The further into the story we go, the more we'll know about the girl that Karena met last chapter. And yes, she is in this chapter. So enjoy! *I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons"*
*WILBUR'S POV*
November 1st, 2038
Well, I'm back in school after a good weekend. Today was color guard tryouts for the freshmen, and so tomorrow was tryouts for any sophomore or senior who wanted to be captain of both squads. There were a lot of freshmen trying out today, and it was the seniors of the guard: Chloe, Jenna, Shelby, Camilla, and Tara, who were deciding who would make it and who wouldn't. The juniors and sophomores just sat and watched the fun. Mr. Samuels explained that it was possible to have more than 16 total people on the color guard, but he always wanted equal numbers, so there would again be 8 people on each squad, considering the three juniors: Susan, Hannah, and Kim, were already qualified for the varsity squad. The coach called me over while I was thinking of what he said last year about my being on the varsity squad this year, and I walked over to him.
"I don't think there's enough room for you to be on the varsity squad." That's what I thought. "However, I would recommend you to try out for junior varsity captain. You've been practicing?"
"Yes, sir!" I answered with a fist on my chest, and Mr. Samuels chuckled. "Do you have any kind of routine for me to do?"
"The objective of the captain is to help choreograph the routine," Mr. Samuels explained. "So make one up, Robinson! You can do it." I walked back to my seat to join the other sophomores. Bonnie gave a tap on the shoulder, and I turned to face her.
"Trying out for captain?"
"Yes, I am," I replied with a straight face. "Why do you ask?"
"I'm trying out, and I'm going to win," Bonnie explained.
"How do you know?" I asked. "Did you travel in time?"
"Oh puh-lease. Time machines don't even exist, Robinson. But you should know I'm best out of all sophomores."
"We'll see," I said with a glare, and I turned back to watch the freshmen compete. There were a total of eleven freshmen trying out, and according to Mr. Samuels, not all of them would make it. I watched the last freshman tryout, and the seniors walked to the middle of the floor and announced who the new members of the color guard were: Abby, Lois, Arwen, Ruby, Tasha, Annie, and Micheala.
"Okay everyone! Since seven freshmen made it, and we have five sophomores, three juniors, and five seniors, two of the sophomores will have to move to varsity squad." We all gasped and exclaimed at each other before Mr. Samuels continued to talk. "So not only will we have tryouts for the two captains, but we will also have tryouts for all sophomores to go to varsity. Any questions?"
"Let me guess: all the sophomores have to be creative?" I asked.
"Correct, Wilbur." This will be fun. "Congratulations to all the freshmen, and I'll see you tomorrow."
Drop, drop, windmill, two turning windmills, carve, RSA, butterfly, half-cradle, Sam's Whirl, horizontal, vertical, toss!
"That's good Wilbur!" my girlfriend complimented me. "You did make that up, right?"
"Yep!" I panted as I tried to relax. "So what do you think? J.V. captain or varsity squad?"
"Hmmm..." Karena cupped her chin with her right hand. "I don't know, hun. That would work for either option."
"I'm a little nervous about this," I explained. "But Mr. Samuels seems to have confidence in me."
"Well what did he say?"
"He told me that there wasn't going to be room for the varsity squad and he recommended me in trying out for J.V. captain. But then seven freshmen made it, and he said that that was a total of 12 people on J.V. while 8 on the varsity. So two of us will have to go to varsity."
"Wow," Karena said with her mouth open. "Tough decision, huh?"
"Yeah," I said, but I smiled. "Hey, you gotta keep moving forward."
"Call me after tryouts," my brunette girlfriend ordered with her finger pointed at me. "I wanna hear the results."
November 2nd, 2038
Horizontal, vertical, toss! I caught the flag in the catch position as I finished my tryout routine. I had a lot of applause...in fact, the most applause, from everyone as I took my seat.
"Okay everyone! Here are the results of today's tryouts. The captain of the varsity squad is...Camilla!" Everyone applauded as Camilla walked up to Mr. Samuels and shook his hand. He gave her the uniform of a color guard captain before she sat down behind him.
"As for the sophomore tryouts, the two students who are going to the varsity squad are...Bonnie and Penny." Everyone applauded as Bonnie and Penny stood up to join the juniors and seniors on the varsity squad. I was bummed that I didn't make it into the varsity squad, but the action wasn't over yet.
"And our junior varsity captain is, without a doubt, Wilbur Robinson." No way! I walked over to where Mr. Samuels was and shook his hand. "I never thought that a boy would be a captain of the color guard, so-"
"I'm wearing the same uniform?" I asked.
"No, you're not. I've got something special for you, and you may wear it for your senior year as well." Mr. Samuels gave me a navy blue and white uniform. This uniform, unlike my other one, had no sleeves. As a matter of fact, it reminded me of my karate clothes, only without the long sleeves. I smiled and thanked my coach. I walked over to where Camilla was, and I shook hands with her.
"Your routine was way better than mine, that's for sure," Camilla complimented me. "Did you make that up yourself, or did someone make it up for you?"
"All mine, Camilla," I answered. "If my girlfriend hadn't taught me color guard, I wouldn't be here. I learned from her, and I applied it to my routine."
"Well, you definitely deserve to be one of the captains of the color guard," said the blonde senior. "I'm looking forward to working with you."
"Thanks, I'm looking forward to it as well."
"I'm the captain of the J.V. squad!" I said with excitement in my voice.
"Get out! Congratulations, Will!" Karena exclaimed on the other line. "So you're going to be part of making the routine, huh?"
"Yep! The coach even said that my routine is going to be my solo for the song."
"What is the song anyway?" Karr asked.
"We don't know yet," I answered. "We're going to decide within the next week." I paused, looking at the time as I approached my locker, now on the second floor. "Oh geez...Karr, I gotta go. Band starts in five minutes."
"Okay. Congrats again, and I love you."
"I love you, too. Have fun."
"Bye."
I hung up and opened my locker. I only had to place my phone and my chargeball-themed backpack in my locker, and then I was on my way to the third floor for band. However, my trip was delayed; I saw a girl running down the hall to the travel tube. I ran after her, forgetting the rule to not run, and I caught her as she approached the doors out of the high school.
"Please, don't leave," I pleaded. "Let me help you get to class."
"You wanna help me, don't you?" the girl asked.
"Yes," I replied. "I don't want you late."
"And yet you risk yourself being late to band?" How did she know what class I was heading to?
"Have you been following me?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I assure you, I have not been following you, Wilbur Robinson," the girl answered. And how does she know my name? "I've been trying to escape this place for a long time."
"Escape?" I asked. "How can you not love Todayland?"
"You really want to help me with my problems. You want to help me adjust to a place which is a little foreign to me, and help me learn to love it." I was shocked at her response, and I let her go. She ran out of the building, and the bell rang. I stood there for a minute, thinking about what she said, and about the weird texture on her hands. The bell rang again, and I was tardy.
"You're late, Robinson."
"Sorry sir, I was trying to help someone get to class," I said, telling half the truth.
"Oh I see. You're excused." Whew! "Now, can everyone please get out Away in a Manger?" I got out my second trumpet music after hastily setting up my trumpet. We were currently rehearsing for our Christmas concert that was to happen in about a month. The selected songs were Away in a Manger, American Bell Carol, Baby It's Cold Outside, and Pat a Pan. I usually focus when it comes to music, but today, I was a little off. I continued to think about what the red-haired girl said, the tone she talked in, and the way her skin felt. What even sparked me more was that her skin felt a little bit...like scales, and she only had three fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot. I continued to wonder if this was the girl that Karena was talking about. I decided to go to the counselor and ask her if she knew anything about the girl. I asked Mr. Samuels if I could use the bathroom after we were done rehearsing Away in a Manger, and he granted me permission to do so. I gently placed my trumpet on the chair and walked out of the room. I went up the travel tube, and I was on the first floor in no time. I approached the guidance office where I asked to talk to Miss Hall.
"What's up, Wilbur?"
"Well, I was on my way to my first hour class when I saw a girl trying to leave the school," I explained. "I tried to help her, but she told me some things...things that I keep thinking about."
"What kind of things?" Miss Hall asked.
"Well, she asked me if I wanted to help her, and I said yes. Then she told me about risking my being late to first hour. And she even knows my name when I don't know hers." Miss Hall clapped both her hands together, and she thought about what I said.
"Describe the girl."
"Well, she has red hair, blue eyes, about my height, has a slim figure, and she only has three fingers and three toes on each hand and foot. And she's quite strong, too."
"All of this is very strange, but I do not know her name. I don't even know if she's enrolled here."
"She's gotta be if she's in the school in the first place," I explained.
"You do have a point," Miss Hall said. "If she is running from the school, I'm sure she needs help."
"Is there any way I can be a part of it?" I asked with hope. "She said that she isn't from here...it's like she moved here or something."
"That could be a reason why. I'll see what I can do to make her feel at home. If you want to help her, be my guest." I smiled at her response.
"Thank you, Miss Hall."
"If you can help the school with safety, I'm sure you can help this girl who needs help. I trust you. Good luck." I walked out of the guidance office, feeling better about the girl. If she really does need help adjusting to Todayland, then I'm going to at least try to get to know her a little better...like how she came to be...
