The Road to Newtopia (The Calamity Girls Book 2)

The Dinner

We still had a couple of days left before we bring the fully charged music box to King Andrias. Anne and Marcy thought of having a dinner. "I can't believe the group is finally back together!" Marcy cheered. "Yup, we recharged all three stones, and Sasha's finally turning over a new leaf." Anne explains. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but things are really looking up." I added. "That's all great, but did you have to invite Grime?" Hop Pop asked, grilling food with the help of Frobo. "Sasha trusts Grime, that means he's okay with us." Anne replied. "Why do we wanna trust her again?" Sprig asked. "She did try to off us." Polly added. "Normally I'd agree with you, but just because she's made some bad choices doesn't make her a bad person." I replied. "Plus, she never tried to kill anyone back home." Marcy added. "That you know of." Sprig said. "Sprig, try and be on your best behavior tonight." Anne groaned. "This dinner party is an important step for us and it has to go well, Marcy, Rowena, and I have changed so much in Amphibia, I really think Sasha's finally changing too."

I got dressed for the dinner party that night. I even let Marcy do my hair, which doesn't always happen, for obvious reasons. We heard knocking at the door as we finished our setup. "Okay, here they are, now please, be cool." I explained. "Remember, this isn't the same Sasha who tried to kill you and take over Amphibia, at least I hope not." "Plantars don't hold grudges." Hop Pop replied as I opened the door for them. "Don't kill me!" Anne cleared her throat as the frogs acted casual. "My sincere thanks to you all for the kind invitation, your home is sufficient for habitation." Grime greeted politely, pushing a cake inside. "I baked a vol-cake-no, it needs a little bit more time to rise, but it's sure to end the night with a devastating explosion, of chocolaty goodness." "Uh, thanks, I'll just put it over here." Hop Pop said, moving the cake. "Well, girls, looks like, we're all finally back together again!" Sasha exclaimed. We squealed with excitement. "Human friendships are loud!" Polly shouts.

Everyone went outside to enjoy our dinner. Sasha was about to sit next to Anne, but she accidentally sat on Sprig. "Sorry, this seat's taken." Sprig bragged. Sasha grumbled, repeatedly clearing her throat. Grime also cleared his throat. "Anyone need a cough drop?" Hop Pop asked. Sasha moved to a different seat. "Welp, enjoy, everyone." We ate our food and had a fun time. "So, anyone wanna hear a joke?" "Oh, no." Anne said. "How many toads does it take to screw in a mushroom light?" Hop Pop asked. "How many?" Grime grunted. "None, they prefer utter darkness and the smell of blood." Hop Pop replied. The rest of us were speechless, until Grime bursted into laughter. "Oh, it's so true!" Grime laughed. "Good one, small frog." "Seriously, this food is good." Sasha complimented. "Gotta hand it to Hop Pop." Polly said. "He knows his way around the kitchen." "It's working, guys, we're getting along." Anne whispers to me and Sprig. "I'm so relieved." I replied. "Man, Sash, I can't get over your armor." Marcy compliments, it totally suits you." "I know, right, way better than that dorky, medieval school play we were in." Sasha replied. "Remember how I convinced you guys to skip rehearsal and hang out on the roof?" "And we had the loudest dance party." Anne said. "Ha! Classic." Sasha chuckled. "Why'd we stop doing stuff like that?" "Well, when we got caught, Rowena took the blame and said it was her idea." Marcy explains. "Dad grounded me for a month." I sighed. "Oh, yeah." Sasha frowned. "Forgot about that." "Hey, it's all in the past, we're all different people now." I said. "Or are we?" Sprig asked. "Say, um, who's up for a rousing game of drawsidoodle?" Hop Pop suggested. "I love drawsidoodle!" Grime exclaimed, destroying the table.

We headed inside to start the game. Grime's cake rose a little bit. Grime was the first one to draw. He drew four of what looked like potatoes. "Potatoes?" I guessed. "Bullfrog ballet!" Sprig shouted. "The Marshland Marathon!" Polly guessed. "You know what this looks like?" Anne asked. That pep rally where the band got trapped under the stage." Sasha replied. "And a certain ant queen and her hive." Anne continued. "Oh, yeah." I said. "Oh my gosh, totally!" Marcy agreed. "Uh, ant queen?" Sasha asked. "You had to be there." Anne said. "Inside joke." I added. "Well, did you want to tell me or?" Sasha asked. "Sergeant Campbell Bilgewater and the Horsefly Rebellion of '48!" Hop Pop shouted. "Yes!" Grime exclaimed. "Wow, for a frog, you're actually pretty smart." "Thanks, guess it's my turn." Hop Pop replied, drawing what looked like a snake. Everyone just shouted random guesses. "A weeping dirt snake?" Sasha guessed. "Ha! That doesn't look anything like a weeping dirt snake!" Sprig joked. "Bad guess, bad guess!" "Wait, did someone say weeping dirt snake, cause that's right?" Hop Pop asked. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, in your face, twerp!" Sasha bragged, kinda scaring Sprig. "Whoa, Sash, take it easy." Anne said. "But, but, he, I." Sasha stuttered. "Whatever, my turn." Sasha walked up to the drawing pad and drew a tree? No one knew what it was. "Ooh, it's Toad Tower exploding!" Polly guessed. "When we blew it up and toppled the toad army?" "Good guess, but I don't think that's the tower." I said. "I think Polly's right, that top bit is where Anne chose Rowena and us, you know, over her friendship with Sasha." Hop Pop explains. "Oh, and there she is letting go of Anne's hand and plummeting to her possible death." Sprig added. "It's a tree!" Sasha snapped. "You morons, a tree!" "That's what I thought it was, I just wasn't super confident with my answer." I replied. "No talksies when you drawsies." Hop Pop explains. "Ten minutes in the shame corner." Sasha threw the drawing pad towards the window. "Whoa, Sasha, what's your problem?!" Anne asked. "Me? You're weird frog family is ganging up on me!" Sasha argued. "They're doing their best, which is pretty good since you did try to kill them." Anne defended. "One time!" Sasha shouted. "I tried to kill them one time!" "Sash, I thought you said we could start over, we thought you changed." I said. "Well, maybe I don't wanna change, did you think about that?" Sasha asked. "Or we're you too busy riding your high horse?" "What's a horse?" Polly asked. "Guys, guys, stop fighting, this is crazy, we're supposed to be friends for life, we don't split up." Marcy explains. "I agree with, I want to say Marsha?" Grime asked. "This friendship is so important, crucial even." "Oh yeah?!" Sasha exclaimed as Grime's cake rose dramatically, erupting and blowing the roof off the house. "Holy frog abuse, the cake!" I panicked, running onto the couch. "I like hot chocolate, but this is ridiculous!" Anne grunted. "Was this your plan all along?" Hop Pop asked. "Pretend to be nice to get into our home to blow it up?" "It's revenge for Toad Tower!" Sprig exclaimed. "Because we brought that sucka down!" Polly added. "The vol-cake-no is a toad favorite, every feast ends in a delicious dessert battle." Grime explains. "Do frogs not do that?" "No!" Everyone shouted. "Well don't worry, it's delicious." Grime continued. "Assuming you survive the hornets." "The what now?" Marcy asked as some hornets came out of the cake, ready to attack us. "They're the best part, but beware, their stingers cause..." Grime said as he gets hit by one of the stingers. "Paralysis." "What do we do?" Marcy asked. "We'll just have to fight them." Sasha replied, taking down her ponytail to grab a hidden dagger, trying to slice open the hornet, but failed. "That's a tough shell." "Brute-forcing it will take too long." Anne explains. "You got a better idea?" Sasha asked. "I might, Marcy, still have your crossbow?" Anne asked. "Rowena, got your driver?" "Only always." Marcy replied. "Great idea, we can't pierce their shells, but maybe their own stingers can?" "Their strength is also their weakness." I added, hitting some stingers towards the hornets. "Hey, that actually worked!" Sasha cheered. "Alright, Sash, get their attention, get them mad at you." Anne said. "Now that I can do." Sasha replied, hitting the shells with her dagger as she hit the stingers towards me and Marcy to hit them for real.

Once all of the hornets were taken out, the lava hardened into chocolate. "Now that's some ding-dang teamwork, right?" Marcy asked. "Right?" "Guys, I'm sorry I lost my cool, and I know you want me to change who I am, but I don't know if I can, I like who I am." Sasha apologized. "Hey, not everyone changes overnight, some people never change." I explained. "Maybe what we're asking is not for you to change, maybe it's for you to recognize that we changed." Anne added. "Well, that's no problem, I mean, look at you, what happened to the shy little Anne who needed me to stick up for her all the time?" Sasha asked. "And the cowardly Warbler who was always afraid of what others thought of her?" "They're still here, Sash, they just needs a little less protecting." I explained. "So, how about it, you think this whole thing can work?" "I think we can definitely give it a shot, yeah." Sasha replied, hugging me and Anne. "Fine, dang it, fine!" Sprig exclaimed. "I'll allow it, I guess." "Oh, I missed the whole battle?" Grime asked, waking up. "So, what happens now?" Hop Pop asked. "Dessert!" Grime announced, grabbing a piece from the ground and eating it. "You guys want in on this?" We grabbed a few pieces of the chocolate and enjoyed the rest of the night. "Where are we gonna live?" Hop Pop asked.