Mame has a minion!

bean friend the Valiant Jelly Bean

"Now you wrap the bean with the wet napkin, drop it into your foam cup, and put it by the window!" said Mr. Humb

Eric was excited. He really loved hands-on science projects and this one seemed simple enough to do. He beamed at the moistened bean and held the foam cup so tightly that the originally round foam cup turned permanently oval.

The bell rang, and Eric was eager to get home to place his seed by the window in his room. Standing by the pick up area of the school parking lot, he took another look at the cup he was still holding onto. Eric used his pinky finger to gently lift up a fold of the napkin surrounding the bean to peak at it. "Hello!" Eric whispered loudly, "please grow up healthy and strong!"

A familiar silver car covered in dents and scratches pulled up to Eric. It was dad! Eric, hopped onto the passengers seat, buckled his seat belt careful not to shake his cup too much, and closed the car door behind him. Eric was smiling as he peered expectantly at his father.

"Hooh! That's the bean project isn't it!" Eric's Dad exclaimed with his naturally baritone voice.

"Hehe, YUP!" Eric replied.

"I remember doing that project when I was your age."

"Did yours grow up to be big and healthy, daddy?"

Eric's dad thought for a long second, and then decided to answer honestly. "Well, these beans really don't last all that long. Especially in a foam cup and all. Also--"

Through the corner of his eye, he felt his son's eyes staring at him. It was a very sad expression that Eric was making. "AHH, but you never know! I'm sure that if I corrected the mistakes I made on my bean, yours will grow up nice and big like you wanted!"

The tension subsided. That was a close one. And for a moment Eric's dad forgot about the fact that he had absolutely zero talent for nurturing anything related to botany. In fact, the bean he took care of as a kid was the one bean in the entire class that didn't sprout. Like not even a little. The teacher had reassured him that there were defected beans, but Eric's dad knew better. He decided it was like he had the opposite of a green thumb. Perhaps a red thumb. It was only a week ago that he learned about complementary colors in his art class.

The duo reached home, and Eric ecstatically rushed into the house to place his bean by the window in his room. His dad was not so ecstatic and was more focused on how he was supposed to make good on his promise to his son.

A day passed, then another, and by day three Eric noticed a thin and white root beginning to poke out through the wet napkin. It was all looking good. Another week passed, and the bean was growing vividly. Eric was taking wonderful care of his beloved bean. Then a month had passed and the greens of the leaves were making their way to the top of the foam cup. It was quite a sight, and Eric's dad was probably a little more mesmerized than Eric himself. But upon further inspection, Eric's dad realized something was not quite right. He rubbed his eyes to make sure, but there it was again.. a face? A moment of internal monologue began to run through Eric's dad mind. E-even if Eric was naturally gifted in growing beans.. isn't this too much? Not that I know anything about plants though.. maybe this is just how it goes? No no no, that can't be right. Bean don't have faces do they? DO THEY? Then his mind wandered to a youtube video he once watched about spotting Abraham Lincoln in the folds of your laundry mess and finding other sightings of people shaped chicken nuggets. He concluded it was something like that.

The leaves were big and thriving now. Just the two, but they wiggled about majestically anyway. Mame, as Eric named him, swam around in the newly bought pot of soil. Eric was pleased. It was the day all the students would need to bring their bean project back to class to do show and tell. Pridefully, Eric brought his sprouted bean to school. Just before pulling open the door to his classroom, Eric took a deep breath. Not the type you take when you're nervous, but the type of deep breath to ready yourself for a nice a long informational speech. Eric was ready for compliments.

The door was now open, and the light coming from the windows in the classroom shone on Eric's face. He was blinded for a short second, but as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room, he saw an unexpected sight. Eric's teacher was hiding behind his table and his classmates were surrounding Mr. Humb with the foam cups. What bothered Eric the most was the fact that everyone still used foam cups to hold their beans. Eric walked closer to take a better look. The beans his classmates were holding were different than Mame! Retaining their original bean shapes, the beans had thin scrawny limbs and a single leaf that sprouted above their heads.

----- TO BE CONTINUED -----

in the meantime, enjoy some Mame art:
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overlay by sheimi
story, ref, and minion overlay by Toushiro
profile by Tea
profile art by LostLX at tumblr

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