Dirk first met the Crocker girl on a Tuesday.

It wasn't a good Tuesday, either. Not the kind that lets one sit outside and bask in the sun, appreciating the fact that the dreaded curse of monday has finally faded away, and that everything was that much closer to the end of the week. No, it was not that freeing, relaxing kind of Tuesday. Instead it was a cold, cruel kind of Tuesday, one that blew at you with its fierce winds and reminded you that there were still three days between this day and the end of the week, and that it was going to drown you in rain and misery in the meantime.

Those were the kinds of Tuesdays that Dirk hated with a fierce passion. They were the ones that made him skip school so he could stare out his window all day long and dream of better Tuesdays, of better worlds altogether. They were also the ones that made him realize that life, the universe, and everything in general were full of bull shit.

So really, it was almost a miracle that he was outside on that one particular Tuesday. In fact, Dirk would have called it a miracle himself, but he didn't talk about those things. Not since his conversation with that faygo-drinking clown in the alley. There was no coming back from that.

But yes, he was outside. They were out of apple juice back at home, and Dirk's younger bro would lose his shit if he came home and discovered that there was no more AJ. So it was Dirk's job to save the day yet again.

He dug his hands into the pockets of his orange jacket as he trudged down the street, head lowered to guard against the wind. The outside world smelled of garbage and hobo urine and really everything that was wrong with the world, and the sky glared down at him with all of its grey shittyness. Rain splattered against the top of his head as he walked, running down his face and covering his pointed shades with tiny drops. Great, because he really needed that right now.

Before long he had reached the grocery store, stepping inside as quickly as possible. He shivered. He was wet and freezing and couldn't see for shit and life was horrible. This was why he never went outside in the rain.

He checked his watch: 2:47. He had a good 43 minutes until his bro would get out of class. "Alright, Strider," He muttered under his breath. "Time to get this done."

With that he headed down the closest aisle, searching its racks for any kind of apple juice. They had to have the stuff somewhere, right?

"Need any help?"

Dirk turned to find himself facing... well, someone. He wasn't entirely sure who they were, honestly, and that wasn't helped by the fact that his shades were still covered with drops of water. From what he could tell, it was a girl, someone around his age, and she was carrying a shit load of bread in her shopping cart. Well whoever she was, she probably wasn't important.

"No, I'm good," He waved off the question.

"You sure? I know this store pretty well, so I could help you find whatever you're looking for!"

He was about to refuse again, but something about this girl's voice caught his attention. He knew that voice...

"Wait a second, are you that Crocker kid? The one in those ads?"

"Yup, that's me!" The girl revealed her buck teeth as she smiled. "Jane Crocker, at your service! You're Dave Strider's older brother, right?"

Now this was interesting. Jane Crocker was pretty famous in this area: after all, she was the heir to the Betty Crocker company and the fortune that lay behind it. Dirk only knew her from the occasional commercial, but she was supposed to be a big deal. So much so that he had heard rumours of a few attempts on her life.

He raised his eyebrow. "How do you know about my bro?"

"Oh, he hangs out with my cousin John sometimes," Jane replied, adjusting her glasses. "He talks about you, you know."

"Does he?" Dirk responded. "I didn't know I was so famous."

Jane laughed. "Yeah. So you're sure you don't need any help?"

"To be honest, I could probably use a little assistance," Dirk admitted. "You know where I could find the apple juice?"

"Sure, just follow me!" She gave him a quick smile and led him to the end of the aisle, where a veritable armada of apple juice bottles sat ready for the buying. She did a small bow and pointed to the juice with both her arms, as if she was showing him the Holy Grail of all apple juice. "There you go!"

"Thanks," Dirk nodded his appreciation. "It's kind of hard to see when my shades are this messed up."

"So why don't you just take them off?" Jane asked. "It's not that hard, you know."

"And let everyone see my eyes?" Dirk chuckled. "No thanks."

"Oh, sorry," Jane apologized. "I should have assumed you'd feel the same way about your eyes as Dave does."

"Hey, no worries. I don't expect everyone to know how I work."

They both stood there in silence for a second, neither one being sure what to say.

Jane cleared her throat. "Well, I should probably get going..."

"All on your own?" Dirk asked. "Isn't that pretty dangerous for the Baking Heiress extraordinaire?"

"No, I'll be fine," Jane promised. "I can handle myself pretty well, you know."

Dirk raised his hands in surrender. "Whatever you say, Crocker."

Jane smiled. "Well, I have to go. Talk to you later?"

Dirk gave her a nod. "You got it."

"Good!" She waved and turned to go, quickly disappearing into the masses of people milling around.

Dirk picked a bottle of apple juice from the rack and began to head to the nearest counter. That had gone well.

Later...

It was 3:50. Dirk heard the door to his apartment slam, and the sounds of footsteps stomping over to the kitchen. Looked like Dave was back.

"I'm home, if anyone cares!"

Yup. Definitely Dave.

The kitchen door flew open and in the kid came, dropping his backpack on the floor and heading straight for the fridge. He opened the cooling unit and stuck his head inside.

"Bro, where the fuck is the AJ?"

"And a good afternoon to you too," Dirk replied casually, his feet resting on the kitchen counter. "You didn't tell me you knew Jane Crocker."

Dave removed his head from the fridge. "John's cousin? Yeah, she's pretty cool. Why do you care?"

"Met her at the grocery store today," Dirk pulled the apple juice out of his jacket pocket. "She helped me get this." He tossed the beverage to Dave.

"Sweet," Dave caught the bottle with ease. "Thanks, Bro." He walked off to his room, leaving his older brother alone in the kitchen.

Dirk yawned and grabbed the tv remote, turning on the television set out of boredom. There was some show on about psychology and family problems and all that shit that most people were worried about these days. Whatever.

Just as he was about to change the channel, a commercial popped up on the screen: "Don't have enough sweet things in your life? Well don't worry, Betty Crocker Fruit Gushers have got you covered! These delicious snacks will..."

That voice. He knew that voice...

He waited until the end of the commercial, when the voice said: "My name is Jane Crocker and I approve of this quality product!"

Jane Crocker.

Dirk grinned. He was still a bit wet and freezing, but things were looking up. This had been a pretty good Tuesday after all.