Disclaimer: I do not own Rocket Power.
Chapter 1
At ten years old, Reggie dyed her auburn hair a shade called Ultraviolet. Her younger brother, Otto, had already had his hair styled into dreadlocks, and an older cousin of their mutual friend, Maurice—previously known more commonly as Squid, but now referred to by the nickname Twister—had dyed her own hair purple. Of course, Clio accused Reggie of being a copycat, but it was purely coincidental, that Reggie chose that particular shade of purple, which she argued was totally different than Clio's. She'd spent a lot of time in the hair dye aisle, debating between various shades of various colors, until she finally decided upon Ultraviolet. As she'd predicted, the color suited her pretty well. Trish and Sherry, who were classmates of hers, apparently shared that opinion. The next day, at recess, they raved about how cool it looked. Until then, Reggie had never really talked with Trish or Sherry, but they all found themselves suddenly lost in conversation, as they had many common interests; particularly related to sports.
From that day forward, it's always been the three of them, but, now that they're sixteen, and Trish and Sherry have developed a romantic relationship, Reggie suddenly feels like the third wheel.
Right now, for instance, the lovebirds are entirely focused on each other, as they sunbathe on the beach. They're so lost in their own world, that they don't even notice Reggie is already back in the water, where the guys are splashing around.
"The waves suck, today," Otto says, desperate to surf.
"At least, that makes it easier to swim." Sam—who everyone, except Reggie, now insultingly calls Squid—enjoys a good surf, every now and then, but he isn't the best at it, and honestly prefers to just relax in the water.
"Maybe we should just blade," Twister suggests.
"Yeah, let's go." Otto gestures for everyone to follow his lead, before paddling toward the shore, where they left their rollerblades, helmets, and knee pads.
As they approach, Reggie can see that Trish and Sherry are still in lovey-dovey mode, but she does her best to ignore it, as she ties her swim skirt around her bikini bottom, straps her pads over her knees, and shoves her helmet onto her head of purple hair. Despite her attempts to ignore the couple, however, Reggie fails to tune them out.
"Wanna apply more sunblock to my back?" Trish smirks at Sherry, with naturally half-lidded eyes.
"Only if you do me, after." Trish smirks more deeply at Sherry, and her eyebrow raises so high, it disappears behind her brown bangs. "Oh, my God, I didn't mean it like that." Sherry facepalms; hand covering her suddenly red cheeks.
"Hey, I wouldn't say no, if you had meant it like that." Upon hearing Trish's words, Sherry's blush grows impossibly deeper.
"Calm your hormones, guys," Reggie says, when she sees that the guys are staring wide-eyed at the lesbian couple, and are practically drooling, with their jaws dropped. "Hey, I'm going rollerblading with the guys, I guess," she informs Trish and Sherry, who don't seem the least bit disappointed by the news of her impending departure.
"See ya, Reg," Sherry waves goodbye to Reggie, who feels as though she's being dismissively waved off.
"Have fun!" Trish adds, without even bothering to look up from Sherry's back, which she's busy applying sunblock to.
"Yeah, see ya," Reggie mutters, as she walks away, with her rollerblades in her left hand, and her surfboard tucked under her right arm.
"Man, that was hot!" Twister exclaims, once they're out of earshot.
"Right?!" Otto agrees.
"Imagine if they'd been alone," Squid says, to everyone's surprise. Otto and Twister appear to lose themselves in fantasy, but Reggie is particularly appalled.
"Sammy!" She gasps. "I'd expect that from these two, but not you, dude."
"Hey, I'm a hotblooded male, too," he defensively states, "even if I am the Squid."
Once the quartet reaches the parking lot, everyone removes the socks from their rollerblades, and puts them on, before putting on the rollerblades themselves. They all, now, head toward the skatepark, which is unfortunately packed. "Probably, because the waves suck, today," Otto reasons.
"Let's just head back to the Shore Shack." Squid sighs. "I could go for a burger, anyway."
The burger joint, co-owned by Reggie and Otto's father, Ray Rocket—more commonly known as Raymundo—and his best buddy, Tito Makani, is an open venue, located on the pier, and attached to a surf shop called Rocket Boards, which they also own. Above the shop, happens to be Tito's apartment.
"How was your day?" Raymundo asks, as the quartet take their seats at the counter.
"Lousy." Otto pouts. "There aren't any good waves. Plus, the skatepark was crowded."
"Sorry, guys," Raymundo says. "Maybe some burgers and fries will cheer you all up."
"Don't forget milkshakes!" Twister adds.
"Hey, there, little cuz," Tito greets Reggie, who's remained silent, and appears to be in an even worse mood, than everyone else. "What's on your mind?"
"Nothing," Reggie says, though her voice sounds unconvincing to even herself.
"Now, you know that you can't get anything past me," Tito reminds her. "Spill it, little cuz."
Reggie sighs. "It's just, ever since Trish and Sherry started dating, I've felt kinda..."
"Invisible?" Twister supplies.
"Yeah." Reggie props her elbow up on the counter, and rests her head in the palm of her hand. "They're just so oblivious to everything, but each other."
"That's how it is, when you fall in love," Tito says dreamily. "Try to be happy for your friends. They'll still be here for you, even if they're closer to each other, than they used to be."
"Thanks, Tito." Reggie cracks a genuine smile, for she feels slightly relieved.
"Anytime, little cuz. Now, what flavor shakes do you all want?"