Hi everyone, and may I just say…

I am sooo sorry! I know I haven't updated in a few millennia but I got a cough C- cough on my math test and my parents flipped. So yeah, I was kinda banned from all computer usage. :oP I hate math!! When in the world am I ever going to use Pre- Cal?! Honestly, I don't want to be an engineer or a mathematician! I mean when am I ever, in the 'real world' going to need to graph a quadratic equation or name the vertical asymtote? Unless some evil math dictator decides to rule the world and kill off everyone who doesn't know about rational functions I think I'll get along just fine with out it. And now I have to go in for tutoring! Grrr…

Um… sorry, but I had to vent somewhere.

On a lighter note, may I just say how stoked I was to see 200 reviews! Man you guys rock! Thanks so much for your input! I didn't get to read them as I was banned so there won't be any feedback this chapter. Sorry! Besides, I wanted to get this chapter up as quickly as possible. :oP

Please forgive me if it sucks, for I was quite distraught while writing it. Damn you Pre-Cal! Damn you!!

Disclaimer: I don't own it. But I do wish I owned a time machine so I could go back and strangle whoever decided to make Pre-Cal a requirement to Juniors. (My parents only had to take up to Algebra in high school, That is such Crap!!) On with the chapter before I start venting again.

The Color Purple

The room was silent. The only sounds coming from Kori's soft sniffles.

Victor looked around awkwardly, squirming around looking as though this was the last place on Earth he wanted to be. Garfield was looking between Kori, Raven and Dick, not really knowing how to react.

"Please…stop fighting." Kori spoke finally looking up sadly, "Friends are not supposed to—" Before she could even finish Garfield had spoken up, his rare display of anger flaring up again.

"Friends? Friends? Since when were we" He indicated Victor "Ever friends? Why would I want to be friends with him!" Victor shriveled up even more. "Who in their right mind would want to?!"

It was silent for a moment.

"You do not mean that…" Kori said softly. Garfield opened his mouth to protest but Kori cut him off. "True, the things he did were wrong and cruel…" Victor flinched, "But he has sought out redemption… everyone deserves a second chance." She looked between Victor and Garfield with a small smile.

Garfield's demeanor softened ever so slightly.

"No," Dick interjected forcefully. Kori as well as everyone else looked up in surprise. His blue eyes met Kori's green. "Everyone doesn't… Not for some things." He added, a bit softer, "Not for some things…" He turned his gaze away from Kori to glare at the floor. Kori reached out toward him again.

"Friend Richa—"

"Why are you doing this? Huh?" He snapped, jerking his head up, his eyes boring into hers with a fierce intensity. "Why?!"

She instinctively leaned back, a bit confused and somewhat frightened. Something about his look scared her. The depth of his eyes…or perhaps the fact that she had seen that look before, and it had scared her then as well.

"Doing wha—"

"Being like—like—like this!" He exclaimed, nearly tearing out his unruly black hair, "Calling me friend, being so—so goddamned nice!!"

Kori looked on, not sure of how to respond. Garfield, however, had more to say on the matter.

"What?! Is it like some sort of crime now!? Kindness? Huh? How sad is it when it's a shock that someone could possibly be genuinely nice?"

"I don't know if you've taken a look at the world lately, but it is a shock," Dick spat, "Everyone in this hole is driven by greed, power, revenge… and anyone who isn't is always—!" He abruptly stopped shouting, shoulders slumping. "They're always…"

Kori listened intently, Dick's views on the world and his last statement… she was glad he stopped. She didn't think she could handle it if he finished that sentence. But she knew it needed to be…

"Richa—"

"Oy!! Will you lot hush up? Me Mum can 'ear yoo all the way in jolly ol' Brit'in!" Mod burst into the room interrupting Kori. His fiery hair was a mess and his eyes looked puffy, as though he had just woken up from a nap.

Kori resisted the urge to glare at Mod. He had just interrupted a—

"An' yoo, uh, Mander-Mandy- Amanda—" Mod stumbled, pointing a groggy finger at Kori, "uh, Ms. Anders," He cleared his throat and continued, "Mr. Benson jus' phoned in, looks loike you git to spend anot'er Sat'ur day wit' me eh luv?" With a somewhat evil cackle, a yawn and a scratch of the derrière. He left the room again.

After a few minutes of silence…

"Well if that wasn't random…" Raven responded dryly.

"Yes, it was quite…" Kori trailed off, as her brows scrunched in confusion thinking about what he had called her. "Quite capricious…"

"Uhh…who has a dictionary?" Garfield questioned, scratching his green tinted hair, his anger temporarily forgotten.

"You know what that is?" Raven interjected, Garfield sent her a glare. Kori paid them no mind. Instead she sat there, staring at the door where Mod had just exited.

'An' yoo, uh, Mander- Mandy-Amanda—' Mod's words replayed over and over again in Kori's head. Amanda? Her name didn't even—

She let out a gasp as her green eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. Her sister…

'You've got detention, and I've got a date to meet…'

Kori seethed as she thought of her sister mocking her, driving away in her stupid sports car. Laughing at her… she had set her up…and she fell for it…

She had let herself be tricked… again. She knew it. After all, when had she ever gotten in trouble? And how many times had she played scapegoat for her sister's nefarious deeds? Too many to count. She grit her teeth as she thought of how foolish she must've looked. How foolish she was to come even though she didn't receive a slip. How foolish to think she got detention for throwing meatloaf…

She clenched her fist.

She had an instinctive feeling her sister was up to no good, as usual. And as usual, she was quick to forgive and believe her sister had changed and was, for once, telling the truth. She so hoped it would happen.

Her anger dissipated slightly and she let her shoulders slump feeling dejected.

Why was it that people always seemed to change for the worse? But never the other way around? She wanted her old sister back. The one from elementary school that was just playfully mean… The one that would tease her relentlessly, then save her from bullies the next day.

Now her sister was plain cruel… so different… It had gotten progressively worse as they grew older. What had she done to her? What made the drastic change? Why? She didn't understand it.

Perhaps…perhaps people didn't change for the better…

Kori shook her head free of her negative thoughts.

But without hope that people could… she spared a small glance toward Richard… The world would be a sad place indeed.

"Uh Kori?" She abruptly came out of her stupor as she heard Victor's tentative voice. Looking around, Kori noticed that all eyes were on her, she gave the group a nervous smile.

"Yes?" She questioned, Dick pointed to her hand in response. Kori looked and gasped. She had broken her favorite pencil. Her hand was wrapped tightly around the shattered wood that had broken in half. She hadn't even remembered picking it up. Chuckling nervously she dropped the devastated pencil with a clatter. "Um…"

With another nervous chuckle she scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Oops?"

"You okay?" BB questioned, his brows knitted, emerald eyes concerned.

"Of course!" She responded quickly, "Everything is fine, everything is wonderful! I am here surrounded by my closest peers and—"

"And that!" Dick exclaimed, rubbing his temples, "Why on Earth do you talk like that?" Kori tilted her head brows furrowed.

"Dude, leave her alone," Victor said softly but firmly.

"Oh! Now you stick up for people? Now that you're jock friends aren't around?" Garfield sneered, "Dude, you are so pathetic…" Victor darkly glared at the ground, unable to say anything as Garfield shook his head.

Casting a sad glance at the two boys, Kori looked back over to Dick. Pressing her two index fingers together she responded.

"My parents always enforced proper grammar," Kori admitted with a small smile of nostalgia.

She had always gotten odd stares because her speech. She no longer cared though. She was actually quite surprised no one had pointed it out sooner. Her parents were professors, and English ones at that. So, it was granted they would be sticklers for grammar.

And yes she knew that she was taking her parents too literally. She wasn't stupid. But they had always smiled when she spoke like that. Like an innocent child who took everything too literally, or the ones who tried to grow up too fast, talking like defense attorneys at the age of five.

A special smile, reserved just for her. Whenever she would go out of her way and look up ridiculously long, obscure words from the dictionary and speak extremely proper grammar like she was delivering an essay with no contractions, her head held high. Her parents would laugh, and she glowed, feeling warm on the inside.

The more she did it, the better she got. And she would get the smile every time. She was teased horribly in elementary school, she would come home crying, and reverted back to 'normal' speech.

When she did, her parents would ask what happened to their little professor. Kori would smile, and reverted back to her unique speech pattern, and her parents would laugh, her sister would beat up those mean kids.… And then Kori realized something.

Who cared if she was made fun of? She didn't even know those kids that well. Why should she change because of them? They didn't stop being mean or rude because of her, despite the fact she often reprimanded her fellow classmates for wrongful behavior and lack of manners.

Besides, she found it quite entertaining to talk like that once she got the hang of it. And soon slang was like a foreign language to her.

Her sister of course, scoffed at her and used slang at every opportunity. Even though she stood up to the bullies and defended Kori, in elementary school at any rate… then again, once she did 'save' her, she always rubbed it in Kori's face….

She never really understood her sister. She probably never would now that she thought about it...

"Hell—ooo? Kori? Dude, you're acting more out of it than Raven," The sound of BB's voice snapped her out of her reverie.

She looked up to see Raven sending him a fierce glare.

"Yeah…" Dick added, brows furrowed, looking between Raven and Kori. "Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something?" He questioned, eyes lingering on Raven's shadowed face.

"Yeah, I can see it now," Garfield laughed, "Raven's secretly plotting our downfall with evil curses from her nasty old book,"

"Keep it up," Raven warned harshly pulling her hood over her face more.

"Well it's probably true!" Garfield defended, "I mean, all you do is read from that stupid book, with your little hood barrier!"

"So what's wrong?" Dick questioned, arms crossed.

Raven looked up at Dick scowling.

"For a secretive person, you sure do like to pry," Raven quipped darkly.

"Great, I try to help out and what do I get?"

"I don't need you to help with my problems when you can't handle your own," Raven snarled.

"Hey, I'm handling my 'problems' just fine!" Dick growled.

"Biting everyone's heads off and being a dick is not exactly what I would call 'handling it' just fine" Raven snapped.

Kori looked between the two. How in the world had this started? Why was everyone always fighting?

"Neither is closing yourself off with your whole, 'emotions are evil' speech and wearing your stupid little" Dick waved his finger around pointing at her hood trying to think of a word, "Your stupid little mask thing, you don't see me walking around with one,"

"Not all masks are visible," Kori responded looking at Richard, "If I did not know better, I would say you are wearing a mask as well Richard," Kori pointed, analyzing his face. Richard seemed shocked, but quickly recovered and gave the red-head a stony look.

"If it was socially acceptable, I'd bet he'd wear one," Victor joked, not wanting to repeat the whole event with Garfield over again. He could see the conversation would escalate and he couldn't take another heated conversation. It was kind of like Jerry Springer… With out the excessive cursing and lack of cheating husbands and chair throwing with women who want to—oh hell, it wasn't like Springer at all really. He sure did suck at metaphors…

"No way, he'd wear Christmas colored spandex!" Garfield looked over at Victor, busting up at the thought. Victor smiled, not just because of the thought of Dick in Christmas colored tights, but also because Garfield had completely forgotten his animosity toward him. For one moment at least.

"At least they wouldn't be purple," Dick snapped back, recalling Victor's tale of a purple training jersey. Garfield frowned and Raven rubbed her temples at their immaturity.

"I have a skirt that is purple!" Kori announced, flying into the conversation, "I also have a tank top to match! Along with a pair of boots I had acquired at Christmas, along with a matching scarf and winter cap with a pretty snowflake design of sewed in sparkly thread—"

Her fervor died down as she looked up and noticed everyone's stares. She abashedly cleared her throat.

"I am fond of the color…" She admitted, scuffing her toes on the floor and shrugging. Her head down, looking up at them smiling ingenuously.

Dick couldn't help his lips from curving upward ever so slightly. His anger and bitterness melted away for that one moment. That one look that made him feel something deep down that had been long forgotten.

OOO

Well, this was kind of a Kori centered chapter and forgive me if it was long and boring, the next chapter will be better. :o)

But yeah, I hope I wrote Kori's reason for talking like she does fairly realistically. I wanted to do something different considering she is always portrayed as an immigrant. Granted, the immigrant approach relates most to the show and is way better than my idea. Oh well… bah. :oP