Angelica Pickles heard there was a picture day contest coming up in a couple days, so Drew and Charlotte had signed her up for the contest. The contest only involved picking only two people in the picture, so Angelica had no choice but to pick Tommy since they were family.
Then Angelica told Tommy and his friends one day about it.
"Why would you be in a contest for, Angelica?" Phil asked.
"I didn't. Mommy and Daddy signed me up. I don't want to be in one."
"When is the contest?" Tommy asked.
"In a couple days. I have to pick only one of you to be in the picture with me, you dumb babies."
"Have you decided which one of us?"
"It would be you, Tommy."
"I guess I'm not going to be in the picture, then," Dil said.
"I chose Tommy first."
Dil, Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Kimi felt disappointed because they couldn't be in the picture.
"Come on, Angelica. You don't need to follow the rules that the contest wants you to follow."
"I know, but I can't control that. If there was a limit, then all of you could be in it. I need to talk with Mommy and Daddy in having all of you to be in the picture with me."
Angelica understood how they felt about being left out, and this is why she said that.
"Please, Angelica. Do it. No breaking rules."
"Come on, Tommy. Almost everything has rules. I can't break them since I don't have a choice."
Angelica left them and looked for Drew and Charlotte so she could ask them to have the other babies in the picture instead of having the limit to one with her. Charlotte and Drew would say no anyway, which is what she figured out.
She found Drew and Charlotte helping themselves to a salad. This was a barbecue, so they didn't have to go anywhere since they agreed to have it here at their house instead, which worked out for everybody who was there.
"Mommy? Daddy?"
Charlotte looked behind her and found Angelica.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"About that contest you signed me up for. Can't we have more than just one person with me?"
"Why do you ask that?" Drew asked.
"So it would be fair for Tommy and his friends," she answered.
"We'll have to talk with one of the judges and see what they say first. We will win, Angelica."
"I hope so, Daddy. That's why I want it to be. If I had all of Tommy's friends with me in the picture, then we can probably win that way."
"We'll see, Angelica."
"Angelica, let's go talk with the judges while we're talking about it."
"Okay, Daddy. How come this contest is not far from now?"
"We don't know, Angelica. That's how they wanted it."
"But you only heard about it a week ago, huh?"
"Yes, Angelica. If we win, they will mail it to us."
"Anything for a prize?"
"We haven't heard anything," Drew answered.
"I'll go with you now, Daddy."
"Charlotte, we'll be back soon. Angelica and I are going to talk with the judge about picture limit."
"All right, Drew. Let me know what they say about the picture with Tommy and his friends."
"It was my idea to be fair," Angelica told them.
"That makes sense, Angelica. Sometimes rules can't be broken like this one," Drew said, going inside the house to get his car keys.
"Be back soon, Charlotte," Drew repeated.
"Good luck."
"Thank you."
Then Drew went into the garage with Angelica right behind him. Once he unlocked the door, Angelica sat in the backseat.
"Daddy, where is the contest going to be?"
"The park."
Angelica didn't say anything after he answered her question.
They drove to the park. That's where the judges chose to have the contest since there will be a lot of children and teenagers involved.
"Why did you sign me up for a silly contest?"
"Contests aren't silly, Angelica. Your mother and I wanted to do something different and get you involved for something that you can do."
"But, Daddy, I don't want to have a picture taken of me."
"It's too late to take you off the list. We only have one day to enter the picture."
"That's not long."
"Of course not, Angelica. They want us to take it to the park when we're ready to have the pictures done, whether we win or not."
Angelica saw that Drew made sense.
"Whatever you say, Daddy."
"If the judge says we can't have more than just one other in the picture with you, Angelica, we win or lose both ways."
"Tommy and his friends probably feel left out because of only one other person with me."
"We don't want the picture to be silly, Angelica. We want the perfect one to win. Understand?"
"Yes, Daddy. Have you and Uncle Stu been involved with contests?"
"You'll have to ask Uncle Stu about it. He might remember more than I can."
"Don't worry about it, Daddy. I don't need to ask."
The park where the contest was going to be held didn't take Drew very long to get there. Maybe about fifteen to twenty minutes, which wasn't bad.
"So this is where the contest is."
"Yes, Angelica. Let's go find one of the judges and see what they say about having more than just one person besides you."
"I hope they say yes," Angelica repeated.
"If they say no, Angelica, you'll have to accept. Maybe have Tommy in the picture with you since you're both family."
"Tommy seemed all excited when I told that dumb baby about it."
"Angelica! Your cousin isn't dumb. You better behave, young lady."
"Okay, Daddy."
Angelica decided to leave Cynthia in the car since the judge they were going to talk with doesn't need to notice.
So Drew was able to find a judge that wasn't far away from where he and Angelica were.
"Excuse me, Judge."
"Mr. Pickles. This must be the child you have signed up for the picture contest," he said, seeing Angelica.
"Yes. We were talking about the rules of the contest."
"I'm listening."
"Since you only wanted one person to be in the picture with her, is it all right if she has all of her friends with her?"
"It's against the rules, Mr. Pickles. Only one."
"See, Angelica? You'll have to accept what the judge wants us to."
"Okay, Daddy. It wouldn't be fair to have the dumb babies."
"We'll see you tomorrow, Judge."
"Tomorrow is the deadline for the picture contest, Mr. Pickles. You can drive by when you have the picture taken and we'll go through and see what we like the best. If you win, the picture will come back in the mail."
"Thank you for letting us know about the winner. We will see you tomorrow, sir," Drew said.
"But, Daddy, I still think it's not fair having all of the other dumb babies in the picture besides Tommy. They will be disappointed when I tell them."
"ANGELICA!"
Drew didn't like her calling Tommy and his friends dumb.
"You're going to your room when we get home, Angelica. Understand?"
"Yes, Daddy."
No complaining, Angelica told herself.
"I guess I'll have to tell them when we get Tommy and have the picture taken."
"Yes, Angelica. It wasn't our choice to come up with the rules, you know."
"I know, Daddy."
"We'll just have to get the picture taken care of tomorrow morning. No complaining, Angelica."
"Why would I complain, Daddy? I hope we win."
"We better, young lady. We don't win anything very often."
"That's because we don't hear anything about silly contests."
"ANGELICA!"
Within twenty minutes, Drew pulled into the garage. Charlotte was still outside, helping with the dishes from the backyard into the house. Not many people left except for Stu and Didi. Looked like everyone else was gone, which he didn't mind or care about.
Drew was yelling at Angelica when they both walked out of the garage when the door opened and closed.
Charlotte saw both Drew and Angelica heading her way, but Drew had to run after Angelica.
"What did the judge say, Drew?" Charlotte asked.
"No. She's going to her bedroom now. We'll have to take the picture tomorrow and then take it to the park."
"No more than one person with her, right?" Charlotte asked.
"No more than one, Charlotte. She thought it sounded fair if all of Tommy's friends could be in the picture besides him. She thought we could win that way."
"How did Angelica take it when the judge said no?"
"Not very well, Charlotte."
"I was afraid of that."
"We're going to Stu's tomorrow and have that picture taken with Tommy. I don't think we'll win, Charlotte."
"That's not positive, Drew. You need to think positive."
Drew saw her with Tommy and told him everything.
"Angelica, I can't be in the picture if everybody else won't."
"Tommy, Daddy said you are the only one in the picture with me tomorrow. And we have to win this contest, no matter what."
"We never win anything, Angelica, thanks to you. We might not even win," Tommy reminded her.
"My daddy just said the same thing."
"You better win this time, Angelica. Wait until we tell the others that they can't be in the picture with us. When is the picture due?"
"Tommy, it's only tomorrow morning. We have to go to the park when it's taken."
"The park? Does that mean I have to go with you?"
"No, Tommy. That's where the pictures will be dropped off."
"How do you know if we win or not?" Tommy asked.
"It comes back in the mail."
"That means they probably wouldn't like it if it shows up in the mail, Angelica."
"Either way, it would come back. The judge didn't say what happens to losers involved with the contest."
"This should be a fun contest if we win or not," Tommy said.
"It is if we win, Tommy. I'll see you tomorrow. Daddy sent me to my room."
"Why?"
"Because I called you dumb babies."
"You better go before you get into trouble again."
"Guess you're right, Tommy. See you tomorrow."
"Okay, Angelica."
Tommy watched as Angelica left the yard.
"Go to your room, young lady. Your father told me everything."
"Okay, Mommy, but it's not fair."
"You chose to be punished, Angelica."
"Not my fault."
"You should have thought better too," Charlotte said, walking in the house with her.
"I'll see you later, Mommy. I know when I'm not wanted."
Angelica took Cynthia with her.
Angelica was able to stay in her room until dinnertime. That's how long they wanted her up there, but she did get bored, even though she had Cynthia with her.
"I wish Mommy and Daddy wouldn't send me to my room, Cynthia. It's hard to be nice, don't you think? You don't talk, so you can't answer me."
Angelica doesn't mind not crying because she leaves it up to Tommy and his friends.
"Good thing I'm not a crybaby."
Angelica ended up taking a nap on her bed since she was supposed to stay here for a while today, but Drew and Charlotte didn't tell her how long she would have to be up here.
It might be until tomorrow morning, which was true.
When Angelica woke up again, it was 6:15. She'd forgotten she was supposed to stay in her room most of yesterday. Sleep was all she could think of to do.
"I'll go check on Angelica, Drew."
"All right, Charlotte. I'll get the coffee started."
"Thank you."
Angelica was getting out of bed when she heard Charlotte knock on her bedroom door.
"Who is it?"
"It's me," Charlotte answered.
"Mommy, come in," Angelica said as she opened the door.
"Were you sleeping this whole time? We didn't hear a peep from you since we sent you up here yesterday."
"What else could I do? I couldn't watch TV."
"Not when you're punished, you can't. Why don't you get dressed and we'll have bacon and eggs?"
"Okay, Mommy. I'll get dressed. When do we have to see Tommy and have that picture taken?"
"In a couple of hours. We're letting Uncle Stu and Aunt Didi have more time to themselves before we see Tommy," Charlotte answered.
"Okay. It just wasn't fair for not having all of my friends in the same picture with me and Tommy."
"You have to follow the rules. What did your father tell you?"
"I have to accept if I didn't win."
"Exactly. I know I feel bad for your friends, Angelica, but we can't put everyone together like we want to sometimes."
"I know, Mommy. I'll see you downstairs."
"We'll be in the kitchen."
Drew was always good with bacon and eggs, so Charlotte let him be in charge of breakfast today.
"Where are we having the picture taken, Daddy?" Angelica asked once she finished getting dressed and joining them in the kitchen.
"Over here," Drew said.
"Okay. That means Tommy will have to come over for that."
"Yes. They don't mind. Just be nice when we take your picture, Angelica. You heard the judge tell us win or lose, we still get the picture back."
"Yes, I remember, Daddy. I can't be a loser this time."
"We're supposed to be able to hear back from them in a couple of days after the contest is over."
"Good. It has to be today to have the contest today, not just the picture."
"Sorry, Angelica. That's not how it works."
"But it should, "Angelica said, grabbing a plate for the bacon.
"Thank you, Angelica."
"For what?"
"Setting the table."
"You're welcome."
They waited until Stu and Didi were able to show up with Tommy and Dil. Angelica had Cynthia with her as always. No, Cynthia won't be in the picture since the contest didn't want toys.
Angelica didn't say much while they ate.
Once they finished earing, Angelica asked, "Is that okay if I watch TV?"
"Yes, Angelica. You can."
"Thank you, Mommy. May I be excused?"
"Yes," she repeated.
Angelica took her empty plate and glass of water and put them in the sink.
Then she went into the living room and turned on the TV.
The only thing for her to watch was cartoons, and she was fine with that.
"I'll go call Stu and Didi in a few minutes, Charlotte. Then we get the picture taken with Tommy and Angelica out of the way."
"Go for it, Drew. You can even do it now if you want to."
"I'll wait. I don't think they're ready to talk on the phone quite yet. I'm sure they both still remember today was picture day."
"I agree, Drew."
A few hours passed. Tommy and Dil were finally over to have the picture to be taken.
"Too bad I can't be in the picture with you and Angelica," Dil told him.
"I know. I wish there wasn't a limit."
Dil agreed.
Didi, Charlotte, and Drew stayed with Tommy, Dil and Angelica while Stu went to get the camera.
"Are we ready for our picture?" Stu asked.
"I guess so, Uncle Stu."
"Say cheese."
"Cheese!" Angelica said as she and Tommy smiled as wide as they could.
"Perfect. Now we can take this picture to the park and the judges can decide what they want to do with it."
"See, that wasn't so bad, Tommy," Angelica told her cousin.
"No. Next time we have a contest, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil can join us, and Kimi too."
Angelica agreed.
"I don't know why Mommy and Daddy signed me up in a silly contest just to have your picture taken and wait to hear who won. I hope we can't lose."
"Think positive, Angelica," Tommy told her.
"I'm doing what I can, Tommy. Thank you for being in the picture with me."
Tommy didn't say anything.
Once Stu and Drew dropped the picture off at the park, the judge told them to wait for another day to hear who won the contest. Even losers get the picture back, they were told.
When Stu and Drew returned to the house, Stu said, "A day isn't bad to wait."
"Of course not," Drew agreed.
"I told Angelica if we lose, she would still have to accept it."
"You're telling her, Drew."
"I know I am, bro."
Time flew by with them forgetting about the contest for a day or so.
"Did we win, Daddy?"
"Angelica, be patient. We'll still get the picture," Charlotte told her.
"I can't wait, Mommy."
"You'll have to."
"Bummer."
Tommy was able to see Chuckie, Phil, Lil and Kimi later that day, but he was able to tell about the contest and they felt left out, and you couldn't blame them.
Instead of waiting for the next couple days, they ended up receiving a phone call from the judges instead of sending it back through the mail.
"Mr. Pickles?" one of the judges said over the phone.
It was about almost noon when they received the phone call.
"Yes?"
"We looked through all of the pictures. A lot of them were good, but we're sorry your daughter didn't win. We'll send the picture back in the mail tomorrow."
"You're welcome. Better luck next time for a contest."
"This will be the only one for now until whenever we hear about something. I'll pass this over to my daughter."
"Talk with you soon, Mr. Pickles."
"Have a nice day yourself."
End of conversation.
Drew called Angelica.
"Angelica!"
"Am I in trouble, Daddy?" she asked once running into the living room.
"No, Angelica. We got a call from one of the judges in the picture contest."
"Did we win?"
"Sorry, Angelica, we didn't. They said that they liked the pictures, but we didn't make it and sending the picture back tomorrow in the mail."
"I wanted to win!"