Chapter 7: New Student

A new week was beginning. Diddy was heading to school and, as always, his bully classmates would be waiting to bother him. But this time, Diddy stayed hidden among the tree branches, watching the quartet quite stealthily until Wrinkly arrived. He didn't feel like putting up with those four bully kids, not if that image of them threatening him in his nightmares overwhelmed him.

When Diddy saw Wrinkly arriving at school, he came down from the trees and went outside. He knew that the quartet kids would see him pass anyway, but at least he was certain that Wrinkly's presence would not give them a chance to bother him.

"Look, the cowardly vermin monkey has arrived!" said Mandrew, and the rest of the group laughed. But Diddy ignored them and continued walking at fast paces.

"Oh, he's afraid of us," Jemky added in a mocking tone. "Poor little silly monke-"

"Silence! It's Wrinkly!" Rocky quietly interrupted the group.

"Good morning, children," Wrinkly appeared a while later, calming the situation.

"Oh, good morning, Mrs. Wrinkly," the entire quartet responded with forced smiles.

As if nothing had happened, Wrinkly invited her students to head towards the classroom. Diddy went with them, at the same time that he looked askance at the quartet of bullies and they made mocking gestures at each other.

"You're saved, dwarf," Jemky murmured to Diddy.

Then, everyone entered the classroom and went to sit at their respective positions to begin. For her part, Wrinkly went to her desk, but before starting class, she stood in front of the entire classroom; apparently, she had an important announcement that she wanted to make.

"Children! Before we start class, I have to tell you something," Wrinkly announced to the class, drawing their attention. "It's a novelty."

The students were curious about these words from their teacher, and began to ask and murmur what it was about.

"No homework?"

"Vacation?"

"New lockers?"

"No!" Wrinkly responded firmly before making the official announcement. "It's... new student!"

"New student?!" they all exclaimed in succession, appearing astonished.

Wrinkly nodded, earning some strange and curious looks from her students. At that moment, everyone began to assume who it was and what it would be like, since they had not had new classmates for a long time, and the cycle had already been going on for a few weeks.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door and Wrinkly went to open it. She greeted whoever was outside, before calling to come in.

"Well, you can come in, dear girl!" Wrinkly said as someone was about to enter the door.

"Dear girl? It's a… girl?" Melenky whispered in the middle of the class, confusing the rest.

Suddenly, that someone opened the door wider and approached to enter the classroom. Everyone turned to see who she was.

"W-what?!" Diddy said in a low voice and was shocked to see that it was nothing more and nothing less than… Dixie!

Indeed, it was the same Dixie; she had decided to also study at Kong Kollege. The other students looked at her strangely as she walked around the room.

"Welcome to class, Dixie. They will be your classmates," Wrinkly told her kindly. "I hope you all get along very well and become good friends. The students here are very friendly, right, kids?"

The students responded affirmatively, although they continued to look somewhat strangely at Dixie, especially the quartet of bully children.

"Okay, students, she is Dixie and she came to live on this island about a month and a half ago," Wrinkly added, returning to the front of the classroom. "Now each of you say your names so she knows you, please."

The students proceeded to give their names one by one, and after that, class continued as normal. As expected, Dixie walked toward Diddy and chose to sit in a booth next to him, greeting him with a smile when she arrived. For his part, he returned the greeting in the same way... although deep down it was not something that excited him at first as it would expect.

The other students only seemed to wonder about Dixie. The group of four bully children kept looking at her strangely. Diddy, on the other hand, was still shocked; he never imagined that Dixie would join the class, and he was even starting to worry because he feared that that quartet bullies would also hurt her... It was the first thing he thought about when he saw her arrive.

Later, it was break and everyone went out to the yard. During that period of time, Diddy could rest easy, since Wrinkly was always present, so it was not a good time for his four bad classmates to bother him.

However, this time, Diddy wasn't calm about seeing Dixie there. He went to talk to her, since he wanted to give her the warnings about enrolling in Kong Kollege, and it was no small matter how worried he was now.

"Dixie!… W-what are you doing here?!" Diddy told her in a low voice, looking somewhat worried.

"What? I wanted to come to class too," Dixie responded, smiling and not paying attention to Diddy's reaction.

"No, no, it's a serious mistake coming now. I mean… Did you forget what I told you about those four bad kids? They could hurt you too!"

"Oh, come on! They don't look that dangerous, they're our age, just look at them," Dixie pointed towards the group of four kids, who were in another corner. "Besides... they don't have weapons now like you told me."

"Yes, but they're hateful, they like bothering me and hitting me all the time," Diddy replied. "They could do the same to you!"

"Well, they're our size, I don't think there's a problem," Dixie commented with a shrug. "I thought they would look stronger to face them."

"But you don't understand," Diddy added, still alarmed, "they are completely set out to annoy."

While Diddy and Dixie argued, on the other hand was the quartet of bullies, who also gathered as a group to talk to each other. The four of them looked at Dixie strangely at first, especially seeing that she was with Diddy.

"Hey, what's that new girl like?" Rocky asked, pointing surreptitiously at her.

"I thought there weren't going to be any new students," Melenky said with a strange look. "And she just got together with that dumb monkey Diddy."

"I don't know, I think she's just like that lizard monkey," Mandrew responded, shrugging his shoulders and crossing his arms. "She must also be a coward and weakling like him. Just look, she's a… little girl; she must be even weaker than that dumb monkey."

"And look! Apparently, they are friends," Melenky commented, before smiling mockingly. "Looks like we might now have two silly little monkeys to bother, what do you say?"

"I do, to be honest," Mandrew replied, smiling somewhat maliciously. "I feel like it must be fun in that case: two weak little monkeys."

"Well... I don't know about you, but... I think she's very pretty," Jemky added, looking at her, instead, in a smiling way.

"Oh, are you serious, Jemky?" exclaimed Melenky, looking at him strangely. "Why are you always interested in girls?"

"What? I'm just saying what she is," Jemky responded, shrugging his shoulders and still smiling as he continued looking at her. "Wow... she's so beautiful, really."

"Anyways, none of the girls here pay attention to you," Melenky added, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, and how about we go to those two and talk to them?" Rocky suggested to the other three.

Diddy and Dixie, for their part, continued talking about the topic. When suddenly, they saw that the quartet of bully children had them in their sights and seemed to be heading towards them. As they approached, Diddy looked fearful while Dixie just looked at them strangely at their approach.

"Hey, hello, little monkeys. Sorry if we interrupted," Jemky said formally before speaking to Dixie. "What was your name, new girl?"

"Uh, Dixie," she responded without taking them a strange look away.

"Oh, Dixie? What a... pathetic name," Mandrew mocked, unable to resist teasing her, and then Rocky and Melenky began to laugh a little.

"Mandrew!" Jemky whispered, nudging him. "Don't start with the antics yet."

"Hey, what's wrong with you?!" Dixie responded to Mandrew offended. "Have a little more manner!"

"But your name is pathetic... like you," Melenky added in a mocking tone.

"Melenky!" Jemky whispered again, apparently trying to calm them down.

"And look at her ugly hair," Mandrew added, pulling hard on one of Dixie's curly locks. "They are from silly girls."

Diddy could see that the quartet was starting to get annoying, and he couldn't let them do the same with Dixie.

"No!" Diddy interfered, getting in front of Dixie. "I won't let you hurt her too!"

"Wow, wow, and if we hurt your little friend, do you think you can defend her?" Mandrew told him in a sarcastic tone. "Wimpy lizard!"

"Hey, don't call Diddy that way!" Dixie replied firmly as she saw the tension building.

"Oh, so you are a very strong headed girl!" Rocky responded, looking up.

"It looks like you're just like Diddy," Melenky added before laughing. "Just as stupid!"

"I'll tell Mrs. Wrinkly and-" Dixie stressed to them, but Diddy nudged her lightly so she wouldn't continue.

"Did you say Wrinkly?" Rocky exclaimed with a warning look. "By the way, Diddy, have you already told her what's going to happen if you report us with Wrinkly?"

"Yes, I know!" Diddy responded angrily. "So, don't you dare do some of your dirty tricks to Dixie!"

The four of them looked at Diddy in a mocking manner and as if they wanted to laugh at him, while he was in a firm position to defend Dixie if necessary.

"Well, be thankful that Wrinkly is watching break time right now," Rocky told him, shrugging his shoulders and pointing his eyes at Wrinkly. "See you, little monkeys."

With that, the four of them laughed among themselves again and left. As they walked away, they could be heard murmuring about the two... except for Jemky, who just glanced at Dixie from a distance and smiled at her. For her part, Dixie just looked at them strangely.

"How unpleasant those children are," Dixie commented with disgust.

"Yes, and we should really be grateful that Wrinkly is watching," Diddy added somewhat ironically. "Anyway, I guess we have to be very careful with those four."

"Hey, but seriously... Those four kids don't seem that difficult to deal with if they go too far."

"Yes, if it weren't for the fact that if they don't mess with you, they'll mess with your things, your homework, and your lunch," Diddy answered, rolling his eyes a little.

"And what are the other children like? I mean... they don't know anything about those four?"

"Those kids are also unfriendly; just talk to them and they will look at you like a weirdo. And no, I think they don't know anything about the things those four bullies do, in fact, they four were also treated like weirdos when they arrived at this school... I regret not having done the same and having listened to them."

"Jeez, it's not a fun classroom then," Dixie commented with a shrug. "When I went to school, I always had good classmates, of course, some were hateful, but generally I had good friends."

"Have you been to a school too?"

"Of course. Until two years ago I went, and last year I couldn't because... well, several things happened."

"Diddy! Dixie! How are you?" Wrinkly appeared behind them. "How did it go, Dixie? Did you like school?"

"Oh, of course, Mrs. Wrinkly," Dixie replied, smiling. "It's all good so far."

"That's good, I'm glad, little one," Wrinkly replied in a sweet tone. "I hope you can continue like this. And well... I came to talk to you too, Diddy, it's so I can review your homework from last week."

"Oh, yes, I was forgetting," Diddy replied, putting his hand to his head. "Okay, let's go right now. Wait a while, Dixie," he told her before quickly leaving.

"If you want, you can go have your lunch in the area over there, Dixie," Wrinkly told her kindly.

"Okay, Mrs. Wrinkly," Dixie responded in the same way.

Wrinkly also left the conversation and headed towards the classroom along with Diddy, since he had a pending assignment to present... which he had done at the time, but his bad classmates ruined it for him and, as he always did, Diddy had made an excuse so he could present it later.

For her part, Dixie went to sit on some wooden seats, which were set up for having lunch. She was carrying a bag in which she brought some fruits to eat and, after getting comfortable with it, she began to enjoy her lunch while she waited for Diddy to return.

Suddenly, Dixie heard someone nearby and, turning to look, she realized that it was Jemky, the orangutan boy, who was apparently walking towards her and smiling at her. Dixie just looked at him strangely as soon as she saw him.

"Hey! How are you, new girl?" Jemky said greeting her. "Dixie, right?"

"Uh… yes?" she answered Dixie, still looking at him strangely.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I just wanted to ask you," he told her with a little laugh, before speaking to her normally. "Oh, and right, I wanted to apologize for what happened recently and the stupid comments of my friends... They sometimes don't measure their words; don't pay attention to them."

"Yes, I realized that," Dixie replied, looking up.

"So, you're new here, right?" he asked her with a smile and a fixed look. "Do you come from another island too?"

"Well, yes... You too?" Dixie asked him without removing her serious look.

"That's right, although we don't live here... And then, you're Diddy's friend, right?"

"Uh, yes, of course. Don't you?"

"We were, but... things happened and we have grown apart... And have you been his friend for a long time or did you just meet him?"

"I've known him for a while," she replied, still looking at him suspiciously.

"Oh, so, you're good friends," Jemky commented, smiling and looking up. Suddenly, he started staring at Dixie in a fixed way, which seemed much weirder to her. "Your eyes are pretty," he told her, smiling at her and still looking at her.

"Uh… thanks? I guess," Dixie replied with a forced smile, before becoming serious again.

"They are almost the same color as mine," he added, blinking his greenish eyes. Then, he gave her a strange look. "Hey, you're kind of serious... I liked you," he finished, smiling at her again before taking a few steps back. "See you, Dixie."

Jemky then began to walk away and retreated. Suddenly, Diddy also appeared on the way, who had a strange look on Jemky after having caught him talking to Dixie. As they crossed the path, Jemky gave Diddy a sideways glance, before giving him a small pat on the head and continuing walking as he smiled.

Diddy immediately headed towards Dixie, as it was obvious that he felt slight tension after seeing that one of the bully kids had been interacting with her.

"What did that kid tell you?" Diddy asked her in a low voice.

"He was asking about myself, about you, and about my eyes," Dixie responded with a shrug.

Later, break ended and everyone returned to the classroom. Class continued as normal, except for Diddy, who was only worried about Dixie and still thinking that it had been a terrible idea that she went to that school. Meanwhile, the quartet of bully children looked at them both out of the corner of their eyes and laughed quietly. Dixie, for her part, also gave them a strange look at those four children.

A couple of hours later, class ended and everyone began to leave.

"See you tomorrow, my children, take care of yourselves," Wrinkly said goodbye, smiling at them as each one left. The last ones to leave were Diddy and Dixie. "Oh, and Dixie, I hope you liked your first day of school."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wrinkly," Dixie replied, smiling. "Of course."

Wrinkly left completely, now leaving his students unsupervised, so Diddy had to keep an eye on his bad classmates, and he knew that he would have to protect Dixie no matter what... even though he himself couldn't defend himself well against them. They both started walking outside.

"Listen to this, Dixie," Diddy whispered as he glanced at the four of them, who were walking a little ahead of the two of them. "We'll go through those trees over there. Don't make any noise and don't say anything either, okay?"

Diddy pointed in a direction that apparently seemed to be a shortcut so the four bullies wouldn't catch them. Dixie just followed where Diddy was pointing. They were going to hide behind some bushes that were bigger than them and were somewhat narrow, so Diddy went in first so he could confirm to Dixie if it was safe. Until…

"Where are you going, dwarf?!" Jemky exclaimed, grabbing him by surprise and taking him to the other side of the bush.

"Nice try, dumb monkey!" Mandrew said, taking him too and smashing him on the ground.

The four had appeared and began attacking Diddy again, while he tried to hit them back without any success.

"Hey! Leave him!" Dixie appeared crossing the bush and grabbing Diddy.

The four of them stopped in their tracks when they saw Dixie arrive. She stood in front of Diddy while he was just all nervous about what might happen after seeing her in front of them. Suddenly, the quartet just started laughing out loud at Dixie's presence, and they looked at her in a mocking way.

"Wow, how scary, a girl!" Mandrew commented in a sarcastic tone.

"Come on, let's go, let's go," Diddy whispered to Dixie, taking her by the arm and then starting to escape.

"Hey, where are you going?!" exclaimed the four, stopping them.

"NO! Don't mess with Dixie!" Diddy exclaimed, trying to protect her and looking at them with all seriousness.

"Not with your friend, but with you," Jemky responded with a mocking look, before taking him by the shirt again.

"No, her too!" exclaimed the other three kids, taking Dixie.

"No, not with her!" Jemky replied, stopping them for some reason. "It's with the monkey!"

"But she comes with the monkey!" Mandrew replied. "Or what? Are you defending her too?"

"Huh, you defend her because she is a girl, I know that!" Melenky added in a mocking tone.

"No, is not that!" replied Jemky. "It is just that-"

Suddenly, Diddy saw that the four of them were a little distracted arguing, so he stealthily took Dixie's arm again and whispered to her.

"Let's go," Diddy said to Dixie as they tried to leave.

"You're not going to leave here!" Rocky exclaimed, stopping them again, and then gripping Diddy tighter. "You're not leaving here, monkey!"

Then the other three kids crowded around Diddy again, but Dixie stood in their way again to defend him.

"No, leave him!" she exclaimed, giving each of them a push.

"Hey, hey, girl, I'm not going to fight with you," Jemky exclaimed, staring at her.

"Well, you won't do it with Diddy either!" Dixie replied.

"You speak to us in that tone, don't you, stupid girl?!" Mandrew exclaimed, grabbing one of Dixie's locks tightly, before she gave him a single smack to make her let go.

"Don't talk to me like that, you nitty!" Dixie replied.

"Oh, do you want to fight?!" Rocky exclaimed, trying to go against her with Melenky.

"No, not to her!" Diddy stepped in to stop them.

"Don't get involved, you idiotic monkey!" Melenky replied, slapping him.

This time, Diddy did try as best he could to return the attacks to the four bad kids when they attacked him, although it didn't work out so well. After a few seconds, Dixie jumped in to defend him, but the quartet immediately began to push her away as well. The four kids continued trying to stop them both in a rough manner. Until, in a defensive move, Dixie slapped the four of them in succession, leaving them still for a few seconds.

"Ugh, you know what?! Let's better end this discussion!" exclaimed Jemky firmly. "It seems that now, apart from Diddy, we have another new toy... Attack them both!"

Suddenly, the four of them began to attack Diddy and Dixie. Diddy was taken by his tail, while Dixie was taken by her hair. They had them both trapped and began to attack them without letting them out, but suddenly... Dixie gained courage and gave Mandrew a single kick, followed by an attack with her hair that sent the mandrill boy flying a few meters away. The other three kids were shocked by such sudden movement from Dixie.

"Hmm, not bad for a girl," said the mandrill kid, standing up with a thirst for revenge. "But you can't beat all of us!"

Rocky and Jemky were going to attack her, but she punched each of them, knocking them to the ground. Melenky came after her to attack her as well, but she kicked him once and also knocked him to the ground.

"And what were you telling me?" Dixie exclaimed with her hands on her sides.

"You two, you'll see!" Jemky told them furiously, as they approached again to attack them both.

"Oh, yeah?" Dixie motioned to them with her fists in a fighting position. "Rather, you will see-"

"Uh, Dixie, we better run, run, run!" Diddy interrupted desperately as he took Dixie from her arm.

"Hey, but-"

"Just run!"

Dixie didn't want to escape, but Diddy was already running ahead, so she just followed him. Diddy was feeling more worried that the bully kids would hurt Dixie, much less he wanted to stay and fight with them in her presence.

"DON'T FLEE, COWARDS!" Mandrew shouted as the four of them followed them.

Another chase began, where Diddy and Dixie ran as fast as they could until they managed to get into the trees and hide behind some bushes so that the bully quartet would lose sight of them. While they were both in hiding, Diddy still couldn't believe how Dixie had made the decision to enroll in Kong Kollege.

"What's wrong with you today, Dixie?! Don't fight them, you'll get hurt. Just look at my eye!" whispered Diddy, looking desperate.

"Oh, come on! They're just kids our ages," Dixie replied. "It can't be that hard to defend against them."

"Oh, no, no, no, very serious mistake," Diddy reaffirmed. "It's dangerous!"

"You faced those mandrills that were chasing me and my family; those are really dangerous."

"Ha!" The four kids suddenly appeared and grabbed Diddy and Dixie by the hands. "We got you, fools!"

"Let go of me!" Dixie yelled as she tried to free herself from them.

Suddenly, Dixie slapped Rocky and Mandrew in the face, making them let go of her. Diddy, who was being held by Jemky and Melenky, tried to do the same but it didn't work.

"Ohhh, the monkey can't... Ahhh!" Jemky shouted as Dixie hit him to make him let go of Diddy.

Immediately, Diddy went to Dixie. Now the two of them were face to face with their four bad classmates, as if about to start a fight.

"Oh, well, do you want to fight?" Jemky told them with a malicious tone and hitting his fists. "So, let's see who wins!"

"With pleasure!" Dixie answered them in the same way, before whispering to Diddy. "Come on, Diddy, you can do it."

"But… are you serious?" Diddy asked her, confused.

"Yes, you can, I know you can!" Dixie exclaimed with attitude.

"So, let's fight, silly monkeys!" Rocky yelled at them, before heading towards both of them along with the group.

Dixie got into a fighting stance and, also encouraging Diddy, began another confrontation with the quartet of bully children. Even if Diddy was not at all prepared for the moment, he decided to stay at least so as not to leave Dixie alone. Diddy managed to punch Mandrew, but he hit him harder and knocked him down, so he just defended himself and tried to avoid them. Meanwhile, Dixie was a little better at fighting those kids; to any of the four that approached her, she parried their attacks and returned them, and even performed spinning attacks with her hair; the latter was what gave her enough advantage to fight.

A while later, the four of them seemed to be tired of just fighting with their hands, so they grabbed fallen tree branches. Diddy and Dixie, therefore, also did the same, and began to fight as if it were a sword fight. But unfortunately, Diddy was still a little nervous, which made it difficult for him to attack, so he went to hide behind a tree.

"Look, the monkey is a chicken!" Mandrew mocked him, earning laughter from the group.

"Don't call him that!" Dixie defended him. "He is strong!"

"Oh, yeah?!" Jemky replied in a mocking tone. "Well, let him show us and fight like a real ape! And well! This fight isn't over yet, little girl."

The confrontation continued, this time being Dixie against the quartet. She didn't want to be left behind and attacked the four of them as much as she could. Thanks to her hair, she could perform quick movements and also reach higher by jumping on them. A while later, Dixie was already leaving them tired and on the verge of giving up. Diddy just watched the fight with some concern for her; he wanted to go defend her but he knew he would lose.

"Okay… okay. I give up... You... win," Mandrew said, panting exhaustively and lying down on the ground later. "You're not bad for a girl."

"I give up too..." Rocky added in the same way. "I want... to rest for a while."

"Ohh, I need to go home right now," Melenky added, lying down on the ground with the two of them.

"What?! You don't have to give up! What's wrong with you?!" Jemky reproached them, standing up. "Fight like apes!"

"I fight like an ape, but... I'm tired," Mandrew responded while breathing heavily.

Dixie still stood in a fighting stance, glaring hard at the four. Jemky was the only one who didn't seem to want to give up yet. Then he stared at Dixie for a few seconds and walked toward her, this time more calmly and seriously.

"Hey, girl... It's okay, I give up too. Let's not fight anymore, okay?" Jemky told her in a calmer tone. "It seems like you're very strong and you don't give up, huh?" he added, smiling at her while he adjusted his hairdo and his vest. "I like your attitude," he whispered, winking at her closely.

Dixie looked at him strangely at that gesture, while Diddy, from his hiding place, couldn't help but feel some annoyance... one that he hadn't felt before this time.

"Do you know anything else?" Jemky continued, taking Dixie's hair with some delicacy. "I think you're also cute-"

"Oh, hey, I think you have something up your nose," Dixie pointed out.

"Uh, really?" Jemky asked as he tried to look at his own nose. "Oh, it's a blow that Diddy-"

Immediately, Dixie gave him a spinning attack with her hair and knocked him to the ground.

"Don't get close to me like that!" Dixie warned him with her fists raised.

"Hey, I was just telling you," Jemky replied, standing up. "I just told you that-"

"Don't get close to her-" Diddy exclaimed, giving Jemky a push, but he gave him a stronger push back.

"Oh, look!" Jemky interrupted. "The chicken monkey has just come out to defend-"

Immediately, Dixie gave him another spinning hair attack.

"Don't tell him that!" Dixie replied.

Suddenly, Jemky began to look furious and as if he wanted to continue opposing Diddy and Dixie, seeing that they were having the courage to confront them.

"Huh, stupid monkeys!" he exclaimed, bumping his fists. "Do you want to continue fighting-"

"Leave them, Jemky!" Rocky interrupted, looking tired. "Let's have lunch, I'm dying of hunger."

"Yes, tomorrow we'll continue bothering these moronic monkeys," Mandrew added in the same way.

"Our dads will be angry if we're late," Melenky added. "Remember that they'll arrive today."

"Oh, all right, all right," Jemky replied in a protesting tone, rolling his eyes. "This doesn't stay like this, couple of dwarfs, especially with you, girl!" he warned them both firmly.

Diddy's bully classmates, and now also Dixie's, finally left the place, since apparently, they had to get home for lunch and they even looked exhausted from fighting so much. Diddy had never seen them give up, which surprised him a lot, especially seeing that Dixie had given them their lesson.

After all that conflict, Diddy and Dixie started walking while talking about what happened.

"Hey, Dixie... I didn't know that about you," Diddy said, looking amazed and smiling. "Y-you defended yourself very well. Believe me, I'm… surprised. You gave those fools what they deserved," he added admiringly now that he had realized Dixie's bravery. "You were nice."

"Oh, thanks," Dixie replied, smiling a little, before frowning. "Geez, those four kids are really hateful... Hey, but why couldn't you fight? They're not that difficult to face."

"I can never counterattack them well, they always win and I don't want to hurt them either because I'll get in trouble," Diddy responded with frustration and then sighed. "Hey, Dixie... are you sure you want to be in that school with those four fools as classmates?"

"Diddy, the thing is..." Dixie said, pausing before answering. "You saved my cousins, my sister and me from those evil mandrills... If it weren't for you, we would no longer be alive and... in some way I wanted to repay you, and when you told me about your situation, I thought it would be the opportunity to do so."

Diddy adopted a look of surprise and at the same time concerned at Dixie's response. While he was sure that he had saved her and her family, he also felt somewhat guilty about her getting involved in his situation.

"Oh, no, Dixie, you had nothing to worry about," Diddy told her in a worried tone. "I just wanted to save you and that's it."

"No, Diddy, you literally saved our lives," she responded, smiling a little. "We didn't know how to thank you."

"But... I wouldn't want something bad to happen to you because of this."

"Don't worry, Diddy. Trust me," Dixie added, nodding, "I can defend myself against kids like them, I have done it before. They're not even armed now like you told me... By the way, I really don't see a problem if you tell Donkey about that, are you really not going to tell him?"

"Uhh, no... I just can't; I don't feel ready," he responded unsurely. "And I wouldn't want to continue mentioning the topic... Anyway, still... I also thank you for giving those four fools a lesson, Dixie," Diddy responded after sighing and smiling a little again. "Well, just be very careful, okay?"

"Okay," Dixie said with a small smile. To tell the truth, Diddy's classmates seemed to her like just hateful children who just wanted to feel important. "Hey, by the way, do you know how to do the homework that Mrs. Wrinkly left today? I just learned that lesson."

"Of course, it's very easy. If you want, I can help you," Diddy responded kindly.

"Thanks, Diddy, I just don't understand it well. I haven't been to school for almost a couple of years."

"I could teach you everything we've been taught so far to keep you up to date with the cycle," Diddy added. "How about?"

"Sounds great! How about we meet up later?" Dixie suggested.

"Okay, you can come to my house, or better to yours. We can even play with Chunky, Kiddy and Tiny as always."

"Okay, then I'll wait for you at mine," Dixie replied, smiling. "I'll let them know you're going to our house... Okay, then see you later, Diddy."

"See you later, Dixie," he replied, smiling back at her. "We'll meet later."

Then, Dixie left for her house, and Diddy did the same at his. But suddenly, as he was walking away from her, Diddy turned to look at her and stared at her with a smile. He was worried because now she would also go to school and the bad kids might do mean things to her like they did to him, but then, he remembered how strong and brave she was when she stood up to them. He had been amazed and even felt a little guilty for having underestimated her. Even so, in a certain way he thought that not everything would be bad... because now he could see her every day at school.

A few days ago, Diddy had realized that he was having a very strange and new feeling for him. He didn't know how to explain it well, but... Dixie seemed to him like a very... nice girl. He smiled in the moments when he was with her and...

"But what am I thinking?" he said to himself in his mind after having thought for a while about those affirmations about… Dixie.