The Favorite Fives: Big Trouble in a Big City Part 1
It is no surprise that Quiet Country, Ohio was known to be a calm place, especially on its base neighborhood. This is rather an exception from the wild adventures that the Favorite Fives go through. The damages, explosions, fires made from the adventures, it shows that Quiet Country is quite an ironic name for this neighborhood. However, things were going to have some changes incoming. And it looks like the Favorite Fives must stop it. One Saturday afternoon, Steven and the others were relaxing on some lounge chairs. It was sunny out, and most of the kids in the neighborhood were usually at the beach or pool to make a splash. Steven and the others decided to take it easy today with their weekend.
"This is the life," Jennifer stated.
"You said it," Crank added.
"Quite relaxing, isn't it?" Luke replied.
"Yup," Linka drank her lemonade juice.
"We should have every day be like this," Steven smiled.
As the five kids were busy drinking their lemonade, they were disturbed when some black cars sped by them. They looked like the type of vehicles that businessmen use.
"How come those cars were in a rush?" Linka asked.
"Probably some guys wanting to make another house." Luke suggested.
"Doubt it. Hope they don't end my family's bakery business," Jennifer sipped her drink.
"I bet those guys just want to beat people up," Crank replied.
Steven didn't say anything to the conversation. He had some second thoughts about what happened few seconds ago. He got off his lounge chair and told the others that he will return eventually. Steven had seen that the direction of the black cars was going to: South Dan Avenue. This is the location that had meetings held to discuss the improvements of what people can do in the neighborhood. The boy took a shortcut to the location. It took him about 5 minutes to get there. Steven quietly tiptoed to a portable's window and peeked inside. What he saw was not a pretty sight. Making sure he went unnoticed, he rushed back to where his friends were relaxing.
"What's taking Steven so long?" Linka asked with concern.
"I'm sure whatever he has seen isn't that bad. Maybe it could be some plans for some new houses," Crank suggested.
The kids saw Steven running towards them, panting. He looks like he was in an urge of panic.
"Steven! What's wrong?" Jennifer asked.
"Meeting... treehouse… now!" Steven blurted out.
An hour later, the Favorite Fives were inside their treehouse. Steven had to drink some orange soda to get his energy back.
"Alright, Steve. What's the big emergency?" Luke asked.
"It appears that those businessmen driving those cars, we were right, they are going to try to build something on this neighborhood. But it's not good. They have planned to destroy our neighborhood and replace it with a city!"
The other kids spit out their drinks in shock. "WHAT?!"
"I'm afraid so," Steven confirmed. "Those people want to blow up Quiet Country to bits and make a whole city in place of it."
"That's insane!" Jennifer shouted.
"Not cool," Crank gave a thumbs down to the situation.
"How awful!" Luke complained.
"We have to stop this!" Linka stepped in.
"That's our plan, Linka. We have to find out what helps them improve their plans so we can take it out, so our neighborhood won't get destroyed!" Steven said.
"Let's get to business, Steve. How are we going to stop some people from destroying our home?" Jennifer asked.
"Well, there are multiple ways. One of the things we can do is to go find their location,"
"But how can we find that out?" Crank asked.
Steven smiled. "Just follow me."
A few hours later, some black business cars drove out of the neighborhood. The people inside the cars are heading to a city where they plan their moves. However, they failed to notice five kids on their bikes, following them. The journey to the city was a bit long since they kept passing street by street. It wasn't until they reached their destination. The five kids looked at the city around them.
"Whoa. This place has a lot of buildings," Crank commented.
"And it is very huge!" Linka added.
"The people around here are very strange," Luke said.
"Not to mention that they look strict too," Jennifer stated.
"Yeah. I'm glad I didn't move in this part of the country," Steven added, before noticing the black cars on the move. "Guys, let's catch up to them!"
The five kids continued pedaling toward their target. The chase ended when the cars stopped in front of a huge building. Once the coast was clear, the Favorite Fives peeked in it. It can be described as a big long block with glass on it. The interior had elevators, stairs, escalators, stuff you usually find on areas during an airport. Steven and the others were surprised at the amount of detail.
"This is crazy!" Linka ended the silence.
"I know. This is going to be a huge obstacle for us. That building won't just allow some kids waltz right inside," Steven configured. "We need to find a way to get in."
"Maybe we can use some disguises to blend in with the crowd," Crank suggested.
"Good idea, Crank. But question is, how can we get said disguises?"
The Favorite Fives got disrupted by some barking made from a dog. They looked over to see a woman in a business suit walking her dog. She was in front of a store that sold clothes for people that work for a business. The five smiled as they gained an idea.
The doors of the building were opened. What came inside were five children dressed in butler suits, along with each of them carrying a pillow that held a poodle dog in a suit. They passed by some guards, who were given orders to keep trespassers out.
"Alright, Steven. We made it inside. Where did you see those businessmen go?" Jennifer whispered.
"Hmm…" Steven tried to remember, but while gathering his thoughts, he saw the businessmen walk around. "Over there! Let's keep up the pace!"
The Favorite Fives sped up their walking, while trying to not lose their formality. They had to dodge behind some pillars and trash cans to avoid being spotted. The businessmen entered an elevator, which became an obstacle for the children.
"Drat! What floor are they going in?" Crank complained.
Steven inspected the flashing numbers as the arrow pointed at it when the elevator moved. "Floor 21. Let's go follow them!"
Steven and his friends hurried up to the elevator. They stacked up to push the button since none of them individually were able to reach it. Once inside, they peered at the list of elevator room floors. Luke pressed the button with the big "21" on it. As the five waited patiently to arrive to the 21st floor, music was heard. Steven felt unsure, Linka was confused, Crank had a grin on his face, Luke cleared his throat, and Jennifer rolled her eyes. Minutes passed, and the gang reached their destination. They hid behind a water cooler just in time as the same businessmen arrived. They entered a door, which had a room to discuss their meeting. One by one, the children popped their heads in, listening to the conversation.
"So, have we reached our agreement?" one voice was heard.
"Certainly. Our plans for building an entire city on the Quiet Country neighborhood shall be effective!" another spoke.
"We can make lots of money from this operation! People will be willing to sell their houses once they hear about this!" a third person added.
Steven and the others couldn't believe what they were hearing. Their neighborhood was going to be gone and turned into a city? They can't let this happen. There must be a way to stop this from occurring. They were going in to take a closer look of the operation, but the door ended up falling on them. The five kids had to push it together since it was very heavy. When they successfully done so, the room was empty.
"Darn it! Those guys are gone!" Crank complained. "How are we going to put a stop to their plans?"
Jennifer spotted something on the table. She went over and picked it up. "Hey, guys! Check this out!"
The others checked out the item. It was some papers attached to a few clipboards. It read that there is a way to appeal to the plan. For the operation for Quiet Country's city to be appealed, there must be some signatures included to stop this from happening. The required number of signatures needed is 10,000.
"Guys! This is our ticket to save the neighborhood!" Steven whispered.
"Yikes! 10,000 signatures needed to stop the demolition of Quiet Country? How are we ever going to accomplish that?" Linka asked.
"Maybe the people around the city might be some use of us," Luke suggested.
The other kids pondered about this idea. They nodded their heads, meaning they will agree to this plan. They had to get out of the building somehow without being caught. Crank pulled the tablecloth out of the table that the businessmen were in front of. Linka went over to the windows and grabbed the curtains. Luke went over to the restrooms and collected the toilet paper rolls. Steven rushed and gathered the blankets from the rooms of the building. Jennifer took the towels from the hot tubs. Together, they tied their items together and made it into a long rope. They attached one end of to a heavy piece of furniture. After opening the window, one by one, the Favorite Fives went outside and climbed down the rope. They had to hold the clipboards with their mouths. However, on their way down, someone went inside the room. It was a random girl. She went over the room to find her father. However, she saw the heavy piece of furniture. She tried to move it to another room but couldn't because of the rope. She titled it so the rope can be released, and she was able to move the furniture. This was bad news for the five children, as they had nothing to hold on. When they saw the end of the rope falling off, they ended up screaming on their way down. Luckily, they landed on some bushes safely. Steven and the others poked their heads out and gathered the clipboards.
"Alright, Steven. We made it out of the building. Now what?" Jennifer asked.
Steven didn't answer right away, as he saw several people entering some buildings in the city. Some included apartments, kitchens, bakeries, fire stations, you name it.
"What's on your mind, Steve?" Luke asked.
"Just got an idea. But we might need to split up to get the signatures so we can reach our goal." Steven stated, as he handed some directions for each of his friends. They will meet each other back in the center of the city once their signatures are completed. The five had split into ways, inside the city, into many areas that contained some people. It was their way to get as many signatures as possible.
Crank went inside the firehouse. He knew that before a fire happened, huge amounts of firefighters hung together on this place. As he entered, he was greeted by some dalmatians, varying size. A few firefighters noticed Crank being swamped by the dogs. One of them pulled out a bone and threw it across the firehouse. The dogs gave chase, giving Crank some area to breathe.
"Hey, are you ok, kid?" one firefighter said.
"Yeah, thanks. You are the people in this firehouse, right?" Crank commented.
"Affirmative. What means do you have around here?"
"Well, I come from the neighborhood of Quiet Country. I saw that a city is going to be built there, but my home might end up being destroyed. So, I am trying to get as many signatures as I can to stop this from happening," Crank explained.
The firefighters took a glance at each other to see what they think of this situation. They looked at Crank. "Alright, if you can show us what it takes to be a firefighter, we might help you out there."
Crank saluted. "What kind of stuff do you want me to do to prove that?"
"Just anything will do, son." the chief firefighter stated.
Crank cleared his throat. He did several push-ups, dashed to the pole, and slid to the bottom, ran for laps, and did the routine whenever someone got in fire: stop, drop, and roll. The firefighters were impressed.
"Hey, kid. I can sign your papers," One firefighter chimed in.
"I'll sign them as well," another added.
Crank grinned as firefighters lined up to sign his papers. He got a huge number of signatures in his papers. As this was happening, he was given the opportunity to check out the firetruck they had. Crank was impressed as he investigated the vehicle. He pressed the honk button. It made a loud noise. Crank got out of the vehicle and explored the rest of the firehouse.
"I wonder if this place has any physical activity I can participate in," Crank suggested.
"Sure. Feel free to check out the rest of the place!" the chief firefighter shouted.
A few minutes later, Jennifer headed to the bakery. It can be described as one of the best bakeries. It had delicious smells thanks to the food, the scenery was clean and large, not to mention the colors were soothing and calm since they usually have the colors of aqua and peach. The tables were big enough to fit families in, it was a consumer's paradise. Anyone who was going inside the place hungry would come out satisfied. She passed by the customers, who were eating the baked goods. She went in a hallway, which contained some rooms. She entered the office of her father, Mr. Fitzgerald. Jennifer's dad was counting the money he had made from handling the bakery. He saw her daughter approach.
"Jennifer! Welcome to the bakery!" her dad greeted while giving a hug.
"Hi, dad," Jennifer replied. "I was wondering if I can help out with the bakery business, and if you help me in return."
"Sure, honey. How much money you need?" her dad asked.
"No, dad. I don't need any money. I am trying to reach some signatures to save our neighborhood from becoming a city."
"That's terrible. I heard about the number of friends you made on that neighborhood. It would be a travesty if you had to leave all of them behind! I got a solution. For every cake you bake, you make the customer sign your paper. I'll sign yours first to help you out." Mr. Fitzgerald said.
"Thanks, dad," Jennifer smiled, as her father signed the paper. Once she got his signature, she headed to the kitchen area. The various chefs inside were making the desserts, including cakes and pastries. The tomboy chuckles as she passed by a cake that was like the one that had her meet her friends. She heard a bell chime, signifying that a cake was ready to be delivered. When she arrived at the register, she was surprised at the number of customers in the line to the register. She smiled as she pulled out her clipboard, putting her plan to action. Every time a customer received a cake, Jennifer would have them sign their names to the papers, which means they can save their neighborhood. This is going to be successful. Jennifer thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Luke was in another section of the city. Most of the areas he tried to enter won't let him in. Some of those areas ended up having him chased out by hazards. Luke panted as he entered inside a laboratory. The area consisted of scientists wearing lab coats. Luke grabbed a nearby coat and headed to the main area of the lab. He found out that the people were working on a formula to give people strength. The thing they needed was a test subject to prove if the formula works. This will be a huge help for me and the others. I can be the scientists' test subject, and in return, they can add signatures to save our neighborhood. Brilliant! Luke thought to himself. When there was a lab test with a certain gadget, Luke volunteered to be the test subject to find out if it worked. All the scientists had to do for this agreement to work was to add their signatures to the clipboard of saving Quiet Country's neighborhood.
"This is all we have to do for you to test our items?" one scientist asked curiously.
"Sure. I'm going to need as much signatures as I can," Luke replied.
The scientists shrugged in response as they led Luke to a room where they were testing items. There was some glass in the center where the scientists saw Luke. Once they closed the door, a microphone was held above.
"A microphone?" Luke questioned.
"It's going to help us hear what your thoughts are on the items we will ask you to use. Voice your opinions there to see if they are a success or a failure," one of the scientists poked in.
Luke nodded in agreement. His first item to test would be a bouncy hammer. The genius boy grabbed it. What came up were two pairs of triangle blocks. His objective was to use the hammer by breaking both blocks at the same time without moving after the first block was hit. With Luke's quick thinking, he threw the hammer at the first block in a specific angle, making it launch itself to the second block. Both broke on impact as a green light was lit on the room. It meant that the test was a success.
"I did it!" Luke cheered.
The scientists nodded and signed their names on the clipboard. Luke was reaching his part of the goal. There is still a few more tests he had to do to get more signatures. Hopefully he will reach that achievement by the end of the day.
Linka was looking around for any good deeds she can do to do her pact of the signatures. Most of the animal shelters in the city were closed due to it being the weekend. She sighed as she sat on the bench. After a few minutes, she saw a man with a toupee carrying some bags of groceries. Linka noticed and seized this opportunity to have his signature. "Excuse me, sir? You seem to need some help with those bags of groceries. Maybe I can be of assistance?"
The man noticed Linka in front of him. "No thanks, young lady. I can handle this,"
Linka grabbed the bags of groceries, giving the man more space to see. "I insist on helping you out for this once. You look like you had a busy day, eh?"
The man smiled. "Tell me about it,"
They walked inside the man's apartment. It wasn't much since the room was small compared to the rest of the city. It had a bathroom, a bedroom, a living room, and a small kitchen. Linka and the man laid the bags of groceries on the counter.
"Thank you for the help. How can I repay you?" the man said.
"Well, how about my adding your signature on this paper to help save my neighborhood?"
The man pulled out a pen and put his signature on the paper. "Done,"
Linka grabbed her clipboard and waved goodbye to the man while exiting his apartment. The girl looked around the city area. What she has seen will help her out as good deeds. People needing help to cross the streets, city robbers stealing purses, people who are trying to paint city structures, everything a city has. Linka had a determined look on her face as she looked at her clipboard. She will need to have a lot more signatures than just one.
"Let's do this!" she ran to the nearest place where a good deed can be done.
Back with Steven, he was exiting out of one of the game stores that the city has. He managed to help some people sell the games to customers. As for helping them, the store workers, owner, and customers agreed to put their signatures on Steven's clipboard. He can't wait to show his friends the good news.
This is awesome! I reached my pact of the signatures! Soon we will have enough to save our home! Quiet Country, you are safe! Steven thought to himself. He and the others are going to save their neighborhood! His celebration was cut short when he saw some big dogs chasing a small cat. Steven rushed on over to follow the chase. He went inside an alley where the dogs and cat ran to. They all reached a dead end. Steven tried to find out where the animals went, but he couldn't see them anywhere.
Strange. Weren't they around here? Steven pondered to himself.
The boy was going to head back to the area where he would meet his friends, but he was suddenly knocked out by someone carrying a baseball bat. A silhouette appeared and investigated Steven's unconscious body. They decided to bring him to their home. Some dogs howled when Steven ended up being dragged by the silhouette. Unknown to them, the cat was watching them, and following them without being spotted.
To be continued…