Disclaimer: I own none of the characters used within.

This chapter is quite mediocre. It was supposed to work out more like a montage... or something. I dunno. It just wasn't supposed to turn out quite like this. Especially the last scene. Whatevs.

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MIYAZAKI HIGH SCHOOL

Outside the Locker Rooms

Tuesday, October 15th

9:30 A.M.

"Hi, Double D!" Sam said.

Double D's crooked grin spread across his face. "Good morning!" He had been distracted lately by new drama in his life and hadn't lately been able to enjoy walks to second hour.

After a minute or so of satirically chatting about the weather, Sam asked, "Hey, there's this girl in my English class named Rogue. She's sort of gothic. She was saying that she liked you and your friends."

"Oh, really?"

"Something about how much she appreciates what you guys have done for her."

"… Oh… um, interesting. Why do you bring it up?"

They stopped in front of Double D's Honors Chemistry class. Sam shrugged and smiled, making Double D's innards glow. "I just never hear Rogue ever say she likes anybody. You guys must have done something nice for her, which is pretty cool. See ya!"

Double D stared at her red hair leave for a minute until the tardy bell rang.

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MIYAZAKI HIGH SCHOOL

Architecture Classroom

Tuesday, October 15th

11:31 A.M.

"I haaaate hammerrrrrs," Eddy whined.

"Don't screw around, you screw around too much…" mumbled the incompetent architecture teacher. He dug around in his tool box for some band-aids.

Eddy chose the architecture class because sometimes they would actually leave the school building to go work on projects right outside the school. Like today – they were working to fix up an abandoned farm shed. This was productive, creative, hands-on learning, but to Eddy it was a way to get outside for better cell phone reception.

The teacher finally pulled out the bent box of adhesive medical strips just as Eddy's phone vibrated. "Okay, now let's see that hammered thumb…"

Eddy used his other hand to snatch the band-aid. "Adults say I should be more independent. I'll go bleed over there. Live with it on your conscience." He ran over to one side of the abandoned shed.

TOMO: Sum kid just said thx r the prank. Satisfied cus2mer!

Eddy started to text an answer back, but stopped because his thumb hurt. He got up to put the band-aid on, because band-aids fix everything, when a piece of tarpaper from the kids working on the roof fell on his head. "OOH, WATCH IT!"

"My apologies!" The heinously nasal voice said. When he leaned over the top, it turned to be a very huge head belonging to a class genius named Mandark. "Oh, hey, you're Eddy, correct?"

"Maybe," Eddy rubbed his head. "What's it to ya?"

Mandark looked around to see if anyone else was listening. He leaned over a little more, began to speak, almost lost his balance, regained it, and spoke again, this time whispering. "In the rather large group of peers who are typically associated with my social group, you're an idol."

"… Wait, whoa, really? Me, an idol? Hey, yeah…"

"We admire you for your 'business'. It's a way for us to have a say in our treatment." Mandark's glasses seemed to smile with his mouth as he leaned his whole torso off side of the roof. "Ever since that Josh M-"

"Hey! Ssh! No names!" Eddy hushed him. "If popular kids find out, I don't know what would happen. But thanks! Yeah, that's what the business is for." Eddy smiled. He went back over to actually earn his daily participation grade to maintain his C-average, so proud he didn't notice Mandark's falling off and the teacher's grumble/shout/exclamation of "You screw around too much!!"

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BUZZ FILL COFFEESHOP

Wednesday, October 16th

3:34 P.M.

Eddy, Ed, Double D, Sakaki, Chiyo, Kagura, Tomo, Osaka, and Yomi had pushed three tables together way in the back corner of the new coffeeshop, much to the chagrin of the over-caffeinated customers in the coffeeshop.

Eddy read off the list that Double D had typed for him on one of the computers in the school library. "We have the following assignments on our plate. Heh… get it? Our plate?"

Silence. (Awkward.)

"Whatsamatter, did you all die on the way over?… Anyways… the first customer on the list is Ulrich SomethingForeign. He wants revenge on this cool boy named William IDon'tRemember for troubling this girl they both like named Yumi SomethingDifferentlyForeign. Jealous much?

"There's this extremely hot girl who takes my World History class and supposedly is a foreign exchange student. The school won't tell us from where. Anyways, she seems like a nice girl. Which is odd, considering she wants us to ruin the life of her older sister who is known around here and to her group of clubbing drugatics as Blackfire, who is also absurdly hot in a totally different way. Supposedly her older sister is a bitch. My words, not hers.

"And lastly, I have gotten three separate reports since our business was erecteeeed-uh, erected, heh. Oh sorry. I've gotten three separate reports about this gang of mean freakish older boys who call themselves the Brotherhood.

"Now! We are taking on some higher level orders here. We have taken on Populars, but not Badass Populars like Blackfire and William. Badass Populars are just like Populars, except they dress in darker clothes and aren't as afraid of expulsion if they beat us up. Plus we've never taken on a group. Are we ready?"

"Wait," Yomi said.

"Oh, it would be you," Eddy said.

"What?" Yomi's eyes flashed, but she shook her head and moved on. "I know who you're talking about with the Brotherhood or whatever they're called. I take Psychology with one of them, Lance Alvers. He seems okay. Really. Maybe he was rude a couple times. He was quiet… in a possibly psychotic fashion… but you know, so is Osaka."

"Huh?" Osaka was people-watching and smiling gleefully, but turned back to her group upon hearing her name. She wasn't smiling at anything in particular, just life in general. Osaka was just a happy creature. "What?"

"And we're not about to play some horrible prank on Osaka and every other occasionally abrasive loner."

"Wait, what now?!" Osaka's smile disappeared.

Eddy didn't really have a good response to this. "Uh, well, I already said we'd do it."

And Yomi didn't have a response to that. "I guess we can try it."

"And we'll see what happens. If something bad happens, then it'll be like, you know, lesson learned?" Eddy forced a smile. He wasn't totally convinced himself, and was waiting for Yomi to confirm it.

"Is that the same approach you used for the idea of this whole business? Is that how you handle everything?"

After she said it, there was a silence while everyone comprehended what she said, then turned to Eddy to see what he'd say.

He opened his mouth, ready to say something, because as usual, his mouth functioned before his brain. But he hadn't even had an initial response. He closed his mouth, scowled, then opened it again. "Maybe it is. Maybe that's how I react to everything. That's my problem, though. But right now we have customers that want a little relief in their generally miserable lives. Are you gonna deny them that and instead choose to be an overnanalyzing, Freudian bitch?"

Now she just look bothered. "No."

"WELL, GOOD, THEN let's get to it! The group meets up again some other time! Keep your cell phones on so I can tell you." Eddy got up and looked at the café's drink menu. "I really want something caffeinated!" He went over to the line while the others wordlessly gathered up their belongings. Then Eddy came back over. "Do any of you have money?"

"I have money," Yomi raised her hand.

"I don't want your money," Eddy adjusted his backpack. He was the first to walk out.