Disclaimer: I am using references to Lizzie McGuire and Sister Sister in this chapter. I don't own these shows or the references. I would also like to thank my friend Dottie D. for helping me with this story.

An Old Friend

Chapter 10—A Look into Kris' Eyes

That night at the basketball game the stands were so full they were cramped. Kris ran into the gym leading the cheerleaders. She was wearing her lion costume with her new lion paw sneakers. She did her little pep dance with the cheerleaders and then sat down to watch the game. Tonight's game was with the boys' basketball team. Kris was told they rotate every Friday. Next Friday would be an away game for the girls' team.

The team did pretty well. They were only down by two points when Kris had to do her trick shot at half time. Kris was well prepared for her trick shot. She had been perfecting it all week. However, this was the first time she was to do it while wearing her lion paw sneakers. Kris dribbled the ball up to the hoop as usual. She took a leap, but her new sneakers gave her too much bounce. She was going too high. She dropped the ball in the hoop, but she went over the backboard and the tail of the costume got caught in the corner of the bars. She dangled upside down while the crowd just stared at her. Kris tried swinging back and forth to reach the bars, but that just caused the tail to start ripping open.

"A little help here people!" Kris cried out to the crowd.

People came out of the stands and crowded around the basketball net. Someone ran to get a ladder out of the janitor's closet. The tail was ripping fast. The ladder wouldn't get to her in time.

"Stand back everyone. I'm coming down."

Kris could only hope that her lion abilities would allow her to land on all fours even though she was going to fall from this awkward position. The tail detached and Kris began to fall. The crowd backed up. At first Kris landed on all fours but the impact of the fall threw her off balance. She immediately fell back and hit the right side of her head hard on the gym floor. Kris turned over and took off her lion head. She was bleeding behind the ear. She began to roar in agony. She covered her eyes with her hands. Her eyes were burning.

Pim, Phil and Keely pushed their way through the crowd.

"It's going to be okay Kris." Pim pulled back Kris' hair and saw blood around a tiny, circular metal plate. Whatever it was it appeared to be damaged. Pim turned to Phil. "Phil, do you think that you can carry her out of here?"

"Yeah."

"You need to take her to the nurse," said a student.

The nurse was on duty at every indoor sporting event.

"Where do you think we're taking her doofus?" Pim said to him.

Phil picked Kris up and carried her out of the gym. Pim and Keely followed them. They stopped in an empty hallway far from the gym. Kris was still roaring in pain.

"We're alone now. Tell us how we can help you," Pim said to her.

"After you had such a big fit about me helping you out at lunch, what makes you think I want your help?"

"You said you were protecting your pride. I didn't understand you then, but I do now. A lion's pride is the ones she cares about. I care about you too. Now tell us how we can help you."

"Okay," Kris said. "My eyes are not my own. Just like many of my organs, the doctors replaced my eyes as well. They installed a device inside my nervous system to project a virtual image of my old human eyes over my new lion ones. The scar is where they opened me up to do it. That metal plate is how I turn the image on and off. That's what I did to scare the "fashion zombies" away. The metal plate got damaged in my fall. You have to use the micro pulses on the Wizard to repair it. Then you can accelerate the clotting process to stop the bleeding. The clot will prevent the device from working for a few days but it's the only way I know how you can fix it."

"Alright," Pim said. "Phil, give me your Wizard."

Phil handed her the handheld device and Pim calibrated the micro pulses. She pointed the machine at the metal plate and watched as it repaired itself. Keely was amazed at how quickly the Wizard worked. Pim then used the Wizard to accelerate the clotting and a thin scab formed over the plate.

"Did it work?" Keely asked.

"Yeah," Kris replied. "My eyes don't hurt anymore. Brace yourselves. This might come as a bit of a shock to you." Kris opened her eyes.

All three of them gasped at once.

"Now you know why I didn't tell you. My eyes don't belong in this body. I'm a total freak."

"You're not a freak," Pim said. "Your eyes look awesome!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Do you know how many people I could scare away if I had your eyes?"

"Pim, that wasn't nice," Phil told her.

"Sorry."

It's okay," Kris said.

Keely reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. "Wear these, at least until we get you back to Phil's house."

"It's her house now too, Keely," Pim told her.

"Right." Keely handed the sunglasses to Kris and she put them over her eyes.

Phil used the pay phone in the lobby to call his mom to pick them up. They explained everything to her in the car. They told her about Kris being part lion and about the eye situation.

"Well that would explain the purring sound coming from your room," said Mrs. Diffy.

When they got home, Kris took the sunglasses off. Curtis attacked her in the kitchen.

"Curtis kill jungle creature."

"Curtis is me Kris. She took off her lion costume.

That didn't seem to have any effect. "Kris have human eyes. Kris not look like jungle creature."

"Kris looked at Curtis and said with a sad voice, "Kris does not have human eyes. Kris look like jungle creature. Kris is jungle creature. But do not kill Kris. Kris friend."

Curtis examined Kris looked into her eyes and repeated, "Kris friend." Curtis gave her a hug.

"How did you do that?" Pim asked her. "I've been trying to get through to the caveman ever since he got here. I've had no luck."

"You just have to speak his language."

"You are a freak."

"Thank you, Pim," Kris said.

They laughed.

Kris used the clothing synthesizer to create contact lenses that looked like her virtual eyes. She put her thumb on the machine and her eyes looked human again.

Pim walked over to the couch and sat next to her.

"Hey," Kris said.

"Hey."

"I want to thank you for helping me today."

"It is me who should be thanking you. You taught me something about myself. I'm not as tough as I thought I was. I care about people. I learned how to be a friend today. You taught me that. For that, I thank you."

"You're welcome."

"But if you ever tell anyone I told you I'm not tough, I'll deny it even under alien water torture."

"I won't tell anyone, you have my word. Friends?" Kris outstretched her hand.

"Friends." Pim shook Kris' hand.

"What are you going to do about the mascot thing?" Pim asked.

"What do you mean the mascot thing?"

"Well after today, the coach is not going to let you do that trick again."

"Oh, well I guess I'll quit and let Don take over. It wasn't really fair anyway, me being part lion and all."

"Then what are you going to do now that you're quitting the mascot business?"

"I thought I'd join the dance club. You saw me at tryouts. I rocked!" Kris said.

"Now, that I'd like to see."

Kris changed the subject. "Now about your snoring, I got new ear plugs so it shouldn't be a problem any more."

"It can't be that loud."

"Do you want me to record it for you? I think you need to hear it."

"Maybe I should record you purring in your sleep. You'd get a kick out of that wouldn't you?"

"Hey, that's what cat's do when they sleep, I can't help it."

"Well if you keep doing that I'm going to need earplugs, 'Miss Lioness.'"

"Well you aren't borrowing mine, 'Lady Jackhammer.'"

"Oh, you did not just say that."

"Oh, yes I did," Kris said matter-of-factly.

"I think the only way to settle this is with a thumb wrestle."

"If you say so."

The two of them went into a long thumb wrestling match because Pim refused to admit she lost.

Kris finally felt at home in the 21st century. She may have had freak written all over her, but she had a pride that would be there for her no matter what happened.

And so ends the final chapter of the first of many stories of Kris and her new life with Phil and his family in the 21st century.