This chapter takes place after The Stick of Truth: The Great Journey and before The Stick of Truth: The Rising Sun. Enjoy.

Mr. Mackey generally considered himself a patient man. Surely, like most humans, he had his ups and downs, but for the most part, he managed to remain levelheaded throughout his years in being the school counselor at South Park Elementary. Over time, however, he noticed a culture change. The children were becoming less sweet and more adult-like, and in turn, the adults were becoming the exact opposite. As a school counselor, Mr. Mackey was obligated to guide the other children, but over time, he realized that the children were becoming more stubborn and thinking better about themselves, and over time, he realized he began losing touch.

There were a couple of options he had on his mind, but ultimately, the result of the decision he made befell onto two certain girls from the fourth grade. He felt it was more productive that whenever drama happened between students, there would be other children their age to help resolve it. He figured that the fourth graders would be much more knowledgeable and open. Of course, the two certain fourth graders Mr. Mackey himself selected were based on who he believed were the most consistently empathetic of the bunch.

That was the exact reason Heidi Turner and Nichole Daniels were currently being briefed on the objective inside Mackey's office. "...so yeah, the goal here is for you two to help resolve issues between the fourth graders at school. I figured you both were the kindest of them all. Any questions from either of you?"

Heidi shook her head. "No. Not at all."

Nichole beamed at Mr. Mackey. "I'm really excited to see it through." She looked over at Heidi and closed her fists. "This might be our chance to actually help the others at school."

Heidi smiled back as she glanced out the window towards her right, as she was closest to it. "Yeah. Maybe things can improve after all."

Mr. Mackey clapped his hands once. "Excellent. Well, you two will have the Student Conference Room 1A, and I believe the first two clients for you are already waiting in there."

Heidi and Nichole both smiled with delight. The two girls were so certain that they could finally make a positive change at school after all.

Bebe and Kathy both found themselves sitting at the same side of the table directly opposing Heidi and Nichole. Heidi and Nichole glanced at each other nervously; both of them expected to deal with random fourth graders who were lower on the social popularity scale, not with two other girls who were obviously closer to them. Having to act as mediators to their social circle was certainly something they were not asking for, but they could not let Mr. Mackey down. Swallowing their own fears, the two "counselors" exhaled before looking back at their clients.

"Well..." Heidi wavered her hands a little. "...now that we're here, uh...who would like to start?"

Bebe's and Kathy's right hands both shot up immediately. Nichole glanced between the two, then at Heidi, then back at the clients. "Right...um, well, it's quite obvious that you two have been in conflict for a little bit, you know, since we played the Stick of Truth...you know, with all the alien invasion and Terrorblade stuff, which is kind of a while, so Bebe, why don't you start?" Both girls put their hands down.

"Look, Kathy's not a bad person, but she's getting pretty annoying nowadays." Kathy grumbled as she listened to Bebe's words, though she expected this as Bebe wasn't one for subtlety. "Don't think I don't catch you listening in with my talks with Wendy."

"Well, it's quite hard to not listen when you keep whining to Wendy how you're not being respected, or you feel as if you deserve every gift there is!" Of course, Bebe raised her left eyebrow at Kathy, completely confused by her insult.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Before Kathy could reply, Bebe shook her head and continue. "You know what, I'll just lay it on you straight: stop fucking butting in to everything where you shouldn't be, because I know your true motive." Kathy stared at Bebe angrily as she continued to recite her thoughts. "You just want to climb the popularity ladder, that's why you're always trying to butt in and always stirring up a chat and talk about random-ass bullshit, such as the one time you were talking about frogs for no reason at all. Because you don't know how to be yourself. You're so fake."

"Oh, like you're one to talk, greedy-ass bitch!" Kathy folded her arms. "You think I'm not gonna remember that time you were going after Clyde's father's shoe store with that stupid list you made? Or how about-"

"Oh stop it!" Bebe yelled. "You're so fake you think that kissing our asses, figuratively mind you, instead of reading more fantasy books will make us like you more!"

"Funny, coming from the one who does the same, but instead you try to get easy cash whenever possible!" Kathy scoffed as she unfolded her arms. "I liked that book about earthworms by the way. It was an exhilarating read." And with that, Bebe just glared daggers at Kathy.

Heidi and Nichole glanced back and forth between the other girls for several moments. It was rather clear that this conflict hasn't started just yesterday at all. Thus, when they finally eyed each other, they could only find one solution between the two of them. "Well, this certainly has been a thing for some time."

Nichole nodded at Heidi before turning to the other two girls. "If I may ask...how long has this persisted?"

"I..." Kathy paused as she rubbed her chin. "I'm not actually too sure, honestly. I don't know, I lost track."

"So did I, to be fair." Bebe glanced to Kathy, then back to the other two girls. "But that doesn't matter!" She pointed at Kathy again with her left hand. "I don't know why you keep hanging out with us at lunch when all you ever do is constantly want to chat about pointless shit, like it's so goddamn annoying!"

"Probably better than you leading the other girls down some retarded rabbit hole again, like that - like that gender war we did!" Kathy shot back.

Bebe gasped in astonishment. "Bitch, you joined in the gender war with the rest of us! You and Nichole!" Bebe then glared at Nichole. "Speaking of which, I don't even know why you of all people are trying to play counselor to us when you fucked up as well! And you..." She then pointed with her left hand at Heidi. "I don't even want to get started with you and Cartman!"

Heidi remained silent. She rubbed her left elbow with her right hand as she heard Bebe's words. It felt like a bullet piercing her heart. She clicked her teeth a little as she did her best to fight back tears. Her time with Cartman was one she didn't want to remember, and for good reason. Nichole took a side glance to Heidi and noticed her odd behavior before glancing back to the other two. "Come on, we all make mistakes-"

But Kathy interrupted immediately. "Nice going, ya dumbass." Heidi's behavior didn't escape Kathy's notice either.

Bebe immediately stuck up her right middle finger at Kathy as she stood up from her chair. "Fuck you, I'll see you in class." Without paying anyone else any mind, she walked out of the room.

"Ugh, you are so goddamn irritating!" Kathy yelled back as Bebe left. She shook her head before glancing at the other two girls. Heidi was now sobbing as Nichole was patting her back. Aw shit. Knowing that she too messed up, she had no choice but to run as well. "You won't be seeing me around," was the last thing she muttered before walking out of the room as well.

"W-w-why can't we j-just get along?" Heidi sobbed.

Kyle and Chris both sat across from Heidi and Nichole. Heidi was currently blowing her nose in another tissue, the garbage can next to her feet already halfway filled with used tissues. Nichole glanced at Heidi in sorrow, praying that the two boys that were with them today weren't going to bring up Cartman again. As Heidi tossed away the tissue and took deep breaths to calm down, Nichole turned her attention to the two boys. "Alright, who wants to go first?" Her eyes shifted over to Chris.

Chris folded his arms. "Let the bitch go first," he growled.

"Woah, okay, let's calm down with the hostilities." Nichole held out her palms and lowered, raised, and lowered them several times.

Kyle took a deep breath before staring deep at Chris. "Everything you ever do here...everything you ever do to me. Yeah, you're not Cartman...but you're still a dick anyways!"

Chris kept his arms folded. He made a simple grunt, but still, he refused to speak. Nichole simply raised her eyebrows at Chris before sighing and gesturing with her right hand for Kyle to continue.

Of course, Kyle wasn't going to let this go. "And you call me the bitch. But you don't care! Not especially how I felt! It's like no matter how hard I try...I tried making things right for us, for school! I tried to stop the hostilities, and all the abuse too! But-"

"This is about Heidi and Cartman, isn't it?" Chris growled again while Heidi gasped lightly.

"W-what? N-no!" Kyle grunted as he shook his head furiously. "It is about the toxic environment at this school! All the bullying! All the hurt! And you think you don't contribute at all to it?" Kyle exhaled harshly before lowering his voice. "I see the shit you say to your little brother. You are such a bad influence on him. You're the reason there's so much animosity between him and the other students."

"Oh boy..." Chris was getting sick of Kyle's soapbox. "Whatever you say, Sheila Broflovski."

Predictably, this ignited Kyle immediately. "I AM NOT MY MOM!" Chris jumped ever so slightly as he finally eyed Kyle directly for the first time now. "I am so goddamn sick of you assholes constantly talking shit about my mom and comparing me to her, as if I don't know exactly what you're trying to say! Well guess what?! I hate to break it to you all, but only someone with true emotional intelligence - not any of you - can truly see the damage at this school! You can play counselor all you want, but until then, it won't happen!"

Chris turned away again. "...someone like yourself?"

Kyle nodded. "After all the bullshit I've seen out of you - all of you, who else can I trust to help me fix anything at this school?!"

Those words hit Chris in the heart. He closed his eyes as his face softened immensely. "I never said you should," he spoke softly in a near whisper as he placed his hands over his heart. "I know how you feel-"

"Don't pretend you understand!" Kyle interrupted.

"Hey, wait," Nichole butted in. "Maybe Chris has a point. Just try to step back and see-"

"You really think that heartless thug has any good point?! The very kid who steals shit and whatnot?!" Kyle scoffed several times before nearly bursting into laughter. He coughed a few times furiously to maintain composure. "Ahem...maybe you don't know Chris that well - you're new here, and that's alright Nichole, but most people know him as a fucking rat! He's only doing this because he's so damn bitter about the fact his parents..." But Kyle could not complete his sentence. It was at that moment he realized he was going a bit too far.

But it was too late for Kyle anyways as Chris immediately realized what Kyle was going to say. It was his turn to glare daggers at Kyle. "Y-you're t-treading on some m-mighty thin ice."

"Maybe we should all take a step back and chill..." Nichole started.

Kyle huffed. He was contemplating on his next move. On one hand, he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to escalate things any further. On the other hand, in his mind, this boy had very flimsy morals. Sure, he was nowhere near as bad as Cartman (nor anyone else at school, really), but he knew in his thought process that a thug like Chris surely deserves every verbal beating he deserved, right? He has to pay somehow, right?

"Yeah. You're right. I did it all for Heidi! I cared about her then - I don't know if I like her now, really, but that doesn't matter anymore!" Heidi sat up as she heard Kyle call her name. "But you - yeah, your parents were drunk at a party when they were like twenty, and we all know they considered aborting you, and you're still so goddamn bitter that they teased you, and whatever the fuck happens at your home - I don't know!" As incoherent as Kyle may be to the girls, Chris felt her face drop and his eyes widen. "At least I try to make things right! You're just a bitter asshole just because of your parents' fuckups-"

"You jackass!" Chris curled his fists, wanting to go at Kyle. But remembering where exactly he was, he couldn't exactly do this. "Fuck you, Kyle!" He then pointed at Heidi and Nichole. "And fuck you two as well!" Chris stomped out of the room.

Kyle exhaled heavily. He glanced at Heidi and Nichole before muttering, "Sorry," then leaving the room.

Heidi and Nichole both looked at each other and sighed in unison. They were zero for two in terms of a successful counseling at this point in time.

Needless to say, Heidi and Nichole were completely flabbergasted at the certain pair of girls that showed up and sat down in front of them - and this was not a good surprise either. The first girl was Wendy, who in their mind was the perfect girl, leader, and speaker of all, so the fact that she was in any need of their services was astonishing enough. The second girl was Ellen, one of the more peaceful girls, and in their mind they saw her as one of the least likely students to pick a fight. So the fact those two were here did not bode well.

"Well, this is rather...surprising." Heidi glanced between Wendy and Ellen. "So who would like to start?"

"I will." Wendy's right hand shot up immediately without paying Ellen any mind. Nichole nodded, and Wendy lowered her right hand. "Honestly, like, I don't even know why we keep Ellen around. She doesn't even do anything for us - can't you two agree as well?"

"Okay, wait a minute..." Nichole held out her palms. "We have to stay neutral. We're kinda obligated to do so."

Wendy briefly scratched her left shoulder in embarrassment. "Right...er, anyways, she's always a goddamn coward! She only cares about herself! I even have proof, like yesterday, she didn't even do anything when Lola was told to kill herself by that other girl, remember?!"

"And that conflict started because of you," Ellen replied. "You and her were busy calling her a slut because she was editing the filters of her photo for...God-knows-what reason, I don't really know, nor do I care."

"My point is that you just leech off our social status for your own benefit!" Wendy shot back. "You have never given two shits about any of us! I'm constantly busting my ass covering for us!" She immediately looked towards Heidi and Nichole once more. "You two: name a single time Ellen ever came out to defend either of you when one of you got in trouble!"

Heidi gulped and glanced nervously at Nichole before staring back over at Wendy. "Maybe it's best we don't..." But Heidi lost her wording.

Ellen folded her arms. "You're doing that fucking thing again, Wendy."

Wendy tilted her head slightly to the right as she looked over at Ellen once more. "What 'fucking thing'?"

Ellen wavered her hands several times. "You know...acting like you're Wendy Testaburger...the perfect girl who can do no wrong...the prettiest princess adored by all the boys in school or some shit."

"Yeah, well let's face it: I am more of those than you are so don't be jel," Wendy seethed.

"See, this is exactly what I mean!" Ellen turned to Heidi and Nichole. "You two seriously can't be condoning this."

Heidi and Nichole scrunched their faces as they stared at each other. Both of them knew how the other felt: they were rather disgusted that both Wendy and Ellen were trying to weaponize the two child counselors to pit them against their opposing client. "I fucking hate this," Nichole muttered.

"Well, really, it's like...take off all that armor, you always act like the perfect flowery girl! A diva! You don't even act like you're ten years old," Ellen replied to Wendy.

Wendy raised her right eyebrow before shaking her head. "I have no armor, and we are ten years old!"

"I...I..." Ellen scoffed and shook her head again. "Fuck this, nevermind. My point is: you still always act like you're so fucking perfect, because those two-" Ellen pointed at Heidi amd Nichole while still glaring at Wendy "-never stand up to you."

Wendy almost laughed. "You are such a goddamn hypocrite, you know that? You call those two out for not standing up to me - as if I'm the bad guy here - while you literally had friends abandon you because you don't stand up to bullies?"

Ellen couldn't believe what she heard. Normally docile, she wasn't going to lose this time. "Real clever, coming from the one who kissed Cartman, cheats on Stan multiple times, then trashtalked Heidi for dating Cartman."

"You trashtalked Heidi too!" Wendy shot back. "'Chubby bunny' is what you said about her, right?! You're also part of the problem!"

Heidi gasped lightly. She couldn't believe her mistake was brought up again, and this time used as a weapon for the clients against each other. Nichole groaned in disgust as she lightly patted Heidi's back. As Heidi sobbed softly, Nichole growled at how neither of the other girls took notice of Heidi's feelings.

"You don't deserve any friends, after how you used us!" Wendy shouted.

"Funny, considering how you're always ready to leave Stan when you think you can chase someone else who gives you more attention!" Ellen reeled back then shouted. "I HOPE STAN BREAKS UP WITH YOU AND LEAVES YOU! YOU DON'T DESERVE HIM!" Ellen huffed and puffed before looking at Wendy. Wendy's eyes widened as her mouth contorted. Ellen at that moment knew she had gone too far. "Wendy...I didn't mean-"

"Fine! You're right!" Wendy huffed and puffed as well. "I love having all the attention! But can't you see I just want us to get along well?! To have all of us be loved, as we all deserve?!"

"Wendy, you can't just beg and demand love from others," Nichole tried. "You have to give as well as take, not just take for yourself."

"Y-you wouldn't understand..." Wendy stood up. As she began to sniffle, she left the room.

"Wendy!" But Wendy did not respond to Ellen's call. The blond girl glanced back at Heidi, who had stopped crying herself, and Nichole. They both just stared at Ellen. Ellen grunted. "I...it's probably best I don't show up to the Pleases and Sparkles meeting later today." Without another word, Ellen slowly made her way to the door.

Stan and Tyler both scowled deeply at Heidi and Nichole as they took their seats across from them. Heidi had just finished wiping her eyes dry of tears with tissues for the second time this past hour. Nichole rapidly turned her head back and forth between the two boys. The most popular boy versus the bad boy; in Nichole's mind, this could be the verbal battle she wasn't looking for. And if the last three meetings were of anything to go by, both her and Heidi were almost certain that this could be an ill omen. Nevertheless, they gulped deeply.

"Seriously, why the fuck am I here again?" Tyler folded his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Because you and Stan have been in conflict," Nichole grunted. "So can you please take this seriously?"

Stan choked out a bit of a laugh. "That's a bit tall of an order for you, Nichole. You should know Tyler by now: he doesn't give a shit about anyone."

"That's what you think!" Tyler shot back. "But I don't need to explain myself to anyone, especially not a stupid little pushover like yourself!"

"What the fuck are you on about?!" Stan couldn't believe what he was hearing, and so he shook his head quickly. "Have you seen the shit I've done?! I helped stop a veal company! I stood up to Tom Cruise! What the fuck have you done?!"

Tyler grinned devilishly. "Yeah, I'm not blind, and you know what they all have in common?" He waited for Stan to answer, but Stan didn't. "They aren't even our peers. They're just random asshole adults, anyone can stand up and be a hero against some random dipshits. But every time I see you with our own...especially Kyle, Wendy, and Cartman..."

"Because I care about them, unlike you!" Stan yelled. "You're so afraid of being 'controlled' you kick them away!"

"Do you really care? I think the way you betrayed them before begs to differ. You just let them alone because you're afraid they turn on you." Tyler chuckled. "It's actually a perfect plan, I will give you credit too."

"Don't pretend you'd be any better!" Stan shouted back. "If you were in my shoes, you'd push them down, or push them away! The same way you treated those kids that you used to bully!" Stan's voice then lowered immensely. "But I know why you act this way. It's your way of coping with your siblings who hurt you."

Tyler clenched his fists and scowled. "You should check the mirror first before you criticize anyone about coping with evil siblings. You can brag all day about how you stood up to those asshole celebrities like Mel Gibson, but really, they're just low-hanging fruit."

"That's funny, because it's usually me or Kyle who does something about them!" Stan screeched. "If they're so easy to handle as you claim they are, why don't you do anything about them instead of just complaining about them destroying our town, huh?!"

"You want me to do all the work?" Tyler grinned. "I thought you were supposed to - you are the popular guy at school, who can get any follower, right?"

"You little snark-ass," Stan muttered. "I'd like to trade places with you for one day if I could. I bet you couldn't even handle half the things I've seen. Not even handle Kyle or Wendy."

"Believe me, I wouldn't envy your life one bit, but you're really stupid as fuck if you think mine is any more glamourous." Tyler chuckled a little. He shook his head before letting out a sigh. "I wouldn't exactly expect a remnant of a pleaser who spends all his time kissing up to a self-righteous best friend and a psychotic girlfriend to understand."

Stan closed his fists this time. Entire body shaking in uncontrollable rage, he prepared to let it loose. "You...Tyler...you are one of the biggest jerks I've ever met! If it weren't for Cartman, I'd easily hand you the number one spot!"

"Don't you dare compare me to that fatass!" Tyler shot back. The two boys were practically in each other's faces now. "He's partly like this because you allow him and don't shoot him down either!"

"Don't act like I'm the only one at fault here!" Stan deflected. "You pushed him around and bullied him too! You even kicked his ass recently over a game of football! You're as much to blame for all the in-fighting with our friends as the rest of us!"

Nichole sat glumly and silently. But Heidi too was beginning to shake with rage. Watching two more clients constantly fight was wearing her down quickly. And so it began. "Fuck this...FUCK!" At that moment, Stan and Tyler seperated and silenced themselves as they both stared at Heidi now. "I HAD IT WITH YOU TWO, AND I HAD IT WITH THE OTHERS BEFORE YOU! YOU'RE ALL TERRIBLE! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!"

"Jesus, calm down," Tyler muttered.

"Enough is enough." Nichole gently patted Heidi's back. "I think it's about time you both take your leave."

"Fine," both boys said in unison. One-by-one, they stood up to take their leave, Stan leaving the room first, then Tyler, without another word. Both girls afterwards sighed in relief.

However, after they left, they were still going at each other from beyond the doorway. "Good job making her cry, Tyler!"

"Pat yourself on the back too, asshole!" Tyler screamed.

"Some nice guy you are...I hope you get shot!" Stan yelled.

"And I hope you die in a fire!" Tyler shot back.

Afterwards, there were a few footsteps heard from beyond the door, then dead silent. Both girls leaned back on their chairs. Was this how everyone truly was? Was there no possible way to attempt to fix anything at school? And if the four groups were of any indication, the two girls were unsure how further they wanted to continue on this crusade.

About twenty minutes have elapsed, and no one else had shown up for the day. Though at this point in time, Heidi and Nichole were both glad and thankful that no one had come to them. They were uncertain if they could handle any more drama, especially from any more fourth graders.

"I don't think we did a good job as peer advocates," Nichole replied. "Our job was to help mediate things, or at least calm things down...but we let the conflict walk all over us." She turned to Heidi. "What do you think?"

At this point, Heidi was finally calm, much past the point of crying anymore. "Well, if there's anything we've learned, it's that the conflicts we've seen...the people have more in common than I think they realize."

"What?" Nichole narrowed her eyes at Heidi. "Explain."

"Well, Bebe and Kathy both are playing fake to kiss up to the rest of us, but I can understand everything on why." Heidi looked down at the table and placed her right hand on it. "Our social environment is scary. They're probably worried that they aren't doing enough for us. Kyle and Chris probably distrust the rest of our peers at this point, and for good reason. No matter how hard anyone can try, we just end up hurting others at the end. Wendy and Ellen just both want to be loved and appreciated. I can only guess how lonely they might be at home, but it's all just theories. And Stan and Tyler are both probably sick of being pushed around by their peers. Though it's understandable why they wouldn't see eye to eye."

Nichole gasped. She placed her right hand over her heart. "Wow, I...I never looked at it that way. Maybe there is hope. Maybe we can fix it."

But Heidi let her right hand fall off the table as she shook her head. "No. It's not worth it. I thought I could do that with Cartman...look how he turned out. Look how I turned out. We can only offer advice, but they have to be the ones who fix their own shit." She stood up from her chair. "I don't think I'd want to do this anymore."

Nichole paused for a moment. But then she nodded. "I understand. And I'm with you."

The two girls left the room and went back into Mr. Mackey's office. Mr. Mackey was slightly grinning, hoping for a good answer from the two girls. "So how'd it go?"

Heidi sighed deeply. "Nichole and I decided...this isn't for us."

Mr. Mackey frowned. "Wait, that's it?"

"We can't fix them, nor anyone else," Nichole confessed. "We realize now the fourth graders at this school are just too overwhelming for us. It's not you, it's...us. Sorry."

Mr. Mackey sighed in defeat. As she watched the two girls leave the office, he slapped away the papers on his desk. It seemed as if no matter how hard he tried, no matter how far he went, there was no fixing the attitudes of the children at school.

For my two reviews, I do appreciate them both. I will say that Wendy's section in the first chapter did feel akin to the old OC stories, where the OC is a perfect good girl while Wendy ends up being a jealous bitch. I tried there, as well as this chapter, to delve a bit more. I wish Wendy's family was a little more developed, so it's just a bit of my headcanon where Wendy is an only child without any pets.

Kyle's section in this chapter did feel a bit reminiscent to My Super Best Friend, which is admittingly one of my favorite fanfics. Not sure when I'll update again, but thanks for reading.