The next day, Tobey awoke with disconcerting feelings sweeping through his mind. He recalled the previous evening's events with a twinge of pain in his soul. Had the video not spoken to him so deeply, he never would have shown Becky the damning evidence. But, as it was, her pain shattered his heart, and he had felt compelled to share his revelation. Now, he paid a hefty emotional price for it as he drug himself out of bed and prepared for his regular school day. His mind flew about, spinning this way and that. But through it all, Becky's torn face and tears of fear and guilt remained as his mental nucleus. He determined to see her first thing once he arrived at school that day.
God knows I'm the last person in this world who should even attempt to comfort or soothe her, he thought. But all the same, I feel…strangely suited to the task. Either way, I've got to say something after last night.
Once he'd properly dressed and had his breakfast, he rushed out to the sidewalk, hoping to catch a seat next to Becky on the bus. But, alas, luck was not on the young, formerly evil genius's side. So, he plopped down next to one of the people whom he used to detest: Violet. Her voice and mannerisms had always been a bit too soft and gentle for him. He enjoyed things that were loud, heavy, and rough, hence his robotic pastime. But now that he had officially "gone good," he was going to try and make up for his past insults to Violet. Not only that, but he knew of the sisterly bond she shared with Becky. Perhaps she'd said something to Violet the previous evening after he'd departed.
When he sat down, Violet turned and regarded him with a bit of a severe look. It took him off guard, as he wasn't used to seeing her like this. Her blue eyes flashed and, for a moment, Tobey wondered whether Becky had shared everything with her. He gave himself a bit of a mental shake, knowing that Becky wouldn't be that ignorant or disrespectful of their private dealings. She also wouldn't want to share her biggest secret around too much. All the same, Violet's look suggested some type of great personal rage. For Violet, any kind of anger was out of character. However, the venom that resided in her gaze was enough to tell Tobey that she wasn't in a friendly mood.
"Um…hi, Violet," he said, mustering as much cheeriness as possible. "What's, uh, what's up?"
Violet folded her arms as the bus began moving. "Becky called me last night."
Tobey's cheeks burned. He wanted to disappear. "Oh….she did, did she?"
"Mm-hmm, she did. She said that you had been over there and had done something that made her feel downright terrible. Now, I know you're evil and everything, but how dare you?!"
"Look, I didn't do anything to harm her," Tobey said defensively. "Yes, we had a…rather difficult conversation, but I swear I didn't hurt a hair on her head."
"I guess we'll see when we get to school," Violet said, a scowl seeming to embed itself permanently along her forehead.
Tobey shook his head and kept to his own thoughts for the rest of the bus ride. Violet's sudden hostility was not only surprising in its violation of her character but in its placement as well. Violet would never tell anyone about Becky and her's private conversations. Not only that, but Becky would have taken great pains to avoid speaking about the previous night's engagement. Tobey was greatly confused as to why Becky had called Violet in the first place. He felt a little betrayed.
I'll just speak with Becky when we arrive, he thought. She must have a good reason for all this.
Upon pulling into the parking lot of Woodview Elementary, Tobey and Violet hopped off the bus almost simultaneously. She was still seething at him and he was still confused and hurt. Either way, both were dealing with some fairly substantial negativity. It showed as they walked up to the front steps and dove headlong into the social and educational whirlwind that was their school. Fortunately for both of them, Becky was waiting not too far inside the front door. Tobey saw her and offered an awkward smile, trying desperately to draw attention away from the still scowling Violet. Much to his inner chagrin, it didn't work.
"Vi, you look…upset," Becky said. "Everything okay?"
"No! Everything's not okay!" Violet said with as much anger as she could muster.
Becky offered a calming hand to Violet's shoulder. "Alright, calm down…let's just breathe. Come on, just like you've taught me to do whenever I'm feeling angry."
"Angry? I'm not just angry, I'm furious," Violet spat. "Why on earth would you even let this evildoer into your home?"
When saying this, she pointed at Tobey, who turned beet red. Becky, for her part, tried to calm the situation by explaining that Tobey hadn't done anything to physically harm her. But that didn't quell Violet, who pointedly stood between the two in an effort to defend Becky. The young heroine found this sweet, but completely unnecessary. She sidestepped Violet and stood next to Tobey, once again attempting to defend his honor…which, upon further thought, was something she never thought she'd ever do.
"Violet, you've got to trust me on this," she said. "Tobey didn't do anything bad to me last night. We just had a-"
"-rather difficult conversation, yeah," Violet huffed. "Look, Becks. I trust you more than I trust most people. I know you'd never lie to me. So, I'll take your word for it…but I've got my eye on you, Tobey."
That being said, she stalked off, still fuming over the entire situation. For his part, Tobey refused to call after her or say anything insulting about her behind her back. Still, he was a little upset with Becky. After all, he uncovered her greatest secret, and then she went and spoke with her best friend about it. He figured that their conversing the previous evening would remain confidential. But he also didn't want to ruin any chances he might have with Becky, romantically or otherwise. So, he decided to play things cool. Instead of whirling around on her, he calmly turned and politely asked if he could walk with her to class. She obliged and the two began following in Violet's footsteps.
"So…crazy about Violet, huh?" Becky chuckled, blushing deeply.
"Mm-hmm," Tobey said coolly. "Look, Becky. I don't want to sound impertinent here, but-"
Suddenly, at Becky's side, the ever present Bob let out a soft chirp.
"Oh, well, impertinent means stubbornly aggravated and upset," Becky defined. "Like last week, when Dad wouldn't let us have ice cream after dinner. I'd say we were both pretty impertinent about it."
Tobey smiled, feeling a bit of his edge wear off. Her role as WordGirl very easily bled into her secret identity, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Her intelligence was one of her greatest attributes. He loved her brain just as much as he admired her looks. Whenever she defined a word, there was a certain trill that entered her voice. He knew that she loved defining words just as much as she loved taking down supervillains. Hearing her define a word, even as Becky Botsford, was a true treat.
"Anyway, Tobey, what were you saying?" Becky asked as they approached their classroom
"Hm? Oh…nothing," Tobey said, not wanting to upset the suddenly much lighter moment. "We can talk more at recess."
"Sounds good," Becky said as they walked in their classroom under the commanding ring of the school bell.