"Fireside Diaries"
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
This week, I've got a special event for you. Or, rather, we have one planned for you. I've teamed up with my good friend Spongey444 for a special crossover between "Fireside Diaries" and "The Adventures of Irving and Friends!" I'm starting things off, so... let's get right to it!
Disclaimer: The characters of 'Phineas and Ferb' belong to Disney.
Isabella was in the midst of crossing the street, heading from her house to Phineas and Ferb's. As usual, her mind was wandering as she thought about spending another day with the boy of her dreams.
Entry #393 - Written by Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, troop leader
You know by now about my crush on a certain triangle-headed boy. Not like it's a secret or anything. It's not supposed to be, yet he still doesn't know... look, I'm still trying to figure out how to cross that bridge.
Today was just a typical day. I woke up, went through my morning routine, checked my schedule to see if there was anything Fireside-related that had to be done, and then I made my delightfully blissful 30-second walk from the front door of my house to Phineas and Ferb's backyard.
When the boy of your dreams has an open invitation to his house, you ignore the mundanity of it all and just go with the flow. Not like anything the boys do is ever the same.
Isabella made it to the opposite sidewalk and proceeded to make her way to the driveway. But on the way there...
The problem with open invitations? Once in a while, there's...
...uninvited guests.
...she met Irving, who was having hello.
"Hi, Isabella!"
"Oh. Hi, Irving."
Isabella shrugged her shoulders, not caring about him being there, and then she headed up the driveway. Irving followed... well, at first. He picked up his pace so that he was walking alongside her.
"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, in a more rushed and bothered tone than usual.
"I've always wanted to get into the backyard first, instead of showing up out of nowhere afterwards."
He walked a bit faster, putting him slightly ahead. Isabella responded, uncharacteristically selfishly, by matching him. The two made the turn into the backyard and past the open gate door, side by side.
Usually, I'm all for sharing things, but when it comes to being the first to greet Phineas in the morning... that position's already been filled, Irving.
So step off!
Irving did indeed step off, but not in the way Isabella intended. He accidentally tripped over his own two feet and fell to the ground. Isabella was ready to keep on going, but her assistive instincts took control of her, making her stop to help Irving out. But then she had her own moment of clumsiness, as she stumbled and fell to the grass, right next to him.
That's so not what I meant.
"Whoa," gawked Phineas, now standing over the two of them. "I know a couple people who didn't have their OJ today!"
Isabella and Irving both laughed nervously.
-
Entry #393 [FSD402] - Anything for Him (06.24.13)
-
A few minutes later, Isabella and Irving were each drinking from a glass with orange juice in it. As they finished, Phineas greeted Buford and Baljeet, whom had just arrived.
"Two someones woke up clumsy today," Buford commented, with a smirk.
"I still do not understand the correlation between orange juice and clumsiness!" remarked Baljeet.
"I'll explain it later," Phineas told him, "but I'm sure you'll all wondering what this is behind me."
He gestured to something that was covered by a white sheet, which Ferb had a firm grip on and was ready to pull at when given the signal. Which was actually now, as Phineas snapped his fingers.
"Ta da!" the orange-haired boy exclaimed as the machine was revealed.
An assortment of oohs and aahs came from the group of friends, of whom Isabella was the most vocal.
Phineas always build the best things! Like this...
"Pet Locator!"
Yeah! A pet locator!
Phineas began explaining how and why they built it. Buford called the brothers out for repeating a past idea. And Phineas explained why that was not the case.
Not that Isabella could hear... she was in the midst of one of her daydreams.
"Eeeeee!"
Well, she was. Until Irving's squealing interrupted it.
"Uh, Irving? Could ya keep down it, please?"
"Sorry! I'm so excited! And I just can't hide it!"
"Well, could you at least try?"
Isabella did not wait for a response, as she instead turned her attention back to Phineas.
"Now, it just needs a few more tweaks and it'll be all ready to go! But to ensure it operates to our calculated parameters, we need a certain part. A very rare 20-inch A29 sprocket, with free-range motion and an octagonal center. Normally we'd have something special like that delivered right to our backyard, but all the delivery drivers in the Tri-State Area are on strike. Far be it from to get in the way of hard-working joes fighting for fair compensation, but we absolutely need that part today. And we can't go down there because..."
Before Phineas could finish his sentence, numerous pieces of the machine fell off all at once. Ferb ducked for cover to avoid getting hit by any flying debris.
"...for some reason the Pet Locator software is rejecting the mechanical parts inside of it, and is spitting them out every so often. Either it doesn't believe in self-preservation, or it has a virus. Nevertheless, we need a volunteer..."
"ME!" Isabella's hand shot up quickly. "I'll do it!"
"ME!" Irving's hand had gone up at the same exact time. "Please, please!"
"Sure!" Phineas agreed. "You two can go together!"
The two looked at each other. They thought about it, and replied, in tandem...
"Alright!"
"Good." He handed Isabella a piece of paper. "Here's the address. Good luck!"
With that, Phineas went to help Ferb pick up the pieces and put them back into their invention-of-the-day. Buford and Baljeet stepped in to help, while Isabella and Irving headed back to the driveway.
"This is my chance to finally impress Phineas!" the two said in unison, although they had different reasons for wanting to do so.
"There's only one part to get, Irving," Isabella told him.
"I know that," he replied back. "What are you proposing, Isabella?"
"A race! First one there wins and gets to hand it to him."
"Deal! When do we start?"
"NOW!"
Without warning, Isabella took off down the driveway.
"Good luck getting there without the address!" she shouted back.
Irving smirked. "That's what she thinks! I've got a photographic memory! Downloaded it just by looking at it for three seconds! This is in the bag!"
Irving started heading up the street, while Isabella had made it across and back to her house. She went to her garage, pulled out her bike, and rode off for downtown, passing by her mom, who was pulling weeds out from the grass.
"Be back in an hour, mom!" Isabella said, as she turned and pedaled away.
"Remember, Isa!" Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro shouted after her. "Pinky needs his walk when you get back."
She started looking around the yard for chihuahua.
"Dónde está Pinky?"
Agent Pinky was already in flight, via jetpack, to downtown Danville. He looked down at his wrist communicator, where Admiral Acronym was in the midst of giving him a mission briefing.
"Dire news, Agent Pinky!" she told him. "Professor Poofenplotz has a food truck!"
"Arf?" queried Pinky, wondering what was so bad about that.
"She's refusing to use local, organically-grown vegetables, is planning to charge an arm and a leg, and the health department refused to offer her a permit. I suppose the first two are unimportant if the third item is to be believed, but the fact that she has parked herself amongst the other food trucks in the area around City Hall is cause for concern! You must stop her before she gives all the government employees of the Tri-State Area bad tummyaches. Or something rather of that nature."
"ARF!" Pinky barked in confirmation, before signing off.
Isabella gleefully pedaled along the road. She looked behind her, and, just as she expected, Irving was nowhere to be seen.
"This is going to be a piece of cake! Ooh! That reminds me... I'll buy a piece of cake on the way home, and share it with Phineas!"
She began to imagine doing just that...
Isabella handed Phineas a small ribbon-wrapped box and a piece of chocolate cake on a plate.
"Here's your sprocket and a piece of cake!"
"Oh, Isabella! You've gone far and beyond my wildest hopes and dreams!"
He threw both objects over his shoulders...
"Forget the sprocket and cake! Let's fly away together, Isabella! Into space!"
...then took her hand and pulled her into a rocket. Once they were inside, the door closed and the spaceship immediately blasted off, heading high up into the sky and away from the Earth.
"Ohhh, Phineas!"
And then there was an explosion.
POP!
Isabella snapped out of her daydream and realized that her smooth bike ride had suddenly gotten very rough. A quick look down to her front tire revealed why. It had been punctured by a tack she had run over. She came to a stop, then got off to see if it could be fixed.
"Oh, why do my Phineas dreams always get me into trouble?"
As she inspected the hole, one of the Tri-State Area's many buses passed by. And someone decided to call out to her from one of the passenger windows.
"Public transportation FTW!" shouted Irving, happy at Isabella's misfortune.
"Really? The bus? Hmmm... why didn't I think of that?"
"ISABELLA!"
She turned to see who was calling out to her. It was Katie. She was on her bike, and she had about a dozen rolled-up newspapers in her basket.
"Katie, I'm in a jam! Help a fellow Fireside out?"
Katie braked to a stop right in front of Isabella.
"Anything, Chief!"
A minute later, the two girls had swapped spots. Katie was now looking at Isabella's punctured tire, while Isabella was riding away on Katie's bike.
"Don't worry, Katie!" Isabella shouted. "I'll finish your route on the way!"
Irving leaned back in his seat and put his feet up, pressing the soles of shoes against the one in front of him.
"I can't believe how easy this was!" he told himself. "Pfft. Isabella, you so disappoint, girl."
The bus halted at its next scheduled stop. Irving thought nothing odd of it, until he heard the driver start shouting at him.
"Hey, kid! End of the line!"
"WHAT?"
Irving got up and ran to the front to talk to the driver, revealing that no one else was on board except for the two of them.
"This can't be! Why'd you even let me on three stops ago if you weren't completing your route all the way downtown?"
"'Cause I pitied you?"
"Well then... do you pity me enough to at least get me to the industrial district?"
30 seconds later, the bus pulled away from the stop, which was in front of one of Danville's many Super Food Stuff Mart locations. And Irving was not on it.
"Huh. I guess that's a no."
He scanned the area for two things. First, Isabella, and second, a new mode of transportation to resume his journey.
"Isabella's nowhere to be seen. Perhaps I'm still ahead. But I still have to get a move on!"
He was ready to give up on finding help on his own when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone skateboarding off to the far side of the parking lot, where very few cars were parked.
"Maybe he can help!"
Irving ran over, hoping the boarder was someone he knew. Luckily, it was.
"Django! Django!"
He waved his arms, trying to get his friend's attention. After a few attempts, Django made his way over.
"Hey, Irving."
"Django, I need to borrow your skateboard!"
"Oh. You grind, man?"
"Only my teeth when I sleep. That's why I wear a mouthguard in bed."
Django chuckled. "Cool."
"So, I can have it?"
Django looked at his board with endearment. "Dunno. This is my baby. Trade something for it?"
Irving wanted it, but knew he did not have time for a lengthy negotiation. He decided to come out with his best and final offer out front.
"I'll get you a date with that girl who likes you!"
Django was not quite sure how to respond to that. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a clipping of a state-of-the-art paintbrush that was on sale at a local art store.
"Just get me this and we got a deal."
"100 BUCKS? That's one high-end paintbrush. But, alright, DEAL!"
Django handed Irving the board, the clipping, and a helmet, and soon after, the fanboy was off, riding his way towards the industrial district.
"I knew Irving was cool."
Django then came to one realization...
"Wait, how do I get home?"
...followed quickly by another.
"Wait, a girl likes me?"
Isabella tossed the last of Katie's papers, landing it perfectly on the customer's doorstep. She then made a hard left, which took her down a large hill. Once she reached the bottom, she had officially entered the industrial district. Here, traffic started to get a little heavier, as well as slower. Isabella started keeping a closer eye out for pedestrians, parked cars, and other things that might impede her path.
"Isabella! Guess who?"
What she did not expect was to see Irving come up next to her, on a skateboard.
"Since when..."
"Since five minutes ago!"
Off in the distance, they could hear a warning bell for a railroad track go off. Up ahead of them, traffic was stopped at a railroad crossing, where the gates were already down. Isabella squeezed hard on the brake handle, bringing her, or rather, Katie's bicycle to a screeching halt. Irving, though, kept going.
"HOW DO YOU STOP THIS THING?"
He hopped on the sidewalk, but that did nothing to slow him down. A couple people jumped out of his way as Irving barreled towards the tracks.
"I can't look!" he exclaimed, covering his eyes.
Isabella could only watch as it appeared that there was no way to save Irving. Then, at the very last second, he came across a plank that had been placed on a drum barrel that was on its side. Irving, still on the board, went up the ramp and off the other end. He flew high in the sky, clearing the top of the engine car by mere inches, and landed safely on the other side.
All with his eyes covered.
"Shouldn't I have gone 'splat' by now?" he asked himself aloud.
He took his hands off of his eyes and, to his surprise, he was not only still on the skateboard, but he was still moving. He then took a look back at the crossing and saw the train going through it.
"I'm alive? I'M ALIVE! WOO HOO!"
As Irving celebrated his good fortune by holding his arms up in the air, back on the other side of the tracks, Isabella was loathing it.
"Hmph. Lucky."
Agent Pinky arrived at the designated location for food trucks to park near the government office buildings, about a block away from City Hall. Ditching the jetpack, it did not take him long to find Poofenplotz's food truck.
It was named 'Exotic Delicacy,' which was a pretty bland and undescriptive name, given the neighboring competition included 'Falafel This,' 'Twin Peak-ing Duck,' and 'Yes, Soup for You.' The side window was up, meaning that she was open for business. But it appeared that, at least among the early lunch crowd, no one was willing to take a chance on the new truck in town.
Pinky entered through the rear doors and instantly found himself stuck in an open canister of cold guacamole.
"Arf!"
"Ah, Pinky the Chihuahua!" greeted Poofenplotz, with an evil smile on her face. "I see you got stuck in the guac! OOH! I made a funny."
Pinky tried to shake his way out of the can, but the dip was not cooperating with him.
"Knock it off, or I'll consider adding chihuahua patties to the menu."
He ceased his escape attempt... for now.
"Good! Now that you can't go anywhere, let me tell you my scheme! Although it's not so much a scheme as it is a dream of mine. Ahem..."
Flashback to two weeks ago...
"I was watching the Cooking Network. I dabble in fine cuisine at home and I wanted to see what the so-called experts do to captivate their audiences. I came across this show which pitted food trucks against each other. The pressure of cooking in such a small environment! The competitive spirit of watching people give a rival a bad review because you sabotaged them! The joy of rolling in dough and then giving 60 percent of it back to supplies and the tax man!"
Poofenplotz had stars in her eyes, and a dream was born.
"I knew from that moment... I wanted to run a food truck! But just not any run-of-the-mill food truck. A food truck that sells rare delicacies at a reasonable price. And before you say anything, $8.50 is reasonable for... THIS!"
Poofenplotz held up her food truck's signature dish. A leafy green salad!
Pinky was not impressed.
"Ah, I see that look on your face. You don't see what's so special about this? Well, take a closer look!"
She held the circular container closer, hoping to get Pinky to recognize the special ingredient.
"Give up? The meat! It's genuine grade-A prairie dog!"
Pinky stuck out his tongue in repulsion.
"What? I've been assured from my supplier that they are fresh and are not victims of automobile homicide. Unfortunately, that's not good enough for the health inspector. Something about catching the plague or some silly disease. He may have denied my request for a food truck permit, but that will not stop me from serving THE TASTIEST DISH IN THE TRI-STATE AREA!"
"Grrr... ARF ARF!"
Poofenplotz picked up the can and threw it in the freezer.
"Quiet, you! You'll scare the customers away."
With Agent Pinky secured, Poofenplotz was ready to realize her dream, as she rubbed her hands together in a maniacal fashion.
"Now... to advertise with some free samples!"
Having finally figured out how to stop himself, Irving did so right next to an escalator heading down into an underground subway station. Once inside, he stashed Django's skateboard in a locker and then immediately headed for the boarding area. His timing was right on the mark, as the train he needed had just arrived at the station.
"Green line, inbound, arriving on track two! Unless unboarding or boarding, please stay clear of the doors."
Irving quickly bought a ticket from an automated machine and then made a beeline for the train. He got on with time to spare. But he was still very anxious.
Where was Isabella?
Isabella hopped off of Katie's bike before it was fully stopped and she sprinted down the steps into the subway station.
"Please let the train be late!" she mumbled to herself. "Please let the train be late!"
She got her ticket and made it down to the platform. Unfortunately, the train had already pulled away from the station and was almost completely in the tunnel.
"No. No... please don't tell me..."
Suddenly, on the same track, another train pulled in, with its headlight on, big and bright.
"There's not supposed to be another one for ten... OMG! Is that... is that..."
The computer suddenly shut off, and so did everything else inside the Fireside Girls' lodge.
"Is that a power outage? But... I was in the middle of..."
"Don't worry, I've got it!"
Irving appeared right next to Isabella, with his turned-on laptop in hand.
"EEEEEEEEKKKKKK!" she screamed, in surprise.
This may be the end of this Fireside Girls entry, but this is NOT the end of the story! To find out what happens next as well as to see how this story ends, stay tuned! Irving's taking over on his own little blog, so make sure to check it out!
See ya there!
End Entry
(This tale to be concluded in Spongey444's
"The Adventures of Irving and Friends," Episode 20.)
Author's Notes:
If you want to see who wins this race between Isabella and Irving, then make sure you flip over to the latest episode of "The Adventures of Irving and Friends" to see the thrilling conclusion later this week! I promise you... there's a great ending in store for you!
Next Week: Gretchen is competing in a kids' game show. She knew it'd put her brains and her limited physical ability to the test, but she didn't expect her friendship to as well! Because you demanded it... Gretchen! And Ferb! Together in the next all-new episode of the "Fireside Diaries."