REGULAR ED

Chapter 2

The next morning, Ed, Edd & the park workers were sitting on the steps outside the house with Benson standing in front of them.

"Where is he? I told him 8 AM and now, it's 8:03," Benson said impatiently as he looked at his watch.

"I'm sure Eddy will arrive any minute now, Benson," Edd assured.

"He'd better,"

Just then, the front door opened. Eddy showed up, slouching and looking tired, and said, "I hate gettin' up early."

"Glad you finally decided to show up. You're three minutes late," Benson scolded.

"I told you I ain't a morning person," Eddy argued.

"I told you to get used to being one! Now, take your seat!"

Eddy groaned and sat down between Ed and Edd.

"Alright, we have a lot of work to do today," Benson announced. "Mordecai and Rigby, I need you two to repaint the benches. Pops and Skips, I need you two to clean the fountain. Muscle Man and High-Five Ghost, you two are on snack bar duty."

"You know who else is on snack bar duty?" Muscle Man asked.

"Please don't say it," Benson groaned as he facepalmed himself.

"MY MOM!"

Everyone except the Eds, Muscle Man & High-Five Ghost groaned in annoyance.

"Who writes this guy's stuff?" Eddy wondered.

"Everyone just get to work. Ed, Double-D, Eddy, you guys hold on for a minute," Benson instructed.

The park workers left to go do their respective jobs, leaving the Eds alone with Benson.

"Okay, guys. Listen up," Benson began. "I usually have my employees work in groups of two but since there's three of you, I'm gonna let you three work together. Today, I want you to mow the entire lawn."

"Mow the lawn?" Edd repeated nervously.

"All of it?" Eddy complained.

"Yes, all of it," Benson repeated. "When you're done, I want you to measure the grass and make sure it's no more than one inch high. We wanna keep the grass short so no one'll trip over it, got it?"

"Yes, sir," Edd replied.

"Good. The lawnmowers are in the shed. I'm gonna do some work in my office and then, I'll check up on you guys later,"

Benson walked up the steps and into the house. Edd groaned once Benson was gone.

"Are you alright, Double-D?" Ed asked.

"Benson wants us to mow the lawn. I detest mowing the lawn," Edd complained.

"Ah, cutting the grass is simple. Even Ed here can do it," Eddy commented.

"'Cause I'm simple," Ed added.

A short while later, after getting two lawnmowers from the shed, the Eds were in another section of the park. Ed was making car noises and pushing his lawnmower really fast while Edd was sweating and pushing his lawnmower more slowly. Eddy wasn't doing any work at all; he was just sitting under a tree with a glass of lemonade in his hand.

"Eddy, remind me again how you're helping," Edd said, stopping his lawnmower and wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"I'm supervising," Eddy replied, taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Can I supervise at some point?"

"Don't count on it,"

Benson showed up and approached the Eds. "Hey, guys," he greeted. "How's it goin' so far?"

"Well, Ed and I are making progress while Eddy is just supervising as he calls it," Edd explained.

"Eddy, why aren't you working?" Benson asked sternly.

"I don't work," Eddy answered.

Benson's gumballs turned red. "You do unless you wanna get fired."

"So? If I get fired, that just means I get to go home and goof off the rest of summer,"

"Not exactly, Eddy. If I remember correctly, you told me your parents would ground you if you lost this job," Edd reminded.

"Thanks for remindin' me, Sockhead," Eddy said sarcastically.

"BEEP BEEP!" Ed shouted.

Benson saw Ed running towards him while pushing his lawnmower. Benson screamed and jumped out of the way, spilling his gumballs in the process. Eddy burst out laughing.

"Oh, my. Benson, are you alright?" Edd asked in shock as he rushed over to Benson.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Benson answered in annoyance as he stood up.

Ed stopped his lawnmower and faced Benson. "Sorry about that, Mr. Gumball Machine," Ed said.

"IT'S BENSON!"

"Nice one, Monobrow," Eddy complimented. "Maybe next time, you can make him crap jawbreakers."

"THAT'S IT!" Benson snapped. He glared at Eddy. "I told you yesterday there'd be consequences for disrespecting me! I don't care that you're new anymore! Get to work now or you're fired!"

Benson pulled out a small plastic bag and started putting his spilt gumballs into it.

"Can I eat one of your gumballs?" Ed asked.

"Please don't, Ed. That would be very unsanitary," Edd said.

Benson faced Ed and Edd after collecting his gumballs. "Keep up the good work, Double-D. Ed, watch where you're going next time," Benson said before walking off.

"That guy's really gettin' on my nerves," Eddy commented once Benson was out of earshot.

"Benson is just doing his job, Eddy. Perhaps you should do the same," Edd advised.

Mordecai and Rigby showed up and approached the Eds.

"Hey, guys," Mordecai greeted. "Me an' Rigby are goin' on break. Do you wanna join us?"

"Sure. It beats workin' out here in the heat," Eddy agreed.

"I wanna go on break too," Ed agreed.

"Cool. Let's go play video games," Rigby suggested.

Ed, Eddy, Mordecai & Rigby started walking towards the house.

"Gentlemen, wait!" Edd shouted as he ran after them. "We haven't finished mowing the lawn yet."

"Finish it yourself, Double-D," Eddy replied. "I wanna play video games."

"Eddy, I can't mow all this grass alone. I need yours and Ed's help,"

"What's with you? I thought you liked workin',"

"I don't enjoy mowing the lawn,"

"Yeah, but you do it anyway 'cause you're a goody-two-shoes. C'mon, guys,"

Ed, Eddy & Rigby continued walking towards the house. Edd was upset that Ed and Eddy had just abandoned him.

"The gall of that Eddy. Leaving me stranded," Edd grumbled as he walked back over to his lawnmower.

Mordecai watched Edd and started to feel bad for him. Rigby looked back and noticed Mordecai wasn't following him.

"Hey, Mordecai, you comin' or not?" Rigby asked as he walked back over to Mordecai.

"Dude, we can't just leave Double-D to work by himself. It's only his first day and his friends just ditched him," Mordecai said.

"It's no big deal. You heard what Eddy said. Double-D likes working,"

"Yeah, but it's still kinda messed up. Plus, if Benson finds out, he's gonna blame us,"

"You're exaggerating, dude,"

"Whatever," Mordecai replied. "You can go play video games if you want. I'm gonna give Double-D a hand."

"Suit yourself," Rigby said before running after Ed and Eddy. "Wait for me, guys!"

Mordecai walked over to Edd. "Hey, Double-D. Need any help?" Mordecai asked.

"I would appreciate that," Edd replied. "Thank you, Mordecai."

Edd and Mordecai spent the rest of the morning mowing the grass while Ed, Eddy & Rigby spent it playing video games. When the afternoon came, they all decided to take a lunch break and were now walking to the coffee shop.

"Man, Rigby, you suck at video games. Even Ed here can beat you," Eddy teased.

"Shut up!" Rigby retorted. "You guys just got lucky."

"How bad did you guys beat him?" Mordecai asked.

"We played Mario Kart and beat him in every race. Then, we played Super Smash Brothers and beat him in every fight," Eddy explained.

"Man, Rigby, you really do suck at video games. You can't even beat two kids," Mordecai teased.

"Sure, I can!" Rigby argued. "I was just goin' easy on 'em 'cause it's their first day."

When the group of five arrived at the coffee shop, they entered and as they walked down the stairs, they saw Margaret and Eileen serving coffee at two different tables.

"Oh, great. Another bird," Eddy muttered under his breath. Luckily for him, Mordecai didn't hear that.

"Eddy, be polite. We're spending our summer here so you might as well adapt to it," Edd sternly whispered. "Ed, no hugging them this time."

It was then that the group saw someone else walking by while holding a coffee pot. That person was wearing the same uniform Margaret and Eileen were wearing.

"Hey, they hired someone new," Rigby pointed out. He and Mordecai didn't recognize the new employee but the Eds did.

"That's Nazz!" Ed exclaimed in surprise. Edd and Eddy were surprised too.

"You know her?" Mordecai asked.

"Oh, yes. She lives in our cul-de-sac," Edd replied. "She must have a summer job as well."

"What're we waitin' for? Let's go talk to her," Eddy suggested.

The Eds ran up to Nazz with Mordecai and Rigby in tow.

"Hi, Nazz," the Eds greeted in unison.

Nazz was surprised to see them. "Hey, guys!" she greeted. "What're you doing here?"

"We're on lunch break," Eddy replied. "You work here now?"

"Yeah, my parents wanted me to get a summer job,"

"What a coincidence," Edd commented.

"Our parents made us get summer jobs too. We work at the park with Mordecai and Rigby here," Eddy informed, gesturing towards Mordecai and Rigby.

"Cool! I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot this summer," Nazz commented.

"Indeed," Edd agreed.

Margaret and Eileen entered the scene.

"Hey, Mordecai. Hey, Rigby," Margaret greeted.

"Hey, Margaret. Hey, Eileen," Mordecai greeted.

"This is Ed, Double-D & Eddy," Rigby informed, gesturing towards the Eds. "They're the new park workers we told you about yesterday."

"It's nice to meet you both," Edd told Margaret and Eileen.

"Thanks, you too," Eileen replied.

"I guess you guys have already met Nazz. She's working here for the summer," Margaret said.

"I already know Ed, Double-D & Eddy. We live in the same cul-de-sac," Nazz mentioned.

"That's cool. Maybe, we can all hang out sometime," Eileen suggested. Ed, Edd, Nazz, Mordecai, Rigby & Margaret agreed to the idea.

"Alright, but you two better not have any quarters in your mouths," Eddy told Mordecai and Margaret.

After lunch, the Eds, Mordecai & Rigby said goodbye to Nazz, Margaret & Eileen and left the coffee shop.

"Our lunch break ends in ten minutes, gentlemen," Edd informed as he looked at his watch. "Let's return to the park so we can continue working."

"Hang on, Double-D," Eddy interrupted. "I thought you said you were done mowin' the grass."

"That's right, Eddy, but-"

"We're done for the day then. We don't have to go back now. Let's do some explorin' and see what else there is to do in this town,"

"Yeah!" Ed agreed. "I bet we can find a candy store and buy some jawbreakers."

"We can show you guys around town if you want," Rigby offered.

"Now's not the right time, dude," Mordecai protested. "We gotta finish repainting the benches."

"I don't think it's wise to assume we have the afternoon off, Eddy," Edd advised. "We've only completed our first task. We have many more to come."

"So? We live at the park anyway. We got plenty of time to take care of it," Eddy argued.

"That's true," Mordecai agreed.

"I like the way he thinks," Rigby commented.

"Eddy, you and Ed can't just procrastinate on your work," Edd complained. "If Benson finds out, he'll surely fire you two."

"No, he won't," Rigby replied. "Benson might threaten to fire you but he'll never do it."

"Really?" Edd asked in shock.

"No foolin'?" Eddy asked in surprise.

"Yeah, me and Mordecai goof off all the time and we still haven't been fired yet," Rigby mentioned.

"Cool!" Ed and Eddy exclaimed in unison.

"Rigby, you can't tell them that," Mordecai complained. "It's only their first day. What if they really do get fired?"

"Trust me. That's not gonna happen," Rigby assured. "They'll get off easy 'cause they're just kids."

Mordecai and Rigby showed the Eds some of their favorite hangout places around town. They went to the arcade, played miniature golf and visited a candy store where the Eds bought jawbreakers.

At 3:00, the Eds, Mordecai & Rigby finally decided to return to the park. When they arrived, Benson caught them at the entrance.

"THERE YOU ARE!" Benson shouted angrily as he approached the group. "Where were you? You guys were supposed to be back from lunch break two hours ago!"

"Sorry, Benson. We were just showin' Ed, Double-D & Eddy around town," Mordecai explained.

"Why didn't you just wait until AFTER work to do that?"

"We were done mowin' the grass so-" Eddy began.

"So you just figured you had the rest of the day off?" Benson interrupted. "It doesn't work that way, you know!"

"That's...what I told him, sir," Edd mentioned nervously.

"I told you two yesterday that I didn't want you being bad influences on these three," Benson scolded, facing Mordecai and Rigby and gesturing towards the Eds.

"You told us to make 'em feel welcome too. That's what we were doing," Rigby argued.

"Whatever. Just get back to repainting the benches OR YOU'RE BOTH FIRED!"

Mordecai and Rigby groaned in frustration and walked off.

"Benson, I apologize for our tardiness," Edd said, fearing Benson's anger.

Benson sighed and calmed down. "Just don't let it happen again," he warned. "You can go into town when you're not working but when you are working, I expect you to be here all day. You mowed all the grass, right?"

"Yeah, we finished it all before lunch," Eddy confirmed. Ed and Edd knew he wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Hang on. I'm gonna measure it,"

Benson took out a small ruler, bent down on his knees and measured the grass.

"Eddy, I thought Double-D was the one who-" Ed whispered. Eddy slapped his hand over Ed's mouth.

"Perfect," Benson said as he stood up, satisfied that the grass was less than one inch tall. "Good job, guys. I'll give you something else to do tomorrow. For now, since you're getting along so well with Mordecai and Rigby, you can help them repaint the benches," Benson continued before walking off.

"What a day, huh, guys?" Eddy asked excitedly after Benson left. "We played video games and miniature golf, we saw Nazz at the coffee shop and we got jawbreakers!"

"Eddy, you should've told the truth regarding our morning job," Edd scolded.

"I did, Double-D. I told Benson that you, me an' Ed mowed the lawn this mornin',"

"Correction, Eddy. Mordecai and I mowed the lawn while you, Ed and Rigby played video games,"

"That's what I wanted to say, Eddy," Ed mentioned.

"Details, details," Eddy said as he shrugged his shoulders. "What chrome-dome doesn't know won't hurt him."

"I hope you two don't plan on skylarking all summer. We're here to work," Edd said.

"Who says?" Eddy argued. "You heard Rigby, Double-D. Benson doesn't fire anyone. We can goof off all summer and we'll never get in trouble. It doesn't get any better than that. I'm goin' inside to watch TV. Do you guys wanna join me?"

"I'd rather not push my luck, thank you," Edd replied. "I'm helping Mordecai and Rigby repaint the benches. It's the least we can do after they offered us lunch and a tour of the town."

"Suit yourself. C'mon, Ed,"

"Right behind you, Eddy," Ed replied.

Edd started searching for Mordecai and Rigby while Ed and Eddy started walking towards the house.

Eddy thought about what Rigby told him and the other Eds earlier, how he and Mordecai slack off all the time and Benson never fires them even though he always threatens to do it. Eddy realized that despite Benson's short temper, he would be very easy to take advantage of.

"Maybe, this won't be such a long summer after all," Eddy said to himself.