Sue Ellen & the Last Page/Transcript

Muffy, Sue Ellen and Francine sit in the Sugar Bowl. Muffy holds a tablet computer.

Muffy: Feast your eyes on my new Youwhotube channel, Muffy's World!

Sue Ellen: Wow, you made that yourself?

Muffy: Yup, it was easy.

Francine: Because you had Bailey do it for you?

Muffy: No! I can do some things on my own, you know. I drew a sketch of it and paid Brain to make it.

Sue Ellen: What's "my day"?

Muffy: My video diary. I was just going to give my adoring fans a tour of my favorite places. Want to come?

Sue Ellen nods and Francine shrugs.

~~~

Muffy films herself and her friends outside the Sugar Bowl using the tablet’s video function.

Muffy: Hi, fans! Here's where my squad and I love to get a snack, the Sugar Bowl!

Francine: Your squad?

~~~

Muffy films herself and her friends outside the Powers’ ice-cream shop.

Muffy: Then, we chill at the Brain's ice-cream shop. Get it? Chill? Ice-cream?

Sue Ellen waves, but Francine looks annoyed.

Francine: Ugh, make it stop.

~~~

Muffy films herself and her friends walking past the library.

Muffy: And now, we're going to the most sacred of places: the mall!

Sue Ellen: Hey, wait, aren't you going to show them the library?

Muffy: Hm, okay.        

She films Sue Ellen.

Sue Ellen: This is one of the best places in all of Elwood City. It's got every book you could possibly want, and it's...

She notices a sign outside the library saying “Book sale due to the possible closing of the Elwood City Public Library.     

Sue Ellen: …closing? No!

~~~

Title Card: Miss Turner puts a computer keyboard in a box

~~~

Francine and Sue Ellen help Miss Turner put books in a box labelled ‘Donations’ while Muffy checks her tablet.

Miss Turner: It's not 100 percent definite yet, but unless the city council changes its mind, we'll lose our funding.

Francine: But why?

Miss Turner: We haven't had as many patrons taking out books. People seem to be doing more and more reading online.

Muffy: That's true! I have the entire Henry Skreever series on this, and newspapers, and all my magazines, and...          Sue Ellen gestures Muffy to stop talking. Muffy gets the hint and picks up a book.       Muffy: Oh! But it's not the same as a good old-fashioned book! (laughs nervously)   Ow! A papercut.

Sue Ellen: But the library is more than just a place to read. It's one of the things that makes Elwood City... Elwood City.

Miss Turner: I feel the same way.

Sue Ellen: Isn't there something we can do?

Miss Turner: The council is holding a meeting about it this Friday. Anyone from the public is welcome to speak.

Sue Ellen: Oh, I'll speak, all right. We're not going down without a fight!

Sue Ellen imagines a wrecking ball that is about to destroy the library. She stops the ball as a flying superheroine.

Sue Ellen: Not so fast! Hi-ya!

She snaps the metal wire and throws the ball far away. Buster lands nearby carrying a cat. He has his normal head but an adult superhero’s body.

Buster: Nice work, Library Saver!

Sue Ellen: Thanks, Cat Saver! By the power vested in me by the Library of Congress, I declare this library open forever!

Crowd: (cheer)        

People come running up to the library.

~~~

The fantasy ends. Sue Ellen sits in the cafeteria and looks dreamily.

Arthur: I can't imagine Elwood City without a library.

Muffy: Look on the bright side. They could replace it with something really useful, like a new boutique.

Sue Ellen: Guys, the library isn't going anywhere. We're going to save it!

Arthur: How?

Sue Ellen: We have to get as many people as we can to come to that meeting on Friday. I'll make up some flyers.    

She walks away with a determined look.

~~~

Sue Ellen and Miss Turner hand out flyers saying ‘Save the Library – Come to the City Council meeting on Friday’ in front of a toy shop.

~~~

Arthur and Buster drive through town on bicycles and distribute flyers. Arthur gives one to an old lady doing gardening.

~~~

At the ice-cream shop, Brain hands Mr. Ratburn his ice-cream and a flyer.

~~~

Sue Ellen lies on her bed in her pajamas and drafts her speech.

~~~

At the council meeting, only about half of the seats are occupied. There are three council members and in the audience: Mrs. Barnes, Miss Turner, Mrs. Armstrong, Mr. Ratburn, the old lady, Debi, a young woman, Marc Brown, Brain, Arthur, Buster, Sue Ellen, Muffy and Francine.

Sue Ellen: Where is everyone? I must have given out hundreds of flyers!

Muffy: It's a Friday. Sensible people, like my fans, are out having fun.

Male Council Member: Ahem! Ordinance 22a, to close the Elwood City library.

Female Council Member: We will now open the floor for discussion. Anyone?

Buster raises his hand and stands up.

Buster: Oh! If we close the library, how will alien civilizations know that we were an advanced society, not just a bunch of hairy animals glued to their cell phones? Thank you.     (whispers to Arthur)  Pretty good, huh?         

Arthur facepalms.

Female Council Member: Anyone else?

Sue Ellen: I'd like to say something.    

She steps up to the microphone with her notes. Muffy films her with her tablet.  

Sue Ellen: My name is Sue Ellen Armstrong. I came to Elwood City a year ago, and no place made me feel more at home than the library.

The clock on the wall goes from 5:10 to 5:30.

Sue Ellen: So, for the good of this city, this community and kids like me, I strongly urge you to reconsider. Thank you.

Audience: (cheer and clap)

~~~

The next week at school, Francine talks to George. Buster stands nearby at his locker..

Francine: And then, she said, "we will not stand for this kind of tyranny!" It was amazing.  

Sue Ellen joins them.

Buster: Hey, we were just telling George about your speech.

Sue Ellen: Oh, it was nothing. It's not about me, it's about the cause.

Francine: I think you mean... it was about the cause.

Francine hands Sue Ellen a newspaper.

Sue Ellen: "City Council votes to close library"? What? But I worked so hard on that speech!

Francine: Your speech was great. There just wasn't enough support to keep it open.  

She pats Sue Ellen on the shoulder and leaves with George and Buster. Muffy comes.

Muffy: Congratulations!

Sue Ellen: What?

Muffy: Your speech got over 600 hits on Muffy's World. What should we do next? How about save the kittens?

Sue Ellen: Haven't you heard? It didn't work. The library's closing. I know you don't care, but I do!

She walks away.

~~~

Later, Sue Ellen helps Miss turner to put away computer equipment in the library’s computer room.

Sue Ellen: If there had been more people at that meeting, I bet the vote would have been different.

Miss Turner: Maybe. I do wish more people had shown up.

Sue Ellen sees the book ‘The Gourmet Ghost’ on a table. She looks at the lending list and sees her name.

Sue Ellen: (sighs)  There I am.     

Muffy has arrived.

Muffy: My name's in there too, you know. I took out all the Scare-Your-Pants-Off books from here. In fact, I was the first person in our class to get a library card.

Sue Ellen: Really?

Muffy: Uh-huh. I was a little surprised when I learned you couldn't buy anything with it, but I was still glad to have it.  

Sue Ellen first rolls her eyes, then looks touched.    

Muffy: This place does matter to me. I have an idea!    

She takes out her tablet.     

Muffy: Here's the video of your speech. It now has 742 hits.

The video has been heavily edited with all kinds of visual and sound effects.

Sue Ellen (on video): We will not stand, stand, stand... this tyranny, tyranny, tyranny... strongly urge you children, children, children... so hungry for knowledge, knowledge, knowledge... to reconsider.

Sue Ellen: What did you do to it?

Muffy: Just spiced it up a little, but look at the comments! polly821 says, "Keep that library open. How can I help?

Sue Ellen: jamal22 says, "You go, girl. I would give money to this." Wow.

Muffy: There are tons more like that. We could make another video and ask for donations!

Sue Ellen: You think we'd be able to raise enough to keep the library open?

Miss Turner: We wouldn't even have to do that. If we raised a little bit from a lot of people, it would show the council how much people cared. They just might reverse their decision.   

Muffy and Sue Ellen smile at each other.

~~~

Sue Ellen stands in front of the Read house with Muffy’s tablet.

Sue Ellen: Sue Ellen Armstrong here, aka the Library Saver, guest reporting for Muffy's World. Today, we're going to find out why people from Elwood City love their library.   

She films Arthur opening the door.

~~~

Sue Ellen films Arthur on the couch in the living room.

Sue Ellen: Is it true that your last name is "Read" because you and your family like reading so much?

Arthur: Um, I think that's just a coincidence.

Sue Ellen: Oh. Okay, moving on. So, why do you love our library?

Arthur: Mainly because of Miss Turner. She knows just what I like to read, and always recommends great books.     

D.W. whispers to him.    

Arthur: Oh, and story time at the library is great, too!

~~~

Sue Ellen films Ladonna in front of the treehouse.

Ladonna: I love the library book club. I met so many new, interesting people there.

~~~

Sue Ellen films Kenny who is hanging from the jungle gym.

Kenny: I don't have a computer, so I use the library's.

~~~

Sue Ellen films Brain who is wiping a table at the ice-cream shop.

Brain: The best thing about the library?  I guess the lecture series.

~~~

Sue Ellen films Francine on the soccer field.

Francine: It's a great place to have a meeting.

~~~

Sue Ellen films Muffy who is reading at a library table.

Muffy: To do research!

~~~

Sue Ellen films Buster who is sleeping at another table.

Buster: To nap!

~~~

Sue Ellen films a lady at the park.

Lady: What do I love about the library? Zumba lessons!

~~~

Muffy films Sue Ellen standing in front of the library.

Sue Ellen: Show your support of libraries by donating to our save the Elwood City Library campaign!    

Muffy films a sign and then her face.

Muffy: Spread the word! Don't forget to use the hashtag, #lovealibrary.

~~~

Muffy and Sue Ellen watch the edited video in Muffy’s room. In the video, Sue Ellen’s head rotates while laser beams shoot out of her eyes.

Sue Ellen (on video with Muffy's voice): Lovealibrary.

Muffy: I can't believe people use the library for so many different things. It's like a mall... with books!

Sue Ellen: I can't believe you put lasers coming out of my eyes again.

Muffy: I was very restrained. I was going to have you ride off on a baby panda.

Sue Ellen: Now what?

Muffy: We wait to see if people will actually give money.   

Sue Ellen klicks the mouse.

Sue Ellen: (sighs)  Nothing yet.   

She clicks again.

Muffy: Sue Ellen, we just uploaded it. It hasn't even been a minute.

Sue Ellen: You're right. We have to relax.

Muffy: Oh, give me that!      

She grabs the mouse clicks repeatedly but the screen still shows 0 dollars.

MUFFY: (sighs)

~~~

A few days later, Sue Ellen and Muffy walk into the library. They walk up to the counter where Miss Turner is on the phone.

Sue Ellen: Hello? I can't wait to tell her how much we raised!

Muffy: We should really go into business. Charity work is fun, but it'd be so much more fun if we got paid!

Muffy sees a photograph in a box which shows her parents as teenagers dancing.

Muffy: Hmm, what's a picture of my mom and dad doing here?    

Sue Ellen reads the back of the photograph.

Sue Ellen: "The Shake and Shout Dance." There used to be dances in the library?

Miss Turner: Yep, and there could be again. I just got off the phone with the city council. The library stays open!

Sue Ellen: Yes!

Muffy: Whoo-hoo!  

The girls high-five.

Miss Turner: Of course, they're not giving us as much money as usual. We'll have to cut more programs, and there are no funds for new computers.

Sue Ellen: Wait, would this help? This is how much we've raised.   

She shows Miss Turner the tablet.

Miss Turner: That's amazing. But I'm afraid we need a bit more.

Muffy: I just might know someone who could help.

~~~

Some time later, a sign outside the library announces the opening of a new media center. The Crosswire parents and a large group of kids and adults stand in a room full of new computers which a large photo of the dancing Crosswires on the wall.

Mr. Crosswire: Welcome, everyone! It gives me great pleasure to announce the opening of the new Crosswire Motors Computer Oasis. In honor of this fine institution which has given the community so much, and was the place where I met my beautiful wife.       He kisses his wife and they cut an opening ribbon together.

People: (cheer)

Mr. Crosswire: Music, please!  

Miss Turner turns on a CD player and most people start dancing to disco music.

Muffy: I guess I owe this library a lot more than I thought I did.

Sue Ellen: We all do!