Darren sighed as he looked at Hannah's text. It annoyed him that Hannah felt she needed to protect him. Quickly he composed a text message that he sent to a now very popular Hannah.
Hannah had to admit, she did like the attention she was receiving. Hannah wouldn't say she was unpopular, like most kids she was in the middle of the road when it came to how her peers saw her. A beeper now signaled she had received a text. Glancing at it Hannah at first was excited to see it was from Darren. As she read it though her happen quickly turned to sadness.
"Two things. One I never said I needed protection, I need my best friend. Second, pretty sure you could have protected me with the gift I gave you. You want to be a maid droid that's fine but dont expect me to be happy. Like I said, I liked you for you. Not this."
Hannah sighed, she had a decision to make. One that could alter her relationship with Darren forever.
Another day passed at school, Darren keeping his distance from Hannah throughout the day. Oddly Darren could see his teenage teachers seemed excited about something. As the school day ended he watched as the four quickly took off, which was odd. Whatever it was he would try to deal with it later. As he approached Yurikos home, he was surprised to see the elderly wizard waiting for him on the porch.
"Everything Okay Ms. Yuriko," Darren asked.
"Everything is fine, " she smiled. "Please come in. I think after yesterday we have quite a bit to talk about." As Darren entered Yuriko's home, he immediately scowled as he saw both Steph and Lynne. "What are they doing here?"
"I invited them," Yuriko replied. "My sister in law has a tendency to stick her foot in her mouth."
"So she came to clear the air," Darren grumbled. "And what about Steph, she show up to just belittle you again for no reason?"
"No just to talk," Yuriko stated. "I know I shouldn't interfere but old habits die hard. Steph and Lynne are both pretty similar."
Darren raised an eyebrow as he looked between the maid droid and the Auburn haired wizard. "She means we're both assholes," Lynne stated, as she took a sip of coffee. "And shes not wrong, much as I hate to admit it. We both think we know what's best."
"Ms. Harris is correct," Steph said. "Although I have to disagree with her assessment."
"Trust me Steph," Lynne smirked as she stared at the maid droid. "We can smell our own. The fact of the matter is this. I may not be thrilled with the idea of another Catalyst but I'm here to support you."
"As long as it fits your vision," Steph huffed.
"What did I tell you Yuki," Lynne called. "Shes an asshole, just like me."
Darren chuckled softly as he now looked between Steph and Lynne. "Ok," Darren sighed. "So you two are both looking out for me, you just have...a certain way of doing it."
Lynne and Steph both nodded before giving eachother a sideways glance. "So is that it," Darren asked.
"Well we do have a lesson today," Yuriko stated. "Plus I'm hoping you can work things out with Hannah."
"She'd rather be a maid droid than be my friend," Darren grumbled.
"How could you say that," Steph gasped. "She's always going to be your friend regardless! Do you despise robots like Lynne?!"
"Its not about hating droids Steph," Darren yelled. "Your my friend and Ive loved you like a sister BUT I need a human friend too you know. What I want is a mix of the two but YOU seem to be pushing for only one side and treating someone who has shown you nothing but kindness with disdain."
Steph opened and closed her mouth, her shoulders slumping. Maybe Darren had a point, she did seem to be pushing in one direction. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I'll try to to be more mindful of your feelings."
"Well we still have much to hash out," Yuriko said, trying to deescalte the situation. "I'm sure this will take some time. In the meantime let's try to get along and work through our issues together."
Everyone nodded as Darren now looked at Yuriko. "So what's today's lesson?"