The Lost Art of Keeping A Secret

--Stand Up--

As soon as the tardy bell rang, Goten came rushing into the classroom. He closed the door and looked around the classroom at first. Then he straightened his collar. "Good morning, class," he greeted.

The students just looked at him strangely.

"This morning we're going to have a discussion about why certain countries lose wars and why others win," Goten said. He began writing on the board.

Bra watched Goten as he hurriedly wrote the notes for class on the board. Why was he so late? Why was he behaving the way he was when he first came in? Something fishy was going on, but Bra didn't know what it was. It plagued her. Surely her mind would not be able to rest until she found out why he was late. Maybe she was just paranoid. Maybe he'd just overslept.

She looked around the room and saw the girls staring at Goten dreamily. If she could poke all their eyes out, she would feel a whole lot better. But she couldn't do that without being expelled at the very least. She'd just have to stick THIS out too. So she joined the rest of the ladies in staring at the hottest guy in the entire city. He wore black dress shoes, black trousers, a white oversized dress shirt and a red and black tie.

Tie?!! Goten was wearing a tie today! Why was he all of a sudden wearing a tie when he used to come to class tieless and with his top button undone? There really was something weird going on. All of this was making Bra extremely antsy. She wanted to talk to him about all of this, but it would just have to wait till after class.

"Do any of you have any suggestions on why some countries are unable to defeat other countries?" Goten asked after he finished writing his notes.

It would be a looooooooong wait....

--after class--

As usual, the other students gathered their things and left the classroom while Bra lingered behind.

"Hey, Bra. I'll see ya in science class, okay?" Pan said to her.

Bra was barely listening. She just nodded and hoped that Pan would go away. It worked. Whew! Now she sat and watched Goten erase the board. Yes, the motion of his body always fascinated her. It was hard for her NOT to analyze his every move. There was always a strange feeling inside of her whenever she watched him or thought about him. Something unexplainable. Something she hoped would go away if she spent enough time with him. But it only grew when she did.

Goten turned to her and smiled. "Hey there. How are you feeling?"

Bra smiled back. It was an automatic reaction these days. Any time Goten sent a smile her way, she would quickly deliver one right back. It wasn't just because it was the polite thing to do. It was because she actually felt happy. Surely there was no one else on earth who could make her feel truly happy like he did.

"I'm just a little sore, that's all," Bra answered. "No big deal."

Goten walked over and sat on top of the desk she was sitting in. "So, you haven't been blacking out or anything?"

He put his index finger in front of her eyes and moved it around slowly. And Bra watched it like some sort of wayward kitten. It seemed as if someone or something else were controlling her. She hated to be controlled. That was another of her pet peeves.

"No, I haven't been 'blacking out or anything'," Bra told him.

Goten put his finger on her nose. "Good." He then folded his arms across his chest. "So, what's up?"

She almost felt guilty about asking him why he was late this morning. Of course there was really no way for her to find out unless she asked. So how could she ask without sounding like a worry-wart or a nag?

The door to Goten's classroom opened and that red-head stepped in. Paris. Bra had almost forgotten about her. That idiotic counselor looked a bit angry today. Why was that?

"I cannot believe you stood me up last night, Mister. Where were you?" Paris asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Paris always seemed to completely ignore Bra whenever she came to talk to Goten. Bra didn't like that at all. She wasn't the type who had to be the center of attention all the time, but she DID want to be acknowledged when she was sitting right in front of the person you'd come to talk to. What Paris was pulling now was downright disrespectful. Bra cleared her throat.

The stupid counselor still offered no greeting. No apology. Nothing. In Bra's book, that was disrespect. And disrespect was simply not tolerated. As the daughter of the great Prince Vegeta, she was obligated to show this woman what it meant to cross a Saiyan of royal blood.

Goten's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Where was I?" He never was a good liar. He was too used to being honest to lie. "I...didn't stand you up.... I called..., remember?" He looked a little nervous.

"Hm? I remember a call. But I thought you said that you were going to be late because of tutoring," Paris said.

"Ummmmm...." Goten looked around the room for the answer. "I'll make it up to you. Why don't we just go out tonight?"

Paris smiled. "Okay, but I won't have you stand me up again."

This whole situation was making Bra sick to the stomach. If she didn't leave soon she wasn't sure what she might do. "I'll see you later, Mr. Son," she told him. She waved good-bye.

Goten gave her a look that begged her to stay and come up with something to get him out of this. But Bra couldn't do it. This was for the best. Wasn't it?

Bra began her trip down the hall to her next class. Even though their families knew about their secret relationship, they had to play a game of keep-away at school and out in public. This wouldn't be easy. No, this wouldn't be easy at all.

--next class--

Pan smirked as Bra sat in her usual seat in science class. "You two weren't making out again, were you?"

Bra's eyes stretched. "Shhhhhhh!!"

Pan grinned. "Nobody knows what I'm talking about. Besides, no one's paying attention to us."

Bra frowned. "We were NOT making out."

"I don't know. You look a little flushed and flustered," Pan informed her.

Should she talk to Pan about her problem? Pan, ye pitcher which cannot hold water, had a real problem keeping things to herself. Or so it seemed. Pan's track record had been somewhat clean before now. Somewhat. Throughout their youth, Bra would share some secrets with Pan. She told Pan about the time she wrecked her brother's first capsule motorcycle. No one ever found out about that. She'd told Pan about when she lost the diamond necklace her mother gave her for her 14th birthday. No one knows about that to this day. So, Pan WAS pretty good at keeping certain secrets from certain people. Especially from the people who shouldn't find out about them.

"Is something wrong? You look like you're in your own little world," Pan said.

Bra shook her head.

Pan frowned. "Oh, no. Not the silent treatment again. You've really gotta learn to open up."

Bra sighed and rolled her eyes. "You know I can't say anything here."

"Why not?" Pan asked.

All of the questions and chit-chat was getting on Bra's nerves. She wasn't sure if Pan had gone loco on her or what. She knew that if anyone at this school found out about a student/teacher romance, everything would be in an uproar. She couldn't let the students and faculty find out about her and Goten.

"Listen, we can just talk about this after school when less people are crowded around," Bra suggested. "I don't feel right talking about this here."

Pan nodded. "Wow. Must be something big and important."

Bra turned her attention to the front of the classroom. What was she going to tell Pan? That Goten was pretty much with her, but he was seeing someone else? How do you let someone know something like that? How do you tell someone that you let your "boyfriend" go out with another woman as a cover for your own relationship? Would Pan understand if she told her?

--End Stand Up--

--Hello! Sorry again about the long wait. I've got way too much on my plate these days. But that's not gonna stop me from getting these episodes out at some point or another. So, if it takes a while for them to come out, just remember that they ARE coming. It just takes a little more time these days.

--Enough of that. Thank you for reading this episode of Versus 2. I hope you enjoy reading this series as much as I enjoy writing it. Thanks for your reviews and all your support. If you have comments, critiques or suggestions, please let me know. TTFN.