18 walked slowly down the street towards her new school. It was only her second day and she was running late. Not that she cared. Her attention focused on the small rock she was kicking as she made her way. She was exhausted. 17 and his gang had kept her up all night with their loud laughing and shouting. She estimated that she probably only slept for 4 hours last night. Sighing, she readjusted her backpack over her shoulder. It was then that she noticed another figure walking in the same direction, just as slowly. She recognized her as one of Bulma's friends that had been introduced to her. What had been her name? The girl walked slowly, her black hair floating behind her in the wind. She looked tired. Even though she knew she shouldn't, 18 couldn't help herself from calling out to the girl.

"Hey!"

ChiChi looked up at the blonde girl jogging towards her.

"Hey, 18 right?"

"Yeah. Sorry but I forgot your name."

"It's ChiChi."

"Right. So, what has got you running late this morning?"

"Missed my alarm." ChiChi shrugged with downcast eyes.

18 figured the girl was lying, but didn't want to push the issue. It wasn't any of her business. The school loomed ahead of the two girls who now walked silently towards the doors. Upon entering they made their way to the main office. ChiChi presented the receptionist with a note and was handed a late excuse slip. She threw 18 a quick smile and left to go to her second period class.

"Do you have a note Miss?"

18 turned back towards the receptionist.

"Not exactly."

ChiChi walked slowly to her class. Standing just outside the classroom door she tried to plaster a fake smile on her face. Her entire body was in pain, and blood was still seeping from her wounds. That was why she had worn a black shirt today. She didn't want anyone to see that she was injured. With a deep breath she opened the door and walked inside. Mr. Morris was writing on the chalk board and she approached him to hand over her excuse slip. He took it and motioned for her to take her seat. She walked to the empty seat next to Goku. She smiled over at him as she sat down and he smiled in return. Normally they had study hall in the cafeteria, but today they had to sit in Mr. Morris' classroom because the Electronics class was using the café to test the robots they had been building that semester.

"Hey." she whispered.

"Hey." Goku replied.

He carefully watched her features as she opened her book and studied the chalkboard. He noticed that she looked exhausted. He was worried about what had gone on with her yesterday because her dad was home, but knew that she would never talk about it. ChiChi never complained, never gave up and never showed pain.

"Now, I know many of you have a chemistry test coming up so I thought we could go over a couple things together today. Goku, could you please answer the equation on the board?" Mr. Morris' voice sounded, interrupting Goku from his thoughts.

"Uh, 5?"

Mr. Morris stared at the teen with confused eyes.

"Two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule equals 5?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Maybe everyone should just study on their own instead."

Krillin was busy taking notes when someone began tapping him on the shoulder. He turned around and came face to face with 18.

"Hey, Krillin right?"

"Yeah?"

"What page are we on?"

"Page 63."

"Thanks." 18 threw him a smile before finding the correct page number.

Krillin felt a blush creeping up his face and quickly turned around away from her. She was so pretty, and she remembered his name.

The bell sounded and dismissed the students from their second class. Vegeta was already at his locker when Goku and ChiChi walked up.

"Vegeta, I've been meaning to ask you something. Are you going to participate in the tournament this weekend up in Soho?" Goku asked his friend as he opened his own adjacent locker.

"I can't." Vegeta replied.

"Huh? How come?" Goku asked, confused.

"I've got other stuff to do." Vegeta lied. He didn't want to have to explain the whole situation to anyone. The only person who had any clue what was going on with him was Bulma. Just then Yamcha strode up from behind ChiChi. He playfully hit her on her back.

"Ahhhh!" ChiChi cried out as she fell forwards before correcting herself.

"Gosh ChiChi, what's up?" Yamcha asked, a bit horrified.

ChiChi was trying to keep the tears that stung at the back of her eyes from falling. The pain had shot through her like a bolt of lightning. She was furious at herself for crying out. The whole purpose of her wounds was for her not to show pain, and already she had failed.

"Y-you just scared me is all." She lied as best she could.

The three men looked at her strangely.

ChiChi spotted Bulma down the hall and decided to take off towards her.

"What the hell was that about?" Vegeta asked as he watched ChiChi's retreating form.

"I dunno." Goku replied, his eyes also following her.

Yamcha looked down at his hand and saw the blood smeared there.

"Uh, Goku? I think there might be something wrong." Yamcha said as he raised his hand for the two men to see.

Vegeta stared into space as the instructor continued to babble. He didn't know what to do. His father was dying. He had been trying to keep it a secret from his friends, but somehow he knew that pretty soon word would get out. He didn't need people coming up to him and offering their sympathy. That very thought made him sick to his stomach. Why should anyone care? His father wasn't the nicest man around, it wasn't as if the man deserved sympathy. As much as he tried to convince himself that he didn't care, the evidence was all around him. He had been coming to school late almost everyday, and he couldn't focus on his training either. The fact of the matter was that he was afraid to leave his father's side. He worried that if he did, then his father would die and Vegeta would never have gotten to really say goodbye. He was angry with himself, and had been even angrier when Bulma had caught him crying. Sometimes he hated the fact that she lived right next door. At the same time he had felt a kind of relief. He had told her everything, and she just listened. She promised not to tell anyone, and promised not to treat him any differently. She had been true to her word, but she always listened when he needed to vent. He had to find a way to come to terms with it all. His father was going to die, and he was going to be all alone.

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you think!