A/N: Editor of the Lazytown Chronicle here...after months and months I had thought we lost the Author forever. But Sportacus and I finally found her behind a Walmart in the fetal position, mumbling over and over again, 'Tires...tires...tires!' We spent part of the time in rehab, helping the Author get back her inspiration by showing her fan art of Jack Sparrow, a steady diet of the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack and making her write down all those plot ideas the Bunnies kept throwing at her. And while the Doctor agreed to let her finish this chapter of a life in Lazytown, the Author is under strict orders to finish her other stories on F . F. Net first, and then take a week long vacation to Disney World in June before starting anything new. But he did let her put up a blog at blogspot . com, and said blog will host a special fan event that you can be apart of. We even got the Doc's okay. Check it out at mllefox / blogspot . com. And now, on with the show!
The art class wasn't fun anymore in Stephanie's opinion. They weren't even painting! They were still on their stools before their canvases staring at the white space. Mr. Warthog said they had to think about their painting first. To let inspriation come to them. An active girl like Stephanie was just bored.
"Are you guys having any fun?" Stephanie whispered to her friends.
"Well...no...but we want to be great artists. You heard Mr. Warthog. Fame, glory, adoration!" Stingy whispered back.
"But guys, artists don't do art to be rich and famous...they..."Stephanie started to explain to them. Randy towered over her and said,
"Well...what do we have here? Someone who doesn't know the value of working in silence?!" Stephanie looked up at him and asked,
"How long are we going to sit here? I want to paint something." Stephanie asked.
"Ha! Anyone can paint something...I'm trying to get you to paint great works of art here! Great art sometimes take five, ten, fifteen years before it's complete!" Randy said.
"Fifteen years?! We would have missed high school and most of college by then!" Ziggy exclaimed.
"Trust me, college is overrated. Besides...the education of art and greatness...is far more rewarding. Look at me. I've had a thrity year career, and I've only painted three paintings. And I did it by sitting quietly and thinking for a long long time. Not...moving...one...inch..." Randy stressed.
"Sounds kinda lazy to me." Trixie said.
"Who asked ya Pigtails?" Randy barked breaking character. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Now...if you want to be good artists...you must sit quietly and wait for inspiration to come to you."
Stephanie sighed then looked up to see a beautiful pink butterfly nearby. She grabbed a brush and exclaimed,
"Inspiration has hit! I'm going to paint that butterfly!" Randy grabbed her wrist as she reached for the paint and said,
"NO! That's not inspiration! Anyone can draw a stupid butterfly!"
"But I want to paint the butterfly." Stephanie told him yanking her arm back.
"But I said no!" Randy said pulling her arm back.
"Yes!" Stephanie replied pulling her arm back.
"No!" Randy said as they began a vicious tug of war.
Meanwhile, Sportacus was trying to figure out a way to cheer Tara up. She was slurping down her fifth smoothie, the straw hitting the bottom of the cup, but Tara didn't notice. She just sat dejectedly hunched over, staring off into space. Finally, taking action (and because that slurping sound annoyed him) Sportcus took the cup away from Tara.
"Hey!" she protested.
"I think you've had enough." he stated firmly.
"Not even one more for the road?" Tara asked.
"No because you don't need smoothies. You need to know you are a great artist and a great person so stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Sportacus said.
"You don't understand Sport." Tara said folding her arms and shaking her head.
"What don't I understand?" he asked.
"Mr. Warthog wasn't the first person to say I'm a bad artist. Back in the city...no one would..." she sighed and softly mumbled under her breath, "That's why I moved to Lazytown in the first place."
Sportacus nodded and said,
"I see..."
"I thought if I moved away from my problems I could get rid of them...Looks like they ended up following me." Tara said looking down at her feet. Then she felt two fingers lift her chin up so she could look up into Sportacus' eyes.
"Tara...They must not know anything in the city. Because I think you're a great artist...and a great friend. And once you realize that, you won't care what anyone says about you." Sportacus told her. Tara smiled,
"Really?"
"Sure...I mean come on! You're smart, talented, funny, beautiful, kind..." Sportacus said.
"You think I'm beautiful?" Tara asked. Sportacus stopped midsentence and gulped. He looked nervously at her expectant face and said,
"Well...yeah...In fact...Would...would you like to...take a hike with me next week? Up to Lazy Heights Ridge?"
"Are...you asking me out on a date?" Tara smiled leaning in closer to his face. Sportacus shrugged and leaned in as well,
"Yeah...I guess I am...It was easier than I thought it would be..."
"Why's that?" she asked leaning in.
"I thought you'd say no." he said as their lips were only two inches apart.
"Not likely..."Tara said her eyes fluttering closed. Sportacus couldn't help himself. He found himself leaning in, closing his eyes and puckering his lips. But suddenly, the crystal on his chest blinked in alarm. The backed away from each other and looked down at it. Sportacus stood to his feet and said looking around,
"Someone's in trouble!"
"Naturally!" Tara said rolling her eyes. Then she stood to her feet when she heard someone cry,
"Hey! Let go!"
"It's Stephanie!" cried Tara concerned. Sportacus grabbed her hand and pulled her along,
"Let's go!"
The kids were watching in shock as Stephanie was struggling with the older man to get her paintbrush back. When Sportacus and Tara arrived, Ziggy looked to them and exclaimed,
"Sportacus! You've got to help!"
Sportacus nodded and stepped forward, his fists on his hips as he told Stephanie,
"Let him have it Stephanie."
"But Sportacus! He's got my paintbrush!" Stephanie declared.
"Steph! Just let him have it!" Tara told her. Stephanie looked up into the smug face of the determined Randy Warthog and grimaced,
"Well...alright..."
But when she let go, Randy wasn't ready, so he fell backwards into the canvases, knocking them over, sending paint flying and a bucket of paint on top of his head like a messy helmet.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?!" Randy declared yanking on the bucket.
"Well...she let him have it alright..."Pixel said as Sportacus went forward to help Randy up. Stephanie gasped,
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you Mister..."
But she was cut short when Sportcus yanked the paintbucket off Randy's head with a loud pop, taking his wig with it.
"Robby Rotten!" chorused everyone. With his face covered in splotches of every color of the rainbow, Robbie blanched and said,
"Oppsie..."
"Robbie! So it was you!" Tara said fiercely. Robbie's lower lip trembled and he bawled out,
"Yes, yes it was me! I couldn't let a great artist like Tara teach a class where they would draw pictures of Sportflunky here so I lied and said you didn't know what you were talking about so the kids would listen to me! I'm sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!"
Even after Robbie's apologiee, Tara tried to rush Robbie after saying,
"I am going to hurt you. Right now!"
Robbie jumped into Sportacus' arms with a shrill girlish shirek and Sportacus stopped Tara by saying,
"Now wait! He said he was sorry. And I'm sure Robbie would be happy to do something to make it up to you." Sportacus said.
"Like what?" asked Tara.
"Yeah like what?" Robbie asked as Sportacus simply grinned.
Robbie panted and moaned in pain as he grabbed his lower back. Then he dipped his brush in the paint bucket and applied the red color to the exterior of Tara's house. Watching a little ways away and drinking drinking smoothies with the kids, Tara said to Sportacus,
"Nice idea you had about letting Robbie make up to me."
"I have my moments." Sportacus said.
"We're sorry Tara, for dumping you at the art class." Stingy said.
"Yeah really sorry!" Trixie said as the other's nodded in agreement.
"That's okay guys. Guess I thought a famous artist and a good artist were the same thing too." Tara said with a pointed look to Sportacus.
"We'd love to continue our lessons Tara. Maybe next week?" Stephanie suggested.
Tara smiled,
"I'll be there!"
As the kids cheered and talked excitedly, running off to play, Sportacus asked Tara,
"You know...speaking of next week...I never got a clear answer about what I asked you..."
Tara smiled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, whispering playfully in his ear, knowing shivers were going down his spine,
"I didn't say no, did I?"
Sportacus simply smiled as the kids began dancing with Stephanie singing,
Bing Bang Diggly Dong
First thing that I say after I wake up
Bing Bang Diggly Dong
I say those words before I go to sleep
Get on up it's time to dance yeah
It's so much fun being up on our feet
So we go up up
To the top
Move around and clap your hands together
Down down turn around
Having fun is what it's all about
Bing Bang Diggly Dong
Funny words I sing when I am dancing
Bing Bang Diggly Dong
Silly words that can mean anything
Get on up it's time to dance yeah
It's so much fun being up on our feet
So we go up up
To the top
Move around and clap your hands together
Down down turn around
Having fun is what it's all about
Oh 1, 2 me and you
Move around and clap your hands together
3, 4 on the floor
Having fun is what it's all about!
Robbie scowled as he wiped his brow, leaving a smug of red paint,
"I've got to call my agent..."