the common cold, and revive a long since canceled TV show." He read.

Sherman stared at him.

"Uhh... OK..." The hamster began. "I'd aim for the TV show one."

Andy groaned.

"What am I gonna do, Sherman?" He asked, pitifully. "New Year's Eve is tomorrow! The last day of the year and I don't have anything to show for it!"

"Oh come, now, Andy," Sherman said. "Surely you did something significant this year."

Andy thought for a moment.

"I... helped make that revenge personality test for Socrates." He said, weakly.

Sherman sighed.

"Look, Andy, you still have a day to do something. I really wouldn't worry about it."

"You only say that because New Years Day is physiological to you." Andy growled.

"Yep." Sherman nodded. "Now, why don't you try to get some sleep? Then we can go enjoy that party tomorrow."

Andy paused.

"Maybe you'll do something worth while there." Sherman shrugged.

Andy sighed.

"You're right, Sherman. If I keep this up, I won't have enough energy for tomorrow." He said.

"That's the spirit!" Sherman said.

And so, Andy put his list away, and went to bed for the night.

Sherman did also.

But Andy got very little sleep that night.

He spent the whole time wondering what he could possibly do tomorrow that would remotely significant.

Around eight o'clock the next day, Calvin and Hobbes started getting ready for the party.

"See ya, Mom, Dad!" Calvin called, Hobbes draped over his shoulder. "We're off to that New Years Bash!!"

"Well don't bother to have fun!" Mom yelled back, frantically. "Because we're going to have more fun!! Aren't we, honey?!"

"Oh you bet!" Dad said, through gritted teeth. "I have a bunch of great movies scheduled for the night! We're gonna have a blast!"

"A BLAST!!!" Mom added

"Whatever." Calvin said, rolling his eyes and walking out the door.

There was a pause.

"I'll get the cider." Dad sighed.

"Thanks." Mom grumbled.

Socrates was standing at the front door to his mansion, grinning madly, and holding a clipboard.

All the booby traps throughout the yard had been disarmed, and everything was totally safe.

Socrates grinned as Calvin and Hobbes came walking up.

"Cally! Hobbo! Welcome to my humble party!" The tiger shouted.

He drew a line through Calvin and Hobbes' names on the clipboard.

"Hello, Socrates," Hobbes said.

"Hi, cat." Calvin yawned.

There was a pause.

"So, how many people are here?" Hobbes asked.

"So far, just you two, me and Elliot." Socrates said. "Elliot's in his room, getting ready."

"Cool!" Calvin said. "Any chance of meeting him and finally solving the mystery of who you live with?"

"Probably not." Socrates replied. "Anyway, come in! Have you traveled far?"

The tiger opened the door.

"Uh, no, we only walked a couple blocks down the street." Hobbes said.

"Fascinating!" Socrates said.

Calvin and Hobbes rolled their eyes, and walked inside the mansion.

The place was all decorated up for the party.

There were balloons hung everywhere, there was a banner announcing "HAPPY NEW YEAR" spread across the wall, there was a bunch of card tables with bright red table cloths over them lined up against the wall, piled up with refreshments, and there was a giant stereo against the left wall, with speakers all over the large room, playing dance music.

Calvin and Hobbes grinned.

"This is great!" Calvin chuckled.

Soon, other guests began to arrive.

Most of them were people Calvin had never met in his life. Socrates said they were either people Elliot knew by chance or people whom he had pranked.

Uh huh.

Then, Susie arrived, much to Calvin's dismay.

"What is she doing here?" Calvin demanded, as Susie walked inside the mansion.

"Well, looky here," Hobbes said, cheerfully, cupping his hands to his cheeks. "Maybe this will be that magical year where you finally walk up Susie, all bashful and shy, and ask, nervously, if she would like to dance. And she would look up you, her eyes filled with love and desire and..."

Calvin's head turned.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" He asked in a dangerous calm.

"No. I was totally silent." Hobbes replied.

"I thought as much." Calvin said, turning back around.

Just then, a surprise visitor arrived.

"Welcome, guest!" Socrates shouted. "Allow me to allow you inside my humble abode!"

"Uh huh." Said a familiar voice.

Calvin and Hobbes looked up.

Jack T. Robot was walking into the mansion.

Calvin and Hobbes' mouths dropped open.

"Jack?!" They both said in unison.

"Yo," Jack said, walking up to them.

"What are you doing here?" Hobbes asked.

"I was invited." Jack yawned.

"Well, what about Frank?" Calvin asked.

"No, he wasn't invited. He's at Yellowstone right now, drinking all our cider." Jack said.

There was a pause.

"Huh, figures." Hobbes said.

Jack then walked past Calvin and Hobbes over to a long table with a red table cloth over it piled up with refreshments.

The robot took a paper cup, and began pouring out some soda.

Calvin and Hobbes watched him.

"Uh, Jack?" Calvin asked.

"Hmmm?" Jack said, leaning against the table, and taking a sip from his cup.

"Aren't people going to freak out when they see a robot here?"

"Hey dude!" Someone called over at Jack. "Cool costume!"

"Nope." Jack replied.

Calvin and Hobbes rolled their eyes.

It was then that Andy and Sherman arrived.

"Ah!" Socrates grinned. "Gang's all here! Cally! Hobbo! Ando and Vermin!"

Sherman glared at Socrates.

"Come on in, guys!" Socrates pranced into the mansion, welcoming in his last guest.

Andy yawned, and walked into the house with Sherman.

He had gotten almost zero sleep last night.

"Hey, Calvin, Hobbes... the grey one." He muttered, sleepily.

"Hey, Andy," Calvin said. "You OK?"

"I'm fine, just a little tired is all." Andy yawned. "I spent all day trying to do something worth while."

Calvin and Hobbes stared at him unsurely.

"Uh, when did you actually go to bed, last night?" Hobbes asked.

"Five." Andy yawned.

Calvin and Hobbes exchanged glances.

Just then, Sherman cut in.

"What's the robot doing here?" He demanded.

"Trying to drink my soda," Jack replied. "Does that cause any terrible dilemmas?"

Socrates came running up to Calvin and Hobbes.

"Alright then!" He grinned. "Everything is set! Now I have to go get Elliot! Yo, Jack!"

"Yes?" Jack replied.

"Get everything going, would ya?" Socrates requested. "Pass out the party hats and those things that you blow into to make a buzzing noise. Then turn the lights down and crank the tunes up!"

"Sure, it's not like I have anything better to do." Jack replied.

"Great! I'll be right back!"

And with that, Socrates rushed upstairs.

Jack sighed, and walked away.

He walked over to a panel on the wall, and began flipping the switches on it.

The lights slowly died, and were replaced with faint different colored lights, placed all over the room, lighting it enough so that people could get around.

Then, he walked over to the stereo, picked out his favorite song, and turned the volume up.

By this time, Calvin and Hobbes, Andy and Sherman both had split up to do their own thing.

Calvin and Hobbes were off at the refreshments table Andy was wandering around, wondering what he could do before the day ended, Sherman was socializing with the party guests and Jack had walked off to himself with a bottle of Pepsi and a magazine.

Soon, Socrates returned with Elliot.

Elliot was wearing a very different attire from what he was wearing the last time Calvin and Hobbes saw him. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts. He had a blue baseball cap on his head, covering his hair as well as a pair of sunglasses, which basically covered the features of his face.

In other words, he was still a total mystery. Especially wondering why the kid wore sunglasses in his own house.

Socrates and Elliot talked for a moment at the bottom of the stairs, then went their separate ways.

The party progressed.

Calvin, Hobbes and Socrates danced like there was no tomorrow, Andy anxiously walked around, trying to figure out what he could do that was important, Sherman and Elliot interacted with the guests, with Sherman acting as if he wasn't from Calvin's group and Jack stayed off to himself with food, drinks, and a magazine.

About five hours of none stop partying went by.

Elliot walked up to a bowl of punch, and poured some out for himself.

Calvin and Hobbes were each eating a piece of cake at the table.

Socrates was still break dancing on the floor, but Calvin and Hobbes were taking a break.

They watched Elliot for a moment.

"Say, Calvin," Hobbes said, suddenly. "Why don't you go talk with Elliot?"

Calvin turned and stared at him.

"What?" He yelled, his eyes popping open.

"Well, why not?" Hobbes asked. "It might add some interest to the episode."

"Well what I'm I supposed to say to the guy?" Calvin demanded. "I hate his tiger!"

"Hmm, good point." Hobbes considered. "Well, at least go say hi to him. See if you can get one line of dialogue out of him."

Calvin rolled his eyes.

"Oh... very well, I'll go say hello." He growled.

"Very nice." Hobbes grinned.

"And if you lay one paw on my cake, I'm going tie you into a pretzel!" Calvin threatened, holding a finger up.

"Hear you loud and clear." Hobbes nodded.

Calvin grumbled to himself, and stood up from his chair.

Elliot was drinking his punch at the refreshments table, totally unaware of Calvin.

Calvin straightened up, and started towards him.

Suddenly, Elliot finished his punch, and crumbled up the cup.

He threw it in the garbage nearby, and walked away.

Calvin halted as Elliot disappeared into a crowd of people.

There was a pause.

Calvin's eyes narrowed.

"So that's how you want to play it, huh?" He hissed under his breath.

Socrates did a wild tap dance past Calvin, and continued dancing.

Calvin glared at him.

Meanwhile, Andy was pacing back and forth across the room, frantically looking at the clock on the wall.

He had forty five minutes before the year ended.

"There has to be something I can do..." He said, weakly, looking around. "There has to be!"

Suddenly Andy spotted the cotton candy machine, someone was there working on the main components with a frustrated expression on his face.

Andy stared at him, then ran up.

"Uh, hi..." He started. "What's wrong?"

The teenage boy looked up.

"Ah, the machine's broken." He growled. "I don't know what's wrong with it. It was working perfectly when I got here."

"Could I have a look at it?" Andy asked, desperately. "I know a lot about machinery!"

The boy stared at him.

"Uh, sure, I guess." He began.

"Great!" Andy shoved him out of the way, and faced the machine.

He stared at it for a moment, then stuck his hand into the main components, and began pretending like he knew what he was doing.

"Uuuh... This is a snap!" He grinned. "I'll have this fixed in no time!"

The boy leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms.

Andy gulped, and turned back to the machine.

Meanwhile, Calvin was still trying to track Elliot down, who was always conveniently disappearing whenever he got close to him.

Every time Calvin got remotely close to him, Elliot would turn and walk down the other side of the room, and start doing something else.

Sure.

And of course, this lead Calvin to be slightly peeved.

"HEY, YOU!!" He screamed, trying in vain to top the music. "GET OVER HERE AT ONCE!!! DON'T YOU KNOW AN ATTEMPT TO MAKE CONVERSATION WHEN YOU SEE ONE?!?! GET OVER HERE!! I AM ORDERING YOU!!! I AM ORDERING YOU!!!!"

"Who are you whispering to, Calvin?" Socrates grinned, doing the flamingo past the six year old.

"Shut up, Socrates." Calvin growled.

Socrates shrugged, and kept dancing.

Elliot didn't hear Calvin over the music as he continued to walk over to the refreshments table.

Calvin's eyes narrowed.

Meanwhile, Andy was still trying to repair the cotton candy machine.

In total, pathetic vain, in case your wondering.

"Are... are you sure you know what your doing?" The boy asked, nervously, as sparks of electricity started flying from the machinery.

"Of course, I know what I'm doing!" Andy declared. "I know exactly what I'm doing! I'm... I'm..."

Andy pulled a wire out of the machine.

BBZZZZT!!!

Andy stared at it for a moment.

Then he turned a nervous grin onto the teenager, who stared at him, blankly.

"That's the thing... uh... fixing... itself?" Andy said, slowly.

The boy sighed.

"Look, I appreciate your help but I really should..."

"NO! I can fix it!" Andy said, frantically, casting a glance at the clock, which read 11:45. "Just give me a minute and..."

Andy turned back to the machine, and began sticking the wire back into the machine.

BRA-ZAAP!

Suddenly, electricity burst from the machinery, showering the area with sparks.

"Ya know, that thing cost me money." The boy sighed.

"I can do this!" Andy growled. "I just need to... AUGH!"

ZZZZZT!

Andy and the boy backed away in horror as the machine started shaking and humming loudly.

Sparks of electricity flew from it, and it began swinging from side to side, violently.

Andy and the boy looked at each other, nervously.

Suddenly, Calvin came walking up.

He walked over to the machinery, and pulled his MTM out of his pocket.

Then, he turned his back to Andy and the boy, and began messing with it, silently.

Suddenly, the cotton candy machine stopped shaking so violently, and fell back onto the table, motionless.

Calvin slammed the door to the machinery shut, flipped the "ON" switch, slipped the MTM back into his pocket, and then stormed off after Elliot.

There was a pause.

The boy walked up to the machine, and looked inside.

"Hey, it's working!" He grinned.

"That sounds about right." Andy sighed.

Suddenly, Sherman came walking up to Andy.

"I can't believe these people!" He complained. "All of them! Imbeciles! One of them keeps telling me the "Chicken crossing the road" joke, thinking it's hilarious, another is some whack telling me that everyone here are cyborgs and that we have to build some special robot thing to beat them, another one is ordering me to bow to his glass of punch, I mean come on! This is the social status of that tiger?! It's disgraceful!"

"That's nice, Sherman," Andy said, blankly, picking the hamster up, and putting him in his pocket, as Socrates cartwheeled past them.

"I give up, Sherman," Andy sighed. "The new year is less than ten minutes away... and I haven't done anything that whole time."

"Oh, come now, Andy, you did do some things!" Sherman said, encouragingly.

"Name two." Andy said.

Sherman paused.

"Well... you... that is you... uh... you... helped... me... build my stuff?" He began, slowly.

Andy sighed.

"It's useless." He sighed. "Calvin rescued us from Rupert Chill and Earl when they teamed up with Brainstorm, Hobbes saved us from the Time Plucker, Socrates saved me from becoming one of those show off-y jerks at the genius convention, you've saved Calvin from his super powers he got from his inventions, I've did... nothing."

Sherman paused.

"Uh, actually, I didn't do anything to save him." The hamster said. "Hobbes saved him through a time manipulator vortex."

"You know what I mean, Sherman," Andy muttered.

Meanwhile, Calvin had given up trying to contact Elliot, and was now heading back to Hobbes.

"Well, I give up, Hobbes," He growled, sitting down next to tiger. "That dumb kid is always moving around. I can't even walk up to him."

Hobbes rolled his eyes.

"Oh, nonsense. Nobody is that elusive." He said.

"Well, he's managed to get through two and a half seasons without being introduced." Calvin said. "He was even able to conceal his name until mid-season two."

"True." Hobbes considered.

Just then, Socrates came jumping over to Calvin and Hobbes.

"Well guys!" He grinned. "Only five minutes until the New Year!"

"Yep," Calvin nodded.

"2007 has been... interesting..." Hobbes said.

"You said it! I was just about to round you guys, Andy and Sherman up." Socrates said.

Calvin and Hobbes stared at him.

"Uh... Why?" Hobbes shrugged.

"Well, we have to make our New Year resolutions, don't we?" Socrates shrugged. "Only good to do it away from everyone else!"

Calvin and Hobbes exchanged glances.

"Sounds right to me." Hobbes said.

Calvin shrugged.

"Ho-kay." He said. "Where is Andy, anyway?"

"Oh, I dunno." Socrates shrugged. "Off complaining about not doing anything significant, this year or something like that."

"Well, he did die and then come back to life. There's that." Hobbes said.

Calvin and Socrates stared at Hobbes.

"Good point." Hobbes said. "Alright, let's go get him."

Calvin and Hobbes stood up, and started walking off with Socrates.

Andy was off sitting in a chair at the other end of the room.

He had glazed expression on his face as he watched the people dancing to the music.

He sighed, heavily.

Sherman looked up at him.

"Andy," He began. "You really shouldn't worry about this. I mean you'll have the whole of next year to save the world from something... I mean you should..."

Andy shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. I've gone 365 days without doing anything significant to anything. Maybe I shouldn't even be with you guys." He sighed.

Sherman looked at him, sympathetically.

Suddenly, Calvin, Hobbes, and Socrates came running up.

"Hey, Andy!" Calvin said. "We're about to make our New Year Resolutions! Care to join us?"

"We had better hurry!" Socrates said, checking his watch. "The new year is less than three minutes away."

There was a pause.

Andy stared at Calvin, Hobbes and Socrates for a moment.

Then, he heaved a sigh.

"OK, I'll come." He said.

"Great!" Socrates yelled. "I'll tell Elliot to take over my party managing duties!"

Calvin, Hobbes, Andy and Sherman all stared at him.

"If I recall, the only thing you did this whole time was dance like some kind coffee-fueled lunatic." Sherman said.

"Right, someone has to keep the party alive!" Socrates said.

And with that, Socrates ran off.

Calvin crossed his arms.

"Right. I'd like to see that tiger try to even get near that guy!" He chuckled. "Elliot is the most unintroduceable person on this show. He can't even..."

Calvin stopped.

His mouth dropped.

Socrates had walked right up to Elliot, who was over by the stereo, and had begun talking to him.

There was a long pause.

"Talk about timing." Hobbes commented.

"Shut up." Calvin growled.

After Socrates was done with that, he walked back over to Calvin, Hobbes, Andy and Sherman and grinned.

"That's taken care of. Let's go!" He said.

And with that, he rushed up the stairs to his room.

Calvin and the gang watched him.

Then, Calvin rolled his eyes and followed.

Hobbes did also.

Andy paused.

He heaved another deep sigh, then followed them up the stairs.

When he got there, Calvin, Hobbes and Socrates were all sitting on Socrates' bed, discussing their New Year resolutions.

Andy walked up to them, Sherman in his pocket.

"Ah, greetings, Ando!" Socrates grinned. "We were just about to begin! Who would like to go first?"

There was a pause.

"I will," Calvin said. "I resolve to upgrade each one of my inventions in some shape or form since I did the MTM."

"Good," Hobbes said. "I resolve to break the current tuna consuming record and take my rightful place in Guinness."

"Very nice!" Socrates grinned. "I resolve to prank exactly four hundred million different people this year!"

"Socrates there's only three hundred million people in the Untied States," Sherman said, rolling his eyes.

"I know people in Mexico!" Socrates declared.

"Whatever." Sherman said. "I resolve to invent something useful that I could perhaps use in more than one time."

"Oooh, nice one!" Socrates grinned.

He turned to Andy.

"Alrighty-then, And-roid-y! What is your resolution for next year?" He asked, cheerfully.

All eyes went to Andy.

He paused for a long moment.

Then, he took a deep breath in and spoke.

"I... I... I don't know..." He sighed.

"Oh come, now, Andy!" Hobbes said. "Don't let this year get you down! You have an entire year of stuff to do! Surelyyou can think of something!"

Andy hesitated.

Then, he spotted Calvin.

Then, for the first time that day, he smiled.

"Calvin," He started.

Calvin blinked.

"Uh, yes?" He asked.

"I resolve to pay the bond on you, should you ever end up in jail." He said, finally.

Calvin stared at Andy for a moment.

Then, he grinned.

"Thanks, Andy." He said.

"No prob, buddy." Andy said. "It's the least I can do."

"Yeah, because chances are, after everything he's done, he'll be tried as an adult, now!" Socrates said.

Calvin turned a glare onto Socrates, who merely grinned.

"Well, Andy, how are you feeling about this year?" Hobbes asked.

"Oh, the past is the past." Andy said. "I'm not going to worry about it."

"That's the spirit!" Sherman yelled.

"All that matters is here and now." Andy said. "And I'm going to make the best of it."

Calvin, Hobbes, Socrates and Sherman all grinned, widely.

Suddenly, a loud dong rang out through the house.

Calvin, Hobbes, Socrates, Andy and Sherman all turned around.

Another dong emitted from downstairs.

Followed by a third.

And a fourth.

Followed by eight more.

Around the fifth bong, Andy grinned, happily.

"Guys?" He said, turning back around.

"Hmm?" Everyone said, turning to Andy.

"Welcome to 2008." He said.

The End

Voice Work

Pamela Segall Adlon Calvin
Tom Hanks Hobbes
Ryan Stiles Socrates / Kid number 1
Andrew Lawrence Andy
Colin Mochrie Sherman / Kid number two
Michael Brandon Jack
Jennifer Love Hewitt Mom
Bill Murray Dad

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