Lita's New Year's Cookie Scramble Chapter 11 Forgettable Memories, a sailor moon fanfic

Lita's New Year's Cookie Scramble
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction .com domain. Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Chapter 11 - Forgettable Memories

Serena yelped in surprise as she went around the corner towards Raye's room and nearly collided head-on with a fleeing figure. Raye, however, wasn't so lucky. At first, Serena thought that the victim might have been Reenie but the figure turned out to be Chad. The young man was mumbling, "I didn't see I didn't see," while trying to disentangle himself from the raven-haired priestess.

"CHAD!!!" the preteen bellowed. Chad froze, and then fell backwards as Serena pushed him off of her. She levered herself up from the floor and glowered at him.

"I SWEAR I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!" the longhaired acolyte assured them while waving his hands in a defensive gesture.

"WHAT," Raye asked while folding her arms, "Exactly DIDN'T you see, buster?"

"Now Raye..." Serena began but despite her current height and age, she shrunk away from the glower of her fiery friend.

Chad hurriedly offered, "I was gonna like see if you knew who had snarfed all my chocolate milk last night." He looked up at her and frowned. "Say Raye... did you shrink?" He ducked as the raven-haired girl seemed to swell with indignation. "So anyway," he quickly recovered, "Like I knocked on your door, and Reenie and those little girls you're babysitting said to come in... which wasn't very nice if they knew Lita was..." Chad swallowed.

"Lita was what, Chad?" Serena immediately prompted trying to forestall the imminent explosion.

"Well, she was like changing." The young man's eyes glazed slightly as he added almost reverently, "I didn't mean to see, but... there was so much of her!"

Raye choked for a moment and then started sputtering incoherently. Serena just shook her head and then Chad's words sunk in. "Are you... COME ON, RAYE!" She hastily grabbed Raye and rushed down the hallway with the still sputtering priestess in tow. She burst open the bedroom door making Mina leap back in surprise with a squeak. Lita did fair much better. She gave a squeal and seemed to curl in on herself while holding pieces of tattered clothing to maintain her modesty. Apparently, the old expression blushing from head to toe could literally happen as was proved by the ponytailed teen before them.

Lita relaxed a little once she realized three things: who it was, that the door was shut, and finally that neither Chad nor any other male lurking nearby could see her. "You're big again!" Serena observed stating the obvious. Sailor Mercury, still in toddler form, seemed even tinier next to the lofty brunette. "What happened?"

"We heard a knock at the door," Reenie explained, "And when we told Chad he could come in... Then BANG! That happened." She gestured towards the embarrassed teen. Serena had to conceal her smile. Meanwhile, the pink-haired youngster just knew she was going to get blamed for it. "I mean she just... blew up!" Even now, Reenie was staring in awe at the girl who just moments ago was smaller than she was. 'I wish I could grow up like her and save my mommy.'

"Yes, Reenie is corwect," Mercury confirmed. She brought her VR visor down. "It appears that Lita has rapidly reverted to normal. Her physical structure matches the norms for her I have on file." She tapped a few keys on her minicomputer. "Fascinating, her aging pwocesses have already slowed to what they would normally be had magic had not interfered. Quite impressive I must say." The toddler tapped a few more keys and started scanning Mina and Raye.

"It was a major surprise, guys," the busty teen commented while walking somewhat wobbly to her overnight bag. "Talk about bursting at the seams." She grinned as she riffled through her bag. "Everything seems to be back to normal..." She giggled. "Although things look a little smaller."

"Come again? Why are you so happy?" Mina asked. "Me and Raye haven't changed yet!"

"That is because..." Mercury explained, "The effects that occurred to Lita took place earlier last evening. I would conjecture that the rest of us will transform back within an hour, two at most, based on my watest scans." Amy looked up. "Of course, factors such as our rate of metabolism and duration of ingestion will provide some variance."

"HOT DAMN!"

"Good," Raye cheered. She gave Reenie a predatory look, which made the younger girl gulp.

"Are you sure everything is okay, Lita?" Serena wondered, "It was an awful sudden."

The ponytailed brunette turned and wiggled her now bra-covered chest. "Yep, all the assets are at the bank. It'll take me a bit..." She looked as if she was going to make another comment and then seemed to remember that Reenie was in the room. "Well... To get used to things."

"I'm just glad you're all right," Serena retorted. "But I wish I'd known. I wanted a picture of us before you changed back. Sort of a family photo."

"Not on your life!" the little blonde protested. Amy nodded. "I certainly don't want to make this a Kodak® moment!"

"You're not being fair," Lita countered while pulling up her jeans. She'd already donned a green baby-T.

"I'm with Amy and Mina," Raye chimed in. "Sure, it did help with the temple funds this year, but Grandpa sees me as a little kid as it is. I don't need to look the part too." She glowered and complained, "Besides, people kept saying I was cute!"

"Well, you are cute, Raye," was the brown-haired teen's comment. She winked but then her smile was momentarily hidden as she pulled a red turtleneck sweater over her head. "Listen, things are back to normal... or will be."

"That's right," Serena agreed. "We just have to wait. And while we're doing that, Lita can make us lunch."

"Before I do that," Lita interrupted holding out her hand, "Serena, please hand me the Disguise Pen." Her friend blinked. "I think you deserve that picture, Mommy."

"Thanks, daughter. If the others don't wanna," the pigtailed woman mused, "I'm not gonna force 'em."

"Are you telling me..." Lita asked, green eyes looking seriously at Raye, Mina, and Amy, "That you didn't have any fun? Not at all?" The raven-haired girl shook her head but Mina and Amy though squirmed uncomfortably and dropped their gazes to the floor. "Serena did the best she could in a bad situation. A little picture won't hurt, will it? No one but us will ever know it was you." The brunette did not grin when she saw all three girls blushing. "So, Serena will lend me the Disguise Pen and we'll take the picture. Then I'll make us a wonderful lunch."

"I'll help!" Reenie spoke up. Silence filled the room. All five girls turned to stare at Reenie. She at first squirmed but then started to get irritated as they just continued to look at her as if she'd said something unbelievable. "Well, I can!" she protested trying hard not to sound like she was whining. The girls exchanged a look before staring at her again. "WHAT?!"

It was Raye who spoke first. The raven-haired preteen glanced at Serena once and then drawled, "You really do want that spanking, don't you?" The seven year old went bright pink as she blushed, easily matching her hair color.

Before Reenie could think of a response, she noticed that her cousin was giving Raye a disapproving look. "I think maybe," Serena interjected after another few seconds, "You and me need to take some lessons from Mom first." Raye shot the pigtailed blonde an annoyed look.

'Serena can...' Reenie wanted to accuse them of not trusting her, which they apparently didn't. 'But I guess they got a reason...' She would have been more upset had not Serena said it so nicely. "I guess I'll just help Amy then."

"I think that's for the best, Reenie," Serena agreed. Then she came over and gave the little girl a quick hug before following Lita out of the room.

- - - - -

A short time later, Lita, back to her normal teen self after the promised photograph with Serena had been taken, was busily preparing lunch. She grinned to herself as she noticed said pigtailed friend observing her with studied concentration.

"I don't know how you do it, Lita," Serena sighed while fiddling with a raw carrot, "Man, when I change back, things are gonna suck."

Lita blinked. "You don't wanna change back?" Her friend just gave a shrug. "You can't wanna stay older than your mom. You sorta said that yesterday, right?"

"I suppose..." the middle-aged blonde replied.

Lita set down the chopping knife that she was using on the counter, moved to where Serena was, and enfolded the slightly shorter woman into a massive hug. "I wanna thank you for being such a good sport about me calling you Mommy and stuff." Serena hugged her friend back. After a few seconds, they pulled apart. "Now you shouldn't worry. You'll be fine," Lita admonished.

The blonde shifted a little and then admitted, "I just worry I'm gonna be a complete klutzoid when I go back to being me."

"You wouldn't be you if you weren't." The brunette resumed chopping then grinned as Serena wagged a finger at her. "Sorry." She giggled as her friend "hrrphmed!"

"I guess I should've let Reenie help," Serena mumbled. She was feeling guilty even though she knew that she really shouldn't. 'Is everything going to go back to the way it was?' Is that what she wanted?

"I dunno. I doubt any of the girls would eat a bite if she had."

"Yeah, 'though maybe she could put something into mine so I can face down Darien again."

Lita paused in her chopping. "Excuse me?" she asked looking around to stare at the forty-something blonde. When Serena outlined what had happened the night before, she boggled for a moment and then chuckled. "Man, I would've paid money to see that."

"Yeah I know. It was kinda nice." She looked embarrassed for a moment. "I mean I never had the guts to just tell him off like that but I think he deserved it. I still don't know what I did to..." Serena knew normally she would be wailing before she got out what she had to say. She chewed her lip for a moment. "Maybe I shouldn't've been so rude though."

"Oh come on, Serena. He's the one that didn't want to date you, remember? The fact that he can't stand to see you with another guy just shows how much of a... well meatball-head he is." The brunette grinned at the cynical sounding snicker that her friend gave. "As to having guts, next time, just pretend that he's still with the Negaverse."

"Lita! I can't do that!" Serena protested.

"Sure, you can. You've faced down Rubeus and Queen Beryl and the Four Generals and all other sorta creeps. So he doesn't want to be Endymion to your Serenity."

"Serenity who?" a voice queried from behind them. Both girls turned around and saw Reenie standing in the doorway.

"Princess Serenity... from the Moon Kingdom," Serena supplied.

"Oh! Lita told me about that," the youngster commented airily and suppressed a grin as her cousin gave Lita a suspicious look. "What about her?"

"I thought," the blonde began disapprovingly, "You were going to watch Amy, young lady."

"I was!" Reenie protested, "But now she's playing in the water." Both older girls cocked their eyebrows inquisitively. "She needed to go... So after, she was washing her hands but she won't stop." The pink-haired girl considered for a moment. "I think she's gonna play doctor with one of Raye's stuffed animals."

"Raye, OUR Raye, has stuffed animals?" Lita asked with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, Grandpa Hino kept them and showed them to us earlier."

"And you want me to stop Amy," Serena speculated.

"Uh, yeah actually..." The little girl shifted from foot to foot for a moment. "See I figure that Raye won't do anything to Amy if Amy embarrasses her, but she'd hang me up by my pigtails if I did."

- - - - -

Moments later, Serena stood watching little Amy wash her hands exactly as Reenie had described. "Ames... I know washing your hands is important after you use the toilet, but you're not going into open heart surgery." The toddler was standing atop a stepstool with soapsuds up to her elbows. She only paused a moment to give Serena a serious look. "You wanna know what I think?"

"What?" Amy asked.

"I think you're just mucking about in the water now," her pigtailed friend offered while trying to mimic her mother's tone. When Sammy was little, he had been the "mucker" whether it be water, sand, or mud. Somehow, her brother had managed to grow out of trying to eat the entire beach. However, Serena suspected that he still jumped into an occasional mud puddle if nobody was around.

"Am not," Amy squawked while turning around and tilting up to give Serena an annoyed look. "I am prepawing for surgery, Serena." She pointed to a stuffed panda in the corner.

"Yeah right," Serena quipped and then blinked in surprise as Amy flicked her hands and soapsuds spattered Serena. "Well," the adult continued, "I know where you got your attack name from now." She smiled and was pleased to see that three year old was grinning back at her. "Well there, Doctor Anderson, get the soap off so we can go see how lunch is doing. You can't operate on an empty tummy, right?"

"Right! Proper nutrition is important," the toddler agreed and turned back to the sink.

Meanwhile, Raye, Mina, and Reenie were in Raye's room. The ribbon-wearing blonde watched as Raye paced about the room and finally demanded, "Raye, would you please sit down and stop pacing back and forth like a caged tiger?"

"I just want this nightmare to be over with," the raven-haired girl declared and shot Reenie an annoyed look.

Seeing this, Mina rolled her eyes. "Like look, girlfriend, answer me a question?"

"What?" the shrine maiden demanded as she flopped down onto a pillow beside the low table.

"If, and I'm saying if, you wound up being older rather than younger, would you honestly have been as upset?" Mina and Reenie watched the twelve year old closely and after a long minute or so, she shook her head. "See?"

Raye shook her head again and sighed. "Mina, that's beside the point. You're not seeing why I'm mad."

"Because Chad and Grandpa still think you're a kid, right?"

The raven-haired girl gave a frustrated shrug. "A little. But it's more than that. I mean Grandpa's always seen me as a kid. He probably always will." That was comforting on some levels. "What I don't like is that..." She paused and seemed to reconsider what she'd been about to say. "I mean I didn't like being knocked ass over apple cart by a Droid yesterday." Mina blinked. "I should have been able to handle it and if I had been my proper age I know for a fact I could have!"

"But..." Reenie ventured but halted as both Mina and Raye turned their gazes on her. She shifted before continuing, "I mean that was 'cause it was a Droid that used fire, not 'cause you were little or anything, right?" When the raven-haired girl didn't respond, she added, "I mean Amy'd be in big trouble though 'cause she's littl'r than you and all her attacks are water."

"Mercury's water attacks would've been more effective," Mina agreed. "But you're right about her size, Reenie."

Raye frowned. "But what if the Princess had really needed help? The only thing that saved us was the fact that Sailor Moon has better access to the Imperium Silver Crystal!" 'I was so proud of her.'

"Yeah okay, so like why are you still majorly ticked now that we know it won't last and things DID work out okay last night?"

"Did they?" the raven-haired preteen challenged.

"Oh come on, Raye. We've all had tough enemies to face down. Look what happened at D Point." Reenie blinked as Raye cringed; even Mina shivered a little. The youngster wanted to ask but figured it wouldn't be a good idea at that point. "Anyway, so what's got your knickers in a knot?"

Raye blew out a breath and stated sternly, "I'm ticked, Mina, because Serena is letting Reenie off scot-free!"

"She ain't," Reenie protested, "I gots grounded and I can't see Darien and..."

"Big flippin' deal," the preteen priestess muttered.

"It's a big deal to her, Raye," Mina pointed out, "And Serena couldn't be harder on her."

"And why not?"

"You heard her in the furo. She has to figure on what Mrs. Tsukino's gonna do..." Mina glanced at Reenie. "And given what we could hear of the conversation this morning, it ain't gonna be no picnic when Reenie gets home." Reenie nodded in agreement.

"Mrs. Tsukino's not going to be as strict with Reenie as Serena would. And besides, what's to stop her from using Luna Ball?"

"Are you nuts?!" Reenie demanded, "Serena would kill me! She'd probably blast Luna Ball into Droid doo-doo!"

"Droid doo-doo?" Mina inquired, a smile tugging at her lips. The little girl shrugged. Turning to Raye, she said, "And like just think what Reenie's mom's gonna say when she finds out about all of this?"

'Maybe they'll forget by then,' Reenie hoped, although somehow she doubted it. 'Man...'

The raven-haired priestess shook her head. "We aren't going tell Reenie's mom." Both younger girls blinked. 'Jeez... if I could only convince Serena.' The shrine maiden wanted to spank Reenie herself so a thorough job would be done. Unfortunately, she knew her blond-haired friend would never approve it and she wasn't about to make Serena angry with her. "And that's another thing..." Raye mused alone more to herself than the other girls. She seemed about to say more but stopped.

All three jumped as the door opened and Serena stuck her head in. "Raye, can you grab something out of Amy's bag?"

"She changed?" Mina and Raye asked at once. Reenie's face was focused on Serena however.

"Yeah," Serena made a face then explained, "I had picked her up to carry her back here and poof. One minute a cute little toddler, the next..."

A handful of minutes later, fourteen year old Amy Anderson came strolling teetering slightly but nonetheless looking purposeful. She'd changed into her typical attire. This time consisting of a set of jeans and understated blue sweeter. She shrugged her shoulders as if trying to settle her normal body about her more comfortably.

"Everyone, I'm certainly glad that's over. I fervently hope that such a disconcerting incident as this will never be wepeat... repeated." She made to sit down, paused, and turned to Reenie. "Reenie, thank you for your assistance during this turbulent time. However, further assistance from you is no longer required." And with that, she plunked herself down at the table and pulled out her minicomputer to process more data.

"What about me?!" the youngest Sailor Scout practically whined, causing Raye to roll her yes.

"I believe that you should be changing soon, Miss Aino," the blue-haired teen remarked scientifically, "I would also speculate that next Serena and then finally Raye will change. The data supports the hypothesis that transposition will occur in the same order in which we noticed change."

"Oh great!" the raven-haired priestess groused, "So how long?"

"I cannot set a precise time."

"Not a problem!" the little ribbon-wearing girl giggled while jumping up. She ran over to the large suitcase that she had brought and started rooting through it.

"Hey, what are you doing, Mina?" Serena asked.

"I'm not gonna wait, Serena. I'm gonna to get changed now," Mina informed them from the depths of her bag as clothes came flying out of it. "I don't wanna have happen to me what happened to Lita."

"Whoa!" Serena inquired as she moved aside one of Mina's brassieres, "Did you pack every piece of clothing you own?"

"You never know what a situation might call for," the eight year old offered nonchalantly. "Man, where did I put it?!"

"I'm not sure I want to know what IT is," Raye replied dryly. She blinked as Mina said something rude, which made Reenie's ears turn red. She grinned as Serena got a disapproving look on her face. "Somebody's in trouble!" Raye announced in a singsong voice.

"Who?" Mina asked, poking her head up and looking around.

"I think I hear Auntie calling me," Reenie said quickly and left the room.

- - - - -

Lita Kino walked down the hallway. She was headed to Raye's room to inform the girls that lunch would be ready soon. She grinned slightly. 'I liked being a kid but even Serena appreciates that I can cook.' The brunette shook her head. 'Some things never change.' She placed her hand on the doorknob to Raye's bedroom door and paused.

"You look completely ridiculous!" floated Raye's voice. It sounded more amused rather than derisive. "Honestly, girl, can't you wait like everybody else?"

Wondering whom the raven-haired priestess was talking to, Lita carefully opened the door and saw Raye, Amy, and Mina. Lita blinked. 'So what Reenie said was right... Amy is big again.' Lita hadn't quite believed it. 'Man, I thought Ames would be partying or something... I know I wanted to be a little for a bit but I wouldn't have wanted to be a baby.'

Lita's attention was drawn down to Mina as she demanded, "Lita, tell them I don't look stupid!" The beribboned eight year old stood up and pirouetted slowly. The tall brunette couldn't help but gape at the sight before her. Mina had put her normal teen clothing on and of course, none of it even remotely fit her eight year old frame. "Well?" She prodded with her hands on her hips.

"Would... you like an honest answer?" Lita questioned, stepping fully into the room and closing the door. The little blonde glowered as Raye snickered. Amy looked towards the ceiling as if seeking guidance from the gods.

"And I thought Serena was the clothes hound," the brunette commented dryly, which made Mina pout.

"Nah," Raye offered, "Serena isn't really a clothes hound... She just has really good fashion sense."

"And I don't?"

Wanting to prevent, at least for a moment, the coming argument, Lita announced, "Lunch'll be ten minutes, guys, maybe a little less. Do you happen to know where Serena and Reenie are?"

"I think they went off to find Grandpa and Chad," Raye answered. "Something about making sure they aren't surprised to see 'a big Amy instead of a little one.'" Raye got a suspicious look on her face. "Hey, that's why Serena wasn't so ticked at Reenie about this mess."

"Why?" Lita and Mina asked together.

"Bigger boobs," the raven-haired girl declared. Amy sighed and shook her head resignedly.

- - - - -

Reenie and the other girls were eating lunch. Or rather, the girls were eating lunch and Reenie was mostly pushing the food around her plate with her fork, occasionally putting some in her mouth -- she didn't want Serena to scold her again for playing with her food.

The pink-haired youngster glanced up at Mina, who was now back to her perky fourteen year old self, and then flicked her eyes to Raye, who was sitting beside her. The seven year old hadn't really relished the idea of sitting beside the fiery preteen. It didn't help that Lita had called Reenie a kid, if in a roundabout manner. When all of the girls had come into lunch, she had joked that she should have setup a kid's table for Reenie and Raye.

"Hmmm... It might be quieter," Raye unexpectedly said, pointedly looking at Mina who was currently laying out her boy-hunting plans for anyone who'd listen.

'They act like nothing happened though!' Reenie angrily whined to herself all of a sudden. 'Okay, so I goofed, but Mina doesn't want to talk about it and Amy's acting like I'm not even here!' She knew Raye was still upset with her and while Lita had apparently forgiven her, Reenie did feel guilty for using her cookies in such a way.

Serena... Serena didn't bear thinking about. 'Man, no Darien...' the little girl complained. It was very unfair that her cousin would keep her away from Darien. She wasn't currently brave enough to voice that particular opinion though. 'My ears are still ringing from Auntie's phone call...'

"Reenie..." the soft voice pulled her from her brooding mood. She looked up to see Serena regarding her. "Not hungry?" Reenie shook her head. "Had too much breakfast?" The youngster shrugged. "You know, I thought you'd burn that off chasing after Amy." Reenie noticed that the blue-haired girl's head come around and that Amy was giving her still older friend a stern look.

"Yeah," Mina agreed, which earned her a glare from Amy as well, "Oh don't look like a sour puss, Amy. At least, it kept your nose out of a textbook for a while." Her genius friend sniffed indignantly.

"There's nothing wrong with reading... Your grades would be much better, Miss Aino, if you spent more time studying than stud hunting."

"Yeah but one's more way fun than the other," Mina pointed out. "Oh wait, Greg actually hunted you up."

"You keep Gregory out of this," the blue-haired teen snapped tartly, her cheeks turning pink. The others grinned.

"Yeah, okay... Anyway, Reenie, Serena's right. You did run around after Amy quite a bit. Actually you chased me down too." The ribbon-wearing blonde grinned. "That was quite a race." She got a thoughtful look and asked, "You ever try out for the cross-country team?"

"No..."

"Well, maybe you should. I bet you'd do really well," the beribboned blonde speculated.

"Better than me?" Serena interjected.

"You run everywhere though," Lita countered.

"That's because she's late all the time." Raye grinned as Serena glowered. "But I think Reenie could do well. She certainly doesn't get winded like some people I know." Her grin grew as Serena growled in annoyance. "Say, I was telling Lita that I figured out why you wouldn't wanna go back to normal and why you like being old."

"Why's that?" Serena asked.

"Boobs!"

"Excuse me?!" the blonde demanded.

"Boobs," the raven-haired priestess replied, "You know, they..."

"Raye! I know what they are!" Serena retorted while turning red. "And for your information, missy, it was what I did to Darien last night that I'm gonna miss." That comment drew Mina, Amy, and Reenie's attention.

"Point taken," the raven-haired preteen agreed. "I wish I had had a camera!"

"Really? What did she do?" Mina asked with stars in her eyes.

"Told him exactly what she thought of him, that's what. Especially considering he didn't want her dating another guy."

"She means Dave, the guy she STOLE off of me!" the ribbon-wearing teen clarified. "I promise you that won't happen again." 'It only happened that time because of those cookies,' she rationalized.

"So you just wanna stay big just to be mean to Darien?" Reenie asked.

"Of course not," Serena replied in such a stern tone that the seven year old immediately regretted her remark. "Honestly, it's just that some things needed saying... and I said them. I mean Darien doesn't wanna date me, so why shouldn't I..." Serena started to tap her chest and froze.

"What?"

"Urk!" was the meatball-headed blonde's only response before her form shifted.

Gray streaks vanished, fat dissolved into trim lines, and Serena's chest to her chagrin had a substantial withdrawal made against it. Raye, Reenie noticed, was watching with anticipation as her friend shifted from middle-age through young adulthood to a petite fourteen year old. She noticed as well that now she and Serena shared the same height.

"Praise the gods! I'm next!" the twelve year old priestess squealed and started eating again, looking much happier.

- - - - -

Sometime later, Serena Tsukino stepped out into the early afternoon sunlight of the Cherry Hill Temple and looked around. The late night snowfall had already begun to melt. Chad was busy cleaning the courtyard and Grandpa Hino was nowhere in sight. She glanced down as someone took her hand and was a little surprised to see it was Reenie. She gave the youngster's hand a little squeeze and then said, "Well... that was an exciting night."

"Definitely," Lita seconded as she stepped up to Serena's left and shouldered her overnight bag. "I guess I should go home and check on my plants."

"Yes, I need to return home as well," Amy piped up. "I need to catch up on reading. I'm only eight chapters ahead. Also, my mother will likely want to wish me a happy New Year." The blue-haired teen took a few steps and turned around. "Thanks for the food, Lita. And letting us come, Raye."

"No problem, Amy," the priestess replied as she stepped to Serena's right beside Reenie. The meatball-headed blonde was amused to note that Reenie inched a little closer. Amy silently regarded Reenie and Serena for a moment.

"Well, I'm off!" Mina remarked, vaulting off of the porch and onto the ground beside Amy, "I need to..." her voice trailed off. "Oh my..." The others looked around to see what had caught Mina's attention. Sure enough, it was two teenage boys.

"Well, I think I recognize one of them," Lita commented. 'He looks like my last boyfriend.'

"Really?!" the ribbon-wearing teen squeaked and then grabbed her brunette friend by the wrist. "Come on, girlfriend, and introduce me then!"

Serena chuckled as one of her friends dragged the other one off. "See you guys later, I guess!" Lita called.

"Same here!" Mina called over her shoulder before speeding up.

"I'm off," Amy declared and hurried toward the stairs.

Serena turned, ready to make some comment about rats deserting a sinking ship, and noticed that Raye wasn't even paying attention. She was watching Chad, who was in turn watching her. Then Raye did a very unusual thing, she playfully winked at Chad.

"Well," Serena remarked dryly, "Now I know who has a hot date tonight."

"Don't you need to get home, Serena?" Raye suggested. Serena noticed that her raven-haired friend didn't deny the charge.

"Ready?" Serena asked her cousin.

"I guess so," Reenie and then added, "Auntie can't get any madder, right?"

"No, but maybe I can..." The pigtailed blonde caught Raye's eye and sighed. "Well... let's go." As the duo walked towards the stairs, Serena asked, "Did you make any more New Year's resolutions?"

"Yeah... did you?"

"Yep!"

"What?"

Serena smiled, "I have resolved not to call you a pink spore."

"Even when you're mad?"

"Even when I'm mad." Serena smiled. "What about you?"

Reenie just grinned and hummed to herself... She'd never tell.

End of Chapter 11

Epilog follows...