Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Change of Heart ❯ An Exciting Development, and The Usual Letdown ( Chapter 14 )

The bell rang, and everyone stood up, grabbing their bags and heading out of class. Pan Son stayed where she was, head leaned forward onto her arms on the desk. Pan Son had fallen asleep. For the first time in her life probably; she had always been a good student, teacher's pet, and perfect little study partner.

Ron slung his backpack over on shoulder and looked at her. He shook his head and left the room. The teacher's heels clicked on the tiled floor, and she stood over her student, arms folded over a book, hair back, glasses on, a frown on her face. She was a young teacher, new and friendly with a hint of prettiness, but had a definite air of maturity about her that let the students know she was definitely the teacher.

She leaned forward and tapped Pan lightly on the shoulder. Pan groggily woke up and looked around, then at the teacher.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Trepe," She began, grabbing her things hurriedly and standing up. "I…" She began, running a hand through her hair, at a loss for what to say. Ms. Trepe touched her on the arm, shaking her head.

"Pan, go home and take a rest, ok?" Pan nodded. "You promise you'll get some rest." She walked over to her desk and sat the book down, pulling out a piece of paper from a drawer. She picked up a pen and started writing down something. She walked back to Pan and put it into her hand. "This is an extension for homework for all your classes tomorrow." She grabbed Pan's shoulders. "You need this. I haven't given one out since I came, and don't plan on handing out any really at all. But you need it. Go home, rest up, and I'll bring tomorrow's work to your house tomorrow." She went back to her desk and sat down.

"Ms. Trepe, I-thank you, I appreciate this." Ms. Trepe smiled and nodded. Pan smiled, gave an awkward nod and left with a "See you tomorrow!" being called behind her back. Ms. Trepe smiled to herself and went back to her work.

True to her word, Ms. Trepe arrived on the Son doorstep the next evening at six-thirty on the dot. But, instead of her dark blue suit, she had on a pale blue sundress with wedge-sandals, and instead of her hair up in a clip, it was down and loose nearing her lower back. She had a glorious tan, and her eyes were lined in silver.

The porch light clicked on, and Gohan opened the door. He tilted his head to the side in a Goku reminiscent expression, confusion clearly showing. Ms. Trepe smiled, adjusting her bag in her hand.

"Mr. Son?" She asked, eyebrows raised. He shook his head and stepped back, opening the door.

"And are you…" He paused, looking her up and down in astonishment. "Ms. Trepe?" She smiled and nodded happily. "Come on in." He waved her into the living room. "That's just my brother and a family friend in there, but please take a seat." He smiled. "They don't bite." She stepped into the living room. "Let me go get Pan." She nodded, and took a seat in an armchair.

Goten and Trunks looked up, both in utter confusion and delight. She smiled and said "hi", and the two guys smiled back, words failing them.

"Are you my nieces teacher, Ms. Trepe?" She smiled and nodded. He extended a hand across the coffee table.

"That I am. And you two are?" Goten leaned back and pointed a thumb at Trunks who smiled; now being in the spotlight.

"This is Trunks, my best friend, and I'm Goten, Pan's uncle." She nodded to Trunks and shook his hand. "Trunks' family is almost family to us." He smiled.

Footsteps came down the stairs and Pan came into the room, looking much better than the previous day at class. She had khaki floods on with a black tank top and black flip-flops, her hair in a white headband, loose, natural curls falling about her shoulders and spilling down her back.

"Hi there, Pan." Ms. Trepe said, standing and shaking Pan's hand. Behind Ms. Trepe's view Gohan whacked Goten and Trunks on the head, giving them the signal to leave the room, and with their hands on their sore heads they excused themselves with Gohan. Pan sat down on the couch, and Ms. Trepe kneeled next to her, digging into her bag and spreading books and papers onto the table.

"I collected all your work from your teachers today," She smiled. "including me, and I got all the details on what you've got to do." She licked her lips as she surveyed the table and everything scattered on it. "Now, tonight I'm totally free, so as long as you need to work I'm here to help you." Pan looked at her, somewhat dazed.

"Really?" Ms. Trepe smiled. "Oh, thank you! You have no idea how glad I am that you're going to help me Ms. Tre-" Ms. Trepe shook her head.

"In the classroom it may be Ms. Trepe, but outside it's Amber." Pan smiled and nodded. "Ready to get going?"

Several hours later the two were rolling on the ground, busting up laughing harder than Pan thought she'd ever had. They had been laughing about math for not reason at all, only with the excuse that they had the giggles.

Amber wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head, straightening the math book while Pan composed herself. Videl Son walked into the room, a bowl of ice cream in her hands and asked them if they were all right. After an explanation she shook her own head and started out of the room. Pan looked at her watch and then at Amber.

"Gee, it's eleven forty-six." Amber winced, then stood up, straightening her dress. She stretched her back and looked at Pan.

"Maybe I should go then." Pan nodded absentmindedly as she started gathering the papers Pan didn't need. When it was done she drew the strap over the opening and closed it, the velcro giving the familiar sound.

She put it over her shoulder and started towards the door, Pan following close behind. Amber opened the door, and Pan followed her out to the car, wind now ripping around, fall clearly here to stay in late October.

Amber opened the passenger side door and sat her bag on the seat, then shut the door and leaned with her back against it. She cleared her throat and Pan listened intently, awaiting the words to be spoken and heard.

"Pan, I've sent some things of yours to some colleges recently." Pan raised an eyebrow, yearning to hear the rest. "Some colleges abroad actually, in Europe." Pan's brows rose even more. "I have received some inquiries about if you would consider school abroad. These colleges are scholastically unparalleled-the best schools in the world!-and they are very interested in you coming to join their programs. Now I know this might sound hasty for me to do without telling you about any of this," She raised her hands up. "but I have talked to the principal, and if you would like, he will allow you to join the honors graduation in December." Pan's jaw dropped, and she took in a breath, expecting to wake up at any moment. "Would you be interested in attending any of these schools for the Spring semester?" She asked, and Pan felt like everything was swirling around her, and a huge timer was about to go off in the background.

"Yes." She said it barely above a whisper, but it seemed to her like a shout. Amber smiled.

"I hoped you would be interested." She grabbed Pan's hands. "Oh, you have no idea how good this is for you, Pan. This is such an honor to receive all of these inquiries about you coming to their school, the applications they have sent me to give to you have been piling on my desk, oh, these are the best schools in the world." She let go her hands and got into her car, digging in the back seat for something.

When she got out Pan saw what she was looking for; it was a large stack of folders. There must have been about twelve of them. Each a different color, she handed them to Pan and she realized each had a different schools names written on the front in Amber's handwriting.

With a hug they said their goodbye's and Amber got in the car, leaving an excited Pan standing in the driveway with a rainbow of folders in her arms. She gave an excited squeak and went into the house.

`No,' She thought. `I must be calm about this. Yes, I'll go shock the wits out of Goten and Trunks.' She grinned and walked upstairs, putting the folders on the stand in the hall so they wouldn't ask about them.

She found them both sitting in the spare bedroom, apparently busting out each other's brains on a street-fighter game, and making fun of the one who would lose each time. She suppressed the urge to jump on the bed and shout out what had just happened. Instead, she leaned against the doorway and smiled.

"Hey guys, whatcha' doing?" With great painstaking ease they paused the game and turned to her, dropping the controllers on the ground by letting the cord slide through their fingers. She walked into the room and sat on the foot of the bed, placing herself in between both pairs of feet.

"Just kicking some trash." Trunks grinned, and poked Goten. Goten shook his head and poked Trunks back.

"More like getting some trash kicked, my friend." They both laughed it off, saving the aggression for the next round of "1…2…3…FIGHT!". She opened her mouth to tell them the good news but Goten interrupted her.

"So who's the hot teacher, Pan?" Both the guys grinned, and she had a funny feelings erupt in her stomach.

"Yeah," Trunks said. "why didn't you tell her about us sooner? Dang, Pan, can't believe you had such a hot teacher and never let us know." Suddenly the expression of Trunks' face when he looked at Amber flashed across her eyes, and a nervous nausea surged up her throat.

"I dunno', guys." She said slowly, casually, getting up. "Well, she never looked that way in class." She turned and walked out the door casually, not letting her lips quiver like they pushed and ached to do.

As she stepped out of the door she heard, "Understandable. If there are guys in that class then it would be sure hard to concentrate." Followed by guy laughs and the music of the video game starting again. She didn't know which of them said it, but it didn't matter.

She grabbed her folders and raced out down the hall to her room, shutting the door behind her and leaning with her back against it, her hands cradling her precious folders, tears streaming down her face, her shoulders shaking against her will.

She didn't have the chance to tell them. Tell them about her good news, her dream come true…