Gohan and Jackie landed on the roof, and in a moment, Gohan had taken off his dorky costume. It looked completely ridiculous, though it did largely serve its purpose—no one would fathom that Son Gohan, the actual savior of the world, wouldn't realize how hideous the entire ensemble was.
"No one is going to believe my name is Jada," Jackie grumbled. "I am, and I shall forever be, a Jackie! A sassy, blonde haired Jackie!"
Gohan frowned apologetically. "We need to fit in, though. So please…Try not to let on about our family."
You mean your family, Jackie seethed. If it was within her power, she would have tied Gohan up and done a special on him. She would expose him—well, she already had. Only no one knew anymore. It was a chilling feeling, being able to remember two timelines at once.
"Fine," Jackie gave in, trying not to think about her former past, and to focus on this life. "I doubt we're in the same classes, at any rate."
Gohan shrugged a bit. "Depends on how you did on your entrance exams—they might have bumped you up."
She sighed, opening the door and heading down the stairs. No one was there—they were late, she realized with a grin. It was exactly how her image would start to form—a rebel, someone not to be messed with.
"Ah, no, we're late!" Gohan whined. "Sorry, Jackie—I mean, Jada…"
She then recalled the massive nerd behind her, and the new image of herself shattered. Without the fame of her show, she didn't know who she was anymore. Would she really be able to find herself at Orange Star High? If anything, this place would be worse than HFIL.
"Hey, Gohan!" an irritating voice shouted out. A girl with black pigtails ran into the pair, her blue eyes staring intensely at Gohan.
It was Videl Satan, Jackie realized with equal feelings of happiness and sadness. In another lifetime, another timeline, she had interviewed her on her show—the two of them had butted heads.
"Hi, Videl!" Gohan said, sheepishly touching the back of his head. "Sorry, I was helping Jada get to class. It's her first day."
Videl's eyes widened, as she looked Jackie over. She examined the scarlet turtleneck and the dyed black hair, hanging to her shoulder in a slightly messy fashion. It looked intentional, but it was more a result of the wind. And then, Videl took in her eyes—blue, damaged in a chemical experiment of Bulma's she had volunteered for.
"I didn't know you had a sister!" Videl exclaimed in an accusatory tone.
Gohan laughed awkwardly, and Jackie swore under her breath. For someone who was supposed to be a genius, he could be awfully slow. Maybe that's why ChiChi made him study for ages—he really needed the extra time, she thought to herself with a snicker.
"Yeah, Jada is just a little bit younger than I am," Gohan explained. "She went to boarding school, but now she's going to be going here! Pretty neat, huh, right?"
Videl pursed her lips, swinging her gaze sharply to size up Jackie once more. She huffed slightly.
"I know you're hiding something, Son Gohan!" she warned, spinning on her heel and stalking to class.
Gohan let out a sigh of relief, only to be hit on the shoulder by Jackie. Jackie whimpered slightly, shaking her hand—she had forgotten how strong Gohan was.
"What was that for?" Gohan asked, not hurt in the slightest by his adoptive sister's punch.
"You idiot!" Jackie admonished. "You only add details to things when you're lying—surely you know that! You only volunteer that information when someone asks you! Honestly…"
She trailed off awkwardly, realizing she had been speaking a bit too loud. Glaring at Gohan, she followed after Videl, only she was heading towards the principal's office.
Already, she hated Orange Star High.
Jackie rapped on the door lightly, peering in through the glass. Her schedule was in her hand, though it was largely useless—the entire class would remain in one room, with teachers coming to switch in. She mourned the loss of individuality found in western schools.
A teacher with a goatee motioned for her to come inside. She took a deep breath, opening the door and entering the classroom. Even with all of her practice working in television, she still got nervous.
"You are the new student, yes?" the teacher barked at her, his eyebrows looking like furry, little, and confused caterpillars.
She nodded simply, surveying in the room for potential enemies. Everyone looked fairly normal, with various hairstyles but the same bored expression on their faced. Upon spotting Gohan towards the back of the room next to a vacant blonde, she winced.
Ugh, I'd hoped to avoid him….
"Class, this is Son Jada," the teacher announced, turning away from her. His suit made him seem more like a college professor, and the lecture hall style of the classroom only served to further that impression.
A few heads pivoted, looking at Gohan. The goof raised his hand, waving at Jackie happily. She grimaced, not even bothering to try to look happy about this. It wasn't part of the deal—she never signed a contract saying that she would enjoy being forced into the Son family.
"She is the younger sister of Son Gohan, as I'm sure you've realized," the teacher chortled, amused with his own sense of humor. "Anyways, she is just as gifted as her brother—she has been placed into this class due to her excellent proficiency in English!"
A few blank stares bored into her.
"Which means," the teacher began again, clearing his throat, "you should all use her as a study aid! Would you care to tell them something about yourself, Jada?"
Jackie hesitated, glancing up at Gohan. He probably wanted her to refuse, and she smirked a bit—this would be fun.
"Yes," she answered, trying to smile sweetly. "I went to an academy in England until my brother, Son Gohan, decided that I should come to school with him. He was too scared of high school to go alone—a total cry baby, if you ask me."
The teacher gawked at her, blinking a bit. There were a few snickers among the room, and an irritating boy in the back began jeering at Gohan.
"Hey brains!" someone shouted out. "Your sister is hot and cool! How come you aren't more like her?"
"Do you really need your sister here with you, Gohan? Eww. That's so lame."
"Settle down, settle down," the teacher sighed. "Jada, please go take a seat. I think there is a free one by your brother."
Jackie smirked, winking slightly at a few of the boys in the front row. They grinned back at her, and she felt a little gross on the inside. Boys weren't really her style. But regardless, the attention was in her favor. She practically strutted her way to the back of the classroom, sitting down lazily next to Gohan.
"What was that for?" he whispered to her, as soon as the teacher had resumed teaching.
"I'm trying to learn," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Gosh, Gohan, I thought you knew the value of education."
"I do!" he protested, his eyes widening comically.
Jackie snickered, hardly even listening to the teacher prattling on. He was talking about subatomic particles and how to calculate mass from them—otherwise known as facts she already knew. She sighed, pulling out her notebook to doodle in.
"Hey!" Gohan protested, seeing Jackie tracing a face looming in the darkness.
"What?" she sighed, continuing to color in the empty eyes. "I'm not actually going to pay attention—this class doesn't matter."
Someone a few seats away chuckled. Jackie turned her head slightly to see Videl grinning back at her.
"Say, Jada, you know everything about Gohan, right?" Videl pressed.
Jackie shrugged, sensing the nervousness radiating off of Gohan. As much as she would have loved to throw him under the bus, she didn't have the heart to do it. She wasn't evil, really—or at least, that's what she told herself.
"I don't know," Jackie grinned. "Do I?"
Gohan noticeably calmed down, as Videl gazed away in frustration. Jackie also relaxed, and then she frowned a bit.
I don't care for the big dolt, right?
The rest of the classes had placed with nothing too notable. The English teacher had gushed over Jackie, asking her to recite a paragraph of prose. And of course, the accent had made her even more excited.
"It's not every day we get someone who is basically a native English speaker!" the teacher had exclaimed. "Honestly, you don't even need this class!"
Her popularity, noticeably, had dwindled a bit at this point. As hard as she tried to be aloof and cool, it became harder and harder, the more she was forced to stick with Gohan and show off her knowledge. It was a mercy when they were told to report to the locker rooms and prepare for gym.
Only, once she was in the locker rooms, Jackie remembered exactly why she hated gym.
Jackie shuddered, remembering the horrors of gym classes in the past. There would be running and swimming and boxing and dancing—everything that she hated. As much as she made fun of Gohan and his friends, she couldn't even imagine going through all of the brutal training they did.
Her form of exercise was bouncing on a trampoline while playing a video game—much harder than it seemed, she proudly told anyone who would listen.
"Jada, you can stick with us!" Erasa squealed, pulling Jada over to their lockers. Videl and Erasa had already changed into something more suitable for working out in.
Jackie wordlessly pulled off her shirt and pants, changing into her own exercise clothes—hand-me-downs from ChiChi. The purple pants and like purple shirt felt a little awkward, as they had previously been drenched in someone's sweat before. Jackie fought the urge to gag, instead tying her sneakers back on.
"What was England like, Jada?" Erasa asked cheerily, dragging both Jackie and Videl out into the gym once they were done.
"It's very beautiful," Jackie answered, smiling wistfully. A deep melancholy washed over her, and she averted her gaze slightly.
"Do you miss it?" Erasa asked, squeezing Jackie's shoulders slightly.
Someone makes friends quickly, Jackie thought sarcastically, frowning a bit.
"Of course," she replied at last. "It was my home—this place isn't."
Before Erasa could squeal something in reply, however, Jackie spotted Gohan across the gym. She muttered an excuse and practically raced over him, for once happy to see her brother—her adoptive brother, she corrected herself.
"Those look good on you!" Gohan said with a grin. "When we get home, we can start your training."
Jackie's jaw might have hit the floor. She shuddered a bit, recalling the times when she watched Gohan train—it looked hard.
"My…. training?" she asked, completely flabbergasted.
"Well, yeah!" Gohan stammered. "You're part of the Son family—everyone does it."
Jackie groaned a bit, staring at Gohan as if just her expression would explain it. But then she began to imagine herself being like the rest of them—able to fly, and blast things from her hands.
But that takes so much effort…
"We'll talk about this later," Jackie said, as the gym teacher had finally arrived.
The teacher wiped his mouth a bit, removing the remnants of soy sauce from his early lunch. He looked at them each in turn, before grinning wickedly—the type of grin that gym teachers only ever get on one occasion.
Oh no. Please tell me I'm not right…Please tell me this isn't dodge ball.
"In honor of our friend freshly arrived from the west," the teacher prefaced, "we're going to be playing a classic western gym game."
He smirked, seeming to stare straight at Jackie. "It's called dodge ball. The rules are simple. You throw balls and you dodge—if you're hit, you're out. If you catch the ball, then the thrower is out."
The gym teacher chuckled, walking over to the wall. About twenty balls were on a rack, and he tipped the rack over, spilling them all over the floor. They went in various directions and spread out evenly.
"Videl and Sharpner will be our captains," the gym teacher announced. "You have three minutes to split up into teams, and then the game will start. Go!"
Everyone sprinted into action, with most people already knowing what team they would be on. The captains never changed, and for the most part, neither did the line up. Gohan and Jackie were the only oddballs—and it looked like they would be facing off against each other.
"I'll take Jada," Sharpner grinned. "You can have brains—I bet his sister is stronger than him too, don't you think?"
Videl frowned sharply. "Whatever, Sharpner. You'll lose all the same."
Sharpner waggled his eyebrows as Jackie walked cautiously over to his side of the gym. Gohan grinned a bit, picking up a dodge ball. It was then that Jackie realized the fault of her earlier comments.
He could very easily kill her with a dodge ball.
"Great!" the gym teacher announced, picking up his whistle. "Let's go!"
The shrill shriek of the whistle was almost drowned out by the battle cries of the students. Dodge balls flew everywhere and Jackie took cover behind Sharpner, letting him be her shield.
"Come on, Jada!" Gohan teased, still holding his dodge ball. "Hiding is no fun!"
"It's perfectly reasonable!" Jackie protested, panicking a bit when Sharpner was hit with a dodge ball. Gohan's grin only spread, as the numbers on the team had already died down.
Videl was a maniac, hitting kid after kid with a dodge ball. Some people hadn't even waited for her to get them—they'd simply stepped off the field and over to the sideline, accepting the inevitable.
In the course of minutes, Jackie had become the only one left on her side of the field. She gulped slightly, seeing a dodge ball roll by her feat.
"You know, I've always admired you, Videl," Jackie began, picking up the ball slowly. "I could be a valuable asset to your team, if you'd let me join."
Erasa giggled. "Oooh, she's trying to negotiate!"
Videl, however, didn't seem to be as amused. There was a slight smirk on her face, as she waited for a dodge ball to roll over to her side of the gym. Jackie quickly spot it, sprinting over, and pushed it in the opposite direction.
"Come on," Videl sighed. "This is no fun! Don't be a coward—fight us!"
"But I don't want to!" Jackie protested, looking over at Gohan. He winked at her, still holding a single dodge ball.
"Hey Jada…" Gohan grinned. "What were you saying earlier?"
"Nothing!" Jackie screamed, as a dodge ball was thrown towards her. She threw herself to the ground, wincing a bit at the pain. The dodge ball barely missed her, impaling itself into the wall.
She sat up a bit, glancing behind her at the hole in the wall.
"Gohan!" she screamed. "You could have killed me!"
Glaring at him, she wished she could have done the same thing back to him. However, everyone else staring at him with an expression of pure surprise was worth it. There were a few moments spent in silence, before Gohan smiled sheepishly.
"Guess those protein shakes are really working, huh?" he lied clumsily.