Stepping Stones

Hey, readers! This is my new fanfic! It's called Stepping Stones.

Benny: Really? That's the title you decide to go with for this one?

Yes. Why is it called Stepping Stones? Well, you'll see...

Eddward Kelner seemed pretty happy with the way his day was going. He had met up with his friends Ed and Eddy, had gotten another nice compliment from Nazz, got a A on his English test and had managed to avoid the Kankers. If only he had more days like these...

Double D heard the bell ring as he went into his English class. Everything seemed well. Double D sat down in his seat before he recalled that this class had its students sat in alphabetical order. That meant his seat was in the row right behind the Kankers.

Double D thought "Now, calm down, Eddward. It's only for English and there's just a few months left in the semester. Once the school year ends, I may not be able to revise what I learned but I will be able to avoid Marie Kanker."

His long internal monologue was interrupted by Miss Parker who said "Alright, as you know, we have only a month before your report cards go out. So I'll be giving you a project to do in pairs."

Some students smiled or listened patiently while others high-fived or fist-bumped each other. Ms. Parker raised an eyebrow at that with a knowing smirk, but said nothing.

Ms. Parker continued "You're going to be writing a short story, a poem or a one-page monologue on the person you're paired up with. I'm going to be choosing the pairs so don't seem so happy. You have two weeks to do it, which is plenty of time for most, if not all of you. You're eighth graders and since most of you seem to do only average in this class, I don't except any masterpieces. But I do except for you to at least hand something in." before she glanced at the Kankers for a few seconds.

Ms. Parker said "Here are the pairs. Mike Albert and Lucas Schweniski. Charlie Barker and Lauren Douglas. Noah McDonald and Henry Lincoln. Jonny Foreson and Fahima Albaf. Natalie Rosari and Eduardo Morris."

Double D turned back to look at Eddy, who seemed like he was the luckiest guy in the world. Who could blame him? He got to work with Nazz, one of the most beautiful girls in the school. Something that most other guys would kill for. Speaking of Eddy, Lee Kanker didn't look very happy about it.

Lee gritted her teeth and said "That little blond sk-" before she was silenced with a glare from Miss Parker.

Ms. Parker replied "Lee, if you're not satisfied at the pairings, that is your opinion but don't swear in school."

Lee silently obeyed but muttered "She's gonna get what's coming to her."

Ms. Parker continued calling out the pairs " Sarah Ronado and Kelly Sadner. Edward Ronado and Peter Hernandez. Chang Lau and May Kanker. Lee Kanker and Rolf Dalgaard. Eddward Kelner and Marie Kanker."

Double D felt all the blood rush out of his face, making it turn a pasty white. He was going to spend at least two weeks with Marie Kanker. Three weeks trying to get inside the mind of the girl who chased him every other day, beat up little kids and terrorized the Cul-de-Sac in order to get an A plus.

It wasn't his ideal choice. Hell, Double D would have picked Kevin over Marie Kanker.

Double D thought "Maybe I could talk to Ms. Parker about changing partners once the lesson is over."

He had tuned out Ms. Parker in his shock, surprise and horror so he managed to return to listen to her just in time to hear " If you are unhappy with any of the options you have for the project, I have a fourth option."

Ms. Parker walked to the front of the room where on her desk, there were at least ten camcorders.

She continued "If you choose the fourth option, you will have to record your partner and their daily life. But that's not just all you do. Try to get to know them. See what they see. Hear what they hear."

The bell rang and the students started to leave the classroom. Double D got up and walked over to Ms. Parker.

Double D asked happily " Excuse me, . Could I talk to you about my partner?"

Ms. Parker brushed away a curl of her chestnut hair before she answered "Sure, Eddward. What is it?"

Double D felt nervous. How did he know if she would give him help? Or if she'd listen?

Double D thought "No, I have to do this. I have to conquer my nerves."

Double D asked "I hope you don't mind me asking, Ms. Parker. Could I change partners?"

Ms. Parker answered "Eddward, I paired you and Marie up for a reason. You're a good student and you answer several questions in my class. Marie gets decent grades but her behavior leaves much to be desired. She may not be the most welcoming student but you just might be able to help her."

Double D nodded and said "Thank you for answering my question, Ms. Parker." before he looked at the camcorders.

Ms. Parker handed Double D two camcorders and replied "You could give the second one to Marie. Just please remember to return them before the end of the quarter."

Double D nodded and answered "Thank you, Ms. Parker. I'll make sure that Marie gets hers." with a slightly downturned smile as he left the classroom.

Externally, Double D seemed calm. But internally, he was freaking out. This seemed like a nightmare. In fact, it must have been. Him and Marie Kanker together for three weeks. Maybe he'll wake up any minute now.

Double D thought "No, I can't think like that. I have to be positive and optimistic. I mean, Marie can be slightly wild and irrational but what is the worst that can happen?"

He looked around the hallway. Double D didn't know which locker Marie had or if she even had one. He didn't even know who to ask about it.

He went over to Kevin and asked "Pardon me, Kevin but have you seen Marie? I have to give her one of these camcorders."

Kevin answered "Hey, Double D. Heard you got stuck with Marie Kanker. That sucks but yeah, I saw her go down into the boiler room with her sisters."

Double D nodded and replied "Thank you, Kevin." as he headed for the boiler room in the basement.

After several turns and stairways, Double D ended up at the basement and he turned the corner to see the door to the boiler room.

Double D gulped. He felt nervous and relieved at the same time. Nervous since he was about to step into the Kankers' realm and relieved because he could just hand Marie the camcorder and leave to find Ed and Eddy.

He slowly opened the door and began to descend down the stairs into the boiler room.

Double D called out "Marie? Hello? Is anyone here?" as he noticed a shadow in a dimly lit corner.

Marie stepped in front of him, wearing a blue hoodie and short jeans with a evil smirk on her face.

Marie said "Ah, if isn't my boyfriend. Looks like you came to bring me something. Was it money?"

Double D sighed as quietly as he could and replied "N-No, it's a camcorder for our project."

Marie carefully grabbed the white camcorder out of Double D's hands and put it in her hoodie pocket.

Marie replied "Well, it was nice of you to bring me a present. Since we're gonna be spending a lot more time together, I'll see you tomorrow." before she kissed Double D on the cheek.

Double D took little to no time leaving with his own camcorder. He shuddered and rubbed his cheek as he began to wonder about what Marie was planning on. But other than planning to ambush him and kiss him again, he had no idea. But Double D did know one thing.

This was going to be a long month.

That's Stepping Stones!

Benny: Eh. Not so interesting.

It may not seem so interesting at first but as time goes on, it will be.