[Northeast side of Grunvale, early evening. Sally is driving a 1965 Volvo Amazon, while the triplets sit in the back seats. Molly sits in the middle, Paddy to her right and Margo to her left. And Buffett rides on the top of the car]
Molly: “I love staying at Uncle Shaun’s!” [car hits pothole, causing her to bump her head on the ceiling. She continues as she grips her head] “Nothing says being from the richest family in Grunvale, who live a mansion with a beautiful, panoramic view of the entire town, than spending the weekend with your middle-class relatives. Who live in a glorified shack built into a burrow, and have just thick woods and the other glorified shacks to look forward to outside their door.”
Sally: “I know! It’s pahfect foah a gal like you!”
Margo: “It’s not all thick woods, Mol. They’ve got a backyard. Not as big as ours or Gilda’s, but bigger than most ines’ in town! And it’s got a stream at the edge!”
Molly: “And the two oak trees that block out what little sun the pines don’t. Which kind of defeats the purpose if this was about getting sunshine!”
Sally: “They’uh’s still fresh aiuh to get. If ya want yoah sun so much, then ya know yoah uncle’s got those UV lights foah his plants. Just point ’em at yoahself and pretend. Ya didn’t foahget how to pretend, did ya?”
Molly: “No, but you’re mistaken if you think that’s nearly the same thing.”
Sally: “Well, then just climb a tree and get yoah sun. If you’ah that insistent on gettin’ real sun.” [the Hyndes reach the Ketcham house] “Well, we’uh here.” [the triplets exit the car] “Have a nice weekend, ‘membah to behave yoahselves foah my brother and Aunt Roxie.”
Hynde triplets: “We will.”
Molly: “I’m gonna miss the sun, though!”
Margo: “Buffett, caw caw!”
[Buffett flies off the roof of the car and onto Margo’s head, just as Sally drives off. The triplets being walking toward the Ketcham house, but jump as they hear a loud burst, followed by a hiss. They turn to see that their mother’s car has hit another pothole and caused a flat tire]
Paddy: “Oh no, that ain’t good.”
[Sally steps out to look at the damage]
Sally: “Crap!“
[the Ketchams’ front door swings open, and out walk Shaun and Roxanne’s quintuplets: Zack, dressed in green and wearing glasses, carrying a rag and bucket; Ellen, wearing a yellow dress and carrying a bucket of paint and a set of brushes; Drake, dressed in red and wearing a bandana, carrying a car jack; Victoria, dressed in blue and wearing a baseball cap, carrying a lug wrench, and Filmore, wearing a black leather jacket and rolling a tire across the lawn. The triplets watch as the quintuplets walk toward the car]
Zack: “Don’t worry, aunt Sally, we’ll have this taken care of in no time.”
Drake: “We came rushing the second we heard it.”
[Sally backs away from the car as the quintuplets survey the car]
Zack: “Alright, it’s a ’65 Volvo Amazon in aqua, paint is chipped in a few places. Ellen, that is aqua paint you have, right?”
Ellen: [holds up paint can to show that it is indeed aqua] “Like I’d forget the color of my aunt’s car. We see it every month.”
Zack: “Very good. I think the small brush will be enough for this job.”
Ellen: “I’ll make the coat so shiny and even, this car’ll look like a piece of the ocean on the road.”
Sally: “Paint?”
Zack: “The windows look a bit scuffed and dirty, too. I also see cat paw prints and…” [takes a closer look] “…the prints of a Herring gull, on the windshield and roof.”
Buffett: “Cawwwk! Cawwwk! Cawwwk!”
Zack: “Thankfully, no droppings, so this’ll be easy to clean.”
Sally: “Clean? Um, no, no, no, quints, I just need the tiyah changed –“
Zack: “And of course, the tire needs to be changed. Filmore, thanks for getting that one out.”
Filmore: “Mm-hmm.”
Zack: “We’ll need a screwdriver to remove and secure the nuts.”
Victoria: “No, Zack, we’ll need a lug wrench.” [holds up said lug wrench] “And I’ve got you covered.”
Zack: “Yes, Victoria, I was testing you and you passed.” [Victoria scowls] “It is in fact a lug wrench we need.”
Victoria: “You know I don’t like being called Victoria.”
Zack: “Right, right. Vicky. It’s a lug wrench we need, Vicky.”Victoria Vicky: “We’ll talk about this later.”
Margo: [claps and speaks quietly] “Heheh, that’s right, Vicky. Don’t let anybody call you by your stupid girly name.”
Zack: “And we’ll need the jack to secure and lift the car.” [Drake is already setting the jack up, setting it as high as it goes]
Drake: [claps] “Boom. Secured!”
Zack: “Alright, guys, you know the drill. ‘Quints move quick’ on four. One, two, three, four…”
Ketcham quints: “Quints move quick!” [the quints get to working on the car. Sally steps back so she won’t get in the way of their work]
Margo: “That has a nice rhythm to it.”
Paddy: “What does?”
Margo: “‘One, two, three, four, quints move quick’. It’s got a time signature to it and everything. I’m sure if I had Gilda play her metronome to it, I could even find out the tempo.” [pulls out her phone] “In fact, give me a moment.” [calls Gilda and walks off] “Hey, Gil, can you help me figure out something?”
[barely a minute into the job, Ellen has filled in most of the areas of chipped paint, Zack has cleaned all the windows, and most importantly, Filmore is now holding the busted tire, with Drake inserting the new one onto the car and Vicky securing the nuts]
Sally: “How’d ya know this was an Amazon, kid?”
Zack: “I study a lot of old cars. I love how boxy they look. I want a car like that once I’m old enough.”
Sally: “Well, I hope ya find one, ’cause I ain’t lendin’ ya mine. Too attached.” [watches the other quints finish on her car] “Ya guys wahk real fast there.”
Zack: “But of course, aunt Sally. We know you’re in a hurry.” [Sally pats his head, causing Zack to crack a smile] “Also we all take shop class, so we know our way around a car. Well, okay, actually, Ellen takes home ec, but she’s got an eye for detail.”
Sally: “Home ec, huh?”
Zack: “She likes baking and cooking. Also Dad pressured her to take it when he found out she likes baking and cooking.”
Sally: [laughs weakly] “Yup. Sounds like ‘im. Yoah father was the only one out of his siblings to take home ec, too.”
[Ellen paints over the final chipped areas and Drake lowers the jack, finishing the quints’ repairs]
Ellen, Drake, Vicky: “And done!”
Zack: “And done?”
Filmore: “Mm-hmm.”
[beat. Sally looks over the car]
Ellen: “Well, what do you think, aunt Sally? Doesn’t it look beautiful?”
Sally: “Yes, Ellen, it does look beautiful. But moah importantly…” [feels the tire] “You got my tiyah on theuh good and tight. Both on the cah and in tiyah pressure! Good wahk, mah brothah’s kids!” [sees Shaun and Roxanne walk up] “And good job raisin’ ’em, Roxie! And Shaun!”
Roxanne: “Yeah, we raised a great pit crew, didn’t we?” [ruffles Sally’s head]
Sally: [flattens hair back out] “And good kids as well. That just so happen that they’d be a good pit crew too.”
Shaun: “Would you believe my Ellen doesn’t even take shop?”
Sally: “Yes, Zack told me. She’s the only one of five of the only one of five.”
Shaun: “She was actually making grilled cheese sandwiches for us when we heard your tire burst. They were a big hit at the Larson bake sale, she made over a hundred of ’em and they sold out in just over an hour!”
Sally: “Oh, really?”
Filmore: “Mm-hmm.”
Sally: “Ya didn’t tell me ya had a little Emeril, Shaun.” [beat] “Grilled cheese, huh? What’d it taste like?”
Ellen: “This!” [takes a miniature grilled cheese out and shoves it into Sally’s mouth. Sally immediately begins chewing it]
Sally: “Mmm!” [pulls mini-sandwich away from mouth, leaving strings of cheddar between her lips and what’s left] “Oh, this is delish. How do ya make this?”
Ellen: “Oh, just a tiny slice and some sprinkles on sourdough bread. And also dijon mustard for that spice.”
Sally: “Well, Ellen? I didn’t think grilled cheese could taste this good. You’re a bona fide prodigy.”
Ellen: [blushes] “Thanks, Aunt Sally. I get that a lot.”
[beat]
Sally: “Well, I best be goin’ now. Shaun, Roxie, keep the triplets entertained.” [calls out to the triplets] “G’bye, kids! Foah real now!”
Paddy: “Bye!”
Molly: “Goodbye.”
Margo: “165 BPM!” [pause as she puts her phone away] “I mean, uh… bye, Mom!”
[Sally scowls at Margo as she steps into her car. After a few seconds, she drives off. The Ketcham family wave as her car disappears into the trees]
Shaun: “Alright, now let’s have some sandwiches from the up-and-coming master chef!”
Ellen: “Oh, please, Dad, you embarrass me.”
Roxanne: “Get used to hearing it, El. The ines at the bake sale really loved those sandwiches.”
Filmore: “Mm-hmm.”
[the Ketchams head inside, and the Hynde triplets follow. Margo catches up with Vicky]
Margo: “Wow, you guys are really hyping them up. Are they really that good? The sandwiches, I mean?”
Vicky: “Oh yeah. They totally are, Mar. Prepare to experience Heaven for the taste buds.”
The fourth of (hopefully) twelve entries to fulfill my New Year’s resolution. For April (specifically April 12th), we have National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day! And also the debut appearance of the Hynde triplets’ quintuplet cousins, Shaun and Roxanne’s intelligent and energetic kids who attend Larson Middle School: the nerdy Zack, the girly-girl Ellen, the athlete Drake, the tomboy Victoria, and the emo Filmore.
Well, in the ficlet, at least. The artwork itself, of course, depicts Victoria (who much prefers the name ‘Vicky’), Margo’s favorite of her cousins, not just of Shaun’s kids, but in general. Mainly because, much like herself, Vicky is a tomboy. But more of the book-reading type than the athletic type; while Margo just knows what works for anything she does, Vicky actually knows the mechanics and such, as to why it works. For instance, Margo would know to egg the house of anyone who gets under her skin, whereas Vicky would know the type and angle of throw to cause the most damage with the eggs. And teach it to Margo.
Not that anybody should be egging anybody’s houses, but you get the idea. Vicky is the brainy tomboy, and Margo is the brawny tomboy. Together, they’re a powerful force in… tomboyishness. Uh… I’m under a bit of a time constraint to put this out, I head to work in like an hour as I’m writing this. 😅
Anyways, that’s all for this artwork. Until next time, take care, stay safe, reject crypto, watch Nimona whenever it comes out, and have a good one.
Twitter (Main): https://twitter.com/StormyAdlerPoG
Twitter (Art): https://twitter.com/TheOfficialOTOG
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Discord: Contact me by my tag (Stormy Adler, P.o.G.#1752) for an invite to my server.
Grunvale/OTOG is owned by me. You’re free to draw fanart of it, as long as you credit me as the creator of the series.
This artwork was made at a resolution of 5076×2160 (aspect ratio 2.35:1).
The Gallery of Stormy Adler 