The Social Club

By Birch Griesse

Angelica was in Tommy's backyard, lying on a lawn chair. She had on a purple bikini with a little red skirt. She was wearing star shaped purple sunglasses, purple flip-flops, and a straw hat with a purple ribbon and a pink flower. She was playing "Vacation" with the babies. She had them fan her, bring her lemonade and snacks, and anything else she wanted them to do.

"Can I have a turn now?" asked Kimi.

"No," said Angelica, "I'm the only one who gets to be the queen of the vacation!"

"But you said that we could have a turn if we played!" said Chuckie.

"Well to bad! Now get me some more strawberries!" Angelica ordered.

"No!" said Tommy.

"What?!" Angelica cried.

"We're not playing if we don't get a turn!" said Kimi.

"You lied!" said Lil.

"Fine!" Angelica scoffed, "Chuckie, you get me some strawberries!"

"Um, ok, Angelica," said Chuckie, nervously. As Chuckie headed back toward the house, Tommy stopped him.

"Chuckie!" he said.

"Uh, I mean, um, no Angelica!" Chuckie said. Angelica pouted as the babies walked off. Then she heard the sound of Big Wheels Bikes screeching to a halt outside the fence. Angelica ran over and peeked over the top of the fence. It was Timmy McNulty and the rest of the McNulty's.

"Hi Angelica!" said Timmy.

"Hi Timmy," Angelica said.

"Did you know I had my own club?" Timmy bragged.

"No," Angelica replied, beginning to sound interested.

"Well how would you like to be able to come to my club for free any time you want?" Timmy asked.

"Really?" Angelica couldn't believe her ears, "Wait, are those babies in your club?" Angelica pointed to the other McNulty's.

"They're servants," Timmy whispered.

"Oh," said Angelica, understanding, "So can I really be in your club for free?"

"Yep!" Timmy said, "Under one condition."

"What's that?" Angelica asked.

"You get your babies to be servants there whenever you come," Timmy told her. Angelica's smile dropped.

"Uh, ok," said Angelica. Timmy told Angelica the rules and dress code of the servants, and of the club. He told that she could wear what she was wearing.

"Do you understand?" Timmy asked when he was done explaining everything. Angelica nodded.

"Good!" Timmy called as he sped away on his bike.

Angelica had a problem. How was she going to get the babies consent to be servants. Perhaps bribery would be the best approach.

"Hey babies!" said Angelica as she walked over to where they were playing, "How would like to be servants at the coolest club in the neighborhood?"

"What's a sir ants?" Phil asked.

"Is that where you get to eat all the ants you want?" Lil asked hopfully.

"It's servant, not sir ant, you dumb babies!" Angelica explained impatiently, "And being a servant means that you do whatever people tell you to!"

"No, we don't wanna be sir ants!" Tommy told her.

"Servants!" Angelica corrested him.

"We don't like people tellin' us what to do!" Kimi added.

"I'll give you a cookie," Angelica offered. The babies said "no".

"A cookie and a lollipop," Angelica said slyly. The babies said "no".

"A cookie, a lollipop, and a Reptar Bar," Angelica pleaded. The babies said "no".

"And a Dummipop!" Angelica begged. "Every day!"

"I'm in!" Phil declared.

"No!" said Tommy, "She'll just not give it to you!"

"If that's what you afraid of, wait here," Angelica said quickly. She speed inside and swiped the stuff. She ran back out and handed it to the babies.

"I'll give it to you now!" she said. The babies agreed to be servants.

"Now I need to train you. Come inside," Angelica commanded. The babies followed her into Tommy's house.

"First," said Angelica, "One of things you are going to do is serve lemonade. Watch." Angelica grabbed a tray of glasses full of lemonade. She carried it over to a nearby table and set it down gently.

"The girls will say, 'Here you are, Ma'am,' and the boys will say, 'Here you are, Sir'. Chuckie, you try," Angelica ordered. Chuckie grabbed the tray and carried to the table. Half way there, he tripped over his shoelaces and dropped the tray. Lemonade spilled everywhere.

"Here you is, Sir," Chuckie groaned.

"That's ok," said Angelica, "You won't be wearing shoes at the club anyway." Angelica taught the babies everything they needed to know, and they practiced until Angelica thought it was the best they would be able to. Then Angelica called a break. The babies sat in a semi-circle around her.

"Alright, babies," Angelica said, "I gotsta teach you your club names. Lil, you're Lillian. Phil, you're Phillip. Chuckie, you're Charles. Tommy, you're Thomas. Kimi, you're Kimberly."

"What's your club name, Angelica?" Lil asked.

"Angelica," said Angelica.

"Why don't have to have a funny name and we do?" Kimi asked.

"Well, cuz, uh, I just don't," Angelica replied. Then they continued their training.

The next day, Didi and Stu took the babies to the park. Angelica went, too. When they got there, Angelica led them to the farthest end of the playground, near where the club was. There, Angelica had the babies take off their normal clothes, revealing black swimming suits she had put on them underneath. Then she hung a black towel over each of their shoulders. Next she combed Chuckie's hair down the best she could, removed the bow from Lil's hair, and took Kimi's hair down and brushed it out. Last, she took her own hair down took off her normal clothes revealing her own swimming suit. She put on the straw hat and the sunglasses. Then she went over to the club entrance: The McNulty's backyard. She knocked on the gate. Timmy answered it.

"Hi," he greeted her, "I see you bringed your babies! They look perfect. Come on in." Angelica and the babies stepped inside the fenced in yard.

The babies were taken by to toddlers off in one direction, Angelica was taken in another.

"First we have to get you ready," Timmy told her. First she got sunscreen put on her. Next she had her sunglasses cleaned. After that she had a spot reserved for her. Then she was given the tour of the clubhouse. Timmy walked around, talking about the different sprinklers and things. There sure were a lot of sprinklers. And there was an inflatable swimming pool where tots were riding down a slide into the water. There was a huge puddle through which toddlers in wagons were being pushed. And there was much more.

Angelica gasped at the rides. Then Timmy showed her the rest area.

"This line marks the rest place," Timmy informed her, pointing to a white line of spraypaint, "There's a line through the middle of the rest place. That side is the boys' side, and that side is the girls' side. Have fun!" And then he left her. Angelica ran to the rides, and then, when she was exausted, she headed back to the girls' are. She looked around, searching for someone to play with. She saw a girl with brown hair sitting alone in one corner of the area. Angelica walked over to her.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Carol," the girl answered, "What's yours?"

"Angelica," replied Angelica.

"Wanna play tea party with my new Tea Fun Cynthia?" Carol asked. Angelica nodded, pulling out her Cynthia doll.

"My Cynthia has to get ready for the party your Cynthia is throwing," Angelica said.

"And my Cynthia's gotta get everything ready for the big party," Carol added.

Meanwhile, the babies were not having such a good time. They longed to play in the sprinklers, but they couldn't. They had to serve the club members. When it was finally time for them to leave, the babies were exausted.

Later that day, the babies had a confrence.

"I don't really like being a sir ant," Phil told the rest of the rugrats.

"Me neither," Lil agreed, "We should quit!"

"But what about all the candy?" Kimi reminded them.

"Forgets about the candy!" Chuckie cried.

"Guys!" Tommy said. But the babies kept on arguing.

"GUYSSSSSSSS!" Tommy screamed. All of the babies turned to listen.

"Maybe we should tell Angelica that we won't be her sir ants unless she lets us play in the witer thingies sometimes!" Tommy suggested.

"Great idea!' cried the other babies.

To Be Continued