Okay, so last time, you were introduced to Jim's new friends Rakitan and Dolphy. Unfortunately, you also got a breif glimpse at the school bully, Carren. Well, brace yourselves: here he comes again.

Disclaimer time!

Jim and Treasure Planet © Disney/ Robert Lewis Stevenson

OC's (except Blazer) © Dolphy

Blazer and Story © Me. I'll probably add in more background characters later

A Challenge

From that point on, Jim's day only seemed to get better. As it turned out, his and Dolphy's class schedules were practically identical; they had all of their classes together. Jim was glad that he would know at least one person in his classes, since he didn't see Rakitan at all during school hours. Plus, now he'd get the chance to spend more time with his new acquaintance. He wasn't sure what is was, but something about her set her apart from all of the other girls at the academy. Most of the other girls his age that he'd ever seen wouldn't even give him a second glance, let alone talk to him. And yet, there she was, treating him like they'd known each other their whole lives. It seemed like he and Dolphy were on their way to becoming close friends.

Better still, Jim was actually able to understand what he was supposed to be learning in class. Despite the fact that he'd arrived after the year had started and had practically failed all of his courses at his old school, the new student was able to follow what was going on fairly easily. He even answered some questioned that completely stumped the other students, greatly impressing his teachers. Now that he actually felt he had a reason to try, it turned out his mom had been right: he was pretty smart. Of course, having a bit of previous experience in space travel didn't hurt, either.

"Geez, how can you possibly be that smart?" Jim and Dolphy were on their way to the cafeteria from their astronomy class, following a route outside of the school. Dolphy seemed to know most of the shortcuts between their classes, yet another reason Jim was grateful to know her. She also seemed a bit awed by his academic ability. "So far today, you must have answered at least five questions that even the upperclassmen didn't have a clue about. How do you know all that stuff?"

"Uh, I've had a little field experience," Jim answered simply. The only one at the academy who knew about his excursion to Treasure Planet was Rakitan, and he wanted to keep it that way for now. He didn't want to tell Dolphy everything yet for fear that she'd think he was lying. Either that or just flat out crazy. Still, he couldn't keep a small joy from glowing inside of him. He'd actually managed to impress a girl, without being rich or famous or anything. It was a new experience for him, and he enjoyed it.

"Well, maybe you can give me a few pointers," Dolphy suggested. "I'm barely managing to pass my classes, and the year only started a month ago!"

"Sure, no problem. That's the least I can do to thank you for helping me navigate this place." Suddenly, something caught Jim's eye. "Hey, what's that?"

A few yards away, there was a long, rectangular clearing surrounded on three sides by trees. Along the length of the clearing ran a tall fence, though it wasn't connected to anything and didn't seem to keep anything separated. At one end of the fence was a platform that rose just short of the fences height.

"That's the solar surfing track. Do you ride?"

"Yeah, but not like this." Jim wandered over to the track, completely forgetting about the cafeteria.

"The guys use it to race each other and show off," Dolphy told him, following after him. "The racers take off from the top of the platform and see who can get around the fence fastest. Right now, Carren's the undefeated champion. Probably why he acts so high and mighty towards everyone else. Plus the fact that he's a conceited jerk."

Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the bell going off. "Come on, let's get going," Dolphy offered. "We might not get in trouble for being late for lunch, but I'm starving."

"Yeah, alright," Jim agreed, and with one final look at the track, followed her back toward the main building. He would definitely have to try it out sometime soon.

"So, what about you? Do you do any solar surfing?" Jim knew it was a stupid question. He didn't know of any girls who solar surfed, and highly doubted there were any. Besides, she'd already said that the guys used the track; she hadn't mentioned girls at all. Still, he was curious.

"No, I've never tried it. We have some variations of it where I'm from: skateboarding, snowboarding, wave surfing. None of those involve any actual flying, though. Solar surfing is definitely something I'd like to give a shot."

Jim was more than a little surprised by her answer. It seemed the more he got to know her, the less like other girls she was. Dolphy was, without a doubt, the most surprising girl he had ever met.

And Jim was finding that he liked her more and more every second.

**********

When the two teenagers finally arrived at the cafeteria, it was already packed with students. Luckily, most had already gotten their food, so the line was practically nonexistent. In no time, Jim and Dolphy had bought their lunches and found an empty table to sit at.

"You know, it's weird," Jim said while sneaking a piece of his meal into his book bag for Morph. "This place isn't half as horrible as I thought it would be!"

Dolphy laughed, but her smile faded as soon as she saw something behind Jim. "Don't look now," she warned, "but it's about to get a lot worse."

Despite her caution, Jim turned his head and immediately saw what she was talking about. Carren, along with his blonde friend and a burly panther-like alien were headed right towards their table. Jim turned around quickly, praying that they'd keep walking right past them. Unfortunately, his prayers went unanswered.

"Well, if it isn't my pal from this morning. Hawkins, right?" Carren stopped behind Jim's chair, his companions on either side. Jim sighed and turned to face him.

"What do you want, Carren? Haven't you bothered me enough today?"

"Hey, I just thought we could get to know each other a little better. You already seem to know my name, though, so I'll just introduce you to my buddies. This is Lenaro," he motioned to the blonde human, "and Blazer," he gestured toward the panther.

Carren turned his attention back to Jim. "So, you're the new kid, right?" He chuckled. "Boy, this place has really lowered its standards." Blazer and Lenaro laughed along with him, while Jim just scowled and turned back to his lunch. Carren, however, hadn't finished yet.

"How did you get into this school, anyway? I mean, from the look of your outfit, I doubt you were able to pay for tuition." The three continued to laugh, obviously enjoying torturing the new guy. Jim was literally on his last good nerve, and was using all of his self control to keep from beating Carren to a pulp. Instead, he came up with a better idea of how to shut them up.

"Actually, I'm here because I helped find Treasure Planet."

Unfortunately, his revelation didn't have the exact effect that he'd hope for. In fact, Carren and his friends were now laughing harder than ever. The only person who'd shown the expected reaction was Dolphy. She sat there, wide-eyed, just staring at Jim, clearly trying to decide whether to believe him or not. The three boys, however, had already made up their minds on that matter.

"Treasure Planet?" Lenaro scoffed. "Nice try, kid, but we weren't born yesterday."

"Aren't you a little old to still believe in fairy tales?" Blazer added.

"It's the truth! We followed a treasure map there, and we were mutinied by pirates, and-"

"Yeah, right," Carren interrupted. "And I found the lost continent of Atlantis."

The three continued to mock him, while Jim just sat and took it, hating them and hating himself. Why had he told them the truth? He'd known that people wouldn't believe him if he did. That's why he'd only told his roommate about the voyage. And this was just the beginning. Soon, everyone would be talking and he'd never hear the end of it.

"Will you creeps just knock it off?!" Jim looked up to see Dolphy, who had recovered from her slight shock, standing up at her chair and glaring dangerously at Carren and his friends. "Even if he didn't find Treasure Planet, he's probably had more experience spacing than the three of you put together. You losers are just jealous because he showed you up in class today and made you look even more like idiots than usual."

Carren's laughter finally died down as he turned his gaze on Dolphy, still smirking maliciously. "Well, looks liked you've met Dolphin Girl," he said to Jim. "Word to the not-so-wise, Hawkins; if you even want a chance at fitting in at this school, I'd suggest dumping your little girlfriend here. She's not exactly, well… normal, if you catch my drift."

Jim watched as Dolphy sank back into her chair, her head hanging in evident sadness. He turned and glowered at the black haired boy, who continued to sneer at the girl. Carren could taunt Jim all he wanted, but messing with his friends was another thing entirely. The next he knew, the brunette boy was standing in front of the taller human, scowling fiercely.

"Leave her alone, Carren," he practically snarled. "This is between you and me."

Carren chuckled. "What do you know? It looks like the Treasure Hunter here has a protective side." He leaned closer, staring the new boy down. "So, what are you gonna do if I don't leave her alone?"

"Look, I'll make you a deal. If I beat you in a solar surfer race on the school's track, then you and your friends have to leave both of us alone."

"Alright," Carren agreed without hesitation. "But if I win, I get to make your lives a living nightmare until graduation, and you two can't do anything about it."

"Deal. This afternoon, right after classes."

"You're on, Hawkins." Carren moved past him and started to leave, then paused. "Oh, and by the way, nice haircut." He gave a sharp yank on the small ponytail at the nape of Jim's neck, then walked away snickering, his two cohorts close behind. Jim glared after them, rubbing the back of his neck to make the sting go away. Maybe growing his hair out again hadn't been the best idea.

"That guy is seriously starting to get on my nerves," he growled as he sat back down. Dolphy was looking up again, staring at Jim incredulously. "What?"

"Are completely out of your mind?!" she virtually exploded at him. "You just challenged the school solar surfing champion to a race on his home turf! What the heck were you thinking?!"

"Relax, Dolphy," he reassured her. "I've been solar surfing almost half of my life. I'm sure I can beat this guy no problem."

"Jim, I know Carren is a total idiot, but he's also one of the best riders in this part of the galaxy. You face him and you are going to lose."

"Wow, thanks for your overwhelming confidence in me," Jim chuckled. Dolphy didn't join in his laughter. "Chill out, Dolph. This guy's as good as beaten."

Dolphy sighed. "Alright, fine. Just don't do anything incredibly stupid, okay?"

"What makes you think I would?"

Dolphy smiled sardonically. "You seem like the type."

Jim chuckled, feeling increasingly confident in his abilities. Carren and his friends had had their fun. Now, it was Jim's turn. Dolphy, however, wasn't quite so sure. She had an ominous feeling that she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

Ooh, conflict! How's this gonna pan out? Find out in the next chapter. Please review. Laterz!