A New Beginning
by htmLord
Chapter 3
The Next Morning
Gohan rolled over in his bed, sleeplessly. "Why do I have to go to school?" he thought. "Its not like I haven't.. wait.. no, I haven't studied at all since.. wow.. since before we fought the androids, I think.. it has been a long time, hasn't it?"
He rolled over again, this time to face out of his window. He stared out at the countryside, his mind drifting to training. "Well.. its still early.. I could go out for a bit before-"
"GOHAN! Time to get up!" Gohan sighed and rolled to a sitting position at the edge of the bed.
"I can always train later on tonight.. and I'll make up for the lost time tomorrow.." Gohan stood up and made his way downstairs, without his usual energy.
"And what's wrong with you, mister?" Chi Chi asked her less than enthusiastic son. Gohan merely shrugged and sat down at the table for breakfast, as if resigned to his fate. Chi Chi let it go and brought out breakfast, which Goten promptly attacked. Gohan, however, was eating MUCH slower than normal.. in fact, Chi Chi was eating faster than he was.
"Okay, spill it, Gohan.. why are you so depressed? Is going to school THAT bad?"
"No.."
"I didn't think so. You need to study, Gohan.. if you want to get a good job when you graduate, you have to do well in your studies.. and that's why I'm sending you to school. If that's what it takes to get you to put some effort into studying, then that's what I'll do, you got that?"
"Yes, mother.." Gohan murmured in reply.
"Now, Gohan," Chi Chi continued, disregarding his lack of enthusiasm, "you should be careful not to show off your powers in front of other people.. you'd get picked on by your future classmates, and you don't need to despise going to high school any more than you already do. You want to do everything you can to fit in, you got that?"
Gohan, reacting as any teen would during a lecture, nodded. Chi Chi continued to go on about how important this all was to Gohan's future, but he wasn't really listening. His thoughts were out by the river, going over his training routines, looking for ways to improve his strengths and skills, remembering the previous day's routine.
His thoughts must have wandered a bit too far. "GOHAN!" Chi Chi slammed her fist down on the table. "Are you listening to me?!"
Gohan scurried to defend himself. "Yes, Mom.. every word!"
"Then why did you have your eyes closed?"
"I was thinking.."
"And why did you start mouthing 'kame'?!"
"I..er.. well.. um.." Just then, luck was kind to Gohan. A crash from the kitchen indicated that Goten was still hungry, and had tried to fix himself a snack. Chi Chi scowled and ran off to the kitchen, leaving Gohan to wipe his brow and thank goodness for his little brother. He'd have to remember to thank Goten for that one.
---------------------------------
A little later, outside Orange Star High School
"Well," Chi Chi said, "that was quite a trip.." Gohan nodded and stretched, having enjoyed the short 500 mile trip.
"Nothing beats a good flight, Mom," Gohan said, much more chipper after having had a chance to stretch and exert himself, even if only for a moment. They had landed a ways off, behind a nearby building, then walked to the school.
As they walked up to the school building, an older gentleman with graying hair came out to meet them. "Mrs. Chi Chi Son, I presume?"
Chi Chi stepped forward and shook his hand. "Yes, and this is my son, Gohan."
"Hello, there, m'boy," he said, shaking Gohan's hand. Gohan kept his grip very loose, worried he might hurt the man's hand if he actually shook it. "Pleased to meet you. I'll be your Principal here at Orange Star High. Come on in, we'll get you done with your placement testing in no time at all."
With that, he led them into the school and into a small, empty classroom. "Here we are, Gohan.. your test is on the desk.. good luck, and your mother and I will be waiting in the office across the hall.
"Thank you, sir." With that, Gohan sat down and started to work on his entrance exam.
Gohan stared blankly at the sheet of paper before him, not remembering any of the material presented before him. Within moments after his mother had left, he began to sweat. He was unaccustomed to not knowing the answers, and it started to wear on him in mere moments.
Suddenly, though, as if it had all suddenly come into focus, Gohan remembered. Not everything, but he remembered the tutors and the books of his childhood. It all started to come together and, fearing he might lose it again, Gohan quickly began putting thoughts (and answers to paper). So quickly, in fact, that once or twice, he had to consciously slow down his hand to keep his pencil from smoking.
Across the hall, Chi Chi and the principal waited for Gohan in a mostly empty room. "So, Mrs. Son.." the principal asked as he flipped through a manila file with Gohan's information on it, noting things that seemed important, "it says here that Gohan has never attended school before. Why is that?"
"Well, we live out in the country, in the 489 Mountain District, and there aren't any schools nearby."
"Wow.. that's quite some drive to get here.. you must have had to leave last night.."
Chi Chi, not noticing the significance of what she was about to say, replied truthfully. "No, we only left this morning."
The principal seemed stunned at the remark at first, then asked the most logical question he could think of. "So, I take it you flew in?"
Chi Chi nodded, and before the principal could catch on to the true meaning of what just transpired, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Gohan stepped through the door, and the principal looked at him quizically. "Is there something wrong, Gohan? Did you need help with something?"
Gohan just flashed a smile at the principal and his mother. "No, sir. I've finished the test."
"You.. what?! Its only been.." he looked down at his watch, then back up to Gohan, "15 minutes!"
"Yes, sir.. I know. Here you are." With that, Gohan handed him the test packet and sat down next to his mother. The principal, wide mouthed, retook his seat and started flipping through the papers, assuming that most of the answers would be blind guesses. As his eyes grew wider and wider, Gohan smiled to himself, full of pride.
Finally, the principal looked up at Gohan. "Well, son.. either you are that good.. or you're the luckiest student I've ever had.. not only did you do the test in 15 minutes.. you scored a 98%.."
Gohan's face fell. "You mean.. I missed one?" Chi Chi and the principal sweatdropped at that remark.
-------------------------------
Thanks to those of you who tried to guess, and I have to say, there was one winner! Not that you win anything, but to Ben and ~*Crystal Lily*~, you are correct, the answer is Bulma. Or, at least I thought it was. Quoted from Zero : "About the trivia: Does that Fortune Teller Baba person ever die? I mean, whenever the Earth is in trouble she just goes overe to Otherworld and waits it out. And she wasn't on Earth during the Buu saga, was she? (Did she go back after dropping Goku off? I doubt it)" I never thought about Baba, since everyone on earth was dead except those at the lookout, and Bulma died after Chi Chi (the only other original DragonBall character who hadn't died). As to the other guesses :
Gohan was born between DragonBall and DBZ, hence he isn't an original DB character. The same goes for Bra, who isn't born until the last handful of DBZ episodes. Chi Chi was killed for the first time when Buu turned her into an egg and crushed her, and Bulma died a bit later when Buu turned her into chocolate and ate her. Piccolo dies in DBZ at Nappa's hands, while defending Gohan. Krillin and Master Roshi both die in DB. Tien, Chiatzhu, and Yamcha die fighting either on Namek or versus the Saiyans. The Ox King dies on the lookout to Buu as well, though he dies sooner than Bulma. Mr Popo also dies on the lookout. Everyone else dies when or before Buu uses his "Human Extinction Attack", all except for Baba. However, her ability to travel to the OtherWorld might be evidence that she is already dead, since we know she is family of Master Roshi. Since that remains to be proven, the answer is Baba. Good work, Zero.. you know your DB/Z/GT even better than me.
New Trivia Question:
Which DBZ fighter dies the MOST times, and how many times does he/she die? Absorbed doesn't count as dead, btw. Check back next time for the answer!
by htmLord
Chapter 3
The Next Morning
Gohan rolled over in his bed, sleeplessly. "Why do I have to go to school?" he thought. "Its not like I haven't.. wait.. no, I haven't studied at all since.. wow.. since before we fought the androids, I think.. it has been a long time, hasn't it?"
He rolled over again, this time to face out of his window. He stared out at the countryside, his mind drifting to training. "Well.. its still early.. I could go out for a bit before-"
"GOHAN! Time to get up!" Gohan sighed and rolled to a sitting position at the edge of the bed.
"I can always train later on tonight.. and I'll make up for the lost time tomorrow.." Gohan stood up and made his way downstairs, without his usual energy.
"And what's wrong with you, mister?" Chi Chi asked her less than enthusiastic son. Gohan merely shrugged and sat down at the table for breakfast, as if resigned to his fate. Chi Chi let it go and brought out breakfast, which Goten promptly attacked. Gohan, however, was eating MUCH slower than normal.. in fact, Chi Chi was eating faster than he was.
"Okay, spill it, Gohan.. why are you so depressed? Is going to school THAT bad?"
"No.."
"I didn't think so. You need to study, Gohan.. if you want to get a good job when you graduate, you have to do well in your studies.. and that's why I'm sending you to school. If that's what it takes to get you to put some effort into studying, then that's what I'll do, you got that?"
"Yes, mother.." Gohan murmured in reply.
"Now, Gohan," Chi Chi continued, disregarding his lack of enthusiasm, "you should be careful not to show off your powers in front of other people.. you'd get picked on by your future classmates, and you don't need to despise going to high school any more than you already do. You want to do everything you can to fit in, you got that?"
Gohan, reacting as any teen would during a lecture, nodded. Chi Chi continued to go on about how important this all was to Gohan's future, but he wasn't really listening. His thoughts were out by the river, going over his training routines, looking for ways to improve his strengths and skills, remembering the previous day's routine.
His thoughts must have wandered a bit too far. "GOHAN!" Chi Chi slammed her fist down on the table. "Are you listening to me?!"
Gohan scurried to defend himself. "Yes, Mom.. every word!"
"Then why did you have your eyes closed?"
"I was thinking.."
"And why did you start mouthing 'kame'?!"
"I..er.. well.. um.." Just then, luck was kind to Gohan. A crash from the kitchen indicated that Goten was still hungry, and had tried to fix himself a snack. Chi Chi scowled and ran off to the kitchen, leaving Gohan to wipe his brow and thank goodness for his little brother. He'd have to remember to thank Goten for that one.
---------------------------------
A little later, outside Orange Star High School
"Well," Chi Chi said, "that was quite a trip.." Gohan nodded and stretched, having enjoyed the short 500 mile trip.
"Nothing beats a good flight, Mom," Gohan said, much more chipper after having had a chance to stretch and exert himself, even if only for a moment. They had landed a ways off, behind a nearby building, then walked to the school.
As they walked up to the school building, an older gentleman with graying hair came out to meet them. "Mrs. Chi Chi Son, I presume?"
Chi Chi stepped forward and shook his hand. "Yes, and this is my son, Gohan."
"Hello, there, m'boy," he said, shaking Gohan's hand. Gohan kept his grip very loose, worried he might hurt the man's hand if he actually shook it. "Pleased to meet you. I'll be your Principal here at Orange Star High. Come on in, we'll get you done with your placement testing in no time at all."
With that, he led them into the school and into a small, empty classroom. "Here we are, Gohan.. your test is on the desk.. good luck, and your mother and I will be waiting in the office across the hall.
"Thank you, sir." With that, Gohan sat down and started to work on his entrance exam.
Gohan stared blankly at the sheet of paper before him, not remembering any of the material presented before him. Within moments after his mother had left, he began to sweat. He was unaccustomed to not knowing the answers, and it started to wear on him in mere moments.
Suddenly, though, as if it had all suddenly come into focus, Gohan remembered. Not everything, but he remembered the tutors and the books of his childhood. It all started to come together and, fearing he might lose it again, Gohan quickly began putting thoughts (and answers to paper). So quickly, in fact, that once or twice, he had to consciously slow down his hand to keep his pencil from smoking.
Across the hall, Chi Chi and the principal waited for Gohan in a mostly empty room. "So, Mrs. Son.." the principal asked as he flipped through a manila file with Gohan's information on it, noting things that seemed important, "it says here that Gohan has never attended school before. Why is that?"
"Well, we live out in the country, in the 489 Mountain District, and there aren't any schools nearby."
"Wow.. that's quite some drive to get here.. you must have had to leave last night.."
Chi Chi, not noticing the significance of what she was about to say, replied truthfully. "No, we only left this morning."
The principal seemed stunned at the remark at first, then asked the most logical question he could think of. "So, I take it you flew in?"
Chi Chi nodded, and before the principal could catch on to the true meaning of what just transpired, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Gohan stepped through the door, and the principal looked at him quizically. "Is there something wrong, Gohan? Did you need help with something?"
Gohan just flashed a smile at the principal and his mother. "No, sir. I've finished the test."
"You.. what?! Its only been.." he looked down at his watch, then back up to Gohan, "15 minutes!"
"Yes, sir.. I know. Here you are." With that, Gohan handed him the test packet and sat down next to his mother. The principal, wide mouthed, retook his seat and started flipping through the papers, assuming that most of the answers would be blind guesses. As his eyes grew wider and wider, Gohan smiled to himself, full of pride.
Finally, the principal looked up at Gohan. "Well, son.. either you are that good.. or you're the luckiest student I've ever had.. not only did you do the test in 15 minutes.. you scored a 98%.."
Gohan's face fell. "You mean.. I missed one?" Chi Chi and the principal sweatdropped at that remark.
-------------------------------
Thanks to those of you who tried to guess, and I have to say, there was one winner! Not that you win anything, but to Ben and ~*Crystal Lily*~, you are correct, the answer is Bulma. Or, at least I thought it was. Quoted from Zero : "About the trivia: Does that Fortune Teller Baba person ever die? I mean, whenever the Earth is in trouble she just goes overe to Otherworld and waits it out. And she wasn't on Earth during the Buu saga, was she? (Did she go back after dropping Goku off? I doubt it)" I never thought about Baba, since everyone on earth was dead except those at the lookout, and Bulma died after Chi Chi (the only other original DragonBall character who hadn't died). As to the other guesses :
Gohan was born between DragonBall and DBZ, hence he isn't an original DB character. The same goes for Bra, who isn't born until the last handful of DBZ episodes. Chi Chi was killed for the first time when Buu turned her into an egg and crushed her, and Bulma died a bit later when Buu turned her into chocolate and ate her. Piccolo dies in DBZ at Nappa's hands, while defending Gohan. Krillin and Master Roshi both die in DB. Tien, Chiatzhu, and Yamcha die fighting either on Namek or versus the Saiyans. The Ox King dies on the lookout to Buu as well, though he dies sooner than Bulma. Mr Popo also dies on the lookout. Everyone else dies when or before Buu uses his "Human Extinction Attack", all except for Baba. However, her ability to travel to the OtherWorld might be evidence that she is already dead, since we know she is family of Master Roshi. Since that remains to be proven, the answer is Baba. Good work, Zero.. you know your DB/Z/GT even better than me.
New Trivia Question:
Which DBZ fighter dies the MOST times, and how many times does he/she die? Absorbed doesn't count as dead, btw. Check back next time for the answer!