Corona City

Episode 3:A Sunny Fall Party

"The more the merrier!"  the girl exclaimed.

"I suppose you'll invite the teachers while you're at it,"  Cass said sarcastically.

"Well… maybe not all the teachers…"  Rapunzel admitted.

"Sunny, if you're gonna invite any teacher, do Mr. Monty."

Rapunzel frowned.  "He was the one I was talking about not inviting."

Cassandra rolled her eyes.  "Figured."

The two hushed when someone else appeared in the classroom.  It had just been the two of them.  Varian sat in the back corner of the room, and set his books on the desk.  Cassandra merely glanced at him.

Rapunzel looked at Cassandra.  She mouthed a question if he was Varian.  The short haired girl grunted and nodded.  Rapunzel got up from her seat.  "Hey, you must be Varian!"  she held out her hand.

Varian stared at it.  Rapunzel could see the distrust in his eyes.  Slowly, he accepted it, but his eyes still held the same look.  The girl bit her lip.  "I'm having my fall party this Saturday.  I'm inviting everyone in the Senior class."

Now she really saw the distrust in his eyes.  He accepted the paper she handed to him, but she could tell there was something wrong.  She rubbed the back of her neck.  Something must have happened to him to make him look at people like this. She bit her lower lip.

Varian realized that he was making her uncomfortable.  He hadn't meant to stare.  "Uh… I'll think about it."

Rapunzel gave a weak smile before returning to her seat.  That was when Varian noticed that Cassandra had been watching him the whole encounter.  He quickly glanced away.

Cassandra leaned over to Rapunzel and whispered so only her friend could hear.  As much as Cass would hate to admit it, she hated to see Rapunzel sad or disturbed.  "I think he's being bullied and the last person that invited him to a party was a part of pushing him in a pool.  Last Saturday.  Better not talk about it though."

Rapunzel's eyes saddened.  She looked back at the fifteen year old who was already soaking in his Textbooks.  So he's been bullied, she thought.  At this new knowledge, she immediately wanted to be his friend and she was going to go crazy lengths to do so.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm home!"  Varian announced.  Ruddiger was already at his feet.  He chuckled at his pet.

"How was your day?"  Quirin asked, coming in from the kitchen.

"Nothing exploded,"  Varian said.  In other words, Quirin took it as it 'could have been worse' type of day.

"Nothing new?"

"Well…"  Varian began slowly.  "I got invited to a different fall party.  Once again, I have no idea who she is."

"She?"  Quirin asked, his voice holding some surprise.

"She was inviting the entire class."  Varian hurried his answer a little too fast for his liking.  Though, he didn't like the idea that it sounded like his dad was getting.  He wanted to make it clear that there was not a thing between him and the girl.  Honestly, he didn't know what the girl thought about him, but he was going to assume the feelings were mutual.

Varian handed his father the paper Rapunzel had given him.  Quirin read it.  "Oh.  You were invited by the headmaster's daughter to a fall party."

"Was that who she was?"  Varian's eyes widened as he looked at the paper.  In truth, he hadn't looked at it yet.

"Yes, see?  Sunny Corona.  Same address of Mr. Fredric Corona, so I believe she would be.  Still, that tells us nothing about what she's like."