"You punched a truck?!" Val heard the next morning as she looked up from her breakfast down in the dining room. Vegeta next to her looked up as well. She saw Bulma come storming in room. She had her cell phone in one hand pressed to her ear, and a note in her other hand. She turned her head back to the phone, listening to someone else on the other line. "Yes, yes, hold on," she groaned out. She stared daggers at Val, making her wish she could disappear. "I'm talking to her right now," she said to the person on the phone. "What exactly happened?"
"I..." Val started. She recalled, "the truck was coming at me. I threw my shoulder down and stopped it. And then kicked it away."
"Why were you in the street?" Bulma asked.
"Getting your shoe," she answered.
"What was my shoe doing in the street?" Bulma pressed.
"I threw it," she admitted.
"Why?" Bulma asked, looking bewildered.
"It fell off," she answered.
"When? How?" Bulma seemed overly frustrated.
"I tripped and fell when we were walking back," she finished.
Bulma looked at her, taking deep breaths, eyes closed tightly. "Don't go anywhere," she warned, stepping out of the room. "Krillin and my dad tried to sort this out last night, but we need to hold this back from becoming a PR nightmare for Capsule Corps."
"What did you do?" Vegeta asked her, watching Bulma walk out of the room in a huff.
Val shrugged and nodded over to the door where they could hear Bulma on the phone in the other room, talking: "The truck hit her, she's not at fault... No, she was unauthorized... The serum itself was untested... No, I can't tell you what was in it, it's patented... No, that was experimental flying device... Yeah, they both had one... Look, we work on stuff like that all the time, among other things... No, they're both employees, but he was trying to stop her... No, neither of them can come in for an interview... Look, how much is this going to cost to make this go away...?" There was a long pause with Val looking over at the door. "I'll be down there within the hour with my checkbook... No, neither of them are coming with me... Yes, sir, see you in a bit."
Bulma came back in the dining room, looking at Val. "I need to go downtown. You need to stay here and lay low. You cannot leave campus in case you get recognized. For a month."
"What about going to the Lookout?" she asked back, one hand going to one of her bracelets.
Bulma took a deep, calming breath. "Training? That's what your worried about? Training?" She shook her head in frustration. "Ugh, you two deserve each other." She stomped out of the room, muttering under her breath.
Val sunk down in her chair, not feeling hungry anymore. She watched Vegeta, hating that he witnessed all of that. She grimaced at the sight of him smirking.