Part 2
"Allow us to introduce ourselves." The lead heron began. "My name's Juni." Juni motioned towards his friends. "And these are my chums: Cooper and Robert."
"When Boss told us there will be a party full of frogs in a human's backyard today," Cooper started. "…we just had to join in on the buffet!"
"Only thing thorough," Robert spoke. "Boss said he didn't think we were invited. Why was that? That really hurt our feelings."
"Um, because you're herons!" Polly told him. "Herons ate our parents, FYI, so why would we invite animals that traumatized us when we were younger and will eat us?"
"Ergo you guys weren't wanted!" Sprig informed them all. The herons pretended to be hurt and shocked.
"Not wanted?" Juni asked. "My, what an awkward situation." He looked at his friends. "What do we think about this, boys?"
"How dare you kids have the complete gall to say that to our faces?!" Robert spat. "We have feelings too. Plus, if you invite us, you will be facing your fears and that might be good. You need to get out of your comfort zone at times in order to not be scared anymore."
"And not all herons are the same!" Cooper added. "So we didn't eat your parents…probably! So, it's not fair to blame all of the herons of the world due to that traumatic event."
"But you're right in saying that we are going to eat you guys and all of the frogs here." Juni said. "That's why we came here. Thank you for informing me so that I could tell my friends."
"One thing I don't get." Polly said to her brother. "How can we understand these jerks? We can't understand them in our world."
"Beats me." Sprig responded with a shrug. "Also, shouldn't we be larger than these herons, considering we're the same size as human children in this world?" Polly shrugged.
"This might be one of those 'suspend your disbelief' situations. I mean, we are talking frogs." Sprig thought about this.
"Fair enough I guess."
"I don't know what you kids are going on about." Juni spoke up. "But that's enough nonsense. Now, shut up so we can eat you all."
"HOP FOR YOUR LIVES IF YOU FROGS VALUE YOUR LIVES!" Polly yelled. All of the frogs began hopping and screaming as fast as they could as all of the herons chased them.
The frogs were approaching Thai Go.
"Uh-oh!" Sprig observed. "We're approaching Anne's parents' restaurant. This can't be good."
"We can't go in here." Polly stated. "We have to lead them somewhere else before it's too late."
"It's too late." Sprig said as frogs hopped on in as the door opened. Screams could be heard from inside. "Yup; that's not good." They, too, hopped inside.
Once inside, there was utter chaos. Frogs were hopping all over the place with the herons chasing them, angry customers were arguing, and Mr and Mrs. Boonchuy tried to calm them down. Most of the customers ran out of the door, leaving their food behind.
"What is going on here?" Mrs. Boonchoy asked no one in particular.
"It's the apocalypse!" Mr. Boonchuy shouted in a panic. "Everyone take cover!" He jumped behind a counter to hide behind.
"Dad, it's not the apocalypse." Anne assured her father. He looked at her.
"How do you know, Anne?" Anne ran after the frogs as they and the herons left the restaurant. "Not now, Dad! And I just know! I have to find out what's happening."
"Anne!" Her mom shouted after her.
"I'll be back, Mom!" Anne promised her. "You and Dad stay here and clean up."
"Anne!" She sighed and looked at her husband. She handed him a mop. "Well, you heard our daughter. Help me clean up this place." He looked at her.
"But the apocalypse!" He whined. She glared at him.
"Now!" He sighed as he stood up and grabbed the mop from his wife.
"Fine!" His wife smiled as he started mopping up the floor.
"Guys!" Anne said to Polly and Sprig as she ran next to them with the other frogs. "What's going on? Why did a mob of frogs and three herons invade my parents' restaurant?"
"Well, it all started in your backyard." Polly began. Anne was shocked at this.
"What?! My backyard?" Anne narrowed her eyes. "What did you guys do?"
"It's a funny story actually." Sprig said. "You're going to laugh. Boy, are you going to laugh!"
"Sprig!" Anne shouted at him. Sprig sighed.
"Okay, you probably won't laugh." He told her everything.
"Dude!" Anne scolded them when Sprig was done. "You guys are in so much trouble!"
"We know we are." Polly said. "We messed up and we're sorry."
"Well we better come up with a plan to turn this back to the way it was before all of this." Anne stated.
"Don't worry." Sprig assured her. "We will."
"Therefore it's mucus." Hop-Pop explained to a crowdful of kids. "And not slime." A kid raised her hand. Hop-Pop called on her.
"Yes, Anika?" Hop-Pop asked. Anika was about to ask her question when a kid screamed.
"INCOMING!" He screamed. They all looked and gasped as they saw a horde of frogs and herons. Hop-Pop gasped when he saw Anne, Sprig and Polly among them.
"Kids?" He questioned out loud. He looked at the other kids. "Sorry, kids. I have to go! You all have been a wonderful audience!" And with that, he ran after the horde.
"What's happening here?!" An angry Hop-Pop wanted to know as he ran with Anne and his grandkids and the other frogs.
"I just want to say Hop-Pop…" Anne began. "This is your grandkids' doing. I had no involvement in this whatsoever." Both Sprig and Polly were mad at this.
"Wow, Anne!" Sprig said. "Way to throw us under the bus like that. That's right, I know that human expression."
"What you say may be true,…" Polly pointed out. "But it still hurts somewhat!"
"Polly is right!" Sprig agreed. "So don't throw us under the bus like that! We would never do that to you, so don't do it to us!"
"Enough!" Hop-Pop shouted. "I don't care whose fault this is! Right now, we need to end this so we all can go back to our lives!" He looked at the herons. Anne, Sprig and Polly gasped as they looked back. The frogs stopped and did too. So did the herons.
"Hop-Pop, what are you doing?" Anne questioned.
"Hop-Pop, nooooo!" Sprig cried out.
"Well, we're going to be on our own any minute." Polly said. "It's been nice knowing you." She looked at Anne. "Anne, looks like we will be your permanent froggy siblings now." Hop-Pop looked at his kids.
"Kids, you are not going to be left on your own. I can promise you that. You two had enough trauma as it is. Your grandfather is going to live. I'm just going to talk to these herons." He looked at the birds again.
"And what do you have to say, old frog?" Juni demanded to know.
"I'm just going to plead with you guys to not eat these innocent frogs and my kids. Please? Can we not end this in violence?" The birds were shocked at what they heard. They then all burst out laughing.
"Did you hear that, Boss?" Robert asked him. "This old geezer thinks we are all going to let our lunch roam free?"
"Oh, I heard." Juni replied.
"We're not going to let them go, are we Boss?" Cooper questioned. Juni let out a wicked grin.
"There's ain't no way!" He looked at Hop-Pop. "Nice try, frog, but we're not stupid! We are going to hunt you down; prepare to be our lunch, frog, all of you!" Hop-Pop grinned weakly.
"Please?" He asked again. "You three can be much better than this. I know you can. Be the better herons and let us live in peace!"
"LET'S FEAST ON FROGS, BOYS!" Juni said. He and the other herons flew towards the frogs. Hop-Pop gulped.
"Well, I tried." He looked at the frogs and one human kid. "RUN!" And just like that, all of the frogs and Anne began running again as the herons chased them.
What am I doing?! Anne asked herself. Why am I running away from herons? I'm human. I can just swat them away, no problem! She was about to do that when Hop-Pop spoke up after seeing a nearby lamppost.
"Hang on to me, kids!" Hop-Pop told them when he took them in his hands on both sides. Both frog kids were confused.
"Uh, Hop-Pop?" Said Sprig. "What are you doing?"
"This!" Hop-Pop replied. The elder frog shot out his tongue at the lamppost. It stuck, and all of them soared through the air, going round the lamppost. When they soared back around, Hop-Pop kicked Juni. Juni fell to the ground. Cooper and Robert gasped.
"BOSS!" They shouted together when they flew towards him.
"Wow, HP!" Said an impressed Anne. "I didn't know you had that in you." She cheered. "Way to go, old dude!"
"Thanks." Hop-Pop thanked her. "I didn't know I had it in me either. I guess my grandfatherly instinct just kicked in, and you may call me 'dude', but don't call me 'old dude'."
"Sorry."
"That was awesome and epic!" Sprig cheered as well. "It was awesomely epic!"
"I take back all I ever said or thought about old people and frogs." Polly put in. "Because that was sick! You totally kicked butt!" The other frogs were impressed too.
As they were all cheering and complimenting Hop-Pop, Juni got back up.
"You okay, Boss?" Cooper wanted to know.
"Yeah." Juni answered. "But those frogs are lunch meat, starting with the old frog and his kids!" He flew up into the air. Everybody looked at him. He was angry now. "You're going to pay for that, old frog!" And with that, all three herons flew towards the frogs. All of the frogs were now determined.
"Okay, frogs!" Hop-Pop said. "Do what I just did, and let those herons have it!" All of the frogs shot out their tongues on the lamppost and soared into the air. They all let go and tackled all three birds to the ground. Passing humans were all impressed at what they saw. Some of them filmed it on their phones. Some of them stopped in traffic just to watch. The three herons got up and flew back to the sky.
"Do you think that will stop us, puny frogs?!" Juni wanted to know. "Because you're wrong! We are not backing down until you are all in our bellies!"
"Well, we aren't backing down until we defeat you guys, so that you are… not in your bellies!" Sprig shouted at the birds. "Right, Hop-Pop?"
"That is right, Sprig." Hop-Pop agreed. "Frogs, into your positions! Let's show them that unlike them, we don't need wings to fly!" Polly sighed.
"If only that was true." She stated. "Because wings as well as legs? That would be freakin' awesome!" Frogs shot out their tongues at the lampposts again.
"Uh," Anne tried to point out. "Human here! I can just swat these herons away and you can all go back to your froggy lives." But the frogs were too focused to pay attention to her. They flew themselves into the herons. The herons fell to the ground, flew up into the sky again. They repeated the cycle over and over again. The herons would dodge the frogs sometimes. "Hello? Guys? Anybody?" She sighed. "Nevermind. Oh well, at least this is entertaining."
Juni dodged every frog that flew his way. He tackled Sprig. Everyone gasped as Sprig fell towards the ground.
"Uh-no, Sprig!" Anne observed. "Well, I guess this is my cue to get involved." The young teen was now determined. She pushed back her sleeves, and marched to where Sprig was falling. She caught Sprig just before he hit the ground. The young frog cheered at this. The other frogs cheered. Hop-Pop and Polly sighed in relief.
"Anne, you saved me!" Sprig cried out in delight. Anne smiled.
"Of course I did, dude." She told him. "I wasn't going to let you become lunch to a pesky heron." Juni sneered at this and flew towards Anne. He started pecking at her. Anne screamed as he tried to swat him away. Robert turned towards Cooper.
"Let's go help, Boss." He told him. Cooper nodded in two herons flew towards her and started pecking at her as well. Anne screamed again as she was trying to swat away three birds instead of one now. "Ow! Go away, pesky birds!"
"You go, Anne!" Polly cheered her on. "Swat those dumb birds away! Show them who's boss and also show them no mercy!" Hop-Pop saw that Anne was backing towards the lamppost.
"Anne!" He cried. "The lamppost!" But, it was too late. Anne bumped into the lamppost. The girl fell to the ground, dropping Sprig. All of the herons gave out wicked grins.
"Well, boys," Juni began. "Looks like our appetizer is the humanoid pink frog."
"Let's rip him limb from limb!" Robert added.
"Sounds messy and gory." Cooper put in. "Count me in!" Sprig gulped and laughed nervously.
"You don't want to eat me." Sprig said. "There's other stuff out there, say, fish? Yeah, fish."
"Sorry, but not sorry, kid." Juni stated. "But we are in the mood for amphibians now and you provided us with a frog buffet. So, thanks for that." Sprig, once again, gulped. He looked at Hop-Pop and Polly.
"Hop-Pop, Polly," He began. "I may not have been the perfect grandson and brother. In fact, I may have been a bit of a burden and maybe dumb at times."
"Boy, you got that right." Polly agreed. Hop-Pop glared at her. Polly noticed this. "What? Sorry, but the truth can be harsh at times. I don't know what to tell you." Hop-Pop sighed, then looked at his grandson.
"You're not a burden, Sprig." Hop-Pop told him. "You never were."
"Thanks, HP." Sprig thanked him. "But, let's be realistic here, I wasn't the best, and I'm sorry for that. You deserved better. I just wanted that off of my chest before my body parts become lunch."
"I appreciate you saying all of this, Sprig. It takes a real frog to admit that he was wrong, but you are going to live and these pesky herons will find something else to chow down on. I guarantee it." He looked at the other frogs. "Frogs, let's not give up! Attack!" Angry frogs ran towards the three herons.
They were about to attack the birds, when all of a sudden, rocks were hurled at the feathered creatures. Everybody looked and saw Anika and the other human children throwing rocks.
"Anika?" Hop-Pop questioned out loud. Anika looked at him and smiled.
"Don't worry, Teach." She told him. "We won't let these birds get these frogs." Hop-Pop got teary eyed.
"You called me, Teach."
"Wow!" Said an amazed Anne. "Normally, I would be angry at people hurting animals, but since the animals are threatening my frog family, the animals get no remorse from me." The Planters were touched by this.
"Aw, Anne!" Hop-Pop said. "You're our family too. I think of you as a daughter."
"And I think of you as one of my only good siblings." Polly added.
"I'm just so touched,…" Sprig spoke. "…that what Polly just said didn't upset me at all."
After getting pelted with rocks, Juni looked at his chums.
"Let's retreat, boys!" He said.
"What about lunch?" Cooper asked him.
"We have to eat other stuff that we find." The others agreed and they all flew off. The children, including Anne, and the frogs all cheered.
"Can we leave now?" A frog asked. Hop-Pop looked at him.
"You sure can." He replied. "Sorry about my grandson."
"Okay." The frog said. "Thanks."
"But…" Sprig began. Hop-Pop glared at him. Sprig sighed. "Fine! You all can go now, Sorry that the party was a bust." The other frogs all left. Sprig was sad to see them all go.
"I'm glad that all of your kids are here." Hop-Pop said to the human children. "I didn't expect it, but I surely appreciate you all helping us with these birds."
"Of course." Anika said. "And thank you for being a good teacher."
"Even if it was a Saturday." A boy added. "We really learned a lot. It was almost like we were taught by an actual frog, instead of a human."
"Well I'm very glad you like my teachings, Bruno." Hop-Pop told him. "And remember, you always have time to learn something new, no matter the day."
"Well, we better go now." Anika spoke again. "My mom's making spaghetti and meatballs!" Hop-Pop smiled.
"I don't know what that is, but it sounds awesome!" The kids were confused.
"You mean you never had spaghetti and meatballs before?" Bruno wanted to know. "Even though you're like, super old?" Anika nudged him. "Ow! Well, it's true!" She nudged him again, "Ow! Sorry."
"I guess I haven't." Hop-Pop laughed nervously. "For where I live, spaghetti and meatballs don't exist."
"Sad! Well, you have to try it. It's delicious!"
"Okay. I'll make a mental note to try this, uh, spaghetti and meatballs."
The Planters and Anne all said goodbye to the kids. As they all left. The kids all said the same thing to them before they left.
"Well, Leap Day was so eventful today." Sprig stated. "Let's go home. Maybe Anne's mom can even make spaghetti and meatballs!"
"Yeah!" Polly put in. "Maybe Mrs. Boonchoy can make it for all of us instead of Thai food." She looked at Anne. "Uh, spaghetti and meatballs isn't Thai, is it? Oh, and I like Thai food. It's just tiresome after a while and we want to try something new."
"No sweat!" Anne said. "I totally get it. Variety is good. And no, spaghetti and meatballs are not Thai food. They're Italian." Polly was impressed.
"Wow! There are so many different and unique places on Earth." Anne smiled.
"There sure are." The kids were about to go when Hop-Pop cleared his throat. They all looked at him. He had his arms across his chest and did not look happy. Sprig looked at him with a frown. The little pink frog sighed.
"Oh, right." He said. "Hop-Pop, we know that we messed up and did what you said not to do. I'm very sorry." Polly frowned too.
"I'm sorry too. Sorry that I went along with my brother's crazy scheme." Hop-Pop smiled.
"That's okay. I know you all wanted your first human holiday to be memorable, and I respect that. But, don't do it ever again."
"Yes, HP." Both Sprig and Polly agreed.
"Now, let's go ask Anne's mom for that spaghetti and meatballs and you kids are grounded." The kids cheered. They then realized something and frowned again.
"Yes, HP!"
"And Leap Day isn't really a holiday." Anne put in. "It's just an extra day. But, whatever. I'm sure Mom will cook spaghetti and meatballs. That, or we all go out to an Italian restaurant." The kids cheered again and they all went back to Anne's house.
Although the Planter's first and possibly only Leap Day in Anne's world wasn't how they expected, it was still a pretty great day, despite the circumstances. Anne and the other humans might not make a big deal out of an extra day that comes mostly every four years, but the Planters loved it regardless. And even though they were here for who knows how long and they'd all thought they'd be back in Amphibia by now, they were just glad that they spent the day with Anne and her family, no matter what day it was.