DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to "Meet the Robinsons" or "High School Story," I only own Diana and Nikki.
The rest of the week went by, and I got a taste of Tucker's routines for the first time, spending time with Caleb and some other friends, and it was something I desperately needed to distract me from the school drama, mostly because Kara and Zoe were not in attendance. Emma also had a plan to get her mom reacquainted with another student's father, who had dated back in high school. Kieran juggled, Aiden played a song on his keyboard about the love affair between Jay and Daisy from The Great Gatsby, Nishan and Maria performed a magic act, Frank and Michael sang songs – the latter sang one because of a bet, Cameron read a poem, I sang a song that I dedicated to my new friends from Staples, and Ezra played a love ballad. The last act was Tucker asking Kieran to prom using bad poetry.
Today was the day of my trying out for the solo, and I had some last minute practice with Caleb in the park yesterday. During classes, I was putting my stuff away in my locker when I felt myself being lifted up.
"Oh! Caleb!" I laughed as I was put down and I felt Caleb put his head on my shoulders as he hugged me in the waist.
"How are you feeling about tryouts today?"
"Caleb, I'm worried," I said, not feeling like my optimistic self. "I've practiced a lot, but anything can happen."
"You know, I think I have just the thing to cheer you up." I watched as Caleb dug into his pocket and gave me… a toy car.
"Why are you giving me a toy car?"
"It's kind of silly, but I've had this toy since I was a kid. I wanted to be a time-traveler."
"That's adorable," I replied with a smile. "No wonder you and my dad get along."
"Whenever I played with this, I pictured myself in the driver's seat," Caleb explained, wrapping my hands around the toy car. "It helped me stay focused on my goals. I thought it'd do the same for you. Besides, I like knowing you'll have a little part of me while you're going after what you want."
"Oh, Caleb. As long as you're with me, that's all I ever want," I replied, putting my right hand on his left cheek.
"You have all of me," Caleb replied, as we pulled in close and kissed with passion. "I know you'll do great at tryouts today, and I'll bet thinking of you the whole time." We pulled in for another kiss before we headed to our next classes.
"Hi, Mia!"
"Hi, Diana!" Mia replied as I walked into the gym in my dad's t-shirt and shorts. "It's just me here today. I didn't want any outside influence."
"That's a good idea," I replied with a smile.
"Once Kieran gets here, we'll go ahead and have both of you do the routine."
But, after twenty minutes, Kieran never showed up.
"How is Kieran not here yet?" I asked impatiently.
"Just like a Staples kid to be all talk," Mia said in annoyance. "We'll have to start the tryouts without him. Let's see what you got."
Mia started the music as I did the entire routine, including my solo, which I nailed as always.
"That was even better than last time!" Mia exclaimed, but then she scratched her head. "Kieran was promising, too, but since you were the only one to show, I have to give you the part. Congrats, Diana! The routine's yours."
"Thank you so much, Mia! I won't let you down!" I exclaimed, but then realized that I wasn't feeling right. But I shrugged it off. I ran out of the school to try to find Caleb, and he was already outside waiting for me.
"How did it go?"
"Well, I got the part."
"Yes! I knew you could do it!" Caleb exclaimed as he picked me up off the ground, but I wasn't happy. "What's wrong?"
"Kieran didn't show up for tryouts," I explained. "We waited forever for him, but he never came."
"Maybe he's sick? Or he changed his mind about wanting the part?"
"Neither of those sound right to me," I replied. "Although, Kieran did mention he would only try out on principle. Maybe he followed his instinct and didn't show up? I don't know. Something is… off about this. I can just… feel it."
"Well, no matter what the reason is, it's not your fault," Caleb explained with a smile on his face. "You deserve the part, and I know you'll be great. We should celebrate! What do you say we go to the travelling carnival?"
"I remember those when I was a kid!" I exclaimed, all of sudden feeling happier. "My dad took me every year. Alright, it's a date."
The first thing Caleb and I did when we got to the carnival was dig into a strawberry funnel cake.
"My mom keeps on telling me how much alike Dad and I are. I have his eyes, I have his hair, I have his spunk, we like the same foods—" I got interrupted when my fork when through the plate! "Oops."
"A little too excited, are we?" Caleb asked with a chuckle. "This tastes amazing!"
"There you go! Strawberries are the best on funnel cakes."
We finished our funnel cake and we explored the carnival hand in hand, and all of the memories of my dad and I exploring the carnival returned.
"It's like a walk down memory lane," I said. "I feel like a kid again."
"We're kids too, you know," Caleb replied with a smirk.
"Okay, Mr. Smarty-pants, I was talking about like when I was seven, not on the verge of becoming adults." I spotted a water-gun game up ahead and dragged Caleb into doing it with me. Caleb and I took our shots, but mine hit the target first, which meant I won.
"Well, darn."
"Victory!" Caleb and I said at the same time as the attendant gave me a teddy bear.
"I remember my first teddy bear," I spoke up, hugging it tightly.
"You know, I was hoping I'd win just so I could give you the bear myself," Caleb explained. "But you kind of derailed those plans."
"You have to work for it, Caleb," I replied with a smile. "Anyway, my great-great aunt gave me my first teddy bear."
"You never told me about the rest of your family," Caleb replied as we continued to walk around.
"The relative who gave me my first teddy-bear, her name is Billie, and she's a train conductor for mainly the Robinson house, but also around Todayland as well. Her husband was Joe, but he died of complications with his weight. Billie is still alive and kicking though. Then there's Fritz, another great-great uncle, and he too has passed, so now he's with Petunia, his wife. Tallulah is his daughter, and she has a brother, Laszlo, who is quite the artist. My dad has two uncles on his mom's side, and they are my great-uncles Art and Gaston. Art is an intergalactic pizza delivery man, and he looks like he's in his 40s! And Gaston likes to blast himself out of his meatball cannon."
"Meatball cannon?" Caleb asked with a perplexed look.
"Trust me, you'll believe it when you see it," I replied as we approached the carousel and got on.
"I'm naming my horse Speedmaster," Caleb said, getting on a horse.
"So, he's a master of speed?"
"How did you know?"
"You should've just named him 'winner'," I replied with a smirk. "Well, I'm naming my horse Moana."
"As in the Disney character?"
"Well, sort of. My dad had a horse to cope with him moving to Connecticut and that's the name he gave her."
"I never knew your dad to be coping with something," Caleb replied with surprise.
"He never really wanted to leave Todayland," I explained. "It was where he was born and raised. He took the job at TIME so that he could provide a life for my mom, me, and Wesley. Dad got so anxious about moving that a couple friends of his got him a horse, and he named her Moana. His first adventure on a time machine was to Motonui where he met Moana herself, and she taught him to navigate."
"What's Todayland like?" Caleb asked.
"Amazing! Everything about the city is futuristic and continues to look futuristic as time moves on, and there's not an inch of modern technology left. Well, except for televisions, cell phones, and laptops. I think that city is better seen live than just my explaining it to you, you know what I mean?"
"Of course."
"And my grandparents' house is huge too. Ever since Wesley started kindergarten, we've spent every summer there, though my dad would only join us for a month and then he would go back to work."
The ride stopped, and I carefully watched which horse would get ahead.
"Moana wins," I remarked with a smirk.
"Don't listen to her, Speedmaster," Caleb told 'his horse.' "You're a winner in my heart." We got off the carousel and went on the Ferris Wheel. "So, what do you like the best about your parents?"
"My mom is a sweetheart," I explained. "She makes amazing food and she is an amazing singer. My dad… my dad is something else. He's brave and smart, and he never gives up on me. He always calls me his 'princess,' and I really do feel like a princess."
"Has anyone ever told you that you look like Wonder Woman?" Caleb asked. "But then again, that's your username."
"I think that is why my dad named me Diana in the first place," I replied with a laugh as Caleb pulled me close, and I snuggled into his chest.
"Look, you can already see the town from here," Caleb said, pointing forward. "There's all the places I went as a kid, like my old elementary school, the tree I got stuck in… if you like, I can show you these places from my memories so that they can be your special places, too."
"I'll do you one better: we should discover our own special places," I suggested with a smile. "Like our school, where we first met. My house where you asked me to homecoming. Payton's house when we finally decided to be a couple."
"I love the sound of that," Caleb replied, looking down to me. "Let's find spots in town that are just ours, like the three you said. Don't forget about the beach, where you found me after Brian's party, and right here, on this Ferris wheel."
"Wait, what occasion are we celebrating on the Ferris wheel?" I asked with a chuckle.
"The occasion where I'm about to kiss you," Caleb replied as we drew in for a kiss, and then we looked ahead as the wheel got higher.
"Everything is so small from here," I gasped.
"Congrats again on tryouts. You must feel pretty great right now."
"Don't remind me," I said, feeling my instinct come back. "I feel like something awful is going to happen. Can we please just enjoy ourselves?"
"Everything's going to be alright, Diana," Caleb said, pulling me in for another kiss.
"I don't deserve you."
"Diana, I'll always want to support you, no matter what," Caleb replied, still smiling.
"Hey, Diana."
The next morning, I turned to see Kieran with a downcast look on his face with Kara and Max behind him.
"Kieran! What's going on? Is everything alright?"
"I think you know."
"What are you talking about?" I asked with a perplexed look on my face.
"I thought I could trust you, is all," Kieran explained, now with anger in his voice. "But I guess your part in the routine meant more than being my friend."
"We know you sabotaged Kieran with this email," Kara chimed in as Kieran showed me his phone, which showed an email saying that tryouts were postponed.
"Tryouts weren't postponed," I replied, still confused. "No wonder you never showed up. But who did this?"
"I thought you did!" Kieran exclaimed.
"I did no such thing!" I shot back angrily. "Wait, Mia did this? That can't be right, she was with me."
"It's a fake," Max explained. "Mia's real one doesn't have an extra underscore at the end."
"I didn't notice until it was too late," Kieran chimed back in. "You made this email to trick me!"
"Again, I did no such thing!" I angrily exclaimed, talking through my teeth.
"A likely story," Kara replied. "You're the only one who would benefit from this."
"That is not proof and you know it!" I barked back. "Come back when you have some actual evidence. Isn't that what you hypocrites said when I showed you the note in my locker?"
"This is different," Kieran replied, shaking his head. "I can't trust you anymore, Diana. And to think I was going to give you my vote for prom queen. I'll make sure none of my friends make the same mistake."
"Kieran, you have to believe me!" I cried. "I swear on my great-grandmother's grave that I had nothing to do with this!"
"I want to believe that. I really do," Kieran replied as he left with Kara and Max, and I was alone in the hallway, unsure of what to do.
The first four periods dragged before lunch finally arrived. I didn't bother to grab any food and walked up to the table Caleb was sitting at.
"What's wrong, Diana?"
"Caleb, do you remember when I told you I had a feeling?" He nodded. "You would not believe what happened with Kieran—"
"Diana!" We looked up to see Nikki approaching our table. "Please tell me you didn't sabotage Kieran yesterday? I never thought you'd stoop so low."
"Nikki, please, I had nothing to do with that!" I pleaded, almost on the verge of tears. "You believe me, right?"
"Nikki, what are you talking about?" Caleb asked with a perplexed look.
"Word on the street is, Diana told Kieran that tryouts were postponed to screw him over."
"What?! Diana would never do something like that!" Caleb furiously exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Nikki asked with concern. "I've been hearing from everyone: Zoe, Cameron, and even some Westport students…"
"I was framed, Nikki!" I exclaimed with a couple tears falling on my face. "Please, believe me."
"You don't look like you're lying, and this whole time we've known each other, you've never lied." Nikki paused and looked down on the floor, and then sat down next to me. "But the other Staples students may not believe you. Whatever the truth is, word's spreading like wildfire. You'd better do something quick."
I watched as Nikki walked away, and then I turned to Caleb.
"Caleb, you believe me, right?"
"Of course I do. Come on, let's get into the hall for a few minutes."
Caleb led me out of the cafeteria and into the hall where I cried onto his chest.
"It's going to be alright, Diana," Caleb said, rubbing my back.
"Caleb, I wish I could just wake up from this nightmare," I cried. "Can't I have just one quarter go by in peace? I'm just minding my own business, and now everyone hates me for something I didn't even do!"
"Diana, do you remember when I said that everyone hated me because of something I thought I did?" I nodded as I looked up. "A wise person told me that it was time for a change. And you know what? That person kissed me and told me that my name will be cleared. If my name can be cleared against Ashley, it can be cleared for you, too."
I sniffed and wiped away the tears on my face.
"You're right, Caleb. I need to clear my name… but how? I have nothing."
"I'm sure we'll think of something, but right now, know that not everyone hates you. I… really like you, Diana, or I wouldn't have asked you to be my girlfriend."
I let go of a laugh as Caleb kissed my forehead. We gazed into each other's eyes before the bell rang, telling us to go to our next class.
After the prom meeting, I walked toward my locker, and along the way I got shoved.
"Hey! Watch it!" I yelled.
"Oops. I accidentally bumped into you," Kara replied, and I growled as she walked away.
"Diana, are you okay?" Maria asked, running over to me.
"As long as you don't bump into me, too," I replied, burying my head in my hands.
"You look even more stressed than I normally am," Maria replied, giving me a hug. "You know, I've always found being around animals is the perfect way to cool down from everything."
"Yeah, I guess animals don't exactly care about my reputation or responsibilities."
"Exactly! I was thinking about going to the pet store today and getting a playmate for my cat Kibble. Care to join me?"
"Maria, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. Let's go!"
I texted my dad that I was going with Maria to the pet store, and before I knew it, we arrived. We immediately went to the adoption area where we saw a whole bunch of cats.
"There's so many!" Maria exclaimed with a gasp. "I don't know which one to choose."
"Take them all!" I jokingly suggested.
"No, I'm limiting myself to just one more. I'm not planning on becoming a crazy cat lady."
"That's how it always starts!" I explained with a smirk. "It's like eating potato chips. Just one more... and another, and another-"
"Hush. That's not going to happen," Maria replied with a chuckle. We continued to look at all the cats when a tiny black kitten approached the window and started mewing happily.
"He's so round," I said in observance.
"Diana, are you a cat person?"
"I love all animals," I answered. "My parents taught me to respect all life, not just human life. My dad had a horse, and we started out our lives in Connecticut by raising chicks and selling eggs. But, I hate it when people act like you can only choose dogs or cats."
"Right? They're like comparing apples and oranges."
We watched the black kitten stretch and then yawn.
"He's so precious!" I said with hushed excitement as Maria read the label.
"It says he's only eight weeks old," she said with sadness in her voice. "He must be so lonely all by himself in there!"
"Poor thing! Can we hold him?"
I turned toward a store employee, who noticed us staring at the kitten, and she retrieved the kitten to give to Maria.
"Awww! What an angel!" Maria said in a high-pitched voice. "Look at your widdle pink paw beans!"
"Maria, you're totally baby-talking him! Like your voice is three times higher than normal!"
"I can't help it. He's so cute!"
"Can I hold him too?" I asked as the kitten hooked a claw in Maria's green sleeve.
"Stop that, you silly!" Maria said with a giggle as she unhooked the cat from her dress and handed him over to me. I craddled the cat like a baby in my left arm, and I felt him purring like a tiny motor.
"Oh, aren't you a sweetheart?" I said in a high-pitched voice, which I didn't notice at first. "What a good boy! My precious cinnamon roll!"
"See! You're doing it too!"
"Alright, I admit it: it's hard to resist," I said in my normal tone.
"He's so irresistable," Maria replied with a smile. "I think I'll adopt him. I hope Kibble likes him. I don't know what I'll do if they fight."
"Does Kibble fight with other cats?" I asked. "I know dogs and cats don't normally have a good relatinoship, but-"
"Well, I've never seen her do that. In fact, she's very affectionate around the other neighborhood cats."
"Then what are you worried about? I'm sure Kibble will adore her new brother! Especially one as sweet as this little guy."
"You're right. I'm getting all worked up over nothing. I'm sure they'll start napping together and everything."
"You'll get to take those heartwarming videos of pets cuddling together."
"If that happens, I'll be sure to send them to you," Maria replied with a smile. "Do you have any suggestions for what to name Kibble's new friend?"
"I sure do! How about Oreo?"
"Oreo? That's a pretty solid choice."
"I have a knack for choosing names, if I do say so myself," I replied with a smirk.
"My dads struggled so hard to choose a name for me," Maria explained. "I found a book of baby names in our garage with a list of names they almost chose in the back."
"What were your almost-names?"
"They were mainly debating between Maria and Andrea."
"Andrea? Interesting name. But I can't imagine you as anything but a Maria."
"I'm sure if they'd really went with it, you would've gotten so used to it that 'Maria' would sound wrong to you."
"Maybe. Man, this is hurting my brain," I replied, shaking my head and putting my free hand on my forehead.
"What were your almost-names?" Maria asked me.
"Both of my parents were dead set on naming me Diana. Although, they wanted to be surprised at birth, so my name could have been Wesley. It was the middle name they struggled with. My dad liked Elizabeth. My mom wanted me to be named after her mom, whom I've never met. Her mom died when my mom was a child. Her name was Evelyn, and because of that, my parents decided on Diana Evelyn."
"Evelyn? That's a pretty name," Maria replied with a smile. "I'll go get the adoption paperwork. Be right back."
I watched Maria head to the counter, and she returned with an iPad."
"How long will this take?" I asked.
"You underestimate me," Maria answered with a smirk. "I think I can finish this within a few minutes."
"In the meantime, I'll pet the to of Oreo's head," I said, and Oreo seemed to like the affection as he closed his eyes and pressed his head into my palm.
"He likes you."
"He has good taste, in my humble opinion," I explained. "I've never had a cat, but Nikki had one when we were kids and I used to pet it like crazy when I was around."
"My dads adopted me, and now I'm adopting Oreo. It's like things have come full circle."
"You were adopted?" I asked with shock in my voice. "I had no idea!"
"I do have two dads, remember?" I had forgotten that a man could not get pregnant.
"So, you never had a mom?"
"Sometimes, I wish I did, just so I could relate to her and tell her things I can't tell around my dads. But it's alright. I'm happy to be raised in a loving home."
"My grandpa was adopted, too," I replied. "So I know the story of how the adoption process works. I am so happy my great-grandparents took my grandpa in, or else I wouldn't be here. My dad learned to never take that for granted."
"Cornelius Robinson was an orphan, huh?"
"Yes, and he struggled because of his... quirkiness. He wasn't adopted until he was almost 13."
"Well, I am thankful he was found, too. Or else I would not have a friend like you."
"Oh, Maria."
We gave each other a one-armed hug as Oreo continued to purr in my left arm.
"He's so precious," I said, looking down at the kitten.
"Yes, we've already established that. Several times."
"It's hard to not keep repeating it. Though, I wonder if he understands how precious he is. Like, does he know?"
"He must, with all the cooing and attention we're showering on him," Maria answered, and I chuckled as she finished the paperwork. "Are you feeling less stressed about everything now?"
"To be honest, no," I answered, looking down on the ground as we walked out of the store. "As much as I love pets, it's not like they can solve all my problems. Like the whole sabotage situation. The damage has been done. There's nothing I can do to take back the fake email that got sent to Kieran."
"Wait, if it's an email, Michael can probably do some tech thingy to track it, right?"
"Oh my gosh, Maria, you're right!" I exclaimed, remembering Michael. "We need to talk to him!"
"Come on. I bet I know where he is!"
I went with Maria to her house where she dropped off Oreo, and then we went back to the school parking lot, where Michael was doing some aerobics in the parking lot.
"What's up, ladies? Missed my beautiful face?"
"Unfortunately, no," I replied, cracking a smile. "Can you trace this email address for us?"
"The one sent to Kieran, right?" Michael asked as he took out his laptop. "I can trace it pretty easily. Give me a few minutes."
Maria and I watched as Michael got to work, and then he grinned at the two of us.
"The email was sent at 4:00 PM yesterday, from computer number fourteen in the lab."
"That's a little late to be sending an email, isn't it?" I asked.
"But still, anyone could've sent it," Maria said.
"Don't lose hope yet," Michael replied. "There's still something we can do. You have to log in to a student account to use the lab computers, right?"
"So if we look at computer fourteen, maybe we can figure out who was logged in at the time the email was sent!" Maria explained
"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked with determination. "Let's go."
The three of us went in the computer lab where Sakura, Nishan, Myra, and Luis were playing their game and screaming at each other.
"How do we get their attention?" Maria asked, and I went over to the group.
"LEGEND OF ZELDA IS OVERRATED!" I yelled over the four gamers.
"What did you say?" Nishan asked, unsure of whether he was asking me or the computer.
"Say that to my limited-edition master sword!" Sakura yelled back as they paused their game and looked up to see Maria with her death glare.
"Just give her what she wants!" Luis exclaimed in fear.
"We need computer number fourteen," Maria demanded.
"That's the one I'm on!" Nishan exclaimed. "You can use it after the match is over."
"This is important!" Maria yelled back. "Pause the game!"
"That's not how an online game… Okay, okay, I'm getting off!"
Nishan got off the computer, and Michael sat on the chair and got to work.
"I have good news and bad news: the bad news is, I can't find the exact times people were logged on. Who exactly sent that email at 4:00 is still a mystery. The good news is, only two people logged in here yesterday: Brian and Sydney.
"Sydney?" I asked in shocked. "I can't see her doing something like this. It's gotta be Brian."
"Honestly, I think so too," Michael replied.
"We shouldn't jump to any conclusions," Maria suggested. "But let's see what Brian has to say for himself."
After Maria and Michael ate dinner with me and my family, the three of us went to Brian's house for an explanation. When Brian answered the door, he raised an eyebrow.
"What the? What do you dweebs want?"
"Brian, do you have a minute to answer some questions?" I asked calmly. "We think you might know something about the email Kieran got."
"As if. You were the one who sent it."
"For the fricking last time, it wasn't me!" I yelled as Maria and Michael put their hands on my shoulders.
"Calm down, Diana," Maria whispered into my ear. "Yelling isn't going to help anything."
"I am so not in the mood for this," Brian angrily replied as he started to close the door, but Michael stopped the door in its tracks. "You can't make me talk to you."
"Oh, but you'll want to talk to us," Michael nonchalantly explained. "Unless you'd rather I tell Mr. Wille who really wrote your A-plus history paper."
"How did you know I… That's not fair!" Brian exclaimed.
"Should've thought about that before you cheated."
"Fine. You have five minutes."
"What were you doing at 4:00 yesterday afternoon?" I sternly asked.
"Working out at the gym. Duh."
"Are there any witnesses who can back this up?" Maria asked.
"I have this selfie that I sent to Maria," Brian answered, taking out his phone and showing us a picture of himself flexing his biceps.
"Stupid question, but Brian, why did you send this to Myra?" I asked.
"So she can feast her eyes on it!"
"I'm pretty sure she'd rather starve," Maria replied icily as she took a closer look at the photo. "This was taken at 3:58. There's no way he could've made it to the computer lab in time to send the email at four."
"So it really wasn't him!" I exclaimed. "Hmm…"
"That's what I've been saying!" Brian exclaimed happily. "It's the perfect albibi."
"What?" Maria and I asked at the same time.
"Albibi!"
"Guys, I think he means 'alibi,'" Michael explained.
"But why would Sydney do this?" I asked, still confused.
"Maybe this was her misguided way to help you?" Maria tried to explain.
"I doubt it," Michael chimed in. "Sydney isn't crafty like that. Besides, she's a pretty bad liar."
"Look, as fun as this is, talk about this somewhere that's not my house," Brian angrily said, finally closing the door.