"I wanna go
home," X muttered, climbing into the bus with Zero. "I don't
see why I have to live with my teachers every day."
"Same
here, kid," a senior replied. "You in Home Ec.?"
"Yes,"
X said suspiciously. "Why?"
"Did
Mrs. Wacked burn herself?" His girlfriend who had been kissing him
sighed.
"Why
must you ask that question? Of course she did."
"Do
you have the beer?"
X
opened his bag and tossed out the beer. "Yeah!!" the senior said,
drinking down his score.
"Here!
Use my activity pass! It'll save you five bucks at homecoming
tomorrow!"
"Uhh
. . . " X was speechless.
Zero
was tired of waiting. "Move, X," he muttered, pushing X along.
"Can't
sit up front, 'less you're a senior," a kid replied.
"We're all Jr. High."
"There's
no where else to sit!"
"We're
moving," The bus driver growled. "If you want to stand,
you'll have to do it on top of the bus."
"I
really wish you didn't stand on top of the bus, Zero," X said,
walking to their 'home'.
"It
was fun!" Zero opened the door to the house.
The
house was quite ordinary. It had a kitchen, three bedrooms and a living room
and a bathroom and a shower.
"I
have Algebra," Zero whinned. "Not like that's exceptionally
hard for me..."
X
grinned. "You're supposed to be the Jock, remember? You need to get
bad grades."
"Thanks,
'Mom'. I'll be sure to remember. I know!" Zero cried,
snapping his fingers. "I'll do the hard stuff and get the easy
stuff wrong! That'll befuddle the Prof!"
X
shook his head. "Want anything to eat?" he asked, looking in the fridge.
"I can make greased apples."
"I
heard you burned them."
"Nope.
We burned the teacher. She acts like a nut."
Zero
thought. "Perhaps... Perhaps she's Sigma. I however, am
going for one of the humans who slapped me on the back, and muttered a sarcastic
'owww. . .'."
X
pulled out a yogurt. "Mmm-hmm. I hate English. I hate the teacher. She
assigned me extra English homework. Who cares about VERBS!?!?!"
Zero
laughed. "You know, that would be funny."
"What?"
X asked defensively.
"You
teaching English to the Mavericks instead of battling."
X
couldn't think of anything crushing to say back to Zero. He stormed off,
into his room. It didn't help that the door was five feet away from Zero.
"And
we get to paint your face tomorrow! You can be English King X!!!"
A
bright light shinned in X's eyes. "Come on, X! We get to paint our
faces ugly shades of red and blue!"
X
groaned. "What time is it, Zero?"
"Six.
The bus comes at seven-fifteen."
"I
am going back to sleep. Let a guy rest." X fell back on his bed, leaving
a scary-looking Zero awake. He grinned. "This is going to be fun . .
."
He
began painting one side of X's face a raspberry red with the paint. It
was on his face, too, and so was the blue.
X
didn't stir, so Zero painted the rest of X's face blue. "WAKE
UP!!" he yelled suddenly, making X jump off the bed.
"Zero!
It isn't time to wake up!"
"It
is now!"
"Is
not!"
"Is
too!"
"Is not!"
"Is
too!"
They
argued for five minutes. Finally, Zero said, "It is now. Have a look at
your face! It's so pretty!"
X
looked. "AHHHHHHH!!!! What did you do to my face?!?!?"
"I
painted it, X! We're twins!"
X
buried his head in his arms, and Zero got the impression that X was sobbing.
A
knock on the door made X stop.
Zero
went up and opened it. A girl, by the name of Felicia, was standing there.
"I
think that its really cool you've joined our school," she said.
"Gee,
thanks," Zero muttered. "Aren't you in my P.E.?"
"Yeah,"
she said. "Anyway, I baked you both some cookies."
"How
kind," Zero replied. "Thanks."
She
nodded, and walked off.
"How
kind," a voice mocked, startling her. She jumped and saw a Maverick-
Vile.
She
backed away. "I'll scream," she warned.
"Ohh,
how that scares me," Vile retorted. "I have a message for you- to
Mami."
"Mami?
That one girl who beat Zack?"
"That's
his name? Zack? Man, these people need more creativity!" Vile started
laughing. When he stopped, he replied, "Yes, that's the one. Boy,
you made my day. Tell Mami that I'm waiting."
"Who
are you?"
Vile
laughed again, and yelled, "If you don't know who I am then I kill
you on the spot!"
Felicia
panicked and threw her hands up in the air. "I live a sheltered
life!" she cried. "Spare me!"
Vile
teleported out.
Felicia
began running.
Mami
was minding her own business waiting for the school bell, when of course,
Felicia ran into her.
"I
was attacked," Felicia said. "I want serious professional help. I
ran six miles."
Mami
raised an eyebrow. "And I am this shrink?"
Felicia
started crying. "It was horrible! There was a Maverick with huge teeth,
big, red eyes, and a gun! He was going to kill me!"
Mami
had never particually liked Felicia. "Why didn't he?"
"Because
he said he has a message for you!"
"Oh,
joy. There's a new way to send mail. H-mail."
Felicia
stopped crying. "What's H-mail?"
"Hostage
mail. Never mind. What was the message?"
"He
said that he was waiting."
"Who?"
"I
don't remember! I have never seen a Maverick!"
Mami's
face went pale. "He's a Maverick?"
Felicia
nodded. "He said he was."