Babs let out a gasp. Staring up at the large mansion, she couldn't help but feel the least bit intimidated. She stared at the paper on which she had written Zatanna's address with an intense gaze—Babs could've been drilling holes into it. The address was correct, but she dearly wished that Zatanna had lived in a more, humble, abode. Babs was a complete alien to the ostentations of a luxurious life. The house was made of white marble laced with the slightest tinge of pink, which conflated with the snow white of the windowsills. Babs considered herself highly daunted. She looked down self-consciously at her faded jeans and old shirt, feeling out of place as usual. While apprehension and qualms settled down in her stomach, she pushed herself to ring the doorbell.
Babs could hear feet bounding down stairs and just as she was about the ring the doorbell again, a fetching girl opened the door.
"Um, hi, I'm Barbara Gordon? I'm supposed to be your tutor?" It came out more like a question. Her palms beaded up with sweat, which she ungracefully wiped on her clothing.
"I'm Zatanna. Come in," she said, opening the door wider. As soon as Babs stepped through the door, she emitted what she hoped was a silent sigh. It was the stereotypical rich person house. She adjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder and mustering up all the backbone she didn't possess, Babs followed Zatanna further into her house.
After a dizzying encounter with some spiraling stairs, the two arrived at Zatanna's room. Babs entered, somehow feeling the need to tiptoe meticulously so she didn't ruin anything. "So, um, sit down if you want," Zatanna mumbled, hastily clearing her rather cluttered desk.
Babs slung her bag off her shoulder and sat down in front of the desk, Zatanna sitting down next to her. At a complete loss for what to say next, Babs decided to pretend to delve into her bag for something. Unfortunately, Zatanna had the same idea. They ended up colliding heads with one another and grasping each other's hands.
Zatanna giggled, withdrawing her hand. "You know, that would've been a perfect sappy love romance scene in a movie."
"Yeah, and then we both look up into each other's eyes and bam! Love at first sigh," Babs laughed, rolling her eyes. "I really hate romances."
"Really?" Zatanna raised her eyebrows. "They're not so bad."
Babs shrugged. "They're just not realistic."
"Hmm, I guess," she mused for a couple seconds. "Well, back to math."
"Right." Babs turned to the scattered papers on the desk. "So, do you need help with anything in particular?"
After a sluggish pause, Zatanna spoke, "Yeah. That test we just took, I kind of, well, I bombed it."
"Sure, can I see it?"
Zatanna pursed her lips and reluctantly handed the paper riddled with red marks and eraser marks to the girl. Babs perused the test with a blank expression and if she thought Zatanna foolish, she made no sign of it. "Well, you seem to have the most trouble with quadratics. So, why don't we start there?" Babs looked around and snatched a nearby pencil. "The question is 'x2 = 3x + 4'. First you would have to get all the terms to equal zero. I would personally move 3x and 4 over because I hate working with negative x2 terms…"
"So, then I'd subtract 3x and 4 from both sides of the equation?" Zatanna asked tentatively, biting her lip.
"Yeah," Babs nodded.
After a long hour filled with tedious math problems and sideline giggles, Zatanna's dad paid the two a visit.
"Come in," Zatanna replied nonchalantly to a sharp rapping on her door. Her father's head peered in through the door. "Hey Dad."
"Oh, I didn't know you had a visitor," he said, opening the door. "I'm Zatanna's father." He offered his hand to Babs, who hesitantly shook it.
"Hi, Mr. Zatara," Babs smiled, recalling her manners. "I'm Barbara Gordon."
"BARBARA GORDON!" Zatanna exclaimed, causing both her father and Babs to jump up in alarm. "Barbara Gordon! Dick told me about you!"
Babs nearly choked. "Uh—what?"
Mr. Zatara raised an eyebrow (and Babs couldn't help but note the profound similarity between the two). "Why did your boyfriend inform you about your friend?" Yeah, I'd like to know the same thing, Mr. Zatara, Babs thought.
"He told me about accidentally hitting you in the head! I know he apologized, but I'll apologize on his behalf again. Sorry!" Zatanna said.
"Well, I'm going to head out. I'll be back in a few hours, Zatanna. It was nice meeting you, Barbara," he said.
"Bye Dad!"
"Bye Mr. Zatara." As soon the sound of his car leaving the driveway was audible, Zatanna's eyes lit up.
"Okay, so you're either going to hate me or love me for this…" she started, standing up and walking to the other side of her massive room. A large stereo was located and Zatanna was zealously pressing buttons with a look filled with expectation on her face.
"What are you—?" Babs fell silent at the beginning of a song, which sounded noticeably like Taylor Swift. Zatanna snickered and ran over to Babs and grabbed her hand.
"Dance with me!" she shrieked, pulling a bewildered looking Babs up to her feet. Zatanna evinced a brazen bow, extending her hand to Babs. "Shalt thou so kindly join me in a dance?"
When she saw Zatanna's ridiculous pose, Babs allowed herself to grin. With a confident laugh, she executed an askew curtsey. "Of course," she responded with a ludicrous, unidentifiable accent. They interlocked hands and flounced around, completely disregarding the beat of the song playing.
Babs courageously lowered Zatanna into an ungraceful dip. However, her poor upper body strength failed her. Zatanna fell onto the ground. Instead of bursting out in tears, Zatanna erupted into giggles. "GET THEE TO A NUNNERY!" Babs screamed, extending a hand. Zatanna gladly accepted, but at the last moment, heaved Babs down to the ground next to her. "So, do you do this often?"
"What? Dance around in my room with random math tutors? No, it's not a regular occurrence or anything," Zatanna shrugged.
"Well, I'm flattered to be the first tutor you've danced with," Babs chuckled, propping herself up on her elbow.
"Who said you were the first?" Zatanna teased, raising her eyebrow.
"You know, normally I would be mad, but I really want you to teach me how to do that raising your eyebrow bit," Babs said, attempting to mirror Zatanna's expression.
"Hmm, I'm not sure if I can help you with that. It's a talent that you're born with," she replied matter-of-factly. "But we can try." She positioned her finger on Babs' eyebrow. "Now, raise your right eyebrow, I'll hold your left one down."
Babs did as instructed.
Zatanna grimaced, "Be more dramatic!" she coached while simultaneously executing a flawless eyebrow rise.
Once again, Babs did what she was told, but this time she caused Zatanna to chuckle uncontrollably. "That tickles," Zatanna said feebly.
"Um, maybe the art of eyebrow raising is something you're born with—and I was definitely not born with it…" Babs said.
"I surmised that much," Zatanna nodded. They both got up off the ground. "OH MY GOSH THIS SONG!"
Babs listened closely—the music wasn't hard to hear, it was practically bursting her eardrums—and heard the song. "SHAWTY HAD THEM APPLE BOTTOM JEANS, BOOTS WITH THE FUR," Zatanna half-screamed, half-sung. "When did this song first come out?"
"I think, 2008?" Babs mused. "I was like ten when I first heard it."
"Oh, yeah I remember listening to it in gym class—we had to run to it," Zatanna said. After a couple seconds passed, a horrified expression contorted her features.
"Zatanna? What's wrong?"
"Just, just listen to the lyrics closely," she responded.
After a couple of seconds, Babs had the same petrified look on her face. "I really don't remember those lyrics."
"Be glad you didn't," Zatanna pointed out. "But, it's fun to dance to!" She flailed around. "Or twerk to," she coughed surreptitiously. Sticking out her butt, Zatanna hopped around the room.
Babs's eyes widened. "You look—"
"Lovely? Elegant? Fetching?" Zatanna supplied.
"Ridiculous," she said pointedly.
Zatanna strutted to where Babs was sitting. "Come on, join me!"
So, the two girls clumsily gamboled around on Zatanna's desk. The math papers they were so focused on an hour ago flew off but they paid no mind. Babs was never a good dancer, yet she floundered along with Zatanna, completely unabashed.
"Um, should I be confused?" Babs froze, mid-crotch grab and stood petrified in dismay. Dick Grayson ogled the two girls, looking positively flummoxed yet amused. Babs titled her chin up to see Zatanna locked in an absurd pose as well. The song kept on playing, making the whole situation more awkward than it had to be (although, it would've been sufficiently awkward put in any context.) "Need some help down?" Dick offered his hand to both girls and Babs's cheeks flushed red. She slid down with no assistance from the boy she was so afraid of facing.
"Uh, I-I have to leave." Babs hurriedly collected her belongings and raced out of the room before muttering a mortified "Goodbye" to both Dick and Zatanna. Heat crept up into her neck and Babs began her long, embarrassing walk home.