Before We Begin! An Author's Note

Hello everyone! I am Jayla Starlight, and you have the pleasure of reading my first fanfic! Excited? I hope so!

The following story was inspired by a dream I had. At first it was about my boyfriend & I, but then there were characters from "Recess" who took it over… funny how weird things like that can happen in dreams! When I woke up, I thought; what a great idea for a fanfic! Just to let you know, I shouldn't be responsible for any similarities between this story and other stories you may have read on here. Like I said, I got this story idea from a dream, not from reading other fics. Hopefully this story won't be too similar to any others… I shall watch out for that as I write.

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Recess or it's characters. But you already knew that I bet.

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Hooked On You

a Jayla Starlight FanFic

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Chapter One

Looking Back

With one foot on her skateboard, she clung onto the metal fence, peering through it at the building in front of her. A slight breeze gently blew against her long, layered black hair, cooling her from the earlier summer heat. The sun was setting, beautifully coloring the sky with pink, orange, and gold, but she scarcely noticed. Two third graders biked past her, laughing and ringing their bells, but she paid them no attention. All she could do was stare at the scene in front of her.

She couldn't believe where she was. It didn't seem real. It was almost like she was in a dream; she had seen this very place many times before while she slept. But never before this summer did she ever imagine that she'd be back. She closed her eyes, took a deep but silent breath, and opened her eyes. It was real. She was standing in front of Third Street School, where she used to go, six years ago.

All of a sudden, memories flooded back to her with a rush. Childhood memories. She remembered how the highlight of every day was getting to go outside and have recess with her five best friends. Oh, the awesome times they had over the years. Kickball. Basketball. Playing on Old Rusty, the jungle gym. Finding ways to break the rules set by the strict adults. She chuckled to herself as she reminisced about the good ol' days. She replayed many memories in her mind; like the time she replaced Guru Kid and gave the kids of the playground reckless advice. Or the time everyone protested against Old Rusty being torn down. Or the time she had witnessed Swinger Girl swing on to the other side. Or the time she was forced to kiss her best guy friend, TJ Detweiler, to test an experiment about kids kissing. She shook her head and smirked to herself; what a child she was. And for that moment she missed her childhood-self. Also, her childhood buddies. Where were they now? Were they still in this town? Would she meet them again?

Asking herself these questions caused a tiny stab of pain in her heart as she remembered how it all ended. She had recalled one of her very last recesses with her fourth grade friends; the day she told them that she would be moving away. Spinelli. Moving away.

"Ahh, summer vacation!" TJ had said, stretching out on the ground to welcome the sunshine. "The ultimate recess!"

"No more pencils, no more books," Mikey quoted poetically.

"Yeah guys, too bad we got to wait another two weeks," Vince pointed out.

"It'll be worth the wait, Vince. It'll be worth the wait," TJ said as he slipped on his brand new pair of sunglasses.

It was nearing the end of the fourth grade. The six friends, Spinelli, TJ, Vince, Mikey, Gretchen, and Gus, all sprawled out on the grass, talked excitedly about summer vacation nearing. All were excited that is, except for Spinelli.

"Any got any plans for summer?" Gus asked everyone.

"As a matter of fact, I applied for entry into a two-week science camp for prodigies," Gretchen said with a goofy smile. "And I got in!"

"Congrats, Gretch!" TJ gave her thumbs up.

"I'm going to be going to camp too!" Vince said proudly. "But not a science camp. That would remind me too much of school. It's a basketball camp!"

"Sounds awesome, man!" TJ grinned.

"Our family's going camping at some point," Mikie told everyone. We do every summer. Nothing like the great outdoors!"

After TJ and Gus had shared their summer plans as well, TJ looked over at Spinelli. She stared wordlessly at the blue sky, arms crossed in front of her chest, biting her lip. Something's not right, so TJ thought. He decided to investigate.

"Hey Spinelli! What are you doing for summer vacation?"

Spinelli jerked out of her disheartening thoughts. "Wha-? Sorry Teej… you say somethin'?"

"Yeah, I did. What are you doing for summer vacation?"

Spinelli shifted uncomfortably, and tightened her crossed arms, stomach sinking within her. "Ohh man…" she thought with dismay. "I guess they got to know sooner or later…" She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm, umm… I'm moving." she said, barely audible.

"You're…what?" TJ lowered his sunglasses and turned his head toward her.

"I'm… moving." Spinelli said again, only a fraction louder.

"What did she say?" TJ turned to Vince, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"You're going to have to speak up Spinelli, none of us can hear you," Gretchen advised..

Spinelli brought her arms to her side and clenched her fists. She couldn't believe that they didn't hear her, after she had announced it two times. She didn't want to say it once more, nor did she even want to tell them in the first place. Frustration boiled inside her, and she felt herself lose control.

"I'M MOVING, YOU DIMWITS!!"

It seemed as if everyone and everything was frozen in time.

"I'M MOVING AND I'M NEVER COMING BACK!! DID YOU HEAR ME THAT TIME?!"

Spinelli brusquely turned on her side, facing away from the group. She felt hot anger pound on her face, yet at the same time she couldn't help but feel guilty for yelling at her friends at a time like this. It seemed like ages before someone finally spoke up.

"Whatcha talkin' bout, Spinelli?"

Spinelli hesitantly turned to face the speaker. TJ was on his side, sunglasses in his hand, staring at her with such a look of concern in his eyes. In the same serious, confused tone he had used in his last query, he continued speaking.

"Is this for real? You're… joking, right?"

Spinelli squirmed inside as she stared into her best friend's unhappy eyes. She had refused to believe it when her parents broke the news to her the other night, she just thought they had to be joking… but ever since then something had been slowly eating at her insides; letting her know this wasn't a joke her parents were playing. And looking upon the sadness of TJ's face made it all hit home. She really was moving, and she was never going to see him again. This move wouldn't just affect her; but all her friends as well.

"Teej… I wish I was joking…" Spinelli said miserably. "But I'm not. I'm moving, and that's that. Goodbye forever…"

The rest of the memory was a blur to Spinelli. Good of it too, because she didn't really want to remember anymore of the sadness and disappointment of her elementary school companions when they heard this bitter news. She had been too anguished during the whole situation to really recall what her friends had said about it all. The only reaction she'd never forget was TJ's.

Spinelli finally pulled her gaze away from the school, and noticed her surroundings for the first time since she had come across this familiar place. The sun had set, the indigo sky budding stars by the minute. The breeze had gotten a tad bit stronger and cooler. Not a soul was in sight. She looked down at her green and black digital watch. She promised her parents she'd be home ten minutes ago, and had completely lost track of time.

Figuring she had better head home soon, Spinelli took one last look at the school and the playground. She imagined the playground fully occupied; with the kids she used to know. She imagined Swinger Girl on the swing, the Diggers digging in a far off corner, Upside-down girl, well, upside-down, Guru Kid sitting a blanket under a tree, King Bob on his throne. She imagined her and her friends, playing kickball in the field, beating the shorts off their fifth grade rivals. She laughed out loud as she imagined herself kicking the ball right into Lawson's face, and TJ giving her a high five on the side lines as she ran to first base. Oh the joys of the imagination.

With a sigh, Spinelli forced herself to look away. It was time she went home, and made sure she had a good night's sleep; tomorrow would be a big day. She stepped on her skateboard, and, with a salute towards Third Street School, she headed on home, feeling and hearing the scrape of concrete as she rolled down the sidewalk.

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Hope you enjoyed this first chapter, please review!