Disclaimer: I do not own The Mr. Men Show or any of its characters. But I do own a few characters in this story and the idea that Mr. Grumpy has a brother and a niece.
Dillydale was a lot bigger than Little Miss Aloof had first thought. When her dad was driving here, he had used the quickest route that took them straight to her uncle's house. But now the friends were showing her everything they missed: The Train Station; The Bowling Alley; The Cinema; The Amusement Park. And countless restaurants that only made her hungry, but she never got the chance to ask them if they could stop to eat, because by the time she pulled her eyes away from the delicious looking food, they were already moving on to the next thing.
They even ducked into a Hobby Shop where she met a magenta Mr. Man, who seemed to be really good friends with her tour guides.
"Hi, Mr. Nosy! Hi, Mr. Small!" he greeted them as soon as they walked through the door. Little Miss Aloof followed them, but he didn't seem to notice her which honestly didn't bother her that much. She was used to being invisible.
The best friends shared an amused look before turning back to the other Mr. Man. "Hello, Mr. Scatterbrain," the light green Mr. Man said to him, and then Mr. Small pointed to the Little Miss beside them and told him," This here is Miss. Aloof. She's Mr. Grumpy's niece," he added in a whisper as if that was supposed to be a secret.
The moment he heard what the small man said, Mr. Scatterbrain's eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Grumpy has a niece?" He jumped over the counter and landed right in front of Little Miss Aloof, who backed up a little, suddenly very nervous.
She would have been fine with not being noticed at all, but the friends just had to say something. For a moment she felt resentment toward them, though she quickly pushed it away, telling herself that it would be weird if they walked her around town without introducing her to any of their friends, even if that's what she wished they would do. She had only agreed to come with them because her uncle didn't want her around.
"H-Hey," she stammered out, lowering her gaze, but she could still feel the magenta Mr. Man staring at her, and she silently willed him to look away.
Mr. Scatterbrain blinked at the young Little Miss. "I didn't know Mr. Grumpy had a niece." He tried to catch her eye, but it seemed like she refused to look at him. He wondered why.
"We didn't either," Mr. Nosy responded, and Mr. Scatterbrain glanced at him before turning back to the Little Miss.
For a while nobody said anything. Then Mr. Small spoke up. "I thought he might have a brother," he confessed, and his two friends looked at him in surprise.
Mr. Nosy opened his mouth to ask him how he knew that, but before he could, Mr. Small turned to him. "Do you remember last Christmas when Mr. Grumpy was really upset?" The light green Mr. Man closed his jaws without saying a word and just nodded, curious to see where his friend was going with this. "That picture he was holding, it was of his family," Mr. Small went on," and there was a kid in it that looked a lot like a younger version of his brother."
He's never mentioned that before, Mr. Nosy thought. "Why didn't you ask him if that was his brother?" he questioned, frowning at Mr. Small.
The small man shrugged. "At the time we were talking about his mother, and I didn't want to change the subject," he answered. Mr. Nosy opened his mouth again, but once more Mr. Small spoke before he could. "And the reason why I didn't tell you sooner is because I forgot all about it until we met his brother only a little bit ago," he told him as if he could read his mind. Then Mr. Small glanced at the Little Miss. "I had no idea he had a niece though."
I'm standing right here! Little Miss Aloof thought indignantly.
Crossing her arms, she asked," Can we go?"
The Mr. Men turned to her, seeming startled by her sudden temper, but she couldn't help it. She hated when adults talked about her in front of her like she couldn't hear them. It was insulting to her because it made it seem like they thought she was too stupid to understand their conversation.
"Um… sure," Mr. Small stammered, but when he turned to his magenta friend to say goodbye to him, his voice was steadier. Mr. Nosy waved his farewell to Mr. Scatterbrain, and then the best friends and Little Miss Aloof left the Hobby Shop.
Once outside, Mr. Small started naming places they have yet to see, and as he talked Little Miss Aloof groaned. Her feet were aching from all the walking they've already done, and her stomach felt hollow. Even if she did want to continue her tour of Dillydale, she knew she wouldn't be able to focus on anything until she got some food in her.
"Actually," she interrupted the small man," can we get something to eat first?"
The best friends shared a look before turning back to her. "Of course," Mr. Small replied. "Come to think of it, I am a bit hungry myself. Nose?" He glanced at the light green Mr. Man beside him.
"I could eat," Mr. Nosy responded with a smile.
They took her to a restaurant where each of them gave their order to their waitress. When Little Miss Aloof's bean burger came, she just stared down at it, a little unsure of it at first. Before now, she's never even heard of such a thing. The only reason she got it is because the friends said it was good, and with every bite she took, she realized that they were right. She was even a little disappointed when it was gone, but she was full and didn't think she could eat anymore.
While she waited for her tour guides to get done eating, she picked up her fork and started tracing invisible circles on the table.
"So where to now?" Mr. Nosy asked as soon as he and his best friend finished their meals as well. He turned to Little Miss Aloof, frowning when he saw how bored she looked.
Mr. Small must have noticed too because he asked her," Do you want us to take you back to Mr. Grumpy?"
Almost at once, Little Miss Aloof looked up, eyes huge. "No!" she nearly shouted, surprising the two, and even some nearby people turned to look at them in confusion. She ducked her head as if embarrassed. "I-I mean no," she stammered in a softer voice. "I…" She paused for a moment before announcing," I want to meet more of your friends."
Mr. Nosy hardly believed she just said that. She didn't seem to want to meet Mr. Scatterbrain, he remembered, frowning a little. She barely even looked at him. Why does she suddenly want to meet more of our friends?
The light green Mr. Man might be confused about the young Little Miss' change of attitude, but Mr. Small understood what was going on with her. She doesn't want to go somewhere she's not wanted, he thought miserably. He recalled how Mr. Grumpy had just handed her over to them like she was an unwelcome object.
It had been clear that his goal had been to get rid of her, and Mr. Small thought about saying something to him, but with Little Miss Aloof standing right there, he couldn't, so instead he had agreed that they would show her around Dillydale.
And that is what we're going to do, the small Mr. Man decided. They will keep her distracted until it was time they brought her back.
After leaving the restaurant, the friends started discussing where they should take her next while Little Miss Aloof lingered behind them.
"What about the beach?" the light green Mr. Man asked, blinking down at the small man.
Mr. Small thought for a moment before shaking his head. "We need to take her to some place where a lot of our friends will be," he murmured. "Not a lot of people will be at the beach this late in the evening."
"How about the park then?"
Little Miss Aloof turned her attention back on the Mr. Men when she heard Mr. Nosy say that. A park? That could be fun… She loved going down to the park not far from her house when nobody else was there. She would put on her headphones and lay in the grass or swing until the sun descended in the sky and she had to go home before her dad began to worry about her.
She started to get excited until she realized she wouldn't be alone this time. And even worse, she wouldn't have her music! She honestly didn't want to meet more people, but she thought anything would be better than going back to her uncle's house.
Telling herself that Mr. Grumpy didn't want her around, Little Miss Aloof followed the best friends along the sidewalk. Soon they left the concrete and walked down a dirt path, finally entering the park at the main entrance.
Almost at once they were greeted by a pair of Mr. Men, and Little Miss Aloof tried hiding behind her tour guides, but they stepped aside and gestured to her.
"This is Miss. Aloof," Mr. Small told the blue Mr. Man and his orange friend. "She's Mr. Grumpy's niece."
Here we go again, the young Little Miss sighed. She followed Mr. Nosy and Mr. Small to everyone they saw, standing beside them as they introduced her. When she was asked questions, she would answer in short responses. She didn't understand why people seemed so surprised that Mr. Grumpy had a brother and a niece. She remembered that Mr. Scatterbrain had also been shocked to hear that the grumpy Mr. Man was her uncle.
Does he not talk about us? she wondered as the friends took her farther into the park, passing a fountain. She glanced at it, watching the water as it spouted up then down into the bowl. The way he acted I knew he must be ashamed of me for some reason, but why doesn't he like his brother? Did something happen between them?
Footsteps made her look up, realizing that she had stopped beside the fountain and now the friends were walking back to her. They both wore concerned expressions.
"Is something wrong, Miss. Aloof?" the small man asked her while his best friend just stared at her worriedly.
The young Little Miss shifted her feet and lowered her gaze to the ground. Then she looked back up, deciding to tell the Mr. Men what was bothering her. "I was just thinking about my uncle," she confessed with a sigh. "I don't understand why he doesn't want me around. I tried getting out of coming here and now that I know my uncle wants nothing to do with me, I wish I would have tried harder…"
The Mr. Men shared a glance before turning back to her. "I'm sure that's not the case," Mr. Small said carefully. Of course it had been obvious that Mr. Grumpy was trying to get rid of his niece, but the small man didn't want her to think that. "Remember: He said he had things to do around his house. I'm sure if he hadn't been busy, he would have made plenty of time for you." He smiled at her reassuringly.
However Little Miss Aloof just stared at him like she didn't believe a word he said.
For a few moments there was silence. Then Mr. Nosy suggested," Why don't we go see who else is still out?"
Relief washed over Mr. Small. He was thankful for his friend for trying to distract them from this depressing subject. "Great idea, Nose! Come on, Miss. Aloof," he added to the Little Miss, and he stretched out his hand for her.
Little Miss Aloof stared down at it, finally deciding to take it, and let him drag her to more of their friends. The whole time her mind was still whirling with thoughts of her uncle not liking her, and before she knew it, the moment she had been dreading came.
It was time she returned to Mr. Grumpy's house.
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