CHAPTER 8: THE TALK OF CHANGES.....AND THE PLAN OF BIG CHANGE
For awhile, nothing much happened in Third Street, other that people getting used to things. Most of the students were happy with the rule of King T.J., who helped anyone out whenever he could, even though it could be tiring sometimes. Queen Spinelli wasn't as nice, of course, using her half of the power to lord over her enemies whenever she could, most especially the Ashleys, who were still thinking of a revenge plan. Everyone also got used to the occasional hand-holding and hugging from the royal couple. They also got used to the harder work that a new grade brought them. T.J. and Spinelli got used to being seen as one couple instead of as two kids.
One day after school, T.J. decided to go over to Spinelli's house just to talk. He went up to the Spinelli's house and knocked on the door. The door opened, and there was Flo Spinelli, smiling wide as soon as she saw him.
"T.J.!" she exclaimed, "Oh, Bob! T.J.'s here!"
T.J. rolled his eyes, preparing for the embarrassing comments that were sure to follow.
"Ooooohhh, just look at you!" exclaimed Mrs. Spinelli. "I still can't believe my little girl has such a cute little boyfriend already!"
"Aw, c'mon Mrs. Spinelli," T.J. said uncomfortably. "I mean, it's just me....."
Still smiling wide, Mrs Spinelli said, "Oh, I know, but...."
"Hey, lookee here! My future son-in-law!" said a voice approaching from the kitchen. Mr. Spinelli came out straight to T.J. and stuck his hand out, saying, "Put 'er there, Teej!"
T.J. always regretted this. Every time the same thing happened, but he knew there was no avoiding it. So he stuck his hand out to Mr. Spinelli's and started to shake. Then.....
"Awwww, would'ja feel that grip! Ah, I tell ya Flo, this one's a definite keeper!"
"Well, of course. Bob! I mean, she HAS liked him for about two years now." Then she turned to T.J. and continued, "Oh, but T.J., remember, you and Ashley are still kids, so there's no need to.....go fast with your relationship, okay?"
Mr. Spinelli stopped her and said, "Wh-h-h-hoa, whoa, Flo! Calm down, we know he's a good kid! We can trust him!"
"Well, I know that...." Mrs. Spinelli told him, "....I'm just telling him to keep things the simple and beautiful way they are, that's all."
"Yeah, but don't embarrass the boy!", Mr Spinelli told her. T.J. let out a sigh at this, knowing that Mr. Spinelli was speaking out against something he was doing himself.
Then Spinelli quickly came down the stairs, fixing her red shirt. She heard her mother saying that T.J. had arrived, and hurried to put some clothes on (after a shower) and get him, to save him from her parents. She gave a quick "Hey, Teej", grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs, while telling her parents, "Me an' Teej are just gonna talk for awhile, you guys".
"Okay, sweetie," Mrs. Spinelli said, waving to them as they disappeared.
In a matter of seconds, T.J. and Spinelli were in her room. T.J. felt so comfortable in Spinelli's (as well as Gretchen's) room, both were nothing like his sister's. No make-up, dolls, boy band posters, or pink colors. Just cool science-y stuff at Gretchen's. Even better, Spinelli's room had action figures, video games, a punching bag, wrestling posters, and Puddle Of Mudd's "Blurry" playing low in the background. She recently started liking "in-between" MTV rock groups, groups not as 'serious' as Korn, but not as 'light' as Blink-182.
"Man, I can't believe them!" Spinelli said after closing her door.
"Aw, c'mon, Spinelli, they're just being parents, that's all," T.J. said while turning on her PlayStation 2 (she always had Tekken 4 in the console). He tossed a controller to Spinelli and continued, looking at the game loading up on her T.V. screen. "You know, my folks act the same way when you're not around."
"Really? I thought they just treated me nicer than before, that's all," Spinelli said.
"Nope, and another weird thing is, they even once argued about which one of them would talk to me about something," T.J. informed her. "And I don't even have a clue what it is!"
"Weird," Spinelli said. "Well, anyway, did you already do that math homework Ms. Furley gave us?"
"Hah! No way! I still don't get that basic geometry stuff," T.J. answered. "Why does she have to be so hard anyway?"
"Yeah, I know! Why couldn't she stick to teachin' fourth grade, an' let Ms. Grotke teach sixth grade? She's nuthin' but a pain!" Spinelli told him. On the game, she chose Craig Marduk.
"Heeey, let's forget about school for a second," T.J. said to her. He chose Kazuya Mishima.
"Yeah, you're right. So.....how d'ya think everybody feels about us now?
"Well, we're barely getting any looks now. I'm guessing Third Street's finally getting used to us."
"Man! I still can't believe we're gettin' this free ride! Fifth grade was nuthin' like this. You know I made Mundy feed me Winger-Dingers at second recess? How cool was that?"
"Uh.....yeah......y'know, Spinelli, I'm thinkin' maybe you should cool it on the whole 'power abuse' thing. I mean, we won't be king and queen forever. Some people might hold a grudge."
"So what? Who cares?" Spinelli said frigidly. "Hah! Round one goes to Spinelli!"
"It's not over yet," T.J. informed her, since she had to win one more round. "Anyway, I mean, I thought we would be all about justice - "
"And we are! Teej, remember when Mundy left those rotten eggs in my desk last year, and I couldn't do anything about it 'cause Prickly put me on probation? Well, justice says he feeds me Winger-Dingers, or I send him to the dodge ball wall!" Spinelli told him with an evil laugh.
Since it was obvious that he wasn't making any headway with her authoritarian ways, he sighed and changed the subject. "So, Spinelli......you think the gang's really the same? Y'know, with us together and all?"
"Sure!" Spinelli answered honestly. "Mikey's sure rootin' for us, an' Gretch an' the little jarhead are fine with it. Even Vince stopped givin' us that 'I still don't believe it' look. Everything's the same."
"No, I mean.....okay, remember all the things we used to do with them? Like kickball, basketball, cartoon call-out? Well, how come we don't do that stuff anymore? All we do is hang out together and talk to the guys on the phone. Outside of school, we hardly ever see them......Yes!!"
"Hey, no fair! I was backed up on a wall!" Spinelli claimed. "I'll get you this round. Anyway, so we don't see each other as much as before, so what? It's not like we all broke up or somethin'."
"You don't think that something's changed big-time? I mean, we're a couple now, and our friends are technically below us. I'm just not sure all these.....divisions could be any good for us, is all I'm saying. I mean really, what's goin' on?"
"What's goin' on is.....uhn!......is we're growin' up, Teej," Spinelli replied, while trying to knock T.J.'s character down. "That's what people do!"
"But Spinelli, don't you wish sometimes that things were back to the way they were?"
Right then, T.J. finished off Spinelli's character with a spinning uppercut. T.J. then said, "All right!! I never beat you with Kazuya befo - "
But he noticed that Spinelli was quiet for the first time. He turned to look at her, and he saw a sad-yet-confused look on her face.
"Spinelli?"
A short pause followed, then Spinelli finally spoke. "So what'cha tryin' to say, T.J.? You don't want us to be together anymore or somethin'?"
T.J. was very surprised to hear this. "What? N-No, of course not!" he told her, throwing down the controller and putting his arm around her. She turned her eyes away from him.
"Aw, c'mon, Spinelli.....all I was saying was that all these changes, I'm still not used to them yet, y'know? For six years, we've been friends and now....all these.....emotions and stuff.....and now I finally have some power, I mean REAL authority, y'know? Not like that time when I was principal for a day....."
Spinelli smiled at this, remembering what a good day that was. For a while, she and the others thought they had lost him, but he came back, in a big way.
T.J. continued, ".....I guess what I'm trying to say is.....you REALLY think we're ready for all these changes?"
Spinelli looked at him again and gave an honest answer to his question. "Teej, you gotta understand like I do, change doesn't have to be a bad thing. I mean, look at me. Months ago, I was just some punk kid who thought real happiness was when I got tickets to 'Doomsday Slamfest'. Now I know that hangin' out with you is all I need to have a good time. I mean, yeah, Gretch and the others are all right, but it's you I like. Another thing is, I like it better havin' you as a boyfriend. It's like my mom said; I'm not the same girl I was in third grade. I'm startin' to really LIKE boys now."
"Yeah, I know, I remember," T.J. replied, both referring to her Johnny V. crush.
"Anyway, all I'm sayin' is, don't be scared. Change might not be good all the time, but in this case, it definitely is," Spinelli told him. Then she gave him a small peck on the cheek and asked, "Right?"
T.J. smiled. All of a sudden, he wasn't sure why he felt so uncomfortable about having Spinelli as his girlfriend. He replied, "Yeah, I guess it is", and then kissed her on her lips. Spinelli snuggled up to his chest and T.J. rested his cheek on her head and hugged her.
After a few seconds, T.J. finally said, "Hey, speaking of change......I was wondering if ......y'know.......maybe I could start calling you Ash - "
"NO WAY," Spinelli said sternly but lovingly. "Teej, I love ya, but other than my parents, NOBODY uses my first name. You know that."
For the next hour, they stayed like this and continued to play video games, until it was finally time for T.J. to go home.
The next morning at first recess, things on the playground were pretty regular, except for a certain meeting in the Ashley's clubhouse. All four Ashleys and Randall (snuck in for no one else to see) were inside, finishing their plan to ruin the reign of the playground's king and queen.
"So, Megan, huh?" Ashley B. asked Randall.
"Yeah, yeah! A couple of days ago!" Randall replied.
"Like, wait a second. You only saw her hug him, right?", Ashley A. asked. Randall nodded, and she continued, "Well, that doesn't mean anything.....she was probably, like, thanking him for something!"
"I don't think so, Ashley A. Like, remember how she always used to try to be around him back in fourth grade? She probably still likes him!" Ashley B. reminded her.
"Like, gaaah! How pathetic was that?! Like when we had to choose seats? She went straight behind him!" Ashley Q. said.
"Oh, yeah! And how about that day when the school went against King Bob and his, like, stupid pyramid? You could totally see she was trying to get with him then!" Ashley B. added.
"Oh, oh, but the worst one had to be Picture Day! Remember? She was so crushed when he didn't say anything about her dress that day.....although, who could blame him, with that hideous sky blue blouse-and-dress ensemble she had on?" Ashley Q. said coldly.
"Yaaah! And notice, she STILL took the time to try to get a spot behind him in the picture!" Ashley B. said.
"All right, that's enough! We're wasting time here!" Ashley A. shouted, abruptly ending her friends' trip down memory lane. She then said, "First of all, no more stupid reminiscing about fourth grade. You all know that wasn't a good year for us. All right, here's what we know. Spin-ugly likes T.J. and is his girlfriend. Megan OBVIOUSLY still likes T.J. and is upset because he has a girlfriend. We want to break up T.J. and Spin-ugly. Solution.....simple. Have Spinelli find out that T.J.'s like, totally seeing Megan behind her back! Then we just sit back, and watch all the drama unfold!"
"But, how do we do that, Ashley A.?" asked Ashley B. "Like, even if Megan likes Detweiler, we can't expect them to, like, just get together. We don't even know if he likes her back!"
"Ashley B.'s totally right," Ashley Q. agreed. "Like, how do we get little miss Queen Spi-smelly to think her royal boy's with another loser girl? It's not like she'll just believe anyone who tells her."
After a pause, Ashley smiled and said, "Well, we'll just have to get some evidence for her, now, won't we?". She then quickly turned to Randall and said to him, "Weems! I've waited long enough! Part two of my plan is being done today! Oh, and you're gonna need some equipment this time....."
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
(I REALLY, REALLY want this story to just END!! It's not that I hate it, far from it, but it's taking up so much of my time, especially with new ideas and angles always popping up! But I WILL finish it, and soon. To be more precise, if I don't finish this entire story by the end of January, it means I'll most likely do a long pause, like last time [Although I'm pretty sure it'll be done by then]. MORE REVIEWS.......PLEASE!!)
For awhile, nothing much happened in Third Street, other that people getting used to things. Most of the students were happy with the rule of King T.J., who helped anyone out whenever he could, even though it could be tiring sometimes. Queen Spinelli wasn't as nice, of course, using her half of the power to lord over her enemies whenever she could, most especially the Ashleys, who were still thinking of a revenge plan. Everyone also got used to the occasional hand-holding and hugging from the royal couple. They also got used to the harder work that a new grade brought them. T.J. and Spinelli got used to being seen as one couple instead of as two kids.
One day after school, T.J. decided to go over to Spinelli's house just to talk. He went up to the Spinelli's house and knocked on the door. The door opened, and there was Flo Spinelli, smiling wide as soon as she saw him.
"T.J.!" she exclaimed, "Oh, Bob! T.J.'s here!"
T.J. rolled his eyes, preparing for the embarrassing comments that were sure to follow.
"Ooooohhh, just look at you!" exclaimed Mrs. Spinelli. "I still can't believe my little girl has such a cute little boyfriend already!"
"Aw, c'mon Mrs. Spinelli," T.J. said uncomfortably. "I mean, it's just me....."
Still smiling wide, Mrs Spinelli said, "Oh, I know, but...."
"Hey, lookee here! My future son-in-law!" said a voice approaching from the kitchen. Mr. Spinelli came out straight to T.J. and stuck his hand out, saying, "Put 'er there, Teej!"
T.J. always regretted this. Every time the same thing happened, but he knew there was no avoiding it. So he stuck his hand out to Mr. Spinelli's and started to shake. Then.....
"Awwww, would'ja feel that grip! Ah, I tell ya Flo, this one's a definite keeper!"
"Well, of course. Bob! I mean, she HAS liked him for about two years now." Then she turned to T.J. and continued, "Oh, but T.J., remember, you and Ashley are still kids, so there's no need to.....go fast with your relationship, okay?"
Mr. Spinelli stopped her and said, "Wh-h-h-hoa, whoa, Flo! Calm down, we know he's a good kid! We can trust him!"
"Well, I know that...." Mrs. Spinelli told him, "....I'm just telling him to keep things the simple and beautiful way they are, that's all."
"Yeah, but don't embarrass the boy!", Mr Spinelli told her. T.J. let out a sigh at this, knowing that Mr. Spinelli was speaking out against something he was doing himself.
Then Spinelli quickly came down the stairs, fixing her red shirt. She heard her mother saying that T.J. had arrived, and hurried to put some clothes on (after a shower) and get him, to save him from her parents. She gave a quick "Hey, Teej", grabbed his hand and pulled him upstairs, while telling her parents, "Me an' Teej are just gonna talk for awhile, you guys".
"Okay, sweetie," Mrs. Spinelli said, waving to them as they disappeared.
In a matter of seconds, T.J. and Spinelli were in her room. T.J. felt so comfortable in Spinelli's (as well as Gretchen's) room, both were nothing like his sister's. No make-up, dolls, boy band posters, or pink colors. Just cool science-y stuff at Gretchen's. Even better, Spinelli's room had action figures, video games, a punching bag, wrestling posters, and Puddle Of Mudd's "Blurry" playing low in the background. She recently started liking "in-between" MTV rock groups, groups not as 'serious' as Korn, but not as 'light' as Blink-182.
"Man, I can't believe them!" Spinelli said after closing her door.
"Aw, c'mon, Spinelli, they're just being parents, that's all," T.J. said while turning on her PlayStation 2 (she always had Tekken 4 in the console). He tossed a controller to Spinelli and continued, looking at the game loading up on her T.V. screen. "You know, my folks act the same way when you're not around."
"Really? I thought they just treated me nicer than before, that's all," Spinelli said.
"Nope, and another weird thing is, they even once argued about which one of them would talk to me about something," T.J. informed her. "And I don't even have a clue what it is!"
"Weird," Spinelli said. "Well, anyway, did you already do that math homework Ms. Furley gave us?"
"Hah! No way! I still don't get that basic geometry stuff," T.J. answered. "Why does she have to be so hard anyway?"
"Yeah, I know! Why couldn't she stick to teachin' fourth grade, an' let Ms. Grotke teach sixth grade? She's nuthin' but a pain!" Spinelli told him. On the game, she chose Craig Marduk.
"Heeey, let's forget about school for a second," T.J. said to her. He chose Kazuya Mishima.
"Yeah, you're right. So.....how d'ya think everybody feels about us now?
"Well, we're barely getting any looks now. I'm guessing Third Street's finally getting used to us."
"Man! I still can't believe we're gettin' this free ride! Fifth grade was nuthin' like this. You know I made Mundy feed me Winger-Dingers at second recess? How cool was that?"
"Uh.....yeah......y'know, Spinelli, I'm thinkin' maybe you should cool it on the whole 'power abuse' thing. I mean, we won't be king and queen forever. Some people might hold a grudge."
"So what? Who cares?" Spinelli said frigidly. "Hah! Round one goes to Spinelli!"
"It's not over yet," T.J. informed her, since she had to win one more round. "Anyway, I mean, I thought we would be all about justice - "
"And we are! Teej, remember when Mundy left those rotten eggs in my desk last year, and I couldn't do anything about it 'cause Prickly put me on probation? Well, justice says he feeds me Winger-Dingers, or I send him to the dodge ball wall!" Spinelli told him with an evil laugh.
Since it was obvious that he wasn't making any headway with her authoritarian ways, he sighed and changed the subject. "So, Spinelli......you think the gang's really the same? Y'know, with us together and all?"
"Sure!" Spinelli answered honestly. "Mikey's sure rootin' for us, an' Gretch an' the little jarhead are fine with it. Even Vince stopped givin' us that 'I still don't believe it' look. Everything's the same."
"No, I mean.....okay, remember all the things we used to do with them? Like kickball, basketball, cartoon call-out? Well, how come we don't do that stuff anymore? All we do is hang out together and talk to the guys on the phone. Outside of school, we hardly ever see them......Yes!!"
"Hey, no fair! I was backed up on a wall!" Spinelli claimed. "I'll get you this round. Anyway, so we don't see each other as much as before, so what? It's not like we all broke up or somethin'."
"You don't think that something's changed big-time? I mean, we're a couple now, and our friends are technically below us. I'm just not sure all these.....divisions could be any good for us, is all I'm saying. I mean really, what's goin' on?"
"What's goin' on is.....uhn!......is we're growin' up, Teej," Spinelli replied, while trying to knock T.J.'s character down. "That's what people do!"
"But Spinelli, don't you wish sometimes that things were back to the way they were?"
Right then, T.J. finished off Spinelli's character with a spinning uppercut. T.J. then said, "All right!! I never beat you with Kazuya befo - "
But he noticed that Spinelli was quiet for the first time. He turned to look at her, and he saw a sad-yet-confused look on her face.
"Spinelli?"
A short pause followed, then Spinelli finally spoke. "So what'cha tryin' to say, T.J.? You don't want us to be together anymore or somethin'?"
T.J. was very surprised to hear this. "What? N-No, of course not!" he told her, throwing down the controller and putting his arm around her. She turned her eyes away from him.
"Aw, c'mon, Spinelli.....all I was saying was that all these changes, I'm still not used to them yet, y'know? For six years, we've been friends and now....all these.....emotions and stuff.....and now I finally have some power, I mean REAL authority, y'know? Not like that time when I was principal for a day....."
Spinelli smiled at this, remembering what a good day that was. For a while, she and the others thought they had lost him, but he came back, in a big way.
T.J. continued, ".....I guess what I'm trying to say is.....you REALLY think we're ready for all these changes?"
Spinelli looked at him again and gave an honest answer to his question. "Teej, you gotta understand like I do, change doesn't have to be a bad thing. I mean, look at me. Months ago, I was just some punk kid who thought real happiness was when I got tickets to 'Doomsday Slamfest'. Now I know that hangin' out with you is all I need to have a good time. I mean, yeah, Gretch and the others are all right, but it's you I like. Another thing is, I like it better havin' you as a boyfriend. It's like my mom said; I'm not the same girl I was in third grade. I'm startin' to really LIKE boys now."
"Yeah, I know, I remember," T.J. replied, both referring to her Johnny V. crush.
"Anyway, all I'm sayin' is, don't be scared. Change might not be good all the time, but in this case, it definitely is," Spinelli told him. Then she gave him a small peck on the cheek and asked, "Right?"
T.J. smiled. All of a sudden, he wasn't sure why he felt so uncomfortable about having Spinelli as his girlfriend. He replied, "Yeah, I guess it is", and then kissed her on her lips. Spinelli snuggled up to his chest and T.J. rested his cheek on her head and hugged her.
After a few seconds, T.J. finally said, "Hey, speaking of change......I was wondering if ......y'know.......maybe I could start calling you Ash - "
"NO WAY," Spinelli said sternly but lovingly. "Teej, I love ya, but other than my parents, NOBODY uses my first name. You know that."
For the next hour, they stayed like this and continued to play video games, until it was finally time for T.J. to go home.
The next morning at first recess, things on the playground were pretty regular, except for a certain meeting in the Ashley's clubhouse. All four Ashleys and Randall (snuck in for no one else to see) were inside, finishing their plan to ruin the reign of the playground's king and queen.
"So, Megan, huh?" Ashley B. asked Randall.
"Yeah, yeah! A couple of days ago!" Randall replied.
"Like, wait a second. You only saw her hug him, right?", Ashley A. asked. Randall nodded, and she continued, "Well, that doesn't mean anything.....she was probably, like, thanking him for something!"
"I don't think so, Ashley A. Like, remember how she always used to try to be around him back in fourth grade? She probably still likes him!" Ashley B. reminded her.
"Like, gaaah! How pathetic was that?! Like when we had to choose seats? She went straight behind him!" Ashley Q. said.
"Oh, yeah! And how about that day when the school went against King Bob and his, like, stupid pyramid? You could totally see she was trying to get with him then!" Ashley B. added.
"Oh, oh, but the worst one had to be Picture Day! Remember? She was so crushed when he didn't say anything about her dress that day.....although, who could blame him, with that hideous sky blue blouse-and-dress ensemble she had on?" Ashley Q. said coldly.
"Yaaah! And notice, she STILL took the time to try to get a spot behind him in the picture!" Ashley B. said.
"All right, that's enough! We're wasting time here!" Ashley A. shouted, abruptly ending her friends' trip down memory lane. She then said, "First of all, no more stupid reminiscing about fourth grade. You all know that wasn't a good year for us. All right, here's what we know. Spin-ugly likes T.J. and is his girlfriend. Megan OBVIOUSLY still likes T.J. and is upset because he has a girlfriend. We want to break up T.J. and Spin-ugly. Solution.....simple. Have Spinelli find out that T.J.'s like, totally seeing Megan behind her back! Then we just sit back, and watch all the drama unfold!"
"But, how do we do that, Ashley A.?" asked Ashley B. "Like, even if Megan likes Detweiler, we can't expect them to, like, just get together. We don't even know if he likes her back!"
"Ashley B.'s totally right," Ashley Q. agreed. "Like, how do we get little miss Queen Spi-smelly to think her royal boy's with another loser girl? It's not like she'll just believe anyone who tells her."
After a pause, Ashley smiled and said, "Well, we'll just have to get some evidence for her, now, won't we?". She then quickly turned to Randall and said to him, "Weems! I've waited long enough! Part two of my plan is being done today! Oh, and you're gonna need some equipment this time....."
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
(I REALLY, REALLY want this story to just END!! It's not that I hate it, far from it, but it's taking up so much of my time, especially with new ideas and angles always popping up! But I WILL finish it, and soon. To be more precise, if I don't finish this entire story by the end of January, it means I'll most likely do a long pause, like last time [Although I'm pretty sure it'll be done by then]. MORE REVIEWS.......PLEASE!!)