(Writers' block; The bane of every writers' existence. Enjoy!)
We Meet Again
Ch. 1
After a long, grueling bus ride that seemed to go on forever, they arrived at Jim Jr. Junior High School. Shenzi mentally gulped; She hadn't been this nervous since she started preschool 6 years ago. Her dad told her that on that day, she was terrified of starting preschool, while Frankie was all up for it. She wished that she was as brave as her sister; Maybe if she was, then she would've made more friends at their old school. It was possible that she could make some here at Jim Jr.
"Shenzi?" Frankie's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, "You coming? Or do you have somewhere else to go?" She teased with a giggle.
"I, I'm coming," She assured her, "I was just thinking." When she stood up, her backpack fell off her lap and spilled all its contents. "Oh jeez!"
"Here, I'll help," Frankie offered, as she knelt down. "We'll catch up with you guys later!" She yelled out to the Goof boys and the Zimmeruski twins, and they nodded before walking out. "You don't have to be nervous, sis. This day is going to go great. Our first day of preschool went good, didn't it? According to Dad, it did."
"Yeah, that is true," Shenzi nodded, putting her Abbey Dawn wallet of lunch money in her backpack.
"Besides, if anyone dares to mess with you, they'll have to deal with me, and our friends."
"Thanks," Shenzi smiled timidly. "Come on, let's get in there." Her older sister led her out of the bus, and into the building through the doors. Shenzi took in the new school atmosphere that would greet her every weekday, besides holidays, until summer break. The walls were a pastel yellow, with slightly darker lockers, a light green tile floor and a ceiling that had the same color with rectangular light fixtures along the hallways.
"Whoa," Frankie breathed out, "It's like entering a whole new world."
"I'm nervous," Shenzi muttered quietly, but audibly.
"You'll be alright, Shen," Her sister assured her, "At least Meredith and Candace aren't here."
"True," The emo/goth shrugged. Meredith and Candace were two popular girls from their old school; They harshly bullied Shenzi every chance they got. They were the reason why she hid her blue eye with her hair in the first place. "But there's Santana, though." Santana Goof was Maxie's 12-year-old cousin; She had been a spoiled rotten snob since their childhood days, when Santana was three, Maxie and the twins were one, she and Frankie were two, and Matt wasn't even a year old.
"Well, our friends and I won't let her bother you," Frankie assured her.
"Thanks," Shenzi smiled timidly once again. They and their friends soon received their respective class schedules from the principal.
When they found their lockers, they were relieved that they were all close together; The group stashed their backpacks in their respective lockers, and held onto the textbooks required for their first class. "It looks like history is first," Frankie remarked, "Whoopee."
"How fun," Roxy remarked.
Shenzi became lost in her thoughts when she saw something, or some one, out of the corner of her eye. It was a human boy with dark purple, slightly spiky hair, a white and yellow raglan shirt, classic jeans, and navy blue Converses. She could've sworn that she had seen him before, but couldn't think of where they could've met. She had to know him from somewhere! He looked so familiar! But where could they have met? He couldn't have gone to Yucaipa Jr. High; She would've recognized him by now.
As they headed for their destination, Frankie and their friends didn't seem to realize that one of them was left behind. The ringing of the school bell, signaling the official start of the day, startled Shenzi into almost dropping the schedule paper. Quickly stuffing it in her backpack, she grabbed her history textbook and turned to where her friends used to be standing; She was terrified to see that they weren't there. "Oh man!" She exclaimed stressfully, "Where's the history classroom?" She mumbled to herself, gaxing around hastily. Finally settling on her right, she ran in that direction, praying that is was the correct way. If she was late to her first class, it would make a very bad impression!
But all of a sudden, her small body collided with a slightly bigger, but small running one, causing them both to fall on their backsides. When Shenzi opened her eyes, the world suddenly looked blurry; Where'd her glasses go? With her eyes closed, because the blurriness gave her a headache, her hand finally found what she was looking for. But when she put them on, the world still looked blurry. And not to mention her glasses were now rectangular; And purple. She realized right there that she had grabbed the wrong glasses. After giving them to the other kid, they gave her the ones she was looking for. Feeling like a dope, she accepted them with a timid "thanks." When she put them on, she was relieved that the world was now clear. "S-sorry about that," She apologized as she fixed her bangs.
"It's alright," The kid, who was apparently a boy, assured her, "It's my fault; I wasn't watching where I was going." To her, he sounded a bit congested; Was he down with a cold? Or did he just have allergies like she did?
When she saw him, she had the same déjà vu feeling as before, but it was much stronger now; He had pale, peach-colored skin, freckles on his cheeks, wild red hair, his rectangular, purple glasses, and appeared to have small buck teeth with braces on the top row. He was wearing a turquoise blue t-shirt, a brown shirt with long sleeves and a v-neck over it, purple jeans, green Converses, a gold watch, and appeared to have a gold-colored wallet chain in one of his jean pockets. She's seen him somewhere before; She was 100% positive this time.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
"Y-yeah," She nodded, pushing her glasses further up on her nose, "But I'm running a bit late; I can't find the history classroom."
"Well, I'm heading there myself," The boy told her as they stood up, "I can take you there, if you want me to."
"That'd be great," She smiled with relief and appreciation, "Thanks a lot."
"No problem," He smiled back. After grabbing her hand, he ran with her to their destination.
"I'm here!" She shouted when she saw the door, "I'm here! I'm he-!" She was cut off when she crashed into the side of the door. "Ouch!"
"S-sorry!" The boy hastily apologized as he carefully led her in the room.
"It's okay," She assured him, with her hand on her now sore nose, "That was my fault." She then turned to the teacher, who was a black man with dreadlocks, and a surprisingly casual look. He was wearing a light blue dressy t-shirt, brown shorts that went to his knees, a blue tie with two red, horizontal stripes, red loafers, and a lime green baseball cap. "S-sorry that I'm late; I couldn't find the classroom." She gestured to the redhead. "He helped me find it after we ran into each other, literally." The students chuckled or giggled at her last word.
"S'alright, little lady," He assured her, "Just have a seat over there." The way he talked reminded her of rappers, for some reason. She turned to do as he said, and to her surprise, there were no desks; The students were sitting on the floor. When she found her friends, she quickly walked over, and sat between Frankie and Maxie. "Okay kiddies, we have not one, not two, but six new students here with us today! Come on up here, new students!" The group stood up, and headed for the front desk; Frankie had to pull Shenzi up when her nerves made her stay in place. "Kids, these are brothers Maxie and Matt Goof..." The two boys waved at the students with welcoming smiles. "Twins Bobby and Roxy Zimmer-uski..." The twins gave the same reaction. "And sisters Shenzi and Frankie Tuck!" Frankie waved at the students, while Shenzi stayed stalk still in nervousness. "Okay, you may take your seats." The kids did just that, but Shenzi was stopped by the teacher. "Oh, Shenzi? The boy that helped you, his name is Chuckie Finster."
"Th-thanks for telling me," She smiled shyly, before taking her seat. Chuckie Finster? Now she knows that they've met before; That name sounded so familiar!
Little did she know, Chuckie was having the same thoughts as her.
Soon enough, it was time for lunch. Some of the students were served food that looked to come straight out of France by the French lunchman Pepé. After a little fiasco earlier in the year with a newspaper writer in the school, he was serving both French meals, and meals that were considered "normal." Shenzi ordered, as Pepé called it, "loaf of meat", while Frankie ordered a french omelet. The two sisters had come to the cafeteria after all of their friends, so they joined them at the table last. Maxie had "sticks of fish" and french fries, while Matt had "a blanket for the pig." Roxy had a simple cheeseburger, while Bobby had golden-colored french toast with cinnamon and maple syrup.
"So, how's Jim Jr. High for you guys so far?" Frankie started a conversation with their friends.
"Seems pretty cool to me," Maxie shrugged after swallowing a bite of fish stick, "So far, at least."
"I miss my old friends, though," Matt remarked, "I was kicked out of the alien believers' club because of that prank, but still."
"I'm sure you'll make new ones here, little bro," Maxie assured him.
"I like it here so far," Roxy smiled, "Everyone seems nice so far."
"I agree," Bobby nodded. Santana Goof and 12-year-old Pistol Pete currently weren't with them, because they had an entirely different schedule from them.
"What about you, Shenzi?" Frankie turned her sister, but saw that she was staring ahead, with her fork still in her mouth. "Shenzi?" Nothing; Just a blink, and steady breathing. It was almost like she was being hypnotized. "She-e-e-en? Shenzi!" She pushed down on the fork a bit, startling the emo out of her trance.
"Hmm?" She hummed as she pulled her weapon out of her mouth.
"You okay, Shen? You seemed to be in a trance," Frankie asked her.
"Mm hmm," She nodded, before swallowing her bite.
"What were you staring at?" Roxy asked her.
"Or should I say, who?" Maxie smiled cheekily.
"Well, you see that boy over there? The one with the red hair, and the glasses?" Shenzi gestured to behind him, so he, Matt, and the twins glanced behind their backs.
"Yeah," Frankie nodded. "What about him?" Roxy asked her.
"I feel like I've met him somewhere before," Shenzi explained, "Like when I first saw him, I had this serious case of déjà vu, you know what I mean?"
"Uh huh," Frankie nodded, "Now that I think about it, he does look kind of familiar. So do his friends." Maxie, Matt, and the twins glanced back again, and realized that she was right. There was the redhead that Shenzi gestured to, and the purple-haired boy that she saw by her locker. Next to the latter was a slightly younger-looking boy with curly orange hair. He was wearing a light blue thermal shirt, a green t-shirt over it, a brown and yellow vest, purple shorts, red Converse high-tops, white socks, and a blue and red striped Sherpa hat with a joke teeth keychain on the top.
There was also a set of twins, one boy, one girl, with brown hair. The girl was wearing a white tank top, a peach-colored skirt that reached her knees, a red short-sleeved cardigan, red Mary Jane shoes, a yellow bracelet, and a yellow bow in her short hair. The boy was wearing a light blue t-shirt, a orange short-sleeved, button-up t-shirt, dark green jeans, and black Vans.
Next to the redhead was an Asian-looking girl, who looked slightly younger than him, with short, black-ish purple hair halfway tied up into a spiky bun. She was in a bit of a funky outfit, consisting of black and dark green striped tights, black Martens boots, a purple tank top, a yellow skater skirt, an olive green jacket with fake fur trimmed on the collar and sleeves, a dark red necktie, small, gold hoop earrings, a turquoise stretch bracelet on her right wrist, a purple bangle on her left, a purple flower bead clip in her hair, and red hair sticks in her bun.
"Yeah, you're right!" Roxy exclaimed with her eyebrows raised up. "I'm having that feeling too; Like I've seen them somewhere before."
"Me too," Bobby nodded, "Especially those twins."
Little did they know, the group of kids they were referring to were having a very similar conversation. "I dunno guys, I really think I've met her somewhere before," 11-year-old Chuckie Finster remarked, "When I first saw her after we crashed into each other, I just had this strong déjà vu feeling. And Shenzi Tuck? That name sounds so familiar. In fact, all of the new students seem very familiar to me."
10-year-old Tommy Pickles looked back, and saw the new kids at a table behind him and 9-year-old Dil Pickles. "Actually, I see what you mean there, Chuck. They do look very familiar; But where could we have met them?"
"I bet they're aliens!" Dil theorized with excitement, "And they give people the déjà vu feeling on purpose! Cool!"
"I'm pretty sure they're not aliens, Dil," Tommy rolled his eyes, "They look a bit too... normal to me."
"Chuckie has a point, though," 10-year-old Phil DeVille remarked, "I mean, those two twins look so familiar! We have to have met those guys somewhere."
"I agree," 10-year-old Lil DeVille nodded, "I'm having that déjà vu feeling too."
As the day went on, Shenzi tried hard to think of where she could've met that group of kids, mostly the red-haired boy. They had to know each other; She knew it! But how, though? She didn't remember seeing them at Yucaipa Jr. High in any of her classes. Not even in the hallways. She had to know where they had met; It was killing her!
Soon enough, it was time for gym; Her least favorite class next to science. Her favorite was math, because she usually whizzed through the classes with flying colors. Feeling shy, she changed into her gym clothes, consisting of light turquoise velour shorts, white and black cushioned knee-high socks, black and light turquoise Converse low-tops, a light turquoise leopard sports bra, black barbell earrings, and a white and black ringer t-shirt. She put her hair up in a ponytail with a light turquoise bow band, and replaced her pink extension with one that was light turquoise. Her shirt stopped just a couple inches above her shorts' waistband, so a small strip of her flat, lower belly was shown.
Frankie changed into a white and black ringer t-shirt that read "New York" above "Los Angeles", both in all lowercase letters, red and white velour shorts, red and white Super Mario mushroom knee-high socks, red Converse high-tops, and red barbell earrings. She kept her ponytail band in her hair. "I hope our new gym coach is as nice as our old one," She remarked as she tied her shoelaces, while sitting on a bench.
Roxy's gym clothes consisted of a white and black ringer t-shirt, blue cycle shorts, navy and baby blue interlock shorts, blue athletic Keds, blue athletic socks, blue barbell earrings, and a light blue flower ponytail band. "I hope so too," She agreed with the blonde, putting her hair up in a ponytail. "But I heard somebody say that our new gym coach used to be a champion wrestler, so I wouldn't hold onto that dream."
"Oh great," Shenzi muttered quietly but audibly, trying to tug her shirt down to her shorts. She regretted choosing a cropped shirt; She thought that it would be more breathable, since it was for phys ed. She was at least thankful that her belly button wasn't out in the open. Since it was a bit higher up than normal, it hardly ever was.
"Come on girls, let's get out there before we're deemed late," Frankie stood up, and led the two girls out of the locker room, and into the gymnasium.
It was a large room with safety mats and sport marks on the floor, a basketball hoop on the wall, a large window at the same wall, and a bar with two long ropes dangling in front of the hoop. The walls and floor were a brown-ish yellow; Voices seemed to echo off the walls all around. It was intimidating.
The girls saw that the guys were in there, ready to get started. They were wearing white v-neck t-shirts, blue ahletic shorts, white socks, and purple Converses. Matt's shorts were a lighter blue, and his shoes were low-tops, while Maxie and Bobby's were high-tops.
"Alright, ladies!" The kids jumped, and Shenzi squeaked in surprise, at the extra-loud voice, coming from Mr. Pangborn, the gym coach. "We have some new students here today! New students, line up! Go! Go! Go!" The group hastily did just that. "Kids, this is Goof, Goof..." Frankie raised an eyebrow in confusion; Why wasn't he giving out their first names? "Zimmeruski, Zimmeruski, Tuck, and..." He paused upon seeing the last one in line: a nervous-looking Shenzi. She was the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen; She was almost like a sexy little doll. "... Tuck." Frankie narrowed her eyes when he wasn't looking at her; She had a feeling of suspicion about him. The way he was looking at her baby sister? That couldn't be a coincidence.
The class surprisingly went smoothly; They had encountered that group of kids again, or at least the boys in it. They had that déjà vu feeling that plagued their minds all day. When Shenzi was struggling on the rope climb, Mr. Pangborn had grabbed her sides to assist her, and she let out a loud squeak that echoed off the walls, making everyone whip around to look at her; She had let go of the rope from the surprise, and clumsily caught it with her hands and legs before she could fall.
"What happened?" Frankie ran over from where she was doing sit-ups on the floor.
"I, I just got startled," Shenzi meekly explained, "N-no biggie."
Frankie was still suspicious, but decided to let it go; For now, at least. "A-alright; Just be careful, sis." She then went back to her spot.
"Have we met somewhere before?" A male voice suddenly asked her; She looked up, and saw a human boy with dark purple, slightly spiky hair looking at her from his place nearby, where he was doing push-ups. He was wearing a white v-neck t-shirt, blue athletic shorts, white socks, and purple sneakers.
"Are you flirting with me?" She giggled playfully.
"No," He shook his head, "N-no offense; I just feel like we've met somewhere before. Not just us two, but your friends and mine. It's been bugging me all day now."
"Y'know, I've had that same feeling all day too," Frankie told him, "Maybe if you tell me your name, I might remember. I'll tell you mine too."
"Well, I'm Tommy Pickles," The boy, apparently named Tommy, told her.
"I'm Frankie Tuck," The blonde told him, "Tommy Pickles, huh? That rings a bell; But where could we have met? My younger sister, who is on the rope climb, had this same feeling about you and your friends, especially about that boy with the red hair."
"You mean Chuckie Finster? He's been my best friend since, well forever."
"Huh?" The redhead looked up from where he was sitting on the floor, trying to touch his toes with his legs out. "Who're you talking to, Tommy?" His gym clothes matched his friend's.
"She's Frankie Tuck," Tommy introduced him to her.
"Hey Chuck, my sister on the rope climb thinks that you've met her before; Does she look familiar?"
Chuckie looked at the ropes, and saw the girl struggling to climb up higher. "Well, I saw you, her, and your friends at lunch, and I did feel like I've seen you guys before."
"Right?" Tommy agreed, "Phil and Lil had the same feeling too; So did Dil." He then turned to Frankie. "Phil and Lil are twins, who have been my friends for years now, and Dil is my little brother. Phil's over there." He gestured to the twin boy she saw before; He was wearing a white t-shirt, blue athletic shorts, white socks, and purple sneakers.
"Ah," She nodded, "Well, I know a pair of twins too, and a guy friend of mine has a little brother too."
"Whoa, this is trippy," Chuckie remarked, "I feel like we're in an alternate dimension. What's your sister's name again?"
"It's Shenzi. Shenzi Tuck."
"Shenzi Tuck? That name sounds familiar," Chuckie said, "But... where could we have met? I just don't get it."
"Hey! Save the chit-chat for after class!" Mr. Pangborn yelled at them from the rope climb, where he was facing Shenzi.
"We'll talk later," Frankie whispered and the boys nodded in agreement, before they continued their workouts. The blonde continued watching the gym coach every time she sat up. From where he was standing, it was almost guaranteed that he could see up Shenzi's shirt; Frankie did not like that one bit. Nobody crept on her baby sister and got away with it. She didn't know how she could tell her parents without worrying them.
Thankfully, gym class sped by quickly, and before they knew it, they were free to go. "Um, h-how was gym class for you, Shenzi?" Frankie hesitantly asked her, as they changed back into their day clothes.
"It was... okay," Shenzi shrugged as she pulled her mesh crop top on over her head, "The coach makes me a bit... uneasy, though. I don't know why." Frankie filled up with dread; Shenzi was completely oblivious to that creep practically ogling her? "How was the class for you?"
"It was... interesting," Frankie said as she pulled on her boots, "I met two of the kids that gave us déjà vu all day."
"You did?" Shenzi's eyes widened under her bangs and glasses, "Who were they?"
"They were Tommy Pickles, and Chuckie Finster," Frankie told her. "They have twin friends named Phil and Lil, and Tommy has a little brother named Dil."
"Hmm," The emo girl raised her eyebrows, "Yeah, all those names sound familiar. Ugh, this is killing me! Where could we have met?! I have to know!"
"Me too!" The blonde agreed, "Maybe we can ask Mom and or Dad after we get home. They might know something."
"Yeah, good idea," Shenzi nodded in agreement. After putting their earrings back in, they headed for their next class with their friends: Science. But at that time, Shenzi and Frankie had math instead; Their science class was just before gym.
Before long, the dismissal bell rang throughout the building; Time to go home! The friends gathered at their lockers to pack up their stuff, when Shenzi saw a certain redhead barely a foot away. Her heart jumped when they made slightly indirect eye contact. "H-hi," She meekly stuttered.
"Hey," He smiled timidly, "Um, you're Shenzi, right? I-I met your sister in gym today."
"Oh, you did?"
"Yeah," He nodded, "Um, sh-she said that she, you, and your friends had this déjà vu feeling when you saw me and my friends."
"Y-yeah, I did," She nodded, "I just feel like I know you from somewhere, but I can't think of anywhere we could've met at."
"I feel the same way, to be honest," Chuckie admitted, "Your first and surname are Shenzi Tuck, right? I feel like I've heard that name from somewhere, before today. I'll ask my parents when Kimi and I get home."
"Alright," She nodded, "I'll ask mine too."
Soon enough, the bus stopped at the Tuck house; Shenzi and Frankie walked out after saying bye to their friends, and into the house. When they came in, their father Friar Tuck was in the living room, while Felicia was nowhere to be seen. "Hi, we're home!" Frankie called out from the kitchen. As she went upstairs in her room to do her homework, Shenzi walked in the living room after they hung up their jackets on the coat rack; She had done her homework on the bus.
"Hi Dad," She smiled as she sat on the recliner chair.
"Hey Shen," He smiled back at her. The two were still quite close with each other, although not as much as when the girl was a baby/toddler. "How'd your first day at your new school go?"
"It went good," She shrugged, "But all day, I had this sense of déjà vu; Frankie, our friends and I saw this group of kids that seem so familiar, but I can't think of where we met. It's been bugging me this whole time."
"What did they look like?" Friar Tuck asked her. He had a strong feeling of just who she was talking about.
"Well, they're all humans; This one boy has purple hair, and his little brother's is orange," Shenzi began to explain, "There were these two twins, one boy and one girl, both with brown hair, an Asian girl with purplish-black hair, and a boy with red hair, and purple glasses."
"Do you know their names?" "Most of them," She shrugged, "The purple-haired boy is Tommy Pickles, and his little brother is Dil Pickles. The twins are Phil and Lil, although I don't know their surname." The badger's eyes widened as she listed them off; Because little did she know, he knew exactly who she was talking about! "I don't know the Asian girl's name, but the redhead is Chuckie Finster."
"Sh-Shenzi?" He stuttered from surprise after she was done, so she looked at him, "I actually know where you met those kids."
"What?" Her eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious? When? Where? It's been killing me all day! Why aren't you answering my questions? Please tell me!"
"Alright, I'll tell you," He chuckled at her eagerness; It was just like when she was a little girl. "You know how I said that when you were two years old, you and your friends got lost in New York City around Christmas time?"
"Uh huh," She nodded. He and Felicia told her and Frankie about that little mishap some time ago, but it was still fresh in their memories.
"Well, while you all were lost, you met those kids that you saw today, when you were all toddlers."
"Whoa, really?" Shenzi's eyebrows raised up in surprise under her bangs, "I thought I had met them before! Frankie and our friends had the same feeling."
"If I remember correctly, you seemed to be very fond of that Chuckie kid; When we had to leave, you were all over him," He recalled.
"I was?" She giggled.
"Yes you were," He nodded with an amused smile, "You've had a photo of him in your room since we came home that night."
"Oh yeah! I remember it now!" She exclaimed when it came into her mind, "I guess I've gotten so used to it, that I don't even notice it anymore."
That night, after changing into her "Stay Up All Night" and "Sleep All Day" cami-and-shorts pajamas, and black and white bow and bones socks that stopped above her knees, her gaze stopped at her cards table. More specifically at the heart-shaped Victorian-style photo frame sitting on top of it by her jewelry holder. It had a photo of Chuckie when he was around 2 ½ years old; He was wearing a green kimono, red sneakers, yellow socks, and purple square-shaped eyeglasses. His red hair seemed to be just as wild as in the present time.
Other than the frame's place, not a single thing had changed about it in the past 9 years. Despite just going past it day in and day out, Shenzi couldn't bear to change anything. After brushing her teeth, she went to bed, a smile on her face as she drifted off to sleep.
"Really? Are you serious?" Chuckie's eyes widened in shock.
"As serious as an allergy attack," Chaz Finster nodded; He had just told Chuckie where he and his friends met that group of new kids he saw today. "Kira and I, along with your friends' parents, helped them find their kids while we tried to find you and your friends."
"Whoa," Chuckie breathed out, "I thought I knew them from somewhere! I just couldn't for the life of me figure it out! It's been eating me alive all day!"
That night, after changing into his long, teal and purple pajamas, he looked at his dresser, and right next to his Armadillo Dave projector was a light blue heart-shaped picture frame on a stand; In the frame was a photo of Shenzi, when she was around 2 ½ years old. She was wearing long, black and white gingham PJs with her back then signature purple bow headwrap. He had gotten so used to the frame, and the photo in it, that he just passed by it absentmindedly getting in and out of bed. Although anytime he saw even a speck of dust on it, he would wipe it off. After smiling at it, he crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.
(A/N: Ooh, things are going down. About the gym thing. O,O Sorry that Chuckie's part is so short; And that I took so long to update. You know the disclaimer.)