I wanted to write a quick little thing about the "Jimmy gets bullied" episode (Safety First) where instead of him having to build the nanobots, Cindy stands up to Terry for him.
As Jimmy makes his way into the school yard, he takes a deep breath.
Everything will be fine, he tries to tell himself.
He is a scientist, which means he has very little reason to be truly afraid of things.
As long as he knows when, how, and why something happens, he does not need to fear it.
Terry, of course, is the exception to that rule; he is a relentless bully who has been targeting Jimmy for no real reason other than that he feels like it.
Jimmy sees the boy approaching and feels a knot forming in his stomach.
"What'd you bring me today, Neutron? I'm hungry."
He sighs, handing the boy a paper bag with a sandwich in it.
"Hold up." Terry's ears perk up at the sound of a familiar shrill voice coming from behind him.
Jimmy is too short to see who it is that's brave (or stupid) enough to stand up to his tormentor, but he recognizes the voice immediately.
Terry laughs. "Like I'm intimidated by a girl."
"You better be, Finster. I'm a black belt in karate and a ton of other martial arts. I could kick your sorry butt to the moon and still have time to jump rope at recess." After a moment passes, Cindy comes into view.
Jimmy is beyond confused. He throws her a look and she pays it no heed.
One minute, Terry is ruining his morning, and the next...Cindy, Cindy Vortex—his neighbor who can't stand him—is...saving it? He has to be living in an alternate dimension.
Terry looks between the two of them and starts to laugh. "Is he your little boyfriend now, is that it?"
Her cheeks go red, she balls her fists and gets up in his face. "There's only room for one bully at this school and it's me, got it? Back off Neutron or you'll be sorry." She threatens.
Terry is taken aback, but actually listens to her warning and retreats, throwing the lunch bag he had poached at Jimmy's feet.
Jimmy isn't quite sure what to say.
"Well?" She waits there, expectantly, her arms crossed over her chest defiantly. "I haven't got all day, Nerdtron."
"Thanks, Cindy." He looks up at her and offers a small smile. He is grateful to her. Sincerely.
She rolls her eyes. "Even you shouldn't have to put up with the likes of that little juvenile delinquent every day."
A bevy of questions are at the tip of his tongue and he's most itching to ask why in Lavoisier's name she stuck up for him. Didn't she berate his inventions day in and day out? Call him names? Rue the day he arrived at Lindbergh?
"I thought you hated me?" He says it so quietly he's not even sure she can hear him.
She appears a bit disappointed and hisses. "For a genius, you're clueless, aren't you?"
He's still unsure what she's talking about. But he's not about to push his luck.
"C'mon." She punches his shoulder lightly. "Let's go see if I outdid you on the English essay. Wait, spoiler alert. I definitely did."
Now, there's the Cindy he's used to. He runs after her, thinking that maybe she's not all that bad.
