This movie was my absolute favorite growing up and I feel like it's very underrated. So, I decided to put my own little spin on it.
Mari is Roady's daughter and she has known the Bears since day one. She was only 8 when the band split up, but still...
After I had packed a backpack with all the necessities, including my favorite classic guitar which was a gift from the guys when I turned seven, that I would need. I also packed a cute dress, since who knows what kind of places we'll be stopping at.I threw my hair into a ponytail, grabbed my stuff, and ran to meet Henry and Beary at the old barn where the bus has been sitting parked for the last ten years. The entire barn shifted as the bus pulled out, years of dust and junk falling from it. The door opened to reveal my dad in all his road hippie glory. Henry laughed as he saw him.
"Beary, meet Roadie."
"Hi." Beary greeted him. I set my stuff down and gave my dad hug.
"Hey, pops." I said as the smell of the bus hit my nose, the whole thing needed a deep clean.
"Hey, kiddo." He said as he looked around. "Have you seen my chicken?" I giggled. Henry and Beary shook their heads as a no.
"Get off my grass." We turned and saw the chicken next to Big Al on his precious grass that he took constant care of. My dad quickly scooped up his pet and apologized to the big bear. Henry was showing Beary around inside. I grabbed my stuff and followed him. As I stepped inside, it was like stepping back in time. Nothing on the bus had changed, all the old memorabilia was still there. I smiled as I spotted pictures of a little me and all the bears together. Henry shouted something to Big Al before both he and dad got on the bus with me and Beary.
As we pulled away, I looked through the back window to wave bye to Al, only to see him frown at the tire marks left in his grass. I couldn't help but giggle. Poor guy, he can't keep anyone off his grass.
We drove for a couple of hours before we finally made it to Nashville, the last place we heard that Fred was staying. I loved Nashville, it was the place where musicians dreams came true.
"So, is Fred still in show business?" Beary asked.
"Uh, yeah, you could say that." Henry said. I giggled quietly as looked back out the window and remembered the last few letters that Fred has sent me. He was indeed still working in show business, just not in the way Beary thought. We pulled up to a music studio, the last place Fred said that he was working at. We got off of the bus and walked into the building. As we got closer we could hear music. I almost squealed with delight when I saw who it was.
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On the stage, singing her latest song, was Krystal. I was a huge fan, but what surprised me was that Fred was jamming out with her and her band with his harmonica. The sight of the big bear made me even happier. He seemed to be having so much fun. As the song was ending, I guess Fred kinda got too into it, cuz he jumped off the stage and forgot that there was no audience for a stage dive like he thought. We all chuckled as we made our way down to meet him. We managed to catch the last bit of his conversation with Krystal.
"Sure was! Wish I could play some more."
Third POV
"I might be able to help you out with that." A familiar voice said. Fred looked up and was met with the sight his old friend and manager,Henry Taylor. With him was a young male cub and a teenage girl. It took a second for him to recognize her, since he hadn't really seen her since she was 8, but their was no mistaking those blue eyes of hers.
"Huh? Henry? Mari?!"
"Freddie!!" The girl laughed as she tackled him in a hug. The big bear laughed as well as he returned the hug. He would gladly admit that he missed the girl. She got off of him and helped him up. Henry soon explained why they were there. Fred was unsure.
"Get the band back together?"
"You can do it!" Beary said as he tried to encourage Fred. Mari thought it was adorable as he geeked out upon meeting one his heroes.
"Uh, who is this guy?" Fred asked as he looked at the cub.
"Oh, that's Beary. And he's right." Henry said.
"How you goin' to get people to come to the show, Hen?" Fred asked.
"Why don't you call Rip Holland?" Beary suggested.
"Rip Holland?" Henry exclaimed. "The guy who stole the band from me?! Call Rip, yeah right." In the end, Henry called Rip. As they talked, Mari sat with Fred and Beary not too far off.
"So, does this mean you're in, Freddie?" Mari asked, her excitement obvious. Fred chuckled as he shook his head.
"I'm in, for sure. It'll be nice to see everyone again. Plus, I wanna hear about everything that's been going on with you over the years. I feel bad that I wasn't there to see you grow up." Fred said sadly as he looked at her, her face having lost her baby fat but yet still retained a lot of her childlike innocence. He still couldn't believe how much she had grown up, why it seemed like only yesterday that he was playing hide and seek with her in the hall, Henry scolding them for making a mess if they knocked something over. Fred smiled at the memories, he missed the old days.
"Don't feel bad, I'm just glad that we'll all be together again after so long." A second later, Henry walked over with a skip in his step, which meant he got Rip to promote the concert.
They loaded up on the bus and headed off for their next destination.
"You know, Fred, you were the only one who ever wrote us."Henry said. "You know where any of the other boys are?"
"Zeb never gave up the honey." Fred explained. "Hangs out at a bar in Nuttville."
Mari giggled, that sounded just like Zeb. She missed the fiddle player, they used to get into all kinds of trouble when she was younger. But, her favorite memory was when he tried to teach her to play the fiddle. Zeb wasn't normally a patient bear, but he never seemed to run out of it when he was teaching her. She was able to play a few strings and notes, but she picked up much quicker on the guitar than the fiddle. Zeb was just proud that she learned to play at all, even if just a little.
Mari would admit that over the years she would always worry about Zeb's honey problem. As they got closer to where he was last seen, she could only hope that it wasn't as bad as it was ten years ago.
