Chapter 18: A Shot of Disney Magic

A member of Judy's family is sent to visit her for a couple of weeks. Can she and Nick survive a moody teenager?

Disney's Contemporary Resort

Lake Buena Vista, Florida

"That is your niece? Nick slowly asked, the fox sounded surprised. "That is little Pen Pen?"

The gray-and-white-furred rabbit that stood on the Magical Monorail's platform was not at all what the fox was expecting. Sure, she was a teenager, but she did not appear to be anything close to the awkward skinny doe that Judy had described. The baggy, oversized plain black tee shirt that Pen Pen wore hung off her left shoulder and had the words "Burn the World and Start Over" printed on it in bold white letters. Her jeans looked torn at the knees and were full of holes. There were six gold and silver studs in each of her ears, and between those ears, her spiked fur was dyed bright pink.

"I guess that is the fashion style for teenage bunnies now?" the fox snickered. "It's kind of giving me those 'I want to be an anarchist when I grow up' vibes."

"My older sister said that Pen Pen had been having some problems in school, but I assumed she meant with her studies," Judy replied. She stood there with her ears drooping, staring at the younger rabbit with a brief look of concern.

"Yeah, my plan to introduce her to Skippy is shot," Nick joked.

"Isn't Skippy just seven years old?"

"Yes, he is and he will always be so until someone at Disney decides to update his film. Technically since he was drawn in 1973, and they celebrate his seventh birthday in the movie, that would make him...," the fox began to mentally calculate the rabbit's age.

"Fifty-seven," Judy quickly replied.

"How could I ever forget that bunnies are good at multiplying," Nick teased. "Some more than others, just how many kits does your mother have?"

"Nick!"

"I'm concerned that your sister shipped not so little Pen Pen here to keep her from...let us just say multiplying."

"Nick, my sister wouldn't do that!"

"How old were your parents when they got married and had their first litter?"

"Shut up, fox!"

"What age was your sister when she had her first babies?"

"Nick, about my sister..." Judy began to say but stopped when the younger bunny saw them and instead, she waved at the rabbit.

"Two-to-one odds that she is going to complain over missing some boy," Nick snickered as he followed Judy toward the platform.

"Pen Pen!" Judy cried out as she hugged the slightly smaller rabbit who just stood there with her arms at her side.

"Aunt Judy," said the sullen teenager, "call me Strider." The girl paused before continuing, "Pen Pen is just too childish of a name and Penny is just too kitschy."

"Too kitschy? Your name is Penny Stride. Let's just go with Penny."

"No, I go by Strider now!"

"Sorry, but the name Strider is already taken by a guy from Lord of the Rings," Nick said, trying not to laugh. "Wait! I met a dog once named Strider; he's with the Puppy Dog Pals."

"So, is this the fox that Granddaddy is cussing about?" Her words were more of a statement than a question as the bunny stared up at Nick. "Pop Pop says that foxes are red because they're made by the devil; is that true?"

"Do you really believe him?" Nick said with a smirk.

"No, but that would be so cool."

"Then yes, yes, we are."

"Nick, stop teasing," Judy snapped at the now grinning fox.

"Yeah, I guess you can call me Uncle Nick," Nick said as he stuck his paw forward for a pawshake. The bunny just rolled her eyes and still didn't move. "Okay, nice meeting you...ah, Strider."

"Whatever."

"Welcome to Disney World," Judy cheerfully said as she slipped her arm under the other rabbit's arm and began pulling her toward the hotel exit. "They call it The Most Magical Place On Earth."

"Great, an oversized, overpriced, tacky playground designed to lure the masses of the proletariat into spending their hard-earned cash on worthless trinkets and false hopes just to pad the pockets of the filthy rich," Strider sneered sarcastically.

"Darn, she has already figured it all out!" the fox chuckled.

Suddenly the teenager stopped, "Listen, Aunt Judy, all I want to do is go home! I want to be with my boyfriend Henry, and by the time Mom lets me go home, I'll have missed him."

"I told you so," Nick whispered.

"Shut up, Nick!" Judy sighed as she stood there facing Strider. "I'm sure you are going to miss Henry, but you will only be here for a couple of weeks and so let's have some fun. I'm sure that Henry will be happy to see you when you get back."

"You don't understand, Henry will be gone off to college by the time I return and I won't get to see him again until he returns home for the Winter Solstice Celebrations in December."

Picking up the younger rabbit's suitcase, Nick watched as the two rabbits walked through the hotel lobby and towards the exit. "Oh, this is going to be a couple of really, really long weeks," he groaned. "Hey, wait for your valet," he joked while he rushed to catch up to them

Nick and Judy's Apartment

Near Disney World, Florida

"For two movie stars, your place sure sucks," Strider griped as she stood in the living room. "I was expecting something more capitalistic, much larger and decadent than a one-bedroom apartment."

"Welcome to the new economy," Nick replied with a forced attempt at sounding pleasant. After listening to the teenager's constant complaining during the Uber ride back to his and Judy's apartment he was contemplating what the Florida state laws were for bunnycide.

"Did you two blow all your bucks on drugs and parties?" the young rabbit sarcastically asked.

"Hey, what can I say? We were just living the celebrity dream," Nick scoffed. "The overpriced high-rise apartment in Hollywood, the fancy car, dinners at the most expensive restaurants, smoking catnip rolled in one hundred dollar bills...you know, the usual stuff when you're living the rich and famous lifestyle."

"Really?" the bunny seemed to believe the fox's exaggerated lie.

"No, we actually made a few bad investments. I should have listened to my friend Fennick's warning and not bought all that Disney stock back in 2019."

"Then you're broke?"

"I'm sure the stock will recover," Nick replied. The rabbit didn't think the fox sounded too confident.

"So where do I sleep?" the teenager asked.

"The sofa."

"Of course...oh well, I'm used to always getting what's left over."

"Don't be so dramatic, I bet your mom and dad gave you plenty of toys and things when you were growing up," Nick scoffed.

The rabbit grew silent for a moment before she turned toward the sofa with her back to the fox. "It's only me and my mom," she softly said. "My dad, along with my littermates, was killed in a bus accident when I was little. Mom needs help, she lost her legs in the accident, and so I spend most of my time taking care of her."

"Sorry, I didn't know." the fox sighed.

Shrugging her shoulders, Strider reached for the folded-up sheets and blankets. "I'm sure there are plenty of others who have had it worse, at least I have Aunt Judy and the rest of the family."

Walt Disney World

(The next day)

Judy frantically rushed into Mickey's office and she was surprised to see Cinderella sitting there, the princess looked concerned. "Mickey, I got your call, what happened to Pen Pen...I mean Strider?" she asked the mouse.

"Judy, your niece is...well, she is unharmed," Cinderella answered her question instead of Mickey.

"What is going on? Has she been arrested and where is Nick? I left those two standing just outside of your castle for just a few minutes and they disappeared."

"No one has been arrested," Mickey assured her.

"Judy, do you know the wishing well by the castle?" Cinderella said.

"Sure, everyone does."

"I saw Nick and your niece standing near the well and I told her that it was magical, that it grants wishes to those who deserve one."

"Isn't that the well where the money tossed into it is used for charity?"

"The money goes to Give Kids the World and pays for week-long, cost-free wish vacations for critically ill children," Mickey answered.

"So in a way, it does grant wishes," Cinderella added.

"What does that have to do with my niece?" Judy asked.

"She wished to go home, and when that didn't happen, she was pouting and complaining that Disney World was nothing but a 'mind-numbing tourist trap designed to take idiots' money.' While she was saying that, Nick picked up a coin that was on the ground, shook his head, and looked over at the rabbit before sighing, 'I sure wish there was some way that she could recapture some of the wonderful magic of childhood.' As he began to walk away, he hesitated and tossed the coin into the well," Cinderella explained.

"Where is she?" Judy demanded.

"Minnie, would you bring Judy's niece into my office?" Mickey called out and the door opened.

A seven-year-old bunny in a blue ruffly Cinderella-style princess dress ran past Minnie and into Judy's arms. "Aunt Judy, look at the pretty dress they gave me! My other clothes were too big and kept falling off of me." the excited rabbit exclaimed while she twirled around to show off the dress. This place is so FUN!"

"Pen Pen, what happened?"

"Magic!" Cinderella answered. "It seems that Nick's wish was granted."

"So where is Nick?"

"Hi, Pen Pen's Aunt Judy," a seven-year-old fox kit wearing a blue Disney's 100th Anniversary tee shirt and a pair of shorts called out as he walked into the office. "Aunt Minnie said that she would take me and Pen Pen over to ride Dumbo, the Flying Elephant ride and if we behave ourselves she would let us meet the real Dumbo."

"NICK?"

"The Magic Well must have thought that he too needed to recapture the wonderful magic of childhood," Mickey said. "Nick now seems to think that Pen Pen is his best friend and that you are her aunt. He doesn't remember anything about the movie or you two living together."

"WHAT?

"Fairy Godmother assured me that the magic will wear off in a week or two," Cinderella added.

The rabbit sat there dumbfounded while she looked at the two happy children for a few moments. Finally, she sighed, "Oh, this is going to be a couple of really, really long weeks."