A Perfect Beginning

A Perfect Beginning is the thirty-fifth and final chapter of Stranger in a Strange School. It introduces Margarita Tejada.

Plot

Basil started to walk towards the door to detention. He then stopped while Lee and Biffy walked into detention. "Wait, where's my backpack?" Basil turned around and saw Chaz holding his backpack. Basil let out a sigh and took his bag. "You still owe me a favor and I'll decide what it is." Chaz frowned and walked away just as a red haired girl with green eyes walked towards Basil. Basil's eyes widened… she must have been the most beautiful girl he had even seen.

"Basil? Basil Hagen is that you?" Basil nodded. His eyes were still wide and he had no idea how this girl knew who he was. All he knew is that there was something going on with his heart. "Oh, my gosh! I haven't seen you since you're fifth birthday party. Lee and Tina were there too. You remember that?" Basil shook his head.

"I don't remember much about being five besides watching my Grampa Preston have a heart attack and die right in front of me." The girl then nodded.

"That's right, you moved away not long after the funeral." Basil had known Lee and Tina beforehand? He had known this girl? He knew people from A. Nigma besides Brad? "I'm Margarita Tejada by the way." Margarita. So now he had a name to go with this face. "I heard you were going to school here now. I tried looking for you but now I guess it's because of how your face looks that kept me from finding you. What happened? A tv explode?"

"Car accident actually." Basil turned his head as a strange sound came to his ears. It was Barrage, his robotic parts still frozen from the lightning moving with great difficulty. Basil then looked back at Margarita. "Look, I gotta get into detention, Margarita, so I'll see you around okay." Margarita nodded and walked away. Basil watched her as she walked away with a goofy look on his face. What was this wonderful feeling in his heart? Basil's face then returned too normal as Barrage started to get closer. With his robotic leg dragging across the floor it only begged the question of how did Barrage get up the front steps? Basil just walked into detention. Basil turned his head and saw a teacher sleeping. Basil then looked at Lee and Biffy. "Was he here yesterday?" They both nodded. "You think I'd remember him." Basil walked over to a desk and sat down. "Oh, Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that agonizing sound outside? The one that sounds like stuffed ferret crashing into human knees?" Lee blinked. He heard a sound but he would never describe it as sounding like… that! "That's Barrage, his robotic parts are still frozen so I'd advise you stay here since he'll probably be sticking nearby."

"What?" Basil and Lee turned around to look at a laughing Biffy. "How'd he get up the steps?"

"You're the one ho knows everything!" Lee's comment made Basil laugh. "You tell us?" Biffy groaned. His own claim turned against him! Basil sighed and then placed his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his seat.

"This must be the longest Tuesday ever!" Basil then turned his head to look at Lee. "Say Lee, have we ever met before?" Lee shrugged.

"I don't know." Biffy raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of conversation. "I remember having had a friend named Basil in kindergarten but besides that I'm not really sure." Lee looked over at Lee and could have sworn there was something suddenly familiar about Basil. Had he ever worn glasses? "Why?"

"Oh, just thinking about something a girl said to me." A smirk appeared on Biffy's face just as Lee shook his head realizing what was going to happen.

"So first smoochy face here and now you here going all hunchback of Notre-Dame." Lee winced. Biffy's choice of words was unfortunately insulting. "Oh crap, sorry man." Basil just laughed. He didn't care that Biffy had accidentally insulted him. He was just happy about how things were looking up for him. Maybe not for Lee, but for him things were looking up.

"So you were buying a copy of King Lear when you that mishap with Brad happened, you named your dog Macbeth and your cat Othello?" Basil turned his head to look at Lee. "Do you have an obsession with Shakespeare or something?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Lee shook his head.

"No, no problem."

"It's just that we're all in the same English class so maybe you could help us when we start 'Twelfth Night' tomorrow." Basil grinned and turned to look at Biffy.

"Of course I'll help. You're all my friends." A smile appeared on Lee and Biffy's faces. Basil sure was different from how he started out. "Biffy, you're my friend. Cam, Holger and Brandy are my friends. Lee, you and Tina are my best friends. Of course I'll help. I'll help everyone in our English class." Lee raised an eyebrow.

"Brad included?" Basil closed his eyes, leaned back, placed his hands behind his head and then shook his head.

"Hell no!" Lee and Biffy looked each other. They then both looked at Basil.

"So, why don't you two like each other?" Basil didn't turn his head to look at Lee. He didn't even open his eyes.

"Long story, dads didn't like each other so Brad torments me for fun." Lee shook his head. Basil was going to do the same thing when Lee had explained the hypnotizing effect of the prank song to Cyrus. "Short story, my dad kept being chosen to adapt his own books for the screen, Ace Von Chilstein always got a role and kept butchering my dad's work causing arguments between the two. Later me and Brad are at Camp Wanna something or other, Brad pushes me into the lake for fun, I nearly drown, so now you know."

"So really this just between you and him." Basil nodded.

"That's right, Lee, you have your Moriarty and I have mine." Lee gasped.

"How do you know about RadCircles?"

"He called me once. How he got my number I have no idea but I guess he was trying blackmail me with the information of me having once had a god complex. That isn't anything to worry about anymore since I told Cam earlier and now the whole school knows."

"Yeah, talk about irony." Biffy patted his cat still unable to comprehend how ironic it was of which god Basil had thought he was.

"So, you're on my side?" Basil opened his eyes and turned to look at Lee. There was a smile on his face as he nodded. Just then Basil's phone started to ring. Basil straightened up, took his phone out of his pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

"Basil? It's Roman!"

"Hey, man, what's up?"

"I've got you on speaker phone, can you put your phone on speaker, too?"

"Uh… okay." Basil put his phone on speaker then placed it on the desk. "So what are you calling about that has to be on speaker?"

"Where to start? Legendre having a mental breakdown! Clarence having a heart attack! Both being taken to a hospital! Personally, I hope Legendre ends up in a straightjacket and Clarence six feet under but what everyone, and when I say everyone I mean every student here at Xanadu wants to know is how did Murder die? We can't remember the last time we were happy to be at school! Oh, and I'd not visit here if I were you during school, the girl's would probably throw flowers at you or try to tear your clothes off! You're a hero, my man!" Basil looked back at Lee and Biffy. They were both trying to get past the part of that monster of a vice principal they had seen earlier having had a heart attack. "But what we really, really wanna know is… how'd you do it?"

"Do you want me to tell the truth or lie?" Biffy and Lee both starred at Basil questioningly. In Lee's case it was similar to the look he had given Holger when he started dancing in the halls to attract the attention of the passing glamazons on the first day of school.

"Let's start with the lie. It's probably more interesting." There was a laugh from the students of Xanadu, Basil, Lee and Biffy. Basil smiled as he looked down at the phone. He took a sheet of lined paper with writing on it out of his backpack and a pen too. Instantly, he started to make edits to the writing on the paper. He was finished quickly. Basil held up the paper to read. Lee and Biffy both shook their heads and leaned in closely so they could get a closer look. Basil then began to read from the paper with pride and enthusiasm.

"Well, you know, it wasn't easy!"