Chapter Six

Science

There was a huge change between Dinah and me whenever we hung out after that. She smiled more, which was always wonderful to see. She was getting through the disappearance of her mother. I found myself blushing almost constantly when I was near her, though I tried not to show it. Though I got a clue about the mystery that is my now best friend, it was one of those clues you only understand the meaning of at the end of the mystery when the other ninty eight percent of it had been solved. It seemed then that aspects of my life that were so simple mere weeks ago had become a bunch of mini mysteries all tangled into one, all of them waiting to be solved. One thing that wasn't a mystery however, was my growing attraction or Dinah. She would mention a lot of guys that she found cute, so I knew she was straight, a fact I already guessed. Knowing that didn't help the slight envy I felt for every guy she referred to as a 'hottie'. I felt I was breaking a really important lesbian commandment by falling for a straight girl, but it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter. When she spoke of such guys, I would just nod my head and never contribute. I'm sure Dinah assumed I just didn't like anyone at the moment, or I was picky about the guys I crushed on.

I couldn't, though, believe my eyes when I got to my lab class about a week after learning about the Institute. The first thing I saw was my friend looking at Matt Kendall of all people. Matt Kendall, my dunderheaded lab partner who rarely had a clue as to what time and day it is, let alone the fact that a good sixty percent of New Gotham High's sophmore class had a mad crush on him. I'm sure that even if he did know, he'd be too busy listening to some underground, Old Gotham rock band that no one will ever hear of to really care. 'Oh God, of all people why HIM?' Truth be told, I'd have thought the same about any of the guys Dinah tended to drool shamelessly over, having known most of them since pre-middle school.

I walked to the empty seat Dinah had put her backpack in as a way to save it for me, and I watched her as she continued to stare. As I sat down, I said (mustering up everything so that I didn't reveal any disgust in my voice or on my face), "Matt Kendall, huh? Not bad." Sure, not bad at all.

She could have fallen for some scaley guy with yellow teeth, but at least he'd contribute to a conversation. 'Okay okay.' I chastized myself for continuing to be mean to Matt in my mind and not to his face where he could defend himself. Dinah looked at me sheepishly.

"Am I that transparent?" 'You can't see through windows as clearly.' I thought.

"Please," I scoffed, "you're obviously infatuated." The next words were spoken only because I wanted to play the role of the encouraging best friend, and play it wll enough to earn Oscars... an Emmy perhaps. "Hey, maybe you should ask him to the dance."

"I thought we agreed the dance would be lame."

"Oh, I'm changing the forcast. The dance is looking up due to the possible slow dance potential between you and the hottest guy in school. Carpe Diem."

I knew that I was just putting myself through Hell, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't just be selfish and say 'Yes Dinah, stay with me during the dance and watch Xena reruns with me.', as was the original game plan for the next night.

"Right. Do me a favor. Switch me lab partners." She said. It was like a dream come true. No Matt? No extra homework? Better grades?

"Seriously?" She didn't answer me, instead she got up and moved towards where I would have gone in the next five minutes after role call. I felt almost bad for pawning Matt off to Dinah so easily, but Dinah's partner was a girl known for getting her labs right. She was known more as 'The Charmed One' rather than her actual name, Gina Halliwell, and she tended to like sitting closer to the blackboard. When I walked up to her she was taking notes from the said blackboard. We were going to dissect frogs that day, the one lab that most guys had waited all semester for, and some girls, myself included, dreaded. I sat next to her and said, "Dinah and I switched lab partners, if you don't mind. Only for this lab, mind you, but yeah." Gina looked up at me and nodded.

"Sure, I don't mind. May I ask why, though?" I only gestured in their general direction. "Oh, she likes him too?"

"Yup." I replied, trying not to watch Dinah's failed attempt to flirt with Matt.

"You don't?"

"Don't what?" I asked, not sure what she meant at first, but then my face changed. "Oh! Spare me," I said, but stopped, remembering that I wasn't going to be mean, and certainly not out loud. So I sat and said nothing e;se as the bell rang and our teacher handed out a worksheet on the frog's anatomy, and we began to work.

"So, did you score a date to the dance?" I asked after school that same day. The class after lab science for me was video production, and it was in a smaller classroom across the school, so I had to leave right as that bell rang so I wouldn't be late. I couldn't ask Dinah after class, but we met up at the flagpole when school ended, and I waited with Dinah for Ms. Gordon.

Dinah shook her head.

"No, but we had a conversation of sorts. Called me Donna, though." She sounded a little deflated from that.

"He did?" Despite what me, myself, and I had agreed earlier, I couldn't help but think 'He's more of an idiot than I thought! How can anyone look at a girl like Dinah and forget her name?' "Don't worry about it," I said instead, "He'll get to know you better, and your name will be all he'll be able to say." At least... that was how it was with me... Dinah smiled at th idea.

"Thanks." I smiled back at her and tried not to show any other thing but encouragement. I nodded past her, then stepped away from Dinah when I saw Ms. gordon come up to us.

"Hello Gabby," she greeted pleasently.

"Hey." I smiled at her quickly. I could feel that Ms. Gordon wanted to ask me something, perhaps if I have forgotten what we had talked about a couple weeks ago.

"Are you ready to go? You said you'd help me clean the basement today." She shot Dinah a knowing look as if to say, 'Remember?'

"Oh! Ugh, okay. I've gotta go. I'll call you." Dinah said all of this quickly.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you both tomorrow." I told her.

"Bye Gabby," Ms. Gordon said.

"Bye," Binah echoed. I waved at them both, then turned towards my house just as our family car pulled up beside me near the crosswalk. My father was inside, and he rolled down the window as I walked up to it.

"Hey Sweety. How come you're still at school? It is almost three thirty.

School let out an hour ago."

"I was waiting with Dinah for her guardian, who's one of the teachers." I explained. "She was waiting to get a ride from her." My father just nodded to that, then patted the passenger seat beside him.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride home." Instantly, the image of my eleven year old self popped into my head, and I took two steps back.

"It's only three blocks, dad. I think I'll walk." My father looked slightly taken aback and slightly hurt by this.

"It'll only take a couple of minutes to get home," he said. It felt odd to me that I was treating him like a stranger with candy instead of the man who inspired my first word.

"That's alright dad, I'll meet you at home."

"Alright Sweety." He hesitated. "I'll see you at home." The window was then rolled up and I watched the car go in the direction of my house. I followed it at a leisurly pace, lost in thought. My father was onto me. I wasn't sure about what he knew or suspected, but he knew something, I was sure of it. He might be biding his time and/or was waiting for me to say something first, but that wasn't going to happen until I knew what was going on first.