FOSTER'S HOME FOR IMAGINARY EDS
Chapter 3
That evening, everyone was in the dining room, having spaghetti for dinner and conversing with each other. The Eds, Mac, Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo & Coco were all sitting together in one section of the table.
"So, why do they call you 'Double-D'?" Mac asked.
"My name is Edd also but with two D's," Edd answered.
"You guys have the same name? Cool!" Bloo exclaimed.
"Yeah, that's awesome," Wilt agreed.
"Sí," Eduardo agreed.
"Coco," Coco agreed.
"Eduardo has our name too," Ed pointed out.
"That's quite a coincidence, don't you think, Eddy?" Edd asked.
Eddy didn't respond. The others noticed he was staring at Frankie.
"Eddy?" Edd repeated as he tugged on the back of Eddy's shirt, causing him to snap out of his trance.
"Quit stretchin' the threads, Double-D," Eddy complained.
"May I ask why you were staring at Frankie?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Bloo asked. "Eddy's got a crush on Frankie just like Mac does."
"Bloo!" Mac shouted in embarrassment.
"Looks like you got competition, Mac," Bloo joked.
"Yeah, right," Eddy replied sarcastically. "Mac's just a kid. Frankie needs a man."
"That's what I told him,"
"You're a kid too, you know," Mac pointed out.
"Yeah, but I'm older. I'm twelve and you're eight," Eddy argued.
"At least, I'm human. You're imaginary," Mac countered.
Eddy thought about saying he wasn't imaginary but then, he realized he'd expose himself if he did that.
"Whatever. So, what else do you guys do for fun around here?" Eddy asked, trying to change the subject.
"I thought you'd never ask," Bloo replied before grabbing his spaghetti and throwing it at someone. "FOOD FIGHT!"
"Now, you're talkin'!" Eddy exclaimed before grabbing his spaghetti and throwing it at someone else.
A huge food fight soon began. Ed, Eddy, Bloo & all the other imaginary friends threw food at each other while Edd and Mac just watched since they didn't want to get in trouble. Frankie and Mr. Herriman tried to stop the food fight but it got so chaotic that they decided to hide in the kitchen until it was over. The food fight ended when Bloo threw a breadstick at Edd and knocked his hat off. Everyone except Ed and Eddy gasped in shock at what they saw under Edd's hat.
"MY HAT!" Edd shouted in despair as he placed his hands on top of his head.
"¡Ay caramba!" Eduardo said.
"Coco," Coco said.
"I'm sorry but that is not okay," Wilt said.
"MY EYES! THEY'RE BURNING!" Bloo shouted as he covered his eyes. They weren't really burning; he was just teasing Edd.
"Ew..." Mac said in disgust.
Edd was so embarrassed that he began to cry. He picked up his hat, cleaned it, put it back on and ran out of the dining room. Frankie and Herriman returned after Edd left.
"Masters Eddy and Blooregard! To my office immediately!" Herriman ordered.
After the food fight, everyone except Ed left the dining room. Ed stayed behind because he wanted to eat the food left over from the fight. Herriman told Eddy and Bloo they had to clean up the dining room as punishment for starting the food fight. Eddy and Bloo didn't want to clean it up themselves so they decided to ask Edd and Mac to help them. Mac felt bad for Edd after what happened to him and wanted to check on him. Mac entered the Eds' bedroom and saw Edd sitting on his bed with a sad look on his face.
"Double-D, are you okay?" Mac asked.
"Thank you for your concern, Mac," Edd replied. "I just feel embarrassed now that everyone knows what's under my hat."
"Some people are mean to their imaginary friends. Your creator wasn't like that, was he?"
"No, he was nice. I was injured in a dodgeball game once,"
"Ouch. That's like what happened to Wilt. He was injured in a basketball game once," Mac mentioned. "Anyway, I'm sure everyone'll be nice about the hat thing. Well, except for Bloo. He's kind of immature. Sorry about that."
"It's alright. Eddy acts the same way," Edd said.
Eddy and Bloo entered the room.
"Mac, Mr. Herriman's makin' us clean up the dining room. You gotta help us," Bloo begged.
"Why? You two are the ones who started the food fight," Mac argued.
"Yeah, but we don't wanna do it ourselves,"
"You gotta help us too, Double-D," Eddy begged. "You're the cleaning expert."
"What about Ed?" Edd asked.
"He's still in the dining room. He's gonna help too,"
After getting some cleaning supplies, Edd, Eddy, Mac & Bloo made their way back to the dining room, which was a huge mess. There were spaghetti sauce stains and globs of butter all over the walls and pieces of noodles, meatballs and breadsticks all over the floor. The Eds, Mac & Bloo spent the next hour cleaning up the mess. They entered the foyer when they were done.
"Finally, we're done!" Bloo exclaimed.
"Uh oh," Mac said, looking at his watch. "It's late. I gotta get home. See you guys tomorrow."
The Eds and Bloo said goodbye to Mac as he left the house. Frankie came downstairs after Mac left.
"Hey, guys," Frankie greeted.
"Good evening, Frankie," Edd greeted.
"What's cookin', good-lookin'?" Eddy flirted.
Frankie stared at him awkwardly. "I just wanted to let you know that tomorrow is Adopt-A-Thought Saturday," Frankie informed.
"Oh, great. I hate Adopt-A-Thought Saturday," Bloo grumbled as he went upstairs.
"What is Adopt-A-Thought Saturday?" Edd asked.
"It's when we invite people over and try to get imaginary friends adopted into new homes," Frankie explained.
"Adopted?" Eddy asked in confusion. "You mean we don't get to live here anymore?"
"Once you get adopted, no," Frankie replied. "All the imaginary friends here are put up for adoption. You didn't think Foster's was a boarding house, did you?"
"If it was, it wouldn't be called Foster's," Ed commented.
Edd and Eddy became nervous, knowing they were now in a predicament. Frankie noticed their nervousness and became suspicious.
"You guys are imaginary friends, aren't you?" Frankie questioned.
"Of course we are," Eddy lied, not ready to give up on his scam yet. "We can't wait for Adopt-A-Thought Saturday. We'll be there bright and early tomorrow."
"Great! See you in the morning," Frankie said before going back upstairs.
"Okay, she's gone," Eddy whispered once Frankie was out of earshot. "This can't be happening! Everything was goin' right for once."
"Please tell me you have a plan, Eddy," Edd begged. "I don't wish to be adopted."
"I do," Ed interrupted.
"We're not getting adopted, Ed. We're not imaginary," Eddy reminded.
"Why are we here then?" Ed asked in confusion, causing Eddy to groan and facepalm himself.
"I should've known this scam would backfire," Edd complained. "As long as we live here, there's a good chance at least one of us will get adopted."
"Relax, Double-D. All we gotta do is tell Herriman we don't wanna get adopted. Piece of cake," Eddy assured.
The Eds headed over to Herriman's office. Edd knocked on the door when they arrived.
"Come in," Herriman called from inside.
"Good evening, Mr. Herriman," Edd greeted as he, Ed & Eddy entered the office and walked up to the desk. "May we have a moment of your time?"
"Certainly," Herriman replied.
"We were just talkin' about how much we love it here and we're not really into the whole adoption thing," Eddy explained.
"I beg your pardon?" Herriman asked in surprise. "You gentlemen don't wish to be adopted?"
"No way," Eddy replied. "This place is paradise. We never wanna leave."
"Well, I appreciate the compliments, Master Eddy, but I'm afraid I cannot comply with your request. The house rules clearly state that once an imaginary friend moves in, he or she is placed under adoption,"
"Can't you bend the rules?" Eddy asked.
"No, I cannot simply bend the rules for those who don't wish to be adopted," Herriman answered. "If I did so, then Foster's would become very overcrowded."
"That ain't fair!"
"Rules are rules, Master Eddy, and it is not proper English to use the word 'ain't'," Herriman said.
"Who cares? Rules are meant to be broken, long ears," Eddy argued.
"Why, I never!"
"Eddy, please!" Edd interrupted, trying to defuse the situation. "Mr. Herriman is just doing his job."
"Thank you, Master Eddward," Herriman replied.
Eddy groaned as he, Ed & Edd left the office. "Stupid rabbit and his stupid rules," Eddy grumbled when they reentered the foyer.
"That plan worked like a charm," Edd said sarcastically.
"Forget Herriman. Like I said earlier, we're not getting adopted," Eddy said adamantly.
"You got us into this. How else do you suggest we avoid adoption?"
"Don't get your sock in a knot, Double-D. We can just ditch Adopt-A-Thought Saturday,"
"It's not that easy, Eddy. If Frankie and Mr. Herriman discover our absence, it might arouse their suspicion,"
"How are they gonna know if we're there or not? They have hundreds of imaginary friends here. They can't keep track of all of 'em, can they?"
Edd thought for a moment and realized Eddy had a point. "I suppose not," Edd guessed.
"All we have to do is hide somewhere until Adopt-A-Thought Saturday is over," Eddy explained. "We can do it every time they have it and we'll never get adopted."
"I hope you're right, Eddy," Edd replied. "Otherwise, tomorrow may be our last day at Foster's."
The next morning, while Frankie was waking up all the imaginary friends, she knocked on the Eds' bedroom door.
"Rise and shine, guys. Today's the big day," Frankie announced as she entered the room. Ed and Edd immediately woke up.
"YAY! IT'S ADOPT-A-THOUGHT SATURDAY!" Ed cheered as he jumped out of bed. He forgot he was on the top bunk and hit the floor, thus waking up Eddy, who was on the bottom bunk.
"Good morning, Frankie," Edd greeted.
"What time is it?" Eddy asked tiredly.
"7:00," Frankie answered.
"7:00? I don't get up till 9:00 on weekends,"
"Sorry, but all the imaginary friends here have to get up early on Adopt-A-Thought Saturday,"
"Oh, yeah? Well, we're not-" Eddy began. He stopped himself mid-sentence when he realized he was close to blowing the Eds' cover. "-used to getting up so early on Saturdays."
"An early bird catches the peanut, Eddy," Ed commented, standing up.
Frankie noticed that every single object in the room was labeled. "Who made all these labels?" she asked.
"Double-D. He labeled everything in the room before he went to bed last night," Eddy informed.
"My apologies, Frankie. It's difficult for me to sleep in an unlabeled environment," Edd admitted.
"No problem," Frankie replied. "Breakfast starts at 7:30."
"BREAKFAST FOR ED!" Ed exclaimed. He laughed and ran out of the room.
"Breakfast? I'm in!" Eddy exclaimed. He jumped out of bed and followed Ed.
Edd stood up from his bed and made it. "Wait for me, gentlemen!" Edd called out as he followed Ed and Eddy.
During breakfast, Mr. Herriman reminded everyone to be outside the house by the time Adopt-A-Thought Saturday started. He also reminded Bloo to stay inside the house during the event. Eddy was upset to find out Bloo was an exception to the "every imaginary friend at Foster's has to get adopted" rule after Herriman told him there were no exceptions to said rule. After breakfast, everyone except the Eds left the dining room and started preparing for Adopt-A-Thought Saturday.
"I don't get it. Why does Bloo get to skip Adopt-A-Thought Saturday and we don't?" Eddy complained.
"Bloo isn't up for adoption, Eddy. He already belongs to Mac," Edd explained.
"Lucky him,"
"If only our creator would visit us everyday," Ed said.
"If only we had a creator, Ed," Edd replied.
"Let's imagine a friend and pretend he's our creator," Ed suggested.
"What and ruin the plot?" Eddy asked.
"Now would be the best time to locate a place to hide for the day," Edd informed.
"Alright, let's go back upstairs and start lookin' for the attic," Eddy suggested. "They gotta have one in a house this big."
"When do we go outside for Adopt-A-Thought Saturday?" Ed asked.
"We don't. We're ditchin' that, remember? C'mon, we're wastin' time,"
The Eds were now upstairs, wandering around a hallway. They were having trouble finding the attic.
"Man, this place is a madhouse. It's bigger inside than it is outside," Eddy commented.
"I think we're lost, Eddy. Perhaps we should ask someone for directions," Edd suggested.
"Hey, guys! Over here!" Ed called out. Edd and Eddy turned around and saw him standing outside a bedroom on the other side of the hallway. "I found another monster."
"I hope it's not an Extremosaur,"
"If it was, it wouldn't be in the house," Eddy replied as he and Edd walked over to Ed. "Where's the monster, Ed?"
"In there," Ed answered, pointing inside the bedroom. "This one's a she-monster."
The Eds entered the bedroom and saw Duchess eating breakfast while sitting at a fancy table. Edd and Eddy stared awkwardly at her.
"That's disgusting," Edd commented.
"Good thing I'm a man of the world," Eddy said.
"What do you want?" Duchess asked grouchily.
"You look like one of the evil, mutant stinkbugs from my comic book, Monster Stinkbugs From Outer Space," Ed teased.
"Yeah, you're a real freak," Eddy teased. "I'd hate to see your creator."
Ed and Eddy laughed while Duchess glared at them.
"Ed, Eddy, that's enough," Edd said in fear.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Duchess snapped, standing up. She tried to throw a spoon and a fork at the Eds but they dodged both attacks.
"Watch where you're throwin' those!" Eddy shouted.
"Get out of my bedroom at once!" Duchess ordered.
"I apologize for their rudeness, ma'am. Can you please direct us to the attic?" Edd asked.
"Yes,"
"Thank you,"
Duchess sat back down and continued eating her breakfast. Edd and Eddy soon realized she was ignoring them.
"Hey!" Eddy shouted impatiently.
"Yes?" Duchess asked.
"Aren't you gonna tell us how to get to the attic?"
"No,"
"NO? WHADDAYA MEAN 'NO'?"
"You asked me if I could and I can. You didn't ask me if I would and I won't," Duchess said evilly.
"Why, you-" Eddy growled as he marched towards Duchess.
"Eddy, leave her alone," Edd begged. "Let's just go and find the attic ourselves."
"Quit bein' a chicken, Double-D," Eddy retorted. "We're not leavin' till she tells us where it is."
Just then, Duchess pressed a nearby button, causing a trapdoor to open up under Eddy, who screamed as he fell.
"EDDY!" Edd shouted as he ran over to the edge of the trapdoor.
"My turn to ride!" Ed shouted as he ran towards the trapdoor. He bumped into Edd and they screamed as they fell.
A trapdoor on the roof of the house opened up and out came the Eds. They stood up after the trapdoor closed itself.
"Stupid what's-her-name," Eddy grumbled. "Wait till I get my hands on her."
"Look how high up we are, guys," Ed pointed out as he looked over the roof.
"We must be on the roof," Edd realized. He was confused as to how they ended up there. "How is that possible? We traveled in a downward direction, not an upward direction."
"Told ya this place was weird," Eddy said. He noticed a wall-ladder right below a window. "Check it out. I bet that ladder goes up to the attic. Let's climb it and see."
The Eds climbed up the wall-ladder with Eddy leading the way. He looked through the window and saw the attic.
"Bingo!" Eddy cheered. The Eds climbed through the window and into the attic. "We made it, guys. The perfect hideout. They'll never find us up here."
"You do realize we'll have to return downstairs if we want food or beverages, don't you?" Edd reminded.
"We'll cross that bridge later. What we need now is some entertainment,"
Later, when Adopt-A-Thought Saturday was about to start, all the imaginary friends except Bloo were assembled in the front yard and Mr. Herriman was calling roll.
"Wilt?" Herriman called out.
"Over here, sir," Wilt replied as he raised his hand.
"Eduardo?"
"Present," Eduardo replied as he raised his hand.
"Coco?"
"Coco," Coco replied.
"Master Blooregard is in the house, am I correct?"
"Yes, sir," Wilt answered.
"Good. Ed, Eddward, Eddy?" There was no response. Herriman looked around for the Eds and noticed they were missing. "Curious. They are not here. Has anyone seen them?" Herriman asked.
"Not since breakfast," Eduardo answered.
"They must be in the house as well. Miss Frances, please locate and retrieve Masters Ed, Eddward and Eddy. We don't want them to miss Adopt-A-Thought Saturday,"
Frankie entered the house and found Bloo playing with a paddleball in the foyer.
"Bloo, have you seen Ed, Double-D and Eddy?" Frankie asked.
"Last time I saw them was at breakfast," Bloo replied.
"Well, Adopt-A-Thought Saturday is about to start. Can you help me find them?"
"I'm kinda busy right now,"
"Doing what? You're just playing paddleball," Frankie pointed out.
"I'm waiting for Mac too," Bloo added, causing Frankie to groan in annoyance.
Duchess, who was walking down the stairs when Frankie came into the foyer, overheard the conversation. She remembered hearing the Eds' names when they came into her bedroom earlier and realized they were the ones Frankie was looking for.
"I know where they are, Frankie," Duchess informed.
"You do?" Frankie asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Those three twerps barged into my bedroom, insulted me and asked me how to get to the attic. That's where they must be,"
Back in the attic, Edd and Eddy were sitting on beanbag chairs. Edd was reading a book while Eddy was watching a portable TV. Ed was standing by the window and looking down at everyone who was in the front yard.
"There's a buncha people outside, guys," Ed informed. "I think they're gonna start Adopt-A-Thought Saturday."
"Who cares, Ed? We already told you we're not goin' to that," Eddy reminded, annoyed with Ed bringing up the subject. "Quit bringin' it up."
"I hope this works out well. The last thing we need is another setback," Edd commented.
As if on cue, the door to the attic opened, thus startling the Eds. They turned around and saw Frankie entering the attic.
"There you guys are," she said.
"Hey, Frankie," Eddy greeted nervously. "How'd you find us?"
"Duchess told me you were up here," Frankie answered. The Eds realized who she was talking about. Duchess was the only one who knew they were going to the attic.
"Oh, that must be the ugly bug lady we met earlier." In his mind, Eddy cursed Duchess for ratting them out.
"Is it time for Adopt-A-Thought Saturday yet?" Ed asked.
"Yeah, it just started. Why aren't you outside with everyone else?" Frankie asked. Edd and Eddy looked at each other, unsure of how to answer that question.
"To be honest, Frankie, we're not yet comfortable with the idea of adoption," Edd admitted.
"Yeah, we still miss our creator a lot," Eddy added.
"Oh, I get it. You need more time to move on," Frankie realized as she knelt down. "That's okay. A lot of imaginary friends do. You can't skip Adopt-A-Thought Saturday though."
"Why not? We just got here yesterday. We need more time to adjust,"
"I know you do but Mr. Herriman expects all the imaginary friends here to get adopted sooner or later. It's a rule and you know how he is about rules,"
"He bent that rule for Bloo,"
"Bloo can't get adopted 'cause he already belongs to Mac,"
"That's what I told him," Edd mentioned.
"What difference does it make if we break this one rule?" Eddy argued.
"If you break the rule, Herriman might kick you out of the house," Frankie replied. "You don't want that, do you?"
"Let's not argue with her, Eddy," Edd advised. "We have to follow Mr. Herriman's rules if we want to live here even if they are strict."
"I wanna go to Adopt-A-Thought Saturday, Eddy. It sounds like fun," Ed said.
"You're right. It is fun," Frankie agreed. "There's balloons, cupcakes and lemonade and you might even find someone to adopt you."
Eddy still didn't want to go to Adopt-A-Thought Saturday but he figured he had no choice. "Alright, we'll be there," Eddy reluctantly agreed. He wanted Frankie to leave so he'd have more time to think of a plan. "We just gotta go to our bedroom and get dressed first."
"Okay. Join us in the front yard when you're done," Frankie instructed as she stood up and left the attic.
"Great. Now, we have to go to Adopt-A-Thought Saturday," Eddy complained once Frankie was gone. "What's the point? It's only for imaginary friends. No one's gonna adopt us anyway."
"That's not entirely true, Eddy. You did say that our creator was an adult who wished for children," Edd pointed out, using air quotes on the word 'creator'. "What if another adult wishing for children visits Foster's and wants to adopt us?"
Eddy thought for a moment and realized Edd had a point. "I hadn't counted on that one," Eddy admitted.
"There's no way around it. All we can do is attend Adopt-A-Thought Saturday and hope we don't get adopted,"
"What if we do?" Ed asked.
"We'll surely be forced to live with a stranger for an indefinite period of time and we may never return to Foster's or Peach Creek. We could even be separated," Edd explained.
Just then, an idea sparked inside Eddy's head. "That ain't gonna happen 'cause I got a trick up my sleeve," Eddy said evilly.
"Oh, no," Edd groaned. "Eddy's got that insidious look again, Ed."
"Eddy should eat more vegetables," Ed commented.
"Adopt-A-Thought Saturday is where imaginary friends get adopted and if no one shows up, that means they can't get adopted so all we have to do is get rid of whoever shows up," Eddy explained.
"I don't like where this is going. Are you suggesting we sabotage Adopt-A-Thought Saturday?" Edd asked suspiciously.
"You wanna live with some stranger instead?" Eddy questioned.
"You can count me out of whatever you have planned, Eddy," Edd said adamantly. "It's bad enough we're lying and taking advantage of these good people. Wrecking the most important day of the week for them is crossing the line."
"Oh, you're helpin', Double-D," Eddy demanded. "This scam is pure gold and we're gonna make it last."
"I'm afraid you have no leverage over me. Everyone here has already seen me without my hat," Edd reminded.
"Yeah, but the kids back at the cul-de-sac haven't,"
"Oh, darn it," Edd groaned, knowing what Eddy was insinuating.
"Double-D almost said a bad word, Eddy," Ed commented.