Like Teacher, Like Son (Chapter 5)

The next day, Madeline arrived at school, nervous to face her homeroom teacher. But she walked down the hallway with her head high and her shoulders back. She got closer and closer to the classroom until she walked right inside. The first thing she did was stand in front of her teacher's desk. She stood there until she made eye contact with Mr. Kendrick, who was sitting down.
"Hello," she said confidently.
"Hello," he said back.
She swiftly snatched a clean green apple from her bag. "Apple?" she offered while showing it to him.
"No, thanks. I don't want one."
"That's fine." Madeline reached into her bag and pulled out a plastic bag of apples from it. She dropped it down on the desk, surely capturing the attention of her teacher.
"What is this?"
"You said you don't want just one apple so feel free to pick out as many as you like."
"Ms. King--"
"No, let me say something. I am sorry for breaking up with your son. This might be hard to believe but I'm not perfect. I have flaws. I don't have physical flaws but I have mental flaws. One of my flaws is that I date boys for their face. And when I get to know them and I don't like what I know, I dump them. That's just what I do. Why do I do it? Because I'm picky. I've been that way since I was three years old and I didn't like most foods. Now I won't eat foods if they make me break out, gain weight or pass gas. Nonetheless, I wasn't the perfect girl for your son to begin with anyway. I would like to spend more time with him because I really liked him. I just let my mental flaws get in the way. And mentally, he was pissing me off. Therefore, I apologize to you."
Mr. Kendrick sighed. "Madeline, is one of the reasons for why you ended it with my son was because I'm your teacher?"
"Uh, no. Yeah."
"Mm-hmm. So I guess that adds itself to one of your 'mental flaws'."
"I guess so."
"Madeline, I don't hate you. If you respect me, I will respect you. You are not the type of person I want to spend time with. But you're not a bad person. I can see the potential in you. I know you're a good student and I won't treat you any different because you broke up with my son. Zeke will move on. He's a big boy. I raised him better than that. Ms. King, you may act confident when you walk through doors but when you let your facade get in the way, you hit other walls. You admit you're imperfect but it sounds like something you don't normally say. Maybe you should work on what's on the inside instead of what's on the outside. Got that?"
"Yes. It's going to be hard to do but I'll work on it."
"Good. I know there's good in you. You just have to use it more than you usually do. I accept your apology."
"Thank you, Mr. Kendrick." Madeline picked up her bag of apples and turned around to walk away.
"Wait!" the teacher stopped Madeline. "I thought you said I can have one."
"But they're my apples."
Mr. Kendrick made a face.
Madeline put her apples back down on the desk. "Sorry. I forgot that I had good in me."
"That's more like it." Mr. Kendrick opened up the bag and gradually picked up the apples he wanted.
As an impulse, Madeline swiped the bag from him. "You don't got to take all my apples, though."

Like Teacher, Like Son (Chapter 4)

A few days later, Madeline found herself in her friend's, Zeke, house after school. They sat on the couch in the basement, working on homework together. Papers were on the coffee table and notebooks were on their laps. Madeline basically tutored her friend as they were completing the same worksheet.
"You think you're catching along?" she asked.
"I'm catching something but I'm not quite sure," Zeke responded.
"It's not really that hard."
"It's not that hard because you knew this since you were twelve."
"Don't exaggerate. I knew this when I was eleven, thank you very much."
"So how do you do this again?"
Madeline began instructed her friend while waving her pencil over his paper. "I told you: to find the angle, you have to multiply the given radian with one-hundred-eighty over pi. You can cross out the pis because there is one on both sides. Then you multiply the rest and find the degree. Now, if you want to find the radian, you need to use the given angle, place it over one-hundred-eighty and multiply it by pi." She waited for a response. "Did you hear what I just said?"
"Yeah."
"Then what did I say?"
"Y-You know."
"Zeke, I could give you the answers if I wanted to but you won't learn that way."
"I know. But can you anyway?"
"No. Listen, I'll just write the equations down on my paper and let you look at it." Madeline flipped over the worksheet to its blank side and began writing small notes on it.
Zeke observed the notes she had written on her paper and started copying it onto his worksheet. Then he used the equations to complete a question. "So if I use three-pi over four, my angle will be one-hundred-thirty-five?"
Madeline clapped. "Way to go. You're catching on."
"Well, I got to keep up with you, baby."
She picked up the open wrapper of a Hershey chocolate bar and broke off a pre-cut square. "Smart treat for a smart boy," she said, feeding Zeke the piece of chocolate.
"Thank you," he said, munching on the small confection. "What do I taste if I get all of them right?"
"Well, let's not carried away."
Zeke chuckled, making Madeline smile. She leaned towards him and they gradually began necking each other. As they made out, Zeke's father, Mr. Kendrick, walked downstairs with regular yet quiet steps. He noticed the teenagers kissing on the couch and walked right over. He stood right behind the couch and stared at them for a few seconds before speaking.
"You guys need anything?"
Madeline screamed, startled at the close, nasal voice of Mr. Kendrick, and jumped back from Zeke. Zeke was surprised as well but only when Madeline yelped.
"Are you alright?" Mr. Kendrick asked.
"Yeah," Madeline answered, sitting up straight. "You just scared me a bit. That's all."
"You guys need anything?"
"No thanks, dad," said Zeke. "We're fine."
"Are you sure? You two don't want some food or water?"
"Oh, we got a chocolate bar," said Madeline, holding it up.
"Ah, okay. You guys studying?"
"Yes, sir," Zeke answered.
"Didn't look like it."
"We're sorry," said Madeline. She then told Zeke, "We should go back to studying math."
"Math? It looked more like health. Get it? Because it looked like you two were doing CPR."
"Funny... sir."
"But if you need anything, let me know."
"Alright, dad," said Zeke.
Mr. Kendrick turned around to leave but in a few seconds, he turned back around. "So you're doing math?" he asked.
Madeline looked up without moving her head. "Yeah."
"Oh, I'm great at math."
"But you teach English."
"I went to school like you two."
"Yeah but you haven't been since 1885," she muttered under her breath.
"Excuse me?"
She said aloud, "I said when were you born? 1985?"
"Oh, I'm not that young."
"Yeah, you were born in, like, the 70's," Zeke noted.
"Be quiet, Zeke. Do you guys need help?"
"Oh, no, thanks," answered Madeline. "We got it."
Mr. Kendrick walked around the couch. "I'm going to help you anyway."
"Okay, then."
Mr. Kendrick squeezed himself in between the couple. "What kind of math is this?"
"Trig," answered Zeke.
"You're both in Trig?"
"Actually, Madeline is only doing this to study and help me out. She takes advanced calculus."
"Get out of town!"
"I wish I could, sir," Madeline said through a grin.
"What do you have to do for your homework, son?"
"I have to solve for radians," Zeke replied.
"Radians. I don't get what radians have to do with anything."
"We don't either but we have to do them anyway," said Madeline.
"How good are you in math?"
"Really good. I get A's. I get A's in everything. I've told you this."
"And you think you'll pass it this year?"
"Yeah."
"What else are you good at?"
"Everything. Not to brag. But, yeah, to brag."
Mr. Kendrick looked at his teenage son and snickered. That made his son snicker as well. "Where did you meet this girl, son?"
"I just bumped into her one day," Zeke responded. "I don't know; I guess it was love at first sight."
"Love?" Madeline made a face.
"It's like you bumped into your soulmate," said Mr. Kendrick.
"Maybe," shrugged Zeke.
"You better never let go of that."
"I know. That's why when graduation comes, I'm going to put a ring on it."
"Graduation?" Madeline raised her eyebrows.
"Atta boy," smiled Mr. Kendrick. "Sometimes you got to cage a bird so it won't fly away."
"But if I got wings, let me fly."
"I really think Madeline is something special," Zeke told his dad. "I'm going to save all my money to buy her a big rock and once we get married, we're going to have plenty of kids."
"Plenty?"
"You got something to look forward to, huh, Madeline?" inquired Mr. Kendrick.
Madeline paused. "Yeah, I got something to look forward to. College."
"How are you going to go to college if you're getting married?"
"Uh, how do you know if I'll say yes to your proposal?"
"Madeline, it's going to be a big rock," said Zeke.
"Big," his father repeated.
"I don't care," Madeline scrunched her forehead. Then she relaxed her face. "Actually, I might care. I love me some diamonds." Her face tensed again. "But no! I'm not marrying you after school ends."
"But why, Madeline?" Zeke asked.
"Just because I graduate high school doesn't mean I'm ready for marriage. I won't even be old enough to drink at bars. Not that I would drink. Alcohol damages the skin. But you know what I mean. Besides, we've been going out for months. You think marriage is something to talk about now?"
"Of course it's something to talk about," said Mr. Kendrick. "How are you going to get married if you don't talk about marriage? You got to talk about wedding plans."
Madeline stared at the two. She could clearly see the similarities in their faces. "Oh, heck, naw. Zeke, can I talk to you privately upstairs?"
"Sure, babe," he responded.
"Handle yours, son," Mr. Kendrick said softly.
Madeline stood up, holding her books. She picked up her backpack and threw it over one shoulder. Zeke stood up, placing his books on the table in front of him. Madeline led the way by marching upstairs and entering the kitchen. Zeke was right behind her and stopped when she stopped.
"What's wrong, Madeline?" he asked.
"What's wrong? Zeke, are you serious?"
"What do you mean?"
"When you were conversing with your dad, were you serious about wedding plans and all that?"
"Of course. It shouldn't be a surprise that I want to get married someday."
"But after senior graduation? Do you think that's a little too young to marry someone?"
"Hey, love is love."
"But I don't love you. I've known you since last summer. Boy, what do you think? This isn't 'Romeo and Juliet'. You're lucky you didn't drink any poison because if you go, I ain't coming with you."
"How can you say that?"
"Because this isn't 'Twilight'. Zeke, are you mad?"
"I'm mad that you don't want to marry me."
"Is your father pressuring you into marriage or something?"
"No. Well, he wants me to keep the generation going. But it's not in a pressuring way, I promise. Come on, don't tell me that you never want to get married."
"Of course, I want to get married. When I'm in my late twenties. Don't you make observations? The younger you are, the crappier the marriage."
"So there's a chance we could get married?"
"Zeke, I-- Probably but who knows? I know that I'm not going to marry you after I get out of high school. I've known you for a few months. How do I know you're not an ax murderer?"
"I don't own an ax."
"Oh, my God." Madeline began walking away but Zeke stopped her.
"No, wait, hey. Don't leave. I'm not a murderer either. Come on, I really like you."
"And you really like your dad. It's like you're some sort of... papa's boy."
"Isn't every guy one?"
"Not the ones who don't have fathers and some of the gay guys."
"What's wrong with me loving my dad?"
"Nothing. I just don't want you to become him because he's forcing you. I don't want to date... a teacher."
"Is that's what it's all about?"
"A little. But mostly because you're forcing me into marriage. I'm not even your girlfriend."
"How are you not my girlfriend? You met my dad, we make out and you feed me stuff. You are clearly my girlfriend."
"But you can't just go calling me your girlfriend without discussing that with me."
"I shouldn't have to discuss our relationship with you. It's obviously what it looks like."
"Well, now, it should look like that we're... just friends."
"Friends?"
"Yeah, we can still hang out and do things together and talk. We just won't make out and feed each other."
Zeke scowled. "I don't believe this."
"I'm sorry, Zeke."
He stared cold at Madeline before sprinting away and going back downstairs. "Dad! Madeline just broke up with me!"
"Hey, don't tell on me!" Madeline shouted.

Like Teacher, Like Son (Chapter 3)

In the middle of the school day, lunch began for the students who was assigned to have it around that time. Luckily, for their senior year, the girls got the same lunch period again. At the cafeteria, Andrea, Skye and Lizzie had arrived earlier than Debra and Madeline. They stood, with lunch trays in Andrea and Lizzie's hands, several feet away from the table that they sat in ever since they've been going to Laguna Beach High. They stared at the coterie of friends who were sitting at the table, unaware of the standing girls. They were just talking, laughing and eating with each other while the trio just stood watching them.
"They're sitting at our table," mentioned Lizzie.
"I know that," said Andrea.
"Should we tell them to get up?"
"No," replied Skye, "we can't just tell them to get up. They're not Rosa Parks in the front of a bus."
"Then what do we do?"
"I got an idea," said Andrea. She handed her tray of food to Skye. "Hold this."
Skye held her friend's tray as Andrea took her brown leather purse off her shoulder. She held it in front of herself and dug her hand inside. She stopped digging once she got her hands on a long lock of curly dark hair. Skye and Lizzie stared puzzled at the ringlet between Andrea's perfectly manicured fingers. She put the purse back around her arm and eyed the girls at the lunch table to make sure they were not looking. She stepped a foot closer and quickly chucked the hair over the half the girls' heads. The hair landed right in the center of the table, capturing the clique of girls' attention.
Andrea ran towards the table and shouted, "Oh, my God, it's the Ebola worm! Run!"
The girls got up, shrieking and frantically ran away from the table. Andrea screamed as well to scare the girls off far. She quieted down when they had gotten far enough.
"Alright, they're gone," Andrea said calmly.
She and Skye sat down at the table, sitting facing each other. Skye placed the lunch tray in front of Andrea. Lizzie still stood in her exact spot, making the girls look at her.
"Why aren't you sitting down?" Andrea asked.
"I don't want to get Ebola from the Ebola worm," Lizzie responded with wide eyes.
"Lizzie, I made that up. Sit down."
Lizzie walked over to the table, almost hesitating, and sat down next to Skye, who sat on the bench nearest to the wall.
"You know, we could've sat at another table," mentioned Skye. "I really don't care."
"No way," said Andrea. "I carved my names under this table. This is marked territory."
Soon, Debra arrived to the cafeteria in her sparkly headband and red crochet dress. She had a smile on her face and was ready to eat with her girlfriends.
"Hello, girls," she greeted serenely as she sat down next to Andrea.
"Hey!" her friends greeted her back.
Debra started to notice the lock of black hair on the table. She picked it up and asked, "What is this?"
"Hair," answered Andrea. "I have tons of it hiding in most of my purses from previous scuffles I've been in."
"This was in your purse? And there's more of this?"
"Some of my bags are really weird so the hair snags and it's hard to get it out and stuff like that."
"You really need to chill it on the fighting, Andrea."
"I haven't battled anyone in months. Besides, it's hair. It's not like it's teeth which reminds me: I might have a tooth lost somewhere in one of my bags."
Later came Madeline, late as usual. She marched in with a stunned look on her face and sat down, just staring hard into space.
"Dad?" she asked herself out loud. "Dad?!"
"What's wrong with your dad?" asked Lizzie. "Did he fall down the stairs again? That man should stop wearing open-toe shoes."
"Not my dad. Zeke's dad."
"Your boyfriend?" asked Andrea.
"We haven't discussed terms yet. Right now, he is my special, flirty friend."
"What about his dad?" asked Skye.
"Did he fall down the stairs?" Lizzie guessed.
"No," Madeline responded. "Zeke's dad is a teacher."
"Here?" Andrea inquired.
"Where else?"
"Why is that bad?" asked Debra.
"Because he's my homeroom teacher."
"Oh!" uttered Andrea. "Now that's bad."
"I know, right? I had no idea he was a teacher here. If I knew that, I would have ran away."
"But you didn't 'cause he was good-looking," said Skye.
"Don't rub it in."
"Why not? You're dating the real teacher's pet, son."
"Do you understand how this is going to change everything? Now Mr. Kendrick is going to give me A's I don't deserve and if I break up with his son, he's going to give me F's I don't deserve."
"Well, you could always make up for your grades by making out with his son," recommended Andrea.
"I literally don't know what to do. And I always know what to do. I'm Madeline King!"
"Well, whatever you do, Madeline King, don't break up with him," Debra suggested. "So what if his dad is your teacher? That shouldn't change the way you feel about him."
"I guess you're right, Debs'."
"Is that Zeke over there?" asked Lizzie, looking to her side.
The girls turned their attention to the entrance. Madeline's handsome friend, Zeke, had just entered the cafeteria by himself.
"Oh, yeah, it is," responded Madeline.
"Maybe you should talk to him, Mrs. Kendrick," insisted Skye.
Madeline took her feet out of the table and stood up. "Don't call me that."
"I'm sorry. Mrs. King-Kendrick because I assume you'd want to keep your last name."
Madeline walked away towards her friend who stopped walking when he saw her right in front of him.
"Hi," she grinned.
"Hey," Zeke responded. "How is your first day so far?"
"Good. Super good. With sugar on top."
"Ooh, I'd like to taste that."
"Hopefully, not in front of your dad."
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell me that your dad was a teacher here?"
"I told you: my dad got a job in Laguna and that's why we moved here over the summer."
"Yeah but you didn't say it was a teaching job. And whether he was a teacher or not, you didn't say he was working here."
"I'm sorry. But I didn't think it was that big of a deal."
"It's not a big of a deal. I'm just treating it like it happens to be a big of a deal because I met your dad and didn't know it was him until you called him 'Dad' right in front of me."
"I'm confused. So are you mad or not?"
"I--" Madeline put her hands out then dropped them down, hitting her thighs. "I'm not mad. I'm glad that I met your dad. Now we can move our relationship to the next level... if you're ready for that."
Zeke put his arms around Madeline, prompting her to wrap her hands behind his neck. "Hey, if you're ready, I'm ready because I really like you."
"Good."
He chuckled. "Hey, I'm going to try some clubs today and tomorrow so why don't you come over my house Wednesday to help me with my homework?"
"How do you know you're going to need help with your homework? School just started."
"I know but I'm a slow learner. And you are a smart woman."
"That's true."
Zeke leaned in towards Madeline but she leaned back. Zeke stood up straight when he noticed her resisting.
"You want to kiss me now?" she asked.
"I didn't want to kiss you in front of my father. I saw your tongue."
"Is your father in sight?"
"I don't see him anywhere."
"Then tongue shall be."
The couple smiled before leaning towards each other and pressing their lips together.

Like Teacher, Like Son (Chapter 2)

Madeline opened the front door to her high school and strutted inside in her chic, preppy and pretty outfit. She took off her sunglasses and stuffed them into her new backpack which was in the form of tote bag. The hallways were a bit crowded but Madeline's swagger was unfazed, walking in a constant speed.
"Get to class, peoples," she asserted. "Prez King is still doing her thing."
She walked back three guys who wolf-whistled at her at the same time. They were all scrawny and looked like they smelled.
"Thanks for your reaction, boys, but this president has a boyfriend."
"Really?" said Lizzie, coming out of a past hallway and catching up with her best friend. "Give me the deets."
Madeline's countenance lit up when she saw Lizzie. "Well, we went on a picnic yesterday evening and we shared our second kiss. It felt like we were the only people on Earth."
"And you wasn't scared?"
"Why would I be scared?"
"Because you thought you were the only people on Earth. If I was by myself, I'd wonder who would make those oatmeal cookies I like?"
"Lizzie, it wasn't like that. It was in a romantic sense."
"But you should be scared," said Andrea, arriving out of nowhere. She walked on the other side of Madeline. "You know what boys try to do when they're alone with a girl."
"But he didn't try to do anything. He's a gentleman. I think I found the right guy."
"You don't just bump into the right guy."
"You got to go on eHarmony," said Lizzie.
"You got to see if he's patient. The guys who wait are the guys you date."
"Okay, I just can't believe you made that up," said Madeline.
"But it's very good," commented Debra, popping up. She walked next to Lizzie. "One of my favorite Andrea quotes so far."
"Thank you," smiled Andrea.
"Alright, maybe you're right," Madeline said. "You don't just find the one. Love at first sight might not exist."
"It has to," said Lizzie. "I've been in love at first sight."
"And it never worked out," Andrea added.
"Andrea!" Debra called.
"What? It's true. People who fall in love too quickly have the most disastrous relationships."
"I couldn't agree with you more," consented Skye, walking up to her girls, right next to Andrea. "Love is disastrous."
"But you love Jeffrey," reminded Lizzie.
"No, I strongly like him. There is a big difference."
"Is there a big difference?" asked Madeline.
"Whatever."
"Listen, you go after boys so quickly because they're usually attractive," noted Andrea.
"That's not true," declined Madeline. "I go after boys because they're attractive, clean and rich. Zeke's dad owns an actual Lamborghini. But he's afraid of getting it stolen so he keeps it in a secret garage."
"Who has a secret garage?" Skye questioned.
"I do."
"Of course, the most pretentious person I ever met."
"It was my dad's idea."
"When are you going to meet Zeke's dad?" asked Lizzie.
"I don't know. Probably after Zeke and I seal the deal which will probably be next month. I have no idea what his parents look like. I assume his dad just looks like an older version of Zac Efron."
"Ooh, I bet he'd still look hot," opined Andrea.
"Yeah, I imagine it not as good. Well, I got to get to class. See you, girls."
The girls said their goodbyes before parting in several different directions. Madeline memorized her assigned homeroom and made her destination to it. She walked down the stairs and the room was right at her left. She entered, taking a glimpse of the umpteen people who were either seated or standing around to chat with their far friends. Madeline looked to her right and saw the teacher at his desk. He had full brown hair, glasses and some scruff. He was obviously middle-aged and sort of skinny. He looked up at Madeline, smiled then stood up.
"Hello, nice to meet you," he said, putting out his hand.
Madeline shook it. "Nice to meet you, too. I am Madeline Louise King so you might as well mark that off the attendance list. Speaking of attendance, I am never absent. I rarely get sick but when I do, I take some Tylenol, cool my forehead with an ice pack and chew some minty gum so I don't throw up. But I know: you won't believe it until you see it. Well, believe this, I get straight A's, maybe some B's, which is almost rare. I am student body president until I graduate. Let me be honest: there will be nobody like me. I am in the debate club so I am very good at speaking. I've won at least three spelling bees so I'm good with grammar. I'm going to apply for the National Honor Society and I know I'm going to get in. I've been on the Honor Roll hundreds of times. I am such a study bug but I always find time to 'boogie-oogie'. Now, I know I have a lot on my plate but whatever you got, throw it right at me. Apple?" She quickly pulled out a green apple from her bag and exposed it when she offered.
The teacher slowly received the fruit from her hand. He examined it by rotating it with his one hand. "Is it clean?"
"Is Robert Pattinson engaged to FKA Twigs?"
The teacher chuckled. "You're confident. Fearless. Now that's what a student should be."
"A student already is."
Just a second later, Zeke walked into the classroom, holding a knitted ornament with a few keys attached to the end by metal rings.
Madeline caught his attention. "Zeke! How did you find me?" She walked closer to him.
"Oh, Madeline, you must be following me," he joked suavely.
"Please, I'm not desperate. But you are so fine."
She placed her hands on his arms and leaned in, giving him a smooch on the lips. Zeke leaned back just a bit, seeming to be hesitating. His eyes were half closed and his body stiffened. He stood up straight when Madeline released him.
"What you need, Zeke?" asked the teacher.
"Uh, you dropped your keys," Zeke replied, holding up the ornament. "I meant to give them to you earlier but I stopped to talk to some friends."
The teacher retrieved the keys. "Oh, thank you very much. Good thing you were looking out. Somebody could've stolen my Lambo."
"Lambo?" Madeline inquired in a giggle.
"I see you've met Madeline," noticed Zeke.
"I sure did," said the teacher. "What a bundle of joy she is. You got yourself a goody."
"I knew you would like her, dad. Or should I say Mr. Kendrick?"
Madeline smiled awkwardly. "Dad?"
The teacher and Zeke stared at Madeline as she blinked multiple times and lost her smile.
"Dad?"
Mr. Kendrick put his arm around Zeke. "Yep, this is my son."
"This is not how I pictured you meeting my dad," confessed Zeke, "but I figured it was going to happen this way."
Madeline still couldn't believe it. "Dad?"
"Well, I got to go. See you, dad. Bye, babe." Zeke left the classroom with no worries.
"Ain't my son a good boy?" asked Mr. Kendrick.
Madeline's face was stuck with confusion and disbelief. "Dad?"
"Not quite. But when you marry my son one day, I'll be considered your dad."
"Dad?"
"Well, you don't have to call me that now."
Madeline slammed her hands on her teacher's desk when he sat down in his rotisserie chair. "Dad?!"

Like Teacher, Like Son (Chapter 1)

The sun was setting almost near the horizon of the fields, giving Madeline and her new friend just an hour of light left. They were having a picnic in an open field, just the two of them and their gracious lunch of sliced turkey sandwiches and small fruits. They spent almost two hours in the field just talking, eating and looking into each other's eyes. Madeline met her friend during the summer. She just bumped into him at the mall and they were stuck on each other ever since. To Madeline, he looks similar to Zac Efron with a mix of Jesse McCartney. This was their fourth date.
"The sky looks so beautiful when it sets like that," Madeline opined, gazing upon the coming twilight.
"I agree," her friend consented.
"Don't you like the glow that illuminates my face?" She turned her attention to her friend and held the hair that covered her cheeks to show off her flawless face.
Her friend chuckled. "I sure do."
"Thank you." She let go of her wavy, blonde hair. "I really like spending time with you, Zeke."
"I like spending time with you, too."
"Good. And can I say that I am so glad that you're going to Laguna Beach High. Now I can see you almost every day."
"And you know I love seeing your gorgeous face."
"Oh, who doesn't?"
Zeke laughed his sexy laugh. "I can't get over how confident you are. The girls I used to date usually had low self-esteem. But being with you is easy. I don't have to tell you that you're beautiful because you already know."
"That's cool, right?"
"So cool."
"Well, I think everyone is beautiful and it's important for them to realize that. I was born knowing that I was beautiful. Besides, no one looks like me."
"Although, you kinda do look like Cassie Scerbo. From that show?"
"Cassie Scerbo was in the Slumber Party Girls."
"What's that?"
"A girl group that you never heard of but I have. My friend, Lizzie, loves them." She started singing, "Don't be M.I.A., we're gonna make you L.O.L. B.T.W., this is all for you."
Zeke was not afraid to laugh at Madeline for singing such a ridiculous song.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Madeline giggled, looking down.
"No, it was cute."
Madeline looked up. "Thanks." She took a glance at the dusk of the sky again. "I don't want this day to end but we got to get home. Curfews, right?"
"You're not going home without giving me a kiss. And another grape."
Madeline tittered. "If you say so."
She disconnected a green grape from its vines which settled in a clear plastic container in between the couple. She popped the grape in Zeke's clean mouth then slowly locked lips with him before he ate the sweet berry.
"Tasty," he winked at her.
Madeline smirked at Zeke while twirling her hair, being the flirtatious coquette that she was.

Volume 3: My First Keg Party (Chapter 1)

It was a breezy night and the girlfriends passed by streetlights and fire hydrants as they walked together down an unfamiliar sidewalk. They were dressed nicely for a house party that they were heading to. They chatted about the beginning, middle and end of their results of attending the party.

"Can’t you believe this is our first party together?" asked Madeline.

"We’ve been to other parties before," reminded Skye.

"Yeah, but it’s our first keg party."

"And that’s good news because?"

"All of the cool kids go to the keg parties. So the fact that we were invited makes us cool kids."

"Yay," Lizzie smiled, "now I will totally understand that Echosmith song."

"What if I don’t want to be cool?" asked Skye.

"Too late," Madeline said. "You’re already cool."

"Well, that sucks."

"It shouldn’t. We’re going to be the newest celebrities in the Hollywood we call, ‘Laguna Beach High School’."

"Good," Andrea pulled down her shirt by the edge. "Now maybe it will be easier for me to capture some dulce. Mami is hungry."

"I have a Snickers bar in my purse," said Lizzie. "Maybe you could give your mom that."

Andrea scrunched her forehead. "No, it was a figure of speech."

"So your mom is not hungry?"

"How would I know she is?"

"Is your family out of food?"

"Speaking of family," started Madeline, "do our parents know we are out here tonight?"

"I asked for permission," Debra replied.

"It took a lot of pleading for me to go," responded Andrea.

"I snuck out," Skye admitted.

"I told my mom and dad I was going to get cat food," said Lizzie.

"You don’t own a cat," Skye smirked.

"Exactly."

"Yeah, I told my parents that if they let me go to the party, I would wash their car once a week for a month," said Madeline.

"You’re actually willing to do a chore?" questioned Andrea.

"Hey, it takes hard work to become a celebrity."

"But you’re not a celebrity," said Skye. "We’re not celebrities. We’re just five girls going to Richard Keaton’s keg party."

"Yeah, but Richard Keaton is the captain of the swim team. I don’t know if you’ve heard but that is a big deal."

"No, I get it. ‘Oh, Richard Keaton can swim. We should worship him like a god.’"

"Hey, if one of us drowns, we would need someone to save us."

"Um, we are teenagers, sixteen or over. I think we should already know how to swim."

"But what if you’re someone like Debra?" asked Lizzie.

"What if you’re someone like me?" Debra questioned with a short giggle.

"Somebody told me that black people couldn’t swim."

Debra’s face relaxed, showing a different attitude. Andrea slapped her hand over her face.

"Who told you that, Lizzie?" asked Madeline, blinking rapidly.

"My television," answered Lizzie.

"Well, that is not true."

"Oh, then sorry, Debra."

"Hey, it’s all good," Debra smiled.

"Wow, you’re always so calm, Debra," Skye commented.

"That’s just me. Of course, if someone different said that to me, I would’ve slapped the headlights out of them. But this is Lizzie; she means well."

Lizzie grinned innocently.

"Ooh, we’re almost there," Madeline alarmed, looking at the big house across from the girls. "Man, his house is so nice."

"Too bad he’s going to trash it," added Skye.

"Hey, as long as we don’t have to clean it up for him," said Andrea.

"Are we going to drink beer?" asked Debra.

"That is up to you and the rest of us," answered Madeline.

"We should stay away from the alcohol," insisted Andrea. "Because the fellas like to play around with the roofies. And I know that I do not want to be a part of that."

"Well, who would want to be a part of that?" asked Madeline.

"What are roofies?" questioned Lizzie. "Are they, like, candies?"

Andrea stared at the night sky. "Yes," she replied after a pause, "they are candies but they’re the bad type of candy so you don’t want to mess with them."

Lizzie scrunched her nose to herself. "They do have fruit in them?"

Andrea huffed. "Yes."

"Ew."

"Look at the cool kids," Madeline said, observing the teenagers hanging outside the house. "We are going to be one of them in seconds."

"You mean a bunch of B.O. ridden, cigarette smoking, beer goggled bums?" asked Skye.

"Yeah!"

"Madeline, I thought that you didn’t want to be part of ‘the bad crowd’."

"I don’t… unless it makes me popular. Besides, a girl can fake it."

"Girls always do," Andrea informed.

It did not take long for the girls to arrive at the house, being inches away from the door. Madeline volunteered to ring the doorbell. Just only a couple seconds, the door was opened by a semi-buff boy holding a red cup and sporting brown, scruffy hair.

"Hey, I know you guys," he first said. "Missy and the other ones."

"I go by Madeline," she smiled.

"Whatever. Come on in."

He opened the door wider so the girls can step right in. They immediately walked into a frenzy of individuals and decorated mess on the floor.

I Hate My Lab Partner/Junior Year (Chapter 5)

The next day, Andrea's class was assigned another experiment. Tired and still having tints of blue in her curly hair, Andrea dragged her feet to her counter from her seat. When she was a foot away, Jessika stepped in front of her.
"Oh, hey," greeted Andrea.
"Hi, Andrea," Jessika greeted back. "Look, I want to apologize."
"For what?"
"You know what."
"Yeah, I do know what."
"I didn't realize how irresponsible I was being for the last two weeks."
"Well, you were being pretty irresponsible."
"I know. I just don't connect with school."
"You think?"
"No, I don't think; I know. But I've realized that my behavior might have affected you in a negative way. And I am sorry that I have been a 'threat' to your education."
"Well, I wouldn't say 'threat'. I would say... No, I would say 'threat'."
"I'm sorry."
"I forgive you. It takes a woman to admit what she has done wrong."
"And I promise that I will be more focused when it comes to school."
"That's great to hear."
"Another great thing for you to hear is that I asked Mister Cavanaugh if we could switch partners."
"Really?"
"Yeah; in case I forget to stay focused and willing to learn, I thought you should have a better lab partner. Someone who is not like me."
"Oh, Jessika, I'm going to miss you."
"Hey, if you ever need me, I will be right across the room."
"Why would I need you?"
"To mess something up."
"Oh, yeah. Good to hear but I will try to get over it. Thank you."
"Thank you. Also, I love the thing that is going on with your hair."
"I want to say thank you but it's not on purpose."
"Oh, it's not?"
"No, that's from when the experiment--"
"Oh, yeah."
"--blew up in my face and got in my hair."
"Now I remember. Gotcha."
"Yeah; I can't get it out."
"What shampoo did you use?"
"I used that Bed Head stuff. 'Tigi'."
"Oh, that crap does not work."
"Really?"
"Yes like a nest."
"What do you recommend?"
"Mmm. Maybe Neutrogena."
"Really?"
"Yeah, that's what I use."
"Oh, meirda."
"Yeah; and you look a little red."
"Yeah, I know."
"Is that from the experiment?"
"Yeah."
"Because it was hot?"
"Yeah."
"Okay."
"Yeah, I got a little bit of an allergic reaction from it as well."
"Aw, I'm sorry."
"Hey, what's done is done."
"You look good."
"Thank you. I look like a slice of bacon gone wrong. But other than that, I do look good. Thank you."
"Well, goodbye, Andrea."
"Goodbye, Jessika."
Jessika smiled at Andrea before walking away to her newly assigned counter and lab partner. Andrea smiled to herself once she got around her counter. When she looked up, she saw a red-haired, freckled-face boy approaching her.
Once he was close enough to her, Andrea greeted him. "Hola, chico. I'm Andrea; you must be my new partner."
The boy scoffed. "Well, isn't it obvious? And my name's not 'Chico', it's Randall."
Andrea scrunched her forehead. "Okay, hi, Randall."
"You already said hi to me. I know Spanish."
"Oh, eso es muy interesante."
"I don't know all Spanish! I'm not a God."
"Sorry for assuming."
"You should be sorry."
"You want me to get the aprons?"
"Do I want you to get the aprons?"
Andrea nodded. "Yeah."
"What kind of question is that? 'Do you want me to get the aprons?' The aprons are needed. Tell me that was meant to be rhetorical. Of course you're not going to tell me because you were actually serious. 'Do you want me to get the aprons?' Uh, duh! Of course I want you to get the aprons. But you can get them without asking. We need the aprons for the experiment. Geez Louise."
Andrea gave Randall a blank expression. "Oh, my God. I was just asking. I thought you would want to get them."
"Well, you thought wrong."
"Uh-huh. I'm going to get the aprons then."
"You should."
Andrea picked up the tongs from the counter and walked away from Randall. "Oh, Jessika," she sang, squeezing the tongs repeatedly.

I Hate My Lab Partner/Junior Year (Chapter 4)

The week after, Andrea's homeroom teacher assigned the class another experiment. Andrea, not wanting to deal with her lab partner, was sheerly infuriated but knew she just had to grin and bear it. As the students went to their assigned counters in the classroom, Andrea picked up the instructions' sheet from her counter and started to notice that Jessika was typing on her cellphone, ignoring Andrea and their scrambled experiment.
"Hey," Andrea tried to capture her attention. Jessika continued to type on her phone. "Hey." Jessika still gave no answer. Andrea then snapped her fingers in front of Jessika's face, making her look up. "Hello."
"Um, I'm texting," Jessika replied.
"Um, so? We're doing an experiment on the color change... photosynthesis thing. You know what I mean."
"I know. That's why I'm over here."
"Well, while you're over here, can you go over there and get some alcohol?"
"Aren't we too young to drink?"
"No, it's for the experiment!"
"Alright, calm  down. Why can't you get it?"
"Because I'm reading the instructions."
"Well, can I read the instructions?"
"I don't know. Can I trust you?"
"Of course you can. I know what I'm doing."
"Can you do the right thing?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll go get the extra equipment."
"By the way, I drink alcohol anyway. I don't care about laws."
"Then you can text when you drive."
Andrea walked away as Jessika glared at her. While Andrea picked up the equipment from the table across the counter, Jessika skimmed through the sheet. After only a couple seconds, Jessika looked back down into her phone and began to text. When Andrea came back, she settled the objects on the counter and gave an angry expression towards Jessika who was not paying attention to her.
"Jessika," Andrea called.
Jessika looked up. "Yeah, what's up?"
"What did I say?"
"That texting comment was hurtful."
"But-- Ugh, sorry. Now what did the sheet say?"
"Oh, it said to put the thingy with the thingy."
"'The thingy with the thingy'?"
"Yeah, and you have to put the other thingy on it."
"The thingy, huh?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Jessika, I told you to do one thing. You couldn't do that?"
"Look, I'm helping."
"You're helping, right? Well, if you're helping, then go and get us some goggles."
"Ugh, those are not my style."
"It's not like people wear them as a fashion statement. Please go."
"Okay, since you said 'please'."
"And please, put your hair in a ponytail."
"I rather not."
Andrea chuckled scornfully. "I rather you will."
Jessika placed her phone in the pocket of her skirt. She walked off to the safety goggle cabinet while Andrea placed the flask on top of the stand over the burner on the counter. She muttered to herself about how Jessika was really annoying as she brought the graduated cylinder closer to her. Soon, Jessika came back and dropped a pair of goggles on the counter.
"You only brought one?" asked Andrea.
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Jessika. "Did you want one?"
"Yes! Actually, I need one."
"Sorry. I'll go get it."
"You do that."
Jessika rushed back to the cabinet for another pair of goggles.
Andrea dragged the bottle of alcohol closer to herself. "Idiota," she mumbled.
Jessika came back with the goggles and threw them on the counter to have them be near Andrea. She picked up the ones that she brought earlier and put them on.
"Yeah, give me the dirty ones while you have the cleaner ones," said Andrea sarcastically. "That's generous."
"Ugh, I can't see," Jessika groaned.
"You've said that the first four times we've had experiments. How many times are you going to keep saying that?"
"Until they clean the goggles."
"They do clean the goggles. They just don't clean them good."
Andrea twisted the cap of the bottled water open and poured it into the graduated cylinder slowly.
"This is so boring," commented Jessika.
"Sorry that it's boring to learn."
"Thank you."
Andrea rolled her eyes. After pouring in the desired amount of water in the cylinder, she sat down the bottle and put the cap back on. She poured the cylinder into the flask and turned the burner on to a low heating.
"Yay, we're done," said Jessika. "Let's leave."
"Hang on a second! We just got started."
"Jesus."
"Yes, you need Jesus. Okay, this sheet says, 'Pour Liquid Number One in water once it bubbles.' Liquid Number One? Fancy. I mean, not fancy, but it's cool."
"Alright, dweeb."
Andrea carried a blank expression on her face. Nevertheless, she opened the bottle that said 'Liquid Number One' from the counter and pour a half a teaspoon in the beaker. Slowly, the brown liquid made the water turn green.
"Whoa, how it do that?" Andrea's widened her eyes.
"Duh, science," Jessika said, checking her phone.
Andrea turned her head to see Jessika on her phone. "Can you please put your phone away? The teacher is going to see."
"I don't care what Bradley Cooper over there sees."
"He looks more like Orlando Bloom, you trouble maker. And in case you did not know, that's Spanish for 'trouble maker'."
"Whoa, Andrea. Don't trip on pebbles on me, okay?"
"Excuse me?"
"I am helping you and you're not letting me in."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"That's because you can hardly speak English."
"Okay." Andrea walked up to Jessika until she was an inch apart from her. "Look, even though you have done a couple of things for me, you still haven't done anything. Now you are going to help me and help me right or else, I'm going to rip out your acryllic nails and stick them into some place fierce."
"Okay, one... you need a breath mint. Two, if help is just what you want, then help I will give you."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Good. Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
Andrea walked back to the counter. "Now, let's proceed with the experiment. So this sheet says that once the water is a solid green, we can pour Liquid Number Two in it. But when we do so, we--"
Andrea stopped talking when she saw Jessika take a strong sniff of the bottle of alcohol.
"What in the world are you doing?" Andrea asked.
"Smelling the alcohol. Duh?"
Andrea swiped the bottle from Jessika. "No more distractions, kay-kay?"
Jessika giggled. "Andrea, stop being ridiculous." She flicked her hand over the heated flask to show a 'Give-It-To-Me' sign but as she did that, two of her rings slipped from her middle finger and dropped in the flask.
"Oh!" Andrea groaned. "Dang it, Jessika! You dropped your ugly gargoyle rings in the water."
"Hey, they were of birds. Besides, it was an accident."
"Accident or not, we're going to get in trouble. Why can't you wear rings that fit?"
"They were incredibly stylish."
"No, true that, true that. But still, now what are we going to do?"
"Calm down. We can still continue. Let me just add the second liquid to the thing."
Jessika took off the cap from the bottle labeled 'Liquid Number Two' and poured almost half of the bottle into the flask.
"Wait!" shouted Andrea. "I didn't give you the certain amount!"
Suddenly, the solution in the flask started to overflow and bubble excessively.
"What's going on?" asked Jessika.
"You tell me! You added too much liquid."
"I will just get rid of this container and get a new one."
"No, you can't touch it."
Instantly, the solution shot out of the flask like a volcano and hit Andrea mostly in the face. Although, the solution made a big splash, none of it touched Jessika. The accident caught every student in the class' attention. Mister Cavanaugh hopped out of his seat from the desk when he sensed the accident.
"What's going on?" he asked.
Andrea started blinking as the once green, now blue solution dripped from her face, staining it blue. She coughed to get some of it out of her mouth. Her goggles no longer appeared on her face.
"She did it!" Jessika pointed at Andrea.
"Andrea?" the teacher tried to grab her attention.
"Hot, hot," Andrea uttered.
"Okay, it was me," Jessika admitted.
"Blue has a flavor."
"Andrea, are you alright?" asked Cavanaugh.
"My spine taste like a daffodil," her words were slurred. She then fell back and passed out on the floor.
"'Blue's Clues' if you know what I mean," said Andrea's classmate, Cory, to his lab partner.

I Hate My Lab Partner/Junior Year (Chapter 3)

The next day, after another exhausting day from a different experiment in Physics class, Andrea would say, the girls got together in the cafeteria during lunch time, sitting in the same seats as the year before and the days within the first week of school. When discussing a topic to talk about, Andrea decided to express her feelings about her lab partner.
"I can't believe her! She is so incompetent. I mean, why go to school if you don't want to learn? That is such a waste of time. Besides, she is always gluing her eyes to her stupid magazines. Like, who brings those to school? School is a place that involves concentrating and she has an inability to do so. If she paid attention as much as she did her fake nails, maybe she would have more common sense. I can't stand her. Maybe if her parents spelled her name correctly, she wouldn't have so much trouble following instructions. School is there so you can learn. Learn! And Jessika can care less about that. So incompetent."
The girls stared at Andrea with blank expressions, as if she was a different person.
"What?"
"Earth to Andrea, where are you?" asked Debra.
"Guys, I'm serious! Jessika is basically the most irresponsible person I have ever met."
"There are a lot of irresponsible people in this school," said Madeline, "and frankly, we can't stop them."
"You want my honest opinion, Andy?" asked Skye. "Jessika kind of almost reminds me of you. Like, how you used to be... or how you are."
"I couldn't agree with you more, Skye. The way that you describe Jessika, she does kind of sounds like you. No offense."
"You really think so?" said Andrea.
"Yeah, it's like 'looking into a mirror' type of way," responded Debra.
"What does Jessika look like?" asked Lizzie.
"She looks like you but Korean," answered Andrea.
"Then she must be fabulous."
"I thought she was. Until she said I pencil on my eyebrows."
"You do pencil your eyebrows sometimes," said Madeline.
"Yeah, but I didn't think people would notice."
"Andrea, this might seem like a stupid question," started Debra, "but why you change?"
"Because we're juniors. And like what Skye said, we have one more year and we're free adults. I want to take school seriously this time because if I do slack off, I won't be able to graduate with all of you. I don't even know how I made it to the eleventh grade. But I'm not going to let people or things stop me from doing what I got to do. I don't want to grow without you."
"That's so sweet, Andrea," said Madeline softly.
"We're not going to grow without you either, Andrea," admitted Debra.
"Yeah, that's right," added Lizzie. "We're a team."
"Forever and always," smiled Skye.
"Thanks, guys," Andrea tilted her heads. "What would I do without you four?"
"Become friends with a four?" inquired Lizzie.
The girls laughed.
"You always know how to make me laugh," smiled Andrea.
In response, the girls put their hands out across the table to a point where all of their hands touch. Andrea was the last to place her hand over her friends' hands. But when she does so, the girls all took a look at her hand which was crimson red and forming tiny blisters. Seeing Andrea's deformed hand made the girls flinch and jolt back. Andrea looked at her friends confused.
"What happened to your hand!" asked Madeline, balling her hands into fists and burying them in her chest.
Andrea glimpsed down at her hand. "Oh, this? There was a little accident in my Physics class which involved Jessika spilling a suspicious liquid."
"Oh, my God!" said Skye, her eyes wider than ever.
"That's what I said when it spilled on me."
"And the teacher didn't give you a bandage?" asked Madeline.
"Oh, no, he did give me a bandage. It just disintegrated."
"Wow," whispered Debra, locking her eyes on Andrea's hand.
"Excuse me but I got to go throw up," said Lizzie, before getting up and walking out of the cafeteria.
"Just wondering, why do you seem so calm about your hand being red and bumpy?" questioned Madeline.
"Because in my head," started Andrea, "I'm beating Jessika senseless. Imagination seems to get me by."
"I see."
"Don't you want to go to the nurse for a band-aid or something?" asked Debra.
"Nah, I'm good."
"Andrea Gonzalez, you are the strongest person I have ever met," confesses Skye.
Andrea put her hand on her chest. "Thank you."
"Now we don't want her chest to disintegrate, now don't we?" said Debra, almost quietly.
Soon, a brown-haired, attractive boy, out of nowhere, rushed up towards Andrea and slowly kissed her on the cheek.
Andrea grinned. "Good evening, Kevin."
"Good evening," he responded in his suave voice, looking down at Andrea.
"Hello, Kevin," all the girls greeted.
"Hello, ladies."
"Babe, I heard you called me a dog to one of your friends," said Andrea. "Would you like to explain yourself?"
"Uh... who told you that?"
"Some weird blond kid."
"Cory. Uh, I didn't call you a dog; I said you were feisty like a dog. And you know I like that, baby."
"Then say 'cat' next time."
"I will. Sorry if it felt insulting to you."
Andrea giggled. "No, that's okay."
"Sweet. I got to go. Who's the best?"
"Me."
"That's right." Kevin dropped down and pressed his lips on Andrea's lips. "Later, baby."
"Later, papi."
Kevin smirked at Andrea then walked off through the cafeteria.
"Why doesn't he sit with us?" questioned Debra. "He's your boyfriend, of course."
"He loves to sit with his 'cool' friends," answered Andrea. "I can sit with him but he can't sit here unless he's with his friends."
"Why does he need to be with his friends to spend time with you?" asked Madeline.
"I know, right? But when we go on dates, it's completely different."
"Well, if he starts to mistreat you, just know that you can take him," said Skye.
"I know."
Lizzie began to come back, entering the cafeteria and sitting back down in her seat.
"What I miss?" she asked after letting out a short belch into her hand.
"Kevin has to be with his friends in order to hang out with Andrea during lunch," answered Madeline.
Lizzie gasped. "What? That's not right, Andrea. You should not take that. Dump him."
"I'm not going to dump him," said Andrea.
"Then shoot him. You know, do a little dribble then swish."
"What?" Skye responded.
"She doesn't want to dump him so why don't she 'swish' him?" Lizzie said, flattening out her hand then curving it in like a hook.
"I think you mean 'dunk'," corrected Madeline.
"Yeah, it's 'dunk', not 'dump'," Andrea agreed.
"Really?" responded Lizzie. "It's 'dunk'? Geez, no wonder I'm failing physics."

I Hate My Lab Partner/Junior Year (Chapter 2)

Andrea entered the classroom labeled "206" and looked around. She gazed upon empty seats and tried to spot a seat assignment. Seeing no assignment or teacher, Andrea just sat down in the nearest open seat. She laid down her books onto the smooth, wooden desk. She placed her glittery binder on top of her other books and opened it up. She unzipped the pencil pouch and took out a cheetah-printed pen. After she does so, she quickly looks to her left and saw a boy who was an inch away from her.
"D'oh!" she shouted out, surprised. She placed her hand on her chest and said, "You scared me."
"Sorry," said the boy, who was clad in a green jacket and carrying a full head of blond hair.
"Who are you?"
"I'm a friend of Kevin. Kevin Christie."
"Oh, I know him. He's my boyfriend."
"Yeah, and I've seen you once and that is frankly not enough of times."
"Well, if you like what you see, don't get too happy. I suppose you're his friend and that would be very inappropriate."
"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about but I am his friend. You are definitely what he says you are."
"Beautiful? Glamorous? Poise?" she grinned.
"No, feisty. Like a dog."
Andrea dropped her grin into a frown. "Dog?"
"In a good way. If he meant it in a good way. Well, it was nice seeing you, Allison."
"Andrea."
"Close."
The boy walked away to his seat which was farther away from Andrea's chosen seat.
"Él es un perro," muttered Andrea.
Soon after, a bunch of students entered the classroom and chosen their seats. Before the school bell rang, the teacher, who was a tall, middle-aged man, had entered and observed all of his unfamiliar students.
"Welcome, class," he began to speak. "My name is Cavanaugh and, well, I am your homeroom teacher."
"Dang, Cavanaugh sure is fine," Andrea whispered to the girl sitting next to her.
"I will be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. I have no plans on leaving the school as I have been here for five years."
"Am I in the second Magic Mike movie?"
"I am going to put a syllabus on your desks, but before I do, I would like to tell you a little about myself. When I was thirteen, I loved schoolwork and I had a dream of becoming a teacher."
"Boy, if I was his teacher, he'd be my pet."
"Stop talking to me, please," said the girl quietly.
"I graduated from the University of Education," continued Cavanaugh, "and so far, I have taught in three schools. I have also taught engineering as well."
"If he could teach me anything," Andrea continued to whisper, "it would definitely be chemistry."
"Please stop," the girl ordered, a little louder this time.
"What? I can't make comments?"
"Is there a problem, girls?" asked Cavanaugh, looking at Andrea and her neighbor.
"Oh, no," responded Andrea in her normal tone. "Just making friends here."
"Oh! I almost forgot; since we will be doing tons of experiments for experience, I am going to assign you a lab partner that you will do lab work with until the end of the school year."
The classroom clamored softly.
"Hey, if there is going to be problems, then I will give you an F just like that."
"I'll do whatever you say, Orlando Bloom," whispered Andrea.
Cavanaugh walked behind his desk and picked up a clipboard, clipping onto a printed out piece of paper. "Now, from this chart, I am going to announce who and who are lab partners. After I read this whole thing, you may look for your partner." He started to read aloud from the chart, "Olly Anderson and Sady Zealand; Chloe Chapin and Zeke Davenport; Maya Davis and Leah Messing; Geoff Fowl and Ben Xiang; Andrea Gonzalez and Jessika Ming; Emily Groverfield and Malika Test; Chester Hennessy and CeCe Sheffield; Cory Holmes and Isabelle Rivers; Randall Lowe and Guy Bellamy; Constance Richards and Jace Davis; and Jason Peterson, you are by yourself."
"Aw," uttered a male classmate.
"Now find your partner and get to know them. I'm going to place the syllabus on your desks."
The students got from their seats and scrambled through the classroom, looking for their assigned lab partners.
Before Andrea got up, she asked her neighbor, "Are you Jessika Ming?"
"No," answered the girl.
"Then up out of my face." She got up and walked through the field of pairs. She looked left and right, seeing if there is a girl who is by herself. Luckily, she found her.
"Hello," greeted an Asian girl wearing a green floral skirt and an off-the-shoulder tee. "Are you Andrea Gonzalez?"
"Do crows make noise?" Andrea responded. "You must be Jessika."
"With a K."
"You got a K in your name? Nice!"
"I love your scarf."
"I love your everything."
"I get it from my mama."
"I get it from my grandmama."
The girls giggled.
"I like you already," said Jessika. "We're going to be awesome lab partners."
"Awesome and stylish."
"Yeah!" they both said at the same time. They high-fived and giggled away.

A few days later in the same week, all of the lab partners in the class were together and by individual laboratory counters as Mister Cavanaugh assigned a scientific experiment for all of the students. Andrea walked up to her counter which had Jessika Ming standing by it, reading a fashion magazine. Andrea brought two pairs of goggles and held out one of them towards Jessika.
"Here you go," she said.
Jessika looked up. "No, that's okay. I'm reading an article."
Andrea flopped the goggles on the counter. "No, Jessika. It's for the lab experiment. We must wear safety goggles or chemicals will get into our eyes and make us Stevie Wonder."
"I'm wearing contacts."
"Put on your goggles."
Jessika groaned. She closed her magazine and slammed it on the counter. She picked up her safety goggles and the girls put them on together.
Andrea picked up a plastic shielded piece of paper from the counter and put it up close to her face to read it. "'Fill beaker up with water and place it on the stand over the burner. After you do so, turn on burner to the lowest heat setting'. Okay, I'm going to get water for the beaker. Can you try to turn it on while I'm gone?"
While Andrea was talking, Jessika was flipping through her magazine. She looked up and said, "Uh-huh."
Andrea nodded. She walked away towards the sink across the room, which was blocked by a line of three students. Andrea stood in the back of the line and waited until the line in front of her was gone. When it was, she turned on the faucet to a lukewarm setting and filled the beaker with water half-way. After that, she turned off the sink and walked back to her counter with the beaker. When she arrived, she placed the beaker on the tiny stand but noticed that the heat was not on.
"Jessika," she called.
"Mm-hmm," Jessika replied, still buried deep into her magazine.
"Did you turn the burner on?"
"Of course."
" Usted es un mentiroso! The burner is not on."
"Well, what do you want me to do?"
"I don't know. How about turn it on?!"
Jessika groaned. "Fine." She grabbed the handle to the burner and turned it all the way, making the fire come out raised high.
Frantic, Andrea quickly turned the handle back to its original spot, turning the fire off. "Are you nuts?!" she yelled at Jessika. "The paper says, 'lowest setting'. You could've burned my eyebrows off."
"Well, they're still on your face, aren't they? Probably because you heavily penciled them on."
Andrea's face balled up with anger. She cried a furious yell, not too loud, but still audible, and started to run over to Jessika. She wrapped her hands tightly around Jessika's neck and began shaking her back and forth. Most of the students in the classroom locked their eyes on the not-so-friendly lab partners.
Soon, the teacher rushed over to the girls. "What is going on here?" he asked, putting his hands on his waist.
"Nothing!" responded Andrea, still choking Jessika. "Just making friends here!"
Cavanaugh quickly grabbed the back of Andrea's shirt and pulled her off of Jessika. Jessika nearly dropped to the floor, hanging on to the counter to keep her from falling.
"Is there a problem here?" asked Cavanaugh to Andrea angrily. "Because if there is, I can just give you an F as one of your first grades."
"No," replied Andrea. "Oh, no. There is no problem, sir. I promise I will behave. I'm sorry."
"You better be." Cavanaugh walked away from the lab partners.
Andrea turned around to face Jessika. "I'm sorry, Jessika," she calmly apologized. "Didn't mean to choke you out."
Jessika rubbed her neck. "I guess it is okay. I never realized how fine the teacher is. Whoa! A complete distraction; I'll tell you that."
"Now you've lost me."