Dateline: Thursday, April 23, 1981, 6:45 AM, Pacific Daylight Time.

"BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ."

Dash smacked his alarm clock while still half-asleep. He never really did like getting up in the morning, but he knew he would have to eventually. And preferably before Violet dumped a bucket of water on his bed. Again.

"C'mon, Dash, carpe diem!" said his sister. Violet was always up before her younger brother; it was her duty to make breakfast for the both of them. Today she was frying up bacon in one pan while scrambling eggs in another. She left the food to cook for awhile so she could organize the documents in her briefcase. "Okay, let's see here, I've got to interview the applicants for the open position in electronics, then comes lunch, then I need to meet with Walker for about an hour, come home and wait for Dash…yeah, that's everything."

After she finished planning out her day, Dash staggered out of his bedroom and into the kitchen.

"Well, look who decided to join the world of the living," remarked Violet.

"'Morning, Vi. What's for breakfast?"

"I made your favorite: bacon and eggs!"

A smile crept its way across Dash's face. He sat down at the table and started to eat. And as he was eating, Violet noticed something strange.

"Something's on your mind, Dash. Do you mind telling me what it is?"

"Huh? How could you tell I was distracted?"

"You're eating the bacon with a fork and your eggs with your hands," she pointed out.

"Oh, uh, I don't want to talk about it," he said hastily.

"It's about Kim, isn't it?"

Dash's head sunk onto his plate.

"Get your face out of the eggs, Dash," Vi said giggling.

At that moment, the honking of a car's horn could be heard just outside the window.

"Oh, jeez, there's my ride! Dash, finish getting ready, and remember, you said you were going to look for a job today!"

"I will, Violet! Don't worry about it!"

"Have a good day, do all your schoolwork, make good choices, bye!" And with that, Violet rushed out the door. She didn't stop until she came to a used 1980 Toyota Camry, which was idling by the curb just outside the building. In the driver's seat was a young woman with strawberry blonde hair, tied in a ponytail.

"Get in, Vi," said the driver, and she spoke with a bit of an overbite. "I've got more important things to do today than drive you to work."

Violet opened the passenger side door and got in. "Listen, Kari, you have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"Yes I do!" said Kari, "you appreciate it as much as your mother appreciates me tutoring your baby brother, Jack-Jack." She pulled away from the apartment complex. "But, seriously, Violet, this is starting to become a little bit burdensome. I can't spend the rest of my life driving you around! When are going to just buy a car?"

"Dash and I can't really afford a car right now, McKean. We've been living hand-in-mouth ever since we moved into our apartment."

"As have I, Miss Parr, and yet here we are, in my automobile."

While Violet and Kari were having this conversation, Dash finished his breakfast, grabbed his backpack, locked up the apartment, and began walking to school. Now, theoretically, he could have gotten to Metroville High School within 30 seconds. But, he couldn't risk blowing cover, so he decided that he would slow up and walk to school in exactly 15 minutes each day. When he got there, a teenage girl with silky brown hair greeted him. She wore a pair of wire-rimmed glasses, which made her appear very educated.

"Hey there, sweetie-pie!" she said as she ran to embrace him. They kissed briefly.

"Hello to you too, Kim," said a now blushing Dash.

Kim slipped her hand into Dash's, and they walked to her first class. "Hey, thank you for taking me to the Earth Day parade yesterday. I had a great time."

"Anything for you, my little sweet potato." Kim giggled at Dash's statement.

"Hey, did you see the news last night? They had a special report on this new super team called 'Alpha Force'."

It was all Dash could do to keep from laughing. "Yeah, I saw it."

Kim noticed that Dash was trying not to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"Anyway, I was thinking…"

"What a wonderful thing to do, Miss Lavender!"

Kim wasn't impressed; she just laughed a phony laugh. "Anyway, they seemed really young, like they were about our age or something. Don't you think it would be weird if Python or Rocket turned out to be a student at this school?"

Oh, Father God, help me not to blow my cover, Dash quietly prayed. "Yeah, I guess that would be pretty weird."

"So, hey, Dashie, if you're not doing anything after school today…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry honey, I kind of promised Violet that I'd look for a part-time job today."

Kimberly's face quickly shifted to a disappointed expression. "Oh."

"Hey, I'm free Friday night! We could go see that 'Empire Strikes Back' movie at the dollar cinema."

And with that, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "What a great idea, I haven't seen that one yet. So, I'll pick you up at 8:00 PM?"

"It's a date," Dash said. They arrived at Kim's Advanced Calculus class. He let go of his girlfriend's hand and made his way to the gym for his first class.

(A/N I had a hard time deciding whether to include Violet's day in this chapter or not. Don't worry, I'll write about Violet in Chapter 5, which may be a while coming; I think I'm coming down with writer's block. Until next time…)