Rudy was at a loss of what to think. He felt a pressure in his chest. A weird feeling rising inside of him. It was uncomfortable and he tried to fight it. The sudden appearance of this woman, being thrust in this predicament so soon after such a great party, it didn't mix well in his mind. The shift was so jarring he could feel his head hurting and he was feeling a little queezy.

He worried that Ms. Saffron worked for Terry. It was very possible. Terry may have been considered a nutcase by many, and most were wise not to listen to her. Even her old partner, whom helped her kidnap Snap, had turned his back on her. But Terry was unpredictable; she could have added another player to her game.

But maybe he was just misjudging Ms. Saffron. After all, he didn't know why she was here. For all he knew, it may just be for something considerably small, such as his opinion on the current state of the roads or something. Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration; he doubted a reporter would ask a 15 year old boy something like that. Still, it could just be something small, nothing to worry about.

Rudy found his way to the kitchen table. His mind was so focused on this woman, he didn't realize Penny had moved in behind him. With no place to sit, she just hung back behind Rudy. Neither of Rudy's parents asked her to leave and the reporter didn't seem upset with her presence.

Rudy bit his tongue to keep himself from looking too much on edge. Admittingly, the Terry incident had left him with a sour taste for reporters, and Penny and Snap didn't blame him. Terry had nearly revealed the existance of ChalkZone. And before that, she had folded Snap up like he was some sort of blanket and shoved into her purse. That kind of treatment of Snap, who he looked at as a sort of little brother he never had, rubbed Rudy the wrong way.

There was silence for a while. No one said anything. The reporter looked as if she were struggling to find the words to say. This sent an alarm to both Rudy and Penny. What was she so hesitant about? Could she really believe in the chalk world like Terry? Could she have come here to interrogate them, get them to reveal its location? And in front of Rudy's parents, it would be hard to come up with lies that wouldn't contradict with what they say. What if they screw up and say something completely different than they told Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie?

Rudy and Penny had been keeping ChalkZone a secret for years, Rudy two years longer. The lies they had to tell their parents, as well as everyone else, was staggering. They just piled up and up. It would be so easy and slip up and say something contrary to what they said before. And while it was possible that the people they told won't remember exactly what they said, there was still the possibility that at least someone would, and that could potentially be enough to cause a stir. Especially if said person were very vocal about it.

The silence was finally broken with the sound of the reporter clearing her throat. She got out a notepad and a pen and set it in front of her. She interlocked her fingers and leaned forward slightly, her eyes staring into Rudy's.

"Rudy...how is your school life?"

That question shattered all the tension out from Rudy and Penny's bodies. School? Is that what this is about? They started to feel a little foolish, and even wanted to laugh a little. They had been worried for the past few minutes, thinking of worst case scenarios and questioning some of their plans in the past.

And yet it turns out this reporter was going to ask questions regarding school. Nothing about ChalkZone. They couldn't feel more relieved. Rudy immediately looked more relaxed and even smiled a little. Answering questions about his time in school isn't what he had in mind, but it was better than what he thought he'd be doing.

"Yeah, school is fine." Rudy put his finger in the palm of his hands, tapping as he began to name some things off. "I get up in the morning. I get dressed. I go to school. Slave away for half the day. I come home, hang out with Penny, do my work, sleep. And I begin the cycle all over again."

Ms. Saffron nodded her head once. "Yes, that is standard for students. I expected you to go. But that isn't what I was getting at, Rudy." She took one look at Rudy's confused expression and raised her head up a little. "I will rephrase my question. How are you performing in school?"

Rudy blinked. Whatever comfort he obtained earlier was gone. "I...I am doing fine..."

Ms. Saffron raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Rudy said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "What is it any of your business?"

"That's strange, because I spoke with your teacher, Mr. Wilter." Rudy's eyes widened at this. Ms. Saffron continued before she would be interrupted by questions. "And he told me that you are one of the worst performing students he's had. He ranted on and on regarding you paying more attention to art than to the rest of your subjects. Judging from that..." Ms. Saffron's eyes narrowed. "...I don't think your school life is just fine, Rudy."

"Excuse me." Penny interrupted, holding out a hand to draw the woman's attention to her. "But what exactly are you doing a report on if it requires talking to Rudy about his school performance?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know too." Mr. Tabootie said.

Mrs. Tabootie couldn't agree more. "Enlighten us." Her tone had an underlining hint of anger, as if she was not happy about where this was going. "We would be most interested."

Ms. Saffron sucked in a deep breath. Her expression hardened a little, showing she was not joking about what she was about to say next. Her fingers fumbled for the pen as she formulated her thoughts in her mind.

"I am doing a report on student performance in school. I've interviewed several students based on their academic performance, from best...to worst." She almost glared in Rudy's direction as she said this. "The report is crucial into figuring out how to improve our education system. The only type of person left I need to report is the school deliquent. Someone who performs exceptionally terrible."

She saw the looks in the others' eyes. Rudy's parents looked visibly angered. And they hardly ever get truly angry. One must really try to tick them off. Penny looked shocked, but also clearly upset. And Rudy...Rudy was just staring at her with widened eyes.

Ms. Saffron continued, "I have taken an interest in you, Rudy Tabootie. Granted, you aren't the worst student at your school. No, there's a few others with worse grades. But you...you are by far the most interesting delinquent I could find. Because unlike the others, you aren't failing because you're stupid. You're failing because you are obviously making stupid choices. You are keeping yourself a failure. And that is why I have taken great interest in talking to you, Rudy Tabootie."

Rudy stared blankly at Ms. Saffron, watching her almost mocking smile spread on her face, as he felt the full impact of what was said hit him. It was amazing how much a negative comment about him could practically erase all previously happy memories. He forgot about Snap's party. He forgot about Penny's encouraging words. All he could think of now was what Ms. Saffron said.

He normally didn't let it bother him. Some other students teased him about his grades. He usually let it roll off his back. It helped that adventures with Penny and Snap helped him forget all that.

The reporter's words caused all those hurtful words to come back tenfold. It hurt him. It stung him deeply. He didn't want to be thought of and remembered as the purposeful failure, the person who deliberately failed. He didn't want to be remembered as the guy who could have made a difference in his life, but did not. He tried to push out the taunting words. They would not leave him.

Ms. Saffron's words didn't just impacted Rudy. If Rudy's parents were hiding their anger before, they let it be known crystal clear.

Mr. Tabootie slammed his hand against the table, shaking it slightly. Once he had Ms. Saffron's attention, he said, "Now just a gosh darn minute! Are you saying you came all this way just to humiliate our boy?!"

"Well I..."

"I just don't believe it. The nerve of people like you!" Mrs. Tabootie waggled her finger back and forth as if she were scolding a child. "Coming here and tormenting my Rudy just so you can make a quick buck at your news station! The things you reporters come up with for a so-called good story!"

Penny decided to chime in. "Rudy is not stupid!" She put a comforting hand on his shoulder, staring firmly at the woman who caused his current state of mind. "You don't know anything about him!"

Ms. Saffron just shrugged her shoulders. "I never said I did. That is why I wanted to ask him questions." She paused, and then said, "I also did not say he was stupid. But he still qualifies as a delinquint in my eyes and..."

Mrs. Tabootie gripped Ms. Saffron by her business suit and yanked her from the seat. "What you think does not matter here, missy! I will not let you sit around her toiling with my son's mind with your lies! I want you to get out of my house. Now!"

As she was being pushed towards the door, Ms. Saffron still offered up some resistance. She planted her feet firmly on the ground. She gripped the sides of the kitchen entrance. She pushed back on Mrs. Tabootie until she released her.

"You don't understand! This research is very important! It can help students everywhere!" The reporter glanced momentarily at Rudy. "Including your son!"

Mr. Tabootie stood next to his wife. "My son doesn't need your kind of help!" In agreement, his wife and Penny nodded. "Now do us all a favor and get out of here..."

Ms. Saffron opened her mouth to speak, but soon shut it. Everyone in the room, except Rudy, were still glaring at her. If they could shoot beams, she'd surely be burnt to a crisp by now. She let out a soft sigh, realizing she had overstepped her boundaries. She turned around to leave, but then she paused and looked over her shoulder, directly at Rudy.

With what could be best described as an apologetic look, she said in a barely audible voice, "...be careful, kid."

As soon as they heard the door close, and knew the reporter was gone, Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie turned to each other.

"Can you believe the nerve of that woman?" Mrs. Tabootie grumbled.

"Some people are so insensitive!" Mr. Tabootie agreed. He turned and looked at Rudy. "Are you going to be okay, son?"

Rudy, who had been in something of a trance, snapped out of it and nodded his head wearily. "Yeah...I'll be okay, dad."

His voice didn't sound sincere, and his dad caught it. "Well, if you ever need to talk someone, we'll be here. You can tell your mother and I anything."

"That's right, dear." Mrs. Tabootie went over and gave Rudy a hug. "Don't listen to anything that...reporter said about you, okay?"

"Oh...okay..." Rudy mumbled, his eyes downcast.

Penny leaned in towards Rudy. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Rudy looked at her. She was surprised by the near absence of emotion that were in his eyes. "I told you, I'm fine. I just..need to rest."

When Rudy reached his room, he collapsed on his bed. He couldn't believe what he had been told by the reporter. No one had ever called him a delinquent before, not even Mr. Wilter. And he realized, with a lump in his throat, that it was because he didn't fit a delinquent profile, not in his eyes. He hadn't thought of it then, but now he realized there was another reason why his parents got so angry at Ms. Saffron.

A delinquent was a juvenile who commited acts of crime and was uncontrollable by authority. Now the woman's words sounded all that much more harsher. She wasn't just calling him a failure. She was calling him a criminal.

For someone whose job was to protect an entire world, unseen and unknown by most people in the real world, being called a criminal didn't exactly bring warm feelings. And what was worse, perhaps he really was a delinquent.

How many times had he broken in somewhere? What of the times he trespassed? Or the time he had tampered with the mail due to his own mistake? Granted, he had no malicious intentions. But that wouldn't matter to a cop. Heck, he had gotten himself and Penny nearly arrested when he trespassed on an old school to get some love letter for his dad. The officer seemed willing to allow Vinnie to press charges against him; he only stopped when Vinnie seemed to have lost his mind.

He looked over at the chalkboard. He thought about going back into ChalkZone. Snap's party, which he knew was still going on, might be able to cheer him up again.

He soon put his head down. No, he didn't want to go ChalkZone, not now. A good night's sleep would help him feel better. Yes, tomorrow would be a better day...

...except for Mr. Cosmo. He had forgotten all about that man. He was going to be at the school tomorrow. And he was another reporter, just like Ms. Saffron. A sickening feeling rose in his gut. Was he going to interrogate him, too? Did he think of him as a delinquent, like Ms. Saffron called him?

In a split second, Rudy snapped his eyes wide. He had forgotten to tell Penny and Snap about this man. Snap, he could tell later, but he needed to tell Penny now. In an instant, he let go of what transpired in the kitchen, his mind now filled with dread as he realized he may have to deal with a second reporter. He was about to get up and go get her when he heard a knock on his door. Opening it, he was relieved to see it was Penny.

"Rudy, I..."

Rudy cut her off. "Penny, I'm glad you came up here!"

Penny looked surprised. In what looked like a matter of seconds, Rudy went from being depressed to suddenly being more alert. It was almost like he had forgotten about what that nasty woman called him.

"What is it Rudy?" She asked.

"On the way home from school today," Rudy explained. "I overheard Mr. Wilter talking to some guy. It turned out to be Mr. Cosmo!"

"Mr. Cosmo? Isn't he a renouned reporter?" Penny asked.

Rudy nodded. "Yes, and he's coming at our school tomorrow!"

"Oh my..."

Rudy had the same thoughts. Just his luck. This is just what they needed. Another reporter to worry about. They didn't know what to expect. One reporter was bad enough, but two? They would have to be on full alert tomorrow. Until they knew his intentions, they would not put their guard down around him.