| abstract | - The show wasn't anything remarkable and was very much geared for the young audience, with such an innocent show there was bound to be some kind of urban legend or "Creepypasta" to be found and I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of one such legend. What I witnessed was a story called "Timothy's Bad Week" and was provided by YouTube - like many things on the internet these days I assumed it was a fan-made Creepypasta or a trolling attempt: either way I decided to allow my morbid curiosity get the better of me and sat back to watch what horrors some crazy guy on the internet had inserted into one of my childhood shows. I fully expected a YouTube poop style run crammed with creepy clichés and sure enough the video played in black and white with poor image quality that made the characters seem like hey were constantly shifting: someone had edited the eyes so they were white voids, but I noticed they left the theme tune and opening sequence otherwise untouched. Following the intro the video cut to black and text read, "Monday" before opening to an empty street with Timothy dressed for school, waiting at the bus stop, animation as bad as ever and all done in black and white with those edited eyes - I rolled my eyes a bit at this... seems like everyone who ever wrote a "lost episode" had to do something freaky with eyes. Regardless I watched as the bus pulled over and Timothy got on, all the other characters were on the bus but seemed a little different - Yoko the cat seemed to be angry, the two Franks (both bulldogs) were fighting each other and no one seemed to bother despite their brawl being quite physical. Next to the fighting Franks sat Doris the beaver, always depicted as a bit of a tomboy she was much larger than usual - to the point of looking morbidly obese and kept crying as Fritz the badger and Claude the raccoon taunted her repeatedly from a nearby seat. Timothy went to sit by a window and glanced over at Nora the mouse, who was holding hands with Charles, another mouse - the pair staring out in front of themselves as if trying to block out the rest of the world. Finally at the very back of the bus sat Lilly the fox, having only one shoe and looking rather upset - one of her arms seeming to have noticeable bruises. The scene suddenly went black and text read, "Tuesday" - to my surprise when the text faded the scene once again showed Timothy waiting for the bus, this time his clothing seemed a little dirty and torn as the bus pulled up and he climbed on board. Yoko the cat seemed even angrier than before, the two Franks were covered in cuts and bruises as they kept looking over at one another from either side of the bus as if ready to fight again at any moment. Doris was cowering in her seat as Fritz and Claude took to pelting her with spitballs, no one seeming to notice or care. Timothy once again sat by a window and glanced over at Nora and Charles, the two mice were now huddled together as if frightened, still staring in front of themselves, ears pinned back. At the very back of the bus Lilly was now completely barefoot and her bruised arm was now visibly scarred, a small cut also visible on her right ear. The scene once again went black and text read, "Wednesday" - by this point I was getting a little bored of the repetitive cuts, yet my curiosity demanded I continued to view regardless as the scene once again showed Timothy waiting for the bus, this time his clothing was very dirty and torn, his fur also began to look unkempt as the bus pulled up and he climbed on board. Yoko was now flexing her claws quite literally and scratching at the back of the seat in front of her in anger, the two Franks were still covered in cuts and bruises, though one of them now sported a cast on their arm as the other glared with a look of pure hate at the other sibling. Doris was sobbing and begging Fritz and Claude to leave her alone as they taunted her, tossing donuts at her they had smuggled onto the bus in a small box. Timothy, per usual, sat by a window and glanced over at Nora and Charles, only this time Nora was by herself - looking very unwell as she continually looked at the empty space Charles had been only a day earlier. At the very back of the bus Lilly was still barefoot, her feet now covered in mud and her fur unkempt as her dress was all torn - her scarred arm now laying limp as one of her ears now had a large chunk missing. The scene went black one more and text read, "Thursday" - I have to admit at this point it was a little unnerving, whoever had made this YouTube prank sure had a lot of time to waste, then again I guess I was no better as I continued to watch. The text faded to reveal Timothy waiting for the bus yet again, this time his clothing was practically falling off him and his fur looked like it was extremely dirty and unkempt - once again the bus pulled over and Timothy climbed on in. Yoko was nowhere to be seen, the two Franks were now down to one - who was covered from head to toe in vicious looking scars and trembled uncontrollably, muttering to himself. Doris was catatonic as Fritz and Claude sat quietly, looking away from her and seeming to lower their heads every now and then in a state of great shame. Timothy, as he always did, sat by a window and glanced over to the empty chair Nora had occupied the other day - when he noticed she was gone Timothy turned to Fritz and Claude for the first time - the pair once again lowering their heads as if to avoid his stare. At the very back of the bus Lilly was covered from head to toe in mud, cuts and bruises - her clothing was shredded and her right-ear was now bandaged and she had taken to rocking back and forth singing "kookaburra sits in the old gum tree". This was when things got very strange, even by Creepypasta standards - the "kookaburra sits in the old gum tree" song continued to play over and over as the scene turned to black and text read "Friday". The song played on loop as the now familiar sight of Timothy waiting for the bus appeared, however he was now on crutches and hobbled onto the bus with a look of anger. The bus was completely empty save for Fritz and Claude, the pair now sitting on either side of the bus and shaking uncontrollably as Timothy stopped and looked at them both before he headed to the usual window. Then everything faded to black as the ""kookaburra sits in the old gum tree" song played one final time before the video cut off. After a moment of thought I turned off my computer and went to do some work in the "real world" - deciding that while an interesting watch this Creepypasta was far from the best, nevertheless I saved the link so I could show a friend who used to watch the show religiously just to mess with them. It took a couple of days before I managed to get said friend around and I opened the link to show them the story, to my surprise the link ended up showing a normal episode of "Timothy Goes To School" and my friend had a good laugh at my expense as I desperately tried to convince them I wasn't crazy. To this day I have yet to fully understand where the real link went and a part of me truly wonders if I didn't dream it all up.. whatever the case the story of "Timothy's Bad Week" soon went from a pasta I had hoped to forget about after a cheap joke on a friend into a years long obsession... maybe someday someone will find it again... until then: happy hunting.
|
