"Thank god. The weekend's finally here..."

.

The school bells are ringing loud in the background and kids are flying by her as Harmony exits. It's a warm Friday afternoon. Looking up at the sun, she smiles. It's now been just over a week since she rode the bus to Venice Beach. She's gotten accustomed to her new home and her new "crew". After school, they all usually either go to the park or the beach to hang out. The neighborhood got her and the other kids new helmets, surfboards and skateboards during the week. She was shocked by the kindness of everyone in the little town she now called "home". She went down to the park to practice. She tried to work on the simple moves, but was still struggling. After about 30 minutes, she heard someone call her name. She looks behind her to see Reggie.

"There you are H."

Reggie and most of the kids started calling her "H" for short. It was Otto's idea in the first place.

"Hey Reg. What's up?"

"Me and Otto are going to Shack to get some grub with the others. Wanna tag along?"

Harmony was already bruised up from her falls, and hadn't eaten since lunch.

"Sure. Let's go."

Harmony heads behind Reggie down to the Shore Shack. Reggie seems in a bit of a hurry down the road. She considered it may have been a long school day for Reg, and she must've been hungry. After a few minutes, they arrived at the shack. It was packed. All the kids in school came for the weekend special.

"Raymundo sure knew how to run up weekend business."

Reggie rolls her eyes after her statement. Harmony laughs. Soon, they saw someone waving at them. It was Sam, who was sitting with Anna at a little table inside. Harmony and Reggie both ran over, and the group shared a "Woogie Woogie Woogie" greeting before Reggie and Harmony sat next to them. Sam quickly looks over to Harmony in anticipation before asking a question.

"Working on your moves H?"

Harmony had a look of disappointment on her face.

"Trying. Just not getting the hang of it."

Reggie put her arm around her.

"You'll get there. Just takes some time. We've been doing it for years now. In time, you'll be shredding alongside all of us."

Reggie's smile reassured Harmony, and as she looks around, everyone had the same reassuring look. She quickly got her cheerful look back.

"Thanks guys. I mean Rick and Jorge learned so fast..."

Reggie looked around before interrupting Harmony.

"Where are they anyway?"

Reggie and Sam looked around the shack until Harmony spoke back up.

"Jorge was staying after to work on a project for class. Didn't seem excited about it."

Reggie spoke up again in a joking manner.

"Having to be around Mackenzie? Poor guy must want to run for the hills"

Everyone laughed at Reggie's joke. Mackenzie was a younger kid about 8 years old, and while the Rocket Power gang knew her for having an obsession on Twister a few years back, it was apparent in the first week the new kids were there she had gotten a crush on Jorge. As obvious as day. Anna soon spoke up for the first time.

"Rick apparently got in trouble for skipping class. He should be out of detention in a little bit."

Sam soon spoke out of the crowd.

"I think we've all wanted to skip Science class at some point. I guess he couldn't handle it anymore."

They all laugh again as they sip on their drinks. The dynamic between them was different than before. It was much more relaxed. They joked around with each other as they talked. They put their arms around each others shoulders. It was clear in just a short week, they had all become close friends. Anna soon spoke out again.

"Twist and Otto still surfing?"

Everyone quickly looks out to the fairly crowded ocean. There was no sight of Otto or Twister out there. Sam spoke up.

"Ah...they're probably just going over the footage. Otto likes Twist to tape him, so he can watch and see what he can improve on."

Everyone nods their heads in agreement.

"Maybe Otto should improve that cockiness of his first..."

Anna's remark got a big laugh from everyone. Her brutal honestly was odd for everyone to get used to at first, yet they understood now to see as just clean fun. Soon, Sam pointed out Otto over a few of the rocks from afar. Reggie got out of her seat as she spoke.

"Let's go surprise them!"

Soon, the group got up and started heading over to the rocks..

Otto and Twister are sitting down on a big rock looking over the ocean. Twister, after showing his footage to Otto, closes his camera.

"Those were some sick runs Otto man. You were on fire out there!"

Twister's enthusiasm got Otto pumped up too.

"Yeah man. Was really on my game today! You got some solid footage bro!"

Twister smiles back at Otto, as they looked out at the other surfers. They stare for a minute until Twister spoke up.

"I'm really happy everything worked out...I mean...with the new guys. They're really cool."

Otto looked at Twister and laughs.

"Yeah Twist. They're pretty cool."

Twister nods and looked at the ocean. Otto chuckles to himself before speaking.

"I feel bad for Jorge though, getting stuck with Mackenzie."

They both smile for a minute before Twister responded.

"Poor Jorge. She's nuts man. He's gotta get away from her while he's still alive."

They both started busting out laughing. Twister nearly fell off the rock before Otto grabbed him and pulled him back up. Twister went back to looking at the ocean. Suddenly, he remembered something and nearly jumped off the rock in excitement.

"Otto! Did you hear about Rick skipping Science class today?"

Otto shook his head.

"Yeah. You told me about it before we came to the beach."

Twister jokingly shook his head. Otto then continued.

"I couldn't believe it. Nobody's ever tried to skip before."

Twister had a big smirk on his face as he spoke.

"I would never try that. Rick's like...a super cool badass or something."

Otto nods his head in agreement. Soon, Twister and Otto heard Reggie calling for them on the beach and went over to meet the rest of the group. After joking around for a while about Otto's "practice session", they all headed back over to the shack...

"So I'll call you tonight and we'll talk about the rest of your project...or something else, right?"

Mackenzie had a gigantic smile on her face as she spoke, while Jorge looked back at Mackenzie with a look of discomfort and forced kindness. Jorge quietly responds.

"Sure. We should be able to finish the project over the phone."

Mackenzie looks deep into his eyes as Jorge continues to have the look of a deer in headlights. She soon answers him in a quiet, more seductive tone.

"Sounds good. Talk to you later...cutie."

After she spoke, she winked and walked away with a flirty wave, looking back at him every few seconds. Jorge walks away in a swift escape-like trot. He didn't know what to say and was clearly bothered by the whole situation. His face was pure stone when the teacher assigned him Mackenzie for this project. He had to ask her questions to get a better understanding on people for some essay he didn't care about. He shook his head and walked over to the front of the building. After looking around, he sees Rick walking on the front lawn, kicking an old soda can and pacing back and forth. Jorge shakes his head and walks over to him.

"I see you survived detention..."

Rick looks up and stuck his tongue out jokingly.

"And I see you survived your crazy fan..."

Jorge shook his head once again, and they both started laughing. They soon started their walk to the shack to meet up with everyone. After a minute, Jorge spoke up.

"So what made you try to skip Science class?"

Rick nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't know...just felt like it. Didn't think they'd send the whole kit-and-kaboodle after one kid skipping a stupid class..."

Jorge soon burst out laughing. Rick had a very strange, dark sense of humor, but everyone in the group seemed to enjoy it. Jorge continued.

"Could have been worse dude..."

Rick was quick to respond to Jorge.

"Of course it could have. They could've had me clean the toilets...but I guess child labor is frowned upon here."

Jorge laughed again for a while. After a minute of silence, Rick spoke up.

"I'm stunned at your tolerance for that kid. If she tried that on me, she'd be crying a river back home."

Jorge shook his head.

"Look...I don't want to be mean to her Rick. She's just a little obsessive is all. I don't know how to break that to an 8-year old."

"Try this one...N-O."

Jorge shook his head again without a response. Rick continues.

"Look, Twister already told you about what she's like. You could've dodged that bullet a long time ago if you listened to him."

"I know I know. I'll just have to fix it later."

Rick pats him on the back.

"We'll fix this bro. I'm sure the others have better advice on how to do it with care."

Jorge nodded and they kept on going. As they got in viewing distance of the shack, Jorge quickly stopped and turned towards Rick to ask him a question.

"Are we all still going to hang out at your guys' place tonight?"

Rick kept walking as he answered him.

"Yeah. From what I've heard we were all just waiting on you to confirm you can go...or is Mackenzie gonna keep calling you?"

Jorge quickly gave a light punch on Rick's arm and they laugh around as they reached the shack. As they walked in, Reggie spoke up.

"About time you guys showed up."

Rick's joking manner woke back up as he spoke.

"Well someone had to say goodbye to their stalker..."

Jorge shook his head once again at Rick's joke. Everyone else was laughing too. Otto then spoke up.

"Dude, you gotta get away from her man."

It was clear Jorge agreed with Otto on that. Yet as he spoke, his frustration came out.

"I know I know. I just have to get this project done, and then I'll tell her to stop this."

Twister soon spoke up.

"Let's hope you survive that long, bro."

Everyone laughed. Jorge looked frustrated, but at the same time enjoyed the humor. Reggie spoke up in an encouraging tone.

"Well figure it out man. We won't let her eat you alive."

Jorge smiles. He believed Reggie. These were his friends now. And he trusted them. Jorge looked over at Otto.

"By the way, we still chilling at your guys' place tonight?"

Otto responds

"Yeah man. We're about to head on over there if you guys are ready."

Jorge and Rick nodded, and everyone got up and started walking over to the Rockets house. Throughout the walk, they continued to badger Jorge about Mackenzie, joked with Rick about skipping out of class, and even boosted up Harmony on her skating improvement. It was an interesting dynamic the kids all had together. In just one short week, they were a whole new crew. Even with the Rocket Gang not completely knowing a ton about the new kids, they liked them. They had planned on Friday night being a fun hangout for them to just chill. After the new kids first week of school and all the stress that came with it, the weekend would give them a chance to just relax and enjoy the new company. It was another chance for them to experience something new, and that night would prove to be just that...