Teenage Shennanigans

Posted on Mon Apr 1st, 2024 @ 6:10am by Bianca Mathew & Max Herrera & Theodore (Theo) Winters

2,781 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Timeline: August 11, 1990

“Ha!” said James, a mousy boy of 13 as he flipped the ball on the foosball table into the goal. “I told you boys are better than girls!”

“Sure,” said B with a good-natured roll of her eyes. “I beat you 12 times, but a single win makes you better.”

“I don’t make the rules,” replied James, holding up one hand in a mock ‘it’s not my fault’ gesture. “I just play by them.”

B only laughed at that, though. They usually trash talked each other all the time. She knew he didn’t mean anything by it.

“Hey, guys,” said Max as he found his friends in the game room just as he had thought he would. “This is my new roommate Theo. Theo, this is James and B.”

B gave Theo a small grin and wave, but James darted forward at once and held out a hand. “Hiya, Theo!” he said enthusiastically. “What’s good in your life?”

“Still trying to make that a thing?” asked B, amused.

“It’s better than how are you,” James pointed out. “So boring, amiright?”

Theo didn't roll his eyes, but only because he was new and James was younger. "You're right!" he agreed.

"I'm here now and after the sh... stuff I've gone through I consider that to be good. What about you?"

“”Oh, so much,” replied James. “Being here is definitely on the list, that’s for sure. My little sister just started kindergarten! Well, half sister. We have the same dad. Oh! That reminds me! My step-mom is great! Apparently that’s not always the case, so I think it’s worthy to be on the list!”

B grinned. “You’ll hav to excuse him,” she said. “He’s a little excitable.”

“Hey!” defended James. “There’s nothing wrong with being positive!”

Theo turned his attention to B and said, "It's cool to meet you, both of you. Max has told me a lot about you. I forget though, what kind of powers do you have?"

B replied by stretching one arm around all three boys to tap Theo’s shoulder.

"Oh, doh. My bad. I remember now."

James took a deep sniff. “You guys just ate grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches,” he said. “Or maybe grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon on the side. I can’t quite tell which.”

"You are good. I guess I'll have to take a shower and put on deodorant every day."
TAG- if anything.

Dean walked in scratching the stubble, what there was of it, on his chin. He looked a little older than the others, maybe sixteen or even seventeen. He had the typical All America Boy look with blond hair and agate-colored eyes.

His eyes swept the room stopping on Theo. "Who's the new kid?"

"My name is Theo," the new arrival answered.

“He’s my roommate,” Max told the older boy. “These two were demonstrating their powers.”

"I could demonstrate mine, but the last time I did, I got a lecture from the professor about setting things on fire."

"What can you do Theo? Anything cool or dangerous?"

Theo gave Dean a smirk before taking a step back and disappearing. Even James couldn't see him, though no doubt he could smell or hear him.

“Whoa, cool!” said James excitedly. “Just like that custodian!”

“She’s not a custodian, James!” B told him. “She’s one of the X-men. And her name is Miss Walker.”

“And it’s not quite the same,” added Max. “She can’t disappear in front of us. Only when we’re not looking.”

“Whatever,” said James, waving them off. “It’s close enough.”

Theo reappeared. "I'm glad you think it's cool, I've not gotten super good with it yet. If I move too fast, I become visible, well more visible anyway."

"Still," Dean commented that is pretty cool. You could so be a rogue. I mean a real-life one, not just like in D&D. Did Max tell you about the game?"

"Yeah, he did. I'd like to join if that's cool with everyone, but I think as a Ranger. You know so I play Robin Hood. But I gotta tell you I've never played before."

“Yeah, that’d be great!” declared James. “B was new once, too. Well, I guess we all were really. I mean, everybody starts somewhere, right?”

“You talk too much, James!” laughed Max.

“I think I talk the exact right amount,” James pointed out. “I only talk when I have something to say.”

“You seem to always have something to say,” B pointed out, exchanging an amused look with Max.

“Yeah, well, that’s because I do!” defended James.

This time, Theo did roll his eyes, he couldn't help himself, but he wasn't trying to be mean about it, he just found the interchange amusing.

"So, B. You want to play foosball? Or maybe we can all play something together?"

“We could play team Foosball!” suggested James. “Oh, no, there are too many of us now. We could have a tournament!”

“I told Theo about the hedge maze,” suggested Max. “He just got here so he hasn’t seen it, yet.”

“That’s always a fun way to kill an afternoon,” agreed B.

“The hedge maze is great!” agreed James. “I got lost in there once and this guy with wings came and lifted me out. I don’t go in there alone anymore.”

"There's a guy here with wings? That's cool. I've always wanted to fly."

"You won't be alone this time James. I've got your back and I'm sure your friends do too."

"I'm going to go change and put on a pair of shorts," Dean said. "It's pretty hot out there. I'll meet you guys out there in five. Oh, and I can demonstrate my power out there too."

"Anyone else want to change?" Theo asked.

“I’m from Texas,” Max pointed out. “It’s not warm enough for shorts.”

“I’ll go change!” announced James, darting from the room at once.

“I think my skirt counts as shorts,” added B. “As long as I don’t have to crawl around on the ground.”

“How about you, Theo?” asked Max. “You want to change or are you coming with me and B?”

"It's a lot more humid here than it is in Texas," Theo replied. "But I think I'm good. I'll go with you and B."

Then turning to the lone girl of the group he said," So, what does the B stand for, and how come everyone just calls you B?"

“Bianca,” B replied. “A friend in kindergarten had trouble pronouncing it, so he just called me B so nobody would make fun of him. It kinda stuck. My mom calls me Bianca, but she’s the only one.” She grinned then. “I love having a mom,” she added. “I’m being adopted, finally. It’s nice having a family for a change.”

Theo's eyes fell to the ground and his smile faded. His parents had put him in the hands of a madman and were on his way to prison.

He recovered himself quickly and he looked back up at her, forcing a smile to his face. "I think that's cool that you're being adopted. Tell me more about that."

“Oh, boy,” said Max with a teasing roll of his eyes. “Here we go.”

B playfully punched his arm. “Max has heard the story about 800 times,” she explained as Max jokingly rubbed his arm. “The short of it is that I was raised by nuns. I don’t even know who my natural parents are. Anyway, my adoptive parents found me there and decided I should be adopted. Then they somehow tracked down my twin brother. Now they’re adopting us both.” Her smile brightened. “Once the adoption is final, he gets to come here, too. I can’t wait!

"Oh yeah, I think Max said something about that. I'm glad they found your brother. Are you going to stay here after the adoption, or go live with them full-time?"

“I go home on holidays,” answered B. “But otherwise I’ll be here. My mom says she wished she’d been here when she came into her powers, so dad agrees it’s probably beneficial.”

"I get it," Theo said sympathetically. "I'm glad for you. Does everyone want to go outside? I bet Dean and James will be back soon."

“Probably,” agreed Max. “They’re going to meet us out front. It’s not far, though. Come on.” And he led them from the game room.

“Where are you from, Theo?” asked B conversationally. She carefully avoided talk of family as a lot of kids here had been tossed out by their families. She and Max were actually the odd ones who had supportive families.

"Chicago, originally, but we... I've been living in New York for a while now, the teen boy replied as they all shuffled out of the room.

“Which place did you like better?” she asked.

"Chicago," came the almost immediate reply. "It was before I got any powers. Back when things were normal for me and my family was more or less normal."

B had no idea what it might be like to be normal. Raised by nuns in a convent was weird enough, but then her powers manifested and everything was even weirder. Maybe that was why she felt so good with her new family; everything finally had a sense of normalcy. “Well, you’ve got us now,” she said finally. “We’ll be your family.”

“Yeah,” agreed Max. “James hasn’t got a good family, either. I don’t know about Dean because he doesn’t talk about it, but that makes me think they’re not supportive. The professors here are great and the kids, as I’ve already told you, are all pretty accepting.”

“It’s like a big family,” added B with a smile.

"Hey guys," Dean called out as he stepped outside to join the group. He was wearing a pair of black cargo shorts and a retro Beatles t-shirt. "Did I interrupt something?"

“Just growing our family,” answered B with a smile.

“Come on, B, you’re gonna make us all cry,” joked Max. “You want a bunch of teary boys on your hands?”

“Who’s teary?” asked James, now joining the group. “Are you two fighting over B again?”

Theo chuckled feeling a little of the tension he'd been having slip away.

"We're not fighting over B," Dean replied jokingly. "Max is her boyfriend, I'm just his wingman."

“I’m not her boyfriend,” retorted Max. “B, tell them.”

“Now you’re fighting over who has to take me?” she replied. “That’s new.”

James laughed. “You could always date me!” he joked.

“Oh, nice, just waiting for your chance, were you?” laughed Max.

“What can I say?” said James. “I’m an opportunist. Now come along, my sweet! The hedge maze awaits!”

"This is a lot more interesting than my last school," Theo said as the group of teens started heading toward the maze. "So, how big is this place?"

“Huge!” answered James. “I don’t know the square footage, but it’s gotta be like tens of thousands.”

“At least,” agreed B. “Plus the grounds.

“And all for fewer than fifty students,” added Max. “It means we have a lot of space to spread out.”

"I meant the maze," Theo corrected. But yeah this place is really big."

"So, where do we start?"

“Right here,” said Max, gesturing to the entrance. “You choose right or left and then come out from the other direction. It’s not terribly big, but it can still easily kill a couple of hours.”

"So, do we go in one at a time or partner up? James, you can come with me if we do that."

“Yes!” said James, pumping the air once with one fist. “And Max and Dean. Now who gets B?”

“I’m going with you since we’re dating, I guess,” B told James.

This only made James cackle with glee. “I almost forgot!” he said.

“All right, all right,” laughed Max. “Race to the center? We’ll go right, you go left.”

"Sounds like a plan," Theo agreed. "If we're going to race, what's the prize?"

“Well, I’m off the table,” said B. “I am not a prize.”

“You are, but not of something as silly as a race,” said Max without thinking. Then, to cover, he immediately added, “bragging rights. That’s pretty much all we got.”

“Bragging rights?!” replied James. “Oh, well, I suppose it’ll have to be good enough. Are we ready?”

"I am," Theo replied. His eyes cut between James and B. "Ladies first," he said with a shy smile.

“Thank you,” said B. “Okay, everybody- 3-2-1-go, got it?” After getting afirmatives all around, she called out “3! 2! 1! GO!” and they all took off in their respective directions. “James! Don’t go too fast!” she called after the smaller boy. “We have to get there as a team!”

“You two are holding me back!” he called back to them jokingly. “Come on! Let’s go!”

B laughed and tried to pick up the pace.

"So B," Theo said as they were catching up with James. "I know there is a lot of back and forth and joking around and all. But, I think Max does like you."

“Oh, I know he does,” replied B as they turned back from a dead end. “But like, we’re 14. I think we need to finish high school before we get into all of that.”

“Lots of people have boyfriends in high school, B,” James told her. “You can do both.”

“It just seems like a lot to me,” she replied with a shrug.

"I agree lots of people do date during high school but it's not for everyone. I don't think I'm ready to date somebody."

“Yeah, like let’s be kids a bit longer, right?” agreed B.

“I’d date somebody!” piped up James.

“Oh yeah?” Replied B with a grin. “Anybody in particular?”

“Nah, just somebody,” James replied. “I’m not picky!”

"I guess that's cool, if that's what you want James, and I get what you're saying. I think I'd be picky. I mean not about how they looked, but about who they really are. You know someone I could fall in love with. Some day."

“Oh yeah, I get that,” agreed James. “I guess I can like anybody, is what I mean. Everybody has something good about them, ya know?”

“Always the optimist,” muttered B good-naturedly.

They made their way through the maze at a record pace. Every once in a while they would hear Dean and Max from a couple of rows over and they would hurl trash talk at each other. Finally, though, after a half hour of darting down paths and then back again, James caught sight of the small topiary at the center of the maze. “We did it! Hurry, guys! I don’t think they’re there, yet!” he said.

Theo rushed forward, just behind James. When they reached the topiary, he shot into the air landing on top of it. He crowed loudly as Peter Pan might have, and then he lost his balance and fell to the ground landing awkwardly.

B followed almost immediately and gasped as Theo fell. “Are you okay?” she asked, trying not to laugh until she was sure he wasn’t hurt.

James stopped his celebrating to look back at them and spotted Theo on the ground. “What happened?” he asked.

It took a moment for the prone teen to answer as the wind had been knocked out of him.

But he recovered quickly. The only real injury was to his pride, but he recovered from that.

Sitting up with a sheepish grin. "I was trying to be a showoff, or more accurately a smart ass. It's just leaves and branches up there, at least where I landed. Just so everyone's info, they don't provide much support."

Be stifled a giggle. “No, they really don’t,” she agreed.

At that point, Max and Dean ran into the small clearing. “Aw, man!” said Max. “They beat us!”

Theo picked himself up and dusted off his clothes. He made no mention of what he'd just done. Instead, he said. "That's right and now we have bragging rights. What do you think of that?"

“I think you got lucky!” laughed Max, obviously just razzing his friends. “We’ll get you next time!”

“Not if we get lucky again,” countered B.

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