A Cry in the Park - A Bob's Burgers fanfic - by BobsBurgersStories1

A Cry in the Park - Part 32

True to her word, Louise did take her pills every day; she crushed them up herself. It just became one of those things she now had to do. It soon became routine for her; two pills in the morning, and two in the evening. Much as she didn't want to admit it, they were helping, she could tell. Although still moody, she wasn't as bad-tempered as she had been.

Her mood was significantly improved the following Wednesday, when Bob and Linda pulled up outside school, ready to go.

   "Yay, Funplex," cheered Tina in her usual monotone.

   "Well, we're not going to Funplex; we're going somewhere similar," Bob explained, as he drove through the streets.

   "Where?" asked Gene.

   "It's an indoor play area called the "Mad House;" it's got lots of slides, and climbing stuff, and things," said Bob.

   "Whatever keeps us out of work," came Louise's voice from the back seat.

Once inside the Mad House, Louise knew that she had made the right decision. Well, of course; she always did, but this was an extra good decision. It wasn't too busy, as it was the middle of the week, and she could see a big rainbow slide, tunnel slides, ball pits, pits filled with squashy foam blocks, soft obstacle courses, and even a little zip-lining area. Yep, she had definitely made a good decision.

Besides, it was for everyone's good; business had slowed down in the past few months, and Bob couldn't really afford to close every other Friday, as they used to. She was really doing this for the greater good. She was a hero.

Gene and Tina kicked off their shoes, as did Louise, and they entered the main play area. Louise looked down at her socked feet, suddenly regretting that she had picked a Wednesday; sure, there was less chance of someone spotting her falling, but if it was busier, then no one would notice her at all.

While Gene dove head first into the ball pit, and Tina struggled to climb up the rope ladder that would take her to the slide, Louise hesitated.

   "Louise?" she heard her father's voice.

   "Deciding what to do first," she said, not looking at him. "Should I do the best thing first, or save it 'til last; these are important decisions."

   "Louise."

She turned around, and he bent down to her level. "No one will notice," he said, and she raised her eyebrows casually. "In the nicest possible way, no one's going to be looking at you; they're all too busy having fun."

   "What's that got to do with anything?"

   "I'm just saying that people trip and fall in here all the time; no one's going to notice anything." He waited, but she said nothing, and so he continued. "Go on; go and have fun."

Louise grinned before jogging after her siblings.

In the end, they all ended up having a pretty good time, even Louise. Bob and Linda had sat on the sidelines, watching with amusement. Linda had managed to sneak into the area and had gone down the tunnel slide, before she was instructed not to do that again by a member of staff.

Louise was very tired, more so than her brother and sister. She felt immensely proud of herself; she'd done everything, and only fell a couple of times, and that was due to the squashy floor (and running too fast, but that couldn't be helped). She'd even held her own on the trampoline.

   "We need one of those foam pits at home," she said, referring to the deep hole filled with foam blocks, into which kids could jump from a trampoline. Louise had actually bounced straight into the centre of the pit. If she could do that every day, that would be great; it was such a struggle to get out, as she kept sinking further in, she would probably never have to work again. It wouldn't be her fault; she would simply be stuck in the foam, what could she do?