Mr. Simmons's Baby

I have this vague idea... or rather some visions of an episode.

Mr. Simmons somehow ends up with a toddler to be taken care of for a day (kinda like Oskar Kokoshka did once). He has no other choice but take him (her?) to the school. Mr. Simmons has to hide the baby from the school principal and other school staff, and he begs the fourth-graders for assistance. It's impossible to conduct lessons because the baby draws all the attention of the class. Mr. Simmons sends some of the children on some errands (to get milk, diapers etc.) and they end up in some comical situations (e.g. the one who's send for milk can't think up a better way than to steal it from the cafeteria). Sometimes Mr. Simmons is forced to leave the classroom we can see how various characters deal with the toddler.

lol that seems like a very cute idea. Rhonda could be absolutly repulsed by the child, and Helga and Arnold are the ones who take care of it the most. Phoebe knows more about it than anything, being the genius as she is. Sid and Stinky are the ones going to fetch the milk and diapers.

I could see it now. But who's baby is it?

Some of his friends/relatives drop the child at his house before he manages to say that he can't take care of the baby?

Or maybe there was a mistake of some kind? Some stranger mistook him for somebody else and gave him the child, and he was too confused to tell that he had no idea who the child was and why he was supposed to babysit him/her? He was trying explain it, but it was wrongly perceived as if he did not want or thought he could not handle the child?

"Oh come on, Robert, just one time."
"But-but, I don't babysit..."
"You're a big boy, you can handle it."
"It still does not make any sense...!"
"Take him, Robert!"
"No, I'm not ganna take him!" (pushes the baby back)
"You have some responsibilities too, you know!"
"But why?!"
"Arrgh! I'm fed up already! You just take him, got it?! I don't have all day to argue with you!" (storms away)

About the baby's gender: I don't know what it should be, but I think it should be mistaken at first.

"Er-r-r, Mr. Simmons..."
"What it is it Phoebe?"
"It's about your, uh nephew."
"Is there anything wrong him?!"
"Don't worry, there is nothing wrong him, it's just, uhm, your nephew is a girl."

On the other hand it could look to much like the scene from Das Subway episode?

Hellerick wrote:On the other hand it could look to much like the scene from Das Subway episode?

You could go the other way...but then it might look too much like the scene from The Journal with Abner.

I think this episode is an interesting idea, but kind of confusing. I'm having a hard time convincing myself that he can't find anyone to take care of the baby while he's at school, and that he would have to hide it from the other faculty.

Personally, I feel it's a little to similar to the episode where Oskar takes care of his nephew for the day.

Also, I can't really see Helga taking care of the baby all that much. Arnold would probably step up, because he's had experience with babies and Phoebe would probably help at least in knowing how to take care of a baby, but I really can't imagine Helga caring that much.

Also also, Simmons is a really good teacher and I can't imagine him being so irresponsible with his class and a baby. Like, he would not leave the room and put the baby in the kid's care unless it was a REALLY BIG EMERGENCY.

...What if some senile, old woman comes in handing Mr. Simmons the baby, and goes, "Here, you left your purse on the bus!" or something really random and then leaves the building. And so he has to go and tell Principal Wartz, and chase after her or something. And being the most trustworthy kid in the school, Arnold is in charge of making sure the baby doesn't get hurt? I mean, it's not like they're leaving for the whole day, right?

I still find it INCREDIBLY difficult to imagine Simmons being that irresponsible. Yeah, Arnold's a good kid, but he's NINE and supposed to be learning and IDK. Simmons is pretty much the only fully capable adult in the series and I just don't see this happening.

Like, if it was Wartz or Oskar or Bob or ANY other adult (for the most part - I don't think Dr. Bliss would be so irresponsible either), I can see this plot working, but not with Mr. Simmons. :\

Well, I would like to see how Mr. Simmons acts in extremal/desperate circumstances. I think he can surprise us all.

We kind of already have seen how Mr. Simmons acts in desperate circumstances. Remember "The Flood" and "Principal Simmons". I agree with Squirreltamer, though. This seems to me to be a little too extreme.

mmm... Maybe they could have a class pet, like a rabbit or something? And one day it gets sick and has some of kids worried because they don't know what's wrong with it?

I like that idea. It's a bit more reasonable in my opinion. As long as it doesn't turn out to be pregnant at the end...too cliche.

Nope, not pregnant! If we DO go in that direction... what could the situation be?

Who gets pregnant?

No one? XD

ElegantVamp wrote:Nope, not pregnant! If we DO go in that direction... what could the situation be?

hmmmm...I don't know.

What if one of the kids found an exotic animal on his/her door step, and decided to bring it to the class to be the class pet. Meanwhile you find out that Vic and Morrie are involved with some kind of scheme selling these animals on the black market. They happened to lose the most valuable one (maybe it's really colorful or something)...and of course, the one they lost is now the class pet. So, Vic and Morrie break into the classroom and take the animal. Now it's up to the entire class (including Mr. Simmons) to track down the animal and steal it back. Maybe at the end they could donate it to the zoo.

Sorry, Hellerick...I know this diverted pretty far from your original idea.

That would be cool! And maybe V and M are going to sell it to one of those people that like, use ivory from Elephant tusks or something?

...Who's Vic and Morrie? XD

Vic and Morrie are the guys who made the counterfeit pennies in "Wheezin' Ed" and chased Arnold and Gerald into the psychic's place in "Downtown as Fruits".

Ohhh. Yup, they seem like the kind of people who would do that, lol.

Is it going to be named? LOL, I just have the urge to name something Hazel or Fiver... XD (or El-ahrairah!)

lol, of course it would have to have a name. Is that a reference to Watership Down?

YESSS!!! (I'm almost done with the book, I watched the movie before that for some reason. XD

I didn't even know there was a movie, and it's been at least 5 years since I read the book so I'm surprised that I remembered their names.

Maybe the fur is really valuable. Rhonda could even make a comment about how that particular animal makes a great coat, but it's illegal in this country or something like that.

Yeah, it's on Youtube! ^_^

That's a good idea! And maybe it could be some kind of an endangered species..?

Yeah, absolutely nothing of my original idea is left, but it still can work out.

Is the creature cute? (Let's call it "Guyana pig".) Let's imagine that Rhonda became surprising fond of it. And in the end of the episode (when the class already learns how troublesome having this animal can be), Curly brings in yet fifty of them

----

But still I would like to see some interaction between bewildered Simmons and a baby...

Hellerick wrote:Yeah, absolutely nothing of my original idea is left, but it still can work out.

yeah, I'm sorry about that

lol, I really like the idea of them being really mischievous. I think the creature should be cute and something about the one the class gets to make it extra valuable (like lots of colors or something).

...and I'm sure there's a way to write some interaction between Simmons and a baby without making him look overly-irresponsible.