01/15/3779

TimTak: hey shirley, you okay? saw what happened in the cafeteria with rebecca's group. that wasn't cool at all. wanted to make sure you're alright.

 

shirleysparkles: I'm fine, Timmy. Really. Just needed some time alone. It's no big deal.

 

TimTak: didn't look like "no big deal" to me. they were saying some pretty awful stuff. and you were crying when you left.

look i can talk to them tomorrow if you want. or we can tell mr. arkenson. they shouldn't get away with that.

 

shirleysparkles: Please don't. That would just make everything worse. I don't want to be "the girl who needed rescuing" on top of everything else they already say about me.

I'm handling it my own way. I promise. Sometimes it just gets to me, but I'm okay now.

 

TimTak: if you're sure. but you know you don't have to handle everything alone, right? that's what friends are for.

been worried about you lately. you seem... different. staying up all night with those zotaxian translations, barely talking during lunch. is there something else going on?

 

shirleysparkles: I've just been really focused on the translations. If we can crack this pattern, we might find something incredible! That's worth a few late nights.

And sometimes it's easier to think about ancient alien artifacts than deal with middle school drama. At least the Zotaxians don't care if my unicorn backpack is "so fourth grade" or if my clothes are "weird."

 

TimTak: your unicorn backpack is awesome. and rebecca's group are just jealous because you're smarter than all of them combined.

i get using time cruiser stuff as an escape. do that sometimes too. but if something's bothering you beyond those jerks at lunch, you can tell me. we've faced time twisters and temporal plagues together. pretty sure we can handle whatever middle school throws at us.

 

shirleysparkles: Thanks, Tim. That means a lot.

It's just... a lot of things all at once. Mom and Dad have been arguing more lately. And I feel like I'm changing but also not changing at the same time? Like everyone else suddenly cares about different things than I do.

But I'm dealing with it. The Time Cruisers are what keeps me going. Having a place where I actually fit in.

 

TimTak: sorry about your parents. that's rough. mine go through phases like that too.

and yeah, everyone's changing in weird ways lately. suddenly caring about who's "dating" who and what brands of clothes are cool. it's exhausting.

for what it's worth, i think you fit in perfectly with us time cruisers. the club wouldn't be the same without you. who else would figure out alien spiral patterns or keep ingo from eating the control panels?

 

shirleysparkles: I'm glad I found you guys. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't accidentally stumbled into that mission last year. Probably would still be reading comics alone in the library every lunch period.

You're a really good friend, Tim. I hope you know that.

 

TimTak: best accidental recruitment ever. still remember your face when you saw dr cyber as an octopus for the first time. priceless.

listen, if rebecca or anyone else gives you trouble again, just let me know. don't have to face that stuff alone. promise i won't embarrass you, but i've got your back. that's what friends do.

 

shirleysparkles: I promise I'll tell you if it gets worse. But I really am okay.

I should get back to these translations. Dr. Cyber thinks we might be able to plot the next likely artifact location if I can decode the temporal markers correctly.

See you tomorrow at the lab?

 

TimTak: definitely. bringing the upgraded scanner too. should help with the artifact hunt.

get some actual sleep tonight though, okay? can't have our star translator falling asleep during the mission.

 

shirleysparkles: I'll try. No promises with these fascinating glyphs staring at me!

Thanks for checking in, Tim. It... it really does help knowing you care.

 

TimTak: always. that's what best time cruiser friends are for.

see you tomorrow, shirley.