Wordgirl: Best Girl Part 2
Just then, Victoria's parents spotted her standing in the crowd.
"Victoria!" said Mr. Best. "What are you doing here? We told you to stay home!"
"Huh?" Victoria was still too stunned to move.
Victoria's parents are glaring at her from the stage, angrily.
"Victoria, go right home this instant!" said Mrs. Best. "We will not have you embarrassing your sister again with your…your…NON-the-Best-ishness!"
Umm, Victoria, I think you'd better leave. Your parents don't look very happy-
"-What do you mean, my NOT-BEST-ISH-NESS? I'm Victoria Best! Wordgirl isn't the best, I'M the best!"
The entire audience gasps in shock.
"Whoa! Did she really just say that?" said a member of the crowd.
"Who's Wordgirl?" asked another.
"I think that blonde girl is Best Girl's sister. You know, the one who's always messing up?"
"VICTORIA!" says Mrs. Best, stomping her foot down on the ground. "You are in BIG TROUBLE young lady! Go home right this instant, we will talk about this later-"
"-Hang on a second, Mom," said a voice. "Let me handle this."
"Hmm?"
Everybody looks up at Best Girl, who is still floating in the air with her arms crossed. A serious look is on her face.
"Oh, Becky?" responded Mrs. Best. "You're saying you want to take care of this? Oh alright darling, go ahead. You are the BEST at handling your sister, after all."
Best Girl flashes forward, appearing directly in front of Victoria. The crowd parts to give the two girls space.
"So…little sis," said Best Girl. "Are you REALLY going to tell me that you think YOU'RE the best?"
"I know I am! I'm Victoria Best! I'm the REAL Best! You, you're just…you're not supposed to be the Best! I am!"
"Well okay then," says Best Girl, glancing at her nails with a shrug. "Let's have a contest, you and I. Whatever contest you want! If you win, then YOU'LL be the Best, right?"
"I WILL win! I'm the Best!"
"Yeah, sure, okay. But here's the thing…when you LOSE, you have to LEAVE our family forever. Deal?"
"I…what?"
"Finally, I will have one less imperfect sibling following me around. What do you think, Mom and Dad? Do you agree?"
"We do, Becky dear! Your father and I will be judges! Whoever we pick for the winner will be the best!"
"Mom…Dad…" said Victoria, stunned, "you really would kick me out of…of…no matter. I won't lose! I NEVER lose! I'm Victoria Best, I'm the BEST!"
And so, the preparations for the competition are finally complete.
Hey, who said that?
I did. The narrator.
Wait, you're not the narrator, I am!
Maybe you're the narrator of Word Girl. But me? I'm the narrator of Best Girl. Maybe you've heard of it? It's the BEST show ever made?
Well, your voice sounds too depressing! You should be filling fans with excitement! Heightening the tension! Not…making everything feel so glum.
Eh, what's the point…?
"Okay Victoria," said Victoria to herself. "You can do this. You can do this, you're the BEST!"
"Welcome everyone," said Mrs. Best, "to the first (and almost definitely last) contest to find out who is the BEST at playing the recorder! In this corner, the BEST superhero in the world…Best Girl! andinthiscornerVictoriaBest."
"Get ready to eat my notes, Wordgirl!" said Victoria, cracking her knuckles.
"You keep getting my name wrong, Victoria, I'm not Wordgirl, I'm BEST GIRL!"
"Yeah, well you both sure have a lot in common," responded Victoria. "Snarky. Loves attention. WRONG ABOUT ME!"
"Heh. We'll see who's wrong, Victoria. I'm gonna miss having you for a sister. Oh, wait, no I'm not…"
"BEGIN!"
TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-DOO-DOO-LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-DOO-DOO-LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-DOO-DOO-LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-DOO-DOO-LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
"And the winner is…oh my gosh, I can't believe this!" said Mrs. Best. "The winner is VICTORIA BEST!"
"Yes! I did it, I won! I'm the Best, I'm the BEST!" shouted a victorious Victoria. Oh I just got the joke…
"Victoria, we can't believe you won!" said Mr. Best. "We…all these years we've been wrong about you! You ARE the best after all! You…you ARE the best!"
"Yes! I won!"
"Here's your trophy, Victoria! Congratulations. Say, how would you like to have the largest bedroom again?"
FLASH
Suddenly, Best Girl flies forward and tugs the trophy from Victoria's grasp.
"Hey! Give me back my trophy, Best Girl!"
"Your trophy?" said Best Girl, a sly smile across her face. "Umm, no. I think this trophy is MINE!"
"...Well…well whatever, Best Girl!" said Victoria, brushing her off. "Everyone knows that I won, so who cares about the stupid trophy? I'm still the BEST-!"
-Suddenly, Best Girl pushes her cape back to reveal a utility belt filled with fancy gadgets. She pulls out a ray and aims it straight at the crowd.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
ZAP
A few moments later, the crowd wakes up.
"Uh…huh? What's going on?" said Mr. Best, confused. "What happened? Did we start the contest yet?"
"Dear, I think the contest is already over," said Mrs. Best. "Oh, and look at who's holding the trophy. What a surprise, it's our daughter, BEST GIRL!"
"YES! I won! I'm the best!" shouted Best Girl, holding the trophy up in her arms.
The newfound loser Victoria looks around, terrified.
"What…what just happened? I thought…I could have sworn that I won, but I…I…"
"Well Victoria, it looks like the contest is over and you lost," said Mrs. Best. "That means you have to leave now, Victoria. You are no longer a part of this family."
Mrs. Best swipes Victoria's magical recorder.
"You are no longer…Victoria Best."
"Ugh…what HAPPENED? How can this be, this…Mom…Dad! NO!"
Victoria is walking along the sidewalk, head drooped in misery.
"...Ugh. Whatever. I deserve to be miserable. I'm not the best. I never WAS the best. And now…now I'm trapped in this world where Best Girl is the BEST."
I know, it's horrible. How are we ever going to find a way home?
"Eh, who cares, Narrator? It doesn't matter where I live now. No matter what world I live in…I'm not the best…"
"-Tori! Hey, Tori, wait!"
"Huh? Who said that?"
"Tori, it's me, slow down!"
"...TOBEY?"
"Tori, are you alright?" said Tobey, slowing down as he finally caught up to her. This Tobey looked very similar to the one Victoria knew. "That was SO BRAVE of you just now, standing up to Best Girl like that! Did she hurt you? Did she do anything to you?"
"Ugh…why are you hugging me, Tobey?"
"What…because I'm trying to comfort you, of course," said Tobey, confused. "Come on, my mother said you can live at my place now that you've been kicked out of your parents' house-"
"-Wait, what?" said Victoria, pushing him away/ "Why would you do that? Why are you being so nice to me?"
"I…well…because we're friends, Tori. We always have been, remember?"
"We…we have?"
Victoria walks with Tobey to his house.
"Wait, Tobey, this is your house? Where are all of your robots?"
"Once, long ago, I challenged Best Girl to a robot-building competition," said Tobey, shaking his head in sadness. "She won, and then she took all of my robots and my robot-making tools."
"Wait, Best Girl beat you at building robots?"
"Yes, of course," said Tobey, spitefully. "Best Girl wins at EVERYTHING. Best sandwich-maker. Best CEO. Best knitter. Best cheese-ray-creator…every time she wins she steals all of the other competitor's things, so they can never try and get any better than her."
"Wow," said Victoria, in awe. "So she really IS the best…"
"That's right. Or at least that's right…for now."
"What do you mean?"
"Open the door, Tori. There are some people I'd like you to meet."
Victoria opens the door. Inside, to her shock, is a massive group of villains!
"Dr. Two-Brains? Mr. Big? Sandwich-person? Old-lady-woman? What are you all doing here?"
"I can explain that," says Tobey. "You see, we are a group of people who are TIRED with Best Girl always being the best. The way she brags, the way she steals all of our things when she wins…not to mention, a few of us are starting to suspect that Best Girl is cheating a whole lot of the time! We've all gathered together to take Best Girl down!"
"Tobey," says Dr. Two-Brains, standing up from the table. "What is SHE doing here? Don't you know who that is? That's Victoria Best! She's Best Girl's sister! She's going to tell Best Girl all about our plans!"
"Hmm…I like the way you think, Tobey," says Mr. Big, rubbing his hands together. "We can use mind-control to make Victoria Best spy on her sister for us! Genius! I'm glad I thought of it!"
"What? No, everyone, please listen!" says Tobey, waving his hands in the air. "Victoria is not our prisoner! She's the final member of our team!"
"What? I am?"
"She is?" asked everyone.
"That's right," said Tobey, closing the blinds and stepping onto the table. "Think about it…WHO hates Best Girl more than the girl who's been living in her shadow ever since the day the Bests found her in that spaceship all those years ago? WHO has had everything taken from her by Best Girl? None other than her own sister…Victoria Best! She is the perfect person to be our leader! Out of all the choices, she is…simply…the BEST!"
Victoria sits in the living room, alone.
"Don't worry Tori, I understand this is all new to you," says Tobey, sticking his head in. "But I finished convincing everyone and it's unanimous; you are our new leader! I'll give you some time to think, and then later on you can come into the room and tell EVERYBODY your awesome plan to get rid of Best Girl for good!"
Victoria stays in her seat, not saying a word.
Tobey holds his hands behind his back, awkwardly.
"I…listen Tori, I understand this is all a bit sudden. Maybe I…look, if you don't WANT to do this, I understand. We can just go back to how things used to be. You and me, the best of pals. We can go back to goofing around, and reading together, and playing in the park like we used to…"
"-Tobey…why are you my friend?"
"What?" said Tobey, taken aback. "What sort of a question is that?"
"Humor me. Please, tell me…I want to know what it is you like about me."
"I…well…I guess I just appreciate how honest you are, Tori. How you never lie, or steal, or cheat or ignore things that prove you wrong…you're a real friend, Tori. Someone I can be honest with. Someone I can confide in, and who confides in me. That's why I knew you would be excited at the chance to finally get back at Best Girl."
"...Thanks Tobey. I…I appreciate that."
"Awesome. So…umm…I'll see you in a bit. Can't wait for the secret plan, or…or whatever. You take your time, Tori. By the way, my mother made some cucumber sandwiches for you."
Tori looked down, eyes widening.
"I love cucumber sandwiches. They're…they're my favorite. My parents never made them for me, though…"
"-Enjoy. Secret McCallister family recipe!"
Victoria continues to sit in place, not moving an inch.
"...I'm not the best. I never WAS the best."
Victoria hugs herself, trying to fight back the tears.
"I can't fight Best Girl! Heck, I couldn't even win a stupid recorder competition against her! Even the one thing I really AM the best at…and I couldn't win!"
That's not true Victoria.
"Huh? Mr. Narrator? You're still here?"
That's right, I am. And I know what really happened. You DID win the contest.
"I…I did? But I don't remember that!"
"That's because Best Girl zapped you, and everyone else, with a ray that wiped their memories."
"Wait…WHAT?"
"It's true, I saw it happen. It affected everyone except for me."
"Huh! That cheater! Why would she do that, Mr. Narrator? Why would she EVER think that would actually matter and…"
-A look of clarity appears on Victoria's face.
"But…but then that means I really AM the best! You, Mr. Narrator! You can just TELL everybody that I really won the contest! You can TELL THEM that I'm the best! Then my parents will let me move back home, and Best Girl will be made fun of and nobody will EVER listen to her again and-"
-Huh. Is that what you really want, Victoria?
"What? Of course it is, I…"
-Victoria looks down at the cucumber sandwiches-
"...I…of course. I want to be the best, I…I…"
She looks at the pictures on the mantle of her and Tobey.
"Okay villains, listen up!" said Victoria, marching into Tobey's living room. "I'm gonna lay down a plan SO AMAZING, so INCREDIBLE that it's gonna get rid of Best Girl…forever!"
"Whoo!"
"Yeah, tell us, tell us!"
"Alright, I'll tell you," said Victoria, walking over to the whiteboard. "First off, something you need to know; this entire world is controlled by a narrator! Whatever he says…ends up happening for real! That means all we need to do is convince the Narrator to say that Best Girl never existed! He's gonna send us back to the first time I ever discovered Best Girl's spaceship and make it so that my parents NEVER found her!"
"Ooh, great idea! But wait, even if your parents don't find and adopt Best Girl, what if somebody else does instead?"
"Don't worry about that. I happen to know that the people who find her will be VERY different from my parents. Best Girl will grow up and be WAY less evil and snobby…err…SLIGHTLY less snobby than she is right now!"
"Awesome, sounds great!" said Dr. Two-Brains.
"How do we get this narrator to help us, though?" asked Chuck.
"Simple; I just ask him. Hey Narrator, send me back!"
Um, sorry Victoria. But I'm afraid I can't do that.
"What? Why not?"
Because I'm not the narrator of this show. I'm the narrator of Word Girl, but the show we're on right now is called Best Girl. That means you have to make the narrator of BEST GIRL send you back in time.
And I will never do that. If I did that, my entire job would go up in smoke. Also, I'm evil.
"Okay then, no problem," says Victoria, erasing the whiteboard and starting over again. "I know the EXACT thing we need to get the Narrator to do what we want. And I know EXACTLY how we're gonna get it back…"
At the Best house, a huge group of people are standing outside.
"Please, Best Girl! We just found out that there's a giant meteorite headed for the city! Can you stop it, please?"
"Hmm," says Best Girl, floating in the air and stroking her chin. "MAYBE I can stop it. But what's in it for me?"
"Anything you want, please, just get rid of the meteorite!"
"Anything? Sounds like a fair trade to me. Also, stop using that word 'meteorite', it's too long. Just use short words, they're much easier to understand."
Best Girl flies off into space, humming to herself as she does so.
"Hmm, these annoying humans. I only keep them around because they keep giving me whatever I want, but the thing is I'm kind of getting tired of all the trophies and medals. Maybe I should just start smashing the city instead of saving it…yeah, that sounds like it would be more fun. Ooh, but I'm only two unicorns away from completing my collection…okay, fine, I'll finish my collection and THEN I'll switch to being a villain, yeah…"
-Best Girl stops outside of the earth's atmosphere, spotting the meteorite as it comes hurtling toward earth.
"Hmm…there's something weird about this meteorite. The way it's flying straight forward…it's almost like something is PULLING it towards the earth. Also, why is it glowing green-?"
-WHAM
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screams Best Girl as she plummets back towards the planet, landing with a CRASH in her front yard. All around her, bits of the now-smashed meteorite land by her side.
"What the heck just happened? Why did that meteorite hurt me so much? Why…?"
"I did it! My meteorite-summoning ray worked perfectly!" shouted a voice.
"-Quick everyone, grab a piece of the meteorite!"
In an instant, all of Best Girl's enemies surround her! Each of them is waving a piece of the meteorite!"
"Oh my gosh, it worked! Tori, you were right, the meteorite DOES take away her powers!"
"Yeah, how does it feel, Best Girl? How does it feel to no longer be the BEST?"
"What did you…UGH…DO to me?" moaned Best Girl, barely able to move.
"It's called Lexonite, Best Girl," says Victoria triumphantly, walking to the front of the pack and waving the rock right under her adopted sister's chin. "And it takes away your powers, the same as Wordgirl!"
"Ugh…you…you losers! You think this means you've won? I'll show you! Once I get my powers back, I'll be the BEST again! Do you hear me? The BEST!"
"Oh yeah? And who's gonna help you with that, Best Girl?"
"Mom! Dad! Help!" shouted Best Girl.
Mr. and Mrs. Best stepped out onto the lawn. "Honey, look, a bunch of tiny meteorites just crash-landed in our yard!"
"Mom! Help!" shouted Best Girl again.
"Huh? Becky?"
"Mom, help, these villains, they…they took away my powers!"
"Honey, did Becky just say that she lost all of her powers?" asked Mr. Best. "Does that mean she's…no longer the best?"
"...Becky who, dear?" said Mrs. Best, after a brief pause.
"I…yes, good point. Get off of our yard, you weird little alien girl!" said Mr. Best.
Best Girl gasped, as if she couldn't breathe.
"..."
"Come now dear, let's go back inside and help Victor with his school project," said Mrs. Best, walking away casually. "He is the best, after all."
"Mom, Dad, WAIT! No!" yelled Best Girl. "Don't…don't leave me! I'm still the best, I…I…"
Victoria kneels down next to Best Girl, holding her hand.
"I know how you feel, Best Girl. But trust me, it doesn't matter if you're the best or not. People that TRULY care about you…are the ones who love you even when you're not the best."
"...Not…the best? I'm…not the best?"
"No. You're not…and neither am I."
The police arrive to take Best Girl away. They throw her, and a BUNCH of the meteor rocks, into the back of the police cruiser and drive away.
The villains run into the Best house and get all of their stuff back, along with Victoria's recorder, and then cheerfully run off to celebrate. Victoria and Tobey are the only ones still standing on the lawn.
"You're not going to stay, are you Tori?" asks Tobey as he glances down at the ground.
"No Tobey, I'm not. I have a family that I need to get back to. A…a real family. With memories and all of that. We…we have a lot to work through."
"Yes, I…I understand," said Tobey, nodding his head.
"But hey…once I'm gone, maybe YOUR Tori will come back," said Victoria. "And you can be friends again!"
"Yes, I suppose we can. Although…heh…I doubt she'll believe all of this really happened! It will all be so amazing, finding out that she defeated her evil sister and doesn't even remember it!"
"Heh. I doubt MY Tobey will believe me, either."
"That's such a shame," said Tobey with a chuckle. "You did a great thing here today, Victoria. It's a shame nobody will ever know about it in your timeline."
"Actually…I'm happy about that," said Victoria, smiling. "Good bye, Tobey. Also, see you tomorrow!"
"Good bye…Victoria Best!"
TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-TUU-DOO-LOO-LOO-DOO-DOO-LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
And so, the incredible Victoria Best travels back in time once more.
And this time, she stops herself from stopping herself from finding Wordgirl's spaceship. The Bests go home from their picnic early, the Botsfords come strolling along and spot a baby and a monkey in the bushes, Emmys are won…
Victoria Best wakes up in her room.
"I'm back! Did it work? Is everything normal again?"
Victoria glances around at all of her trophies.
"Sigh. Yep, this is the right place. I can smell the deceit on these trophies…"
Victoria starts to pile all of the trophies into a wheelbarrow, just as her parents come back into the room.
"Oh good Victoria, you're practicing for your wheelbarrow competition later today! We're glad to see you're finally taking it seriously again, Victoria!"
"Remember; you have to be the BEST!"
"Hmp. Sure Mom. Sure Dad."
Victoria goes out and returns all of the trophies to the people she stole them from. Then, later that day, she DOES indeed go to the wheelbarrow competition…wait, what?
"What is it, Narrator? Why are you so surprised?"
"I…I thought you had learned your lesson, Victoria! I thought you learned that it doesn't matter if people think you're the best!"
"Oh, I did. Don't get me wrong. And you're right, it DOESN'T matter if other people think I'm the best. What matters is that I try, until eventually I know that I did my best!"
"I…okay, I guess. I suppose that's all right, kind of…"
"And with a score of 299 points, it looks like Victoria Best is going to win the wheelbarrow competition!" said the host from the stage.
"Hurray Victoria! That's our daughter!" shouted Mr. Best. "Victoria Best! We're the Bests!"
"Victoria, where are you going?" asked Mrs. Best, noticing her daughter run off the stage the moment her score was revealed.
"Oh it doesn't matter dear," said Mr. Best. "All that matters is that everyone knows that she is the best-"
"She's the best! We're the Bests!"
"-NOT SO FAST!" shouts a muffled voice.
Everyone in the audience turns, gasping.
"I want to enter the competition!" shouts a mysterious blonde girl in a mask.
"What? Who are you? What are you doing here?" asks the host as she leaps onto the stage and grabs the wheelbarrow. "Oh my GOSH look at that wheelbarrowing skill! Amazing! Incredible! A perfect score of 300!"
The crowd roars and cheers, except for Mr. and Mrs. Best.
"Who are you, mysterious competitor?" asks the host excitedly. "Take off your mask and reveal yourself to your adorning fans!"
"No thanks. And you can keep the trophy; give it to the girl in second place."
"But…but wait! Before you leave, please, tell us! Who ARE you?"
"Me? Oh, you can just call me BEST GIRL!"
And so, another thrilling adventure comes to a close! This time it was not the heroics of Wordgirl that saved the city, but the newfound selflessness and humility of Victoria Best! Be sure to join us next time for a new exciting adventure starring everybody's new favorite UNKNOWN hero…Best Girl!