So I'm a little tired, but have another chapter.

A few more days had gone by, and Diddy was trying to sleep in his tire. DK was sitting next to him, he kept poking him in the face.

"C'mon, buddy!" DK said, "It's time for school."

"Ugh..." Diddy rolled his eyes as he pulled the blanket over his face. "Can't I be homeschooled instead?"

"Hey...as much as I like trainin' you all day, I can't teach you everything," DK said as he yanked the blanket out of Diddy's hands. "Besides, Dixie's gonna be with ya, isn't she?"

"Uuuugh," Diddy groaned once again. He really didn't want to go to school, but given how new she was, Dixie would probably have a hard time over there. Slowly, Diddy crawled out of bed and grabbed a backpack that was sitting next to his tire.

"Hey, don't forget to grab a couple bananas for lunch," DK said as Diddy grabbed his hat and made his way out the door. The young monkey rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah!"

As soon as Diddy left, DK made his way over to his hammock and pulled out a Game Boy. He was hopeful that Dixie could make school a little more bearable while Diddy was there. Because as far as he could tell, the two of them have already become close friends.

...Yeah, Diddy was going to be just fine.

Diddy was starting to make his way through the village. From what he could see, the other Kongs have started their usual morning routine. Most of the children were already heading over to Kong Kollege, and as expected, they either ignored Diddy or ran into him on purpose. For a moment, he wondered if he could run off and play hooky somewhere. But then again, Wrinkly would've found out at some point.

"LOOK OUT BELOW!"

Just as Diddy stopped in his tracks, Dixie had fallen out of the trees. Surprisingly, the only thing keeping her from falling flat onto her face was her ponytail, which twirled around like a helicopter. She hovered until she finally reached the ground.

"How...How did you even do that?" Diddy asked, raising an eyebrow. Dixie shrugged, "Like I said, it takes practice."

"Huh...So why'd you meet me here? Shouldn't you be at the school by now?"

"Well, I figured you could use someone to walk with," Dixie replied. "Cause I know you don't like goin' through the village and all."

All Diddy could do was smile. While he would much rather have Dixie make it to school on her own, he at least appreciated the duo continued to make their way over to Kong Kollege. There, they could see an elderly gorilla standing at the entrance. She had grey hair and wore a green poncho over her shoulders. She greeted each child as they walked into the school, including some of the Kremling children. Finally, she was able to spot Diddy and Dixie walking up to her.

"Is that you, Dixie?" Wrinkly asked. "I see you've met my great-grandson."

"Wait, you two are related!?" Dixie asked in surprise. Diddy shrugged. "I thought DK would've said somethin'."

"And how have you been, dearie?" Wrinkly asked Diddy. "I hope DK and Cranky haven't been too tough on you while I was gone."

"Nah, DK wasn't THAT bad," Diddy replied, "But Cranky...uh..."

Wrinkly gave Diddy a sympathetic look, she patted the top of his head. "I understand dearie, I'll have a little talk with Cranky as soon as School is over. But for now, please come in and have a seat."

"Thanks, Wrinkly," Diddy said as he walked inside the school. Inside, there were a few desks that were neatly organized into three rows. Along the walls were shelves full of books, a globe that sat near the window, and a chalkboard that sat in front of the class. Along ceiling were a couple of toy planes. Although the school itself wasn't that big, it still had a welcoming feel to it. Diddy sat in one of the desks in the back, Dixie began to sit next to him.

"So you're STILL hanging around with him, huh?" asked the Orangutan sitting up front. "Don't be surprised if he starts taking your calculators!"

"That was ONE time!" Diddy yelled angrily.

"OK, Guys!" said a Kremling child sitting in the middle of the room. "Let's all just calm down before class starts, OK?"

The Orangutan huffed in annoyance, but he quickly turned around as Wrinkly walked in.

"All right, I know we're starting the semester a little late. But as I like to say, better late then never."

"But I aren't you gonna retire soon?" asked one of the students.

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that you still have to go to school!" Wrinkly said sternly. "Now then...Today, we're going to begin with..."

Diddy looked at Dixie, he began to whisper. "I know some of the guys here aren't the nicest, but we'll be fine so long as Wrinkly's here."

"Diddy, pay attention!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!" Diddy said while pulling out a notebook. Dixie glanced at Diddy with a curious expression before pulling out her own notebook. She couldn't help but wonder what else Diddy had to put up with before.

It was finally lunch time, and some of the students had already gone outside to eat. Diddy stayed at his desk while Dixie was looking over a globe, she appeared to be looking for something.

"What are you doing?" Diddy asked. Dixie turned her head before she walked up to him with the globe in her hands. She pointed to one of the islands closer to the equator, "Look, this is where I used to live!"

"Uh...I see that," Diddy said, confused. He really wasn't trying to come off as rude, but he really wasn't sure what to say about it. Dixie began to look around the globe a bit more, she pointed out two different islands south of the Metro Kingdom. "I also found your guys' home...Though I thought you would've been closer to Big Ape City...Or was it New Donk City? I can't remember."

"And what makes you say that?" Diddy asked.

"Because I heard that some of the Kongs here used to live in that city!"

"Oh," Diddy's face lit up. "Cranky and Wrinkly used to stay there at one point, along with my Grandpa."

"But wasn't Cranky supposed to be a King?" Dixie asked.

"He was," Diddy replied. "It...just so happened that the humans wanted to keep him as a pet, so he ended up living at the circus for a while. He got so mad at them that he ended up kidnapping this guys's girlfriend just to get back at him."

"Wow..." Dixie could help but frown. "I can't believe they'd do something like that...or that one of your relatives would go out of their way to kidnap someone."

"Actually, DK's done something like that before," Diddy replied. "But enough about that, what else did you wanna show me?"

"Well, there's the Northern Kremisphere," Dixie said pointing to an area south of DK Island. "Dad took us over to Cotton-Top cove when we were younger, but it's been years since we've been there."

"I hear it's a lot cooler down there, too," Diddy replied. "DK wants to try and take us down there at some point."

"It can actually get pretty cold down there," Dixie said. "Especially around the mountains. But I hear that's nothing compared to the Southern Kremisphere. I hear that place is full of vikings, so it's best to just stay out of there if you can."

"Got it," Diddy said while nodding. "Say...where else has your dad gone, anyway?"

Once again, Dixie continued to look over the globe. "Let's see...Over here's the Lost Mangroves, and then there's Chill 'n' Char Island over here. And...what else...?"

Diddy couldn't help but smile. Since the only other place he's ever been to was Timber's Island, he hadn't really thought about what the rest of the world was like. Dixie continued to go on about these places, talking about vast grasslands and tall mountains, as well as places that hardly had any plants whatsoever. He would love to explore these places if he could, and he was certain that Dixie would love to explore these places as well.

Eventually, their lunch break had already drawn to a close, and everyone had to get back to their learning. But even then, it wouldn't stop Dixie from glancing at the globe every once in a while.

So the calculator part was based off a real thing. When I was in 8th grade, I accidentally took a calculator with me to music class. When someone asked me about it, I just said I didn't know why I brought it. So for the rest of the semester, everyone called me a "calculator stealer". Diddy's at around a 4th grade level but hey...whatever