During Mr. Feeny's class, Shawn, Cory and Zoey were sitting on top of their desks. Zoey sat beside Shawn as they were talking to each other about the weekend, but stopped when they noticed Topanga approaching Minkus and began talking to him.
Zoey gave her a weird look as Topanga returned to her seat, while Minkus leaned on his left hand and gazed into space.
"Is it just me or is love blooming among the nerd set?" Cory wondered.
"I don't know." Shawn said as the three of them continued to look at Minkus. "The only time I've ever seen a look like that was just before Bambi's mother caught that bullet."
"Really Shawn?" Zoey asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"What a movie they'd make." Cory stated, glancing between Minkus and Topanga. "It's Minkus in love. Watch what happens... when forty-eight pounds of near-sighted geek meets ten pounds of hair from a parallel universe."
Shawn, Cory and Zoey all looked at each other, smiling.
"Ha!" The three shouted. Zoey then noticed Topanga getting out of her seat and approached Cory.
"I think people who judge other people by their outward appearances are shallow and ignorant... and will have much to answer for in their next life." Topanga told Cory, sternly.
"Well that may be the way it works on Remulak... but here on Earth - you're a nerd, you pay." Cory simply responded.
The bell rung. Zoey got off Shawn's desk and sat in her own just before Mr. Feeny entered the class room.
"Good morning, class. I trust you all you had a good weekend." Mr. Feeny said as he approached his desk.
"I sure did." Cory said. "My mum baked brownies and my dad rented two monster movie videos."
"I sold blood." Shawn simply said.
Zoey furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What?"
Shawn nodded. "I did."
"This morning we have a guest lecturer." Mr. Feeny informed the class, as he sat down at his desk. "The school board feels that since you're all starting the seventh grade next year... it would behoove you to have an advanced taste of the experience."
A knock was then heard at the door. Everyone turned their heads to see Cory's older brother standing in the entrance of the classroom.
"Eric?" Cory asked, confused.
Eric narrowed his eyes when he saw his little brother. "Cory!"
"Mr. Matthews?" Mr. Feeny asked, surprised.
"Mr. Feeny?" Eric questioned, before walking up to front of the class.
"I thought the school said they were sending over good students." Mr. Feeny told Eric.
"Nah." Eric said, shaking his head. "You see the problem is the smart kids... they all have goals to pursue. I'm just looking to get out of Algebra."
"Lucky me." Mr. Feeny stated sarcastically. "Proceed."
Eric turned to the class. "Hi kids, I'm Eric. I'm in the tenth grade at Adams High the school you'll all be going to next year."
"At least all of us who pass." Minkus commented.
"Hey, Minkus, pass this." Shawn said, before he made a fart noise with his pits. Zoey couldn't help but laugh at the joke.
"Please, class, give Mr. Matthews your attention." Mr. Feeny told the class.
"Matthews?" Topanga asked, her eyes widen slightly.
"Oh, yeah. I'm Cory's older brother. I got the good hair." Eric responded, before he turned back to the class. "Anyway, next year you guys will be seventh graders... or, as we upper classmen will be calling you... phlegmballs. Now, there's gonna be a few things... you're gonna need to know for survival on the mean streets of high school."
"Will the exams process be more rigorous?" Minkus wondered.
"Yeah, uh..." Eric trailed off, hesitantly. "Party's are gonna be a lot better, too because you can stay out later."
A wide smile spread across Zoey's lips. "All right."
"And, of course, cool clothes are a must." Eric added, gesturing to his outfit. He wore a striped shirt with a black jacket with brown sleeves.
"For that young detention sitting on the go." Mr. Feeny said.
"Yeah. Uh, you're gonna want to know where the parking lot is, too... because that's where the most popular kids hang." Eric informed. "And you're gonna want to hang with them... unless, of course you want to look like a complete nerd." He chuckled, before turning to Minkus. "No offense, Minkus."
"I have a question." Cory spoke.
"Who cares?" Eric said.
"This isn't like home, Eric. In here, when I raise my hand, you have to answer." Cory explained to his older brother.
Eric turned to Mr. Feeny. "I do?"
"I do, too." Mr. Feeny responded.
"All right, now next year when you're sixteen and driving to school... would you be willing to give a ride to a certain few select phlegmballs?" Cory asked, gesturing to himself, Zoey and Shawn.
"Yeah, come on, Eric." Zoey insisted with a smile.
"Do I have to?" Eric asked Mr. Feeny.
"I wouldn't." Mr. Feeny advised.
"Drop dead." Eric told his younger brother.
Cory placed his face on his desk and fell out of his seat. Shawn and Zoey laughed.
"What do I owe you?" Mr. Feeny asked Eric.
••••
After school, Shawn and Zoey were over at Cory's place doing homework in the kitchen. As they were doing work, they heard a knock at the back door. Zoey looked up to see Topanga. Cory got up and walked over to the door, opening it. Topanga smiled as she held onto a dish of some sort.
"I have some freshly baked brownies that I thought you might enjoy." Topanga said, gesturing to the dish she held.
"Thanks for dropping them off." Cory said as he grabbed the brownies and pulled it towards him. Topanga pulled them back towards her.
"I thought perhaps I could stay here and enjoy them with you." She said, walking into the kitchen.
"Milks in the fridge, babe." Shawn told Topanga.
While Topanga went over to the fridge, Zoey went straight for the brownies. She hasn't eaten anything since lunch. As she ate the brownie, she was surprised when it tasted delicious.
"Hey, not bad." The brunette commented.
"My sister Nebby made them." Topanga said, walking back to the kitchen table with milk in her hand.
"Nebby? Don't you mean Debbie?" Cory questioned.
"No, Nebby. It's short Nebula - Nebula Stopthewar Lawrence." Topanga said as she poured milk into the cups that Cory brought out.
"So your parents thought, like, what... Linda was already taken?" Cory wondered.
Footsteps was then heard running down the stairs. Zoey turned to see Morgan running to the kitchen table, but stopped when she saw Topanga.
"Hey, cool braid." Morgan said, pointing at Topanga's hair.
"You like it?" Topanga asked. "I can put one in your hair."
"You can?" Morgan questioned, a wide smile spread across her lips.
"Sure. Do you have some ribbons and a rubber band?" Topanga asked.
"Upstairs in my room." Morgan said, before turning to Cory. "You know, I'd like to see more of her and less than him."
Zoey chuckled when Morgan pointed at Shawn. Morgan than took Topanga's hand, and dragged her up the stairs. Zoey than chuckled slightly when she realized something.
"What?" Cory asked, noticing Zoey smirking at him.
"Comes over with the brownies... tries to get in good with your sister." Zoey said, giving her best friend a smug look.
"So?" Cory wondered.
"So... Cory and Topanga sitting in a tree K-i-s-s-i-n-g." Zoey sung, smirking.
Cory rolled his eyes. "No way. Minkus wants her."
"And yet she's not over at Minkus' house unloading brownies." Shawn pointed out, tilting his head at Cory.
"What are you two saying?" Cory questioned.
"Cory, it all has to start somewhere..." Shawn began.
"See, Minkus get squishy about Topanga. Topanga get squishy about you. One day your solid as a rock... the next day... squish." Zoey explained the rest, and Shawn nodded in agreement.
"Topanga does not have a squish on me." Cory stated. Shawn and Zoey both looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"She brought you brownies, Cor." Zoey pointed out.
"Ipso facto, love-o you-o." Shawn added with a smirk. Cory scrunched his face in confusion.
"Hi, guys." Mrs. Matthews greeted as she walked into the kitchen holding grocery bags.
Cory sighed in relief. "Ah, reinforcement snacks."
"Well, it doesn't look like you're starving to death." Mrs. Matthews said, before Eric walked through the back door. "Eric, your can runneth over."
"Garbage again? I just took it out last week." Eric complained.
Morgan and Topanga than raced down the stairs and towards Mrs. Matthews.
"Mummy! Mummy, look!" Morgan shouted. "Topanga made my hair pretty."
"She sure did." Mrs. Matthews said, looking at the braid in her daughter's hair.
"Yep, brownies, braids she does it all." Cory quickly said he got up, grabbed the brownies, and passed back to Topanga before ushering her towards the back door. "But, uh, now she had to do it all at home."
"But I was hoping I could stay." Topanga said.
"You can't." Cory told her. "We're over the legal hair limit of this room."
Cory than pushed her outside and slammed the door shut. He paused for a moment, before he opened the door, took the brownies out of Topanga's hand, and slammed the door shut once more.
"Well, that wasn't very polite." Mrs. Matthews pointed out.
"I can't afford to be polite, Mum. I'm polite... Squish." Cory responded.
"I hear a lot of men treat the women they love like that." Shawn muttered. Both Eric and Mrs. Matthews gave each other smiles.
"I'll kill you, Shawn." Cory warned.
"We got a little girlfriend action going on here?" Eric wondered.
"No." Cory responded.
"Yes." Shawn and Zoey corrected.
"Cory and Topanga sitting in a tree A-B-C-D-E-F-G." Morgan said, and Zoey chuckled softly.
••••
Next day at School, Cory, Shawn and Zoey sat in their regular spots in the cafeteria. The brunette sat between Shawn and Cory, eating her lunch. Her face scrunched up in disgust when she took one bite out of her mac-and-cheese.
"That was the worst macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted." Shawn commented, after he ate his lunch. He turned to Zoey and Cory. "You're going to finish yours?"
And without hesitation, Cory and Zoey let Shawn have their lunch.
"Shawn, you're a pig. You know that, right?" Zoey told him.
"Hey, I'm in a growth spurt. I need fuel." Shawn responded as he began to eat the macaroni and cheese.
"Yeah, well, those of us who sit near you don't like the exhaust fumes." Cory said, and Zoey nodded her in agreement.
"Oh, look. Here comes the future Mrs. Cory Matthews." Shawn teased when he saw Topanga approached the table, holding a book in her head.
Cory quickly pulled up a comic book and held it to the side of the face, hoping that Topanga couldn't see him.
"Hello, Cory." Topanga greeted.
"Cory's not here." Cory responded.
"My sister rented a videotape... I thought you might be interested in seeing." Topanga said.
"He left. You just missed him." Cory continued. Shawn and Zoey chuckled softly.
"Godzilla goes to college." Topanga informed, saying the title of the movie.
Shawn, Cory and Zoey all turned to each other, shocked and surprised at the same time.
"Whoa." Zoey gaped. "That's the one where Godzilla scarfs down UCLA."
"Yeah." Cory whispered, before he lowered the comic book and turned to Topanga. "When can we borrow it?"
"You can't. It's my sister's tape. She said I can't let it out of my sight." Topanga explained.
"Okay, what time should we be over at your house?" Cory asked.
"Our VCR is broken. I'll have to bring it to your house." Topanga said.
Cory nodded. "All right, how about four o'clock?"
"Four is good for me." Topanga said, nodding her head. "That will give me time to get home and get ready."
"Get ready?" Cory questioned.
"I mean get the tape." Topanga corrected, quickly. "That's all. Bye."
Shawn and Zoey looked at each other, smirking, knowing what is happening between Cory and Topanga.
Shawn chuckled. "Oh, man, she's got a thang for you."
"What do I care? All I want from her is brownies and videos." Cory told his best friend.
"You maggot."
Zoey looked at the end of the table to see Minkus, staring at Cory, furiously.
Cory looked at Minkus, confused. "Huh?"
"All these years pretending to be my close friend..." Minkus trailed off.
"Close?" Cory huffed. "As in Philadelphia is close to... Neptune?"
"All so you could get to her." Minkus told him.
"Her, Topanga? I don't think so." Cory said.
Minkus scoffed. "Oh, please. The whole school's talking about you two."
"What? I ate a couple brownies. I said I'd watch a video." Cory explained.
"Aren't you forgetting the trip to Acapulco?" Minkus asked.
"What?" Cory asked, turning to Shawn and Zoey in confusion.
Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "I embellished."
"I have no idea." Zoey said, honestly.
Minkus leaned closer towards Cory. "Do you really care about her... or are you just doing this to humiliate me?"
"I give up." Cory sighed. "Take it, Shawn."
"Minkus." Shawn called, smiling as he got up from the table and approached the nerd. "Want to play walnut?"
Shawn than grabbed Minkus' head and pulled him towards him. Zoey covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to laugh at Minkus right now.
"Your bodyguard can't be with twenty-four-seven hours a day, Matthews. Be afraid... Be very afraid." Minkus warned, unemotionally. Minkus was released and he then turned back to Shawn. "I've got two words for you... Antispirant."
Zoey tried to suppress her smile, while Minkus walked out of the cafeteria.
"That's three words." Shawn said as he ran his fingers through his hair.
"What's going on here?" Cory questioned in confusion. "I don't want girls to like me. Why is everything changing?"
Zoey turned to Shawn and noticed him looking down at Topanga's notebook. She must've forgotten it when she walked out of the cafeteria.
"Hey, Topanga forgot her notebook." Shawn said as he grabbed the notebook and sat back down beside Zoey. "Want to trash it? I got a little macaroni and cheese left."
"Nah, she'll probably think it's some type of love code." Cory said. Shawn opened Topanga's notebook, and Zoey looked over his shoulder. Cory dramatically sighed. "Oh, why do I have to be so attractive?"
"Oh, look." Shawn said, pouting at he pointed at the drawings in Topanga's notebook. "It's a heart with a name doodled in swirly things. Mrs. Matthews."
Cory sighed. "Give me a break."
"Mrs. Topanga Matthews." Zoey read out, smirking. Shawn flipped over the page, and Zoey continued to tease her best friend. "Mrs. Eric Matthews."
Zoey suddenly paused, realizing at what she had just said. Zoey and Shawn looked at each other, confused.
Topanga was in love with Eric, not Cory.
"Would you two get off my..." Cory trailed off, before realizing what Zoey just said. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What?"
••••
During the next day at school, Mr. Feeny was reading the class a book. While Mr. Feeny was reading, Zoey glanced over to Topanga and noticed that she didn't look happy today. Something must've happened.
"'There are strange things done in the midnight sun. By the men who moil for gold. The arctic trails have their secret tales... that would make your blood run could. The northen lights have seen queer sights but the queerest they ever did see was the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee.'" Mr. Feeny read out.
"Cool!" Cory exclaimed.
Zoey rolled her eyes at him. If he ever gets married, she felt extremely sorry for the girl.
Mr. Feeny raised his hand for Cory to be quiet as he continued with the book. "'Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee... where the cotton blooms and blows. Why he left his home in the South to roam around the Pole... God only knows."
"Burn him!" Cory shouted.
There was a knock on the classroom door. Zoey turned to see Eric, entering the classroom.
"Mr. Feeny? Um, may I come in?" Eric asked.
"Of course." Mr. Feeny responded.
"This better be good, Eric. He was about to toast this guy." Cory said, as Eric walked up to the front of the class.
"So, uh, a couple of days ago I pretty much covered the big high school picture... but, uh, I left out one little tiny detail. You've all known each other since like, kindergarten. But next year there's gonna be maybe nine or ten other sixth grade classes from different school making up your sevenths grade class and you're not gonna know all those kids. A lot of them are gonna think differently than you." Eric explained.
"What do you mean?" Minkus asked.
"Well, do you smoke cigarettes?" Eric wondered.
"No." Minkus said.
"A lot of kids in your new school will." Eric told him. "A lot of them are gonna try to pressure you into it. They're gonna tell how cool it is to smoke. You want to be cool, don't you?"
"More than you could ever know." Minkus said desperately.
"Maybe you'll smoke." Eric said.
Minkus shook his head. "I don't think so."
"Why not?" Eric questioned.
"Because according to New England Journal of Medicine... smoking reduces lung capacity... leads to emphysema... and causes heart attack and lung cancer." Minkus explained.
"Well, what if she thought it was cool?" Eric asked, pointing at Topanga. "Then would you smoke?"
"In a heartbeat." Minkus quickly said.
"Welcome to the world of peer pressure." Eric told the class. He then turned to Topanga, and pointed at Minkus. "So he smokes. Do you think that's cool?"
"I think anyone who smokes is a disgusting pig." Topanga responded.
Minkus raised his arms in the air. "I'm trying to quit."
"Well, it's not that easy, Minkus. There's all kinds of pressure." Eric told him. "I mean, what about alcohol?"
"Could you use somebody else as an example, please?" Minkus insisted.
"Sure." Eric said, before his gaze focused on the brunette. "Zoey, what about alcohol?"
Zoey shook her head. "I would never drink."
"You say that now. What about drugs?" Eric questioned.
"Hey, calm down, Eric." Cory told his older brother. "We're not into that stuff. All we like is baseball and comic books."
"Yeah, that's what you like now. But that's going to change just like you're changing schools. Just like you're going to start feeling a lot of new stuff inside you you're not really gonna understand." Eric explained.
"How do you know?" Cory asked.
"Because you're growing up. Some of you have already started." Eric said.
••••
Shawn, Cory and Zoey were in the cafeteria, sitting at a table as they watched Minkus pulling off paper leaves from his paper flower. The table that he sat as was covered in paper leaves.
"She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me... She loves me not." Minkus muttered, tearing the paper off. "This is absurd. This isn't rational or logical at all."
"Look at him." Cory said.
"The love bomb has blown his head off." Shawn commented.
"This is big." Cory said, turning to Shawn and Zoey. "This love thing could kill us if we let it. You two and I have to make a deal right now. Let everyone else go nuts."
Cory held out his hand to his best friends, and Shawn shook it.
"We stay the same." Shawn said.
"Forever." Cory said.
Zoey shook both Cory and Shawn's hand. She smiled. "And ever."
"Excuse me." Zoey turned to see a girl approached their table. "I'm new here. How do I get to the principal's office?"
A wide smile spread across Shawn's lips, as he turned to Cory and Zoey. The three of them were still linked by their hands.
"We had a deal." Zoey reminded Shawn. He looked back at the girl. "We had a deal."
"The principal's office? I've been there a million times. I know exactly where it is. I'll take you." Shawn told the girl.
Cory grabbed onto the table, and Shawn got up. Zoey yelped when she was pulled by Shawn, while Cory pulled the table across the cafeteria. Zoey was in the middle. Shawn pulled so hard with their hands, that Cory and Zoey were pulled along with him.
_____________________
PUBLISHED: December 28, 2017
WORDS: 3413