okay so I really didn't think I would be writing Arthur fics, but here's a short thing. May get more chapters, not sure tbh. :)
George walked into classroom just as the bell rang. It was the same as any other day: everybody was sitting around, chatting, but nobody noticed him walk in.
He sat down at his desk and looked around. At his table were Brain, Sue Ellen, and Prunella. Sue Ellen was discussing her latest wristbands with Prunella, who was eying it. Brain had his nose buried in a textbook, as usual. Some thigns were always the same.
"Hey, Brain, how's it going?" George asked.
"Hmm? Oh hey, George! I didn't notice you come in." Brain went back to reading.
George sighed. It still seemed like nobody noticed him. He looked around the room, and saw everybody chatting excitedly. He wondered why he wasn't like that.
Brain looked up from his book again. "Hey, George, have you ever heard of Plate Tectonics?"
"Huh? Is that a band name?"
Brain laughed. "No, no, listen to this. It's the idea that plates are constantly shifting around the earth's core, moving with the direction of convection in the earth's mantle as it..." George drifted off into thought. He had just noticed Jenna across the room.
She was sitting at Francine's table. He couldn't make out what they were talking about.
Then Jenna caught his eye.
George quickly opened a book and buried his nose in it.
"Hey, George, were you even listening to me?" Brain looked annoyed now. "I was just finishing explaining the history of the Himalayas."
"Huh? Yeah, those... hey Brain, can I ask you a question?" George barely managed to get the words out.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, uhhh.." George looked around. Sue Ellen and Prunella were talking more slowly now. George couldn't be sure, but it seemed like they were almost listening in.
He leaned over and whispered in Brain's ear:
"I'll ask you during recess. Meet my by the back fence."
Recess came around, and George was sitting in the grass by the fence. He saw Brain approaching.
"Hey, Brain, have a seat." He patted the ground next to him.
"Thanks. So, can I ask what you wanted to talk about?"
George all of a sudden felt nervous. "Well, Uhh, I wanted to ask you about somebody."
Brain smiled. "Okay, who?"
George could feel his neck getting warm; he tugged at his collar. "Uhhhh..."
"Is it Jenna?"
"How did you know?! I mean..." George looked off to the side.
Brain was smiling now. "Well, there were rumors a couple years back.. not that I'm usually the kind to listen to those things. But ever since, I do notice you looking that way with unusual frequency."
George covered his face with his hands. "Oh noo, do you think she knows?"
Brain laughed. "Would you be embarassed?"
"Yes! Of course!"
"Well, I don't know what I should tell you."
"What does she... uhhh.." George was sure he was blushing furiously by now, "What does she like to eat? What does she like to do?"
Brain brought his hand to his chin. "Well, I don't know, let me think. I think she's a cheerleader these days."
"Well, I know that!" George stammered. "I mean, like, do you know anything else?"
"I don't know, why don't you try going up to her and asking her?"
George looked up. "Really? Do you think that would work?"
Brain smiled and looked at him. "Well, it's the most obvious thing to do. You'd might as well try."
George stood up. "Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Brain!" He began walking over to Jenna, who was talking to Muffy now.
They saw him coming from far away. Muffy's smile slipped slightly, and she pointed at him. Jenna looked too and seemed confused. George approached them. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. "Keep calm", he told himself.
He finally reached where they were. "H-hi, you guys, whatcha talking about?"
Muffy looked unsure. "Uhhh, well, we were just discussing this new dress I'm wearing. It's real imitation Venetian Suede, with lace ruffles. Isn't it beautiful?"
George looked at the dress. It was kind of ugly, but he didn't trust his own fashion sense, so he lied. "It looks fine, Muffy!"
Muffy didn't smile. "He's lying. I can tell. Jenna, I'll talk to you later, I have to go ask Francine something." She walked off with her nose in the air.'
George turned to Jenna. "Hey, uhh, what's going on, Jenna?"
"Hi, George, I was talking about Muffy's dress. But what you said was rude to her, you must know how much she cares about appearances."
George could feel himself getting anxious. "Uhh, I just wanted to say.. that it looks nice! I never meant.."
"And why did you really want to talk to us anyways if you were going to be mean?" Jenna looked caught somewhere between annoyed and concerned.
"I- I, I just.." George cut himself off from stammering. He looked around nervously.
"We can talk later. Right now, I have to go find Muffy and make her feel better. Sorry, George, but you should probably apologize to her." And with that, Jenna ran off.
George sank to the ground, and put his face in his hands. "Aughhhh- why can I never seem to do this right?"
He felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Brain. "Hey, George, did everything go okay?"
George blinked. "No. No, I screwed it all up again."
Brain smiled. "Don't worry, you'll get better at it eventually."
George got home that day. He closed the door and put his backpack on the floor. He heard his dad's voice coming from the living room. "Hey, son, how was school?"
"It was fine." George ran up to his room and closed the door. He threw himself on the bed and just lay there. This was hopeless. He never knew how to do this. He'd never figure it out.
His mother's voice came from downstairs. "George, there's a phone call for you!"
George reluctantly got up off the bed and came downstairs. "Who is it?"
"It's your friend from school, Alan."
George took the phone. "Hey, Alan."
"George. There's a football game tonight. Come, and maybe you'll learn more about Jenna. You know she's on the cheer squad, but have you even been to one of the games?"
"No, Brain, have you?"
"I go sometimes. Meet me at the concessions stand, I'll give you a few tips."
"Okay. What time does it start?"
"6:30. Bring some money for food. I'll see you there."
George heard the other end hang up. He put the phone back on the reciever. "Mom, I'm going out tonight."
"Oh, really? Where?"
"The football stadium. It's for a game."
"Well, would you like your father to come with? I'm sure he'd enjoy it."
George shook his antlers. "No, thanks mom, but my friends'll be there, I'll be fine."
"Well, okay. But this is your first game, so call me if you need anything."
George went up to his room again and sat on the bed. Walle was there next to him. George slipped him on.
"Hey, George, so what's this I hear, you headed out tonight?"
"Yeah, Walle, but I don't know what I'm gonna do there."
"You nervous?"
George scowled. "No! Why would you think that?"
"I can just tell. I'm a smart puppet, you know, I'm not all wood and bones!"
George looked at the clock. It was only 3:30. He sighed and layed down.
"This is gonna be a long night, Walle..."