CHAPTER 5: BACK TO SCHOOL
Summer vacation, as usual, passed by all too soon. Like every year, T.J. spent his summer kicking back and doing things he wasn't allowed during the school months, like staying up late and watching extra television. The rest of the gang were at various summer camps for a month - including Spinelli. T.J. missed her terribly, but there was nothing he could do; her parents made her go to a regular camp this year instead of the usual 'wrestling' camps. Spinelli offered to break out and sneak to T.J.'s room, but T.J. told her that that would not only get her in trouble, but it would arouse suspicion about their relationship if she got caught. It was a long month, but when she came back, they were soon in each other's arms, kissing and playing with the other's hair - in secret, of course. The next vacation month proved easy for their new relationship. T.J. would call her during her usual boxing training to talk. Spinelli would call him while he was playing catch to talk. They'd go to each other's house to talk - and kiss. They'd make regular phone calls to and hang out with their friends - with the exception of Gretchen, who they both feared would again ask what was going on between them. But besides the fact that they hadn't seen Gretchen for nearly two months, it was still one of the greatest summers ever.
Then came back-to-school day. The day where children all over America sadly re-enter school classrooms. But not T.J. Detweiler, though. Because on this day, he was to be inaugurated in a grand-but-short ten minute ceremony. As he entered school, many students lined the walkway and cheered him on as he walked. This wasn't the first time that this happened, but today it felt extra-special.
Then recess came. Vince and Mikey, T.J.'s top two bodyguards (he chose them because Vince had been a good temp bodyguard for former King Bob, and Mikey.....was just huge), were on top of the royal throne, which was crowded in the front by nearly all of the students. Vince shouted above the commotion:
"Attention, Third Street! Show your love for our new ruler......KING T.J.!!!!
At that point, T.J. appeared from the back of the throne and walked slowly. Suddenly, music played through a radio near the throne; it was The Rock's entrance theme from the WWF:
"If ya smeeeeell....(boom)....what The Rock....(ba-boom)....is cookin!
(brrrrrrrrrrrm, brrrm-brrrm, brr-brrrrrrrrrrm) The Rock says.......
The Rock....The Rock....The Rock says....
T.J. wanted to play this song because he thought that it was the coolest, most majestic entrance song ever. As soon as the first guitar solo hit, he stood in front of his new chair, arms slightly lifted from his side, fists clenched, feet at shoulder width, and with a serious look on his face, he looked out in the distance, seeming to say, 'I am king of everything'. All of his new subjects cheered like crazy, except for a select few. Vince looked at T.J., smiled and shook his head thinking, 'He's just too much'. Then Vince called out to T.J., "Hey, King Teej, you should probably turn the music off, Finster might hear."
"Good call, Vince" T.J. replied, then he signaled Mikey to turn off the music. Once it was off, he continued.
"All right, everyone," T.J. shouted, quieting most of the kids down, "As your king, I only demand three basic things on this playground: peace, joy, and equality. Now I'm not saying that I want you to act like a bunch of hippies, but....."
As T.J. continued his speech, four girls were leaving the scene with angry looks.
"This is just.....not.....FAIR!!" Ashley A. growled. "All these years I thought it would be ME on that stupid throne, not Jerk-weiler!"
"I thought you said you'd try to get some dirt on him" Ashley B. reminded her.
"I know! I didn't forget. I NEVER forget."
"Oh really? Remember 'Purple Day', fourth grade?" Ashley Q. asked her.
"Okay, first of all, I thought we all agreed to never bring that up again!" Ashley A. reminded them. "And secondly, who are we kidding? This is Detweiler we're talking about. He's all about justice. He's clean! He's perfect!"
"He's a greedy woman-stealer!" said a voice from behind the group. All four Ashleys turned around to see a slightly sad, mostly mad Randall Weems, the snitch, the weasel, the hunchback that no student liked or trusted.
"EEW! Like, get away from us, loser!" Ashley A. instinctively shouted. But she then remembered what Randall just said. Pathetically, Randall mumbled "Oh, sorry", and began to walk away, but then Ashley A. stopped him.
"Wait a second! What did you mean by 'woman-stealer'?"
"Oh," Randall turned around and said, "Well.....two months ago, right after summer vacation started, I went over to Gretchen Grundler's house after school to try to make a deal with her concerning sixth grade and.....my homework...."
"Go on...." Ashley Q. said impatiently. He continued.
"Anyway, before got to the door, I could see T.J. walking past the front window, and I went to the window to peek inside, and I saw.....Spinelli stting on a chair..."
"So you saw Detweiler and his dorky gang," Ashley B. added, "So what?"
"You don't understand. It wasn't all six of them, just T.J. and Spinelli...." then Randall got a disgusted look on is face, "......and they were.....kissing!".
All four Ashleys gasped. After saying that, Randall felt like he could have blown chunks right there. Even though he never showed it, he had a kind of 'thing' for Spinelli. Of course, he could never tell her; his fear of rejection and humiliation was much too high for that. Also, he would usually treat her just as bad as he treated his arch-enemy, T.J., tattling on them and blackmailing them whenever he could. He never could figure out why he did these things to her. He probably couldn't help himself, maybe it was just his way. Maybe he did them to stay fresh on her mind and not be forgotten, he didn't know. But it no longer mattered. He was angry at both of them, for crushing his dreams of what, in his mind, could have been. He was so angry and crushed that the thought of busting the new 'couple' himself didn't even cross his mind. After calming himself down, Randall finished his story.
"Not only that, afterwards, they were.....they were.....snuggling!"
At that point, Ashley B., Q., and T. all smiled at each other, knowing that opportunity was knocking. However, for some reason, Ashley A. was still with a dropped jaw. For some reason, instead of feeling delight over the valuable piece of information, she felt another emotion - jealousy. Like Randall, she hated the idea of T.J. 'being with' Spinelli. Unlike Randall, she had just discovered this. She didn't feel anything for T.J. before, so why did she feel upset now? Again, unlike Randall, she refused to dwell on her emotions. All she knew was that she didn't like them together, and she'd do anything to break them up, even hurt Spinelli in the process if possible.
"Oh, my gosh, like, I don't believe this! Dork-weiler and Spin-ugly finally hooked up!" Ashley B. exclaimed.
"Well, it was only a matter of time, especially after that experiment-kiss thing they did," Ashley Q. added. "Now that we know we have a secret couple on our hands, all we have to do is threaten to bust them, and force Detweiler to, like, give up his power to you, Ashley A.!"
"Wait a second," Ashley A. said with an unusually angry look on her face. "That might not work. What if they're planning to tell everyone anyway? Then that plan will blow up in our faces. No, we need something more sinister. Something that'll hurt them...."
Just then, Ashley A. thought up a devious idea. She spoke with an evil voice, "I think.....we should break up the royal couple!"
"Oooh.....SCANDALOUS!!" chorused the other three Ashleys.
"Huddle up, Ashleys! I'm already, like, totally forming a plan!.....Oh, and Randall?"
"Uh, yeah?" Randall said, expecting her to finally tell him to get lost.
"We're gonna need your spy sense for this one," she said slyly.
Randall then gained a happy smile on his face, rubbed his hands together, and replied, "Oh, boy! Moist!"
Back on the royal throne, King T.J. was relaxing and fumbling to fit the new crown he got from Hustler Kid, onto his red cap. He had already taken off his green jacket and clasped the two top buttons around his neck so that it would look like a cape on him. He pointed his scepter at Vince and ordered:
"Vince?"
"Yes, your highness?"
"Fetch me a bag of double chocolate-chip cookies!"
"Yes, your highness," Vince responded.
Both boys then smiled as Vince went off to get T,J,'s cookies. Earlier, T.J. had expressed concern about acting too much like a king around his friends-turned-royal guards. Vince and Mikey, though, told T.J. that it was okay, and that they didn't mind using titles with him during school hours and doing whatever he said, because they knew he was a good friend. He then turned to Mikey:
"Mikey!"
"Yes, King T.J.?"
"Go and bring Spinelli to me. And afterwards, go to Arty Kid and ask him if he can do a picture of me, so I can put it on the back of my throne."
"Yes, sire!" Mikey happily responded.
T.J. sat back and smiled a big smile. "Ahhh, this is the life," he said happily. But before he could close his eyes in content, he saw Gretchen walking up to his throne, eyes fixed on him. T.J. thought, "Uh-oh".
Summer vacation, as usual, passed by all too soon. Like every year, T.J. spent his summer kicking back and doing things he wasn't allowed during the school months, like staying up late and watching extra television. The rest of the gang were at various summer camps for a month - including Spinelli. T.J. missed her terribly, but there was nothing he could do; her parents made her go to a regular camp this year instead of the usual 'wrestling' camps. Spinelli offered to break out and sneak to T.J.'s room, but T.J. told her that that would not only get her in trouble, but it would arouse suspicion about their relationship if she got caught. It was a long month, but when she came back, they were soon in each other's arms, kissing and playing with the other's hair - in secret, of course. The next vacation month proved easy for their new relationship. T.J. would call her during her usual boxing training to talk. Spinelli would call him while he was playing catch to talk. They'd go to each other's house to talk - and kiss. They'd make regular phone calls to and hang out with their friends - with the exception of Gretchen, who they both feared would again ask what was going on between them. But besides the fact that they hadn't seen Gretchen for nearly two months, it was still one of the greatest summers ever.
Then came back-to-school day. The day where children all over America sadly re-enter school classrooms. But not T.J. Detweiler, though. Because on this day, he was to be inaugurated in a grand-but-short ten minute ceremony. As he entered school, many students lined the walkway and cheered him on as he walked. This wasn't the first time that this happened, but today it felt extra-special.
Then recess came. Vince and Mikey, T.J.'s top two bodyguards (he chose them because Vince had been a good temp bodyguard for former King Bob, and Mikey.....was just huge), were on top of the royal throne, which was crowded in the front by nearly all of the students. Vince shouted above the commotion:
"Attention, Third Street! Show your love for our new ruler......KING T.J.!!!!
At that point, T.J. appeared from the back of the throne and walked slowly. Suddenly, music played through a radio near the throne; it was The Rock's entrance theme from the WWF:
"If ya smeeeeell....(boom)....what The Rock....(ba-boom)....is cookin!
(brrrrrrrrrrrm, brrrm-brrrm, brr-brrrrrrrrrrm) The Rock says.......
The Rock....The Rock....The Rock says....
T.J. wanted to play this song because he thought that it was the coolest, most majestic entrance song ever. As soon as the first guitar solo hit, he stood in front of his new chair, arms slightly lifted from his side, fists clenched, feet at shoulder width, and with a serious look on his face, he looked out in the distance, seeming to say, 'I am king of everything'. All of his new subjects cheered like crazy, except for a select few. Vince looked at T.J., smiled and shook his head thinking, 'He's just too much'. Then Vince called out to T.J., "Hey, King Teej, you should probably turn the music off, Finster might hear."
"Good call, Vince" T.J. replied, then he signaled Mikey to turn off the music. Once it was off, he continued.
"All right, everyone," T.J. shouted, quieting most of the kids down, "As your king, I only demand three basic things on this playground: peace, joy, and equality. Now I'm not saying that I want you to act like a bunch of hippies, but....."
As T.J. continued his speech, four girls were leaving the scene with angry looks.
"This is just.....not.....FAIR!!" Ashley A. growled. "All these years I thought it would be ME on that stupid throne, not Jerk-weiler!"
"I thought you said you'd try to get some dirt on him" Ashley B. reminded her.
"I know! I didn't forget. I NEVER forget."
"Oh really? Remember 'Purple Day', fourth grade?" Ashley Q. asked her.
"Okay, first of all, I thought we all agreed to never bring that up again!" Ashley A. reminded them. "And secondly, who are we kidding? This is Detweiler we're talking about. He's all about justice. He's clean! He's perfect!"
"He's a greedy woman-stealer!" said a voice from behind the group. All four Ashleys turned around to see a slightly sad, mostly mad Randall Weems, the snitch, the weasel, the hunchback that no student liked or trusted.
"EEW! Like, get away from us, loser!" Ashley A. instinctively shouted. But she then remembered what Randall just said. Pathetically, Randall mumbled "Oh, sorry", and began to walk away, but then Ashley A. stopped him.
"Wait a second! What did you mean by 'woman-stealer'?"
"Oh," Randall turned around and said, "Well.....two months ago, right after summer vacation started, I went over to Gretchen Grundler's house after school to try to make a deal with her concerning sixth grade and.....my homework...."
"Go on...." Ashley Q. said impatiently. He continued.
"Anyway, before got to the door, I could see T.J. walking past the front window, and I went to the window to peek inside, and I saw.....Spinelli stting on a chair..."
"So you saw Detweiler and his dorky gang," Ashley B. added, "So what?"
"You don't understand. It wasn't all six of them, just T.J. and Spinelli...." then Randall got a disgusted look on is face, "......and they were.....kissing!".
All four Ashleys gasped. After saying that, Randall felt like he could have blown chunks right there. Even though he never showed it, he had a kind of 'thing' for Spinelli. Of course, he could never tell her; his fear of rejection and humiliation was much too high for that. Also, he would usually treat her just as bad as he treated his arch-enemy, T.J., tattling on them and blackmailing them whenever he could. He never could figure out why he did these things to her. He probably couldn't help himself, maybe it was just his way. Maybe he did them to stay fresh on her mind and not be forgotten, he didn't know. But it no longer mattered. He was angry at both of them, for crushing his dreams of what, in his mind, could have been. He was so angry and crushed that the thought of busting the new 'couple' himself didn't even cross his mind. After calming himself down, Randall finished his story.
"Not only that, afterwards, they were.....they were.....snuggling!"
At that point, Ashley B., Q., and T. all smiled at each other, knowing that opportunity was knocking. However, for some reason, Ashley A. was still with a dropped jaw. For some reason, instead of feeling delight over the valuable piece of information, she felt another emotion - jealousy. Like Randall, she hated the idea of T.J. 'being with' Spinelli. Unlike Randall, she had just discovered this. She didn't feel anything for T.J. before, so why did she feel upset now? Again, unlike Randall, she refused to dwell on her emotions. All she knew was that she didn't like them together, and she'd do anything to break them up, even hurt Spinelli in the process if possible.
"Oh, my gosh, like, I don't believe this! Dork-weiler and Spin-ugly finally hooked up!" Ashley B. exclaimed.
"Well, it was only a matter of time, especially after that experiment-kiss thing they did," Ashley Q. added. "Now that we know we have a secret couple on our hands, all we have to do is threaten to bust them, and force Detweiler to, like, give up his power to you, Ashley A.!"
"Wait a second," Ashley A. said with an unusually angry look on her face. "That might not work. What if they're planning to tell everyone anyway? Then that plan will blow up in our faces. No, we need something more sinister. Something that'll hurt them...."
Just then, Ashley A. thought up a devious idea. She spoke with an evil voice, "I think.....we should break up the royal couple!"
"Oooh.....SCANDALOUS!!" chorused the other three Ashleys.
"Huddle up, Ashleys! I'm already, like, totally forming a plan!.....Oh, and Randall?"
"Uh, yeah?" Randall said, expecting her to finally tell him to get lost.
"We're gonna need your spy sense for this one," she said slyly.
Randall then gained a happy smile on his face, rubbed his hands together, and replied, "Oh, boy! Moist!"
Back on the royal throne, King T.J. was relaxing and fumbling to fit the new crown he got from Hustler Kid, onto his red cap. He had already taken off his green jacket and clasped the two top buttons around his neck so that it would look like a cape on him. He pointed his scepter at Vince and ordered:
"Vince?"
"Yes, your highness?"
"Fetch me a bag of double chocolate-chip cookies!"
"Yes, your highness," Vince responded.
Both boys then smiled as Vince went off to get T,J,'s cookies. Earlier, T.J. had expressed concern about acting too much like a king around his friends-turned-royal guards. Vince and Mikey, though, told T.J. that it was okay, and that they didn't mind using titles with him during school hours and doing whatever he said, because they knew he was a good friend. He then turned to Mikey:
"Mikey!"
"Yes, King T.J.?"
"Go and bring Spinelli to me. And afterwards, go to Arty Kid and ask him if he can do a picture of me, so I can put it on the back of my throne."
"Yes, sire!" Mikey happily responded.
T.J. sat back and smiled a big smile. "Ahhh, this is the life," he said happily. But before he could close his eyes in content, he saw Gretchen walking up to his throne, eyes fixed on him. T.J. thought, "Uh-oh".