Cartoon Town: chapter 1

Cindy wandered around as there were two kids. They both appeared to be younger than Cindy. The girl had long carrot orange hair, white earrings, a pink tank top, blue jeans, and red shoes, and the other had curly platinum hair, a blue sweater, black belt, white pants, and black shoes.

"This'll be the greatest party ever!" the girl beamed as she ran with the boy.

"I know, every kid in Cartoon Town will be there!" the boy gushed with her.

Cindy watched them go. She heard her mother's advice and voice echo in her head about trying to approach people in order to make friends and not wait of who will truly make the first move. "E-Excuse me?" she spoke up the best she could, going after the kids.

The two kids paused and turned to her.

"H-Hey," Cindy greeted nervously, even if these kids were at least a couple years younger than her. "M-My name's Cindy..."

"So?" the girl sounded annoyed.

"Sarah, she's new in town, offer some hospitality," the boy nudged his friend, then smiled. "Excuse her... Welcome to the neighborhood, did you just move here?"

"Yeah, we came into the neighborhood like half an hour ago." Cindy buried her hands in her pockets, shuffling her feet.

"Well, welcome," the boy smiled. "My name's Jimmy and this is my best friend, Sarah."

"Yeah, hi..." the girl, Sarah, tried to be nicer and even offered a smile.

"I'm Cindy..." the new girl replied softly.

"Hi, Cindy!" Sarah showed she was super friendly. "You should come over and play dollies with us sometime!"

Cindy visibly cringed at that idea, but smiled politely. "Great... So, what's this about a party?"

"Oh, it's the only best party in town," Jimmy told her smugly. "Anyone who's anyone will be there."

"Yeah, you should come down to Pop's Diner, the mysterious host might be there and if you're cool enough, you'll get an invitation!" Sarah added.

"Oh, umm... Where's Pop's Diner?" Cindy asked.

"We'd tell ya, but we gotta get our best clothes now, talk to ya later, come on, Jimmy!" Sarah dashed off.

"Coming!" Jimmy ran after his best friend.

"Kids..." Cindy shrugged, but at least she talked to someone. She then went back to her house to tell her parents the news, but then heard loud rock music next door. "Huh?"

"Duncan, Abby, keep that music down!" a sharp voice called as there came out a man with a briefcase. He had waved up black hair that looked fake, blue eyes, with tiny round glasses around his face, a green sweater with navy blue pants and darker brown shoes.

"Excuse me, sir..." Cindy walked over to the man. "What's that noise?"

"That's my delinquent son and daughter," the man nearly spat in her face. "I swear, Abby would've been a mature young woman if she didn't have her older brother's influence from HIS older brothers!"

"Uhh... That's too bad..." Cindy wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Yeah, get away while you can." the man scoffed, then went to drive off to work. "IF THAT MUSIC ISN'T OFF BY THE TIME I GET BACK, YOU'RE ALL GROUNDED FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER!" he then speeded away to get to work and away from the noise.

"It IS a little loud, sweeties, turn it down just a pinch?" a female voice called, showing a woman with short blonde hair, pearl white earrings, a red sweater top, blue short pants, and red flats.

"Okay, Ma!" two voices called. She was their favorite parent. The music then turned down a bit.

"That's better," the woman smiled, then turned to see Cindy. "Oh, hello, there... You must be our new neighbor!"

"Umm... I guess I am, ma'am..." Cindy greeted nervously, putting her hands behind her back.

"Nice to meet you, honey," the woman got down on one knee, leaning forward with a generous smile. "My name is Kendra Nelson, that man who just left is my husband, Drew, but he would prefer if you called us Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, but you can call me Kendra if you want."

"Okay, Mrs. Nelson." Cindy smiled.

"Seriously, call me Kendra, Mrs. Nelson makes me feel so old." the woman insisted with a chuckle.

"Oh, okay, Kendra..." Cindy said, feeling her stomach turn about calling an adult by their first name, but at least she had permission.

"Why don't you come in?" Kendra offered. "You can meet my 'lovely' children."

Cindy shrugged, then followed in and looked around. It looked pretty violent inside the Nelson house. There were even axes in the walls and dart boards around. It looked like a stereotypical teenage boy ran the place.

"Please excuse the mess, my children are so creative," Kendra said, smiling. "My husband is so unfun sometimes, but it's actually fun with my sons and daughter... However, my in-laws are all police officers."

"You let your children do these things, miss?" Cindy looked around as she followed to the living room and landed on the decent couch next to the woman.

"Oh, yes, I don't mind at all," Kendra sat down, crossing her legs with a smile. "I feel its best to let a child do what they want some of the time so they don't feel trapped... I'm a member of an aristocrat family, but I didn't ALWAYS follow the rules, you see..."

"That might be tough on me, I've followed rules since nursery school..." Cindy said softly.

"Honey, you really must learn to cut loose once in a while, you're young, you'll learn from your mistakes, parents always know that," Kendra cooed, then a timer went off. "There's the cookies! Excuse me, dear, I'll be right back..." she stood up and left into the kitchen.

Cindy watched her leave and waited on the couch with a small smile. As she waited, she felt like she was being watched. Suddenly, there was rumbling from the cushion she was sitting on and then a huge explosion made her fall flat on the floor and twitch. There was then laughter heard as the 10-year-old tried to adjust her glasses and she glared around.

"Okay, who did that?" Cindy growled. "Show yourselves!"

"Relax, kid, it was just a harmless prank," laughter from a boy was heard as a boy who resembled Mr. Nelson came out. He had a patch of black hair with green spikes, piercings nearly covering his whole face, a spiked black choker, a black shirt with a skull, white sleeves, blue jean shorts, and red sneakers. "You're still alive, aren't you?"

Cindy growled, folding her arms, glaring at him. "You must be Duncan..."

"That's my name," the teen boy laughed. "Hey, Abby, you gotta come out here and see this! The couch bomb totally worked!"

The girl came out, she had long black hair going down to her spine with red streaks in it and a couple of high ponytails, a red sleeveless top, tan shorts, black finger-less gloves, boots going up to her ankle, and appeared to have a tattoo of a flaming skull on her left arm. She really looked like her mother, but her grin could match her brother's.

"That wasn't funny, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Cindy yelled and glared at them.

Duncan and Abby looked at each other and only laughed hysterically.

"Ugh!" Cindy turned away, folding her arms again. "I see why your father is so sore!"

"Hey, come on, kid, it was just a harmless prank," Abby coaxed like her brother did with a smirk. "You MUST be new here..."

"I am," Cindy looked back over to them. "My family moved in here half an hour ago... My parents are in our house now and I have to go out and make some friends."

"You're not too bad for a kid, but you need to calm down." Abby said to her.

"Yeah, don't be such a Double D." Duncan added.

Cindy blinked. What did that mean? 'Don't be such a Double D'?

"Oh, you don't know him, right," Duncan stood up straight. "Double D's this paranoid kid in town. He's always following the rules, often helping out teachers, just basically wussing out at cool stuff a normal kid would be crazy enough to do."

"Well, this Double D boy sounds like he has the right idea." Cindy leaned her hand against the wall with her legs crossing over each other.

"He's totally unfun," Abby folded her arms, in annoyance. "I don't get what June sees in him..."

"So, this party at Pop's Diner?" Cindy spoke up, wanting to know about it.

"Ugh, that party's totally exclusive for kids like you," Duncan rolled his eyes. "I bet Sarah and Jimmy got invited."

Cindy remembered that she had met those kids. "They have... They said anybody who's anybody will be there."

"Yeah, if you're a snooty, bratty, whiny kid!" Abby grunted. "I hate those kids..."

"You won't see us there, that's for sure." Duncan huffed.

Kendra came in with a silver platter filled with chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. "Come and get 'em!"

"Alright!" Abby and Duncan cheered, rushing to get some cookies, smiling as they ate them.

"Oh, Ma, you're the best." Duncan was pleased.

"Plus I'm glad the other brothers aren't home otherwise these would be gobbled up in a few seconds." Abby chuckled.

Kendra giggled, then looked down to the youngest one in the room. "Cindy, you want any?"

"No, thank you, ma'am, I best not spoil my dinner." Cindy said apologetically.

"How nice of you, but you're really missing out." Kendra smiled at her regardless.

"Sorry, ma'am, it's how I was raised." Cindy shrugged simply.

Duncan whispered to Abby about something, then they both laughed out loud.

"You better not be talking about me!" Cindy deeply scowled.

"Oh, shut up and have a cookie already!" Duncan huffed.

The telephone rang, having Kendra place the platter down and going to answer it. After a few moments, she called out. "Cindy, your mother says it's time to go home, you have some unpacking to do!"

Cindy sighed a bit, feeling forced. "Okay... Thank you, Kendra..." she then took herself and left as the Nelson siblings enjoyed their mother's precious cookies.


After a while, Cindy finished unpacking with her mother and the two exchanged smiles.

"Well, welcome to your new bedroom!" Mrs. Butler chirped to her daughter.

"Thanks for helping, Mom," Cindy smiled. "Oh, Mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Umm... There's this party at the local diner... They say it's exclusive and a lot of kids around my age will be there."

"Would you like to go?" Mrs. Butler sounded very pleased her daughter had been social enough to be informed about a party.

"I think so... These kids Sarah and Jimmy told me about it..." Cindy shrugged with a smile. "But they say the host is at the diner and 'anyone who's anyone' will be invited by them..."

"Well, okay," Mrs. Butler dug into her pocket, handing her daughter a few dollars and several coins. "Here's $10.00, why don't you go there and maybe buy yourself a little treat, but no spoiling your dinner."

"Yes, Mom, I understand," Cindy took the money and put it into her pocket.

"Be back by 5:00!" Mrs. Butler called as her daughter went off, and she was very proud.

Cindy called back 'okay', then kept going out the door to find this Pop's Diner. The girl ended up on a local street and there was a crosswalk which told her not to walk yet and she stood still. She looked around her surroundings and her eyes widened as she looked up to see the Grim Reaper in person.

"Hello, child." the Grim Reaper greeted.

"Uhh... Hi!" Cindy greeted nervously. "Am I dead...?"

"No, I'm jus' passin' through." the skeleton assured her.

"Oh, okay, good..." Cindy wiped her forehead in relief. She then bit her lip anxiously, she was still nervous about being in a new world with a walking skeleton as a symbol of death and afterlife.

Thankfully for the girl, the crossing sign changed and Cindy dashed down the crosswalk to avoid the skeleton. She was so squeamish and frightful of death for some odd reason. She kept looking around as she went along the new town she was living in. There was Fifi's Dance Studio where there were the aspiring young ballerinas dancing.

Cindy even passed Candy Land, the local candy store run by a neighbor man who often gave his son's friends free samples. The girl kept walking, passing the Lumber Yard, Buck's Place, City Hall, and even what appeared to be a fancy looking foster home for what surprised Cindy, to be for imaginary friends. Cindy kept walking and soon enough, smiled as she found Pop's Diner.


"Finally... There you are..." Cindy walked in, looking around as there were people inside eating their food or slurping their drinks.

She walked inside and looked around, seeing an old man washing an empty beer mug. "Hello there, little one!"

"Umm... Hello..." Cindy came over to the counter. "Do you know anything about the party behind held here?"

"Why, of course, I do, missy!" the man chuckled, shaking her hand, leaving a disgusting filth left on the palm of her hand. "I'm Pops!"

"Oh, you're Pops..." Cindy sounded surprised as she wiped the smudge off on a stool.

"What can I get for ya?" Pops asked. "Can't say I've seen your face around here!"

"I just moved in," Cindy climbed up onto the stool, resting her hands on the counter. "Uhh... What do you have?"

"Here's a Kid's Menu," Pops handed over a paper with specials and drinks on it. "Let me know when you make up your mind. I recommend the chilli."

Cindy squirmed, she really didn't like chilli, but she kept reading the menu for some things she might like. There were odd things on the menu that she had never heard of before.

PPG Platter: an assortment of sugar and spice and everything nice

Fuzzy Lumpkins Meatloaf

Turtle Munster Stew

Mojo Monkey Burgers Deluxe

'His' Fried Chicken

Sedusa Snake Hair Pasta Primavera

Warm Milk

Really Warm Milk

Milk That Is Almost Hot

Apple Juice

h2o (water)

olj (orange juice)

r2finx4p832oh4 (cream soda)

bovine juice: also known as cow milk

Ion: an unstable combination of salami, lox, and Swiss of rye

Pink Poodle: egg salad on pink bread with Russian dressing

Uranium Half Life: aged cheddar and blue cheese on a very, very old bun

Oooh, What's That: unspecified assortment of fluffy food like materials on pound cake

Cindy was pondering what to get, she decided to stay with what sounded good to her. She then finally rang the bell to summon the old man over.

"What can I get ya, stranger?" Pops asked, taking out a notepad and pencil.

"Yes, one cream soda and the Mojo Burgers, please." Cindy requested.

"You want fries with that?" Pops asked as he jotted down her order.

"Yes, please, thank you." Cindy nodded, handing the menu back.

"Alright, be right with ya!" Pops took the menu with a nod and went to the back of the kitchen for her order.

Cindy smiled softly, then waited. She then looked over and saw a boy come. He had a rather large chin and wore lime green and black, except for the hat covering his hair which was red.

"Hey..." the boy turned to her.

"Um... Hi..." Cindy blinked at him.

"You're new in town, ain't ya?"

"Yeah, I am..."

"You hear about the party here?"

"Yeah, I have." Cindy looked to him as Pops pushed her plate over to her.

"Well, it's my party," he said to her, rather suavely.

"Oh, you're the mysterious host." Cindy sounded pleased to have met him, eating her fry. "What's your name?"

"Kevin Barr," the jock replied with a smug smile. "What's yours?"

"I'm Cindy."

"Well, Cindy, would you like to come to the party of the century? A lot of us cool kids are gonna be there."

"Uh, okay." Cindy lit up a bit, feeling great to be accepted as a cool kid.

"Great!" Kevin slapped his hand behind her back, handing her an invitation. "Make sure you come with this. It's the only way to get in."

"Cool," Cindy took it, smiling. "Um... Is it casual or dressy?"

"Wear something cool, maybe you'll find my girlfriend Nazz and she'll treat you, her aunt runs the dress shoppe in the mall."

"Alright! I mean, cool..."

"See ya then, kid!" Kevin hopped off his stool and went to the doors.

"This is amazing," Cindy smiled as she ate her Mojo Burger. "Thank you for the food, sir."

"Anytime, kid." Pops smiled to her.

Cindy smiled, then continued to eat her delicious lunch. This was a pretty interesting burger. "Say, this is great... My compliments to the chef."

Pops smirked. "Hey, Mojo, this girl here likes your cookin'!" he called out, chuckling.

"It is an honor, small girl child," a chimp in a chef's hat and apron thanked the girl for her thanks. "That is to say, I, Mojo Jojo am extremely grateful you have purchased and requested my sandwich made from ground beef from a cow that was once a calf, only to be butchered and made into your afternoon meal in which you will eat after the morning of breakfast and before the evening of dinner, sometimes called in other regions or locations as supper."

"Uhh... You're welcome..." Cindy blinked at him.

Mojo Jojo smiled and bowed.

"I have a headache..." Cindy put down her food and rubbed her head.

"Ah, probably just stress about being the new kid in town," Pops put an arm around her. "We were all new once, kid."

"Yeah, I guess..." Cindy smiled softly as she continued to eat.

"I'd be careful around Kevin if I was you," Pops leaned in only for her to hear. "He seems like a cool kid, a lot of the local kids love him, but he's not that nice. Trust me..."

"Has he hurt you, sir?" Cindy asked quietly and shyly.

"Not really, I'm old friends with his father," Pops leaned back casually to allow her to eat her lunch peacefully. "Trust me, Kevin can hurt you faster than you would ever think. I'd go to this party with caution."

"Okay, sir." Cindy nodded, finishing her burger, then went to eat the fries.

"Hiya, Justine!" Pops greeted, looking beyond Cindy.

"Hello, Pops..." a quiet voice came into the diner.

Cindy looked over and saw a girl with deep tan skin with crystal blue eyes, black hair in a braided trail past her shoulders. She wore a white top with a black mini skirt, silver flats, a heart necklace, earrings and a purple headband. The girl came to sit beside Cindy and took out her wallet.

"Just a little usual please." the girl handed a five dollar bill.

"Of course, sweetie!" Pops smiled, then went behind to the kitchen to tell Mojo what to make.

Cindy looked to the girl named Justine and Justine looked back.

"Oh, hello," Justine greeted. "You must be Cindy."

"How did you know my name?" the younger girl sounded surprised.

"My friend Abby texted me about you," Justine smiled. "She's Duncan's sister."

"I see... She seems... Interesting..." Cindy looked a little frazzled over the topic of Abby and Duncan Nelson right now.

"Well, she's been to juvie a lot with her brothers," Justine sighed. "But they're actually nice once you get to know them. They're my friends now and I'm glad I can make friends outside of my twin brother."

"You're a twin?" Cindy smiled. She had always wanted a twin of her own and felt like it was cool to know one or two.

"Yeah, my brother's Justin," Justine smiled. "He's my best friend for someone who's 10 minutes older than me..."

"That's cool, where is he now?"

Justine sighed, resting her hand under her cheek in sadness. "Probably with Mom to a new photo shoot... She always preferred him over me any old day..."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true."

"No, it is," Justine looked into her eyes. "Mine and Justin's father died in a car accident when we were five, and he had this big executive job to give us money, but since he died, we ran out of money, so Mom made Justin into a model for money and she didn't let me make any friends or to acheive my dreams... I didn't have many friends..."

Cindy put her hand on the girl's arm and smiled friendly. "If you don't mind me being a little kid, I'll be your friend."

"Oh, you don't have to, you don't have to pity me or pretend to be nice to me..." Justine looked back to her.

"I mean it, I could use more friends myself, I didn't really have any back home myself," Cindy cooed. "What's your dream?"

Justine smiled, sighing a little. "I want to open a beauty salon somewhere, mostly to get away from my mother... I kinda wanna run away with my brother sometimes, but we don't really have anywhere to go. We were even in Total Drama together."

"What's Total Drama?"

Justine blinked. "You don't know the biggest reality show in the world?"

"It's probably one of those shows Mom didn't let me watch," Cindy shrugged. "She says reality television is kinda bad for me sometimes."

"Well, it's this show where a lot of teenagers compete for a million dollar grand prize," Justine explained. "We didn't win, but at least I made some friends and got away from my mom..."

"Yeah, that's good," Cindy smiled back at her. "Only teenagers can compete?"

"That's what they say, you have to be sixteen or older," Justine shrugged with a smile. "'Queen Bee' Heather really enjoyed the spotlight."

"Heather doesn't sound nice if you're calling her a 'Queen Bee'." Cindy replied.

"She really isn't," Justine rolled her eyes. "She's like the iciest girl you could ever meet."

"I see..." Cindy said as Pops came with a milkshake for Justine.

"Just the way I like it, thanks, Pops!" Justine beamed.

Pops smiled at her and took Cindy's plate.

Cindy saw the time and hopped off her stool. "I better get going," she was on her way out, but looked back to Pops, realizing she hadn't paid. "Oh, uhh..."

"It's on the house, hon." Pops told her, smiling.

"Oh, thanks." Cindy smiled, then went to get back to her new house. She couldn't believe how fast time flew by already.