My goal with this story was to see how much I have progressed, and judging by how poorly this story is doing, it's obviously not much. *sigh* But thank you to those who are following this story! I truly appreciate it!

I don't own Jimmy. If I did, it would not be cancelled!

Mother's Rules

"That was not Nick, Cynthia."

She stared at her mother, wide eyed.

"Mother!" She squeaked.

Her mother examined her nails.

"Do you wish to tell me why I just saw you kissing Jimmy Neutron outside our door?"

"Uh," there was no use lying anymore, she had been caught. "Yes."

"Is there something going on between you two?" Her mother asked, her voice slightly escalading.

"No mother, I just go around kissing all the boys in Retroville," Cindy snipped back. In response, her mother squinted and her arms crossed in front of her chest. "Of course there's something going on between us mother." Just then something in her eyes flashed and she rose from the couch.

"And what exactly is that?"

Cindy brushed a loose bang behind her ear and smiled.

"He's my boyfriend mother."

Her mother's eyes got very wide.

"He's your, your… your WHAT?"

"Boyfriend," she responded simply. Her mother still stared. "We are a couple."

"You can't be serious Cynthia," were the first words from her mother's mouth.

"Why not?"

"You could do so much better!"

"How could I possibly do better?"

"Nick Dean is such a nice young man."

"Jimmy is a gentleman, who isn't using me just to get some other girl, he likes me for who I am, and he likes me a lot! Plus, he's a genius, but there's so much more to him."

"Shush!" Her mother held up her hand. "I want to hear no more of this silly junk, you must get off to bed now," she said calmly, in fact so calmly that it gave Cindy the creeps. Cindy turned to head up the stairs, and her mother followed her. They were going to their separate bedrooms when…

"You can't see him ever again Cynthia."

Cindy froze in mid-step and turned around to face her mother who was now red from anger.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you can't ever see him again!"

Cindy felt rage burning inside of her.

"And why can't I?"

"Because I said so, and you live in this household so you obey my rules!"

"But mom, you like him you said so!"

"Yes, but I'm afraid he'll be a bad influence on you dear."

"I will see him if I want to see him!"

"I can't have my only daughter seen with a disaster like him!"

"But I really like him mom! A LOT!"

"I don't care how much you like him, you liked Nick once too."

"Mom that was so long ago it's not even funny, and it was only for a few months until Jimmy moved here, and then he kinda just grew on me…."

She covered her mouth knowing that she was saying too much, way too much.

"Are you saying that you've liked him that long?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"You will never see him again Cynthia Aurora Vortex, in this life or in any other. If I ever catch you with him ever again you will regret it," she said very seriously.

Cindy scoffed.

"You can't do that."

"Seriously Cindy, if I catch you with him ever again, there will be DIRE consequences," she paused. "Now go to bed."

She shut the door behind her and let the tears fall down her face and cast a side glance at the house across the street. And as she crawled into bed she laughed silently to herself.

-x-

The next morning she was awoken by her alarm clock, and she got up following her usual routine. She grabbed some fruit, her book bag and was about to head out the door when her mother stopped her.

"Cynthia, where do you think you're going?"

"To school," she replied.

"Not with that kid you're not."

"What?"

"You will ride the bus this morning Cynthia."

"Mom, I hate the bus, everybody my age has cars and drives."

But her mother frowned and Cindy just nodded.

"Sure whatever," she turned to go out the door so she could still catch Jimmy. But her mother stepped in front of her.

"I'll make sure you stay here until the bus gets here."

"But mom, I at least need to tell Jimmy…"

"I told you dear, you aren't going to be talking to him again anytime soon."

"Really mother with how obsessed you are about how good we look you'd think you'd be happy for me."

She raised an eyebrow.

"He's abnormal and I don't like it," she said simply.

"Perhaps I do," she replied.

Her mother frowned more deeply.

"Cynthia this conversation is over," she responded simply.

Cindy sighed deeply as she put her hands in her pockets, casting a side long glance out the window at Jimmy who was waiting for her. She felt her heart sinking as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

"Don't you dare answer that Cindy," her mother said.

JIMMY the caller ID read.

"It's just Libby mom."

"Oh all right, I suppose you can answer it."

"Hello?"

She would have to make this up as she went along.

"Hi Cindy! Are you coming?"

"Hi Libby, I'm going to ride the bus this morning actually."

"Oh, I see. Did you get caught?"

"Yeah," she responded simply.

"Bummer, so I guess I'll see you at school and we can talk there?"

"Yeah, sounds great Libs! I'm excited for it."

He laughed on the other end.

"Have fun on the bus," he said teasingly.

"Shut up."

He laughed again and then he ended the call.

"What did Libby want?"

"She wanted to know if I would be riding to school with Neutron today," she said simply. And then something in her mother's brain clicked.

"How many people know about this alleged 'relationship'?"

"Everyone," she responded knowing it would make her mother furious. She scowled again, as if trying to solve a dire problem.

"We can fix that," she whispered to herself.

Just then the bus pulled up.

"Okay Cindy, you are free to go, and if I see you come home with that kid…" she whispered the threat and Cindy nodded.

She sighed heavily as she walked out on to the bus. There was a bunch of eleventh, tenth and ninth graders sitting on the bus. They all smiled up and she was surprised to see Carl sitting three seats back, he gestured for her to come and sit with him and she did so.

"Hello Carl," she said as she set her book bag down on the floor. "I didn't know you rode the bus," she continued as she situated herself to be as comfortable in the uncomfortable bus seat.

"No money to buy a car," he responded dully.

"Yeah, me either."

"But you always ride with Jimmy," he replied.

There was a sudden gasp on the bus, three of the tenth grade girls sitting in the back of the bus were suddenly staring at her with open mouths.

"Yes?"

"You, you're the Cindy Vortex?"

"Yes."

"You're going out with… Jimmy Neutron?" One of them asked followed by a collective giggle from the three girls she was sitting with.

"Yes."

The three girls just smiled and blushed. She rolled her eyes and went back to talking to Carl.

"Yeah, but we came back from a date at the conservatory and my mom flipped on me, and now I'm grounded from Jimmy," she replied bitterly she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Does that mean he's single?" The same annoying girl from the back asked.

Cindy turned around with a scowl and saw the girl whose face was plastered with an annoying hopeful grin.

"Absolutely not," she replied. The girl's smile disappeared quickly. Cindy turned back to Carl who was staring at the girl in the back as well.

"Ugh, nosey little…" she stopped herself before she said anything too harsh.

Carl just nodded in agreement.

"Anyways, so yeah, I'm grounded."

"Bummer," he said sympathetically.

"Total bummer," she agreed.

The rest of the ride to school, Cindy wast trying to figure out how she would tell Jimmy. When they finally got to school she discovered that Jimmy was standing near the bus stop waiting for her with a broad smile on his face. She sighed as she realized what she had to tell him would wipe that idiotically cute smile off his face. Carl smiled at her just before departing to his first class.

"Thanks for sitting with me Cindy," he said quietly.

"Yeah, see you later Carl," she responded. She then started walking over to Jimmy when she noticed that the three girls were staring at her intently. But she just ignored them and took Jimmy's hand. They finally stopped staring.

"Good morning," he said quietly.

"Good morning."

"So what was that about this morning?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes."

She sighed deeply working up the courage. He wasn't going to like this…

"She said I can't see you anymore."

"Huh?" Jimmy asked.

"She said I can't see you anymore."