Great. Another Note From the Author: 'Allo, readers! As you can see, I decided not to leave this one as a one-shot. I just couldn't help but think the awkward story of the unwilling high-school hero and the princess from the stars deserved to have completion, even if neither romance nor comedy is my strong suit. This chapter is a bit short (only about a thousand words), but I think it provides a little more insight into the mind of a baseball-playing, yo-yo-slinging adolescent alien-monster-slayer. It's a little reminiscent of the gang from "Grease" all gathered around a young John Travolta, singing "tell me more, tell me more, did ya get very far?" Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Chapter Two: Mike's Batting Record

"'Allo, Mike!" A robust voice called from across the village square, and Mike looked around to find the robust young owner of that robust voice trotting across the square toward him. It was Baboo, the Island native a few years older than Mike who worked as Dr. J's assistant. Mike normally would have avoided the over-enthusiastic youth, or prepared some excuse to get rid of him. This morning, however, he was eager for a distraction. As long as the conversation has nothing to do with-

"How did it go with the newcomer princess?" Baboo asked with a locker-room grin as he came within normal speaking distance.

-That. "Whattaya mean, 'how did it go?'" Mike knew it was a cheap denial as soon as he uttered it, but it was, at the moment, the only denial he could afford.

Baboo's grin grew wider. "I mean did you," he paused to rifle through his mental catalog of American slang. "Did you 'go all the way' with her?"

Mike fixed Baboo with his most convincing confused stare. It was, apparently, not convincing enough.

"Come on, Mike. I saw you two slip away from the party last night. It didn't take a rock scientist to know what you had in mind."

"I think you mean 'rocket scientist,' Baboo," Mike commented. "The only 'rock scientist' around here is my uncle. And as for me and Mica last night, well… " Mike stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away, trying to act casual. "Well, I decided not to pressure her. Y'know, first night on a new planet, waking up from time sleep-"

"You struck out."

"Yeah." Baboo gave no response. Mike surmised that the islander was commiserating with him. He was confused, as a result, when he looked again at Baboo and found him grinning more broadly still. "What's so funny about that?"

"The Americolan baseball hero struck out?" Baboo asked in mock incredulity.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Oooooh, baseball jokes. Now that's new and original. I've never heard that one. I've never heard jokes like, say, 'looks like the ace pitcher's having a hard time finding the catcher's mitt.' Come to think of it, I've never heard all the puns about keeping a better grip on the bat either. And I've sure never heard any jokes about the baseball star who's never been past second base! No, I've never heard any of those before at all, Baboo! You're clever."

Somewhere during Mike's drippingly sarcastic tirade, Baboo's expression switched to one of mild confusion. Well-versed in English though he may have been, he lacked a working knowledge of American cultural innuendo. "Second base?" Baboo murmured, puzzling it over in his mind.

In a moment of blistering realization, Mike knew he had let too much information slip. "Forget about it, Baboo. It's just-"

Baboo's eyes widened with realization. "You've never been with a woman before?"

Mike sighed. "Baboo, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Of course I've," he held up quote signs with his fingers, "'been with a woman' before. I've been with plenty of women before" Baboo nodded, seemingly relieved, and Mike quickly muttered, "I've just never had sex with any of them. That's all."

Again Baboo was mercifully silent, and Mike thanked the stars above for small favors. Then Baboo's silence erupted into a side-splitting laugh.

Mike glowered. "Quit laughing, ya big coconut-munching bum."

Baboo could not seem to help himself. Just when it seemed he was going to stop he looked at Mike's face, noticed his humiliated expression, and burst out laughing again. "Wait, wait, wait a minute," Baboo finally stopped laughing long enough to speak a few words in between snickers. "Let me make sure I understand you. Are you saying that he-who-saved-two-planets is still a... a..." With the word 'virgin' beginning to form on his lips, Baboo doubled over in his most debillitating fit of laughter yet.

After that conversation, two things did not happen for several days. For one, Mike and Baboo did not speak. For another, Baboo did not remove an icepack from over his right eye, except to see if the impression left by Mike's left fist was still there.

Nor did it take long for news to travel on an island as small as C-Island. By mid afternoon on the day after the Argonians' arrival, the entire village of Coralcola knew of Mike and Baboo's fight (if a single knockout punch could truly be considered a fight), though the reasons for the fight remained between Mike and Baboo. to the islanders it was a small matter. It was the kind of thing a person hears about, shrugs, and goes on about one's day saying, "they had an argument, and they fought. Boys will be boys." But there was one person on the island with a different perspective. To her, the news of the fight was proof positive that one of the boys involved was a barbarian brute who was willing to knock a friend senseless over mere words.

And the fact that she had done the same thing to Mike the very night before never once entered Princess Mica's mind.