20. What's Anne Been Up To?

Best Fronds

"It's not all that," said Anne, "I miss my home, my stuff, and especially my friends." As Anne said this she took the picture she had taped to the wall and handed it to Sprig.

"Without them I just feel kind of lost," continued Anne.

"So these are your friends," said Sprig, "why don't you tell me about them?"

"Well the one with the blonde hair is Sasha," said Anne, "I've known her since kinder-garden She's always getting me to try new things and going on adventures with me. The one next to her is Marcy. She's kind of a klutz but she loves video games and board games. She's the smartest person I know."

"Oh who's this one?" asked Sprig pointing to the girl on Anne's left.

Anne realized he was talking about Luz and a deep pit formed in her stomach as she thought about what to say.

"That's Luz," said Anne somewhat slowly, "I only met her a few moths ago. She was a new girl who came to my school and it turns out we both liked a lot of the same things. But I haven't known her as long as I've known Sasha and Marcy."

"Still she seems pretty cool," said Sprig.

"Eh are you sure about that?" asked Anne, "thing is Luz and I have been kind of growing apart. I think maybe it would be best if we stopped hanging out."

"Oh is there any particular reason for that?" asked Sprig.

"It's just have you ever had a friend that you thought you knew really well, but then you learned something about them that made you question their motives," asked Anne, "that's kind of how I feel about Luz right now."

"What was it you learned about her that made you want to stop hanging out with her?" asked Sprig.

"Eh I'd rather not talk about it," said Anne.

"I understand," said Sprig, "in any case I was thinking, why don't I be your friend in the meantime?"

"You?!" said Anne in surprise.

"Me," said Sprig pointing to himself.

"In fact I'm feeling a little sleepy," said Sprig as he almost fell over. The adventure at the Lake having take a lot out of him. Still Anne was glad that they had managed to avoid suspicion form Hop-pop and were able to convince him that they had spent the whole day inside. Despite the danger, Anne had enjoyed herself.

Anne caught the falling Sprig and gently carried him over to her makeshift bed where she placed him down. As she reflected on the fun she'd had with her new friend Anne couldn't help feeling a bit sad as she thought of her other friends. She pulled out the picture the one all of them had taken a few weeks ago, and looked at her other friends unsure if they were stuck in this world with her, but wanting to wish them well just the same.

"Sasha, Marcy I hope you guys are okay, because I am," said Anne. She glanced one more time at the photo, she saw Luz smiling back at her as she had an arm around Anne.

Luz, thought Anne, we were all so happy in that picture….I can't believe that was only a few weeks ago. It feels like so much time has passed since then.

"Luz I---," began Anne. She wanted to wish Luz well like she had with Sasha and Marcy but  Anne couldn't put into words what exactly she wanted to say. Just seconds before being teleported to Amphibia she had told Luz she no longer wanted to be friends with her. Now she couldn't help but be a little concerned over the fact that Luz might be trapped in this strange world alone.

"Luz I---" began Anne again, but still couldn't think of what she wanted to say. With that Anne put the picture away and lied down herself. Her mind full of thoughts about her friends. Though before she fell asleep Anne whispered,

"Luz, even if we aren't friends anymore I hope you're ok."

Taking Charge

"What is this demonic nonsense?" asked Hop-pop

"Hop-pop this show's got beautiful people doing dumb things while stuff explodes!" claimed Anne, "It's literally perfect. Heck I managed to get Luz into it!"

"Oh is that one of your human friends?" asked Sprig.

"Yeah," said Anne, "I remember we had just had lunch at my family's restaurant, and that's when I first shows Luz the trailer I just showed you guys. She loved it! Then we ended up watching it when I invited her over to my house. We had so much fun that day," Anne starred off into space as she remembered that day and the good time she had with Luz.

"Anne are you alright?" asked Sprig who noticed the change in Anne's demeanor.

"What no I'm fine," lied Anne, "It's just I was remembering that day, I miss my friends, but hey I guess that's why I wanna watch this new season with you guys! I had great memories of watching this show with my old friends. I'm sure I can create some great memories watching it with my new ones!"

"Now hold on," began Hop-pop, "instead of that garbage how about I treat you to some real entertainment."

"Oh no," said Sprig and Polly together.

Girl Time

"I love it!" exclaimed Polly as she looked at the small statue, "hey sorry girl time was such a bust."

"Nah don't worry about it," replied Anne, "I mean the more I think about it, the whole idea of "girl time" is pretty weird. Although I do remember spending a wonderful spa day with Sasha one time. Her parents paid for us to go to a really nice high end spa!"

"Ah man I wish I could have gone," said Sprig, "I love the spa!"

"Yeah me too," said Hop-pop, "what was it like?"

"Oh it was great we had a great time they served us cucumber water, we got a mani-pedi, and got to relax and take a nap afterwards," said Anne.

"Anne I know you miss your friends," said Polly, "is that why you wanted to have girl time so badly?"

Anne hesitated for a bit before answering, "yeah, guess you're right. When I had girl time with Sasha it was always fun and we would enjoy not just getting pampered but also just being together. I always liked girl time because it meant I got to hang out with Sasha."

"Oh I understand," said Polly, "you wanted us to share an expirence that you had with your friends."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have forced you to do it if you didn't like it," said Anne, "I'm sorry Polly."

"No don't worry about it Anne," answered Polly, "I see how important it is to you now. I'd still like to hang out with you, maybe next time we can do things that both of us like."

"Thanks Polly!" replied Anne.

"You mentioned Sasha, but did you ever have girl time with your other friends?" asked Sprig.

"You know Marcy was never really into it," said Anne, "I think one time at a sleepover we had a casual spa night where we put our feet in Epson salt and painted each others nails. As for Luz well, I haven't know her as long as Marcy and Sasha so we never really had time to set up a day for girl time."

"Huh maybe when you get back home you should ask her if she'd like to have some "girl time," suggested Sprig.

"Huh, yeah maybe I will," said Anne a little nervously.

Anne vs. Wild

"Guys now that we've been through a lot, there's something I'd like to share with you," said Anne as she brought out something from her bag. The others couldn't see what it was as she had wrapped it up in some kind of cloth.

"This is how I got here," said Anne as she removed the cloth to reveal a strange box of some kind.

"Wow! Shiny," exclaimed Sprig.

"It's some kind of crazy music box or something," said Anne, "My friends and I were standing together in the park. Then I opened it to see if there was anything in it and next thing I know there was a huge flash of light and suddenly I went from being in the park to being a swamp just outside Wartwood. On the first night when you guys took me in I tried opening it again to see if it would transport me home, but it didn't work.

"You were with your friends?" asked Hop-pop.

"Yeah we were all together when I opened the box. I'm not sure if they're here in Amphibia or not," said Anne.

"Well this is a big place," said Hop-pop, "and Wartwood is only a small town in a much larger world."

"Yeah exactly," said Anne, "I wish I knew for sure whether they were here in Amphibia with me or if they're back in my own world."

"I wonder if your friends found families of their own to take them in?" asked Polly, "that'd be kinda cool, when we all meet up we could have a big reunion party!"

"I hope so," said Anne, "I hope that if they are here then they're all doing well."

"I hope we get to meet Sasha, Marcy and Luz someday then," said Sprig, "I hope they're all as cool as you Anne."

"Thanks dude," said Anne, "so have you guys seen anything like it before?"

"May I?" asked Hop-pop.

"Sure I mean It's busted," said Anne dejectedly.

Hop-pop took the box in his hands and began examining it. He turned it over a few times and looked at it from various angles before declaring, "Nope, never seen anything like it."

"Well it was worth a shot," said Anne.

"Anne I promise we're gonna find a way to get you home, and if you're friends are here in Amphibia then we'll find a way to reunite you with them too," said Sprig.

"Thanks that means a lot to me, I hope you guys do get to meet my friends eventually, they're all cool," said Anne as she took out the picture of her friends to show Sprig and Polly.

"Well that's enough excitement for me today," said Hop-pop as he yawned, "I think I'm gonna turn in."

"Goodnight Hop-pop," called the kids as he left the kitchen.

"Hey Anne," said Sprig after Hop-pop left.

"Yeah," replied Anne.

"I was just wondering about your friends, do you think that if they were brought here that something may have happened to them?" asked Sprig.

"Huh what do you mean?" asked Anne.

"Well, it's just before we found you, you were living out in the wilds and that can be pretty dangerous. There's all sorts of dangers in Amphibia that we deal with on a daily basis. What if,  one of your friends well---," said Sprig. He didn't finish the sentence, but his silence implied what he was thinking. Polly glared at him for even suggesting this.

"Ha ha ha," laughed Polly uncomfortably as she tried to reassure Anne, "don't listen to Sprig, he says a lot of things without thinking sometimes. I bet your friends are fine."

"I never thought about that," said Anne, "I mean you do have a point especially after tonight we almost got eaten by cannibals, could something have happened to Sasha, Marcy or Luz?" As she said this Anne remembered the last thing she had said to Luz before opening the box. Suddenly she was struck with a deep sense of guilt.

"I need to go," said Anne hurriedly, with that she made her way down to the basement quickly saying goodnight to Sprig and Polly.

When she was finally alone Anne thought about what Sprig had said. It would be bad enough if something had happened to Sasha or Marcy, but if something happened to Luz, that would be even worse considering how they had parted. Over the past few weeks Anne had begun to think more about Luz and what happened at the dance. While she wasn't happy with Luz for what she had done, she also was beginning to feel bad about telling her that they were no longer friends. As Anne continued to replay that moment in her brain she couldn't help but begin to regret it. Finally she brought her hand to her face and covered it, feeling angry at herself.

Why did I say that to her? thought Anne.

Hop-pop and Lock

Despite the rest of the town having left and Mayor Toadstool having decalred the dance over, Sprig pulled out his violin and continued to play to allow for some music for Hop-pop and Sylvia to dance to. Hop-pop and Sylvia enjoyed many dances together before deciding to take a break. At which point Hop-pop brought Sylvia over to his family to introduce them.

"Oh of course I know you Sprig," said Sylvia, "your friends with my granddaughter. And Polly is it? I saw you a few weeks ago in my daughters tea shop. I think you were there too Anne."

"Yeah I was, I was trying to have girl time with Polly but it didn't work out," replied Anne, "still the tea shop is nice."

"Yes my daughter has done well for herself with that shop," replied Sylvia, "but tell me more about yourself Anne? I've heard all kinds of stories about the "town monster" I'm curious to see how much of it is true? Honestly you don't strike me as a monster at all."

"Thanks I appreciate you saying that," replied Anne, "truth is I'm not a monster. I don't eat frogs or any other Amphibians, I'm just a regular young girl."

"Anne was the one who taught me how to dance," said Hop-pop, "she really did a number on me."

"Oh that's so wonderful to hear," exclaimed Sylvia, "also you look wonderful in that dress dear."

"Ah thanks," said Anne, "actually the last time I wore this top was at a school dance in my world before I came here."

"Oh really, did you have a good time at that dance?" asked Sylvia.

"Yeah I---," began Anne, before remembering what had happened. But she was also didn't want to ruin the evening and decided to stretch the truth a little about what had happened.

"At first it was just alright, but later in the evening I got asked to dance by someone special," said Anne.

"Oh was it your boyfriend?" asked Hop-pop.

"No it was a friend," replied Anne tersely, "but a friend who might be more important than I thought." After saying that Anne starred off into the sky as Hop-pop and Sylvia coninuted to talk with each other. As Anne thought about that night more she wondered what might have happened had Luz not kissed he. She honestly was having a good time at the dance before that happened, and she wondered if that night could have ended differently.

New Episode

"Fresh Vegetables get your fresh vegetables here!" called Anne as she stood at Hop-pop's stand. Sprig and Polly had left with Hop-pop to bring more vegetables back from the farm. They had sold out of carrots and squash, and needed to re-stock. Hop-pop decided to leave Anne at the stand to continue selling what was left. Ever since the people of Wartwood had given Hop-pop a new stand, they had also seemed to want to buy from him more too. This was great news for the frog and Anne was happy to help as she had come to care for the old frog.

"Ah is this the stand of Hopadiah Plantar," asked a frog as he came up to the stand. He was blue in color, dressed in simple clothes with a hat on his head.

"Yeah but he's not in right now," said Anne.

"Oh that's okay it was actually you I wanted to talk to," said the frog, "are you the creature known as Anne?"

"Anne is my name, I'm not a creature, I'm a human," answered Anne.

"Ah yes of course," said the frog, "You see I'm a reporter for the Swampshire Tribune. I had heard stories about a strange creature in Wartwood and decided to try and get the big scoop for my local paper. I'd like to ask you a few questions Anne."

"So is this like an interview or something?" asked Anne.

"Yeah I guess you could say that," said the frog, as he took out a pen and notepad, "so question one, why do you call yourself human?"

"Um because that's what I am," replied Anne, "My species is called human, I'm not a frog, or newt or any kind of amphibian."

"Ah very well then," answered the frog, "next question, do you consider yourself tall and gangly?"

"I guess, especially compared to most frogs, I think most of Wartwood has called me gangly at least once," replied Anne.

"Okay I see," said the frog writing this down, "next question, is it true you come from another world?"

"Huh how did you hear about that?" asked Anne a little suspiciously.

"Oh I've heard all kinds of rumors," answered the frog, "I just want to know if it's true or not."

"Well then yes I am from another world," said Anne, "where I'm from humans like me are a lot more common. We have things like roads, phones, the internet, movies, all kinds of things that don't exist here."

"Oh very interesting," said the frog as he wrote on his pad, "last question, do you know of any other humans that might be here in Amphibia?"

Anne paused upon hearing this question. She starred at the frog, before speaking.

"Okay that question is a little too on the nose," said Anne glaring at the frog, "who are you? What do you know about my friends being here?" Anne began to march towards the frog in a threatening manner.

"Uh well that's all I needed, then got to go," said the frog nervously as he began to hop away.

"Hey get back here!" demanded Anne as she chased after the frog. The frog began to hop through the market trying his best to put some distance between him and Anne. Anne chased after him trying her best to catch up. Eventually the frog jumped out to the main road out of town and kept hoping away, he had underestimated Anne's athleticism though. Anne kept chasing him finally closing the gap before jumping and tackling the frog to the ground.

"No more games," said Anne "what do you know about my friends?"

Before the frog could answer Anne heard her name called from a distance.

"Anne?!" yelled Hop-pop "what in the world are you doing to that frog?" Hop-pop, Sprig, and Polly rushed over to where Anne was.

"Oooo Anne's been practicing my pile driver technique," said Polly with glee, "she's gonna break his arm!"

"What? No. This frog was trying to get information out of me," said Anne, "he said he was a reporter but then he started asking about my friends, my HUMAN friends."

"Please, please let me go," pleaded the frog, "you don't understand, there are forces in play here that you can't possibly comprehend."

"What are you talking about?" asked Anne, "look if you know anything about my human friends tell me now!"

"I can't tell you," said the frog, "it's safer for you if you don't know anything."

"What do you mean safer?" asked Sprig.

"Please believe me when I tell you I'm on your side, but it's too dangerous to tell you the specifics," said the frog.

"Look mister if you know anything about Anne's friends you best get to telling her, she misses them terribly," demanded Hop-pop.

"Are you Hopidiah Plantar?" asked the frog.

"Yes that's me, though I don't think I've ever met you before," said Hop-pop looking the frog over.

"No you wouldn't have met me," answered the frog, "please listen let me go and I'll tell you what I can, but I can't tell you all the details."

Anne looked at her family, they all nodded their heads, Anne let go of the frog and he got up.

"Please understand I can't tell you everything," began the frog, "I know that sounds frustrating, but trust me when I say it's for your own protection. Anne, I don't know if there are other humans here or not. I will say I was asked to investigate if the rumors of a "strange creature" in Wartwood were true by someone who I trust. If there are other humans she might know more, but I can't tell you anything else. Please believe me. I wish I could tell you more, but the less you know the safer you are. As for you Hopidiah I wanted to thank you for what you've done."

"Uh your welcome, but I can't recall ever meeting you before," said Hop-pop, "I don't even know your name."

"Well I'm afraid I can't tell you my name," said the frog, "as for you Anne, I've told you everything I know. Please believe me when I say there are people watching over you who want you to succeed. With that I must go, stay strong!"

The frog began hoping down the road, before long he was gone completely from sight. Anne and the Plantars starred off into the distance where he had gone, unsure of what to do or even whether to believe what he told them.