Serena walked down the street at a slow, unhappy pace. She was so dejected, her feet dragged as she walked and her long blond pigtails seemed to limp in sympathy. She sniffled as tears welled up in her large blue eyes.
Luna saw this and sighed. Great, now she's going to start wailing on me. Then what am I going to do with her? "Now Serena," she said in her best authoritative tone of voice. "You know very well the whole situation is your fault. So don't start crying."
Serena hung her head low, tears falling to the ground. "I can't help it, Luna," she whispered in deep emotion. "They hate me, BOTH of them do."
Luna shook her head. She knew for a fact that Rei and Amy didn't hate her, but she didn't blame them for their anger. For the first part, she had forgotten to show up for a Sailor Scout meeting for the fifth time this week. She had barged into the room in the middle of a heated discussion about Jadeite and how they could possibly defeat them. It's not a pretty sight to remember...
Rei and Amy both looked towards the door as Serena happily barged into Rei's bedroom and plopped herself down on Rei's bed.
"It's about time you got here, Meatball Head," Rei snapped.
Serena picked up a Sailor V comic book and began to read intensely. She didn't even hear Amy as she said, "Now Serena, this is important, pay attention."
Luna was seated on the table with Amy and Rei seated before her. They were so engrossed in their plan to trap Jadeite, they didn't notice that Serena didn't answer Amy.
"We would need a large source of energy to trap him," stated Amy as she made intricate calculations on her mini data computer.
"Yeah, but that would mean endangering a large group of people," reminded Luna.
"No, there is a way. I've been following the development of the experimental power station that is being built here. Maybe we could use that to our advantage."
"But wouldn't there be a lot of people there?" asked Rei.
"No, there is only a skeleton crew. The plant is an experiment in robotics. Except for the computer engineers on the top floor that control everything, the plant is totally automated."
"Then the task at hand would be HOW to lure Jadeite there," Luna said. The trio were so engrossed in their conversation, they didn't hear Serena's snickers as she read of yet another adventure of Sailor V.
"And what to do with him when we get him there," added Rei.
Amy started to type away on her computer. After about twenty seconds, she jumped up and said, "I've got it!" She held up her computer in success. "The plant uses an experimental energy force. We could use our Scout powers to channel that energy to create a forcefield that would contain Jadeite."
Rei smiled, trapping Jadeite sounded like fun. An evil smile came upon her face. "Then we could finish him off, once and for all."
"Serena, you've been quiet. What do you think?" asked Luna. They all turned to Serena to await her answer. They all gasped at the sight before her.
Serena was lying on her stomach, propped up on her forearms, laughing excitedly about Sailor V. She looked up, pointed to the comic book, and smiled. "Check this out, guys. Sailor V really kicks butt. This is soo cool!"
Three jaws dropped in amazement.
"Serena," began Luna. "You haven't even been paying attention?!" she asked in shock.
Serena sat up, wondering what all the fuss was about.
"Really Serena," said Amy, "I can't believe you missed the entire conversation; it was important."
Serena's eyed welled up with tears. "Hey Amy, what's the big deal? That was way harsh."
"I'm going to be way harsh with you, Meatball Head!" began Rei. Serena could imagine fire bursting from her eyes, her look was so evil. "We come up with a plan to capture and defeat Jadeite and you're too busy reading Sailor V comic books."
"That's right, Serena," added Luna, knowing that she deserved everything she was about to get. "You missed the whole thing."
"You know, Meatball Head," said Rei in her most sarcastic voice. "I'm tired of this. This is the fifth Scout meeting you were late for this week."
"But I had detention," Serena whined in answer.
"Than you need to learn to take responsibility and start getting up on time," said Amy. Serena looked at her in shock.
"You too, Amy?" asked Serena. "You're on her side? How could you?"
"I worked really hard on this plan, Serena, so did Rei and Luna. You didn't even help."
"You could have at least paid attention," commented Luna.
"I'm so tired of you. You're late for every meeting, you complain during training, then, in battle, you spend your time backed into a corner or on your butt wailing. You're not the Champion of Love and Justice. You're the Champion of Whimpiness and Klutziness. AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF IT!" Rei shouted, pointing towards the door. "Get out!" she said seriously. "Come back when you've decided to be part of the team."
Luna sighed as she remembered Serena's look of despair as she grabbed her books and left. She had followed her, knowing the reaction that was to come.
The two arrived home faced with Serena's angry parents who had received a call from Ms. Haruna about Serena having been late everyday this week.
Serena climbed into her bed. She was quiet and depressed. "What am I going to do, Luna? Amy and Rei hate me and now I'm grounded for two weeks."
"Amy and Rei don't hate you; they're just angry with you. You just have to show them that you are trying to be responsible. That's all."
"But that's so hard," said Serena, sobbing into her pillow. She quieted after a few minutes. "Tomorrow, I'll show them that I can be the most responsible person, that I can take care of everything... I'll show everyone, if I have to do the day over and over again...
