*Chapter 22*
A few days later, Penny and Tessa slowly eased out of Sugar Rush and into Game Central Station. The two were dressed in clothes that were a bit more formal for the day. Tessa was wearing a light teal, button down shirt, though the first few buttons were lazily unbuttoned, revealing her cream, dainty undershirt. She wore her clean pair of racing pants. Penny, on the other hand, was in a sweet, summer dress and sandals. She always knew how to look peppy and dolled up. The two slowly moseyed towards Game Central Station Academy for sign ups, a task they were left to maturely conquer by themselves, though they were beginning to look like deer in headlights. Tessa bit her bottom lip and shrugged her bag over her shoulder a little more; a bag in which she brought a change of clothes in, so she could have an easier time practicing waltzing later, with Zane.
"You guys okay?" Came a calm familiar voice to their right. Tessa jolted as the two girls quickly looked over. Zane was causally moseying out of his outlet; he wore his usual, dark blue Dead Zed shirt and a comfortable pair of jeans. Though, he stayed true to his surfer boy look and was wearing sandals. He lulled his hands into his baggy pockets and gave the two girls a curious look.
"We were," Tessa grumbled as she glanced at the Academy, "Now I'm not so certain."
"It's a lot bigger than I remember," Penny worried as she crossed her arms.
"C'mon, it's not so bad," Zane assured as he tilted his head towards the looming Academy at the end of the hall, the two girls slowly followed close to him as Zane continued, "It only seems daunting because I guess home has been all you have ever known. I was the same way."
"Are you signing up this year, Zane?" Penny wondered curiously.
"No," Zane breathed as he shook his head, "Too much time and energy wasted towards something I'm not even sure of. There are so many branches to Academy, I really don't know what to major in."
"You have all your basic courses out of the way?" Tessa wondered gently, Zane nodded once and held his bright blue eyes on Tessa's.
"Yeah," Zane sighed, "After that, you sort of have to put your own school schedule together, and I'm still sort of trying to figure out what I want to do."
"Major in surfing?" Tessa smiled softly with a teasing tone, the three approached the massive, looming structure built into the very end of the station.
"You could major in dancing," Penny said in a sing-song tone as she side eyed Zane; his face immediately burnt a harsh, beet red.
"A-Alright, I'm going to march in there," Tessa wagged her finger at the Academy, in which a few new students were coming in and out of, "I'm going to sign up, and then walk out. It'll be easy. Right?"
"I'm sure you and Penny will have the same classes, yeah?" Zane said in hopes that Penny would stray away from the awkward topic she so desperately wanted to bring up.
"Hopefully," Penny giggled as she linked arms with Tessa, "We'll be right back, Zane."
"I'll be here," Zane chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. He slumped his shoulders gently as he watched the two girls leave. He had to wonder how Penny got the information of him knowing how to dance, especially as of late.
"I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this," Tessa muttered over and over as her and Penny marched up the massive stoop to the glorious school before them.
They carefully opened one of the large double doors to the school. They squinted gently as their eyes had to readjust to the dim lighting. The front lobby was warmly lit, at the end of it was a glass wall that overlooked a small, atrium like downward slope; it was the school's library. Rows and rows of bookshelves carefully hugged and mapped the library like a maze. Tables were strewn around the lower floor in a chaotic pattern that made sense. The whole place was domed, which almost made Tessa nauseous; it looked as if it never would end. The ceiling was gorgeously laced with chandeliers that glowed proudly. Hung on the far wall was a banner, boasting the Academy's name mascot. Tessa and Penny seemed frozen in awe, they nervously hung close to each other, as if they had entered a brand new Arcade and had no clue where to begin.
"Welcome, new piranhas!" Came a voice from the other side of the lobby; an older lady sat at a desk, which was separated by a glass wall and a speaker box before her desk. Tessa and Penny jolted and looked over curiously, she waved the two girls over.
"Is it that obvious?" Tessa wondered with a sheepish smile as the two girls strolled over.
"Well, usually students that have been here longer than a month are well past the view of the atrium when they first walk in. I'm Ms. Waltz," the older lady chuckled as she straightened some papers on her desk, she had white hair that was slicked back into a tight bun; she seemed friendly enough, "Let's see here... You two of Sugar Rush origin?"
"We are," Tessa said in an incredulous tone, though her heart nearly jolted at the painfully obvious and ironic name on this older lady's badge, which added more worries to her score card. She continued on anyways, "Is that obvious as well?"
"Well," she sighed with a small smile as she looked the two girls carefully in the eyes, "You, my dear, look so much like Wreck It Ralph, it's uncanny. I just so happened to be at the very ball that your father proposed to Vanellope, two years ago."
"Really?" Tessa beamed a cheery smile and began to feel more at ease.
"Yes'm," she laughed a gentle giggle and smiled at Penny, "And, the fact that you two came in practically clinging to each other assures the fact that you are, indeed, a Mr. Rancis Fluggerbutter's daughter. Not to mention, you have his infamous hair curl."
"Two for two," Penny said gently with a nervous smile; she felt the huge urge to hide behind her older cousin.
"I've seen one too many gamer's children come through these halls," Ms. Waltz smiled, her wrinkly eyes held eons of kindness, "You tend to become a master at telling who came from who, really"
"I can see how that could be a thing," Tessa heaved a small chuckle, though she continued to feel her stomach tighten with knots.
"Now," the elderly woman reached down into a drawer and pulled out two folders full of papers, one for Penny and Tessa; she slid them under the slot of the glass and let the two, younger girls take hold of them, "Take these, fill them out, and bring them back with you. After everything is cleared, you two will get your badges, IDs and schedules!"
"Thank you," Tessa said gently as the two girls walked away with their folders. She opened the folder with eager eyes; she could hardly believe she was holding the information she'd need to get into Academy.
"Piranha's?" Penny complained quietly as the two girls took a seat across the lobby in one of the many chairs that lined the wall, "Wh-why couldn't we be goombas? Or koopas?"
"Because the Piranha plant is badass," Tessa said in a plain tone, as if she had been prepared for this since day one.
"They're scary!" Penny hissed quietly as she finally opened her folder, after noticing Tessa was well on her way to finishing the third question on the sheets in her folder.
"They're not scary, they're fierce," Tessa eased as she kept her eyes trained to the papers in her lap, "At least we're not like End of Line. They're the Bob-Ombs!"
"Still sounds cooler than a killer plant with sharp teeth," Penny said in a dull tone as she fixed her golden hair, "Why did they base them off of Mario characters, anyhow?"
"Mario's the king of gaming," Tessa stated plainly as she continued to write.
"Maybe for at home consoles," Penny muttered as she let her eyes wander the lobby.
Zane gently scuffed his foot over a crack in the tiles for the four hundredth time, he could have sworn. He inhaled a hard breath and gazed up at Academy with a knowing, almost guilty look. He furrowed his eyebrows and could see the school practically glare him in the face, as if it had caught him committing a crime. He had a mental argument with the school for a solid thirty seconds, scrunched facial expression and all, before he noticed Penny come skipping out of the large, double doors. She was without Tessa.
"Hey," Zane said kindly as he softened his facial expression and unscrunched his shoulders, "Where's Tess?"
"She's talking to the lady inside, I finished my paperwork and said I'd meet her out here," Penny smiled, she held up her ID and badge, "It's official!"
"Congrats," Zane smiled as he gently high fived his friend, though he suddenly felt nervous; the twinkle in Penny's eye led to suggest she hadn't dropped the topic from earlier.
"The lady inside was really friendly," Penny said as she tucked her arms and hands behind her back in a sly way.
"Yeah?" Zane said in an almost nervous tone, he eyed Penny curiously.
"Mhmm," Penny nodded once, her blue eyes pierced his with genuine knowing, "Her name was Ms. Waltz."
"Oh yeah?" Zane nearly choked as he instantly shoved his hands into his pockets, "Th-thats, interesting."
"Yeah, interesting like how you're teaching Tessa to waltz," Penny rushed in a strong, yet quiet tone; she let a curious smile spread across her face as she watched Zane's every move. Zane's face immediately was bruised with blush.
"She told you?" Zane hissed as he largely furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance, he bent over slightly, as if this whole conversation was top secret.
"Well," Penny eased her stance and looked away, "I-I sort of pried it out of her... Nonetheless!"
"Alright, tease away, just... Please don't tell anyone else," Zane asked in a tired, yet sincere voice, though he perked up at the almost saddened look on Penny's face.
"I wasn't planning on telling anyone," Penny said sincerely with sad eyes, "I think it's really sweet."
"Really?" Zane let his shoulders ease a little as his facial expression softened, "Well, thank you."
"You're welcome," Penny said softly, though she curiously gazed at Zane, as if she was desperately trying to figure him out. She furrowed her eyebrows in pure curiosity and side eyed him. She finally spoke after a few moments, "Zane, why are you REALLY doing this?"
"Why am I teaching Tessa how to dance?" Zane prod in a concerned tone.
"Yeah," Penny lightly shrugged, her expression was that of delightful confusion.
"Well," Zane rubbed the back of his head and glanced at the ground a few times, "I-I just know that, she really wants to dance with Selka. She was a nervous wreck because she didn't know how to dance, so... I don't mind teaching her."
"You're so full of shit," Penny dully chimed; Zane flinched and gazed at sweet, little Penny in pure shock. He beamed a wide, curious smile and nearly gaped.
"Whoa, what makes you say that?" Zane laughed softly as he gestured his hand.
"I'm no fool, Z," Penny said gently as she wrinkled her nose, "I know you're crushing hardcore."
"Crushing," Zane repeated, he desperately tried to play it cool, "wh-what-"
"Will you drop the act," Penny giggled as she thrusted her hands and arms downwards in an impatient act of annoyance.
"Penny," Zane started, though he swallowed hard and shook his head gently, "I'm teaching Tessa so she has a good time at the ball."
"You're teaching Tessa because you're hoping she'll, instead, want to go to the ball with you," Penny smiled curiously, Zane furrowed his eyebrows.
"I already AM going with her, as well as you and Oliver," Zane argued with a bashful smile.
"I meant as her date," Penny rolled her eyes, her smile never faded, "Sheesh, you're a lot more stubborn than I thought."
"She's my best friend," Zane said, as if being reminded that she was only that, was painful, every single time. He swallowed his feelings and gave Penny a genuine smile, "I'm just helping her out. I know she'll do great with Selka."
"Alright, sneaky Zaney," Penny muttered as she side eyed him. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed Tessa coming down the massive stoop from afar. She gently turned back to Zane and cocked an eyebrow at him, "Don't think I don't see what you're up to."