9"Timmy, I have to go to a conference at work, and your mother has some shopping to do at the hardware and grocery stores! We called on Vicky to watch you while we're gone!"
Upstairs in his room, Timmy sat in silence next to his bed. His arm was slung over his leg with a despondent expression. Cosmo and Wanda poofed out of the fishbowl he kept on his end table.
"What's wrong, sport? You look distressed."
"Another day with the wicked witch of the west, and there's nothing I can do."
"Cheer up, Timmy," Cosmo cut in, "You still got us to hang out with! We can play all sorts of pranks on her!"
"Don't you get it, Cosmo? That's all we've been able to do this whole time. We've never been able to do anything to stop her. She's always been able to do what she wants and she always will be. That's just how it goes..."
"I know it's been rough, Timmy, but you've gotta' try to think positive," Wanda encouraged.
"How?"
"By doing what you've always done: thinking about what gets you through the day."
Timmy pushed himself off the floor.
"I'm not sure what that is anymore..."
His godparents watched as he left the room plagued by despair.
"Cosmo, I'm really worried about him."
"That animation was cooooool!"
She gave him a confused look.
"What?"
Timmy climbed down the stairs as slowly as possible. Vicky was already waiting for him.
"Well, if it isn't the twerp!"
"Maybe you could come up with a better insult than a Pokemon character," Timmy thought to himself.
"What's the matter? No comeback?"
"What do you need me to do...," he muttered.
Vicky raised a brow.
"Did I finally break him?"
The two opponents simply stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity.
"Ya' know what? I'm tired today, so I'm feeling generous. Go sweep or something and get out of my sight."
Timmy walked away.
"I wasn't trying to push him away..."
"That was quick," Wanda noted.
"She said she was tired. She's probably passed out on the couch already if she hasn't eaten all the food."
Timmy hopped onto his bed.
"Least she's not running me ragged today..."
"Me and Cosmo were talking about something while you were downstairs."
"Can we talk about it later? I'm not really in the mood."
"This is important."
Timmy sighed.
"Alright. What is it?"
"I don't know how it never crossed my mind before, but did your mom or dad ever tell you about boys and girls picking on each other?"
"Um...No?"
"Cosmo was ever oh so gracious to remind me about the implications."
Wanda sat next to her godchild.
"Ya' see, sport, there are a lot of reasons why people become bullies. Sometimes they have problems of their own, and they take it out on other people to make themselves feel better."
"What kind of problems could Vicky possibly have? She gets everything she wants."
"It might look that way on the outside, but we don't know what's going on in her personal life. Did you ever wonder if she was bullied at school?"
Timmy's eyes widened.
"I hadn't thought of that, actually."
"That may be one reason, but there are others."
"What else is there?"
"Teenagers are full of hormones that make them act a bit cuckoo from time to time. It's a period of self-discovery where they're trying to figure out who they are and what their purpose is in the world."
"I guess that makes sense."
"The last reason is probably the strangest. Have you ever noticed she's meaner to you than the other kids?"
Timmy thought about this question.
"Now that you mention it..."
"I'm not exactly sure why this happens, but sometimes, when a person likes someone, they'll pick on them."
Timmy's pulse quickened. His muscles tensed.
"You think Vicky likes me!?"
"More than that, sport. With how vicious she is, I think she's madly in love with you."
Timmy shook his head so fast it became a blur.
"Uh-uh! No way! She's the evilest teen girl in the world! Tootie's the one who's always chasing me around!"
"There's a lot that goes into this stuff. Tootie likes you right now, but she might realize you're not the one for her later down the road. Vicky's the one who's always around. She's offered to babysit even when your parents didn't need her. She has enough money to retire, but she keeps coming around. At some point, you have to wonder what her real motivation is."
"It's not true! It can't be!"
"There's only one way to find out."
"How!?"
"Research."
