1Author's Note: This will probably only have one chapter. This was originally part of my other Spooksville story.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Christopher Pike. Most references will be from The Secret Path.
"You're insolent Sally," she said. "Which is good. I was insolent as a child" - she paused -
"until I learned better." - Ann Templeton The Secret Path
It was a bright, calm day in Spooksville. Most people would have seen this as a good omen, but not Bum. No, he had live there too long to entertain those thoughts. He just wondered what the heck could happen today. There really hadn't been any bad signs lately. With Bum being so deep in thought, it was no wonder he didn't notice the young woman striding up to him. It didn't really matter though. Once he did notice her, he couldn't quite recognize her, even though he had the sneaking suspicion that he should be able to. It wasn't until she was close enogh for him to see her ageless face, that he fully understood his lack of recognition.
Oh, please tell me that I'm not dreaming! Bum thought to him self as he unknowingly grinned up at his childhood friend. Ann Templeton, however, found nothing fuuny about this situation. Bum personally thought she made lime green hair look good.
"Wipe that smirk off your face Bum," she gave him a sadistic look, "or you won't have a mouth to smirk with." She was odviously irritated, not that he could blame her. This did not have the intended effect though. In fact his grin got bigger. After a few minutes of her fuming and glaring daggers, he finally laughed and asked what he could do for her.
"I need to know where Adam, Sally, Watch, Cindy, and Mireen are." She paused to glance at his slight suprise. It wasn't often that Ann needed help finding her daughter. "They did this." She continued in an almost monotone. She finally pulled off the baseball cap that had obsured her face and almost completly hidden her hair. The effect was so funny that Bum forgot who he was dealing with. When the former mayor threw back his head and laughed, his humor was repaid with a firm whack to the back of his greasy head.
"I thought you were past acts of random violence," he muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. Her reply was swift and cold. "That wasn't random. You laughed, I hit."
It was then that Bum noticed she was still standing. One thing he hated was looking up at a woman. It made him feel like he was in school again.
"Well get down here so I can inspect the damage." He waited until they were on eye level before he continued. "Are you going to kill them?" He asked as he checked the extent of the dye.
"No."
"Turn them into anything?" The dye was in good, real good. Well at least she's thorough.
"Maybe." At the raise of his eyebrow, she sighed and flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Oh alright, but you're killing me, Bum. You are really killing me."
"Sure I am. That's why I'm going to help you fix this." He flipped another strand of her hair out of her eyes, then a thought occured to him. "Why can't you fix this with magic?" Just as she began to answer, he cut her off with, "In layman terms, Ann."
She didn't even respond to the old inside joke, but chose to answer his question instead. "If this had been done by magic, even someone elses, I could reverse the effects, but since it was done with chemicals, using magic is out of the question.
"Why?" He asked trying to restrain his laughter. She could hit really hard when she wanted to.
"Because magic and cosmetics don't mix. Ever. Don't ask why, cause I don't know." Ann was now twitching, and Bum felt sorry for the gang. The fact that Mireen had apparently helped, would probably be the only thing that would save them from Ann's wrath. Well some of it. There is a reason she has such a bad reputation in this town.
"Alright, alright, I think they're at the Frozen Cow." With a quick thanks Ann rose to leave, but Bum's voice stopped her. "Remember Ann, you were never here."
"I know. You don't want them to know that you were the one who told me where to find them," - she continued after a short pause- "though I still think they could pull off the slug look." Laughing at her own sense of humor, she walked off towards the Frozen Cow. She laughed again at Bum's shout of "Don't you dare, Ann Templeton!"
A/N: I'm sorry if there are alot of spelling and/or grammar mistakes. I add the whole "random violence" thing for my own amusment. I hope the "Frozen Cow" is the right name for where they usually hang out at. And the cosmetics and magic mixing came from Talking to Dragons.
If you want to, R 'n' R. Flames are always welcome.
