Chapter Fourteen
(A few things to say:
Enjoy life as it goes on
Keep Calm and Read Fan-fiction
Before you read the story, go on YouTube, type in "HOT PEPPER CHALLENGE….GloZell", and click on the first video that's on top of the list because in this chapter, one of the characters does a parody-ish…re-enactment thing of the video on YouTube. Also, check out Diem Ex Dei by Globus because it's also going to be used in the fifteenth chapter.
Sorry for not posting this on Thursday or Friday because I am on an overnight athletics trip and the WiFi in the hotel that I'm staying wouldn't allow me to get FanFiction until I join a silly hotel membership thing. Boo.
Happy Late Halloween to y'all and just call this story The Birchwood Twin(s): (Late) Halloween Special.
Depending on you, the fans and readers, I might be able to work on another The Birchwood Twin(s) and I can use some ideas and/or suggestions. You can PM me or write your ideas in the comments.
and…
Kick back, relax, and enjoy the story because this is going to be one heck of a chapter. It's really, really long.
-imaginarytoon1)
Greasy:
I was really confused after finding an apple next to a tree. In the woods, there are no apple trees in sight. Not one…or two…or three apple trees. There just regular trees in the woods but I don't what kind they are. I even found a couple of dead trees with Psycho.
Anyway, after putting the apple inside my right trouser pocket, I asked myself, "¿Por qué está esto aquí en el bosque? ¿Se cae la chica o no esta manzana acaba de caer del bolsillo de su chaqueta? Bueno ..."
Then, I was interrupted by Wheezy and I had to catch up with him, Psycho, Flasher, Stupid, and Slimy.
Another thing that made me confused was finding the muchacha asleep in the woods. I mean, she did a great job in the other parts of the challenge and now, she's sleeping on the ground.
Perhaps the muchacha was really tired and she needed some rest. I thought.
But still, I think that muchacha can do better than just fall asleep in the woods.
Now that I found muchacha, along with the others, I hope that Boss won't be too hard on her for falling asleep. I didn't help the members carry the muchacha but I kept an eye on them and made sure that they weren't going to hurt her.
As soon as we (Psycho, Stupid, Wheezy, Flasher, and Slimy, including myself) made it to the edge of the woods, Boss looked at us with surprise and interest.
"What do you have there?" He asked.
"We found Birchwood sleeping in the woods." Wheezy said and blew out a cloud of smoke after he helped Psycho, Stupid, Flasher, and Slimy set the muchacha on the ground. "Although it's too soon, she didn't pass this part of the challenge."
Then, Boss started to dance around in joy and I just watched him, although I wasn't really impressed with his dancing.
"All right, Birchwood," Boss said after he stopped dancing his horrible dance, "you 'lust' this part of the challenge. So...Hey, Birchwood, wake up!"
I chuckled and shook my head.
"Sound sleeper, isn't she, Boss?" I asked.
Psycho walked over to the muchacha and he begins to shake her awake.
"Wake up, pretty girly." He said with a small sad and concerned look on his face. "Wake up." Psycho looked at me and asked, "Is she dead?"
"I don't think so." I replied and walked over to the niña dormida. "Wake up, muchacha." I shook her arm and I heard a crunching noise.
"Did you guys hear that?" Slimy asked.
"Yeah," we all said in unison.
Then, Boss walked over to the muchacha and without warning, he kicked her. Although the muchacha didn't respond to Boss's kick, I was angry at him.
"Boss, no se puede poner en ella! Eso quiere decir!" I exclaimed.
"Uh, Greasy? Before you start fighting with Smarty, you might want to see this." Flasher said.
"What is it?" Boss and I asked in unison.
"I don't think we caught the real Birchwood. This could be a decoy." Slimy said.
Boss and I walked over to the muchacha and Flasher pulls down the hood of the jacket, exposing a balloon with a face drawn on it.
I was shocked to see that and at the same time I was impressed. I thought that muchacha pulled off a really good trick. I never thought that a human like muchacha can pull off a Toon trick.
I looked at Boss and he didn't look very happy. Steam was coming out of his ears, eyes were turning red, and he growled in frustration and shock.
"Grrr…BIRCHWOOOOD!"
Beatrice:
I woke up after listening to a voice screaming 'BIRCHWOOD' and it echoes in the woods. I guess Smarty found out that Greasy and the others brought in AKA instead of me. I still can't believe that the weasels fell for the decoy.
Then, I heard shuffling and rustling noises and I remain hidden on the tree branch.
An angry Smarty enters the area and the other weasels trailed behind him. Stupid and Wheezy were the furthest behind the other weasels because they were dragging in one of the pianos from the second part of the challenge.
"This is where we found the decoy, all right." Flasher said.
"And here's the piano that Birchwood played during the second part of the challenge." Wheezy said and coughed out a puff of smoke.
Psycho stands on the spot where AKA was 'sleeping' and Wheezy points at that spot.
"And over where Psycho is standing *cough, cough!*, that's where the decoy was 'sleeping'." Wheezy said.
"I can't believe you idiots fell for the trick!" Smarty exclaimed angrily.
"We didn't know that it was a decoy!" Greasy said.
"PSYCHO!"
Psycho looked at Smarty and asked, "Yes, Boss?"
"You're good at smelling for things, right?" Smarty asked.
"Uh hah."
What on Earth is Smarty doing to Psycho? Treat him like he's a bloodhound?
"Then, get your super 'stiffer' working and look for Birchwood!" Smarty exclaimed.
Yes, Smarty's treating Psycho like he's a bloodhound. I thought. I don't think I put on anything with a strong scent.
Then, Greasy takes out the green apple and Psycho starts to smell the apple. Just like a bloodhound smelling for the scent of a criminal, Psycho wanders around the area in circles while smelling for me. Then, he walked to the piano. Psycho places his nose on the keys and he slides it down the piano. I rolled my eyes, shook my head, and chuckled. What Psycho just did on the piano just made my day. It was just really…adorable.
Then, I watched Smarty walking around in circles and began to think about something.
"I know that Birchwood is somewhere in the 'hoods' and she's probably one of those girls who can get distracted by something while walking around." Smarty said.
What Smarty said was partially true.
"Boys, we're staying here until Birchwood comes." Smarty declared.
Uh, hello? I thought. I'm watching you while hiding in this tree.
"And how are we supposed to bring Birchwood over here?" Wheezy asked.
"Here's what we'll do." Smarty said and all of the weasels gathered around him.
I watched the weasels whisper things and I listen to the giggling, snickering, and exclaiming. I hope that they're not thinking of any too extreme things that could hurt me.
After a couple of minutes, Smarty stops whispering things to the other weasels and they sit in a circle. Flasher snapped his fingers like he just had an idea and walks over to a tree behind him. He reaches behind the tree and takes out…a picnic basket?
"Whatcha got there, Flasher?" Smarty asked in a tone that sounds like fake interest.
Flasher doesn't answer and opens the basket. He takes out a sandwich with a paper towel wrapped around it.
How can they think of food if they're trying to find me? I asked. Is this a part of the weasels' wicked little scheme? Or is the food a distraction?
"I figured that we're going to be here for a while and I brought us 'sammiches' and these grapes right here." Flasher said and handed Smarty a sandwich.
"Good thinking, Flasher." Smarty said and grabbed the sandwich.
"Duh, what kind of sandwiches did you bring?" Stupid asked.
"Chicken sandwiches." Flasher replied with an evil grin.
I heard my stomach growl.
Curses! I thought. I really wish that those weasels don't eat those sandwiches in front of me! I'm really hungry!
Then, Flasher takes out a big bowl of purple grapes.
"Are the grapes seedless, Flasher?" Wheezy asked.
"I have the ripest, juiciest, and seedless purple grapes right here with me. Believe me, they look delicious." Flasher said.
One by one, every weasel grabs and eats their own sandwich and bunch of purple grapes. They eat their food really slowly and for me, hearing the sound of grapes crunching after the first bite is making my mouth water.
This is not a time to be eating! I thought.
Then, my stomach begins to growl and it feels like it's either turned inside out or like I'm going to throw up.
Grapes and chicken! I thought. WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE GRAPES AND CHICKEN?!
I watched Wheezy grab something out the basket and pulls out…a small red habanero pepper. Oh man, that's one of the hottest things in the world.
"That's the weirdest-looking grape that I've seen." Wheezy said.
That's no grape. I thought. That's a habanero pepper.
"Wheezy, what is that?" Greasy asked.
"It's probably some weird-looking cherry." Wheezy replied.
Wheezy was about to bite down on the pepper but Greasy takes another quick look at it and shouted to Wheezy, "Stop! THAT'S A PEPPER!"
Oh, man, Greasy, I really wanted to see Wheezy eat that pepper! I thought.
"So?" Wheezy asked. "It's just a little red pepper."
"I'm warning you, Wheezy." Greasy said. "It's really, really, really, really hot! Your tongue will be on fire if you eat that pepper."
"Whatever. I'm still going to eat this."
Then, Wheezy pops the pepper into his mouth and despite of him looking a little blurry from where I am, I watched Wheezy chew on the pepper. He acts like nothing bad is going to happen.
"What's supposed to-?" Wheezy began and then, he suddenly cuts himself off.
Oh boy, here we go. I thought.
With his cigarette smoke and fire, Wheezy coughs in disgust and surprise and then, he starts exclaiming in pain. Exclaiming in pain goes back to huge rounds of coughing. This time, Wheezy's coughs don't sound like regular coughs. The coughs sound like a combination of two sounds, like someone just put their car in park and pressed the gas pedal multiple times (that loud humming/roaring noise that the car makes) and someone was burping after chugging down a bottle of Coke-Cola (I say that instead of 'Coca-Cola'.).
"GIVE ME SOME-*COUGH, COUGH, COUGH, COUGH*-WATER! RIGHT NOW!" Wheezy exclaimed.
The other weasels couldn't do anything…other than watch Wheezy and laugh their heads off. They were laughing much harder than they were when I told the weasels that I was afraid of cinnamon.
I was being careful not to literally laugh out loud while seeing Wheezy screaming, coughing, and running around after eating one of the world's hottest peppers.
While Greasy was tossing random stuff out the picnic basket, he laughed really hard and exclaimed to Wheezy, "I warned you and you didn't listen!" Then, Greasy hands Wheezy something that looks like a thermos or a shiny water jug.
Wheezy didn't hesitate and he snatched the thermos…or water jug…out of Greasy hand and takes off the lid. He waterfalls the water, hoping that it would appease his burning tongue.
It was quiet in the woods and I was still trying not to laugh out loud by putting my hand over my mouth. Unfortunately, Wheezy didn't stay quiet for long and he starts spitting the water out of his mouth and screaming and gargling water…all at the same time. The other weasels continued to laugh as Wheezy exclaimed, "IT'S NOT WORKING! GIVE ME *COUGH, COUGH, COUGH* SOMETHING ELSE! *WHEEEEZE* HURRY UP! HURRY UP!"
I still kept my laugh bottled up but it really wasn't easy. I know that I won't keep my upcoming laugh bottled up for long.
While all of the other weasels were laughing really hard, Greasy starts looking for something else to stop the burning sensation on Wheezy's tongue. After a couple of minutes, Greasy takes out a glass bottle of…Coke-Cola?
"Here, Wheezy—ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!—try this!" Greasy said and popped off the lid of the bottle.
Wheezy took the bottle and chugged down the liquid. After pausing for a few brief seconds and letting out a long burp, a loud laugh explodes out of my mouth.
"HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!" I laughed.
Then, all of the weasels freeze.
Uh oh, I shouldn't have laughed. I slapped my hand over my mouth.
"Did you hear that?" Stupid asked.
"I sure did." Greasy said.
Then, Smarty looked around and saw me sitting on the branch.
"BIRCHWOOD!" He exclaimed angrily.
"Where is she?" Greasy asked.
"UP THERE ON THAT TREE!"
Every weasel looks up at me and I knew that I was in a lot of trouble.
Do any members of the Toon Patrol have the ability to climb trees like me? Why am I like a cat on this tree branch and all of the weasels at the bottom are like dogs? What should I do now? I thought.
"I am not getting off this branch and there's absolutely no way that you're going to make me get off!" I shouted.
Smarty, for a random reason, threw his hat down to the ground and ran to the tree. He begins to climb up the tree like it was a ladder and almost immediately, after climbing up six feet, Smarty falls back down on the ground.
I rubbed my fingernails on my shirt and blew on them.
"Is that really the best you can do?" I mumbled.
"I was just 'warning cup'!" Smarty exclaimed.
"It's 'warming up', Smarty!"
He immediately begins to climb up the tree again and falls back down after only covering two feet. Still, Smarty doesn't give up. He climbs up the tree again…and again…and again…and again…and again…and again…and again…and again…and again…and it goes on for another fifty 'and agains'. The result was the same at the end: Smarty would fall back down on the ground and he would try to climb up the tree again.
"I'm coming 'cup' there, Birchwood! And you're going down! 'LITERARY'! This time, I'm going to the top!" Smarty exclaimed.
"I can wait all day long and the words you're looking for is 'up' and 'literally', not 'literary' and 'cup'!" I called to Smarty.
Smarty cracks his knuckles, takes a couple of deep breaths, spits on his palms, and grabs the tree. He begins to climb with determination and in vain. This time, Smarty is about to cover eight…well, make that ten…feet (I am forty-five feet up.). He's actually doing better than the last times. Smarty continues to climb up and then…
(To be continued…IMMEDIATELY. XD! Ha ha ha! Gotcha! ;))
…Smarty grabs a branch and it snaps. He falls down with the branch and lands on his back, making his silly pink zoot suit dirty and a little torn. Smarty's spats are covered with grime. Immediately, Smarty gets on his feet, takes off running to some place, and comes back with a clean pink zoot suit and cleans spats.
"This isn't the end, Birchwood!" Smarty exclaimed.
He was just about to the climb the tree again but Greasy, Stupid, and Wheezy come to Smarty and grabbed his arms and pulled him away.
"Boss, that's enough climbing." Wheezy said after blowing out a cloud of smoke.
"Si, boss. Take it easy, will you?" Greasy said, too.
Then, Smarty turns to Wheezy and he whispers something to him. I heard Wheezy say "Yeah" and "Hold on, *cough, cough* I'll get it" and then, he walked to the piano. He lifts up the lid and pulls out…his tommy gun.
What is Wheezy going to do with that? I said in my head.
Then, Wheezy points his tommy gun at me.
Oh, no! That's not good! Not good at all! I thought.
"On the count to three, Wheezy!" Smarty said. "One…two…"
I'm going to die tonight.
"STOP!" Greasy said at the very last minute.
"Greasy, don't 'incorrupt' us right now! We have to get Birchwood down!" Smarty exclaimed angrily.
"She is coming down but it will take some time."
"Duh, what are you saying, Greasy?" Stupid asked.
What are you trying to do, Greasy? I thought. Because whatever you're thinking about, it's not going to work out.
"I'm saying that muchacha will come off that tree but not right at this moment." Greasy said.
"So, you're saying that we have to wait?" Wheezy asked.
"I'm saying that she'll come down eventually. Let's keep an eye on her and wait. I think that muchacha will come down if she gets bored or irritated. If she does come down, we'll deal with her."
I listen to the other weasels agree and eventually, Smarty begins to believe that Greasy's little plan is going to work.
"All right, boys. Let's follow Greasy's plan. Birchwood isn't going anywhere for now." Smarty said and looked up to me. "You hear that, Birchwood? If you come down, you'll 'snooze' this part of the challenge. We got all night, Birchwood."
"First, I heard what you said and I'm not deaf. Second, it's 'lose', not 'snooze'. Third, I can wait all year if I have to." I said.
Then, for the weasels, watching-time begins. Sitting-and-wondering-what-to-do-next time begins for me.
I looked at the scenery and began to unleash my river of thoughts.
Thought Number One:
I feel like I'm living three stories that are known to little, some, or most people, The Most Dangerous Game, Lord Of The Flies, and The Hunger Games. I'm the prey, the genius, and the hero who is stuck in a tree and wondering what to next. I wish that Rue was a part of this challenge and she and I could drop a beehive on the Toon Patrol and escape. But heck, it's not going to happen because there isn't a beehive in sight.
Thought Number Two:
Lexi, are you doing all right? If you are, try to wait a little bit longer. I will try my best to end the challenge and take you home. I promise that the Toon Patrol won't bother us again after I win the challenge.
Thought Number Three:
Does Greasy still remember the promise that we made? Will he still remember that we're friends instead of enemies or dates?
"Hey, muchacha!" Greasy shouted.
My river of thoughts is dammed up and I looked down at Greasy, who's waving his hands to get my attention.
"Estas bien? Are you doing all right?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm doing all right." I replied.
"You hungry?"
After Greasy asked me that, my stomach began to growl. But I know better than to accept food from Greasy. He's going to add me to his list of women who were killed by having arsenic put into their dishes. I'm not a fool and I don't always get fooled real easily.
"No, I'm good." I lied.
"Just let me know if you do." Greasy said.
Then, my stomach begins to twist and growl and I felt like I was going to throw up. Still, I don't want to have arsenic put in me.
Time passes and I tried several things to keep me entertained while I still stay on the tree branch. I tried fiddling with a piece of bark, staring at the scenery on my left, and when it came to thinking about eating, I had to think that everything had bricks in them to keep my mind off of food. Sometimes it doesn't work and this is one of those times.
Then, I began to hang upside on the tree branch and I did a couple of flips on it like a gymnast.
"Wow, she's really good!" Wheezy said to Smarty.
"Birchwood is a 'shoe-off'!" Smarty exclaimed.
"It's 'show-off'!" I called to Smarty.
"Boss, can we go back to the house?" Psycho asked innocently.
"No, we're staying until Birchwood gets off that tree branch." Smarty said, bitterly. "Flasher, take out your ax and find us some good 'flyer-wood'."
"Right, Boss." Flasher said.
Then, Flasher walked to the piano and he chopped it up in to bits. I stopped doing flips and rounds of hanging upside down and I watched in horror when I saw that piano getting chopped in to splinters. That was a good piano.
I watched Stupid and Psycho scoop up big handfuls of chopped piano and they drop in the middle of their own little circle. When the pile was big enough, Wheezy throws in one of his burning cigarettes and the pile of chopped piano was lit up into a giant campfire…and it smells really bad. Now that it's really dark, the glow from the fire expands from the center of the Toon Patrol's circle to the top of my head.
I am planning to sleep a little bit and then, when the Toon Patrol is asleep, I'll find a way to escape, which is climbing up higher, then I'll look for the thickest branch from another tree, climb on to that particular branch, lead the Toon Patrol to another part of the woods, look for the tennis ball, and give it back to Smarty somehow. That's the plan. But before I do any of that, as I said before, I'll have to rest a little bit.
As soon as I closed my eyes, I heard Greasy ask the others,
"Want to listen to this?"
"Listen to what?" Wheezy asked back.
"A song that I found in the muchacha's mind."
I opened my eyes in confusion. What is he talking about? What does Greasy mean that he's found a song in my mind?
"I found this song in her 'Catchy but Really Annoying Songs' section of her mind. I listened to it a couple of times and it sounds really funny. It's different from our songs in Toon Town but it's nice." Greasy said.
"Well, okay. Let's hear it." Smarty said.
The Toon Patrol better think twice before playing whatever song they're talking about again.
Stupid takes out…a record player from the picnic basket (it's like a bottomless pit of wonder or Mary Poppins' magic carpet bag) and places it in between himself and Slimy. Greasy takes out a vinyl record from the inside of his coat and places it (the record) on the spinning turntable. Carefully, Wheezy lifts the tone arm and places it on the record. After adjusting a couple of knobs, Flasher flips a switch that makes the record player do its thing.
Before the song was played, Greasy snickered for a second and then,
"BA, BA, BA, BA, BARBARA ANN,
BA, BA, BA, BARBARA ANN…"
OH NO! I thought. I DON'T LIKE THIS SONG! Those weasels can't be serious!
"You got me rockin' and-a rollin',
ROCKIN' and-a reelin',
BARBARA ANN!
BA, BA, BA, Barbara Ann…"
Then Greasy sings along with the Beach Boys.
"Went to a dance,
Lookin' for romance!
Saw Barbara Ann,
So I thought I'd take a chance
With Barbara Ann!"
Then, all of the weasels began to laugh as Greasy would sing along and dance. He's making himself a big fool. I rolled my eyes back and pressed the back of head on the tree in irritation.
In an instant, the song stops playing and I heard Smarty laughing.
"You don't like this song, Birchwood?" Smarty called.
"No, I don't! And don't play that song again! If you think that you're going to play that song over and over until I get off this tree, then forget it! I'm still not coming down, even if you're going to play that annoying song!" I exclaimed.
Instantly, the weasels gathered up like football players strategizing their next move and they start to whisper something. I immediately regretted on what I just said to Smarty…because I just gave him an idea. Real stupid of me.
"Don't you dare play that song again! Even if you do, I'm still not going to come down!" I exclaimed angrily.
Immediately, the weasels stop whispering to each other and they separate themselves and looked at me.
"We're not going to play that song again, Birchwood!" Smarty exclaimed and put his hand behind his back. "We promise! Even I promise!"
I'm not going to buy it. I can see through Smarty's lie.
"Smarty, I know that you're going to play it again! You're lying!" I shouted.
"No, I'm not!" Smarty said with a smile and his hand still behind his back.
"Yes, you are! Your hand is behind your back and you are probably crossing your fingers! I'm not stupid!"
"DUH, THAT'S RIGHT, 'BIRDWOOD'! I'M STUPID!" Stupid exclaimed at me.
Is Stupid really that stupid? I thought.
"IT'S 'BIRCHWOOD', DUMMY! AND I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT YOU!" I replied and I turned to Smarty. "I KNOW THAT YOU'RE CROSSING YOUR FINGERS BEHIND YOUR BACK!"
"Give it up, Boss." Flasher said. "She's not buying it."
"Okay, fine!" Smarty said and threw his arms up in the air. "I give up! You're too smart, Birchwood! You're right and I'm wrong!"
"Yep, there's the hidden irony of your name. You call yourself 'Smarty' and yet you make and pick wrong decisions." I said to myself. I really wanted to say that to Smarty.
"Let's settle down, Boss." Greasy said to Smarty and shouts to me, "Descansa, muchacha, tiene un largo día mañana!"
I looked at Greasy.
"What did you say?" I asked.
"I said, 'Go ahead and rest! You have a long day tomorrow'!" Greasy replied.
"Oh, okay."
Then, all sounds, except for the crackling of the burning piano, ceased.
I am really tired right now. I am too tired to do anything, except think about things that are happened and what to do next.
The reason why I built AKA was because I wanted to buy myself some time. I thought. But that didn't last very long and I wished that I hadn't sleep on the branch when I had the time to climb down and look for that tennis ball. Now that the Toon Patrol is here, I can't figure out a way to get away from them. Katniss got herself away from the other Tributes by dropping a nest of tracker-jackers on them. But unfortunately, I continued, there are no such things as tracker-jackers and I don't have a little girl named Rue to help me get out of this situation and become my ally.
Then, I heard something making a small, low humming noise. Probably just a little bug. I ignored the sound, closed my eyes, and tried to get a little sleep.
"Ba, ba, ba, ba, Barbara Ann…" Smarty and Wheezy sung in unison.
My eyes shot open and I looked at the weasels. They were standing around their bad-smelling campfire, probably with big smiles on their faces. Smarty had a giant bass (I'm not talking about a fish but a giant violin-like instrument and you pronounce this 'bass' like 'base') standing beside him and Greasy had a guitar in his hands.
"BA, BA, BA, BA, BARBARA ANN!" All weasels, except Psycho, sung in unison.
I groaned and rolled my eyes.
"Barbara A-AH-ANNNN,
Take my HA-AH-AH-ND!" Psycho sang while Greasy strummed on his guitar, Smarty plucked on his bass strings, and the others danced around, sing the background singing, clapped their hands, and stomped their feet on the ground. While Psycho was singing, he uses…my waterproof flashlight as a microphone and a spotlight. I even noticed that Psycho's hair was spikier and looks really shiny. My guess is that he used Lexi's poison oak medicine as hair gel.
That was—Oh, no, now the weasels are about to sing one of the most annoying parts of the song.
"Barbara A-AH-ANNNN,
You got me rockin' and-a rollin',
Rockin' and-a reelin',
Barbara Ann!
Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Barbara Ann!"
The weasels repeat the first part of the song and I stared out into space with an irritation look on my face. The weasels don't see me make that irritated look on my face and they keep singing the song.
"Went to a dance!" Greasy sang.
"Lookin' for romance!" Wheezy, Flasher, and Slimy sang as a trio.
"Saw Barbara Ann so I thought I'd take a chance!
Barbara Ann, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Barbara Ann!" All weasels sang in unison.
While the weasels continued to sing that annoying song, I placed my palms on my ears.
SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I thought.
During the interlude of the song, I barely heard Smarty laughing with the other weasels and I knew that they were enjoying the sight of me getting irritated. I also knew that Smarty was going to sing Barbara Ann at least a 'ka-billion' more times until I get off the tree and I'll lose one of my three chances and this part of the challenge.
"Tried Peggy Sue,
Tried Betty Lou,
Tried Mary Lou,
But I knew she wouldn't do!
Barbara Ann!
Ba, Ba, Ba, Barbara Ann!" The weasels sung in their own little world of mayhem.
My arms were getting sore from holding my ears too long, my head was beginning to ache and get sore after frowning for a long period of time, and I felt like a volcano was going to blow up inside my head. I was really tempted to shout 'SHUT UP' at the Toon Patrol but I can't encourage them by doing that.
After I thought that the Toon Patrol was going to stop for a second, they continued to sing Barbara Ann again, singing the song faster and faster as they repeat it again…and again…and again…and approximately sixty-seven more 'and agains' later, the Toon Patrol were beginning to slow down and Psycho was literally dragging himself around the campfire and was getting really exhausted by the second. My hands were slipping off my ears and I nearly slipped off the branch. Thankfully, I didn't fall off. The campfire was slowly dying down, Smarty weakly plucked one of the bass strings, causing it to snap, Stupid landed flat on his back in exhaustion, Wheezy was panting and smoking, Slimy was covered with his own slime, Flasher was out of breath, and Greasy was sitting down in exhaustion and pressing his back against another tree with the guitar still in his hands.
Smarty looked at me and he groaned.
"You win…for now, Birchwood…" Smarty panted. "…but you…won't be so…'plucky'…tomorrow…"
"Let's rest, Boss," Wheezy said. "I'm so tired."
"Me, too." Greasy answered.
All of the weasels agreed simultaneously on going to sleep and they all passed out in exhaustion. Well, except for Greasy. He was looking up at me.
"Muchacha?" Greasy asked.
"Yes?" I replied.
"Can I say couple of things to you?"
Uh oh. What is he going to say?
While covering up my feelings of anxiety, I looked at Greasy and said, "Yes. What is it?"
"I'm sorry for laughing at you when you said that you were afraid of cinnamon and I wasn't thinking about how you would react to the Barbara Ann song. I didn't think twice and I'm sorry." Greasy said.
Okay, I did not see this coming. That was…an awfully nice thing to say.
"It's all right, Greasy. Stuff like that happens." I replied anyway.
Greasy breathes a huge sigh of relief and then, before passing out in exhaustion.
Now that all of the weasels are asleep, I can escape but not right now. If I escape now, then all of the weasels are going to wake up and come after me.
The plan was to leap on to the thickest branch that I see and then, I would leap over to a few more thick branches until I'm out of the weasels' sight. I'll continue to look for that tennis ball and then, I'll somehow convince Smarty that I found the ball and he'll probably let me take a break and move on to the next part of the challenge.