DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons" or "High School Story," I only own Diana.
Being grounded is never fun. While I was grounded, Michael had come up to me during school hours and asked me if Principal Isa had anything to do with my being punished. I had explained to him that either way, my dad would have found out and I still would have been grounded. I served my punishment without fighting it, and I helped my mom whenever she needed it. I had missed my cheerleading squad deeply, and I was so happy when these two weeks passed, and I was free just in time for the winter carnival.
I had gone to the carnival in purple jeans and a black leather jacket, and I also wore a purple beanie hat, and I was amazed at all of the work my classmates and teammates had done to make this carnival a success.
"Diana! Diana! Over here!"
I turned to where Payton was yelling my name and approached her ticket booth. On my way, I saw Maria almost pass me.
"Thanks again, Payton! This carnival is amazing, by the way." She paused to face me. "Hey, Diana. I'm sure I'll see you later."
"Do you want to buy some tickets, Diana?" Payton asked.
"Two, please."
"With that you'll get a taste of the carnival, but you won't be able to hit everything up. But for a little more, you can get one more extra ticket and explore more of the booths! Although… I have a special deal right now, just for you!"
"Just for me?" I asked, and I swear my heart melted a little.
"I'll give you a whole roll of tickets! You'll be able to do all the things then! It's almost like you have unlimited tickets."
"How much is a roll?"
"Ten dollars."
"I'll take it!"
"Great! Here's your gigantic roll of tickets!" Payton exclaimed, struggling to get me the whole roll.
"Payton, just give me 10 for right now. That's a dollar per ticket. I'll come back if I need more, I promise." I watched as Payton tore off 10 tickets for me, and then I watched Mia run past me. "Where are you running off to, Mia?"
"Don't you remember? I'm running the carriage rides! There's a huge line right now. But find me after you're done enjoying the carnival! I might be able to squeeze you in."
"Sounds great! I'll look for you later." I paused as I watched Mia run off to her horse and carriage. "So, where do I go first? I think I'll go in a circle."
My first stop was the dunk tank, where Caleb was sitting with only his swim trunks on over a pool of heated water.
"Step right up! Step right up!" Julian announced. "Try your hand at dunking the football legend himself… Caleb Mitchell!"
I watched as Michael tried to throw baseballs at the target, but he missed all of his shots.
"Heh, reminds me of football season last quarter," Michael said, yelling at Caleb.
"Are you sure you were our quarterback?" Caleb yelled back with amusement in his voice.
"Watch it, Mitchell. I'm used to throwing a football, not a baseball."
"Caleb, aren't you cold?" I yelled out to him.
"My shoulders are a bit chilled, but the water's warm enough, so I'm good."
"Want to try dunking Caleb?" Julian asked. "It costs one ticket."
I handed Julian the ticket, and I grabbed a baseball from him.
"Come on, Diana," Michael said with a smile. "Let's see that aim."
"Give it your best shot, Diana!" Caleb yelled as I smirked at him. I stepped up to the line taped on the ground and took a deep breath as I threw the baseball at the target. The ball hit the target, and Caleb fell in the water!
"YES!" I yelled, pumping my fist in the air.
"Dang, Diana. Maybe you should have been quarterback last quarter."
"In your dreams, Michael," I replied.
"Good job, Diana!" Caleb yelled. "Probably the best throw I've seen today."
I watched Michael try again as I went to the singing telegrams booth where Myra, Ezra, and Frank were stationed.
"Welcome, welcome, welcome, Diana!" Frank said with enthusiasm. "You here to send a singing telegram to someone special?"
"Ezra and I are going around setting up different people!" Myra explained.
"My guitar's all set and ready to play," Ezra chimed in. "All it takes is a ticket."
"I love it! Here's mine," I said, handing Frank a ticket.
"Who do you want to send it to?" Myra asked with a big smile on her face.
"Send mine to Caleb, please," I answered.
"Oooh! Is love in the air?" Myra asked.
"You could say that," I answered, though I wasn't sure 'love' was the right term at the moment.
"One singing telegram coming right up," Ezra announced as the three of us walked back over to Caleb.
"What are you—"
"Shh, bro. We've got a song for you from a lucky lady," Ezra explained as he played his guitar.
"Roses may be red, while violets are blue," Myra sang.
"But someone's got it bad for you! From football and basketball to all the rest…"
"Call Diana up, she's the best… yeah!" Myra and Ezra finished singing as Caleb got out of the tank and gave me a tight hug.
"Oh!" I exclaimed with shock, but I returned the hug. "Aren't you cold?"
"Right now, I don't care. Thanks for the telegram, Diana. And don't worry, I'll call you."
"Well, my punishment's over, so please do!"
The three of us walked back to the singing telegram booth.
"That was so adorable!" Myra exclaimed. "If you want to spend some tickets to send more, we'll be right here!"
"I'll keep that in mind," I said, walking away toward the hot chocolate booth where I found Sydney, Autumn, and Wes.
"Hey, Diana!" Sydney yelled, and I waved back.
"That smells amazing," I replied, taking in the aroma.
"Want some?" Wes asked. "We're having a special: one ticket for two cups."
"That's so sweet!" I exclaimed with a big smile.
"We? You're not even helping with the booth!" Autumn exclaimed.
"What can I say? I'm a salesman at heart," Wes explained as I chuckled.
"The special was such a good idea," Sydney said. "It's adorable watching everyone surprise their friends with hot chocolate."
"And I have it on good authority that Mia could use a friend right now," Wes explained, and I turned toward Mia, who was staring in the distance.
"I never see Mia alone. Go ahead and get me two cups. I'll try to talk to her."
"Yay! Two hot chocolates coming up!" Sydney exclaimed happily and poured me two cups. I gratefully took them and walked over to Mia.
"Diana! What are you doing over here?"
"I could ask the same thing. I thought you were working the carriage rides?"
"I am, but my horse and I both needed a bit of a break."
"You look like you could use some hot chocolate. Here, Sydney helped me make it." I handed a cup to Mia.
"That's… nice of you. Thanks. Diana, you're sweet, but I'm fine. Go dunk Caleb in the water or whatever."
"I already had my fun of doing that," I replied with a chuckle. "So you want to be left alone?"
"Ugh, no actually. I know I'm being weird. Everything's just horrible right now. I'm supposed to get our squad into shape, but I can't exactly dig into my own pockets for uniforms or travel money."
"No one's expecting you to," I replied. "These funding cuts are ridiculous, and my dad agrees with that."
"I always put everything into cheer. I worked my butt off since freshman year to be captain. If we can't compete or look good on the field, it means I can't do my job.
"Mia, we'll succeed together. You can't take responsibility for everything by yourself. That wouldn't be fair. The entire squad is gonna fight for funding alongside you. It's our squad, too! We've been training super hard for the competition. We aren't going down easy."
"Thanks, Diana. It helps hearing you say that.
"Besides, the festival is packed! I bet we'll be rolling in cash."
"Maybe we'll go to the competition in a limo!" Mia said enthusiastically.
"In that case, we might as well win based on an amazing entrance."
"You want me to travel all that way and not show off my skills?" Mia asked, still smiling. "I don't think so."
"Are you ready to head back to the festival? You worked so hard planning everything with us. You should enjoy it."
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Do me a favor?"
"Sure."
"Don't tell the others about this. Stress is not a good look."
"No, it is not," I replied, and we chuckled.
"Seriously, Diana, thanks. You're a good friend. I could see you being captain someday."
We hugged before going our separate ways, and I decided to head back to the singing telegrams.
"Hey, Diana!" Frank yelled. "Back already?"
"Yep! This time, I want to play matchmaker."
"Yes! Matchmaker extraordinaire!" Myra exclaimed. "Who's the lucky couple?"
"Maybe you could help me out, Diana," Frank explained. "I wanted to send Payton a telegram, but I ran out of tickets. I think she'd really like this poem I wrote her in song."
I looked around to see Luis watching Emma, who was enjoying her hot chocolate.
"Are you going to send her one, Luis?" I asked.
"Oh! Um, I don't know," Luis answered. "I don't really have the extra ticket for it. Unless you want to… you know, help me out."
I looked around again to see Mia approaching the booth, but then walking away.
"I should get Sydney one, that's the whole reason I took a break. No, I shouldn't. What I say after? 'I like you'? It would never work."
"Here are two tickets," I explained, handing Frank the tickets. "I'm going to send Emma one for Luis and then Sydney for Mia."
I watched as Myra and Ezra walked toward Sydney and sang a song "from Mia" as I walked over to the sled hill, and I met up with Aiden, who was in charge of the event, and Sakura.
"Hm… This one's got some weird grooves in it," Sakura said, regarding her electric snow sled. "It'd be game over before I even start!"
"Not everything has to be a competition, you know," Aidenn replied as I tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to see me. "Oh, Diana! Didn't see you come over! Care to sled down the hill?"
"What he means to ask is if you care to race me down the hill," Sakura 'corrected' him with a grin. "I'll tell you what: if you win, I'll buy a lot more tickets for the carnival in your honor. So you'd be helping make the fundraiser a success. Deal?"
"It'll only cost you a ticket, and I'll run the race," Aiden finished explaining, and I gave him a ticket.
"You're on, Sakura!"
"We'll see if you're still laughing when I kick your butt," Sakura countered back as we went up the hill with our sleds.
"Now, I want a clean race," Aiden yelled. "You'll go on my mark."
"Scared, Diana?" Sakura asked with a smirk, and I smirked back.
"This Robinson is never scared!" I answered as Aiden yelled 'go,' and down we went! I got a head start in front of my opponent.
"Don't count me out yet!" Sakura yelled. "This one's mine!"
"In your dreams!" I yelled back as I swerved around a stick. "Check out my smooth moves!"
"I'll give you that, but can you beat me?" Sakura asked just as I finished the line before her. "I lost… I thought I had that in the bag."
"Good job, Diana!" Aiden exclaimed with a big smile on his face.
"No hard feelings, Sakura?" I asked, holding out my hand for her to shake.
"Are you kidding? That was awesome! It'll be a race for the ages. We'll have our rematch one day, just you wait."
"I look forward to it," I replied as I went back to the singing telegrams booth.
"Back again?" Frank asked.
"Yep, and this time, I'm gonna help you," I replied, handing him a ticket. "Myra, Ezra, send a singing telegram to Payton for Frank, please!"
"Wow. Thanks a lot, Diana!" Frank exclaimed happily. "My girl's going to love it."
"Okay, I've got your poem ready in song form," Myra happily said. "Let's do this!"
I chuckled as I tried to find Mia, and I found her by the statue.
"All finished?" Mia asked with a smile.
"Yep! I have a bit of time before I'm helping Aiden out at the sled hill."
"So, like I said earlier, I've been running the big, romantic carriage ride today. It's been really cute watching couples go around the park together!"
"That is very old-fashioned, yet so romantic!" I replied, picturing myself on it with Caleb, and then I put on a grin. "Does this include a certain cheerleader whose name rhymes with 'kidney'?"
"Oh! Um… I may have taken her around once… or twice," Mia hesitantly explained. "Anyway, I'm about to pack up and take my horse home, but I wanted to offer you the last carriage ride with someone special. Picture this: open carriage ride, the snow gently falling while you snuggle up underneath a blanket."
"Give me one second," I told her, and then I walked up to Caleb, who had just gotten out of the dunk tank. "Hey, Caleb!"
"Hey, yourself," Caleb replied with a smile on his face.
"I have something special for us. Come with me." I took his hand and led him to Mia, who led us to the carriage.
"Diana. Caleb. Ready to ride?" Mia asked.
"This is your something special?" Caleb asked while blushing.
"Mia's been giving rides all day," I replied.
"And Buttercup here," Mia corrected me, petting her mane. "She's a pretty important part."
"Of course! I wouldn't dream of forgetting Buttercup," I replied, also petting her mane, and she neighed back in response.
"Thanks, Buttercup, for the ride," Caleb said as he took my hand and led me into the carriage. We sat next to each other with our shoulders touching. "This is nice. A bit cold, but nice."
"Check under the seat in front of you," Mia told us, and I opened the hidden compartment on the seat across from us and found a blue blanket, and I placed it over the two of us.
"This is perfect," I said, immediately feeling warmer, and I felt Caleb's fingers intertwine with mine.
"Yeah, much better," Caleb replied as I placed my head on his chest, and he rested his head on mine. "I can't say I was expecting all of this today."
"Are you holding up alright?" I asked. "I know you're allergic to horses."
"I'm not close enough to Buttercup for her to affect me," Caleb explained. "Besides, if it means spending time with you, then it's worth it."
"That's sweet, Caleb, but you should take care of yourself. I'm not worth an allergic breakout."
"I don't know about that, but I promise I'll take care of myself… for you."
"I'm going to hold you to that," I replied with a chuckle. "I need my Caleb around."
"Your Caleb?"
"Yes, sir, all mine," I replied, snuggling with him, and I felt him kiss the hop of my head and wrap his left arm around me.
"So, Queen Diana, is there anything you would like to know about me?"
"Actually, I want to know what your biggest fear is."
"That got deep quick," Caleb replied in surprise, and then he took a couple minutes to think about his answer. "I'm afraid of losing people I'm close to. I don't… I can't go through it again."
I got up and turned Caleb's head toward mine, and our eyes met.
"As long as I'm around, you won't have to."
"Thanks, Diana. I'm glad I can always count on you."
"The fear of losing people… that's my dad's biggest fear too, and maybe my mom's," I explained. "Actually, it's more of my mom's than my dad's. My mom lost her mom when she was only seven, and she had always feared about dying while I was living my childhood."
"Well, your mom's still here, isn't she?" Caleb asked.
"I'm happy to say she's still here with me and the family," I answered. "My dad, he loves his family deeply, but I think his biggest fear is not existing."
"Not existing? Like, dying, not existing?"
"My dad told me that he had taken a time machine to track down a crook who had stolen my grandpa's other time machine with the hopes that he would fix his mistake and his dad, my grandpa, wouldn't notice anything."
"Big mistake?"
"Very. He ended up taking my grandpa's past self to the future with him, and because of a chain of events that went on in the past, my dad ended up not existing for a short period of time. As in, he was never born."
"Wow. Time travel, huh?"
"Yeah, that was my dad's hobby when he was my age," I chuckled, remembering all of the stories my dad told me about himself travelling back in time to meet famous people. "He was wary about touching a time machine since then, but ever since he became a special agent for TIME, he's doing what he loves, and he's very happy. But enough about my dad. What do you want to know about me?"
"Well, what's your perfect vacation?"
"Oh, gosh." I rubbed the back of my neck with my free hand. "Oh! I know! Going to Chicago, Illinois to spend a couple nights there, then take Route 66 all the way to Los Angeles, California and spending a couple nights there. You can only drive Route 66 with a vintage car, and you get to see all of these vintage theaters and gas stations, and everything that existed back in the 1950s."
"I've heard of Route 66!" Caleb exclaimed. "That would be an amazing vacation. Care for some company on your dream vacation?"
"Of course!" I replied as the carriage ride drew to a close.
PaytonSweet16: IMPORTANT! if you helped with the fair on Saturday come to the gym for an emergency meeting ASAP!
I put my phone away and immediately went to the gym where I found the band, cheerleading, and basketball teams assembled, plus Luis, Autumn, and Wes.
"What's going on, Payton?" I asked.
"Oh, Diana, it's awful!" Payton explained. "After Luis broke his wrist, Principal Isa made me give her a bunch of our carnival money to pay for his hospital bills. It turns out we only have enough money for one activity to go on a spring break trip."
"Seriously?" I asked with anger, reflecting on the events after the carriage ride. Luis had gone down the sled hill too early and ended up injuring himself when his sled slammed into a tent. The carnival was shut down, and Aiden was wrongly suspended and was forced to quit the band as a result.
"Why did she take our money for Luis' medical bills?"
"She said it was the only way to be sure we wouldn't get sued," Payton explained.
"I'm really sorry, everyone," Luis spoke up. "I should've been more careful."
"Accidents happen, Luis," Autumn replied.
"Besides, you didn't ask us to pay for your medical bills," Wes chimed in.
"But the big question is what we're gonna do with the money we did make," Payton said.
"Easy. Band should get it," Ezra said, and Mia gave him a look of disbelief. "Guys, whose idea was it to have this carnival in the first place? Aiden, a band member's. Besides, the cheer captain, Mia, is a junior. She'll get her chance at a competition next year. Me? It's my last shot. Am I right, people?"
"No!" Mia exclaimed angrily. "Listen to me. First of all, the carriage ride was by far the most profitable activity at the carnival. So most of the money came from cheerleading. Second, Aiden, a band member, was the one responsible for the accident. As far as I'm concerned, band already spent their half of the money."
"I didn't agree to give Isa the money," Ezra shot back, standing up and crossing his arms. "Payton, a cheerleader, did."
"Guys!" Payton exclaimed when she heard her name. "I guess we know where Ezra and Mia stand. Does anyone else want to speak, or should we take a vote?" I raised my hand, and Payton pointed to me, acknowledging me.
"Mia and Ezra both make good points, but I have to agree with Mia: if it weren't for Aiden's mistake, we wouldn't need to be having this discussion. Besides, band is down a vital member, while cheerleading had a full squad. They have a better chance of winning a competition."
"Good point," Payton said, agreeing with me. "Anyone else? Let's take a vote. Who votes for cheer to get the money? Band? Well, I guess it's decided. Cheer, we've got our funding!"
"Why did everyone listen to Diana?" Ezra asked angrily. "Of course she's going to want cheerleading to get the money because she's a cheerleader!"
"Hey! I was being logical with my explanation!" I shouted angrily across the room. "My being a cheerleader has nothing to do with this!"
"Whoa there, Diana was just trying to do what she thought was right," Julian spoke up. "You can't blame her for that."
"That's easy for you to say," Myra said, standing up. "You and the basketball team are rolling in dough!"
"She's right," Ezra replied. "I've been trying to stay cool, but I've heard about enough from the basketball team."
"We've been working way too hard to not get to compete," Myra explained angrily. "End of story."
"So have the cheerleaders, Myra," Sydney angrily shot back, and Myra replied with a huff. "That's it. You're not invited to go shopping with me anymore."
"Oh, wow, I'm so hurt. Typical cheerleader. All you think about is popularity and shopping."
"How dare you?" Payton exclaimed.
"Hey!" I yelled out at the same time Payton did before we heard a chuckle coming from Wes. "What the heck is so funny?"
"I can't believe you all are falling for this while Isa turns the school into a police state," Wes explained in amusement.
"Please, Wes, Isa's strictness has nothing to do with this," Autumn replied.
"It has everything to do with this," Wes shot back. "While you all are distracted with your in-fighting, this school is turning into 1984."
"I think you're onto something!" I exclaimed, realizing that the principal may have tried to get me out of the picture using the break-in at Staples and having my dad fall for her trap.
"You can't be buying this, Diana," Caleb said with concern in his voice. "Don't you know what kind of person Wes is?"
"Don't you, Caleb?" Ezra asked. "Wes' ideas may sound out there, but he's usually right on the money."
"Do you really think so?" Payton asked.
"It would make sense, especially with the whole hall monitor initiative," Mia chimed in.
"Hey, don't blame us!" Frank exclaimed.
"Come to think of it, why are there so many hall monitors on the basketball team, and none in the band or on the cheer squad?" Myra angrily asked.
"You know why: they're so determined to stay Isa's favorites, they'd kill another student if she asked," Wes explained, and Autumn gave him a look of disbelief. "If they didn't need Isa, you can bet they'd see it out way—"
"Wes, how dare you? You know that's not the reason I joined."
"Oh, please. Of course it is. If you really wanted to help the school, you'd be helping me expose Isa for who she really is."
"Hey, let's not—" Julian tried to speak up, but Wes spoke right over him.
"But no. All you care about is getting off the waitlist for some art school!"
"Do you honestly expect me to give up on my entire future over some stupid teenage drama?"
"Autumn, Wes, maybe you could take this argument—" I tried to talk, but Wes spoke over me as well.
"Stupid teenage drama? Is that what you think this is?"
"That's what it is! That's what it's always been with you! You think you're some genius vigilante, but you're really just a manipulative guy who needs to destroy what he can't control!"
"Guys, there's no need for name calling," I tried to yell out, but Payton stopped me.
"Diana, there's nothing you can say. Wes and Autumn… have a longer history than you know. We should probably stay out of it for now."
"Autumn, you of all people know that it's not about power," Wes tried to explain himself. "It's because I—"
"We're not fifteen-year-old nobodies anymore," Autumn interrupted him. "Stop thinking of yourself as one. I'm tired of making excuses."
"If you're so tired, why are you dating me?"
"You're right," Autumn said, biting her lip. "I made a mistake, and now I'm going to correct it. It's over, Wes. For good this time."
"You don't even want to try to fix this?"
"I have been! For over a year! But we've been fighting so much lately… I don't see it getting better. You're not the guy I fell in love with."
"Maybe we should give you guys some space—" I started to talk.
"No need," Wes interrupted me… again. "If that's what you think, Autumn, fine. We're done."
"I'm sorry, Wes," Autumn said, reaching out to touch Wes, but he shrugged it off, and she ran out of the gym in tears. While the band and cheer squad followed Wes to come up with a way to reveal the principal's true intentions, the basketball team and I went our separate ways.