Phineas woke to a new day. He thought about the day before and reflected upon that one first kiss. He was glad that Isabella had agreed to being his girlfriend. He didn't think his relationship with her was ever going to come back, but it did so just like a magic trick. He got dressed and combed his hair, even though it wasn't much. Soon, he was off with Ferb. He sat next to Isabella on the bus, who didn't seem riled. She was looking out the window, very indecisively. "Isabella," Phineas greeted.

She said nothing in response.

"What changed your mind?" he asked.

She had no answer for him.

"Isabella?" Phineas prompted.

"Uh huh?" she responded.

"I wanted to say that I'm sorry if I have been a jerk lately," Phineas apologized.

"What do you mean?" Isabella asked.

"I mean, I am sorry about the whole last day of summer thing," Phineas apologized.

"It doesn't matter anyway, right? It's part of the past," she stated.

Phineas had to disagree. "No," Phineas responded. "It isn't just part of the past. I made you mad. I'm sorry," Phineas apologized again.

"It's all right!" Isabella responded.

"Then why do I still feel bad about it?" Phineas asked.

"I dunno," Isabella responded. "Think about it."

Phineas was silent. He realized why, but was too afraid to mention it. "So, which one of our teachers is your least favorite?" Phineas inquired.

"Mrs. Weaver, hands down," Isabella replied.

"You know she lives in the house next to ours?" Phineas responded.

"Ours?" Isabella asked confusedly.

"Mine and Ferb's," Phineas explained. "Isn't he sitting on the other end of the bus?" Isabella responded.

Phineas sighed. "Yes," he admitted.

"Why don't you talk to him?" Isabella suggested.

"I'll do it at lunch," Phineas responded.

"Are you sure he'll-" Isabella started. The bus stopped abruptly. Fifteen minutes later, the class walked into their homeroom.

"Good morning, class!" Heinz greeted. "Turn in your Bunsen burner thingies, what's the word? Anyway, take a seat, we are going to get a little more in-depth in the elements. Now, tell me, Ba- ba- ba- Baltimore, what are the two substances?" Heinz asked. "It's Balthazar," Balthazar corrected. "Balm czar?" Heinz failed. "Balthazar! Sheesh, we all took he time to nail the name Doofenshmirfz," Balthazar mumbled.

"So, Balthmazar, tell me, what are the two substances?" Heinz prodded.

Balthazar face palmed. "Sulfur and chlorine," he mumbled.

"Are we all in agreement?" Heinz asked the class.

No one responded.

"Okay, I'm going to have to start-" Heinz started.

"We're in agreement," Buford announced.

"Don't interrupt the teacher, please, although I understand," Heinz responded. "At least it's better than not speaking when you're supposed to. Anyway, that was an introduction to chemistry. Sulfur has 16 protons and chlorine has 17. Now, you may be asking 'Why should I care?' You should because if it wasn't for chlorine's specific properties due to its electron count, which varies directly with a ratio of 1:1 to proton count, we wouldn't have salt, and we'd all be dead because of that."

"Wat's 'da proton count gotta do wit' 'da electron count?" Baljeet responded. He used to know this.

Heinz face palmed while the rest of the class broke into laughter.

"Haha, nerd!" Buford exclaimed. "He doesn't even know what the nerd says. What does the nerd say? Ring-ding-ding-da-ding-da-ding-ding!" Buford sang.

Half of the class started singing it too, and Pedro covered his ears and made a face.

"Class!" Heinz bellowed. "I know we all love music, but that song does not have to do with science at all! Let me put on the cell rap," Heinz started.

"What about the assignment?" Irving responded.

"Oh, yeah, um, we are now going to study carbon, before touching on genetics, which hopefully won't end up turning anyone into some freaky monkey lizard thing," Heinz explained. There was an awkward silence. "It's happened before," Heinz stated.

"Hmm, good to know," Ferb muttered sarcastically.

"Thank you," Heinz responded. "Now, can anyone tell me what in this room is made of carbon? Now, take notes on this, because I am going to grade them."

Irving raised his hand. "We are made of carbon?" Irving guessed with confidence.

"Primarily yes. That is exactly what I was looking for. Anything else?" Heinz asked.

"Poop?" Buford guessed. "We call it excrement in the classroom, Buford, and raise your hand next time, but yes, primarily. Anything else?"

Fiona raised her hand. "There is excrement in the classroom?!" Fiona exclaimed.

"Inside our bodies, yes, unless all you've been eating is Jello for four weeks, yes," Heinz responded.

Phineas paled.

"Anything else?" Heinz tested. "Maybe your pencil leads, that are technically graphite, pure carbon?"

"Oh," the class responded.

"Now when you go home, look for things that have carbon in them that we haven't talked about yet. Now don't blurt anymore out, because I want you to find five on your own, and you can't use one you say in class," Heinz explained. "Fill out this worksheet and answer my question when you're done for the exit ticket."

So they did. Mrs. Weaver's class was lame, as usual. Monogram taught them about the birth of Isaac. The monotony of school usually weighed on Phineas' heart, but he felt a little bit better today. Soon enough, it was lunch. "Should we knock out our reading templates first, or just eat and talk?" Phineas asked.

"We can do all of the above," Isabella suggested.

"Okay," Phineas responded. "What is the birth of Isaac about?"

"Oh, goodness, that's a hard one," Isabella responded sarcastically. "Maybe, perhaps, the birth of Isaac?"

"Of course! But what besides that?" Phineas asked.

"Uh, I dunno," Isabella muttered.

"Seriously? He read it to us aloud? How do you forget that?" Phineas inquired.

"But his voice is so monotone and melodic, and the room is so boring!" Isabella defended.

"You fell asleep?" Phineas asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Isabella responded.

"No worries. You have a Bible at home, right?" Phineas checked.

"No," Isabella denied.

"Well, then, I guess you need to buy one," Phineas concluded.

"Wait, weren't you supposed to talk to Ferb?" Isabella asked.

"Ferb!" Phineas called. Ferb ignored him, and the bell rang, so the kids got in line and marched away.

Then they went on to Mrs. What's-Her-Face's physical education class. Her true last name was more than forty letters long. "Alright, today we're gonna do fifteen laps around the building in four minutes! That's sixteen seconds a lap! Those who fail will do a hundred exercises of one of the two exercises I choose. Gather now! On your marks! Get set! Stop! I didn't give you a water bottle break yet, did I? You got fifteen seconds starting now!" Mrs. What's-Her-Face exclaimed.

Everyone scrambled for their water bottles.

"Group up!" Mrs. What's-Her-Face shouted.

Everyone took their positions.

"On your marks! Get set! GO! Go! Go! Go!" Mrs. What's-Her-Face bellowed.

Phineas, Baljeet, and Fiona among others got trampled by the stampede.

Phineas' face smacked upon the hard asphalt.

Baljeet's head responded with a thud.

Fiona wailed as her bosom was nearly flattened by the harsh fall, and her elbow seeped red.

Django was the first to get up.

Then Baljeet straightened up, albeit in a very unnatural way.

Phineas got up, and held out his hand to Fiona.

"Hey! She can get up by herself!" Mrs. What's-Her-Face chided.

"This is physical education class, not How To Throw Someone Under The Bus class!" Phineas retorted.

The ghastly pun shut the normally bossy woman up.

He sped off as soon as she was up, and she almost met his pace, which was a good sign.

Ten seconds later, Danny was already finished with his first lap, with Holly tailing.

Mrs. What's-Her-Face operated her stopwatch while sitting on a lawn chair.

Soon, they were all finished.

"Okay, I know I said four minutes, but I meant fifteen. Sorry! They both start with 'f'. I am really bad with that letter," Mrs. What's-Her-Face explained. "Phineas, Isabella, Fiona, Baljeet, and Pedro, you will be doing a hundred push-ups or a hundred sit-ups. Choose?" Mrs. What's-Her-Face prompted.

They all chose push-ups. They knew better than to do sit-ups, because Mrs. What's-Her-Face was super finicky about them. Soon, they were done.

When school let out, Phineas ended up sitting next to Isabella, and across from Fiona, and neither Phineas nor Fiona had a window seat. Phineas and Fiona ended up talking while Isabella stayed silent. She was obviously as pooped as a well-worn horse.

"Thanks for standing up for me," Fiona thanked.

"No problem," Phineas responded. "So where do you live?"

"Oh, Chestnut Rd.," Fiona explained.

"Oh, that intersects Maple Drive, right?" Phineas inquired.

"Yeah, why?" Fiona wondered.

"I live on Maple Drive and so does Isabella, my girlfriend," Phineas informed.

"Oh, cool!" Fiona exclaimed.

"Isabella? Isabella! Wow, she is out," Phineas noted.

"So what do you do for fun?" Fiona inquired.

"I used to have a great hobby, now I'm looking for one to replace it," Phineas explained.

"Well, there are all sorts of sports, from croquet to football, and there is enough good literature out there to appease even the most critical, there are virtual things, from game design to trying for a high score in a simple video game to animation, there is study of all types, which I know many find entertaining, there is construction, gardening, driving, cooking, auto repair, if that's your thing, which I'm guessing it isn't, board games, card games, even cleaning and organizing, and that's just off the top of my head," Fiona stated. She looked up to see Phineas scribbling seemingly maniacally on a notebook.

"Thanks, you just inspired me to make a list," Phineas muttered, in a tone that told he was deep in thought. "Hmm, I guess I have done most of these, but some of these take multiple lifetimes to fully tackle. My old one was construction, by the way."

"What do you build?" Fiona inquired.

"I used to think I built great things, but no one likes my ideas," Phineas explained.

"Well, conjure a new idea for me," Fiona prompted.

"A giant atomic clock," Phineas blurted.

"Sounds good. Develop it," Fiona suggested.

"A giant atomic clock made with cesium and with a complex alarm system that can anticipate the minute and send the signal with delays accounted for so that it blares on the yoctosecond!" Phineas exclaimed.

"There you go! Wait, wouldn't that kind of thing wake the whole town, though?" Fiona asked.

"I could dumb down the sound system," Phineas stated.

"That would fix the problem. See, you think that's a good idea, right?" Fiona prompted.

"Yeah," Phineas answered. "I guess I just haven't tried to get a good idea in a while."

The bus stopped at Fiona's house. "See you tomorrow," Fiona finished. Then she got out of the bus.

The bus drove over to Maple Drive. "Isabella, wake up," Phineas muttered. He had to poke her under the ear to get her to wake. "Let's go," Phineas beckoned. They got out of the bus and onto the street. "Isabella, can you come over? I have a new invention idea," Phineas explained.

"Please, don't enlighten me," Isabella responded. "I have a dentist appointment in four hours, and I need to brush and floss for at least five to make up for lost time."

"Oh, okay," Phineas muttered.

Isabella gave him a small kiss and went across the street and went inside.

Phineas touched his cheek absentmindedly and went inside where Ferb and Candace were.

"Phineas, we need to have a little talk," Ferb stated in a stern, steady tone.

"Can it wait?" Phineas muttered. "I need to make a blueprint."

"Seriously, another baby-headed scheme? You're worse than Candace with her Ducky Momo, a.k.a. pus and poo poo!" Ferb badmouthed.

"Hey!" Candace shouted from her room.

"We need to talk now," Ferb stated.

Phineas followed Ferb into their room.

"Listen very carefully; I don't want to have to tell you twice," Ferb stated.

Phineas leaned forward slightly.

"I do not want to be seen with you in public," Ferb stated, saying one word every four seconds. Then Ferb punched Phineas' big nose.

Phineas cried out in pain.

"If you do so much as say something to me when I am with Vanessa, so much as associate with me in front of her, I will tear your nose off!" Ferb shouted.

Phineas shook under his step brother's intense stare.

Then Ferb sucker punched him in the gut.

Phineas fell back onto the floor.

"Gonna fight back? Huh?" Ferb riled.

"I can't fight you, Ferb," a teary eyed Phineas stated. "Why can't we just go back to old times?"

"Two reasons. One, I am trying to court someone who means the world to me, and I cannot let anything get in the way of that," Ferb stated in a harsh voice.

"And the second?" Phineas asked.

Ferb's posture and facial expression softened. His lips curved into an undeniable frown and he spoke. "I don't really like to think about the second one."

Phineas got back up. "That's the big one, isn't it?" Phineas tested.

"Not necessarily," a temporarily content Ferb answered. "The first one is almost as big as the second."

"So they aren't very big?" Phineas inquired. That was not the best thing to say.

Ferb kicked Phineas hard on the shin. "I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU!" Ferb screamed. Then Ferb kneed Phineas in the chest.

"Ow!" Phineas wailed.

Ferb went into all out attack mode as his step brother struggled to spare himself to the maximum.

Fifteen minutes later, a sobbing Phineas was lying on the ground with one less baby tooth. It was astounding that he still had a baby tooth to lose, given his age. He had bruises everywhere and a bloody nose.

Ferb had to leave after that; the guilt was biting at his soul.

Phineas dragged himself onto his bed and fell asleep amidst the pain to have dreams.

· · ·

Phineas woke to Perry in his arms and the Giant Floating Baby Head with Irving in his room.

"Phineas, your mission is to retrieve the lost coaster," Irving explained. He pulled up a holographic screen that depicted Linda realizing she lost a coaster and grieving on the ground.

"That's horrible!" Phineas exclaimed.

"Go on, take your Perry and make this happen!" Irving instructed. "You should start at Isabella's house."

"Okay," Phineas accepted. He went outside and ran across the street. Then he saw an unfamiliar boy standing in front of Isabella's house. Phineas tried to rush past him.

"A troubled girl lives inside that house," the boy warned.

"I've known her since I was as short and cute as a stump," Phineas responded.

"No you don't," the boy warned.

Phineas nearly dropped Perry when he saw the cigarette butts at the boy's feet. "Excuse me, but I need you to get out of my way," Phineas stated.

"No," the boy stated firmly.

Phineas weaved himself through the boy and reached the door. He opened the door to be saluted by some sort of pollution in the inside air. Phineas coughed and Perry chartered angrily.

Then Perry marched into the house.

Phineas felt he should bring the boy in. "Are you comin'?" Phineas prompted.

"It won't last forever," the boy stated.

"Follow if you please," Phineas instructed. He was not followed. He saw bare walls, and he was distraught. Vivian always had paintings up on her walls. He tiptoed over to the staircase. As he ascended, he heard new creaking. He knew something was really wrong. Maybe someone was missing more than one coaster. He was determined to find them all. He walked up to Isabella's door and knocked. Then he opened the door. He found her resting on her bed with a glass of water and a pack of cigarettes on her bedstand. "Isabella?" Phineas called.

"Yes," Isabella responded.

"Why are there cigarettes on your bedstand?" Phineas inquired.

Isabella responded by a long, grueling cough.

"Isabella!" Phineas cried. "No!" He sat her up and held her tightly to feel her abnormal lung patterns against his chest. He didn't know when his tears arrived, but he guessed it was before he entered the room. He kissed her hard, but it was dry and stale. He felt like smoke had entered his own lungs. He stepped back in horror, tears screaming on his face.

She held that coaster out to him, but he threw it up and over behind his head and it shattered when it hit the wall.

He grabbed her hand to stop the madness.

Then Perry crawled onto Phineas' lap.

Her cold hand froze his fingers. "When was the last time you ate?" Phineas asked.

Isabella's frown told him the worst.

Phineas panicked. He checked his pockets desperately and found a granola bar. He gave it to her, begging her to try to eat it.

She ate it horribly slowly, and Phineas couldn't stand the wait.

"Why did you eat it slowly?" Phineas asked.

"I can't eat faster than that!" Isabella cried.

Perry disintegrated off of Phineas' lap.

"It's fine! It's fine!" Phineas responded hastily. He was shaken by Perry's disappearance. He sat next to her. "You wanna build something?" Phineas suggested. Then he was interrupted.

· · ·

Phineas woke up to no Perry. He was frankly freaked out about the dream. He looked at the clock in a stiff movement.

This took ridiculously long to write. Was that just a dream or foreshadowing? We'll have to see. Review what you think! :-)