Chapter 2 :

In the evening when the lessons had finished and the students had done all of their homework Dolphy and Jim met and took a walk through the facility.There was a small park in the middle of the Academy,where the students could relax or spend their spare time.The trees were no ordinary green ones,they had leafes in all imaginable variations of blue,from dark to crystal. The blossoms of the flowers shone in either dark red or in a fresh orange and the grass as well as the little and the bigger bushes were violet.

„So,you`re the model student,huh?“ said Dolphy and raised an eyebrow at Jim.

„Who told you?“

„I have to share my room with three...interesting girls and they seem to know everything about everybody.“

„What do ya mean with interesting?“ asked Jim curiously.

„Well,imagine a feline-,a canine- and a bird-teenage girl together in a room.They are arguing about who looks better in which dress or what they will do at the weekend all the time.“

„So,they can`t stand each other?“

„Heh,that`s the funniest thing about it...they`re best friends!“

„What!?“

„Believe it or not,it`s true.As much as they argue,they never go anywhere alone,they`re always together.Besides,they love to team up against others whom they don`t like.“

„For example?“

„People who are not interested in the latest fashion,hate make-up,don`t bother with dating around and are the total opposite of ´em.To sum it up...me.“

„Why don`t you just move to another room?“ asked Jim.

„Another room?Hah!All of the rooms are occupied by people I don`t even wanna be on the same planet with!“

„Okay,okay,calm down!“ said Jim. „I was just thinking...“

„Thinking what?“

„Forget it.“

„Aww,come on,tell me!“ begged Dolphy.

„No,it`s a stupid idea.“

„Jim,pleeeeeeaaase?“

„Uhm,no,better not.“

„Jim Hawkins,either you tell me instantly or I`m gonna do the same with you what I did with this guy Carren today!“

„Oh,no,please don`t do it!Lemme stay alive!Don`t kill me,PLEASE!“ yelled Jim dramatically but couldn`t prevent himself from laughing.

„How I love being taken seriously.“ said Dolphy sarcastically,went to Jim and ruffled his hair.

„Oh,no,you`ve destroyed my hairstyle!“ screamed Jim through laughter.

„Wow,didn`t know that`s what you would call a ´hairstyle´!“ grinned Dolphy.

Before she had the chance to react Jim had ruffled her hair and looked at her with a smirk.

„Ah,much better!“ he grinned as Dolphy tried to smooth her hair again.

„Very funny.“ said Dolphy grumpily but couldn`t suppress a grin. „So,what were you talking about before?“

„Well,I was just wondering if you might be interested in...erm,moving to my room?“

Dolphy stared at him with wide eyes.

„To...YOU?“

Jim smiled shyly and searched for words.

„It`s just that,uhm,after you told me about the mocking of your roommates and stuff I thought it would be a good idea...“

„But what about your roommates?“ asked Dolphy.

Jim didn`t say anything but gave her an innocent look.

„Oh no,don`t tell me you have no roommates!“

„Hey,it`s not what you`re thinking!“ yelled Jim suddenly as Dolphy raised an eyebrow at him.

„It`s just...erm...“

„Well?“ asked Dolphy expectantly.

„I was..worrying about you.“

„Worrying?About me?“

„Yes!I know what it feels like to be threatened like an outsider,to be either ignored or made fun of.I was lucky to get the last empty room so I didn`t have to worry about annoying roommates.Just wanted to help you...Besides,it`s nice to talk to you.“

Dolphy stared at him dumbfounded.Never had anybody told her that he liked talking to her. She didn`t know if she should be grateful or suspicious.

„Well,thanx.“ she said slowly. „I`ll...think about your offer,okay?“

„Okay.“ said Jim who had slightly blushed.He tried to change the topic and asked Dolphy :

 „So,has Carren given you a hard time before?“

„Hah,more often than I can count!“

Jim gave her a questioning look.

„You have to know,Jim,I`ve never been one of those typical teenage-girlies who are only obsessed with their look and their boyfriends so I`ve never been quite popular...When I came to the Interstellar Academy everybody immediately noticed that I was different and got out of my way.But then Carren suddenly asked me for a date,I was rather shocked and agreed,hoping that there was finally someone who saw me a lil` different.But I was wrong,you can hardly imagine HOW wrong!Carren didn`t listen to me,he ignored everything I said to him but was terribly importunate.When we came back to the academy he accompanied me to my room.Before I could open the door he took me by the shoulders and, *eew*,tried to kiss me!I kicked him in the stomach so he had to let go of me.At this moment four of his friends,who seemed to have followed and observed us all the time,stormed towards me and him and laughed like they were going to explode.It was nothing but a bet between Carren and his friends.They had said he wouldn`t manage it to get a kiss from the ´weird girl´...Well,they were right but I made him look like a fool in front of his friends and I guess he has never forgotten that.“

Dolphy sighed and suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

„Hey,we both know that Carren is the Lord of the Jerks.Don`t worry about him and his stupid friends.They don`t know anything about you...Hey,they don`t even know that 2+2 = 4!“ laughed Jim and Dolphy had to laugh,too.

„Yeah,mommy and daddy could buy them a ticket to the academy but not a brain!“

„Heh,how true.We`re gonna show ´em what outsiders are able to do!“

„Outsiders can do everything they want!“

„Yay,everything!But before we do everything let`s get something to eat,it`s late and I`m dying of starvation!“ yelled Dolphy,took Jim by the hand and dragged him in direction of the canteen.