New Feeling - Chapter Three

It had been a few days since Lady had been to the school on Tuesday. It was now Friday. Her mind kept drifting to that moment on the gym balcony. The ear-splitting announcement. The looks that people gave her as she did the walk of shame out of there. How she was sure that she heard people snickering over her name or her tantrum. She was pissed. Pissed at them, pissed at the situation and pissed at herself.

Why did that have to happen? Why did she have to react that way to a sound? Why did she have to do it in front of people? Why did it have to happen in front of the tryhards that looked like they were auditioning for 'The Lost Boys' sequel?

The thought of these guys recognizing her in the halls and calling her names, along with other shit, there was always other shit, made her feel cold. Someone might as well have dumped ice water down her back with how jittery she felt. Why did she have to be such a fucking spazz when it came to this kind of shit?

She took a deep breath. Inhale then exhale for eight seconds. In, out, in, out, in and then out, like how she imagined a bad prom date.

Okay, it wouldn't be so bad. Even if she was stupid and couldn't handle stuff over an intercom—unless she knew it was coming, like the daily announcements, it'd be fine! It'd also be fine if she did all the other stupid things that bullies in the past noticed then used against her. It wasn't like there was a limited quantity of kids just asking to be shoved into a locker or anything here.

An image of Billy popped into her mind.

No. What was she thinking?

That wasn't cool or okay in the slightest of her to think like that. Even if it was true, judging by how Billy was hassled that day in the gym by those two guys. It wasn't cool. What kind of person hoped that there'd be even bigger losers than her to bully? Guilt twisted itself in Lady's stomach as she walked into the building. She shouldn't think like that. She shouldn't think that some kids deserved it. Did people in the past think she deserved it? Did Amanda Myers and her bitch friends think so?

'Fucking bitch,' she thought, as she and her father walked into the main office.

"Hey, ah, we came here earlier in the week. We were wonderin' if we could take a look at the school, so this one doesn't get too lost on her first day after the break. Do you guys have visitor passes or are we shit outta luck?" Ian asked with a laugh, patting her on the shoulder. She didn't even realize it until she caught a glance of it in the corner of her eye. She wriggled out of the feather-light grip and took two steps to the side.

"You guys didn't get the tour when you were here?" asked the secretary. Her voice was high pitched and nasally, though, even with her East Coast accent, it wasn't annoying. She blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing, popping it with her finger before swirling it around her finger. Lady wondered if she was really good at her job to not get in shit for acting this way or if she didn't give a damn.

"This one." Lady could feel her dad pointing at her with his lips before he continued. "Walked around for a bit when we were here to see Ms. Gibson. But, I dunno what she did the whole time though."

With a roll of her eyes, the secretary gave them a nod before rolling her chair to the left and opening a drawer. From this angle, Lady couldn't see the contents of it, but it was clear when she pulled out two lanyards and a stack of pink slips. The woman asked her father a few questions, most of them making him repeat what he had said earlier. It was likely out of habit or standard procedure, but, fuck if it wasn't annoying. It made them stay here longer. The secretary took her time filling out the passes. She then told them that she needed to get a Mr. Caplan to sign them before pushing a button on the desk. "Mr. Caplan, I need you to sign in these two visitors. They want to take a tour of the school or something."

Lady snorted.

Soon, an old white man stepped out of an office behind the secretary's desk. He wasn't as old as the guidance counsellor she saw the other day, but he was up there. Older than her dad for sure. His hair was 'thinning', as men in denial about their hair loss would say. The only reason why she noticed was that his wig was askew. He huffed as he stepped up to the desk, took a look at the paperwork and then at her and Ian.

"I assume that you're Lady? We haven't had the chance to meet, but I met your father the other day. I'm sure that you'll find Angel Grove High to be an upstanding institution. Give or take a few hooligans and delinquents, but, I'm sure that you won't give us any trouble."

The way he had talked down to her felt like a sucker punch. What was that supposed to mean? Was she a delinquent in his eyes? Was it sarcasm? Was it a jab at what happened in Montana? Regardless of what it was, Caplan was on her shit list. Not that it mattered.

"Here you are. Normally, we'd have a student from the Welcoming Committee here to show you around. But this is rather last minute. I'm quite busy—"

The door behind Lady swung open. In stepped, or danced to be more accurate, a Black boy about her age, all decked out in black, red, and purple. Gracefully, he twirled around Lady on his way to the desk.

"Helloooo Janine. I must say, you look ravishing this morning," he said, a wide smile appearing on his lips as he leaned on the desk. Mr. Caplan coughed, making the boy jump to his feet and shot up straight as a line. "M-Mis...Mr. Caplan! Hey! How're you doing this fine Friday morning? Love the new hair, did you do something new with it?"

His voice a few moments ago had sounded like it belonged to a wannabe Casanova. Now, he sounded like a scared boy meeting his prom date's parents. She snorted at the sudden change.

"Mr. Taylor, dare I ask why you're nearly fifteen minutes late for first period?"

Mr. Taylor squirmed in his spot as he sucked on his teeth. "Ah hah, well..." He began, his hand touching the back of his neck as he tried to find an excuse. "Well, the important thing is that I'm here now, isn't it?"

Lady bit her lip, trying not to laugh. He didn't have an excuse that would please Mr. Caplan, if he had one at all.

"I suppose, but just because it's the last day before the break, doesn't excuse tardiness, Zachary. Get your behind in class right now. Every minute you're here is another ten minutes in detention!"

Zack ripped the late slip that Janine was waving right out of her hand and made a dash for the door. "Y-yes sir, right away—"

"Wait a moment, Zack," said Mr. Caplan. The boy whined. He whipped to the principal as he tried to hide that he was now desperate to get to class with a wide smile. "You're on the welcoming committee, aren't you?"

"Y-yes, I am."

"Good, it's decided then. You will take Miss Johnson and her father on a tour around campus," said the man as he turned to get back into his office.

"But sir, what about..." The door had slammed shut behind Mr. Caplan, making Lady cringe. "My class..."

"Don't worry, Zack. I'll exempt you from the next two periods and pass the message to your teachers. Make sure you get your homework from them at the end of the day, alright?" Janine said, punctuating the end of her spiel with a loud pop of her bubblegum. She scribbled something down then handed it to him. Lady had no idea what it was. A hall pass? Oh God. Were there hall monitors here after all? "Make sure you're on time for third period."

With one of the most sparkling smiles Lady had ever seen, Zack danced his way to the desk for the second time that morning and took the hall pass. Turning towards Lady, he clapped his hands together before rubbing them together.

"Hey, as you might already know, I am Zack Taylor and I," he said with a bow, flinging one arm out beside him in a dramatic fashion. "Will be your guide. Welcome to Angel Grove High."

Lady shot a look at her dad, who didn't look back at her. He snorted before giving Zack a low whistle. "Nice to meetcha, Zack Attack. This is Lady, she's gonna be starting after the break." With that, he opened the door to the main foyer and signalled for the others to step outside. Lady dashed out of there with Zack close behind her.

"Alright, I'm gonna be honest. I'm kinda a new member of the committee, so, this is my first time on my own. Why don't I show you guys the main areas of the school? Then show you where your classes are if you have your schedule already?" Zack asked, tilting his head to the side.

Lady shrugged.

"That sounds perfect. Hey, y'know what? You guys got this under control," said Ian. He reached over and ruffled Lady's hair as she shot him a look. What was he doing? "So, I'll leave it to you, Zack, and get out of your guys' hair. Call me when your tour's done, Little Lady."

Her eyes bulged out of their sockets, they could've popped the lenses out of her sunglasses, as she watched her dad leave. Right before he walked out the door, he spun on his heel and shot the pair a couple of finger guns. Grimacing the hardest she ever had in this godforsaken life of hers, Lady gave the most awkward and forced thumbs up that Zack had ever seen.

"Yeah! That's the spirit!"

"FUCKER," Lady spat once her dad had left the building. Her hands jumped to the sides of her head as she screamed internally. 'What! The! Fuck!' Was this another weird attempt of his to get her to make friends?! This shit was not gonna fly. She had to get back at him. Pissing in his coffee maker while he was asleep sounded like a good idea.

Zack coughed. "Your dad seems cool."

"He isn't."

He laughed before gesturing to what she guessed was the main hallway. "Well, why don't we get a move on? Oh, hey, do you mind if we head to the cafeteria first? I slept in and didn't really get a chance to eat, so..."

Lady shrugged as she went for the ends of her braids and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah, okay."

With that, they made their way through the halls, weaving between students and faculty that wandered the halls. Zack was pretty talkative. Lady wasn't sure if she appreciated it. Most of his questions were stuff she didn't feel like answering. Even then, he had an infectious energy. It shocked her that he managed to get her to loosen up a little, something that Trini or whatever-her-name-was failed to do. As nice as she was. Zack didn't treat her like she was made of glass and walk on eggshells around her or talk to her like a scared baby deer. She tried too hard, not that there was anything wrong with that, Lady guessed. It only called attention to how new she was and rubbed it in her face.

It didn't take long for Lady to realize how cramped the school was. Claustrophobic even. Narrow hallways blended into each other. The same posters and displays seemed to repeat like the backgrounds on Hanna-Barbera cartoons. It was conflicting. It was both huge and too fucking small. Angel Grove High's never-ending hallways were a maze of what high school was about; algebra, possibly bad food and infidelity. If that argument between a couple she and Zack passed by told her anything. The building also reeked of Teen Spirit, strawberry-scented to be exact. It was soon overpowered by the smell of yeast and burnt toast when they passed the Home Ec. department, however.

The cafeteria was a welcome change by the time they got there. The area was open, the number of windows that let in a lot of natural light that helped the space. There were a few students at the tables. Some where surrounded by books as they tried to drill last minute information into their brain. Some were talking to each other in small groups. Some were plain passed the fuck out on the table.

"Hey, do you want anything? It'll be my treat!"

Lady blinked when Zack spoke. She shook her head. "Um... no, it's, uh, it's okay."

"You sure?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Alright... but you're missing out, it's not every day I offer to treat people," Zack said with a smile. "You don't have to tag along if you don't wanna, so you can find a table. I can tell you whatever you wanna know while I eat if that's okay with you."

"'Kay..." Lady mumbled. Her hand hid the small smile on her lips, before finding an empty table by the outdoor entrance. There were tables outside too, it seemed. It looked lovely, with all the trees and well-maintained garden. Maybe she could hide out there between classes, weather permitting.

A hand had slammed down in front of her, rattling her to the core. Her eyes stayed glued to the hand in front of her. Her own hands twisted themselves in the hem of her short overalls. She held her breath, trying not to focus on how hard her heart hammered inside.

"You're in our seats, Spazz."

With hesitation, Lady's gaze rose from the pale, so pale that it was almost translucent, hand in front of her. At the end of the table was a blonde girl. She was tall, or only appeared that way because of the angle and that Lady herself was only five foot two, and slim. Her platinum blonde hair was frizzy. So frizzy that it must've taken hours in front of the mirror to tease it to get it to that volume. It also required at least two full cans of hairspray, judging by how she reeked of it. Behind her were the two boys that had been picking on Billy the other day.

Shit.

"I, uh..."

"Ummm... I-I... I...uhhhh," the girl mocked, her head tilting from side to side with every forced stutter. Her voice had also jumped several octaves. Even though that wasn't how Lady sounded. She knew she didn't. There was another slam on the table. "Get up and move already, Spazz! Or do I gotta drag you out of here by these?"

Her scrawny hand grabbed one of Lady's braids and gave it a sharp enough tug to yank off the elastic. Lady yanked herself backwards as she stood up, the chair clattering behind her. She bit down the urge to cover her ears. She couldn't give her more fuel to use against her. "Fuck off!"

"Awwww look, she can talk after all!" The blonde laughed, the two boys behind her joining in."Too bad she has trouble listening. Get out of here already!" The girl hissed, reaching for Lady once again.

Swiftly, Lady dodged, the hand brushing against her denim romper. She took a quick, deep breath before lunging at the blonde's wrist and squeezing it tight. The sound of the joint cracking under the pressure echoed through the tense air. Lady's heart was pounding. Oh God, why did she do that?! What the fuck was her plan from here?

Boiling hot anger and bitter cold anxiety duked it out inside her. Her stomach churned while her mind raced to figure out what to do. She didn't know what to do. She had no fucking clue. Her grip got tighter. The only sound she could hear was her deafening heartbeat. It rattled her like the windows of a shitty old car with the worst bass in existence. Fear was winning the fight. She stared up at the girl, noticing her panicked expression as she tried to free herself. It morphed into a nasty glare when she noticed that Lady was staring.

Bleach blonde hair darkened to an ash brown. Wild frizz flattening itself into smooth silk that cascaded down her shoulders. Pale translucent skin browning to a light tan with dozens of sunspots. Lady froze. Bile rose in her chest and threatened to spew out. She swallowed it back. The burning sensation awakening that white-hot anger that roared a few moments ago.

She jerked the girl close to her, her grip tightening so much that her own hand shook and the joints turned white. It almost hurt to hold her. The bully shrieked as she jerked her arm away, only to be stuck where she was.

"You ever fuckin' talk to me like that again, I'll snap your fucking legs in half," Lady hissed. Her jaw clenched as she dug her jagged nails into the pale flesh. "I'll also tear out your fucking hair if you ever touch mine again!

"Jesus fucking Christ! Let go of me you fucking freak!"

Lady blinked, realizing what the fuck was happening before dropping the girl's hand. She stumbled backwards and dropped into the chair behind her. Her eyes flickered to the two boys, whose faces drained of all colour. Their eyes were so wide that they must've seen a ghost. Then she looked back at the girl who sneered at her while rubbing the bruised flesh, "All talk and no show, huh? You better watch yourself, Spazz."

The trio headed out the door, the fat one trying to slam it behind him, only for the door closer to slow it down to a snail's pace. Relief and nausea washed over her as she touched her face that was slick with sweat. She grimaced. She didn't know she was sweating.

'What the fuck was that all about?'

Zack finally came back to the table. "Oh my God, are you okay?! I saw those three hassling you! When she reached for you, I froze. Normally they don't do anything. I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"Um... Yeah. It's okay, I guess. Yeah."

"Did they do anything else? Did they say anything? You sure you're okay?"

"Not really... No, I mean, I'm fine. Don't... Don't worry about it."

"Okay, well, don't mind those guys. Bulk and Skull are harmless, most of the time. They think that they're all that but karma usually knocks 'em down right after. They're more of a danger to themselves than anything. Sharkie though..." Zack started before getting cut off.

"Which is which?" She had a slight idea of which one was Bulk and Skull, but she had to be sure. What if it was the opposite of what she thought? Like Bulk was the skinny one to be ironic.

There was a faint smile on his lips. "You probably already guessed but, the big guy is Bulk. He's the 'leader' I guess, but he's best friends with Skull, the other punk. I've known them since grade school. They were always jerks but like I said, they're harmless. Sharkie though... Well, you met her. I think they all met up in freshman year. She doesn't like my friend, Kim, too much."

Kim? Like that pushy girl with the flyers on Tuesday? Nah, it couldn't be. It was a big school and Kim was a popular name. Not everyone had parents that hated them and gave them stupid names like Lady did.

"I don't know Sharkie all that well. Now, I love the ladies," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows. She gave him a roll of the eyes in return, though she wasn't sure if he saw it through her glasses. "But Sharkie? She's... kinda scary. You know all about that. But, you managed to scare her off somehow, I almost don't wanna know how you did it."

Lady bit her lip. She didn't know how or why she did it. By some weird, awful and angry miracle, she managed to get a would-be bully to back off. Somehow.

"Um, tell me about what else goes on here," she said, pushing her anxieties to the back of her mind.

Zack smiled. "Alright. So Angel Grove has a lot going on. There's always something happening. So don't feel bad if you miss something because there's always something new around the corner. Don't feel like you're missin' out if you don't make it for the... Uh... I dunno, Sky Dive for Orphan Puppies event."

"...I-is that a real thing?"

He laughed before taking a bite of his sandwich. "Nah, I'm just messing with you. But with all the stuff that happens here, they're bound to run outta ideas one day. Maybe it will be one day. Anyway..."

The boy trailed off, going on about some of the things he had done with his friends. One of them being an ATV Race of all things. She wasn't sure how that worked. Did they all have their licenses in this school already?

She bit the inside of her cheek when he told her all about that. Ryan and the guys had made fun of her for not even wanting to join Driver's Ed back in Cross World City. Her nervousness went away once he went on about all the extracurriculars that the school ran, along with the classes at the Youth Center. He also took a moment to subtly advertise and hint that she should join his 'Hip Hop Kido' class.

"If you like to dance and wanna learn some martial arts... I gotta say, my class is the place to be."

"Don't listen to this jokester, my class is the one to be if you wanna learn the real basics of martial arts."

Lady jumped when a third voice joined in the one-sided conversation. She looked up. There was a white guy in the ugliest track pants she saw in her life and a red cotton scrap that she guessed qualified as a tank top. He smiled before running a hand through his dark brown hair.

"Aw, c'mon Jase. You know your classes are maxed out. Let me have this one, please."

"Nah. Not possible, Zack Man."

Zack made a show of rolling his eyes. "Whatever, man. Hey, Lady, this is my best friend, Jason. Jason Lee Scott, meet Miss Lady Johnson."

Jason snorted at her name. The nervous smile that Lady had realized she was wearing fell. "Hey, nice to meet you. Sorry about spooking you earlier," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

Blankly, she stared at the hand then up at him. The boy coughed as his confidence melted under her gaze. Finally, she reached out and grabbed his hand and squeezed tight. "It's fine."

Once his hand was free, Jason let out a small wince as he shook his hand in the air. "Wicked grip there, Lady. Pretty sure it'd make my dad cry. Anyway, you on welcoming duties this morning, man?"

The two friends began to yammer on about their plans for after school and then the break. It didn't take long for Lady to zone out. Their conversation turning into background music then to loud static. Kind of like when she would try to watch movies late at night and she put in the rare tape that hadn't been rewound and everyone in a three block radius was greeted with the sound of static. Her jaw clenched tight. Her nails dug into her palms. Her chest had felt heavy and tight while heat swirled inside of her. She wanted to go home, or rather, back to her house. Home was six hours away. The sooner they finished this dinky tour, the better.

"Can we go now?"

The two boys shared a look before shrugging. "I gotta head back to class anyway, I only left to get a drink. Freigo's probably wondering where the hell I am right now," Jason chuckled.

"Hey, we all still meeting up at Ernie's later?"

Jason had already started walking away at this point. He spun on his heel and spread his arms open wide and wore a grin to match. "Same as always!"

"Same as it ever was... Same as it ever was," Lady murmured.

"Hey, why don't I finally get around to showing you around now?"

She nodded, her hands going for her braids once again. The familiar bumps of her hair tie weren't there. She ran her fingers over the end of it a few more times to confirm. Right, that psycho from earlier ripped it off. As Zack got out of his seat, Lady dived to the floor and scanned the floor for the elastic. She did her best to ignore his puzzled gaze while she crawled around on the dirty cafeteria floor. 'Whoever cleans this fucking place is paid too much', she thought.

After a minute of looking around, she gave up with an angry sigh. It was lost to the void.

The period had gone by fast, as did the next one. Zack enjoyed himself, even though he had some reservations at first. Hell, he had only joined the Welcoming Committee because Angela was a member. He wanted to take the chance to get closer to her. It also helped when Trini, one of the founding members, had suggested joining to him. He had to agree, she had a lot of great ideas.

Lady was quiet. That was the understatement of the century, he knew. She was also weird to talk to. Her voice was flat with an edge to the painfully short answers she'd shoot back at him. The nasty look on her face the entire tour didn't help matters either. But, he had to guess that that was just how her face looked. It wasn't something he could relate to himself. He had been told he had an honest face, whatever that meant.

But his best friend, Jason, could. Every day, he was mistaken annoyed and emotionless by people that didn't know anything about him. It was the furthest thing from the truth of course. Jason didn't show that side of him to complete strangers was all. If he had met Lady all on her own, Zack guessed she would've just seen the version everyone else saw.

Despite it all, it wasn't that bad. Being the new kid was always hard and it was clear that Lady was plain weird about talking to people. Nothing was wrong with that. Billy was also weird about talking to people and he was one of the greatest people Zack knew. It took Billy a while to come out of his shell or to be in his element to shine.

Maybe that was the case with Lady?

"So, Lady, what kinda stuff you into?"

She froze. "Er... I-I, uh, I dunno."

"C'mon, there's gotta be something that gets you hyped."

She rested her chin on her hand for a few moments, then spoke up. "Um, I box... And I like writing and music. I guess. I play bass sometimes...I dunno. Why?"

"Just curious, is all. What kinda music? You strike me as a... Madonna—no! Duran Duran kinda girl?" Zack shot in the dark with that statement. Madonna had been his first guess since she was so popular. Duran Duran might've been stuck in his mind because he had been thinking about Billy a moment ago.

Regardless, Zack was wrong. Really wrong.

"N-no! No, no, no," She said, fighting off a fit of giggles. Where it had come from, he wasn't very sure.

"T-Talking Heads! I like Talking Heads. I love them. I like them a lot. I like David Byrne's solo stuff too but I like Talking Heads more. Tina Weymouth's bass is nice and it's not as weird, y'know? Like, he's a weird guy, I know. His latest album, 'Uh-Oh', goes from goofy but relatable stuff like 'Girls on My Mind' to pretty stuff like 'Somebody'? Am I making sense—OH! I like their concert movie too, 'Stop Making Sense'? It's one of my favourites, I wish I could've been there when they were filming it? But I was only seven when it came out so who knows but I was a big, big, big, BIG fan even back then. Their first album came out when I was born, y'know? How cool is that? It makes me feel special-"

Suddenly, her mouth shut and she deflated like a balloon. Somehow, she was gloomier than when he had first met him. Her hands went to the ends of her hair again. The one braid had become undone with how much she fiddled with it today. "Sorry..." she said.

"Hey, no, don't be sorry. It's cool how into it you are. We all have our things, y'know?" He said, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

She tensed under his touch before wriggling away from him. "Don'ttouchmeplease."

"Hey, no problem at all." He backed off, taking a step away from her and lifting both his hands in the air to show he wasn't touching her. A touch dramatic, but it seemed to work in his favour. She relaxed and her posture opened up once again. Not that it was that open, to begin with. "Don't take this the wrong way but, you remind me of a friend of mine. She's kinda shy too, so I get it."

She gave him a shrug. "It's okay."

He shot her one of his more charming grins. "Glad to know that you're so understanding, Milady."

The girl rolled her eyes.

Zack looked at his watch, getting that antsy feeling he always did whenever it was almost the end of a class. It was like clockwork. Sure enough, it was seven minutes before the bell would ring. He sucked his teeth before looking at Lady. The tour finished. He showed and told her everything that she needed to know about the school. He had dawdled quite a bit, taking advantage of what was essentially two free periods. Guilt ate away at him somewhat as he thought about Trini and Kimberly. He was sure that they would've had the tour finished right away. But, could he complain? He got a shorter school day the last day before break. With a satisfied sigh, he gave her another look.

"Hey, so, I gotta get to class in a bit. I'll take you back to the main office though. After all, a true gentleman always escorts the Lady to the door."

She closed her eyes, biting her lip to hide the smile that spread on her face. "Whatever, Zack Attack."

Zack grinned.

"Where were you this morning, Zack? I didn't see you in theatre class," Trini said as she scooted her chair closer to the table. Everyone besides Billy, who needed to pick up a few things for his project, was at the Juice Bar. She gazed at Zack while he ogled Angela, who was on the treadmill. He turned towards her, their eyes catching for a moment. Heat rose to her face once she had been caught. She looked inside her cup, hoping the mango smoothie would cool her down.

"He was giving a new girl the Welcoming Committee treatment," Jason jumped in. "Bad time for anyone to be transferring in, isn't it? Last day before the break?"

"More like the best time to start school, I'd say. She gets to miss Friego's 'surprise-but-not-really-a-surprise' pop quizzes" Zack laughed. "Nah, but, she doesn't start until after the break."

"Still! What a weird time to be coming in though? It's, like, suuuuper late in the school year too. Like, did her parents get a job transfer or something?" Kimberly asked as she scribbled things down into a notepad. She needed to figure out some stuff she needed to have for her and Trini's trip to Palm Springs. It was hard to focus or remember it all though. Crap, hopefully, she'd remember it when going over her stuff tonight.

"I dunno, Kim. She didn't like talking about herself... Or talking at all. Unless it was about that band, Talking Heads."

"Are you just trying to see how many times you can, like, say 'talking' in one sentence?"

Zack rolled his eyes and laughed, the sound making Trini's stomach flutter. "Hey, what was the new girl's name?" she said, wanting to distract herself more than anything. "I wonder if it's the same girl Kimberly and I saw earlier in the week?"

"Something kinda stupid, if I gotta be honest." Trini frowned when Jason replied. Her annoyance was more at his tone and what he had said more than anything. He leaned back in his chair with a smirk. "Girly...Something."

"It was Lady, you jerk," Zack laughed, leaning over to give his friend a playful shove. It was more than enough to send Jason crashing down onto the floor. Trini slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to mask that she was laughing at the suddenness of it all. She felt bad but it was somehow satisfying seeing him get his comeuppance. Not as much as it was with Bulk and Skull, of course. By the time Zack dashed to where his friend was to help him up off the ground, she had calmed down somewhat. "Sorry about that, Jase."

"It's cool, man."

"You guys alright over there?" The four of them looked over at Ernie, who walked out behind the bar with a tray of drinks in hand. Zack winced as the large man made his way around to serve another table.

"Yeah, I got carried away. Sorry, Ernie."

The man smiled with a shake of his head. "As much as I love you guys, I can't have you guys roughhousing in here. Unless it's on the mats in the gym, of course. Try to keep it under control, okay? Someone can get hurt."

The gang nodded and gave their apologies before Kim leaned over the table to nudge Zack. She looked over at Angela, who was doing her stretches after her work out. "Ooooh, Angela better watch out for this new girl, if you're getting this worked up over her~! Maybe she'll get jealous and finally go out with you."

Trini grimaced as she took a long drink from her smoothie as the rest of her friends teased Zack. Why was this bothering her so much? Normally, she was able to deal with this sort of thing. Was it because she was used to seeing how well Zack's attempts to woo Angela went?

"More like she'd be glad that he wasn't bugging her anymore," Jason laughed. This time he dodged Zack's swipes at him. "I'm kidding, man. Angela doesn't know what she's missin' out on."

"So her name is Lady, you said?" Trini asked, once again trying to change the direction of the conversation. They'd still end up talking about the new girl, but at least it wouldn't be about Zack's dating life. Or lack thereof, at the moment. "Was she about Kim's height? Long black hair and sunglasses?"

"Yeah! That's her."

"Are you four conversing about my neighbour?" Billy asked, making everyone at the table look up. He placed his bag on the floor before pulling up a chair from another table and placing it next to Kimberly. "I wasn't aware that she attended the school today as well. It was quite consternating when I visually perceived her at the gymnasium on Tuesday."

"Consternating? Like, what does—wait. Someone finally moved into that house across the street from you?"

"Affirmative. When my mother saw the 'Sold' sign on the lawn, she was as stupefied as you are. It's been on sale for so long that we cerebrated that no one was ever going to move in again. Or at least longer than a few months. Perhaps that is why my parents have taken it upon themselves to be so welcoming to Dr. Johnson and Lady. So that when they ineluctably do vacate the premises, they'll stay in touch." He blinked when he noticed how hard his friends were staring. "May I ask why you are all staring at me like one of Ms. Appleby's more difficult exam questions?"

Kimberly clapped her hands once then held them together as she leaned towards Billy with furrowed eyebrows. "Well, first of all, you didn't tell us about the new girl! You, like, live right across the street from her and your parents and her parents are like... best friends now, right? You should've invited her to come with us to the movies yesterday! Way to be a good neighbour, Billy!" Before Billy could interject with what was most likely an excuse, she started right back up again. "And it's just, like, totally weird that you never mentioned someone moving into that creep-o house. I remember us all sneaking in there in sixth grade to—"

"To test my newly constructed P.K.E Meter, yes."

"What a bust of a busting that whole adventure was," Jason said with a sigh. "Billy even got his Halloween costume for it. Sorry."

Trini looked over at Billy, wondering what Jason was apologizing for. Only to see him looking at the ground with a sheepish smile. His face flushed as his hands ran through his hair, something he did when embarrassed. If she was sitting next to him instead of Kimberly, she would've given him a gentle pat on the shoulder. She settled for giving him a sweet smile before speaking, "Well, we all had fun back then at least. Though, we shouldn't have done it in the first place."

"Precisely," Billy began as he looked at Jason. "There's no hard feelings, Jason. It was illogical for me to build such a device to begin with. Nothing peculiar like apparitions or monsters would ever appear in Angel Grove. In the extraordinarily low chances of them existing at all. I should be the one to apologize for inadvertently dragging you all into my puerile delusions back then."

"Don't sweat it, it was eons ago. It'd be just as..." Jason trailed off before licking his lips. He shot a look at Trini, his dark eyes begging for a translation for what his friend said. Or a possible confirmation that what he might say was what he thought it might be.

"Puerile, it means childish.," she said, her voice wavering as what little confidence she had in her definition left her. She was sure that it had been a word she lost a spelling bee over in grade school. "I... I think?"

"That's correct, Trini."

Jason sighed in relief. He must've guessed correctly. "It'd be just as childish if I was still mad about it... Not that I ever was to begin with—wait a minute. Wasn't it Kimberly that insisted that we try it out in that house?"

"Yeah! And she was the one to freak out over a coat rack that was still in the house, right?" Zack said, making everyone laugh at the memory.

They had all sneaked into the house through one of the back windows that was left open. Years later, Zack still didn't know how or why it was left open. Maybe a real estate agent that had gotten too hot? He was sure that they wouldn't have done anything if both doors and the windows they could reach weren't open.

They explored the main floor together. The found nothing but tacky seventies decor and the late afternoon sun casting menacing shadows through the dusty windows. Eventually, someone suggested that they should split up. If they were older and in a horror movie instead of a house in the middle of the suburbs, Zack would've smacked whoever suggested it. But when you're dumb and eleven years old with parents that wouldn't let you see PG movies, you tend to not know about how people died in horror movies.

It worked out for Scooby Doo and the gang, after all.

Zack remembered he was the one that found the door to the basement. He remembered the argument he and Jason had about who would go down first ("You found it, so you go first!" "How about it's like when my Ma says I gotta clean dishes 'cause she cooked. I found the door, so... you go in!" "You're such a chicken!" "You're a bigger one!"). Then, they heard a scream from upstairs. The boys dashed up the stairs and found the room the girls were in. There was Trini on the ground, hugging a crying Kimberly who was beside a knocked over coat rack that looked as old as his grandma.

Kimberly sputtered, looking away from everyone and fighting back laughter as she buried her face in Trini's shoulder. "Oh my God, you guys! It could've, like, happened to anyone so shut up!"

When the five had finally calmed down, Zack got up from his chair. "Well, as nice as it was to reminisce over Kim's fear of coat racks, I gotta jet. Ma probably found out I haven't packed by now and is about to flip. So, I gotta get home and get ready now."

"Alright, hope you have fun in DC, dude. Say 'hi' to your grandma for me," Jason said, holding up his hand for Zack to high five on his way up.

"Yeah! We'll miss you while we're in Palm Springs!" Trini said as she waved, fighting back a grimace.

"I'll miss you girls too, Trini. Now, Billy," Zack said, his tone switching from light to heavy as he placed both hands on the other's shoulders. "I have an important job for you."

"O-oh? What is it?"

"I need you..." He took a deep breath before solemnly staring into Billy's eyes before breaking out into a wide smile. "To make sure none of the girls in Angel Grove are lonely while I'm in DC and Jase is in LA, alright? It's all up to you, man."

Billy blushed deeply for the second time that afternoon. Sliding down his seat, he buried his face in his hands while his friends laughed.

As he pulled closer to his house, Billy noticed someone squatting on the very edge of his driveway. Confused, he parked his father's station wagon in front of next door's lawn and walked towards the figure. The aroma of cigarette smoke wafted through the air and invaded his senses. Immediately, his chest felt tight. On instinct, he reached for the front of his shirt and pulled it over his nose. The other dove into his pocket for his inhaler in case he needed it. He knew his makeshift mask would do little against the smoke.

"Oh shit," said a familiar voice.

There was Lady, who only had half of her hair braided, on the edge of his driveway. She tossed the cigarette onto the cement. She then shuffled forward so she could pivot her foot onto the butt while still squatting. Sighing, she stood up with the sound of her knees popping echoing in the evening air. Billy couldn't help but wonder why she didn't stamp the cigarette out when she was up. The grey smoke billowed in the darkening sky as the scent still lingered around them.

Once the smoke had visually dissipated he let go of his shirt, despite knowing better. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. "What are you doing?"

"What did it look like?" She replied, leaning down to pick up the butt and shove it into her pocket.

"I meant what are you doing on my driveway."

Lady rolled her eyes then nodded.

"Oh, duh, right. Uh... My dad 'n' your parents are hanging out again. Like, Darla invited me too because she made more weird casseroles—what is with white, no, white people in the US and casserole by the way? Like I saw it once in Montana at a classmate's place and I was like 'Oh, uh, okay'. Then I move to California and it's all over the place. My friends, Kaitlin 'n' Ryan's moms would make that shit too nearly every time I came over, it's fuckin' weird!"

She took a deep breath.

"ANYWAY... I figured I don't have anything better to do anyway because free food but then I realized I had kinda a shit day so I really wanted a smoke and I'm not that kind of an asshole that smokes in people's houses? And even if I was, you have asthma, man! I was like, 'Oh no, what if it's too close to the house even if I do that out here?' But I didn't wanna walk all the way to my place but I didn't wanna be too close to your house and so that's why I'm out here and, well, here we are."

Billy blinked slowly. Once, twice, three times. It wasn't very sound logic she used. But, there was an attempt at it and he could follow it. For the most part.

"I see. I appreciate your efforts, Lady, but I can't help but ponder whether or not you should be smoking in the first place. I recommend that you don't do it around my house at all. Partly to facilitate your paranoia of sending me into an asthmatic attack and to stay safe... Or, quitting that fixation as a whole, as there is a multitude of adverse health effects. Along with it just smelling unpleasant, I've found. Have you considered discontinuing tobacco?"

"Have you considered sucking a dick?" She said, shoving her hands into her pockets and staring at him.

He was speechless.

Perhaps he should use his inhaler anyway.

Even in the low light, he could see her lips curling into a nervous smile. Her gaze moved down to her shoes. "Sorry, I... I didn't mean it like that," she said finally. "It was just a joke, not a very funny one. Sorry. I, ah, I get kinda... gross. I dunno why."

"It's... It's fine. It just took me by surprise is all." Billy's voice was distant as he pulled out his inhaler and popped off the cap. He kept his eye on her, noticing she wouldn't look at him for longer than three milliseconds before sheepishly looking away. He shook the canister before speaking up again. "It's common for... colleagues to speak to each other in an informal and crass matter at times, isn't it?"

"Are we... colleagues?" She asked while he took a deep breath and a puff of his medication.

Ten seconds passed. "I don't see why not," he replied, finding it easier to breathe now.

She laughed, her fingers toying with the lone braid she wore. "'Kay, cool. I'm... I'm gonna go change."

"May I ask why?"

"I was just smoking, dude. It's probably all in my clothes or something."

"I don't think you have to do that," he said with a smile. His hand running through his hair as she stretched her arms out. "I appreciate it, but you don't have to."

"I feel bad that you had to use your puffer at all though. And, uh, y'know... I gotta facilitate my paranoia somehow. Or whatever." She puffed out her cheeks and returned his smile. "So... See ya later, colleague," she said with a wave before heading across the street.

The smile on his face grew wider as he made his way to the house. Was she getting more comfortable around him? The question rang in his mind as he walked inside and greeted his parents and Dr. Johnson. After exchanging the normal pleasantries (What happened at school today, what his plans for the break were, what his friends' plans were, and if he saw Lady today), he started to make his way to his room. The sound of a chair being pushed from the table and footsteps behind him surprised Billy.

"Hey, Billy, can I talk t'ya for a second?" Dr. Johnson asked. Billy noticed how his hands just couldn't stay in one place. They went from his pockets, the end of his braid, in front of his chest and clasped together before settling on twisting a ring on his left ring finger. It was strange, seeing an outspoken man like Dr. Johnson act this way.

Acting like Lady.

"Er... Certainly, sir. What's on your mind?"

Dr. Johnson smiled sheepishly. The way he smiled was identical to Lady's; like father, like daughter, Billy supposed. "It's about Lady. She's probably sick of my shit at this point, eh? I've been hinting at her to try to talk and hang out with other kids, like the ones she met this week, and you. But, she won't budge. She's not gonna make the first move. She's always had a hard time making friends, even as a little girl."

"Oh." It was all Billy could say. It was something he related to. He preferred to keep to himself as a child, and even now, especially when he moved here in third grade. Trini had been the one to approach him first, after she first 'translated' his extensive vocabulary to the class...and teacher. It took some time, but, she managed to get him to spend time with her friends. Now, here he was. He still struggled with the whole socialization thing, but, he had four dear friends. Four friends that accepted and supported him and his hobbies.

Did Lady never have anything like that?

The thought made him frown.

"Basically, what I'm trying to ask is... Do you mind hangin' out with her over the break? I know you got your own thing goin' on. This isn't me askin' you to hang out with her all day, every day. That'd be fuckin' stupid and selfish. Just check up on her once in a while, whenever you're free?"

Billy hummed. His arms crossed in front of his chest before one hand reached up to stroke his chin. He had plans. Plans to work on the Rad Bug the whole break as there'd never be a better time to do so. As much as he cherished his friends... They had a tendency to drag him away from his projects for a charity event or to hang out.

Well... Breaks were important.

The image of Lady's earlier smile faded into his mind.

She genuinely seemed to be getting comfortable around him. As crass and awkward as she could be, not that he could talk since he had trouble talking to anyone that wasn't in his circle, she really wasn't that bad. Perhaps, he could help her like Trini helped him.

"Alright. That's something I can do, Dr. Johnson."

The man beamed. "Thank you so much, Billy. It really means a lot."

"It's no problem at all, sir."

As Dr. Johnson walked back to the kitchen, a thought crossed Billy's mind as he walked up the stairs. Perhaps, this could also count as fulfilling Zack's "important job" for him. He laughed.