.:.

My first impression of Uub, when I noticed his black Mohawk and dark skin, was of Mr T. But then I realized how lanky and meek he appeared compared to Trunks and Goten; and just about every other male I had come in contact with before. His deep brown eyes seemed to stand out, even more than the red jacket he wore that was almost two sizes too big for him, as was his really baggy black pants.

"Guys, this is Uub." Bulma introduced in the type of sugary voice that completely sickened me. "Uub, this is my son, Trunks, my daughter Bra and Goten and Marron who's families are close friends of ours."

"Hey," Trunks and Marron said simultaneously, showing as much interest as they would have shown in a brick wall.

"Hi ya!" Goten exclaimed with the usual jolt of enthusiasm that only he and his father seemed to possess.

Uub was silent, his cheeks blushing red that made him look ridiculous. I had to contain myself from laughing and took to giving what I hoped was what would pass for a friendly stare.

"Uub is the little boy training with Goku to become a martial arts master. Goku has told him all about you guys and his parents want him to study at Orange Star High. So he is going to go to school with you guys! Isn't that exciting?" Bulma said, still upholding the voice that was continuing to embarrass me.

"Um...yeah. Whatever." Trunks mumbled, displaying a level of emotions equivalent to a dung beetle.

"Well, I'll leave you to get acquainted. Trunks, I'm counting on you to make Uub feel included. See you later kids!" Bulma exclaimed and strode away from us, thankfully leaving me alone.

There was an odd silence between the five of us, each unsure of what to say. Trunks was staring into space, obviously wishing to be somewhere else. I decided to take it upon myself to make what I hoped would be decent conversation.

"So how old are you?"

"Fifteen." He replied shyly. He was constantly starring at his shoes.

"Hey same! Did you skip a grade?"

"No. I just started at a younger age."

"Like Goten!"

"Err....yeah."

"So you live really far away, don't you?"

"Yes."

"How are you going to get to school?"

"Fly."

"Oh. Ok."

That was as far as the conversation was going to go. So far, I hadn't succeeded in getting a full sentence out of him. How did my mother expect us to be friendly with this guy if he wouldn't even speak to us properly?

Marron, obviously more bored than anyone else, grabbed Goten's hands and yanked him onto the dance floor. Trunks and I exchanged raised eyebrows while Goten's face remained filled with sheer joy. I beamed; Marron had already made his night.

"Remember what I said about reverse phycology, Trunks." I whispered in my brother's ear, reluctant to destroy the best moment in Goten's teenage life. "Then she might stop chasing after you."

"Let him have one dance, Bra." Trunks whispered back. "Then I'll cut in."

"So..." I said, turning back to Uub who was standing a fair bit away and watching us forlornly. "Are you much of a dancer?"

"I've never danced before." Uub mumbled. I couldn't imagine there was someone who went redder when they blushed. "This is my first party."

Well, at least it was a proper sentence this time. "Lucky. Don't you hate it?"

"Kind of." He replied. He was shifting uncomfortably, shuffling his feet and I noticed that the poor guy didn't really like the noise much. I didn't blame him. It was awful!

Suddenly the music changed and Trunks leapt at the chance to leave us. Now that no one was keeping an eye out for me, and I had at least made an appearance, I seriously thought about running upstairs to my room. But then I remembered Uub was standing beside me. He was so quiet that it was easy to forget he was standing there. It would be rude to leave him standing there, friendless and alone considering this was his first teenage party. But I couldn't stand the music much longer.

"Don't you hate the music!?" I shouted over the sudden blast of the repetitive trash our generation consider structural noise. He said something softly and I shouted. "WHAT!?" At the top of my voice.

"KIND OF!" He replied just as loudly.

"WANT TO GO UPSTAIRS!?" I screamed as loud as I could.

"IF YOU WANT TO!" He screamed even louder than I could. Before I knew it, this had become a sort of war to see who had the loudest voice.

"FINE THEN!!" I bellowed even louder still. It surprised me that I could make such a loud noise. Others nearby turned to stare, actually able to hear me over the music!

"OKAY!"

"LET'S GO THEN!"

"IF YOU WANT TO!"

I snatched his hand and marched out of the room. Uub's hand was dripping with sweat and I now noticed that his face was in the same condition. I understood completely. Teenage parties and social events were incredibly stressful.

"You want some water?" I asked once we were out of the sound range and the obnoxious music was now no more than a consistent pounding on the floor.

"If I am allowed to." He mumbled, his throat hoarse. I led him into a kitchen and pored him a large glass, filled with ice and a second one for myself.

We stood in silence, and I sipped my water politely while Uub drained his glass in a matter of seconds. I was pretty impressed that someone could drink that much. The poor guy must have really needed that drink.

"Were you named after the periodic table of the elements?" I asked casually, taking his empty cup and rinsing it in the sink.

"Excuse me?" Uub replied, his eyes filled with confusion.

"You're name is on the periodic table of the elements. I figured that your parents must be into science."

"No, not really. You see, I am the first person in my village to go to school." Uub said with a very faint smile. I took that as a sign to mean he was beginning to relax around me a little more.

"So, you live in a third world country." I concluded. It was the only logical explanation.

"Sorry, I don't understand."

I raised my eyebrows, unable to believe someone could be this thick headed. "A third world country is a poorer country who doesn't have the money to further it's technology to keep up with the rest of us."

Uub said nothing, his deep brown eyes overloaded with confusion. I watched him in awe. How could someone be this stupid? Sure, he had no education, but at least he should no the current status of his own country! Either he was pretending to be an idiot as a valent attempt to impress me, or his brain cells had been replaced with mothballs.

"Ok, put it this way. Do you get water out of a well, live in a hovel and often go to bed hungry?"

"Yes." He replied. "But what has that got to do with anything?"

Ok, it was official. His brain was filled with mothballs. I expected someone with such a large head to have a better intellectual capacity. Obviously, I was wrong.

"Maybe we should talk about something else. How are you able to go to school? I can tell that you can't afford it and...I don't think you got in on a scholarship."

"I won some money at a tournament." Uub said simply. Ah, I understood now! Must have been one kick to the head too many.

"I see. Have you ever considered getting a tutor? It's really been helping Marron." I suggested. This guy was going to die come Monday.

"Why would a need a tutor? I'm going to school to learn."

I supposed I should be impressed me knew what a tutor was. Uub came from a third world country, with no previous education and probably has suffered some mental disease through his fighting. This was why I only knew basic martial arts. I wasn't going to throw away MY intellectual capacity so easily.

"Trust me Uub, it will help. But since you don't agree with me, remember if you do ever need any help at school with homework and stuff, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Thanks, but I should be fine."

In my opinion, it was time to change the subject. "So, what do you do for fun?"

"Fun? There's never anytime for fun. I have to train to fight, and work for my family. Now that my father is gone..."

I felt my heart sink into the pit of my stomach. Even if things like losing a father as a child happened to every four in six children, and that I should be used to suffering and depression with the amount of reading I do on it, I still have trouble listening to others talk about things like this.

"Well, I read a lot. I like reading, it gives you a chance to escape this world and enter the life of another person." Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "You do know how to read, don't you?"

"Yes, I can read." Uub stated proudly. "Only three people in our village can read. I am trying to teach my brothers and sisters, but I'm not an excellent teacher."

I could imagine. "Oh, you have brothers and sisters? Aren't they a pain?"

"Kind of." I was getting the impression that Uub found it hard to make his mind up about anything. "I'm the oldest."

"Lucky. Being the youngest really blows. Trunks gets whatever he wants." I scowled.

"It's not that great. It's up to me to look after the others and be the father figure now. It isn't that easy, especially since I am the oldest of six."

The oldest of six! I could hardly imagine it! "Wow!" Was all I could say.

Uub shrugged. "It can be hard, and I would rather be the youngest at times with someone to be brave and look after me so I could break down and cry if I want to. But...well...you get used to it."

"There you are!" Bulma burst into the kitchen, interrupting the conversation. "Uub, didn't your mother say you have to be home by eleven?"

"Oh yeah, right." Uub faced me and gave me his faint smile. I could now understand why he wasn't such a great smiler. Not only was he shy, but he didn't have much to smile about. He didn't get much practice. Maybe he could have evil smirking lessons with Vegeta. An evil smirk would make him look...

Yuk! I was thinking like Marron! Gross! I pushed all thoughts of an evil- smirking Uub out of my head. "Nice meeting you Uub." I said, shaking his sweaty hand.

"You too, Bra. I'll see you at school on Monday, then." He thanked Bulma, waved goodbye and left the kitchen. As soon as he was gone, Bulma burst out laughing.

"There's definitely chemistry between the two of you, isn't there?" She shrieked with laughter. "I never thought I would see the day my Bra has a boyfriend."

"First of all mother, I only met Uub four hours ago. Second, it's pretty obvious that I am not the boy-loving type. And finally, I DON'T LIKE HIM ANYWAY!"

"You don't?"

"Kind of." I mumbled, just like Uub would have. I didn't mean to say that. He was alright, I suppose. And how could I blame him from having a brain full of fluff with a background like his?

"Well, be nice, ok? Uub is going to have a hard time fitting in at school and I need you to help him. Make sure you include him at school and introduce him to your friends."

What friends? I asked myself mentally, but said. "Of course, Mum." Instead before I stooped into my room and settled down into a very restless sleep.