So I did a little jump since the next book in the "High School Story" series starts after Christmas. But I do plan on doing some stories of how Diana and her family have spent Christmas. DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons" or "High School Story," I only own Diana and Karena.

January 4, 2060

"My name is Diana Evelyn Robinson. My mother gave me my grandma's middle name in memory of her, who had died when my mom was young. I have two amazing parents, a little brother, and I have one heck of a family in Todayland, North Montana, which is about 2,000 miles from Westport, Connecticut. Why am I living so far from my big family? My dad had taken a position with the Temporal Investigation, Management, and Exploration Agency, or TIME for short, and he has been their historian for almost 15 years. Him being the historian for TIME has helped us build amazing lives. I could go on and on about how my dad, Wilbur, is the most amazing dad in the world, but long story short, he taught me to be confident about myself and to keep moving forward whenever I had doubts. My mom, Karena, is just as talented as my dad as she is the music teacher for the elementary school my brother goes to, and she might consider applying to be the music teacher for Westport High. She is also calm in very many situations, and she talks to me like I'm more than her daughter. My brother, Wesley, is a knucklehead, but has a good sense of fashion, something he probably got from Mom; I should know because Dad always asks Mom for help."

"Diana, can you get that please?" Dad yelled as the doorbell rang, and I closed my journal and went down the stairs to get the door. When I opened the door, I found my friends, shivering at the door!

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise!" I exclaimed with a smile, which all of them shared. "Come on in, guys!"

"Happy last day of winter break, Diana," Caleb said.

"So, what is the occasion?"

"Did your parents not tell you?" Aiden asked, and then he explained. "They offered to host our last get-together of winter break!

"Well that would explain why both my parents were cleaning!" I exclaimed, knowing that my dad hated to clean.

"I know I've said this before, but your mom is so nice!" Sydney said, giving my mom a compliment.

"Thank you very much!" I heard Mom yell from the kitchen.

"Well, shall we camp in the living room or go up to my room?" I asked.

"Let's stay down here," Emma answered as we all took a seat on the chairs, the couch, and the floor. "It's super roomy. You know, I'm glad it's finally just the nine of us hanging out instead of, like, the entire school."

"We should plan more of these!" Sydney suggested. "Like our movie marathons at the end of last quarter!"

"That would be so much fun!" Emma replied. "I mean, this is already way better than my dad's house over break."

"I know you two don't get along, but you had some fun over winter break, right?" I asked.

"A little."

"I'm just happy you're back in town," Luis said, putting a smile on Emma's face.

"Yes, we're all happy Emma's back," Myra said. "But there's an even bigger issue we need to talk about: Diana, what's the deal with you and Caleb?"

"Oh! Um…" Caleb and I said at the same time, blushing and then looking away from each other.

"Are you not official yet?" Sydney asked.

"The people demand to know!" Myra nagged us.

"All I can say is we're taking things slow," I answered, remembering my Christmas vacation in Todayland and texting Caleb every night. "It's too soon to put a label on it."

"Agreed," Caleb replied.

"I swear you two are like molasses," Myra said, still nagging. "Homecoming was months ago."

"Not even three months ago, Myra," I replied. "I'm sticking to my story. Now, moving on. Are you guys ready for the new quarter?"

"Definitely. Basketball season is gonna be awesome," Caleb answered enthusiastically. "I hope we can pull off a win against Staples this year."

"We've got your back, Caleb!" Sydney exclaimed enthusiastically, giving me and Emma a high-five. "Mia and I have been working on some awesome routines for the competition this quarter. We're gonna look amazing."

"I wish I could stick with cheer this quarter," Emma said sadly.

"Why can't you? You were amazing on team last quarter!"

"I'm too busy, unfortunately."

"Diana, are you coming back to cheer?" Sydney asked me with a smile. "I loved having you on the team."

"You bet! I was born and raised a cheerleader. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Well, Myra and I are looking forward to pep band," Aiden explained.

"Why? 'Cause it's not that hard?" Myra asked with a grin.

"It may not be physically demanding, but the music is much more challenging."

"Are you switching to basketball too, Michael?" I asked, and Michael burst out laughing.

"Oh heck no. Even if I wanted to, I suck at basketball."

"He's not lying," Caleb explained. "We played basketball in gym last quarter, and he couldn't even do a layup."

"Maria, you've been quiet this whole time," I said, making an observation. "I take it you've got winter ball all figured out?"

"Oh, I'm not on the winter ball committee this year," Maria answered. "That's all Payton!"

"Who are you, and what have you done with Maria?" Caleb asked in shock.

"I'm still me, Caleb. I've just got other plans this quarter. You're looking at your new anchor for the Westport High morning announcements! Principal Hughs approved the funding for new video equipment, a recording studio, all the works. And Michael is the cameraman for Trojan News!"

"Maria, that's fantastic!" I exclaimed happily. "But why is Michael helping you?"

"It's Hughs' latest idea for 'punishment,'" Michael explained. "I ditched lunch last quarter to go to Futureburgers like seven or eight times. Cafeteria food doesn't cut it for me."

"Good job, Michael, you skipped lunch," I replied with amusement.

"It was worth it."

"You're welcome to help out tomorrow, Diana," Maria offered. "That is, if you want to!"

"Sure! I'll stop by first thing in the morning!"

After going on a little coffee date with Caleb and having a little confrontation with the vice principal that almost got me lunch detention, I went to the spare room in the library, which was transformed into a studio.

"Wow!"

"Fancy, right?" Maria replied with a big smile on her face.

"I can't believe Hughs approved the funding for all of this!"

"The vice principal was a huge supporter," Maria explained. "She agreed that students are entitled to a daily dose of news. Besides, this will look great on my college applications. I single-handedly orchestrated the first Westport High newscast."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Michael said, hopping up from behind the camera.

"You know what I meant," Maria replied. "You're only here because you have to be."

"That's what you think," Michael replied with a smirk.

"So, what do you need me to do?" I asked.

"I really would love it if you could guest star as my co-anchor," Maria explained, giving me some clothes. "But I need you to dress the part. You have to look sharp for the morning announcements. Plus, you can help me figure out some last minute details for the show!"

"Thanks Maria, but I'm not much of a presenter. I'll go help Michael behind the camera."

"I'm surprised at you, Diana," Michael said as I sat down next to him. "You're a Robinson and you have trouble speaking?"

"Well, if it's freestyle, sure. But if I have to prepare for it, then that's where I have trouble. I'll have the stress of preparing for the presentation only to mess it up the day of. You know what I mean? I'm not like my grandpa, who is pretty much made to make speeches about his inventions, and I'm not like my dad, who can come up with a speech made of nothing."

"You're a pretty good speaker to me, but whatever," Michael replied. "It's a pretty simple gig. I'll finish putting Maria into focus, and when I tell you, press the red button to put us live. We're ready, Maria! We're on in 5… 4… 3… 2…"

I pushed the red button, and Maria put a smile on her face.

"Good morning, Trojans. It's 8 AM on Monday and time for your Trojan announcements. I'm your host, Maria Flores. To start off our headlines today, be sure to check out the Jurassic changes at lunch today. Today's featured food item is dinosaur-shaped chicken tenders, thanks to Principal Hughs' fun, healthy food initiative."

"Maria's a natural at this!" I exclaimed quietly as I continued to watch her bring the news.

"You didn't see how much she was practicing before you came in this morning," Michael explained quietly. "She wanted this to go off without a hitch."

Just when Michael finished talking, the red light went out, and I watched the live feed monitor turn to the football field.

"Uh, what's going on?" I asked out loud.

"Michael, what did you do?" Maria asked with a stern expression on her face.

"It wasn't me!" Michael exclaimed.

"What is this?" I asked, pointing at the camera where we saw the principal and the football coach kissing! Before we could watch anymore, Michael yanked the plug. I immediately felt nauseated. "Can I unsee this, please?"

"Talk about scarred for life," Michael replied, before Maria marched up to him.

"Can you explain to me why you let this rogue footage define my first show?!"

"It's not my fault!" Michael shouted back. "I wasn't allowed to implement an extra firewall!"

"Guys—"

"I bet you wanted this to happen!" Maria shouted. "You're only here because of your stupid punishment!"

"Maybe if we never had morning announcements, we would've just completely skipped this!"

"GUYS!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as Maria and Michael turned to me. "Maria, it's not Michael's fault."

"Of course you take his side," Maria replied angrily.

"What the hey is that supposed to mean?" I asked, now angry myself, but I took some breaths to calm down. "Look, there's no way Michael could've prevented this. Or even known this could happen."

"Thanks for having my back, Diana," Michael said.

"What's done is done. It's not the end of the world, is it?"

Since then, both the coach and the principal were forced to resign, and Vice Principal Isa was elected the new principal. Maria was blamed for the rogue footage and was forced to resign her leadership positions. Michael, on the other hand, continued to be the cameraman for the news that was now run by the new principal. I had also discovered that Koh's grandmother had a stroke, and she confided in me to keep that a secret from her teachers as to why she was skipping classes.

One day, I was told to head to the principal's office, and I went, even though I knew I did nothing wrong. I walked in and took a seat in the chair.

"Hey, Principal Isa? Ms. Maddox said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes. We need to talk. Do you know why you're here?"

"Not really, ma'am."

"I'll be frank with you, Diana. I've seen you for the troublemaker you are."

"Excuse me?" I asked, offended.

"You were late to class, part of that rogue news show, and I know you broke into Staples last quarter," the principal explained with a stern expression. "But, since I'm feeling generous today, I'm offering you a chance at a clean slate. We're aware that Koh was skipping class this week, and that you ran into her during that time." What does she mean 'we'? "We also have reason to believe she's been involved in something serious. Do you have any information about this? And do not lie to me. You'll regret it if you do." Come on, Diana. What would Dad do?

"I know nothing about it," I lied, biting my lip.

"Are you sure?"

"Affirmative," I answered, this time with a stern expression.

"All right, you've left me no choice when I speak to Koh," the principal said, clearly angry at the outcome.

"What are you gonna do?" I asked, skeptical of the principal.

"Get out. NOW!"

I scurried out of my chair and went back to class.

It was a long day, but I finally made it to cheerleading practice. I found the entire squad, minus Emma, waiting for me, but someone was missing.

"Where's Mia?" I asked.

"She has a meeting with Principal Isa," Sydney explained. "Don't worry, she'll be here soon!"

"We should get started with practice in the meantime," Payton suggested.

"Alright, everyone, get in formation!" Sydney commanded, and we got into our positions. "One, two."

We all jumped up to touch our toes as we started our cheer.

"Go, Trojans, go! Stand up, it's time to shout! Let them know what we're about! Let's go, Trojans! Stop that ball! Victory, victory, that is our call!"

Sydney and Payton cartwheeled across the floor, and I did my series of cartwheels and flips.

"We are Trojans, hear our cry!"

We heard a faint applause and turned to see Mia walking in.

"Great job, everyone! We're off to a great start this quarter. It's too bad that won't matter much longer." I watched as Mia's smile turned into a frown.

"What do you mean?" I asked with concern in my voice.

"I just got out of a meeting with Principal Isa," Mia explained. "Our cheerleading budget has been slashed!" What?!

"Why would she do this?" Sydney asked, horrified. "She can't do this!"

"But she did," Mia replied. "I even asked my dad for help, but he wasn't going to pitch in. It'd be showing favoritism toward Westport High instead of Staples. And he can't have that, can he?"

"How are we supposed to go to competitions now?" Payton asked.

"It's not just us. Band lost their funding as well. All of it has gone to basketball."

"Now that's not right," I replied skeptically. "What can we do?"

"I'm meeting with basketball and band shortly," Mia explained. "I'd appreciate it if you all were there. We can figure out our next steps together."

All of us got into the locker room and changed into our civilian clothes before we went to the history room to discuss the funding problem with the band and basketball team.

"You all know why we're here," Julian started, standing in the front of the room with Ezra and Mia.

"Because some of us can't go to our competitions anymore," Mia furiously answered.

"Or buy new sheet music!" Ezra chimed in.

"You know we didn't ask for this!" Julian pleaded to the other two leaders.

"You didn't put up a fight either," Mia replied.

"Guys, we have to stay positive!" I optimistically chimed in. "We can't bounce back if we're down in the dumps."

"Diana's right!" Sydney spoke up. "There has to be a way to figure this out!"

"Maybe we can raise money for cheer and band somehow," Payton suggested.

"Hmm, what would Maria do?" Caleb asked, rubbing his neck.

"She'd plan something, like a fundraiser," I answered.

"I love it! What kind though?" Mia asked as we all pondered for a few minutes.

"I've got it!" We all turned toward Aiden. "We can hold a winter carnival!"

"Ohmygosh YES!" Payton exclaimed. "It would be so romantic and fun and everything!"

"We can have all sorts of booths and food and games," I explained. "It's perfect! Way to go, Aiden!"

"Wouldn't that be kind of expensive?" Sydney asked.

"If we call in every favor we have and everyone pitches in a little money, we could pull this off!" I explained optimistically.

"Yeah, we can!" Ezra exclaimed. "Okay everyone, let's get to work!"

We worked furiously the rest of the practice time planning the winter carnival that would take place in a couple weeks. Once we had our assigned jobs, I walked out of the building to where Dad's car was parked. But, I knew something was off when I saw him: he wasn't smiling, something he always did when he picked me up.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hello, Diana."

"Is everything okay?" I asked with uneasiness in my stomach.

"You tell me," Dad replied in a grim look on his face as we took off for home.

"The only thing that's seriously going wrong right now is the cheerleading and band budgets being given to the basketball team," I explained, and I watched my dad's face scrunch up.

"That's not right. Who came up with that idea?"

"The new principal," I answered as Dad parked the car in the driveway. "We've been spending the entire practice planning a winter carnival to help raise money." As I finished explaining, I glanced at my dad, who gave me a look I did not like: his eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw was tight.

"Speaking of which, I received a call from her saying that you and some other classmates of yours broke into Staples High School and took their spirit stick a few months ago. Is this true?"

"Wait a minute, Dad. Why are you asking me about something that happened a few months ago? I didn't go to Staples a few months ago."

"Diana Evelyn Robinson, don't you dare lie to me," Dad replied angrily, and I let out a gasp. "The principal had a security tape that the principal from Staples gave to her, and they found you on it. You were holding their spirit stick."

"And she picked now to tell you?" I asked angrily.

"So you did go. Why, Diana?"

"We all thought that Staples forcing one of our own to vandalize the statue was a problem, so we decided to carry out some revenge. That's why I told Mom I was heading to Emma's."

"Wait a minute, you lied to your mother?" My dad let out a small gasp. "I cannot believe this. Diana Robinson, you lied to us just so you can get back at your rival school? What did I say about revenge?"

"Would it help if I told you that I was against this?"

"Yet you still went, young lady. Diana, I'm sorry, but—"

"Dad, you still haven't answered my question: why did the principal just now tell you about this?"

"Why am I just now hearing about this? I think that is the better question to ask me. Be honest with me, Diana: how did you feel after you took that spirit stick?"

"Honestly? It felt great," I answered with both satisfaction and guilt at the same time. "And we did put the spirit stick back after homecoming was over, and I swear that's the truth."

"Diana, revenge is never the answer. I learned that lesson when I was your age. There have been many times when I wanted to get back at someone for hurting someone in my family, but every time, I let it go and kept moving forward." My dad paused, letting out a heavy sigh. "Diana, I never want to do this, but after school, you're going to go to the elementary school to help your mom clean the classroom."

"Wait, what?" I gasped. "I have cheerleading practice! That's more important!"

"Not while you're grounded, young lady," Dad said, his stern expression returning to his face.

"I'm being grounded for something that happened three months ago?" I asked skeptically.

"From what I have seen, you have not shown remorse for what you did."

"What happened to keep moving forward?"

"You can't move forward if you have unfinished business from your past, Diana!" Dad shouted. "You hurt me and your mom, Diana, and I think the first step is to apologize to her. Then you will not be going to cheerleading practice after school, you will be—"

"Going to the elementary school to help Mom!" I shouted back. "I know, Dad! Just quit it already!" I opened the door to get out of the car.

"DIANA!" Dad shouted before I slammed the door and headed inside.

"Diana, what's wrong?" Mom asked with a concerned expression as I passed her, and I turned to face her with tears in my eyes.

"I'm sorry for lying to you about going to Emma's house in October! I went to Staples High School and stole their stupid spirit stick!"

I started bawling my eyes out, and I ran up the stairs and into my room where I slammed the door, crawled into bed, and continued to cry until I fell asleep.

I felt myself shaken awake, and I opened my eyes to find both of my parents looking at me with concern in their eyes. Mom was holding a plate of food.

"Hey, baby, how are you feeling?" Mom asked as I got up and retrieved the food, which was macaroni and white cheese with hamburger meat. "I kept this nice and warm for you. Wesley missed you at dinner."

"Thanks. Mom, I'm sorry—"

"I know, honey. We know."

"I told her everything," Dad said, glancing at Mom.

"Are you still mad at me, Dad?"

"Diana, we're not mad," Dad explained with sadness in his brown eyes. "We're worried. We know it's very rare for you to get in trouble, but getting in trouble for something that big that started with a small lie? What was going on in your mind at the time?"

"Most of my classmates had transferred to Westport High from Staples," I explained after swallowing some food. "They've always been bullied, and some students from Staples manipulated one of our own to vandalize the statue so that her friend wouldn't get hurt. I know that everything I did was wrong, Dad. I promise this isn't about fitting in. I mean, would I have been crowned homecoming queen if I had trouble fitting in? Anyway, these people had been through so much pain already, that I thought it would be satisfying if Staples had a taste of their own medicine."

"I assume Dad told you that revenge is not the answer?" Mom asked, and I nodded, looking into her green eyes. "What those students did was not right, and I admire that you want to correct that. But it's not your job: you're not a vigilante. What you did was wrong, too."

"And that is why we discipline you," Dad chimed in. "We punish you so that you can learn from your mistakes and correct your behavior so that you will not make the same mistakes again. And, I'm sorry for yelling at you. Yelling at your own children is never the answer either, and that was a mistake I made, because I hurt you. I hope you can forgive me."

"I forgive you, Dad," I replied, feeling the tears again. "Can you both forgive me for lying to you?"

"Oh, Diana." Mom paused to take the plate off my lap, and she pulled me in for a hug, and I felt my dad's arms surrounding us. Then we let go and gazed at each other. "We love you, very much."

"I did a lot of lying when I was your age," Dad replied. "And let me tell you, because I was so good at lying, I absolutely hated being lied to. Lying hurts everybody, no matter how big or small the lie is, and I learned that the hard way. I hope you understand that."

"Yes, Dad. What made you learn your lesson?"

"You know the story of how I brought your grandpa's past self to my time, right?" I nodded, allowing my dad to continue. "His hair would have given away his being from the past."

"Wait, why?"

"Because his hair never changed. His hair looked exactly the same, and I never told him that I was his son. Anyway, so I had to cover your grandpa being from the past with a lie, so I told my family that he was a transfer student. I even threw a meatball at your grandma because they almost found out at dinner."

"You started the food fight?" I asked with astonishment.

"Yep, I did, and it was worth it," Dad answered with a grin, which quickly disappeared. "I couldn't keep lying about your grandpa after your grandma offered to adopt him."

"Oh. My. Gosh."

"Yep. I revealed who he really was, and I blurted out both the truth and my true feelings about him wanting to see his biological mom. Needless to say, absolutely no one in the family was happy that I lied and that I deceived them by taking the time machine. Your grandma was initially going to punish me for life, but your grandpa talked some sense into her... and into me. I haven't lied since then."

"So what was your punishment?"

"I was grounded for a month, and, asides from school, I was forbidden to go into the garage. After school, I was sent to the time lab to clean up my mess. I was there all afternoon, went to the dining room for dinner, and then back to the time lab to clean. Then I did lots of homework for an hour, and then it was bedtime."

"What junior high that hard for you?"

"Diana, you are talking to someone who could care less about school when he was 13," Dad answered with a chuckle. "I cared more about time travelling and doing my research on history, so I kept putting my homework aside. The way I saw it back then, I didn't really need the education because I was already so smart."

"Thanks to Grandpa's genius IQ?"

"Exactly. I learned that lesson, too, and I ended up being the valedictorian of my class in high school."

"Well, that's a 180-degree turnover you had there!"

"Thank your mom," Dad replied, pointing at her. "If it wasn't for her, I still would have been the Wilbur Robinson that I now dislike."

The three of us let out some laughs, and my depressed mood came back.

"So, how long am I grounded for?"

"Two weeks," Mom answered. "No cheerleading practice and no spending time with friends outside of school. You're going to help me clean my classroom after school, and you are going to do some work in the house."

"Yes, Mom. I suppose I should hand you my phone?"

"Correct," Dad answered. "You'll have it during school hours, but that's all."

"You're tough, but fair," I replied, taking my phone and handing it to Dad.

"If you ever want to talk, we'll be right here," Mom said, and I gave her another hug before they walked out of the room and I went back to sleep.