The Miracle Clinic

“Remember me?” Draco Maleby questions as he raises an eyebrow.

“No,” Ronnie, Marcus, Alex, and Elizabeth answer bluntly.

“Wh-what?” Draco shouts completely stunned, “B-but I made sure to strike fear into your hearts when you visited Seastar High!”

“Don’t recall ever seeing your face,” Marcus remarks.

“We fought at that bodega!” Draco insists as he shakes Alex.

“I think I can recognize faces well,” Alex remarks, “And I’ve never seen your face.”

“This is-” Draco begins to pout, “THIS IS BULLSHIT! I CHALLENGE YOU ALL TO A DANCE OFF PRONTO!!”

“We’re good,” Ronnie, Marcus, Alex, Elizabeth, Sammy, and Selina all answer in unison.

“What are you chicken?!” Draco tries to insult as he begins to flap his arms around and yell out, “BAWK! BAWK!”

The group slowly begin to walk away, keeping their distance from Draco, however before they can do so, they hear someone shout out, “If it’s a dance-off you want, THEN IT’S A DANCE-OFF YOU’LL GET!”

The group all turn to see who shouted that to see it is none other than The Buzzing Brawler himself, Randy Buzz. Drenched in sweat, his hair a mess as he has his helmet off, and trying to lock up his scooter, if there’s one thing he clearly needs it’s a win.

Selina snorts as she begins to laugh at Randy’s current state. A bit of Randy’s pride sinks somehow even further but he’s too distracted with Draco to care.

“You’re on you northern boy!” Draco says as he makes his way into the hall, “Don’t go crying to mommy when I mop the floor with you!”

“Oh yeah? We’ll see who’s the one sobbing on the dance floor at the end of this!” Randy shouts as he follows.

Ronnie, Marcus, Alex, Sammy, and Selina stand there puzzled.

“Should we head in too or wait?” Ronnie asks.

“Wait for who?” Selina asks.

“Just some friends we know from Seastar High,” Alex explains.

“I think that’s them,” Marcus says as he waves at two people.

Those two people are Vanessa Deli & Blanko Deck. Two sophomores at Seastar High who they had a run-in with in December of the year prior. While they started off not on the best foot, they were able to patch things up between one another and now are on good terms.

Vanessa Deli has white skin, long black hair with purple highlights, and blue eyes. For tonight she’s wearing a yellow suit jacket and button-up, black leather pants, and black high heels. As for Blanko Deck, he has white skin with several freckles, messy ginger hair, green eyes, sharp teeth, has a slit on one of his eyebrows, and now has a small beard growing on his chin. Blanko’s also wearing a green suit over a white button-up, red and blue striped tie, brown loafers, and black gloves.

“Vanessa! Blanko! So good to see you guys again!” Marcus says as he goes in to hug the two.

Blanko reciprocates the friendly hug but Vanessa very frantically takes some steps back to avoid the hug. Sammy has a look of recognition but decides to keep quiet.

“It’s nice seeing you all too,” Vanessa nervously admits.

“Nice beard bro,” Alex compliments Blanko.

“Thanks, man,” Blanko eagerly says as he pulls on his beard hair, “Though I’m gonna shave it off soon. I’m just happy I can finally grow a beard after all the waiting.”

“Well then with everyone here, let’s go in!” Ronnie declares.

As the group enters the dance floor, Ronnie realizes that one of the members of their group is no longer with them, Elizabeth Moore. As the group gets caught up in the swarm of people, Ronnie figures now would be a good time to check up on her.

_______________________

At the center of the dance floor though, the flashing colorful lights all shine down on a crowd of students as they are all anticipating the dance-off between the representative for Seastar High, Draco Maleby, and the representative for Starlight High, Randy Buzz.

The song that the DJ is playing begins to fade out as Draco remarks, “Whichever person wins goes to the better school?”

“Obviously,” Randy snickers as a new song begins.

As the new song begins, everyone in the room can’t help but turn to look at the center of the dance floor as Draco and Randy stare off at one another.

With all the eyes on Randy, the freshman can’t help but start to feel nervous.

Did he make a mistake in initiating this? He just wanted to look cool? What if he loses?

However, his worries fade as he hears some familiar voices shout out to him.

“KICK HIS ASS RANDY!” Selina shouts.

“YOU GOT THIS LIL GUY!” Christopher, who’s in an all-white suit, shouts from the crowd.

“WE BELIEVE IN YOU!” Hamster, who’s in a regular tuxedo, encourages.

“DON’T LET THE DANCE LESSONS BE IN VAIN!” Zesti Champion shouts from across the room.

Bennet The Hamster gives a nod of approval.

And after hearing that, all ounce of worry leaves Randy’s mind as he begins to tap his feet.

“Hey, wanna hear what the buzz on the street is?” Randy asks before answering his own question, “THIS!”

Randy begins to moonwalk circles around Draco, Draco’s eyes can’t believe what he’s seeing as Randy has one hand on his head acting as if this is the easiest thing known to man.

However, Draco sticks out his leg on Randy causing him to fall, though just as he’s about to hit the ground Draco grabs him by the shirt. Randy’s eyes widen in surprise but Draco drops him before trying to tea-bag on him.

Randy rolls out of the way just in time as he effortlessly gets back up.

Randy begins to shimmy his way over to Draco.

Draco begins to shimmy his way over to Randy.

Just inches between them, the two are shimmying at one another, malice and hatred in Draco’s eyes while Randy’s is filled with smugness.

In the crowd, Christopher & Hamster are making sure Selina is recording every second of this.

Draco does the funky chicken, his moves are so fluid that one might mistake him for an actual rooster.

Randy then begins to break it down before he begins to spin on his head. He then finally does a somersault to get back up on his feet.

Nervous and getting tired, Draco does the unthinkable by tossing his blazer at Randy, revealing that he was wearing another more sparkly blazer underneath the other blazer. Draco begins to thrust his hips as he catches a rose someone in the crowd tosses to him with his mouth.

The two begin to aggressively tango together, both trying to trip one another through the whole dance.

Wanting to settle this once and for all, Randy does the ultimate dance move. A legendary dance move that's been passed down throughout the generations, each one refining and perfecting it to the masterpiece it is today.

Randy puts his right foot in.

He puts his right foot out.

He puts his right foot in and shakes it all about.

Randy then does the hokey pokey and he turns himself around.

“THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT!” Randy and the rest of the crowd chant.

“N-no that move it’s so,” Draco begins to say as he faints, “Marvelous.”

With the dance-off finished, both Starlight and Seastar High students alike flood the whole dance floor and lift Randy up into the air.

“I knew you could do it!” Christopher shouts.

“Way to go!” Hamster yells.

Bennet, who’s also crowd surfing, gives Randy a thumbs up while sipping a very tiny mocktail.

“Wow Randy, I didn’t think you could be cool,” Selina remarks.

“Me, heh, I’m always cool baby,” Randy remarks as he puts on blue-slotted glasses.

“Randy please keep your mouth shut,” Selina hisses, “You’re ruining the moment.”

As the crowd continues to lift Randy up in the air, a group of three are standing by the edge of the dance floor. Those three being Ivory Dutchingson, Mesto-Presto, and X Locke. X still has his messy blonde hair covering his eyes but he’s wearing a black button-up underneath a red suit jacket, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

“Seems like everyone’s having a good time,” Ivory, the student council president of Seastar High, states.

“Yeah,” X Locke, the student council president of Starlight High, agrees, “Thanks for helping your dad agree to have this joint homecoming. It’s turning out better than I thought.”

“Oh please,” Ivory shrugs off the compliment before giving her own, “You were the one who helped with a ton of the decorations and even got the DJ”

“Yeah he’s one cool DJ huh,” X Locke says as he waves at the DJ for the event, Casey Burns.

Casey Burns jovially flips X off before waving back at him.

“By the way, you look great in that outfit,” X compliments Ivory before nudging Mesto, “Don’t you agree, Mesto?”

Startled Mesto replies with an, “Absolutely!”

Ivory laughs at the very endearing compliment before hearing a slow song begin to play, “Sorry X but I’ll chat with you later.”

As she drags Mesto to the dance floor, X gives a thumbs-up.

As the two begin to dance away, the two start off with a bit of friendly chatter.

“You know when I first saw you I was really happy you came,” Ivory remarks.

“I know,” Mesto confidently teases.

“Yeah but then I saw what you were wearing and a part of me wished you didn’t,” Ivory teases back.

“I know,” Mesto groans.

“But still, it’s sweet that Garcia would do that for you,” Ivory remarks.

As the two continue to dance, the world around them begins to slip away as Ivory’s hands go from being atop Mesto’s shoulders to by his sides while Mesto’s go lower down her waist.

“Hey listen,” Ivory begins to say, “About what we used to be. I was wondering if…maybe…you wanted to try that again?”

“Which part are you talking about?” Mesto questions with a knowing smile, “‘cause if it’s the thing I’m thinking about I think your dad would actually kill me this time.”

“Oh hush up you!” Ivory blushes as she playfully hits Mesto on the arms, “You know that I didn’t mean that.”

“I know I know,” Mesto sighs calmly, “But are you serious about wanting to try again?”

“Yeah, do you not want to?”

“To be honest with you, before going here I thought I had all I could want,” Mesto says as he and Ivory move closer together, “But it turns out I wanted just a bit more.”

“So is that a yes?”

As the song reaches its crescendo, Mesto leans in towards Ivory and gives her a kiss. The two stand still for a bit, savoring the moment they're sharing, before eventually pulling away as the song ends.

“Does that answer your question?” Mesto smiles.

Ivory softly smiles at the answer.

______________________

By one of the walls of the banquet hall, several of the faculty members who had to attend the event are all chatting. They’re all in their regular outfits making small talk with one another. Aken Amnestor is talking with the Principal of Seastar High Ian Dutchingson about the new changes going on at both schools, Wilsten Jefferson is complaining to a very unamused Sam Penningberg about the DJ, Jolyne Joggers is making sure none of the students get too adventurous, and Zesti Champion is handing out food as well as drinks to the students. She’s also the only faculty member dressed up as she has on crystal earrings and a simple white dress.

Elsewhere in the banquet hall, Marcus is seated at a table eating food with Vanessa and Blanko.

“Not a fan of the sandwiches they’re giving out?” Marcus asks as he eats one of the mini deli sandwiches.

“I haven’t had them since I was a young kid,” Vanessa Deli explains as she has some peppermint candy, “They make me feel gross.”

“Well while we’re here, why not try playing some rat slap,” Blanko suggests as he takes out a deck of cards.

“I’m game!” Someone shouts as he sits down at one of the open chairs.

Blanko looks to see that the person who sat down is none other than the wild card of a human, Crunch Backson. Standing beside him is Suzy Dark. For homecoming, Crunch Backson has heavy eyeliner on and is wearing a white-&-black striped suit over a white button-up, a black tie, and black loafers. Suzy Dark is wearing a black goth Lolita dress.

“CRUNCH!” Blanko shouts in delight.

“BLANKO!” Crunch shouts back.

The two do a secret handshake before Blanko begins to compliment, “I’m messing with the fit!”

“Thanks Suzy actually picked it out for me and I picked out her’s,” Crunch explains.

“He still hasn’t watched the movie,” Suzy sighs.

“But hey man, have you gotten stronger since the last time we met?” Crunch questions.

“You bet! And I’m ready for a rematch whenever you are!” Blanko remarks.

As Crunch and Blanko continue to be buddy-buddy, Marcus and Vanessa wonder how those two even met to begin with.

__________________________

Ronnie continues to look around the dance floor for Elizabeth. At first, he passes by Rebecca whose in a polka dot dress, then by Hamster & Bennet who are doing the macarena, then by Christopher and Alex who are trying to start up a conga line, then Sammy who is busy messing with Victor and Trisha to ask Ronnie if he finally remembers her, then he passes by Carli whose standing shocked as she watches Evan along with Bernard and Georgia drink some alcohol they managed to smuggle into the dance.

But alas Ronnie doesn’t find Elizabeth, that is until he notices a door leading outside of the hall is open. He opens the door to see that it's to a stairway, he walks up the stairs to see that it leads to the rooftop. Now that he gets there, he sees Elizabeth sitting on the rooftop, looking out towards the city as the sun is starting to set.

Ronnie sits down next to her. After a while, he asks, “So, you like the sunset?”

“Yeah,” Elizabeth admits, “I just needed to clear my head a little.”

“How come? You’ve been a bit off recently, everything good?” Ronnie questions.

“I’m acting off? If anything it’s you guys,” Elizabeth opens up, “I don’t know how you guys can be so normal after that.”

“Is this about the senior thing or-”

“The car accident.”

“Oh.”

“...”

“...”

“...yeah.”

“Hey listen-”

“I thought if I got stronger then I’d be able to stop what happened in the cafeteria from happening again,” Elizabeth vents, “But I was wrong. I couldn’t stop Cameron from getting hurt, and I couldn’t stop you from getting hurt either. And whenever I feel bad about it I feel even worse for being so selfish. You were the ones who got hurt! Not me! So how come I can’t move on?”

Ronnie is silent.

“Hanging out with everyone has been some of the most fun I’ve had,” Elizabeth admits, “I’m scared of losing that. Of losing you all.”

“Elizabeth, you aren’t gonna lose any of us anytime soon,” Ronnie says.

“Promise?”

“Promise. And you shouldn’t feel bad about having those thoughts, even if they aren’t true,” Ronnie remarks, “Who was the one who helped Cameron when he needed it the most? Who was it that’s always put up with mine and the other’s nonsense? And who’s been the one that’s been with us on some of the most fun moments of our lives?”

A slight smile emerges from Elizabeth’s face as Ronnie continues, “You’re plenty strong, but you shouldn’t feel bad about the stuff that wasn’t your fault. And hey, you and everyone else suffered more than I did back then. All I did was have a long nap.”

“A ‘long nap’ is a bit of an understatement don’t you agree?” Elizabeth groans.

“Would you have preferred I said a lengthy rest?” Ronnie jokes.

“Y’know did anyone tell you that you have a real way with words?” Elizabeth laughs.

“Oh please like you’re any better,” Ronnie laughs.

As the two laugh, Elizabeth stands up, dusts off her dress, and responds, “Thanks, Ronnie.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ronnie remarks as he stands up, “Let’s head back down, I know Alex & Christopher are starting a conga line and we gotta be a part of it.”

“You bet.”

As the two make their way downstairs, they join the rest of their peers as they celebrate one helluva homecoming. One that those who attended would look back on fondly. Whether it was all of the songs they danced to, the discussions they had, or the new friends they all made, each person there had some pleasant memory from the whole experience.

It would be one of the last pleasant memories they’d all share together, at least for a long while. Since in just a few months, the lives of everyone throughout the city would be permanently altered as a dark and thunderous storm was fastly approaching.

One that threatened to sweep them away.

See You Next Chapter!~