Author's Note:

For those who re-read this, you may notice subtle changes as I go through and re-edit.

"GAZ! Where are you?! We're going to be late!."

Gaz cringed as the sound of her brothers' voice awakened her from yet another semi-peaceful nights slumber. She grabbed her pillow and wrapped it around her head as she curled into a ball and grumbled under her breath. Faintly she could here Dib as he searched the house for her. Why couldn't he just leave her alone, and walk to school alone for once? In fact why couldn't it just be Saturday? That way she didn't have to deal with Dib and his mindless rambles especially this early in the day.

"There you are!" Dib exhaled as he found Gaz still in bed, "What are you doing? We have to get to skool!"

"Maybe you do." Gaz growled, irritated by Dib's intrusion in her room.

"Gaz this is serious! If you skip today then that'll be the 7th time you missed school this month alone! You keep this up and they are going to notify Dad." Dib lectured Gaz and decided to help her get ready for school, and began to search for something Gaz could quickly throw on.

"Maybe I want them to notify Dad. Did you ever think of tha-" Gaz sat up her voice cracked mid yell as she saw her brother digging through her dresser. Her eyes narrowed and her fists began to tighten, "what…are…you…doing?"

Dib froze feeling his sisters glare bore into the back of his head. Slowly he turned his head to glance over his shoulder, seeing Gaz –short as she may be- standing over him, her eyes aflame. Dib just sat there in silence holding up a plaid skirt, unsure of how to answer his sister. Before Dib could even think of any response he was grabbed by the collar and tossed out of Gaz's room.

"I was just trying to help you." Dib pleaded as he turned to face his sister who had her hand on her door, the same menacing look across her face.

"You wanna help me Dib? Go jump in the cess pool." Gaz slammed the door on her brothers' face. Dib assumed she had gotten back in bed, it wouldn't surprise him. Over the last couple of years Gaz had seemed to lose interest in everything, not that it ever looked like she was interested in anything, but she had never closed herself off in her room like this before. Dib went on his way to skool the whole time he contemplated and muttered to himself..

Dib rounded the corner into the back lot of the hi-skool and was pleasantly surprised, there across the lot Gaz played her game slave as she sat on a small brick wall, dressed in her usual attire and seemingly ready for school. Dib ran across the back lot to where his sister sat for some reason a smile sprawled across his face, "GAZ! You came to skool! I'm so glad you reconsidered the whole staying at ho-…wait a minute, how'd you get here so fast?"

Gaz didn't say a word to her brother. She didn't want to have to deal with him. She jumped off the wall she sat on and began walking towards the general direction of the skool's back entrance. She suddenly felt the presence of somebody else walking by her side. At first she assumed it was Dib, but this presence was silent, Dib would be speaking. While she thought and played her game she could feel the other presence draw closer and from the corner of her eye she could see it was Zim, who walked at her side and just stared at her. Gaz sighed and despite knowing she'd probably regret it she spoke to Zim, "What are you doing, Zim?"

"Studying." Came the simple, and calm answer from Zim.

"Study elsewhere. You're getting in my light." Gaz stated

"YOU DARE ORDER ZIM! Filthy human. ZIM SHOULD BE ORDERING YOU!" Zim exclaimed as he pointed one of his talons at Gaz.

Gaz couldn't help an eye roll. And continued to walk past as she played her game and resolved that Zim was once again being an idiot, and should just be ignored. Zim on the other hand thought to himself, trying to figure out what made this Gaz human so, so powerful. Zim narrowed his eyes on her latest edition of game slave. She always did seem to have her nose in that thing, perhaps it was the key. Quickly and without further thought on the matter, Zim grabbed the game from Gaz's hands and ran a few paces forward.

"Aha! I have your power source little Gaz human!' He shouted toward Gaz who was glaring at Zim, as her whole body began to tighten. Zim took this as a sign that she was wilting away, that he did have the source of Gaz's power. Since Gaz was neutralized he turned toward the game. "Now. How do you bestow power. TELL ME!" Suddenly something hit the undersides of Zim's arms which sent the game slave flying into the air. "Huh?" Zim turned just into time to see Gaz's foot encounter his face. Before Zim could even think of a way to defend himself, Gaz had again kicked him, this time in the gut and this time she sent him flying through the doors of the back entrance of the school.

Gaz stood where she was as she held her hand out palm up to catch her game slave. Once the gaming console was back in her hand she resumed playing, and walked into the school through the now swinging doors. As she passed over the now trying to recover Zim, she made sure to walk right over him, along the way she tried to push his face into the ground. Hopefully that little alien would know never, ever to touch her game slave again.

"Stupid, Gaz human. Treating me in that matter. What does she think she is?" Zim muttered to himself, all the while tearing fresh new grooves into the surface of his desk. He was currently in his second class of the day, and had been muttering the same rant ever since his encounter with Gaz that morning. His classmates and teachers had learned to ignore Zim whenever he got like this, they just assumed that along with his green skin condition he may also have some mental issues.

"And then she walked away! Before I, ZIM, could even fight back she walked away. Smug, ignorant creature, walking away in that matter." As Zim came to this portion of his rant he couldn't help but recall earlier after Gaz had stepped on the back of his head he'd looked up to see her just walk away, a subtle sway to her hips, he could almost sense an air of grace in the way she walked. Zim shook his head in order to bring himself back to his current classroom. How could even think that way of that earth creature. The only reason he was interested in her was to determine what the source of her power was, yes that was it.

"But how am I to get that information from her?" Zim asked aloud bringing his hands under his chin. The next time he would see the putrid Gaz human would be lunch, and even then it was uncertain. Gaz had a way of disappearing into the background if she even showed up to skool. Even if Zim could determine Gaz's where a bouts how was he to get her attention away from her game. The bell rang and consequently interrupted Zim's thoughts and he set off for his next class as he contemplated how he was to get information from Gaz.

Upon entering his next classroom, still deep in thought, Zim could hear the teacher, a crazy middle aged man his hair and moustache turning grey known as Mr. V, lecturing a student. Zim took this as ordinary and wandered to the seat closest to the door. As he began to sit down he looked up towards the front of the room, to see the student Mr. V was lecturing was Gaz! Zim stood half way in his seat dumbfounded, she was in his class? How long had she been in his class? Zim sat in his seat and resolved to listen to Mr. V lecture Gaz.

"…with the amount of classes that you've missed you'll be lucky to even pass midterms. Do you understand exactly how much your grade has fallen Miss Membrane?" Mr. V inquired, his eyes trying show that he was disappointed but still cared to help the small student before him.

Gaz simply stood in front of the teacher her arms folded across her chest, her eyes occasionally glanced up in a glare.

"Miss Membrane I'll have to notify your father, so that he can hire a tutor for you to help bring your grade up, unless of course one of your fellow students will agree to tutor you instead." Mr. V spoke louder as he half turned to the rest of his class who at these words all seemed to find interest in their books, desks, and fingernails, all except Zim who had suddenly stood up on his desk.

"Zim will do it!" He shouted raising his hand. He'd found a way to determine what made little Gaz so powerful. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought of the plan himself. "I will tutor the little Gaz human."

"Very well Zim, you can tutor Gaz." Mr. V smiled at Zim, then turned again to Gaz, to see her eyes wide and her arms at her side. "Gaz you may take your seat and we'll begin today's class."

Gaz walked to the back of the classroom and sat at the empty desk in the corner. She didn't pay attention to the lesson, she glared out the window. Why on earth would Zim willingly volunteer to help her? Especially after she pummeled him earlier that same day. Was this a sick way of trying to get revenge? Gaz quickly glimpsed in Zim's direction only to see him staring back over his shoulder at her. Gaz just as quickly looked away from him, and back out the window. Whatever the reason was, she was sure she wouldn't like it.