Authors Notes: Death of a Simpson began as a small segment in a much broader storyline that I really liked and decided to go back and flesh out. This is my first attempt at Fan Fiction so forgive me for the length. I don't know any better. I found Homer the most difficult to write for; I went for canon circa Seasons 4-6, this was a conscious decision. Otherwise it rapidly would've degenerated into the more recent "Shrieking Homer" and I think the overall quality of the story is better for it. Maggie was definitely the most interesting to write for, however, because she's pretty much left blank (exempting the future-centric episodes and her occasional affinity for firearms...). I was satisfied with the direction her characterization took and being the oldest of three boys, I'm about as far from being in her situation as possible. The rest of the characters were pretty easy to fall into because I either felt close to them emotionally or I knew someone in my life to base them off of. Watching 3-4 hours of the show almost daily might've had some influence too.
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Lisa lay awake in bed, allowing the sun to warm and fully rouse her from a surprisingly peaceful sleep. Her first thought was of the note folded neatly under her pillow but that was quickly replaced with a budding sense of urgency to get ready. Bart was supposed to drive her to school, but after yesterday she would believe her father's boss, Mr. Burns, was handing out money all over town before she trusted Bart to fulfill that duty. No, it was better to plan accordingly.
Finally Lisa managed to get up, realized she needed to get to the bathroom quickly and darted out into the hallway. She caught a brief glimpse of Bart before he slammed the door. "Of course" Lisa fumed, deciding to eat first. She made her way downstairs to the kitchen and found Maggie already seated opposite her rotund father.
"Good morning, honey! Are you ready for your big day?" Marge greeted her oldest daughter, having returned to her stove in order to finish breakfast.
"Yep!" Lisa said cheerfully. This drew a suspicious glance from Maggie that Lisa didn't notice.
"We're so proud of you, Lisa! Right, Homey?" Marge nudged her husband on the shoulder, causing him to look up from his nearly empty plate of waffles and syrup. Mostly syrup.
"Mmpfh?" He tried through the mouthful of food he was trying mightily to swallow. A glob of syrup dribbled down his muzzled chin which he wiped clean as he succeeded in downing the chunk of waffle. Licking his fingers, Homer tried again. "Huh? Oh, yeah." He chuckled. " Right. Of course we're proud of you, Lisa! You did better on the thingy than the other kids, right?"
"Yeah, Dad." Lisa replied with a grin as she fell into her usual seat at the table. She looked across the table at Maggie. "Sorry for kicking you out last night, Maggie."
Maggie smiled but remained silent and Lisa couldn't help but notice the awkward reaction. When Maggie saw that her sister wasn't satisfied with the answer, she relented.
"It's okay, Lisa, really. I understand. You sleep alright?"
"Yes, actually. That storm sure was something, though."
"Sure was." Bart interjected as he finally arrived, looking freshly showered. "I got soaked trying to get home!"
Marge groaned as she slid plates in front of her children. "You really shouldn't do that, Bart. You'll catch your death of cold."
"I'm fine, Mom! Quit it!" Bart protested as Marge fussed over him. "No big deal."
They ate in silence for several minutes before Marge looked up at the clock and began shooing Maggie out the front door to catch the bus.
"You two had better get a move on or you'll be late." She caught the look in Bart's eye and went into full mom-mode. "No buts! Go! Go! Go!"
Lisa remembered why she was so quick out of bed earlier and rushed up into the bathroom. After completing her usual hygienic rituals she returned to her room and collected her school bag. It was a mighty beast of a thing. Looking more like an overstuffed beanbag than anything else, and it was nearly too heavy for Lisa to lift. Even using both arms! With a sigh she dug out a dozen or so non-essential books she thought might have come in handy, realizing she'd never make it through the day trying to lug it all around.
Moments later she called out good-byes to her parents and ran out the front door, hoping against hope that Bart was still there, waiting for her in his ugly old dark green Buick beater.
He wasn't.
"D'oh..." Lisa grunted, not really surprised. Looking down at her watch she noticed how little time was left and panicked. Ten minutes?! The school wasn't that far but that was pushing it!
"He's gonna get it!" Lisa promised as she grudgingly started walking at a fast pace towards the school. When she passed the Kwik-E-Mart several blocks later she threw a half-hearted wave at Apu, the clerk, who returned the gesture with a wide smile.
The brisk morning air revitalized Lisa's appreciation of the natural world that was awakening around her. Everywhere she looked there were signs of nature struggling fiercely against man's stubborn encroachment. Instead of feeling dismay, however, Lisa chose to see this merely as nature's best attribute. "Never give up", she thought to herself with a smile as she became lost in the realms of thought and automatically followed the path that would take her to school.
Her sense of urgency returned two-fold when she heard what she thought was the school bell ringing a few blocks up.
"Oh no!" Lisa's mind raced and she started running as fast as her bulky bag would let her.
She was so focused on the school up ahead that she didn't notice the car door some distance back open and slam shut. Nor did she hear the heavy footfalls closing in fast.
Lisa's first and only indication that anything was amiss, other than her tardiness, came in the form of a filthy, chloroform-soaked rag being shoved over her mouth and up her nose partially as she was roughly pulled behind a parked car.
Her world quickly collapsed into darkness.
