Chapter 2: Hard Times for Honey
Agent BM: Thx, glad to hear that
That evening, back at her house, Honey was doing her homework in her room.
"And that takes care of math. Now time for English." she told herself.
"You really work hard, Honey." said Buzz.
"Doing your homework your hardest gets you good grades."
"Honey, time for dinner." called Wanda.
"Coming, Mom. I'll bring you guys your dinner when I'm done."
She got up from her desk, and went downstairs. In the kitchen, her parents made some spaghetti and meatballs with corn.
After they all had their plates made, they sat down and ate.
"So how was school today, Honey?" Trevor wanted to know.
"Oh, it was fine. Nothing special. What about you guys?"
"Things went well on the farm. I collected a good batch of honey, and got it all cleaned and put in jars." Wanda informed.
"And deliveries went fine, smooth day on the road." said Trevor.
After they finished, Honey helped her mom wash the dishes. As she washed a plate, she glanced at her father. He was looking over some papers and had his calculator out.
"Must be going over the bills." Honey thought.
After finishing, she put some honey in a dish, and started back upstairs. As she walked, she overheard her parents talking.
"How're the numbers looking, Trevor?" Wanda asked.
"Not too good, Wanda. The farm's just not making that much like it used to."
"What are we gonna do?"
"Don't worry, we're still making enough to stay afloat."
That made Honey's heart ache. Another thing that set her apart from her classmates as they were all pretty much financial stable. While her family wasn't broke, things could've been better. When she got back up to her room, she set the dish down on her desk for her bees.
"Thanks, Honey." Stinger told her.
"Your welcome, guys."
And Honey went back to her homework.
The next day at school, the principal called everyone to the auditorium for an important assembly. Honey took a seat in there, and found herself sitting next to Vanellope.
"Hey, Vanellope, any idea what this assembly's about?" she asked.
"No idea, but I overheard her talking about this at home." Vanellope replied.
Just then, the principal came on the stage. She was a tall woman with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a dark gray pantsuit. This was the principal of the school and Vanellope's aunt. Retired army sergeant, Sgt. Tamora Calhoun.
"Good morning, students. I called this assembly to inform you all of a very serious matter." she announced into the microphone.
Everyone was confused as to what she was talking about.
"We've received word that the Maroni Gang has been sighted in the Los Angeles area."
That stunned everyone and they began talking frantically. The Maroni Gang was a criminal gang in the city, that was said to be involved in illegal activities. They were feared and were rumored to threaten people that got in the way of their business, and the ones who did get in the way were never seen again.
"Quiet down, people." Calhoun told.
It took a minute, but everyone did.
"Now I understand your feelings, but the best way to avoid any trouble is to keep your distance from them, be on alert when you're in the city, and be careful how late you stay out."
After the assembly was over, the students went back to class.
"I can't believe the Maroni Gang is close to where we live." said Candlehead.
"Don't worry, babe. I'd protect you, if they ever bothered you." Gloyd told her, as he put his arm around her.
Candlehead smiled and blushed. She was glad her and Gloyd had started dating.
"Daddy says eliminating them is his main priority." Taffyta informed.
"Does he think they can really be stopped?" Honey wondered.
"He's determined. And if the Maroni Gang gets disbanded while he's in office, it'll be great for re-election season."
Some of the others rolled their eyes. This was a serious situation, but Taffyta was treating it as a publicity stunt for her dad.
When school was over, Honey got on her bike, but instead of riding home she rode towards the city. She had a part time job as a waitress at a cafe. Buzz, Bumble, and Stinger were riding on her helmet, in order to go with her.
"You know, Honey. This is the first time we've ever seen where you work." said Buzz.
"It's nothing fancy, just a simple cafe." Honey told.
It was a good thirty minutes to get there, but finally Honey arrived at the cafe, which was called Sittin' and Sippin'. After parking her bike around back, Honey went inside and changed into her uniform.
She stepped out of the restroom in a white short sleeved polo shirt, short black skirt, and her regular shoes. Then she went up to the boss.
"I'm here, Mr. Stevens." she informed.
"Hello, Honey. Report to table three." Mr. Stevens instructed.
And so Honey did.
For hours Honey went from table to table, taking orders, bringing out food, and trying to be friendly. Of course, being a waitress wasn't easy. She had to deal with people who were grumpy, ones who wanted to be difficult, and try and cause scenes.
But Honey tried to keep a calm face, and be as kind as possible. And she managed to get some tips. At 6:30, Honey's shift ended, and she went to go get changed. Her bees flew outside the restrooms, waiting for her to come out.
When she finally did, they flew next to her ears.
"Gee, Honey. You sure work hard." said Buzz.
"I know, but the harder I work the better I get paid and the more tips I get." Honey whispered to them.
Before leaving, Mr. Stevens called out to her.
"Honey, do you think you could work on Saturday from 10-3? Becky called out sick."
Honey quietly sighed.
"Okay, Mr. Stevens no problem."
And she left, grabbed her bike, and biked home.
When she got back to her house, she saw that her parents were there.
"Hello, Honey. How was work?" greeted Wanda.
"It was fine. I'll be working on Saturday." Honey informed.
"Again, that's the third time." Trevor remarked.
Honey just smiled tiredly, and replied,
"It's okay."
Then she reached into her backpack, and pulled out some cash.
"Here, it's the tips I got today."
Wanda took the money, and both her and Trevor looked touched.
"You don't have to do this, Honey." he told her.
"I want to. Every little bit helps."
She then told them she'd be down for dinner, as soon as she had a quick shower. As she went upstairs, her parents noticed her legs looked tired.
"You know Honey, if you ever wanted a ride home from work one of us could pick you up." offered Wanda.
"Don't worry, I'm okay."
And she quickly went upstairs, got some clothes, and then went to the bathroom to take a shower. Though her job made her tired, she knew she had to help out her parents.
On Saturday, Honey reported to work. Being a weekend, it was a busy shift, so Honey was running around a lot. Around 1-ish, Honey had just come back from taking some dishes to the kitchen, when she saw her classmates coming inside.
She froze, she wasn't expecting to see them, and she was also a little embarrassed being seen in her uniform.
"Honey, we got a large group of teens out there, you're on them." Mr. Stevens instructed.
"Oh just kill me now." Honey thought.
But she swallowed her pride, and went over to them.
"(Clears throat), hello and welcome to Sittin' and Sippin'." she welcomed.
When the others saw her they looked surprised.
"Honey? You work here?" asked Vanellope.
"Yes." she replied in a quiet voice.
"Oh, so this is what you do on weekends." said Adorabeezle.
"So can I get you all started with some drinks?" Honey offered.
They all began ordering all at once, but luckily Honey managed to calm them down and get their orders down one at a time.
It took a while, but Honey was able to bring out their drinks, take their meal orders, and then get them out.
"So...where were you guys?" Honey questioned.
"We were up at the old racetrack." answered Gloyd.
"Racetrack?"
"Yeah, there's an old racetrack near the city where we race karts." explained Crumbelina.
"You have karts?"
"Yeah, didn't you know?" asked Swizzle. "
Sorry, I'm busy most of the time."
Then Honey was called away. But as she walked off, she overheard her classmates talking about her.
"Of course she doesn't know all she does is study, do homework, and work apparently." said Minty.
"That girl needs to learn to loosen up." added Swizzle.
"And to work as a waitress on a Saturday? Poor her." Candlehead mentioned.
"Hey, what can you expect she's a nerdy loser." Taffyta sneered.
Honey's looked sad, it hurt her to know that's what her classmates thought of her. And when they left, they didn't even tip her.
On Sunday, Honey decided to go to Sugar Rush. She walked around, and looked at all the different stores. Most of them were owned by her classmates' parents. There was Igloo, where Adorabeezle's parents sold popsicles.
Little Italy was a store where Crumbelina's family sold Italian desserts. In Have a Mint, Minty's parents sold mints, taffy, and caramel apples. Then there was Fro-Cone, owned by Snowanna's folks. There they sold snow cones and sorbet.
Rancis' parents had the store PB&C, which sold chocolate and peanut butter treats. And there was also Have a Slice, a store owned by Candlehead's dad, that sold cakes. As she walked on, she spotted something.
Two men were working on a section of Sugar Rush. One was tall, wore a red shirt and overalls, had brown hair, and wore black boots. The other was short, wore a blue shirt and jeans, brown boots and gloves, and had brown hair under a blue cap.
Honey recognized them, they were Vanellope's uncles, Felix was married to Principal Calhoun. So she decided to go up and say hello.
"Hi, Mr. Ralph, Mr. Felix." she greeted.
The two men saw her, and smiled.
"Oh, hi Honey. What are you doing here?" asked Felix.
"Just walking around. What are you doing?"
"We're just boarding up this section of the building. Since Swizzle and Gloyd's parents decided to move their sweets to their other stores in town, these spots are vacant." Ralph explained.
Honey looked at the empty stores, and then suddenly an idea popped into her head.
That's chapter 2, plz review