It was about 3 pm when Rikki and Zane met up in the quad. The quad was a place where all the high schoolers liked to hang out before and after school. It was a grassy area in front of the school and relaxing to just sit and talk with your friends. Zane and Rikki were sitting down on the grass in silence. Zane tried to break the ice by asking questions for the project. "So…," started Zane, "what's your favorite…color?"

"Red," Rikki stated bluntly.

Zane tried to come up with something more. Think, Zane, think! he thought. "Favorite…food?" he asked.

"Corn," Rikki said.

"…why corn?" Zane wondered.

"Because when I'm angry, I can bite into it to release my anger," Rikki stated.

Zane never thought of this before, but he thought it was a good idea. "Mine is lobster," Zane said.

"You would like the expensive stuff," Rikki said.

Zane gulped. Rikki hated him, and he knew it. There was no way they were going to ever be together, let alone finish the project. "Look, I know we have our differences, but let's just try and work this out for the sake of an A," Zane said, feeling like the bigger person.

Rikki sighed. She knew he was right. She sat up straight and grabbed her notebook to write about Zane for the project. "Fine," she said. "If you could be anywhere in the world, where would you be?"

"That's easy. Fiji," Zane said, feeling a bit more confident now.

Rikki looked at him like he was from another planet. That's exactly where she would want to be. "Really? Why?" she asked, truly wondering why he wanted to.

"It's the most amazing experience to be in Fiji. The beaches are amazing, and the saltwater smell is to die for. I love all the plant life, too. It makes you never want to leave," Zane explained, lost in trance thinking about Fiji. This made Rikki smile. She loved Fiji like this too.

"Me too. I love everything about Fiji. It's my favorite place too," she said.

Zane smiled. He was so happy they had found something in common. He turned back to his notebook. "My turn," he said. "What's your least favorite memory?

Rikki's smile grew into a frown and she looked down to collect her books. "I um…I actually have to get home now," she said.

Zane looked bewildered. "What? Why?" he wondered, sad.

Rikki stood up. "I just…I have to get home," she said. Zane stood up as well.

"Well, let me walk you," he said, desperate to know what's going on.

"No, it's ok," she said.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked.

"No…I just…" she started.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," Zane interrupted, "but, if you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"Thanks but no thanks," she said. She started walking away, but of course, Zane had to follow.

"I won't ask about your least favorite memory anymore. We don't have to put that in the project," he said, hoping she'd come back.

"It's not a big deal…" Rikki started.

"Then why are you making a big deal out of it?" Zane interrupted. Rikki stopped, thinking that she didn't want to tell Zane, but if she made a big deal, Zane would know something's wrong. Zane continue, "It doesn't have to be an angry or sad least favorite memory. It can be something embarrassing…like…tampon shopping with your mum, or…"

"Just don't bring that up, ok! Don't bring up my mum," Rikki said, aggravated. Zane looked at her in shock.

"Did she…die?" he asked. Rikki really didn't want to talk about it, but she knew she owed him an explanation of some sort.

"No…at least…not that I know of…" she sighed, "she left when I was little. That's my least favorite memory."

Zane regretted asking her for her least favorite memory. He hated seeing Rikki this upset. He sighed. "You…want to grab a juice?" he asked.

"…huh?" Rikki wondered in confusion, why he brought up something so random.

"I mean, to make you feel better…ya know, get your mind off things. It's on me. It's the least I could do. What do you say?" Zane hoped she'd say yes.

Rikki gives the idea a thought and replies, "Sure, I guess that'll be ok." Zane smiled and started leaving the school with her. Rikki was still confused why he was being so nice…but she decided to let it go. I mean, all that mattered was that he was being nice. About five minutes later, they entered the Juicenet café.