"Hey! Give them back!" Kowalski yelled trying to snatch her glasses back from the tall boy.

Skipper rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. This was the third time this week alone she'd had to get Kowalski's glasses back for her. So at this point she wasn't putting a lot of fined skill into her strategy.

She looked boredly up at the boy. He was so much taller than herself. She punched the boy in the stomach and caught the glasses before they fell. Then left him to recover.

"Kowalski you need to stand up for yourself!"

"I do it's just that I can't see without my glasses!"

"And your enemy's know that. Making it a-." She said in a very leading tone cutting herself off and motioning with her hand for Kowalski to Finnish her sentence.

"Weakness." Kowalski finished slumping her shoulders in annoyance. "I know Skipper, but what can I do about it?"

Skipper smirked. "I'm sure you can come up with some options Kowalski." Then she walked off and sat in her desk as the bell rang.

Their teacher, Mr. Allen walked in and shut the door. He began his long boring lecture on the industrial revolution and almost dozed off himself a few times.

For once Kowalski wasn't paying attention. She was busy deciding what to do about people taking her glasses. Suddenly she realized she was being called on to answer a question she hadn't heard.

"Kowaski!" Skipper hissed.

Several people laughed, but Mr. Allen just stared with a bored expression.

"What?" Kowalski asked confused.

"Question five." Mr. Allen asked sternly.

"Uh...three?"

The class laughed. Confused Kowalski looked to Skipper for help. Skippers face was blank, but her tapping knuckles spelled annoyance.

Kowalski gulped. "B?"

The snickering that had died down came back with a vengance. Kowalski sunk down in her chair, her face reddening.

Mr. Allen rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

The boy behind Kowalski snickered. "Nice one." He said.

Kowaski's heart cleanched. She looked back and Darry, her heart throb was smirking at her.

She spent the rest of the day sighing and swooning. After school she went to meet her friends in their "HQ".

The HQ as Skipper had named it was a treehouse built in the tree that had grown in five by five gap between the fences of four houses.

One house belonged to Skipper's family, another to Kowalski's family, their friends Ricolette and Private's families occupied the other two.

One summer Skipper had hastily erected a tree house and Kowalski had commented to the secretive girl that the lot was 1/4th hers.

That one little comment had started a war. The commotion drew Ricolette outside and she decided she wanted the tree house too. At that point the girls mothers had called them inside.

They somehow came to the conclusion that the first one in the tree hose the next day after school would get to keep it. They were all confident they would win.

Private unaware of the feud was sitting in the tree house having a tea party with her dolls.

When she found out she'd won she just happily stated they'd share it. And they have for years.

Kowalski smiled at the memory of how they came to share the tree house, but frowned when she saw Skipper sitting on a branch her eyes closed tightly.

"Skipper?"

Skipper opened her eyes. "Hmm?"

Kowalski looked down and kicked at the ground. "Thanks for helping me get my glasses back."

"Again." Skipper added sarcastically.

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Hit like that. Do you have a method or is there a specific angle of trajectory-."

"It just takes practice Kowalski." Skipper said slightly annoyed.

Kowalski sighed. "Oh."

Skipper jumped out of the tree and landed right in front of her. "Kowalski if you failed a test what would you do?"

Kowalski tapped her chin. "Cry?"

"After that!" Skipper said exasperatedly.

"Study?"

Skipper snapped her fingers. "Exactully. That's what practice is! It's like studying for your body and your fighting abilities."

"Hmm." Kowalski mused dejectedly.

"What?"

"I'm not very good with the physical stuff. Now physics-!"

"So study! Practice!"

"Mmm." Kowalski groaned. "I'll never be the fighter you are."

"If you practice-."

"Skipper." Kowalski said with raised eyebrows.

"Come on Kowalski it's not hard."

"Yes it is!"

"Is not!" Skipper said growing frustrated.

"It is." Kowalski said sadly.

Skipper sighed. "Tell you what Kowalski. You want a method?"

Kowalski allowed herself to brighten slightly. "Yes.." She said warily.

"If I could give you a method would you practice?"

"I guess."

"Great. Slip this on." She tossed a ring at Kowalski.