《The Legendary Warrior and Her Sidekick》


 1~Introduction

    Ana''s POV


    I was sitting in the snow, shivering as I held Trux in my arms. As I sobbed, fat tears and mucus ran down my face. It wasn''t my prettiest moment, but then again, my best friend was dying and there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn''t fair. I''d beenso close to killing Zaros and then he had to pull this crap on me, casting a piercing spell against Trux. Ithit his chest and just missed his heart. But the damage was already done. Satyrs were fragile creatures and just a small injury could be fatal if not treated immediately.


    It just so happened that I had just used our last health potion, leaving me with nothing to heal him. All I could do was wail as the Purple Warlock got away yet again.


    Ever since I was 10-years-old, I''ve had to watch this happen. First with Claudie, a pirate selkie who''d been like a second mother to me. She''d taught me to stick with my crew, even if they annoyed me to no end. Then there was Hirotake, a swordsman spirit who taught me to always hold my sword high¡ªif not with my hands than with my arms, if not with my arms than with my teeth was something he liked to say. Liam, a bodybuilder dwarf who taught me that even if my body failed me, my mind wouldn''t. Wardell, acentaur who taught me to guard the treasures of my heart. Payra, a gunslinger half-orc who taught me showing my feminine side wasn''t such a bad thing. And now Trux.


    He let out a pained gasp as he gripped my arm. "A-Ana...Shut up...and look...at me."


    Iclenched my teeth and stopped my crying. His eyes were losing their vibrant, emerald color as he struggled to find the words to say to me.


    "I want you...to listen to me."


    Nodding, I wiped my eyes and leaned in close. "What is it?" I asked him.


    "Sometimes...there are gonna be...people who...make you mad," Trux wheezed. He coughed, "I want you...to know...that those...idiots...are gonna feel...the wrath...of your...meaty little...fists."


    I laughed. "Yeah. They will."


    "Promise me...Ana. Promise me...you won''t back down...else I would''ve...died for nothing...cuz you didn''t...stop that...monster."


    "I promise."


    "Good...now...go get your...new sidekick...and make me proud. You hear me....short stacks?"


    "Yeah...I got you."


    He gave me a shaky laugh. "I''m...gonna go see...Ribi again." Ribi was his girlfriend. He''d lost her before I came to this world and was framed for her murder.


    I gave me a nod. "Yup. I bet she misses you."


    "Yeah...Take care...short stacks..." With that, his chest stilled and his eyes turned glassy. His body slowly turned into a soft, golden mist. When woodland creatures like satyrs died, they turned into that mist which was magical pollen. It would settle somewhere and grow into a flower or a tree or something.


    When he was finally gone, I clenched my fists and stood up.


    "Zaros!" I yelled up at the sky. "I''m gonna find you wherever you are! And I''m gonna tear you limb from limb!"


    Nothing responded. I almost wished something did. But I couldn''t take Zaros now. I only had 10% of my health left. I''d get him in the next world. And I planned on finishing what I started. I wouldn''t let another partner die because I was too weak to stop him.


    The air rippled next to me and a portal appeared. John, in his usual get-up of a red wizards hat and red robe, stepped out. Above his head, his name, level, and title floated in the air.


    John Rambos: The Red Mage, Level 50,000


    Helooked at me and said, "Are you ready?"


    I took a breath and nodded. "Where are we going?"


    "Home."


    "Home...as in...Earth?"


    He nodded. "This will be your last chance to get rid of the Purple Warlock. If you fail...there won''t be any more chances."


    I gulped. No more chances? This was gonna be the fight of a lifetime. My partner needed to be the strongest man alive if I was gonna win this.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Stepping into the portal with John, I prepared myself to for what was on the other side...


    ...And fell into darkness.


    Jason''s POV


    I was in trouble. Again.


    I''d been having fun with some friends. But I guess Officer Jenkins didn''t find underaged drinking and vandalizing a park at 10:15 PM was a good idea of fun and tried to arrest us.


    I say tried because we all ran. I headed towards Almond Bay, my usual getaway spot. It was a beach hardly anyone went to these days. Those old geezers who sat around scarfing donuts and doing paperwork weren''t fast enough to catch me.


    Unfortunately, they got a new guy. Juan Moruga. He went to my current high school a couple of years back; he had everything going for him before he graduated. A cute girlfriend, the best quarterback, a scholarship to some fancy-schmancy school. After he graduated, life got even better. He and girl got engaged, he finished college as the smartest person or whatever and became a cop. He was the golden boy of Brodale and a real pain in my ass.


    Anyway, Officer Moruga chased after me. The beach wasn''t too far from the park, only a mile or so. I tried to lose Moruga, but once this guy was on my tail, he refused to lose it. It didn''t matter what alley I ran through or how many twists and turns I took, he was right there with me.


    Once I got to the beach, I clambered up the side of the fence and picked my way down the rocky slopes. Glancing up, I found Moruga doing the same. Gritting my teeth, I picked up the pace.


    "Riddley!" he yelled. "Stop running!"


    "No, thank you!" I called back.


    "You know I''m gonna catch you!"


    I turned to flip him off but ended up tripping over loose rock and tumbling down the rest of the way to the beach. After the whole ordeal, I ended up with a few cuts on my arms and a deep gash on my thigh. Gritting my teeth, I got back up and hobbled towards the right side of the beach. I was headed toward a patch of forest that led to a rather empty part of town, where senior citizens lived. I''d hide there for a couple of hours if I could make it.


    Moruga was gaining on me so I picked up the pace, ignoring the blood dripping down my leg and the burning pain that came with each step I took. It didn''t help that running on the sand was a chore all by itself.


    "Riddley, this is ridiculous! Stop running!"


    I ignored him and kept limp-running toward the forest. Just as I reached it, a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and pulled me back. I struggled against him, swinging an elbow towards his face. He leaned back just in timeandthrew me to the ground. Before I could get back up, heput one boot on my back, keeping me there.


    He took out his walkie talkie and said, "This is Officer Juan Moruga. I have one runaway custody. Reporting back up at Almond Bay."


    I groaned. With any other cop, I might''ve been able to escape, but I''ve tangled enough with Moruga that he knew all my tricks.


    He took his boot off of my back and knelt next to me. "You know, Riddley, I think you''re a real pain to deal with, you know that?"


    "Likewise," I grumbled.


    "You can''t seem to stay out of trouble, can you? How many times have your parents bailed you out after you did something stupid, huh?"


    "Shut up."


    "C''mon, man-"


    "I said, shut up!"


    I wasn''t in the mood for a lecture, especially not byhim. The Moruga family wasn''t my favorite. They were arrogant, stuck-up asshats who deserved to go die in a hole, every single one of them.


    It was too bad they were my next-door neighbors.


    Juan sighed and hauled me up. "Fine. If you won''t listen, I won''t waste my breath. But just know this: you keep this up, and you''re headed toward a bad place, Jason."


    I stayed silent and limped back up the rock wall with Juan at my side, keeping a tight grip on my arm. He and his back up took me to the station. I found I was the only one caught, which was just great. I got my cuts bandaged and was told to sit in a waiting cell.


    Ten minutes later of awkwardly scooting away from a middle-aged woman who kept staring at me,an officer took me from the cell. My mom had arrived and was waiting by the front desk. She looked tired with her hair in a hastily done bun and a sweater over a Winnie-the-Pooh T-shirt and pajama pants.


    She was busy talking to Officer Jenkins and Moruga, no doubt trying to apologize for my little stunt. Moruga, being thecalm, cool, and collectedlittle prick that he was, waved off her concern, saying "It was nothing." Jenkins, on the hand, was busy trying to convince her to send me off to a military school for my senior year.


    Good ol'' Jenkins. Tryin'' to get rid of me as fast as possible.


    Mom spotted me and a look of relief washed over her face. She turned to the officers and said once more, "I''m sosorry about tonight."


    Juan gave her a blinding white smile (blegh) and said, "Don''t worry about it." Looking at me, he put his serious face back on. "Just...stay out of trouble, Jason."


    I stopped myself from rolling my eyes as I walked passed him. "Mhmm."


    Jenkins''s eyes bore into the back of my head, "Do keep in mind what I said, Mrs. Riddley."


    She sighed. "I think we will."


    I couldn''t stop the surprise from showing on my face. Was she serious? A military school? For real?


    "Let''s go, Jason," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the station.


    "Mom," I said once we got in the car, "are you serious about the school?"


    "What do you think, Jason?" she said, angrily yanking her seatbelt into place. "You keep doing this, over and over again. You never listen. You''re always hanging out with those boys who get you doing stuff you shouldn''t be. What is this, the seventeenth time I''ve had to pick you up?"


    "Sixteenth," I muttered.


    "It doesn''t matter," she snapped. "Your father and I are tired of having to go through the same thing with you. We came here to get a fresh start. Why do you always have to ru-" She stopped herself from finishing and clenched the steering wheel. I already knew what she was going to say, though. ''Why do you always have to ruin everything?''


    She took a deep breath and said calmly, "The point is, Jason, is that I wish...we wish that you would just get your act together. We wouldn''t have to go through this if you''d just...stop."


    When I didn''t respond, she sighed again and started the car. "We''ve decided that if this happens again, maybe military school is the best option for you. I hope you understand why."


    Man. This was bad.

 2: Calm Before the Storm

    Jason''s POV


    When I got home, my father went into lecture mode. I barely set foot in the door before he was about to blow his top off. Me, being used to this, subconsciously tuned him out while half-heartedly pretending like I was taking his words to heart. Unfortunately, he caught onto my ruse fairly quickly and said:


    "You know what, Jason? I don''t think we should have any more trouble deciding what to do with you. Go up to your room."


    Uh-oh. That didn''t sound good. Even though I wanted to ask what that meant, my legs moved on autopilot, standing up, walking over to the stairs and into my room. Flopping onto my bed, I thought about what I needed to do to get out of this situation.


    I wasn''t too keen on spending my senior year at a military school. The whole soldier thing and whatnot didn''t suit me. I wasn''t one who could follow orders very well either.


    So being on my best behavior for the rest of the summer was my only option. There was only a month left before school started on September 5th. That meant thirty-something days to prove to my parents that I wasn''t an irrational delinquent who should be supervised at all times lest I did something stupid anymore.


    Except I was and acting otherwise was going to look very suspicious.


    I sighed. Karma was coming back to bite me in the butt and there was nothing I could do about it.


    My door creaked open. Looking over, I saw a pair of heads peeking into my room. It was the twins, Noah and Nick. They were nine-years-old and even more of a menace than I was. If something was broken, on fire, or missing, you knew it was the twins who did it.


    I''ve been told time and time again thatI was a bad influence on the twins. I guess it was my fault the little demons raised hell every chance they got. Well...it was probably true.


    "What are you two knuckleheads still doing up?" I asked, sitting up.


    Noah pushed the door open further and said, "We heard Dad yelling at you. Did you do something cool?"


    "Of course he did," Nick scoffed, following his brother inside. "Dad''s never sounded so angry before. He only yells like that when Jason does something awesome."


    "Right," Noah agreed, nodding his head. He looked over at me. "What''d you do?"


    Before I could answer, a snarky voice spoke up from the doorway. "You guys are going to get inso much trouble."


    It was Charlotte, my 14-year-old sister. The twins were known for causing a ruckus and giving you a headache. Charlotte was known for telling on you for anything and everything before trying to prove she was a bigger and better person than you because of the anything and everything you did. A goody-two-shoes and a tattle-tale don''t make for a good combination. She was a brat, through and through.


    But, alas, someone has yet to shove her off the roof of a ten-story building, so there''s nothing I can do but suffer.


    "Youknow Mom and Dad don''t want you talking to thedelinquent," she said, smirking. She was giving me a look, daring me to say something back.


    I only rolled my eyes. "So what are you doing in my room, Charlotte?"


    She strolled in casually, taking a seat at the bay window. "Just checking it out.I mean, you won''t have it much longer when they boot you off to the Academy of Military Excellence."


    The Academy of Military Excellence was the closest military school in Brodale. It prided itself on being the best school to reform troubled youth into capable young men and women and blah blah blah. I knew a kid that went there because his parents thought he was part of someschool gang that terrorized other students into giving up their lunch money or something when it was the opposite. He came out a broken man. So broken that when said gang approached him, he beat them half to death with a baseball bat.


    The twins'' eyes widened and theylooked at me with gaping mouths. They started speaking over each other, getting louder and louder.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "You''re leaving us?"


    "How come?"


    "When didthis happen?"


    I ignored them and told Charlotte, "Do you enjoy listening in to other peoples'' conversations so much because no one wants to talk to you? Are you so lonely that you have to sneak around and watch people do stuff because you have no friends? Is that it, Charlotte? Is that your problem?"


    Her face flushed. "No, it''s not. I''m just saying: you won''t have this room for much longer. And then-"


    "It''ll be mine for the taking!" Fletcher spun around in my desk chair, somehow avoiding alerting all of us. He''s a year younger than me and had this uncanny ability to be quiet no matter what he was doing. He''d be a great spy but, unlike Charlotte, he doesn''t care much for other people''s business.


    Most of the time.


    He was holding something in his hand. When I took a closer look, I realized it was my sketchbook.


    "Why do you have that?" I asked, standing up.


    He gave me a cheeky grin. "I was just flipping through. I noticed you''ve got a talent for drawing our neighbor, Teresa. Is there something you aren''t telling us, Jason?"


    I lunged at him, but he jumped out of the chair and out of my reach.


    "Come on! You''re not gonna share what you''ve got on your mind?"


    "Give it back, you little prick," I growled.


    "Jason, do youhonestly think I''m going to give such incriminating evidence away? This will be my ticket to getting out of sharing a room with the twins!"


    Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, okay. This room is going to bemine."


    Nick jumped up. "No way, no way! It''s ours! We won''t have to have a bunk bed anymore!"


    Noah stood up with him. "Yeah! It''sours!"


    "It''s none of yours," I said, grabbing mysketchbook out of Fletcher''s hands. "So get out! All of you!"


    Fletcher held up his phone and bragged, "I''ve still got evidence."


    I grabbed his phone too and dashed to the bay window, shoving Charlotte out of the way.


    "Hey, hey, hey! Stop it! I was kidding!"


    He tried taking his phone back, but I already had the window open and chucked it into our neighbor''s yard. There was a loud smashing sound as the phone hit the ground. Fletcher almost jumped out after it until the light clicked on in the house next to us. It was in the room right next to mine in the other house, with a bay window just like mine. Fletcher ducked down before he could be seen but I paused. No one usually came into that room. It was always empty and undisturbed.


    But now, standing in the room was Teresa Moruga. The younger sister of Juan Moruga, and just as annoying. She was popular in my school and known for being a female version of her brother. She was smart, hard-working, and devastatingly pretty. I''ve heard many horny teenage guys gushing over the goddess among men.


    I''m not gonna lie: when I first moved here a year ago, I was one of those guys. I had a huge crush on her when I first met her. I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world to live next to her. How wrong I was.


    She froze when she saw me and stood there for a second, before quickly turning off the light and exiting the bedroom. Huh.


    I didn''t dwell on the fact and turned around to look at my siblings. "If any of you talk about what Fletcher said or what happened, I''m gonna skin you alive. Now get out."


    They shuffled out of the room one by one. I sighed and sat down on my bed. I was gonna think about this whole military school thing tomorrow. A fresh mind came up with better ideas.


    Ava''s POV


    I opened my eyes to find myself floating in space. It was weird. Icould breathe just fine and move regularly as well.


    Turning my body, I found Earth looming in the distance. I spotted the moon peeking out from just behind it.


    "Uh, John? What am I doing here?" I called out, hoping the Red Mage was somewhere nearby. It turns out he was, just a few feet behind me.


    "It seems we acted prematurely," he said, floating to my side. "Your partner isn''t ready just yet."


    "By ready you mean..."


    "I mean the people don''t hate him enough just yet."


    I groaned. "Foronce, can you just give me somebody who doesn''t have a target on their back 24/7? It would make this whole ''find and defeat the Purple Warlock'' thing way easier."


    He chuckled. "A challenge is necessary to prove your worth, Ava."


    "Haven''t I done that already?"


    "Rules are rules," he said with a shrug. "My predecessors have always done this. I intend to follow in their footsteps. We can''t have you breezing through this battle without hardship."


    "You know, I would think the person giving me this responsibility would want me to complete it as fast as possible with little to no difficulty."


    He grunted and said, "You''ll be there within a month. Until then, be patient. You''ll get your partner before you know it."


    With a smile and a pat on the back, he said, "You''ll get your partner before you know." Then he snapped his fingers and was gone.


    Gah. Stupid wizards and their impossible tasks. They justlovemaking things as hard as possible. But all I could do was wait. Complaining wouldn''t get me home faster.


    In the meantime, I was going to review everything I remembered about home. I was gonna get to see my family again. My parents and siblings...All of them.


    I was gone for 7 years and I missed them so much. The wait was gonna be worth it when I see the dumbfounded looks on their faces.


    I felt a smile creep up on my face when I imagined being reunited with my twin sister, Teresa. We were sororal twins, of course. She was the tall, glittering goddess while I was the short and stocky goblin thing, but we never let our difference in appearance or taste getting in the way of our friendship.


    It was gonna be great seeing her again.

 2.5: Calm Before the Storm (2)

    Teresa''s POV


    I walked into theTimeless Blossom Cafe, owned by Mrs. Riddley.


    I''d been working here for six months, unbeknownst to my parents, who thought I''d taken up a job at an ice cream shop just down the street. They had a bad impression of the Riddley family but I thought their opinions were misguided.


    The Riddleys brought a breath of fresh air with them when they moved into our neighborhood and integrated with the rest of Brodale. Yeah, Mr. and Mrs. Riddleywas a bit strange, the twins were rowdy, Charlotte was even more of a goody-two-shoes than I am, and Fletcher couldn''t be fully trusted despite his charming, innocent appearance, but they weren''t all that bad.


    The problem was Jason.He was the one who caused all the hate.


    When I first met him, he seemed like one of those guys you read in romance novels. A cute, artistic loner guy who was quiet and liked to skateboard, et cetera. We became sorta friends and we started hanging out more at his parents'' restaurant. I''ll admit, I do think we were headed down the road that most romance novels tend to lead.


    And then he stole a necklace from my best friend, Heather. It was only a rumor at first until the necklace was found in his locker. He denied everything but the evidence was clear. He was suspended for a month and when he came back, his reign of terror only continued.


    It was a surprise to everyone he managed to pas 11th grade with his record. It''s also a surprise that whenever Juan comes over and my dad casually asks whether or not the ''Riddley boy was still up to no good'' and Juan would defend him. He would say stuff like, ''He''s a troubled, kid, Dad, give him a break.''


    Despite his claims, Jason hasn''t tried toclear his name. He''s become this bitter, spiteful boy who''s nothing but a nuisance to everyone around him, including his hardworking parents who''re constantly trying to keep him out of trouble.


    So imagine my surprise when I find himsetting up the tables for the workday ahead of us. He was dressed in a short-sleeve button-down shirt, khaki shorts, and an apron. Seeing him like this not only surprised me but also confirmed that no teenage boy ever bothered to shavetheir legs. It was weird how the hairy ones were always skinny; Jason was around 6''5 but looked like he probably weighed no more than 130, which was not at all normal.


    He glanced up when he heard the bell above the door ring. When he saw me, he scowled and went back to organizing the chairs.


    I gritted my teeth and decided to play the civilized role here. There was no reason to share the animosity. "Hello."


    "Mom''s in the break room," he muttered. "She wants to talk to you."


    Nodding, I walked passed him towards the break room. I just so happened to glance down at his arm and saw a...was that a tattoo? Before I could get a better look at it, he moved his arm and snapped, "Something interesting about my arm?"


    "You''ve got a tattoo," I blurted, pointing his arm.


    The look he gave me made feel stupid and embarrassed. I turned around and walked faster towards the break room. When I pushed open the door, I found Mrs. Riddley drinking coffee.


    She looked completely dead inside but every sip seemed to give her a bit of rejuvenating life. Seeing me, she gave me a tired smile, "What''s up, Tess?"


    I felt a smile coming on when she called me that. I hadn''t known Mrs. Riddley for long, but she had a way of bringing her employees into the family. Well, I was her only employee as of late, but still.


    "Nothin'' much. I, um, saw Jason out there."


    She sighed. "Oh, yes. He''s trying to redeem himself after the stunt he pulled last night."


    "Stunt?"


    She arched an eyebrow and leaned forward, one corner of her mouth creeping upwards. "You don''t know? I thought your family liked to keep tabs on everything we did. Don''t tell me your parents are slacking?"


    My face flushed. She didn''t sound annoyed, more like she was teasing. I mean, she was right. Almost everyone in our neighborhood watched the Riddley''s like a hawk, namely Jason.


    "Um, no, I don''t know. I never heard anything."


    She waved a hand and took another sip of her coffee. "Don''t worry about it. I think we might finally have a breakthrough this time, so your parents needn''t worry anymore."


    I slipped into the seat across the table from her, curious to hear what she had to say.


    "His father and I have decided that if he can''t get his act together, he''ll be spending his senior year at the Academy of Military Excellence.We thought that might help him shape up a bit. And lo and behold, he''s suddenly decided he wants to help us with the diner. Which reminds me..." She put her cup down and looked at me, suddenly serious. "I want you to train him."


    "W-wait, what? Me? Train Jason?"


    "Yes. I want you to show him the ropes around here."


    "But...don''t you have Fletcher?"


    She waved a hand, dismissing that thought. "Fletcher helps me cook. He hardly knows a thing about waiting tables."


    "And...you think Jason''s gonna get the job done?"


    She frowned and wagged a finger at me. "Now, look here, missy. He might be a little rough around the edges-"This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "A little?"


    "-but you can work with him."


    "I''ve tried," I said, thinking back towards our junior year. "We had a lot of classes together and the teachers always had us sit next to each other. We were partners forevery project and he did jack squat. It was all I could do to make sure we didn''t fail!"


    "Alright, fine. I''ll talk to him. But Tess-" she reached over and grabbed my hands "-please. Do this for me, alright?"


    "What am I gonna get out of it?"


    "An easier workload because you have a competent coworker?"


    "How about a raise?"


    She laughed and pulled her hands away. "You''ll get 5 more minutes on break."


    "And how about the employee of the month award?"


    Smirking, she leaned forward and said, "If you can somehow manage to train Jason well enough that I don''t have to boot him off the Academy, I''ll consider it."


    "That''s gonna be a two-way-road, Mrs. Riddley!"


    "Oh? Is this task impossible for the great Teresa N. Moruga?"


    "You don''t get it, Mrs. Riddley. Jason and I...we''re like fire and water. We don''t go together."


    She smiled at me. "Don''t worry. I''ll make sure he doesn''t give too hard a time."


    Jason''s POV


    "Jason!" Mom called, walking briskly out of the break room with Miss Perfect in tow.


    I was in the middle of conducting the greatest Condiment War ever seen in history. General Mayo managed to enlist the help of the Salt Bandits while Commander Mustard had just received the news that his wife had given birth and was torn between staying on the battlefield of going back home to see his baby boy.


    Standing up quickly, I blocked her view of the table I was using and said, "Yeah?"


    "What are you doing?"


    "Nothing."


    She narrowed her eyes and stared at me for a moment before shaking her head. "Doesn''t matter. You''re going to be under Teresa''s tutelage-"


    "Mom-"


    "-and she''s going to show you how to be a good waiter."


    "Mo-"


    "For now, you''re acting as her shadow, watching how she takes care of the customers. I suggest you take notes on how to be a more likable person, as well, because that''s something you''re going to need to work on."


    "M-"


    "Before and after each workday, she''s going to help you memorize the menu, teach you the ins-and-outs of the place, and help you with a few tricks and whatnot."


    "Mom."


    "Yes, sweetheart?"


    Gritting my teeth, I stepped forward and said,"I can figure this out on my own. I don''t need her help."


    Mom gave me a sideways look. "You don''t say."


    "Idon''t."


    Teresa spoke up from behind her. "Mrs. Riddley, I don''t think it''ll be that big of a deal-"


    "Tut-tut! Don''t tell me you''re backing out already, Tess?"


    Shesighed. "I just...If he doesn''t wanna do it, why waste the time?" Then she fixed me with a cold glare and, with a small smirk, said, "I''m sure he''lllearnsomething at theAcademy."


    I looked at Mom, feeling somewhat betrayed. She only shrugged.


    "Look, Jason, you''ve got a choice. You either let Tess help you and not make a fool of yourself or you keep in your stubborn ways and end up doing something, well,you."


    I scoffed at that last part but she ignored me and continued.


    "One of those options might get you out of hot water and the other might make you sink even deeper. Now, the diner opens in an hour and thirty minutes. Make up your mind."


    With that, she spun on her heel and walked into the kitchen.


    Teresa stood awkwardly by the break room door, not looking at me. I leaned against the table, where the Condiment War sat ready for me to continue.


    As I turned to finish what I started, Fletcher walked into the diner carrying a box. He saw me and immediately put down the box and gave me a salute.


    "Sir! I hope you have a good rest of the summer break! I''ll be enjoying your room! Sir!"


    I threw a ketchup bottle at him but he ducked and ran to the kitchen, cackling. Teresa snorted as she watched him.


    Scowling at her, I picked up the ketchup bottle. "Something funny?"


    She tensed for a second before relaxing against the wall and calmly replying, "No, not at all. Just thinking about how the future''s gonna play out...I guess once you''re at the Academy, Brodale will finally be nuisance-free."


    I slammed the ketchup bottle on the table. "You know what, Moruga? I didn''t ask for your insight on anything."


    She shrugged. "Whatever. Not my fault you can''t keep yourself out of trouble."


    "Shove off."


    Her eyes flashed and she stalked towards me, her fists clenched. "I work here, jerk-face. Although, I don''t think you will be for much longer. The Academy starts on August 15th. I''m sure they''ll happy to receive another lowlife scumbag like you."


    "Well, I''m sorry we can''t all be as perfect as you," I snapped. I felt my face getting hot as my temper rose. Hitting girls was a no-no, so I clenched the ketchup bottle, squeezing it tightly.


    She was getting bolder,getting into my personal space. Shoving me gently, she said, "At least I''m not a disappointment to my parents."


    I squeeze the bottle even harder, making a bit of the sauce pour out and dribble down the side. "Fuck you."


    She got into my face, smirking. "You wish."


    My hand flew so fast I almost couldn''t stop myself. She flinched but I didn''t hit her. I wanted to smash the ketchup bottle into her perfect little face so bad, but I held it there, an inch away from her cheek.


    Her face pale, she took a couple of steps back and took a deep breath. Even though she looked scared half to death, she still had the nerve to say, "I guess this is why you get in trouble so much. You can''t control yourself."


    "Oh, shut up," I muttered, shoving past her. "No one asked you."


    She was silent as I walked to the break room. I needed to calm down before I did something I was gonna regret. Being around Teresa was like walking through a field of land mines. One false step and I was gonna blow.


    But thenI heard her murmur something. I couldn''t stop myself from turning around and saying, "What was that?"


    She looked up at me and said a little louder. "I...I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have said that...Any of that. It was rude and...I was way out of line...Please forgive me."


    Are my ears working right? Was the Teresa Moruga apologizing tome? Whoever thought the day would come?


    Teresa''s POV


    Jason cleared his throat and moved to run his fingers through his hair. He just then realized the ketchup bottle was still in his hand. Dropping it onto a nearby table, he moved to wipe his hands on his apron.


    I instinctively reached out and stopped his arm. "Don''t!Just...use a napkin."


    He stared at my hand, holding his arm tightly. I pulled away, "S-sorry."


    He grunted and turned away from me, taking a napkin from a dispenser. "Don''t worry about it."


    I still felt a sliver of fear from nearly having my face pounded in by a ketchup bottle. Provoking him again was not agood idea.


    "Um...Jason-"


    "I''m sorry, too," he interrupted. "I shouldn''t have lost my cool like that...no matter how annoying you were."


    He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to face me. "Alright, look. You were right. I can''t keep control all the time. And if I''m gonna keep this job and prove to my folks I don''t need to be sent to that hellish academy, I''m gonna need help. So..." He cleared his throat again as his face reddened. "If you...help me...I''d...I''d appreciate it. Please."


    I nodded. "Fine." Sticking out my hand, I said, "I''ll do it."


    He stared at my hand long enough for it to feel awkward and want to make me pull it back in. Before I could, he reached out and grabbed it. I noticed he used the arm with the tattoo, allowing me to get a better look. The intricate design started from his bicep and curled around the side of his arm until it reached his wrist, where it circled his wrist like a bracelet.


    As soon as we got a shake in, he pulled his arm back and shoved the hand back in his pocket. Looking up at his face, I found him blushing. And then he noticed that I noticed. And then he blushed even more.He awkwardly covered his jaw and muttered, "Well...let''s get started."