The bell rang, and everyone began packing up their things to go to lunch. Miss Applebaum said to the class, "Remember, your projects are due in two weeks."
Jerry caught up with Jack while they were leaving. "Yo, dude, the Black Dragons are at an away tournament for the next week."
"Yeah, I heard about that." Jack replied. He paused when he saw the look on Jerry's face. "Go on."
"Well, that means their dojo will be empty…"
"…and we have a guy who can hack into the security system."
"Oh, that's a great idea, I didn't even think about that!" Jerry looked at his friend like he was a genius.
Jack rolled his eyes and rubbed his hands together. "My friend, time to go strategize." The two boys walked out of the Health classroom with diabolical looks on their faces.
Very soon there were only a couple of people were still in the room. Kim slung her backpack over her shoulder and turned the brunette behind her. "So Mika, wanna come over to my place and work on the project?"
"Okay. But we are doing the work, Kim. I do not want to earn an A by saying Rudy's name three times like you did that one time." Mika looked playfully, yet genuinely stern.
Kim pretended to look taken aback. "What? I totally wasn't planning on that." She and Mika walked into the crowded hallway. "I'm just glad that I'm paired with a girl for the sex ed part of the class." She shuddered, thinking about doing the project with a guy.
Mika said, "Well, I am glad to be paired with a friend."
Kim looked at her and smiled. She threw an arm around her foreign friend. "Come on, let's go get food."
[line break]
Jack looked at himself in the mirror and blew a sigh out through his teeth. "I feel like such a girl."
Milton peered at him over his 'diva' glasses. "Probably because of all this hair." He waved his hand dramatically at Jack's long brown locks.
"No, it's because I worried about how I look. I'm never worried about how I look. I'm a good-looking guy!" He turned and gestured to his body. Milton gave him a skeptical once-over. He shrugged. "I suppose."
Jack rolled his eyes. Milton dropped his fashionista persona and said, "Jack, it's your first date. It's normal to be nervous."
"Pfft. I'm not nervous."
"You've already showered twice to get the sweat off. And the last time I saw your fingers move that much was when we had a Call of Duty marathon with Eddie and Jerry."
Jack snorted. "They didn't stand a chance against us."
"Yeah." Milton smiled fondly at the memory. He snapped back to reality. "Don't distract me! Jack it's Kim for heaven's sake. You guys have hung out like a billion times."
"As friends. This is different."
"Having a girlfriend is just like having a friend, just with different boundaries. Talk to her like you normally do, just not about other girls."
Jack looked at him suspiciously. "It's really that simple?"
"YES! Besides, you've been acting like a couple for a long time. The Zompyre movie, the Rochelle concert you were supposed to go to, you always sit next to each other. You also fight like an old married couple."
"I guess you're right. And you're sure I look okay?" Jack was wearing a blue button-down shirt with a black dress jacket, dark grey jeans, and blue sneakers. Milton nodded. "You look great. Now, go pick up your lady."
Jack gave him a bro hug. "Thanks, man." He made his way toward the door, and then paused when Milton said his name. His friend tossed him something. "You might want this."
Jack looked at what he'd caught. He recognized it as the simple beaded bracelet Kim had given him. Smiling at the memory, he left to go on his date.