NOTICE! It's been over 6 months since I last updated this script, and let me tell you, LOTS HAS CHANGED. If you read the story before 1/20/17, you will need to go back and start at Chapter 6. I have gutted a LOT of the story in order to advance things more quickly towards the Championship game. Although it may feel like key plot points were removed...they weren't key plot points. They were wasting your time.

For a quick summary, here's what's changed:

1) Nikki no longer exists.

2) Ralphie's NLI with Duke is STILL GOOD. The entire subplot about Ralphie's problems with college sports is GONE.

3) Keesha no longer has a humongous conversation with Derek.

4) The warning signs about Gran's health don't come until Chapter 9.

5) New content starts around Chapter 7.

6) Keesha now has a conversation with Lenique.

It's all in the interest of making the story better. Sigh I just wish I could be better about writing good stuff the first time around. Anyways, enjoy.

He did not expect her to walk so quickly. Keesha almost fell from the impact with his letterman jacket.

"Oh shit! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks," Keesha said curtly, her mind everywhere but with Ralphie. "Sorry, just, very busy. Come on, let's go." She pushed past him and bolted straight for the door, her hair trailing behind her bun in little wisps. Ralphie's entertainment ideas could be discussed in the newsroom, where she could reject them with peer pressure. That usually worked with him.

Ralphie felt her determination. Any other time, he would leave her alone, but he had heard her half of the conversation. He didn't know what was wrong in her life, but he refused to let her work herself to death trying to fix it like she always did. He grabbed her shoulder gently, but firmly, preventing her from moving.

"Keesh, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm not that stupid."

Keesha said nothing.

"I heard that your Gran's in the hospital," Ralphie said. "Is she alright?"

"It's none of your business. I have a show to run." She pushed away the gratitude she felt, determined to stop it from interfering with her work. She wrestled free from his grip and continued walking.

Ralphie grabbed her shoulder again, this time spinning her around to face him. He tried not to think about the attitude she was giving him, and instead focused on what she might be going through. He inspected her eyes closely, and noticed the heavy foundation. He'd spent enough time with caked women to know that Keesha was hiding her fatigue.

"Is it just me, or do you have bags under your eyes?"

"So I'm a little tired. Big deal."

"When's the last time you got a good night rest?"

"Last night, actually."

"For how long?"

"...4 hours."

"You call thatsleep?"

"We have, like, 40 minutes of class left!"

Keesha rushed for the door, but Ralphie pulled her back again.

"Look, just listen to me for 5 minutes, and then you can go back."

Keesha crossed her arms and leaned against the door. Ralphie started playing with his hat. He could feel the Fog starting to jam his thoughts, but he fought to hold his focus. Here goes nothing.

"I know it's crazy, but for once, I'm actually worried about you," he started.

Keesha scoffed. Just like that, the Fog dissolved all of Ralphie's feelings into a mass of frustration and hurt.

"Okay, you know what? Fuck you!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just find it hard to believe that you're worried about me, when you never even sit down to chat with your old friends!"

"I do too!"

"That was one time, and you only talked about yourself!"

"I did not!"

"You totally did!"

The Fog ate at his brain. All Ralphie could think about was how much he would like her to stop talking. He didn't care about her problems anymore, or how he was supposed to be helping her.

"If you really don't give a shit, why did you bother to call me here today?"

Keesha was so glad that he asked that question. She'd been meaning to yell at him since last night.

"I DIDN'T! I asked you to hype up your own team, on YOUR OWN TIME. I didn't want you to meddle with the actual broadcast!-"

"-Oh my God, please shut up-."

"-You invited yourself here!-"

"-for one second-"

"-Did you think I actually wanted you to derail everyone with your stupid id-"

"-SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ralphie shouted at the top of his lungs, releasing some of his boiling rage. He put his hand against the wall to prop himself up while the rest of his body tried to contain the furnace.

Keesha stepped back. She was slightly worried for her safety, but she was even more confused by his behavior. Ralphie was stupid, irresponsible, stubborn and superficial, but not angry. The boy in front of her, who was visibly shaking, didn't match the boy she knew from Ms. Frizzle's class, or even the teenager she knew last year.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Her words turned all of Ralphie's emotions off like a light switch. The Fog lifted, the anger vaporized, and his world returned to normal.

What the hell am I doing? I just yelled at her because she gave me her typical snark?

He suddenly felt very tired. Not physically, but emotionally, like he couldn't handle any feelings from himself, let alone others. The only thing he felt was embarrassment for losing his shit. He slumped down to the ground, removing his letterman jacket to reveal a plain red shirt.

"I'm sorry." He forced the words out through a brick in his throat. "I've just...I've been really stressed out. That's not really an excuse, but...yeah."

"You've been stressed out, Mr. Duke-Baseball-Champ? I don't see you worrying about college like, oh, I don't know, every other senior at this school."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. You've probably got way more problems than I do right now."

"Whatever. Can we go back inside?"

Ralphie knew that he had to buckle up and stop thinking about himself. Keesha's health was at stake.

"No."

"Why not?"

"You still haven't told me what's going on."

"I'm fine!"

"Dude, come on!"

Keesha groaned and looked towards the classroom door. Ralphie sighed and stood up.

"Okay, I admit it. My name is Mr. Ralphie Duke-Baseball-Champ Tennelli. You happy?"

She rolled her eyes, but Ralphie saw a small smile. He had her attention.

"Look, um...I know that you don't think too highly of me. And I know that I'm not exactly your best friend. But just, please consider this: I'm currently grounded, with a legit reason to not be here right now. But I, Ralphie, snuck out of my house at four thirty in the morning, hid in Phoebe's car, so she could take me to school, all while I have a concussion, just so I could attend this meeting and help you. So don't you tell me that I don't care about you, because I DO!"

He put his big hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. "Now come on. Talk to me!"

Keesha tried to think of a snarky retort, but she couldn't. Ralphie had just stated a fact.

"Nice speech."

He removed his hands. "Thanks. I stole it from Phoebe."

She laughed. "Of course you did." They both sat down, sitting side by side in an empty hallway.

"So, you know my grandma, right?"

"Of course man."

"Well..." Keesha wasn't sure where to start. So she started with the first thing that came to mind. "Her daughter is a bitch."

"Um...dude, you don't have to be so hard on yourself."

"My mom."

"OH."

Keesha looked at her shoes. Ralphie wasn't sure if he should pry further.

"Is uh, everything okay with Mom?" he asked.

"It's not that big of a deal, I guess. Lenique - Mom - is just holding things up on my end when it comes to college and taking care of Gran. It's making things really hard on me with you know, logistics and stuff."

That wasn't the entire truth, or anything really close to the truth. Keesha had no intention of telling Ralphie everything. Especially when, if she was brutally honest, she didn't fully understand it herself.

"I mean, I'm sure it'll work out," he said. "She's your mom. She loves you, right?"

Keesha silently cursed him for his ignorance, but she knew that he was just trying to help.

"No. No she doesn't."

Ralphie felt something stir in the depths of his soul, but he really, really, REALLY didn't want to think about it.

"I'm sorry. I know how you feel." he said.

Like hell you do! "I don't think you know what it's like to have your own family abandon you."

"Well, my dad died."

"It's not the same when they're dead. You don't have to keep dealing with them afterwards."

Ralphie disagreed vehemently, but said nothing.

"Listen, Keesh - can I call you Keesh?"

Keesha chuckled. "You're hopeless."

"I think of it as being determined. Anyways Keesh, I don't really know the whole story, so I can't give you any practical advice. But you always were a great thinker. I'm sure you'll figure something out!"

"Actually, I kinda have already."

Oh thank God, I'm off the hook, Ralphie thought. "I knew it! What's the plan?"

"My broadcast journalism teacher is having a friend of his visit for the Championship broadcast. He's a professor at Washington State University."

"What does this have to do with your Mom?"

"Long story short, I need to go somewhere in-state to take care of Gran, so that Lenique won't have to."

"Oh, so you're basically trying to score brownie points with this professor. Why are you even worried about getting into WSU? They're super easy. I could get into WSU, even without sports."

"I don't think you realize how bad my GPA is, Ralphie."

"Can't be worse than mine."

Keesha hung her head. She couldn't believe she was going to admit this to Ralphie of all people. "I have a 2.5."

"Whoa, really?!" He hadn't seen that coming.

"Hey, I have to take care of Gran, pay the utilities, and basically be an adult, okay? I have a job! I have finances! I don't have the time that DA does to keep a 4.0. Plus, I'm kind of strapped for cash, so even if I get accepted, I'll probably need scholarship money."

Ralphie remembered her application for Drake. Unlike him, she had a pretty good excuse for her poor GPA.

"Hey, it's still better than mine," he joked.

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, that makes me feel so much better."

"It should. You've bested the greatest athlete at Walkerville High. You should be proud of yourself."

Keesha just rolled her eyes, and he instantly regretted his words. "Hey, I'm kidding. Still, I don't understand why you're so worried. This broadcast will be a big hit."

She scoffed. "How can you be so sure?"

"Keesh, you're doing 2 hours of live television. May I remind you that you've done this before? With a certain someone?" Ralphie winked and gestured at himself.

"B-but that was with Ms. Frizzle!"

"Come on, we were 8 years old! I think 10 years of extra experience should more than make up for the lack of Ms. Frizzle. I've watched our old broadcast. It was kinda gross, being inside my body and all, but it was actually quite professional."

"You think so?"

He shrugged. "See for yourself. Come over to my place and we'll watch it together."

Keesha chuckled. "Why do you have to be the star of every broadcast we do?"

"I'm mother-fucking Ralphie, 'R,' Baseball-Notre-Dame-Champion Tennelli. I was born for this."

She snorted. "Look, we have like, 30 minutes left."

He sighed. "Okay, but promise me one thing? Promise me that you'll sleep tonight. 8 hours."

"I promise. Let's take some chances, make some mistakes, and show WSU who's the boss."

She flinched a little as Ralphie wrapped his big arm around her slender frame, pulling her close to his large belly for a partial hug. Her body relaxed against his chest, and Keesha felt a warmth that made her want to be a little kid again. Everything is going to be okay. It would be just like the old days, when she lead a team of people that she could trust. She stayed in Ralphie's arms for a minute, resting, enjoying the moment.

Ralphie wondered if Keesha could hear his heart pounding. She was going through so much more than he could dream of, but this time, he was there. He could help. He wouldn't blow this. Not because he had a boner, but because she was counting on him. He held her tight, enjoying the feeling of her body resting on his.

"Thank you Ralphie."

"N-No problem."

"Can we go to class now?"

"Yeah...Let's do that."