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Title:   Intro to Chemistry 
Part 1:  Pre-lab/Hypothesis
Author:  Fawkes
Email:   fawkesphoenix@yahoo.com
Rating:  PG
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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is owned by Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha Ltd., 
Toei Animation Co., or VIZ Video, but, tragically, not by me.  Please 
do not sue/ plagiarize/ etc.  Thank you, and enjoy!

'  ' denotes thought


~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@

	The Moon Palace was in a state of chaos.  Delegates from each 
planet in the solar system were arriving within the hour for a week of 
political meetings and festivities, which would be crowned by the 
Imperium Silver Ball.  So, in addition to preparing quarters for the 
Royal families of each planet and organizing rooms for the government 
committees to meet, decorations had to go up for a fancy dress ball.
	The Palace was in chaos, but Neo-Queen Serenity remained calm.  
A pillar of strength, she easily glided across the ballroom, making 
suggestions to her assistants about the details of the week to come.
	"Your Majesty, I need your approval for tonight's menu..."
	"Queen Serenity, the group from Mars will be bringing ten extra 
guests!  What rooms can we give them?"
	To each question, the Queen had an ideal answer.
	"Your Highness, what about the orchestra for the ball?"
	"Your Excellency!"
	"Neo-Queen Serenity!"
	"Serena Tsukino!" 
	"Serena... but shouldn’t you address me as Queen Sere..."
	"Queen!  Detention is the only thing you’ll be queen of, if you 
don't wake up this instant, young lady!"
	Miss Haruna’s words bit into Serena’s head, ending her dream in 
an instant.  "Miss Haruna! I’m sorry!  It's just that I was up late 
last 
night working on my math homework, and I guess I overdid it a little 
bit," she apologized sheepishly.  'Say nothing of saving all of Tokyo 
from that Youma, not that I’ll ever get credit for that...’
	"Well, your studying won’t pay off if you don’t pay attention 
in class!  You’ve been called to the counselor’s office- don’t fall 
asleep on the way over."	
	Sighing, Serena gathered up her books, took the hall pass from 
a glaring Miss Haruna, and dejectedly made her way out the door.  
'Shoulda known it was a dream- like I'd ever be that on top of things.' 
Try as the young girl might, things like schoolwork never quite fell 
into place.  She danced to a different tune; it was part of her charm, 
at least that's how most people saw it.  Maturity would come with time.  
But as she made her way down the empty hall, Serena couldn't help but 
wish there was some way she could magically become more responsible, 
more sophisticated, more like the Neo-Queen Serenity from her dreams.  
She sighed again.  Seeing that she’d reached her destination, she 
stepped through the doors and into the brightly lit office.
	She nervously approached a secretary who was typing on a 
computer.  "Um, excuse me, I got this hall pass telling me to come 
down here..."
	The lady smiled kindly, and extended her hand to take the slip 
of paper.  "Of course, Serena, Mr. Kawamura is expecting you.  His 
office is right down that hall, second door on the left.  You can head 
on back."	
	Beaming back at the lady, Serena thanked her and headed down 
the hall.  When she reached the correct door, she knocked tentatively.
	"Come in!"
	Serena entered, and found a middle-aged man sitting behind a 
large desk.  Mr. Kawamura’s dark hair was thinning in a patch on top, 
and he was a little thick around the middle, but combined with his 
friendly smile, these features reminded Serena of a favorite uncle.  
Her uneasiness about the appointment eased slightly.	
	"Ah, you must be Serena!  I’m Scott Kawamura, the guidance 
counselor for your grade.  How are you today, Miss Serena?"
	"Well, I’m... I’m hanging in there, Mr. Kawamura."
	"Glad to hear it!  But I’m afraid, Serena, I’ve called you here 
to discuss some rather serious news.  It seems that your grades in 
math and science haven’t been the most outstanding.  Such marks 
normally result in summer school..."
	Serena instantly panicked.  "Summer school?!?!  Oh, Mr. 
Kawamura, I can’t go to summer school, I just can’t!  I always look 
forward to summer vacation, I mean, it’s my one break, and I..."
	"Calm down Serena, deep breath!  I’ve discussed the matter 
with your science teachers, and they universally feel that you might do 
better in a slightly different setting."  Reaching into a drawer, Mr. 
Kawamura pulled out a brochure.  "This is an application for an 
internship at the Turner Pharmaceuticals Research Lab downtown.  
They’ve announced that they will be offering assistant positions to 
students around your age."
	Handing her the application, the counselor continued.  "We all 
learn differently, Serena.  While sitting in a classroom, listening to 
a lecture may work for most students, some flourish more with hands on 
experience.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  Your teachers and I felt 
that the concepts may seem more interesting to you if you could see 
them in action.  It’s up to you, but if you serve as an intern at the 
Lab for the remainder of the semester, and your grades show improvement 
during that time, we’ll waive the summer school."
	Serena glanced anxiously at the brochure.  On the cover was a 
picture of a woman in a lab coat and safety goggles, concentrating as 
she mixed chemicals from two flasks.  It certainly looked more 
interesting than a lecture, and anything was better than summer school, 
but she just wasn’t sure...
	"Mr. Kawamura?  But what if I mess something up?  I mean, I’m 
not exactly the best at chemistry, and I’m klutzy to boot.  What if I 
totally ruined someone’s experiment?"
	The older man smiled gently at the girl’s apprehension.  "I 
wouldn’t worry about it, Serena.  They won’t have their middle school 
assistants doing anything too terribly complex.  Besides, it’s part of 
your supervisor’s job to train you.  It won’t be anything you can’t 
handle."
	"It may not be too much for most people, but I'm probably the 
one person who could still manage to screw things up."
	The counselor regarded the young girl for a moment.  With a 
kind smile, he began to speak.  "Serena, I know this will sound like a 
lecture, but bear with me for a moment.  When I was your age, I felt 
much the same way you do now.  My grades were low, every teacher 
criticized me... nothing seemed to go my way, and I felt like a failure 
in school."
	"Then, one day, when I was walking home, I heard a noise coming 
from behind a tree in the park.  It sounded like crying.  I decided to 
investigate, and when I peered behind it, I found a little girl with 
tears running down her cheeks.  I asked her what was wrong, and she 
told me about how some older kids had been making fun of her after 
school.  I listened.  It was so easy, and as her story unfolded, she 
began to feel better, just because she had someone to talk to.  I knew, 
in that moment, that this was my purpose in life- to listen to people, 
and help them if I could!  That is why I decided to become a 
counselor."
	"I won't kid you, Serena, it wasn't easy.  Schoolwork didn't 
come quickly to me, as I said, but I knew I had to work if I wanted to 
achieve my dream.  Every time I studied, every little effort I made was 
a tiny step in the right direction.  Nobody would have thought I could 
do it, but it's as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, 'What lies behind us 
and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within 
us.'"
	"Do you have a dream, Serena?"
	The girl hesitated.  How could she tell him what her goal and 
purpose in life was?  Ruler of the Silver Millennium?  He would think 
she was insane!  But as she looked into the understanding face of the 
counselor, her voice came.  "I'm not exactly sure at this point, but I 
think I'd like to help people too, Mr. Kawamura."
	He smiled.  "I had a feeling I know what lies inside of you, 
Serena Tsukino.  You can see it in your eyes.  So, what will be your 
first tiny step?"
	Serena glanced at the brochure with hesitation.  "Do you 
really think I could do it?"
	He nodded, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.  
	"Well then... I guess I’ll give it a shot!"
	"Excellent decision, Serena!  If you’ll just fill out that form 
and return it to me by the end of the week, we’ll get you set up.  Here 
are the tax forms, you might want to get some help from your parents in 
filling those out."
	"Tax forms?  But why do I need tax forms?"
	"Didn’t I mention it?  The assistants get paid, not much, 
but..."
	"Paid!  You mean I get money and I get out of summer school!?!?  
This is the best!"
	The counselor chuckled at the girl’s instant enthusiasm.  A 
bell chimed, and the sound of students filling the hall filtered into 
the office.  "Great, Serena.  It looks like it’s time for your lunch, 
so I’ll let you go ahead.  Don’t forget to turn the form in soon!"
	"Thanks Mr. Kawamura, thanks so much!"  And with that, the 
chipper blonde skipped out into the hallway in search of her friends.

~~~~<~~@   ~~~~<~~@   ~~~~<~~@ 


	"Amy!  Lita!  Wait up, will ya?"
	The tall brunette and shy blue-haired girl turned around.  "Hey 
Serena," Lita greeted "We were wondering what was taking you so long."
	"Yes, if there’s one class Serena’s sure never to miss, it’s 
lunch!" Amy joked pleasantly.
	"I was pretty worried after you got called out of class.  
Miss H was totally harsh, Serena, don’t pay attention to her.  So 
what’d the counselor say, anyways?"  Lita asked as she opened her 
typically gourmet lunch.
	It was embarrassing, but there was nothing Serena couldn’t tell 
these girls, so she filled them in on the state of her grades and the 
solution at the lab.  
	"Serena, that’s great!"  Amy cried, "I’m applying for an 
internship at Turner Pharmaceuticals as well!  We can go down there 
together after school!"
	Relief washed over Serena.  If Amy was going to be there, 
everything would be fine.  She was probably smart enough to run the 
lab herself- she could show Serena what to do.  "Oh Amy!  I can’t tell 
you how glad I am to hear that!  I was so totally scared of messing 
something up, but if you’re there, everything will be fine."
	"Say, Amy," Lita cut in, "How’re you going to have time to work 
at this lab, do all of your homework, and take an extra computer 
course?  Say nothing of Scout Business!"
	"Oh Lita, it shouldn’t be a problem," the girl genius smiled 
brightly, "after all, I’ve worked ahead in each of my classes almost 
to the end of the year, so I should have plenty of time to take on 
this apprenticeship.  Besides, working at a research company like this 
will be excellent experience for when I apply to medical school."
	"Sometimes, Amy, it just makes so much sense that you're the 
Scout from Mercury."
	"Why’s that, Serena?"
	"Because you are definitely from a different planet!"

~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@

	She sat at the counter in the arcade, but the young girl was 
oblivious to the sounds of video games and laughter that surrounded 
her.  She was leaning forward on her stool, her hair spilling over her 
shoulders to hang towards the floor, concentrating in earnest on a 
piece of paper before her.  She did not hear the approach of the young 
man, and didn’t even notice the chocolate milkshake he slid towards 
her until it was practically under her nose.
	"Hey Serena, what’s that you’re writing?"
	The petite blonde started as she noticed the shake, and beamed 
at the boy behind the counter.  "Hi Andrew!  I’m applying for an 
internship at Turner Pharmaceuticals, and this is the form I have to 
fill out."
	"A job at a research lab?  But why, Serena, it seems so... so 
not you!"
	Serena felt her face flush slightly as she recalled the reason 
she was really applying.  Although she now thought of Andrew like 
a favorite older brother, there had been a long period of time, 
before she knew about his girlfriend, Rita, when she had liked him as 
much more than a friend.  Even with her feelings past, she didn’t 
want to look foolish in front of the older boy.
	"Well, uh... my counselor thought it would be a good... 
supplement, to help me out in science and maybe bring my grades up..."
	"Hey, that’s a good idea, Serena!  I’ll bet the experience will 
make the stuff seem more interesting to you."
	Serena laughed, relieved that he hadn’t made fun of her.  
‘Shoulda known Andrew would be nice about it, unlike some people...'
	"Turner Pharmaceuticals, that sounds kinda familiar from 
somewhere.  Where have I heard that... oh yeah!  Darien’s going to be 
working there, too!"
	Serena felt her heart sink.  Now there was one person who would 
definitely not be nice about the situation, and if he was working at 
the lab, he was bound to find out sooner or later.  Not that she cared 
what he thought about her, of course, she just didn’t want to put up 
with his taunts.
	"He gets to run his own experiment and everything- even has his 
own lab as long as he’s working there.  It’s a really great 
opportunity, I mean, not many college students get to do something 
like this.  You’ll probably even see him around!"
	"Bully for me," Serena muttered, glancing down as she began to 
stir her shake distractedly.
	Andrew was quick to pick up on her change of mood.
	"Aw, come on, Serena, Darien’s not so bad."
	"Not to you, maybe.  Oh Andrew, why does he have to tease me 
so much, anyways?"
	Andrew paused, debating what to tell her.  He had some 
personal opinions about why Darien teased this girl so much, but he 
knew his best friend would not respond well to him sharing them out 
loud.  Heck, Andrew hadn’t even brought the subject up with Darien yet!  
"Don’t worry about it, Serena.  It’s not like he dislikes you or 
anything."  The bell to the arcade door chimed, and Andrew glanced up.  
"Here he is now.  Hey Darien!  Guess what?"
	Serena assumed her most pleading face, and mentally begged 
Andrew not to tell his friend anything.  She could break the news to 
Darien in her own time, or maybe, if she was lucky, he wouldn’t find 
out at all, and then she would never have to tell him about her low 
grades.
	"Hey Andrew, what’s up?"  Darien greeted easily, casually 
sliding onto the stool next to Serena.  "And everybody’s favorite 
Meatball Head!  Bugging Andrew, are we?"
	"First off, my name is not Meatball Head, it is Serena!  And I 
was not bugging Andrew, he came over and started talking to me!" she 
responded shrilly.  "Believe it or not, some people actually enjoy my 
company..." she added under her breath, turning back to the comforting 
milk shake.
	Andrew sighed, pouring Darien a cup of coffee.  ‘No Serena, I 
don’t think it’s that he doesn’t enjoy your company, no, not at all...’  
"Well, Darien, don’t you want to hear the exciting news?"
	Darien reluctantly pulled his gaze from the sulking girl to 
regard his friend.  "What’s that?"
	"Well, Serena’s going to be working at Turner Pharmaceuticals 
as well!"
	Darien almost spewed coffee all over his best friend, and had 
to cough hard to keep from choking.  He would never have guessed in 
a million years that Serena might apply for one of the middle school 
research assistant positions.  But if she did, he might get to see 
her every day!  Heck, she might even be working with him in his lab...
	Of course, Darien did not choose to share these thoughts with 
the young girl, about how fun it would be to work together, or that 
he wouldn’t have guessed she was so interested in science.  Oh no, 
what Darien said was, "Meatball Head?  In a chem lab?!?!  You’ve 
got to be kidding, Andrew!  She’s a walking safety hazard!  I’ll 
bet you don’t know a thing about chemistry, do ya Meatball Head?"  
	Bristling at his remark, Serena drew herself up to her full 
height, trying not to seem quite so young and small.  "So what if I 
don’t?  It’s not like they’re looking for professional chemists or 
something!  I’m sure I’ll learn as I go along.  Besides, I’m not that 
klutzy, thank you very much!"  She rose in order to storm from the 
arcade in a huff.
	 Alas, the Fates did not smile upon the young girl.  Her nose 
haughtily in the air, Serena didn’t see the chair from the café 
carelessly left in the walkway just behind her stool until she was 
tripping over it.  Wheeling her arms frantically, she fought to 
reverse her momentum and not go crashing forward onto the floor.  Here 
she succeeded, but she overdid things a bit, and instead went reeling 
backwards.  She would have crashed into Darien, had his reactions not 
been so fast.  The fact that he had turned completely around in order 
to get a better view of the girl’s irate exit didn’t hurt, either.  
Quickly standing and extending his arms, he caught Serena from behind 
in a bear hug and stopped her flight to the floor as if she weighed 
nothing.
	"...you were saying?"
	Serena felt the heat rise in her face, and had a terrible 
feeling that she had just invented a new shade of red, bolder than 
anything previously seen.  The worst part of it was, she wasn’t sure 
if she was blushing due to her timely gracefulness, or her sudden 
closeness to Darien.  Even in her flustered condition, she couldn’t 
help but notice the broad, firm chest behind her that murmured as he 
spoke, the way his arms completely engulfed her tiny frame, or the 
rich smell of his cologne.  
	Blinking hard in a futile attempt to clear her head, Serena 
scrambled to get back on her own two feet.  For the briefest second, 
Darien’s embrace didn’t yield, but then, he moved his hands to her 
shoulders, and helped her regain her footing.  Turning her to face him, 
he grinned crookedly at the scarlet girl.  "Gotta watch those jumping 
stools, they’ll get you every time."
	Serena racked her brain for a face-saving response.  "I... 
it... you, uhh... Oh, forget it!"  She turned and dashed from the 
arcade, carefully avoiding the cursed stool.
	Shaking his head after the retreating girl, Darien turned back 
to Andrew, an amused expression on his face.  Oddly, Andrew seemed to 
be regarding him with equal amusement.  "Say, Andrew, what’s with the 
smirk?"
	"Oh, I think you know what it’s about."
	"What on earth are you talking about?"
	"Gee, I dunno!  Could it be my eternally serious, oblivious to 
girls best friend, suddenly morphing into Mr. Knight in Shining Armour 
and grinning like an idiot?"
	"Grinning like a... I don’t know what you’re talking about."
	"Uh-huh, yeah sure.  Time to spill, mon freur.  You like her, 
don’t you?"
	Groaning, Darien sank to his stool.  Leaning his elbows on the 
table, he buried his hands in his hair, studiously avoiding eye 
contact with Andrew.  "Listen, Andrew..."
	"Oh, I’ve been listening!  And watching, too!"
	"Serena’s fun to tease and all, but, I mean, seriously... what 
kind of girl do you think I’d go for?"
	"Well, let’s see, based on your past experiences, you will go 
for no girl, and will ignore the flocks of them throwing themselves 
in your path.  The Darien Chiba I know does not think he needs a girl.  
But, had you asked me what kind of girl *I* think you should go for, 
I might have answered a cheerful, sweet, enthusiastic type who would 
bring a little sunshine into your sterile, structured life.  Let’s 
see now, who do we know with those qualities?"
	Darien sighed, and regarded Andrew wearily.  "So what if I did 
like someone..."
	"Admitting you have a problem is the first step.  Talk to Dr. 
Andrew, Darien."
	"Will you... can't you be serious for just one minute?"
	"Sorry, Darien, it's just too easy.  I mean, how many thousand 
girls have I seen gazing at you with stars in their eyes, while you 
calmly go about reading your newspaper, or whatever other mundane 
thing you happen to be doing?  And now I see you come in here, and 
it's almost like a different person!  You may just be making fun of 
a middle schooler, but there's a spark in your eyes that I've never 
seen you have, even with girls you were dating.  I'm your best friend, 
Darien, you can't hide stuff like that from me."
	Darien looked up at Andrew, who stared unflinchingly back.  "I 
guess... there’s no use denying it, I mean, you already know!  Yes, I 
like Serena; I’ve liked her probably from just about the moment I met 
her, but what does it matter?  There’s no way she’d ever go for me."
	"And what makes you so sure of that?"
	"How about the fact that she glares at me every time I enter the 
room?  I can barely get two sentences in before she’s headed for the 
door!"
	"That may be because you choose those two sentences so very 
wisely!  For gosh sakes, Darien, why do ya haveta tease the poor girl 
so much?  Just be nice to her for once!"
	"It’s not like I don’t want to, Andrew, but I can never think 
of anything to say!  She’s so used to me making fun of her, if I told 
her what I really thought, she’d probably just laugh at me."
	Andrew shook his head at his friend.  "Now listen to me, Darien.  
I know it sounds crazy, but I think Serena’s more interested in you 
than it may appear.  You should see the way I catch her staring at 
you sometimes, when she thinks nobody’s paying attention.  There’s 
definitely something there, take it from someone who has some, Ahem!  
Personal experience with what Serena’s like when she gets a crush on 
a guy."
	Darien bristled at the reminder of how Serena used to hang on his 
best friend’s every word.  "It’s no use, Andrew.  She’ll never look at 
me the way she used to look at you, not with the way I’ve treated her.  
I don’t know why I don’t just give it up."  He tossed some bills on the 
counter to cover his coffee, and started to turn towards the door.  
	His exit was delayed by his best friend’s vice-like grip on his 
shoulder.  "Because you really like her, that’s why!  Listen, Darien, 
you’ve got it all backwards.  You’re all tied up in not looking 
ridiculous and keeping your reserve, but those are the things that 
are making you unhappy!  I’m your friend, I know you.  What you want 
is to rip the cool exterior away and be able to share your real self 
with someone, to not have to hide anymore.  Your trying to hide your 
emotions so you don’t get hurt, but you’re just hurting yourself by 
keeping them in.  You owe it to yourself, and to her, to do something 
about all of this."
	Darien regarded his friend skeptically.  What Andrew was saying 
made some sense, but... "But... what are you saying I should do, just 
tell her?  Just call her up and say, ‘Hey Serena, I’ve been thinking, 
instead of screaming at each other twice a day, we should be boyfriend 
and girlfriend, what do you think?’  What girl wouldn’t swoon?"
	"So you’ve got a ways to go, so what?  Gotta start somewhere.  
Just do something nice for her for a change."
	Darien glanced down at the counter.  'Something nice, something 
nice, something...'  His eyes met a partially completed application 
for one Turner Pharmaceuticals.  Although the form wasn’t finished, 
he quickly noted that Serena had already written her home address.
	Looking up, he saw that Andrew, too, was seeing the form for 
the first time.  "Andrew, are you thinking what I’m thinking?"
	"Wouldn’t want her to lose that, now would we?  Knock her dead, 
Dare."
	Grinning, the lucky application gripped in his hand, Darien 
turned and exited the arcade.

~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@

	Meanwhile, Serena was not in the best of spirits.  The events 
at the arcade were such a sharp contrast to the dream she’d had of 
being the competent, graceful, reliable Queen Serenity.  'Just when I 
thought things were turning around, just when I was feeling so 
motivated, something like that happens!  Does it even matter what 
I do?'  
	Sighing, she reached into her bag to pull out the half 
completed application, but didn’t find it inside.  'Great, I must have 
left it at the arcade!  I just cannot deal with this tonight, I’ll 
have to go get it tomorrow.'
	Faced with this new act of forgetfulness, Serena's eyes began 
to well up with tears.  'Why do I even try?'  She glanced out the 
window, at the tree in her yard.  She thought of Mr. Kawamura. 
	'I won't give up... I can't!  Everybody's counting on me.  
I'm not beat yet, I can try one more time.'
	With that thought, she pulled out the book her class was 
starting in English and examined the cover.  '_Watership Down_ by 
Richard Adams... wait a minute, this is about bunnies!  Maybe it 
won’t be so bad after all...' And for the first time ever, Serena 
Tsukino eagerly tore into an English assignment.

~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@

	'Let’s see... 2402, 2406... there it is, 2408 Skylark Drive.'  
Darien regarded the house with apprehension.  The confidence he had 
felt after his pep talk with Andrew had faded somewhat as he neared 
the address listed on the form.  Leaning against a tree, Darien stared 
blankly at the form he held in the fading light.  It appeared that 
Serena had been skipping around when filling it out, and a completed 
section near the bottom caught his eye.
	"Personal Statement (write a few sentences about yourself, and 
why you are applying for this position):" The lines below were filled 
with Serena’s girlish, curvy handwriting. 

 "I’m probably not the most likely person to apply for this position.  
I'm not very good at science, and have no experience in this area.  
My real interests are in people, in my friends and family.  But I’m 
determined to better myself, for them, if not for myself, and I 
promise that if you give me the opportunity, I’ll work as hard as I 
can and do my very best job."    

	Darien was surprised by her words.  Most people would have lied 
about their qualifications, but not Serena.  He had never thought very 
hard about how she might feel about her grades; to him, they were just 
an excuse to talk to her and tease her every day.  But her statement 
here revealed pain at her poor performance, along with a determination 
to work hard and improve.  It was a new side of Serena, one he hadn't 
seen before.  'She hides it well... there's more to this girl than I 
thought.'  Darien suddenly wondered how scared she must be, applying 
for an internship in a chemical lab.  For an experienced, straight A 
student like himself, it wasn't such a big deal, but for Serena, well, 
he could see why it might make her nervous.  'As nervous as I am now?' 
he wondered.
	Taking a deep breath and straightening his green jacket (AN: 
which may be ugly, but is not nearly as bad as that horrible pastel 
jogging suit from Sailor Moon R), he climbed the steps to the house 
and rang the doorbell.  An attractive lady with long, purple hair 
answered the door.  "Hello, what can I do for you this evening?"
	"Hi, my name is Darien Chiba.  I’m a..." he searched for an apt 
description "...friend of Serena’s.  She left this at the arcade, and 
I thought I’d return it to her."  
	He started to hand the form to Serena’s mom, but she 
interrupted him.  "Oh my, how nice!  I’m Serena’s mom- please call me 
Ilene.  I’ll just run and get her so she can thank you personally.  
Please, come in!"  After ushering him into the living room, she turned 
towards the stairs.  "Serena!  Come here a minute, please!"
	A familiar voice echoed down the stairs.  "But Mom, I’m 
actually studying!  Can’t it wait?"
	At this, both Darien and Ilene couldn’t help but smile.  
"Sweetie," her mom continued, "there’s someone here to see you."
	"Oh, alright.  Coming!"   Within seconds, an enthusiastic girl 
came bounding down the stairs, two streamers of golden hair trailing 
behind her.  When she reached the bottom of the steps and glanced up 
at her visitor, her jaw dropped.  "Darien?  Wha... what are you doing 
here?"
	Clearing his throat, Darien extended the form towards the 
confused girl.  "Hi, Serena.  You, uhh... left this at the arcade.  It 
wasn’t too far out of my way, so I thought I’d, ya know, drop it off."
	Now things were getting simply too abnormal for Serena to 
comprehend.  Not only was Darien Chiba standing in her living room, he 
was doing something nice for her!  He had even addressed her using her 
first name.  "Oh!  Uhh, thanks, Darien.  I guess I didn’t think about 
it when I left."  At the memory of her hasty departure, Serena flushed 
once more.  Taking the form, she focused her eyes nervously on the 
couch.  "It was... nice of you to bring it by."
	Darien smiled at her adorable awkwardness.  "No Problem.  Well, 
I guess I should be going.  It was nice to meet you, Ilene.  I’ll see 
ya around, Mea... Serena."
	"Yeah, see you tomorrow."  Serena waved weakly as he stepped 
out the door, shutting it behind him.  She remained staring at the door 
for several moments, vainly attempting to process the encounter.  
‘Since when is Darien so... since when does Darien act like that?’
	"Ahem!"
	Snapping back to reality, Serena glanced up at her mom, who had 
one of those annoying, knowing smiles that only a mother can make on 
her face.  "What is it, Mom?"
	"Well, Serena, that certainly was a nice young man.  So good 
looking, too!  Why hadn’t you mentioned him to me earlier, dear?"
	The daughter groaned.  "Mo-om, I’ve mentioned him to you about 
a thousand times!  Darien?  The one who calls me Meatball Head?  The 
jerk who lives to torment me?  Recall?"
	Something clicked in her mother’s head.  ‘Lives to torment you, 
eh?  That’s what you think, sweetie...’ She smiled wider.  "Well, 
dear, he seems just fine to me.  Maybe you should invite him to dinner 
sometime, to thank him for returning your paper, what do you think?"
	Serena groaned louder, and tromped up the stairs.  "Don’t worry, 
Mom, my prediction is that he’ll be back to his normal self soon, 
making my life perfectly miserable."
	Ilene chuckled to herself.  ‘We’ll just see about that.’

~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@

AN:  Does anyone else's Mom do this, or is it just mine?  Ok, here 
is my Big, Pathetic Plea:  EMAIL ME!  Not only if you happened to 
like it, but especially if you feel sort of "eh" about it. (I'm 
assuming all the people who passionately disliked it didn't make 
it this far, and are flaming me at the moment- hey, at least it's 
email!)  But what I really want is for all of the Eh people to tell 
me why it was Eh and what I can do to make it More Than Eh.  
Thank you!