It was breakfast time for the students at PCA, and our favorite group of teens decided to start the day by enjoying the beautiful weather outside. They sat on top of the hill, overlooking the campus, sipping on some morning coffee while eating what is considered the most important meal of the day. Lola had refused to eat any fruit this morning, especially after seeing some pieces that looked oddly cut up and misshaped. She still needed to have a talking to with Vince. The weird habits of her boyfriend weren't going to stop her from enjoying the morning with her friends and their yummy breakfast.
"How great is this?" Zoey asked, chewing through a mouth of goodness.
James nodded in agreement, "So great."
"The greatest." Lola popped another bite in her mouth, doing a little happy dance as she did so.
Logan could only roll his eyes and frown at his friends, "I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the caviar I got for Quinn." Sarcasm was dripping from his voice as he spoke to his friends.
"Hey, she said we could have some!" Lola pointed to the glasses-wearing girl who was resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder as she sipped her coffee.
"Some, not all!" Logan snapped back, his annoyance only growing. He wouldn't have minded so much if they could at least thank or acknowledge him for the caviar, but instead, they were gobbling it up.
Zoey picked up another cracker, spreading another layer of caviar on it. "We left her the other jar and sleeve of crackers." They had been sure to ask before taking any. Quinn happily agreed to share when she saw he had gifted her two mini jars of caviar and two sleeves of crackers in the box.
"I wish there were more fruit smackers." Michael and Chase sulked as they chewed on some not-as-tasty toast and sipped their coffee.
"Let it go already!" Their entire friend group yelled at them, making them jolt in surprise. Since the weekend, the two guys had been bugging Logan nonstop to either get some more or complained to the group that they no longer had their favorite snack.
"Hey guys," they all groaned when they saw Stacey walking up the hill, waving wildly at them. "How is everyone doing on this splendid sunny day?" She looked over at the group that suddenly appeared uncomfortable but didn't know why. It had been a few months since prom, and she hadn't been able to spend much time with the group since that night. She had been enjoying her newfound freedom of saying what she wanted easily and was proud to say that her lisp had not made a reappearance. She felt so alive and beautiful without it. Her eyes landed on Logan, and her smile turned into a sour expression. "And how are you today, Logan? Smash and shattered any other girl's hearts lately?"
He didn't bother hiding, rolling his eyes as he sipped his coffee. "What do you want?"
Huffing at his attitude, she straightened herself out. "I just came to tell you that while I still find you hot and spicy, and enjoy it when you workout without a shirt on," she licked her lips, steadying herself as she took in a deep breath. She had just imagined him shirtless again. Feeling rightfully uncomfortable, Logan crossed his arms over his chest and backed away from her. Quinn glared at the girl, fingers twitching to prepare her zap watch. "However, I know our love is not meant to be, so I've decided to move on."
"Thank god," Logan breathed a sigh of relief, no longer feeling like some animal in a cage she was trying to get at. He was so looking forward to the upcoming days when he didn't have to worry about her going after him anymore.
"That brings me to why I'm here," she snapped her head to the left of Logan. "Quinn, I must speak with you."
Lifting her head from her boyfriend's shoulder, she gave the girl an awkward smile. "Okay, what about?"
Stacey lifted her hands at her side as she rocked back and forth on her feet. "Although you stole my prom date, for the sake of our friendship, I forgive you."
"They're friends?" Zoey whispered into Lola's ear.
"Stacey has friends?" Lola countered back.
Quinn looked just as perplexed; she didn't realize that she had a friendship with the girl or when that even started. "However, I too am not innocent of the man stealing as since prom, I have been enjoying the company of one Mark Del Figgalo." She smiled, lacing her fingers together.
At this, it wasn't only Quinn who did a double take, but everyone on the ground did. "Mark? As in my ex-boyfriend, Mark?" She can honestly say that she never expected to hear this news.
"Emphasis on the ex part," Logan wrapped his arm around her, giving everyone in the area a pointed look.
Giving her boyfriend a sideways glance, she shook her head, trying to make things make sense. "You and Mark are dating?"
"Didn't he hit you with a car?" Zoey asked, finding this whole thing weird.
Just when Quinn thought today couldn't get any weirder, she learns her ex-boyfriend hit somebody with a motor vehicle. "He hit her with a car!?"
Logan couldn't help but laugh. "Nice," he nodded in approval, thinking that maybe Del Figgalo wasn't the worst person at PCA anymore. He somewhat remembers Michael telling him that story, but that day was pretty much a blur because of his tonsils. He was glad to know that part was real.
Stacey nodded, "Yeah, but so did Michael, and I forgave him." Everyone turned their attention towards Michael, who gave an uncomfortable smile and wave. Logan tried to high-five him, but Quinn slapped his hand away from doing so. "While Mark and I have yet to make anything official, we have been basking in each other's company for some time now, and I felt as your friend, it was my responsibility to inform you of our blossoming relationship."
Not really sure what to say or do, Quinn pursued her lips together and slowly nodded. "I'm happy for you, Stacey."
Said girl clapped her hands together. "Maybe we can all double date! Or make it a group date with everyone here." She started skipping at the thought, completely missing the horrified wide eyes of everyone staring at her. She lost her footing in her skip and rolled backward down the hills, crying and screaming the whole way down until she crashed into a nearby table. "I'm okay!"
"That was…" Quinn didn't even know how to describe their encounter properly.
Finishing off her coffee, Zoey turned to her friend and asked. "How do you feel knowing Stacey wants to go out with Mark?"
Taking a moment to think about it, Quinn replied, "I haven't really thought about Mark in a while," after their breakup, she had been so heartbroken that she didn't imagine she would ever get over him. He was her first boyfriend, someone she cared for and loved for two years of her life. Then Logan came into the picture, and it had been such a wild ride. The passion that had been lacking in her relationship with Mark was there tenfold with Logan. She had spent so much time focusing on hiding their relationship and coming to terms with her feelings for the guy that she never gave her ex-boyfriends a second thought. "But if I imagine him with Stacey, I have to say it makes sense."
"How so?" Chase asked, a little confused. He hadn't seen Mark since returning from England, but despite how crazy boring the guy was, he was not easily forgettable.
"Well, think about it, Mark isn't much of a talker," Quinn recalled many of their past dates where she had been the one to do most of the talking. Don't even get her started if he was mad at her; then it would be days of him not talking.
"And Stacey does not but talk." Lola rolled her eyes, popping another caviar cracker into her mouth as they watched the accident-prone girl pick grass out of her hair.
Quinn and everyone had to agree. "So, when you think about it, them as a couple kind of makes sense."
Logan squeezed her shoulder affectionately, "Hey, I say it's a win. I don't have to deal with Stacey anymore, and Del Figgalo knows better than to come near you." Things were turning out to be a very good day today.
Casting a confused chance up at her boyfriend, "Mark hasn't said a word to me since our breakup." She had seen him around campus, which was a bit awkward, but by then, she was with Logan and didn't care about any other guys.
"Good, because otherwise, I would mess him up." He said, making a fist to show his willingness to fight. He didn't doubt Quinn's feelings for him, but he also didn't like the idea of her ex-boyfriend being around her. Knowing he was going to now be preoccupied with Stacey made him feel much better.
Trying not to laugh, Quinn kissed his cheek. "It's sweet that you're willing to fight for my honor," she began gathering her things, shoving a few books that had fallen out back into her backpack. "I gotta get to class."
"I'll walk you." He jumped to his feet, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Oh hey, Rosario is coming later today, so don't forget whatever you want washed; leave it in the hamper for her." He informed his two roommates.
"She does your laundry too?" Zoey asked, looking back and forth at the three guys. "I thought she only cleaned your room." Michael and Chase looked a little guilty.
Chase cleared his throat, "Well, originally, she only did our room…" he didn't want to look at Zoey; he could feel her gaze judging him.
"But then she accidentally mixed up a few of our shirts with Logan, and they were so soft and smelled so nice that we asked if she could do our stuff too." Michael finished up, rubbing the back of his neck. For having such clean clothes, a part of him felt so dirty too.
Logan looked too smug for their liking. "And you guys said I don't contribute to the room," he laughed. From the way he saw things, the room being clean and getting their laundry done was all thanks to them.
"It's Rosario who does the work, not you." Michael snapped back.
Logan shrugged, "And I'm the one who pays her to do the supercilious job that she does."
Everyone was completely taken aback by that word he used. Their mouths hung open, and for a good while, their brains had shut off.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He looked at them like they had all grown a second head. "Did I not say it right?" He dug into his pants pocket to pull out a crumbled-up piece of paper.
Quinn put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You pronounced it right, baby, and even used it correctly." She congratulated him, and he beamed with pride.
James shook his head, trying to wake himself up from what had to be the freakish dream he's ever had. "Um…why do you know that word?" He lived with Logan long enough to know that big words weren't exactly his forte.
"Yeah, do you even know what it means?" Lola hardly believed that he did.
He frowned at the two, "Yes, I know what it means. It means something really great or super." That was the basic version of the word, but they knew he was right, and it freaked them out.
"Okay, now I'm afraid." Chase felt a chill run down his spine. "How did you even learn that term?" The only time he's ever seen Logan crack open a book is when he was forced to.
Smiling, he showed them the crumbled-up paper he had in his hands. "Quinn made me a word of the day calendar." The paper showed the word, and next to it was a picture of him, showing off his biceps with a text box by his mouth saying, "My muscles are Supercilious."
Laughing at the disbelieving looks her friends had, Quinn locked arms with her boyfriend. "We'll see you guys later." The couple walked off, talking and laughing to each other as they made their way down the hill and onto campus.
"You guys don't think it's possible for Quinn to make Logan smart, do you?" Zoey asked, a chilling and disturbing thought coming through.
James gulped, "She did teach him how to properly say and use supercilious."
"What else could she teach him?" Lola wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling her own chill run down her spine.
Chase stared in horror at the couple that was getting further and further away. "He'll have money,"
"Looks," Michael had to say it. As much as they mocked their friend, they had to acknowledge he did have good genes on him.
"And if Quinn gives his brains," Chase began to shake a little. "Oh god, they'll be able to take over the world." It came out sounding like a joke, but the five of them really feared it might happen.
"Hey guys," Vince came up behind them, a banana in one hand and textbooks in the other. The group of friends all screamed in terror, making the football star jump and his banana land in Chase's hair. "What?! Why are you screaming!?" He let out a cry of his own, body in a half-crouching position, ready to defend or flee if need be.
Lola crawled over to her boyfriend. "Quinn is making Logan smart."
Vince gasped, falling to his knees so he could hold his girlfriend. "That's just wrong."
"So is having a banana in my hair!" Chase cried out, picking pieces of the fruit out of his bushy locks.
Michael couldn't help but let out a sigh full of longing. "Remember how good the banana-flavored fruit smackers tasted?" He asked his friend, who let out his own sigh. "We must get them back!"
"What's a…?" Vince started to ask but was stopped by his girlfriend putting her hand up.
She shook her head, "You don't want to know." She put together a crack with some caviar for him. "Open." She popped the little bit in his mouth, giggling when she saw him smile and give a thumbs up.
Michael waved them off, "You mock us, but just you wait. We will get our fruit smackers, and it will be us who have the last laugh!"
"Yeah, we will!" Chase cheered, throwing a triumphant fist in the air.
"How are we going on coming up with a plan, buddy?" Michael asked, feeling hopeful.
Chase shook his head, "I still have no idea how to do it."
Michael sighed and gave an encouraging pat on his friend's back; he wasn't happy with it but accepted the answer. "We'll come up with a plan. We will!"
The day had come and gone, though it certainly didn't feel like that for the students. This was the year they had to start preparing for the college of their dreams. Some already had a school in mind, while others feared the upcoming years and what it could mean for them. Michael was one of those who was not looking forward to leaving PCA. Life finally settled into what he called the perfect circle. He was happy in life, had an amazing girlfriend, and all of his friends were together. The memories they were making every day were ones he knew that he would look back on fondly when they would eventually have to go their separate ways.
Now if only he could get his hands on some fruit smackers, then his life would be complete!
He and Chase paced their room, trying to think of how they could get their hands on that delicious snack.
"What if we ask Quinn to clone some for us?" Michael tapped a finger to his lips, thinking this could work. "She already dissected them, so that has to mean she knows how to make them." If anyone could do it, their friendly super genius could.
Chase immediately shook his head no. "Do you really want to risk ingesting one of Quinn's inventions?" He may have only been gone for a few months, but he doubted her inventions had changed that much. From what he's been told, they don't seem as lethal or scary as they used to be, but he was still not taking that chance.
Michael sighed, kicking his foot out. "Well, we have to do something man. I want my delicious snack, and I want it noo…oowww!" He cried out, falling to his knee when he kicked out his foot again, only this time he hit the coffee table in their room.
"Dude, I don't think that's a noise any human should make." Chase felt a little sorry his friend was his pain but was a bit more freaked out by the sound that came out of him.
Glaring up at his friend briefly, he looked over his now bruised ankle when he saw something underneath the table. Reaching for it, he pulled out a familiar-looking black wallet. "Hey, isn't this Logan's?" He tossed it towards the other.
Chase caught it; from the touch alone, he knew who it belonged to. "Oh yeah, feel the leather. You can tell that's expensive." Only one kid at PCA had a wallet like this. Nobody else could afford something like this. "He must have dropped it or something," he opened it up and pulled out a few hundred-dollar bills, eyes widening when he saw the cash. He looked more and saw a familiar-looking black credit card sticking out of the flaps. "Good thing this didn't get lost."
Michael snorted in agreement, "Yeah, can you imagine if he lost his unlimited credit card after only a few days of having it." They had heard him bragging about having the new card for days now but had yet to make any purchases on it. It was still sitting peacefully in his wallet, waiting for him to use it. Suddenly an ingenious idea popped into his mind. "Logan's credit card is in here."
"So?" Chase didn't get what the big was. Looking at his friend for an explanation, but all he got was a wide cunning grin. Slowly the silent message started to sink in. "No!"
"Come on!" Michael grabbed his friend by the shoulders before he could walk away. "Think about it; this way, everyone gets what they want. You and I get our fruit smackers, we stop bugging Logan, and his shiny new card gets taken for a ride."
Chase groaned; the idea sounded very tempting, and dear god he wanted those fruit smackers so badly. "I…no, it's wrong!" He broke away from Michael's hold on him. The temptation was starting to overcome him, and he needed to be free of it. "Using someone else's credit card is wrong. Even if it is Logan."
"You mean, like how it was wrong of him to give Quinn the last of our snacks and let her dissect them like they were a sad frog?" Michael stepped forward, waving the card in front of his friend's face. "Besides, do you really think Logan will even notice if we make such a small purchase?" He could see that he was slowly starting to break his friend down. Just one more push. "Plus, think of all the things Logan has done to us over these last three years. Sure, he's our friend, but he can be such a pain. I say a little payback is in order, emphasis on pay."
Chase cried out, "Okay, fine!" He pushed his friend aside and walked over to the computer, turning it on and searching for fruit smackers. "But we only do this once, and afterward; we return the card and wallet to Logan."
Michael cheered, all but skipping over to the computer with his buddy. "Just be sure to order us to last us at least a year, and I swear we'll never do this again." Did he feel a bit guilty about this? Yes, he did. Was he going to stop? Doubt it. "Man, this feels so crazy! In our hands is a tiny piece of plastic that can buy us whatever we want."
"I know!" Chase was typing as quickly as his fingers let him. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. "It feels like we have power or something. No wonder Logan acts so pretentious if this is how he feels all the time." They could feel the power the credit card gave them, and it was incredible. They slowly started to get a better understanding of their old friend and roommate.
They were so absorbed with the computer that they didn't hear the door open until it was slammed shut. They screamed at the top of their legs, making Logan falter. "What is wrong with you people?" He yelled back, rubbing his ears which were now ringing.
Chase and Michael gasped, each turning around to block the computer screen while shoving the card and wallet inside Michael's pants. "Hey, Logan!" They said simultaneously, trying to appear nonchalant.
"What's with you two?' He was used to them being weird, but they were being extra today. He tried looking but saw they were blocking the computer screen. "What are you looking at?" He pointed at the desktop; he could see they pulled up something but couldn't make out what it was.
"Uh…" Chase breathed out, licking his lips as he tried to come up with a response. "Michael here was showing me…" for having such a big head; he wished it would work faster. They watched as he grabbed a bottle of mouthwash but kept his eyes on the two of them. "He had me looking at a special pair of clackers." His eyes landed on the toy his friend was obsessed with and that he wished he could chuck out the window.
Speaking of, Logan opened the window of their dorm. "You were looking at clackers?" He took a swig of mouthwash, gargling it and swishing it around inside his mouth before spitting it outside the window and into the bush underneath. Closing it, he saw them giving him a look of disgust. "What? The bathroom is too far away, and Quinn is coming here for our movie date." He was not going to show up to the date with bad breath. Doing that meant no kissing, and he needed kisses in his life. "Why were you looking at clackers anyway? Please tell me you're not about to buy some too!?" He swears that if Chase gets them too, and he has to deal with both of them playing with that forsaken toy, he will demand a new room.
"No," Chase said, maybe a bit too quick, but there was no way that he would ever buy clackers for himself. "We're not buying anything."
"Nope, nothing is being bought here," Michael said, having to cover his mouth after a burp came out. He hated having to lie. It made him want to throw up. "We're broke anyway, so how could we buy anything?"
Chase nodded, "Oh yeah, totally broke. We were only looking at them because they're special edition."
Logan just raised an eyebrow at them, starting to get even more weirded out by their behavior. "What's so special about the stupidest toy ever?" He applied a dab of cologne to his neck and added on a fresh roll of deodorant. He had to smell good for his girl so she'd want to stay in his arms all night.
Michael looked at Chase, begging him to keep up the lie because he was going to puke if he tried. "They're special because…" Chase took in a deep breath, trying so hard to come up with something convincing. "They're bigger and rounder and more ball shape."
Quinn walked in right as he said that, making them all stop and stand in awkward silence. She looked at the two standing very suspiciously in front of the computer before turning her gaze to her boyfriend. "I can come back if I'm interrupting."
Logan growled, "You see what you did. You made Quinn uncomfortable." This is why he hung out in her room more often than not. Her roommates were just as annoying as his, but at least hers didn't say things that made him question so many things. The main reason he had her come over to his room is he got a new movie from his dad in his care package, and watching it on his big screen tv was better. Plus, he was getting tired of being sprayed with water every time they kissed for longer than a few seconds.
Seeing their opportunity to leave, they took it.
"Well, we don't want that, so we'll be on our way!" Chase said, spinning around and turning off the computer. Only now, it decided it wanted to freeze and do an update. Making him groan as he started slamming the keyboard until finally, he bent down and unplugged the device.
Michael bit his lips but quickly tried to smile at the wary looks they were getting. "We gotta go!" He grabbed Chase by the arm and all but dragged the boy as they dashed out of the room.
Quinn stood in stunned silence. Her brain tried to process the events she had just witnessed, but even with her genius, she couldn't make sense of them. "Do you know what that was all about?" She turned to her boyfriend for some answers.
He was busy closing the curtains to the room and lighting a few candles. It was still light out, but he was setting a mood for their date. "Nope, and don't care." There was only one thing that mattered to him, and it was standing in the middle of the room. Grabbing the remote, he turned on the TV and got the movie ready for them to watch. "Now come on," he blew her a kiss and patted the seat next to him.
Laughing at his silliness, she forgot all about the guys being weird and joined her boyfriend on the couch. Instantly his arm wrapped around her, bringing her body closer to his. In turn, she wrapped her arm around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. Throwing her legs over the couch and curling up, they settled into each other's warmth nicely and began to watch the movie together.