Alright, tell me what you think. Positive reviews please.
At Arnold's that afternoon, the band plays on the little stage while other teens danced. After the song is over, everyone else returned to their usual meal.
Richie then said, "C'mon guys! Malts on me!"
Potsie and Ralph went with him over to their booth and sat down exhausted.
"Do we have to do this all day?" Potsie asked.
"Well Al wants us to keep going until he gets the new jukebox," Richie sighed tiredly. "We better get paid for this. Luckily he's gonna bring a radio in so I can go home and do my homework."
Al went over with three malts with straws.
Than a lovely girl with brunette hair and brown eyes walked in and immediately sat down opening her book to read.
Ralph and Potsie then sighs looking over to her, "Wow. Who's that?"
"That's Amanda Salisbury. She just moved to the other side of town. I have been asked to show her around," Richie replied.
Potsie then asked feeling a little envious, "How come we don't get to show her around?"
"I'm the only one who can understand sign language. She's deaf," Richie said sadly.
"Ohhhhhhh," Potsie and Ralph said.
Just then Fonzie came in the restaurant and went over to the booth where Potsie, Ralph and Richie are at.
Richie smiled and got up. "Fonz! Your back!"
"I am!" Fonzie said smiling and sat down with them.
"How's that derby at Kansas?" He asked.
"I won. Had a victory party to get my drift. And then came back. Same old," Fonzie chuckles. "I'm gonna go in my office real quick." Then he went to the men's room.
Richie sighed, "I gotta get home so I can do my homework. It's due tomorrow."
"Yeah me too," Potsie said as they get up and left after finishing their malt.
Fonzie came out of the office and didn't hear any music. He went over to the jukebox and hit it to make it play. But something went wrong. No music was playing on the jukebox.
Fonzie looked at it confused and then bumps it with his fist again to try to make it play. But it didn't work again. He hits it again and again and again but still no music.
At the end he kicked it in frustration. But stood there and takes a deep breath to calm down and keep cool.
He looks over to see Amanda sitting there still reading. He smiled and snaps his fingers getting her to come. But she didn't. She just kept her eyes in the book. He looked at fingers confused again and snapped his fingers getting her to come, but it didn't. He kept snapping his fingers making her come to him. But he still didn't get her to come.
"What is going on?" He mutters to himself looking at his fingers. He is disappointed and then left sulking a little.
Meanwhile at home, Marion puts out a few candles and placed them just about to light them.
Richie came in and said, "Oh hi mom!"
"Hello Richard!" She replied.
He asked looking around, "The power still out?"
"Still is. What's worse is that one of the old wires cut loose during the huge power outage! Now no lights can turn on," Marion said sadly.
Richie looked around asking, "Where's Joanie?"
She replied, "She's at the library studying."
"Which reminds me, I gotta go do some homework. I need to borrow one of the candles," Richie said taking one of the candles and brought it upstairs.
Marion said walking out the kitchen door, "I'm gonna order takeout while Howard is going to the Leopard Lodge. Since I can't use the stove right now…"
Then Fonzie came in the door finding that the living room is dark as soon as Marion left.
"Why is it so dark in here?" He asked himself. He hits the wall so it can turn on the lights, but the lights didn't turn on.
Fonzie looked around confused. And then sighed giving up.
"I guess that's it huh?" He said disappointed. Not one thing works for him since he came back. This has never happened before in his life. Never. He thinks he could be losing his cool. He went out the kitchen door and up to his apartment and sat in his chair by the table thinking.
A few days later, the family starts to worry about Fonzie. He's been doing nothing but lying in his pull-out bed moping. They try to get him to tell them what's wrong but nothing.
He would just lay there in tears and look at the leather jacker that was thrown in the empty wastebasket.
"Where's Arthur dear?" Marion asked Richie while making breakfast that morning.
"He's still in his apartment in his bed," he replied.
"How long was he in there?"
Richie replied, "Three days. I tried to get him to tell me what's wrong. But he's not saying anything."
Marion sighed. "Well maybe breakfast can cheer him up. Pancakes with maple syrup with eggs sunny side up!"
Richie then finished his breakfast and Marion said giving him a plate of food on it saying, "Take it up to Arthur. I'm sure it will cheer him up."
"Alright mom." Richie sighed taking the plate up to Fonzie's apartment. He knocks on the door and said, "Fonz can I come in?"
When there's no reply, he knocked on the door again.
"Fonz? It's just me! Can I come in? I got breakfast!"
No reply.
Richie was going to look inside, but the curtains on the door were in the way which worried him. He looked over in the driveway below finding his motorcycle still sitting there which means that he's here. He turned the knob on the door finding it unlocked. He continues turning and opened the door finding Fonzie sitting on the edge of the bed… With a knife in his hand about to do something bad with it…
Richie stopped really shocked not knowing what to do. He immediately dropped the plate of food into a shattered mess on the floor.
"FONZIE!" Richie screamed feeling his legs running over to him and immediately tries to take the knife out of his hands but Fonzie wouldn't. And it results in a fight. They tug and tug and tug. But eventually, Richie got it out of his hands and Fonzie falls on the floor and Richie threw it toward the window and it broke the glass.
Richie pants taking deep breaths and looked at Fonzie for only a minute. Then he finally said slowly, "What are you doing? Why are you doing this?"
Fonzie didn't look at him.
"Why?" Richie shouted. "You haven't said a word to any of us for days. All you kept saying nothing is wrong! But something is wrong! You didn't say anything! You were depressed! Your never depressed! The Fonz is never depressed!" Fonzie still didn't reply to what he said. "There's less and less people at Arnold's because you weren't there anymore! It's gonna go out of business because nobody would show up! A-And a lot of cars are piling up at the mechanics because you didn't go over there to fix them!" He waited for response, but nothing. "And you wanted to do this! Fonzie you do realize what this can cause! This isn't the answer to anything! Everyone will be sad! My family will be sad! Our friends will be sad! In fact all of Milwaukee will be sad and less colorful! You are the coolest guy we know! Without you, everything will fall apart!" After saying it to Fonzie, he still didn't respond. Richie couldn't take it anymore. "I'M SO SICK OF YOU NOT ANSWERING ME ARTHUR FONZARELLI! EVERYONE WILL BE SO DEPRESSED BECAUSE YOUR DEPRESSED! I WANT ANSWERS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! AND I WANT IT NOW!"
After he yelled at him, Fonzie finally fell apart. He curls his knees in to his chest, wraps his arms around and sniffled. Richie could've sworn he heard crying.
Richie then kneeled over and immediately said softening his voice, "Fonzie.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say it. It's just that everyone is worried about you."
He still heard sniffles.
"Please tell me what's wrong," Richie said rubbing his hand on Fonzie's back. Fonzie didn't really mind about it but he looked up to Richie with his tearful eyes.
Fonzie opened his mouth and finally said choking up, "I'm not cool anymore Red."
Richie looked at him confused. He suddenly asked, "What?"
"It's either I've gone nutso! Or I lost my cool," Fonzie shouted.
Richie then said, "No way Fonz, you wouldn't lose your cool!"
"Well why is nothing working for me anymore!?" Fonzie asked angry and sad at the same time.
Richie then asked slowly puzzled, "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm losing my touch!" Fonzie shouted. "MY touch!"
Then Richie's eyes widened and then asked, "You mean, hitting the jukebox?"
He nodded not saying anything.
"And-And snapping your fingers to make girls respond?"
Fonzie nodded again.
"And, even using your fist to turn on the light or making things work!?" Richie then said horrified.
"Mmmhmmm…" Fonzie said glumly.
Richie then said scared, "Oh man… You are in trouble."
"You think?" Fonzie finally said still sad.
Richie then looked around not knowing what to say. He said, "Maybe I can help you."
"You would Red?"
He then said, "Yeah. But promise you won't ever do that again! The Fonz would never do something like that. Fonzie, this isn't you. Your you because you have unique talents. And there's no one else that's more cool than you."
Fonzie looked at him and gave him a small smile and said, "I'm…" He trailed off because he can't say he's sorry or he's wrong, and Richie then said, "I forgive you Fonz."
They sat for a moment in silence. But Richie had a great idea.
"Let's just retrace our steps Fonz. When did this happen?" He asked.
Fonzie replied standing up, "When I came back from Kansas."
"Then maybe something has happened while your away," Richie then said thinking. "What about the derby. What happened there?"
"I won," he replied pacing across the room, "and was carried by a bunch of girls to go to the victory party. Never knew either one of them has strong arms."
Richie then asked, "And what happened?"
"And I spent the night in a motel. Not too shabby, ain't that fancy. Just nice because I was exhausted, I did nothing except collapse on the dusty bed."
"And that's it before you left?"
"Yeah."
"Then when's the last time you hit something?"
"I turned off the lights in the motel room before I left," he replied still pacing around the room.
"Then that's it. Must've happened before you got home," Richie said suddenly. "Think we're on to something."
"All I did was drive my bike," Fonzie replied. "Nonstop since that morning to get back here."
Richie thought for a moment and asked again, "What did you do when you first got back to Milwaukee?"
"I came to Arnold's. And I found you guys having a malt and then I went into my office. And then walked out and I want to play some music, but when I hit the jukebox, it did nothing."
Richie then looked at him finding out the problem. Fonzie didn't know that the jukebox is broken.
Richie sighed and said, "Fonz. There's a reason why. There was an infestation in the jukebox. Full of rats."
Fonzie looked at him and asked, "Rats?"
"Yeah. A lot of them were living in that jukebox and the whole interior is destroyed. Al is trying to get a new one," he explained. "I forgot to tell ya."
"Woah… And then I saw this beautiful chick, and I tried snapping my fingers like always. But it didn't work," Fonzie said sadly putting his head in hands.
Richie thought for a moment and asked, "Wait, what does that girl look like?"
"Brunnette, brown eyes, reading a book," Fonzie replied.
"Hmmmm… I know who it is. Fonz, that girl is deaf. She can't hear. I was chosen to show her around because I can communicate with her. She's new in town."
Fonzie then asked him, "She's deaf?"
"Yeah. I forgot to tell you that too…" He thought for a second about his house and asked, "And your probably wondering about the electricity in the house right?"
Fonzie looked at him and nodded.
He then explained, "While you were away, we had a power outage and not only that, one of the old wires got cut loose. Which is why we've been wasting the entire weekend sitting with candles."
After he said that. He asked Fonzie, "And what else happened?"
"I went in my apartment and into my bed. That's it. And I threw my leather jacket away," he finished.
Richie looked at him and said, "Oh Fonz. We just had an off weekend. It's my fault anyways. I should've told you all these things. But that doesn't mean your not cool anymore."
"All the long I thought nothing works for me anymore," Fonzie sighed sadly. "Let me tell ya something Red. You never tell a single soul about it or i'll run you over with my bike. Dig?"
"Yeah. Cross my heart. Hope to die, swear on Aunt Paula's grave," Richie said crossing his heart.
Fonzie looked at him confused asking, "She dead now?"
Richie ignored that question and then said, "Come on. Tell me. We're like brothers."
"I'm scared…"
TBC