Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or any related characters.

Jimmy was sitting at the table in his kitchen early the next morning. As he took a few small bites out of his waffles he kept nervously rapping his fingers against the table.

"Something wrong, honey?" his mother asked as she took a seat next to him. "You seem nervous about something."

Jimmy sighed. I get our parents kidnapped by aliens, cause a new ice age, and nearly blow up on the planet on a regular basis, but playing hooky is what gets me nervous? "Just a math test today. That's all."

Mrs. Neutron seemed a little puzzled. Her son had never expressed anxiety about passing a test before. He had proved that he could handle college-level work, after all. She knew he was hiding something from her, but she thought it was better to drop it for now.

"Ok honey. Just have a good day at school. And try to get along with that Cindy," she said as Jimmy walked out the door.

Meanwhile, Cindy was finishing her plain oatmeal and protein bar. She sighed through clenched teeth as her mother walked into the kitchen. "Morning mom."

Mrs. Vortex poured herself a cup of coffee and looked at her daughter. "Good morning, Cynthia." She paused as she stirred her drink, almost as if she didn't know how to talk to her daughter. "I trust you are still getting straight A's in all your classes?"

Cindy just nodded her head. "Yes, ma'am."

"And you are beating that little Neutron punk?"

Cindy clenched her fists a little. "He's not that bad, mom."

Mrs. Vortex glared at her daughter. "Is this the same boy that was all you could talk about for months? The boy that you said you hated?" She paused in realization. "The boy that you hang out with now? The boy that you always seem to defend?"

Now it was Cindy's turn to glare at her mother. "What are you insinuating?"

Mrs. Vortex's smile of knowing changed to a frown as she walked by her daughter. She bent down and stared her in the eyes. "Befriending a rival and enemy is bad enough. But crushing," she spat out that last word, "on them is a different story. It is a sign of defeat. You are better than that Neutron, and don't you forget it!"

Cindy angrily slung her empty backpack over her shoulders and headed out the door. "Yeah. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Cindy and Jimmy exited the house at the same time. Jimmy cheerily waved as he ran across the street to meet her. Cindy sighed and put on a fake smile. Come on, Cindy. This is your big day alone with Jimmy. Don't let mom spoil it.

"Hey Jimmy," Cindy said.

"Hey Cind." Jimmy glanced down a few times at her hand before grabbing it and intertwining their fingers. "So, what's the plan?"

Cindy's angry thoughts of her mother disappeared as Jimmy grabbed her hand. It was becoming harder and harder to deny her feelings towards him. "We head to school, but stop by the Candy Bar. We'll call the school and phone ourselves in sick. Then we just wing it. You got the invention you promised?"

Jimmy nodded and pulled a small device out of his pocket. He pushed a button and spoke into it. "Yep," he said in his mother's voice. He smiled and put it back in his pocket.

And so they both embarked on what would be the best day of their lives. Or so they thought.

Author's Note: Well, after several failed first chapters for various stories, I think I've finally got a winner here. It's no Red Snow, but I think it will be pretty good. Please review and tell me what you think of it so far.