The First Day
As Tom pulled into the school parking lot, Ninja closed her eyes, My name is Kathleen Turner. Tommy McQuaid's rough around the edges girlfriend. Kat's always ready for a fight, she almost killed a girl for flirting with Tommy this summer. "Ninja, you ready?" Tom asked, jolting her back to reality. "My name is Kathleen Turner, but y'all can call me Kat. Thanks for the ride, Tommy." Ninja stated as she got out.
Tommy quickly followed suit, catching Ninja's lean, slender waist as he leaned against the hood of the car. "Thanks for last night, Kat." "I had fun too." Ninja breathed, brushing her lips against his. "Let's go, lovebirds. We gotta show everybody how tough the McQuaid brothers are and we can't do that if you two don't slack off the summer routine." Doug stated, throwing an arm around Tommy's neck and tried to give him a noogie but Tommy slipped out of his brother's grasp. "Face it, Doug, I'm faster than you. Come on, we still have to find our classes." Tommy laughed as he led the way into the school.
Swinging the door open so hard it hit the wall, the McQuaids shouted, "HELLO!" The teacher jumped in surprise at the sudden interruption. "I hope you boys have hall passes because you're late. Take a seat, Mr. McQuaids." He snapped as they handed him two slips of paper. Ninja walked in, shaking her head as she handed Mr. Webb, the history teacher, her hall pass. "I don't know what I'm going to do with those two." "Welcome to U.S. History, Miss Turner. Please take an empty seat. Same goes for you, Mr. McQuaid." The graying haired man said, glaring at Tommy over his glasses. Tommy, who had perched on Doug's desk, shrugged, "Whatever you say, Teach." He slid into a desk beside Doug and Ninja sat in front of him as Mr. Webb continued his lecture from where he stopped when the McQuaids walked in.
"Why didn't you give him a hard time like usual, Tommy?" Doug whispered. "I'll tell you later," Tommy whispered back as the bell rang. Doug tried to catch Tommy and Ninja, but they had disappeared among the sea of students by the time he got out of the classroom. Man, they're fast! Tommy better tell me what's going on at lunch. Doug thought as he went to find his second-period class.
Judy walked into their algebra class, spying Tommy sitting in the back and Ninja in the row in front of him. Ninja was amazed by how put-together Judy was, with her black sweater standing out against her bright blue skirt and her curls pinned up with a matching blue bow. Wondering where these guys found their clothes as she looked down at her faded gray-scale camo jeans, dark green shirt, and green camo flannel.
"Mr. McQuaid. Please solve the problem on the board." Mrs. Hobbes requested. "Do it yourself," Tommy said snapping his gum while flipping the end of Ninja's ponytail. Unfazed, Mrs. Hobbes sighed, "Very well. Miss Turner." "Hmm, what?" Ninja answered, paying more attention to the object of her annoyance than the teacher. Of course, by now Mrs. Hobbes is getting irritated, "The problem, Miss Turner. Or would you rather I ask another student?" "And miss the chance to show off? Never." Ninja smirked, going up to the blackboard.
Shocked by how fast she solved the problem, Mrs. Hobbes asked, "Were you a mathlete at your old school?" Ninja shook her head and explained as she sat down, "I was homeschooled before I came here, so I don't even know what that is." "Are you from Tennessee? Because you sound like it." Ninja nodded as Mrs. Hobbes continued, "A mathlete is…" Suddenly the bell rang and the students couldn't get out of there fast enough.
The morning flew by with the McQuaid's making their usual ruckus and Judy playing it smart and cute while Ninja showed off when called on but ignored the teachers otherwise. The bell rang for lunch as Tommy and Ninja walked toward the cafeteria. "Go meet Doug, I'll be there in a minute." Ninja said, giving him a peck on the cheek before she walked into the girls' restroom.
Ninja's nose snarled instinctively at the smell of cigarette smoke, Well, it's not the cleanest bathroom I've ever been in but at least it's not the worst. On the plus side, it has running water. She stood in front of a sink, gripping the edges so hard her knuckles turned white. Calm down Kat, you're fine. You've made it half-way through your first day without freaking out and killing anybody. Yet. Turning on the faucet, Ninja cupped her hands and splashed her face with the water.
"Did my boyfriend send you in here to check on me, J.J?" Ninja smirked, looking at Judy in the mirror as she entered. Because she didn't know if they were alone, Judy decided to stay in character, "Tommy's really cute. Where'd you find him?" Ninja stuck to the story she had concocted in the car, "He and Doug visited their grandparents this summer and Dad needed a couple of extra farmhands, so he hired them. Of course, Dad didn't like me spending so much time with them, especially Tommy, but someone had to show 'em how to work on a farm. I'm heading to lunch, ya coming?" Judy and Ninja laughed as they strolled down the empty hall, not noticing the figure in the shadows as he watched his newest target.
Tommy skipped line to get behind Doug as he filled his tray with food. They walked around until one saw a table he liked, "Go away." Tommy muttered as the table's previous occupants scrambled away. "It's later. Why didn't you give that Webb guy some signature McQuaid trouble?" Doug asked as he started to tear into his food. Opening his milk, Tommy shrugged, "Kat told me not to." "When?" Doug mumbled, mouth full of food. "When she walked through the door. She was shaking her head, remember." Tommy stated as a wave of relief washed over him upon seeing Ninja and Judy walk in.
Doug nodded, spotting Judy and Ninja, "Why are Kat and J.J. walking together?" Quickly, Tommy started explaining, "Kat went to the girls' restroom but I could tell something was bothering her. Course, I couldn't go in and check on her, so I asked that girl J.J. if she wouldn't mind checking on Kat." I just hope they didn't blow their covers because of your worry, Tommy. Doug thought, watching Judy and Ninja part ways. Judy started for a group on the other side of the cafeteria while Ninja walked over to the McQuaid's.
Setting her tray down across from Tommy, Ninja smirked, "I appreciated you sending someone to check on me Tommy, but I can take care of myself. Or have you forgotten about what I did to that girl this summer?" Smiling, Tommy shook his head, "I haven't forgotten, Kat." "Me neither. She didn't know what hit her or why." Doug laughed as the familiar bell sounded again. "We'll see ya in P.E. Doug," Tommy stated, walking to the door. Doug hollered back, "See ya there." Grabbing Ninja by the arm, he added, "Watch your back and your covers." "You too." She whispered back before hurrying to catch up with her partner.
The afternoon wore on until the last class of the day. Annoyed, Ninja muttered, "If that bell rings one more time, I'm going to shoot it." "It's not that bad, Kat." Tommy chuckled as Ninja gave him an 'I'm not kidding and you better stop laughing or else' look. Tommy knew her well enough to listen, so he changed the subject, "Come on, P.E. is our last class. After that, we're free to do as we please." Smiling as she took his hand, Ninja said in her most sultry voice, "I can't wait." Tommy couldn't stop the tingling in his spine or the butterflies in his stomach as he breathed, "Neither can I." drawing her into a passionate kiss, right outside the gym doors.
A figure watched the two undercovers, licking his lips in anticipation. But not yet, first, he must gain their trust and he knew just how to do it.
"Okay lovebirds, break it up. It's time for class and I heard that we're playing dodgeball." Doug said, suddenly appearing with a gleeful smile on his face. Separating, Tommy hissed, "Geeze, Doug. Why'd ya sneak up on us like that?" Placing her hand on Tommy's face, Ninja answered for Doug because she was just as much at fault. "Because you were so focused on me that you stopped paying attention to your surroundings. If he wasn't your brother and had a gun, would you've noticed in time to keep him from killing one or both of us? I don't want an answer, just for you to start thinking. Because if anything happens to you …" her voice trailed off as she looked down, pulling her hand away.
But Tommy brought her close, catching the runaway hand between their bodies in a tight hug, "Nothing's going to happen to me anytime soon, Kat. I promise." Rolling his eyes, Doug shook his head while opening the door, "I just don't understand what you see in her, Tommy." "You jealous, Doug?" Tommy teased. Doug opened his mouth to say something smart, but was cut off by the coach yelling, "McQuaid's! Turner! Get your tails over here!"
Hurrying toward the rest of the class, Ninja mused, "He's ex-military. Army, I think." "Marines, Miss Turner. You three can call me Coach Smith or Coach. Five laps around then back here and I'll divide up teams for dodgeball. Go!" the blond-haired man barked. After teams were made, the McQuiads on one team and Ninja on the other, Coach blew his whistle. Let the games begin. Ninja grinned as she charged the line.
Ninja lived up to her name once again as her teammates got out. Luckily, none of her teammates wore the same color shirts; unfortunately, every person she called back in, the McQuaid brothers would get them right back out. This continued until only Tommy, Doug, and Ninja remained.
Doug nudged Tommy with his elbow since he had a ball in each hand. "She's only got one ball. Wait for her to throw then we'll throw together. There's no way she can dodge all of 'em." Tommy nodded as Ninja threw her ball like a baseball pitcher. She turned sideways just in time for Doug's first shot to miss and ducked under another one. Rising up, she caught Doug's second throw and hit Tommy so hard it knocked his breath out; just as the bell rang.
"Hit the showers and get to the buses! If you have detention, get going!" Coach Smith bellowed as he walked toward the three undercovers. Clasping Ninja's shoulder, ignoring her slight jump, the former Marine asked, "Where did you learn that?" "When you have horses it pays to move faster than they can kick. You said you were a Marine, what rank?" Ninja replied, trying to not show that she didn't believe him. With the typical Marine cockiness, Coach Smith stated, "Gunnery Sergeant. Now, unless you kids have detention, you better head for the buses."