Note: This is like a continuation to season 3. It would be a little more mature than the show since we all grew up since then haha.
I don't own My Life As A Teenage Robot or any of its characters.
The date was Friday, the 5-13-2072
Just a few more weeks till summer. The weather was warmer and nicer. Typical to late spring and accompanied by the relaxed mood felt by Tremorton High students. Classes were getting easier and there weren't many exams left. Seniors were busy hunting for dates for the long-awaited prom night.
To no one's secret, Jenny Wakeman was also excited for the end of the year. She was finally graduating high school soon, an important step of growth towards maturing as an adult. She would then go to college. Never-ending possibilities of new experiences were waiting for here.
The female robot couldn't get any happier. She didn't have to fight any monsters or enemies these past few weeks. Even natural catastrophes seemed to cease from happening and disturbing her quiet and peace of mind. Teachers and students alike were relaxed and the general tension and stress typical to high school had disappeared, leaving Jenny with no problems to deal with in her hands, and no mean popular girls to annoy her often since everyone was busy getting ready for their graduation. Even her mom was giving her a lot more privacy and freedom given that she was well behaved lately, and although they were very few, Jenny's friends were very supportive, loyal, and as dependable as young humans can be. Yes. she couldn't get any happier.
There was one problem still left to deal with. She needed to get a prom date.
Jenny was well aware that she wasn't very popular in her school. But she wasn't at the bottom of the school social ladder either, so she still had a good chance of getting a cute guy to accompany her to the special night. She might even get a little greedy and dream of being the prom queen, beating Britt and Tiff once and for all. But even then, she knew she couldn't get this lucky, knowing from past experiences that every date she gets with someone new was bound to be their last, ruined by some random unbelievable event or sabotaged by a certain jealous friend of hers.
Despite that. It was very nice to have her mind occupied by regular teenage problems, instead of having to worry about how to save the earth from God who knows what. But as usual, Jenny was so determined that nothing was going to ruin her prom night, and that she will be the perfect girl in the long-awaited party along with the perfect date.
The teacher was still lecturing in a monotone voice when the bell rang, unsurprisingly the students were already bolting out of the class without a 2nd thought to the overworked teacher. Everyone in one stream pulled out of their classes, walking toward the lunch hall. Lunch period was always a welcomed break from the school routine day.
Jenny spotted her best friend Brad seated at their usual table waiting for her, she got her can of oil and went to join him, eager to share her plans and thoughts with him, perhaps maybe get a piece of well-needed advice in the matters twirling in her head, even though the guy wasn't really the most skilled advice giver out there.
As the superhero approached her table and took her seat, she noticed that her usually happy and upbeat friend wasn't so happy. The enthusiasm she had earlier disappeared as well as she eyed him carefully with a raised eyebrow, in the hope she could guess what's wrong.
He looked mostly fine. His brightly dyed red hair was spiky and well-styled as usual and he wore his usual outfit comprising a white shirt underneath a black sleeveless sweatshirt. His cheek rested on his palm as he lazily stared into space, his other hand pocking the food in complete disinterest.
-"Hey what's up? You look down." Jenny asked him with a worried look.
-"Oh Hey Jenny," he immediately put on his trademark smile, even she couldn't tell if it was forced or genuine "I was just thinking about some stuff, nothing too serious."
-"Hmm..." she hummed in response, "what kinda' stuff?"
-"The stuff everyone thinking about, betcha' ya' already know what!"
-"What?" a smile crept into the corner of her blue lips.
-"Ah, you know, just trying to decide who is the lucky chick who is gonna be my prom's date. You know, every girl in Tremorton high is dying to be my date." He winked at her playfully before he busted into a hearty laugh, soon joined by her own giggles as well. "AAAH just kidding. We both know am just struggling as hard."
-"Maybe you should get Tammy to go with you, she will add some fun to the party and I am also dying to kick some alien butt" she stretched her upper arms, even though she had no muscles to stretch, " I have had no action in so long, I think I am starting to get a bit rusty."
Ignoring the remainder of the cursed wedding, he chose to only address her later statement. "And that's a bad thing?"
-"Oh not really, I am really happy I finally get live somewhat as normal as everyone else," she shrugged, "get to worry about everyday regular problems instead."
-"got any date yet?"
-"no one asked me yet," she sighed -a gesture she often did even though she didn't breathe- "It seems like all the cute boys are already taken."
Brad stifled a laugh and said, " I am still single."
Jenny challenged in a smug grin, "Wanna see who gets a date first between you and me?"
-"Ah no thanks."
-"The ladies' man is afraid of losing?"
He took some time before replying, seemingly deep in thought before a sigh escaped his lungs, and replied "I know I act like I am some kinda playboy or something but..." Jenny raised her eyebrow as if silently saying 'seriously? no one thinks you are' "-I rarely click with someone... ya' know? Like really connecting to someone on a deep level and feeling comfortable with them. As like if you guys are meant to be? I want someone just like that. Someone I can be happy with and not just some random pretty girl I get to flex her company in something like prom night"
Jenny casually sipped from her can oil. " Almost like if you are not shallow." She replied flatly.
-"Haha, very funny." he rolled his eyes.
-"Look, I already apologized about Melody. but you only dated her for one day. It's not like she is your soulmate or something."
-"who said anything about her?" a frown appeared on his pale face.
Feeling like the conversation is about to get unpleasant. Jenny looked around her in an attempt to change the subject. Her eyes darted around the building before she spotted Sheldon carrying his own tray of food. She silently thanked God as she raised her arm in an attempt to wave at him. Their eyes met and the dark-haired boy's face brightened into a wide smile. But as he started walking in her direction, he appeared to stumble on something. A brief yelp was heard, and he fell face-first into his own tray of food. Everyone in 20 meters radius of the event busted into laughing save for Brad and Jenny. The latter looked in the opposite direction and raised her hand up to hide her face, as if she was embarrassed. An unheard 'ugh' escaped her lips.
-"Poor guy, looks like somebody thought it was funny to trip hi-" his eyes widened in surprise watching the scene the front of him; his normally shy friend, who was now covered in the cafeteria's unedible food, had gotten up with a furious scowl on his face, scooped up some of the food, and throw it right on the face of the much bigger and bulkier guy who had tripped him.
"Huh! now we are even!" although obviously embarrassed, Sheldon was putting on some false bravado. At least he could restore some of his lost dignity. However, all the previous courage was erased from his face upon seeing the murderous glare the other guy had shot him, and he started taking a few steps backward, glancing towards Jenny as he silently pleaded her for rescue, but she wasn't even looking. 'Ouch, that hurts' He briefly thought as he realized she much rather not interfere.
Brad shook his metallic best friend's shoulder and muttered nervously: "Aaah Jenny, I think Sheldon's in trouble."
She was about to say it was none of her business, but Brad had already gotten up to assist their friend. Guilt crept into her, so she stood as well, finally assisting the situation. It looked like the bully had a death grip around Sheldon's arm, holding him in place, attempting to push the smaller boy down the trash pin.
The robot hero joined the scene, grabbed the bully's arm, and easily turned him to face her as if he weighed nothing. With a low voice, she challenged: "why don't you pick on someone your own size?" The bulky guy's face morphed into a horrified expression. Letting go of his victim, who runs behind Jenny. In a blink of an eye. The guy, despite his large size, was now cramped into the trash pin, his legs poking helplessly from the top.
More laughs were heard accompanied who 'OOOOHs' and 'AAAAAHs' throughout the entire cafeteria, much to Jenny's annoyance, but she ignored them for the time being. She was already used to this. Brad seemed to ignore them as well, as he sympathetically asked Sheldon if he was okay. The latter simply nodded, not lifting his eyes from the floor.
Feeling the awkwardness of the situation, Brad suggested: "Uhm, I can share my lunch with you after you clean up."
-"I don't feel like eating anymore. I'll just go clean up in the bathroom..." his voice was gradually getting quitter after each word "I'll wait for you guys in class."
-"what?" Brad asked, not having heard the last sentence.
Sheldon abruptly made eye contact and blurted: "Uhm, thanks Jenny. you're a lifesaver!" he looked over to Brad and continued: "You too Brad. thanks. I am sorry for the trouble" and with that, he harried out of the room.
-"See ya' guys later!"
-"Yeah... see ya'" Jenny half waved. Puzzled. Brad shrugged as well. "that was weird." he finally added. They returned to their lunch. This time eating in silence.
The bathroom was unusually but thankfully empty. Sheldon took off his now dirty hoodie and put it in a plastic bag. Now examining his white shirt, as expected, it was tainted as well, but not so much. He opened the faucet, wetted his hands and carefully rubbed off some of the food spots.
The state of his hair was the worse. He had no choice but to wash it all with water. He finished by splashing more water on his face and stood to examine his reflection in the mirror. His wet hair was dripping on his shoulders and soaking his shirt. ' that's okay. I think I have a spare hoodie in my locker. It'll cover up the shirt and hair and everything will go smoothly for the rest of the day...'. Suddenly looking at his reflection in the mirror made him feel uneasy, that uncanny, hard to describe feeling you sometimes get when in front of the mirror. He tried to shake his head to get rid of the uneasiness and leaned on the sink, his head on his hands and his fingers ran through his hair.
Although the weather was fairly warm, a shiver run down his body. His wet hair was causing him to feel cold. The boy cracked the door open and peeked to see if anyone he knew was in the hallway, but since it was still lunch period, the halls were deserted. He took his chance and bolted to his locker and took out the hoodie he kept in case of emergency. 'Hey, you never know what happens when you are a regular target to bullies.'
The black hoodie was slightly oversized and a little worn out, but at this moment, it felt like a lifesaver. He pulled the hood over his head and zipped the thing up. Then he headed to his next class. One that was shared with both of his friends, Jenny and Brad.
The moment his brain mentioned their names his mind trailed off to the previous incident, his freckled cheeks heated as he remembered the humiliation he felt back then, but he was so used to it at this point it didn't bother him as much as it should. The thing that actually bugged him was the fact that Jenny looked more embarrassed about the incident than him! She literally tried to ignore it until Brad got up to help. She should have joined his side sooner, didn't she? or maybe she didn't want to get in trouble with the school stuff, especially since it's the end of the year. That must be it! Or maybe she just didn't want any more people laughing at her and calling her name. She went through enough of it in this craphole of a school. She really didn't deserve to get embarrassed anymore.
'Is she embarrassed to be seen with me?' this brief but scary thought made itself a place in his train of thoughts, but he quickly shook it off and ignored it, even though a small part of him knew it may be very much real. He shrugged. 'At least I kind of stood up for myself back there. Even though there was no way I could get out of it unharmed if it wasn't for Jenny'. A small smile appeared on his face at the thought of the robotic girl.
Sheldon took a seat a few rows behind where Jenny and Brad usually sit. He didn't really feel like interacting with them much today after what happened, even though he was thankful for their action. He lowered his head into his folded arms and waited for the period to start.
Not so long after, a few students were already making themselves comfortable in their own seats. Among them were his two friends, who didn't seem to notice his presence, probably too distracted, or maybe cause he changed his clothes. He was ready to go back into his own thoughts when the conversation between the two teenagers had caught his attention.
-"...But oh Brad. what if you don't get anyone to go with you? We will never hear the end of it. How do you plan on surviving prom without a date?"
-"Easy Jenny, I'll go with my own two bestest friends in this school. You don't really need a date to go to prom, it's not a law. We can all go together and have a fun night with none of the stupid formalities!" Brad said with a huge smile on his face, putting his arm around Jenny's shoulder. Sheldon smiled at his comment. It really made him happy to hear someone call him his 'bestest friend', he wanted to join the conversation and so raised his head to call for them, but at the last moment, he hesitated, desiring to hear Jenny's opinion on the matter first.
-"Okay fine. Whatever you want, but you know I am going to be on my own date," she giggled, "you and Sheldon can have your 'fun without formalities' thing." She gestured the air quotation with her fingers.
-"No, wait..." The redhead held his hands up. "I know you will end up going to the party with Sheldon-" he got caught off when Jenny frowned a little. "Uh i-it's not like... I just thought he is the most likely one to ask you out soon, but on a 2nd thought I don't wanna third wheel," he held his chin in between his index and thumb as if in deep thought "Actually on a third thought I don't really mind. I'll just be happy for you two."
Jenny's frown deepened even more. "No way Brad! I want someone who I can see eye to eye with."
-"Oh! I didn't know you preferred tall guys."
Sheldon, from his seat not so far behind them, couldn't quite hear what they were discussing so clearly, but he could still make out most of it. A small guilty feeling washed over him for eavesdropping, but it was quickly overridden by his curiosity and desire to know his crush's opinion on him and the thought of them dating.
-"That's not the case Brad," she shook her head " I meant someone who can make me feel like he is equal to me, Sheldon.. well... he is kind of clingy.." her eyes trailed around the room as if she was trying to avoid Brad's eyes "overly obsessed with me and annoying."
-"Come on, Jenny, he is not that bad." He replied flatly.
-" HE IS THAT BAD!" She exclaimed, but no one seemed to pay her any attention. The few students who were in the class were already busy chatting among themselves. However, she continued in a quieter voice: "You don't really know him like I do and you don't know the stuff I have to deal with!" She raised her arms. "He is really toxic, he is always stalking me, is overly jealous, sabotaged so many of my dates... He even stole my plans from my house and accidentally gave them to my worst enemy! Can you believe it!? I am only putting up with him because I don't want to hurt his feelings. But sometimes I really wish he would just stop being around me at school. It's really embarrassing!" she shook her head lightly and sighed. "Plus, I don't want the entire school chanting 'the freak and the geek' all over again. I already went through that once."
Said guy lowered his head even more on the table. Pressing his forehead on the cool surface and holding a grip on his elbows with shaky fingers. He bit on his lower lip to stop himself from crying. There was no way in hell he was going to cry in the classroom.
He couldn't really believe the words he just heard. Could he be mistaken? Surely there was some kind of misunderstanding. After all he couldn't really make out all of the conversations. Oh, who was he kidding? He felt like an idiot at the moment. The earth might as well just open up, swallow him and spare him from the pain building up at his chest. A part of him always knew it was true, that he wasn't really welcomed to be by Jenny's side. He would bury the thought every time and pretend he was oblivious to the signs, but not anymore. He can't lie to himself anymore after the facts had made themselves as clear as daylight.
-"Stop it Jen. He really isn't that bad. Remember when everyone thought you were some kinda' deranged machine cause of that rich kid who made you his toy? He was the only one who still believed in you." Brad replied with an unapproving tone, clearly annoyed at his friend's words. "Sure, he might act like a dork and be annoying sometimes, but he still got a lot of other good qualities, so please don't say such things".
Jenny, now looking down and obviously ashamed, replied in a quiet tone, "I- well.. Ugh, you're right. Now you mentioned that. " She bit her lip, "I shouldn't have said that"
-"Plus, let's not forget how you too stalked your mom and ruined her date. Or that time when you picked a fight with Melody cause you were jealous." he lightly shoved his finger on her chest with a mocking grin.
-"I TOLD YOU I WASN'T JEALOUS, I WAS JUST WARY OF HER! it's not the same thing!" She scoffed and crossed her arms. Brad snickered in response, "yea sure thing." Suddenly, the redhead looked alert. "Hey, didn't Sheldon tell us he is going to meet us in class earlier? Where is he?"
Jenny shrugged and turned her head around in search of the boy. Her hands landed on the black hooded guy with his head in his folded arm. Looking like he is asleep.
-"Maybe that's him? He has the same shoe- oooh." She put a metallic hand on her mouth and her large eyes widened. "What if he heard me?". Brad looked nervous as well, but he got up anyway and walked to his friend's side and tapped his shoulder.
Sheldon lifted his head and looked up, squinting at the light and rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand, as if he was just waking up from a long nap. "uh- wha? I think I might've fallen asleep". It was easier for everyone if he just pretended he heard nothing. But oh God, it was still hard for him to look at the love of his life -who would never return his feelings back- without feeling tears building up and threatening to roll down his cheeks. He lowered his head down again to avoid their gaze and muttered a "please leave me alone" in a small quiet voice.
-"You ok there buddy?" Brad asked with concern in his voice.
-" 'm just tired."
-"sure?"
He raised his head back again and forced a smile. "Yeah am sure. I am just tired. Thank you, though."
-"If you say so". With this, he went back to his own seat. Jenny stayed a little longer, almost as if she still wanted to say something, but instead gave him a small smile and then returned to her seat as well.
The rest of the school day went by normally.
Notes: I am kind of dyslexic and I rely heavily on grammar apps so, please excuse any spelling mistakes you might find. Also English is my 3rd language out of 4 :P
The next chapter would be up soon.