Silence Isn’t Always Golden

Silence Isn’t Always Golden: The Roberta Michelle Henley Movie

Based on a true story (sort of)

Written, told, and narrated by Maria

Also starring Bertha, Selena, Wendy, and Serena with special guest stars Kate, Matilda, and Marcie

Chapter One:

Ugh, I guess I should start at the beginning since I got nothing else better to do anyway. My name is Maria. You probably don’t know this, but I’m one of Roberta’s stuffed animals and a girl lamb with black eyes, a pink stitched nose, and a pink stitched smile across my face who has a short, soft, and thick pink velvet ribbon around my neck and soft, white fluffy fur all over my body even though I’m 34 years old. Plus, I have two colorful Easter eggs both stitched together on the right side of my chest and the bottom of my left foot. Now, I know this sounds hard and impossible to believe since I don’t look very old for my age. However; don’t let my young looks fool you. I am 34 years old. Ever since I’ve been here in headquarters deep inside Roberta’s head with my older sister, Serena, and our friends, Bertha, Selena, and Wendy, I have been doing my very best to do whatever it takes to keep her from getting poisoned mentally or socially. I bet you probably didn’t know that a stuffed animal like me was capable of doing something like that, did you? Well, surprise! Guess what? You thought wrong. I love this job so much to death with all of my heart and my soul and I wouldn’t want to trade it for anything else. 

I mean, come on, do you think that I would ever want to waste my time and my breath doing anything else? Ha! No way! I wouldn’t do it for all the tea in China and that’s the truth. This job is very important and special to me. It means everything to me. It means a whole lot more to me than anything else in the world. Why, I’ll have you know that I’ve been doing this job for a very long time for many years for as long as I can remember ever since Roberta was born and raised on Sept 1st as the only child to her father, John, and her late former mother, Marjorie, who passed away in 2016. Since then, I have been doing a pretty good job of it. It’s the best job in the world and the only job that I know how to do best. So, believe me, folks, I know how to take this job very seriously, and if you don’t believe me, then you can ask my older sister, Serena, and our friends, Bertha, Selena, and Wendy and they’ll tell you the same thing. So, yeah, basically there’s just no other stuffed animal in the world that knows how to do this job better than I can. I will admit that it is hard. However; I don’t care. I love this job too much to ever want to give it up. 

I’m going to keep on doing this job for the rest of my life for as long as I live and that’s final. I’m sorry. You can try all you like. Yet, it won’t do you any good. There’s nothing you can do or say to make me change my mind. I’m so good at it that I can do this job faster than you can say Hocus Pocus and then some.

Voice 4: “Exactly! Who else were you expecting to do what Maria does, huh? The Easter Bunny? Oh, please. Don’t make me laugh.”

Maria: “Hmm? What’s that? Oh, I see you met one of our friends, Selena. She also lives here in headquarters deep inside Roberta’s head with me, my older sister, Serena, and our friends, Bertha, and Wendy. And around here, she cares very deeply about things being fair for Roberta.”

Selena: “Yeah. And just like Maria, I too am also another one of Roberta’s stuffed animals and a girl white bear with black eyes, a black nose, and a black stitched smile across my face that has a soft, thick pink velvet rose in the middle of my left ear and soft, white fluffy fur all over my body. You can also see that the soft, thick pink velvet rose in the middle of my left ear has white and silver lace around it. Oh, did I mention that I’m a 2009 Christmas bear? Believe it or not, I am. I know this because I’m wearing a soft, thick pink velvet jacket with long sleeves on each side with a soft, white fluffy collar that’s not only around my neck and around the bottom of my soft, thick pink velvet jacket but also on each side of my long sleeves. And that's not all. I also have soft, thick pink velvet laces that are hanging down from my soft, white fluffy collar with soft, white fluffy pom-poms attached to it. Plus, I’m also wearing matching long soft, thick pink velvet pants and soft, white fluffy collars on each side like the kind you wear around Christmas time during the cold weather with the year 2009 written in pink stitching on the bottom of my left foot.”

Voice 3: “Oh brother. I can’t believe you guys are writing this story. Are you guys sure that this is a good idea? I have a very strong feeling that something bad is going to happen.”

Selena: “Oh good grief. Will you quit worrying so much, Bertha? You know we have to do this. We don’t have very much of a choice or an option. This is the only way that Roberta is ever going to be happy around here.”

Maria: “I agree. Don't you want her to be happy at all?”

Bertha: “Of course, I do, Maria.”

Selena: “Then, you know why we need to put an end to this baloney nonsense once and for all.”

Bertha: “Yeah? I don’t know about this. I’m scared. I just don’t want Roberta to wind up getting hurt or worse.”

Voice 1: “I know you don't. I can't say that we blame you. The rest of us aren't looking forward to seeing that either. But cheer up. Everything is going to be fine. You'll see.”

Bertha: “Okay, if you say so, Serena. But I still don't know about this. What is going to become of us if it ever happens, huh? Then, what will we do?”

Selena: “How in the name of Davy Jones’ Locker should I know, Bertha? It hasn’t even happened yet.”

Serena: “Exactly. So, what are you worried about? We haven't even finished writing this story.” 

Bertha: “I know. That's what I'm afraid of. What will we do if they don’t like us, our story, or Roberta?”

Serena: “I don’t know. All I know is, the sooner we get this done, the better if you ask me.”

Selena: “I agree. It's going to be so cool and awesome when we get done with it. I just know that this is going to be the best story ever.”

Maria: “Yeah, I will admit that we are a little bit nervous about this since we've never done it before in our whole lives, but that's okay because I know that we can do this. If Roberta can do this, then, so can we. Maybe we'll get lucky and find someone who can not only turn this story into a book but also a movie as well.”

Bertha: “Yeah? I have one question. How are we going to do that? We don’t know anyone.”

Selena: “That may be true, Bertha. But then again, so what else is new? That's not going to stop us from doing this.”

Serena: “Selena’s right. You need to quit worrying so much.”

Bertha: “I’m sorry, guys. I can't help it. I only just want Roberta to be safe.”

Selena: “Of course, I understand. We all do. Cheer up. We're going to get through this together as a family.”

Selena: “Besides, you know that we must write this story for Roberta. She needs our help. So, we have to do whatever it takes to give her a helping paw.”

Bertha: “Well, why can't Roberta do it herself? She's a good writer, isn't she?”

Maria: “Yes, it's true. Roberta has been writing stories for as long as she can remember ever since she was in Milwee Middle School. And normally, she would love to write this story herself if she could. But unfortunately, she can't because she has a severe case of writer’s block. And you know that.”

Bertha: “Yeah, I guess you've got a good point there, Maria. The only thing I can say is, please be careful, guys. And try not to damage this story too much.”

Serena: “Don’t worry, Bertha, I can assure you that we have everything under control. Right guys?”

Maria: “That’s right, dear sis.”

Selena: “Absolutely! I couldn't agree more, Serena. I can't wait to see how far our story can go.”

Maria: “Me neither. I only hope they’ll not only go easy on us but our owner as well.”

Bertha: “Yeah? Are you sure about that? I highly doubt it if anyone will ever be interested in what we have to say.”

Selena: “Well, you never know, Bertha. You might be surprised one day.”

Maria: “Selena’s right. Why can't you learn to be more optimistic and look on the bright side of things? We know that you mean well because you're always looking out for Roberta’s safety, but sometimes, you can be a bit overprotective.”

Bertha: “I know. I’m sorry, guys. I don't mean to get carried away. But what else can I do? I can't just sit there and let Roberta be hurt or worse for the rest of my life.”

Serena: “True, but then again, you know that we need you, Bertha. We can’t do this without you.”

Bertha: “Yes, I know. I just hope that this story will be worth it if we ever finish it and whatnot.”

Serena: “Oh, it will be, and then some, I promise.”

Selena: “Well, before we get started, I think we should at least not only thank the Huntington Learning Center for helping us out but also thank the famous and popular book, War Horse and the famous and popular Walt Disney and Pixar movie, Inside Out, where it’s a story about the voices inside our heads for inspiring us to write this story in the first place.”

Maria: “Good idea. And maybe while we’re here, we can dedicate this story in the loving memory of Roberta’s beloved mother, Marjorie.” 

Serena: “Are we missing anything else?”

Selena: “I don’t think so.”

Maria: “Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get this party started.”

Bertha: “Hold on, guys. You're not going to forget to include Wendy in this, are you?”

Selena: “What? No way! Are you crazy? This story just wouldn't be the same without her in it.”

Maria: “Yeah, our owner always believes that all stuffed animals are welcome. And guess what? So do we.”

Bertha: “You mean Roberta Michelle Henley, right? Because that’s her full name. But you can just call her Roberta since all of her friends do anyway.”

Selena: “Whatever. We’re not going to let that stand in the way of her happiness. She’s our owner. And we refuse to back down.”

Maria: “Exactly! Besides, we have worked too hard to give up and quit now. It's time to show them what we're made out of.”

Selena: “Trust us, you are not going to regret this. Maybe if we're lucky, who knows? We might do a sequel.”

Bertha: “Yeah, but what will we do if they want more of us?”

Maria: “I don't know. But cheer up, I am sure that we can think of something and figure it out and come up with a plan. But for now, let’s just do this story. And then, we’ll work it out later.”

Selena: “I know what you mean. Our owner will be so proud of us for helping her.”

Maria: “Remember, guys, we all agreed that we're going to each take turns narrating each chapter.”

Serena: “Got it. That should be easy to do.”

Selena: “Yeah, just try not to go too overboard with it, Serena.”

Serena: “Relax, guys, I wouldn't dream of it.”

Selena: “Good. Because that’s another thing we don’t need. Right, Maria?”

Maria: “You certainly got that right, Selena. Let's just get this done quickly.”

Selena: “Hmm? What's that? Oh, I’m so sorry about that, folks. I do apologize for the interruption. That was me, and my two friends, Maria and Serena talking to another one of our friends, Bertha. I'm sure you are probably wondering who Bertha and Serena are. Well, I would be more than happy to tell you that even though Bertha and Serena are stuffed animals just like me and Maria the only difference is that Bertha's a girl black and white sock monkey while Serena, on the other hand, is a girl lamb just like my friend, Maria who has black eyes, a pink nose, and a pink tongue sticking out its mouth with a six-inch-long, thick red ribbon around her neck that goes down between her legs. And unlike Bertha, Serena’s job is to make sure that Roberta stays happy all day long.”

Maria: “Anyway, what do you think of it so far? Do you like it? We wrote it and worked hard on it ourselves. We call this one, Silence Isn’t Always Golden: The Roberta Michelle Henley Movie and well, it’s kind of like a combined mixture of both the famous and popular book, War Horse and the famous and popular Walt Disney and Pixar movie, Inside Out, where it’s a story about the voices inside our heads. You can say it is like an autobiography about our owner except it's narrated by us stuffed animals. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did writing it. There's just so much about Roberta that you don't know. For instance, our owner is very sweet, kind, generous, caring, loving, understanding, compassionate, sympathetic, bubbly, and has a great sense of humor and junk. She is such a huge fan of almost everything that you can ever possibly imagine. Plus, her favorite colors are pink and purple. And that’s not all. Did you also know that Roberta’s also a great bowler? It's true, you know. She’s so good at bowling that you should see her scores. They each range from a 72 to a 93 or more if she’s lucky. She’s so excellent at it that she inherited it from her grandfather and her mother’s father, Sidney. And that’s not even half of it. She’s also quite an excellent dancer too. Why did you know that she’s so wonderful at dancing that she’s been doing it for many years for as long as she can remember ever since she was little?Because that’s how amazing and wonderful she is. We probably should warn you that Roberta doesn’t talk that much to anyone. She is very shy and doesn’t know what to say to anyone. That’s probably because she doesn’t know what to talk to anyone about. Finding something to talk about is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I know there are times when our owner can talk just a little bit too much. But even then, she can’t help it because she inherited it from her mother. If you should ever see her talking to someone more than she ever talks to you, please try to understand that this is nothing personal. We don’t want you to get jealous thinking that Roberta likes this person more than you. Unless it's for a good reason.”

Bertha: “You mean, like our owner’s mother, Marjorie who was my previous owner did by getting so jealous of Roberta because she was always talking to her dad more than she ever did with her when she was alive?”

Selena: “Yes, she never liked the idea that Roberta was always a daddy’s girl. Our owner says that she can’t help that. The only reason she did it in the first place was that her mother wasn’t being very nice to her or her dad for 19 years of their lives.”

Maria: “Still, Roberta couldn't wait to get out of that house. Do you know how long it has been since she's gotten out of there? It's probably been a long time. I can't remember the last time that Roberta has ever gone anywhere or done anything fun that she hasn't even done in a long time. Shucks, I can't even remember the last time that our owner ever had any friends her age to talk to. The only friends that she had left were us. Every single day, Roberta would talk to us and tell us everything. And she still does even to this very day.”

Selena: “You won’t believe the stuff she told us.”

Maria: “For instance, the reason why our owner stays up until almost 2 am or more for the past 19 years of her life is that she's afraid that if she goes to bed on time and junk, she'll wake up in the middle of the night complaining about another nightmare. That’s why she hates nightmares so much. And you can’t blame her. You probably would feel that way too if this were to happen to you.”

Selena: “Another thing she told us is that she does enjoy writing a lot. I know that she hides it sometimes but that’s only because it’s not finished yet. And well, you know how writers are these days, they need their privacy and space to write.”

Maria: “That’s why we want you to please go easy on our owner. She may not understand everything but that’s okay. We still love her anyway. And we hope you will as well, just as much as we do every single day.”

Selena: “Here are some more things that you need to know about our owner. Number one: Roberta’s favorite radio station to listen to is 105.9 FM. Number two: Our owner’s favorite video games to play are the Sly Cooper series and the Kingdom Hearts series. Number three: Roberta’s favorite Disney movies are Inside Out, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, and Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet. Number four: Our owner doesn’t ever tolerate mean nasty bullies at all. Roberta already had her fair share of one bully in particular and her name was Samantha Pike. She bullied our owner many years ago on the school bus in Woodlands Elementary when she was little. Roberta remembers that she was just sitting there behind her minding her own business with her math book beside her when suddenly, without warning, Samantha Pike leaned over our owner’s seat, took Roberta’s math book away, scratched her in the face, made her cry and said, ha, ha, you’re never going to see your math book again. The only person who stood up for our owner was her best friend, Andrew Pritchard. And number five: Roberta is not only Jewish on her mother’s side of the family, but she’s also a 1/16 Cherokee Indian princess on her dad’s side of the family as well.”

Selena: “Don’t forget Maria, . Our owner is sort of a good swimmer. And we know this because she can only swim in the shallow end of the pool. However, unfortunately, she's very afraid of the deep end of the pool. She's worried that if she goes there, then she might drown.”

Maria: “Do you think she'll ever find a swimming instructor to help her get over her fear or what?”

Selena: “Maybe. It's a possibility. But then again, I don't know. It could be anybody’s guess for all I know. All I know is, Roberta loves many holidays. Her favorite holidays are Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah. Why even her favorite Walt Disney princesses are Rapunzel from the famous and popular Walt Disney movie, Tangled, Tiana from the famous and popular Walt Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog, and Vanelope Von Schweez from the famous and popular Wreck-It Ralph series. Also, our owner loves listening not only to music from the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s from the artists of Elton John to the artists of Frank Sinatra, but she also loves listening to Disney music as well as adores animals and children. There’s just one thing that she doesn’t like and that is to be touched inappropriately. We know this because Steven Battle was touching her inappropriately and making her feel so unsafe and uncomfortable.”

Maria: “You should have been there to see it. It was one of the worst experiences that Roberta has ever had in her whole life. And we can’t tell you how very upset and unhappy she was. I betcha you’re probably wondering what Steven Battle did that was so bad. Well, let’s just say that he wanted to touch those two big thingamabobs in the middle of Roberta’s chest and junk if you know what we mean. And our poor owner unfortunately should’ve said no, but unfortunately, she was so desperate for love that she didn’t think clearly about it. But now that she has, she’s starting to regret ever meeting that awful boy. Thank goodness that she managed to block his number and junk before it got any worse.”

Serena: “Agreed, I hope that nasty boy stays as far away from Roberta as possible. Because our owner wants nothing to do with him at all. He’s been nothing but trouble ever since she saw him at the first-night bird dance over at the Eastmonte Park Civic Center, where that year’s theme was a western hoedown and she was dressed as a cowgirl. She says she didn’t mind having her aunt and her mother’s sister and her guardian, Ellen take her over there. She says she just wishes that she could’ve danced with someone else if she had known that Steven Battle wasn’t going to treat her properly like a true gentleman should. All that boy ever cares about is wanting to get into Roberta’s pants. He was almost as selfish as Cartoon Network was.”

Selena: “Ugh, oh please, don’t get me started with those barbarians. Why else do you think our owner became very obsessed with Disney in the first place? Because of her looks and her health? No way! It was because those guys over there at Cartoon Network are nothing but a bunch of mean, cruel, selfish, greedy, cold, evil, and wicked backstabbing jerks who are more interested in some of their strange, bizarre and weird shows that she can’t stand than some of the other decent shows that they had on their station. She hates them so much with all of her heart and her soul. So, our owner decided to stay with Disney. Since then, she has refused to leave. She says there is nothing and nobody in this world that is ever going to make or force her to leave Disney. She just doesn’t want to go back to Cartoon Network. Ever.”

Maria: “So, what exactly did Cartoon Network do that was so bad that made Roberta hate them so much, you ask? Duh, isn't it obvious? They canceled her favorite show called Sailor Moon and took her off the air, of course. See, many years ago during the 1990s, our owner used to love Cartoon Network a lot and would watch them every single day. Her favorite one on that station was Sailor Moon. You remember, don’t you, Cartoon Network?”

Selena: “Yeah, fighting evil by moonlight. Winning love by daylight. Never running from a real fight. She is the one named Sailor Moon. She will never turn her back on her friends. She is always there to defend. And well, you know the rest. Sailor Moon was our owner’s favorite cartoon heroine and idol. Roberta loved Sailor Moon so much with all of her heart and her soul. She was the only cartoon character that our owner loved, cherished, worshiped, adored, and admired. Roberta loved, cherished, worshiped, adored, and admired Sailor Moon so much that she wanted to be just like her. She may be just a cartoon character to you, but she meant something to our owner. She was the only one who inspired and encouraged Roberta to stay in school for as long as she did and then some.”

Maria: “Our owner never thought for a minute that it would be the last time that she would ever see Sailor Moon again, but she was wrong after Cartoon Network canceled her show and took her off the air and started bringing some of their strange, weird, and bizarre shows on their station that Roberta couldn’t even stand or tolerate anymore. She was so extremely very upset, hurt, crushed, devastated, and heartbroken. She started writing countless letters and emails to them asking, begging, and pleading with them to please bring Sailor Moon back. But Cartoon Network refused to listen and they broke her heart and hurt her feelings. They were so busy focusing on their stupid, selfish greedy desires that they were too blind to see that our owner had very strong feelings for Sailor Moon and would jump up and down and giggle and squeal like a crazy, obsessed lovesick high school girl every time she would see Sailor Moon on TV. I will never understand what Cartoon Network ever sees in some of those weird, strange, and bizarre shows that our owner can’t stand or tolerate anymore.”

Selena: “ I agree. It was so bad that Roberta didn’t want to put up with them anymore. So, she decided to switch over to Disney instead. And it was the best decision she ever made in her life. Since then, our owner never left Disney’s side. I'm guessing she was so sick and tired of dealing with those backstabbing jerks over there at Cartoon Network. Some of the strange, weird, and bizarre shows that they have on their channel that Roberta can’t even stand or tolerate are just nothing but a bunch of worthless pieces of trash that Roberta has ever seen in her life. Seriously, Cartoon Network, what is just so great about them anyway? Our owner finds them utterly disgusting. We will never understand what it is about them that makes them so special. Roberta says that she would much rather watch Disney than to waste her time and her breath trying to talk some sense into you guys. Because at this point, she’s so sick and tired of you guys always driving her nuts talking about Teen Titans Go this or who knows what else you guys come up with. She doesn't need anymore frustration. Can’t you already see that our owner misses her best friend, Andrew Pritchard? He was the greatest person that Roberta has ever seen, met, and known in a long time.”

Maria: “She loves him, worships him, cherishes him, adores him, and admires him every single day. If only you folks could just see how miserable, lonely, and unhappy our owner is without her best friend, Andrew Pritchard. She just can’t go on another day or night without him anymore. She needs him so much. She hasn’t been the same without him since he’s been gone. He was the only one who stood up for her many years ago on the school bus in Woodlands Elementary when she was little by a girl named Samantha Pike when her mom was alive. Roberta says that she really wanted to thank her best friend, Andrew Pritchard for doing that for her and tell him how she felt about him and junk, but at the time, she just didn’t have the courage, strength, or time to tell him the truth. And since then, she felt bad and guilty about it. And honestly, I can’t tell you how much it hurts and breaks her heart to know that her best friend, Andrew Pritchard isn’t in her life anymore. And she needs him so much. She says that she can no longer hold this back anymore. She says that she’s so sick and tired of keeping this a secret for almost 28 years of her entire life since she was little. She says that she wanted to tell him sooner, but at the time, she just didn’t think about it. Now, she’s starting to regret it. Luckily, she says that she is going to do her very best to do whatever it takes to get her best friend, Andrew Pritchard back no matter what. And there’s nothing and nobody in this world that is going to stop her from finding him. She is just so desperate just to have him come home and be back in her life that she is willing to do anything in the world just to hear his voice again and junk.”

Selena: “The reason why our owner needs him badly is because she just doesn’t feel safe or comfortable walking around the block by herself in her neighborhood anymore. And do you want to know why? It’s because of that awful incident on Wednesday, February 15th just one day after Valentine’s Day just before the pandemic started. You see, at the time, our owner had just come home after completing another long successful day at Clubhouse and had just gone inside the house for a brief moment to change shirts. And you should’ve been there to see the look on her face. She was so happy that the day went so well that she decided to go out for a nice walk around the block to celebrate the occasion. So, that’s just what she did. And everything was going fine until a strange car with a strange man showed up unexpectedly in her neighborhood. And she didn’t expect to ever see that. She had no idea or clue that he was even out there in the first place. It made our owner very surprised and shocked to see him in her neighborhood. Roberta thought to herself, Uh, okay, this is weird. I’ve never seen this man around here before. Just who is this guy anyway? And what does he want? Because the only thing that Roberta knew was that he worked for ADT and she could tell he did because of the folder he was carrying in his arms that had the words ADT written on it. So, our owner thought that he was here to do his job and then leave. But she was wrong when he started to follow her halfway around the block in his car. And she didn’t know why he was doing that until he told her that she was pretty and junk. And even though our owner was very flattered by this compliment, she felt very creeped out by that awful man and since then, she has been constantly looking over her shoulders every single day to the point where it just became like a constant living nightmare. And you can’t blame her. You’d probably feel that way too if this were to happen to you.”

Maria: “Yeah, do you think we’re looking forward to having him come back and kidnap Roberta or worse? No! Our owner’s had quite enough trauma to last her a lifetime. She doesn’t need anymore, thank you very much. It explains why Roberta needs her best friend, Andrew Pritchard back. Believe me, you have no idea or clue of what it feels like to spend every single day and night of your life for what almost feels like forever without the person who saved your life. Because it certainly wasn’t a lot of fun for our owner, that’s for sure. I know that she should appreciate the little time that she had with him and junk. But it’s just not the same without him. And she doesn’t want to spend another 28 years or more without him. She says that he doesn’t even know this but many years later, after Samantha Pike bullied her on the school bus in Woodlands Elementary when her mother was alive, she and her mother went to Publix for something but I can’t remember what it was that they were there for. And they didn’t think that they would ever run into any familiar faces. But they were wrong when they ran into Coach Jane Kelly who worked there. And Roberta and her mother tried to tell her that she got bullied many years ago on the school bus in Woodlands Elementary when she was little by a girl named Samantha Pike. But do you know what Coach Jane Kelly said? She said that Samantha Pike was a good Christian. Ugh, can you believe that? Seriously, what does being a good Christian have to do with anything?”

Selena: “Exactly, I will never understand what it is about Samantha Pike that makes her so special. It’s already bad enough our owner’s got enough problems as it is dealing with losing her left ovary somewhere in between either 2011 or 2012 when her mother was alive. We’re not really 100% sure because we don’t really remember. The only thing we do know is this, you really should’ve been there to see it. It was awful. Poor Roberta. I remember she just got done completing another long successful day of studying reading, writing, and math as usual around 11:30 A.M. over at the Huntington Learning Center like she always does every single day whenever she goes there. Everything was going fine as our owner waited patiently in the waiting room for her mother to come and pick her up. After Roberta’s mother picked her up, the two women decided to head for home. So, that’s just what they did. But as soon as they got there, they were both shocked and surprised to find out that a big, huge truck was blocking their driveway apparently because the sewer there needed to be fixed. And since our owner and her mother didn’t know exactly how long they were going to stay there, Roberta’s mother decided to check into a hotel instead. Yet, as soon as they did, our owner said that it wasn’t long until she felt a sharp pain inside of her that she hadn’t felt in years. She said that it felt like a bunch of knives were stabbing her on the inside. She was in so much pain that she couldn’t figure out what it was that was going on inside of her. She tried to tell her parents about it, but all they just said was, it’s just your period, honey. But Roberta says that she knew that this was something much worse than that. She just couldn’t figure out what. When she told the people there at the hotel, someone there called 911 and the paramedics arrived and asked our owner’s parents if Roberta was pregnant, but they said, no way! Are you crazy? After the paramedics left, our owner’s parents didn’t realize how bad it was until Roberta started to throw up. That’s when they immediately knew that something wasn’t right. They quickly took her to the hospital, where they did all kinds of tests on her and they found out that she had a huge cyst growing on her left ovary that was the size of a teddy bear. Luckily, Dr. Clyde Climer came to the rescue and not only removed the left ovary, but also the huge cyst that was growing there.”

Maria: “Yeah, it's a good thing that it wasn’t cancerous. Otherwise, who knows what would’ve happened.”

Selena: “So, don’t be surprised if you should see a six ft scar below her belly button.”

Maria: “We all thought that the nightmare was over, but we were wrong when Roberta started throwing up again sometime in October just before Halloween.”

Selena: “Thankfully, our owner’s mother took her to the doctor instead and the doctor examined her and told Roberta’s mother and our owner that she had the stomach flu. So, the doctor gave Roberta two shots. One up her butt to keep her from throwing up again. And the other on one of her arms to keep her from getting the stomach flu. After that, our owner’s health began to get better. After her mother passed away in 2016, her aunt and her mother’s sister and her guardian, Ellen took over and continued to take Roberta yearly to the doctor for a checkup and junk. As the years passed, our owner never forgot about her best friend, Andrew Pritchard. She still missed him terribly.”

Maria: “So, do you know what she did? She decided to dedicate a song to him on TikTok. The song is entitled, ``I Love You Like A Love Song'' sung by Selena Gomez.”

Selena: “Now, if this doesn’t work, we don’t know what will. Because Roberta is willing to try anything just to bring her best friend back.”

Maria: “If Andrew Pritchard is reading this, we have this to say to you. We understand that you are very busy and junk. And we respect that. But our owner’s friendship with you is way more important than this.”

Selena: “You’re telling me. It's almost just as bad as when she tried to help that lady and her son over at the Orlando Science Center while she was volunteering there ever since she started job training over there with Two Six Resources with Ginny Taylor in August of 2019, but that awful woman told her in a very nasty tone to get away from her son.”

Maria: “Yeah, who does that awful woman think she is anyway? Little Miss Smart Alec? All our owner wanted was to help her and her son. If the lady didn't want any help, she could've just said so. She didn't have to go and hurt Roberta's feelings like that.” 

Selena: “Oh well, it doesn’t matter anymore because our owner is much happier now that she doesn't have to worry about that anymore.”

Maria: “Yeah, Roberta says that she’s much happier working at the Goodwill store. And honestly, so are we. And we both owe Miss Q for helping her get the job in the first place. Our owner needed that job anyway. ”

Selena: “And if you folks don't know who Miss Q is, we would be more than happy to tell you that she's the one at Two Six Resources who is taking over for Elizabeth. 

Maria: “Exactly! We're getting mighty sick and tired of watching her stay home all day long and play video games on her Playstation 4.”

Selena: “Yeah, I want her to keep this job very much.”

Maria: “I know. So do the rest of us.”

Selena: “I know what you’re probably thinking. You’re probably thinking, Gee, doesn’t your owner like the Orlando Science Center? The answer is, yes, she does. But the only thing that she did over there was volunteer. But sadly, she wasn’t getting paid. And this didn’t sit well with her at all. So, Roberta decided to work for the Goodwill store instead. And it was clearly the best decision that she ever made.”

Maria: “And since then, Roberta has become very afraid of losing her job at the Goodwill store or worse.”

Selena: “I’m guessing our owner hasn’t been the same ever since she was caught in the break room sticking her hands down her pants.”

Maria: “Yep, Miss Q wasn’t happy about it but Roberta only did that because she was having a hard time keeping her white shirt tucked in.”

Selena: “Our owner didn't enjoy being suspended until Wednesday at all. It was the worst moment of her life. I betcha you're probably wondering if Roberta already knows that it is a bad habit to do that. And the answer is, yes, she does. The reason why she does that is that it itches. I know that it isn't proper ladylike behavior. But that's only because she never learned how to be a proper lady in 19 years. However, she says she's still learning.”

Maria: “I think the best thing you'll love about her is that she's always very smart and intelligent and is very good at writing, math, and science. Oh boy, you should’ve been there to see just how good she was while she was in school when her mom was alive over the years. And even then, Roberta isn’t afraid to speak her mind when she sees or hears something that she doesn’t like at all.”

Maria: “For example, our owner has just found out that the services for the Kingdom Hearts: Union Cross x Dark Road game on her iPhone 8 have just ended in June of 2021. And quite frankly, she isn’t happy about it at all. She says that she understands that Kingdom Hearts is over. And she respects that. But still, this isn't fair. Because our owner hasn't even finished any of the quests in the proud quest mode yet. She says that she wishes that she would have finished them sooner, but she’s been so busy with her schedule with working at the Goodwill store and hanging out with Tamara and Sandra, and junk that she hasn’t had any time to get to them later. Seriously, out of all the rotten times in the world for this to happen, this is definitely by far one of the worst.”

Selena: “Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably thinking, Gee, why can’t Roberta just find herself another game to play on her iPhone 8? The answer is, well, our owner says that it’s not the same thing as playing the Kingdom Hearts: Union Cross x Dark Road game on her iPhone 8. Do you know how long she has been in that game? She has been in that game since 2018.”

Maria: “And even today, our owner refuses to give up very easily. She may be a Virgo, but that’s not going to get in her way of doing what she thinks is right.”

Selena: “Another thing that you must know about Roberta is that just because she has short brown hair, doesn’t mean that you should confuse her for being a handsome man. Because our owner would sometimes go on Facebook and have these unknown women that she doesn’t know call her a handsome man. And well, our owner doesn’t really like that at all. This is practically the reason why our owner hates having her hair cut.”

Maria: “We know and understand that Ellen and Donna want Roberta to feel comfortable during the hot summer but still, she doesn't appreciate being mistaken for a man on social media especially if it's Facebook.”

Selena: “I know, right? It certainly wasn’t any better that Roberta doesn’t like it that it always gets so lonely every single day whenever she goes walking around 5:00 PM in her neighborhood sometimes because it always gets so lonely out there. And we can’t tell you how much we hate seeing our owner come home miserable, lonely, and unhappy. I know that the neighbors are busy but still, I think it would be nice if Roberta had someone to talk to in her neighborhood for a change.”

Maria: “I hear you. I only hope Serena knows what she’s doing.”

Serena: “Trust me, guys, I am. I can guarantee you that our story is going to do more than that if not only a book but also a movie as well.``

Bertha: “I hope so. I just can't stand the thought of either us or Roberta getting into more trouble with anyone.”

Selena: “Like when our owner got in trouble for changing her Yahoo password by Ellen and Donna?”

Bertha: “Exactly! They don't even know that Roberta changed her password for Facebook and Twitter too. So, it's a good thing that our owner’s not going to tell them. Because you know that they would have a field day if they found out about it.”

Maria: “I know. Our owner didn’t mean any harm. She was only protecting her social media, that’s all.”

Selena: “Yeah, same way with Serena too.”

Serena: “Exactly! What was I supposed to do? Just let someone continue to mess with our social media for the rest of eternity and junk? No way! Don't you want us to be safe on social media? Because I always thought protecting your social media was a good thing.”

Selena: “Well, technically, you're right, Serena. It is.”

Serena: “Then, why can't we be allowed, proud, and free to protect our social media? It doesn't make any sense. We are 34 years old for crying out loud. It's not fair. We deserve to have this freedom just like everyone else.”

 Maria: “I know you do. We all do. And I can understand why you’re upset.”

Selena: “Yeah, so, why am I not surprised? This isn’t the first time that our owner has ever been yelled at for anything. Remember when Ellen yelled at Roberta for going trick or treating on Halloween after coming home from a Halloween party at Gabby’s house?”

Maria: “Yep, I sure do. Ellen doesn’t realize that our owner loves Halloween, dressing up, and going trick or treating. And so do we. It’s our favorite holiday tradition. Give us one good reason why we should stay home and miss out on all the fun.”

Bertha: “Maybe Ellen was just looking out for our safety.”

Maria: “So? We’re still going to dress up and go out trick or treating at our neighbors’ houses on Halloween anyway.”

Serena: “Yeah, we made a promise to our neighbors that we would. And when we promise something, we never ever break it. Ever. And neither does our owner.”

Maria: “We thought Roberta was going to catch a break from the yelling for sure. But all of that changed when our owner’s Lynx driver started yelling at her and blaming her for calling in late on Wednesday, November 10th, 2021. You see, Roberta just got done with work at the Goodwill store at 6:00 pm. And she went to sit outside so that Lynx would be able to see her. And while she waited, she decided to check the app on her iPhone 8 to see when they were going to show up. And according to what it said, it said that they were going to be there in 67 minutes. And there was no way that our owner was going to wait that long for them to show up. Roberta has other things to do besides just sit there all day long and wait for Lynx. So, she knew that she had no choice but to call her dad to come over and pick her up. She would’ve called Lynx sooner but unfortunately, she was just so mad at them for leaving her stranded there until almost past 6:30 pm.”

Selena: “And well, you can’t blame her for being mad at them. You would be too if this were to happen to you.”

Maria: “If Lynx is reading this, that wasn’t very nice of you to blame our owner for it. That was your fault. Not hers. You choose to take your sweet time and junk. And well, what else was she supposed to do? You know that she can’t keep waiting forever for you guys to show up. And you guys had no right to yell at her like that.”

Selena: “It explains why she would rather have her dad take her to work and junk than anything else in the world.”

Maria: “Still, aren't you even just a little bit curious to know how popular our story will become if it ever does get turned into not only a book but also a movie as well, Bertha? Because we sure are.”

Bertha: “Yeah? Who's going to bring us to life if it ever does?”

Selena: “I don't know. But at this point, we don't care.”

Maria: “Yeah, whoever they decide is okay with not only us but our owner as well.”

Serena: “Maybe we'll get lucky and Roberta will have a future boyfriend and junk.”

Wendy: “Yeah? Like who? I highly doubt it if our owner’s future husband will marry her now. Let’s face it. We’re doomed.”

Serena: “Now, hold on, we don’t know that yet. Let’s not assume the worst, okay?”

Selena: “You’re just like Bertha. Always being a party pooper.”

Wendy: “I’m not a party pooper. And neither is Bertha.”

Bertha: “Yeah, it’s not like we’re giving this story a sad ending or whatever. We just don't want another repeat of that awful incident on Wednesday, February 15th just one day after Valentine's Day before the pandemic started, that's all.”

Serena: “Of course, I understand. We all do.”

Selena: “Hmm? What's that? Oh, I'm so sorry about that, folks. Just in case you don’t know who Wendy is, she is also another one of our owner’s stuffed animals and a pink girl bear with black eyes, a pink stitched nose, and a pink stitched smile across her face. You can’t miss her because she is not only wearing the same dress as Merida did from the famous and popular Pixar movie, Brave and has a white heart in the middle of her chest but also a pink heart stitched on the bottom of her right foot.”

Maria: “And honestly, we love her and Bertha very much with all of our hearts and our souls.”

Selena: “Exactly! See, around here in our kingdom of stuffed animals, we respect Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He's our favorite idol right next to Rosa Parks. We understand that they are afraid our owner's feelings will get hurt or worse if our story does become not only a book but also a movie as well. But Serena has assured us that everything will work out just fine. Because we hate to see and hear Roberta break down and cry. That's why we wrote this story in the first place. We want to show everyone that our owner isn't any less different than you are.”

Bertha: “Not even if she's incapacitated?”

Selena: “Nope. She says that she’s not going to let this label defy who she is. And guess what? Neither are we.”

Maria: “Yeah, as much as I would love to go on and on about this, unfortunately, I can’t. My turn is almost over anyway. And you know what that means. It means you’re up next, Bertha.”

Selena: “Yeah, we’re counting on you to not let us down. We’ll be here for you supporting you every just step of the way and junk just in case you need us. After all, you do owe Roberta one for taking you in and raising you as if you were her stuffed animal.”

Bertha: “Yeah, I guess you're right. I suppose I can give it my best shot.”

Serena: “Wonderful! I'm glad you see things our way.”

Wendy: “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Bertha: “Yes. “

Wendy: “What about me? Don’t you guys need me?”

Maria: “What? Of course, we do, Wendy. We need you just as much as Bertha.”

Serena: “Yeah, don’t be such a silly noodle head.”

Wendy: “I’m sorry, guys. It’s just been a long time since our owner has been loved by anyone else other than her friends, family, and junk.”

Serena: “Yes, we know. Cheer up. Everything is going to work out just fine. We understand that this is scary for both you and Bertha. But just give this story a chance. I can guarantee you that you two won't be disappointed. Right, guys?”

Maria: “Yes.”

Selena: “My thoughts exactly.”

Maria: “You see? There’s nothing and nobody that we can’t handle. Besides, don't you remember what our previous President and leader of all of us stuffed animals, Cody always says?He says that no matter what happens, you must be ready and prepared for whatever life throws at you. And as long as we are together, we can accomplish anything.”

Selena: “Now, quit your bellyaching. And let Bertha do Chapter Two.”

Maria: “Then, after her turn is over, it will be Selena's turn followed by you and my older sister, Serena.”

Wendy: “Really? Are you sure you are okay with this, Serena?”

Serena: “Duh, of course! I don't mind going last. It doesn't bother me. Just don't worry about me, okay? I'll be alright.”

Bertha: “Oh, alright, but you guys owe me big time for this.”

Maria: “Okay, sounds fair enough to me.”

Chapter Two:

Hm? What's that? Oh, I'm so sorry about that, folks. Please forgive Wendy. She just misses our previous leader and President of all of us stuffed animals, Cody. And well, who can blame her, right? We all miss him terribly. Cody is another one of Roberta's stuffed animals and a boy lamb with black eyes, a white nose, and a very long, thick white ribbon around his neck that goes down between his legs. He was first picked to be our leader and President of all of us stuffed animals in 1988 by the other previous one that we had back in 1988. Now, we aren't necessarily 100% sure who it was at the time since we don't remember. It could be anybody's guess for all we know. The only thing we do know is that whoever it was taught Cody very well how to be the best one ever before they retired. And since then, Cody has stayed with us for almost 30 years. Yet, he knew that his time was almost up. So, he spent many years before his retirement in 2018 teaching Holly, who is another one of our owner’s stuffed animals and a girl brown bear, everything that she needs to know and junk. And I got to admit, she's been a wonderful leader and President of all of us stuffed animals. And she's just as good as Cody is.

You can say that she looks just like her animated counterpart from the movie, Holly and Christopher: The Toys who saved Christmas. Many of us were sad to see Cody leave. But he told us not to worry. And that one day, he would return. We had no idea or clue that our world was about to turn upside down. And neither did our owner. She didn't expect the pandemic to hit us all in 2020. And yes, we know all about it too because Roberta told us about it. At the time, she was looking forward to going on a field trip with her friends. And so were we. I don't remember what kind of field trip it was. The only thing I do remember is that ever since the pandemic began, our owner began to experience terrible memory flashbacks of how she spent almost 19 years of her life taking care of her mother when she was alive whenever her father would be at work or doing something else by himself all the time. That’s why she wanted to get out of the house in the first place. Because she was so sick and tired of never being able to have any friends her age to talk to or to go anywhere or do anything fun that she hadn’t done in a long time. And so were we. We were afraid that she was going to relive it all over again. Especially me. I was traumatized for life because of it.  

I'm grateful that it's not that bad as it is now. But still, it is pretty scary to even think about. 

Maria: “I bet it was just as traumatizing as that incident on Wednesday, February 15th just one day after Valentine's Day, huh?”

Bertha: “Oh yeah, it certainly was, that's for sure.”

Selena: “But at least, some of it wasn't all that bad.”

Maria: “Anyway, we feel bad for Wendy. We know how hard this has been for her. It's been hard on all of us.”

Selena: “Yeah, we haven’t seen Wendy this upset since the day Roberta’s father became handicapped after coming home from the hospital in September of 2021. See, our owner's father didn't take care of himself by taking his medication on time since, after all, he's a diabetic and junk. And well, ever since then, Roberta's father has been trying very hard to walk on his own. But it's been very difficult.”

Maria: “I know what you’re probably thinking. You’re probably thinking, Gee, Wendy sure misses Cody a lot, doesn’t she? The answer is, yes, she sure does.”

Wendy: “I know Cody can’t keep being our leader and president of our people forever. But at least, he always comes back to visit us and junk wherever he can.”

Selena: “My thoughts exactly. We would never want to keep Cody from fulfilling his dream.”

Maria: “And just what is Cody's dream, you ask? The answer is simple. His dream is for Roberta to be treated like royalty. You know, like a princess and a queen.”

Selena: “And who can blame him, right? We all want the same thing for our owner.  We hope that our story will finally give her what she deserves.”

Maria: “You said it, sister. I couldn't have said it better, myself.”

Bertha: “Do you think that maybe this will help find out what happened to Nereida?”

Maria: “Yes, I think so.”

Selena: “For those of you who don’t know who Nereida is, we would be more than happy to tell you that she used to be Ellen's housemaid. And she would come over every single Monday before our owner would go off bowling with her friends. Nereida was such a sweetheart always calling her, sweetie girl with that Spanish accent of hers. I remember one time, our owner told us that Nereida came over and brought her a Hello Kitty scarf and birthday cake for her birthday.”

Maria: “Anyway, the best part about Nereida was that she would always cook both breakfast and lunch for our owner before she would go off bowling with her friends every single Monday.”

Selena: “After the pandemic started, Roberta would always either call Nereida or send her a text message and Nereida would always call her back and talk to her.”


Selena: “But then, one day, our owner noticed that something wasn't right when she sent a text message to Nereida saying that she had just got done seeing the live-action / animated movie of Clifford the Big Red Dog and Ron’s Gone Wrong with Tamara and Sandra. Nereida never called her back, which our owner found a little odd since this was something that Nereida would never do. Roberta called Nereida to find out what was going on but all she got was Nereida’s voicemail. Our owner knows for a fact that Nereida would never change her number without telling her. Because the possibility of that happening is just highly unlikely. Because don’t you think the first person that she would’ve told if she did change her number would be either our owner’s aunt, Ellen or her cousin, Donna first? Shucks, Roberta even asked her cousin if she had heard from Nereida, but Donna said, ``No, have you?”

 Maria: “So, we have no idea or clue of what happened to her. Nobody seems to be telling our owner anything. But maybe you folks can help us solve this baffling mystery. If you have any information about the fate of Roberta’s friend, Nereida, please don't hesitate to let our owner know the truth. Because this whole thing is upsetting her deeply.”

Selena: “Yeah, and unfortunately, it's also starting to affect Wendy too.”

Bertha: “Every single day, it has been a constant living nightmare for her.”

Maria: “The only thing that Roberta could do right was dedicate a song called, You’re My Inspiration from Chicago to Nereida. Because it describes how our owner truly feels about her.”

Selena: “Betcha you probably didn't know that our owner uses music to describe how she feels about everything, did you? Well, surprise, now you do.”

Maria: “Furthermore, Roberta may not exactly know how to speak other languages besides English but she's trying.”

Selena: “And guess what? So are we.”

Bertha: “Speaking of which, I wonder who's going to translate our story into other languages if it ever becomes not only a popular book but a movie as well.”

Selena: “I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine. They'd better do a good job and give our story a lot of love and junk.”

Maria: “Just no reboots.”


Selena: “I think the best part about our owner is that she is the kind of person who believes everyone should be treated equally. She always gets so sick to her stomach whenever she sees things on social media that she doesn't like. And so do we. She sometimes wishes that there was a way to make you all understand and see what it feels like to be in someone else's shoes. And see how you like it.”

Maria: “Picture this, pretend you are a certain cartoon character who just only wanted to wear a pantsuit not only to celebrate Women's History Month but also to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Disneyland thing in Paris by the name of Minnie Mouse. And you've suddenly somehow managed to become real only to find out that everyone throughout social media is criticizing you for your choice of outfit. Now, tell me, how does this make you feel? Do you think that you would be happy about it at all? Just at least think about it first and then, maybe you would understand.”

Selena: “Next time before you go on social media and say awful stuff about a cartoon character for no reason at all, you need to stop, think, picture, and imagine how a cartoon character would react and feel if they were to become real and where to see what you are saying about them.”

Maria: “Shucks, it doesn't even matter if the character is a Muppet from Sesame Street. You need to stop, think, picture, and how they would feel and react if they were to see that you were calling them, government propaganda for 5-year-olds on social media all just because they got the Covid-19 vaccination shot. You shouldn't even say such awful things like that. I mean, come on, how do you think you would like it if you were a Muppet from Sesame Street who just got their Covid-19 vaccination shot and someone on social media started to call you government propaganda for 5-year-olds, huh? Would you like it then? Just remember, folks, even Muppets like that don't deserve this kind of treatment.”

Selena: “I know what you're probably thinking. You're probably thinking, how do you even know this? Simple. Our owner told us about it one day while she was scrolling around through social media on her iPhone 8. And honestly, we don't like it at all.”

Maria: “Roberta always believes that everyone should be treated fairly. And guess what? So do we. So, always remember, you need to be careful about what you say on social media. Especially on Twitter.”

Selena: “Yeah. And if you can't learn to say something nice about it, then don't say anything at all. Plain and simple. Just like Thumper said in the famous and popular Walt Disney movie, Bambi. I mean, come on, it's not that hard to remember, right, guys?”

Maria: “That’s right, Selena. Every action that we make whether they are good or bad. Because if we're not careful and we do things that we know are wrong, then, we all have to suffer the consequences that come along with it. Even stations. So, if you are a station and you don't give an artist the recognition that they deserve, then, you're not only hurting them and their families but you are also hurting yourself. So, if any of those stations are reading this, we have only this to say to you.”

Selena: “You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. How do you guys think you would feel if you were an artist at an animation studio and nobody ever gave you the recognition that you deserve, huh? Maybe you guys should try to put yourselves in their shoes sometime and see how you like it.”

Bertha: “What if they are a streaming service like Netflix or something?”

Selena: “It still doesn't matter. It's not okay to ever mistreat anyone and not give them the recognition that they deserve to have.”

Maria: “Yeah, it's not just for kids, you know. It's for adults too.”

Selena: “Yeah, tell that to the people who hosted the Academy Awards. They should be ashamed of themselves for saying that. And we know this because we heard about it from our owner who said that she was scrolling around through YouTube until she came across Vail's video, where she heard him say something about it. And she didn't like it at all.”

Maria: “And you know what? Neither do we. If anyone at the Academy Awards is reading this, we have only this to say to you. How could you guys say such an awful thing like that? Who do you guys think you are anyway? We ought to go over there and slap you guys in the face for saying that.”

Selena: “Yeah, I can’t believe the very nerve of the guys for saying that. Who do those guys think they are anyway?”

Maria: “I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine.”

Selena: “Well, we’ll show them. Won't we, Maria?”

Maria: “Yes, we most certainly will.”

Bertha: “But guys, there's no guarantee that our story will hit theaters if our story does get the movie treatment.”

Maria: “Yeah? So, what else is new?” 

Serena: “Come on, Bertha, what else do we have to lose?”

Bertha: “Oh, alright, fine, but like Kirby said in the famous and popular Walt Disney movie, The Brave Little Toaster, I just know I’m going to regret this.”

Maria: “Trust me, when we're done with Netflix, we'll make them wish they never treated animation like it's some big joke to them. Because it's not.”

Bertha: “I don't know, guys. Are you sure that this is going to work?”

Serena: “I don't know. But it's worth a try.”

Bertha: “What are we going to do about Cartoon Network? You won't believe what they said on social media this time. Especially on Twitter”

Maria: “Ugh, I know. Don't remind us, Bertha. Our owner told us about that while she was watching her favorite YouTuber, Vail, on YouTube. And she's not happy about it. And guess what? Neither are we. All we can say is, good grief, Cartoon Network, what is wrong with you guys? First, Netflix, then the Academy Awards, and now this???!!! Now, I'm kind of glad we left you guys years ago because you don't care about anyone else but yourselves.”

Bertha: “So, who’s going to help us give our story the proper treatment it deserves if it becomes popular and junk?”

Serena: “Like I said before, I don’t know, Bertha. I wish I knew the answer to that one. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”

Bertha: “Oh, I hope we don’t get the NFT treatment.”

Maria: “Yeah? So do the rest of us. That’s the last thing in the world that we don’t need right now or ever or especially in the future.”

Selena: “I know what you're probably thinking. You're probably thinking, Gee, you're not fond of NFTs, are you? The answer is no, not really. And neither is our owner.”

Maria: “Exactly, we wouldn't be caught dead being involved in something like that for anything in the world. (Well, not literally but I think you get the idea.)”

Selena: “Yeah, we would be very upset if we were to find out that they did this behind our backs. And so would Roberta too.”

Bertha: “Do you think if we’re lucky, we might be able to stop them from taking the original rights of Mickey Mouse away from Disney in 2024? Because I know the first thing that they’ll probably do if they do that, which is to make a scary movie about him just like they’re doing to poor Winnie the Pooh.”

Maria: “Ugh, at this point, Bertha, who knows? Only time will tell.”

Selena: “Yeah, I hate to think of what this scary movie will look like if they do decide to take the original rights of Mickey Mouse away from Disney.”

Bertha: “I agree. I'd rather not find out if that's okay with you.”

Maria: “Yeah, and neither would the rest of us. Who wants to see it become a scary movie just like Winnie the Pooh for the rest of eternity? Certainly not us, that's for sure.”

Serena: “Well, maybe our story will help change their minds.”

Bertha: “Hmmm, I don't know, Serena. I'm afraid of what they might say about it.”

Maria: “Oh brother. You are something else, you know that, right?”

Bertha: “Yeah? So, what else is new? I’m just scared of the unknown.”

Selena: “Well, no duh, we know that. We feel the same way too, you know.”

Serena: “But that’s what makes it so fun. You got to have a sense of adventure and be prepared for whatever comes your way, Bertha.”

Selena: “As much as I hate to admit this, but Serena’s right. We might as well get used to whatever happens anyway.”

Bertha: “Who's going to help us put this on one of the streaming services if it ever makes it as not only a popular book but a movie as well?”

Maria: “Ugh, we don't know yet, Bertha.”

Selena: “Yeah, we hope that it doesn't get canceled or worse for some dumb reason. Roberta wouldn't like that. And neither would the rest of us.”

Maria: So, if they know what's good for them, they’d better not give our story a hard time right now or ever or especially in the future if it ever does become a popular book or whatever. Because we're not in the mood for this nonsense.”

Bertha: “Do you think they'll turn it into a TV series?”

Serena: “Maybe, it's possible. But then, we don't know for sure.”

Bertha (gasps): “You don't think they'll try to make a scary movie about us, do you?”

Selena: “Ugh, they'd better not. I don't like the idea of being portrayed as something that I'm not.”

Maria: “I know, right?The rest of us feel the same way, Selena.”

Bertha: “I agree. I don't think Roberta would like that very much.”

Selena: Yeah? Neither would the rest of us.”

Bertha: “You don't think that they'll do it anyway behind our backs, do you?”

Maria: “Ugh, I hope not.”

Serena: “Right now, let's just deal with one thing at a time, okay, guys?”

Maria: “Ugh, I guess so.”

Serena: “Great! I knew you would see things my way.”

Voice 6: “Yeah, I don't see what you guys are so worried about.”

Serena: “Oh, hi, Kate, Matilda, and Marcie. I'm so glad you guys decided to join the party.”

Matilda: “Well, of course, we wouldn't miss it for anything.”

Marcie: “We do apologize for coming in late.”

Selena: “No, don't be sorry. We're just glad you're here.”

Matilda: “Really? Are you guys sure?”

Maria: “Duh, of course, silly.”

Wendy: “Exactly! The more, the merrier is what I always say.”

Matilda: “Okay, we're just double-checking to be sure. Because I hope we didn’t interrupt anything important for you guys.”

Selena: “What? Oh no, don’t be silly. I just hope this story will be good enough to become not only a book but also a movie?”

Marcie: “I'm worried about what they'll say about us, guys.”

Selena: “Relax, I'm sure it'll be fine, Marcie.”

Bertha: “Hmm, what's that? Oh, I'm sorry about that, folks. I guess my friends are just too excited about this.”

Serena: “You're darn tootin' we are.”

Bertha: “I just can't believe you guys downloaded our story into this app called Speechify on our owner’s iPhone 8. It sounds so different.”

Serena: “Well, I was just testing it out to see if our story needed a few adjustments.”

Maria: “Good idea, Serena. It's better to be safe than sorry anyway.”

Bertha: “I think you guys forgot to mention that we’re not 34 years old anymore.”

Maria: “Well, no duh, we know that. We were just getting to fix that. But we’ve been so wrapped up trying to keep up with our schedule at the Goodwill store and junk that we forgot.”

Serena: “Besides, you know we have plenty of good reasons why we want to stay working at the Goodwill store.”

Selena: “I’ll say. One of them is that our boss, Pamela, is so funny. She always knows how to make us laugh whenever we go there.”

Maria: “And our other bosses , Shenia, Jamie Elizabeth and Amanda, are pretty cool too.”

Matilda: “We're going to be in so much trouble anyway regardless.”

Kate: “Why would you think that? Come on, I wish you wouldn't always assume the worst.”

Bertha: “Oh boy, this is going to take a while, folks.”

Marcie: “Oh, Matilda, what are we going to do with you, you silly goofball? I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

Maria: “Yeah, I’d be surprised if they decided to turn our story into a podcast.”

Selena: “Yeah? So would the rest of us including our owner.”

Maria: “Do you think this will convince Tamara to reconsider her decision about never taking our owner to another fancy restaurant ever again?”

Selena: “I’m not sure. I sure hope this works.”

Kate: “You see, folks, Tamara took our owner to iHop for lunch on Tuesday, February 28th, 2023 just before they went bowling. And Tamara got mad at our owner for ordering a burger. She told our owner, I told you and Sandra not to order burgers. You disobeyed me. And you ordered a burger anyway. I can’t believe you did that. What were you thinking? You just did that on purpose. I’m never taking you to a fancy restaurant ever again. And our owner couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of Tamara’s mouth. Tamara just doesn’t understand that our owner deserved that burger after that incident on Sunday night at the Goodwill store around closing time. Our owner says that a lady came to the door around that time. And our owner told her, I’m sorry, ma’am but we are closed. But this only just made the lady mad. And she called our owner the b word.”

Matilda: “That’s why we don’t ask for much. The only thing we want is for our owner to be treated like royalty.”

Kate: “Do you guys think they’ll ever make a wax figure of us or our owner someday?”

Selena: “Meh, maybe. But then again, who knows?”

Maria: “We’ll just have to be patient and see where our story will go.”

Wendy: “Yeah? I am still not sure about this. What if they try to make our story into a live action movie or something someday in the future?”

Selena: “Then, I guess we'll just have to let them know how we love our story just the way it is. And we would rather not change it for anything in the world, won’t we, guys?”

Kate: “Yes, that’s right.”

Wendy: “Okay, but I’m warning you. Sooner or later, they’re going to start to make fun of us, our owner or our story on other TV shows like Family Guy in the future.”

Selena: “So? What else do you want us or our owner to do about it? It’s not like we can stop them. Because what good would that do? They’re going to make fun of us in the future whether we like it or not. So, I say, we should deal with it. It’s not like we can tell them what to do.”

Wendy: “I guess that’s true.”

Bertha: “Still, I hope this will be enough to convince them that our owner’s father has been very good to our owner for 35 years and junk.”

Maria: “Agreed big time.”

Matilda: “I know the feeling. I want her to stay with her father forever.”

Kate: “Yeah? So do the rest of us.”

Serena: “Cheer up, guys, I’m sure she will. I only wish you guys would quit worrying so much.”

Matilda: “Gosh, Serena, we’re sorry. It’s just that we haven’t been the same since the services to the Kingdom: Union Cross game on our owner’s iPhone 8 ended in June of 2021.”

Kate: “You mean June 29th, right?”

Selena: “Whatever. We still miss it either way.”

Serena: “I know. It’s been 2 years since it’s been gone but you guys know that there’s nothing more we can do to bring it back.”

Selena: “Yeah, we know. Don’t remind us. Besides, you heard what we said earlier about it.”

Marcie: “Yeah, we know, but are you guys even really sure that there’s just no other game that’s just as good as Kingdom Hearts: Union Cross? Because I beg to differ. Don’t you guys remember? Our owner has three other games on her iPhone 8 that she loves deeply. They may not be the same as Kingdom Hearts: Union Cross but they make our owner happy anyway.”

Kate: “She’s right. We have the Disney Hero: Battle Mode game, the Disney Mirrorverse game, and of course, the Disney: Twisted Wonderland game. I think the Disney: Twisted Wonderland game is our owner’s personal favorite.”

Bertha: “Yeah, our owner says her favorite character in the Disney: Twisted Wonderland game is Grim.” 
Matilda: “Hmm, that’s a strange coincidence. Our owner knows another cartoon character named Grim.”

Marcie: “Yeah, but he’s from the Cartoon Network hit TV show, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. But does he look anything like this?”


Bertha: “Nope.”

Marcie: “That’s what I thought.”

Selena: “We should probably ask permission first if it’s okay to include this character or whatever from the Disney: Twisted Wonderland game in our story.”

Matilda: “Good idea. Maybe while we’re at it, we could ask permission if we can include the Disney Hero: Battle Mode game and the Disney Mirrorverse game too.”

Marcie: “I’m a bit nervous. I’ve never asked permission from a big company like Disney or whoever owns the Disney: Twisted Wonderland game, the Disney Hero: Battle Mode game, and the Disney Mirrorverse game before in my life.”

Kate: “Yeah, you’re telling me. This is our first time asking, you know.”

Selena: “The only thing we can do is hope for the best.”

Bertha: “Do you think this story will also let our owner’s ex-boss at the Orlando Science Center know how deeply sorry our owner is for not telling them sooner about that awful lady who told our owner in a very nasty tone to get away from her son back when she was volunteering there and junk like we mentioned earlier? Because our owner feels pretty guilty about it. She really didn’t know that was going to happen.”

Kate: “I sure hope so.”

Matilda: “That’s not the only thing she needs. She needs an apology from that awful lady who told her in a very nasty tone to get away from her son.”

Selena: “If she is reading this right now, then, all we can say is, you really ought to be ashamed of yourself for talking like that to our owner. What you said to her wasn’t okay.”

Maria: “Yeah, same thing goes for that customer who called her the b word on Tuesday, February 28th too.”

Serena: “Well, if we’re going to turn our story into a book first, we’re going to need a cover for it.”

Selena: “Yeah? Like what?”

Serena: Um…Uh…Oh dear… That’s a good question. I haven’t really thought about that.”

Selena: “Hmph, my point exactly, Serena.” 

Maria (sarcastically): “Oh great…Just great…we’re off to a great start, aren’t we?”

Serena: “Aw, come on, guys, maybe someone will help us make a cover for our story if it becomes a book.”

Matilda: “Gee, you really think so, Serena?”

Serena: “Of course.”