The Bet Part 3
By: Blue Obsidian
Disclaimer: All characters save for Kerri belong to Michael Jacobs. Kerri is mine--sort of!
Author's Note: The spelling of Kerri's name has been changed. I also want to thank everyone who read my story and liked it! You're thought mean a lot to me, and I'm sorry I took so long on writing this part! And I want to thank the reviewer who suggested an ending for me. That was a great idea! Thank you!!
Later, they were all at school. This was the first leg of Mr. Fini's project. Kerri looked back at Shawn and smiled smugly. Shawn just rolled his eyes and tried to drown out Topanga, who was chanting.
"So, you really think you got me, huh?" Shawn asked Kerri.
"Oh, I know I do." She smiled at him.
"So, where is Minkus, Kerri?"
Kerri smiled a little. "Uh--he'll be here, I'm sure." She said, though she looked a little panicked. It wasn't like Minkus to be late to school. Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
"Good morning, class." Mr. Fini strode in. "I hope you all have enjoyed your assignments so far."
"Minkus?" Cory asked looking up. Minkus leaned against the doorframe. He had on sunglasses and a leather jacket, with a patened 'cool' smile on his face.
"Yo, Mathews." He greeted Cory, pointing his index finger out at him. "Yo, Fini."
"Stewart?" Mr. Fini couldn't believe his eyes. What on earth happened to Stewart??
Kerri smiled widely and hid a laugh behind her hands. Even Topanga looked surprised, though midly.
"Yo Mr. Minkus." Mr. Fini cleared his throat, putting his 'teacher voice' back on. Minkus smiled a little. "Ah, well I gotta sit anyways." he said, jumping into his chair. "My dogs are killin' me." He put his feet up on his desk.
"Mr. Minkus."
"That's my name!" Minkus said and eyed Mr. Fini pulling his glasses down slightly.
Mr. Fini sighed and pushed Minkus's feet off the desk. He also took Minkus's sunglasses. "You can have these after class."
"Man." Minkus complained. "These teachers are a drag!"
Kerri couldn't help it. She put her head on her desk and tried not to laugh too loud.
Shawn leaned over to whisper to her. "You do know, that as Minkus has never been cool before, that there's a possibility of a cool overload, right?"
Kerri looked up at him. "Nu uh." She said with a shake of her dark hair. She looked doubtfull. "Really?"
Shawn nodded. "Seen it happen myself." He swore. "Not a pretty sight."
"That won't happen to Minkus."
But as Kerri watched Minkus and his new 'cool' act, she couldn't help but wonder. "I hope." She added under her breath.
~*~*~
Lunchtime. Minkus strutted outside of the class. "Hey, you know you want some!" He said to a couple of girls who raised their eyebrows and walked away. "Your loss, not mine babes" Minkus hollered after them.
"Hey, Minkus." Kerri walked up to him. "How's it goin'?"
"Hey Kerri." Minkus smiled at her. "This is the life, ain't it?" He leaned against his locker. "I'm thinking of cutting fourth period and hanging out in the parking lot. You wanna join?"
Kerri raised an eyebrow. Shawn's warning of a 'cool overload' came back, but Kerri ignored it. "Minkus you're cutting class?" She asked.
"Sure I am, Kerri!" Minkus exclaimed. "All the cool dudes cut class." He reminded her. She shrugged.
"It just doesn't seem like you." She said.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" Minkus asked. "You said so yourself that I can't be cool being me--so I'm going to be someone else--someone who's cool." He put his glasses back on and pulled out something hard. "Want one?"
"Minkus!" Kerri gasped. Okay, this had went too far. "You brought ciggarets to school?"
Minkus showed her the pack. "The candy ones aren't bad for you." He said pulling one out and bitting into it. "I can't stand real smoke. I have asthma, and my asthma acts up and then I cough, and this one time I started to turn blue--" Minkus stopped himself. "I mean, yeah so?"
Okay, so Minkus was in there somewhere. She felt a little relived. "Well, I gotta go to lunch. See ya." She told him. Kerri felt suddenly guilty. Had she made Minkus think because he was smart, he couldn't be cool, or liked? She was beginig to understand why Mr. Fini had set this assignment up after all.
~*~*~*
"Kerri." Shawn and Cory watched her as she tapped her pencil against her notebook. They had decided to do their homework at Cory's after school--Shawn and Cory were planning on bugging to get Kerri to lend her hers so they could copy it.
"What?" Kerri looked up, distracted.
"Would you stop that?" Shawn asked, putting a hand over the pencil. "It's getting on my nerves!"
"Oh." Kerri grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."
"What's with you?" Cory asked, looking up. He'd take any excuse to stop his homework!
"Uh--well you know...how I said I can make Minkus cooler than you?" She asked Shawn.
Shawn nodded.
"I think it's working...really working. And now I kind of feel bad." She paused, not really liking to feel guilty.
"Why?" Both boys asked.
"Well I kind of told Minkus he wasn't cool as himself." She began, now absently tearing a piece of paper into shreds. "And he belived me."
"He's Minkus." Cory pointed out. "He's King of the Nerdlings."
Shawn nodded. "Ah, you don't have nothing to worry about." He assured Kerri. "It'll blow over, and then I'll win the bet." He looked smug.
Kerri frowned. "Oh yeah?" She asked, feeling that spark of competitveness she always felt when Shawn challanged her. It was kind of weird. She usualy felt she had to go out of her way to prove he was wrong.
"Yeah." Shawn ran a hand through his hair. "And you'll hafta do whatever I want!"
Kerri snorted. "You mean, you'll spend Friday helping me baby sit Morgan!" She retorted.
Shawn felt confident he was going to win. "We'll see." He said with such smugness Kerri felt like screaming.
~*~*~*
School again. Cory, Shawn and Kerri were dropped off by Shawn's sister Stacey this time. Cory's mom and dad had to go in early.
"You'd better go to the cafeteria!" A girl said as she ran past. "There's a fight!"
"Fight?" The three echoed. Kerri grabbed the girl before she could speed off. "Who?" She asked.
"That Stewart Minkus and Gary Dalton." She said. "They're fighting over get this--Topanga Lawrence."
"What?" They all echoed again. "Why?"
"Gary called Topanga a name I guess, and it made Stewart mad, and he stood up for her!" Her eyes shone. "So now, they're fighting!"
"Uh oh!" Kerri said, hurrying towards the cafeteria. She hoped she wasn't too late to talk some sense into Minkus. "Minkus!" She said, spying him.
"Hey ya Kerri." Minkus greeted her. "I suppose you've heard who the baddest in the school is, huh?"
"Minkus--"
"He called Topanga a freak." Minkus explained to her. "I couldn't let him get away with that could I? Now that Topanga sees how cool I am maybe she'll--"
"Stewart!" They both heard Topanga's voice. She walked over to them, looking upset now. "You can't fight Gary! He'll cream you!"
"Hey babe, that was the old Stewart." Minkus said to Topanga, placing a hand on her shoulder. "This is the new Minkus."
Topanga turned to Kerri. "I suppose you had something to do with this?" She asked.
"A little?"
"Come on geek." Gary said to Minkus, and sneered. "You afraid?"
"Of you?" Minkus laughed. "You must have a 20/20 IQ. I'm not afraid of you!"
"Minkus." Kerri said. "Look--"
"Not now, Kerri." Minkus waved his hand at her. "I'm going to proove how cool I really am!"
"Minkus!" Kerri snapped, impatient. "Fighting won't proove how cool you are. This guy is a dumb jock." She said. "He'll just flaten you and that'll just build up his ego!"
Minkus paused. Maybe Kerri was getting through to him. She'd feel really bad if Gary Dalton punched Minkus out!
"Well--maybe you're right." Minkus said thoughtfully. He took his sunglasses off. "I just wanted you guys to think I was cool."
"I already did." Topanga said to him.
"Really?"
"Uh hu." Topanga said with a nod. "But that sort of stuff never mattered to me. I judge a person by what they're like inside." She directed a look towards Kerri. "Not what they're like outside."
Now Kerri really felt bad. "Look Minkus." She began. "Earlier when I said you weren't cool being you--I was...well...I was being dumb I guess." She said with a sigh. "And I figured I'd make you cool. But i f you're happy with the way you are, I guess it shouldn't bother me either."
Minkus nodded. "Hey, since you two really feel that way--"
"Come on Geek!" Gary shouted, picked Minkus up and swung him in a wide circle.
"Ahhh!!!" Minlus screamed.
~*~*~*
"Now." Mr. Fini said. "This is the last part of your assignment. Here, you each will tell what it's been like learning about someone different." He looked down at his list. "Shawn and Topanga, you're up."
Shawn gave Kerri another smug look. Kerri rolled her eyes and smiled and Minkus who looked back and gave her a grin. He was still wearing the leather jacket, but he didn't have the sunglasses on.
"Well." Topanga began. "I found it was an interesting oventure to observe Shawn Hunter for a whole week. Quite exhausting, too."
Shawn smiled. "At least it wasn't borning!" He quipped.
"I found out that while you may be thought of a s a certin way, you are someone else entirly." She said with a smile. "That's my conclusion. Don't judge people because of their apearences. Get to know them first."
Mr. Fini nodded with approval. "Very well done, Ms. Lawrence. Well, Mr. Hunter, what did you learn about observing Topanga?"
Shawn pulled out a few notes, skimmed them and launched into his 'speech'. "Ya wanna know what I learned? I learned if you chant too much, you can get a sore throat!"
"Is that all Mr. Hunter?" Mr. Fini asked with a half-way amused expression.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Shawn said with a nod. He and Topanga took their seats.
"Next up is Cory Matthews and Jennifer Powers." Mr. Fini said. Cory and Jennifer took their spots up front.
"Well." Jennifer began, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "I learned a lot about video games." She said with a shrug. "And...well, that's all we did." She said with a shrug.
"I learned." Cory began. "That I hate shopping and I never want to go shopping again!"
Mr. Fini rolled his eyes. "I assume you're both done?"
Two nods. "All right then, next up is Kerri Mathews and Stewart Minkus. This should be interesting." Mr. Fini faintly mumbled.
"Okay." Kerri said, taking reigns. "I actually learned a lot." She began. "One, I learned never to make bets. Two, I learned it's not who you ARE that makes you cool, it's how you act and what you do. See, I never knew that before this little experiment. I tried to make someone into something they're not. If they're happy, why should I change them?" She asked with a shrug. "Okay I'm done."
"Mr. Minkus?"
Minkus spoke next. "Well, I learned a lot too. I know people judge you by appearences and it's not right. It shouldn't matter on what you look like--outside." He said with a shrug. "I tried being someone I'm not. I can't be." Minkus took off the jacket. "I may be a nerd, but I'm darned proud of it!" He declared. "So...that's what I wanted to say. I'm never going to try and be who I'm not--again!"
Mr. Fini nodded. "That's exceptionaly put, Mr. Minkus. I think we've learned more than I thought." Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. "You'll get your grades tomorow. Class dismissed."
Kerri gathered her things up. She paused at Minkus's desk. "Hey Minkus?"
"Yeah, Kerri?"
"I am sorry ya know. I didn't know you were happy being a ner--I mean, being you." She said with a shrug. "And don't listen to what I said. It takes guts to face Gary Dalton like you did!"
Minkus laughed. "Yeah well." He said, cutting the laugh off short. "When I spun, and hit the pudding stand, I got sick and threw up on his shoes."
Kerri giggled. "Yeah, that comes in handy. So--I'll see you around?"
Minkus nodded. Kerri turned to leave. "Hey Kerri." Minkus called back to her. Kerri turned a bit.
"We're friends, right?" Minkus asked her.
"Of course we are." Kerri said with a nod. "You can hang out with me anytime you want, Minkus."
Minkus smiled. "Could you call me 'Stewart' sometimes, too? That's what my friends call me."
Kerri smiled. "Sure Mink--I mean, Stewart." She headed outside, Minkus with her.
~*~*
"So." Shawn said with an evil smile. "Are you ready to do whatever I want to do, today Ker?" Shawn asked.
Kerri mumbled someting he couldn't hear.
"What was that?" Shawn asked, rubbing it in. He loved it when he was right.
"I said." Kerri said, looking up a little agitated. "I hate it when you're right!"
Shawn laughed. "All right--here's what we have to do. I promisedmy dad we'd help him at the auto shop today. You know, look at the cars clean up...it's not too much for you is it?" He asked with a laugh.
Kerri made a face at Shawn. "Nooo." She said with a long sigh. "Guess I have nothing better to do this afternoon."
"I thought you had to baby sit Morgan." Shawn pointed out. "Boy, are you going to be tired!"
"That's later tonight. Aunt Amy and Uncle Allan are going out." She explained.
Shawn nodded. "Well come on Ker, Dad's expecting us about three thirty!" He said.
"I can hardly wait." Kerri grumbled after him. "I'm never making a bet with you again, Shawn Patrick Hunter." She told him.
"Sure." Shawn rolled his eyes. "I've heard that before!"
~*~*The End~*~*
**Author's note: More Kerri stories on the way!**