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Tobey hated running errands with his mom.
They were now inside the bank, waiting in its dreadfully long line, and six-year-old Tobey was getting restless. He had brought a book with him, The Beginner's Guide to Robotics, but he had read it so many times he could practically recite it by heart. So he was stuck with nothing interesting to do but stare at the floor or the boring paintings of still life hung on the bank's beige walls.
He desperately longed to be home so he could continue working on his newest robot. He had drawn up blueprints for a simple drone robot, one equipped with a crane so it could pick up objects. He was beyond excited to finish building it so he could practice maneuvering it, although his mother would not be pleased to know that he was planning a robot that could potentially cause damage to household furnishings. But what she doesn't know won't hurt her.
But it was sure to be a while before they even began the car ride back home, and Tobey found himself wishing for something, anything interesting to happen.
Then, it seemed his prayers were answered.
"Listen, lady, I haven't got all day, and I'd 'smapreciate' it if you gave me all of the bank's money. So fork it over!"
A burly man in a butcher's outfit was at the front of the line, harassing the nonchalant receptionist. The receptionist shot him a grimace. "Sir, can you back up a bit, please? You smell like meat, and it's irritating my nostrils. Also, 'smapreciate' isn't a word."
"So you're gonna play it the hard way, huh? I guess I'll have to- wait, did you just say I stink?"
Their quarrel was interrupted by a high-pitched, lilting voice. "Stop right there, villain!"
The large man in the apron turned around to find a small, floating girl, who couldn't be older than six, clad in red and yellow. Beside her was a monkey in what looked like a spaceman helmet with an antenna and a blue outfit similar to the girl's.
"What am I looking at right now?" He asked, perplexed.
"I am WordGirl, and this is my sidekick, Captain Huggyface!" The monkey squeaked an introduction. "We're superheroes, and we strive to put an end to the misdeeds of evildoers like yourself!" She pointed at him valiantly.
The adults around Tobey were mumbling amongst themselves, confused. Things such as "is that little girl floating?" and "oh! I saw her in the paper yesterday!" went in one of his ears and out the other. He was too starstruck to register any words besides the ones of the superherione his wide eyes were locked onto.
She was beautiful. He had never seen anyone who was as cute and radiant as her. She made his heart skip a beat and heat flood his cheeks, sensations he had never experienced before.
WordGirl, he thought. Her name is WordGirl...
Fearful, Ms. McCallister hid him partially behind her back, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Stay behind mommy, Tobey. I don't know what's happening, but it looks dangerous..." she murmured.
The man in the butcher's outfit piped up once again. "Uh... okay, WordGirl. I'm The Butcher, and as you can see, I'm in the middle of a crime! I have no time to play superheroes, kid. So just 'exacuate' the premises and-"
WordGirl interrupted him. "Wait, what?"
"'Exacuate.' I said, 'exacuate the premises.' What, you don't know what that means? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, since you're, like, five, but-"
She interrupted again. "I'm six, thank you very much. And you're using the wrong word. 'Exacuate' means to sharpen. I believe the word you meant to say is 'evacuate,' which means to be removed from a place of danger. I know my words, it's kind of my thing."
And she's intelligent! The young Tobey thought. Be still, my beating heart!
"Whatever!" The Butcher bellowed. "I didn't want to have to attack a literal child, but as a villain, my moral compass is skewed! Pastrami attack!" And with that, he held out his hands towards her, and slices of pastrami launched from his palms.
"Woah!" WordGirl shouted, using her super-speed to pick Huggy up and evade his meaty onslaught. "Huggy, now is the perfect time to try out Emergency Plan #3!" Huggy squeaked in affirmation, and she held him up in front of her in preparation for The Butcher's next attack.
"You can't dodge forever, little lady! Chicken wing fling!"
This time, WordGirl didn't dodge the pieces of chicken that were fired at her and her trusty sidekick. Instead, Huggy opened his mouth, eating the projectiles as they flew into his mouth. "Way to go, Huggy!" WordGirl cried cheerfully.
"Hey! He just ate my weapons! That's not allowed!" The Butcher whined.
"All's fair in love and war, Butcher! Time to take you down!" WordGirl briefly zipped outside and returned with a large metal beam from a nearby construction site.
The Butcher looked fearful for the first time in their battle. "Woah, kiddo, how are you carrying that thing? It must weigh 50 pounds!"
WordGirl smirked and used his shock to her advantage, bending the metal around him, thus immobilizing him. "Feels light as a feather to me," she quipped.
Right as the battle ended, the police rushed in the bank to apprehend The Butcher, and WordGirl was crowded with reporters, cameramen, and intrigued citizens.
Tobey was still bewitched, stars and hearts in his eyes as he watched her grin triumphantly with her hands on her hips. She looked around the crowd proudly, seeming to absorb the praise she was receiving. Then she looked past the crowd.
And she looked directly at Tobey.
His heart nearly stopped when she gave an amiable smile and a wave at the shy boy, then turned back to the crowd to answer their questions.
The warmth he felt bubbling in his stomach at that moment had never faltered. He felt it just as strongly every time she looked in his eyes from then on.
On the car ride home, Ms. McCallister was sort of shaken up at being a front-row witness to an actual robbery, especially with her little boy there with her. She was only half-listening to Tobey ramble on and on about how amazing WordGirl had been.
"And then she looked at me! Me! She even waved at me! Can you believe it, mother?"
Ms. McCallister smiled, only having seen her son this excited a handful of times before. "I can't believe it, dear. She's a very brave little girl."
"I know! She's absolutely breathtaking! Not only that, but she's a genius! I've never met someone my age that knows as many big words as I do! She's incredible..." He cried, then sighed dreamily, putting his hands to his red cheeks. "I'm going to marry WordGirl one day, mother. Watch me!"
Ms. McCallister chuckled at her son's words, playing along with his little episode of puppy love.
Little did she know is that approximately twenty years later, Tobey would follow through on that promise.