.

"I'm so excited!" Celeste squealed happily. "Are you excited, Felicity?"

Felicity nodded. "Yes. I am e'cited!"

"It's excited, Felicity. Okay?" Celeset gently corrected her. She hooked her arm through her best freind's arm as they headed for Acmetropolis High. Today was a milestone in the two teenaged girls' lives. Their first day of high school. Admittedly, Tech and Cassidy had been very hesitant to let Felicity go there, because of her autism, but Felicity, Celeste, and Mairi all convinced them that she'd be fine. Felicity may still struggle with speech and her homework, but she was getting a lot better with her lack of attentiveness and self-control. Mairi believed she was ready, and Cassidy trusted Mairi's judgement.

"Okay!" Felicity replied. She was getting very used to people correcting her speech. When she was younger it would many times upset her, but now she understood why.

The pair entered the large front doors and were greeted by a throng of students, running this way and that, trying to find lockers, classes, and old freinds.

Celeste tilted her head sideways. "So.. the room where we go to get our class schedule should be-" It was then that Celeste realized how tightly Felicity's grip on her arm was. "Felic?"

The young coyote's eyes were as wide as they could be in pure terror. She shrunk away from the large crowd, plastering herself next to Celeste.

Celeste sighed. She had forgotten about Felicity's irrational fear of crowds. "Relax, Felicity. Just stay with me." She dragged the she-coyote through the sea of people until they reached the principal's office. By running right into it.

Thankfully our daring little superstars went unharmed, and soon had their class schedules. After fighting their way through the crowds again, they finally arrived at their first class.... five minutes late.

The teacher, a short, older woman with curly grey hair tied up in a bun and glasses on the edge of her nose, stared down at the two girls with disapproval. "Being late for your very first class is not excatly the best first impression, Miss La'More and Miss Coyote."

"I'm sorry, Ma'am." Celeste apologized.

"We got lost." Felicity explained with a big smile on her face.

"Hmph." The teacher replied. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again. Now, take your seats." She motioned to two empty desks in the middle of the room. Thankfully they were right beside each other. Celeste took the one closest to the window, to help Felicity keep her attention on the teacher.

Celeste and Felicity exchanged smiles. Sure, a rocky start, but everything would be fine, right? After all, this was their day!

..... Those poor, unknowing, innocent girls.

~~~~

"Just think, in a few minutes, we'll officially be mothers of high school girls." Sapphire smiled to Cassidy as she passed her a plate.

"Well, you will be. I already was, remember?" Cassidy replied, placing the plate in the dishwasher. "I'm still a little worried about Felicity, though. You know she doesn't deal well with big crowds."

Sapphire nodded. "That's true, but she's a smart girl. And it's not like she's all alone there. Celeste will look after her."

The two girls paused in their conversation when the elevator doors opened. The two teenaged girls they had watched bounce through those doors hours ago were completely different from the girls they saw wander through those same doors with frowns on their faces.

Cassidy and Sapphire exchanged worried looks. "What's the matter, luv?" Cassidy asked, walking up to Felicity and Celeste.

Felicity shrugged. "Nothin'." She replied quietly. Cassidy could have sworn that this would have been the first time Felicity had been so quiet since before she learned to talk.

"Okay.... Do you have homework?" Sapphire asked.

"Yes." Celeste replied.

"Well, you two had better head down to Aunty Mairi's. She'll be waiting for you." Cassidy gave Sapphire a knowing smile as the girls left. "Apparently high school wasn't what they were expecting." The two girls giggled. They knew that their daughters would get over it very soon.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Good job, Felicity. Now-......" Mairi paused in her sentence. She had sensed since the two girls had come in the room that there was something wrong. "Okay, are you two gonna tell me what's up or you just gonna keep it to yerselves?"

Celeste and Felicity glanced at each other. "Aunty Mairi, I don't wanna go to school t'morrow!" Felicity blurt out.

Mairi did a double-take. Never had Felicity ever said anything like that ever before. "Why? Why don't you want to go to school?"

Celeste fidgeted. "Well, things didn't turn out exactly like we planned."

Mairi laughed a little. "Possum, I'd thought you'd be used to that, growing up around here!"

The girls smiled. "What I mean is... things went horribly!" Celeste explained. "The teacher was mad at us because we got lost trying to find our first class, the other students laughed at Felicity when she tried to answer the teacher's question, and there's a group of older kids who apparently don't like us!"

"Oooohhh.." Mairi nodded. "I see... Well, do you know what? There's something you've got to realize, girls."

"What's that?" Felicity asked, moving closer.

"There's nothin' you can do 'bout people being mean to ya."

"We know." Celeste and Felicity chorused.

Mairi nodded. "Do you remember what your mothers told ya about dealing with people like that?"

"Ignore them." Felicity answered.

"But aren't people supposed to be more mature when they're older?" Celeste pointed out.

Mairi giggled. "That's true, possum, but here's a secret. Teenagers loose their brains when they reach high school."

Celeste and Felicity laughed. "No!"

"It's true! You two are exceptions to that rule. You have yer heads planted firmly on yer shoulders. And pretty soon you're gonna show everyone in that school just how smart ya are! High school isn't gonna be easy, but you can make it." Mairi brought them into a hug. "Trust me."

Celeste and Felicity grinned. "Thanks Aunty Mairi."

Celeste glanced at Felicity. "Tomorrow we'll show them what we can do, right, Felic?"

"Right!"

Mairi sighed. "............I still want a girl. So. Badly." She then squeezed the two girls tightly.

"........Aunty Mairi?"

"Yes, possum?"

".......I can't breathe."

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