So this chapter is a little longer than the average chapter, but that's to make up for the tame and uneventful previous chapter. Enjoy.
:P
"Pookie?" Flo knocked on her daughter's bedroom door. There was no response, she couldn't still be sleeping this late could she?. She knocked again, this time she cracked the door open and peeked her head in. "Ashley?"
Spinelli was still in her pajamas lying on the floor and spooning a bucket. "I'm dying."
"Oh Pookie are you going to puke-y?" Flo walked over to her and helped her onto her feet. Spinelli groaned both out of embarrassment and pain.
"Yeah I feel like I'm going to puke, and then die."
"Oh don't be dramatic, nobody dies from getting their period. Why don't you take some more Tylenol, it'll make you feel better."
Spinelli turned towards the nightstand and reached for the Tylenol, It was just then that she realized that Tj was standing in her doorway and heard everything.
She gasped. She may not die from the pain but she may just die of embarrassment. "What're you doing here?"
Tj's face was flushed with red, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um.. Your mom invited me in, I just wanted to see how you're feeling."
"So you heard all of that huh?"
"Yeah... I did..." They looked down at their feet shyly.
Flo caught the tension between the two and rolled her eyes. "Oh come on this is nothing to be embarrassed about! All women get their periods at some point."
"MOM!" Spinelli face-palmed.
"Okay Well I'm going to go get dinner ready, Tj would you like to stay for dinner dear?"
"Sure, thank you Mrs. Spinelli."
Flo smiled and left the kids to talk amongst themselves. They sat in silence for what felt like hours. Tj stared out the window and Spinelli pretended to be interested in the warning label on the Tylenol container.
After a few minutes of awkwardness Tj finally spoke up. "So Pookie, you still need to puke-y?" He grinned widely then flinched, expecting a beating from Spinelli.
Spinelli flopped down on her bed and screamed into her pillow. "Oh man, she is the worst! When I was younger I got car sick a lot, she use to say that every time we went on a road trip."
Tj laughed, he sat down next to her on the bed and put his hand on her shoulder. "So how are you feeling?"
"It hurts a little, but I'll be fine. How was school today?"
"Heh I had a pretty interesting day, it all started with my own battle against puberty."
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"UGH SHUT UP!" Tj shouted at the obnoxious screaming device on his night stand. He hit the snooze button on the alarm clock and shoved his face into his pillow. He repeated this routine until 7:50 when his mother came into his room and began to shout at him. He dragged himself out of bed before Janice did it herself.
He was not looking forward to another day of school. Yesterday was the end of he and Spinelli's suspension and it had been hell. It started off with Randall nearly asking for a beating then a pop quiz during math. The other students in that class were not too fond of Tj and Spinelli and stared daggers at them during the duration of the class.
The rest of the day had a similar vibe. Students who were accused of purchasing the stolen test answers from the duo shouted profanities and threw crumbled up paper and spit balls at them. As they entered the cafeteria Randall announced on his mega phone that the "test thefts" had arrived. Tj had to give Spinelli credit for making it through the day without fighting anyone. She doled out plenty of threats though, many of them involving the possibility of death.
Tj was just about to brush his teeth when he found a feature on his face that hadn't been there the other day.
"A zit? Seriously?" He poked at the blemish on his nose. "Why does it have to be right smack dab in the center of my face?"
He heard that people pop pimples so he gave that a shot but he had no such luck. If Becky wasn't away at college he would have looked in her bathroom for some acne wash or something, but unfortunately her bathroom was vacant of all toiletries.
"Tj I have waffles on the table! Get 'em while they're hot!" Janice yelled through the bathroom door.
He caught his mom before she left. "Hey mom how do I pop this mountain?" He made another attempt to pop the zit.
"Tj!" Janice smacked his hand away from his face. "Don't pick at it, it will scar!"
"What do I do about this thing?"
"Well I don't have anything for it at the moment, but we can go buy some cleanser when you get home from school today."
"Ugh so I have to go to school like this?"
"Oh Tj all your friends are going to be going through this soon enough, and many of them probably already have."
Janice noticed the change of expression on her son's face when she said friends. That had been a sore subject for him lately.
"Well I do have one way to hide the blemish." Janice smiled, Tj looked confused but happy that she had a solution.
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Tj sat on his front porch waiting for Spinelli to arrive so they could walk to school together. He hoped that Spinelli wouldn't notice the zit on his face. His mother covered it with her foundation but he worried that it was still noticeable. When his mother first suggested the foundation he ran out screaming. He had no interest in wearing make up, but when Janice mentioned that Mr. Detweiler had done just that when he was a teenager Tj agreed at least try it... after he was done laughing ofcourse.
Tj kept staring at his reflection in the pocket mirror he stole from his mother's purse. That's another thing he hoped Spinelli wouldn't see, out of all the things to steal from a purse- a mirror has to be the lamest. He put the mirror in his pocket and checked his watch. It was already 8:15, Spinelli isn't normally late unless he causes her to be late. He gave her the benefit of the doubt though she is only human. He took out the mirror again and nervously looked at his zit.
"You look fine Tj." Janice grabbed the mirror from him and returned it to her purse.
"Has Spinelli called?"
"She hasn't. She's running late today huh?"
Tj nodded.
"Well don't wait too long, you can't afford to get into anymore trouble."
Tj rolled his eyes, he was still in shock that his mother didn't trust him when he said that he didn't steal those test answers. Well at least the grounding was over. He checked his watch again. It was 8:24, one more minute and he's going to head over to Spinelli's house and see what the hold up is.
Tj checked his watch and peeked down the street in search for Spinelli, it was already 8:25, they had to be at school at 8:30 and she was a no show. Maybe she got in another fight with her mother? He hoped it wasn't about her clothes again. He really likes how Spinelli started to mix it up her style with slightly girlier clothing. Not that her old clothes were bad, it was just a nice change.
He was a little confused when he reached the Spinelli residence and saw Bob Spinelli sitting in a lawn chair in his flannel pajamas, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. That part wasn't too unusual, though it was a little odd that the sprinklers were on and that he wasn't bothered by the water soaking him and his reading material. Tj contemplated going home and just calling Spinelli to avoid a potentially awkward conversation with Bob, but he decided against it for it would take too long.
"Um hi... Mr. Spinelli" Tj waved. Bob jumped and his eyes widened.
"Oh geeze Tj you startled me. Good morning.." Bob put his paper down and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh Ashley isn't feeling too well this morning...Though her mother might bring her school later on."
"Oh." Tj frowned, upset that the only friend he had left wasn't going to join him in their new found hell. "What's wrong?"
"She uh... has the flu." The Spinellis were all terrible at lying.
Tj raised an eyebrow. "If she has the flu how would she be able to go to school later?"
"It's a... uh... quick... flu. Um you know I think I'm late for work, Have yourself a good day Tj." Bob started walking towards his car.
"Um Mr. Spinelli are you not feeling well either?" Clearly there was something off about him today; he was trying to figure out how to open his locked car, without the keys, not to mention he was still wearing his pajamas.
"Huh?" Bob was a little taken back by the question. "Oh no I'm fine Tj."
"I was just wondering cuz you're still in your pajamas...and you're soaking wet" Tj felt odd about questioning Bob's actions.
"Oh yes you're right... I should probably change."
"Well sir I gotta get to school, can you tell Ashley that I'll call her later if she can't make it to school."
"Sure thing son. Have a good day." Bob made his way to the front door of his home and seemed to have trouble grappling the concept of the doorknob.
Tj shook his head and laughed. "Thank you Mr. Spinelli, and you too."
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Tj couldn't help but speculate possible reasons as to why Spinelli couldn't go to school today. He replayed the awkward conversation with Mr. Spinelli in his head over and over again. Mr. Spinelli was hiding something about his daughter, but what could it be?
Tj was taken out of his thoughts when he saw Mikey slam his locker shut. The gentle giant rarely acted out in anger, but the few times he did Tj was usually there to cheer him up. He wasn't going to let the fact that Mikey was mad at him stop him from helping his once friend.
"Mikey? Are you okay man?"
Mikey wasn't one to give a cold shoulder but the expression on his face proved that he was not pleased to see Tj.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking." Mikey gave him a polite response in an icy tone, then walked away in a huff.
Tj was getting real sick of the anger and hostility his old friends had been showing him lately.
"Sick or not you best be coming to school today Spinelli."
By the time Lunch came around Spinelli still hadn't arrived. Tj wasn't in the mood to eat alone so he decided to grab a bite from Kelso's.
"Hey Detweiler!" A voice yelled out as Tj arrived at Kelso's.
"Mundy." Tj couldn't stand Mundy and his cronies, the only time they spoke to him was because they had some sort of ulterior motive.
Mundy and Skeens leaned against the wall of Kelso's while Lazy Kid took a quick snooze on the sidewalk next to them. They were still banned from the store for stealing, but they always came back to loiter.
Mundy left his position on at the wall and approached Tj. "So I hear you and that chick of yours stole those math test answers and sold them for quite a hefty profit."
"My chick!? You mean Spinelli?" Tj's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Is that what people thought about Spinelli? That she was his chick? "We didn't steal the test or sell anything we were framed, but no one believes us anyway so I'm done arguing that."
"Come on now Detweiler, you've got a real money making scheme on your hands and I want to help you increase and protect your finances."
Tj scoffed. "You can't even spell 'finances', now get lost Mundy."
Tj turned to leave but Skeens and Mundy stopped him. They each grabbed an arm and pulled Tj towards their "office". Tj had no interest in any of Mundy's trouble making schemes, he quickly escaped from their grip. He knew they wouldn't take 'no' for an answer, he had to act fast.
He shoved Skeens, who then tripped over Lazy Kid and fell. Lazy Kid didn't seemed too bothered by the body being thrown at him, he just shifted positions and found use in Mundy as a pillow.
"Yo Lazy Kid! Wake up you useless sack." Mundy tried to push his sleeping friend off of him with no avail.
While Mundy was distracted Tj without thinking punched Skeens square in the nose.
"What's your problem Detweiler!?" Mundy yelled from the ground. Tj looked over at him, he was still trying to get out from under Lazy Kid. He turned back to Skeens, who was doubled over in pain, holding his nose as blood poured out.
Tj slowly backed away from him. "Um you should probably... tilt you head up!" Tj picked up his pace and ran in the direction of the school. He found a bench when he arrived back at the school, that's when it finally hit him. He took his hat off and ran his hands through his hair, he was in complete disbelief at what just happend. He hated the idea of getting physical, and to top it off he could now be considered a hypocrite. He was always holding Spinelli back from fighting and yet he couldn't control his own anger today.
It was a good thing Mundy and his cronies rarely came to school, he couldn't deal with another confrontation from them anytime soon. At least not alone.
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"Wow I don't believe it." Spinelli was shocked that Tj had such an eventful day without her.
"I know, I feel awful I hope his nose isn't broken."
"No dude, I can't believe you wore make up!" Spinelli started to laugh, Tj scowled. "So where is this infamous zit?" Spinelli grabbed Tj's chin and inspected his face.
"Shut it Pookie." He slapped her hand and pushed her lightly.
"My my aren't we violent today, must be all those hormones."
Tj stood up from the bed and walked to the door. "Okay goodnight Ashley!" He said sourly.
"Okay okay, I'm sorry." She pulled him back into the room, opened her arms wide, and glared at him with puppy dog eyes.
He rolled his eyes and accepted her offer for a hug.
"So uh what was the deal with your dad?"
"I have no idea man."
