A:
The next school day was the day before the class trip. We'd spent the entire semester building the Ecchi Island trip up in our heads, so there was a buzz to the energy of the class that morning.
Personally, I was looking forward to relaxing. That year I'd experienced more drama and had more near-death experiences than in my entire life. Still, it was worth it. My relationship with Marla was finally changing.
Devin wanted to meet by the lockers before school. I came into the hallway and walked over to him, passing an argument between Cole and Luna.
Devin greeted me, but got quiet. His eyes starting darting all over, like he was hiding something. He pointed to a petite girl just entering the hallway.
"Look over there."
"The brunette?"
The girl turned her head, and I got a better look at her face. When who she was, my heart jumped up into my throat.
"Is that? Vera--"
"No, it's Veronica. Veronica St. Vincent. No surprise you don't know her. She's in a much higher social strata. Hey Andy, don't stare too much, be subtle."
It shocked me. I thought back to that night in Ian's Dreamscape when Vera came into my room. It was her, Vera was Veronica St. Vincent. They were identical, save for the fact Veronica lacked Vera's elfish ears. Otherwise, their facial features were the same.
<$img:vera_school>
I stopped and collected my thoughts, and that gave Devin a chance to gush.
"She's perfection, Andy. I've going to marry her. I need to lock her down before these guys get their hands on her. While she's still pristine."
"You're going to marry her? Does she know this?"
"She might. She seems smart, so she's aware on some level. But if you're asking if I've confessed to her, no, I have not yet."
Hearing Devin hadn't confessed to Veronica yet surprised me. After all, it sounded like he really liked her.
"I'm a little surprised, Devin. I mean, she's pretty popular, so I'm not too surprised you like her. But you need to ask her out. It's a real disgrace you haven't yet, to be quite frank."
Devin gave me a stern look and then rolled his eyes.
"Andy, like you're one to talk."
"This isn't about me. You need to ask her out. Do it before the trip."
"That's a fantastic point, surprisingly. Anything could happen on that trip. But when should I do it?"
"Devin, you need to ask out Veronica today. Do it in the back courtyard right after school. I don't think there are any other confessions scheduled in the courtyard yet."
Devin looked at me in horror, but then considered the idea.
"Anyway, you're right, Andy. I'm going to do it after school in the courtyard. I'll leave her a letter telling her to meet me under the tree. Make sure you get a good seat. This is going to be a confession for the ages."
Devin puffed up his chest as walked off. I was happy for him. Working up the courage to confess to your crush was a big deal. Of course, I couldn't confess to Marla, at least not yet. If my confession didn't go well, it would be the end of the world. Literally, the world would end if the Gaia Defense Force broke up. And that could happen if I did something stupid, like confessing.
I was putting off my confession to Marla not because I was afraid, but for the future of the entire planet. As far as I knew, the Gaia Defense Force was the planet's only organization fighting inter-dimensional invaders like Augustine. And no one else was equipped to deal with the threat.
Still, I thought about what it would be like to confess to Marla, and for her to accept. To be walking hand-in-hand on the beach with her in our swimsuits, while all the other guys were jealous.
But, the late bell brought me back into the real world.
B:
The day zoomed by. No one got much work done, the up coming trip preoccupied our minds. At lunch, everyone was speculating about what the excursions and the rooming situation. Everyone besides Cole and Luna, that was.
I hate to speculate about the status of other people's relationships, but as for Cole and Luna, it looked to be trouble in paradise. Luna was crossing her arms and in a pout, while Cole shifted his shoulders up and down, pleading for some leniency.
I was about to peal my eyes away when I noticed Vera... or should I say Veronica. I was glad to get another good look at her. She was much thinner she was than any of the other girls, the uniform just fell on her body like she was the original model it was measured for.
She interrupted Cole and Luna's argument wildly. Cole and Luna sitting facing one another. But Veronica marched right up to Luna, and with no sign or preparation, sat right down on her lap. Luna was stunned and Cole ended up grabbing Veronica by the arm and dragging her out of the cafeteria right as Marla came and sat next to me.
"Oh, look at that. Ian's sitting with Betsy. They'd make a cute couple, don't you think?"
Ian and Betsy sat close to one another. It looked like he changed a lot since we'd confronted him in the Dreamscape. It looked like Betsy enjoyed talking to him. I only hoped she wasn't indoctrinating him into radical ideas like Bloomer Supremacy.
"They do kind of make a good match. And Ian said he'd join Gaia Defense Force. I guess that if they hit it off, there'd finally be some romance in the club room."
Marla choked on the water she was drinking and I realized the implication of what I said.
"I... uh I didn't mean 'finally'."
Just as Marla regained her composure from almost choking, she burst out laughing.
Fortunately for me, Devin arrived and gave an easy change of subject. His hands were in his pockets, but you could tell he was trying hard to stop from shaking. He sat down next to us and Marla gave him a look.
"Andy, is he ok?"
"It's fine. Maybe just let me talk to him for a second. He's having problems with a girl."
"And he's coming to you?"
Marla chose not to pursue the point further. She picked up her tray and went to sit by Luna, who was alone and looking sad now that Cole left. Devin's left shoulder was shaking. It was spazzing out like a lawn sprinkler. I grabbed a hold of it to see if it would calm him down.
"Devin, I need you to calm down."
"I can't, I can't do it."
"Are you talking about the confession? Sounds like nerves."
As soon as I said the word 'nerves', Devin glanced down at his spastic hand that was flailing.
"I know. I heard that potassium helps settle nerves. Go get some bananas from the cafeteria before they end service."
Devin came back with 2 stalks of bananas, at least 12 individual bananas total, and started eating them.
"This should help. I read on a forum that girls hate nervous energy, so this should help the confession, too."
Devin looked at me with sad eyes. He spoke in between, stuffing his face with bananas.
"Thank you Andy, you actually are a great friend. Unlike me."
"Don't get down on yourself. You're a great friend. But if I had one suggestion, it would be to take it easy on the bananas."
By then, Devin had already eaten five and was working on the sixth. But the way he ate them, it looked like he did not know how to eat a banana at all. It was like he'd never even heard of pealing. He'd just bite the bottom part off, spit out the end on the table, and then smash the rest into his mouth, throwing the peel on top on top of the mess.
"But Devin, I have one piece of advice for you."
He looked at me wide-eyed and nodded, his mouth too packed with banana to say anything. By now Devin's table manners had a small audience, and one girl had something to say.
"Devin, slow down with the bananas. It's not a great look."
Marla came back after Luna left to go study.
"Are you done with your guy talk?"
Marla started out in a good mood, but was grossed out when she saw the pile of banana peels sitting next to Devin. He responded to her.
"Kind of. But I have a question for you, about a certain girl."
Marla looked skeptical.
"I think you need to like, learn basic table manners first."
Marla agreed to answer some questions, but only after Devin threw out the disgusting peels still piled up on the table.
"Ok Marla, I cleaned everything up. Now please tell me everything you know about Veronica."
"Veronica? Veronica St. Vincent? She's gorgeous, isn't she? It's good to have goals. What about her?"
"Her brother's dating your sister Luna, right? So you must know her, like from family dinner and stuff."
"Family dinner? What are you talking about?"
"I mean, what kind of guys does she like? Does she like bad boys or nice guys? Does she like gamers or jocks? Does she like 6-packs or dad bods?"
"Being a St. Vincent, I'd guess she likes guys with passable table manners. So you should work on that. As for anything else, if she's anything like Cole, she'll go after anything with a pulse."
Marla grinned, but clearly this didn't satisfy Devin.
"Anything with a pulse? That's every guy. Girls are different."
"That's intriguing. Tell me more."
"I'm just saying that's not useful advice! How am I supposed to get what I want if no one will even tell me how to do it?!"
Now Devin lost his cool. His voice was raised, and we got some stares. Marla gave him a side eye.
"Just calm down. Here, have a banana."