FF: "Wembley's Lesson Dilemma"

[Fraggline]

Boy, I'm honored! Thanks for liking my story!
And, about the last part, that was an imitation of what Fozzie says when he hears a joke: "aaah! Fun-neeee!"

I'll see if I can't remember to post more this week.

 

[Fraggline]

Part Two of "Wembley's Lesson Dilemma"

Here's the second part:

Red showed Wembley what she called “the simplest dive in the history of diving”: jumping off a cliff with your hands above your head. Wembley gave it a try, and splash! Adrenalin rushed through him as he shot into the pond.


“Hey, that’s pretty good for a beginner! Just remember to keep your limbs as close to the rest of your body as possible.” Red instructed, demonstrating by squeezing her arms and legs tight.


“Okay, thanks, Red! See you tomorrow for the next lesson!” Wembley called over his shoulder as he started back to his room. When he got there, he remembered that he was supposed to be there for a reason.


Why am I here? He wondered. Wasn’t there something I was supposed to get? Then, all of a sudden, he remembered the reason: he needed to get a smock for Mokey’s painting lesson, and she had been waiting for him to come back for ten whole minutes! He snatched up his shirt and raced back to where she was.


When he arrived, he saw Mokey, sitting on a rock with a weary expression on her face. She almost looked as if she could cry. “Wembley!” She exclaimed as soon as she saw him. “I was going to teach you how to paint! Where have you been?”


Wembley felt terribly guilty for forgetting his friend. He tried to explain what had happened, but he just began to regret it more. “I-I was learning how to dive from Red. She said she’d teach me, too.”


Mokey took a deep breath, apparently trying to calm herself down. “Well, Wembley,” she said with some irritation, “I think you should practice harder for my painting lessons, because art is much more important than diving.”


“Okay,” Wembley agreed in a small voice. As the lesson began, though, he worried about what he would do. I can’t practice harder for Mokey if I don’t do the same for Red; if I do, then Red will be upset! He thought. I guess I’ll just have to keep this a secret from her.

 

[bingboingcutie]

Oh, boy. Wembley, I know how you feel.

 

[Fraggline]

Part Three of "Wembley's Lesson Dilemma"

Here's Part Three for everybody. Fragglemuppet and bingboingcutie, thanks so much for reading!

The next day, Wembley painted for hours, just as Mokey wanted him to
do. He used all his energy trying to control his hand perfectly,
making sure it did not waver one bit. Pretty soon, he was tired
enough to fall asleep right where he was.

It wasn’t long, though, until Red called him. “Hey, Wembley!” She
cried from the Fraggle Pond. “What are you doing? It’s time for your
diving lesson!”

“Um…I…I’m painting. Mokey said I should practice extra hard for the
lessons she’s giving me.” Wembley swallowed; he really hoped Red
wouldn’t get upset because he was working harder for Mokey than he was
for her!

“Well, come on! Diving’s more important!” Red cried impatiently.
“From now on, I want you to practice harder for my diving instruction.
It’s more worth the extra work than painting is!”

Wembley gulped again, but he couldn’t say no to Red. “I will,” he
stammered just before running to the Fraggle Pond for his lesson.
However, he couldn’t help feeling bad about his newly made promise to
his friend. Gosh, he thought, it’s really hard to promise somebody
something when you know you’ve already promised it to somebody else.

Wembley didn’t do well at his practice with Red. No matter what she
told him to do, he always ended up dropping into the water clumsily
with a tiny splash. After about half an hour, Red just shook her
head. “Wembley, you can’t dive if all you’ve been doing today is
painting! You need more practice! Come back here at sunset for an
extra lesson, but before then, make sure you’ve practiced lots: and
not for Mokey’s little painting class!”

Wembley was ashamed. He should have worked hard for Red, too: he
couldn’t only focus on Mokey’s lessons! “I will, Red,” he vowed
earnestly. A promise is a promise, and he knew he had to be
determined to keep his.

That afternoon, Wembley practically wore himself out diving. All he
could hear was the splashes of his dives and Red’s voice telling him
what to do: “Straighten your legs!” “Use more force!” “Work harder,
Wembley!” After every dive, he ran back to the cliff to do another
one. “I have to do well at this practice!” He told himself. “I
promised Red I would!”

Sometimes, though, he would remember what he’d promised Mokey: he had
to work more at painting than diving, or else she would be upset.
This made his stomach turn with guilt. If I just keep on diving, he
thought, then I’ll be breaking my promise to Mokey! What do I do?

Suddenly, after one of his dives (and after he had been practicing
for two hours), Wembley remembered: his painting lesson should have
started five minutes ago! He scrambled to dry himself off and rushed
to where Mokey was. When he got there, she was all ready to teach
him.

“Okay, Wembley, let’s begin!” Mokey smiled a pleasant smile as she
handed him a paintbrush and began to show him how to shade a painted
cube.

Wembley tried his best to steady his hand so he wouldn’t make a
mistake, but he couldn’t seem to: his hands were too cold from the
water for him to use them properly. Mokey quickly noticed this.

“What’s wrong with your painting, Wembley?” She asked. “You have
practiced extra hard all day, right?” She spoke with a twinge of
nervousness in her tone; it almost seemed as if she was afraid he had
been practicing more for Red than he had for her.

Wembley scratched the back of his head as he attempted to tell her
what he had been doing. “Well, I guess…I sort of…had to work hard on
my dives for Red’s extra practice---“

All of a sudden, Mokey dropped her paintbrush. Her eyelids shot
straight up. “Extra…practice?”
“Ummm…I…” Wembley stumbled frantically for words, but he couldn’t
come up with the right ones.

Mokey filled the silence for him, though. “Wembley, you and I are
going to have an extra practice, too: tonight!” She cried. “Be back
here at sunset!”

Sunset? Wembley thought. I can’t; Red’s extra practice is at the
same time! “But I---“

“You’ll be there!” Mokey insisted with a fierce glow in her eyes.

Wembley was terrified. What could he possibly do to get himself out
of this? He had no choice but to do what both of them wanted.