“I can’t really picture Cricket as a teacher,” Tony admitted, easing himself into one of the chairs.

I tried hard to refrain from laughing; that’d just be bad for all of us. I swallowed my bite of cookie and chuckled. “Trust me, at certain times he acted worse than Mr. Helm.”

Tony arched an eyebrow at me.

“Cranky chem teacher.”

“Ah.”

I nodded, and took a sip from my milk.

“It’s always fun hanging around Cricket,” I said, finishing off my last cookie.

“True…but what about that Japanese niña you brought along? She seems very…how do you say it – determinado,” Tony told me, supporting his chin with his palm.

I laughed again, just a little louder. I settled when a rustle came from my room. “Determined? Lin? That doesn’t even begin to describe her.”

Tony looked at me queerly.

“Sure…she’s cranky, and gives bad critique, and has bad jokes, and she’s better than me at things she’s doing for the first time.”

I blinked away the tears.

“Sure, she’s a stupid ninja…but she’s still my best friend.”