There you go. Otto is, once again, angry. I know, a bit convoluted and lame to have him get upset again in such a way, but for the scenario to work, one of the sides have to remain upset and with Otto, it's easier to do so. Also, not sure if you noticed this or not for the actual chapter with the fight...Otto was forcing himself to get angry enough to fight Twister. I also was trying to imply and convey that pretty much all Otto said was just to rile Twist up...in other words, for that part of the story, he didn't fully mean what he said. Now for last chapter...yeah, he's genuinely mad.

Anyway, for this chapter, Roderick has finally come up with a plan of how to get the gang back together, thanks to hanging with Mackenzie and her showing him the not so secret, Secret Spot. I only call it that because of the Spot Remover episode, where they went there and they acted like total shoobies, and when they realized it, they cleaned up the beach and waited their turn in the surfing line up. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The ideas of Roderick's plans won't be fully ironed out until he actually gets it put into motion, though. He's still in the planning stages of it.

Now, as always, I do not own anything dealing with the Rocket Power series or franchise. Klasky-Csupo has (had?) that honor, and as a reminder, here are the ages of the characters once again:

Oswald "Otto" Rocket: 16
Regina "Reggie" Rocket: 17
Maurice "Twister" Rodriguez: 16
Sammy "Stonewall" Dullard: 16
Lars "Whompinator" Rodriguez: 19
Roderick "Rod" Vandenack: 13
Mackenzie "Mac" Duncan: 12

Chapter 21: "I think I've got it! Thanks Mac!" Roderick's Plan!

Since it had grown a bit later, Roderick and Mackenzie, were back on the bus, heading back to Ocean Shores. The two had spent the entire time just hiking around the area and chatting about pretty much anything. For instance, Roderick learned that the fiery redhead liked building sandcastles, swimming, and occasionally playing computer games. She also didn't mind skateboarding every once in a while, and told him, while cackling, how she'd snaked Otto out of his skateboard once. Roderick couldn't help but be surprised over such a thing, especially after getting most of the story of how the whole thing started just because Otto tricked Twister out of his surf card. 'Ottoman sure has been selfish at times...' the boy had thought. Mackenzie also told him more about the Secret Spot and how the surf there was great. She wasn't much of a surfer herself, but even she admitted it was perfect.

When seeing the Secret Spot, he couldn't help but take in the wondrous serenity. The waves were definitely perfect, the beach was nice and clean…what more could anyone ask for?

"Hey Mac! I have an idea!"

"About what?" the girl asked in a humdrum voice. She'd been staring out of the window.

"About how to get the gang back together!"

"Whomp them?"

"Of course not. How about a trip to the Secret Spot for a late afternoon surf session? We could hang until the evening, have a bonfire, camp out, the works! It'll be totally rad!"

The girl shrugged. "If you say so, but whomping them would be faster."

"Mac," Roderick began slowly, while staring over at the girl, "why do you seem to enjoy conflict?"

"Why do you even care?!" she argued back defensively, but she suddenly felt unusually shy, and muttered almost as an afterthought, "no one ever has before…"

Roderick scratched his nose. "Because I want us to be good…no, great friends!" He gave her a warm, gentle smile. "I want to learn more about you!"

The girl couldn't help but give the boy a look, wondering what was wrong with this kid. She couldn't sense any deceit in his voice, or any deception in his facial expression. He had a look of determination, but his clear, innocent eyes seemed to show concern, interest, and curiosity. She didn't say anything, still trying to decide whether or not to say anything at all, just like the previous day.

The boy faced forward, and averted his attention to the seat in front of him, given the girl's silence. "Earlier, you asked me about my Karate." Remaining silent, he saw her nod from the corner of his eye. "Well, I wasn't completely honest about my reason." He could feel her staring at him curiously.

She remained quiet, still not sure what to make of this current situation, which was pretty much mirroring yesterday and earlier that morning. She'd figured then that the boy had been holding back, given the frank way he'd answered when she'd questioned him about it.

"I guess it's only fair to share a secret about myself, if you're considering it, even though it's not really much of a secret to those who do know me. Besides," he faced her, "I trust you!"

"I-I-I guess so," she stuttered, completely caught off guard. He trusted her? No one had ever said that to her before either, not as genuine and as sincere as he had.

"Well, the reason I take Karate, is because…" He told her pretty much everything, even about how he'd missed an entire year of school because of his illness and how there was the possibility of his suffering a relapse. Throughout the entire depressing story, to Mackenzie, his disposition still remained optimistic and bright. "…and that's the whole story."

She just couldn't understand how he could remain so positive while telling such a sad story. He could possibly die. She still kept silent. To Roderick, it almost seemed like she was trying to find the right words, or either studying him. He was a bit curious as to how she would react. After a few more moments, and a few more trees zooming by the bus window, the girl finally said, "Sounds like it was tough."

"Yeah, it was," he admitted somberly, but that didn't last, as his voice went back to having its optimistic ring, "which is why I always try to live life to the fullest!"

"But…you don't, seem sick…"

Roderick, in a way, was grateful for her reaction to his cancer story. He didn't have to worry about her worrying over him, like the others around him did, which included Twister, Otto, Reggie, and Sam. He could always sense it. Whenever he would mention wanting to do something that required a lot of physical activity, the others' moods would suddenly change. Even though they would wear a look void of worry on their faces, their body language would tell him otherwise.

"You're only as good as you feel, and being around you and other good people make me feel great!" he grinned.

Mackenzie did a double-take and felt her face growing slightly warm. She didn't understand what was wrong with her or why in such a short amount of time, she actually cared what this kid thought of her. She also couldn't understand why her heart was starting to irregularly pound in her chest or why she felt slightly amorous towards him.

"Don't you feel the same whenever around your good friends?"

Partially coming back to reality, she frowned; her blush fading, and her racing heartbeat going back to that of a normal one. "I wouldn't know," she muttered.

"What do you mean?" the boy asked in confusion.

"I said I wouldn't understand all of that friendship mushiness crap," she nearly snapped.

The boy remained unfazed, and gave her a sympathetic frown. "Why?"

She gave off a heavy sigh, as she, once again, returned her attention to the window. After a few moments of silence, that not even Roderick wanted to break, she finally said, in a hushed voice, with a hint of sadness, "Because I've never had any real friends." Without even realizing it, she continued on, her heart letting its guard down and allowing her to spill all of her ill feelings while the older boy listened attentively. "Anyone who's ever been my friend was only my friend because they were scared of me…but it's always been that way." She sighed again before resuming, her look growing more and more sullen. "Ever since I was a kid, I learned that if I made threats or whomped people, that I could get whatever I wanted, especially with my parents. I scream once, they rush and do whatever I tell them to." Her look grew wistful with what she said next. "I wish my parents would act like actual parents sometimes." Her look grew down again. "Anyway, because of all that, I got this tough girl reputation…and it stuck. No one actually likes me…they're all too scared of me to actually say it, though…"

"You're wrong, Mac."

She looked back over at him again. He was wearing that "stupid smile" again. 'What's with him?'

"I like you."

That feeling was back again. Her heart was starting to race, and her face was starting to once again grow warm. Was she getting sick? She tried to speak, but couldn't find her voice. How could anyone like her? How could anyone like or want her as a friend? Even she realized how horrible she was.

"I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with you these past couple of days." He turned his attention from her, and lowered his head slightly. "Too bad I'll be leaving soon…"

To Mackenzie, he genuinely sounded sad. "Um, I….wha….ugh, what was your plan again for getting those lame-os back together?" She couldn't figure out what she was currently feeling. For one, she didn't want the boy to head back home. She didn't want to face that day, and she couldn't bring herself to ask when he was going to leave either. She decided to just go along with his façade. It had to be a façade. Why would anyone actually like her? The concept was much too foreign for her to grasp.

"Oh, yeah, my plan! So here's what I want to do. I have to find a way to get them all together, and I want to do it tomorrow! I haven't fully worked it all out, time wise, but that's the basis of it."

"Interesting plan…still don't see how you're going to get them to go along."

"Well, I could get Sam to help me."

"The Squid?"

"Y-yeah. He could help plan it out. He's good at that type of stuff. Ottoman, Twister, and Reggie aren't mad at me, so I'm sure I can think of something to say to get them all to come. Like maybe agree with each side, to make it seem like I'm upset too!"

'He definitely needs to think that plan through more. It's difficult imagining him upset over anything.'

"I know, I know, you're skeptical, right?"

"How did you know that?"

"I can see it in your eyes," he slightly laughed. "No worries, though. It'll all work out, somehow."

Before the girl could reply, the bus came to a screeching halt. The two got up, along with a few other passengers, and exited the bus. The bus then pulled off, leaving a dark cloud of exhaust behind. It was now late afternoon.

"So, Mac, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"I was going to ask if you could come with me tomorrow to the Secret Spot for our surf/camp out party?"

"Wh-what? Why?"

"Well, because you're my new friend, and it'll be fun!"

This boy was too charming for his own good. "Um, yeah, sure. You could probably use the extra help anyway, right?"

"You know, to be honest, I hadn't even thought about that. I just wanted to gather my friends together."

"Oh, well…just let me know what you decide on."

"Hey, are you hungry?"

"No, I'm fine since we ate earlier."

"Well, okay. I'll see you sometime tomorrow."

She grunted out something that sounded like, "Okay."

"Oh, you know, I could just walk you home. It's the least I can do since you did show me around yesterday and today."

"No one's stoppin' ya," the girl managed to get out. She still couldn't figure out how to react to this strange boy's actions.

"Alright then, let's go!" he cheered.

With that, Roderick, and the apprehensive, yet suddenly shy, temperamental girl headed home…still unsure of what to make of him…