Isabella and Holly ascended the ten-story brick building via the fire escape. As they proceeded higher, they began to hear noises. Mechanical ones that seemed out of place atop a multi-purpose building in the downtown area.
"What do you think is going on up there?" Holly asked, only a step behind Isabella as they reached the sixth floor.
"I don't know," Isabella replied, "but we've got to get back those eggs!"
A floor below them, the third and youngest girl of their group, six-year old Melissa - member of the local Lil' Sparks troop - was struggling to keep up with her older, longer-legged companions. Feeling concerned, Isabella stopped and peered over the railing to look down to check on her.
"Melissa! You okay?"
The blonde pigtailed girl stopped, both to catch her breath and to answer her idol.
"I'm… fine…"
Without warning, whatever was going on on the roof was reaching its climax, as there was a loud crash, followed by a shaking. Not of the building, but of the rickety, not-up-to-code fire escape. Caught off-guard, Melissa lost her balance and stumbled off the end of the outdoor stairwell, where there was no railing.
"MELISSA!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH…"
Hold on! Everyone knows that a proper story does not start at its end. It starts at its beginning. And you would all be leaving terrible words and phrases because a Fireside Diary entry started and ended with the tragic fall of the six-year old narrator!
As Isabella always says, "you've got to have context!" So I will give you context!
Whatever that means!
"Fireside Diaries"
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
So, for the first - and only - time, the "Fireside Diaries" covers a holiday twice. It's Easter, and by popular demand, we've got a pint-sized Lil' Spark narrating this second offering… which isn't a sequel to the first Easter special (back in Season 2), but there is a callback to it in here.
Thanks to partner555 and anyone else who suggested having Melissa write an entry! This one's for you!
Disclaimer: The characters of 'Phineas and Ferb' belong to Disney and not me.
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Entry #582 [FSD505] - The Spark of a Fireside (04.14.14)
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Entry #582 - Written by Melissa of the Lil' Sparks
(Transcribed word-for-word by Isabella Garcia-Shapiro)
It all began earlier that day! Easter day! No, wait… the day before Easter day! At City Hall, no less!
Kids of all ages, both literally and figuratively, were gathering on the lawn in front of City Hall. The literal ones were anxious and excited to participate in the Tri-State Area's Annual Easter Egg Hunt, while the figurative ones were there to watch their children or younger siblings take part. The ages of those in the hunt this year were as young as four and as old as 12. None of the Fireside Girls were participating - they were put in charge of final egg painting and hiding all the eggs - but the junior version of the Fireside Girls, known as the Lil' Sparks were.
I was ready to go, and I couldn't help by show that off to Isabella, my Fireside mentor!
"This is my first Easter Egg Hunt, Isabella!" Melissa exclaimed, jumping around enthusiastically.
Isabella giggled. "Yep! Last year was supposed to be your first. Too bad you caught that bug that made you sick."
"I wanted to be extra healthy this year, so my parents had me take my vitamins! Neat, huh?"
Isabella smiled at her 'little sister.'
"I'm gonna do you proud! I'm gonna find the mostest of eggs!"
"That's great! Just remember, though… today isn't about winning the hunt. It's about everyone enjoying themselves and having fun."
Melissa nodded. "Okay!"
"That's my girl!"
We would've talked more, but then the big man everyone calls the Major started talking. Oh, sorry, the Mayor! That's the one. Doof and Smurf? Yes, Doof and Smurf.
"Greetings, one and all, and welcome to the 82nd Annual Tri-State Area Easter Egg Hunt!" Mayor Doofenshmirtz said to the crowd of hundreds. "For years, boys, girls, and other young people have come to search out these eggs of grandeur, be they of yolk or plastic! And this year is no different! There are dozens of eggs out there for you young ones to find! But, most importantly, there are three big prize eggs hidden out there amongst the regular ones."
Everyone listened with modest interest.
"In one is a bronze token, which may be redeemed for a free kids' meal, not to exceed $10 including tax, at Paul Bunyan's Pancake Haus! In the second is…"
Melissa whispered to Isabella. "He didn't do the jingle! 'Paaaaaaaul Bunyan's, where food is good!' But not too good, eh?"
Isabella giggled softly.
"…and within the third and final egg is the grandest prize of all! A golden token, which rewards one of you the chance to be kid mayor of Danville for a day!"
Melissa danced with glee. "Isabella! You think I could be a good kid mayor?"
"With your work with the Lil' Sparks? No doubt!"
The two high-fived each other. At the podium, Mayor Doofenshmirtz was leaning over to whisper something to his secretary, Melanie. And she did not look too pleased to hear his comment.
"With that," the Mayor said into the microphone once more, "let the 82nd Annual Tri-State Area Easter Egg Hunt BEGIN!"
In what seemed like just seconds later but in reality was five minutes afterwards, the kids were set loose into the search area, which included a good portion of downtown Danville. As a result, most of the participants were accompanied by a parent, a guardian, an older sibling, or an older friend. This was to keep them safe and out of streets that were remaining open during the course of the hunt.
Naturally, Melissa had chosen Isabella as her watchdog. Holding a wicker basket by the handle with one hand and Isabella's hand with the other, the two proceeded from the starting line. They forged a path south of City Hall, in contrast to the majority of the others, who went north or west.
Teaming with Isabella was the only way to go. After all, we've grown so close over the past year. Now, one might think that's cheating, because although Isabella didn't personally hide any of the eggs, she did come up with some of the locations. But she was pretty quiet the whole time, not giving me any hints at all. Not that I wanted any, because like the Fireside Girls, we Lil' Sparks have a Code of Honor to uphold.
Melissa was seen asking Isabella which way to go at an intersection, and the older girl appeared to not be favoring any direction.
Good thing I've been studying those things called… inflections, I think? You know, telling truth from not just by the tone of someone's voice? It'll help when I become a Fireside Girl in a couple years. One of the first patches I'll earn will be the Inflection Intention Patch. Tee hee.
With or without the little help Isabella was giving, Melissa appeared positive to be closing in on one. As Melissa searched around a statue just outside Danville Park, Isabella got a phone call from one of her troop mates.
"I know you're here somewhere," Melissa said to herself. "I can feel it!"
But her intuition was thrown off after hearing Isabella's voice raise unexpectedly while she was on the phone.
"The eggs are GONE? Gretchen, how can that be?"
Suddenly, Isabella heard a beeping sound.
"Hold on, Gretch, got another call…"
She put Gretchen on hold and answered the second call. Seconds later, she received the same news from Milly.
"The ones you hid are missing? You sure another kid just didn't find them already?"
Melissa stopped her search, and watched as Isabella fielded calls from each of the other girls in the troop. And they all were reporting the same thing.
I saw the look on Isabella's face as she talked on the phone. She looked upset. All that work they put into hiding the eggs, and someone's spoiling all the fun?
Isabella put a hand over her phone and looked down at Melissa. Her usual calm, commanding facade had been replaced with one of worry and fright.
"Melissa! Did you find the egg?"
I knew something was wrong when Isabella told me right there and then that there was an egg hidden in the statue.
There was supposed to be.
Isabella quickly searched the statue. She knew which egg she was looking for, as this was one of the ones she had picked the location for.
"No way!" she said aloud, after not finding it. "Based at the speed we were walking and the few kids that went in this general direction… no one should've beaten us here. So… where's the egg?"
Melissa reached up and tugged Isabella's skirt. "Isabella? Is everything okay?"
I thought Isabella was going to answer me. But instead, her face frowned and she looked like she was gonna bust someone.
"Gretchen? Gather the girls. We've got a mystery to solve."
It didn't take Isabella and me long to get back to City Hall. When we did, though, her troop had already gathered up people they deemed as persons of interest. Which I think means they think they might have done it?
The suspects were lined up across the street from City Hall, just out of sight and earshot of the crowd on the lawn and the small trickle of kids who were returning, having learned that something had gone wrong with the hunt. Isabella was pacing back and forth in front of the group as Adyson, Holly, and Melissa looked on.
I saw whom Isabella's friends had gotten, and was trying to figure out if any of them could be the guy. I didn't really know any of them that well, but I had seen them around from time to time. The rabbit boy who always carried a blender with him. The girl who once owned a Mary McGuffin doll… for all of five seconds. The boy who always appears in every ball pit I've ever seen.
And then there's…
"Buford," Isabella called the bully at the end of the line out, narrowing her eyes. "What a coincidence."
"You got nothing on me, girly! I do a lot of things, but swiping Easter eggs? That's like swiping Christmas presents. Even bullies have their limits!"
Isabella is normally right. About everything, as far as I know. But, in this case, though, something did not feel right. And I had to say something.
"I don't think he did it!" Melissa spoke up, eliciting gasps from the other girls.
"Better listen to pint-size over there," Buford said, smirking. "She's the only one of you unis with a brain."
"Hush!" Isabella snapped at Buford before turning to Melissa. "Melissa, what makes you say that?"
Melissa shrugged. "I dunno. I just know he didn't do it."
"But he's got a motive! He was banned from the Easter Egg Hunt last year after throwing an egg at another kid last year."
Buford interjected to defend himself. "One, that was no kid; it was Baljeet. And two, he had it coming!"
"I DID NOT!" Baljeet yelled from off-screen.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be in this entry! You girls better not be paying him overtime!"
Isabella rolled her eyes, and then again turned to Melissa.
"I'm sorry, Melissa. But with no other suspects and no evidence suggesting otherwise, we've gotta collar Buford as our man."
With that, the other kids were allowed to leave. Adyson and Holly each grabbed one of Buford's arms, in order to pull him across the street to City Hall to turn him in for his crime.
I knew this wasn't right, but Isabella was right in that I needed proof. But where could I get some from?
Little did I know at the time that it was going to fly into my face.
A rather large feather floated into Melissa's face, having fallen from the sky.
"Huh?"
The young girl looked up to see where it had come from, just in time to see something large block out her view of the sun, covering her and the others in shadow. Isabella and the others noticed it too, and their attention turned skyward.
"I don't think that's from around here," commented Holly, not recognizing the animal flying above.
Isabella pulled out a pair of binoculars and used them to get a closer look.
"It looks like a condor. A huge one! And… possibly man-made? Those feather arrangements don't look familiar to me at all."
The only thing we knew was that it was biiiiiiig! And it was flying away from the center of downtown. And…
Upon closer inspection with the binoculars, Isabella caught sight of the condor holding something in her talons. A straw basket filled with eggs. Many that Isabella recognized as ones that were hidden for the hunt based on the designs of those that were painted over.
"Girls. I think we found our egg snatcher."
As the condor flew due southwest, letting the sun douse the girls with its rays once more, Isabella sprang into action, chasing after it.
That bird was the bad guy. And if Isabella was gonna track her down, then so was I!
Melissa followed Isabella without a word. Adyson and Holly looked at each other, shrugged, and then went off as well, leaving Buford a free man.
"HA!" he raised his arms in triumph. "Bullies one, goody-goody girls nothing!"
Borrowing transportation from a nearby bike rental store, the girls followed the giant condor, pedaling out of the perimeter of the area designated for the event - marked by patrol cars and yellow tape - and continuing towards the outskirts of downtown. Melissa was sharing a bicycle with Isabella, holding on tightly as the troop leader pushed the pace, determined not to lose their target.
Unfortunately, a red light stopped them in the tracks.
"Come on, come on!" Isabella muttered, a bit impatiently.
As they waited for the traffic signal to change, they watched a youngster dressed as the Easter Bunny ran in front of them, from right to left, via the crosswalk. He was being chased by a bunch of orphans. Adyson seemed to recognize some of them, and her face turned to one of concern.
For the poor kid stuck in the costume.
"Go."
Adyson heard Isabella's one-word command and nodded in compliance. When the light turned green, Adyson turned left to go after the Easter Bunny and the orphans, while the others continued their chase of the condor.
"What's that all about?" Melissa asked, seeing Adyson leave. "Where's she going?"
Isabella smirked. "Let's just say Addy's got her own Easter wrong to right."
I wouldn't find out until later how bad her Easter was last year. Looks like she wanted to make sure no other Easter Bunny would suffer the same fate.
A few minutes later, the condor decided to land on the rooftop of a ten-story building. Seeing this, the girls stopped to plan their next course of action.
"Now what?" Holly asked.
The building in question had a coffee shop and a hardware store that made up the ground floor, with apartments sitting above from the second floor up. The only way up appeared to be a single entrance which had a key code lock that limited entry to residents only.
"There's gotta be another way."
Isabella was right… again. We just had to find it.
Melissa wandered off to the nearby alley on the right side of the building. There she found a fire escape.
"Isabella! Look, look!"
Isabella and Holly came over in a hurry.
"Good thing, Melissa!"
Isabella went over to the ladder leading to the start of the stairs, which was hanging from the second floor.
"Holly!"
Holly quickly got on Isabella's back, and then onto her shoulders. Isabella stood up so that Holly could attempt to reach for the ladder.
"Ungh! Almost… almost… not quite…"
Melissa started jumping up and down. "Let me help! Let me help!"
Isabella agreed, even though she did not visibly signal it in any way. She squatted down once more, holding onto Holly's legs so that she would not fall. Melissa climbed up the older girls' backs, making it onto Holly's shoulders.
"Careful now…" Isabella lightly warned, as she stood up.
Melissa's arms were just long enough from her current height that she could grab the ladder. But her first attempt to latch on failed. She tried a second time, swiping at the ladder but again failing to get a grip. On the third attempt, she got a firm hold of it with both hands.
"I got it!"
"Pull!" Isabella told her. "Pull it down as hard as you can!"
Melissa tugged with all her might. They could all hear it give her resistance, creaking as it slowly began to budge from its somewhat rusted position. Finally, on the sixth tug or so, the ladder finally moved, sliding down in such a fast speed that the bottom of it almost landed right on Isabella's feet. She, luckily, was able to move back a few inches in the nick of time.
Melissa jumped from Holly's shoulders to the ladder, gripping the rung tightly. She then climbed up to the top and safely onto the second floor with ease. Holly and Isabella followed soon after.
"Alright! Let's catch us that egg thief!"
As to remind the girls that it was still there, the condor squawked loudly. The girls began their ascent, with Isabella taking point. As they made their way up, floor by floor, they heard strange mechanical noises coming from above.
"What do you think is going on up there?"
"I don't know, but we've got to get back those eggs!"
The duo then noticed their younger counterpart was struggling to keep up, as she was now a floor behind them.
"Melissa! You okay?"
The blonde pigtailed girl stopped, both to catch her breath and to answer her idol.
"I'm… fine…"
Without warning, whatever was going on on the roof was reaching its climax, as there was a loud crash, followed by a shaking. Not of the building, but of the rickety, not-up-to-code fire escape. Caught off-guard, Melissa lost her balance and stumbled off the end of the outdoor stairwell, where there was no railing.
"MELISSA!"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH…"
Oh! This is where we came in! Okay, so now we watch as Isabella saves the day, the great Fireside Girl that she is!
Thinking quickly, Isabella yanked an extension cord out of a generator that happened to be sitting there on the fire escape, and used it to lasso Melissa, snaring her and stopping her descent just moments before the pigtailed girl was to hit the hard pavement below.
"HOLD ON, MELISSA!"
With Holly's assistance, Isabella pulled Melissa all the way back up to the sixth floor. Once the six-year old was back on solid ground, so to speak, she leaned over and gave Isabella a hug.
"I knew you wouldn't let me down, Isabella!"
"It's what I do best! The not letting people down part, I mean."
The girls reached the rooftop, with Melissa hopping up first. Once they were all up, they saw a big, hastily-assembled nest assembled in the center.
"The eggs!" shouted Melissa.
She ran over and saw dozens of eggs in the nest. And not only were the ones from the Easter Egg hunt in there, but there were two egg cartons filled with fresh, unpainted eggs as well.
"But where's the condor?" asked Isabella aloud.
The two older girls glanced out in all directions from the roof, but they could not see the condor anywhere. Isabella shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh well. The important thing is that we got the eggs back! It may be getting a little too late to restart the hunt, but I'm sure there are some kids that still want some eggs."
Using the materials of the nest, they managed to make five baskets, which was enough to carry all the eggs out without having to make a second trip. Each with a basket in hand, Isabella and Holly opened the door leading to the stairs inside the building, opting to take the safer route down.
Well, we got the eggs back, but I guess we'll never find out where the condor went. Or why it took the eggs to begin with.
Suddenly, Melissa heard what sounded like a woman shout from nearby…
"Curse you… Chihuahua!"
"Huh?" Melissa looked around. "A curse? Why?"
"Melissa!" Isabella shouted from the doorway. "Coming?"
Melissa turned towards Isabella and nodded. "Yes!"
With that, we made our way back…
…and were met by excited kids and relieved grown-ups.
Upon returning, Isabella tasked the rest of her troop to evenly distribute the Easter eggs to all the young participants. They even took a few moments to doll up the unpainted eggs as well. That included Adyson, who returned triumphant with her new friend, the Easter Bunny, safe and sound.
Melissa was one of the last to get her Easter eggs, three of them in a fact, but she was happy nevertheless because everyone else was happy.
"Thank you, Isabella!"
Isabella smiled after giving her eggs. "You're welcome."
The troop leader then reached the last kid in line, a girl one year Melissa's junior. Unfortunately, Isabella only had two eggs left to give.
"I'm sorry. That's all I have left."
The five-year old took them, appearing to be glad to have gotten eggs at all, but the frown on her face showed she was sad she got one less egg than everyone else. Melissa looked at her and saw her try to fight back tears of sadness. The Lil' Spark then glanced down at her three eggs and started to feel a little bit selfish.
She walked over, took one of the eggs out of her basket, and placed it in the girl's basket. Immediately, the girl perked up.
"You're giving me your egg? Th-thank you!"
The kindergartner ran over to her mother to show her the egg Melissa had just given her. Melissa watched with a smile as the girl beamed with happiness.
"I recognize the paint scheme on the egg you gave her!" Isabella said in shock as she came up beside her 'little sister.' "That's the one with the golden token! You could've been kid mayor of Danville for a day!"
"But Isabella! Today isn't about winning the hunt. It's about everyone enjoying themselves and having fun!"
Isabella smiled, embracing Melissa in a hug. "I taught you well."
So, even though a bird tried to ruin Easter, in the end Isabella and the Fireside Girls prevailed, getting back the eggs and saving Easter for all of us kids! I only hope that one day, when I'm a Fireside Girl, me and my troop will save our own holiday! Maybe we'll… we'll save Christmas?
Wait, Groundhog's Day. Gotta start somewhere, right?
End Entry
Next Week: The girls' future together is in jeopardy when one of them learns she's assigned to a different junior high than the others, while another faces the prospect of moving out of state because of her mom's job. The march to graduation goes double time… on the next episode of "Fireside Diaries."