Page 157: Growing Up

From Accct Wiki

’Mr. Candyman’, as he was called, closed his eyes when he saw the three siblings as they dangled back and forth on a shelf, making all the candy crash down on the floor. Dot sat on Yakko’s shoulders and Wakko jumped over to the ceiling lamp, using it like a rubber band, making him bounce up and down. “Boingy, boingy, boingy!!”

“That’s it! I can’t take it much longer!!” Mr. Candyman yelled and glared angrily at the Warners. “You have to leave now! You are not allowed in here...”

The Warners froze for a couple of seconds, and then leaped down to the floor.

“Oh yeah? Who says?” Yakko said jumping up on the cash account. The man behind it sighed, failing to keep his temper down. He nervously pulled his hand through his dark hair.

“I say so! I haven’t even opened the store yet! You have to wait to 9.30!”

“But we can’t leave now!” Yakko grinned.

“No, we’re INVOOOOLVED!!” Wakko said making a spooky sound. The man turned red and clenched his fists.

Dot hopped up beside Yakko and smirked at the man.

“Don’t worry!” She said, “I’m here, let it aaaaaaall out!!”

’Mr. Candyman’ took a deep breath:

“Alright!!” He raised his arms in the air in a dramatic gesture. “For five years, FIVE YEARS I have been sitting on this chair…oh this horrible chair, selling candy for NORMAL kids..” he made a pause to shudder. “And what do I get for it? Nothing!! I’ve been working most of my life-time with this, and now you kids show up every freaking day for 5 years, TORTURING ME... I have work to do!!

There was a small awkward silence

“Eheh, feeling better?” Wakko asked.

’Mr Candyman’ stared back at them. “Yeah! Fine, will you please just leave now before I get fired? I’ll give ya lollypops for free??”

“Sure!!” Yakko and Wakko said and they snatched two lollypops from a box on the counter.

Dot did not move. She watched her brothers as they happily walked out from the store. Mr. Candyman looked at her.

“What? Don’t you like lollypops?”

Dot looked up and smiled.

“What’s your real name, Mr. Candyman?”

“Eh,” He said anxiously wondering where this was going. “It’s Will.”

“K! Bye Will!” She said, grabbed a lollypop and hurried after her siblings.

Yakko and Wakko stopped and waited for her to catch up.

“Hey! What was that all about?” Yakko asked her when she came up beside him.

“Nothin’!” She said and strutted on towards the WB-tower. Yakko and Wakko looked at each other and shrugged.

(The following day)

Dot sat in her room. She tapped impatiently on the small desk in front of her and gave the mirror an empty glance.

The familiar feeling of that something was wrong filled her again. There was something restless in her that wanted to get out. Not the usual one… just a unpleasant feeling that something wasn’t as it should be. She sighed again.

Her floor was covered with magazines and pictures of girls smiling.

“Am I still as cute?” She asked her reflection. She leaned closer and studied her face, and made her famous cutie smile. “I guess so” she thought again.

The boys were sitting in the living room watching TV. Their voices were heard all the way up. “Helloooo nurse!!!”

Dot gritted her teeth. “SHUT UP!” She yelled and looked back at herself.

“Boys... “she said to her reflection, but her face turned sad when she saw her small face. A magazine laid on the desk in front of her. For some reason it made her feel emptier when she looked in it. And it only made her more confused. She gave the cover-girl a small glare. “What does she have that I don’t?”

She knew the answer very well… and she looked herself over again, and for the very first time, she felt…. Ugly. For a second she started to shake with an anger she couldn’t explain, and with one gesture she ripped off the little yellow flower-band that held her ears, and threw it on the ground. Without giving it a look, she hid her face in his hands. She sat like that for a silent moment.

Then she slowly looked up, and glanced at the flower on the floor, and the look on her face softened.

“Oh no, my flower...my pretty flower...” She slowly picked it up and replaced it gently on her head. Then she grabbed one of the magazines on the desk and threw it across the room, before she walked out of her room.

Dot closed the door behind her when she heard a voice.

“Dot, are you okay?” Yakko asked holding a bowl of popcorn.

“I’m fine!” She said with her back pressed on her door.

“Right. Could you move please? I need to get the TV-magazine.”

“I don’t have it.”

“Yes you do, I saw you taking it in here yesterday!”

“Well, it’s not in here anymore!” Dot looked up on the roof, without meeting Yakko’s eyes.

“Dot, please move!”

“No.”

Yakko walked towards her, pushed her gently aside and opened the door.

He stared at the magazines.

“aaaaaah, Dot, what...where...” He picked up a picture of a model with long blond hair smiling at the camera. Wakko came in and snatched the popcorn bowl.

“Gee, you take long.” He said and swallowed the whole thing, and then he looked around.

“Ooh, Who is she?” Wakko asked when he saw all the pictures of the woman. But Yakko did not notice. He stared at the picture he held in his hand.

He turned around to Dot. “What is this? Why do you...”

“Yeah,” Wakko interrupted. “Why? ...uhh wait, what?” he looked at Yakko.

“Why do you have so many pictures of the same woman?”

“I like her.” She simply said and turned around.

“G’night everybody!” Yakko said in a try to joke.

But Wakko got serious. “What do you mean like her?”

“I want to be her...” she whispered. Why did they have to ask her? She did not want to discuss it with them… not them... not now…

“Meet her? Well that’s all fine by me!” Wakko grinned.

“BE her! I want to be her!” Dot said and turned back, facing her brothers who both stared widely at her.

“What? Why?” Yakko asked her and couldn’t help smiling a bit, not sure if she was joking or not. Dot looked down at the pictures.

But Dot didn’t answer. “Can I Yakko? Be like her one day?”

When Dot said that, Wakko got an apple stuck in his throat and he started to cough loudly, Yakko and Wakko glanced at each other.

“Why would you want that?” Yakko asked her.

“Well, don’t you wanna grow up some day? I mean, get a girlfriend...”

“Girlfriend? Well, yeah, I mean...uh...” Yakko swallowed. He was not at all prepared for this. Was she serious?

“You want a boyfriend Dot?” Wakko asked confused.

“Maybe...”

“But...” Yakko tried, but for once, he didn’t know what to say. “Dot!” He started over. “I thought you knew that we never... uhh...” He walked a step closer and fixed her flower. Dot shrugged away and ripped her flower if again. Her brothers took a step back, not knowing how to deal with this new situation.

“That WHAT?? “Dot said loosing her temper.

“That you won’t grow up!”

There was a small silence.

Dot looked at him. “But...”

“Haven’t you ever thought about it before? We were locked in here for sixty years, and you never...” Yakko slapped his forehead. “Do you remember yourself being younger than this? Do you remember ME being younger than this?”

Dot didn’t answer, she just stared at him. “But the story…. About my name… our parents… that you tell me…” she said quietly and confused.

Yakko couldn’t believe this conversation even took place. “It’s just….” He swallowed again. He was not at all used to this. “But that was…just..a…”

“...A story?” Dot finished looking away.

Yakko couldn’t even answer.

“So...what? I’m gonna be a six years old for the rest of my life?” Dot then asked.

“Uh...Yeah!” Yakko and Wakko chorused. “Isn’t it great?”

“Well, yeah, maybe… but I maybe want to be older some day! Maybe I want…. Maybe I want a little more...”

“Why do you say this now?” Yakko said suddenly growing angry, because he didn’t know what else to feel. “You know this! We all know this! Why do you all of a sudden want to grow up??”

“Because I want to! And...and don’t tell me I can’t! Everybody else change! Maybe I want to change too! Can’t I?”

“Dot stop!!”

“Why? Can’t I change? Like everybody else???” With that she ran out from the tower with tears running down, slamming the door shut behind her.

Wakko just smiled weakly. – I bet she will come back with ten fancy new dresses and make up.

Yakko sighed and shook his head.

Dot growled to herself as she walked down the lot.

“Brothers…what do they know anyway? I’ll show them!”

She suddenly stopped. “But how?”

Then she looked up and smirked.

Five minutes later.

Plotz narrowed his eyes at her.

“You wanna… what?”

“I want to grow up!”

He just laughed at her and leaned back in his chair.

“Oooh? And how do you suppose you will do that?”

“I want to talk to the director.”

“The director?”

“Yeeeeeeeeeeees.” She smiled sweetly.

Plotz scratched his head. “Oh…let me think….NO! Now leave me alone you scary child!”

Dot crossed her arms.

“If you don’t let me talk to Mr. Director, I will go on this aaaaall night…” She cleared her throat. “AND IIIIIIIIIIYIIIIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAAAYS LOOOVE YOOOOOOOHOOOHOOOOUUU…!”

This made Plotz fly out from his chair, and pin him on the wall. “OKAY! JUST STOP!”

Dot smiled and made a big grin.

Plotz was sweating. “Two doors to the left…”

She made puppy eyes at him and then she jumped up and gave him a huge kiss. “Thank YOU Plotzie.” She smiled and then she strutted of to the director’s office.

Meanwhile in the WB-tower, Yakko was walking back and forth, making a deep ditch on the floor.

“Where did she go? What if something happens to her?”

Wakko sat on the floor. “Naaahh…Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

Yakko picked up one of the magazines from the floor. Wakko giggled, looking at the girl. “Cute, isn’t she..?”

Yakko sighed. “Yeah…I guess…hey wait a sec. Maybe if we find this girl, she could convince Dot that it sucks to be a grown-up!”

“Yeah…and maybe I could get a date…”

MEANWHILE:

Dot stopped by the door and knocked.

A tired and irritated voice was heard from the inside. “Come in.”

Dot opened the door and walked in. “Hello!” she smiled and the director looked surprised up. “What the..?

“How are you? I am Dot!”

The director stared. “Yes! I KNOW who you are. But what do you want? You are not supposed to be here!”

Dot just smiled and walked up to him. “Please make me older.”

“Huh?”

“I want to be older….saaay about twenty or so…”

“Are you nuts? You’re not supposed to be older than this…”

“Why?” She said and put her hands on her hips.

“Because…you just…you’re just a kid!”

She narrowed her eyes. “But I don’t wanna be a kid anymore! SO MAKE ME BIG!”

The director stared at her for a couple of minutes and scratched his head.

“Alright…I can make you older… but you won’t be able to get to be a kid ever again!” He said grinning, believing she would choose not to grow up.

Dot thought about it. Then Yakko’s voice popped up in her head: “never grow up….never…”

And then flashes of her and her two brothers having fun…playing… never ever again….

But then other pictures sneaked in to her mind. A boyfriend… maybe a real boyfriend… Walking along the street…being able to buy clothes for grown-ups… getting more respect… but what about Yakko and Wakko? She would be older than they are… She smiled to herself.

“I’ll do it! Make me older!”

The director groaned. “But you’re not supposed to…”

“I know what I’m not supposed to…jeez!”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself then. Follow me…”