Tino had to steady Tish as they climbed out of the shuttle simulator. Twice she thought for sure she was going to lose her peanut butter, but a strong desire to keep herself together eventually won out. A few minutes later, Tish was sitting on the wall outside, slowly sipping on a cola Tino had bought her from the refreshment stand.

Carver half-leaned on the wall, trying to look cool without going for the total immersion appearance of Colby and Bree. Lor sat a bit to the side of Tish, looking bored.

"Tish, I never knew you had such a weak stomach." Carver commented.

"Maybe it was the peanut butter." Tish replied weakly.

Lor mused, "Does this mean we're not getting pizza?"

"Perish the thought!" Carver sounded horrified.

Tish sipped at her soda again. "No, I'll be all right guys. Just give me some time. It's only six, I'll be fine in an hour or two."

"So what am I supposed to do for the next two hours?" asked Lor. "Wrestle Tino and Carver?"

"Stay back!" shouted Tino, cowering behind Carver.

"I was only kidding, guys." Lor said with an edge of frustration in her voice. "There's no challenge in it anyway."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Carver challenged.

"Whoa, whoa. Guys, let's not fight. If Tish is sick and then you guys need bandaging, that makes me the official nurse!"

"The official nurse?" Lor asked. "What are your qualifications?"

"Um, well, I got Tish that soda!"

Carver laughed. "Oh yeah. You are the king of prescriptions."

"Hey Tish, think you can handle a movie?" Lor inquired.

"Whoa, settle down there! We've missed all the matinees."

"So?"

"So that means it costs more!"

Tino interrupted. "Carver does have a point. Well, why don't we go see if there's anything worth paying full price for. If not, there's always Funville."

"Sounds like a plan." Lor's enthusiastic response brought a smile to Tino's face. "Movie or Funville, then pizza. Um. . .do you need some help there, Tish?"

"My stomach is upset. I'm not helpless!" Tish admonished, then slowly scooted off the wall and fell into step with her friends. Well, slightly behind and a tad slower than normal.

"Okay," Carver emphasized, "This is where I draw the line. There is no way I'm paying for THIS." He held his arms out towards the marquee of the theater, gesturing grandly to it.

"Flower Patch." Lor commented. "Even the title makes me want to lose my lunch."

"I wish you hadn't said that." Tish cupped a hand over her mouth as a thankfully brief wave of nausea washed over her.

Tino took one look at the giant letters over the theater's entrance. "Pass! If we're even seen near here, the damage to our middle school reputations could be irreversible!"

"Funville it is, then." Suggested Carver.

"Hey Tish, is this fresh air doing you any good?" asked Lor.

"I think the soda is doing it's job. Or at least, it will be, if you don't keep making me nauseous." The redhead offered.

"Huh?"

"Let's just keep moving." Tino said, rescuing Lor from her confusion. "The pool table awaits."

"I'm not going to be at my best tonight." Tish reminded them.

"In that case, Carver's on MY team tonight."

"Hey, this means I might actually know what it feels like to win a game!" grinned Carver.

"Oh, you are so on, Carver!" Tino jumped up at the thought. "Handicapped Tish or not, I'll bet we still beat you two."

"Is that a challenge, Tino?" Lor asked.

"A challenge? I prefer to think of it as a massacre! We are gonna bury you!"

"Why does everyone keep talking about me like I'm not even here?" asked Tish. "I'm a person, not a weapon!"

"It's your brain that's the weapon, Tish. You're always able to see beyond the table and into those. . .those things you said you use to figure where to hit the ball."

"Reflections?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"You could learn to do it to, you know. It's not that hard."

"Eh, sounds like too much work to me." Lor responded. "It's much easier to just have you on my team."

"Then why did you just trade me for Carver?"

"You said you aren't at your best! I don't want someone on my team who can't give 120%!"

"Thanks so much for your confidence! I get a stomach ache and all of a sudden I'm like week-old leftovers!"

Tino cut in. "Relax, Tish, I still have faith in you."

"Hey, for the record, I never said she was off her game!" Carver added.

"Yeah, but you sure abandoned my team real quick!" Tino charged.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Now you two are gonna get it! Let's hose them down, Lor."

"My pleasure." Lor grinned devilishly.

Twenty minutes later, the four of them stood around a pool table, looking very much like generals going into battle.

"All right," asked Carver, "Who breaks?"

"Flip for it?" Tino ventured.

"Sounds fair. Any objections, ladies?" Both girls shook their heads. "Good. Lor, you call it." Carver flipped the coin into the air.

"Heads!" shouted Lor.

A moment later, Carver caught the quarter and laid it on his forearm, still covering it with his hand. Slowly he withdrew the cover. "Tails." He said dejectedly.

"I guess that means we're up." Tino smiled smugly.

"You have to break." Lor pointed at Tino.

"What? Me? But I'm no good at it! I want Tish to break!"

Lor shook her head. "You won the toss, but we get to decide which of you goes first."

"It is tradition." Carver grinned as he began racking the balls.

"Give us a sec." Tino stalled, turning to Tish. "Tish, I need your advice."

"I can't help you very much, Tino. Try going in fast and from the left, it's the side I favor. The rest is a combination of skill and luck."

"I'm going to need your help to win this."

"Well, I'm feeling a bit better now. Thanks for the soda, Tino. That was very thoughtful of you."

Tino beamed. "Well, I, uh...hey, anything for a friend in need, right?!"

"Right." Tish smiled back, risking a wink before turning back towards the table. "Good luck, Tino."

Tino shakily stepped toward the table, furiously chalking his cue stick. Lor flashed him an impish grin from the other end of the table as she rolled the cue ball to him. Tino reached out for the ball, caught it, and began searching for the best place to line it up. Taking Tish's advice, he set it left of the center, just far enough ahead that he could get some decent force behind it. Satisfied with the positioning, Tino turned back to Tish, who smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Now or never, Tino." He whispered to himself, drawing the stick back. Tino then thrust it forward, sending the ball hurtling into the triangle. Tino watched in awe as the white sphere struck to the left, sending two-thirds of the triangle in different directions. He nearly danced a jig when the number three ball sank into a side pocket. "Ha!" Tino shouted. "Did you see that, did you? In your face, Lor! The first kill is ours!"

"So what do you want, a medal?" Lor smirked. "Let's see you do it again, hot shot!" Energized, Tino lined up his second shot, but alas, history did not repeat itself. "Better luck next time, Tino."

Tino sighed as he stepped away from the table, making room for Lor. "Ah well, at least we started ahead."

"You did great!" smiled Tish. "You've got nothing to feel down about. Don't worry, as soon as I'm up, I'll open things up for you."

Lor rejoiced as she sunk two striped balls in a row, settling on leaving Tish behind the eight ball when no good shots presented themselves. "Let's see you work your way out of that, Tish!" she sang.

"With pleasure." Tish approached the table very purposefully. Tino watched from behind as she threw her head back, her hair flipping and settling back down as though it were a red cape.

"Whoa." Was all the boy could say in response. Tish delicately chalked her cue, then deftly approached the cue ball, not hesitating for a second as she set sent it ricocheting off several different sides of the table before it knocked the seven ball into a side pocket. Unphased, Tish smiled as she proceeded to take her next shot, sending the four ball to its resting place. She practically danced over to her next shot, firing almost right away and finishing off the two ball. She stopped to scan the table carefully, the number five ball was hanging on a corner pocket, but she didn't want to do this all by herself. Tino needed to feel like he played a part in their victory. Thinking quietly to herself, she merely tapped the cue ball this time, sending it behind the number six. Now it would be a lot harder for Carver to make his easiest shot without helping his opponents out tremendously.

"Man, I thought you said you weren't feeling well, Tish!" Carver said in shock as he looked at the table, now decidedly going in Tino and Tish's favor.

"I'm feeling better." Was all that Tish said in reply.

Lor squeezed a cube of chalk in her hand. "Ok, Carver, I'm counting on you. We're not letting them take us without a fight!"

"Relax." Carver reassured his teammate. "I got this." He took the initiative, approaching the cue ball and very carefully lining up his shot. Very carefully, drawing back on the stick four times before finally committing to a shot, he let the ball fly. The number six ball parted easily to the side, despite Tish's planning, while the cue ball banked left and sent Carver's target, the twelve ball, right into a side pocket. "I know, I'm good." He smiled.

"I'll say." Tino commented, mouth hanging open.

"I'm impressed." Tish admitted. "That was most impressive, Carver. Have you been practicing?"

"Oh, I might've shot a game or two with my dad this week. He's been trying to spend more time with me."

"Well it's paying off, dude!" Lor jumped into the air. "That was incredible! I'm so glad you're on my team!"

The game came down to a battle over the eight ball. Carver had missed, and it was now Tino's turn to sink the winning shot. He suddenly felt nervous, like this shot meant a lot more than just a silly game, which was ridiculous. Nevertheless, the uneasiness was still clinging to the put in his stomach. Tish had given him all the advice she could; aim straight and true, don't put too much spin or speed on it, a scratch could ruin everything. Tino approached the cue ball and prepared to make his shot, sighting up the eight ball, which was lying to the left of the far corner pocket. He could make this shot. It wasn't overly difficult, somewhat of a straight line. But there was a lot of distance to cover, and a lot of things that could go wrong over that distance. If he missed, Lor would be up, and he had no dount that Lor would be able to sink the ball with the table so completely open. There would be nothing to stop her.

Carefully, Tino drew back on the cue, holding his breath as he prepared to send the ball toward its target. Hoping against hope that he would get it right, he finally trusted to fate and destiny and completed his last shot. The ball began to travel towards the feared eight ball, bane of many a player since the game had first begun. Everyone watched in fascination as the cue ball traveled farther down the table, so far appearing on target. Tish practically bore a hole in the eight ball with her eyes, perhaps willing it to sink with her mind. In the end, whether it was Tino's skill, Tish's mental power, or just dumb luck, the ball sank. Tino jumped up on a chair and began hooting with delight. "We won! We won! I can't believe it! Tish, did you see that?! I got it in! I GOT IT IN!"

"I told you you could do it." Tish smiled at him.

"Nicely played, Tino." Carver shook his hand. "That was just an all-around beautiful shot."

"Yeah," Lor consented. "Maybe you just can't fight fate. It was a good game, Tino."

"Thanks guys." Tino smiled. "I appreciate it. But I couldn't have done it without Tish."

"No." Tish smiled. "We did it together. It's called teamwork."

"Does this mean we all have to hug each other?" asked Lor. "It's getting a little sappy in here!"

"Sorry. Hey, you know what sounds good right about now? Pizza!"

"Oh yeah, I'm in!" Lor sounded enthused. "I was hoping you would feel better soon. But from the way you two just played. . ."

"I'm fine."

"Better than fine." said Carver. "That was 120% if I ever saw it, Tish.

"Thanks guys."

"All right," Tino drew everyone in, "Let's go get ourselves some pizza. I could REALLY use a night away from Mom's cooking!"

Ah, another chapter done, folks. This one took a little while to get out, but I feel that it was worth it. My current goal is to have another one up on Friday. Yeah, I'm an ambitious guy. Thanks for reading! A shout out to K-chan, Kaon, and Calty for making the writing so rewarding. It always warms my heart to get such wonderful reviews.

Lord Malachite

Ranger_writer@yahoo.com

AIM: Asukaphile26

5/15/03

5:48 PM, EST