"Casey and Ronald, Marron and James, Cassandra and Jake, Peter and Jessica, Goten and Bra..." Bra's brain heard nothing else. She turned, revolted, and looked into Goten's eyes. He glared at her. She lifted her hand and shot him a very rude gesture. He made a flinch as though to get up, but then looking around, he realized where he was. The teacher was there, as was the class. If he was going to kill her, he might as well do it privately.

"Tough luck." His girlfriend, Amy, told him, putting a soothing hand on his back.

"Just about as tough as it gets. This sucks. I'm going to kill her in the first five minutes."

"I'd give it three. And I'd bet on her." She said smiling, as she threw back her long blonde hair.

"This sucks." He repeated. "We're supposed to get along in this project. I'm going to wring my hands around her neck before we even start." Across the class, Marron whispered in Bra's ear.

"What jerks. They think they're so hot."

"I'd show them hot. All I have to do is pretend I'm sharpening my pencil and whip this out," she said, pulling a lighter from her pocket. "And when the teacher turns his back, I'd-"

"You're such a pyro." Marron told her, eyeing the pencil sharpener next to Amy's desk longingly.

"You know me all to well."

"Now, put that away." She said, guiding Bra's hand back into her pocket and making her drop the lighter. "Don't set anyone on fire until after school hours." She commanded Bra, smiling.

The teacher was rambling on about the assignment. It would last two weeks. Bra skimmed her guideline sheet for the project. They would have to meet at least four times outside of school. She sighed, dropping the sheet onto her desk. She proceeded to prop her elbow on her desk and plunked her face into her hand. Her long blue hair fell over her face. What was she going to do? Across the room, Goten was thinking the same thing about the blue-haired, spike-necklaced abnormality to society he'd been paired with. He despised her very being.

Bra could have said the same, as well as handed you a list of things she loathed about the pretty boy. He was spoiled rotten. His parents had given him a red convertible for his sixteenth birthday but she never dared look at the name or brand of the car in fear that she might be brought under its awesome spell of envy, as well. He was on the football team and was named MVP multiple times and was the backup quarterback. He was very popular and was dating the utmost prep girl, Amy Fischer, who was head of the cheerleading squad. Bra loved pep rallies but she didn't love it for the cheerleading or football. She loved it for the chaos.

Marron had been Bra's best friend since the beginning of high school and knew of no one better to complain to.

"Come on. Even Amy doesn't match her shoes as well as he does." She was continuing on about how lame he was.

"I bet they go shopping together." She said, making a face and bursting out into silent laughter.

"That's pretty sick if you ask me." The bell rang. Goten shot her a look to say that if she left without talking to him about the assignment, he'd kill her quicker than normal. Maybe that was the easy way out. She pondered it before resigning herself to sticking around. She wasn't failing because she got a lame partner. "Crap, now he's gonna come talk to me."

Marron wished her good luck as she gathered up her books. "Meet me at my car okay? I don't want to be around to hear this conversation."

"Me neither." She agreed, following Marron outside and leaned up against the brick building next to the door. Amy and Goten came out with their arms linked.

"Oh look who it is," Amy quipped. "The freak queen."

"Please put on some more make-up. Your pimples are showing." Amy cringed abruptly as if to reach for her mirror but then saw whom she was talking to. She turned to Goten and flashed a smile for him before she french kissed him for an exceedingly long moment. When they broke apart, she talked to him as though he were a child.

"Try not to chat to long. I know she won't understand and that you'll have to use small words for her, but that doesn't change the fact that I have a nail appointment at three and that we have to drive to my house first and pick up David. I'll meet you at your car." She said, taking his keys out of his pocket.

"All right."

"Behave now." She commanded him, as though he were a dog. She walked away down the hallway and it seemed as though he waited to speak until she was out of earshot.

"Listen. I don't want to do this project anymore than you do."

"Got that right." She muttered, folding her bangled arms.

"But were gonna have to suck it up and do it. I'm not failing."

"Well, I'm not failing either." She told him, unfolding her arms and sticking her finger in his face. "And don't think for a second I won't go straight to Mr. Nicholetti and request twice the amount of work if you're not pulling your weight." He pushed her hand out of her face but remained silent. She knew from their past that we wasn't a very good student. In fact, she often wondered how he had even managed to make it to his junior year. He scoffed. He knew that she was a very good student, despite her gothic looks. He broke the silent air suddenly.

"Well, whose house are we meeting at tomorrow, seeing as tomorrow is the first day we're supposed to meet."

"House?" She pulled out her guideline sheet. "It doesn't say anything about meeting at anyone's house!"

"It says outside school," Goten said, reading the paper.

"Well, can't we meet at the library or something? Why do you have to come to my house? Why do I have to go to your house?"

"Go to the library and risk being seen in public with you? Fat chance," Goten scoffed.

"So, what if Amy comes by and sees your car in my driveway?" She narrowed her eyes at him fiercely. "You know how she tends to make stories up." Bra said snidely, referring to Amy's role in the school as a haven for rumors, none of which were true.

"Don't bring what you can't get over into this. If it was my choice I'd have picked a different partner in a heartbeat."

"If it was my choice, you'd be six feet under," Bra muttered.

"Fine, meet at my house. I trust you know where it is." He said, sneering at her.

"Down the lane of lies." She said, turning her back on him.

She walked to her locker and then to Marron's car, which she rode in every other day to save Marron gas money. Bra got gas free from Capsule Co. since her grandfather and her mom owned it. They didn't live farther then three streets away from each other anyways. She dumped her books into the back seat and got in.

"What took you?" Asked Marron, peeling out of the parking lot.

"A lot of junk."

"Why, what's up?"

"I have to meet at his house."

"What? Why? That's completely lame!"

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"Me and James are just going to grab a burger at the arcade tomorrow. By the way, did you tell Trunks about this project? I don't want him to see me all over town with James and get the wrong idea." Trunks was Bra's older brother. He and Marron had been going out for over a year.

"The only wrong idea he'll get is if he sees you making out."

"Oh yeah," She said laughing. "Because I'm so head over heels for James!" James and Marron had always been very close, since they met in middle school. He was one of Bra and Marron's closest friends. And they had never been anything more. The pair were both with other people anyways and James's girlfriend, Beth, was close with both of them.

Marron dropped Bra off at her house.

"Tell Trunks okay?"

"You're not coming in?"

"No, I have to be home."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early."

"I know, that's what scares me most." She yelled at the window as she pulled out and drove away.