Chapter 15: Back to school and another transfer
January 6, 1969
The radio in the living room was broadcasting the morning news when 15-year-old Velma Dinkley was awakened by the alarm clock on the nightstand beside her bed.
With her mind still foggy from the sleep, she groggily reached over to the nightstand to shut off the alarm, though she almost hit her glasses in the process.
As soon as the alarm was successfully shut off, Velma groaned as she stretched her arms before reaching over for her glasses.
Gotta be sure that I don't put my glasses right between the bed and alarm clock. She thought to herself as she put on her glasses and reluctantly dragged herself out of bed. I'm practically blind without them.
After finishing up her business in the washroom, Velma returned to her bedroom to change into her usual attire comprising of an orange turtleneck sweater and red skirt and red socks. Then, she grabbed her school bag and headed down the stairs to the dining room, in time for her to see her younger sister Madelyn setting up at the dining table for breakfast.
"Morning, Maddie." Velma said in greeting as she took her seat.
"Morning, Velma." Madelyn smiled. "Ready for the first day of school in Coolsville?"
"Think I am, what about you?" Velma asked.
"Same here." Madelyn replied. "From what I gathered; Muddlemore Middle School is a really good school."
"That's good, and just as well Mom and Dad picked this neighbourhood in Coolsville for us to move into." Velma nodded. "Not to mention it is convenient for Nicole to visit us from her apartment in Grande Cristal and vice versa for us."
In mentioning Nicole, Velma was referring to their older sister who is presently a second-year student studying at Grande Cristal University, doing a double major in electrical engineering and physics.
The oldest of the three siblings, Nicole presently lives in an apartment in the Portland neighbourhood in Grande Cristal with a couple of friends. With their apartment located just a 10-minute streetcar ride away from university, it was very convenient for them to travel between school studies, their part-time jobs in the neighbourhood, groceries, and their apartment.
"Indeed." Madelyn nodded.
While most of the townhouse remained decorated with cardboard boxes and cloths from the family's move in five days ago, their mother Cassandra has started making extensive use of the kitchen beginning the night prior when she prepared dinner.
Glancing at the kitchen, Velma remarked, "It sure is good to be making full use of a home kitchen once more."
"Forget about being able to make full use of a home kitchen." Madelyn quipped. "What I would like to know is how did we manage to pull together during the move, considering how much stuff we have."
"That is a very good mystery to solve." Velma agreed as she glanced towards the family photo hung on the nearby wall.
The middle child of three daughters of Dr. Steven Dinkley and his wife Cassandra Dinkley, née Winteler, Velma was born in Mayfield Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, on November 12, 1953.
She was preceded by her older sister Nicole, who is 4 years her senior, and followed by her younger sister Madelyn 2 years later.
At the time of Nicole's birth four years prior. their father Steve had only started making a name for himself at the state university as a research physicist, and by the time Velma was born, he has attained employment at Quest Research Labs, beginning in the lab it had partnered with the state university in Cleveland before moving onto the regional lab for the Midwest in Cincinnati, which was where Madelyn was born two years later.
And it was his work at Quest Research Labs that led to the family moving to Coolsville, following his transfer to the head research lab based in Grande Cristal with the new position effective in the new year.
To describe the packing in the leadup to moving day as organized chaos is an understatement, and truth be told, Velma still wondered to this day how they managed to pull things through, especially their mom, who did so while juggling between the Christmas shopping and dinner and presents.
In the week since Shaggy, Scooby, Maggie, and Daphne enjoyed their time together at the ski resort, with Shaggy and Daphne enjoying their nighttime skating, the two families have returned home at the start of the new year with the eventual return to school a few days later.
Fred was in the process of placing his school bag into his locker that morning when Ronnie pulled up.
"Hey Fred." Ronnie said as he placed his hand on Fred's shoulder in greeting, prompting him to turn around and give him a handshake.
"Hey Ronnie." Fred greeted back. "How was your winter break?"
"Too short." Ronnie replied.
"Tell me about it." Fred nodded. "My family and I were at New England visiting my grandparents for the holidays, though besides flying on a Boeing 727 to Boston and then on a 707 for the return trip, the trip was pretty much like other past trips."
"I hear ya." Ronnie agreed as they finished up at their lockers and made their way to their first period class, which is civics.
As the duo walked down the hallway, Ronnie continued, "Mine was similar, flying over to Milwaukee on Christmas Eve, then down to Kansas City on the 27th."
Eventually, the duo arrived at their civics classroom and took their seats, where they were soon joined by their friend Eric Staufer.
"Hey Fred, Ronnie." Eric said in greeting.
Fred and Ronnie got up from their seats and took turns shaking his left hand as they both said, "Hey Eric."
"How was your Christmas break?" Eric asked after the handshakes.
"Ah, it was the usual." Ronnie replied with Fred nodding in agreement. "Visiting the grandparents in Milwaukee and Kansas City."
"Ditto that, though mine are in New England." Fred added. "You?"
"Similar story, my family and I took the train north to Portland where we spent Christmas, then we flew over to Minneapolis for New Years." Eric replied.
"That's good." Fred and Ronnie both nodded.
Eric nodded before he said, "Anyhow, did you guys hear about another new student is transferring here to Central?"
"Not really, although I hear that she's from Ohio." Ronnie replied.
"Yeah." Fred nodded. "That's what I heard, too."
"And I heard that she's a brilliant student in science and mathematics, too." Eric added.
"I see." Fred said. "Looks like we're going to have one great addition to the school's science fair."
"Indeed, we are." Eric agreed as the bell rang.
Following the national anthem and Shaggy going through the morning announcements, their civics class was getting underway with Mr. Ginsburg manning the blackboard with the chalk on the other.
"Alrighty folks, as a refresher from before the Christmas break, a small pop quiz." Mr. Ginsburg began. "First question: Who can tell me how many seats there are in the United States Congress?"
Several hands quickly shot up, and Mr. Ginsburg picked one. "Yes, Mr. Cooke?"
"765 seats." Biff replied.
"Correct, and what is the distribution by house?" Mr. Ginsburg asked.
A few more hands shot up and Mr. Ginsburg picked another. "Yes, Ms. Stewart?"
"165 seats in the Senate, the remaining 600 in the House of Representatives." April replied.
"Good, and how many of those seats are allocated to Central California?" Mr. Ginsburg asked.
Before the teacher could pick any of the remaining students that have their hands shot up, the class was interrupted by a light knock at the door, prompting Mr. Ginsburg to put down the chalk and walked over to the door. "Excuse me for a second."
There were some murmurs among the students as Mr. Ginsburg opened the door, revealing Mr. Kent, the guidance counselor, and a girl in glasses at the other side.
"Sorry for the interruption, Percival." Mr. Kent said as Mr. Ginsburg steps out. "The final checks for the approval of Velma's transfer took longer than expected."
"Ah, no worries, Johnny." Mr. Ginsburg replied. "I was just getting started."
Watching Mr. Ginsburg exchanging words with Mr. Kent, Fred raised an eyebrow, and it was when Mr. Ginsburg stepped back into the classroom with the new student in tow did the class got a good look at her.
She has chin-length auburn-brown hair and was wearing an orange turtleneck sweater, a red skirt, orange long socks, a pair of red Mary Janes, and a pair of black, thick-framed square glasses.
Golly, I swear you can burn ants with those lenses. Fred thought as he noticed her glasses.
"Everyone, listen up!" Mr. Ginsburg announced as he led the student to the middle of the blackboard. "I'll like you all to meet Velma Dinkley. She was transferred here from Withrow High School in Cincinnati just this morning. Given her family's long move over the Christmas break, I expect all of you to make her feel welcome here."
The teacher then resumed his pop quiz as Velma took the vacant seat right next to Fred, who glanced at her for a moment.
You really can burn ants with those lenses. Fred observed.
Also sharing Fred's observation were Ronnie, Biff, and Eric, who raised an eyebrow.
Golly, I thought I was blind without my glasses, but her glasses take this "blind without the glasses" thing to a whole different level. Eric observed.
Later after civics class, Fred made his way to chemistry class together with Eric.
"Did you notice how thick her glasses are?" Fred was asking as they stopped by their lockers along the way.
"I sure did." Eric nodded while grabbing his chemistry notebook. "And I thought mine were thick."
Fred nodded as he closed his locker door, then they resumed their walk down the hallway. "Not sure if I can imagine being practically blind and having to go through my day without a pair of glasses."
"Trust me, it can be a hassle, Fred." Eric said. "And it's worse if you need to drive and can't find your glasses."
"Oh, no doubt about it." Fred agreed as they made their way into the classroom.
No sooner did they enter did Eric notice Velma at her seat and he said, "Oh, look who's in our chemistry class."
Fred looked towards where Eric was nodding towards and saw Velma at her seat, prompting him to raise an eyebrow.
"Now that's interesting." Fred remarked.
Shortly after the bell rang, Mr. McDabble motioned Velma to step to the front of the classroom.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Mr. McDabble announced, prompting all the students in class to turn towards the front of the classroom.
Gesturing towards Velma, the chemistry teacher said, "I would like to introduce Miss Velma Dinkley here, she and her family has moved in from Cincinnati over the Christmas break and she will be joining us for the rest of the school year."
Briefly turning towards Velma, Mr. McDabble said, "Velma, Withrow High School had stated that you have taken lead in their science club and served as their representative in the state's science fair. Would you be kind enough to briefly share what you guys did in the fair last year?"
"Most certainly, Mr. McDabble." Velma nodded before she turned towards the blackboard and picked up a piece of chalk. "But first, a rough schematic of what we did would be in order."
As the class watched Velma sketch out the schematic, Fred turned around and noticed the way Mai Le was staring intently at the new transfer. He did not like what he saw, and it would seem Eric was sharing the same thoughts as him.
Fresh meat for Alice, I suppose. Eric thought as he observed Mai Le's demeanour.
"Basically, what we've got is a contraption using a chain of chemical reactions to get an axe to crack an egg." Velma spoke as she gestured at the schematic she had sketched on the blackboard.
"All of that just to crack an egg. How sophisticated." Mai Le suddenly spoke in a patronizing manner, prompting Mr. McDabble and a few students to turn towards her with glares.
Velma merely raised an eyebrow as she explained, "It may not be sophisticated, but it won us first prize in the regionals, and while we didn't come up at top at the state fair, we received an honourary mention at the awards."
"Impressive." Mr. McDabble nodded approvingly.
After Velma's brief presentation, Mr. McDabble continued with the class as he picked up from where they had left off before the Christmas break. Twenty minutes into the class, he had the class split up for group assignments.
Naturally, Fred, Eric, and Dee-Dee were grouped together, though before the class started with the assignment, Mr. McDabble beckoned the trio over.
"Fred, Eric, and Diana, I have decided to assign Velma to your group for the assignment." Mr. McDabble said. "I hope you three don't mind bringing her up to speed."
"Ah, not a problem, Mr. McDabble." Dee-Dee spoke as Fred and Eric both nodded.
"Excellent." Mr. McDabble nodded approvingly.
Once the students have split into their groups, Fred, Eric, and Dee-Dee led Velma to their corner and once they have settled in their seats, Fred began, "Before we get started, I suppose we should introduce ourselves first."
"Fine by me." Velma nodded. "As Mr. McDabble and Mr. Ginsburg had introduced, my name's Velma Dinkley and my family and I had moved in from Cincinnati over the Christmas break."
"Nice to meet you, Velma." Dee-Dee said as she shook Velma's offered hand. "My name's Diana Skyes, but I go by 'Dee-Dee'."
"My name's Frederick Jones, but you can call me 'Fred'." Fred introduced.
"And I'm Eric Staufer." Eric rounded up. "A pleasure to be of acquaintance with you."
"Likewise." Velma nodded. "And for the assignment, I have taken the liberty of reading through the outline Mr. McDabble provided and perhaps you guys can start with where you had left off from last time."
"Sounds good." Dee-Dee nodded as they delved into their group assignment.
Soon, as the quartet wait for the rest of the class to finish with their respective assignments, the topic of discussion shifted towards Velma.
"You said that you've moved in from Cincinnati." Fred said, "Is that where you were born or were you living at somewhere else before Cincinnati?"
"Yes, I was born in Mayfield Heights just outside Cleveland, but I spent most of my years growing up in Cincinnati." Velma nodded.
"And what brought you to Coolsville?" Dee-Dee perked up.
"My dad got a job transfer at the research lab he worked at." Velma explained. "At the time I was born, he worked at the field lab attached to the Ohio State University, then he got shifted to the regional lab in Cincinnati. Then around early December last year, he got an offer for a transfer to the head lab here, which he accepted, and so here I am."
"I see." Fred nodded understandingly. "How do you find Coolsville so far?"
"Well, I'll say that it's an interesting change of pace so far, but I do hear that things can be rough around here, especially with some ghostly urban legends that I found to be total nonsense." Velma replied.
"How's that?" Eric asked.
"Well, there's got to be a scientific explanation on all phenomena." Velma replied. "Those legends are possibly someone just trying to scare others off."
"I suppose so." Fred nodded. "Speaking of which, what hobbies do you have, Velma?"
"Hobbies?" Velma asked. "Well, besides reading technical, engineering and scientific journals, I enjoy reading mystery novels."
"Mystery novels?" Fred asked excitedly. "Well, how about that. "
"How so?" Velma raised an eyebrow.
"Fred's always interested in becoming a mystery writer." Dee-Dee explained.
"Plus he contributes a lot of the mystery short stories to the school newspaper." Eric added.
"Jinkies." Velma remarked.
Fred, Eric, and Dee-Dee turned towards each other.
"Jinkies?" Eric asked.
"Oh, it's just a catchphrase of mine." Velma explained. "I used to say, 'Oh my!' whenever I'm surprised, but 'Jinkies' later caught on, since it's catchier and it simply came to me."
"Fascinating." Eric remarked as Dee-Dee and Fred nodded.
Later during the lunch period, Shaggy, Scooby and Daphne were seated at their usual table having lunch together.
"Like, I heard that someone transferred to Central this morning." Shaggy remarked after finishing his sandwich.
"Yeah." Daphne nodded. "I heard the new student is from Ohio."
It was then that they saw Fred walking into the cafeteria with Velma, shortly after splitting up with Eric and Dee-Dee.
"Raybe that's rer." Scooby said when he saw Velma, who is chatting with Fred as they walked over to join them at the table.
"How'd you figure, Scoob?" Shaggy asked.
"Ri ron't recognize her scent." Scooby explained.
"Right." Shaggy and Daphne both nodded as Fred and Velma approached them at the table.
"Hey gang." Fred says as he and Velma joined them at the table. "I'll like you all to meet Velma Dinkley. She has recently moved from Ohio and is in my civics and chemistry classes."
"Like, hi." Shaggy smiled as he offered Velma his hand. "I'm Norville Rogers, but feel free to call me 'Shaggy'."
After the handshake, he turned to Scooby and added, "And this is my old buddy Scooby Doo."
"Rowdy do!" Scooby barked as he offered his paw to Velma.
"Hi." Velma smiled shyly as she shook Scooby's offered paw. "Nice to meet you."
"And I'm Daphne Blake." Daphne added as she shook Velma's hand. "Welcome to Coolsville and I hope you enjoy your new home."
"I sure am." Velma smiled as she shooked Daphne's hand. "So far, I'm still adjusting from things in Cincinnati, which is where I grew up at."
"I see." Shaggy said as he, Scooby and Daphne nodded understandingly. "Like, Coolsville is a great place, aside from the fact that things can get a little rough around here, especially with those spooky urban legends and stuff like that."
"Well, I don't believe that there's such things as ghosts." Velma stated. "For anything that has happened, there's got to be a scientific explanation on it."
"Sounds like mystery-solving may be your jam, Velma." Daphne offered.
"Well, I do enjoy reading mystery novels." Velma said. "They're really entertaining and is a source of excitement."
"Wow." Scooby remarked as he and Shaggy nodded.
As the group continued with their lunch, the topics of discussion shifted to what they did during the Christmas break. Throughout the conversations, Velma observed Shaggy and Scooby eating.
"I sure don't get how can you and Scooby eat that much without getting bellyaches, Shag." Velma eventually said.
"Like, can we help it if we're hungry?" Shaggy replied after finishing a sub.
"Reah, rungry!" Scooby agreed after taking a sip of water.
Whispering to Daphne, Velma asked, "How does Shaggy and Scooby eat that much?"
"Downsides of having a fast metabolism means you can work up quite the appetite." Daphne explained.
"Fair enough." Velma nodded as she resumes eating.
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