Chapter 65

             Simon, finally powered down from being The Spektrum, returns home. He rings the doorbell and a moment later, his mom answers the door.

            “Oh, you’re home already,” she says with surprise. “Did something go wrong?”

            “No, nothing went wrong, Mom,” he says as he steps inside. “It was actually really, really good. We danced, sat down and talked, then just decided to come home before things were over.”

            “Really? That doesn’t sound that- Wait. Are your lips shiny?”

            “W-What?” he says.

            Simon leans back as his mom gets very close to his face and sniffs.

            “Is that strawberry?” she says.

            Then she detects something on his clothes.

            “Smells like flowers… and vanilla.”

            “What’s going on?” Simon’s dad asks as he walks over from the hallway.

            “Your son smells like strawberries, vanilla and flowers,” Simon’s mom says.

            Simon’s dad gives a curious look as he walks over and takes one sniff.

            “He does,” he says, slightly surprised.

            “And his lips are shiny,” she points out.

            Simon’s dad moves around to find an angle where the light reflects.

            “Are you sure?” he says.

            His mom’s suspicious stare makes Simon nervous.

            “Zoey and I kissed, big deal,” he says quickly and with a shrug.

            “What?” both his parents say as he turns to leave.

            Simon hurries to his room, which is right at the start of the hallway, but his parents follow.

            “You two kissed in public?” his mom asks.

            “No, Mom,” he says gruffly. “I walked her home, and we kissed goodnight.”

            “Then why do your clothes smell like perfume?” she asks.

            “From dancing together,” he says as he takes off the tuxedo and hangs it up.

            “You got close enough to her for her perfume to rub off on you?” she asks.

            “Y-Yeah,” he says, nervous again. “It was the slow dance, with her arms on my shoulders, my hands on her waist, stuff like that.”

            His mother still gives him a suspicious squint of the eyes, but she leaves him alone after that.

 

            Back in Alameda, with Chloe done singing, she finally joins the others.

            “Oooo~, look at you~!” Marina says to Chloe.

            “Thank you,” Chloe says as she smiles and twirls. “And you look cute, too.”

            “Oh, c’mon,” Marina says with a nervous smile.

            “You really do, though,” Mark says with a big smile.

            “And you two look so pretty!” Chloe says to the Osou sisters. “Those dresses are amazing!”

            “Thank you,” Karina says on behalf of herself and Alicia.

            “So you guys are heading out, right?” Chloe says to Karina, Alicia and the Takagaki brothers. “Your dinner double date~?”

            “Yes, that’s true, we should get going,” Alicia says to Seth.

            “Ready when you are,” he says back.

            “Y’know, I could probably eat,” Mark says. “Do you want to go somewhere?”

            “Oh, uh,” Marina says, “sure, I can eat. Um, what about you, Chloe? What’re you going to do now?”

            “The Event Committee was going to have an after party of sorts for us and all the hard work we put in.”

            “Oh, cool! Alright, have fun.”

            “We’ll see you tomorrow then,” Karina says.

            “Yeah, you all have fun,” Chloe says. “See you tomorrow.”

            The Osou sisters leave with the Takagaki brothers while Marina follows Mark.

            “So where are you guys going?” Mark asks the brother-sister double daters.

            “Acapulco on Lincoln,” Seth says.

            “Aren’t we a little overdressed for that?” Alicia asks him.

            “But you love Acapulco, don’t you?” he asks back.

            “I do…” she says sheepishly.

            “That sounds pretty good, actually,” Mark says. “Do you want to go to Acapulco?”

            “Uh, sure,” Marina says. “It’d be kind of weird, though, being there at the same time.”

            “It’s fine, we’ll be sitting somewhere else, right?”

            Mark opens his car’s passenger door for her, and she steps inside, remembering her skirt. Seth and Jeff do the same for Alicia and Karina, opening both rear passenger doors.

            “Thank you,” Karina says to Jeff as she and Alicia step inside.

            “You know how to get to Acapulco, right?” Seth asks Mark.

            “I’ve got my dad’s GPS to help,” Mark says. “I mean… my GPS…”

            “Uh-huh,” both brothers say.

            Mark gets into his car’s driver’s seat, Seth gets into his, and Jeff is shotgun. Seth pulls his car out first while Mark is entering the address into the GPS, but both cars eventually head for 2100 Lincoln Avenue.

            As they drive along, Alicia keeps an eye on Mark’s car behind them.

            “He’s still there,” she says. “Guess his dad’s GPS works.”

            Seth and Jeff chuckle, but Karina is busy texting Zoey.

            Karina: You still at your dance?

            Zoey, still buzzing from the dance and the goodnight kiss, stops at the bottom of the stairs to bring out her phone. She reads Karina’s text, then types her response.

            Zoey: No, I’m home. Simon walked me home and

            Zoey stops and considers whether she should mention the kiss, knowing Karina’s with her cousins. But then she gets a big smile and giggles as she adds it.

            Simon and I kissed!

            Zoey giggles again as she sends the message. She then practically glides her way to her room, humming the chorus of Dance, Dance as she goes. She flips the light on and closes the door, then her parents peek out from their room, only wearing bathrobes.

            “She’s home already?” Mrs. Mizaki whispers. “It’s not even 8.”

            “You’d rather she be out later with some boy?” Mr. Mizaki asks.

            “Keep your voice down,” Mrs. Mizaki scolds.

            Mr. Mizaki sighs, then tightens his robe.

            “I’m going to have a sandwich,” he asks. “Do you want anything?”

 

            Karina receives the text and takes an excited gasp.

            “They kissed!” she says with a big smile on her face.

            “What?” Alicia says. “Zoey and Simon?”

            “Yes!” Karina says. “They had their first kiss!”

            “What?” both Seth and Jeff say, Seth looking at the back seat with the rearview mirror while Jeff turns his head.

            “Oh, c’mon, guys,” Karina says. “Don’t be upset.”

            “Careful of the light,” Alicia says.

            Seth slows down as the upcoming traffic light is yellow then red.

            “That’s so cute,” Karina says as she goes back to reading the text message. “It’s like a romance story. Or at least a romcom.”

            Karina even types that as her response.

            The Mexican restaurant, Acapulco, comes into sight, with its parking lot on the other side of the street. As Seth pulls in, he sees the lot is almost full. He takes the one three spots from the end, and then Mark pulls his car in a couple spots over. The six of them head across the street and into Acapulco. They go past the cantina part at the front to the proper restaurant just around the corner.

            “Party of six?” the greeter asks.

            “Oh, no,” Mark speaks up. “We’re a separate party.”

            “Party of four,” Seth says as he motions to himself, Jeff and the Osou sisters.

            “Alright,” the greeter says with a nod. “Rozella. Grupo de cuatro.”

            The greeter waves a waitress over and she picks up four menus. Rozella leads the double daters to an open booth. The boys sit on one side and the girls the other, with Karina and Jeff going in first. Rozella gives them each a menu, and the four open them up to see a Valentine's Day special menu is right up front.

            “As you can see,” Rozella says, “the Valentine's Day special is a $40, three-course meal for two. You get one shared appetizer, each partner’s choice of the three entrees, as well as a shared dessert for two.”

            “Ooh~, let’s do that for us,” Karina says to Jeff.

            “Okay,” Jeff says, a little nervous.

            “W-We, we can, we can do that, too,” Alicia manages to say. “If you want.”

            “Yeah, that sounds good,” Seth says, completely calm. “Let’s see…”

APPETIZERS

Avocado Love Birds:

Roasted duck with a Cotija cheese chicharron, topped with a curtido and nestled on fresh avocado rings.

 

AguaChile:

Prawns marinated in lime juice and tequila, garnished with Serrano peppers, cilantro, cucumbers, and red onions.

 

ENTREES

Amor Eterno:

Camarones a la diabla and carne asada cooked to your liking, served over grilled zucchini, and topped with avocado, grilled onions, and cilantro.

 

Amor a la Mexicana:

Grilled prawns topped with caramelized onions and cilantro, nestled on a flowered tomato over a Pipian mole garnished with pepitas.

 

Amor Salvaje:

Pan-seared wild salmon sitting over poblano sauce, topped with caramelized onions and poblano peppers accompanied by confetti rice.

 

DESSERT FOR 2 

Hermoso Cariño

Hand-crafted chocolate bowl filled with fresh fruit, topped with a coffee mousse and mini churros, garnished with chocolate and raspberry sauce.

 

            “Wow,” Seth says. “Um, maybe give us a minute to decide.”

            “Of course,” Rozella says. “How about drinks first.”

            “Four Cokes?” Seth says as he looks around the table.

            “Yeah, Coke is good,” Alicia says while their younger siblings nod.

            “Four Cokes,” Rozella says as she jots that down. “I’ll be right back with those.”

            “Thank you,” Seth and Alicia both say.

            Karina looks over the menu.

            “Avocado Love Birds sounds really good, huh, Jeff?” Karina asks.

            “Yeah,” he says. “Probably tastes better than prawns marinated in tequila, too.”

            “Mm-hmm,” she says, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table and chin on her hands. “Which entrée do you want? Eternal Love, or Wild Love?”

            “Um, what?” Jeff asks, looking at the menu.

            “Jeff isn’t doing that well in Spanish,” Seth says. “Salvaje is Spanish for ‘wild.’”

            “Oh,” Jeff says.

            When Jeff looks up again, he sees a dreamy look in Karina’s eyes, and he feels his ears burning red.

            “I- *ahem*” Jeff clears his throat as his voice starts to crack. “I think I’ll go with Amor a la Mexicana. Prawns, tomato, that sounds good. Wait, Pipian mole?”

            “I think they’re describing Pipian Verde,” Alicia says. “So, it isn’t mole, like the animal or a dot on your skin. It’s mo-le, like in guacamole.”

            “And pepitas?” Jeff asks.

            “Pumpkin seeds,” both Seth and Alicia say.

            “Oh. Well, alright, that still sounds good.”

            “Then I guess I’ll have Amor Salvaje,” Karina says as she sits up.

            “Amor Eterno looks appealing,” Alicia says. “Shrimp and steak together sounds really good.”

            “Yeah,” Seth says. “I think I’ll have that, too.”

            Rozella returns with four tall glasses of Coca Cola and hands them out, straws already in the glasses.

            “Are we ready to order?” she asks them.

            “For the appetizers,” Seth says, motioning to himself and Alicia, “we’ll have the AguaChile.”

            “And we’ll have the Avocado Love Birds,” Jeff says for himself and Karina.

            “One each,” Rozella says while she writes. “Alright. And your entrees?”

            “I’ll have the Amor Salvaje,” Karina says.

            “I’ll have Amor a la Mexicana,” Jeff says.

            “And we’re each having Amor Eterno,” Alicia says for her and Seth.

            “Dos Eterno, una Salvaje and una Mexicana,” Rozella says. “On the carne asada in the Eterno, how would you like that?”

            “I’ll have medium,” Alicia says.

            “I’ll have medium well,” Seth says.

“Medium and medium well,” Rozella says as she writes. “Alright, I’ll be right back with those.”

            Rozella leaves again and Karina checks her phone again.

            “Tíngzhǐ kàn nǐ de shǒujī <Stop looking at your phone,>” Alicia scolds her.

            “Zoey xiǎng zhīdào wǒmen zài chī shénme. <Zoey wants to know what we’re having,>” Karina grumbles back.

            “It’s funny how you two are using Mandarin to try and hard things but it’s obvious what you’re saying,” Jeff says.

            “Just tell her Acapulco and leave it at that,” Alicia says.

            “But she’ll want to know what we’re having,” Karina says.

            “Alright, make it quick,” Alicia says, “but then that’s it.”

            “Okay, okay,” Karina says while typing.

            Karina: We’re at Acapulco, and they’ve got this great Valentine’s Day menu

            Karina then takes a picture of the menu and sends that with the text. Then she sends another message.

            Karina: Our food is on the way, we’ll talk more tomorrow

          Zoey: OK

            Karina puts her phone away and Alicia is happy.

            “Wait, have Marina and, uh, Mark been seated yet?” Karina asks as she looks around.

            The others look around and they spot Marina and Mark at a table closer to the front of the restaurant. They’re both chowing down on the tortilla chips and salsa while sipping quite a lot of iced tea. Karina giggles and snacks on some of the chips on their own table.

            The appetizers are served rather quickly, and Karina adores how the Avocado Love Birds look. Alicia also likes how the AguaChile prawns look, and she grabs a fork to dig in right away.

            “Mmm~!” she says. “Ooh, that’s got some kick.”

            Seth uses his fork to stab a prawn and have a taste.

            “Oh, yeah, that’s the lime right there,” he says.

            “Jeffy,” Karina says with a smile. “Say ‘Ah~.’”

            She holds out a piece of the roasted duck on a fork. Jeff’s ears turn red again, but he still leans forward and eats the duck.

            “Is it good?” Karina asks.

            Jeff nods while chewing. Karina then uses the same fork to have a piece of duck for herself. Alicia is busy chewing shrimp so she can’t say anything, but she disapprovingly glances over at her sister for being so forward.

            The main dishes arrive right on time as the appetizers are almost gone.

“Una Mexicana,” Rozella says.

That plate is passed to Jeff.

“Una Salvaje.”

That plate is passed to Karina.

            “Medium Eterno for the senorita,” Rozella says. “And medium well for the senor.”

“Thank you,” Seth says.

Rozella goes to another table in her area while the four dig in.

“How’re Marina and Mark doing?” Karina asks Alicia.

Alicia looks over and sees Marina finishing off an order of AguaChile, but Mark isn’t there. Their orders arrive and Marina explains to the waitress.

“I think Mark went to the restroom,” Alicia says. “Also, I think they ordered Amor Salvaje.”

“Ooo~,” Karina says. “Jeff, do you want to try my Wild Love?”

Alicia looks at Karina with another disapproving expression on her face.

“What?” Karina says. “I’m just offering him some salmon.”

“Well, keep your ‘Wild Love’ to yourself,” Alicia says.

Mark returns a couple minutes later and sits down to eat. They both enjoy the seared salmon and rice, and Mark’s relieved the poblano peppers are mild. He already chugged iced tea and needed a refill, not to mention his bathroom break. As for Marina, she isn’t really worried about that, spicy food doesn’t bother her. If anything, she wishes this had more spice.

Alicia cuts into the carne asada and has it on its own first.

“This is so good,” Alicia says.

“Yeah,” Seth nods. “How is the carne asada at medium?”

“It’s juicy,” Alicia says. “It’s just the right amount of chewiness. That’s a word, right? Chewiness?”

“Yes, I believe so,” he chuckles.

“Okay,” she chuckles back.

“Who knew pumpkin seeds could taste good,” Jeff says while pointing to his meal with his fork.

“How’re the prawns?” Seth asks.

“Well of course they’re good, they’re prawns,” Jeff says.

The waitress again has great timing, as she brings the dessert right as the four finish their entrees.

“Thank you,” Seth says to Rozella before she goes.

Karina and Jeff dig into their bowl while Alicia and Seth dig into theirs.

“Oh, Jeff, try the orange with the coffee mousse,” Karina says while still chewing on her own piece.

Jeff tries it as suggested.

“Hmm, not bad,” he says.

Alicia spots a couple of grapes in the mix and goes after it with her fork, but Seth’s fork moves in at the same time.

“Oh,” they both say, looking at each other.

“You go ahead,” Seth says.

“No, you can,” Alicia says.

“It’s alright, you can have the grapes,” he says.

“Oh. Well, I don’t need both. We can each have one.”

“Oh. That’s a good point.”

They take a grape each and pop them into their mouths.

“I think I got a bit more raspberry sauce on mine,” Seth says.

“Yeah, mine’s got a bit more of the chocolate sauce,” Alicia says.

 

After finishing dessert, the brothers pay for the meal. And after taxes and tips, that totals just over $100 for the table. And that math works out, as Mark rounds up to $50. Those bills are taken to the register at the same time, and the six regroup at the exit.

“That was so good,” Karina says. “How about you, Mari? How’d you like it?

“I’m stuffed,” Marina says with a laugh.

The group exits the restaurant together and crosses the street. As they enter the parking lot, two scruffy guys in heavy jackets and beanies are walking up from the back. And almost right away, both Seth and Jeff sense that something’s up.

“Karera wa utagawashīdesu yo ne? <They’re suspicious, right?>” Jeff asks, keeping an upbeat tone.

“Huh?” both Karina and Alicia say.

“Hai, hijō ni utagawashī. <Yes, very suspicious,>” Seth says. “Uh, hey, guys?”

Seth steps in front of the two and they stop.

“You guys going to Acapulco?” he asks them.

“Uh, yeah,” the one with his jacket open says. “That’s why we’re in their parking lot.”

“Right, of course,” Seth says with a chuckle.

“Well, we should probably warn you, then,” Jeff joins in. “They ran out of sour cream. Can you believe that?”

“Oh, well, that sucks,” the open jacket guy says. “I’ll just have to do without, then.”

“Hey!” Mark says from his car’s passenger side. “The GPS is gone!”

Open jacket guy takes his hands out of both pockets, and he has a knife!

“And we’re gonna leave with it!” he says.

“I don’t think so,” both brothers say.

Seth kicks Open Jacket Guy’s right hand to send the knife to the ground while Jeff kicks Closed Jacket Guy in the knee! And out of the bottom of the jacket, the GPS slips out! Closed Jacket Guy keeps it from hitting the ground, but his hands are busy now, so Jeff kicks him across the face!

As for Open Jacket Guy who lost his knife, he takes a wild swing, but Seth easily ducks under it to spin and sweep the legs! The guy falls on his back and winces as he clutches the back of his head.

Jeff takes the GPS from Closed Jacket Guy and brings it over to Mark.

“Whoa,” Mark says. “Thanks. Man, I knew your family had like, a dojo, but that stuff really works, huh?”

“Sure does,” Jeff says.

“You guys can go now,” Seth tells them.

The two would-be thieves get up and run off, Seth keeping the knife from them.

“How’d you guys know they stole the GPS?” Alicia asks.

“Those guys were coming from the back, where our cars are parked,” Seth says. “But there are no other cars this far back, and as far as I can tell, no new cars have arrived.”

“Plus,” Jeff says. “That one guy had his jacket zipped all the way up, hands in the pockets.”

“How was that odd?” Karina asks.

“Because he wasn’t relaxed,” Jeff says. “His arms were tensed, because he was holding the GPS inside the jacket.”

“We should get going,” Seth says.

“See you tomorrow,” Alicia says to Mark and Marina.

Everyone gets in their cars and Seth pulls out first.

“You guys didn’t use your powers to figure out what was going on, did you?” Alicia asks.

“No, no,” Seth chuckles. “Our only powers would be enhanced physical abilities, and then my ability to turn my skin into metal and Jeff’s ability to conduct electricity. That deduction was all our grandfather’s training.”

“Taka in Takagaki is for hawk,” Jeff says. “We need to have hawk eyes to see what’s going on around us very quickly.”

“Did Zoey ever get that training?” Karina asks.

“No,” Seth says. “Grandma didn’t want her learning how to fight like that. It’s why she encouraged Zoey to get into gymnastics like you all were back then.”

“But she still ended up having to fight,” Alicia says. “She was hit by the same power surge as you two and Simon, and she’s been fighting street thugs at school, and now weird alien criminals, and now, the clone of her new boyfriend. Good golly, what is even going on in our lives?”

“Well, when you say it all out loud, it does sound rather out there,” Seth says.

“Wait, does Simon really count as her new boyfriend?” Jeff asks.

“She’s not gonna kiss a boy she’s not gonna date,” Karina says.

“True, true,” Jeff says.

“Are you sure he’s safe?” Alicia asks. “Simon, I mean.”

“Why do you say that?” Karina asks.

“Because of his clone,” Alicia says. “Siro’s… kinda scary, isn’t he? He posted a YouTube video of himself beating up actual hardened criminals. And then he and Simon fought, and Siro almost won. Or did win? Zoey said something about a disqualification, I don’t really get it, and neither did she.”

“Alicia, you’re just saying why we should be careful of the clone,” Karina says.

“But that’s my point,” Alicia says. “If that’s how the clone is, then what about Simon?”

“He’s not like that,” Karina says. “He’s a good guy.”

“Yeah,” Jeff and Seth say together; except Seth adds, “But…”

“But what?” Jeff says.

“Remember that time he got angry?” Seth says.

“Well, yeah,” Jeff says.

“Wait, when was this?” Karina asks.

“We were training at the dojo,” Seth says. “This was before his fight with Siro. Cyndi got to kinda the core of what Alicia’s asking. Siro is angry because Simon is angry.”

“But he wasn’t wrong, though,” Jeff says. “There are awful people.”

“That doesn’t mean you go running around fighting people like Siro does,” Seth says.

“Just because Siro is like that doesn’t mean Simon is like that,” Jeff says.

“How can you know that?” Alicia asks.

“Because we’ve seen him in person,” Jeff says to her as much as he does Seth. “He isn’t this snarling rage monster.”

“What about that whole thing with that Craig guy?” Alicia asks.

“Oh, like we don’t have people we have problems with,” Jeff counters.

The girls silently admit to that.

“And c’mon,” Jeff continues. “Being angry at awful people is actually normal, isn’t it? As long as he’s not angry with Zoey, we’re good.”

“I guess so,” Alicia says, still a little conflicted. “Just use those hawk eyes of yours to watch him.”

“Ryōkai <Roger that>,” Seth says.

 

They arrive at the Osou house and Seth parks right out front. Jeff opens the door to the backseat, and both sisters exit from that side. The boys walk them up to the house, and they stop on the porch.

“Well,” Alicia says a bit nervously. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Seth says.

“Good night, Jeff,” Karina says before giving Jeff a kiss on the cheek.

“Karina…” Alicia scolds.

Karina just smiles as she takes out her key to unlock the door. Alicia looks back at Seth and blushes. Alicia leans forward and gives him a quick peck on the cheek before going to the door and hurrying Karina up.

 

Wednesday morning, both Simon and Zoey wake up for school feeling energized. They both get going quickly, and he almost forgets to make lunch. Zoey calms down, and makes sure Neeko has kibble, water and even gives her some canned wet food for the occasion. Well, not that Neeko would understand how Zoey’s feeling, but Zoe still feels like doing something special.

Zoey exits to the porch just as Simon is walking down the sidewalk. They see each other and smile. Zoey hurries down the steps and meets Simon in stride. She wraps her arms around his and the two walk closely together.

The school is again all abuzz about The Spektrum and Catgirl, their fans talking about how great the two of them looked in their little dance number, and just as a couple at all. Simon and Zoey see the phrase “SPEKCAT” all over the place.

“Spekcat?” he says.

“I think that’s the shippers’ doing,” Zoey says. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious: Spektrum and Catgirl; Spek and Cat; Spekcat.”

“Oh… So, like how Affleck and J. Lo were Bennifer.”

“Right, exactly.”

Of course, there are those who want to detract from the moment. They argue that Spekcat just wanted to show off and hog the spotlight. But that is easily countered by the fact Spekcat left after the big dance number. If they were that self-centered, they would’ve stayed.

“Why can’t they ever give us- er, Spekcat a break?” Simon asks.

“It doesn’t matter,” Zoey says. “They’re just jealous.”

On they’re way out of Mr. Gugel’s room, they encounter Cyndi making her way in.

“Oh, hey, Cyndi!” Zoey says.

“Hey,” Cyndi says back. “Hey, Simon.”

“Hey,” he says back. “So, uh, I ‘heard’ you went to the dance with Gary, from the fan club.”

“Yeah,” Cyndi says. “He asked me. He’s a good guy. He likes to skateboard and bike ride and all that X-Games kinda stuff.”

“Cool,” Simon says. “By the way, who came up with Skepcat?”

“Jenny,” Cyndi says. “She said it’ll be even bigger than ‘Bennifer.’”

“That’d be amazing,” Zoey says with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” Simon also chuckles. “Alright, uh, have fun with the club.”

“Yep,” Cyndi says, not sure how else to respond. “See you guys around.”

Simon and Zoey join his friends at the bleachers for lunch as always, sitting on the front row.

“So, I was texting with Karina last night,” Zoey says. “They went to Acapulco in Alameda for dinner, and they had this really cute Valentine’s Day menu. Have you ever been to Acapulco?”

“Oh yeah, Acapulco’s great,” he says.

“Maybe Alicia will want to go for her birthday,” Zoey says. “She loves that place. Then we can all hang out together.”

“We?”

“Well, yeah,” Zoey says. “You’ll be like my plus-one. But don’t worry, it’s not like you’ll have to get her a gift.”

“Right,” he says, unsure of how else to answer. “When is this?”

“March 6^th,” she says.

“Ooh~, going with your girlfriend to one of her friend’s parties,” Bryan teases. “Hopefully they’ll like you.”

“He’s already met them,” Zoey says with a smirk. “We all go to the same church in Alameda.”

“Really? You guys go to church?”

“Well, yeah,” Zoey says, feeling sheepish. “Is that okay?”

“Uh, yeah, of course,” Bryan says. “I just didn’t know you went to church.”

“Well, yeah,” Simon says, also feeling sheepish. “I just never really said.”

“Why not?” Zoey asks.

“Because I never really thought it was a big deal either way,” he says. “And it’s in Alameda, so like, inviting friends to go somewhere that far away would be a bit much.”

“Would it?” she says. “If you invited them to like, Great America or Disneyland, they’d definitely wanna go.”

“Well, yeah,” Bryan says. “Because those places are really, really fun.”

Zoey pouts and Simon feels even more sheepish and awkward.

“Let’s just finish eating,” he says to Zoey. “It’s leg day and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get home after.”

Zoey still pouts but she silently agrees that she needs to eat up with PE next.

But this subject does pick up after school as the two are walking home.

“How long have you known your friends?” Zoey asks.

“Since middle school,” he says. “We’re actually all from Bancroft Middle School, way down at the end of this street.”

“And you never thought to talk to them about church?”

“Because it’s like I said. My family goes to church in Alameda, not San Leandro. It’s never really come up.”

“But it should come up,” Zoey says. “They’re your friends. You should tell them about it and want them to join you.”

“And you’ve done that?” he asks. “You’ve invited friends to church?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,” she says. “I invited Chloe, Karina and Marina to church and that’s why they and their families attend.”

“Oh. Like, all at once or one at a time?”

“All at once. It was in the first grade, for Vacation Bible Adventure. They’d already been over to my house for my birthday, and VBA was in July, so it was easy to ask them.”

“Wow, you’ve known each other that long?” he says. “That’s amazing. I’ve only known those guys since middle school.”

“But you could still have offered,” she says. “Honestly, it sounds like you didn’t tell them anything at all.”

Simon sighs and looks around, trying to avoid the subject, but he also feels compelled to continue.

“Because I kinda didn’t, okay?” he says. “I held back about bringing that stuff up because in middle school, Chris kept trying too hard to talk about this stuff, and it just made a whole mess.”

“Chris? Who’s Chris?”

Simon sighs again.

“Chris and I… We were friends, but even without him trying as hard as he did with bringing up the gospel, he was still just… really annoying otherwise. Especially after the power surge hit and those like you and I started popping up.”

“So, what, you had a falling out over it?”

“I was the last one from all of us in middle school to drop him.”

“That still seems pretty awful,” she says with a frown. “Why were any of you friends with him in the first place?”

“It was proximity. We were all together in band class and PE, and we had a few other classes in common. I guess I ended up the last one because I was hoping he’d figure things out for himself. But he just didn’t, and I went off.”

Simon sighs again, then grumbles and scrunches up his face. Zoey can tell all this eats him up, so she drops the subject.

Simon and Zoey sit down at the coffee table in Zoey’s living room to get going on homework.

“Oh, right, we’re going to start sharing books,” Simon says. “I’ll leave my pre-calc book at home, and you don’t have to haul history or science around.”

“Right,” she says. “I’ll make sure to put these on my desk or on a shelf. Be right back.”

Zoey hurries downstairs, but then she smells something.

“Whew, Neeko, wow,” she says as she looks to the litterbox under the stairway. “No more of that mixed grill flavor for you. Hold on here…”

Zoey continues to her room and puts her history and science textbooks on the desk. Then she returns to the litterbox and puts more sand on top of the poo before grabbing the scooper and a plastic baggie. Zoey scoops and sifts out every lump and clump and puts them in the bag, then ties that closed.

“Sorry, had to clean Neeko’s litterbox,” she explains to Simon as she returns upstairs.

“It’s okay, I understand,” he says. “I’m on clean-up duty for Freckles a lot, too.”

Zoey drops the bag in the trash then washes her hands in the sink.

“Hey, do you want a snack?” she asks. “I know we’ll get something on the way with my cousins but I’m a little hungry now.”

“Um, what do you have?” he asks.

Zoey looks in the cupboards.

“How about some chips?” she asks. “I know you had potato chips with lunch but how about some Doritos?”

“Cool Ranch?” he asks.

“We do have those, yeah,” she says.

“Nice,” he says.

Simon gets up and joins her in the kitchen. She brings the chips down and gets a plate. She pours chips out and Simon looks in the refrigerator.

“Ooh, Mountain Dew,” he says. “Oh, but there’s only so much left.”

“That’s okay,” she says. “You can finish it.”

“We can split it,” he says.

“Um, no, it’s okay,” she says. “Ever since becoming Catgirl, I have a hard time with citrus flavors. Lemon-lime and orange sodas aren’t as appealing anymore.”

“That’s too bad,” he says. “How about Mountain Dew Code Red?”

“I do still like cherry flavored things. So, you like Code Red?”

“Yeah, it’s really good.”

“But that’s not why you have Code Red, right?”

“No, it’s not,” he chuckles. “Though, I guess I could be Code Red having a glass of Code Red.”

“That’s true,” she laughs.

Zoey gets him a tall glass from the other cupboard, and he pours out the Mountain Dew to the very last drop. Zoey goes with Pepsi and chooses an equally tall glass. The two then return to the coffee table and snack while working on science.

“So it’s mole, like the animal, right?” Zoey asks. “Not mo-le like guacamole.”

“Yeah,” he says. “Animal, not guacamole.”

They both reach for a chip from the plate and their hands touch.

“Oh, sorry,” they both say to the other.

“You go ahead,” he says.

Zoey chooses a chip that’s folded up.

“Here,” she says as she holds it out to him. “Say, ‘Ahh.’”

“W-What?” he says, confused. “Y-You’re gonna feed it to me?”

“Well, yeah,” she says. “I mean… Do you not want me to?”

“It’s not that, it’s just… Um…”

Simon feels his face getting warm.

“A-Ahh…” he says as he opens his mouth.

Zoey brings the chip forward and he bites down on it. She lets go and he chomps it down. He chews as fast as he can, and she licks the little red and green Cool Ranch bits off her fingers. He swallows the chip, washes it down with Mountain Dew, and then he looks back at Zoey.

As they stare into each other’s eyes, there’s a shimmering quality reminiscent of last night. They gravitate towards each other, and then both realize what’s happening at the same time. They both back off quickly and go back to their textbooks.

“Wow,” she says. “10 to the 23^rd power? That’s so much!”

“Right?” he says. “C-Can you imagine? The number one, followed by 23 zeros!”

They both nervously laugh, drink more soda, and then quietly get back to work.

Zoey’s cousins arrive at their usual time and the textbooks are put away. Simon and Zoey meet her cousins outside and hop into the back seat.

“Okay, so McDonald’s or Burger King this week?” Seth asks. “I was thinking Burger King myself.

“I vote McDonald’s,” Zoey says. “I’ve been wanting some McNuggets lately.”

“Same here,” Simon says. “Do you like sweet ‘n’ sour, barbecue, or both?”

“Just sweet ‘n’ sour. Do you like both?

“I like sweet ‘n’ sour most, but I’ve been getting into barbecue,” he says. “It’s not bad.”

“What made you wanna try it?”

“I was kinda just curious what it was like. I mean, I’m 16 now, I’m growing up. I’m maturing and so should my tastes.”

Zoey notices the bass he’s putting into his voice and looks at Simon. He has an eyebrow raised in an exaggerated “suave” expression, and that gets her to laugh, which makes him smile.

“See, this is why he’s better than Shaun,” Jeff says. “He’s got a sense of humor.”

“Oh, no, the great Shaun doesn’t have a sense of humor?” Simon says, pretending to be shocked.

“Hey, c’mon,” Zoey says while Jeff laughs now. “Shaun has a sense of humor. He understands when a joke is good or bad.”

“Yeah, but he can’t be funny like Simon,” Jeff says.

“Sweet,” Simon says. “What else am I that he’s not?”

“Stop it,” Zoey scolds even though she’s smiling and giggling. “Don’t make it a competition.”

“You’re right, you’re right,” Simon says with some sarcasm. “I’m not as handsome as he is. And…”

“And?” Seth repeats.

“I don’t know, I haven’t heard much else about this guy,” Simon says.

Jeff chuckles and Zoey looks at Simon with pursed lips.

The group go to McDonald’s and go through the drive thru, with Simon and Zoey getting McNuggets. With the talk of chicken, Jeff and Seth end up getting McChicken sandwiches. They arrive at church early again to help Mr. Rivera set up tables, then sit down to eat their food.

“Remember to bless the meal,” Mr. Rivera says as he heads for the hallway.

“Yes, Mr. Rivera,” Zoey says. “Seth.”

“What?”

“You’re oldest,” she says.

“But Jeff ate first,” he says back.

“No, I didn’t,” Jeff says, quickly dropping a fry.

“Don’t look at me,” Simon says as they most certainly do. “I’m with Zoey, oldest prays.”

“Of course you’re on her side,” Jeff says while Zoey smiles.

“Fine, fine,” Seth says while putting his hands together.

The others also put their hands together, close their eyes and bow their heads.

“Dear Lord,” Seth starts. “Thank you for today, and that we’ve made it to church. Bless this afternoon, evening and night, and this food we’re about to eat. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

“Amen,” the others say.

“Now, what is this about you guys stopping car thieves?” Zoey asks as she leans in closer.

“Oh, yeah, that was awesome,” Jeff says. “We were like Batman and… Oh, wait, walked into that one.”

“What?” Zoey and Simon ask.

“Well, if we’re Batman and Robin, that makes me Robin,” Jeff says. “I’m not Robin. And Seth isn’t Batman.”

“I could be Batman,” Seth says.

“Not with all that hair,” Jeff says.

“I feel like that’s taking the metaphor a little too far,” Seth says.

“Yeah,” Simon says. “Like, you don’t have to be a super-rich orphan to qualify, right?”

“Right?” Jeff chuckles.

“That does seem to be a thing with superheroes, though, right?” Zoey says.

“Being super rich?” Jeff asks.

“No, the tragic part,” Zoey says. “Like, Batman’s an orphan because his parents were murdered. Spider-Man lost his uncle. Superman lost an entire home planet.”

“We’ve faced tragedy, haven’t we?” Seth says.

“Losing Obaa-san,” Jeff says.

“Well, okay, yes,” Zoey says. “But that didn’t compel us to become heroes.”

“Did compel us to be better kids, though,” Seth says.

“Yeah,” Simon says at the same time Zoey does.

“Oh, sorry,” he says. “Was just remembering my grandma.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Zoey says as she holds his hand. “I remember Mrs. Calisto. She was so sweet.”

“Not to bring things down further,” Seth says, “but I mean… 9/11.”

The mood does sink with all four of them remembering that day.

“What’s really sad about that is that not even five years later, some people aren’t upset over it anymore,” Simon says.

“Really?” Zoey says, almost offended.

“Yeah,” he says. “Last year, I overheard someone saying they didn’t care about the moment of silence we had for it. I wanted to yell at them, but I also felt that yelling at them wouldn’t make it better.”

“I guess a national tragedy isn’t personal enough for some people,” Seth says with a frown.

“Let’s just hurry up and eat to get past that,” Zoey says. “That’s so upsetting.”

The group eats and gets their minds off the depressing talk of tragedies.

Other members of the Youth Group start arriving, starting with Mr. Rivera’s daughter, Miranda, Abby Tuttle, and Zoey’s friends, Chloe, Marina, Karina, and Alicia.

Karina smiles as she sits next to Jeff, and Alicia sits next to Seth. Chloe sits on Zoey’s right while Marina sits on Simon’s left, putting her across from Karina.

“We should finish up eating,” Seth says. “Don’t want anyone getting jealous.”

Simon, Zoey, and Jeff pick up the pace with Seth. Karina helps herself to Jeff’s fries and dips one in the bit of ketchup he poured onto the McChicken wrapper.

“Do you want some?” Seth asks Alicia, offering his own fries.

“Oh, uh, sure,” Alicia says.

Alicia grabs a couple short fries and pops them into her mouth.

“Well, Zoey’s not much of a food sharer, so…” Chloe says.

“It sounds like you’re trying to guilt trip me,” Zoey smirks.

“Well, we can’t ask your boyfriend to share food,” Marina says.

“Boyfriend?” Simon says. “Is that official now? And if so, why am I last to hear about it?”

“Uh, it should’ve been obvious it was official last night with the kiss,” Zoey says.

Abby, who is passing by with a cup of lemonade, stops and has a shocked look on her face.

“You kissed?” she asks. “But Colossians 3:5-”

“Says ‘inordinate affection,’” Alicia says. “And ‘inordinate’ means ‘excessive.’”

“Right,” Zoey says. “And it wasn’t excessive. It was sweet and innocent, and in private so no one else saw.”

Abby thinks that over with a slight pout, but she accepts the explanation and joins some of her friends at another table.

“Abby’s younger,” Chloe says to Simon, “so she’s kind of-”

“A goody two shoes,” Marina says.

“I was going to say ‘prudish,’” Chloe says.

“Alright, everybody,” Mr. Rivera says as he goes to the front of the auditorium. “Let’s all officially start tonight’s Youth Group meeting with a word of prayer.”

Everyone quiets down, closes their eyes, and bows their heads.

“Dear Heavenly Father,” Mr. Rivera starts, “thank you for today, and allowing us to have made it this far in the week. Help us make it through the rest of this week, doing your will as we go. Help me to deliver your word properly so that everyone here may understand it properly and may engrave it upon their hearts. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

“Amen,” the group repeats.

“So,” Mr. Rivera starts, “I am sure everyone had a nice, innocent Valentine’s Day.”

There are some smirks and nervous chuckles around the room, to which Mr. Rivera sighs but smirks in return.

“Titus, Chapter 2 says a lot about how godly men and women should be,” Mr. Rivera continues. “And that goes for young men and women like yourselves. Starting in verse two, ‘That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

“‘Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.’

“Now ‘sober’ here does mean the opposite of drunk, but it also means to have a clear head, to be alert and thinking rationally. That means you’re not emotional, you’re not tired, you’re not distracted, you’re not crazy. ‘Grave’ here is related, in that it means to be serious and solemn. Or at least, that you can be serious and solemn. Everyone’s allowed to have fun and be funny, but there is a time and place to work or discuss serious matters.

“Temperate comes from ‘temperance,’ as in moderation and self-restraint. You aren’t being excessive in anything, you aren’t going overboard, and those can again relate back to your emotions. Your excitement isn’t too much, your anger isn’t too much, your sadness isn’t too much. In a way, it is related to how the Bible means ‘meek.’ Meekness isn’t weakness, but control of your emotions.

“And don’t be fooled by the phrase ‘given to much wine,’ ladies and gentlemen. That doesn’t mean you can justify drinking just short of being drunk. Proverbs 20, verse one, ‘Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.’ Proverbs 21, verse 17, ‘He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.’ And the latter half of Proverbs 23 speaks of the downsides. Verses 32 and 33, ‘At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.’

“And of course, the Lord gives you the reasons why to do all this. Firstly, as in verse five, ‘that the word of God be not blasphemed.’ If you are to present yourselves as Christians, as followers of God, you should act as such. Otherwise, you’re insulting God. And secondly, it’s for yourselves. The end of verse eight, ‘that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.’ They can’t dig up any dirt on you if there’s no dirt to be found. Though, obviously, haters gonna hate.”

Everyone has a nice laugh there.

“And of course, you should want to be this way,” Mr. Rivera adds. “Children of God should want to be better than they’ve been in these areas. You become a Child of God when you accept God is real and when you accept Jesus as your savior. And how do you really know you’ve done all that? The Holy Spirit compels you. Yes, I know, it sounds like that line from The Exorcist, ‘The power of Christ compels you!’”

Everyone chuckles at Mr. Rivera acting out some of the scene he’s talking about.

“But it’s true!” he says. “The power of Christ will compel you. First John 3:3. ‘And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.’ And yes, ‘man’ in this context is ‘man and woman,’ every person. If you believe, if you put your faith and hope in Jesus, you will be purified.

“You will still struggle, as the Apostle Paul tells us all over Romans Chapter 7, but as he assures us right after in Chapter 8, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.’ Once you’ve accepted Jesus, he has accepted you, and that is forever. Let’s close the lesson with another word of prayer.”

Again, everyone closes their eyes and bows their heads. Simon doesn’t quite focus on Mr. Rivera’s words this time, as he prays to know if can truly put all his hope and trust in God.