Two: Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind

Befriending Jimmy Neutron and his friends proved much easier than she would have expected. Then again, they probably didn't have many friends and were eager to grab the first hand offered.

Still, Amy was not put down by the remarkable easiness of phase one. As she stood in the lunch line waiting to pay, she allowed her mind to drift back to their introduction.

(flashback)

"And I, for one, am VERY anxious to meet each and every one of you."

Okay, maybe she had overdone it slightly, but the looks on their faces were just priceless. One girl in particular. She had long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, leaving her bangs to flip about her forehead. Her eyes were a vivid shade green and sparked with...what? Fear? Amy couldn't help but be pleased to watch her smug smile of judgement disappear as Amy gave her self-presentation. Making people uncomfortable was kind of like her hobby.

As she spied the three dorks in question (Jimmy Neutron & Company) she couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Could she really buddy up to them, hold on firmly to their hopes and dreams and trust, just so they could be ripped out from beneath them as she bettrayed everything to the popular girls? She had definately found a problem.

With triumphant uneasiness, she approached them after class.

"Hi..." Amy said in an expertly-practiced soft voice.

Jimmy and his friends just stared at her. The chubby one looked over his shoulder to see who she was actually addressing. When nobody else was found, he looked at her cautiously.

"I said Hi." she continued with a frown.

"Uh, hi." said Jimmy, rubbing the back of his large head in astonishment. "I-I'm Jimmy Neutron. You're new here, right?"

Amy had to enjoy his attempts at a conversation. She also noticed that neither of his friends seemed too bright, either, as they just looked at her dumbly.

"That's right." said Amy. "I was wondering if you could be of any assistance, helping me locate my next class?" This, of course, had been totally unneccisary.

"Sure thing, Babe." Amy was surprised to hear the Mexican kid speaking this time. "The name's Sheen, but you can call me Ultralord." he finished with a wink.

"Errr...okay."

'Who names their kid Sheen?' she thought

"So you like Ultralord?"

Sheen had opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the third guy whose name Amy did not know.

"Oh, don't get him started. He loves the Ultralord show, but just leave it at that." For the first time, he smiled at her, and she smiled back...but she didn't know why. "Oh, and my name's Carl, by the way" he held out a plump hand and Amy grasped it firmly, even though her hand was only half the size of his; thick fingers engulfed hers for the briefest of seconds in a very warm grasp, then he let go. The encounter had left her to realize how cold her hands were. She had never noticed before.

"Pleasure." she responded warmly. Too warmly.

'Don't get caught up in the moment!' she scolded herself silently. 'Sure, they might be good people, but you have got to stay FOCUSED!'

After she had allowed Jimmy to point her to the science lab she said quite aimiably, "See you boys at lunch," A blush creeped over all three of their faces.

(end falshback)

Amy couldn't help but smile at the memory. She doubted any other students here could fill the spots for the job better than those three. Sheen had even stopped her in the hallway to explain a character from the Ultralord show that she reminded him strongly of. With periphial vision, she could see another dark skinned girl with braids passing by with a look of awe and frustration on her face. Amy approached the cashier and paid. Then she strolled accidentally-on-purpose near Jimmy, Sheen, and Carl's table.

"Oh, hi!" she said gaily. "It's great to bump into you again, since you're pretty much the only people here I really know." She tried very hard to look shy.

"Hey, Amy." Jimmy replied, more confident than last time. "So, do you like Retroville?"

"Who's your favorite teacher?" Carl chimed in.

"Oh, I'm just cutting to the chase! Do you have a boyfriend?" demanded Sheen.

Amy's look of polite amusement turned instantly into a scowl.