Author Note: Story has a lame title. If you can think of a better one, tell
me in your reviews. Thank you.
Unfortunately, the school nurse didn't think it was necessary to go home. She simply gave me an ice pack and sent me on my way. I was still doomed to have to sit through that terrible test.
"You've been in the wars since you arrived here, Marron." The school nurse clucked disapprovingly. "Poor little thing."
"It's all that Goten's fault!" I sulked. "He keeps dropping stuff on my head, bumping into me and still thinks he has a chance of being my friend!"
The school nurse chuckled. "Sounds like this boy has a crush on you, dear."
"What?" I didn't see how hitting me over the head and bumping into me would mean that he liked me.
"All boys get so shy when they are around a girl they like, that they naturally act clumsy and stupid. They can't help it. It's just the way boys are."
"You don't know Goten Son." I scowled. "He doesn't just act clumsy around me. Thanks anyway, but I better go back to class."
I left the school nurse and hurried into my classroom, taking my saved seat between two of my friends. I breezed through the rest of the day, paying no attention and gazing dreamily out the school window. But I dreaded fifth period. Math time.
When the lunch bell rang, I grabbed my math things from my locker and carried them in the direction of the library, hoping to cram in some extra study before the test. Hopefully, I would be able to cover enough this lunch hour to at least let me pass. Only I was caught by Bra on the way.
"Where are you off to, Marron?" She asked, coming up beside me.
"I'm going to do some revision before the test." I lied. Bad move!
"So am I!" She cried. "Maybe we could study together!"
I looked into her hope filled eyes and simply couldn't refuse. Bra was desperate to become popular in the tenth grade since she only had Goten and Trunks for friends so far. And because she was a bit of a nerd, she couldn't do it on her own. I was her only ticket into popularity.
We sat together in the library and took turns asking each other random questions from the textbook. Surprisingly, I managed to get twelve out of the twenty questions she asked me right. That was over 50%. Perhaps I might scrape a pass after all!
My spirits darkened when I came into the math classroom and took my seat. Our math teacher looked so fierce and I was far too scared to even pick up my pencil. I glanced around the room. Everyone else looked so confident, even Goten. Though he looked confident all day, anyway. I was doomed.
Just as I had thought, the test was awful and I hardly understood any of it. I didn't even finish it and spent most of the allowed time chewing my pencil. I glanced at Bra, who had finished ages ago and was rereading it for the fourth time. I felt so scared!
Finally, test time finished and I let out a sigh. It was over. I might have failed but at least it was over. And it would be a while before I had to look at another math test again.
"Oh my gosh, that was terrifying!" I heard Bra inform Goten and Trunks. "I only managed to check it four times! Four times! And that test counts for 30% of our whole grade."
I gasped. 30%! If I failed, that was automatically 30 marks off my end of year report card. And my studies were so important to my parents. I knew they would kill me when they found out. I would be grounded for life!
It felt so good to be going home again at the end of the day. I still had to sit with Bra on the bus trip home and she took up the back row with Goten and Trunks as well. I found myself wedged between Bra and Trunks. My body grew hot and I realized that what the school nurse had said about being clumsy was true. I could scarcely sit properly on the seat.
My mother greeted me at the front door.
"How was the test?" She asked me coldly.
"Surprisingly easy." I lied.
I must of sounded convincing because 18 smiled broadly. "I knew it wouldn't be too hard. But still, you must promise me you'll revise next time you are told about an upcoming test."
"I promise." I told her firmly, but crossed my fingers behind my back. Life was too short to waste studying.
A week later, we received our final results for the test. The math teacher handed out the tests and gave each student a positive comment as she gave it to them. When she got round to me, she flung my test paper down in front of me and didn't say a word.
My mark was 15%, meaning I had failed miserably. I needed at least 50% to pass. Underneath my mark she had written one thing in the comment section. 'See me after class.'
So when the bell rang, I approached my teacher, Mrs Morgan, with caution. She was a stubborn old bag and I was expecting her to go off her rocker. Yet she smiled upon me kindly and gestured for me to sit down.
"Marron, did you study at all for this test?" She asked.
I couldn't lie to her. "No." I mumbled.
She was sitting on her desk now, facing me and staring coldly into my eyes, yet she was still smiling.
"You may not think I have, but I have been watching you in class. You're smart, really, I know it. You just need to try a little harder. I've noticed you spend most of my classes daydreaming and starring out the window. If you don't start paying attention and studying, I'll have to fail you."
I said nothing but stared at my shoes. They were my favorite pair of high heels. White and covered in little straps to go with the white mini skirt and emerald green sequined top I was wearing today. Mrs Morgan's shoes were plain black working ones.
"I think that I should arrange a meeting with your parents. I have some suggestions to help improve your grade."
"Like what?" I couldn't help being rude.
"You could hire a tutor to help you in extra studies."
"No!" I shouted. I didn't want a tutor. I couldn't have a tutor!
"Marron please! I am only trying to help you. Why don't you think it over a little hmm? I know that if you do decide to hire a tutor, your grade would soar right up!"
There was a long silence. I kept my eyes on my shoes.
"Can I go now?" I asked finally.
Mrs Morgan leaned back on her desk and sighed deeply. "Alright. Off you go, but think about what I've said to you."
The next subject was English. Since it was almost over, I didn't bother going and went onto the playground to wait for lunch instead. Hire a tutor? Extra study? I could never cope with that! And what if the tutor was mean and slapped me? Or what if it was a man and he decided to....
I didn't want to think about it anymore. Luckily, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch and I put on one of my charming false smiles and went to meet my friends.
"YOU FAILED!?" 18 boomed when she discovered my mark. I didn't answer her, too afraid to even try to match her temper. I new that 18 used to be an evil android and she could be very VERY angry when she wanted to be.
"12%! You only got 12%!" 18's voice cracked and she sat down at the kitchen table, exhausted. Krillin sat beside her, silent in his own rage.
"Your teacher called." Krillin added, finally piping up. "She wants us to hire a tutor for you."
I met his eyes for the first time that day. "You're not considering, are you?"
"No, we have already took the liberty of hiring a tutor for you."
My breath stopped, my heart froze. Who was the new tutor?
"Don't worry." 18 read my expression. "It's someone you know very well."
"Who?" I whispered in a voice that wasn't my own.
"Do you remember Gohan? He's Goten's older brother. He's a highly educated young man who was happy to tutor you in his spare time. You'll go over to his house every afternoon after school."
Goten's brother? I remembered Gohan faintly from my younger years as a brainy, calm and collected teenager. He looked exactly like his brother, only from what I remember, he was much more serious. But even so, he was Goten's brother. And that could mean....
"Does he live near Goten?" I asked.
Krillin laughed fondly. "He lives right next door!"
Right next door? That meant I could be spending everyday with Goten! He would be right next door to me every afternoon and I'd have to deal with him every single freakin' day at both home AND school!
"I WON'T GO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" I shouted and ran upstairs to my room, slamming the door behind me and collapsing onto my bed to have a good cry.
Over my sobs, I heard my parents talking downstairs.
"Well that went well." I heard 18 say.
"We have to face facts, 18. In two years, Marron will have to face the HSC, and if she keeps these pathetic marks up, she won't get a decent grade. Her whole future is at stake."
"I know." 18 sighed exhaustedly. "But you know as well as I do that Marron doesn't get on well with Goten at all. How will she feel when we tell her she'll have to fly home with him from the Briefs' house everyday?"
I gasped. Fly? I didn't know how to fly! I had never really bothered with training, I didn't like fighting at all. That could only mean that they were planning on letting Goten carry me to his house! NO WAY!
"It's the only way. Gohan lives too far away for her to walk or take the bus everyday. Goten is her only ticket to and from school."
I fell asleep, listening to them discuss alternatives on the floor bellow me. But I knew as well as they did that there was no alternative. I prayed for a way out. I prayed for a second chance to redo my test and not have to force my parents to find me a tutor.
But it was no use. And a week later I found myself plodding along to Capsule corp. with Trunks, Bra and Goten, ready to be transported to my new tutor.
Unfortunately, the school nurse didn't think it was necessary to go home. She simply gave me an ice pack and sent me on my way. I was still doomed to have to sit through that terrible test.
"You've been in the wars since you arrived here, Marron." The school nurse clucked disapprovingly. "Poor little thing."
"It's all that Goten's fault!" I sulked. "He keeps dropping stuff on my head, bumping into me and still thinks he has a chance of being my friend!"
The school nurse chuckled. "Sounds like this boy has a crush on you, dear."
"What?" I didn't see how hitting me over the head and bumping into me would mean that he liked me.
"All boys get so shy when they are around a girl they like, that they naturally act clumsy and stupid. They can't help it. It's just the way boys are."
"You don't know Goten Son." I scowled. "He doesn't just act clumsy around me. Thanks anyway, but I better go back to class."
I left the school nurse and hurried into my classroom, taking my saved seat between two of my friends. I breezed through the rest of the day, paying no attention and gazing dreamily out the school window. But I dreaded fifth period. Math time.
When the lunch bell rang, I grabbed my math things from my locker and carried them in the direction of the library, hoping to cram in some extra study before the test. Hopefully, I would be able to cover enough this lunch hour to at least let me pass. Only I was caught by Bra on the way.
"Where are you off to, Marron?" She asked, coming up beside me.
"I'm going to do some revision before the test." I lied. Bad move!
"So am I!" She cried. "Maybe we could study together!"
I looked into her hope filled eyes and simply couldn't refuse. Bra was desperate to become popular in the tenth grade since she only had Goten and Trunks for friends so far. And because she was a bit of a nerd, she couldn't do it on her own. I was her only ticket into popularity.
We sat together in the library and took turns asking each other random questions from the textbook. Surprisingly, I managed to get twelve out of the twenty questions she asked me right. That was over 50%. Perhaps I might scrape a pass after all!
My spirits darkened when I came into the math classroom and took my seat. Our math teacher looked so fierce and I was far too scared to even pick up my pencil. I glanced around the room. Everyone else looked so confident, even Goten. Though he looked confident all day, anyway. I was doomed.
Just as I had thought, the test was awful and I hardly understood any of it. I didn't even finish it and spent most of the allowed time chewing my pencil. I glanced at Bra, who had finished ages ago and was rereading it for the fourth time. I felt so scared!
Finally, test time finished and I let out a sigh. It was over. I might have failed but at least it was over. And it would be a while before I had to look at another math test again.
"Oh my gosh, that was terrifying!" I heard Bra inform Goten and Trunks. "I only managed to check it four times! Four times! And that test counts for 30% of our whole grade."
I gasped. 30%! If I failed, that was automatically 30 marks off my end of year report card. And my studies were so important to my parents. I knew they would kill me when they found out. I would be grounded for life!
It felt so good to be going home again at the end of the day. I still had to sit with Bra on the bus trip home and she took up the back row with Goten and Trunks as well. I found myself wedged between Bra and Trunks. My body grew hot and I realized that what the school nurse had said about being clumsy was true. I could scarcely sit properly on the seat.
My mother greeted me at the front door.
"How was the test?" She asked me coldly.
"Surprisingly easy." I lied.
I must of sounded convincing because 18 smiled broadly. "I knew it wouldn't be too hard. But still, you must promise me you'll revise next time you are told about an upcoming test."
"I promise." I told her firmly, but crossed my fingers behind my back. Life was too short to waste studying.
A week later, we received our final results for the test. The math teacher handed out the tests and gave each student a positive comment as she gave it to them. When she got round to me, she flung my test paper down in front of me and didn't say a word.
My mark was 15%, meaning I had failed miserably. I needed at least 50% to pass. Underneath my mark she had written one thing in the comment section. 'See me after class.'
So when the bell rang, I approached my teacher, Mrs Morgan, with caution. She was a stubborn old bag and I was expecting her to go off her rocker. Yet she smiled upon me kindly and gestured for me to sit down.
"Marron, did you study at all for this test?" She asked.
I couldn't lie to her. "No." I mumbled.
She was sitting on her desk now, facing me and staring coldly into my eyes, yet she was still smiling.
"You may not think I have, but I have been watching you in class. You're smart, really, I know it. You just need to try a little harder. I've noticed you spend most of my classes daydreaming and starring out the window. If you don't start paying attention and studying, I'll have to fail you."
I said nothing but stared at my shoes. They were my favorite pair of high heels. White and covered in little straps to go with the white mini skirt and emerald green sequined top I was wearing today. Mrs Morgan's shoes were plain black working ones.
"I think that I should arrange a meeting with your parents. I have some suggestions to help improve your grade."
"Like what?" I couldn't help being rude.
"You could hire a tutor to help you in extra studies."
"No!" I shouted. I didn't want a tutor. I couldn't have a tutor!
"Marron please! I am only trying to help you. Why don't you think it over a little hmm? I know that if you do decide to hire a tutor, your grade would soar right up!"
There was a long silence. I kept my eyes on my shoes.
"Can I go now?" I asked finally.
Mrs Morgan leaned back on her desk and sighed deeply. "Alright. Off you go, but think about what I've said to you."
The next subject was English. Since it was almost over, I didn't bother going and went onto the playground to wait for lunch instead. Hire a tutor? Extra study? I could never cope with that! And what if the tutor was mean and slapped me? Or what if it was a man and he decided to....
I didn't want to think about it anymore. Luckily, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch and I put on one of my charming false smiles and went to meet my friends.
"YOU FAILED!?" 18 boomed when she discovered my mark. I didn't answer her, too afraid to even try to match her temper. I new that 18 used to be an evil android and she could be very VERY angry when she wanted to be.
"12%! You only got 12%!" 18's voice cracked and she sat down at the kitchen table, exhausted. Krillin sat beside her, silent in his own rage.
"Your teacher called." Krillin added, finally piping up. "She wants us to hire a tutor for you."
I met his eyes for the first time that day. "You're not considering, are you?"
"No, we have already took the liberty of hiring a tutor for you."
My breath stopped, my heart froze. Who was the new tutor?
"Don't worry." 18 read my expression. "It's someone you know very well."
"Who?" I whispered in a voice that wasn't my own.
"Do you remember Gohan? He's Goten's older brother. He's a highly educated young man who was happy to tutor you in his spare time. You'll go over to his house every afternoon after school."
Goten's brother? I remembered Gohan faintly from my younger years as a brainy, calm and collected teenager. He looked exactly like his brother, only from what I remember, he was much more serious. But even so, he was Goten's brother. And that could mean....
"Does he live near Goten?" I asked.
Krillin laughed fondly. "He lives right next door!"
Right next door? That meant I could be spending everyday with Goten! He would be right next door to me every afternoon and I'd have to deal with him every single freakin' day at both home AND school!
"I WON'T GO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" I shouted and ran upstairs to my room, slamming the door behind me and collapsing onto my bed to have a good cry.
Over my sobs, I heard my parents talking downstairs.
"Well that went well." I heard 18 say.
"We have to face facts, 18. In two years, Marron will have to face the HSC, and if she keeps these pathetic marks up, she won't get a decent grade. Her whole future is at stake."
"I know." 18 sighed exhaustedly. "But you know as well as I do that Marron doesn't get on well with Goten at all. How will she feel when we tell her she'll have to fly home with him from the Briefs' house everyday?"
I gasped. Fly? I didn't know how to fly! I had never really bothered with training, I didn't like fighting at all. That could only mean that they were planning on letting Goten carry me to his house! NO WAY!
"It's the only way. Gohan lives too far away for her to walk or take the bus everyday. Goten is her only ticket to and from school."
I fell asleep, listening to them discuss alternatives on the floor bellow me. But I knew as well as they did that there was no alternative. I prayed for a way out. I prayed for a second chance to redo my test and not have to force my parents to find me a tutor.
But it was no use. And a week later I found myself plodding along to Capsule corp. with Trunks, Bra and Goten, ready to be transported to my new tutor.