Easton's Meltdown
A Sprout fanfic
By Madeline Fretz
Weeks had passed since Easton, a charming green caterpillar, and his parents had moved into the Hills of Sprout, and he was just getting used to the place. Easton has autism, it was discovered when he was new to the neighborhood, and his bedroom is where he feels most at peace - he finds himself surrounded by pictures of Blue's Clues and Bear in the Big Blue House (his two favorite shows), the letters of his name hung from the ceiling, and assorted mobiles. He barely leaves … that is, except for when he is asked to.
One fine day, Easton and his mother walked over to a large area resembling a bird's cage with a blue moon-shaped couch and a variety of bookshelves. Easton was excited about visiting his new friends Nina and Star, as he was bouncing up and down and flapping his arms, a common sign of autism, on the way to their place, but he was concerned at the same time too. "Do you really need to leave me mom?" he asked his mother while looking her in the eye.
"Why, yes I do Easton," his mom told him, "I'm about to go shopping and since you don't like supermarkets, leaving you with Nina was the best thing for me to do." His father was out as well. You see, Easton's dad likes to travel the world, and has gone anywhere and everywhere from London to Rome, just like the local mail carrier, Mr. Mailman.
"Oh, I see." Easton sighed. Just then, Nina, who was sitting on the aforementioned moon couch with Star, noticed the two caterpillars and walked up to see them. "Hi Britta, hi Easton, nice to see you."
"Nice to see you too Nina." Easton's mom greeted back.
"Hi." Easton said nervously.
"Sorry about little Eastie here, he's not used to being away from home." Easton's mom explained.
"Don't worry Easton, Star and I have a lot of fun and it's even more fun when others join us," Nina reassured the 6-year-old, "like you!"
"Wow, I like to have fun too!" Easton jumped up.
"Glad to hear it." Nina smiled.
With this, Easton and his mother walked up to where the couch was. "So what are we doing today?"
"Well Easton, today we'll be playing a silly game or two, and you can join in by being creative," explained Nina, "just like you always are."
"I like creative." smiled Easton. "Can we draw some pictures too?"
"If you want to!"
"Oh boy!"
And before Easton knew it, it was time for his mother to leave. "Well East, I've gotta go shopping now." the caterpillar's mother told him. "Now you be a good boy for Nina, okay?"
"Okay mom," Easton beamed, "Bye!"
"Goodbye!" And with this, Easton's mom walked away, leaving her son with Nina and Star.
"Hey Easton, nice to see you!" greeted Star, who was already on the couch.
"Nice to see you too Star." Easton replied, before excitedly turning to Nina. "Hey Nina, is it time to play yet? Is it, is it?"
"Why yes it is Easton." smiled Nina, carrying a newspaper with cut-out pictures on top and putting it on the couch. "Now, today we're going to play a game in which we put these pictures together."
"You'll love this, Easton!" Star commented.
"Wow, sounds fun!" Easton exclaimed.
"Okay, let's begin!" said Nina, as she pulled out a picture of a middle-aged woman with blonde hair. "What should go on this lady's head? Do you know?"
Easton took a look at the other pictures before eyeing one he really liked - a picture of an orange fish. "How about … this one?"
"Hey, it looks like Hush!" Star pointed out.
"Yeah, it kind of does." agreed Nina. "Okay Easton, let's put this fish on the lady's head." She grabbed the fish from Easton and did so.
"Wow, looks silly!" giggled Star.
"Yeah!" Easton commented.
"Alright, what should go on this dog's back?" Nina asked as she pulled out a picture of a light brown dog.
Easton eyed a picture of a white birthday cake with white frosting and green and pink icing. "I like cake! This one looks perfect!" He proceeded to put the cake on the dog's back, but it caused all the other pictures on top of the newspaper to topple over and fall off the couch. Nina gasped upon seeing this.
"Whoa, that's not good!" Star commented.
"Oh no, I made a mistake!" Easton noticed, before screaming in the loudest voice possible. "I MADE A MISTAKE!"
With this, the green caterpillar got on the floor and started kicking his legs and pounding the floor, all while still screaming. Additionally, tears started rolling down his cheeks.
"Oh no, he's throwing a temper tantrum," Star observed, "Nina, what should we do?"
"Star, you and I are very good at calming people, especially children, down, so I know what to do." Nina replied, and she got down to the floor, nearly sitting. "Easton?"
Easton wasn't listening - he was still upset!
"Easton, listen to me, Easton…"
Nina pretended her left hand was a whistle, nearly putting her fingers in her mouth and using them to make a whistle sound.
Easton stopped screaming and pounding. "What?"
"Easton, what do you like to do to calm yourself down?" asked Nina.
"Uhh…" Easton was puzzled - it was clear he didn't know what to say OR do. "Uhh…"
"It can be very hard to get autistic people to listen to you." Star explained.
"Yeah." Nina agreed, before turning to Easton. "You know Easton, there are so many things to do when relaxing."
"Really?" asked the caterpillar.
"Really!" Nina nodded before segueing to a song.
Nina:
When it's time to relax, you can read a good book
Star:
You can cuddle with a toy
Nina:
You can learn how to cook
You see,
Nina and Star:
R and R, rest and relax
Take the load off your feet, take the train off the tracks
Resting is important, relaxing is too
So be kind to others
Nina:
And don't forget about you.
When it's time to relax, you can take a long nap.
Star:
You can talk with a friend,
Or hold a bunny in your lap,
Nina and Star:
R and R, rest and relax
Take the load off your feet, take the train off the tracks
Resting is important, relaxing is too
So be kind to others
And don't forget about you
Nina:
Don't forget about you
Star:
Don't forget about you.
"Thanks." Easton smiled as the song ended. "Hey, you know, that song really made me feel better."
"Really?" Nina and Star asked.
"Really!"
"Glad to hear it." Nina commented. "You know what you were upset over?"
"Look!" Easton pointed to the pictures that had fallen to the floor.
"Oh, we need to clean those up!" Nina said as she noticed said pictures and put them back on the newspaper. "So, do you remember what goes where?"
"Hmm … if my memory serves me right, the fish goes on the lady's head, and the cake goes on the doggy's head."
"Okay." Nina smiled as she put the fish and cake on the head and dog respectively. "There, everything is solved."
"Now that wasn't something to cry about, right?" Star asked.
"Right." Easton agreed.
"You know, people with autism, just like you, are prone to throwing fits like yours all the time, but it's okay, they calm down as time goes by." Nina explained.
"I see." Easton commented.
"Oh, and about you knocking down the pictures?"
"Yeah."
"That was a mistake, and don't fret, everyone makes them, and it's okay."
"Nice to hear it." Easton said. "Okay, let's continue!"
"And we'd be happy to." Nina replied as she, Star, and Easton got back to work without any problems.
THE END