Disclaimer: See part one.
Early read was done by sage of angst. PsYChO was absent this time, though I have no real reason as to why he was.
* * *
Parallel and Perpendicular
A romance/fiction story by ShaggyDiz
Chapter One: You May Think You Hate Me
Part Three: Pushing the Proverbial Envelope
* * *
Begin Part Three
* * *
Lunch turned out to be a welcomed relief to Gohan. He managed to sneak away before anyone could spot him and, discovering that the students were allowed to eat outside during lunch, he snuck out to a small copse of trees several hundred yards away from the school. He walked around the other side of the tree – facing away from the school – and took a seat there.
"Hmm… two sandwiches, loaded with my favorites," Gohan said greedily, taking out the tightly wrapped sandwiches and his bag of chips, placing them on top of the provided napkins. He took his time with his lunch, wanting to make sure his hunger was satisfied for the time being.
He decided not to worry now about Videl. The plan he thought of would work for now.
"Why doesn't she stand up for herself though if these teachers continue to be a thorn in her side? Mr. Lou tells me not to associate myself with her, and then Ms. Pumpkin yells at her for something I did." He took several bites of his sandwich.
"This is awfully confusing," he said, finishing his sandwiches. He got up and made his way back to school, getting a drink from a vending machine before taking a short tour around the school grounds. He had plenty of time before his next class started.
Gohan had plenty of thinking to do as well. So deep in his thoughts, though, that he never noticed the girl staring down at him the entire time.
* * *
Lunch turned out to be a welcomed relief for Videl. She managed to sneak away after class from Gohan and the others, and after grabbing her lunch, made her way outside. Making her way to a small copse of trees some distance away from the school, she climbed up one of the taller trees, settling on a branch twenty feet off the ground.
"Hmm… two sandwiches, loaded with my favorites," Videl said greedily, taking out one of her tightly wrapped sandwiches, unwrapping it and taking small bites out of it. She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes.
"Why did Gohan do that today?" she pondered out loud, her demeanor changing slightly. She was about to continue, but before she could, Videl heard footsteps crunching on the gravel path below her. She peeked down, seeing Gohan walking slowly along the path, taking occasional peaks over his shoulder.
Ah, so you snuck out here yourself, Gohan? She kept her eyes on him, making sure not to lose sight of him. He settled down at the tree right before hers, plopping on the ground and leaning back against the tree.
"Hmm…" Videl heard him say out load, "two sandwiches, loaded with my favorites." She tilted her heard slightly, feeling somewhat confused.
He said the same exact line I just said a moment ago… curious…
She continued eating her sandwich in small bites, keeping a steady eye on the black haired boy. He gave a slight smile, and even from there, Videl could have sworn it looked like a pitying smile. Does he pity… me?
"Why doesn't she stand up for herself though if these teachers continue to be a thorn in her side?" she heard him say. So it was she; that she now knew. She didn't want his pity though. Videl Satan doesn't take pity from anyone. Yet…
"Mr. Lou tells me not to associate myself with her, and then Ms. Pumpkin yells at her for something I did."
Mr. Lou did tell Gohan that after all. She paused, following Gohan's movement and taking several bites of her sandwich.
"This is awfully confusing," Gohan said after several minutes.
You can say that again, Videl thought silently. Fortunately for her, he didn't. Videl finished her sandwich, waiting for Gohan to leave until she took out her second one. She had done a good job of keeping silent sitting up in the tree, and she doubted Gohan would look up at her, seeing how deep in thought he was.
Soon enough though, he got up and walked off, never speaking a word as to where he was heading. Videl waited a few minutes before descending the tree, looking down the path back to school.
"Argh!" she suddenly yelled out, as if releasing a great amount of pent up frustration. "I don't need your pity! I can handle myself!" Videl spent herself too quick though, for she ended up falling backwards against the tree. She leaned up against it, breathing deeply, her anger slowly subsiding.
"I don't need your pity," she whispered to herself one last time, if anything, just for reassurance. Videl pushed herself off of the tree, grabbing a napkin from her bag and wiping the sweat from her head as best she could. She slowly made her way down the path, forgetting about the rest of her lunch still tightly clutched in her hand. She would finish it later, but for now, all she could do was think about Gohan, and why he wanted to go so far out of his way to help her.
Her answer came long after the final two classes of the day.
* * *
"Good afternoon students! I am Mrs. Honeydew," the blonde teacher said to the assembled class. She was of medium height, with an attractive build. No one could have said that she was the bearer of three children with the look that she had. "This year, I will be teaching World Languages. Here are the syllabi," she said, pointing to the stack of papers at the front of her desk. She picked them up and handed them to a student at the front of the row.
She turned back to the board, writing down the first lesson plan in German, ignoring the occasional whistle from the students behind her. Up in the fourth row, Erasa continually hit Sharpener in the head. He was the apparent ringleader of the hooting and hollering.
"Sharpener! What are you doing?" she whispered harshly into his ear.
"What does it look like I'm doing? Besides, we never got to see her before."
Erasa's left eyebrow rose considerably higher. "You do it in the hallways too, you know."
"I do? Wow… I really forgot those last three years walking by her in the halls." He turned his head to look at his girlfriend. "Don't worry about it babe. Never forget that she is too old for me, and you are the perfect one."
Somehow, Sharpener had chosen the right words for once, for Erasa's bad mood softened enormously. "Oh Sharpener!" With a quick glance at the board – and seeing that the teacher was still occupied – she took the opportunity to reach out and hug her boyfriend. "You do know how to say the right words!"
"I do?" he let out, puzzled beyond reasonable thought.
Next to the blondes, Videl was ready to maim the offending characters.
"One of these days, those two will meet their makers."
"Now why would you do that?" Gohan asked. She looked at him confused, and rightfully so. During the whole display of affection, Videl noticed that Gohan had never turned his head once to acknowledge the festivities. A quick look at his notebook showed that he had been attentive to the class the entire time.
Curious as she was: "Have you seen what those two were doing?"
Gohan nodded. "Yeah." He scribbled down a few more notes. "You should be glad I'm acting as a buffer of sorts. I'm the one suffering by sitting next to them."
Videl smirked. "Is that so? Realize now that for the last three years, I've had to hear Sharpener complain about trying to get with Erasa. It's not my fault he never made a move," she said, muttering the last sentence.
He nodded again, this time cracking a smile. A few minutes passed as they took notes, most of the students trying to remember any sort of foreign language. Somewhere during those few minutes, Gohan remembered the instances with the teachers from earlier. He had hoped that this one wasn't as… harassing as the previous two.
"Hey Videl?" he asked.
"Yeah?"
"Does Mrs. Honeydew… like you, or dislike you?"
Twitch.
"She likes me. Why?"
"Curious observation," Gohan said, preferring to leave it at that.
Videl had other thoughts. "A 'curious observation'? Explain that."
He really didn't want to, but a quick glance out of the corner of his eye showed that any course of action now wouldn't halt her rising anger. "Mr. Lou and Ms. Pumpkin didn't like you at all, from what I've seen. And so far, Mrs. Honeydew hasn't raised a distasteful eye to you yet." He turned to look at her fully. "I don't want any explanations as to why these people like and dislike you. I don't know you well enough yet to ask you personally." He turned his head back to the front of the class, jotting down a few more notes before making one final statement: "Just a curious observation."
Twitch.
I don't need your pity.
"Ms. Satan."
I don't need your pity.
"Ms. Satan?"
I don't need your pity!
"Ms. Satan!" The teacher, who looked oddly calm after yelling her name three times, brought Videl out of her inner struggles.
"I'm sorry," she said, blushing in embarrassment.
"Are you okay up there?" Mrs. Honeydew asked, a positive curiosity in her voice.
"I'm all right… just spaced out."
"That's fine dear. Now, I want you to tell me how to say 'Good day! How are you?' in formal German."
It was clearly obvious that foreign languages weren't Videl's strong suit. She knew various phrases in some languages, but hardly knew even a quarter of the words in most of them. Formal German was a particular challenge.
"I'm sorry Mrs. Honeydew. I forget how to speak in the formal sense." Her head dipped slightly in shame.
"It's all right Videl. I doubt anyone in here would remember any foreign languages, unless they studied them intently over the summer." She looked down at her roster sheet. "Let me see… Gohan?"
His head perked up. "Yes?"
"Can you translate what I just asked Ms. Satan?"
He nodded. "Sure. 'Guten Tag. Wie geht's es Ihnen?' Was that right?"
"I believe it is," Mrs. Honeydew said, nodding in approval. "I've never seen you before. Are you a new student?"
"Yes ma'am."
She nodded again, moving onto another part of the lesson. Gohan looked to his left, seeing Videl staring intently at him.
"I can help you if you want. I'm pretty good at this stuff."
I don't need your pity!
"I'm fine," she said softly, though with a clipped tongue. She hoped he would take the message.
Apparently, he didn't. "You sure?"
I don't need your pity!
"I said I was fine," she said, this time in a higher voice, yet still only loud enough for Gohan to hear. He looked at Videl for a few more seconds before turning back to the front. He continued to write down notes, all the while wondering why Videl refused his help.
She seemed almost… mad there.
The bell rang forty minutes later, ending the second to last class of the day. It could not come any slower for Videl and Gohan.
It was luck that Videl found out that she would not have Gohan in her final rotation of classes: a free period/study hall followed the next day by physical education. She needed as much time as possible to get away from Gohan, and to clear her thoughts of him.
He was proving to be quite the pain in the ass in her eye.
* * *
End Part Three
* * *