Word Girl and the Growing Envy

The next day...

It was after school and Violet was helping Becky with her homework assignment they had for their art class at Violet's house. Obviously, Bob was with them, also working on a project.

"So after I glue the crayons to the cardboard, what do I do next?" Asked Becky as she finished arranging the crayons on her piece of cardboard. It was supposed to be a neat little rainbow but Becky had somehow messed that up and only used the darker colors while Violet used the more colorful ones in the crayon box.

"It says here that you need to get a hairdryer and the heat will melt the crayons and that's what makes this art so lovely." Said Violet, reading it off her phone.

The project was that they had to either draw a scene from a dream they had or find a pinterest DIY on the internet and create it at home but it had to be something simple or whatever their skill level allowed. That is why Becky chose to do melted crayon art and Violet used the remaining crayons from the pack that Becky brought with her to draw a picture. Becky might have gotten some of the hot glue on herself once or twice while they were doing this.

"Note to self: Hot glue is hot." Becky muttered.

"Why yes, it is hot that is why it's called hot glue." Said Violet.

(Becky you should really be more careful with that) Chirped Bob.

Becky looked at him with a raised brow. "Since when do you think I'm not capable of working with hot things?" Becky questioned him.

(No need to get an attitude, I was just looking out for you is all.) Bob pouted.

"Do you think Tobey and Jackie would need help with their project?" Asked Violet.

Becky frowned when she remembered that Tobey was once again working with Jackie and not with her, she didn't know why this was bothering her so much, it just was.

Violet looked up from her drawing and saw the look on Becky's face, from what she could deduce Becky looked...hurt and perhaps envious?

"S-sorry." Violet stuttered out.

"Huh?" Asked Becky going back to raising an eyebrow.

"Becky, if Tobey and Jackie spending so much time together bothers you, you know you can vent to me about it, I'm here for you." Violet said, looking Becky in the eye.

"What? Pfft! It doesn't bother me! Tobey can date whoever he wants and..." She covered her mouth before she could blurt anything else out.

This time it was Violet who raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say date?"

"N-no I didn't!" Becky said, her voice rising in pitch.

"Becky, it's ok for you to feel that way about Tobey." Said Violet, patting her back reasuringly.

"Why does everyone think I have a crush on Tobey?" Becky blurted out.

"I never said crush..I was going to say...oh what is that word that means that you have an affection for or you like someone?" Violet asked, her hand placed on her chin in thought.

"I believe the word you're looking for is fond." Said Becky, going word girl on her.

"Fond! That's the word. Becky, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to. Sorry I brought it up." Violet said.

"And I'm sorry for not being honest with you." Said Becky. "Permission to hug?"

"Permission granted." Becky and Violet hugged it out and then they went back to doing their art projects.

At Jackie's house....

Tobey and Scoops were at Jackie's house. Tobey was there to work on the art project and Scoops was there to interview her to do an article about the new girl in school mostly because he wanted to focus on the students of the school and not just Word Girl.

"So tell me Jackie," Asked Scoops as he spoke into a tape recorder. "What is your favorite thing to do in the whole wide world?"

"Hmm." Jackie thought. "I guess my favorite thing to do in the whole wide world is to read books."

"Well there you have it folks, she's smart, nice, helps out her fellow classmates, participates in school clubs and events and she likes to read. Ok, now to go home and actually write the article. See you tomorrow, Jackie, Tobey." Scoops, picked up his stuff and walked home.

"Well that was nice of our friend Scoops to write an article about you." Said Tobey, as he put another knot into his knot heart. "Does this even look like a heart to you?" Asked Tobey, glancing at his knot heart.

"Kind of, but not really." Jackie commented. For her project, Jackie was doing pinterst nail art. She was trying to do hombre nails but what she actually had done was make a big mess of nail polish all over the coffee table, somehow.

Tobey glanced around at the coffee table in her living room that was now covered with nail polish. "Should we clean that up?" Asked Tobey, motioning to the coffee table.

Jackie was just noticing that the table was covered. "Ooops. Doing nail art is hard."

Tobey shrugged "I really don't see why the female population even likes painting their nails, the color either chips, you get nail polish everywhere or you complain that it doesn't look like the picture."

Instead of getting offended, Jackie laughed out loud. "What's so funny?" Asked Tobey, his confused face slowly turning into a grin.

"It's funny because it's true." laughed Jackie as she wrapped her arms around herself, getting nail polish on her clothes in the process. "This is why people go to beauty school to learn these things."

Suddenly, they hear a car pulling into the driveway.

"Oh fudge!" Said Jackie.

"Is that your father who just pulled into the driveway?" Inquired Tobey.

"Yes. He's home early. You have to leave out the back door, he doesn't want me even talking to boys until I'm 18. I don't have time to go into detail, just go!"

Tobey didn't think twice, he just grabbed his belongings and bolted out the back door, shutting it at the same time Jackie's father was shutting the front door.

"Hi daddy." Said Jackie to her father. Her dad was a tall man with a full head of hair and a brown mustache to go with his brown hair. Her dad was just hairy all around. He was a caring father when he wasn't always at work or on blind dates.

"Hi Jackaroo." Her dad was about to give her a hug when he noticed the nail polish everywhere. "Who was that, that just ran out the back door?" Asked her father, raising an eyebrow.

Jackie's eyes widened because she didn't know that he had seen that. "H-how did you?"

"Jackie, I've seen how well you take care of the house when I'm gone. I have decided that you are mature enough to have male friends. I'm still on the fence about you dating but oh well. I'm sorry I haven't been home that often, these villains sure like to destroy the city and it gets hard helping with the construction work and such. Anyways, I brought you your favorite burgers from that place we checked out when we first came here. Let's clean up all this nail polish first and then we can eat. What were you even trying to do?" He chuckled at the mess she had made.

"It's a long story dad." Jackie laughed and together they cleaned the whole house from top to bottom and still had time for dinner thanks to the ship shape robot that Tobey made for her.

Jackie had told her dad all about Tobey.

"A boy genius who can build robots eh? How is this kid not in college already?" Her father joked.

"I know right? But he's not as smart as Becky." She then proceeded to tell him all about Becky and Violet and their plans to go shopping this weekend. Her father was delighted that she was making female friends as well as male. He was happy that his daughter was going shopping, he just wanted her to have a normal life even though she had powers.

"You know what?" Asked her dad.

"What?"

"Since you'll be busy all Saturday, why not have a party and invite your new friends over next Sunday, so that I, as a father can get to know them better?"

She thought this over in her head for a bit. "Ok, but I don't even know how to throw a party, it's not like I've ever thrown one before."

"So, it's settled then, how are you planning on sending invitations, are we going digital or do you want to do paper invites?" Her dad asked.

"Let's do paper, I saw this cute DIY on pinterest...." As she rambled on about different design ideas, her father couldn't help but smile, he was happy that she was happy and that's all that really mattered. He was still secretly scared of her but he knew that if she had a distraction like friends then she would be less likely to cause chaos.

Later at the Botsford residence....

Becky had just gotten home when she saw a flash go off.

"Gah!" She screamed and rubbed her eyes from the brightness of the flash.

*I knew I brought that camera for something* thought Tobey, as he snapped another picture.

"Tobey, what...even?" Asked Becky trying to blink away the bright lights.

(Aaaaughh my eyes!) Screeched Bob.

Becky tried walking forward but she couldn't see where she was going so she bumped into the nearest wall, knocking Bob off her shoulders.

(Why does he do things?) Screeched Bob.

"Tobey, whyyyyyyyyyyy would you do this?!" Yelled Becky, rubbing her eyes, trying to see.

Tobey laughed evilly before responding. "I was bored."

Finally Becky could see again.

"Tobey, give me that camera!" Becky yelled, making a mad dash for him. She was about to snatch said camera from his hands when he jerked it away.

"You'll have to be quicker than that." Said Tobey, chuckling at her. Since he was taller than her by at least a head he was able to lift it up higher, making her stand on her tip toes.

Becky was about to fly up and grab it until Bob yelled (Wait Becky, don't fly, you can jump up but don't fly) Becky too quickly remembered that he didn't know she was Word Girl. It's not like she didn't trust him but being a former villain he still kept in touch with other villains like doctor two brains.

Becky scoffed at him. "Whatever, I don't care what you're going to do with those photos, fighting over this is stupid."

Tobey was surprised, he thought she was going to be more mad about this, especially after the whole Word Girl accusations a few chapters ago.

"Oh-ok?" Said Tobey, confused.

Becky flipped her hair in his direction and walked off, Bob trailing after her.

Let's just skip to Saturday because nothing eventful is going to happen until the weekend.

Becky, Jackie, Violet and Kid Math agreed to go shopping at 12. After Becky's mom dropped them off at the mall, they walked around.

Violet helped them find the cutest outfits, Kid Math helped them find them at the greatest prices, Becky felt confident in the things Violet had her try on and Jackie had never felt so girly before in her life. In total, the girls had several articles of clothing.

"Hey Rex, we should find something for you too." Said Violet. "What size are you?"

Rex thought about it for a moment, he had yet to have his growth spurt so he was still pretty short.

"I'm like a small." Said Rex. "Come on, I know just the place." Said Violet, dragging him into the nearest store, leaving Jackie and Becky behind.

"Should we follow them?" Asked Jackie.

"We should probably do that, Violet will be irritated if we're not there to give our opinion on the outfits she chooses."

They walked into the store which until they found Violet outside of the men's dressing room.

"So, what kind of outfit did you pick for our friend Rex to try on?" Asked Becky, smiling.

"You'll see." Violet snickered.

Rex came out of the dressing room wearing a green tux.

"I'm not sure green is really my color." Said Rex as he twirled around in the mirror.

"Maybe you should try purple." Suggested Jackie.

"That could work!" Said Violet.

She quickly scanned the clothing racks until she found the tux in the same style but in a purple color and walked back to hand it to Rex.

Rex quickly changed out of the green tux and into the purple one.

"Hm, while I like the color, I think we should go more with a light blue tux."

This time Jackie and Becky helped Violet find the tux but they couldn't find one in his size, the only size they had was one size too big.

"Sorry Rex but the only size we could find was one size too big." Violet said apologetically.

Jackie suddenly remembered her sewing skills.

"Wait! We could still buy the tux but I'm good with sewing so I can alter it to fit him. You'll just have to stop by my house for a bit so I can get your measurements." Said Jackie.

"That sounds like a good deal. Let's do it!" Said Rex.

They bought the tux.

"Is blue the color you two are going to be wearing at the school dance?" Asked Violet. "Scoops and I are going in purple."

"There's going to be a school dance?" Asked Jackie. "Are you going with anyone Becky?" Jackie nudged her lightly.

"Yeah, I'm going with Rex, as a friend." Said Becky, rolling her eyes at Jackie's immature behavior.

"Oh." Said Jackie.

"Are you going with Tobey?" Asked Becky, raising an eyebrow.

"No?" Said Jackie, making it sound more like a question, than an answer. "Oh, before I forget, here's your invitations." She handed them all a paper invitation that was nicely decorated.

"Ooh, I'm invited to somewhere?" Asked Rex.

They all opened their invitations at the same time and it was an invitation to Jackie's party, in order to get to know her and her father better.

"I will be looking forward to attending your party tomorrow." Said Becky, being polite.

"Me too." Chimed in Violet.

"Me three!" Said Rex.
"These invitations are cute, where did you get them?" Asked Violet, looking the card over in her hand, paying attention to the detail.

"Pinterest." Said Jackie.

"Did you get the assignment done for art class?" Asked Becky.

"Oh, I completely forgot!" Said Jackie, slightly panicking because she wanted to stay on top of her grades.

"It's not due until Monday, but these invitations are nice. Maybe you can use these as your project." Violet suggested.

"I never thought of that." Said Jackie. "I guess I will use it, thanks for the suggestion Violet." Jackie smiled at her.

"Guys, we should get a move on, I still need to get a dress." Said Becky.

"Since we're already in a store, I'm sure we can find one for you in here." Said Rex.

After her friends helped her choose at least 5 dresses, Becky went into the changing room. The first dress she came out in was black and went down to the floor, it was in a gothic design with lace everywhere.

"What do you guys think?" Asked Becky, lifting up the skirt.

"No, it's not really your style. Plus you don't really look like you in black." Said Violet.

"Not trying to sound mean, but you look like you're going to a funeral." Rex said bluntly.

"Ehh it looks nice I suppose, just not something you'd want to wear to a dance." Jackie voiced her opinion.

Becky went back into the dressing room changed out of the black dress, hung it back on it's hanger and changed into the next dress which went halfway to her knees and it had long sleeves the dress itself was gold.

"How does this one look?" Asked Becky. She dropped her hair clip. "Oops." When she bent down to pick it up she had her back to her friends so when she bent down she accidentally flashed her friends for a brief second.

"Whoa!" Said Rex, covering his eyes with his hands as he turned away.

"What's wrong?" Asked Becky.

"Um....Becky......" Violet began. "That dress is.. too short and you..."

"You accidentlly flashed us just now,." Jackie finished for her, whisper yelling.

"Ohhh." Becky blushed and went back into the dressing room.

Quickly changing out of the too short dress, she put it back on the hanger and changed into the next dress. This one was a light yellow gown that went down to her knees. This time she made sure that when she bent down she wouldn't be flashing anyone from the back.

She walked out to show her friends.

"How's this one?" Asked Becky, doing a quick twirl.

"It's nice but it shows a little too much on top." Violet said, indicting to her chest.

Becky looked in the mirror and saw what she meant, it was way too innapropriate, the dress had an almost plunging neckline.

Becky looked the fourth dress and saw that it was much too skin tight so she looked at the fifth and final dress, it was a light blue gown that went a little past her knees, the sleeves went to her elbows and the chest was a little low but now low enough to show her breasts but like low enough to wear a necklace with it.

Becky walked out.

"That's the one!" Said Violet, smiling.

"I'm sure your mom would approve of this one." Said Rex, giving her a thumbs up.

"Yeah!" Said Jackie.

"Are you going to the dance, Jackie?" Asked Violet.

"Yeah, but I'm not going to buy a dress." Said Jackie.

"Oh?" Said Becky.

"I have been creating my own dress." Said Jackie. "It's not that I don't have the money I just don't like the styles they have in these stores and the design I do want I can order online but it will take six weeks to get here."

"That's actually a smart idea." Said Rex.

Rex's tummy grumbled.

"All this clothes shopping is making me hungry." Said Rex rubbing his belly.

"Let's go to the food court." Said Violet.

"Alright, I'll meet you guys there, let me just pay for this." Said Becky as she walked back into the dressing room to change back into her regular clothes. After putting the other dresses back on the rack, Becky went up to pay for the dress. After getting the receipt for the dress she joined her friends who were eating a pizza.

Later, at the Botsford residence.

At Mr. Botsfords request, Tobey had been making him a robot that would do the yard work for him, but so far the only thing it could do was water the plants...it was a work in progress.

"Sorry, Mr. Botsford but all it can do for now is water the plants, I haven't built robuts in so long I have almost forgotten. I will have to take a trip to the library to check out a few books in robuts."

"Ok, go ahead Tobey." Said Mr. Botsford, waving him off. "Today's my wedding anniversary and this robot is going to be my wife's gift."

"Ah, congratulations Mr. Botsford. I can't imagine what it's like to be married for so long."

"Well it's not easy but we work out in the end. Speaking of relationships, what is your deal with Becky?" Asked Mr. Botsford.

"M-my deal?" Asked Tobey, stuttering.

"Haha! I'm just playing the part of the protective dad and I'm just messing with you. But seriously, if you ever hurt Becky, I will hurt you."

"Ok?" Said Tobey. "Well, I'll see you later, for now the library awaits."

As soon as Tobey left, Becky got back.

"Oh there you are Becky." Said Mr. Botsford. "Why do you have so much clothes?"

"Well.." Becky explained to him how Rex had helped the girls find great deals on clothing.

"Ah, that was nice of him. Can you go see what Bob wants? You're the only one who understands him. He's been squeaking about something for 5 minutes now."

"Thanks dad." Said Becky.

With her shopping bags in her hands Becky calmly walked into her room.

"What is it Bob?" Asked Becky.

(Ok so the guy in the green sweater who yells about crimes being comitted just said that someone just defiled the statue next to the library) Said Bob. (I was impatiently waiting for you to get back)\

"Looks like I'll have to put this away later. Woooord Up!"

TO BE CONTINUED