"Come here, you little cheese curl!"

The toddler squealed and ran into the cow's open arms. The parents snapped a photo before leading their child away.

"Bye Heidi!" They waved back.

"Brie you later!" Under the mask, Luan Loud giggled at her own pun.

To say she loved her job as Heidi Hefner would be putting it lightly. Ever since her first trip to Dairyland Amoosement Park as a little kid, Luan had loved the character of Heidi, from her country girl personality to her ingenious use of dairy puns in everyday speech. When she'd heard that the park was holding auditions for the characters in their upcoming stage show, she'd been estatic. So, after nailing the part and making the show a huge success, you can imagine what it must have been like for her to be approached by the park and asked to work as a Heidi park mascot. The girl had almost fainted.

Sure, it was only a part-time job and she still had to worry about homework once she got home. Sure, she had to bunch up her skirt in order to fit into the pant-like legs. And she'd be lying if she said the suit didn't get more than a little smelly on those particularly hot days, but Luan didn't care. None of that mattered when compared to the endless joy and satisfaction she got from not only watching her comedic skills pay off, but also making children smile and laugh on a daily basis. As someone hoping to make it big in the world of comedy, she saw the constant smiles and hugs as confirmation that she was indeed going to go far, that her dream of being one of the world's top comedians would one day become a reality.

There were, of course, also the perks of having a 10% discount on all food and drinks (a blessing given the park's insane pricing system) and having her boyfriend working alongside her as a popcorn vendor. Those were the sprinkles on top of the sundae.

And Luan felt that the park loved her as well. The kids loved her, obviously, and she'd gotten great feedback from her boss and her co-workers. She also got the feeling that parents felt more comfortable knowing that there was an actual teenage girl inside the suit instead of some middle-aged guy (nothing against all the Tippy suit actors, though). This would without a doubt not only look great on her future resume, but also soldify her ability as an entertainer to the world.

All in all, Luan saw her job as a cream come true (get it?) and wasn't looking for it to end anytime soon.


Meanwhile, a trio of nicely-dressed girls were making their way through the park.

"Wow," Lola Loud said to her friend, "I can't believe you were able to get us in for free, Cricket."

"That's what happens when you have a cousin that works in advertising," her friend replied. "You get to enjoy the perks."

Their other friend, the shy and meek Meli Ramos looked around at the chaotically fun park with timid excitment. "So...," she asked, a bit overwhelmed by it all, "we can come here anytime we want for free?"

"That's what he told me," Cricket said.

"And that's why I love you," Lola said, giving her a squeeze. "You too, Meli." She pulled her other friend in, not wanting her to feel left out. "So ladies, what shall we go on first?"

"Well, I'd like to go on the Milk Shaker," Meli said.

"Sounds good," Lola agreed. "Then maybe we can do Fly Me To The-," she was cut off by something grabbing and pulling at her hand. She looked over to see Meli, now wide-eyed and nervous, frantically trying to pull her and Cricket in the opposite direction.

"Meli?" She asked.

"Is everything okay?" Cricket was also confused.

"Uhhhh," the meek girl stammered, "I...have to go to the bathroom."

"But it's this way," Cricket said, pointing down their original path.

"I have to go use the other one!" Sweat was beginning to form on Meli's head as her eyes glared at something down that way.

Lola glanced at Cricket. They both knew Meli could get uncomfortable when it came to loud and crowded places, but this seemed rather sudden.

"Meli, what's-"


"Well, lookie at what we have here." Heidi Hefner came skipping up the path, stopping to stare down at them with her hands on her hips. "A couple of calfs with no mama. You little tykes lost from your herd?"

Lola smirked, looking up at the literal cowgirl. "Hey Luan."

Heidi cocked her head to the side. "Luan? Who's Luan? I'm Heidi Hefner, you silly Swiss roll, and I welcome you to the dairy-defying, stomach-churning, lactose-licious world of Dairyland Amoosement Park!" She did a little twirl and hop. "Moooo!"

This was enough to get a laugh out of both Lola and Cricket. "Well, we're heading off to the Milk Shaker, right Meli?" She turned, expecting to see her second friend, but found her spot empty. She looked around. "Meli?"

There came a soft whimper from nearby. The three of them looked to see Meli huddered behind a nearby tree, shaking and quivering with her head in her hands.

Lola gasped. They approached her hiding spot and Cricket stepped forward.

"Meli," she asked gently. "Are you okay?"

Meli paused in her shaking. "Is she gone?" she squeaked, keeping her head covered.

The two friends exchanged glances.

"You're afraid of Heidi?" Cricket probbed.

"I don't like mascots," the shy girl pitifully replied.

Lola sighed. Admittedly, she was disappointed by this sudden interruption to their highly-planned, free trip to the park, but she was also confused. After all, she and Meli had been to Dairyland before and never had her friend showed any sign that she had a fear for the costumed characters that roamed the park. Then again, Lola couldn't remember them every actually encountering any such characters during their previous trips, so maybe her fear had never simply had a chance to reveal itself.

"Oh, come on out, sweetheart," Luan had gotten down on her knees. "I'm no muenster, I'm just a little ol' cowgirl with some cheesy puns and four stomachs."

Meli whimpered, shaking her head.

"Meli, please." Lola said, "It's just Luan in there. You know, my big sister."

Meli took one tiny peek out at the mascot before ducking her head back into her arms. Tears were now forming in her eyes and she was shaking like crazy.

"It doesn't look like Luan," the scared girl sniffled. "C-can we go now? Please?"

Insensitive as it may seem, Lola couldn't help, but roll her eyes. She had no desire to leave the park so soon after arriving (as neither she assumed did Cricket), but at the same time, she couldn't even think of simply ditching Meli and going off without her. Lola had already done that once and, selfish as she knew she was, her heart couldn't bare doing it again. She looked around, trying to think of some solution before looking to Luan and snapping her fingers.

"Luan," she went up to the mascot and whispered, "Why don't take off your head and show Meli who you are?"

Luan paused. "But...that's against the rules. I'll get in trouble."

"Come on," Lola begged. "Just for a minute."

"Lola, I can't," Luan argued.

"Luan, please!" The princess quietly begged. "Look at her."

Luan looked over at Meli, whom Cricket was desperetly trying to relax. The terrified girl looked like she was on the verge of crying.

"I..." she stammered, sounding very nervous herself. "There are cameras everywhere. Someone may see."

Lola quickly glanced around the area. "I don't see any cameras, Luan." She put her hands together. "Please. Just this once? For me?" She motioned to Meli. "For her?"


Luan gulped. As much as her brain was telling her to refuse, her heart was telling her to listen to her sister, with the sigh of poor Meli only making the latter option stronger. Never before had she ever considered taking such a huge risk in job security...but at the same time, never had she ever been faced with this kind of response from a visiting child. Sure, some had been a little hesitant to approach her and a few had hide behind their parents' legs, but they'd never cried or run away from her before. This little girl was currently running circles around those kids and it only seemed to be getting worse by the second. If she ended up breaking down into tears, Luan wasn't sure she'd be able to stay composed herself, mascot training be darned.


With shaky hands, Luan gripped the rubber head and pulled it up, revealing part of her own face underneath. "See Meli?" She said. "It's just me, Luan, Lola's big sister."

Surprisingly, Meli actually gave another peek, her squinted, teary eyes widening a little at the sight of the teen girl's face. She stopped shaking and her whimpers gradually fell silent.

"That's it," Luan gently motioned for her to come closer, "Come on out."

Meli wiped her eyes. With small steps (and a firm grasp on Cricket's hand), she allowed herself to slowly be lead out from behind the tree and over to the costumed teen.

"See, I'm just a regular girl, like you," Luan said as she got closer. "That's a really pretty dress."

Meli sniffled, her cheeks a little red. "T-thanks."

"And I love your braids too."

Now blushing, Meli got herself right up to Luan. She peered up, looking the teen girl in the eye, who winked back at her with a smile of her own. After a moment, the shy girl's mouth curved into a tiny smile and she hugged Luan.

"Awww!" Lola and Cricket both put her hands to their hearts as the two embraced each other.

"I have to put my head back on, Meli," Luan said as they broke apart, "Is that okay?"

Meli looked up and nodded. Luan pulled the head back down, popping it back into place on the neck frame with a little "pop," making the little girl giggle in response.

"How about a photo, little cheese curl?"

"S-sure."

The trio of girls all took individual photos with Heidi before finishing with one big group photo.

"Thanks, Luan," Lola whispered. She took her friends by the hands. "Come on girls, the Milk Shaker awaits."

"It was nice meeting you," Meli waved as they walked off.

"It was gouda meeting you too!" Waving the trio goodbye (and feeling very pleased with herself), Luan turned and skipped off back to work.

Neither she nor the girls noticed the camera lens poking out of the nearby tree.


After a couple more hours, Luan reached the end of her shift and headed back to the Uddertorium locker rooms. Slipping out of the suit, she hung it up for a worker to clean for tomorrow's shift and stretched her tired body.

"Well Heidi, it's been fun, but I gotta' make like a cheese wheel and roll out." She chuckled, before taking notice of a stench. "Pew, and I think we both need a shower."

Waving goodbye to her icon, she grabbed her backpack, left the locker room, and headed for the main exit, ready to start for home. Hopefully, she'd still have enough energy to make it through her geometry and chemisty homework.

"Luan?"

Luan froze in place. She turned and found herself face-to-face with her boss. Of course, this wasn't the first time she'd been greeted by him, but it was his lack of his usuall firm, but friendly tone and the stern look on his face that got her unnerved.

"Oh...hey, Mr. Whitley," Luan said, giving off an uncertain smile. "I-is everything okay?"

Without a word, her boss lifted a hand and motioned for her to follow him.

Luan's heart pounded in her chest as she found herself entering his office. Sweat forming on her brow, she hesitantly took a seat across from his desk and he sat to face her.

For a moment, there was silence. Mr. Whitley cupped his hands together on his desk.

"Luan," he finally said. "You've been an employee here for some time now. Can you please tell me what our number one rule for suit actors is?"

He turned his computer moniter to face her and pressed a button. On the screen appeared a camera feed...showing Luan taking off her head for Meli. The girl's heart stopped.

"I...I can explain," she stammered. "That little girl in grey. She was afraid of mascots and I thought maybe if I took off my head, just for a moment, I could show her there's nothing to be scared of."

Mr. Whitley sighed and shook his head. Luan could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"Luan," he began. "You've been a great worker for us at Dairyland. You really have. Kids love you, employees like you, you've even managed to make me smile on bad days."

'Please...don't go where I think you're going,' Luan mentally begged.

"However," never had that word been so painful to the girl, "You know we have strict rules and guidelines to follow. And the number one rule for mascot actors is to never remove your mask while on the job. It breaks the illusion."

Luan whimpered.

"Now normally, I may occasionally offer some leeway for employees that I know work hard and work well..."

As far as Luan was concerned, he was just taunting her with false hope.

"but, as I'm sure you know from keeping up with the company website," Mr Whitley went on, "we're currently in the middle of a snag, trying to find a location for our Dairyland restaurant expansion project. Management has really been pressuring us to stick to the rules to keep up our public image, so I'm afraid I can't be so generous this..."

"Mr. Whitley, please!" Normally, Luan would never think to interrupt her boss, but she was truly desperate. "It was just a one-time thing, a bad call on my part. I swear, it will never happen again."

"I know it won't," he replied. "because we're terminating your contract with us, Luan."

Luan's heart stopped.

"Please," Mr. Whitley reached out, "turn in your ID badge and lanyard. Your final check will arrive in the mail."

For a moment, Luan was silent. She sat there, staring blankly at her boss - her former boss - before slowly and painfully removing her badge from around her neck and placing it in his hand. Getting up from her seat, she slowly shuffled out of his office and out of the Uddertorium.


In the back of her mind, Luan knew she was at fault. No matter how much of her wanted to blame her boss for unjustifiably firing her or her sister for pressuring her into taking off her mask, the girl knew she truthfully only had herself to blame. Luan had read the rulebook (cover to back, in fact - multiple times) and the finalized contract and knew that the rules of Dairyland were first and final. She'd made her bed and, as much as it hurt, had to sleep in it.

The girl still cried all the way home though.