Becky woke up with a start. Next to her an alarm clock was beeping a monotonous tune, alerting her of the school day ahead. By no means had she gotten enough sleep during the night, but she wasn't upset. She would be lying if she said she hadn't enjoyed Tobey's newfound gentle side. It was unfortunate he didn't act like that all the time, but despite that she couldn't help but feel excited about seeing him again at school. Of course, it wouldn't be the same, talking to him as regular old Becky Botsford, but being friends with him wasn't as awful a thought as it had been. Thoughts of how she treated him at school yesterday filled her with regret. She thought that after fighting Mrs. Power she would have gotten better at holding back her tongue. She hoped Tobey would forgive her. However, she paused, allowing an unpleasant thought into her mind. What if this was just another one of his tricks? Every other time he had tried to act like a good person, it was just another ploy to try and trick her into revealing her secret identity.
One thing was for sure. She felt differently about him, and that made her feel something new. She liked it.
Slowly the girl tumbled out of bed, ready for the day ahead of her. It had been a long time since she had felt ready for school, and she hated to think that it had something to do with her newfound curiosity of Tobey.
For a moment she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she moved about the room. Eye bags had made their presence known, making her seem more than a little tired. The girl frowned, knowing that everyone would ask about them. An excuse was necessary.
Behind her Bob chirped in confusion, allowing Becky to pick him up lovingly.
"I had a weird night last night." She explained briefly. Looking at him through the mirror. Then for a moment the girl zoned out, thinking deeply. "What would you think if I said that Tobey wasn't as big of a jerk as we thought?"
Bob began screeching in alarm and the girl quickly got his point. It could have been a trick but the way he looked at her, how he held her hand and actually understood her... It was so genuine...
She shook her head, she couldn't think about it too much. Quickly she made an attempt to push the night from her mind.
Quickly she got dressed in her usual style and grabbed her backpack. Noting how she felt happier than she had in a long time. Ready for the day ahead, she walked to the kitchen, carrying Bob on her shoulder.
"Good morning." Her mom smiled, noticing her daughter's presence almost instantly. She was sitting at the dinner table with TJ, and her father was in the kitchen making a bowl of cereal.
"Morning." She smiled, walking towards the table.
"Goodness gracious, did you sleep alright?" Her dad frowned, looking over.
"Yup."
"Are you sure?" Her mother fretted, standing up to run her thumbs beneath her daughter's eyes. "You look exhausted."
"It's probably because she had her window open." TJ interrupted, spooning another bite of cereal into his mouth.
Their mom squinted in confusion. "Why was your window open?"
"Oh no..." She thought. Due to TJ's annoying addition she was about to be grounded. However in a split second she thought of an answer.
"Oh um... my room was hot."
"Fair enough." Her dad shrugged, going back to making his bowl of cereal.
The girl sighed. She wasn't in the mood for this. Deflecting pointless accusations in favor of keeping her identity a secret felt like something she had been doing a lot lately. The all too familiar feeling of disdain for her routine was racing back.
"I think I'll go ahead and start walking to school." Becky chuckled, faking a smile.
Bob screeched once again, and Becky placed him on the floor.
"They're serving breakfast there, which Violet says Is delectable!" The lie slipped off her tongue too easily. She felt bad about lying, but knew that if her parents found out about her sneaking out she would feel even worse.
Her mom looked concerned. "Are you feeling alright?" She asked
"Yeah, just... ready for school!" Becky grinned, backing towards the door. "Love you all!"
Her dad shrugged, looking at his wife with a taunt expression. "I guess if she wants to go to school early, she can go to school early!"
The rest of her family watched in confusion as she walked out the door, shutting it tightly behind her. She could hear TJ saying "What a weirdo." As she walked past the large dining room window. Thank goodness it was over. No more questions...
"Hey, Becky!" Violet greeted, walking up behind her close friend. She was in good spirits. Being with Scoops had given her a much needed confidence boost, but it was definitely something. The boy was walking beside her.
"Hi, guys." Becky replied, doing her best to keep in pace.
"Whoa... what's with your eyes?" Scoops asked suddenly, staring at the girl's face. Violet also made an effort to try and see what her boyfriend was talking about.
"Did you sleep at all last night?"
Becky sighed. "Yeah, I slept a little..."
"Dude, it looks like you haven't slept in weeks."
Violet giggled, before readjusting her hair clip. "Why were you up so much last night?"
"Was it super-secret Wordgirl stuff?" Scoops asked, looking around to make sure no one else was around. "Because if it is, my readers would love to hear about it."
"It wasn't..." Becky frowned. "At first I thought it was Tobey attacking the city, but turns out he was just sitting in the forest." She then looked at Scoops. "Don't write about this please..."
"So you like... hung out with him?"
Becky scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah?"
"You hung out with Tobey? The Tobey?"
"Why are you acting like it's such a big deal?"
Both Scoops and Violet looked at each other, eyebrows raised.
"You know he has a thing for Wordgirl, right?" Violet began, softly.
"Of course I know." Becky replied, crossing her arms. "We were just hanging out as..." she stopped to think for a moment. He definitely wasn't her friend, but not many other words came to mind. "acquaintances..."
"Are you sure it wasn't a date?" Scoops smirked, causing the girl to blush.
"No, no, no! A date is a social or romantic appointment and it wasn't... we weren't..." She gulped. Date was the perfect word to describe what had happened last night. The way he had held her hand so tenderly wasn't just a platonic gesture.
"I'm not dating Tobey!" She finally finished, looking away.
"Not after what you said to him yesterday." Scoops teased.
Becky shook her head, grumbling. She already felt bad about what happened, and hopefully she could set things right with him during class today.
"How do you know he wasn't just trying to trick you into revealing your identity or something?" Violet asked, growing concerned. "You know he isn't an idiot."
"I don't..." Becky sighed. "But he was being so... genuine" She admitted, looking off into the distance.
"You think he's actually changed?" Scoops asked. With his tone, he might as well have asked if she was stupid.
Becky frowned. "I don't know what to think. It was like he was an entirely different person." She explained, drifting off. "He wasn't a jerk, and I didn't get the feeling that he was faking it."
"You're forgetting he's a bad guy." Scoops chirped. "People don't just change overnight."
"Besides, what would people think of you, or wordgirl if you started hanging out with him?"
Becky frowned. They had a point, but she couldn't help but think back to what Tobey had implied last night. He wanted to be liked. He wanted to be good. Maybe all of this was just his first steps in the right direction.
"I don't think it's a good idea to be hanging out with him." Violet frowned. "What if he's just tricking you?"
Becky shook her head. "And what if he isn't."
"Then you wouldn't be taking such a huge risk..."
"I'm going to try and be his friend." The girl determined, rashly. "You guys know that I'm slow to believe villains changing for the better, but this time I feel like he was being genuine."
"Why?!" Scoops asked, frustrated. "I thought you hated him."
Becky sighed. She had never hated him, just strongly disliked him, yet here she was vouching for him. Why was she doing this?
Scoops inspected her silently, reading her own emotions before she even fully realized them.
"What exactly happened last night?" He asked sternly.
Becky flushed. "We just sat... and talked."
"About your feelings?"
"Yeah, what's your point?"
He palmed his forehead, shaking his head.
"You like him?!" Violet finished, covering her mouth with both hands.
"No, what?? Guys!!! We talked for maybe half an hour last night and then he gave me a lift home. That's it." She bit her tongue. "He just needs some guidance. That's all." For a moment Becky felt as if she was trying to convince herself, rather than her friends. "Just give me a few minutes with him and you'll see that he's changed."
"Unless you're talking to him as Wordgirl, I doubt there's anything for us to see." Scoops shot, crossing his arms.
Becky rolled her eyes. The facts were she didn't like Tobey, he was acting differently, and the boy had obviously been upset by something. Why were her friends having such a hard time believing this? It was like they didn't care at all.
For the rest of the walk to school, the three remained fairly quiet. Scoops and Violet held hands the whole way, enjoying each other's presence immensely, but for some reason it didn't bother Becky as much as it had the day prior.
More story in progress!!!