The Move

Lola wandered into the backyard. Her mother just stuffed her with lunch and she needed to walk it off.

"You look so thin she says…oh brother…" she mumbled

The yard was pretty large, which was perfect for their athletic family. The grass was in patches, worn out from all the games played on it. The shed was in the back corner, its doors slightly ajar. Inside were some old sports equipment, and gardening tools. Lola absentmindedly kicked the pebbles as she walked around. It was quiet until she heard a rumbling sound, then an engine starting. She realized someone else was outside as well. The sound came from the garage, so she went towards it. There she found her dad working on an old beat-up car.

"Wow you still have that old thing?" asked Lola as she walked in

"Yeah," answered Larry. He got up and stretched his back, "we've had it since before you were born, so it's really old."

"Hardy har har,"

"I want to sell it for scrap metal, fixing it up all the time is getting on my nerves,"

"Well then why don't you?"

"You know your mother. She says it holds too many memories,"

"Yeah…getting us to school…going on trips…all that jazz,"

"And remember when we had to move? This is the car we used that time…"

"Yeah…I know,"

Lola had been going to Granny's house for quite some time now. About a year has past since she first set foot in the yard. Lola had become good friends with all the kids at Granny's house, especially Bugs. She loved going to Granny's house, but one day…things changed

This day began like many others: Lola was dropped off by her mother at Granny's house.

"Bye Lola," said Gladys

"Bye Mom," said little Lola

Gladys looked on as Lola entered the yard with the others. When she saw that she was safe, she drove off.

Lola met up with the others to play in the yard. Today, the other two girls, Melissa and Petunia, were there as well.

"Hey Lola!" called Melissa

"Hi Melissa," greeted Lola

"Wanna play tea party?"

"Umm…ok," she hesitated

Gladys turned the corner and pulled up to her house. Oddly enough, when she arrived home, she noticed her husband's car in the driveway. She parked the van and entered the house.

"Larry?" she asked

She walked into the dining room and found her husband sitting at the head of the table. She could tell he was deep in thought; he looked up at her.

"Gladys…we need to talk…"

Lola sat down in the empty seat at the tiny plastic table. Melissa and Petunia were serving the 'tea' in the plastic cups, making sure that all their stuffed dolls had a share. Lola took the cup in her hand and took a quick sip.

"Lola, aren't you forgetting something?" asked Melissa

"Hmm?" inquired Lola

Melissa and Petunia lifted their cups by the handle, with pinky extended. Lola sighed and she followed suit.

"This tea is yummy," said Melissa

"Yes, yummy," echoed Petunia

Lola put her cup down and began to fiddle with the tea spoon.

"My Georgina loves tea!"

"Yeah, Molly loves tea too!"

The girls gave their dolls a sip of their imaginary tea. Then they looked towards Lola.

"Umm, Edna likes it too?" she said. Then she gave Edna a bit of the tea as well.

"My darling Georgina is so smart! She could count all the way up to five!" boasted Melissa

"Molly too! And she knows all her colors!" mirrored Petunia

"I love being a mommy…don't you Lola?"

"Hmm? Oh uh…I dunno…" she replied absent-mindedly

The game of pretend was then interrupted…much to Lola's delight

"Hey Lola, you wanna play basketball?" asked Bugs as he approached the table

"Ok!" said Lola quickly, "Excuse me ladies."

She jumped out of the chair as she joined Bugs towards where the boys were playing.

"You're excused," said Melissa

"Yeah, you're excused," echoed Petunia

"Poor girl…she's missing all the fun,"

"Yeah, poor girl,"

"Eh, ok Daffy, I got Lola on my team," said Bugs as he and Lola approached the others on the court

"Fine! And I got Taz on my team! You're going down bunnies!"

"We'll see about that!" said Lola

Daffy had the ball first. He did his best to dribble towards the conveniently sized basket; however the ball was stolen by Bugs. Bugs went on the offensive, but had to switch to the defensive when Taz blocked his path.

"Me want ball! Me want ball!" he grumbled

"Eh, catch!" said Bugs as he tossed the ball over Taz's head.

The ball soared in the air and was caught first by Lola. Lola dribbled the ball towards the basket, however Daffy blocked her way. She reacted quickly by passing the ball to Bugs, whom took the shot. The ball went in clear. Bugs and Lola celebrated by high-fiving each other.

"Lucky shot Bugs…" mumbled Daffy

"Eh, you can't beat us," said Bugs

"We make the best team," added Lola

The children continued with their play, as Granny watched over them. It was soon to be time for lunch so Granny went inside to make the meal. Making a meal by herself for so many little ones was no easy task; however she was still vigilant after the children through the kitchen window.

Meanwhile outside, the kids soon grew bored of their games and were faced with a serious dilemma…

"What are we gonna play now?" asked Tweety

"I dunno…I'm bored…" said Daffy

"Techtocomunga," agreed Taz

"How about we play dress up?" suggested Melissa

"Nah!" replied the boys quickly

"How about bike racing?" suggested Bugs

"I didn't bring my bike," said Petunia

They were all deep in thought. Suddenly someone had an idea.

"How about we play Marco Polo?" suggested Lola

The others looked around amongst themselves.

"But I don't wanna get wet," said Sylvester

"We don't need to play in the water, we can play here in the yard,"

"Hmm…ok!" said Tweety

"Yeah, me too!" said Melissa

"Me too" echoed Petunia

"Eh, ok Lola. We'll play Marco Polo," said Bugs

"But you have to be Marco!" said Daffy quickly, "it was your idea."

"Ok Daffy, I'll be Marco," said Lola as she rolled her eyes

"Here! We can use my blankie as a blindfold!" suggested Tweety

Daffy took the blanket, rolled it up and tied it around Lola's eyes.

"Ready! Go!" yelled the kids as they dispersed from her.

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

Meanwhile…

Granny was just finishing making sandwiches, when she heard the bell ring. She answered the door and it was Lola's parents.

"Hello Granny. I'm sorry to barge in like this but we need to talk," said Gladys.

"Of course, come right in," said Granny.

They came inside and sat down.

"We have an emergency and we have to leave town right away. We have to take our girl with us," said Larry directly.

"What! But! This is so sudden! How can I possibly say goodbye to her?" said Granny.

"I'm sorry, but we have to leave. You're just going to have to say goodbye to her," said Gladys

Granny then went solemnly outside, followed by the Bunnies. Lola was still playing with the others. She was stumbling about, with arms outstretched in front of her, trying to find her friends.

"Lola," said Granny.

"Granny! She's Marco!" yelled the kids.

"Lola, sweetie, come here," said Gladys

Lola recognized that voice and took off her blindfold. "Mommy!" she said as she gave her a hug.

"Hey there doll face," said Larry

"Daddy! You know I don't like being called doll!"

"Listen sweetie, we…we have to go away," said Gladys

"Where are we going?" asked Lola

"Far away,"

"Aw! But we were just playing! Can we go tomorrow?"

"No, we are leaving right now. Go say bye to your little friends," said Larry who was becoming impatient.

"But mommy!" pleaded Lola

"No, no, your father's right. You have to say goodbye," said Gladys. She let her down. Lola then ran to Granny.

"Granny! I don't want to go!" she begged

"I'm so sorry, there's nothing I can do," said Granny heartbroken

"Hey! Marco what's going on!" demanded Bugs, followed by the others.

"Yeah! We've been in that bush for ages!" complained Daffy.

"I'm going away!" cried Lola.

"What?" they all said in unison

"Her parents are moving away," answered Granny, "she has to leave."

"But she can't!" said Melissa.

"Yeah! She can't!" echoed Petunia.

"I'm sorry kids," said Granny sadly.

The ambiance was full of confusion and shock. Nobody knew what to say. Only Lola's sobs broke the silence.

"I'm going to miss you all so much," said Lola with tears in her eyes.

Melissa and Petunia were the first to embrace her. They cried together. Taz cried too and joined the group. The others also were pulled into the embrace. They held her tightly; they did not want their friend to leave them. However, Lola had no choice but to break away from the group. She then turned to Granny then gave her a big hug.

"I love you Granny,"

"I love you too Lola," replied Granny

When they released, Lola looked towards Bugs. She went up to him. He had his head down, trying to hold back his tears.

"I'm going to miss you most of all," said Lola.

"I'm going to miss you, too," he said.

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He looked at her wide-eyed, with a slight blush on his face. Then his eyes began to swell with tears.

Lola turned away from them and took her mother's hand.

"Good bye!" said Lola.

"Bye Lola," they all said

They all walked to the fence to watch them go inside their car, which was packed with their stuff. Lola then waved from the window and the others waved back. The watched the car start and leave, then it turned the corner and disappeared forever. Granny and the kids went back inside, except for Bugs. He still looked after the car. He fell to his knees and cried silently.

Larry was tense, driving the van down the highway. Gladys was silent, confused and worried to the sudden turn of events. Lola was sobbing inside the car, clinging to her little Edna. Kate and Brendan were in the car too; equally upset.

"I…don't wanna go…" cried Lola

"Oh shut up…" grumbled Kate as she crossed her arms

"Kate, be nice," said Gladys

"Why do we have to go?" asked Brendan

Gladys looked towards Larry.

"We can't live here anymore," he responded

"But why?" asked Kate, "My whole life is here, why do we have to go!?"

"We'll have a new life, and you'll have new friends. You'll see," said Gladys

"But I like my old friends,"

"Me too…" agreed Brendan and Lola

"I'm sorry kids," said Gladys

"No! It's not fair! You can't do this to me!" shouted Kate

"I hate this…" complained Brendan

"I don't wanna go!!!" cried Lola

The ruckus in the van had reached a high point.

"All of you! That's enough!" yelled Larry

There was intense silence in the van. It was as though they could feel his anger in the air.

"We can't live here anymore. It's for the best. And if you don't like it, too bad. If I here another complaint…ONE MORE COMPLAINT! It's the BELT for you…"

The car fell deathly silent. Only the humming of the engine and Lola's sniffling disturbed the peace.

They drove for hours and hours, farther and farther away from their home. Larry was frustrated and concerned…he had no idea where he was going to take his family. All he knew… was that they couldn't be in California anymore. Not for a long time.

"The mileage on this thing is so high, it's not even funny," said Larry

"It's served its purpose," agreed Lola, "It got us to where we had to go. It had its run."

"It definitely has history. All that time moving around…it was dependable in its time. But now the old girl just wants to go to the big parking lot in the sky,"

As if on cue, the engine backfired and it completely shut down. The side mirror fell to the pavement and the back wheels feel out of their axles.

"May it rest in pieces…"