There was no doubt in her mind that she was nervous. I mean, she was starting a new school; the ranks and reputations needed to be relearned, maybe pick up some new friends, but the fact that she was the youngest person there scared her; she didn't hold any power anymore. Contrary to that, she was excited to move on to the next big step in her life,
High school.
"Are you ready for high school, Panga?" Melanie asked as she brushed her hair.
"Yeah." Topanga said before she stepped into the bathroom and twirled in her outfit, "Do you think this dress is okay?"
"Yeah, it looks really good. What do you think of my outfit?" Melanie asked as she looked at her black and white, plaid dress with a white T-shirt underneath.
Even though Melanie hated dresses, she was going into high school and making a good first impression is important.
"I think it looks very nice."
"I'm so excited." Melanie smiled and Topanga nodded in agreement.
~8~
"This place is huge!" Melanie gawked as they walked down one of the high school's halls, "Oh, look, there's Cory and Shawn."
"Hi." Topanga greeted as they approached them from behind.
Melanie gave Cory and Shawn a 'really' look as they screamed in fright before turning around.
"Melanie! Topanga!" Cory exclaimed and he and Shawn engulfed them in a hug.
"What's up with you?" Melanie asked as they let go and Cory smiled,
"We just missed you, that's all."
"Cory, you saw me yesterday." Melanie pointed out.
"Well, yesterday was far too long ago." Cory laughed before he pushed Melanie and Topanga in front of him, "Walk in front of us."
Melanie and Topanga walked a few steps before they shared a smirk and turned around.
"What are you staring at?" Topanga asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Uh, nothing." Shawn stammered, "New blouse?"
"Yeah, I got it over the summer." Topanga responded and Shawn looked over at Melanie.
"I like your dress," Shawn complimented and he suddenly felt his hands start to sweat. Frowning, he quickly wiped his hands on his pants before quickly looking up to make sure Melanie didn't see; which she didn't.
"Thanks." Melanie swished the dress around, "I bought it with Topanga over the summer."
"Summer was very good to you." Shawn nodded and Melanie and Topanga gave him a 'really' look.
"Yeah, well, at least what we grew is real." Topanga stated and she reached forward, pulling Shawn's sideburns off.
"Ouch!"
"Hey, Mel, your hair is down." Cory noted and Melanie beamed,
"Yeah, I decided to try something new."
"You don't have a brillo head." Cory proclaimed.
"Yeah," Shawn agreed as he looked in awe at her waist-length, straight, light brown hair, "And your hair is really long."
"I haven't cut it since first-grade." Melanie explained with a shrug.
The bell suddenly rang and a rush of students started to crowd the hallway.
"That's homeroom." Topanga stated as they moved over to the center of the hallway, "I checked the list, we're all together. Room one twenty-eight. We have Mr. Turner."
"Turner… Turner…" Cory muttered as he flipped through his notepad, "He's not on here. What if he was so bad, Eric didn't want to tell me anything? What if he was just like Feeny, only Feenier?"
"Teachers- the one thing here I'm not afraid of. I haven't met one yet that I couldn't take down." Shawn remarked and Melanie rolled her eyes.
"Hey!" Melanie heard someone call and they all turned around to see a young man with a leather jacket and a mullet walk down the steps.
"Hey." They responded as watched him walk over to the phone booth.
"That's Harley. I know it. That's Harley Keiner." Cory stared, wide-eyed.
"That guy's gotta be thirty-years-old." Shawn pointed out.
"He's a lifer." Cory explained, "I think I made a very good first impression."
Melanie watched as Cory raced over to 'Harley' and tilted her head in confusion. The man seemed too old to be Harley, and if he was Harley, why would he speak to them? Harley had a reputation of beating kids up, not talking to them.
"Excuse me, excuse me. Sir? My name's Cory Matthews and I want to be your friend." Cory introduced.
"Cool." 'Harley' said.
"Yeah. I'll hold your coat for you, I'll stand in lunch line for you, I'll even do detention for you." Cory listed as he followed 'Harley'.
"Yeah, nice offer. Why don't you just do the homework?" 'Harley' asked as he looked over at Cory's friends and Melanie gave an awkward wave.
"I'm not sure you want me doing your homework." Cory smiled.
"I want all my students doing the homework," 'Harley' stated as he took off his glasses.
"You're so mean they gave you students?" Cory questioned and his mouth dropped.
"They give all teachers students." 'Harley' pointed out, "I'm Jonathan Turner. You can call me Mr."
Melanie stood in shock as she watched Mr. Turner turn and walk into the classroom across from them.
"You're late." Mr. Turner smiled as the bell rang and Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Melanie quickly walked into the classroom one-by-one.
~8~
Melanie sat in her new classroom, smiling happily. Their seating wasn't much different than last year; Topanga in the front, Shawn sat in the back, Cory in between Shawn and Topanga, and Melanie next to Shawn. Another huge plus, was that Mr. Turner seemed like a really cool, laid-back teacher. Maybe high school isn't going to be so hard, Melanie though as she watched Mr. Turner sit on his desk and place his feet on the desk in front of him.
"Ok," He began, "I'm here for homeroom, I'm here for English, and I'm here anytime you just want to talk."
"Cool." Cory smiled and Mr. Turner looked at him,
"Did I say you could talk?"
"I thought so." Cory said and Mr. Turner walked up to him.
"You trouble, Matthews? You the guy who's gonna bring down the new teacher?"
"No, sir, that would be Shawn. But Melanie tries her best to keep him in line." Cory froze and Melanie slapped her forehead, "I-I mean that-"
"No, Matthews. Good man, good man." Mr. Turner reassured before he walked away, "Shawn, wait, don't tell me. Now, if Shawn is real trouble, Shawn is gonna try to avoid making eye contact." Mr. Turner smiled as he looked Shawn, who was looking in Melanie's direction, "Hi, Shawn."
"How ya doing?" Shawn asked as he faced Mr. Turner and Mr. Turner sat on the kid's desk next to him.
"I'm good. So, Shawn, buddy, you know anything about The Odyssey?" Mr. Turner asked and Shawn nodded,
"Yes, I do."
"Yeah, besides that it's a book."
"No, I don't."
"Ok," Mr. Turner got up and walked to the front of the room, "Who knows what 'odyssey' means?"
Topanga raised her hand and Mr. Turner leaned close to her.
"What's your name?" He whispered.
"Topanga."
"Topanga." He announced.
"It means a difficult journey." Topanga answered and Mr. Turner nodded,
"Yes, it does. An epic journey about a guy who is trying to get home alive. In fantasy worlds, with characters who have their ancient notions about loyalty and heroism."
"Yeah, who wants to read that?" Cory laughed.
"Yeah, apparently you do." Mr. Turner said as he walked up to Cory, "What is that, X-Men?"
"No, it's-"
"What, you think I don't know X-Men when I see." Mr. Turner interrupted and he looked down at the magazine, "It's a great issue, wasn't it?"
"You read X-Men?" Cory asked, excited.
"Do I read X-Men?" Mr. Turner scoffed as he flipped through the magazine, "Fantasy worlds, epic heroism. Yeah, I read X-Men. In fact, let's all read X-Men. Your assignment is to read The Odyssey and this issue of X-Men."
"Finally!" Cory cheered, "A cool teacher."
"My friend, Mr. Matthews, will lead the discussion on the similarities and the differences." Mr. Turner nodded and Cory leaned back to Shawn,
"Feeny with an earring."
~8~
"Shawn, Mel, he's onto us." Cory stated as they walked out of Mr. Turner's room, "He singled us out on the first day."
"No, Cory." Melanie shook her head, "He singled you out."
"And you singled me out." Shawn stated.
"Sorry," Cory apologized before he opened his schedule, "So, where's the next stop on this misery bus?"
"Uh, Earth Science. Let's go." Shawn directed as he turned to leave.
"Wait, I don't have Earth Science. I've got History." Cory frowned and Melanie looked down at her schedule,
"I don't have Earth Science or History."
"You mean-" Shawn paled.
"We're gonna be separated?" Melanie pouted and Cory's eyes widened.
The bell rang and soon a flood of students entered the halls, pushing Melanie, Shawn, and Cory apart.
"No! Cory!" Melanie exclaimed as she got pushed away.
"No! Shawn!" Cory struggled to reunite the three of them.
"No! Mel!" Shawn called as he tried to reach for her.
~8~
Melanie stood behind Cory and Shawn as they kicked open the cafeteria doors.
"Well, you got off to a rocky start, but at least you made it to lunch." Shawn pointed out and Cory frowned,
"Yep, my last meal."
"Chicken." Shawn nodded as they walked over to an open table, "How appropriate."
"You know, I wish it'd been macaroni and cheese." Cory admitted, "Because when Harley punches me and I puke on him, it makes a bigger mess."
"What a great idea." Melanie said as she sat down, "But an even better idea is to ask your brother for help."
"I can't. I signed a contract." Cory sighed.
Melanie, Cory, and Shawn quickly got up. Melanie made her way over to Eric with Shawn, and smiled politely at the girls he was sitting with.
"Hello." She greeted with a smile. "I was wondering if I could speak with Eric."
"What are you doing?" Eric hissed before smiling at the girls.
"It's about your brother." Melanie whispered.
"It's school hours. I have no brother."
"Eric, who's this?" One of the girls asked as she referred to Shawn.
"Oh, Shawn—not that I know him or anything." Eric quickly covered.
"Too bad." The girl purred and Shawn laughed slightly, blushing
"Yeah, and at three, you'll really have no brother." Shawn whispered before he smiled at the girls.
Melanie waited until Eric got up before she walked back to her seat. Taking a bit of her macaroni, she looked up and saw that Eric was discreetly talking to Cory by the water fountain.
"All right!" Some yelled as they busted into the cafeteria causing Melanie and Shawn to jump, "Who took the last piece of chicken?! I am going to kill the guy who took the last piece of chicken!"
"Is that Harley?" Melanie whispered to Shawn as they looked at him in fear.
"Yeah."
"Cory's dead."
~8~
Melanie raced down the steps to Cory while Shawn jumped over the rail.
"We got here as quick as we could." Melanie promised as she shifted her bag onto her shoulder.
"Yeah," Shawn agreed, "Listen, we just want you to know that whatever happens, we're right here with you."
"Thank, guys," Cory nodded, "But I'm pretty sure this is something I gotta face alone."
"I mean, if that's what you want, Cory." Melanie frowned, "It just didn't feel right leaving you here."
"Yeah," Shawn nodded, "We couldn't leave you here to die alone."
"There you are, Shawn." A pretty blonde girl said as she rounded the corner and Shawn swooned,
"Now it feels right."
Melanie felt her heart drop but she quickly shook her head, Cory was the one who was about to die. He was the one who needed her attention, not Shawn.
"Well, it's five after three," Cory sighed, "Maybe he's not gonna show."
"And maybe I'm just trying to be casually late," Melanie looked to see Harley standing in the entrance way of the boys bathroom, "Mr. Anal-compulsive."
"Look, don't toy with me." Cory threatened as he walked over to Harley, "I was looking forward to high school. I had a plan. I gave you a chance to change your whole future and not be a guy who beats up on kids who are smaller than you, for the rest of your life."
"You're giving me a chance?" Harley scoffed and Cory nodded.
"Yeah."
"Well, here I stand at the crossroads of my life." Harley claimed, dramatically, "Yet, I am what I am, and I must kill you."
Melanie didn't know what to do.
She couldn't go help fight him off with Cory because she would be crushed.
Her standing height right now was 5'0.
"All right," She whispered to herself before she turned and raced down the hall.
"Mr. Turner! Mr. Turner!" Melanie cried as she pushed the back door open and saw him standing by a motorcycle, "Mr. Turner!"
Melanie beamed when she saw him turn around.
"Mr. Turner, my friend needs help." She explained as she walked over to him.
"Oh, who are you?" Mr. Turner asked.
"I'm Melanie Strong. I'm in your homeroom."
"Yeah, I know you. You're friends with Matthews and Hunter. The one who supposedly keeps Hunter under control." Mr. Turner noted as he remembered her face from earlier today.
"I am, but soon it's just going to be Hunter." Melanie bounced on her feet, filled with adrenaline.
"What?"
Melanie sighed and quickly explained, "Cory is going to get beat up by Harley Keiner and… he's just too young to die. He can't leave me alone with Shawn!"
"Okay, kid. Where are they right now?"
"Follow me," Melanie turned around and quickly walked back through the back door. She turned around to make sure that Mr. Turner was following her and once she saw that he was, she picked up her pace.
"There," Melanie whispered as she peered at Cory, Eric, and Harley from behind a locker.
"Awe, how sweet," Harley cooed, "A chance to wipe out the whole Baboon family."
Melanie watched in terror as Harley pushed Eric and Cory and looked at Mr. Turner, who was casually leaning against the edge of the wall.
"It's three o'clock, guys." Mr. Turner called and Harley whipped around, "We gotta hose the place down."
Harley sneered, "Who the heck are you?"
"Oh, I'm your worst nightmare," Mr. Turner responded as he walked up to Harley and Melanie cautiously moved forward, still hiding behind the locker, "I'm a teacher."
"Oh, a teacher. No wonder I don't recognize you." Harley snickered, "What do you teach?"
"English Lit. and kick boxing." Melanie's jaw dropped and Harley straightened up, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Nothing, we were working it out." Harley responded and Mr. Turner walked between him and Cory,
"Actually, it looks like you're about to pound this kid into the ground. See that's a problem for me." Mr. Turner clapped Harley on the back, "Cause if one of my students gets killed the first day-I look bad. People start to talk; I get a reputation, I'm careless with students, you know? So do me a favor, don't kill my student."
"Could I have taken you?" Harley asked once Mr. Turner let him go.
"Nah."
"But I could've taken the kid though."
"Good for you."
Melanie quietly waited for Harley to walk past her before she made her way towards Cory and Eric.
"So, Odysseus, looks like you may get home safely." Mr. Turner said, "You should be grateful that your friend came and got me just and time. She's a quick thinker."
Melanie lightly blushed and Cory smiled, "Thanks, Mr. Turner. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Read the book." Mr. Turner commanded as he turned to leave.
"I lived it." Cory said before he approached Eric, "Hey, Eric, I want to tell you something."
"What do you want to say to me?" Eric asked and he crossed his arms.
"Thanks for being my brother."
"Do I know you?" Eric asked and Cory smiled as he walked past him.
"Shawn, Shawn." Cory whispered as he and Mel walked over to a locker, "The fight's over. Our high school reputations are set."
Mel pulled open the locker door,
"I'm still working on mine," Shawn smiled before he was quickly pulled back in by the blonde girl.
Melanie quickly closed the door and looked at Cory who just laughed,
"Big lockers in high school."
YAY! Season two is here and they're high school! There will be many exciting things coming up!
Shawn's a ladies man and Melanie's not going to take that well.
Melanie's going to popular with boys and Shawn's not gonna take that well.
It's gonna cause some good-old-fashion friction and jealousy.
Thank you for reviewing and don't be afraid to review or PM me.
See you soon,
Ana