"I would like a representative from Mr. Matura's and Ms. Omiya's class to step forward." Principal Zeal calls out the homeroom by the teachers' names.
Bubbles and Midori eagerly urge for Buttercup to go out there for them. Blossom remains zombified and blankly stared at the wall.
The raven hair girl advances forward when she notes that a platinum blonde girl, Bell, steps forward along with her.
"As you all know the team of Boomer, Brick, Fuji, and Butch obtain first place and earns Mr. Matura's class ten points plus the four points that they gain from their individual races."
"We can't forget that Ms. Omiya's class won one of their five races! They receive five points, which gives them at a total of six points and second place." Principal Zeal broadcasts the results in a rather calm tone.
Mr. Matura's class "hurrahs" for their classmates as the group celebrate as if they just won the gold medal for their country in the Olympics.
"Now for the first place winners of the girls' relay race, with just one-tenth of a second is…."
The students play along as some of them create a drum roll while others lean forward in anticipation, "Ms. Omiya class...takes the victory!"
Ms. Omiya's class explodes in a frenzy at the news before they swamp Bell with a placid expression on her face.
Buttercup is stun at first but her sportsmanship kicks in as she travels over to where the students from Bell's classroom surrounds her.
"That was a good race. I couldn't have asked for more." She tells her opponent as she extends her hand outward.
"Thanks Butter, that's awful nice of you! I look forward to this more often." Bell expresses in a phony tone but at least it was the truth in Buttercup's opinion.
"Since you lit the flames first, let's see whose going to last the longest throughout the week." Buttercup accepts that as a form of challenge from Bell.
"That sure was a close race for us. Good job everyone!" Bubbles exclaims once they convene with each other.
"I agree. The tension was so thick a knife couldn't cut through it even if it tried really hard!" Midori humors with a smile apparent on her face.
"One tenth of a second is like the length of a fingernail tip! But we're only down by just one point on the girls' side." The blonde proclaims after she mentally tallies up the scores.
"Congrats ladies." Butch's voice interjects in their group conversation. Bubbles and Midori shy away from the "future" boyfriend and girlfriend.
"Same to you to Butch." The pair thank him before they near Fuji and Boomer.
"One-tenth of a second Butter?! That was awfully close if you ask me." He revels after he overhears that their girls' team place second in the relay event.
"I know right! How I wanted to just cream that white haired bimbo?! But I have the rest of the week to do that so this one goes to her." She conveys with a serious expression on her face.
"Even still we should go celebrate! I'm so tired of the doom and gloom expressions from Blossom and the unusual silent treatment from Brick." Butch alleges while he points to each one of them when he says their respective name.
"I don't see why not. It's better than sulking around here and listening to how I let our class down." Buttercup agrees to the plan.
"I'll take the girls and you take the guys." She includes before she treks away from him.
'I wonder what has gotten into Buttercup lately?' He wonders to himself.
'Oh well...I like it.' Butch concludes to himself while he gathers up his brother and Fuji along with him.
Principal Zeal clears his throat as a gesture that there was another message to deliver.
"Those who didn't participate in today's activities have to: provide aid for the concession stands or record the scores for the other grade levels."
"The accumulated scores for Sports Fest are as follows: first place is Mr. Matura's class with twenty-one points, second place is Ms. Omiya class with twelve points…"
Once Principal Zeal concludes his last message, he immediately dismisses the sophomores to their homeroom class.
He peers over to his left at Serena who observes the students and was also anxious to see who won the races.
"I appreciate that you were able to help out by being our lifeguard today, Ms. Serena." He thanks her after he draws near her.
"It's no problem at all! It's actually quite fun to see everyone's excitement for Sports Fest! It made my day." Serena expresses her genuine opinion based on her observations.
"I'm glad that you liked it. It's what the students look forward to after they finished their finals. It's a stress reliever for them." Alma adds in.
"...looks as if it's about time for me to leave. I mean, I do have another job to complete after this." She conveys in disappointment since she really enjoys the vibe.
"I don't want to hold you up but before you go…" He replies with a small smile on his face.
"You have excellent taste in flowers. The sunflowers were absolutely beautiful!" She compliments him since she predicts what she was about to ask her.
"This is the second time I have to question you. You caught me off guard with the high heels one." Serena remarks with a smirk present on her face.
"When you have sisters around you, you pick up on certain things." He defends. He was astonished at the fact that she knew what he was going to ask her.
"I'm free Wednesday night say around eight o'clock." Serena discloses while she descends the tower's stairs.
"That's fine by me. I will pick you up then." Alma asserts with his hands in his dress pants.
He watches Serena stroll away from him.
4444
"I must say guys and gals…I knew you had it in you all along! We're off to an excellent start in the Sports Fest with a grand total of twenty-three points!" Mr. Matura proclaims to whoever was left in his homeroom class.
"So you owe us something in return Mr. Matura…" Buttercup speaks up to her homeroom teacher after she glances among her classmates.
"I agree with Buttercup on this one, Mr. Matura. I mean every time we win ,you should do us a favor." Bubbles chimes in for additional support.
"As long as it doesn't involve public humiliation for me then I'm sure I can agree to it. So what do you all have in mind?" He agrees with his students.
"We're hungry and we don't want to eat school lunch so instead can we go to the place down the street to get something eat?" Buttercup outlines the deal to her teacher.
Mr. Matura erupts in a bout of chuckles, which causes them to tense up since there looms a sense of rejection.
"Is that it?" He requests once he wipes a tear from the lashes of his eyes and ceases his laughter.
Smiles materialize on his students' face as they deem that as a verbal confirmation that they could go.
"You're so totally getting the best Homeroom Teacher of the Year award!" Bubbles declares while they leap to their feet and scoot their chairs in.
Their homeroom door slides open and reveals a blonde moron, name Flash.
"Excuse me, Mr. Matura. Can I borrow Blossom for a minute?" He inquires to the teacher in charge.
"I don't see why not. It's obvious that you're flunking my class and in some dire need of Ms. Utonuim's aid." Mr. Matura confirms to Flash's demand as Brick clenches his fist and releases it.
"Hey Blossom, try not to take too long with that idiot! We don't need to be caught by Principal Zeal!" Buttercup mutters to her sister with a firm tone.
"Did she not tell you?" Flash inquires as he stares at Blossom while she tries to avoid the question.
'Please don't say anything and just keep moving you imbecile.' She presumes but he opens his mouth again.
"She's coming with me for a while so we can grab lunch, isn't that right Blossom?" He directs to the orange hair girl.
Her back was towards them because she attempts to exit through the door without being caught.
"He's right. I did agree to go to lunch with him. I promise I won't be long, so don't worry about me." Blossom expresses in a vacant tone when she answers Flash's question.
"Let's go, Bloss!" He declares with a wide smile on his face before he closes the door after they exit the room.
"I must say, I never seen this coming! The star quarter back and the smartest girl in the sophomore class going out together." Mr. Matura remarks with his arms across his chest with a expression of confusion on his face.
"They aren't going out together!" Three voice shriek in unison when Buttercup, Bubbles and Brick exchange stares amongst each another but with more focus toward Brick.
He lifted his hands up as if the cops had busted him and defended himself, "Sheesh, I was just making an observation."
"It's preferably not needed in this situation Mr. Matura, wouldn't you agree?" Bubbles conveys with no venom present in her tone.
"You're most definitely right, Ms. Utonium! I apologize for speaking out of place among other family members." He sincerely apologizes to Buttercup and Bubbles.
"It's much appreciated. We accept your apology." The blonde verbalizes. A warm smile on her face as she displays the empathy that she is famously known for.
"Hey, do you want something from the place?" The raven hair teen poses to her teacher before he jots down what he wants.
"Good! You probably don't want to stay here too long or Principal Zeal will figure out that you all planned something." Mr. Matura encourages his students, who expeditiously dash out of the door.
4444
"That was actually easier than I expected it to be." Butch mentions to Buttercup once they manage to escape to the parking lot and locate their respective cars.
"Mr. Matura is really laid back. He understands that as students we will have his back as long as he have ours." Buttercup conveys in a confident tone while she fishes for her keys.
The raven hair teen then pivot his head so he could see behind him and count everyone that travels with them.
"He's not bad at all." He asserts as he digs inside of his jacket pocket and produces his own set of keys.
"Anyway, the place isn't too far away from here. We should be back before the last lunch end or by the time the juniors finish up with their activities." Buttercup informs hi of their time limit.
"That gives us a while before we get back." Butch remarks when they simultaneously undo the lock on their cars.
0000
Serena opts to stop for a snack before she reports in so she catches the bus a couple of blocks away from Fort Jackson.
'I wonder what other information will I find out about Bell? What are the links that binds Tia B. Gardner with the Three Bandits?'
She plucks the string once she arrives at her location, unbounds the bus, and strolls inside of the cafe.
'It doesn't really make any type of sense.' Serena deduces to herself. She orders her a Cheeseburger with no pickles, onions and tomatoes.
'My intuition is telling me that there is something there and that if I wait it will come to me.' She assumes to herself.
Serena waits off on to the side with her order in the form of a receipt in her hand.
'I probably will be granted full unrestricted access to Bell once I complete all of the standards. Even still, there's something that's really bothering me.' She reflects to herself as she views two people, who were in front of her receive their orders.
'Is Bell truly Artificial Intelligence or is she some type of man-made solider?'
'If she was the latter then how was the government able to select and deem a young girl worthy of such a high risk? Who would even permit their child to undertake such a risky operation?' Serena analyzes before she overhears her number and grabs her burger.
'I mean she's able to regenerate her skin cells and even alter the pigment to fit her skin tone. What kind of machine are we or rather General Malone is housing?' She inwardly contemplates before she bites in a piece of her sandwich.
0000
"I will make sure your drinks are out." The male waiter tells them before he heads back to the kitchen.
"I should've known this place would be busy! It's super close to the school and everyone would be here." Buttercup expresses annoyance with her chin in her hand.
"As if you didn't know that yourself." Bubbles counters her rant about the amount of students from Pokey Oaks that convene in one location.
"It doesn't look that bad though. I think everyone just wanted to take their break away from school." Boomer asserts after he examines the crowd of students that belongs to Pokey Oaks High.
"That's right! You three are still new here." Fuji's voice chimes in, which prompts Butch and Boomer to stare at him as if he was just a tag along.
"I didn't say it to upset you. It's just a tradition that whenever Sports Fest comes around ever year, we eat here for lunch." He defends when he lays his menu down on the booth's table.
The brothers snap their heads to Buttercup and Bubbles, who shield their faces behind the menus while they giggle amongst themselves.
"So you knew all along that we could come here and that Mr. Matura would allow us to go?" Butch challenges Buttercup.
"What can I say but it worked on you!" Buttercup teases before she high fives Bubbles with a wide smile on her face.
The door thrusts opens and clashes against the bell that signals that someone either enter or exit.
The students in the restaurant cast their gaze at the door to spot a couple who just walks in.
"No way…"
0000
Author's Note:
07.21.16 Major editing revision