She had done it. She had done it. This was what she repeated to herself as she ran towards the spot where he would be. The pain she felt would be taken away and replaced with joy. No. Replaced with the love from the boy of her dreams! She turned the corner and saw him in the middle of a field. His green shirt and brown shorts were covered in patches of fresh dirt. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he dribbled the soccer ball between his feet. His movements were as if he was responding to imaginary opponents. He was impressive. He was cute.
He would be hers. She would be his. They would belong to each other.
"Hey Nathan!" Samantha shouted as she raised her wrist to the air. Free of any watch, she couldn't help but to smirk at Nathan's widened eyes as he looked between her face and her arm.
"Y...Your Meda-Watch." Nathan lost his footing during his moment of shock, launching the ball up in the air. As if fate was on her side, Samantha caught the airborne ball with her stretched arm.
"Yep, no watch. I'm Meda-Watch, Medabot free." Samantha walked towards the surprised boy of her dreams. She fluttered her eyes and smiled her most peaceful, gentle expression she could muster. She wasn't the type to be so open about her feelings. Feelings that were rather raw from selling the product not even an hour ago.
"T-Thanks!" When Nathan reached for his ball, Samantha lowered the ball to hand to him. In a split second, her hand brushed against his fingers. A jolt of warmth shot through her as Nathan's face turned slightly pink. When it seemed like Nathan was not going to move away, Samantha gulped and wrapped her hands around Nathan's own.
"S-So, since I don't have a Medabot anymore. Can you accept my feelings now?" The pink on Nathan's face changed into a deep red. His eyes shifted side to side as if he was trying to look for something. Was something wrong?
"I...I...I..." Nathan looked down at the ball in their hands. What was wrong? Was he about to reject her? She WILL be his GIRLFRIEND! She did not sell Peppercat, no, the product if he was not going to take her feelings seriously! Nathan yanked the ball out of her hands and pointed at her with his right index finger. "What about your gang huh?" Nathan asked in an uncertain tone.
"Huh?"
"Y-Yeah!" Nathan's uncertainty quickly changed to certainty. "Your Medabot gang. The Screws! How can you be the boss of a Medabot gang when you don't have a Medabot huh? How will your crew accept you as the boss if you are dating someone who hates Medabots huh? Oh well! I guess we just weren't meant to be-"
"I'll disband the gang!" Samantha shouted to him. Her eyes were watering. Tears threatened to pour down the side, but she kept her eyes on Nathan. He took a step back and lost color in his face.
"You'll...disband the gang?"
"I'll still be friends with Sloan and Spyke! They will understand that I want to focus on our relationship Nathan! Spyke can go back to hacking and data gathering, and Sloan can focus on cleaning and nature again. They'll be happier this way! Just you wait Nathan!" Samantha turned away and began to run. Her brain pumping thoughts and words to say to her friends about possibly the second toughest choice she was about to make.
Downtown certainly changed from what Samantha remembered as a teenager. Most of the small shops she remembered as a kid refurbished their exterior. Clean paint jobs, updated signs, and sleek posters danced along her vision as she walked alongside Erika. Erika parked her car down the block to avoid getting jammed between cars during the lunch rush. The walk itself was fine and typical for what she expected. Since it was early in the day, only adults were walking around them. Despite all of the adults surrounding them, one fact seemed to be shared with a majority of them.
Medabots.
Medabots were everywhere!
As a kid, Medabots were mostly used by kids and teens. Samantha was sure she could remember some adults that were not in the Rubberobo Gang that used Medabots. But now? It seemed like Medabots were in use as labor, cashiers, and so much more than she could list off. Seeing so many of them was honestly overwhelming her. Especially with how much Nathan was against anything dealing with them in their home life. Going from zero exposure to this much overstimulation was taking a toll on her.
"So I was feeling like a good burger. You down for some beefy goodness, or were you wanting something light before we talk about your future job?"
"Possible future job," Samantha countered, "and yeah. A good burger sounds good right about now. Is Burger Jam still up and running?"
"Hell yeah! You're reading my mind Samantha! Burger Jam has gotten super big actually! Opening up a few other restaurants in Japan and even expanded their original location too." Part of Samantha wondered what else she missed leaving home so soon. There wasn't much she remembered about her school days and, honestly, what she could remember she wish she didn't. She tried to keep up small talk with Erika as they walked through the small shopping district towards Burger Jam, but her thoughts kept on trailing off to how much changed around her.
Streets seemed so much larger as a kid. The adults were either tall and menacing or dorky and lame back then. The cars were super fast and those big, fat TVS were some of the coolest pieces of technology at the time. As she walked behind Erika, it felt like everything changed around Samantha except herself. She still felt like the same, insecure child from all those years ago.
"Wooo, Burger Jam!" Erika's shout brought Samantha out of her thoughts and took in the sight before her. A long, stainless steel building with large, rectangular windows that allowed for anyone to glance into the clean, brightly colored interior. The parking lot had several cars that seemed to glow thanks to the neon red lights that surrounded the trim of the building's roof. The restaurant screamed old school. Retro. Nostalgic to the few times she remembered her parents taking her here as a child. Of the few times she, Sloan, and Spyke drank milkshakes and shared a large basket of fries while chatting about whatever they did.
As they walked into the restaurant Samantha noticed that most of the waitresses were Medabots whose bodies were mostly silver and red and rather feminine looking. Were they, what was Erika's Medabot (did she even have it still) Sailor-Multi? The two were quickly taken to a booth separate from everyone and were given their menus. The items on the menu were still what she expected from her childhood. Greasy burgers, crispy fries, and thick milkshakes. The high resolution pictures of their options made her stomach growl. An action that made Erika chuckle.
"Oh I feel you girl. I'm hungry for a Double Slam and some Onion Fingers. What are you thinking about getting." Erika waved her right hand with a sly grin on her face. "And feel free to get whatever you want. This meal is my treat!" A few minutes later one of the Sailor-Multi came and took their order before going to another table. Samantha decided to go for a Double Slam, chicken tenders, and some crispy classic fries with a lemonade. She would always get the Double Slam and share the tenders with her parents or Sloan and Spyke.
'I'm probably going to have to tell my parents that I moved back into town.' That was a conversation she wasn't looking forward to. Especially after how the last time they spoke ended. Samantha took a sip of her lemonade and glanced out the window. It was in that moment that a familiar face flashed on a large screen across her view. A face that, though she knew how popular the person was, still shocked her to the core.
"Yeah," Erika's voice broke Samantha from her thoughts. She turned to see a genuine, sincere smile on Erika's face. "It's been a few years since he hit celebrity status, but seeing his face on screens is still a big shock to me. He hasn't change a bit despite all of his popularity though. Still can't even remember to take the garbage out on time until it is the last minute!" A snort escaped Samantha.
"You're kidding me. Mr. Smarty Pants can't even remember to take out his garbage on time!" Both women shared a laugh for a moment. The edge of Samantha's lips were beginning to hurt from laughing and smiling so much. It was more than she had done in such a long time. A trickle of thought began to drip down her mind. "How...How has everyone been?"
"Hmm?" Erika, who took a moment to sip from her water, placed the cup down and looked at Samantha with a straightforward, bland expression. "Are you sure you really want to know? I know things are a bit intense for you right now. You literally just got divorced! We can have this talk another day if you want." Samantha paused her thoughts. She could wait? Would she really be able to take things at her own pace? She shook her head.
"If I'm going to be seeing faces of people I know all over the place, I should know about what I've missed out on. It won't make up for my lack of being around, but-"
"I'll tell you little bits Samantha, but not more than you should know." When Samantha went to open her mouth to speak, Erika raised a hand. "I mean this in the nicest way Samantha. You weren't here. You missed out on a lot. Even when we went to school together from Elementary to High School, there was so much that happened in the background while you were glued to Nathan and stayed in the school's highlights."
"I get that." Samantha muttered as she looked down at her lemonade. Her lips curled in to hide the grit of her teeth clenching together.
"You just weren't there to really GET IT Samantha." Erika stressed her words in a way that made Samantha flinch. Erika must have noticed for she sighed and shook her head. "But I don't blame you." Erika placed a hand under Samantha's chin and lifted it to meet each other's gaze. Despite her tone, the PI didn't look angry. She looked remorseful. "It means a lot to me that you still care about us to even ask that question." Erika took her hand back and took a sip of her water. After a moment passed, she looked at her phone for a second before looking up. "Well, as you know, I'm a PI now. I've never lost my interest in journalism and have only expanded to PI a few years ago after a thesis I was working on in college revealed a scandal that shook not just the college alumni, but the Board of Education to the core."
"Wow, really? What happened?" Erika scratched a finger against her chin and looked to the side sheepishly.
"This is gonna sound cheesy and suspicious, but I can't legally say for another year."
"Uh-huh." Samantha rolled her eyes and watched as the Sailor-Multi brought over their food. It was only when the Medabot left did Samantha talk. "I bet you found a professor in a compromising situation with some students and managed to make it, oh, what did you always say? The scoop of the century!" A laugh came from Erika as she shook her head.
"Yeah yeah. Laugh it up! You'll see when my first book comes out!"
"Let me guess. A book that comes out next year. Just so happens to be when you can talk about your big scoop huh?"
"Sheesh!" Erika couldn't help but to laugh and rubbed her forehead. She certainly acted like she picked up some habits from Ikki and Henry. "Already foiled before my master plan could even begin. Oh whatever shall I do? Maybe I should leave you the bill?"
"Oh no, great PI Erika! Famous PI across Japan! Please don't leave me with the check! Have I told you that you look fabulous!" A laugh was all Samantha got for her troubles as Erika took a bite from her burger.
"Well," Erika muffled out as she swallowed her bite, "when you praise my awesome glory, I suppose I can keep talking about our friends. I might leave you with the bill though. Still in dark water with foiling my scheme." After crunching on a few fries, Erika continued. "As you know, Ikki is a celebrity in the Medabot and Science circles of the world. Making scientific leaps in both Medabot technology and programming. You know, the boring technical stuff."
"Henry, remember him? Him and Ikki do Medabot classes in Henry's store, which has gotten huge! So huge in fact, it has a robattle area dedicated to matches! Though Henry is considering handing the business to someone else, he is still the best place to buy Medabot stuff in my opinion. Tells you which bots are worth your dime versus your style." Hearing about Henry made Samantha think of Peppercat. Part of her wondered what had happened to her Medabot, but she already KNEW what her fate was. A fate she knew she would have to see whether she wanted to or not.
"Koji and Karin are married. Karin tried to date Ikki, not sure if you remember that during High School, but they didn't work out due to issues. Karin is one of the top nurses in Medaroplois and she trains both Medabots and nurse practitioners. Koji is head of his family's company. His hands are tied into so many different businesses that it's hard to say what exactly he does these days. It's easier to say what he doesn't do, which is stay home much."
"Then there is-" A loud chuckle caught Samantha's attention. She turned to the left to see a tall, chubby man who wore a daisy yellow suit with a blue tie and had a suitcase in his left hand. The suit glimmered with cleanliness and smelled of fresh lavender. So fresh, in fact, she thought the man rolled in a field of the stuff. When he walked towards their table, Samantha was unsure who this man. His hat, reminiscent of a British flat top fisherman hat, had brown curls barely escaping the trim. Erika, as soon as she saw the man, moved herself towards the window and pushed her Onion Fingers to the stranger. "Hey Sloan, sit down and meet your new secretary candidate. Oh, sorry, should I say Mr. Principal?" Despite Erika's teasing tone, Samantha felt her jaw slack and her eyes widen at the knowledge of who this man was. Sloan, in fact, seemed to copy her for a moment and looked at her with surprise while dropping his suitcase.
'Now that I look at him a bit more seriously, his skin is slightly more tan than it used to be when we were kids. That yellow suit with the blue tie should have been a giveaway at who he was though.' Samantha felt stupid for not even recognizing someone who she hung out with so much. Sloan, after a few seconds, suddenly grinned and waved a hand towards himself.
"Well are you going to come over here and give me a hug Samantha or am I gonna have to ask Erika to spill some embarrassing secrets about childhood. Lord knows she has records as far back as Ikki's first Robattle, and we weren't exactly the smartest kids back then!"
"Hey," Samantha couldn't help but bark out! "If you and Spyke did everything like I ever asked, we would never leave trails of evidence. Can't help that Spyke was clueless about certain stuff and you were too slow to clean evidence!" Sloan's laughter made something tickle within Samantha. A tickle that quickly got her to laugh and stand up to hug her old friend. She must have hugged him tighter than she should have, for Sloan jolted in place for a second before she felt his arms wrap around her.
"Gosh it's been so long."
"Too long."
"Yeah yeah. Too long. So long, in fact, that if you keep on standing there you two I'm going to eat the chicken and onion fingers!"
"Back off my food!" Samantha and Sloan shouted at the same time. A statement that, when the two looked at each other, laughed even harder than before! After a few moments to calm down Sloan grabbed his suitcase and sat across from Samantha and quickly took a few bites from the offered food.
"Ah, still hits the spot! So..." Sloan wiped his hands with a napkin and placed his hands on the table. "Apparently you're not here for a social visit but a job? Not gonna lie, Erika, this isn't exactly standard procedure for the school's hiring process. There's interviews, background checks-"
"Dude," Erika interrupted, "if you would rather trust the school's second-rate investigations instead of my top class results, I'm ashamed that I even called you down here to give Samantha a job. Have you no faith in my investigation skills?"
"No, No, No!" Sloan replied with a shake of his hands in a motion that meant mercy. Samantha had to hold back a snicker at the reaction. After a breath from him, he turned back to her. "I'm mostly surprised that you think Samantha would want to go back to her old stomping grounds as a secretary no less. Not exactly the rebellious girl I remember from Elementary or the cheerleader popular girl from High School that people remember her most for." A pang of pain shot through her chest at that statement. High School wasn't exactly her best moments.
Honestly, most of her life past Elementary was shit.
"Well Samantha needs a job and I know you need someone to replace Hillary before she retires. Plus, far as I know, most of the other candidates are almost as old as Hillary. So you'll be hiring someone to replace the replacement within a few years. Eight tops. Samantha, on the other hand, is young, hip, and is right here to ask any questions. Consider this a dine-in-interview."
"Or for you and lunch and a show?" Sloan asked with a grin on his face. A grin that Erika matched before she took a bite of her burger.
"Yep!" Sloan sighed and took off his hat to fan himself with it. He did this in such a swift manner that Samantha could not see what his hair looked like underneath the hat. After a few seconds of this the hat was placed back on his head.
"Alright Samantha, if you feel up to it, I'll ask you a few questions. If I like what I hear, you're hired. If not, then I can't hire you on. I could always see if Henry needs a hand at the shop though. With it being so busy these days, I'm sure he would love to hire someone with MedaFighter blood in their veins! Sometimes it takes digging down to our roots to find our strongest traits!"
"Oh, look at you, whipping out another Mr. Principal quote. He would be so proud!" Samantha did her best to remember that line of dialogue for later. What was the relationship between Mr. Principal and Sloan? Sure, Mr. Principal was friendly to every student, but did something happen between them that she should have known about? Pushing the awkwardness aside, Samantha nodded and put on a confident expression. A breath of air passed her lips to expel the uncertainties she felt inside and hoped, within seconds, would be replaced with the confidence she hoped to portray.
"Whenever you're ready Mr. Principal."
Hello readers! Thank you guests for reading this and dropping a review. They certainly brought a smile to my face. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter as I did while writing it! I have a few other projects in mind for both Medabot stories as standalones and a crossover or two. If all goes well, they will start coming out over the next month or so. But for now, I'm going to start planning on finishing Part One of Visiting the Family so I can publish Part Two of that story within the same week.
Also, for those who may not know, Fanfiction has changed their email alert system. So please, for those who wish to stay alerted to my updates, click yes to the Email Opt-In option on the account page. Why they suddenly went to this system I'll never know. I'm STILL going through my backlog of story alerts to figure out what stories I missed out on during the alert blackout.
Until next time, stay golden!
Kazikamikaze24
