Before I start this next chapter, I just want to make something clear: I had Star and Bucky come to Earth during the Fall Semester of school, in the middle of September. Because of that, the episodes Hungry Larry and Stump Day will occur much sooner than they do in canon. I also changed it to the Fall Semester specifically for this episode, since Football Season technically starts in the fall. Enjoy!
School Spirit, Part 1
In the small football stadium connected to Echo Creek High, the student body was attending a mandatory pep rally. Star was bouncing in place, but Bucky just sat next to her with his arms crossed over his chest, looking bored. In the bleachers below them, students were bouncing a green-and-white beach ball around.
"Oh my gosh! Our first pep rally! I'm so excited!" she squealed, unintentionally summoning a small swarm of brightly colored insects when she used magic to propel the beach ball into the air.
"When aren't you excited?" Marco asked from Star's other side, peeling a large purple caterpillar off of his lap and throwing it over his shoulder.
"I've been asking that question for years, Marco," Bucky replied. Finally, Principal Skeeves stepped up with the microphone.
"And now, allow me to present the captain of the Spirit Committee and Head Cheerleader, Brittney Wong!" the principal announced. "Who achieved that rank all on her own, and did not get it because her parents made a generous donation to the school!" Bucky was able to tell that the principal was lying, so when the beach ball bounced toward him, he caught it and threw it at Principal Skeeves, knocking his glasses off and untucking the tie of his suit. Marco snickered at that, and he and Bucky fist-bumped.
As the principal angrily stormed out of sight, a small squad of cheerleaders in flashy orange-and-yellow uniforms came out, chanting a cheer that basically entailed that they hoped the school's football team would win rather than get squashed as usual. Brittney Wong herself was riding on their shoulders, literally, and used the heads of the unfortunate girls as a staircase to get to the ground and pick up the microphone that was dropped by the principal.
"Make some noise if you love the Opossums!" she cheerfully cried out in a snooty, somewhat nasal voice.
"I LOVE OPOSSUMS! They carry their babies on their backs!" Star declared.
"Oh, not those opossums, Star," Marco clarified. "She's talking about the Awesome Opossums, the school football team." He suddenly developed a look of intense fear. "This is the first official game of the school year, and we're going up against...the Warriors!" He and Alfonso both shivered.
"Who?" Bucky asked.
"Our rivals from Silver Hill Prep," Alfonso replied.
"Every year, our team gets slaughtered!" Marco groaned.
"It's gonna be a bloodbath," added Ms. Skullnick, who was sitting nearby and eating from a bucket of whole fried chickens. Star gasped.
"Oh, that's terrible! We gotta do something!" she exclaimed.
"I hate to say it, but there's not really anything you can do unless you want to join the Spirit Committee. Those guys are relentless when it comes to supporting the team," Marco told her. Down on the field, an effeminate, brown-skinned boy in a yellow T-shirt and orange shorts jumped up in the air holding a pair of flags and did The Splits when he landed, making Bucky cringe.
"I see your point," said the elder Butterfly sibling.
"What a great idea, Marco! C'mon, let's go get some supplies!" Star said, grabbing Marco's arm. The Hispanic boy was sensible enough to pull his arm out of his sleeve before she could drag him along.
"As much fun as that sounds, go on without me," he said. Star looked expectantly at her brother.
"If this is another one of your harebrained ideas, leave me out of it!" Bucky ordered.
"Okay, then." Star went to exit the bleachers, but stopped next to Ms. Skullnick. "Psst! What's your favorite weapon?" she whispered.
"Battle-axe," the Troll teacher gruffly answered, sticking a chicken leg in her mouth and chewing on it, bones and all. Star giggled and walked away.
"And now for our new mascot that I never approved of, the Awesome Opossum!" Brittney announced, an annoyed look crossing her face as someone in a poorly maintained (and likely homemade) opossum costume entered the field. In the middle of his cheer, the bottom part of the boy's costume fell off, exposing his meaty legs and tighty-whities.
"Hey, what happened to the real opossum?" Marco asked. "Did the Warriors steal it again?! Those JERKS!" Marco's anger evaporated when Alfonso laid a hand on his shoulder.
"The real opossum...wasn't playing 'possum," Alfonso explained, sadly bowing his head. Meanwhile, after correcting his wardrobe malfunction, the Awesome Opossum finished his cheer by cracking his tail like a whip. As he did so, the mouth of the mask opened, revealing Fergusen's face.
"Hey, isn't that Fergusen?" Bucky asked in confusion.
"Yup! He volunteered to be the new mascot!" Alfonso replied. Marco looked panicked upon hearing this.
"Oh no! That means the Warriors are gonna try to steal him!" he exclaimed.
"Aww, that's silly!" Alfonso said with a dismissive hand wave, only for his face to go pale when he looked up. Bucky followed his gaze and saw that a hulking young man who was almost as wide as he was tall had stolen the microphone from Brittney. His head was shaved, and he wore a black bomber jacket over a T-shirt that had the insignia of Silver Hill Prep.
"Wassup, losers?" he said with a malicious grin. "Don't mind me. The boys and I are only here at your loser school to steal your loser mascot!" He jerked his thumb to the side to redirect everyone's gazes.
"STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!" Fergusen frantically screamed as two more equally burly boys began dragging him away from the field.
"Now, don't take it personally," the first boy continued. "We only do this to the schools that're gonna get absolutely splattered! Enjoy what's left of your pathetic Spirit Week!" The boy laughed and threw the microphone away.
"AAAAAHHHHH! We gotta save him!" Marco cried out, turning to Bucky. But to his and Alfonso's surprise, Bucky was gone.
"You think you're so tough, don't you?" The sound of Bucky's voice drew their attention back to the field. Bucky was standing on the grass, calling out to the boys as they walked away with their ill-gotten prize. "I'll have you know that only cowards demoralize their enemy!" This made the boy in the bomber jacked freeze.
"What did you just call me?!" he demanded, turning around to face Bucky. The Mewman boy just stood there stoically with his arms crossed, his dragon-skin cape fluttering in the breeze.
"You heard me," he replied. "You take what doesn't belong to you and fight without honor. You, my friend, are a coward!" The other boy scowled as the Echo Creek students gasped. They knew who he was and what he was capable of, and they were scared for Bucky's life.
"Listen, pal," he spat. "I don't care who you are. Nobody calls me a coward to my face!"
"Well, I just did!" Bucky smirked. "I'll make a deal with you. If you can successfully push me over, I'll let you and your teammates take Fergusen without a fight. If you fail to knock me over, you'll have until the count of ten to leave the premises before I make you leave. Sound fair?" The boy was about to refuse the challenge, but...
"C'mon, Boss! You can do it!"
"Yeah, show him why we call you the Bulldozer!" Once his lackeys reminded him that his reputation was on the line, "the Bulldozer" smiled and shrugged. Bucky was nearly two feet taller, but that just meant he had the advantage of a lower center of gravity. He confidently strode up to Bucky, braced his hands against the Mewman's surprisingly solid abs, and pushed.
Bucky didn't budge.
He pushed harder, but got the same result. He tried many more times from many different positions without any luck. Finally, he backed up several dozen yards, squared up his body, and charged. Bucky didn't move, and his stoic expression never faltered. The Echo Creek students couldn't bear to watch, and collectively averted their gazes right before the two boys collided.
WHAM!
The next thing "the Bulldozer" knew, he was lying on the ground with a pounding skull and ringing ears. He felt like he ran face-first into a stone pillar, which he might as well have. When his vision cleared, Bucky was staring down at him, smiling darkly as his gray bangs cast a shadow over his steely-blue eyes.
"One...two...three..." the Mewman began counting. The terms of the deal came back to him all at once. Scrambling to his feet, "the Bulldozer" squealed like a pig and ran, his lackeys following suit.
The cheering student body hoisted Bucky onto their shoulders and carried him away. As far as they were concerned, he was a hero.
To be continued...