Just Think Happy Thoughts
Ch. 6: Bubble Gum
The clicking of laptop keys echoed through the treehouse. Manny sat crunched up in the corner, computer in his lap, a half-empty can of Mountain Dew a few inches away. Working off a weak WiFi signal, the monitor was slowly loading the Wikipedia page for LilaAnne.
Manny came up to the treehouse alone often, mostly to steal some random neighbor’s wireless. The modem back at his own house only went as far as his living room, and any attempts at doing anything there were inevitably ruined by the presence of his obnoxious sister talking on the phone or his needy father wanting to hang out. It didn’t bother him much; he liked the silence and the isolation, nature’s symphony punctuated occasionally by random electronic noises.
Slowly but surely the Wiki entry manifested. Wentz, LilaAnne in big bold letters at the top. The picture off to the side showed an olive-skinned blonde sitting on concrete surrounded by kittens.
LilaAnne Wentz is the daughter of Pete Wentz, former bassist and lyricist for the pop-punk band Fall Out Boy, and Ashlee Simpson, younger sister of Jessica. A recent graduate from Buena Cera Junior High School in Los Angeles, she contributes much of her time and money towards benefiting local charities and organizations, specifically to the Angel Paws Animal Shelter. "It's very important to me to feel as though I've done at least a little bit of good for the world every day," LilaAnne is quoted as saying.
A deep sense of confusion descended over Manny. This was the LilaAnne he knew from his distant childhood? This was the spoilt little girl he'd come to loathe so long ago?
"PAPA!" Manny clutched tightly onto his father's pantleg and bawled into the denim. If memory serves, they were at someone's house warming party. Whether it was for the Wentzs, he remembered not.
"Mijo, calm down! Calm down, Manny, what's the matter?" Ray got down on his knee and wiped his son's cheek with the back of his hand.
"Lila was yelling at me, cuz I touched her teddy, and then I did it again, and then she put gum in my hair!"
"She didwhat?!"
"Gum, Papa, gum! She putgum in my fro!" Manny lost all control, blubbering pitifully and grabbing at the matted clump of Bubble Yum and auburn curls.
Ray pulled him in for a hug. "Oh, Mijo, it'll be okay, don't cry. We'll take care of it." He shot a look of annoyance across the kitchen at Mr. Wentz. "Pete, is there any chance you could go ask your little angel why she felt compelled to do this?"
Pete looked down at the two with widened eyes. "Oh,shit! I'm sorry, Toro, really I am, I'll go take care of this. LILA!" He sped out of the room and down the hall towards the playroom.
"Now let's just get a look at this," Mr. Toro cooed as he tilted his son's head to get a better look at the gum. "Oh, Mijo, it's really tangled up in there. We might have to cut it out."
Manny gasped and gripped his hair tighter. "No, Papa! Don't cut my hair! I wanna grow it out long like yours! Please don't cut my fro, Papa!"
"Manny, calm down, Mijo, it's only hair." A little flicker of realization lit Ray's eyes. "I'll cut my hair, too, if it makes you feel better."
"But Papa! It's your Fro! You can't cut it!"
"Mijo, listen for a second. It is only hair; it'll grow back. What your hair looks like has nothing to do with who you are. Once we cut it,I will still be your papa, andyou will still be my mijo. Do you kinda understand now?"
Sucking back one final sob, Manny nodded and smiled, falling back into his father's arms gratefully.
Since then, he'd grown his hair back, but his father never did, going in and having it trimmed down to the length it had been when he was much younger. The fans had been disappointed at first, but then Mr. Toro had told the story in interview, and everyone thought it was the sweetest thing they'd ever heard. Manny stared at the picture, trying to link this creature with the kind smile to the unholy terror who'd put an end to his first fro. Churning the event over and over in his head, it came to him that even then, she'd accidentally done something good: she'd brought him and his father closer together.
Let's just hope that she really has changed for the better, Manny thought to himself as he clicked out of the page.
Manny came up to the treehouse alone often, mostly to steal some random neighbor’s wireless. The modem back at his own house only went as far as his living room, and any attempts at doing anything there were inevitably ruined by the presence of his obnoxious sister talking on the phone or his needy father wanting to hang out. It didn’t bother him much; he liked the silence and the isolation, nature’s symphony punctuated occasionally by random electronic noises.
Slowly but surely the Wiki entry manifested. Wentz, LilaAnne in big bold letters at the top. The picture off to the side showed an olive-skinned blonde sitting on concrete surrounded by kittens.
LilaAnne Wentz is the daughter of Pete Wentz, former bassist and lyricist for the pop-punk band Fall Out Boy, and Ashlee Simpson, younger sister of Jessica. A recent graduate from Buena Cera Junior High School in Los Angeles, she contributes much of her time and money towards benefiting local charities and organizations, specifically to the Angel Paws Animal Shelter. "It's very important to me to feel as though I've done at least a little bit of good for the world every day," LilaAnne is quoted as saying.
A deep sense of confusion descended over Manny. This was the LilaAnne he knew from his distant childhood? This was the spoilt little girl he'd come to loathe so long ago?
"PAPA!" Manny clutched tightly onto his father's pantleg and bawled into the denim. If memory serves, they were at someone's house warming party. Whether it was for the Wentzs, he remembered not.
"Mijo, calm down! Calm down, Manny, what's the matter?" Ray got down on his knee and wiped his son's cheek with the back of his hand.
"Lila was yelling at me, cuz I touched her teddy, and then I did it again, and then she put gum in my hair!"
"She didwhat?!"
"Gum, Papa, gum! She putgum in my fro!" Manny lost all control, blubbering pitifully and grabbing at the matted clump of Bubble Yum and auburn curls.
Ray pulled him in for a hug. "Oh, Mijo, it'll be okay, don't cry. We'll take care of it." He shot a look of annoyance across the kitchen at Mr. Wentz. "Pete, is there any chance you could go ask your little angel why she felt compelled to do this?"
Pete looked down at the two with widened eyes. "Oh,shit! I'm sorry, Toro, really I am, I'll go take care of this. LILA!" He sped out of the room and down the hall towards the playroom.
"Now let's just get a look at this," Mr. Toro cooed as he tilted his son's head to get a better look at the gum. "Oh, Mijo, it's really tangled up in there. We might have to cut it out."
Manny gasped and gripped his hair tighter. "No, Papa! Don't cut my hair! I wanna grow it out long like yours! Please don't cut my fro, Papa!"
"Manny, calm down, Mijo, it's only hair." A little flicker of realization lit Ray's eyes. "I'll cut my hair, too, if it makes you feel better."
"But Papa! It's your Fro! You can't cut it!"
"Mijo, listen for a second. It is only hair; it'll grow back. What your hair looks like has nothing to do with who you are. Once we cut it,I will still be your papa, andyou will still be my mijo. Do you kinda understand now?"
Sucking back one final sob, Manny nodded and smiled, falling back into his father's arms gratefully.
Since then, he'd grown his hair back, but his father never did, going in and having it trimmed down to the length it had been when he was much younger. The fans had been disappointed at first, but then Mr. Toro had told the story in interview, and everyone thought it was the sweetest thing they'd ever heard. Manny stared at the picture, trying to link this creature with the kind smile to the unholy terror who'd put an end to his first fro. Churning the event over and over in his head, it came to him that even then, she'd accidentally done something good: she'd brought him and his father closer together.
Let's just hope that she really has changed for the better, Manny thought to himself as he clicked out of the page.
♠ ♠ ♠
For the record, making ritualistic sacrifices usually makes the updates come faster. I accept food, debit, shirtless manservants, whatever you've got on hand, really...