"Hey Marron, what happened to that tent we bought you?" Krillin asked me
during breakfast. "I couldn't find it when I unpacked your things."
"Oh the 'Tent in a Tube'? I left that in the forest." I said carelessly.
"Marron, that was a very expensive item!" 18 scolded me.
"It wouldn't fit back in it's tube." I said as innocently as Goten. "And it makes a nice home for all the little animals."
18 groaned with frustration and threw her hands up in the air. "I just don't know what to do with you, Marron."
"I know what to do with me. Take myself to school. See you guys later."
I stood up from the table and left my house, arriving at the bus stop. I was watching my feet and not looking where I was going and accidentally banged into something thick and heavy. I fell back on my butt and gazed stupidly up into Goten's confused face. Everyone else was laughing idiotically.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" I shouted angrily. "I COULD HAVE BEEN HURT!"
Goten bent and grasped my wrists, pulling me back to my feet in one small tug. Our faces came too close for comfort and I backed away from him quickly. He grinned.
"Sorry, Marron. Didn't see you coming."
"Jerk." I mumbled and climbed onto the bus.
I didn't talk to him again until lunch when we met at our lockers. He waited behind me while I put my books away.
"Hey, don't you need to...." I trailed off and turned to face him.
"Nah, I can wait. Don't want to send you to the nurse again." He laughed at his own private joke.
"Your not funny, you know." I said it hurtfully and immediately felt bad. I wasn't heartless enough to want to hurt someone's feelings. Even if it was my worst enemy's.
"Not as funny as you." He shook it off so lightly, it surprised me enough to make me smile.
"Nothing brings you down at all." I said as I shut my locker door.
"Yup." He moved forward and I backed out from my locker.
Instead of retreating to the cafeteria, I waited while he put his books away. I didn't know why, but it just felt like the polite thing to do. It even surprised Goten when he turned around later and saw me standing behind him.
"What are you still doing here?" He asked and I shrugged in reply. I didn't exactly know the answer to the question.
"Well, want to go to lunch?" He broke the silence.
We walked into the lunchroom together. The popular guys and girls always sit together because the girls want to be with their boyfriends and others like me, who are single, have nothing better to do than watch them. Goten and I squished onto the end of a table occupied by nearly all the popular kids in grade ten, including Trunks. Bra was at the table too, clinging to her brother as usual.
"Hey where were you guys? I was looking for you everywhere." Bra called down the table and everyone stopped kissing to stare.
"Gone round the back of the school with Marron, eh Goten?" A footballer named Josh joked.
"No, we were in the locker room." Goten answered stupidly. My cheeks turned bright red and I covered my face with my hands. He could be so stupid at times.
"Oh so you were in the locker room, huh?" It was Carl who spoke this time. Another pathetic footballer.
"We were in the locker room but we were putting away our books. THAT'S ALL!"
"Wow, you freak out easily, Marron. We were just kidding around." Trunks interrupted.
All the same, I was too furious to eat anything and I spent lunch hour fuming.
After tutoring with Gohan, Goten was unusually waiting for me outside the house.
"Hey Marron!" Even for Goten, he was over enthusiastic. But his tone changed almost completely after he had said the first part. "Um.....how was tutoring?"
"Same as usual." I said with raised eyebrows. I could tell there was something going on from the way Goten was starring at me.
"Marron?" He asked cautiously.
"Yeah?"
"Err....Marron?"
I was getting impatient. "Lord, spit it out man!"
"Listen...I was wondering....do you.....maybe.....want to...." He trailed off, for once lost for words.
"Just say it. I don't bite. Regularly." Of course it wasn't funny. But Goten finds everything funny so it didn't surprise me when he erupted with laughter.
"Ok, I'll say it. Marron, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies this weekend."
I froze, unable to believe that Goten had just asked me out. Goten!? Ask me out!? It sounded highly unlikely. But it was true! Unless he had some other crazy scheme planned.
"You mean with Trunks and Bra?" I asked, my eyebrows still raised.
"Well, if you want them to come I suppose they can." He mumbled, as if investing the Briefs was an afterthought. I felt eyes on my back and saw Gohan standing behind us.
"That sounds like a good idea, Goten. I think Trunks and Bra should come too."
"Um....ok. I'll call them tonight." Goten was incredibly embarrassed.
"What will we see?" I asked and begged he would mention some romance movie.
Romance movie plus Trunks Briefs equals HEAVEN!!
"Don't care. Whatever's on."
"Sure." It sounded as if this was some sort of date. I felt as though I had to say something to convince myself it wasn't. "It's not like a date or anything. It's more of a friend thing, right?"
"Yeah. A friend thing." Goten grinned then stepped forward and put his arms around my waist. "Ready to go?"
"Yup." I said even though it was unnecessary since we were already flying into the air.
"Marron, Goten is on the phone!" 18 hollered from downstairs.
I was sitting on my bed, doing my homework and ignored her completely. That was, until she came charging upstairs like a wild elephant, threw my door open and screamed in my ear.
"MARRON! GOTEN IS ON THE PHONE!"
"Ok, whatever." I muttered and took the portable receiver from her hand and spoke into the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey Marron."
The voice on the other end of the phone didn't sound at all like Goten's. It sounded deeper, smoother and more mature than before. For a minute, I thought I was speaking with Trunks and my mother and somehow mixed them up.
"This is Goten right?"
"Of course, who else would it be?" He said with a laugh. It was the usual Goten laugh and I was reassured.
"What do you want?"
"Remember what we spoke about on Monday? About going to the movies?"
"Yeah?"
"I found one I think you'd like. Only problem is that Trunks and Bra can't come. Bulma is going to some conference thing and she wants both of them there for educational purposes."
Go to the movies with Goten? Alone? Just the two of us????
"So.....we still going?" I asked worriedly.
"If you still want to. I mean....just as friends." He sounded embarrassed.
I could hear his stereo in the background and a mental picture of him sitting crossed legged and red faced on his bed crossed my mind. I shook my head as if it could get the image out of my mind and focused on something else in the room. My hairbrush.
"I guess so. I'm not really doing anything else." I told my hairbrush. "Why not?"
"Great!" Goten answered in my right ear instead. But I refused to picture the relief in his face. I kept starring into the hairbrush.
"So when is it on? What movie is it?"
"It's a surprise. I'll meet you outside Capsule City cinema at ten on Saturday morning, ok?"
"Sure."
There was a long silence and I could hear the music in the background more clearer than ever.
"Well.....see you at school tomorrow." "Yeah. Bye." I finished and hung up.
Immediately, I dropped the phone to the ground with a clash and pounded my bed screaming to myself. 18 interrupted when she came in to see what was going on.
"What wrong, sweetheart?" She asked, sitting on my bed and pulling me upright and into a tight hug.
"Goten invited me to the movies. Alone. No Trunks and Bra. Just the two of us." I sobbed.
"Aw, your first date." 18 sighed. She may not appear to be romantic at first sight but really, romance was one of my mother's passions.
"It's not a date. We're going as friends. But still, I can't believe I agreed to that. A few weeks ago, I wouldn't even bother speaking to him on the phone. Now we're going to the movies together. It's just.....weird."
"It's perfectly normal. I may not know much about dating and boys since I never really had a boyfriend besides your father. But I do know that making you his friend isn't Goten's only intention."
"Get real, Mum. This is Goten Son we're talking about. Like I would go out with him! The very idea is gross." I scowled and 18 chuckled.
"Whatever you say, dear." She said in her most mother-like tone and left me to pout.
"Why does everyone think something is going on between Goten and I?" I asked myself. "Why can't anyone see that we're just friends. Actually I'm still not sure I'd consider Goten a friend. We're just going to the movie as friends. Just as friends. That's all."
Why did Goten have to be so complicated????
"Oh the 'Tent in a Tube'? I left that in the forest." I said carelessly.
"Marron, that was a very expensive item!" 18 scolded me.
"It wouldn't fit back in it's tube." I said as innocently as Goten. "And it makes a nice home for all the little animals."
18 groaned with frustration and threw her hands up in the air. "I just don't know what to do with you, Marron."
"I know what to do with me. Take myself to school. See you guys later."
I stood up from the table and left my house, arriving at the bus stop. I was watching my feet and not looking where I was going and accidentally banged into something thick and heavy. I fell back on my butt and gazed stupidly up into Goten's confused face. Everyone else was laughing idiotically.
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" I shouted angrily. "I COULD HAVE BEEN HURT!"
Goten bent and grasped my wrists, pulling me back to my feet in one small tug. Our faces came too close for comfort and I backed away from him quickly. He grinned.
"Sorry, Marron. Didn't see you coming."
"Jerk." I mumbled and climbed onto the bus.
I didn't talk to him again until lunch when we met at our lockers. He waited behind me while I put my books away.
"Hey, don't you need to...." I trailed off and turned to face him.
"Nah, I can wait. Don't want to send you to the nurse again." He laughed at his own private joke.
"Your not funny, you know." I said it hurtfully and immediately felt bad. I wasn't heartless enough to want to hurt someone's feelings. Even if it was my worst enemy's.
"Not as funny as you." He shook it off so lightly, it surprised me enough to make me smile.
"Nothing brings you down at all." I said as I shut my locker door.
"Yup." He moved forward and I backed out from my locker.
Instead of retreating to the cafeteria, I waited while he put his books away. I didn't know why, but it just felt like the polite thing to do. It even surprised Goten when he turned around later and saw me standing behind him.
"What are you still doing here?" He asked and I shrugged in reply. I didn't exactly know the answer to the question.
"Well, want to go to lunch?" He broke the silence.
We walked into the lunchroom together. The popular guys and girls always sit together because the girls want to be with their boyfriends and others like me, who are single, have nothing better to do than watch them. Goten and I squished onto the end of a table occupied by nearly all the popular kids in grade ten, including Trunks. Bra was at the table too, clinging to her brother as usual.
"Hey where were you guys? I was looking for you everywhere." Bra called down the table and everyone stopped kissing to stare.
"Gone round the back of the school with Marron, eh Goten?" A footballer named Josh joked.
"No, we were in the locker room." Goten answered stupidly. My cheeks turned bright red and I covered my face with my hands. He could be so stupid at times.
"Oh so you were in the locker room, huh?" It was Carl who spoke this time. Another pathetic footballer.
"We were in the locker room but we were putting away our books. THAT'S ALL!"
"Wow, you freak out easily, Marron. We were just kidding around." Trunks interrupted.
All the same, I was too furious to eat anything and I spent lunch hour fuming.
After tutoring with Gohan, Goten was unusually waiting for me outside the house.
"Hey Marron!" Even for Goten, he was over enthusiastic. But his tone changed almost completely after he had said the first part. "Um.....how was tutoring?"
"Same as usual." I said with raised eyebrows. I could tell there was something going on from the way Goten was starring at me.
"Marron?" He asked cautiously.
"Yeah?"
"Err....Marron?"
I was getting impatient. "Lord, spit it out man!"
"Listen...I was wondering....do you.....maybe.....want to...." He trailed off, for once lost for words.
"Just say it. I don't bite. Regularly." Of course it wasn't funny. But Goten finds everything funny so it didn't surprise me when he erupted with laughter.
"Ok, I'll say it. Marron, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies this weekend."
I froze, unable to believe that Goten had just asked me out. Goten!? Ask me out!? It sounded highly unlikely. But it was true! Unless he had some other crazy scheme planned.
"You mean with Trunks and Bra?" I asked, my eyebrows still raised.
"Well, if you want them to come I suppose they can." He mumbled, as if investing the Briefs was an afterthought. I felt eyes on my back and saw Gohan standing behind us.
"That sounds like a good idea, Goten. I think Trunks and Bra should come too."
"Um....ok. I'll call them tonight." Goten was incredibly embarrassed.
"What will we see?" I asked and begged he would mention some romance movie.
Romance movie plus Trunks Briefs equals HEAVEN!!
"Don't care. Whatever's on."
"Sure." It sounded as if this was some sort of date. I felt as though I had to say something to convince myself it wasn't. "It's not like a date or anything. It's more of a friend thing, right?"
"Yeah. A friend thing." Goten grinned then stepped forward and put his arms around my waist. "Ready to go?"
"Yup." I said even though it was unnecessary since we were already flying into the air.
"Marron, Goten is on the phone!" 18 hollered from downstairs.
I was sitting on my bed, doing my homework and ignored her completely. That was, until she came charging upstairs like a wild elephant, threw my door open and screamed in my ear.
"MARRON! GOTEN IS ON THE PHONE!"
"Ok, whatever." I muttered and took the portable receiver from her hand and spoke into the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey Marron."
The voice on the other end of the phone didn't sound at all like Goten's. It sounded deeper, smoother and more mature than before. For a minute, I thought I was speaking with Trunks and my mother and somehow mixed them up.
"This is Goten right?"
"Of course, who else would it be?" He said with a laugh. It was the usual Goten laugh and I was reassured.
"What do you want?"
"Remember what we spoke about on Monday? About going to the movies?"
"Yeah?"
"I found one I think you'd like. Only problem is that Trunks and Bra can't come. Bulma is going to some conference thing and she wants both of them there for educational purposes."
Go to the movies with Goten? Alone? Just the two of us????
"So.....we still going?" I asked worriedly.
"If you still want to. I mean....just as friends." He sounded embarrassed.
I could hear his stereo in the background and a mental picture of him sitting crossed legged and red faced on his bed crossed my mind. I shook my head as if it could get the image out of my mind and focused on something else in the room. My hairbrush.
"I guess so. I'm not really doing anything else." I told my hairbrush. "Why not?"
"Great!" Goten answered in my right ear instead. But I refused to picture the relief in his face. I kept starring into the hairbrush.
"So when is it on? What movie is it?"
"It's a surprise. I'll meet you outside Capsule City cinema at ten on Saturday morning, ok?"
"Sure."
There was a long silence and I could hear the music in the background more clearer than ever.
"Well.....see you at school tomorrow." "Yeah. Bye." I finished and hung up.
Immediately, I dropped the phone to the ground with a clash and pounded my bed screaming to myself. 18 interrupted when she came in to see what was going on.
"What wrong, sweetheart?" She asked, sitting on my bed and pulling me upright and into a tight hug.
"Goten invited me to the movies. Alone. No Trunks and Bra. Just the two of us." I sobbed.
"Aw, your first date." 18 sighed. She may not appear to be romantic at first sight but really, romance was one of my mother's passions.
"It's not a date. We're going as friends. But still, I can't believe I agreed to that. A few weeks ago, I wouldn't even bother speaking to him on the phone. Now we're going to the movies together. It's just.....weird."
"It's perfectly normal. I may not know much about dating and boys since I never really had a boyfriend besides your father. But I do know that making you his friend isn't Goten's only intention."
"Get real, Mum. This is Goten Son we're talking about. Like I would go out with him! The very idea is gross." I scowled and 18 chuckled.
"Whatever you say, dear." She said in her most mother-like tone and left me to pout.
"Why does everyone think something is going on between Goten and I?" I asked myself. "Why can't anyone see that we're just friends. Actually I'm still not sure I'd consider Goten a friend. We're just going to the movie as friends. Just as friends. That's all."
Why did Goten have to be so complicated????