Day 3

The next day, most of the kids arrived at the Willow Club in their best looking clothing they had. Craig and Jason wore the same clothes as the last
time they were at a tea party, Paintball Mike wore a suit and tie with his hair combed back and both eyes visible, the Sewer Queen wore a short
sleeved aquamarine dress with her hair down while still wearing her goggles, Bobby wore a tux with a piece of candy for a bowtie, Wildernessa wore a long sleeved latina dress but kept her teddy-bear mask and Cheesesticks, Cannonball wore a similar outfit to what Craig had on, Yustice wore a kimono which most likely referenced some manga and/or anime, Kit wore a short sleeved white dress, and Wren wore her usual clothes.

None of them had to wait long, for Eliza came to the entrance of the tree and said "Welcome to my tea party. Is everyone here?"

"Almost." Cannonball answered. "The only one missing is..."

"Sorry I'm late." someone interrupted.

The kids turned and saw a boy with brown combed back hair and a white tux.

"Who are you?" Eliza asked.

"It's me, the Junklord."

"What!? But you're dressed so much better than even George!" Eliza sniffed him. "And you smell better too?"

"Just because I love trash doesn't mean I never clean myself up! Sheesh."

"Well anyway, please come in."

One by one, the kids and dog entered the Willow Club and saw what was usually there. A long decorated table full of treats and a nearby croquet set ready to be played. Everyone went to the table and took a seat. As expected, Eliza took the head seat. On her right was Kit next to Jason next to Craig next to Wildernessa next to Cannonball, at the other end was the Junklord, and on his right was Yustice next to Bobby next to Paintball Mike next to Wren next to the Sewer Queen. For food they had cupcakes, cannoli, cookies, crumpets, and for drinks, tea.

"It may not be candy, but I'm gonna enjoy as much as I can get!" Bobby said as he climbed onto the table and reached for the nearest treat.

"Sit! Back! Down!" Eliza ordered with a pointing hand.

Bobby complied.

"Where are your manners!?"

"Look who's talking." Craig whispered.

"For those of you who were not taught better, one always asks politely and passes around what's on the table." Eliza said. "My turn, my rules."

Each of the kids passed around the treats so that everyone could have what they wanted, which since they're kids was everything.

"One moment please." Wildernessa said.

She pulled out a few dog treats and gave them to Cheesesticks.

"So, Paint-Bro Mike, how's your brother doing?" Cannonball asked.

"Still the same." Paintball Mike replied. "Stuck in his room, not allowed too much time near others, and having to take disgusting medicine."

"That stinks." Kit said. "I hope everyone else's families are doing better."

All of the other kids assured that their families were indeed perfectly healthy. Surprisingly there was no drama or fighting at all from any of the kids, a detail that Craig and Jason noticed. Everybody was actually having a good time. By the time all twelve kids were finished, Eliza clinked her
cup for attention.

"Now that we're all finished with our tea and snacks, it's time for a game of croquet." she said as she pulled a fancy bowl out from under the table.
"However, unlike when some of you have played before, this time you'll be picking papers out of this bowl to choose your partner. Matching colors mean you're teammates."

She then had the bowl passed around the table counterclockwise and each kid pulled out a folded little piece of paper. After the bowl returned to
Eliza, she took the last paper and all of them opened whichever one they had.

"I got yellow." Jason said.

"Hey! Me too!" Bobby said.

"Well we're gonna lose miserably." Jason moaned.

"I have purple." Cannonball said.

"As do I." the Sewer Queen said.

"That's dope."

"Who's got blue?" Craig asked.

"That would be me." Widernessa answered.

"I'm on the orange team." Kit said.

"So am I." Yustice said.

"Alright! I'm a green machine!" Paintball Mike shouted.

"HELLOOOOO TEAMMATE!" Wren shouted.

"Eleven other kids and I get the nerdiest one." Paintball Mike mumbled.

All that was left was the color red with two kids who were displeased to be team-mates. Eliza and the Junklord. Everybody was thinking for a moment how awkward it was for these two polar opposites to be stuck with each other. Both of them decided to just grin and bare it.

"Alright, just like the rainbow, red goes first." Eliza said.

Each team grabbed their appointed ball and mallets and stood at the starting point. Surprisingly, Eliza let the Junklord go first. He hit the ball
through the first two hoops and set it up for the next with his extra two turns. Kit went next, but was a little sloppy. Jason did average on his
turn. Paintball Mike overhit his team ball and had to waste his extra turns just to get it back near the start. Wildernessa took her turn and managed to bump the yellow ball, allowing her to knock it away. The Sewer Queen did the same thing, only with the green ball. Eliza then took her turn, but she missed the third hoop. Yustice was only able to get her team ball near the third hoop. Bobby then surprised everyone, especially Jason by getting his team ball all the way past the middle hoop. Wren examined the field and thought about her with one hit, she managed to get her team ball back on course and through the intended hoop. She also used her extra turn to throw the winning team of Jason and Bobby back off course. Craig got his team ball through the third hoop too, but overdid it a little on his extra turn. Cannonball took his turn, but had the same luck as Eliza. Speaking of whom, Craig noticed once again that she was being a lot less evil than she usually is. Sure there were moments that showed her normal personality, but today it seemed nerfed in general. He had a feeling that something was up. As the game continued, there were both good moments and bad, including one argument between Wren and Paintball Mike, and yet somehow Eliza wasn't interested.

Several turns later, Yustice hit her team ball one more time and won the game for Kit and herself. A couple of the other kids were bummed, but nobody was being a sore loser.

"Wow. We almost had it." Jason said. "Sorry I doubted your ability, Bobby."

"I don't blame you." Bobby replied. "I am a little clumsy."

"Good playing, Wildernessa." Craig said.

"Thanks." Wildernessa looked away with a slight blush.

"I have to admit, you weren't as bad a teammate as I expected." Eliza said.

"Thank you. I think." the Junklord responded.

Craig finally decided to get to the bottom of it and talk to Eliza about her oddly better behavior.

"Alright, what's going on?" he asked.

"Huh?" Eliza said.

"Usually you're up to something, whether it's a big drama for your own entertainment or some kind of payback against one person. You even had a chance to enjoy Wren and Paintball Mike arguing, but you didn't."

"Craig's right." Jason said. "Why aren't you trying anything?"

The other kids were getting just as curious as they waited to hear her answer.

"Well...I...it..."

Suspicion was all around her and for good reason. For once, she didn't know how to deceive anyone. So she just blurted out the truth.

"It's not the same without Jane and George, okay!?"

Nobody expected that kind of answer since she's usually so selfish and conniving.

"It's been three days now and they're still sick." Eliza turned away and crossed her arms.

Before she could run off, Yustice said "We know how you feel."

Eliza turned back to face the others with a confused look.

"Yeah, some of us have had to go solo before." Jason said.

"I actually miss both my friends and my enemies." Paintball Mike added.

"I have a lot of sub..." the Sewer Queen paused. "No. I have a lot of friends and I miss every single one of them."

"It can be hard when you're not with your best friends. What helps sometimes is to have some extra friends." Craig explained. "Take me and Cannonball for example. We formed a new group with Sparkle Cadet when our friends were on vacation. You can do the same thing, as long as you're actually nice to people."

Eliza didn't know how to respond. Suddenly, Craig's phone made the foghorn sound again.

"It's already almost six?" Kit said. "Oh well. Time to decide what happens tomorrow."

The kids except for Cannonball and Eliza gathered in a circle once again and Jason flicked the arrow. Around and around it went, making some of them anxious for their turns. The arrow then stopped and pointed at...

The Sewer Queen.

"Yes! Tomorrow the sewers shall not be empty." she said. "Swimsuits are an option."

Obviously, Eliza was already disgusted by the outcome. But as they all left for the day, she began to think about what Craig said.

Author's Note: I'm not gonna lie. I don't really like Eliza for obvious reasons. However, I do like the council too much to just ignore or throw her to the side. It was obvious that if I was going to make this fic work, then I'd have to give Eliza some unofficial character development. As for the chapter itself, it's probably not one of my better ones. I couldn't think of much else for the kids to do at a tea party. Even so, I hope you like this chapter for what it is.

Fun fact: The word cannoli (one of the mentioned treats) is actually plural. One is apparently a cannolo.