Wow. I'm a faster typer than I thought I was. I don't think I need to really elaborate on this chapter, except C.Mo is me, and I know Jimmy is way OOC, but it makes sense in later chapters. He doesn't stay that way.
Anyways, on with the goodness. I'm really proud of this story as a whole. I've already written (yes, written) 40-ish pages on it, so I assume it will be a while before I catch up to myself.
Love in a Bottle
By me, Cassi Mo.
Chapter one: I Never Understood Boys Anyways.
Beep…Beep…Beep…
"Well, well, this is C.Mo in the mo'ning, with all the best tunes and top reports. Here's a favorite of mine, Promise, by Spoken. Enjoy!" A friendly female voice filled the bedroom, mingling with sunlight that fell across the bed from the window.
"Guhhhhhhh." (a/n: that is pronounced the way it looks.) Sixteen-year-old Jimmy Neutron tried to fight the haze of sleep that threatened to invade him again and failed. With a thump, his hand unconsciously slammed down on the "snooze" button of his alarm clock.
Nine minutes later, he sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes wide open.
C.Mo spoke again with a smile in her voice. "God, that was loud. I hope no one had to wake up to that truck horn."
Jimmy groaned, this time more awake, yet still half-asleep. He literally rolled out of bed, almost falling on top of his dog, Goddard. Man, I've got to get more sleep. Oh well, that's what school is for. Not like I learn anything there anyways, Jimmy thought with a sleepy chuckle. Sure, he loved to be in school, but he was a certified genius. All the honors and AP classes in the world wouldn't do him any good, unless they were world languages classes. That was his current "project" now, to learn more languages than Cindy. As of yet, she had him beat by four, but he was catching up swiftly.
As his thoughts drifted to her, he idly gazed out of his bedroom window across the street to hers. No movement. Whatever. I don't like her anyways. Truth was, he didn't like Cindy Vortex, his former sworn enemy and now friendly rival. He loved her. I guess Jesus knew what he was talking about when he said to love your enemies…
After trying to eat his soap like toast in the shower, Jimmy sighed. Note to self: Sunday is a school night!
Jimmy stumbled down the stairs ten minutes later, his eyes only half-open. Following the soap-toast mishap were several more, including putting his clothes on inside out, his toothbrush going in hisnewly red Whippy-Dip hair, and his shoes being placed on the wrong feet.
Jimmy mumbled a salutation to his mother, who didn't even talk to him, just handed him his toast and went on making breakfast for his father. She knew he was not easy to be with in the morning, as she was, so she just left him alone.
Surprisingly, Jimmy did not miss the bus this morning. In fact, he was rather early. Jimmy smiled at this thought; he really was quite lazy. School was less than a quarter of a mile away, yet he still chose to ride the bus. This early in the morning, I know I'd get lost even though it's pretty much a straight shot. As he walked toward his bus stop where his old friends waited, he munched on his toast (with his free hand, since his other hand was laden with his trombone case), and groaned inwardly upon seeing three bright and happy faces belonging to his peers. He was the only one out of their group of five not a morning person and he suffered greatly for it.
"Here, Jim, have some coffee! It's great stuff!" One of Jimmy's best friends, Sheen, held out an empty coffee cup toward Jimmy with a shaking hand.
"Sheen, what have we told you about coffee?" Jimmy scolded his friend. He then turned to the African-American girl standing next to Sheen pointedly. "Libby, how could you let this happen… again?"
"Nuh-uh." Libby shook her head. "This was not my fault. He came here with that. And when I got here, it was already empty."
"Empty!" Sheen looked furious. "Where are they, the cats that stole my caffeine? I'll kill 'em!"
"Sheen—" Jimmy started, but he was interrupted.
"Oh, no! It's got him, in its evil clutches! Sheen's got the morning sickness!" Jimmy's other best friend, Carl wailed, always the over-reactor.
"Would everybody be quiet!" Jimmy yelled. Once everybody shut up, he continued, calmer. "First off, it's too early to even be alive. Second, morning sickness is what you get when you're pregnant. I seriously doubt Sheen has that."
"Thirdly, it's only Monday. I don't want to start off yet another week with Neutron yelling at us every morning." Cindy Vortex walkedin the direction ofher group slowly, trying to man her backpack, purse, bassoon case, and open can of Thin-Fast.
As Jimmy walked toward her with a strange look on his face, Cindy answered his mental question. "We've known each other for a good eight years; I should be able to guess what you're going to say nowadays."
Jimmy smirked. That was what he thought, but he wasn't about to let her know that. "Actually, I came to take your instrument from you. You look like you're having trouble."
Cindy snorted. "I'm not a damsel in distress; I can take care of myself." But Jimmy still took her bassoon anyways. She noticed his eyes dart toward her left hand, the one with the can in it. She stopped that question as well, again surprising him.
"Shut it, Fudge Top," she snapped. "I don't drink it because I think I'm fat, because I don't, but because it's filling, portable, and takes no time to prepare. I was running late and couldn't eat any cereal."
"What?" This time, Jimmy was not thinking what she thought he was.
"You know, Cindy," Sheen piped in, "Over-defensiveness over a question unasked is often a sign of denial. Or it means you're hiding something. Out with it."
Cindy opened her mouth to retort, but just then the bus came. To Cindy its timing could not have been better. She watched Sheen mouth "we'll talk about this later" over his shoulder and rolled her eyes. Before she knew it, the bus was already at their school and it was time to start another week.
Days at the Retroville Academy had a tendency to meld into each other, making the weeks pass much quicker. Jimmy couldn't believe he was almost done with half of high school already. As he got off the bus he waited for his longtime friends… and Cindy. Noting her stride was slower due to everything she had to manage, Jimmy stepped over next to her, trying not to startle her.
"Do you want to trade?"
"Um, I buy my lunch, Nerdtron."
"No, dipstick, instruments."
"Why?"
"Because mine is lighter and I feel guilty seeing you walk around with all that."
Cindy sighed exasperatedly. "You know how I feel about being doted upon."
"Just imagine what it would be like if we were dating."
"What?" Cindy looked disgusted. "Ew. No. Don't say that again. Ugh. What goes through your head?"
Jimmy just smiled, took her instrument and left his, and walked away.
Cindy leaned toward her best friend, Libby, as they walked. "Some days, I just don't understand boys."
Just then Carl and Sheen popped out of seemingly nowhere and started talking, their sentences melding perfectly.
Boys are very simple, really."
"If you don't get them, you're thinking too hard."
"Girls are complicated."
"I never understood them."
"You do all they say, and they're still unhappy."
"Maybe they're like guys."
"What, really simple?"
The two boys looked at each other simultaneously and said in unison, "Nah."
Cindy stared at them. "Hello, I wasn't talking to either of you. I was talking to Libby. Didn't your mothers ever teach you not to eavesdrop?"
They shrugged and disappeared again.
After they left, Libby looked at her best friend. "He's crazy about you. But I don't know why he bothers. Even though you admitted to me you 'love' him, you sure don't act like it."
Cindy looked away. "What do you think of redheads? I think they're hot. Did you see that special of TRL with Shaun White? That kid is amazing."
"I think you're thinking of another redhead."
"Ew. Carl is so gross."
Libby shook her head in frustration.
Cindy sighed. "I know, I know." She then muttered something in rapid Romanian, which loosely translated to, "I've just spent all this time that I've known him hating him, and to be nice to him all of a sudden would be too weird. Idon't want toscare him off."
Libby smiled. She knew Romanian as well as Cindy. They used it when they didn't want people to know what they were talking about. She replied in that tongue. "If you put a frog in a pot of boiling water, he'll scream and struggle to get out. But if you put him in a pot of cool water, and heat it up little by little, he won't notice the water's too hot until it's too late."
"What?" Cindy replied in English. That didn't make any sense.
Libby ignored her and continued in Romanian. "If you're nice to him all of a sudden, he'll get suspicious. But if you start out slow and get nicer to him slowly, he'll take it easier and won't be scared or anything."
"Oh my God, Libby, you're a genius!" Cindy cried, in English. She hugged her best friend wildly. "But where do I start?"
"I'll help you there."
Oh, yeah. I don't own Promise by Spoken, but it's a good song, especially to listen to while reading this chapter. I love having songs in fics, but I hate songfics. Go figure. And another thing that makes Cindy like me is that she has a thing for redheads (Shaun White! swoons), and so do I.
Anways, here I must depart. Always review how you want to be reviewed. If you don't want bad feedback, don't give it!
