Chapter 5: Is It Just Me, Or...?

Disclaimer: I do not own The Magic School Bus or any of the related characters. The Magic School Bus series is created by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen and owned by Nelvana. This entire story is a work of fanfiction and is meant for entertainment purposes only. I am not making a profit from this story.

Notes: Ralphie smacks some sense into Carlos and Arnold puts on his big boy pants for Wanda. R&R!

10:00pm

"Your mom's lasagne is the bomb," Carlos raved as his thumbs flew across the buttons on his controller.

"Yeah, nothing's better than stuffing ourselves with cheesy pasta after hell week. Glad your mom let you spend the night. I have my candy stash and a bin full of FPS games at our disposal," Ralphie grinned.

"Life is great," Carlos sighed in satisfaction. The boys had been holed up in Ralphie's bedroom playing video games all evening to relax after finals, breaking only for dinner with Ralphie's mom.

"Yup. In the fall, I'll be a Mechanical Engineering major and you'll be in Computer Science. Hopefully one of our math courses overlap," Ralphie commented.

"Yeah, I hope it's with DA too. She's double majoring in Astronomy and Math. Such a bookworm," Carlos affectionately chuckled.

"Crazy what happened after the bio exam today," Ralphie casually interjected once their round had ended.

"Janet is such a bitch. If she hadn't been writing her exam, I would've given her a piece of my mind. I obviously couldn't follow DA into the girls' washroom, so I tried texting her after school but didn't get a response. I'll probably pop by her place tomorrow to see if she's okay," Carlos grumbled.

"Yeah totally. Janet's lucky she got off easy after all those lies she said," Ralphie slowly continued.

"They weren't all lies. DA and I haven't got that far in our relationship yet. I want our first kiss to be special," Carlos sheepishly admitted.

"Uh huh. And when exactly are you planning on doing that?"

"Prom night."

"So, you did ask her to be your prom date?"

"Nah. We're already together, so I figured it was implied."

"Interesting. Exactly long have you two been an item?"

"I dunno. A while."

"Well, when did you ask her to be your girlfriend?"

"I didn't."

"Why not?"

"I figured that was implied too."

"Idiota!" Ralphie flung his controller at Carlos' head.

"What the hell was that for bro?!" Carlos yelled.

"No wonder Janet keeps hitting on you. She probably asked DA if you two were going out and DA said no BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T OFFICIALLY ASKED HER!" Ralphie shouted in exasperation.

"Alright Dr. Love, did YOU verbally ask Keesha to be your girlfriend?" Carlos angrily fired back.

"OF COURSE I DID!" Ralphie roared. "Eighth grade. After school. By her locker."

"Carajo," Carlos moaned as he squeezed his eyes shut and rolled back on the floor.

"I just got a text from Keesh. She says she snuck out to an all ages nightclub with DA, Wanda and Phoebe to celebrate the end of exams and won't be home until late. They're waiting in line to get in. She provided the address too," Ralphie informed him.

Carlos' eyes snapped open as jealousy coursed through his body.

Everyone in school recognized him as the easygoing punster. Nothing ruffled his feathers. He liked to play it cool and take things in his stride. But those who were close to him could see that he was a passionate person. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved science. He loved comedy. But most of all, he loved Dorothy Ann Hudson.

Carlos wasn't able to pinpoint the exact moment that he became obsessed with her, but he could confirm that it was when they were in Ms. Frizzle's class. Each day, he recognized her brilliance, welcomed her compassion and admired her beauty. By the time they reached high school, he made it clear to the rest of the student body that she was off the market. Dorothy Ann was his and he wouldn't allow anyone else to have her. He studied with her, took her out to eat and went to see the rom com flicks that she secretly enjoyed watching. They did a lot of things that couples did, so Carlos naturally assumed that they were a real couple.

He was also 99.9% sure that his feelings were mutual. He didn't miss the way her soft pink lips parted as her gorgeous blue eyes checked him out when she thought he wasn't looking during study hall. Or the way she would stand close to him and graze her hand against his when they walked around town, allowing him to greedily inhale her light cherry vanilla scent. During those moments, it took all his will power to not pin her arms against a wall and kiss her senseless until she was panting with need and begging for his cock to be her first.

But Carlos respected Dorothy Ann too much to give into his base desires. He always exercised restraint in her presence and used his goofy persona to endear her to him like he did when they were kids. To make her feel safe. To conceal the ever present hunger bubbling just below the surface during all of their encounters inside and outside the classroom.

However, they weren't children anymore. Carlos' blood boiled as his mind conjured images of guys at the club checking her out, buying her drinks, dancing with her, touching her...hell would freeze over before he let any of that happen. Tonight, he was going to make it perfectly clear to Dorothy Ann that she belonged to him. She always had and she always will.

"Is it just me, or are you jealous?" Ralphie asked uncertainly. Maybe he shouldn't have divulged that last bit of information about the club to Carlos. He knew his best friend was head over heels for Dorothy Ann and would get insanely jealous if another guy tried to make a move on her, which could more likely than not happen at the club she was going to.

"Oh I'm doing great Ralphie. Question: may I please use your shower?" Carlos answered in a deceptively calm voice as he sat up.

"Sure thing buddy, heading to bed already?" Ralphie asked, keeping his tone casual as he watched the gears in his friend's head turn.

"Nah I've got plenty of energy," Carlos declined, leaning back on his forearms and fixing his friend with a positively devilish look. "How about a guys' night out?"

*/*/*

Arnold stretched his arms after winning his third consecutive game of online solitaire. He napped hard before and after dinner, so he wasn't feeling very tired right now.

Biology was also one of his best subjects, so he felt well prepared for the exam. He was about to start another round when he heard a gentle knock on his door.

"There's our future Geology major! Do you have a minute?" his father asked, poking his head into his room.

"Sure Dad," Arnold agreed, spinning around in his task chair to face his parents. They both appeared to be somber as his father cleared his throat before speaking.

"I heard you gave Janet a ride home after your biology exam today. Your mom and I really appreciate that you offered to do that for her."

"Well it's not like I had much of a choice. She practically ordered me to do it. I can't wait to start university this fall and be far away from her," Arnold grumbled.

"Um you do know that Janet will be majoring in Pre-Law at Walkerville U, right? They have a good program and she is captain of the debate team at your school. I think she wants to specialize in forensic science law."

"Nooooo," Arnold groaned in despair. The last thing he wanted was to go to the same college as his bossy, overbearing cousin. His phone dinged and he picked it up to check the notification that came in. Arnold's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw the text message.

Carlos: Wanna sneak out to go clubbing with me tonight?

Arnold: Do I have STUPID written across my forehead?

Carlos: No, but it must say WIMP on your student ID

Carlos: Wanda will be there ;)

Arnold's mood immediately switched from frantic to apprehensive. Maybe today would be the day he finally made his move on Wanda. It was no secret that he harbored a massive crush on her since elementary school. But no matter what he did, she still kept him in the friend zone. Her affection for him remained strictly platonic and he was desperate to finally change that before they reached college and she fluttered beyond his reach. There was a solid possibility that they could share some physics courses together with her being an Aeronautical Engineering major, but the large class size would make interaction difficult.

Apart from graduation and prom, this might be one of the last chances he got to tell Wanda how he felt.

"Um Arnold?" his father interjected. "Can we talk to you about something?"

Oh right! He had totally forgotten that his parents were still awake and in his room.

"I-I'm really sorry mom and dad, but I think I'm going to h-hit the hay early tonight. I feel exhausted after f-finals. Can we talk tomorrow m-morning instead?" Arnold stammered. His parents exchanged a look of understanding.

"Of course dear. Sleep well," his mother gently said. As soon as they left, he fired off a couple of messages to Carlos.

Arnold: What time?

Carlos: 11

Arnold: Text me the address and I'll come.

Half an hour later, Arnold was poised to leave his room wearing what he hoped was appropriate clubbing attire. He swiftly opened his door so it wouldn't creak and tiptoed down the corridor. On the way, he peeked into his parents' room and saw their silhouettes beneath the covers. After his father's gentle snore confirmed that they were indeed asleep, Arnold slowly descended the staircase and took care not to accidentally land on the creaky steps.

He had finally reached the backdoor when the kitchen lights suddenly flickered on.

"Arnold? I thought you were going to sleep," his mother sleepily blinked in confusion.

"Um er I was, but uh plans changed hehe," Arnold awkwardly fumbled to explain what he was doing. His mother saw that he was dressed to go out and was wearing his backpack again. Her eyes became misty and she rushed forward to pull him into a tight embrace.

"Oh Arnold, you're such a good boy! Did you decide to go spend the night at Janet's house?" she gushed.

"Um, yes?" Arnold hesitantly responded, unsurely returning the hug.

"It's so nice to see that you're still making an effort to be there for her during this very difficult time in her life, despite everything she has put you and your friends through over the years. I'm happy that it's all water under the bridge now," his mother tearfully continued.

"Of course mom! I am her favorite cousin after all and blood is thicker than water. I should probably get going now so I don't keep her waiting," Arnold quickly said. His mother released him and he slipped out before she could say anything else.

On her way back upstairs, Mrs. Perlstein frowned and took a sip from the glass of water she had initially gone downstairs to get.

'Why didn't he just exit through the front door and leave us a note?'

Notes: I mentioned a couple of chapters ago that not everyone would easily be able to sneak out! Poor Arnold, things are never simple for him.

I've also planned a brief interlude to explore what's going on with Janet a little later :)

The episodes that inspired their university majors are as follows: Ralphie ("Flexes Its Muscles"), Carlos ("Gets Programmed" - I imagine Mikey's passion rubs off on him over time), DA ("Sees Stars"), Arnold ("Goes Cellular"), Wanda ("Taking Flight") and Janet ("Gets Swamped").