Drake and Josh characters belong to their proper owners. I did create some characters for this fanfiction. "Measure of a Man" is sung by Clay Aiken. It was written by Steve Morales, Cathy Dennis, and David Seige. Any other songs mentioned also belong to their proper owners. Because you all know how much I love sticking lyrics in these things.
Okay, so Drake and Cassandra are together. Josh is on his case about college. After a talk with Josh and then one with Cassandra he makes the decision to go. If only he'd be more responsible about his finals. I think that may change.
"Drake," said Audrey as he walked through the door after his date with Cassandra.
"What?" he asked. Audrey and Walter were both sitting on the couch. Uh oh. Here was trouble.
"Drake," said Walter. "The principal called us today and told us that since you're barely passing, you're going to have to get at least a C on each of your final exams to maintain even a D average."
"Oh," said Drake. He knew where this was going. Friday night and his parents were going to make him study all weekend.
"You really need to do better," said Audrey. "Which is why you're going to need a scheduled weekend. Josh can help you set it up. Of course you'll have free time, but not the entire day. You need to be serious about this. Next year is your senior year. Your last year before college and..."
"Yeah, I know," said Drake. Man, first Josh, then his girlfriend, now his parents. "I'm not grounded am I?"
"No," said Audrey. "You just have a lot of studying to do. Just be sure to pass, and you have to do better next year."
"I know," said Drake. Actually, he said that every year. Every year, he came out with at least a D average. He could graduate with that. The problem was, Josh and Cassandra were two of his best friends and would probably be graduating with highest honors next year. He also knew that either Josh or Mindy would probably be valedictorian. He didn't really care, but he wondered how Cassandra felt about her boyfriend not being very good in school.
"Oh," said Walter. "Did Cassandra tell you whether or not she could come with us to Michigan this summer?"
"Oh," said Drake. "She said her parents told her she'll have to wait for an answer when her grades come back. I'm sure it will be fine though."
"Oh, good," said Audrey. "It'll be nice to finally spend some time with her. Have you seen much of her parents?"
"Not really," said Drake. "I mean, I've met them but not really spent a lot of time with them."
"You probably should," said Walter. "I mean, no offense, but this thing with Cassandra has lasted longer than most of your usual girlfriends."
"I know," said Drake. He headed upstairs to his bedroom. Josh was sending emails to his friends.
"Hey brother," said Josh.
"Uh," said Drake.
"Oh, Mom and Dad told you about finals huh?" asked Josh.
"Yes," said Drake. "Okay, what's this schedule you're supposed to help me with?"
"Well, I thought we could study with Mindy and Cassandra. As long as you can handle that," said Josh. Mindy and Josh could study together fine. When Drake studied with Cassandra, it was a different story. Cassandra could keep her mind on her work. Drake had some trouble.
"I'll be fine," said Drake.
"Okay then," said Josh. "I just thought it would help you best to study in a group. Of course, Cassandra's in pre-calculus while the rest of us are in algebra 2, so she won't exactly be able to help us. Of course, Mindy and I are in physics, so we can't help you with chemistry. Cassandra will have to do that."
"Yeah, I know," said Drake. Cassandra had pulled him out of a rut in chemistry earlier that year, which he was grateful for. If he had to take summer school, that meant no three weeks in Michigan for him. "What's the weekend look like?"
"Well," said Josh. "I worked it out with the girls, and tomorrow morning you can study chemistry with Cassandra here. Then you can grab some lunch. After that you guys can head to Mindy's, where I'll be studying physics, and study for english. Sunday morning we can study algebra 2 here. Then we'll eat and go to Cassandra's to study for world history. Our electives should be okay. Those finals are never really hard, unless you need help with them."
"Nah," said Drake. "I've got gym and keyboarding. I should be fine with those."
"Oh good," said Josh. "Then we can just focus on the academics. Monday is review all day in class, so Monday night we can go over science and english again since we have those finals on Tuesday. Tuesday night we can go over algebra. Then, Wendesday night we'll go over world history. Thursday night we'll sleep, and Friday we get our report cards."
"The denouement," said Drake.
"Hey," said Josh. "You learned something. That's english! ENGLISH!"
"I did?" asked Drake. "Hey, I did!"
"Don't worry Drake. We won't let you fail."
"Thanks."
Drake and Cassandra sat going over their chemistry Saturday morning. Drake actually liked the schedule Josh thought up. They studied during the day, had a break in the middle, and then he was free to go out at night. Maybe Josh knew something about studying after all.
"So," said Cassandra. "An ion is what?"
"Uh," said Drake. "A charged atom?"
"Yeah," she replied. "And what charges it?"
"The number of neutrons?"
"It's the number of electrons. If it gains an electron, it has a negative charge. If it loses an electron, it has a positive charge. If the number of electrons is the same as the protons, there is no ion. Does that make sense?"
"Kind of," said Drake. "It gains an electron and is negative?"
"Here, let me show you," said Cassandra. She explained to Drake whyit was that way. Drake actually found these study sessions helpful. The shocking part was that Mindy had agreed to help him. Of course, Mindy had helped him get back together with Tori, not that that mattered now. He had Cassandra, and he was happy.
After studying for science all morning the four teenagers were now sitting in Mindy's living room working on english. Drake really hated english, mostly because Mrs. Haifer, their teacher, hated him. Oh well, if he passed this class he might not have her next year. Drake had a feeling he was really going to like senior year. He was still the most popular guy in school, he had a plan, and he had a girlfriend. He felt as though nothing could go wrong.
"Mrs. Haifer said there would be a reading comprehension and an essay for the exam," said Mindy. "So, I think it's best we read the sample and do those questions. After that, we'll write the sample essay. Then we can go over them with each other, sound good?"
"Sure," the others agreed.
Once they were all finished, they went over the questions. That part wasn't so bad for Drake, the answers were in the text. The essay is what threw him.
"Look," said Cassandra. "If you don't quote like this, Mrs. Haifer will take points off."
Since Drake didn't exactly pay attention in class, this was a bit new to him. He was working hard during these study sessions. Mainly because he didn't want to end up in summer school, but also because his parents told him earlier that morning if he didn't pass all his classes that year, he wouldn't be able to play any gigs his senior year. He'd still be able to practice, but he couldn't play for crowds. Drake loved performing and didn't want to lose the privilege. That meant he had to get at least a C on every test that week though.
After three hours of all that, they were all sick of studying.
"Okay," said Josh. "Who wants to see a movie? My treat."
"I'll go," said Mindy.
"I'd rather not," said Drake. "I'm sick of sitting all day."
"Okay," said Josh. "Cassandra?"
"Hmm, oh. I don't feel like a movie Josh.You two have a good time," said Cassandra.
"Okay, see ya," said Mindy.
Drake and Cassandra packed up their stuff and left.
"Do you want to go somewhere?" asked Drake.
"I am kind of hungry," she replied.
"Yeah me too. Where do you want to go get some food?"
"I don't care," said Cassandra. "I just wish finals week was over. I hate this week. Nothing but tests."
"You're really smart and hate tests?"
"Yeah," she said. "I used to get really nervous before tests, just because they were so stressful. I learned to relax though. When I took the SAT's earlier this year though, I felt all the anxiety come back. I don't know how I got through that test."
"Well, I have to admit," said Drake. "I don't think any of our teachers are that bad when it comes to finals. You should be fine."
Drake and Cassandra decided to go to the mall and to the food court. If they had known who would be there, they probably wouldn't have gone.
"Hi Cassandra," said Christopher.
"Hello Chris," she replied. What ever he wanted, he wasn't getting. Why was he talking to her? Especially with Drake there?
"Can I talk to you for a second, alone?" Christopher asked, raising an eyebrow at Drake.
"What ever you have to say to me, you can say it in front of Drake."
"I don't think so," he replied.
"Then it's probably not that important," said Drake. "C'mon Cassie, let's go."
Cassie? thought Christopher. He's allowed to call her Cassie? When I did that, she got so upset with me. She's gotta see that I made a mistake. That we made a mistake, eventually.