Chapter 48

             When Simon gets home, he prepares to take care of something much harder than training with Zoey and her cousins: he has to talk about quitting band class.

            “You want to what?!” both his mother and father say.

            “Why would you want to quit band?” his mom asks. “I thought you liked band.”

            “If you quit, then what was the point of getting you that new clarinet?” his dad asks.

            “Well, I could always go back,” Simon says. “But I just can’t do that and… and everything else I have to do.”

            “That’s… true, I suppose,” his dad says.

            “But what about your morning schedule?” his mom asks. “How are you going to get to school if I’m not dropping you off?”

            “I’ll just walk,” he says. “I walk home so I might as well walk to school, too. I’ll still need a ride for today and Wednesday, but then I start going at a normal schedule with Thursday.”

            “Alright,” his mom says. “In which case, you’ll need to start ironing your shirts yourself now.”

            “Yeah, okay,” he says with a small smirk.

 

            Simon goes into band class on Tuesday and picked up the form afterwards, and naturally has to explain to everyone he’s leaving band class. His friends understand after thinking it through quietly, but the other students obviously don’t get it.

            “But what about being second row, first chair?” one of the older students asks.

            “It’s fine,” Mr. Reese says. “Mr. Mason will be first chair now.”

            “Huh?” Alex says, caught off guard.

 

            “Well thanks for that,” Alex grumbles as he and Simon head for World History. “How am I supposed to handle your parts in the songs?”

            “Right, so sorry I’m putting this on you,” Simon says flatly. “It’s way more pressure than what I’m going through.”

            “Okay, got me there,” Alex sighs. “This is still really crazy, though. Are you going to just be done with band then?”

            “I dunno,” Simon shrugs. “I am for this semester, at least.”

            “What about this semester?” Zoey asks as she encounters them on the stairs.

            “I, uh, quit band class,” Simon says.

            “You did?” Zoey says in shock. “I mean, I never heard you play, but that’s a shame. Wait is it because of… Friday?”

            “Not exactly,” Simon says. “But just with things in general, I can’t do everything.”

            “Yeah, that’s understandable,” Zoey says. “Though, I guess I didn’t have that problem since I wasn’t in any extracurricular activities. The Spektrum Fan Club was the only club I ever joined, but now it’s not even active.”

            “You think that’ll change after Friday?” Alex asks them. “Y’know, with The Spektrum coming back and all, the club will probably want to start back up.”

            “It might even start up again without Cyndi,” Zoey says.

            “Would that be allowed?” Simon says.

            “Maybe,” Zoey shrugs. “They’d probably just have to call it something a little different, like ‘The New Spektrum Fan Club.’”

            “True,” Simon says.

 

            Classes go as normal, which includes Cyndi giving Simon and Zoey a bit of the cold shoulder while in Science class. It annoys Zoey, but Simon just sighs and focuses on class.

 

            Zoey joins Simon and his friends for lunch again, and works on becoming better friends with the other girls. She tells them about her cat, how she used to have her hair dyed cherry red—she uses pictures from her phone as proof it really was like that—and what her friends are like.

            “Whoa,” Michelle laughs at a picture of Karina. “That bow in her hair is huge!”

            “Yeah,” Zoey laughs, too. “Karina’s got a style all her own. She wants to be this triple threat mega star who sings and dances and designs her own clothing. She’s crazy but she’s got ambition. Luckily, she has her older sister, Alicia, to keep her more down to earth. Alicia does that for all of us, really, so she’s like all of our big sister.

            “Marina’s athletic, and she’s on our school’s tennis team. She’s really good, and even though she doesn’t notice it, there are a lot of guys who like her sporty appeal.

            “Chloe’s a bit more like me. We’re not sure what we want to do with our lives, but she does like making things. She knits and sculpts and does little arts ‘n’ crafts type stuff. She should really try doing that as more than just a hobby. I just… do nerd things, I guess.”

            “You’re the nerdy one in the group?” Erin asks with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

            “Apparently,” Zoey laughs. “I mean, I play a lot of those 2D fighters. You know, like the kind you see at the arcades, but obviously at home on a console.”

            “Right…” both Erin and Michelle say.

            “Which is why you’re…” Erin says, leaning in to suggest the rest of the sentence without saying it.

            “So you did tell,” Zoey says, looking at Michelle.

            “But it’s just us,” Michelle says. “No one past us will know.”

            “I’ll hold you to that,” Zoey says.

 

            PE isn’t much better than Science in terms of Cyndi’s treatment of Zoey or Simon. But with yesterday being rainy day dodgeball without even a drop of rain, the teachers have the classes go about normal activities. That means Simon ends up in the weight room, trying not to cheat with his eye flicker trick. He wants to use Silver to lift more or Blue to last longer, but he keeps his dark brown eyes to do things normally. Which is tough, because he’s actually still sore and tired from training with Zoey and her cousins.

            Simon survives to make it to Pre-Calc in Fourth Block. He practically flops into his chair beside Zoey.

            “You alright?” she asks with a stifled giggle.

            “Yeah,” he sighs.

            “We don’t have to train today if-”

            “No, no,” he interrupts. “We need to keep going, there’s no time to lose.”

            “Alright,” she says. “Just don’t blame me if you can’t walk after.”

            Zoey thinks about what she just said.

            “That sounds weird out of context, doesn’t it?” she asks.

            “Whaaat? No…” Simon says with a smirk.

            Zoey smirks back, still stifling laughter, but also blushes a little.

 

            After class, Cyndi again avoids Simon and Zoey, but by walking far behind them instead of ahead of them. Cyndi argues with herself as she watches them walk down Bancroft and Zoey gets on her phone.

            On one hand, Cyndi admits Zoey has a point that she can’t simply think of Simon and Siro as the same person. But at the same time, Cyndi still fears Simon will end up that way. Zoey said giving up on him wouldn’t change anything, but Cyndi would rather not be in a relationship with someone like that than have to deal with the baggage. And yet, she’s also upset seeing those two together.

            Zoey finishes her call to her cousins and puts her phone away. She notices Cyndi behind them, but she won’t say anything. She leaves it to Cyndi to either come up to talk to them or to Simon to go back there and talk to her.

            Like yesterday, Simon stops by his house to drop things off before regrouping with Zoey at her house. And again, Seth and Jeff pick them up to go to the Takagaki dojo in Alameda, ahead of any karate classes with little kids.

            “Alright, c’mon,” Simon says as he becomes Code Silver, shoes already off.

            Jeff transforms, pulls off his shoes, and runs full speed at The Spektrum! But he easily moves out of the way, and brings out the light ropes! Jeff rebounds right off them and The Spektrum table tops him! Jeff falls over and hits the mat. The Spektrum jackknifes Jeff like he did Seth the other day, but Jeff uses his electric powers to zap The Spektrum off him.

            Jeff and The Spektrum both get to their feet, and The Spektrum uses more light ropes himself to rebound off. Jeff turns around for The Spektrum to swing a clothesline, but Jeff ducks under. The Spektrum has new ropes come up and he rebounds the other way, but Jeff jumps over him. The ropes return to the other side and this time The Spektrum leaps to meet Jeff in the air. They collide shoulder to shoulder and Jeff falls hard on the mat.

            “Owie!” Jeff says.

            Zoey and Seth laugh.

            “You get hurt and revert to being six years old?” Zoey teases.

            “No, no, Aoi!” he says.

            “Oh!” Zoey says.

            Seth hops in while Jeff rolls away. Seth goes on offense this time with a kick at the legs! The Spektrum falls over, but rolls as Seth goes to return the double stomps from yesterday. Seth aims and kicks but The Spektrum keeps rolling. Seth pursues but the light ropes return and stop Seth while The Spektrum rolls under the bottom one. The Spektrum gets up, goes between top and middle rope, and rolls Seth up, all in one motion. Seth kicks out quickly, and kip-ups while The Spektrum staggers back to rest on the ropes.

            “Wow, that was really good,” The Spektrum says. “I don’t I could do that as any Code other than Red. Maybe Yellow?”

            “I’m sure you could figure it out,” Jeff says. “Give it a try.”

            “I dunno,” Spektrum says. “Can you do it?”

            Jeff lies down to then kip-up, same as Seth. The Spektrum then looks at Zoey, and she pouts while pulling her shirt down with one hand and covering her chest with the other.

            “Go on,” Jeff says to Spektrum. “You try.”

            “Yeah!” Zoey says. “If you did it as Red, then maybe you can do it as Silver.”

            The Spektrum sees all three of them looking expectantly at him. He shrugs, puts the light ropes away and lies down on the mat. He brings his legs up and kicks to bring his whole body off the ground. But he only gets up a few inches and his heels hit awkwardly, causing his body to fall backwards. Zoey and her cousins laugh a little as he sits up.

            “Yep, definitely not something Silver can do,” he says.

            “Well don’t give up just because you didn’t do it the first time,” Zoey giggles. “We should teach Silver how to do that kick-up move, that’d be a pretty great surprise for Siro.”

            “Wait is it kick-up? I always heard it as kip-up.”

            “Sometimes people call it a ‘knip-up’, but I don’t think that’s right, either,” Seth says.

            “It’s definitely ‘kip’, not kick or knip,” Jeff says. “But yeah, we can help you practice this. Lie back down.”

            The Spektrum lies back on the mat again.

            “You had the part about bringing your legs up,” Jeff says. “But you gotta also roll back onto your shoulders. Place your hands by your head if you want, too.”

            The Spektrum brings his legs up to his chest while rolling back. He braces himself with his hands.

            “Now use your body to spring out!” Jeff says.

            The Spektrum pushes as he kicks, and while he lands on his feet, he also wobbles a bit, and has to kneel before falling over sideways.

            “I think Silver just isn’t able to,” he says as he stands up. “Something about being him makes my legs feel stiff.”

            The Spektrum lies back down, and practices the kip-up over and over. He’s still very stiff in the legs and wobbly when he lands. He does ten but there isn’t any real progress.

            “Just keep trying,” Jeff says. “You’ll get better with it.”

            “For now,” Seth says, “let’s get back to sparring while we still have time.”

            “Right,” The Spektrum says. “Reset, pick someone.”

            “You’re not done with me yet!” Seth says as he lunges with a double punch!

            The Spektrum lets out a “Whoa!” as he leans back, but Seth brings him arms and back around for a double palm strike into The Spektrum’s chest. The air is knocked out of him, a lot like that double chop from last week. While The Spektrum does his best to catch his breath, Seth sweeps the legs and The Spektrum falls to the mat. Seth keeps moving through the sweep to flip and drop a heel into The Spektrum’s stomach!

            “Oh…!” Zoey and Jeff let out.

            “Pretty good,” The Spektrum grunts. “Okay, give me a minute for round two. Three? Hard to count when there’s no air in my body.”

            Zoey giggles while Seth helps The Spektrum stand up.

            “C’mon, I’ll go next,” she says.

            “You sure?” The Spektrum says, starting to smirk. “You don’t want to be in those awkward positions, do you?”

            “You’re going to stay on the defensive,” she smirks back. “Because I’m going to keep throwing all sorts of punches and kicks at you.”

            “Well alright,” he says while taking in a deep breath. “When do we start?”

            Zoey kicks him in the thigh and the *SMACK* echoes out.

            “Just did,” she smirks while he groans and leans towards the hit leg.

            The Spektrum shakes the leg out and takes a step back. He nods his head and smirks, bounces on his feet a couple times, then puts up his dukes.

            The two circle, and Zoey takes some testing jabs. He stays back, so she swings another low kick, clipping him in the calf. He shakes it off and keeps circling with her.

            Zoey jabs with her left, which he deflects, but she uses her left leg to kick his shin, more like a stomp. He lets out an “Ow,” which is cut short because Zoey gives him a one-two combo, and followed with a spinning right backhand and left uppercut! The Spektrum staggers away but stays on his feet.

            “Whoo,” he says as he shakes the stars out of his head. “So fast. I’m starting to think you could’ve been the Red proxy.”

            Zoey smirks as she steps in to jab again. The Spektrum evades again, but an uppercut comes in. He deflects it to his right but Zoey spins through for a forearm headed for his face! The Spektrum arms are down, so he just thrusts his head forward to meet the arm!

            “Did you just headbutt my arm away?” Zoey says, confused.

            He just smirks at her.

            Zoey throws a roundhouse from the middle, which he blocks easily, and the same for the quick follow-up. He could tell she held back, but isn’t sure why, until she spins around to bring in a heel kick! The Spektrum crouches quickly, hands over his head.

            “He looks like a crab,” Jeff chuckles.

            Zoey just barely touches her foot down before thrusting forward with her knee!      The Spektrum yelps as he falls backwards to avoid the knee smashing his face!

            “Now he looks like a dead cockroach,” Seth says.

            “Ugh, yeah, like back in Santa Cruz,” Jeff says.

            “Ew, you guys had roaches?” Zoey says.

            “Well excuse us,” Jeff says. “Not everywhere is the paradise that is the Bay Area.”

            “Defensive drop toehold!” The Spektrum shouts as he grabs her leg with his legs.

            Zoey yelps as she falls forward. But she catches herself with her hands as The Spektrum pushes up on his hands.

            “Not this again!” Zoey says. “And you were supposed to stay on defense!”

            “I shouted ‘defensive’,” he says as he lets her go.

            “That doesn’t count,” she says as the two stand up.

            The two reset and circle again. Zoey steps forward but back handsprings to kick at The Spektrum! He gets clear by mere centimeters, but she comes lunging in with a strong uppercut! The hit sends him staggering back several steps, but he uses the light ropes to keep from falling over.

            “Oooh,” she says as he stands up on his own. “I made you use your ropes.”

            “Yeah, you did,” he says with a chuckle. “But a better way to put that would’ve been, ‘you’ve got me on the ropes.’”

            “Well let’s see if you can get me on the ropes,” she smirks.

            The ropes appear behind her now.

            “I didn’t mean literally,” she says. “You can’t just put them there. You go on offense now.”

            “Uh… I don’t feel comfortable hitting you,” he says. “And not just because it’d be in front of your cousins who could literally shock and bludgeon me.”

            Seth and Jeff nod in agreement, arms crossed.

            “Oh please,” Zoey says. “I doubt you could hit me once I get serious.”

            “You trying to say this was all a hustle?” Spektrum smirks. “You’ve been going easy on me?”

            “Maybe,” she says with a sassy smile. “But how am I supposed to learn how to fight Siro if I don’t learn how to defend against you?”

            “Okay,” he says with a lot of reluctance.

            The two reset again, but obviously he hesitates to do anything.

            “C’mon!” she says as she kicks him in the leg. “Do something!”

            “Just give me a minute,” he says. “I’m trying to figure out my first move.”

            They go again, and The Spektrum steps in with a left jab. Zoey easily leans out of the way, but he tries again. She again evades, but then he swings a right, which she ducks under. She moves to the side as she stands back up, and The Spektrum turns to stay facing her.

            He approaches with short steps but she stays put. He throws a left then a right, but she gets under each of those. She comes back with a jumping knee but he just pushes his chest into the attack, canceling it out. She comes back with a roundhouse but he ducks that, stands and spins for a clothesline!

            Except he stops short! Her eyes are wide and ears are pointed back as she stares at the back of his elbow just inches from her face.

            “Why didn’t you hit me?” she says.

            “Because I don’t want to,” he says.

            She grumbles as she steps back. He stands up straight but then she shoves him.

            “What?” he says.

            “Why are you going easy on me?” she says.

            “I’m not going easy-”

            “Yes you are!” she says. “You would’ve followed through with that hit if it were my cousins, but you deliberately chose not to. Is it because I’m a girl? Is that why you won’t hit me?”

            “Part of it,” he shrugs. “But-”

            “Well stop!” she says. “Don’t go easy on me for being a girl. I need to be ready for getting hit!”

            “You do realize as Code Silver, I have strength enough to flip a car over?” he says. “Not in one quick go at it, but I still get the thing up and over. Imagine using that strength to hit you in the head, you’d be sent flying!”

            “But you’d still do it to Jeff or Seth, right? Ugh, I can’t believe you!”

            “You’re upset that I won’t hurt you?” he says. “That makes no sense.”

            “You’re acting like I’m not as tough as either of you boys,” she says, being extra sassy on “boys.” “I’m plenty tough! I fought Tyranno-Shark and WON! We fought Tiger as Man-Tiger together, and I’m the one who took care of him!”

            “Well, I… That’s not the same.”

            “Same as what? As you handling me with kid gloves?”

            “Well, would you hit her in a sparring match?” he asks her cousins.

            “I dunno,” Seth shrugs at the same time Jeff says, “Yeah, sure.”

            “What?” Seth says as he looks at Jeff.

            “It’s because we’re family,” Jeff says. “Y’know, like when we would rough house as kids.”

            “I dunno…” Seth says again. “I guess. I know I wouldn’t be using my steel skin, at least.”

            “See?” both Zoey and The Spektrum say.

            “Wait,” Zoey says. “No, that doesn’t prove your point, it proves mine!”

            “What do you mean?” he says. “Seth just said he’d go easy on you.”

            “Because using his steel skin, it’d be like hitting someone with an aluminum bat!” she counters.

            “And Silver’s super strength wouldn’t be the same?” he counters back.

            “Actually, who knows?” she shrugs. “You might not even hit that hard, compared to Tyranno-Shark’s tail. Yeah, I got smacked with that in the side of my face but I got up.”

            “Well maybe he wasn’t that strong compared to me, ever think of that?” he counters again.

            “Only one way to find out,” she says, getting smug. “Hit me. Just hit me once in the cheek and we’ll know. But you gotta mean it. You gotta really commit to hitting me.”

            The Spektrum chuckles, but more from being exasperated than amused.

            “I’m not hitting you,” he says.

            Zoey SLAPS him across the face! His head only moves a couple degrees, but he still turns to look at her with an incredulous stare. Her cousins are also shocked, but into being speechless.

            “Hit, me,” she says, very serious.

            “I’m not-”

            She SLAPS him again! This time her cousins can be heard gasping.

            “Stop-”

            Another SLAP! Now The Spektrum just has this seething look on his face.

            “STOP-”

            Zoey just slaps him again! And again, and again! She goes in for a seventh, but Code Black catches her right hand with his. He brings her arm across, but she tries to slap with the left. His left catches it, and now her arms are crossed in front of her. He pulls her forward and traps her arms under his, clasping his hands together to lock it in. He also makes sure to step in between her legs, preventing her from kneeing him low or kicking him in the sides.

            Zoey looks up at him, that red eye glowing as it stares into her golden yellow cat eyes.

            “I’m not… going to hit you…” he says through grit teeth. “It’s not because you’re a girl. It’s not because I think you’re weak, because I know you’re not. It’s not even because I think I’ll hurt you. I just, don’t want, to hit you.”

            “If it’s not for those reasons, then why?” she asks.

            He stares her in the eye, and she can see the red glow soften. Then he closes his eyes as he frowns and lets her go.

            “Someone tag in for her,” The Spektrum says as he turns and walks a few steps. “Gotta work on countering other styles, after all.”

            Zoey grumbles and pouts while her cousins stand up.

            “We should probably move to the other room,” Seth says. “I see minivans pulling up.”

            “Or maybe we should just stop and go home,” Zoey says. “Since Spek won’t tell me why he won’t hit me.”

            “Really?” he says, becoming Silver again. “You want to quit because I’m the stubborn one?”

            “Then tell me why,” she says. “It’s that easy.”

            “No it’s not,” he says. “Y’know, they say guys are the ones who don’t pay attention, but you’re the one not seeing it.”

            “Seeing what?” she says. “Tell me what I’m not seeing.”

            He starts, but he just sighs and chuckles as he shakes his head.

            “You’re right, let’s just go home,” he says, heading for where they left their shoes.

            “And now you’re quitting,” she says as she follows.

            “You’re the one who quit first!” he counters.

            “I wasn’t being serious about that,” she defends.

            “Whatever,” he says. “We’ll just pick this back up tomorrow.”

            “We don’t have time to waste with you being stubborn!” Zoey says.

            “You’re the one stubborn over not getting hit!” he snaps back.

            “Wow, this is your guys’ first fight, isn’t it?” Jeff says. “Like, this kind of fight. With words, not fists.”

            “Well too late either way,” Seth says, glancing at the door. “Let’s pack it in.”

            The four of them deactivate their powers before any of the kids runs inside. They put their shoes back on and go to the car.

 

            That night, Simon has his parents sign the form, and on Wednesday morning, he turns it into Mr. Reese. With the end of the class, Simon is officially no longer part of the San Leandro High Wind Ensemble.

 

            First Block is a bit tense between Zoey and Simon. She doesn’t give him the cold shoulder like Cyndi, since he sits right next to her, and they have to pass papers to each other. But she is curt with him, and she doesn’t make small talk. He just quietly accepts it, thinking she’s the one being ridiculous.

            This makes Science Class in Second Block even worse, because Cyndi is still stubbornly ignoring him. However, when she notices Zoey being quiet and cold, it makes Cyndi curious. But she fights that feeling down because she’s ignoring Zoey, too.

            When the bell for lunch rings, Zoey suddenly dreads her behavior. She still sits with Simon and his friends on the bleachers by the Science Wing, but she has Michelle and Erin between her and him.

            “Okay what’s going on?” Michelle asks Zoey.

            “What do you mean?” Zoey asks back.

            “Alex told me about how you were giving Simon the cold shoulder,” Michelle says.

            “When did-?”

            “We have Second Block together.”

            “Oh. It’s… It’s Catgirl related. We’re sparring to get him ready for Friday, but he kept holding back.”

            “What do you mean?” Erin asks.

            “Well, he wouldn’t hit me,” Zoey says. “He kept pulling back.”

            “You… You wanted him to hit you?” Erin asks, confused.

            “Well, I mean, it’s also for me to be ready, just in case,” Zoey says. “But I’d need him to hit me so I know how strong he really is.”

            “That doesn’t make any sense,” Erin says.

            “No, I kinda get it,” Michelle says. “If this is co-ed sparring and it’s supposed to be fair, he’s not treating her equally.”

            “Seriously?” Erin asks. “You’d let a guy hit you?”

            “I don’t want to cause an argument between you two,” Zoey says. “Honestly, I do hear how silly this sounds now that I’m talking to other girls… But still, we both need to be equally prepared for what’s going to happen.”

            “So you’re gonna forgive him then?” Michelle asks.

            “I guess I should,” Zoey grumbles. “I’ll try talking to him later. We have PE at the same time, and Pre-Calc together after that.”

            But of course, PE being first means Zoey and Cyndi giving each other cold shoulders while dressing in the locker room. That gets harder once the classes are outside and regrouped.

            With there still being a chill in the January air, most students are wearing the sweatpants that go with the PE uniform. Some wear the sweatshirt, but it doesn’t seem as fashionable. Cyndi doesn’t care about fashionable, she’s cold, so she wears the sweatshirt.

            Zoey would wear the sweatshirt, too, but when trying it on at home, she realized the name tag portion is on the chest. She doesn’t feel comfortable having something for people to read on her chest. So she toughs it out in the chilly air, rubbing her arms every so often.

            Simon also refuses to wear the sweatshirt, but because the cuffs on the sleeves are that kind of elastic that’s too tight and scratchy. He doesn’t have to worry about being cold for long, though, because the Weight Training class goes to the mat room. Coach Ashby makes sure Simon and Robby are on opposite ends of the room while they warm up.

            With the heat trapped in the room from the class doing push-ups, sit-ups and medicine ball exercises, everyone starts feeling clammy. Coach Ashby opens a door to let all the muggy air out and some fresh air in. And as he does, the class hears the boom of thunder.

            “It’s alright,” Coach Ashby says. “The storm’s up in the mountains. Look, see the lightning?”

            Everyone looks out the window, and he’s right, the storm’s off in the distance. Though, that could change…

            Zoey and Cyndi are with their class as they play with basketballs. Not everyone plays full games, Zoey and Cyndi are among those who just take turns taking free throw shots. But even that isn’t really something either Zoey or Cyndi are good at. Cyndi does keep count in her head, though, and finds she does better than Zoey. For whatever reason, Cyndi is proud of that and has a small but still very smug smile on her face.

            Their class takes notice of the storm clouds, too, but Ms. Tingley insists they stay outside and keep playing with the basketballs. But this doesn’t last long as the rain creeps in hard and fast! The girls all go screaming for shelter, but the wind makes the rain come in at an angle, so not even the outer edges of the gym’s roof are enough to hide under. Everyone goes inside, a chattering wet mess on both the boys’ and girls’ sides.

            “What now, Ms. Tingley?” someone asks.

            “Well, obviously we just move into the gymnasium,” she says. “Bring the basketballs and you’ll just continue on the court.”

            The students nod and follow her down the hall.

            “It’s a good thing the shirts are red and not white, huh?” Zoey says to Cyndi.

            “Yeah,” Cyndi chuckles back.

            The two wring out their shirts, but realize they spoke to each other.

            “Look,” Cyndi says as Zoey says, “Y’know…”

            The two are quiet again, now waiting for the other to speak first.

            “Okay, so,” Zoey speaks first, “I realize I shouldn’t judge your reasons for distancing yourself from Simon. They’re your reasons and not mine, because your life is different from mine, and I should understand that.”

            “Thank you,” Cyndi says, rather surprised. “And, honestly, I shouldn’t be holding things against you. You do have a point that Simon isn’t my father, and that you-know-who isn’t Simon.”

            Zoey is a little lost with the “you-know-who,” but then she puts it together Cyndi means Siro.

            “Good,” Zoey says. “But I suppose I shouldn’t push you to talk to Simon or anything like that. When you feel comfortable to, I’m sure he’ll be all ears to hear what you have to say.”

            “Thank you,” Cyndi says. “Though, why were you upset with him earlier? I mean, I know by giving the cold shoulder, I should’ve ignored you two, but I couldn’t help it. Yesterday, you looked to be all good, and then this morning in Science, you were giving him the silent treatment like I was.”

            “Oh you were watching us?” Zoey says with some sarcasm. “I didn’t notice the other day.”

            “Just answer my question,” Cyndi chuckles.

            “Well, it’s just training stuff,” Zoey says. “I realize now it seems like a silly thing to be upset about.”

            “Well what was it?” Cyndi asks.

            “I’d say he was pulling his punches, but he wasn’t even making contact. I wanted him to take it serious, like a real fight, but he always stopped just short.”

            “You wanted him to hit you?” Cyndi says, very confused; she also realizes how loud she said that, and looks around in a slight panic, but everyone else is already in the gym.

            “We’re training for what could very well be life or death, Cyndi,” Zoey says, starting to get serious. “We both need to be ready. Siro might actually take those swings, and I need to know how fast and how strong he is when he’s serious. To do that, I need Simon to do the same.”

            “Well, that much makes sense,” Cyndi says. “And, actually, what if there was a female villain he had to fight? Like, maybe not Zorb’s girlfriend or she would’ve tried already. But some other female villain. How would he be able to handle her?”

            “That’s so true!” Zoey says. “Ugh, if only I had thought of that yesterday.”

            “So you’re still going to train with him today?”

            “Well, yeah. We’ve only got so much time left and he needs all the help he can get. Which is also why I’ll make sure to apologize to him when we get in the gym.”

            But Zoey forgets that the Weight Training class is still in the mat room, passing the medicine balls around. The rain doesn’t let up by the time Third Block ends, so the Weight Training class has to run through the rain to get back to the locker rooms. They all do their best to dry off with paper towels from the bathrooms before changing back into their street clothes. Simon still feels clammy as he puts his long sleeve and jeans back on.

            Simon and Zoey meet again at Mr. Del’s room, both with their umbrellas out. Naturally, Zoey’s has a cat paw print all over. The two pause as they go to the ramp.

            “You go first,” he says.

            “Thank you,” she says.

            She folds her umbrella and goes under the portable’s awning. He follows the same way, and is careful not to shake his umbrella dry near her.

            “And, also,” she says as she stops at the door. “I’m sorry for yesterday.”

            “Oh so you’re talking to me again?” he asks back. “And apologizing?”

            “Yes,” she sighs but smirks. “I was talking with Michelle and Erin, and oh, I talked with Cyndi. She and I are okay, because I realize she has valid reasons for still being awkward around you.”

            “Uh-huh…” he says.

            “And they also helped me realize I was being a little stubborn, so I won’t hold… ‘it’ against you.”

            “Oh. Well then, apology accepted.”

            He opens the door and let’s her go in first.

            During class, the rain lets up, so everyone hopes they can get home nice and dry. But before the end of class, the rain starts up again, killing everyone’s hopes. Simon and Zoey are last to exit as they both gather up their umbrellas. They both reach under the table at the same time and almost bump into each other.

            “Sorry, I should’ve let you go first again,” he chuckles.

            “It’s okay,” she says. “Whose umbrella should we use?”

            “For…?”

            “Well, it’d be tricky to use both umbrellas walking home,” she says.

            “Well, yeah, that’s true,” he says. “But, sharing an umbrella is usually like… I mean, shouldn’t you know this? I’m sure you and Shaun shared an umbrella.”

            “Right, that’s a really good point,” Zoey says nervously. “We shouldn’t share an umbrella then, because we’d look like a couple. And we can’t be doing that, because we’re not.”

            Simon looks at her with a curious raised eyebrow as she heads for the door.

            “You’re going to run away like you did Sunday, aren’t you?” he says as hurries to follow.

            She’s already outside opening her umbrella. He reaches the door by the time she’s in the rain.

            “I meant to ask you about that,” he says with a squint as they go outside. “What was that about?”

            “What was what?” she asks as she looks back while still walking.

            “Sunday, you, being weird, like this,” he says.

            “I don’t recall any of that,” she says as she looks forward again.

            “Sure you don’t,” he smirks.

            “Actually, I think it’d be better if we go individually right now anyway,” Zoey says, glancing back as he follows. “The rain and humidity, I just feel gross, y’know what I mean?”

            “Yeah, I have that same feeling to be honest,” he says.

            The two walk off campus and down the street, Simon leading the way because his street is first. With him free to go as fast as he wants, he ends up leaving Zoey way behind as he goes to his house. He shakes off his umbrella on the porch before going in. Zoey does the same when she gets home, and they both take warm showers to get rid of the sticky feeling on their skin.

            Zoey is brushing her hair out in her room when she sees Simon through the blinds. She hurries to finish but hears the doorbell. She tosses her brush aside to grab a hair tie and put her hair in one big ponytail.

            “Coming~, coming~!” she says as she hears the doorbell.

            Zoey opens the door but gets a shiver as the cold air comes in.

            “Okay, I think this time you can be inside,” she says with a chuckle.

            “Thank you,” he says.

            She moves aside and he walks in.

            “Where should I put my umbrella?” he asks.

            “Oh, we have a little umbrella holder here,” she says as she directs him to a long tin canister.

            “Oh, cool,” he says.

            He slips his umbrella into the canister and the water drips down to the bottom.

            The two are alone in Zoey’s living room while they wait for her cousins. She sits on the couch and he sits in the arm chair.

            The last time Simon was inside Zoey’s house, they were all so busy talking about their powers and Siro and starting this training with her and her cousins. Now he gets to actually take in what’s in her house, and it’s all really nice. Quite a few cat style trinkets here and there, actually, like a little white ceramic cat that looks like it’s waving. If this is the living room, he wonders what Zoey’s room is like.

            “Y’know,” he starts a little awkwardly, “I haven’t seen your hair in a ponytail since Vegas.”

            “Oh, yeah, that’s true,” she says.

            She touches her ponytail, remembering that night.

            “I know that feels like a long time ago,” Zoey says, “but I want to thank you again for that night. For you saving me from Tiger.”

            “Oh. You’re welcome. Though, if anyone else was in that position, they would’ve done the same thing, I’d hope.”

            “Yeah, that’s true,” she nods.

            They’re quiet again, and Zoey thinks while she touches her ponytail more.

            “Do you… Do you think we all have extra lives?” she asks. “You came back once, Tiger came back once, so maybe we can all come back at least once?”

            “Maybe,” Simon says. “Though, I hope you never have to worry about that. You and all the others, I mean.”

            Simon clears his throat. He didn’t want to make it sound like he only cared about her above the others.

            “Me, too,” she says. “I know the saying is cats have nine lives, but I don’t want to risk a catgirl not having lives to spare.”

            “Yeah,” he says with a nervous chuckle.

            Zoey’s cat, Neeko, walks into view from around the back of the couch.

            “Hi, Neeko,” Zoey calls after her.

            The black-and-white doesn’t stop, she just heads for the kitchen.

            “Okay, fine,” Zoey giggles.

            “Why did you name her ‘Neeko’?” Simon asks.

            “Oh,” Zoey says, a little embarrassed now. “I meant to name her ‘Neko,’ but I was only starting to learn Japanese at that age. I was like only 5, so I misread ‘neko’ as ‘neeko’, and by the time my own parents asked me that question, it was too late. ‘Neeko’ was on all the paperwork and name tags and she was already responding to that name.”

            “So you were just going to call your cat, ‘cat,’ in another language?”

            “I’m not that creative of a person when it comes to words and stuff,” Zoey says. “It’s why I’m stuck being the Alameda Catgirl and all that.”

            “Y’know, she has those white paws, right?” he says.

            “Of course I know that,” she giggles with a smirk.

            “She could’ve been named ‘Mittens’ or ‘Socks’, because it’s like she’s wearing those on her paws.”

            “That’s… very true,” Zoey says, seeing it herself. “Why did you name your cat Freckles, then?”

            “When we got her as a kitten, her nose didn’t have a lot of fur on it, so there looked to be little freckles on there.”

            “Oh, that’s cute,” Zoey says.

            Neeko returns, licking her chops.

            “Neeko,” Zoey calls as she reaches a hand from the couch. “C’mere.”

            Neeko walks over, sniffs Zoey’s hand then nudges it with her head. She looks at Simon as she smooths herself under Zoey’s hand, then turns around to walk away.

            “Well,” Zoey scoffs and giggles. “Guess she’s not feeling sociable today.”

            “I’m used to it from my own cat,” Simon chuckles.

            A car pulls up and Zoey goes to the window to check.

            “Oh, they made good time for the weather,” Zoey says. “Okay, let’s get going.”

            Simon gets up and follows Zoey outside. The rain has stopped but they still bring their umbrellas. Simon is careful where he puts it as he gets inside the car.

            “So, are we good?” Jeff asks. “Has someone apologized to someone else?”

            “Yes,” Zoey says with a laugh, but also a little annoyed. “We’re not going to worry about him hitting me, or rather, not hitting me. Obviously it’s silly to argue about, so we’ll just work like we’ve been doing.”

            “Okay,” Jeff says.

            Seth pulls back out of the driveway, and they all go back to the Takagaki Dojo.

 

            “Aki!” Seth shouts.

            Zoey jumps in and The Spektrum goes on the defensive as she back handspring kicks, then sweeps low. He avoided the former but not the latter. He falls on the mats, but gets up fast, only for her to come in with a knee! It gets him right in the chest and he can’t breathe.

            “Aka!” Zoey shouts.

            Jeff runs in and kicks The Spektrum down like he’s kicking a field goal!

            “Cover!” Zoey shouts. “It’s gotta be like pro-wrestling!”

            Jeff falls on The Spektrum and Seth drops down to count.

            “One! Two!”

            The Spektrum sits up! He has Jeff in his arms as he rolls back to his feet. He bends at the knees-

            “Wait!” Zoey shouts.

            The Spektrum abruptly stops himself, staggering and wobbling to keep from dropping Jeff.

            “Don’t throw him that direction,” Zoey says as she comes up behind The Spektrum. “You’ll hit Obaa-chan.”

            The Spektrum looks over the shoulder and sees the framed picture and the little table.

            “Oh, right, sorry,” he says.

            The Spektrum turns 180 degrees and then tosses Jeff overhead with the “Fall Away Slam!” Seth is there to catch Jeff and set him back on his feet.

            “Aki!” Jeff shouts. “Ropu!”

            Zoey runs over and Seth has his hands at the ready. She jumps to put a foot in Seth’s hands, and then he helps her backflip, for a moonsault!

            “Oh crap!” The Spektrum says quickly as he gets up and catches her.

            He keeps her on the one shoulder as he stands up straight.

            “I could fall forward with you for a powerslam,” he tells Zoey. “Or drop back to my knees for a gutbuster. Or maybe throw you over to drop you on my knee for a backbreaker. So many possibilities.”

            “How about this possibility?” she says.

            She reaches up her left leg to hook his left arm, and uses her left arm to get under his chin. She pulls back to try and drag him down to the mat! He stays standing with the strength in his legs and abs, but she keeps pulling him back! But he frees his left arm and the shift in weight throws Zoey off balance. She wobbles and he pulls her along by an arm to send her at light ropes. She rebounds off them, and The Spektrum scoops her right up into the fireman’s carry.

            “From here, I could Samoan Drop you, or I could slam you,” he says.

            “Please don’t say you’d ‘slam’ our cousin,” Jeff says.

            “Sorry,” Spektrum says. “I could hit my ‘Silver Slam,’ my take on the Death Valley Driver. Well, it’s not really a driver since I call it a slam…”

            “Then slam me,” Zoey says.

            “Please don’t say ‘slam me,’” Jeff says as Zoey says, “I don’t mean it like that!”

            “I’m not throwing you down like that,” Spektrum says. “Because I’m pretty sure I slam harder than I punch.”

            “Are you doing this on purpose?” Seth asks.

            “Just throw me!” Zoey shouts. “I can take it!”

            “Nope, nope,” Spektrum says before sliding Zoey off so she can stand on her feet. “This is just like the punching argument from yesterday, and we’re not going through it all again.”

            “Alright, fine…” she sighs.

            Zoey turns around to head for her cousins, but the light ropes reappear for her to walk right into them! She rebounds off of them and goes backwards, and he table tops her like he did Jeff the other day! She falls back and he grabs a leg for leverage in the pinfall.

            “One!” he counts. “Two! Three!”

            He lets up off Zoey with hands up victoriously, while she sits up with eyes wide and jaw dropped, though still somehow smiling.

            “You sneak!” she says as she gets up.

            “I never said I wasn’t going to use tricks,” he laughs as she shoves him.

            “We should probably wrap up,” Seth says. “Between the karate kids about to show up, and needing to get ready for youth group, we gotta get going if we’re going to get Simon home.”

            “What?” Zoey says. “Why doesn’t he just come with us? He should be part of the youth group.”

            “I dunno,” Spektrum says. “I mean, I probably should get home.”

            “Nonsense!” Zoey says. “Just tell your parents you’ll be with us! C’mon!”

            “I guess…” he says.

            “That’s the spirit!” Zoey says.

            “Is it?” Seth says.

            With that, everyone puts their shoes back on, and Simon goes with Zoey and her cousins to church.