All in a Day’s Work

art by Sarah Jun, words by Melanie C.

The simple town of Plainsville — what a quaint little neighborhood! The defining trait of Plainsville is—

Maximus: (flatly) How plain it is.

Quiet, fool! Anyways, the defining trait of Plainsville is the unwavering aroma of fresh bread from the Plainsville Bakery that wafts through every street, guiding them down the cobblestone streets past rows of colorful cottages and bustling shops. Almost as legendary as this scent is the harmony of the bustling town square with vendors selling fresh produce and musicians playing tunes for the local children to dance to before the schoolhouse bell calls them to the next block over for classes.

Suddenly, the town’s rhythm is disrupted with a screech.

Citizen 1: Someone help! My cat is stuck in that tree!

Maximus sprints onto the scene like a flash of light. He pauses while hovering to deliver his classic intro.

Maximus: Never fear — Maximus is here!

Maximus zooms over to the tree and climbs to retrieve the cat before returning him to Citizen 1. A crowd that has formed around the tree cheers. 

Citizen 1: (hugging cat) My baby! Oh, thank you, Maximus, you have truly saved the day once again!

Maximus: (grinning, his teeth sparkling) It’s my pleasure. No job is too big, no task is too tall, for Maximus can do it all!

The crowd cheers as Maximus zooms away to rest in an alley. Maximus’s grin drops like a mask falling off his face.

Maximus: What’s with these corny lines? (mocking) “No job is too big, no task is too tall” — I mean, who ever rhymes at all? (pauses, realizes he rhymed) Dammit, you know what I mean!

Maximus crouches down, frowning while holding his head in his hands. But not to worry, Maximus will keep saying his iconic superhero lines — right, Maximus?

Maximus: Uh, no I won’t. In fact, I think I will—

Citizen 2: Someone help! The William Plainsville statue is falling! Those kids are gonna get crushed!

As the children playing near the statue scream and scramble frantically with the statue of the town’s beloved founder leaning dangerously close, Maximus sighs and reluctantly heaves himself up. He zooms in and holds the statue mere feet from the top of Little Girl’s head.

Maximus: (grunting, struggling to hold the statue up) Run, Little Girl, run!

Little Girl: (oblivious) Huh? Oh, okay! (runs to her frightened mother a few yards away)

With the strength of a hundred men, Maximus heaves the statue up above his head and back onto its foundation. The crowd cheers when the statue is finally back to its rightful place, but Maximus zips away to his street alley sanctuary, ungrateful for their praise. Would it kill you to just flash a smile at your fans? Maybe kiss a bicep or a baby?

Maximus: (massaging his right shoulder) It would, actually — I feel like I dislocated my shoulder. I don’t even want to save any of the people in this stupid town. I don’t even know them. 

While Maximus continues to massage his shoulder and grumble about giving back to his community, Citizen 3 thrashes in the Plainsville River at the edge of town.

Citizen 3: (gurgling, drowning) Someone help! 

Maximus: There’s no way I’m helping with this one. I don’t even know how to swim!

Maximus paces, running his hands through his hair, but he just needs a little nudge. He just needs to lift one foot, just like that, and then—

Maximus: (stamping his foot back onto the ground) I told you I’m not saving this one! I can’t save this one because if I get into the water, I’ll thrash around like she’s doing right now, and what then! Who would be stupid enough to try to save the two of us after the town hero himself failed? They think he’s the perfect little hero to solve all their little problems because of his super speed and his super strength, but they don’t know about his super singing voice. (singing) Ah—

Maximus immediately shuts his mouth because none of us are dealing with that nonsense today. There’s a reason why he’s Plainsville’s mighty hero and not Plainsville’s breakout popstar. Even from the moment he was born with those big feet for running and grabby little hands for lifting, he was destined for greatness; hence, his name had to be Maximus, the greatest, here to save us all. 

Maximus: Oh, cut the crap! You don’t care about saving anyone. You don’t even care about me. You only care about yourself.

You ungrateful child! You don’t know how it was growing up, always getting picked last for dodgeball — oh the horror! Even the little boy with no arms or legs would get picked before I would. And then when I’d come home all teary and puffy-eyed, my parents would barely spare a glance at me before they went along with their day, simply ordering me to wash up before dinner. I vowed never to let my child suffer that same fate, never let him be ignored or made to feel useless like I was. In fact, he will be the fastest and strongest kid in his class, and as his proud father, I will never let any of his accomplishments go unnoticed. So when I saw how quickly my baby, my Maximus, learned to crawl and walk and eventually sprint, I knew I had to mold this raw talent into dodgeball stardom. Through our daily training sessions, you grew stronger and faster, and soon there was nothing left for me to coach you through. 

But then, at your first dodgeball game, before anyone could pick up a ball, you yelled, “STOP!” You picked an inchworm off the ground and carried it to the sidelines for safety before resuming the game. It was at that moment, I knew, Maximus, that you were meant to be more than a dodgeball superstar: you were, are, a hero. Your heart was a greater superpower than your superspeed or your superstrength combined. I revised our training — instead of having you run away from dodgeballs, I instructed you to run towards Plainsvillians in peril. This is our destiny, you and I. As a boy, I never knew greatness, but this was my fate all along — to create greatness. I gave Plainsville a hero, and now, you get to live every little boy’s dream. 

Maximus: (scoffing) No, Dad. It’s your dream, not mine. 

Okay, now look who’s dishing out the corny lines, Mr. Disney Channel. Get your ungrateful butt down to the river and save that girl this instant! 

Maximus reluctantly prepares himself to sprint to the Plainsville River but stops at the sound of a cheering crowd. Curious, he peeks out from the alleyway shadows.

Citizen 3: You saved my life! Oh, what is your name, my savior?

Aqua Girl: (beaming) It’s Aqua Girl. I’m always here to help a fellow Plainsvillian in need. 

The crowd roars as Aqua Girl dives into the Plainsville River and swims off — showoff. 

Maximus: (rolling his eyes and whining) Dad, she’s not even rhyming. She clearly doesn’t know the first thing about being a hero.

Citizen 2: Hey, I don’t see you jumping to help. Aqua Girl is the hero Plainsville has needed all these years. 

Reporter: Aqua Girl, tell us about yourself. What was it like to save that girl? How did you know to save her? How does it feel to be Plainsville’s true hero?

Aqua Girl: (chuckling) Oh, I’m no hero. I just felt pulled to come to the river today. It was like a calling to help another Plainsvillian in need. And I’m glad I came because I feel like I was meant to be here, like this is what I was meant to do and who I’m meant to be. 

Maximus pauses to stare at the scene before he trudges away, wondering if maybe he should pursue that popstar route instead (he shouldn’t). 

As the sun sets on yet another eventful day in Plainsville, everyone retires to their respective cottages. One by one, the lights in each home vanish until the town falls pitch-black, ready to rest in anticipation of a new day tomorrow.