Author's Note (1): This piece was written for the 2017 Zenmasters Anthology annual project on tumblr.
Author's Note (2): This story is considering the scene from "Class Picture" (4.20) in the gym where Jackie meets Donna to be also when Jackie meets Kelso and Hyde for the first time. The rest of the flashbacks from the episode do not have to be considered canon.
Author's Note (3): As more of a side note, you will notice this story has been written in the third person point of view which is different from how I usually write in the first person point of view. Third person POV was a requirement for the Zenmasters Anthology project, but I still stand by my opinion regarding the misguided views of first person POV in the fanfiction community.
Erythema had blossomed angrily over the small patch of Jackie's skin located just above her radial pulse on her left wrist. Constant and impatient rubbing could do that to you, a ten-year old Jackie supposed. But who exactly could blame her? Today Jackie was going to meet her soulmate.
Jackie brushed her thumb over her radial pulse again, causing the blood to rush to the surface. The crimson red stood out boldly against the patchy red of Jackie's skin, and the blood quickly arranged into her soulmate clock. 00:00:00:00:01:48, the blood spelled across Jackie's skin. And then, just as soon as it appeared, it was gone again.
"Is it almost time?" Jackie's friend Leslie peered around her shoulder.
"Less than two minutes," Jackie said, her voice filled with eager anticipation.
Leslie Cannon had quickly become one of Jackie's only friends since she had moved to Point Place. Her dad had gotten some fancy political job that Jackie had no hope of understanding at her young age. All she had known was that she was going to have to move across the state and leave her best friends Ally and Kate behind. But Point Place had given her Leslie Cannon, a fellow aspiring cheerleader and unicorn enthusiast, just like Jackie.
Point Place had also given Jackie her first major crush. Tim Pope wasn't in Jackie's fifth grade class with Mrs. Andrews. He had Mr. Jacobs, but every day during recess she had watched him from afar, impatiently waiting for the day they would not only meet, but truly become soulmates.
And with Jackie's soulmate clock dropping to its last seconds, she was praying for Tim to really be her soulmate.
"Where's Tim?" Jackie spun in a circle as the crowd of fifth graders swarmed around her. Recess was over and everyone was headed back into the school building.
"Mr. Jacob's class is right behind ours, I think," Leslie said.
Jackie again swiped her thumb over her pulse. 00:00:00:00:00:29.
There had to be a way to get to Tim. Jackie didn't want to test fate; she and Tim had to be soulmates. Without giving it a second thought, Jackie dove to the right, passing through the entryway to the school's gymnasium. Now if she could just wait here until Tim passed, she would be looking at him when her clock hit all zeros.
Jackie pulled herself behind the giant wooden doors of the gym so that no one would catch her. But then to her immediate surprise she felt something pummel into her back.
"What are you doing in here?" Jackie turned away from the door to see an older girl with fiery red hair marching up to her.
"None of your business," Jackie said snottily, focusing her attention back on the door.
The older girl leaned down to pick up a dodgeball, which Jackie assumed was what had hit her. "The gym is reserved for sixth grade recess only," she told Jackie.
"Recess is over," Jackie shot back.
The red head's eyebrows jumped up her forehead. "Hyde, Kelso. Come check this out. A fifth grader in sixth grade recess."
Jackie turned her attention away from her again, glancing into the hallway. Instinctively she checked her wrist again. 00:00:00:00:00:03.
"Listen up, little girl," the other girl said. "I'm Donna." She pointed at herself. "This is Hyde." She pointed to a boy with frizzy hair. "And this is Kelso." This boy wore a goofy smile and a shiny set of headgear.
Jackie was momentarily stunned. No, this couldn't be happening. Where was Tim? Anxiously, Jackie rubbed again at her pulse. The blood swelled up, revealing straight zeros on her soulmate clock.
Her head shot back up, the reflective metal of the boy's headgear causing Jackie's stomach to roil. This boy was her soulmate?
The girl was still speaking. "…so next year you can be in here, but for now, scram!"
Swallowing her disappointment, Jackie fought back her anger at this mess the only way she knew how. With her name. "Well, my name is Jackie Burkhart and I will go wherever I want."
Her soulmate laughed, shooting a smile in Jackie's direction that took her by surprise. What had Donna called him? Kelso?
Kelso was still smiling at her. Jackie supposed she should at least give him a shot at this whole soulmate thing. But she had other things to take care of first.
Jackie still had a very tall and annoying red-head towering over her. "Hey, Donna." She decided to take care of her once and for all. "We haven't met before. I guess because I'm richer than you."
Then, with one more parting glance in Kelso's direction, Jackie spun on her heel and marched back towards the door.
"Hey, Jackie." Donna called her by her name this time. Then the dodgeball once again flew into Jackie's back.
"Oww," Jackie yelped. "That hurt, you lumberjack!" She smoothed out her favorite red skirt.
"Welcome to public school!" the boy with the frizzy hair said with enough sarcasm to last her a lifetime.
Jackie smirked in his direction. She couldn't remember his name.