Happy holidays everyone! The Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee is officially back, just in time for Christmas and the start of Hanukkah! And wouldn't you know it, the latter coincidentally starts the same day as the former this year. As I mentioned previously, my original plan was to get the Hanukkah chapter out on the first day of Hanukkah and the Christmas one on...well, Christmas. But since the first day of the Festival of Lights just so happens to be Christmas Day this time around, I decided to upload the Hanukkah episode today, Christmas Eve, and the Christmas one tomorrow. Back-to-back chapters! Sounds like a perfect holiday gift to me!
So, let's talk about the Hanukkah episode, since that's the one we're dealing with today. I have to say, I really loved it. As someone who has never celebrated Hanukkah and knows next to nothing about it (other than it takes place over eight nights and has dreidels), I think this episode does a great job explaining how the holiday is usually celebrated and all the traditions Jewish families partake in. There's even a reference to WWII, which takes a lot of guts to show in a children's cartoon.
But the best part about this episode is that it's a perfect subversion of a bottle episode. If you don't know, a bottle episode is an episode where the main characters find themselves stuck in one setting for the entire runtime, usually due to a storm, or in this episode's case, a power outage. And these episodes usually fail because they deal with a situation in real life that most find boring, and that situation is trying to entertain oneself while there is no electricity. But this episode? Not only do the characters actually have electricity, but they manage to keep things entertaining with activities that, as far as I can tell, have never been done in another bottle episode. The dreidel game is probably the highlight for me and it makes me want to play it in real life. Oh, and Scratch's song? Definitely top 10 for this show and it's the perfect song for our beloved Fatso.
Yeah, this episode is just fun, and writing my own take on it was even more fun. So, grab your latkes and gelt, ladies and gentlemen! 'Cause it's time to light the menorah and get this baby started!
Stretch, Stinkie, & Fatso: Muahahahahahaaaa!
Molly: Can't believe you're all mine
Fatso: Uh, what?
Molly: You and me for all time
Stretch: No way!
Molly: I'm never, ever, EVER gonna be alone again
Stinkie: This stinks!
Molly: It's just you three and me
Fatso: For all eternity?!
Molly: For all ETERNITY!
Stretch, Stinkie, & Fatso: NOOOO!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: It's the Ghost-Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee
Fatso: We've been cursed!
Stinkie: It's the worst!
Molly: Now you're stuck with me
Molly & Ghostly Trio: We're never gonna be apart
Stretch: Is there a way to hit 'restart'?
Molly: Nope!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: We're the Ghost-Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee
Molly: That's me!
Stinkie: Well, that's she. Hee, hee, hee!
Molly & Ghostly Trio: Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee!
Fatso: Oh yeah!
Chapter 21
Eight Crazy Frights
The snow was coming down hard in the quaint little town of Brighton. The month of December had arrived once more and all the citizens were prepared to celebrate their preferred holiday in their own special way. For Molly and the McGees, this was Christmas. But for Libby Stein-Torres and her family, it was the Festival of Lights, also known as Hanukkah.
And even though Molly adored everything about Christmas, she had always been curious about how other holidays were celebrated this time of year. So, she was ecstatic when Libby invited her and the rest of her family over for the last night of Hanukkah. At long last, she would get to experience Jewish customs for the first time and even better, would get a chance to learn more about her best friend's traditions and become even closer to her.
By the time the McGees arrived to Ms. Stein-Torres's shop, "Book Marks the Spot," Libby had just finished adding some festive decorations around the store, including a menorah in the display window.
"Woo!" Molly cheered. "The eighth night of Hanukkah! Thanks for having us, Libby!"
Libby hugged her. "Happy Hanukkah, Molly! I'm glad you all could make it. My mom and I have never had this many people over. And we've definitely never had any ghosts."
Libby nudged the air and the Ghostly Trio appeared beside her. Even though her first meeting with the Trio didn't go over so smoothly, since then, Libby had gotten fairly acquainted with the spirits and was even starting to grow fond of them. And the Trio? Well…they realized Libby was slightly more tolerable than they believed her to be and were more willing to put up with her.
Stretch floated toward a tank filled with some of Libby's turtles.
"Sheesh, what is it with you and turtles and why do ya got so many?" he asked rudely. "They're probably the most boring pet ya could own!"
"Considering who their owner is, I'd say it's fittin'." Stinkie joked.
"Guys…" Fatso shuddered. "I think that one is starin' at my soul…"
Sure enough, one of the turtles was giving Fatso a sinister glare.
"Don't you mean 'staring into your soul'?" Libby clarified.
"No…"
The turtle slunk its head inside its shell, but Fatso could still see its menacing eyes, much to his discomfort.
Just then, Ms. Stein-Torres came out from behind a bookshelf, a stack of books in her hands. The Trio made themselves invisible before she could spot them.
"Shalom, McGees!" she greeted while simultaneously using her foot to stick a book onto a shelf. "Sorry for the delay. I've got the fryer going upstairs and customers downstairs! Busy, busy, busy!"
Molly approached Libby.
"You'll be glad to know that I did a ton of research on Hanukkah ahead of time. I learned so much! Like uh…" she signaled to the Trio.
Stretch groaned and entered something into his phone.
"It's celebrated for eight subsequent nights…"
"It's celebrated for eight subsequent nights! And it uh…"
Stinkie swiped the phone. "It starts on the 25th day of Kislev."
"Starts on the 25th day of Kislev. And is also known as the uh…"
"Festival of Lights!" Fatso finished.
"The Festival of Lights!"
Libby smirked. "Molly, you know I can hear the Trio now, too? Right?"
"Oh…" Molly laughed sheepishly. "Well, this is awkward…"
Before the girl could explain herself though, the lights in the book shop suddenly went out and the room was overcome with darkness.
"Heh." Darryl chuckled from the chair he was lounging in. "So much for the 'Festival of Lights.'"
"Hey, we do the sarcastic quips around here, kid." Stinkie lectured.
While Pete hid behind the chair in terror, Sharon looked out the window and found that the shop wasn't the only building that had lost power.
"Looks like the whole city is out."
Ms. Stein-Torres shined a flashlight toward the McGees.
"Not to worry!" she went over to a back door. "I'd never be caught without a generator during a midwest winter."
The single mom headed out back and the McGees came along to help (Pete was still terrified from the outage and would only come out if he was given a flashlight as well).
Ms. Stein-Torres brought over a half-empty gasoline canister.
"Silly me! I forgot to stock up on fuel! Oh well. This should still be enough to last an hour." she yanked the generator's cord, starting it up.
Hour One
As soon as the backup generator started running, it didn't take long for the lights to come back on. And it also didn't take long for the Ghostly Trio to become bored of the celebration.
Stretch yawned. "Well, as much as I'm havin' the time of my afterlife here, I think it's about time we split."
"Ooh, like a banana split?" Fatso hoped.
"No…like an annoyin' brother split!" Stretch chopped the younger ghost in half.
"C'mon guys, aren't you having at least a little fun?" Molly encouraged.
"Fun? You think this is fun?" Stretch wrapped an arm around her. "I think it's time I gave ya a little lesson on fun, McGee. Scarin' fleshies is fun. Possessin' household objects is fun. This? This is about as close to Dullsville as you can get."
"Yeah, I'd rather sit in garbage than stay here for another minute." Stinkie claimed.
"Stinkie," Molly began. "You'd pick sitting in garbage over anything."
Fatso pulled himself together. "Stretch's right. Let's blow this popsicle stand already! Mm. Popsicles. I'm hungry…"
That's when the fat ghost got a whiff of something delicious. And it was coming from a plate of jelly-filled snacks Libby was bringing into the shop.
Fatso phased his nose through the plate, knocking a few of the treats over. Libby lifted him by the nose.
"What is that heavenly smell?" Fatso inquired.
"Oh, if you're hungry, Mom made plenty of food. And since it's Hanukkah, it's all fried and oiled."
Fatso's eyes widened. "Did you say…fried?!"
Stretch facepalmed. "Oh boy…now you've done it."
"Here comes the arbitrary musical number…" Stinkie grumped.
Fatso summoned a Vaudeville hat and cane. Then he played a starting note on a harmonica.
Fatso: I get a whiff and all at once I'm yearning
Your oily fragrance puts me in the mood
My heart goes pitter, pitter-pat
For that vat of liquid fat
Oh, I'm deep in love with deep-fried food
I tremble at the sight of jelly donuts
"Sufganiyot." Libby corrected.
"Gesundheit."
Fatso: Hash browns make me come unglued
"Uh, these are latkes." Libby explained.
Fatso: Give me fries and empanadas
Give me egg rolls and frittatas
Give me fish and chips, chicken strips and *gasp*
Hush puppies too!
"We're kinda losing the Hanukkah thread here." Libby mentioned.
Fatso: Throw away the crudités
All I want is you
I don't mind the greasy stains when you're gone
I eat those too!
Sorry Ms. B, but I've never known a love so true
As the love that I feel for deep…
Fried…
FOOOOOOD!
Right as Fatso finished his song, Ms. Banshee popped her head out of a portal.
"Oh, hey Ms. B." Fatso took a bite out of a churro.
"So…you'd prefer a heart attack over me, huh?" Ms. Banshee glared. "AM I NOT BAD ENOUGH FOR YOU ANYMOOOOORRRE?!"
The force of her scream sent the churro Fatso was eating straight into his eye.
"Aaah! Hot oil! In my eye! It burns! But I kinda love it at the same time!"
Hour Two
An hour later and the power was miraculously still on. So, Libby decided it was a good time to play a traditional Hanukkah game. She invited Molly, Darryl, and the Trio over to a table.
"Okay…the name of the game is 'Dreidel.'" she informed them.
"Oh goodie. Any game with 'dull' in its name is sure to be a hoot." Stretch replied sarcastically.
"Oh, I think you'll like this game, Stretch." Libby claimed. "Because if you win, you get all this treasure…"
Libby gestured to a pile of gelt on the table. Stretch became intrigued.
"Really? Tell me more."
"Tell me how!" Stinkie pleaded.
"Tell me why, ain't nothin' but a heartache…" Fatso sang.
In response, Stretch whacked him, causing his head to spin around.
"Whoa…" Libby was somewhat impressed. "If you can spin his head like that, you'll definitely be a pro at spinning this bad boy!" she held out a dreidel and spun it as a demonstration. "To win, it has to land on 'gimel.'"
Fatso repositioned his head. "As in the funny TV host?"
Libby chuckled. "No, no, no. Gi-mel. It's the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet."
"Ha! Fatso has trouble with the normal alphabet." Stinkie mentioned. "How do ya expect him to recognize the Hebrew one?"
"Oh, that's it!" Fatso snarled. "You're goin' down, stinkweed!"
"Bring it!" Stinkie taunted.
"Count me in, too!" Stretch snatched the dreidel. "I'm gonna wipe the floor with you latke-eatin' lunkheads!"
"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist." Libby grinned. "Oh, by the way, Molly told me about your tendency to use your ghostly powers when playing games like this. So, I'll have to ask you not to use them this time. Cheating isn't a part of the Hanukkah spirit, you know."
Stretch rolled his eyes. "Ya really do know how to suck the fun out of everything, don't ya?"
Giving in, Stretch spun the dreidel normally and it landed on the side with a 'nun' symbol.
"Ha! In your faces!" Stretch bragged. "…Uh…that is a gimel, right?"
"Uh, no. It's a 'nun.'" Libby told him.
"No, it's not." Fatso gained a black dress and white scarf. "This is a nun!"
Stretch facepalmed, but Libby couldn't help but giggle.
"No, Fatso. 'Nun' is a Hebrew letter. In this game, it means you don't get anything."
"What?! So basically, 'nun' means 'none'?!" Stretch complained.
"Sorry, Stretch." Molly flipped on her menorah sunglasses. "That's just the way the dreidel spins."
Molly gave the clay toy a spin next.
"Ooh, 'shin'!"
Fatso grew a leg. "Like this one?"
"No, no. Another Hebrew letter." Libby corrected. "If you spin that, you have to put some gelt into the center. Sorry, Molly."
"Aww…" Molly pushed a few of her coins into the pile in the middle of the table.
"My turn!" Stinkie swiped the dreidel and spun it. "What's that thing mean?"
"It's hei." Libby observed.
"'Hei' is for horses!" Fatso stated.
"Or in this case, it's for getting half the gelt in the pile."
"'Hei,' not bad!" Stinkie joked.
The game continued for a while, but not a single person managed to spin 'gimel' even once (except for Darryl, but then he got too excited and slammed the table, causing the dreidel to move over to 'shin' instead). Everyone was growing frustrated. Soon, it was Libby's turn again.
"C'mon, little dreidel," she wished. "Don't forget who made you out of clay!"
She gave it a good spin.
"C'mon gimel…c'mon gimel…"
Molly, Darryl, and the Trio watched with anticipation and anxiety. After a few more seconds of spinning, the dreidel tilted and landed on…
"GIMEL!" Libby cheered.
"No!" Molly, Darryl, and the Trio wailed.
Libby picked up one of the gelt and peeled off its gold paper, revealing chocolate underneath. "And now to taste sweet victory!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Stretch interrupted right as Libby was about to take a bite. "The gelt is candy?! We've been playin' for candy this whole time?!"
"Aw…" Fatso whined. "If I had known that, I woulda possessed the dreidel while no one was lookin'!"
Molly only shook her head amusedly.
Hour Three
The next activity was something original Libby had come up with. This time, though, the Trio had to sit out since the book shop owners were spectating and couldn't know of their existence. Which was fine with them, considering what the event actually was.
"Welcome to the first annual 'Mega McGee' Hanukkah spelling bee!" Libby said into a microphone.
"Too bad this ain't a smellin' bee." Stinkie whispered to his brothers. "'Cause I'm a champ at those."
"Your first and only word is…Hanukkah."
Molly became nervous. "Um…okay-"
BUZZ!
Molly jumped at the sound of a random buzzer.
"Uh, Molly? What made you think Hanukkah begins with the letters 'O-K'?" Libby teased.
"What? No! I didn't mean-I wasn't saying those letters! I didn't start yet!"
"Very well. You may try again."
"Okay. I mean-good." Molly took a breath. "H…A…N…A…?"
BUZZ!
"Step aside, sis." Darryl barged in. "I got this. Ahem. K…"
BUZZ!
Pete gave it a go next.
"Hm…can you use it in a sentence?" he asked cluelessly.
BUZZ!
Sharon stepped up. "H…A…N…U…um…I wanna say…C?"
BUZZ!
"So close, but no." Libby stood up from her rolling chair where the buzzer sat on the arm. "There are 16 acceptable spellings, McGees. There's my personal favorite H-A-N-U-K-K-A-H, the classic C-H-A-N-U-K-A-H…"
"I thought I said that one!" Molly blurted out.
BUZZ!
"Wah! Who did that?!" she looked over at the chair and saw Fatso pressing the buzzer multiple times. "Fatso!"
"Hey, no need to be a 'buzzkill'! Ha, get it?"
Stretch floated over and repeatedly whacked Fatso with the buzzer.
"Ow!"
BUZZ!
"Ow!"
BUZZ!
"Owwww!"
BUZZ!
Hour Four
"Okay," Libby announced to the McGees and ghosts. "It's time for a Stein-Torres Hanukkah tradition…"
She held up a box covered with hand-drawn stars.
"Ooh…" the McGees, Stinkie, and Fatso went.
Stretch, on the other hand, was skeptical.
"Wow, a cardboard box?!" he responded sarcastically. "Can't get any more excitin' than that! Be still my non-beatin' heart…"
"It's not just some ordinary box, Stretch." Libby explained. "It's…the miracle box!"
Stretch got a good look at the object.
"Well if ya ask me, the only thing 'miraculous' about that thing is how the paper hasn't peeled off after all these years."
"Now Stretch," Molly scolded. "Remember what we talked about: if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."
"Heh. If Stretch followed that little adage, he'd never talk again!" Stinkie pointed out.
"Would that really be a bad thing?" Fatso asked.
Annoyed, Stretch grabbed his brothers by their necks and tied their heads together.
"Ack! Then again, he don't need to talk to keep bein' mean…" Stinkie gagged.
Libby started to hand out pens and little pieces of paper.
"Okay, the way it works is everyone writes down a miracle that happened to them this year and sticks it in the box."
Molly stuffed her paper in almost immediately, clearly having no trouble recalling her own miracle. Darryl gained a mischievous smirk and laughed sinisterly before writing something down on his paper and putting it in the box. Sharon put hers in afterward, while Pete was still trying to come up with something.
"Got it!" he said and submitted his answer. "…Aw man. I thought of a better one!"
Stinkie and Fatso, after getting themselves untangled, also wrote down a miracle each and stuck it in the box.
"Well, Stretch?" Stinkie offered.
"Ugh! Fine!" Stretch reluctantly wrote something down on his paper and handed it over, making sure to fold it up so no one could see.
"Great! That's everyone!" Libby noted. "Now it's time to read them aloud."
Stretch's bored expression turned to one of panic.
"Wait…aloud? As in, so everyone can hear?" he wrapped himself around Libby. "Uh, we don't gotta do that, do we?"
Libby gently shoved him off. "Well, it'd be pretty weird if we didn't celebrate our miracles out loud and in public, right?"
"Oh yeah, I get that. But ya see, my miracle is a reeeaaall good one! The best, actually! And I wouldn't wanna show up everyone else by having it…read out loud…so, I'll just take it back if that's okay…" Stretch reached his hand into the box.
"No cheating!" Libby slammed the box's lid onto Stretch's hand.
"Yowch!" Stretch yelped and backed away.
"Here, I'll go first to show you how it's done." Libby took out one of the papers and opened it. "'Three ghosts became my BFFs.' Oh, that one's definitely Molly."
Molly giggled and squeezed the Trio into a hug. "You got me!"
Ms. Stein-Torres popped her head out of a bookshelf and the Trio turned invisible again.
"Did you tell them my miracle, Libby?"
Libby chuckled, slightly embarrassed. "Oh yeah. It's me. Every year she says-"
"Libby's my miracle!" Ms. Stein-Torres ruffled her daughter's hair.
"Aww…" the McGees cooed.
"Huh. I stand corrected!" Stretch said once Ms. Stein-Torres was gone. "That right there was truly the best miracle! Mine don't got nothin' on that! So, I guess there's no need to read any more! Who's up for another round of dreidel?" he transformed into the aforementioned toy.
"Are you kidding? This is way more fun!" Sharon declared, before spinning the ghost dreidel out of the way. "You can go next, Darryl."
Darryl retrieved another paper from the box.
"'Nobody in the house has suffocated yet.' Oh, that one's gotta be Stinkie's."
"And he's right." Sharon confirmed. "Nobody has suffocated yet. Though there were a few times Pete said he couldn't breathe."
Stinkie shrugged. "What can I say? My stench is truly breath-takin'! Hee, hee, hee!"
Sharon picked a paper next.
"'It's a miracle I…didn't get caught…'" she gave Darryl a look of suspicion.
"For your own safety, it's best you don't know more than that." Darryl casually leaned up against the bookshelf as if he had no regrets at all. Which he didn't.
Molly took her turn. "'Dick van Dyke has lived to see another year'?"
"That one's mine." Fatso admitted. "Seriously, is the guy immortal or somethin'? Give up the ghost already so 'Mary Poppins' can tour in the spirit world!" he gained a black nanny outfit.
Normally, Stretch would have commented on how stupid Fatso was being, but he was too panicked of having his miracle read out loud to care at the moment.
"Hey, is it gettin' warm in here to anyone else?" he started to melt into a puddle. "No? Just me?"
"I wanna go next!" Stinkie volunteered, reaching into the box. "'The van's still running'? Sharon, is that really a miracle?"
"Trust me. It is." Sharon answered. "Your turn, Pete."
With most of the other miracles having been read, Stretch realized his was probably next to be picked.
"Wait!" he blocked Pete's hand. "Hold off on that, will ya? I gotta use the little ghost's room."
With that, he disappeared. Stinkie and Fatso were suspicious.
"Uh…I gotta go, too."
"Same here. BRB!"
The other two ghosts poofed away as well.
Meanwhile, Stretch reappeared inside the miracle box and spotted his folded up paper sitting in a corner.
"Bingo!" he floated over and picked it up. "Phew, that was a close call."
"Not close enough."
Stretch jumped when he noticed Stinkie and Fatso behind him.
"Nice try, Stretch. But you're just delayin' the inevitable." Stinkie sneered.
"Yeah, now hand it over!" Fatso demanded.
Stretch glared. "Why don't ya make me?"
Stinkie and Fatso exchanged glances and then they both let out a battle cry and charged for the eldest ghost. Stretch, however, was too quick for them and flew out of the way at the last moment.
"Ha! Is that the best you ecto-brains can do? Pathetic! HAHAHAHAHA!"
While he was laughing, he failed to notice his brothers reaching up to grab him by the tail. They then pulled him down and the three of them started brawling.
"Let it go, Stretch!"
"NEVER!"
"We coulda done this the easy way!"
They continued fighting over the paper until they heard Molly's voice from outside.
"Pfft, ghosts don't even go to the bathroom. Go ahead, Dad."
The Trio shrieked as they saw a giant hand moving towards them, but figured out immediately it belonged to Pete.
"Quick!" Stinkie instructed Fatso to hand Pete Stretch's paper, which he did.
"Oh no ya don't!"
Stretch grabbed onto one end of the paper and, using his incredible elasticity, managed to snatch his written miracle away, leading Pete to grab the only other paper in the box. Stretch sighed, for he thought he was safe. Until…
"Whoops! I got my own." he heard Pete say. "Redo!"
In an act of desperation, Stretch stuffed the paper in his mouth. But unfortunately for the tall, lanky phantom, Pete ended up pulling both him and his piece of paper out.
"Hm." Pete grinned smugly, while taking the paper out of Stretch's head. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you didn't want us to read yours."
Stinkie and Fatso phased out of the box.
"Yeah, Stretch. Whatsa matter?"
"You got somethin' to hide?"
"No!" Stretch insisted. "I just…look, the truth is, I misunderstood the rules, okay? I thought we were doin' funny ones, so I ended up writin' a bunch of mean stuff about all of ya! And I do mean all of ya. As in, no one was safe. So, if ya don't wanna get your feelings hurt, I suggest you put that down and-"
But it was too late as Pete was already reading what Stretch wrote.
"'I used to haunt a house'…"
"Oh great…" Stretch groaned, covering his face in embarrassment.
"'Now I haunt a home.'"
"Aww…" everyone except Stretch went.
Molly grabbed Stretch by the arms. "Stretch, that is so sweet! See? You may act like a sour lemon most of the time, but you're really just a big, gooey marshmallow! C'mere, buddy!"
Everyone gathered around Stretch to hug him, much to his dismay.
"Face it, Stretch. Ya can't hide your true self from us." Stinkie snickered.
"You like us! You really like us!" Fatso cried.
Stretch grumped. "And yous guys wonder why I don't say nice things…"
Hour Five
Up next was Libby's favorite activity of the night: poetry appreciation. Since performing at the school talent show earlier that year, Libby had gained confidence in saying her poems to other people. So, with Molly accompanying her on bongos, the turtleneck-wearing girl began to recite a rhyme to the book store customers; a rhyme that also happened to tell the story of Hanukkah.
Libby: Their temple was dark, destroyed by the fight
All they had were a few drops of oil to light
But the flame kept burning all through the night
"Look," they said, "Still lit!"
The next day, the third day, the fourth day again
As they rebuilt the sacred spaces within
Their temples, menorah stood up to the wind
"Look," they said, "Still lit!"
They marveled happily wondering why
As the sixth and seventh days went by
It must be a miracle sent from on high
"Look," they said, "Still lit!"
In the end, it was eight days and nights it would last
'Til the temple was fixed by the light that it cast
We weathered the worst; the storms have blown past
And look! Still lit!
When I think of that story, deep down I know
That no matter the battles we fight as we go
Inside of us all, a Hanukiah glows
And look…still lit…
The McGees and book store patrons snapped their fingers as Libby's poem concluded.
"Free bird!" a random shirtless guy cheered.
Surprisingly, the Trio were also giving Libby a bit of praise.
"Huh. Ya know, I usually hate poetry." Stretch claimed. "And I still do. But that was one of her less mediocre performances, I'll admit."
"It definitely stunk less than her last one." Stinkie agreed.
Fatso was dressed as a beatnik. "I can dig it, daddy-o."
Stretch rolled his eyes. "I wonder if there are any latkes left."
"Let's go see." Stinkie suggested.
Fatso ditched his sunglasses. "Ooh, I can dig that even more!"
The biggest ghost stuck his beret onto Sharon's head and then the Trio made their exit.
Hour Six
"And now ladies and germs," Stretch spoke into a microphone. "It's time for another installment of…"
Stinkie pulled down a title card.
"'Fatso & Latkes'!"
"Tonight's episode," Stinkie read from his notes. "'A Whole Lotta Latkes.'"
He pushed the title card aside, revealing Fatso in the middle of the library. He had puffed up to twice his size due to all the latkes he had consumed.
"Huh." he noted, looking at his belly. "That really is a 'whole lotta latkes'!"
Stinkie pressed a button on a remote and a laugh track played.
"Oh c'mon!" Stretch intervened. "This is the best the writers can come up with? What a waste of a segment."
"What do ya expect? This is a bottle episode." Stinkie stated blatantly. He then held up a sign that read "The end."
Hour Seven
"C'mon in!" Ms. Stein-Torres said to customers as more and more piled into the store. "We've got light and heat and treats in here! Wow, I thought the generator would only last us an hour, but it's been goin' for seven!"
"Excuse me?"
Ms. Stein-Torres turned to see a woman in a scarf standing in the doorway.
"Hi, I'm Abby." the woman introduced herself. "I run the bakery down the street."
"Ah yes, I remember." Ms. Stein-Torres nodded.
Abby walked over to the menorah in the display window.
"You know, it's funny. I grew up in a Jewish family, but when I moved to Brighton, I…kinda lost touch with that part of myself. Seeing your menorah reminds me of home."
Ms. Stein-Torres was touched. "Yeah. It holds a lot of memories. It was one of the few things my family could take as they fled their home…"
She began to recall how her grandparents were oppressed for their heritage back in World War II and therefore, were forced to leave their country. They ended up immigrating to the states where they could celebrate Hanukkah and raise their son, Ms. Stein-Torres's father, in peace. And even after her father moved out of his home to start a family of his own, the menorah in said home remained, and so did the family's traditions. Ms. Stein-Torres could still remember all the Decembers she visited her grandparents and the first time she was allowed to light the menorah herself.
Just then, Libby came over to join her mom.
"This menorah has been with our family through plenty of tough times."
Ms. Stein-Torres held her daughter close. "But it reminds us that even in darkness, there is light. No matter what happens, we celebrate that we're still here. Resilient, strong, and proud." she felt a few drops of water hit her head. "Huh? What was that? Is the ceiling leaking now? Oh great, I better get a ladder."
Libby only grinned as she could see what her mom couldn't: the Trio floating above her and bawling their eyes out.
"That's so beautiful!" Fatso wailed.
"Yeah, is someone cuttin' onions in here?" Stinkie sniffled. "'Cause they always make me cry! Specifically, I cry tears of joy because I love how revoltin' they smell!"
"Yous guys are a couple of babies!" Stretch criticized while shedding a few tears himself. "That story wasn't even that movin'! It was just about a bunch of Jewish folks overcomin' adversity and stickin' together despite the hardships, thus provin' family is an unbreakable bond that adds a little light to the world's cruelty and hatred! Nothin' beautiful about that at all! WAAAHHHH!"
Libby shook her head playfully.
"Hey," Fatso whimpered. "I know what'll cheer us up…let's go swipe some latkes off the fleshies' plates while they're not lookin'…"
"Yeah…that might help a little…" Stinkie wiped his eyes.
"Ya know somethin'?" Stretch added. "…I love…I love…"
"Ya don't have to say it, Stretch." Stinkie reassured him. "We love mildly inconveniencin' people, too."
"Yeah? Ya do?"
"You could say it's what bonds us together." Fatso agreed.
"Aww, come here, you knuckleheads!"
The Trio embraced one another in a hug of mutual rascality.
Hour Eight
An hour later and the Trio were still busy stealing food from random customers. All the while, Libby and her mom stood back and watched the merriment taking place.
"What a great Hanukkah." Ms. Stein-Torres proclaimed. "I can't believe our generator lasted eight hours."
"Eight hours?" Libby repeated with surprise. "It's a Hanukkah miracle!"
Not even seconds after she said this, though, the generator finally gave out and the lights went off in the book shop.
"Oh no…" Libby lamented. "I jinxed it…"
But this moment of darkness didn't last long. For after another few seconds, not only did the lights in the shop come back on, but so did the lights in all of Brighton.
"Hey!" Darryl said while looking out the window. "I think the power's back on!"
"Yes!" Libby cried out happily. "It is a Hanukkah miracle!"
"Now our festival of lights has actual lights!" Molly declared. "I guess that's why they call it…uh…"
"The Festival of Lights?" Stretch answered, somewhat annoyed.
"Yeah! What he said!"
Ms. Stein-Torres brought out another plate of food.
"More latkes, anyone?"
Three pale-looking men approached her.
"I'll have one…"
"Me too…"
"Same here. Though I can't promise I'll get any joy out of it. Food only fills the stomach and not the soul, after all."
Ms. Stein-Torres was about to hand over the plate, when she realized it was suddenly empty!
"Huh? That's funny. Did I drop 'em on the floor?"
Molly turned her head and noticed the Trio laying in the corner, chowing down on the potato pancakes.
"Ya know somethin'?" Stretch began. "This holiday ain't so borin' after all. It might be my new favorite, actually. Well, second-favorite. Nothin' will ever dethrone Halloween for me."
"Are you kiddin'?" Fatso disagreed. "I'd take fried potatoes and jelly pastries over basic candy and chocolate any day. At least ya don't have to go door to door to get 'em."
"Eh, Hanukkah's all right, but what I'd like is a holiday for appreciatin' smelly stuff." Stinkie supposed. "It could be called…Gassover! I can picture it now: the whole family sittin' around the dinner table to feast on garlic stew and then belchin' 'til the cows come home. And then when they do come home, one of their gorgeous patties can be used as a centerpiece. Or as I'd call it, a center piece of-"
Molly covered his mouth. "Okay, that's enough, Stinkie."
Ghostly Trio and Molly McGee!
To those who were concerned, no I don't wish death on Dick van Dyke. I'm just surprised that after all that's happened these last few years, he's somehow managed to stay in relatively good shape. I mean, there's a video of the guy doing a work out at the gym. At 99 years old! Not only that, but I heard recently he survived a fire that threatened to burn down his home. Man, I really don't know how he does it, but he's an inspiration to be sure. Here's hoping he makes it to 100!
Anyway, the Christmas chapter will be up tomorrow, hopefully early. Also, thanks to the one person who voted on the poll. I'll upload your request soon, probably in January.
Oh, one more thing. I've never brought this up before, but I actually have a Tumblr blog! I post all kinds of things on there, like my latest obsessio-er, interests, artwork, and even an occasional music video. I've recently posted my thoughts on the Bad Guys 2 trailer, as well as Sherri Marmalade's reaction to Snake having another girlfriend. Next year is going to be intense, I can tell. So, if you'd like to hear more from me without having to wait for my next update on here, go follow me at regularponyfan! You can even message me there if you'd like! As long as you're not a scammer trying to get me to buy some fake art commission. Seriously, it's been a few months since I uploaded "Scared Silly" and I've already gotten like five messages from scammers, claiming the story "inspired" them to create artwork for it. Yeah, right. That story was nothing more than a filler fic, I doubt anyone who actually read it felt inspired. Tell you what, maybe you should read some of my more popular, more well-thought-out fanfiction, and then, after proving you've read them, we'll talk about art commission (In all seriousness, I would love for professional artists to collab with me on turning my stories into artwork. I just feel there are better stories that this can be done with).
Okay, byeeee!