A longer chapter this time, with plenty going on. So keep reading and please review…
Chapter two: The new regime
Valentines Day:
Everything was going according to plan. Fosters first annual Valentines Day ball had been a success. Even Frankie had a date.
But of course, the real purpose of the ball wasnt to improve her love life
Frankie looked out the window. The rain was coming down ever harder now. Not the kind of weather that Goo would send Mac out in.
Then came the phone call she was waiting for.
Ah, hello Goo. Why are you calling now, you left just a few minutes ag.Out of gas, really? Gosh, Im so sorry, I cant believe I forgot to check that. Tell you what, Ill hop on the bus and drive you homeuh huh, about three miles north of Fosters., got it. Dont go anywhereno, I guess youre not going anywhere in this weather, huh? Be right there.
Why didnt you tell them the bus broke down, like we agreed?
Because, grandma, it would seem a bit suspicious if I claimed that the bus broke down before I even had a chance to try and start it! Ill call them up again in ten minutes.
Oh yes, of course, silly me, Madame Foster giggled You are so clever, my dear.
I still cant believe I agreed to go along withhey, I usually keep these CDs in my car. Why are they here?
Frankie exchanged glances with Madame Foster, who smiled broadly.
You replaced them, didnt you?
Well, punk rock isnt very romantic, dear. Maxwell and Gunilla are going to need somemood music.
—————
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
Burt Bacharach, Barry White, Astrud Gilberto, Sade.I didnt know Frankie was into music like that.
Shes getting old. Old peop ple like that kind of music. Goo leaned back. Not that its bad, she added, and began humming.
—————
Four months later:
Frankie spent the evening going through the finances. They were good this year, especially thanks to an increasing number of contributors. By noon the next day, when Frankie was officially made owner of Fosters Home, she had decided on a new organization chart. And at three oclock, she arranged a small meeting. Very small; in fact, there were only two people she wanted to meet.
The first one was Wilt
Why do you want to talk to me in Mr. Herrimans office, Frankie?
Im getting to that, Wilt. But technically this is no longer Mr. Herrimans-
Nooo, I love you more!
The other one was Goo, who opened the door while cooing into her cell phone, seemingly oblivious to the world around her.
Goo
Noooooo, I love you more!
Goo
Oh, Mac – Stop it!, Goo giggled, still not paying any attention at all Frankie. And by that, I mean dont stop it, she added hurriedly.
Gunilla!
That got Goos attention. She didnt like it when people called her by her real first name.
Yeah, that was Frankie. She wanted to have a meeting with me here at Mr. Herrimans office.I dunno, maybe one of the scribbles I got adopted last Saturday was one she had trained to scrub the toilets.No, Herrimans not here. Wilts here, though.No, only himOf course, I promise Ill tell you as soon as the meetings overwell, I gotta goNooo, you hang up firstNoooooo, you hang up first
Frankie groaned. She had to control her temper. After all, she could no longer blame Mr. Herriman when she was in a bad mood. Goo, please
Ill hang up first, Goo sighed.
So Frankie, whats the deal? she asked while getting a chair.
Frankie leaned back.
Well, first of all youre both wrong. This is not Mr. Herrimans office.
Excuse me, Frankie, but Mr. Herrimans office have always been right here
No Wilt, I mean, this is not Mr. Herrimans office anymore. Its mine. You are currently looking at the new owner of Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends
Hey, thats awesome! Congratulations, Frankie! So the first you did as the new landlady was to get rid of that stuffy old bagdrabbit, huh? Good for you!
I didnt get rid of him, Goo. He resigned yesterday, of his own free will. As of today, Im taking over his duties.
Awesome! So youre President of the house now?
WeeellI dont know if I should be using that title, considering that Im also the owner of the house. For the time being, I think I will refer to myself as the Proprietor. But the job will be pretty much the same as the one Mr. Herriman used to do.
But how are you going to manage that, on top of the workload you already have?
Im not, Wilt. Im going to hire someone new to take my place as the estate manager. Someone I know to be responsible and reliablesomeone I know is liked and trusted by all the tenants
And who would that be?
Frankie smiled overbearingly. Take a hint, Wilt. Why did you think I called you here today?
You wantyou want me to be the manager of Fosters? Well, Im honored, Frankie, butarent I up for adoption?
Good question, Wilt. Are you? Cause Ive been thinkingyouve been here for as long as I can remember, and youve never been adopted. That makes no sense.
Oh there must be plenty of friends who are more interesting for kids to adopt than me.
So you say. Its even in your internet profile, Frankie said, clicking on the computer mouse. A short video clip of Wilt appeared on her computer screen. It said:
Oh, Im not so great. You should adopt one of the other awesome friends here.
That clip is eight years old. Ive asked you many times if you want to make a new one for Fosters webpage, and you always say no. Now is this just plain modesty or is itfake modesty? Because you are, of course, wrong. You are so great, Wilt! Youre kind, helpful, unselfish and attentive. Youre impressive-looking. And you were created by a boy who later became a famous athlete! Youd think the visiting families on adopt-a-thought Saturday would be fighting over you! But then, how can they do that when youre always sitting behind the table and pretending to be part of the staff?
Pretending? But Ive always considered myself part of the-
Exactly!
I see your point, Frankie. And I dont like the thought of ever having to leave Fosters. I cant see it happening in the foreseeable future. Its just thatwell, I know that this sounds very fickle, butI want to keep a door open.
I understand.
Frankiejust promise me that if I ever meet a kid who I think really needs meyou wont hold me back because of any contractual obligations.
Its a deal Wilt. But in return – Will you agree to
Yes, I will be the manager
YES!! Hell be a pushover!
That was Bloos voice. Frankie looked up. Well this wasnt very surprising. Calmly, she got out of her chair and walked toward the door.
Uh oh, I think she heard you, Azul.
Hurriedly, Frankie opened the door to find Bloo, Eduardo and Coco standing in the hallway.
Bloo grinned foolishly. Uh, we were just passing by. Say, if Wilt ever gets adopted, whos next in line-
Bloo Im going to say this as calmly as I possibly can: Getlost.
Sticking his head out, Wilt just had time to give Bloo a look that said: Ill remember that pushover remark, before Bloo and Eduardo hurried down the corridor.
Co coco co cococo co?
Goo, to whom the question was directed, shrugged. I dont know. We havent discussed that yet.
Ignoring this conversation, Frankie pointed in the direction where the other two imaginaries had run off and said: That goes for you to, Coco.
My first stress situation as a leader, Frankie thought as she got back behind her desk and the meeting could resume. I think I handled that pretty well.
Now, Goo theres already a couple of people who are eager to find out why Ive invited you here today, so lets satisfy their curiosity. First of all, no, I dont have any complaints about the work you do – voluntary, I might add – on adopt-a-thought Saturdays. Youre doing great, which kind of brings us to the subject. But first of all, I hear youve just graduated?
Mm-hm.
So what are you going to do next?
Well, I want to study art. But my college fund is pretty meagre. I dont know if I can afford it yet. Besides, Id hate to leave Mac now. When we started dating, he was a sophomore and I was a senior, and he thought that was pretty cool, because dating a senior gives you status. Even when that senior is considered a weirdo, which I still am, I admit that. Not that I think he started dating me because Im a senior, we all know hes not that shallow, in fact hes probably one of the least shallow guys Ive ever met, so I dont understand how a guy like him could have created Bloo. Not that I dont like Bloo, on the contrary, Ive always liked him even if he can be a jerk at times. But thats another story. Anyway, right now Im nothing in particular, because Im not at college and I dont have a job. So actually, maybe it would be good if I went to college now, cause Mac shouldnt have to date a loafer except theres the money problem-
Yes I heard Frankie interrupted her while waving her hands frantically. She knew that Goo was short on cash. Last year, she blew most of her savings on clothes, after a particularly embarrassing adopt-a-thought Saturday when three different families had wanted to adopt her. They all refused to believe that someone who dressed up like that could possibly be human. One father was referring to her as that rodeo clown Friend and a couple of boys kept calling her the scarecrow. This caused Goo to change her entire wardrobe. In retrospect, Frankie realized she shouldnt have advised her to pick up quite so many expensive brand items. But it was just too tempting to come along as a consultant on a massive shopping spree. Besides, this happened at the time when Madame Foster had just begun putting some real effort into coupling Goo and Mac. So naturally, she enthusiastically encouraged Frankie to help Goo pick out some better-looking clothes.
Thats what I wanted to talk to you about. Now tell me, have you considered working for a year to try and save up enough money to go college?
Goo hesitated for a moment. Youyoure offering me a job?
Frankie nodded. Well, at least youre a little quicker on the uptake than WiltHow would you like the titleassistant manager?
Ohmygoshohmygosh, this is so awesome!! Thank you, Frankie! Goo cried, leaning over Frankies desk and shaking her hand vigorously.
Y-youre w-w-welcome. Just remember you have to handle much more than just the adoptions from now on. Being assistant manager basically means youll be doing a lot of chores around the house. You and Wilt have to do all the chores that I used to, which should be enough to keep two people in full employment.
Sure thing Goo said as she ran out the door, picking up her cell phone again.
“Youre starting Monday at 8 p.m”, Frankie shouted after her “And yes, you may leave now, thanks for asking for permission”, she added sarcastically.
Got it!” Goo shouted, ignoring Frankie’s last comment. “Hey, Mac, youre never ever gonna guess what just happened! Not in a million years! Well, you might, cause a million years is an awfully long time to spend guessing, so youd probably get it right eventually…
Coco co co?
Oh, Im sorry Coco, but I promised to tell Mac first. But come to think of it, I can tell you both at the same time
—————
A week later:
Frankie opened the newspaper and hurried through the pages until she came to the spread where the words THE NEW MADAME FOSTER was written in big capitals. She shrugged. Well, that headline was the reporter’s idea, not hers. She didn’t fell comfortable about calling herself Madame Foster. It was too early for that. But the centrefold photo looked great. It showed a smiling, elegant-looking Frankie surrounded by a multitude of imaginaries.
“Good morning, Frankie!”
Frankie looked up form the newspaper and into her estate manager’s gaze.
“Oh, good morning, Wilt!”
“You look like you’re in a good mood today”, he said, sounding a teensy bit nervous.
“I am. Can I help you?”
“You can help…someone. We just got in a new imaginary. And it’s someone you know.”
“Really? Well, who?”
You know about Macs next door neighbour, Louise, right?
Yes
And you know about her imaginary friend?
Yesss.. Frankies heart sank. She had an idea what Wilt was trying to tell her.
Well, Louise is a big girl now. She says she doesnt have enough time for..uh
I like chocolate milk! said a hoarse voice form the corridor.
..Cheese.
Chocolate miiillk.
Frankie let out a heavy sigh. Well, we have to take him, I suppose. She handed Wilt a few bills.
Tell Cheese to come to my office, so I can have him registered. In the meantime, run out and buy a bottle of chocolate milk and a bottle of aspirins, if you please.
Uh, actually, Cheese shouldnt have any chocolate milk. Hes lactose-intolerant
Well, buy it anyway. Ill need something to wash down the aspirins with.
Wilt gave her a confused look.
I know, I know, my jokes stink. But buy me that aspirin, will you?
I like cereal
A lot wrapped up in this chapter, but the story isn’t over yet! In the next episode, we’ll be seeing more of Bloo, both directly and indirectly. And as you might have guessed by now, every chapter will begin with a continuing flashback sequence from Valentine’s Day.
Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends, and all its characters, are created by Craig McCracken and owned by Cartoon Network.
Lyrics are taken from What The World Needs Now Is Love, a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and originally preformed by Jackie DeShannon.