[I OWN NOTHING]
CHAPTER 8: THE ENDING OF THE STORY
later, everyone gathered at the cafe outside the ranger station near the car park.
Everyone was having drinks Eduardo bought for them from the cafe.
Reg & Amber were having stern words with their son, who had told them everything he had done when he ran away, and even about stealing the money from his dad's wallet.
"Young man, what were you thinking; running away from home like this?!" Amber snapped. "You had us worried sick!"
"Exactly." Reg snapped. "As if cutting your mother on her arm was bad enough, You ran away from home, disobeyed your punishment, caused a fight in a fast food restaurant, cut a bully in the mall, and on top of all that, you stole and spent half the money I needed for the construction site materials!"
"I never thought I'd see the day that you'd do something as horrid as this!" Amber snapped. "You had the fire brigade and police out looking for you, and you could've put yourself in real danger! What if someone you didn't know had grabbed you and taken you away?"
"What if you'd been run over by a car and killed?!" Reg yelled. "We would never have lived with ourselves if you'd died!"
"Mom, Dad, look," Casper said, "I know you're angry, but I did it to get over being angry after what happened with the lawn incident. Roxie explained she did it loads of times before!" Casper said.
"And another thing!" Reg started, but then froze, as his & his wife's expressions changed from angry to surprised. "wait, who's Roxie?" he asked Casper.
"She's this teenage girl I met at school on Thursday." Casper said. "You know; that teenager from the big school who babysits our neighbour's kid every Thursday night." he added.
"Ahhh," Reg said, understanding what his son was on about. "You mean that teenager from the big school that I pass on my way to work?"
"Yes." Casper said.
"And," Amber said to Casper, "you're right about her babysitting our neighbour's kid. I see her arrive 10 minutes before your curfew, which is 7pm, correct?"
"Why yes, Mom, said Casper. "That's also correct."
"I also see her too." he added. "I see her from my bedroom window when I'm doing my homework; it looks onto the lawn."
"And does she have a neon blue streak down the front of her hair?" Eduardo asked.
"Yes again!" Casper said excitedly. "How do you know?"
and Eduardo said, "Because I'm her uncle."
"Your uncle?!" everyone in the area chorused at once.
"Electric elephants!" Tech exclaimed.
"I-I-I'm speechless." Casper said.
"You and me both, Casper." said D.W. "Even I didn't see this coming, and I've read the script."
"You read the script?!" Arthur said in disbelief.
"What? You don't think i have my hobbies during the episodes of my tv show where I don't appear?" said D.W.
"No, no, I'll take your word for it." Arthur said to his sister.
"Si." said Eduardo. "I am her tio."
"Wow." said Casper to no one in particular. "How could I have not known that?"
AT THAT MOMENT, A car pulled up to the car park, and out came an angry brown haired woman in a black top, pink leggings, and red shoes, dragging Roxie with her.
"Ahh, Mr & Mrs Mitchell!" said the woman to Casper's parents.
"You must be Roxie's mother, aren't you?" Casper asked.
"Exactly right, young man." Roxie's mother said sternly. "Umm, Casper, was it?"
"Yes," said Casper.
"I heard you ran away from home." Roxie's mother stated.
"You're a bit late to the rescue, you know." Ben said under his breath. Immediately, Gwen nudges his shoulder.
"How'd you know?" Casper asked.
Roxie's mother showed him the postcard he'd sent Roxie. "When I woke up this morning, I found this postcard on the mantelpiece. I realized that my daughter was the one who told you about running away."
"She was?" Agustin asked.
"Exactly." said Roxie's mother. "From what I heard from the principal at Casper's school, I heard she tells people younger than her to do things they don't normally would ever do."
"What?!" said Reg & Amber, both gobsmacked.
"She even has ran away from home numerous times when I've got mad with her at times." Roxie's mother added.
"What?!" said Casper, just as gobsmacked as his parents.
"That's not true!" Roxie protested. "I've never done anything like that!"
She noticed everyone was now glaring at her.
"Fine." she sighed. "I did it. I told Casper to run away from home. I said I did it numerous times before, and I think it's a very good idea!"
"Well, it isn't." said Daisy Do-Right severely. "You don't realize that you're telling little kids to do bad things without guilt! These things can damage trust issues with their parents and families."
"Yeah." Gwen said angrily. "That, Roxie, is what makes you a very bad influence."
"I agree." Casper said angrily to Roxie. "You took advantage of my anger over the punishment Mom & Dad gave me, and you nearly had me killed. I almost took drugs and nearly ended up like Michael!"
"Michael?" said Roxie's mother. "who is he on about?" she asked Casper's parents. "Oh, he's the boy in the big classes at school who lives round the corner from us with his parents and little sister Corey." Reg said.
"Oh." said Roxie's mother.
"That makes sense." Eduardo said. He then then turned to his niece with a face like thunder. "Now, young lady, I think you should apologize to Casper." he ordered.
Roxie sighed in defeat.
"I'm sorry." Roxie said.
"Like you mean it." Eduardo said sternly.
"I'm Really sorry." Roxie said. "Really, i am." she added.
"And so am I." said Roxie's mother.
"Me three." Eduardo added.
"What's gonna happen to Roxie now?" Casper asked Roxie's mother.
"Well," Roxie's mom said angrily, "let me assure you, there will be serious consequences for her behaviour!"
"Exactamente." said Eduardo, glaring at his niece. "You, young lady, are grounded! No TV, phone, or dessert for a month!" he snapped.
Roxie was shocked, but made no attempt to resist. She scowled at Casper, who, alongside his parents, Eduardo, and The Cartoon characters, watched as Roxie was taken back to the car, and shoved in the back, and Roxie's mother got in, and drove off, out of the forest car park, and disappeared round the corner.
Not one of the Cartoon characters felt sorry for Roxie, not one little bit.
"I don't feel sorry for that girl." Amber said, breaking the silence at last. "Same here, honey." Reg said crossly.
"I'm sorry, Mom & Dad." Casper said sadly. "I thought running away would make me feel better after what happened."
"Running away doesn't make you feel better, Casper." Roary said. "Si." Maxi agreed. "It only makes things worse."
"Also," Tech added, "you could've died out on the streets." he showed him the deathbed picture on his screen.
"Or took drugs and ended up like Michael." Casper added.
"Uh, yeah, that too." Buddy said.
"But that's not the worst of it." said Tech.
"It... gets worse than that?" Casper said, shocked.
"Worse," said Mirabel, "is a relative word."
"Your parents could've ended up sued for being irresponsible guardians." Max Tennyson said. "And," he added, "they coulda ended up in court."
"No..." Casper said, shocked.
"Yes." Tech said. "You don't want your parents to end up in court, do you?"
"NO." Casper said. "Still, I can't believe Roxie was a bad influence."
"Bad influences are always bad." said Daisy Do-Right. "You should know better than to listen to them."
"Si." said Mirabel. "Maybe we should tell you what to do about those types of people."
"Do tell." Casper said.
"We can do better." said Jack Skellington, "we can sing it to you."
ANd that's just what they did!
Song: Wonderful Ways to Say No [Running away version]
Buddy: (singing) There's a million wild and wonderful ways to say no
Roary: No thanks!
Jack Hammer: No way!
Agustin Madrigal: Better learn a few and take 'em wherever you go
Scoop: No dice!
Maxi: No sir!
Max Tennyson: If your pal says, "Let's run away!"
Gwen Tennyson: We know exactly what you should say
Ben Tennyson: Go ahead, let it fly, spit right into their eye and say
Ben, Gwen & Max: No!
Sister & Brother Bear: There's a million wild and wonderful ways to say no
AJ: Running away just ain't cool.
Mirabel Madrigal: Avoid bad influences at home and at school
Esteban: You could lose your life!
Max Tennyson: In Berlin, they just say "nein"
Blaze: And they tell me that works fine
Wilson, Tech, Daisy Do-Right, Mirabel Madrigal, Chase and Smurfette: Cause the bottom line's to show your spine and say no!
Ginger Foutley: Now They can make you do and say things you don't wanna do.
Jack Skellington: That's not cool!
Sheriff Callie: And that is just tasteless. Just tell them 'No', like this:
Chase: I'll catch you guys later, okay?
Hiro Hamada: I've got too much homework. It's rough.
Arthur Read: I'm late for my baseball game and I'll miss my ride
Brother Bear: My kid sister needs me
Sister Bear: Our hamster died
D.W. Read: Gotta hurry home
Ginger Foutley: There's no time to kill
Ben Tennyson: So I'll catch you later
Angelica: Like heck I will!
Sister & Brother Bear: There's a million wild and wonderful ways to say no
[Pingu: NOOT-NOOT! NOOT-NOOT!]
Angelica: And a good excuse is something you never outgrow
[Pingu: NOOT-NOOT! NOOT-NOOT!]
Blossom: When your pals say, "Let's get wrecked!"
Bubbles: Muster up your self-respect
Buttercup: Go on, push eject, protect yourself.
Powerpuff Girls: Get up and go!
Hiro Hamada: Be the first one on your block to say,
Jack Skellington: "No thanks," and walk away
All: There's a million billion wonderful ways to say no.
Buttercup: But you forgot one! Wait!
All: There's a million zillion wonderful ways to say no.
Buttercup: Stand back, and I'll demonstrate!
All: There's a million jillion wonderful ways to say...
Butercup: [CHARGES FORWARDS] HI-YAH!
ALL: NO!
"Well." said Reg. "That was a very impressive musical number."
Casper agreed. "Yup. And believe me, I've certainly learnt my lesson - I'll never ever listen to bad influences ever again."
"Glad to hear it." said Amber. "But, son," she added sternly, "you're still gonna be punished for your actions."
"Alright, mom." Casper sighed.
Once they were back home, the next week was hard; for Casper had to do extra chores to pay for the money he stole from his dad's wallet, as punishment for his actions he did when he ran away.
He also had extra jobs of washing the construction vehicles at his dad's building site after work, and helping the firefighters at Eduardo's fire station, but all of it was worth it.
But he also found time to tell the other kids at his school, Michael and Corey included, to never ever think of running away from home, cause he knew how dangerous it was.
But neither he, nor his parents, ever told anyone about the mysterious helpers that had helped them realize about the dangers and consequences of running away. After all, nobody would believe them about cartoon characters coming to life and appearing in the real world, anyway.
I mean, it does sound preposterous, doesn't it?
Still, there's one little extra baby tiny thing that i think they had to remember, so I'll tell you.
It was exactly 1 week after the events of Casper's runaway. Casper was sitting idly, watching the tv.
Reg came in, followed by Amber.
"Hey, son, your punishment's over now, you should be happy." Reg said.
"Yeah." sighed Casper sadly.
Reg & Amber were concerned for their son, so they both sat down on the sofa.
"What's wrong?" Amber asked.
"Well," Casper said, "I've still been thinking. I don't think Roxie was the last bad influence we'll ever meet. There might be other bad influences out there."
"You're not wrong, son." Reg said. "There are loads of other people like Roxie. They're real bad influences."
"Don't you worry." Amber said, "next time you come across one, just ignore them, or report it to a teacher, or us."
"I will." Casper said. "This much, I learned from them." he said, motioning to a poster with all the cartoon characters who appeared in the special.
"Good." Reg said. "Now, howzabout we order Chinese for dinner?"
"Good idea, honey." Amber said.
Casper agreed. "I'll set the table!" he said, dashing out of the room.
As Reg & Amber followed, they gave a thankful glance toward the cartoon characters, the ones who helped them and their son learn the dangers of what running away can do.
THE END.
Wonderful Ways to Say No Reprise [My Version]:
Scoop: When the going gets rough and there's times that it will as you grow
Jack Hammer: Keep these words in your heart, and they'll help you come through like a pro
Ben Tennyson: If people wanna run away, you know what you gotta say
Say, "don't do it, kid! Just don't ever let go!"
All: And remember all those wonderful ways to say no!
Agustin Madrigal: And as you get taller, you'll see
The stronger and stronger you'll be
Blossom: That's how the world works
Blaze: That's how it's designed
Maxi: You'll even outgrow us one day
Roary: Forget that you know us, you may
Daisy Do-Right: But promise you'll keep what we say
At the back of your mind
Smurfette: When the going gets rough, you'll need someone to help you pull through
Hiro Hamada: Well, you'll always have someone; and That someone is you!
All: But we hope that even so, you'll look back on long ago
To remember us and how we came to show you
Your life begins the day you learn to say no!
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
That's the end of the story! hope you enjoyed it!
Cartoon Characters who appear in the story: HOORAY!
Me: So we'll see you all soon. VERY VERY SOON!
ALL: READ & REVIEW!