Snapshots of Luanne

Chapter One: Luanne

March 1988, Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York

Philip J. Fry was not in a great mood that morning.

First, his brother Yancy gave him the rudest awakening—whacking him with a pillow and yelling at him for sleeping through his alarm—Next, he'd burnt his pop-tart, and worst of all? He missed the bus and was now stuck walking to school, on his own, with his heavy book bag full of assorted school crap slowly destroying his spine. He was grumbling to himself about how upset he was, until he was then wiped out by someone riding at him at full speed on a skateboard, knocking the both of them both down onto the pavement.

"Ow! What the hell?!" Fry yelled out attempting to sit up and rubbing the back of his head.

"Gah, I'm sorry!" a feminine voice said from behind him—well, on top of him. She was still crushing him a bit, on his spine, but not for long as she got up and brushed herself off.

She then helped him stand back up, and he groaned as he tried to straighten his back out a little.

"I didn't mean to run into you….I was in a rush because I didn't want to be late for my first day at a new school—" A girl with black hair, green eyes, and a beauty mark on her left cheek, wearing an icy blue sweater, and black and green plaid pleated skirt, pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She nervously twitched her leg, dragging her right sneaker in a side to side motion on the pavement. She picked up her skateboard and shoved it into her half open backpack.

"It's fine….though my lunch is…mashed beyond recognition." he said, holding up an eviscerated brown paper sack, that was dripping liquid. He tossed it in the trash. "Really a shame, I was looking forward to that bologna sandwich."

"Sorry…I have some extra money on me, I'll buy you lunch today…." she said, throwing her backpack on.

"Thanks…you're really nice…." Fry smiled at her "I'm Phil, though most people call me Fry…that's my last name though…" he added "Usually they call me that when they shove me into lockers!" he said, awfully chipper about that fact, as if it didn't bother him even one bit. He held out his hand to her to shake it, which she did.

"That's horrible! …I'm Luanne, Luanne Nichols. I just moved here from Manhattan…my folks wanted to be closer to my Nonna since she's getting older and all that." she shrugged "I think they just want to make sure they get a lot in her will though" she added on, with a bit of a smirk, while crossing her arms.

Fry laughed a little bit. "I don't get it." he immediately said.

"Well…we should probably be getting to school, imagine what they'll think if we both show up together late" she laughed

"….That we're really late?" Fry asked, raising an eyebrow and not seeming to understand what she was getting at.

"….right yeah….um…school is this way right?" she asked gesturing towards the direction he was walking before she ran into him.

"Yep! Follow me" he grabbed her hand, to her surprise, and pulled her along all the way to school, where they made it just as the final bell was ringing. Luanne went to the front office to get her school schedule, and then she met up back with Fry in the hallway. She read what classes she had to him.

"Hey! We have most of the same classes!" Fry pointed out.

"Oh wow, that's a coincidence, an awfully convenient one at that" she laughed. "But at least that means I can ask you where first period is."

Fry led her to their first period english class, where there were only 2 free seats left near the back. They both sat down.

"Oh Philip, nice of you to finally join us," the teacher said sarcastically, leaning against her desk at the front of the classroom. "I see you've even spread your tardiness habit to our new student."

All of the other students in the classroom looked back at the two of them, staring them down.

Luanne blushed in embarrassment and opened her text book to hide her face.

"Ooooh, Phil has a girlfriend!" some kid in the row in front of them shouted out, making the classroom roar into abrupt laughter at the two.

"Do not! We just met!" Fry crossed his arms.

This, however, just made the room full of 13 year olds laugh harder, and make kissy noises at the two of them.

Fry was now blushing in embarrassment and slouched down into his seat.

"Quiet, everyone! Or I will make you all take a pop quiz." The teacher crossed her arms, and the class immediately piped down, and turned back to the front of the room. "Now turn your textbooks to page 372.."

Later that day, in the cafeteria, Fry and Luanne got their trays of lunch and found an empty table to sit at.

"Sorry about earlier, with everyone laughing at us and all…"

"That's not your fault! People are just jerks." Luanne began eating her PB & J "Besides, I'm used to it, I was always the weird kid at my old school" she shrugged, and took a sip out of her milk carton.

"Wow! I'm the weird kid at my school now!" Fry said, taking a bite of his hot dog. "Everyone's always making fun of me for being stupid and watching too much TV." he said, with his mouth still full. He took another bite without even swallowing the first one. "I mean, who are they to judge me! They're not….judges!" he gulped loudly, swallowing his food.

Luanne swiped some of her hair behind her ear, and set her sandwich down. "Ha, yeah. Nobody should ever judge anyone for anything!" she picked up her milk again, and gestured it at Fry. "I mean, I don't care what anyone thinks of me, usually." she finished it off in one sip. "And if they want to judge me they can stuff it! Like a turkey." she slammed the carton back onto the tray.

"Yeah! That thing you just said!" Fry said, talking while his mouth was full once again.

"Y'know, Fry, I like you. I can tell we're going to be very good friends."

Fry, upon hearing that, was so excited that he accidentally started choking, causing Luanne to panickedly whack him on the back with her fist, dislodging the food he'd been choking on.

"Thanks."

"No prob, you can repay me by letting me go to your house after school."

"I was going to invite you anyways" Fry shrugged

"Anything to get out of making those little tea sandwiches for my mom's prayer club. I can't bear to have another of those old ladies from church pinch my cheeks" Luanne shuddered.

After school, Fry took Luanne to his home, and went straight to his room. "And this is my guinea pig…Guinea Pig!"

"Oh you didn't name it?"

"I did—I named him Guinea Pig."

"Right, right…" Luanne crouched to look in the guinea pig's cage, and it made a soft wheeking sound.

"Wow, he likes you! Or he's just hungry. One or the other" he took his guinea pig out of the cage, and held him like a potato, and started hand feeding him food straight from the bag. Luanne reached over and petted the little creature on the back.

"He's so cute. I've always wanted a pet, but my parents said that they don't have souls."

"Aww. But I'm sure my little guy has a soul!" he said holding his guinea pig up to his face. Then he put him back into his cage.

"Not according to my parents. They don't think animals or poor people have souls." she frowned.

"Only robots don't have souls." Fry pointed out

"Don't be silly, Fry, robots don't exist." Luanne laughed.

"Maybe not now, but hopefully they will in the future!" Fry replied sadly.

"….eh, I guess" she shrugged

"Phil, are you talking to yourself again?" Fry's older brother, Yancy walked in. "Oh, hello." he noticed Luanne, and immediately pushed his hair back with his hand. "I'm surprised a girl would want anything to do with my dumb little brother." he laughed.

Luanne rolled her eyes. "He's not dumb, he's very nice!"

"Yeah, nice is all he'll ever be." Yancy laughed. "I bet you'll ditch him after a week." he laughed harder.

"Shut up you jerk! Me and Luanne are going to be best friends forever!" Fry said, and then immediately tried to push Yancy out of the room.

"Hey, don't shove me!"

That only made Fry push him out harder, however.

Yancy eventually stopped resisting, and started to leave the room. "Fine, whatever, I had better things to do than hang out with the loser brigade."

Fry slammed the door behind Yancy. "Dumb Yancy and his always having to make fun of me! One day I'll show him!"

"Yeah he seems like a real jerkwad. And his mullet is stupid too." she laughed.

"You…won't ditch me after a week though, right?" Fry seemed genuinely worried about it, and sat at the edge of his bed.

"No, why? I think you're pretty cool. I like how laid back you are. Not trying to pretend to be something you're not."

"Thanks, Lu, I really appreciate that."

"Hell, to stick it to your dumb older brother, I'm gonna be your best friend until one of us dies!"

"Yeah!"

They grabbed each other's hands. That was the beginning of the friendship between Philip J. Fry and Luanne Nichols.