Authors Notes.
Why I am starting all over again.
I've been in a bit of a rut lately, but I finally understand why: I've been posting too many different stories. The intended direction is that all stories or that will be published in the future fall within the same chronological timeline based on the All Grown Up! canon, but I've been going back and forth on different projects and as a result it has left me spreading myself too thin by working on too many projects at the same time. After a great deal of thought, I've concluded that my work is inconsistent, therefore I've decided to go back to the beginning and fully rework All Grown Up (Season Six), renaming it Teens!.
Instead of posting different stories, they will all be published here, which should give it a neater appearance and make it easier for readers to navigate. Don't worry, the Kawalski family will remain the same with some minor modifications to better the overall plot arc.
Summary
A new family has moved into town, Meanwhile Lou Pickles clashes with an old enemy from his past.
New Friends & Old Enemies Part 1.
Tommy's love life had taken a massive turbulence. He pretended to be down on himself, and as a result, his friends would show him kindness, even if some of their actions were excessive because he really didn't want the extra attention, even if it was with good intentions to help him get over the breakup.
Tommy was faced with the consequences of his friends not wanting to speak to him after Kimi, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil figured out that he was faking his emotional distress as a result, and to add insult to injury, his now ex-girlfriend, Rachel, rejected him a second time, and a potential new romance with Nita was now diminished thanks to the awkward crossroad which had neither desired outcome thanks to the interference that was made.
Chuckie came to his senses and paid him a visit and spent time with him to help him process his feelings and come to terms with his heartbreak. Tommy spent the time yelling and raving and analyzing what he did wrong, the what ifs, and what could have been.
Dil got home in the late afternoon, downtrodden and demoralised as his weary face would suggest. Chuckie shuffles to the armrest of the sofa so Dil may sit in the centre as he sits down.
Chuckie realized something was wrong with Dil and asked, "What's the matter, Dil?" You appear depressed."
"Aunt Charlotte is threatening me with a lawsuit!" stated Dil
Tommy kept shouting "Rachel!" while Dil rants on about Charlotte, and Chuckie sighs, realizing it's going to be late by the time the two Pickle's brothers are feeling any better, which could be after dark.
When Tommy returned to school the next day, he noticed Phil and Lil hallway were still not speaking to him, instead giving him a nasty look and walking away in the opposite direction, grabbing his belongings from his locker as he shut the door closed and turned the padlock key, he was surprised to see Kimi standing next to him.
"Kimi..." Tommy began.
Arms wrapped around her books "It wasn't cool of you lying the way you did, we honestly thought you were upset after Rachel broke up with you," Kimi explains.
Tommy steps back from eye contact, takes a big breath, and adds, "I only pretended to be upset so you guys would leave me alone and let me deal with it on my own time, come on throwing away my sandwich, what was that all about?"
Kimi says, "I get it Tommy, perhaps we were over the top, but we were just making sure you were alright, you're my friend and I hate seeing you so sad."
"Well, all of your hearts are in the right places, and your brother was very patient, he listened to me for hours, I got a lot of my chest last night," Tommy stated.
"Chuckie told me when he got home, I'll have a word with Lil and Phil, and I'll make you a free sandwich at the Java Lava," Kimi smiled.
Tommy grins and says, "Get Phil to make it and I'll consider him forgiven," chuckling as he eases into full eye contact, no longer angry at her or Phil and Lil.
"Done deal, are we friends again?" Kimi asked, her chin tilted and her ankle slightly twisted.
"Of course, we're still friends," Tommy said with a smile as Kimi hugged him with one arm while clutching her books with the other.
"Let's get to class," Kimi said as they walked together. When they arrived at their first lesson, Tommy was hesitant to open the door, so he put his palms on the door and stated in the third person, "Come on Tommy, you can do this."
Kimi gently patted Tommy's back and murmured, "One day at a time..."
Three months later...
On the other side of North Highland Avenue, Paddy O'Reily had decided it was time for him and his family to leave after nearly ten years living there, the new home owners had just arrived, followed by the removal van, which had pulled over behind their car outside the house.
Choosing to stay in his car, he rolled down his window and handed the new homeowners their keys. "Good luck to you lad," Paddy said, "you're going to need it living with these crazy neighbors!"
With the key's in his hand, the man grinned and replied, "I think we'll be fine, Paddy, but thanks for the heads up."
"You haggled well, you got this house at a cut throat price but I needed the quick sale, anyway I got a long drive ahead of me so good luck," Paddy remarked as he shook the man's hand and drove away.
The man and his wife stood in front of their new home, taking in the excitement of having a new dwelling. He unlocked the front door to allow the removal workers to take the boxes into the property.
The pair strolled to the edge of the driveway, looking across the street at the neighboring houses. "Now this is what you call suburban paradise," said the man, his arm over his wife's shoulder.
His wife, cuddling into him, adds, "Once we get everything in order, we'll collect the kids from your parents and they can fight over who gets which room," she chuckles.
"This is a new beginning, and I believe we will be very happy here in California," the man said as the couple entered the house
With the dust settled and going through the motions as one does with a break up, Tommy is finally back on track. Kimi had spoken some sense into Phil and Lil with the gang concluding they had a part to blame in the mess that was caused. Now on good terms with everyone, the previous event that had transpired was becoming a distant memory.
Tommy's first subject of the school day was science class, this one of the few times where he was separated from his friends.
When Tommy and his peers entered the classroom, they were surprised to see a familiar figure sitting at the desk. Mrs. Guppie resumed her job as a science teacher, succeeding Mr. Singh, who accepted a higher-paying position in the same field at a private school.
Her motivation for returning to Jim Jr High was that she couldn't deal with the students at her previous school, Eucaipa High.
"Mrs. Guppie, long time no, see?" Tommy asked.
Mrs. Guppie eyebrows dropped slightly showing she took no amusement in his comment, greets him with a dry tone "Hello, young Tommy,"
"What are you doing here? Whatever happened to Mr. Singh?" asked Tommy.
"Mr. Singh has left for another school, I'm his permanent replacement moving forward" said Mrs. Guppie
Mr. Singh had a laid-back personality who made all his classes fun, by teaching fun science experiments that all the students were fully engaged in, even the students who had no interest in this subject enjoyed attending his classes. Chuckie and Susie were his top students and his departure leaves a massive void among the school grounds.
Tommy went from jovial to unhappy in a matter of seconds, everybody sat in a depressed silence knowing the fun classes would be boring and monotonous moving forward.
Gathering his pencils at his desk while Mrs. Guppie writes the morning lesson on the chalkboard. Holding her book, she instructs the kids to flip the page on their own books, "Let's begin our lesson, turn your page, and we will begin on Isaac Newton."
Tommy leans his elbow on his desk, face resting against the palm of his hand, as he begins to day dream, envisioning himself as a big shot film director, but before he fully drifts off, he snaps out of it, opening his book, flipping the page, waiting to see what Mrs. Guppie is about to say next.
When Principal Pangborn enters the classroom with what appears to be a new student who has just arrived, Mrs. Guppie turns around and says, "Hello, Mr. Pangborn."
"Good morning, Mrs. Guppie. I hope the students are behaving themselves," stated Pangborn, sternly looking at Tommy and the rest of the class.
Mrs. Guppie responds, "The pupils are fine and dandy, at least for now, and speaking of pupils, I see we have a new student," glancing at the young man who was silent, wearing all denim, cool trendy shades, and a curtain style haircut perfectly slicked to compliment his look.
Principle Pangborn calls the class's attention, speaking in a surprisingly calmer tone of voice, "Settle down everyone," motioning his hands, "Let's give a warm Jim Jr High welcome to our newest addition to the school, please tell us a bit about yourself," as he takes two steps back, allowing the new kid to speak in front of the class.
The new youngster introduces himself without hesitation, speaking confidently, "My name is Kev Kawalski, I have two sisters who have just started as well, and my family has just moved here from Hilwood."
Mrs. Guppie then says to Kev, pointing to an empty desk next to Tommy, "Very good Kev, now please take a seat, you can sit at that empty desk next to Tommy and I'll give you notes after class to get you up to speed."
Principal Pangborn adds, "While I'm here, I'd want to remind everyone that the deadline to sign up for hockey team trials is at the end of this week. More information is available on the school bulletin board"
Mrs. Guppie, eager to begin and with 10 minutes chopped off the one-hour lesson, implies her impatience "Yes thank you Mr. Pangborn."
Pangborn exits the classroom, closing the door behind him and muttering, "I miss Mr. Singh already, Mrs. Guppie is as fun as a wet blanket."
Kev sits down and tucks his backpack under the desk. Tommy takes the chance to introduce himself, reaching over to give him a fist bump with a warm smile. "Hey Kev, I'm Tommy Pickles."
His fist bump is returned. Kev remarked, "Nice to meet you Tommy, you're the first one to approach me since I first entered this school."
Tommy responded, "Well, I can fully see the first day is a significant transition being in a new school.
With arm hanging on his top of chair, leaning back slightly, Kev ask's Tommy a question "So which clique do you belong too?"
Tommy grinned, "We are too cool to hang out with the nerds, but we are too uncool to hang out with the popular clique."
"I get you, Tommy." Kev remarked, bending his arm slightly, "So you're in the middle of the popular and unpopular cliques. Personally, I think the popular clique just uses their popularity to cover up for their own insecurities."
Tommy responded with a smile, "I never thought of that way before but you'll get along with everyone. Let me introduce you to everyone during recess if we can't catch anyone between classes."
Kev gladly accepts his kind offer, saying, "Sure, it would be nice to meet your friends."
Mrs. Guppie interrupted the two boys' talk by saying, "I'm afraid we do not have any more books, you can share Tommy's for the time being."
Kev adds, "Thank you, Mrs. G," as the two boys breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Returning to the chalk-board the lesson begins, fifty minutes later which feels much longer to Tommy and Kev, Mrs. Guppie looks at the clock on the wall tells everyone to finish what they were doing "Okay students, class dismissed, you may put your things away and make your way to your next classes"
Nobody could have jumped out of their seats any quicker, Tommy and Kev pack their school bags, before they can leave the classroom, Mrs. Guppie quickly stops him. "Don't forget to take away your notes with you"
Kev grabs her notes, quickly scrunching the paper and stuffing it into his schoolbag, "Thanks Mrs. G, I'll try to get up to speed."
Mrs. Guppie was irritated by his carelessness with the sheets, as she took her time writing down those essential notes, but she chose not to do anything as she let him off this time.
The next class was finished, the school bell rang and it was time for morning recess, Tommy hadn't seen anyone from the group during the crossover, before they could make their out to the school yard, Kev is hesitant to go outside "Tommy, I think I'm going to sit this one out, I rather stay inside for recess"
Tommy fully understands the stress of being a new student, respectfully gives him space "Don't sweat it, Kev. If I don't see you next class, see you at lunch?"
Kev gives him a thumbs up and says "Sounds like a plan to me, I'll see you and your pals at lunch"
"See you around" said Tommy as they went opposite ways down the hallway.
Lunch break finally arrived; Tommy regrouped with everyone in the school cafeteria. Kimi sits next to him "Are you feeling any better since Rachel broke up with you?".
"It's been a long road, time's the number one healer as they say, I'm well over Rachel" said Tommy smiling.
"Very true, Tommy, I couldn't have said better myself" said Lil patting his back.
Changing the topic of conversation, Tommy brings up Mrs. Guppies Suprise return "I was in Science class this morning and you will not believe me if I tell you who's back"
"Who was it T?" asked Dil chomping into his food.
"Mrs. Guppie is back!" said Tommy in a mellow dramatic tone.
"That sucks big time! Mr. Singh was such a fun teacher!" said Kimi dropping her fork back on her food tray in disbelief.
"Yeah man, we did all sorts of fun science experiments, this bites..." said Phil
Lil takes notice of Chuckie as he has hardly had a bite of his food, elbowing leaning against the table, making circle motions with his fork, she asks him what's wrong.
"What's wrong with you, Chuckie? you've hardly taken a bite of your food," Lil asked.
"I have to report to detention yet again after school" said Chuckie sighed.
"What did you do this time?" asked Tommy raising his fork.
"I put fake ice cubes into his glass of lemonade, you know the prank ones with the flies in them" said Chuckie gesturing his hands.
Everyone laughs out loud with amusement except for Chuckie failing to find any humour in the predicament he has got himself in.
"Well, let's just say Pangborn didn't take the joke too lightly," Chuckie replied.
"Oh Chuckie, you're always getting yourself into detention," Tommy remarked.
"It's not funny, Tommy!" Chuckie exclaimed.
"I'm only kidding Chuck, by the way, we have three new students who just started, one of whom is named Kev and was in my science class," Tommy explained.
"Her little sister Allie was in all of my classes, she's so cool..." Dil quietly explained.
"I think someone has their first crush," Kimi joked.
"Come on, Kimi! "I'm not interested in anyone; I just think she's cool because we share a lot in common," Dil replied, crossing his arms and leaning his head.
"Cool it, Mr. Grumpy Pants, I'm just teasing you," Kimi stated firmly.
"Those must be the new kids," Lil says as she turns her head to see three students looking for a table.
Dil also turns his head and smiles, "Hey, there's Allie"
"Look, there's Kev; I didn't think he'd join us," Tommy exclaimed.
"We've established who Kev and Allie are, but who is the other girl?" to everyone, Kimi asked
Kev notices Tommy, Himself, Allie, and what they presume is the oldest sister approaching their table with lunch trays in hand.
"Oh... he's approaching me, and he's also cute!" Lil said enthusiastically as Kev approached her.
"Did I hear what I think you said?" Kimi inquired, lifting an eyebrow.
Kev and his siblings arrive at the table "Hey how's it hanging, if you don't know who I am, I'm Kev and these two are sister Allie and Beth"
Allie responds with a single word, "Hey..."
She is 11 years old and the epitome of a tomboy. Her hair is cut short on the back and sides, with a long fringe covering both of her eyes, and she is dressed in a baggy black t-shirt with a skull on it, long skater shorts, and black canvas trainers to complete her look, implying she enjoys skateboarding.
Next, the oldest sister Beth makes her introduction brief and pleasant, saying "Pleased to meet you all" to everyone.
Beth has long wavy hair that covers her left eye and is very fashionable. When she notices Phil is staring at her, she tries to avoid sitting next to him by sitting with Kimi and Tommy instead.
Kev finally speaks to Lil and asks, "Hey, would it be okay if I sit next to you?" Lil gets what she wants.
"Yes!" exclaimed Lil, smiling.
Tommy introduced his pals to the Kawalskis, and for those who didn't know who was who and vice versa, it provided the ideal opportunity for everyone to become acquainted.
"This is Kimi, and I'll introduce you three to the rest of us," Tommy added.
"Hello," Kimi said.
"Chuckie," Tommy said.
"Pleased to meet your acquaintances," Chuckie said.
"Phil and Lil, the twins," Tommy remarked, "Hi, Lil," and "Hey, Phil."
"My brother Dil," Tommy remarked, "Salutations," Dil waved.
Kimi invites them to join them for smoothies at the Java Lava before they leave for their various classes. "Would you like to join us for smoothies after school at the Java Lava, Kev, Beth, and Allie?"
"Yeah, that's a good shout," Kev said.
"Our parents own the coffee shop, and we often help out," Chuckie explained.
"Our Mom also helps run the shop," Lil pointed out.
"Oh, wait... After class, I have detention... "But go on without me," Chuckie responded, recalling that he had detention after school.
"We'd better get to class quickly," Tommy stated as they all made their way back to the corridor.
Chuckie has little reason to look forward to the conclusion of the school day now that he knows he has detention after school.
"Detention feels like an eternity," Chuckie muttered as he dragged himself back in.
As the rest of the students were making their way to their respective classes, Lil and Kev took a step to the side so they could both converse.
"There's a lot to do here in Eucaipa," Lil replied, resting against the wall.
"It'd be nice to see more of this city." Kev replied, smiling.
"May I show you around?" "Be your own tour guide," Lil giggled.
"Hanging out with a pretty thing like you, yeah, I could pencil you in," Kev boasted.
"Stop, you're making me blush!" Lil replied, caressing his arm as her cheeks flushed.
"I suppose we should get to class," Alex remarked.
"Let's go, don't want to end up in detention like Chuckie," Lil murmured as they walked along, Kev's hands nonchalantly in his front jacket pockets as Lil remained staring at him.
The school day was finally over, and everyone gathered outside the campus. Kimi was pleased to have a well-earned smoothie at the java lava, where she could relax with her pals because it was her and Chuckie's afternoon off.
"Now that school is out of the way, let's go get some smoothies!" Kimi declared
Tommy promptly reminds everyone, "Oh wait... Chuckie is still in detention."
"We've got to bail him out in some way," Phil stated firmly.
"Look over there, at the teachers' parking lot," Kev pointed out.
"Pangborn appears to be having car trouble," Dil joked, as Allie and Beth grinned at his remark.
Pangborn was standing next to his car, kicking his portable tyre pressure pump into the air, exclaiming, "My front tyre has deflated! Why didn't I just pay for a fresh new one at a trustworthy garage?" He clenched his fists as he yelled and ranted.
He becomes more agitated, kicking the tyre in frustration while attempting to figure out why his tyre keeps deflating.
The gang approached Pangborn, and Kev questioned him, "Yo Mr. P, you got some car troubles?"
Pangborn scratched his bald head and said, "Kev, I'm having a bit of car trouble with my front tyre, it keeps deflating, the tyre pressure won't stay intact," pointing to the deflated tyre.
"Let me help you Mr. Pangborn, our Grandpa is a trained mechanic. He taught me a trick," replied Kev.
"A kid fixing a car tyre, don't make laugh!" exclaimed Pangborn, palms on his stomach.
"Do you want to have this tyre fixed or not?" Kev raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, Okay," Pangborn said repeatedly, stretching his palms out, "take a look and tell me what your verdict is."
Kev kneels with one knee attentively inspecting the tyre to determine the source of the problem and immediately finds what it is "Ah-ha found it, there is a small hole," Kev stated.
Kev's mechanical skills impresses his newfound buddies, notably Lil, who says, "Well, you sure have a knack for motors."
Regaining his footing, he said to Lil, "Well, what can I say, I just have a natural talent for car mechanics."
Despite his attitude, Lil grows more smitten by his outgoing demeanour, and Tommy compliments him, "That explains it, well done Kev, not bad for your first day"
Kev responds by making a gun gesture and clicking his teeth at Tommy, who smiles back.
"I should have listened to Carl, what's done has been done, how do you intend to fix this Kev?" Pangborn says, hands clinched on his torso.
"I'll need a hammer and a nail; I can hammer the puncture as a temporary fix until you can get it replaced," Kev scratched his chin.
"Go check Carl's janitor closet" Pangborn replied, taking the school master key from his front pocket. "Here's my master key; it unlocks every door in the school."
Sensing an opportunity to visit her brother, Kimi rushes in to volunteer to obtain the necessary tool. "I'll go get the hammer and nail," Kimi stated, taking the key from Pangborn.
Chuckie was bored out of his mind in the detention room, and the teacher in charge was gone to use the restroom, so Kimi took advantage of the opportunity to see her brother without being detected.
"Hey Chuckie," she says, peering through the open door.
"Hi Kimi, what are you doing here?" says Chuckie, who is seated right next to the door.
"I believe Kev has your ticket out of here," Kimi replied.
"Oh really?" Chuckie inquired, shocked.
"Yeah, hang tight bro," Kimi responded as she made her way to Carl's janitor closet.
Kimi opens the closet and is startled by how cluttered and smelly it is. She pinches her nose as she checks the inventory and discovers a hammer and a box of nails on the middle shelf.
She returns with the hammer and nail box.
"Can you inflate it again?" Kev questioned Pangborn.
"Yes, I have a spare one tyre pressure machine in the trunk," Pangborn remarked as he opened it., as he reinflates the tyre again, luckily having a spare in case he kicked the first one out of frustration.
After that, Kimi hands Kev the package of nails.
"Thanks, Kimi, now I can get this sorted," Kev remarked as he took the box and opened it first, pulling one nail out and inserting it into the tyre puncture while Kimi passed the hammer. "Thanks', Kimi,".
"No problem, Kev," Kimi replied, her hands behind her back.
"That should do it, it's a temporary fix, but it should keep it inflated," Kev remarked, checking the tread with his foot just to make sure.
"You have saved me from taking the bus back home!" exclaimed Pangborn.
"Well, it was nothing," Kev responded.
"What can I do to repay you, young man?" Pangborn inquired, placing a hand on Alex's shoulder.
"Can you please let Chuckie out of detention?" Kev, who was trying his luck, inquired,
"Normally, I wouldn't cancel a student's detention, but in this case, I'll make an exception... consider it done!" Pangborn thanks Kev for repairing his tyre with a hearty clap on the back.
"All right, big brother, way to go," Allie remarked.
Beth gives him a high five, a triumph the gang can celebrate at the Java Lava.
Pangborn marches over to the detention room and goes through the door to tell Chuckie, "Finster, you're off the hook this time, so you're free to go."
"I am?!" Chuckie exclaimed, faking his shock.
"You are, and you have Kev to thank," Pangborn remarked.
"I'm free!" exclaimed Chuckie.
"You can go now, and if you pull another stunt like that, not even Kev will be able to save you next time," Pangborn added.
"Understood..." Chuckie said.
"On your way before I change my mind," Pangborn remarked, pointing to the door.
"Yes, sir!" exclaimed Chuckie as he snatched his bag from underneath the desk. The rest of the students still in detention give him a frightening look, leading him to flee.
"I'd better get out of here," Chuckie stated as he exited the classroom.
He dashes over to Kev, who is still waiting with the rest of them. "Thank you so much, Kev, for getting me out of there," Chuckie remarked.
"No problem, Chuckie; I'd feel bad if we left without you," Kev said.
"I'm free from the shackles of detention!" exclaimed Chuckie, raising his arms in the air.
"I wonder how long it will be before you get detention again," Phil remarked wisely.
Chuckie glances at Phil with his eyes half shut, and seeing no humour in his remark, Phil backs off and says, "Dude, just kidding man, relax Chuck."
Kimi felt she had waited long enough, which was very understandable, so she directed everyone to the Java Lava. "Phil, stop winding Chuckie up and let's go everyone! if we stay standing idle it will be closing time!"
End of Part 1