P*lace Settings

“All right, let’s hear it one more time for Kids Incorporated!”

It had been a few months now since the band’s latest makeover. As usual, the audience had been more than welcoming to their latest addition, Charlie. Occasionally, they would still see Kenny at school, deeply dedicated in his quest to become a well-rounded college hopeful. The dust had settled, and they were all still standing. Which is why they were totally unprepared for the aftershock.

They’d been making plans to get together for the weekend when the mail came. Flip groaned when he opened one envelope in particular.

“Yeah, my dad does that when he sees the bills, too.” Nicole sympathized.

“It’s not a bill.” said Flip. “It’s my financial statement.”

“Then why the long face? I thought your sneaker business was doing great.” Haylie said.

“Yeah, on paper,” Flip answered, “but I’m not exactly rolling in it, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’ve got The P*lace to maintain.”

“But The P*lace is doing great, too.” said Ana. “Isn’t it?”

“Oh, sure it is! It just takes a lot more to keep it that way than I expected.”

“If anybody can pull it off, Flip, you can.” Jared told him. “You’ve got a great head for business. That’s why you’ve got two of them. Businesses, I mean, not heads.”

“I don’t know about that, Jared.” Flip said worriedly. “Lately, my head feels like it’s going to explode.”

“Well, don’t go to pieces just yet.” said Charlie. “We’re here for you, aren’t we, guys?”

“Yeah.” they said.

“Thanks, kids.” said Flip. “I’m in your debt almost as much as I am the government’s.”

While Flip struggled to stay in the black, the Kids were carefree for once.

“So, back to this weekend.” Ana was saying. “Are we still on?”

“If Jared can still come through.” Haylie said.

“Haylie, I’m hurt that you doubt me.” Jared feigned insult. “Of course I’ll come through! I promised you guys a movie marathon, and a movie marathon is what you’ll get.”

“I still can’t believe you have your own VCR.” Nicole said to him.

“Who cares?” said Charlie. “This is gonna be great! Every classic monster movie ever made, one after the other!”

“Unless you girls are scared!” Jared taunted.

“Please.” scoffed Haylie. “Boys are the ones who are such babies.”

“That’s why we have to do it at your house, so your mommy can rescue you!” teased Nicole.

“Don’t you mean his mummy?” asked Charlie jokingly.

“That was bad.” said Ana.

“My house, this weekend, for sure.” Jared reiterated. Then, in a Dracula accent, he added, “You can count on it!” Everyone booed.

Sure enough, a few days later, everyone met up outside Jared’s house armed with snacks and flashlights prepared to be spooked. But when Jared answered the door, he didn’t appear to be in a spooky mood.

“Oh, hi, guys.” he mumbled.

“Well, let’s get started. It’s almost sundown. Perfect time to watch a monster movie.” said Charlie.

“Uh, I’m afraid that won’t be possible now.”

“I knew it!” said Haylie. “Good old Jared. He never fails to disappoint.”

“Why not, Jared?” asked Nicole.

“We packed the VCR.” answered Jared. “And the TV. It makes it a whole lot easier to move with them.”

Both Haylie and Ana looked at each other and said, “The curse!”

“There’s that curse thing again.” said Jared. “What does everyone keep talking about?”

Ana explained. “Every member of Kids Inc. who’s ever lived in this house has suddenly had to move. Now it’s your turn, I guess.”

“Aw, but Jared just got here!” Nicole protested.

“And now I’ve got to leave.” Jared said.

“This isn’t fair.” Haylie complained. “We’ve just lost Kenny, now we have to lose Jared. Who’s going to be next?”

Unfortunately, Haylie would have her answer sooner than she realized By Monday, Flip’s situation had taken a disastrous turn. He had receipts all over the counter, the floor, the tables, even the chairs. “Do any of you guys mind if I claim you as my dependants?”

“Why? What happened?” asked Charlie.

“The IRS happened. Having two incomes is killing me in taxes. Piece of advice for you kids: Going into business for yourself? Not a good idea!” Suddenly, he perked up. “Hey, I can deduct that as a business expense!”

“I don’t understand. Last week, you said everything was going great.” said Ana.

“I thought it was.” Flip explained. “But now it seems that I spend more on the upkeep of The P*lace than I get out of my sneaker biz, so I keep coming up short.”

“Well, I’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s about to get worse.” Nicole informed him. “Jared’s moving away, so we’re one person short.”

“Oh, that’s just wonderful.” Flip said sarcastically. “If my main attraction’s in trouble, that means my customers will soon be gone. Which means my money will soon be gone!”

No one said anything more after that. Even though Flip had been mean, he was right. Kids Inc. did draw the majority of the customers in, and without them, things would go from bad to worse. They slipped quietly out of The P*lace.

“What are we going to do?” Haylie said. “How can we help Flip if we can’t even help ourselves?”

“What did you guys do the last time something like this happened?” asked Charlie.

“We got lucky.” said Ana. “Someone always moved into town.”

“But we can’t just wait around until that happens!” said Nicole. “We gotta do something!”

“Let’s face it, guys.” Haylie decided. “We need help, and there’s only one place we can get it.”

Kenny had spent the past hour and a half in a meeting, and the last thing he expected to see was his friends camped out in the hallway. “Hey! Come to see if I’m still alive?” he joked. They weren’t laughing. “Whoa. Those are some serious faces.” He took another head count. “Where’s Jared?”

“Probably in the next state by now, courtesy of our favorite curse.” Ana said darkly.

“And as if that wasn’t bad enough,” continued Haylie, “Flip’s gone broke, and now he’s upset with us for not holding up our end.”

“That doesn’t sound like Flip.” said Kenny. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to take it out on you guys. Running The P*lace isn’t your responsibility.”

“But we are responsible for the band.” said Nicole. “And the band and The P*lace go together. We have to help Flip.”

“I don’t think you can help.” Kenny told her. “All you can do for Flip now is just be there for him. What you’ve got to do now is concentrate on keeping Kids Incorporated afloat.”

“Without Jared, we’re treading water.” said Ana.

“Well, I’m not about to let Kids Inc. go under.” Charlie declared. “I didn’t wait all this time just to give up without a fight.” He held out his hand. “What’s it gonna be, ladies? Sink or swim?”

“I’m with you, Charlie.” Nicole put her hand on his.

Haylie added her hand. “Me, too.”

“Count me in.” said Ana.

“Good luck, guys.” Kenny said. “I’m pulling for you.”

Renewed, they headed back to the P*lace to show their support. Flip’s paper trail had disappeared, and thankfully, his temper had cooled. “Hey, you kids. I’m glad you came back. I need to apologize for how grouchy I was earlier.” he said.

“It’s all right, Flip.” said Ana. “You’re under a lot of stress right now.”

“We just want you to know that you’re not alone.” Charlie told him. “If you need anything, we’re here.”

“Yeah.” the others added.

“I know you are.” Flip smiled. “That’s why I made sure I pointed out that you kids are part of the deal.”

“What deal?” Haylie asked.

“As much as I love this place, the only way I’m going to keep from going bankrupt is to let it go.” explained Flip. “I’m selling the P*lace.”

“Oh, no, to who?” said Nicole.

“Well, that’s the thing.” said Flip. “I want you to help me decide. I’ve got a few offers, but if you don’t feel good about any of them, I’ll keep looking. I was very clear on that. Kids Inc. stays.”

“What if we don’t like any of ‘em?” Charlie said.

“Oh, no, you don’t. I’m not gonna change my mind somewhere down the line, so no stalling. Besides, I’m sure you’ll make the right choice for The P*lace.”

“We can’t even make the right choice for the band!” said Nicole.

“Yeah, who’s gonna want to buy a place that can’t attract customers?” Haylie asked glumly.

“Are you throwing in the towel already?” Flip shook his head and scolded them playfully. “Haven’t you figured out by now that there’s something in the water that just draws kids to this place?”

“Oh, Flip, no more water puns.” said Ana.

He didn’t get it. “No, I meant that there’s always someone else out there. Look at these past few years. Eric moves away, Jared moves in. Robin goes, and leaves us with Nicole. Then Kenny leaves, and here’s Charlie. I swear, this band pretty much takes care of itself.”

“So, what, we should just sit back and wait for someone new to just fall into our laps?” asked Charlie.

And like magic, something did. “Check that out.” said Kenny.

“What is it?” asked Nicole.

“It’s the names of every kid who goes to our school.” Charlie peered at the stack of papers.

“Hey, here’s a list of transfer students!” Haylie exclaimed.

“I’ve been volunteering at the guidance office,” Kenny explained, “where I just happened to come across this list. Which I’ll deny, of course, should anyone find out.”

“Thanks, Kenny.” laughed Ana. “Don’t worry, we won’t tell a soul.”

“Why don’t we split this list up, and tomorrow, we’ll start checking out these kids.” suggested Haylie.

“Sounds like a plan.” said Nicole.

“Make sure you guys stop by here, though.” Flip reminded him. “You’ve got to meet these potential buyers and let me know what you think.”

“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?” Ana asked him. “We promise we’ll do our part from now on.” Everyone gave him their most earnest smiles.

“Positive.”

They sighed. “All right, all right. We’ll give them a shot.” said Ana. “But I really doubt we’ll find another Flip.”

Schoolwork took a backseat to sleuthing the next day as the Kids began eyeing students They’d all come to the same conclusion; the band needed to be in full force in front of the buyers that afternoon. No one wanted to admit, however, that finding someone who could sing and was willing to become part of a team instantly would be like finding a needle in a haystack. A very sharp needle.

By the end of the day, everyone had come up empty-handed. “Time to call in a lifeguard.” commented Charlie. “We’re in over our heads.”

“Well, I guess the four of us will just have to impress the buyers by ourselves.” said Nicole.

“Except that we spent so much time looking for a replacement that we never got to rehearse.” Haylie pointed out.

“Now what do we do?” asked Ana.

“We’d better tell Flip.” Charlie said. “Maybe he can put off the interviews for a few days.”

But when they got to the P*lace, Flip appeared to be waiting for them. “Here they are now! Like I was saying, The P*lace comes complete with its very own house band.” He leaned over to them and muttered, “Make it good! He brought his checkbook!”

For the next five hours, it was the same thing. Every time another buyer came to the P*lace, Flip would pull out all the stops, but they always seemed to be lacking something. The P*lace was too old, or too small, or the location was wrong. A few seemed apprehensive about having a group of kids as the headliners. In just the last hour, Flip had dropped the price three times, but even that didn’t sway anyone. Adding insult to injury was the fact that business that day had been practically nonexistent. They almost pounced on a boy who walked in.

“HI!” Flip said a little too brightly. “Thank you for choosing the P*lace for your refreshment needs. How can I help you?”

“I, uh, just want a soda.” said the boy.

“Coming right up!”

“Don’t mind Flip.” said Nicole. “He just...loves to serve people.”

“Are you all waiting to be served, too?”

“No, actually, we perform here.” Haylie told him.

“Cool. I sing a little myself.” He took a sip of the soda Flip gave him.

“Hey, I don’t believe I’ve seen you around.” said Charlie. “Do you go to school here?”

“I will soon. I just moved here.”

Before anyone could react to that last statement, Flip’s next appointment arrived. “Hi, thank you for meeting for me today. I’m Flip.” Flip offered his hand.

The lady took it. “Dena. Nice place you’ve got here. I have to admit, I was surprised to find something like it on the market.”

“Well, I can assure you, you won’t find anything else that compares to The P*lace.” said Flip. He began his Please-Buy-My-P*lace speech he’d been using all day.

But Dena didn’t seem to be listening. She noticed the Kids. “Hey, are you the band whose name’s out front?”

“That’s us.” said Ana. “Kids Incorporated.”

“Wow. Putting your own band together. That takes a lot of initiative.”

“It’s a work in progress.” said Nicole.

“But they sound fantastic!” Flip piped up. “Don’t you, guys? Why don’t you show her what you’ve got?” He begged them silently.

They laughed nervously. “One moment, please.” said Haylie. Quickly they huddled. When they broke, Haylie approached the boy with the soda. “You wouldn’t happen to want to be in a band by any chance, would you?”

Apparently, he sang more than “a little”, because he was a natural on the stage. It seemed Kids Inc. had found their fifth member at last. Assuming they still had a P*lace, that is.

“So, are you ready for a tour?” Flip asked Dena after the number.

“No need.”

“Oh.” So they’d struck out again. “Well, that’s all right. I’m glad you were at least considering...”

Dena laughed. “I mean, I’ve already made up my mind. You’ve got yourself a deal!”

While Flip began working out the details, the Kids had their own deal to negotiate. “Thanks for jumping up here like that, Anthony.” Ana said to their newfound friend.

“Yeah, you really saved us.” Charlie added.

“No problem. It was fun.” said Anthony. He looked around the stage. “Man, performing here every day must be the best!”

“Well, do you feel like sticking around?” Nicole asked him.

“Oh, you bet!”

So once again, it was smooth sailing ahead for Kids Inc. – oops! Another water pun! Well, anyways, Flip was right. There’s always a kid out there with a song in his or her heart. And if Kids Incorporated had their way, there would always be a P*lace for them.

The End