Disclaimer: I don't own BMW or Honda.
retroville9: Thanks. And you'll find out eventually!
okmeamithinknow: Well, here it is! And, again, you'll find out.
jimlover54: Here's your update. Enjoy.
lauren B: Ah, but does he spill? Heh, find out.
xJCManiak12x: Glad you love it. Here's the next post.
starrlightstarbrite: Is this soon enough? Hope so.
acosta perez jose ramiro: I'm glad you've enjoyed the dialogues. I hope you continue to like the story.
Thanks for the support, guys. Makes it much more fun writing these stories. Well, here's chappie two.
………
Chapter 2: Good Birthday Gone Bad
Cindy felt like punching Carl in the face. Hard. But she contained her frustration. "Please, Carl, I'm begging you."
The football jock shook his head. "Nuh-uh, no way, Cindy. I was sworn to secrecy."
"Whyyyy?" Cindy wined. "Please tell me? Pretty please?"
"Miss Vortex." Cindy's head snapped up at the mention of her name.
"Yes, Mr. Corbet?"
"How are you today?"
Cindy blinked. "Uh, fine, thank you."
"That's good. Are you enjoying your conversation with Mr. Wheezer?"
Cindy 'oooohed' in realization. "Sorry for talking during class, Mr. Corbet." The teacher rubbed his temples and adjusted his glasses while the class giggled. Cindy sighed.
Despite repeated glares at Carl over the course of the class, she got nothing out of him. The bell rang, and before she could lift a finger, Carl shuffled out of the classroom. Cindy sighed, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She moved to the door, but stopped when the teacher called her name. "Just one moment, Cindy." She gulped, and hung back while the rest of the class left. "Now, you being Cindy Vortex, I know it is very unlike you to talk during class. Is there anything you wish to talk about?"
Cindy shrugged. Mr. Corbet was her favorite teacher, considering she knew him as a family friend. He was almost part of her family. Ned Corbet shook his head. "Are you sure? You know teachers are here to help."
Cindy smiled. "A friend is acting a little weird, and Carl knows why, but he won't tell me." Ned nodded, scratching his chin.
"Well, if there's anything I can do, just let me know."
"Will do, Mr. Corbet."
She left the classroom––and ran straight into Nick Dean. He smiled his white grin at her, and she almost melted. Almost. "Hey, Cindy. What's going down?"
Cindy shrugged. She didn't much like Nick anymore, but he was still charming, and unnervingly so. "Nothing really."
"Got any plans for tonight?" Cindy's heart jumped. He pulled a mirror out of his pocket, checked his hair, and replaced the mirror.
"Well, no, not really…" She had left out the fact that it was her birthday.
"That's cool. Hey, there's a party at Jill's tonight. Why don't you come?" He grinned. "It'd be cool."
Cindy resisted the urge to stick out he tongue. Party meant beer, which meant drunk idiots, which meant trouble. Party meant people making out all over, loud music, and vomiting. "I'll have to skip out this time, Nick," she replied almost sarcastically. "Besides, today's my birthday, and I have a few things going on that I just remembered."
Nick shrugged. "Aight, that's cool. There'll always be more parties."
Cindy nodded. "Yeah." There was a pause. He hadn't even wished her a happy birthday. "I have a class, I'll talk to you later or something." She stepped past Nick and moved down the hallway quickly. All the while, she felt the boy's eyes on her back.
…
Her next class went by somewhat quickly, but Cindy hardly paid attention in it. It wasn't like she really needed to. She knew plenty of the information she needed to know, enough to get straight 'A's or better. After all, it was only Social Studies. Even so, she normally liked to pay attention.
One day won't hurt, she told herself as she walked into eighth period. Jimmy was already there, writing something in a notebook. Cindy approached behind him slowly, so as not to disturb him, and peeked over his shoulder. He was working at some sort of formula. But he kept on erasing, muttering to himself.
"No… no, that can't… maybe if… no… no… no!" Finally, he threw his pencil at his notebook. It bounced away, rolling across the floor. He proceeded to cradle his head in his hands. Cindy stepped over to his pencil, picking it up and offering it to him. He looked up then, his eyes wild and filled with a thousand different things. But he blinked, and his face was blank, again. He was a master at controlling his emotions. He didn't look away from her, but he didn't take his pencil. Cindy reached down to his side, grabbed his wrist, and placed the pencil in his hand.
"If scientists always throw down their pencils in frustration, then maybe they should try using a pen." Jimmy blinked. He could tell there was some hidden meaning behind her words, but said nothing.
Finally, he spoke. "I guess Carl told you?"
Cindy looked surprised. "No, actually. He didn't." She looked away. Jimmy sighed.
"I––" The bell rang.
"Alright, guys, please sit down." The teacher had finally gotten there. Jimmy gave Cindy an apologetic look as she moved back to her seat.
Math class eventually passed, and Cindy was following the flock of students to her locker. Jimmy had left early, with some excuse, and Cindy knew he was just avoiding her. He didn't want to answer her question. But putting that aside, she had her dad and mom's surprise to look forward to.
The bus ride home was short-lived, for Jimmy wasn't on. Cindy stepped off the bus with Libby and Sheen––Carl had football practice––and made her way home, waving a goodbye to the happy couple.
Her mom was asleep on the couch, and Cindy crept upstairs to her room, where she dropped her backpack, sat down, and thought.
He was writing a formula… doesn't need a reputation… what the heck does all this mean? She found herself playing the necklace around her neck, and took it off to examine it.
The craftsmanship was amazing; the gold had been fashioned into a thin, but durable chain. The crystal hanging at the end still sparkled, despite the fact that there was no real sunlight coming into her room. Then she realized that the crystal wasn't just sparkling, it was shining. It gave off light.
Cindy moved over to her window, closing the curtains. Even in the dark, the crystal glowed. She let her eyes adjust for a moment, and gasped. The chain was shimmering, or rather, there were words engraved in the chain that shimmered. She squinted at the chain, but could not read the text.
She spent another half hour marveling at the necklace, looking for some secret. But after all her work, she could find nothing. Shaking her head, she reopened her blinds and pulled out her books to get started on her homework. She had to finish it before her dad got home, in a few hours.
…
Cindy checked her clock––twenty minutes before her dad got home. She stood, resolve filling her being, and walked down the stairs. Her mom was in the kitchen.
"Going somewhere, Cindy? Your father will be home soon." Cindy smiled at her mom. She was cooking a big meal tonight, and it smelled delicious.
"Just next-door. I should be back before dad gets home." Her mother nodded.
"You know, I've put a lot of work into this meal." Cindy rolled her eyes, but smiled.
"I know mom. Thank you, you make the best meals."
Her mother laughed in the way she always did. "How nice of you to notice." Cindy laughed to herself as she left her house. Despite her mom's competitive attitude, she had some modesty in her.
She paused on the street, though. Should she really press matters this far? Indecision reigned.
For Jimmy, she decided, and stepped onto the street. She was hardly aware of the blaring horn before she saw the car coming, swerving left and right randomly. She opened her mouth to scream. But the car went by, screeching around the corner and disappearing into the evening. Cindy blinked. She was on the other side of the street, standing in front of Jimmy's house.
"How…?"
"Vortex?" Hearing her name startled her, and she looked toward Jimmy, who now stood in front of the door to his lab. He was empty handed, but had he been the one who moved her? She shook her head.
"Did you see what just happened?" she asked shakily.
Jimmy nodded slowly. "Yeah, you almost got squashed by that idiot BMW driver. Are you alright?"
"Is my head on straight?"
He cocked his head, confused. "Yes."
"Then I'm fine." She took a breath, then walked toward the boy genius. He watched her strangely.
"Why did you come over?"
She rolled her eyes. "You know, just wanted to check up on your dad."
"…Oh."
She almost died; he'd missed her sarcasm. "Of course I'm not here to check on your dad! I wanted to, well, finish our conversation from math." She looked down. "Please tell me what's going on, please."
She looked up, and Jimmy locked eyes with her. She held her breath. "Come on." He swiped a hair across his lab's DNA security device, and the door slid open.
Cindy was aghast.
Jimmy, Jimmy Neutron, James Isaac Neutron was inviting her, Cindy, Cindy VORTEX of all people, a girl and his reputation-al sworn enemy, into his lab? "No… friggin… way," she whispered.
"Huh?" He watched her with a raised eyebrow. Was that a tint of red? She shook her head, and followed him in.
The lab had changed since she'd last been in it. Things were more organized, and it held a more homey feeling. There was a couch, not recently sat in, but a half empty can of purple flurp was sitting on a coffee table. Papers were all over the worktables, and from her quick glances, Cindy recognized formulas similar to the one Jimmy had been working on in school.
Jimmy pointed to the couch, and Cindy sat. It was comfortable. She gave Jimmy her full attention, waiting expectantly. He leaned against a console of some sort, deep in thought.
"I don't think I should tell you," he said finally.
It took a moment for his words to sink in. "Wha? Wait, why not?"
Jimmy sighed, massaging his temples. He looked just like Mr. Corbet, and Cindy would have, had it been under other circumstances, giggled. Instead, she huffed, leaning back in the comfortable cushion.
Jimmy hadn't expected her reaction, and cocked his head. Cindy loved how cute he looked when he did that, and smiled. Now he became very confused. Cindy hopped off the couch.
The can of purple flurp shook.
"If you don't want to tell me, then promise to tell me soon?" She gave him a hopeful look.
Jimmy considered. "Okay," he finally said. "I'll tell you when I'm ready." Cindy nodded.
"I have another question, though."
"Oh? Go on."
"This necklace…" She noticed Jimmy's eye twitch. "I noticed, it's glowing. And the chain, it has words on it. What does it say?"
The boy genius only smiled, and Cindy found herself quite irked. "Want a purple flurp?"
"Don't change the subject, Neutron!" He laughed.
"Let me walk you home." She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he was already walking away. She glared bitterly in his direction before deciding to continue the conversation outside.
The cooler night air surprised her. Jimmy's lab had been warm and comfortable, and she found herself missing the homey feeling. She caught up with Jimmy on his front lawn.
"Stop running away! You have to answer, like, one of my questions, at least!" She heard him laugh ahead of her. "Jimmy!" He stopped at the edge of the road. Cindy glared at his back. But he didn't say anything. In fact, he was entirely still. "Jimmy?"
She stepped around him, and then things seemed to slow down. First she noticed the steam, rising into the air with a hissing sound. Then she noticed the BMW, smashed up and burning. Slowly, her eyes swiveled to look at the other car involved, but her eyes wouldn't focus. She was wondering why before she realized tears were slipping down he cheek. Why? she asked herself. Why am I crying?
Jimmy had run across the street, ignoring the BMW for the Honda that it had hit. To Cindy, he was a blurred figure, recklessly smashing through the Honda's window, cutting himself on the shards of glass. What a stupid boy, Cindy thought. The world was swaying around her, or maybe it was she who was swaying.
The blob of a boy had opened the Honda's door, pulling out another blob, a redish blob, and the boy pulled the red blob far from the burning blob and the broken blob. The boy blob returned to the BMW and pulled out a black blob.
The black blob was talking, pushing the boy away. "No," Cindy voiced mostly to herself. "No, he shouldn't be doing that."
She blinked, and the blurriness went away. Something was buzzing in her ear, slowly getting louder and louder, but she soon realized it was her, screaming.
…
…
…
"DAD!"
………
Continued in the next chapter: Falling Up
