"So you're grounded again?" Victor asked.
Garfield grumbled angrily as he climbed into the van next to his friend. "Apparently, someone tattled on my prank war with Robin and word got to Mom."
"Man, you poured syrup in his backpack."
"So?"
"So you totaled eight books and his phone. That was a $1500 phone," Victor explained.
"Who spends that much on a phone?"
"Rich sponsors that like buying kids in the form of scholarships."
"Hey," Dr. Stone chided from the driver's seat. "Mr. Wayne does one of those scholarships."
"Yeah, what's with that? We're three weeks into the year," Garfield whined. "Usually, the Wayne kid has been kicked out by now."
"Usually, the Wayne kid's been identified and bullied out of school by now," Victor corrected. "He did get one this year, didn't he, Dad?"
"Yeah, but he's being secretive this time. We only know the usual: smart orphan. No details."
Garfield laughed. "Maybe it's Kori. She's a smart orphan."
"Yeah, I don't know about that," Victor chuckled. "I mean, yeah, she is smart, but could you imagine her calling old man Wayne 'Uncle?'"
"Got a point. Plus, there's no way any Wayne kid would hang out with us, right?"
"They might today," Victor said, holding up his left arm.
Garfield gawked at the smooth black and white metal. Victor beamed.
"Pretty cool, right? They're myoelectric, so it's just like using a real arm or leg!"
"Dude, you're like a cyborg now. So cool!"
"Rob's gonna flip when he sees them. He was so excited last night when-!"
"Wait," Garfield's face fell. "You called Robin last night?"
"He's my friend, too, Gar."
"But you didn't call me."
Victor rubbed his neck. "Sorry, bro. We got carried away talking about-."
"I get it," Garfield said, turning to stare out the window.
"Gar-."
"Dude, you don't have to explain. It's not your fault," Garfield said, waving Victor off. "I know I get clingy. I'll work on it."
"We're still on for BattleCasters tonight, right?"
"If you're not busy, yeah."
"I promise, man," said Victor. "Just the two of us."
He held out his good hand in a fist. Garfield relaxed a bit and bumped knuckles with him.
"Gonna hold you to it," he said.
"And maybe," Victor said, "when you're ready, you can make nice with Rob. Kid's dealing with enough without you being a jerk."
"I'm not being a jerk! He called me dumb!"
"He did not call you dumb. You called him a nerd."
"Because he called me dumb!"
"Gar," Victor said slowly, "think about it. When did he call you dumb?"
Garfield sputtered. He totally called him dumb! Didn't he? Wait, what started this war? He called Robin a nerd because… something about math. He'd corrected him. Wait, hadn't he called him dumb somewhere? No, he called him an idiot. Once. Never dumb, never annoying. Never the slur that haunted him in elementary school. Color drained from his face. Garfield started this. He'd called Robin a nerd and basically dead-named him.
"Oh my God, I'm the bully," he breathed.
"No shit."
"Vic!"
"Well, he was," Victor said defensively.
"I- I'm sorry, Vic. I'll apologize to him, too. I was scared, dude."
"I get it, man. You don't like being your diagnosis," said Victor. "That doesn't mean you can take it out on your friends."
"Especially when we're supposed to share our secrets, huh?"
Victor waved his hands. "That's your choice, bro. I'm not telling anyone about it."
"I'll tell Robin, okay? It's not an excuse, but maybe he'll get it."
"Couldn't hurt."
"It couldn't hurt to get out of my car. We've been parked for five minutes," growled Dr. Stone.
"Sorry, doc."
"You know how Gar gets when he's focused," Victor said, opening his door. "Come on, man. You have an apology to make."
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up, cyborg," the small teen giggled.
"Ooooh! That gave me a tingle! Not sure if it's a good one or bad one, but there was definitely a tingle," Victor said.
Garfield quickly tucked himself behind Victor's elbow. It felt weird that his friend now towered over him. Victor's head used to reach his shoulder. Now it was flipped, and Garfield barely stood up to Victor's armpits.
"Are they gonna let you play again?" He asked.
"Nah, they already replaced me," said Victor. "Besides, I'm a liability. If I get hit, we all go down."
"Where's Robin, dude? He's usually already here."
Victor shook his head, and Garfield apologized again.
"Man, if jumping topics was a sport, you'd letter," Victor said. "You're right, though. I don't see him. Maybe he's already in the room."
"Nice legs, Vic!" Called a voice across campus.
"Right back atcha!" He called. Then his voice dropped to a whisper. "Who the hell was that?"
"Uuuuh, skinny blonde kid. Freshman," Garfield said. "I dunno his name, but I think they call him Lightning or something."
"That was Lightning Stromberg? Yikes," Victor cringed. "I owe him an apology."
"Speaking of apologies…," Garfield pressed.
"Yeah. Want to get your books first, or see if he's in the room?"
"Locker first," Garfield said. "Just in case I get distracted."
"You do tend to get distracted. It's what we love about you."
Garfield forced a chuckle. "At least my issues are appreciated!"
"Man, what issues? You got a frog in your brain bouncing between 'too much information' and 'why is no one paying attention to me?'"
"You don't think that's an issue?"
"That's life, bro," Victor insisted. "Man, I loved when people watched me on the field! I was already a pro! Then the accident happened, and it just feels like I'm being judged."
"Yeah, but your attention frog isn't triggered by noise or smells or… or the stupid tags on shirts! Who invented tags?"
Garfield yanked his locker door open. Instantly, something heavy landed on his head. Then the sensation of slime trickled down his back, and the scent of decay assaulted his nose. A roar of laughter made him clap his hands over his ears as he closed his eyes. He could feel himself being pulled away as his throat grew tight.
"It's okay, man. It's okay," Victor's muffled voice assured him. "Let's get you showered off and cleaned up, alright? He got you good, huh?"
Garfield lowered his arms as the laughter faded. His chest and throat hurt. Then he saw a red welt on his hand.
"Vic… fish.."
"What? I saw some shrimp, I think. I dunno about fish."
"Nurse…," Garfield gasped weakly.
His vision darkened as his knees caved under him. Victor exclaimed and tried to walk him back the other way. Garfield heard a muffled shout and felt his legs swept out from under him before he passed out.