Part One: “Childhood is Short and Maturity is Forever”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I haven’t planned this whole thing out yet, but I do have an idea for a couple parts ahead of this. If I ever want to get anything done, I have to get going on something, and this is it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Now as you all know,” said Miss Peterson, their fifth grade teacher, “There is a fifth grade prom coming up in two weeks.”

“What???” yelled Calvin. “I thought I had YEARS before I had to deal with that!!!”

“Calvin, do you really want to go down in the Guinness Book of World Records for most detentions??”

“Uh, no Ma’mm. Sorry.” He gulped. Susie, seated in the desk beside him, giggled.

“Good. AS I was saying, it is our tradition to honor the outgoing students with this party. However, we have found that if we allow the students to pick their own partners, some people get left out. As we don’t want any more lawsuits, we are going to pick names out of a hat. Miss Arielle, come up here, please...”

“Aw, great,” Calvin whispered to Susie. “We have to go to a stupid PARTY. A PROM, no less. This bites.”

Susie was snapped out of her daydream of pretty dresses, dancing, and Prince Charming. Annoyed, she snapped, “Excuse me while I turn on the part of my brain that gives a darn.”

“Hey, you got that off of The Drew Carey Show!” yelled Calvin.

Susie stared at him in incredulity. “Your mom lets you WATCH that??!!”

“Well, yours must too,” he said defensively.

“MISS DERKINS!!”

“EEP!!” Susie yelped.

“It is your turn to come up here, Miss Derkins,” said the teacher, obviously annoyed.

“Oh! Sorry.” Susie went to the front of the room, closed her eyes, and took a name from the hat. She looked at the name and let out an expletive.

“MISS DERKINS!!!” yelled the teacher.

“Who’d you GET, _Moe_??” Calvin asked, stunned.

“No, WORSE!” She showed him the name.

He let out the same word. “You got ME??!?!?!?!?”

“CALVIN!! MISS DERKINS!!! GO TO THE PRINCIPAL‘S OFFICE!” bellowed Miss Peterson.

“This is all _your_ fault,” muttered Calvin as they walked down the hall to the principal’s office.

“WHAT??? What do you MEAN, MY FAULT???!” she screeched.

“YOU’RE the one who picked my name!!!”

“You think I WANTED to???!!!???”

“Well...”

“If you wanna blame someone, blame the SCHOOL!! THEY made us _do_ this!!!” she yelled. “This school sucks!!! And they only get worse!!! That’s why I’m not GOING to Tigerseye!!” She stopped, aware of what she had blurted out.

“You’re NOT?? But that’s the school we’re zoned for!” Calvin was stunned. First a curse word, now this... Susie was changing.

“Well, I’m going to a _private_ school,” she said.

He was actually silent. It had never occurred to him that they wouldn’t be in the same school for all his pre-college life. He thought he’d be stuck with her forever. But now, she wouldn’t be there...and for some reason, he didn’t like that. But before he could go any further, they had arrived at the principal’s office.

He bowed and opened the door. “After you.”

“Thanks.”

They went in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Susie nervously patted her hair.

Calvin was actually going to pick her up!! It had shocked her that he could be so...gentlemanly. She only hoped he looked decent. And acted okay.

Good luck, she thought.

The doorbell rang.

She opened the door. There was Calvin...and he was actually in a tux!! She was stunned. His hair was the same, but it really looked better that way.

He also had his mouth open. Wow, she actually looks CUTE!!

“Well, let’s go,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind walking.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting a limousine...” she joked.

“Heck, I owe Hobbes two million dollars! I can’t afford a limousine!” he said.

They walked to the school.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“He came to your HOUSE??!” shrieked Melissa.

“Yeah! Unbelievable, huh?” said Susie.

“So...why haven’t you danced yet?” Melissa asked.

“What? There is no WAY I’d do THAT!!”

“What? You don’t LIKE him??!” grilled Melissa.

“Er......Oh crud. No matter what I say, you’re gonna twist it around to say I like him!!”

“Yep. You know why? ‘Cause you DO.”

“NO WAY!”

“Oh come on, it’s so obvious!”

“Hi, Susie,” Calvin said.

“Oh! Hi!”

“I would’ve gotten you some punch, but trust me, you’re lucky I didn’t. It tastes like they stewed a pinch of Kool-Aid and water and Moe’s old gym sock, then added an Alka-Seltzer and frog guts.”

“Ew!” yelled Melissa.

“If you don’t mind, I have to tape a “Pity the Girl Next to Me” sign on Moe’s back. Sayonara, weirdoes!” Calvin ran off.

“He’s still weird,” commented Melissa.

“Yep,” affirmed Susie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the last hour of the dance.

Where was he? Susie searched high and low. Calvin was nowhere to be found. And this was her last chance--her last chance to see him, and maybe tell him she didn’t hate him...which could be like saying “I love you” in their case.

Finally, she went outside. There was a lone figure, swinging on the swings.

“Calvin!!” she yelled, marching up to him. “I was looking all OVER for you!! You made me look like an IDIOT!! Everyone laughed and said, ‘I knew he’d walk out on you.’! Now I want a reason, just ONE GOOD REASON, why you are out here!!!”

He slowed the swing to a stop. “As I once said...”

She rolled her eyes.

“Childhood is short, and maturity is forever.” He started swinging again.

Susie stood there, not blinking. A few moments later, she took the swing next to him and began to swing, as close to the stars as she could get.

“I’m going to miss you,” he said softly.

“Well, there’s always the summer,” she said desperately. “And weekends.”

He stayed silent.

“And knowing our methods of dealing with homework, probably afternoons too.”

A moment passed. “You know, I never thought I’d MISS you. I thought I’d be glad you were gone. But......I don’t know why, but I’m going to miss you giving me the wrong answers.”

Susie grinned. “And I’ll miss you believing that x - n54 = Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin.”

“It’s not?”

“Calvin!”

“I’m kidding!”

Hobbes came out of the bushes. “Aww, this is sweet!”

Susie dropped her mouth open in shock.

“Hobbes you flea-ridden mangy furball!! Have you been spying on us??!!” yelled Calvin.

“No. I just thought I should tell you your parents are getting worried. You better get going.”

“Oh. Okay.” Calvin jumped off the swing. Susie hesitated, but jumped off as well.

Hobbes started to lead the way. Susie caught Calvin’s arm. “Calvin?”

“Yeah?” he said.

“I don’t hate you.”

He grinned. “I don’t hate you either.”

They looked at each other for a moment.

“Ooohh! Calvin and Susie, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G...” sang Hobbes.

“Why, YOU!!” Calvin ran after him.

“Hey, wait up!” yelled Susie as she followed them.

They ran home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s note: My first C&H fic. I hope you like it! Please R&R! And Bill Watterson owns Calvin, Susie, Moe, Hobbes, and probably Melissa too. But I own the fic!! There WILL be more, but I know better than to promise when. You’ll recognize it when you see it. ^_^

“Come and get me!” ~Ash of Pokemon, facing up to a flock of Spearow, which are like birds, but bigger and with a nasty temper and SHARP beaks.

~Meredith * Tomoko~