Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron.

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Chapter 3: "Mortal Enemies"

Almost immediately after Jimmy had hung up with Sheen and Carl, the police chief called.

"I wanted to make sure that you understood the incident involving Miss Vortex is completely confidential. I take it you haven't told anyone about her injury, or the fact that she's in the hospital recovering from amnesia," he said.

Jimmy gulped.

"You haven't, have you?" Chief McGinnis asked suspiciously.

"No, sir," Jimmy lied. He hoped his nervousness wasn't evident in his voice.

"Good. Let's keep it that way."

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Everyone noticed Cindy's absence the next morning.

"So much for her perfect attendance record," Brittany was saying. Jimmy bit his lip. Oh, yeah. He'd forgotten about how important that had been to her.

"I know where she is!" exclaimed Sheen. Jimmy frantically motioned for him to stop, but he didn't seem to notice. "She's--"

"Sick!" Jimmy blurted out, cutting him off. "She got so sick she couldn't be here today."

Libby raised an eyebrow. "Why would she tell you, but not her best friend?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um, I, uh…" Jimmy's mind went blank. How was he supposed to explain that? "Um, I called her and she was coughing and stuff."

Libby still didn't seem convinced. "And why would you be calling Cindy, exactly?"

"Yeah, Jim," Carl teased, winking at him.

Oh, my gosh, Jimmy thought. Why was Carl being such a dork? He had heard the truth last night, for Heaven's sake!

"Oh, I see," Libby smirked.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Oh, Libby! Strike a pose!" he suddenly burst out, pulling a Polaroid camera from his backpack. He aimed it at her.

"Huh?" Libby asked, confused. Even still, she smiled, placing one hand on her head and the other on her hip.

"Hey! Why are you taking pictures of my girlfriend?" Sheen demanded.

"It's for Cindy," Jimmy explained, waving the photo he had just snapped in the air.

"Boy, you been makin' no sense all day," Libby said, shaking her head in bewilderment. "Cindy's got millions of me an' her in her photo album."

Suddenly Jimmy got an idea. "Is her photo album in her room, by any chance?" he asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah," Libby replied. "And you wanna know because…?"

"No reason," Jimmy responded quickly. He couldn't wait for school to end.

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As soon as class let out, Jimmy was out the door and on his way to the hospital.

Dr. Kaylee was just exiting Cindy's room. "Oh, hello, James," she said, glancing up from her clipboard. "I'm sorry, but Cynthia is asleep at the moment. You'll have to drop by later."

Jimmy's face dropped. "Couldn't I just…" His voice trailed off as he gazed longingly at the closed door.

"Oh, all right," Kaylee sighed, giving in. "Just be sure not to wake her up."

"Thanks! You won't be sorry!" Jimmy promised, entering Cindy's room as quietly as possible.

Kaylee smiled after him, shaking her head. "I'm such a softie," she mumbled.

Jimmy tiptoed over to Cindy's bed. She looks so peaceful, he thought as he gazed at her. On a sudden impulse, he reached out his hand and softly stroked her hair.

Suddenly Cindy's eyes flickered open. "Ah!" she shrieked, bolting upright.

Jimmy jumped back.

"What were you doing, trying to give me a heart attack!" Cindy demanded, clutching her chest. "As if I didn't have enough problems with my head already!"

Jimmy was too stunned to speak. She was acting way different than last night. In fact, she was acting more like, well…normal Cindy would.

"Sorry," Cindy sheepishly apologized. "I didn't mean to…you know."

"It's okay," Jimmy smiled back. It was funny. Cindy would've never apologized for yelling at him before.

"So, what, uh, were you doing?" she asked him.

"Nothing!" Jimmy blurted out, blushing.

Cindy just nodded, confused.

"Uh…I got you the picture," Jimmy said, changing the subject. He held up the photo he had taken of Libby earlier.

"Oh!" Cindy took it from him and examined it closely. "This is her?" she asked.

"Yep. Any flashbacks?" Jimmy asked hopefully.

Cindy scrunched up her face and closed her eyes. After a while: "No. Nothing."

Jimmy's face dropped. "I'm sorry, Cindy," he said quietly.

"Yeah. Me too."

"Is there something I could do to make you feel better?" he asked.

Cindy smiled. Just the thought that someone cared was enough. "No, but thanks for asking," she told him.

"You know, uh, it was kind of hard keeping your secret today," Jimmy commented.

"What secret?" Cindy felt like she was confused a lot of the time now.

"Uh, about you having, you know…" Jimmy tugged at his neckline.

"Amnesia?" Cindy finished. "I don't mind you saying it, you know. But why is it a secret?"

"I don't know, that's just what the police told me," Jimmy explained. "It's supposed to be confidential or something."

"I see," Cindy nodded.

"So, anyway, I didn't know that, and I told my best friends Sheen and Carl. Unfortunately, they're not the best at keeping secrets, so I had to make up some explanation for you not being at school," Jimmy went on. "But then Libby was all suspicious because I don't normally call you or anything…"

"Wait--what?"

"Oh, I told her I called you and you were coughing because she wanted to know why you'd tell me you were sick and not her," Jimmy said in one breath.

"I still don't quite understand."

"What part don't you understand?" Jimmy asked.

"Well, why would everyone be so surprised you called me? And why would it be a shock if I told you I was sick?" Cindy wondered aloud.

"Well, Cindy, there's a little something I forgot to mention…" Jimmy hesitated. "We're considered mortal enemies."