Pumble and the Prom

As he slowly opened his eyes from his normal afternoon nap, Pumble found himself staring at the Ladybug. He immediately sat up.

"Oh, hello!" he said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Pumble hadn't seen the Ladybug since Easter. He had been missing her, and wondering why she hadn't visited. "I'm glad you're here! I missed you! Er--" his cheeks burned with embarrassment. "I mean, I missed seeing you."

The Ladybug just smiled. "I missed you too, Pumble. I came to ask you something."

"Would you like some ice cream?" Pumble stuttered out. He wrung his hands nervously. He wasn't very good with girls. There weren't many in the Land of the Flowered Bed.

"No thanks," the Ladybug smiled. "Actually, I wanted to know if you would go to prom with me."

"Uh--" Pumble tried to remember what a prom was. Was it a dessert? No, you couldn't go to a dessert. It had to be some kind of event. Maybe it was a fancy word for rollerskating. He loved rollerskating. "Sure!" he blurted out, cursing himself he didn't think to ask what a prom was.

"Great!" the Ladybug beamed. "I'll pick you up Thursday night. We're taking a limo with some of my other friends. You've got a tux, right? If not, I know some places you can rent one! I'm so excited. Oh, my dress is red by the way."

"Uh, ok," Pumble said, trying to figure out what that meant. "So, do I need to bring anything?"

"Just the basics," she smiled. "We'll have a great time! I'll see you Thursday!"

"See you Thursday," Pumble said, scratching his head as he flew away. After she'd left, Cookies looked at him in horror.

"Do you know what you just did?" he gasped. "Agreed to go to a prom, if you must know," Pumble said arrogantly, throwing his head in the air. "All sophisticated people go to proms."

"Do you even know what a prom is?" Cookies snorted.

"Sure," Pumble said, trying to act like everyone knew what a prom was. "It's a fancy rollerskating party."

Cookies laughed so hard he fell off his perch on the dresser. Hairy had to turn off his movie until he stopped laughing, and the seals laughed and barked as they clapped their flippers.

"What?" Pumble demanded, looking around. He hated being laughed at. "What's so funny?"

"You idiot," Cookies said, wiping his eyes. "The prom is a dance where you get all dressed up and take tons of pictures and eat dinner and go out afterwards."

"Do you have to dance at the dance?" Pumble asked, fear filling his eyes.

"Duh!" Cookies exclaimed. "That's what a dance is for!" He raised his eyebrows in surprise as Pumble threw himself to the floor in a dramatic swoop.

"This is terrible!" Pumble's muffled voice leaked through the carpet. "This is horrible! This is distressing beyond belief! An utter tragedy! This is the worst thing that's ever occurred in human kind."

"Dramatic, much?" Cookies muttered as Hairy glared at him.

"Pumble, what's wrong?" Hairy asked soothingly.

"I can't dance," Pumble answered. Hairy smiled, and the seals wiggled their tails in anticipation. They loved to dance.

"Sure you can," Hairy said encouragingly. "Everyone can dance. It just takes some practice."

"No, I really can't dance," Pumble said.

"Yes, you can," Hairy said dismissively.

"No, I can't," Pumble said, climbing to his feet. "And I'll prove it."

Pumble switched on the CD player and turned it to a song. He began to dance and wiggle to the music.

"See you're dancing!" Hairy cried. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Wait for it," Pumble advised. As he continued to wiggle, golden liqued began to squirt from his stinger. It flung against the walls, the pictures and Cookies.

"Oh, gross!" Cookies exclaimed, looking down at his stomach in disgust. "This stuff smells, and it's sticky!"

"See what I mean?" Pumble said, sitting down with a miserable expression. "I can't go to the prom. I'll ruin Ladybug's red dress. I don't even know why she told me it was red anyway. Or why I have to wear a tux."

"She told you it was red so you'd buy her a matching corsage," Hairy explained. At Pumble's panicked expression, Hairy suggested, "Why don't you just call and tell her the truth?"

"He can't do that," Cookies interjected. "He needs an elaborate story."

"That's lying," Hairy glared at him. "If she catches him, she'll never speak to him again!"

"That's only if he gets caught," Cookies said, waving his wing dismissively. "Who's going to find out? Now, what we need is a complicated story."

After they talked for a few minutes, the seals brought Pumble the phone. They sniffed as he took it, to show their disapproval of their lies. Pumble stared at the phone.

"I hope she doesn't hate me," he said glumly as he punched in the numbers. "I really like her."

"She'll get over it," Cookies rolled his eyes. "It's just a prom."

Pumble's eyes brightened as Ladybug answered. "Hello, Ladybug?" he said. "I have something to tell you...."

To be continued...........