______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________
______________________________________CHAPTER ONE: Bonnie and Clyde
Bulma Briefs, a senior at last, strode through the hallways of Pineridge High School like it was a catwalk, her flawless face shining with excitement. Despite the fact that she was going to be...delayed for her first class, it was starting to look as if it were going to be a great day. Slipping into the ladies' room, she smoothed down her hair, awaiting the bell that would banish most of the students from the halls and into their classrooms. When it came, she lifted her head to the ceiling in a silent, grateful prayer, and grinned. All was going perfectly according to plan.
Before she slipped back into the hall, she checked that she was alone. Just as predicted, the hallway was empty, save for one pathetic student sprinting to his class. She sighed in relief as the fool disappeared behind one of the many identical doors. The sharp sounds of her expensive heeled shoes striking the floor did not bother her in the least; no one would dare question her intentions, not even the teachers.
Finally she arrived at her destination--the lone drinking fountain across the hall, the site of what would soon become the mother of all schemes. For this week anyway. Smirking, the girl knelt beside the machine, the wheels in her head turning. With the ease of long practice, she slipped out some bobby pins from her knee-high stiletto boots and began to stick them into the thin cracks that went up the side of the old piece of junk. There was no doubt that quite an amount of freshman had been slammed into THIS contraption. The fact that she had never been one of them gave her a brief pang of satisfaction. At last, all of her bobby pins were spent, and she was ready to go into the next phase of her plan.
Humming a song under her breath, she ran a manicured fingernail along the area where the cracks were, examining their stability. When she reached a weak area, her glossed lips curved into a smile of victory. She quickly collected all of the bobby pins and tossed them into a nearby trashbin. Then she stood, brushed herself off, and delivered a swift kick to the weak area of the drinking fountain, observing as the cover came noticeably loose. With an indulgent little laugh and a toss of her long hair, Bulma turned on her heel and continued on her way to her first period class.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Vejita had never been the kind of person that liked to hide his pranks. He much preferred that everyone, besides the school's administrators of course, knew exactly who was behind every single incident. He could gain a lot more power that way. Through this love of being, in a sense, predictable, Vejita had acquired the respect, and not to mention, fear, of the entire student body. There was not a soul in the school who could outdo him, and they all knew it.
The football star hadn't bothered to use secrecy to complete his task, as Bulma most likely had, but instead simply stood and walked out of his first period. The teacher, having heard of Vejita's many strange personality quirks, had merely shaken his head and continued on with the lesson. It wasn't as if Vejita had been listening anyway.
The knowledgable senior knew exactly where the group of freshman would be. The courtyard was like a magnet for the stupid little fucks. Every year he could find them there, sneaking a smoke or making out or whatever it was that they did; he never really paid much attention to that aspect of it. He threw open the doors and stormed out towards the small group. There were four of them today. Slim pickings, but Vejita had learned to deal with that. The fewer there were, the harsher the punishment, and that was something that he could definitely live with.
They saw him coming as soon as the doors had been flung open. Their jaws dropped, and they could hardly believe their bad luck. Vejita smirked at them gleefully, gauging their varying expressions of fear and surprise.
"Well, kids, you've gotten yourselves into a very dangerous situation," he said, his voice low and mocking. "WhatEVER will you do?"
Silence was his reply. Shaking his head in disappointment, for he had always loved to spar verbally, he gestured for them to follow him. He smiled a crooked half-smile as they obeyed and followed him out of the courtyard like little ducklings. Vejita found himself wishing that there were more people around to witness this event, as it would be one for the yearbooks for sure.
He stopped once they reached the gym, conveniently empty at this time of day. He turned to face his victims, amused with their pale faces and tight expressions. "Ladies, follow me." The unfortunate two followed him silently. Vejita only glanced back at the remaining two boys and glared at them, to assure that they would stay put. They had reached the boy's locker room before the girls realized his plan.
"Oh my Gawd," one of them moaned under their breath. "Oh my Gawd."
"Shhh, you dumbass!" her companion snapped.
In spite of their dread, they followed Vejita straight into the room. Without a word, he grabbed them by the front of their slutty little shirts and somehow managed to fit them into two of the (occupied) gym lockers. He smirked as he closed the doors and set the locks, thinking of how funny it would be when the owners of the lockers discovered what had turned up among their jockstraps and old tennis shoes. The screams of protest that followed him out of the room were absolutely delicious.
The boys were waiting exactly where he had left them, not surprisingly. Vejita didn't even have to speak, they simply allowed him to lead them into the girls' locker room, a place that Vejita had most definitely visited before. Chuckling to himself, Vejita shoved them into the lockers and secured the locks, taking his own sweet time. But this time, for the sheer fun of it, he picked up a can of flowery-smelling body spray that had been left on one of the benches and sprayed them each in the face, grinning as they rubbed their stinging eyes and stifled moans of pain.
"You'll want to smell nice for the ladies when they return." With a staged little wave, he turned and left the locker room, then the gym, with no intentions to return to his class, because Vejita was the kind of person who liked to revel in his victories.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
It wasn't until lunch that either Bulma or Vejita was questioned about the day's pranks, though the rumor mill at Pineridge High had been turning busily ever since. It was no secret that Vejita had been involved, but the why's and how's of the situation where still undetermined. Bulma couldn't help but feel a bit perturbed that she wasn't getting proper credit...yet. So instead of spending her Seminar hour completing her untouched homework, she used the time to plot ways to capture some of the glory for herself.
By the time the bell rang for her lunch period, Bulma's devious mind had formulated several ideas, though she would have never stooped so low as to go about getting them carried out. Bulma Briefs was nobody's partner in crime, and she meant to keep it that way. No, linking her name with a guy like Vejita's would do her no good. Though he was widely considered 'popular', in reality, Vejita was not really part of the elite group. He instead sort of haunted the shadows on the edges of the rambunctious crowd. In some ways, this was a blessing, considering his sometimes sadistic humor and often sharp tongue. God knew that some of them could not afford any more nasty rumors flying about the school, further degrading their superior reputations. But, as was becoming an increasingly poignant point with Bulma, the 'in crowd' could use some fresh meat. Especially meat of THAT caliber. Bulma grimaced at this unnecessary thought and put it from her mind. After all, she had Yamcha, though they were in the monthly 'off' period of their relationship at the moment. She thought briefly of how jealous her possessive ex would be if she came to a party on the arm of another man and smiled.
She hadn't even completely exited her classroom when Chichi, her 'best friend', linked her jean-jacketed arm through Bulma's bare one and immediately began her trademark gossiping. Bulma was half-aware of her friend's chattering on about how brilliant Bulma's prank had been, how much better it had been than that horrid Vejita's, and how Bulma should watch her back in the future, because Beverly McPherson had seen her bend down next to the drinking fountain, and she was awful proud of it, too. Chichi did not notice Bulma's tuning her out until her silent friend failed to answer an 'important' question.
"Hello?!" she shouted, causing several people walking around them to flinch. "Have you even heard ONE WORD of what I've been saying?"
"No," Bulma replied coldly, readjusted her purse over her shoulder. "I haven't."
Chichi shook her head ponytailed head. "You haven't been yourself lately, Bulma. Tell me what's the matter--please!"
"Oh, God, Chichi," Bulma groaned, running a hand through her hair. "You know me and Yamcha are on the rocks again. That bastard just can't keep his eyes--and hands--from wandering, I swear."
"Oh, Bulma," Chichi offered sympathetically.
"Don't feel sorry for ME," Bulma said, lifting her chin. "You SHOULD be feeling sorry for HIM. He's had his chance at the most beautiful, popular girl in the school, and he's ruined it. Apparently he doesn't understand the significance of what he's done. We're over for GOOD this time."
"I've heard that before, Bulma," Chichi said mildly. "And what's this with you and Vejita lately? You two are a regular 'Bonnie and Clyde', for God's sake."
Bulma smiled. "There's nothing 'with' me and Vejita. He simply proposed a contest, and I rose to the challenge. Honestly Chichi, me and VEJITA? What were you thinking?"
It was Chichi's turn to give a knowing smile. "I don't know. I must be crazy or something."
"Obviously." Bulma quickened her step, leaving Chichi behind. Sometimes, she couldn't quite remember why she burdened herself with such an annoying girl.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Needless to say, the conversation at lunch-time that day was not lacking in entertainment. Bulma put up with the good-natured teasing for a few minutes, then began to grow swiftly tired of it. With a look of pure venom directed to everyone at the small, select table, she got up in a huff and retreated to the corner of the room, where Vejita resided. But the people at her table did not feel like they had gained the upper-hand with Bulma for even a moment, instead they felt as if they had been cast aside like insects and forgotton. Bulma had long since established her leadership, and her carefully orchestrated grasp was too tight to give way now. Vejita welcomed her only after making a particularily biting comment.
"I see you've spared no expense in flaunting what every man knows he cannot have," he said, crossing his arms and studying her outfit. "An unnecessary effort--I'm sure they've all had a small part of it at one time or another. I suppose leadership doesn't come without a price, eh?"
"Are you jealous, Vejita?" Bulma shot back, taking a seat across from him and crossing her legs. "Believe me, most of them have had more than their share." With the teasing over with, she leaned forward and smirked. "Come on, you can't deny that I won that little contest. The drinking fountain trick was a classic. I used bobby pins to loosen the cracks so that I could just slip them right in and out of my boots--BOBBY PINS, Vejita. If that's not crafty, then I don't know what is."
Vejita shook his head seriously. "It may have been a classic, but that was NOT the purpose of the contest. I specifically said that the prank that was the most embarrassing for the victims would win, and your prank's only victims were the people who got their shoes wet in the flooded hallway, and the little dumbass who got soaked when he pressed the button. My prank involved FOUR victims, all of which will be ridiculed and gang-beaten like the pansies they are for the rest of their high school career."
Bulma pouted flirtaceously. "You've won the battle, Vejita, but you have not won the war. Now tell me, why would you ask me, of all the notorious troublemakers in this school, to compete against you, the infamous bad-boy of Pineridge High School?" As she waited for his answer, she examined her manicure skeptically, frowning at a small imperfection. "Damn that inexperienced nail technician...see if I ever give HER my business anymore." Her serious words would bring fear into the heart of any business manager, because Bulma Briefs was notoriously wealthy, and when she shopped, she SHOPPED.
"Most of the people in this puny little school bore me," Vejita said indifferently, leaning back in his chair. Vejita's father was a hardcore military man, and had such aspirations for his son, and they had moved around a lot in his life. Vejita had come to Pineridge the summer before the incident at the party. His father had retired a few months later, when his wife had died of cancer, and so Vejita was stuck at Pineridge, a fact he bitterly resented. "I was simply seeing if such a skinny little cheerleader would have it in her."
"Oh, not that cheerleader shit again," Bulma groaned, resting her chin on her propped hands. "God, I'm just about the most unorthodox cheerleader you'll ever meet, and you know it. I don't even show up at practices anymore. I think that I could even rival YOU."
Vejita raised an eyebrow. "If tardiness and skipping were a contest, I could easily crush you, woman."
Bulma smiled smugly. "Well, they can't afford to lose their best flyer--ME."
"They can't afford to lose their best quarterback, either."
"You're the only quarterback in Pineridge history who has made more touchdowns than the entire rest of the team. Of course you get the benefit of the doubt. Does the word 'pass' mean anything to you?" Bulma didn't expect him to answer, so she instead went on ahead with the conversation. "So I take it this means that I'm not 'boring'?"
Vejita considered his answer, though it did not show on his face, thanks to long practice. He didn't want to come right out and say what was REALLY on his mind--he didn't even trust his own father that much--but then again, the more they interacted with each other, the more he was coming to realize how alike they were. The only person he had ever confided in was Goku, and it meant to keep it that way. "Let's not jump to conclusions."
Bulma laughed her throaty little laugh just as the bell rang. She waited until Vejita had stood and nearly turned to leave before standing herself, brushing off her jean skirt gingerly. She took a deep breath and approached Vejita, maintaining a sarcastic little smile on her face. "You know, we're more alike than you realize. Maybe we could hang out sometime...you know, whenever our schedules allow it." She did her lashes trick--men loved it when she gazed becomingly up at them through her lashes and she knew it. Many a boy had lost their heart to THAT little gesture. She hoped that it had its usual effect on the hard-headed Vejita.
"Is there something in your eye?" Vejita retorted brusquely. He turned to leave, walked a few steps, then turned around to face her again before exiting the cafeteria. "Your girlish little tricks will not work with me, woman. Nice try."
Bulma watched him leave, shell-shocked. She was extremely grateful that nearly everyone had left the room just in time to miss that grisly rejection. She began walking stiffly, slowly, back to her locker, rendered into silence by the sting of her very first rejection. Bulma Briefs, cast aside like some...loser?! Unthinkable! Lifting her chin, Bulma forced a smile back onto her face and strutted down the hall, letting everyone know that NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, could shake to their fearless leader.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
That evening, after football practice, Goku took Vejita aside, concern showing on his honest face. The immature runningback had been Vejita's friend from the start, though no one could really determine why. Vejita scowled and protested this 'weak' show of friendship. Goku was so used to it that he hardly even noticed.
"Hey, man, what's wrong?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Vejita snapped, knowing very well that he hadn't been playing quite up to his normal level of perfection that day. Even the death of his mother a year back hadn't fazed his game for even a moment. "Nothing's ever been wrong with me, and that sure as hell has not changed."
Goku shook his head, doubtful. "You don't have to tell me, Vejita, I was just trying to be a good friend. All I can do is ask, you know." He slung his Day-Glo orange Nike bag over his shoulder and exited the locker room, leaving Vejita alone to brood over this turn of events.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
(A/N): Well, this story is now going to be updated regularily! Yay! I'm very much enjoying writing this story, especially since I've modeled some of the characters and events after some of my actual high-school experiences. I'm always open to ideas, and suggestions for situations in this story are always appreciated...hint hint...As always, visit my website so that you can assist me in my Greek Mythology outlining and maybe even offer some ideas on the upcoming sequel to "Little Black Dress". Look for the next chapter in the next couple of days, perhaps on Friday night or Saturday morning. Please be courteous and REVIEW! It ain't gonna improve without some constructive critism, people!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________
______________________________________CHAPTER ONE: Bonnie and Clyde
Bulma Briefs, a senior at last, strode through the hallways of Pineridge High School like it was a catwalk, her flawless face shining with excitement. Despite the fact that she was going to be...delayed for her first class, it was starting to look as if it were going to be a great day. Slipping into the ladies' room, she smoothed down her hair, awaiting the bell that would banish most of the students from the halls and into their classrooms. When it came, she lifted her head to the ceiling in a silent, grateful prayer, and grinned. All was going perfectly according to plan.
Before she slipped back into the hall, she checked that she was alone. Just as predicted, the hallway was empty, save for one pathetic student sprinting to his class. She sighed in relief as the fool disappeared behind one of the many identical doors. The sharp sounds of her expensive heeled shoes striking the floor did not bother her in the least; no one would dare question her intentions, not even the teachers.
Finally she arrived at her destination--the lone drinking fountain across the hall, the site of what would soon become the mother of all schemes. For this week anyway. Smirking, the girl knelt beside the machine, the wheels in her head turning. With the ease of long practice, she slipped out some bobby pins from her knee-high stiletto boots and began to stick them into the thin cracks that went up the side of the old piece of junk. There was no doubt that quite an amount of freshman had been slammed into THIS contraption. The fact that she had never been one of them gave her a brief pang of satisfaction. At last, all of her bobby pins were spent, and she was ready to go into the next phase of her plan.
Humming a song under her breath, she ran a manicured fingernail along the area where the cracks were, examining their stability. When she reached a weak area, her glossed lips curved into a smile of victory. She quickly collected all of the bobby pins and tossed them into a nearby trashbin. Then she stood, brushed herself off, and delivered a swift kick to the weak area of the drinking fountain, observing as the cover came noticeably loose. With an indulgent little laugh and a toss of her long hair, Bulma turned on her heel and continued on her way to her first period class.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Vejita had never been the kind of person that liked to hide his pranks. He much preferred that everyone, besides the school's administrators of course, knew exactly who was behind every single incident. He could gain a lot more power that way. Through this love of being, in a sense, predictable, Vejita had acquired the respect, and not to mention, fear, of the entire student body. There was not a soul in the school who could outdo him, and they all knew it.
The football star hadn't bothered to use secrecy to complete his task, as Bulma most likely had, but instead simply stood and walked out of his first period. The teacher, having heard of Vejita's many strange personality quirks, had merely shaken his head and continued on with the lesson. It wasn't as if Vejita had been listening anyway.
The knowledgable senior knew exactly where the group of freshman would be. The courtyard was like a magnet for the stupid little fucks. Every year he could find them there, sneaking a smoke or making out or whatever it was that they did; he never really paid much attention to that aspect of it. He threw open the doors and stormed out towards the small group. There were four of them today. Slim pickings, but Vejita had learned to deal with that. The fewer there were, the harsher the punishment, and that was something that he could definitely live with.
They saw him coming as soon as the doors had been flung open. Their jaws dropped, and they could hardly believe their bad luck. Vejita smirked at them gleefully, gauging their varying expressions of fear and surprise.
"Well, kids, you've gotten yourselves into a very dangerous situation," he said, his voice low and mocking. "WhatEVER will you do?"
Silence was his reply. Shaking his head in disappointment, for he had always loved to spar verbally, he gestured for them to follow him. He smiled a crooked half-smile as they obeyed and followed him out of the courtyard like little ducklings. Vejita found himself wishing that there were more people around to witness this event, as it would be one for the yearbooks for sure.
He stopped once they reached the gym, conveniently empty at this time of day. He turned to face his victims, amused with their pale faces and tight expressions. "Ladies, follow me." The unfortunate two followed him silently. Vejita only glanced back at the remaining two boys and glared at them, to assure that they would stay put. They had reached the boy's locker room before the girls realized his plan.
"Oh my Gawd," one of them moaned under their breath. "Oh my Gawd."
"Shhh, you dumbass!" her companion snapped.
In spite of their dread, they followed Vejita straight into the room. Without a word, he grabbed them by the front of their slutty little shirts and somehow managed to fit them into two of the (occupied) gym lockers. He smirked as he closed the doors and set the locks, thinking of how funny it would be when the owners of the lockers discovered what had turned up among their jockstraps and old tennis shoes. The screams of protest that followed him out of the room were absolutely delicious.
The boys were waiting exactly where he had left them, not surprisingly. Vejita didn't even have to speak, they simply allowed him to lead them into the girls' locker room, a place that Vejita had most definitely visited before. Chuckling to himself, Vejita shoved them into the lockers and secured the locks, taking his own sweet time. But this time, for the sheer fun of it, he picked up a can of flowery-smelling body spray that had been left on one of the benches and sprayed them each in the face, grinning as they rubbed their stinging eyes and stifled moans of pain.
"You'll want to smell nice for the ladies when they return." With a staged little wave, he turned and left the locker room, then the gym, with no intentions to return to his class, because Vejita was the kind of person who liked to revel in his victories.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
It wasn't until lunch that either Bulma or Vejita was questioned about the day's pranks, though the rumor mill at Pineridge High had been turning busily ever since. It was no secret that Vejita had been involved, but the why's and how's of the situation where still undetermined. Bulma couldn't help but feel a bit perturbed that she wasn't getting proper credit...yet. So instead of spending her Seminar hour completing her untouched homework, she used the time to plot ways to capture some of the glory for herself.
By the time the bell rang for her lunch period, Bulma's devious mind had formulated several ideas, though she would have never stooped so low as to go about getting them carried out. Bulma Briefs was nobody's partner in crime, and she meant to keep it that way. No, linking her name with a guy like Vejita's would do her no good. Though he was widely considered 'popular', in reality, Vejita was not really part of the elite group. He instead sort of haunted the shadows on the edges of the rambunctious crowd. In some ways, this was a blessing, considering his sometimes sadistic humor and often sharp tongue. God knew that some of them could not afford any more nasty rumors flying about the school, further degrading their superior reputations. But, as was becoming an increasingly poignant point with Bulma, the 'in crowd' could use some fresh meat. Especially meat of THAT caliber. Bulma grimaced at this unnecessary thought and put it from her mind. After all, she had Yamcha, though they were in the monthly 'off' period of their relationship at the moment. She thought briefly of how jealous her possessive ex would be if she came to a party on the arm of another man and smiled.
She hadn't even completely exited her classroom when Chichi, her 'best friend', linked her jean-jacketed arm through Bulma's bare one and immediately began her trademark gossiping. Bulma was half-aware of her friend's chattering on about how brilliant Bulma's prank had been, how much better it had been than that horrid Vejita's, and how Bulma should watch her back in the future, because Beverly McPherson had seen her bend down next to the drinking fountain, and she was awful proud of it, too. Chichi did not notice Bulma's tuning her out until her silent friend failed to answer an 'important' question.
"Hello?!" she shouted, causing several people walking around them to flinch. "Have you even heard ONE WORD of what I've been saying?"
"No," Bulma replied coldly, readjusted her purse over her shoulder. "I haven't."
Chichi shook her head ponytailed head. "You haven't been yourself lately, Bulma. Tell me what's the matter--please!"
"Oh, God, Chichi," Bulma groaned, running a hand through her hair. "You know me and Yamcha are on the rocks again. That bastard just can't keep his eyes--and hands--from wandering, I swear."
"Oh, Bulma," Chichi offered sympathetically.
"Don't feel sorry for ME," Bulma said, lifting her chin. "You SHOULD be feeling sorry for HIM. He's had his chance at the most beautiful, popular girl in the school, and he's ruined it. Apparently he doesn't understand the significance of what he's done. We're over for GOOD this time."
"I've heard that before, Bulma," Chichi said mildly. "And what's this with you and Vejita lately? You two are a regular 'Bonnie and Clyde', for God's sake."
Bulma smiled. "There's nothing 'with' me and Vejita. He simply proposed a contest, and I rose to the challenge. Honestly Chichi, me and VEJITA? What were you thinking?"
It was Chichi's turn to give a knowing smile. "I don't know. I must be crazy or something."
"Obviously." Bulma quickened her step, leaving Chichi behind. Sometimes, she couldn't quite remember why she burdened herself with such an annoying girl.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
Needless to say, the conversation at lunch-time that day was not lacking in entertainment. Bulma put up with the good-natured teasing for a few minutes, then began to grow swiftly tired of it. With a look of pure venom directed to everyone at the small, select table, she got up in a huff and retreated to the corner of the room, where Vejita resided. But the people at her table did not feel like they had gained the upper-hand with Bulma for even a moment, instead they felt as if they had been cast aside like insects and forgotton. Bulma had long since established her leadership, and her carefully orchestrated grasp was too tight to give way now. Vejita welcomed her only after making a particularily biting comment.
"I see you've spared no expense in flaunting what every man knows he cannot have," he said, crossing his arms and studying her outfit. "An unnecessary effort--I'm sure they've all had a small part of it at one time or another. I suppose leadership doesn't come without a price, eh?"
"Are you jealous, Vejita?" Bulma shot back, taking a seat across from him and crossing her legs. "Believe me, most of them have had more than their share." With the teasing over with, she leaned forward and smirked. "Come on, you can't deny that I won that little contest. The drinking fountain trick was a classic. I used bobby pins to loosen the cracks so that I could just slip them right in and out of my boots--BOBBY PINS, Vejita. If that's not crafty, then I don't know what is."
Vejita shook his head seriously. "It may have been a classic, but that was NOT the purpose of the contest. I specifically said that the prank that was the most embarrassing for the victims would win, and your prank's only victims were the people who got their shoes wet in the flooded hallway, and the little dumbass who got soaked when he pressed the button. My prank involved FOUR victims, all of which will be ridiculed and gang-beaten like the pansies they are for the rest of their high school career."
Bulma pouted flirtaceously. "You've won the battle, Vejita, but you have not won the war. Now tell me, why would you ask me, of all the notorious troublemakers in this school, to compete against you, the infamous bad-boy of Pineridge High School?" As she waited for his answer, she examined her manicure skeptically, frowning at a small imperfection. "Damn that inexperienced nail technician...see if I ever give HER my business anymore." Her serious words would bring fear into the heart of any business manager, because Bulma Briefs was notoriously wealthy, and when she shopped, she SHOPPED.
"Most of the people in this puny little school bore me," Vejita said indifferently, leaning back in his chair. Vejita's father was a hardcore military man, and had such aspirations for his son, and they had moved around a lot in his life. Vejita had come to Pineridge the summer before the incident at the party. His father had retired a few months later, when his wife had died of cancer, and so Vejita was stuck at Pineridge, a fact he bitterly resented. "I was simply seeing if such a skinny little cheerleader would have it in her."
"Oh, not that cheerleader shit again," Bulma groaned, resting her chin on her propped hands. "God, I'm just about the most unorthodox cheerleader you'll ever meet, and you know it. I don't even show up at practices anymore. I think that I could even rival YOU."
Vejita raised an eyebrow. "If tardiness and skipping were a contest, I could easily crush you, woman."
Bulma smiled smugly. "Well, they can't afford to lose their best flyer--ME."
"They can't afford to lose their best quarterback, either."
"You're the only quarterback in Pineridge history who has made more touchdowns than the entire rest of the team. Of course you get the benefit of the doubt. Does the word 'pass' mean anything to you?" Bulma didn't expect him to answer, so she instead went on ahead with the conversation. "So I take it this means that I'm not 'boring'?"
Vejita considered his answer, though it did not show on his face, thanks to long practice. He didn't want to come right out and say what was REALLY on his mind--he didn't even trust his own father that much--but then again, the more they interacted with each other, the more he was coming to realize how alike they were. The only person he had ever confided in was Goku, and it meant to keep it that way. "Let's not jump to conclusions."
Bulma laughed her throaty little laugh just as the bell rang. She waited until Vejita had stood and nearly turned to leave before standing herself, brushing off her jean skirt gingerly. She took a deep breath and approached Vejita, maintaining a sarcastic little smile on her face. "You know, we're more alike than you realize. Maybe we could hang out sometime...you know, whenever our schedules allow it." She did her lashes trick--men loved it when she gazed becomingly up at them through her lashes and she knew it. Many a boy had lost their heart to THAT little gesture. She hoped that it had its usual effect on the hard-headed Vejita.
"Is there something in your eye?" Vejita retorted brusquely. He turned to leave, walked a few steps, then turned around to face her again before exiting the cafeteria. "Your girlish little tricks will not work with me, woman. Nice try."
Bulma watched him leave, shell-shocked. She was extremely grateful that nearly everyone had left the room just in time to miss that grisly rejection. She began walking stiffly, slowly, back to her locker, rendered into silence by the sting of her very first rejection. Bulma Briefs, cast aside like some...loser?! Unthinkable! Lifting her chin, Bulma forced a smile back onto her face and strutted down the hall, letting everyone know that NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, could shake to their fearless leader.
_______________ ~*~*~*~
That evening, after football practice, Goku took Vejita aside, concern showing on his honest face. The immature runningback had been Vejita's friend from the start, though no one could really determine why. Vejita scowled and protested this 'weak' show of friendship. Goku was so used to it that he hardly even noticed.
"Hey, man, what's wrong?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Vejita snapped, knowing very well that he hadn't been playing quite up to his normal level of perfection that day. Even the death of his mother a year back hadn't fazed his game for even a moment. "Nothing's ever been wrong with me, and that sure as hell has not changed."
Goku shook his head, doubtful. "You don't have to tell me, Vejita, I was just trying to be a good friend. All I can do is ask, you know." He slung his Day-Glo orange Nike bag over his shoulder and exited the locker room, leaving Vejita alone to brood over this turn of events.
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(A/N): Well, this story is now going to be updated regularily! Yay! I'm very much enjoying writing this story, especially since I've modeled some of the characters and events after some of my actual high-school experiences. I'm always open to ideas, and suggestions for situations in this story are always appreciated...hint hint...As always, visit my website so that you can assist me in my Greek Mythology outlining and maybe even offer some ideas on the upcoming sequel to "Little Black Dress". Look for the next chapter in the next couple of days, perhaps on Friday night or Saturday morning. Please be courteous and REVIEW! It ain't gonna improve without some constructive critism, people!
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