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It’s another normal day in the smiling valley, and a certain smart blue elephant was having a fun time rearranging his books.
“Entomology goes under E, and Oceanography goes under O!” he says, happily placing the books on the shelves where they should be.
Suddenly, he hears a knock at the door.
“Who could that be?” he says, walking over and opening the door to see…
Kickin.
“Sup, Bubs?” he says, waving with that cocky smirk that seemed to be permanently plastered on his face.
Bubba sighs. “Hello Kickin.” he says. “What do you need?”
Kickin tilts his head. “Why do I have to need something?” he says. “Can’t I just stop by to say hi to my best buddy?”
“Well usually when you come over, it’s because you want to grind on the roof of my house with your skateboard.” Bubba says.
“As well as grind my gears…” he adds with an eye roll.
Kickin laughs. “Well can you blame me? He says. “Your place has the perfect shaped roof!” he says. “But no, that’s not what I'm here for.”
Bubba crosses his arms. “Well what is it then?”
Kickin pulls a wrinkled sheet of looseleaf paper out of nowhere
“Can you help me study for something?” Kickin asks.
Bubba looks shocked.
“You? Study?” He says, raising an eyebrow. “What on earth for?”
“For, uh….” Kickin looks at the paper, struggling to read his own messy handwriting. .
“For my Qt exam!” He says with a confident smile.
Bubba looks confused. “Um… what’s a Qt exam?”
Kickin 'thinks. “Uh… it’s a test to… measure how smart you are!” He says. “And I don’t think I'll… do very well, so I need help from a professional genius like you!”
Bubba smiles a bit. “Y-you think I'm a genius?”
Kickin nods. “Well yeah!” He says. “You’re the smartest guy in all of the smiling valley!”
Bubba looks away shyly. “Well that’s true…”
Kickin 'smiles. “So I’d really like your help with this.” he asks, scratching the back of his neck nervously.
Bubba considers this for a minute or so, before looking to Kickin and nodding softly.
“Alright, I'll help you study,” he says.
“Yes!” Kickin says, fist-pumping.
“But-” bubba says, holding a front foot to Kickin's mouth. “ONLY if you promise to pay attention to what I tell you and don’t get distracted.”
(I don’t know what elephant hands are called.)
Kickin rolls his eyes. “Fine, fine, I promise.” He says. “I really need to pass this exam.”
Bubba then steps inside. “Come on in.”
Kickin smiles, walking in and shutting the door behind him.
Bubba sits down at his table. “So, what kinds of things will be on this exam?”
Kickin sets the piece of looseleaf paper on the table. “Well, the exam will consist of cool sciency stuff, like chemicals, and explosions!”
Bubba laughs a bit. “Explosions.”
Kickin 'nods. “Yeah, like when you mix sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide or whatever and it goes BOOM.”
Bubba laughs. “That’s not how that works.”
Kickin 'smirks. “Well how does it work then? Tell me!”
Bubba nods, going to get one of his chemistry books.
They then spent the day reading together, Kickin writing some stuff down as Bubba explained.
~Mini transition because despite learning chemistry in high school, I dunno a single thing about acid lol I forgot a lot of it~
For the next few days, Kickin would come over to Bubba’s to study for his supposed Qt exam.
Bubba hated to admit it, but he was actually enjoying tutoring his chicken friend, and looked forward to when he came over.
He taught Kickin about really cool things, like how to build and launch a soda rocket with mentos, how vinegar and baking soda make an awesome volcano, and how mixing sodium with water would cause it to explode(Thankfully which Kickin didn’t attempt on his own.).
And Kickin seemed like he was fully enjoying it, much to Bubba’s surprise.
He thought Kickin hated learning…
On the last day before the Qt exam, Kickin asked a peculiar question.
“Say Bubba…?” He asked, seeming a little nervous.
“What is the chemical formula for love?”
Bubba tilted his head. “Say what now…?”
Kickin smiled nervously. “Well, you know when you see your crush, and your hands get all sweaty, and your heart speeds up?” he says. “How does that work?”
Bubba smiles. “Well you see, the chemical formula for love consists of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.” He says.
“Say you see your crush, and your palms get sweaty and your heart speeds up. That’s the physical response that your brain gives from those chemicals being released.” He says.
Kickin writes that down. “Alrighty.” he says.
He then smiles, looking at the paper. “And that’s the last answer I needed!” He said.
Bubba smiles. “Wonderful!” he says. “I know you’ll do great on your exam.”
Kickin nods. “Yeah man!” He says, fist pumping.
He then looks at Bubba, a shy smile on his face.
“Hey man, thanks a lot for helping me study.”
He says, gently taking Bubba’s front foot in his own. “You were a big help.”
Bubba blushes a tiny bit. “O-oh, it was no issue, Kickin.” he says. “I’m always happy to help any of my friends with seeking knowledge.”
Kickin’s smile faded a bit. “Y-yeah…”
He gets up from the table. “A-anyway, I should be going, gotta reread this over and over to memorize it before the exam tomorrow.” kickin says.
Bubba giggles. “Enjoy that.”
Kickin smiles as he leaves. “I will.”
When he was alone… Bubba felt a little sad.
“Well, I guess that’s the last time he’ll come here to learn…” he says somberly.
But then he thinks about Kickin’s cute face, bright smile, and adorable laughter.
He blushes and smiles a bit to himself.
“I suppose it was worth it though.”
~The next day~
Bubba was sitting by himself in the park, thinking about all the time he and Kickin had spent together.
Helping Kickin learn all sorts of things he was interested in was a lot of fun, much more fun than Bubba expected.
Just being with Kickin was a lot of fun.
Bubba sighs happily, thinking about him.
“Hi Bubba!” Someone says.
Bubba opens his eyes, looking at Bobby, who had just walked up.
“Oh, hello Bobby.”
“You seem happy.” Bobby says, smiling back.
Bubba nods. “Yes, I've been having a lot of fun the last few days.”
Bobby giggles. “Is there a special person you’ve been having fun with~?” she says sultrily.
Bubba blushes a bit, shaking his head. “Oh no, no, I’ve just been helping Kickin study for his test.”
Bobby tilts her head. “What test?”
Bubba smiles. “The Qt exam.” He says.
“It consists of stuff like Bottle rocket physics and exploding chemicals, he tells me.” he says with a smile.
“And daresay, I think he’s been having fun.”
Bobby just stares at him.
Bubba looks at her. “What…?”
Bobby then starts to laugh.
Bubba frowns. “What’s so funny…?”
Bobby keeps giggling, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “Bubba…” she says.
“There’s no such thing as a Qt exam.”
She says. “I think Kickin made all that up.”
Glass shattering sound effect
Bubba was dumbfounded.
“B-But why would he… m-make all that up….?”
Bobby smiles softly. “Because he wants to spend time with you, dummy.”
Bubba looks down. “Why would he want to spend time with me…?”
Bobby giggles. “I’ll leave you to figure that one out.” She says, winking.
She turns to leave. “But I think you should talk to him, okay?”
She walks away, leaving Bubba in a confused rut.
“How could I have been so dumb…”
He says, staring at his front feet.
~the next day~
Bubba was sitting at his table, nervously staring into space, when he heard a knock at his door.
He was surprised.
He knew who it was, but didn’t expect him to come back after yesterday…
He shakily gets up, going and opening the door, revealing a very excited looking Kickin.
“Bubba!” He says happily. “I totally aced my Qt exam!”
He says happily.
Bubba smiled. “O-oh, Congratulations.”
He tried to give him a thumbs up but then remembered he doesn’t have thumbs.
Kickin puts a hand on his shoulder, causing him to blush a little. “And it’s all thanks to you!” He said happily. “If it weren’t for you I would have totally flunked it!”
Bubba nods. “Great…”
He steps aside. “Say, why don’t you come in?” He says. “I… I need to talk to you about something.”
Kickin walks in. “Uh, okay…”
They both sat down at the table again.
“So, what did you wanna talk about…?” Kickin asks.
Bubba sighs.
“Kickin… there is no such thing as a ‘Qt exam.’” He says.
Kickin’s eyes went wide.
“Wh- yes there is!” he says. “I studied super hard to pass it!”
Bubba raises an eyebrow.
“Oh really? Then where is it?” he said. “I figured you would have brought it to show me.”
Kickin 'sweats “u-uh.. I must have left it at home!” He says with a lying smile.
Bubba glares at him, shooting daggers at him with his eyes.
Kickin stares at him, scared, then finally sighs, looking down.
“Okay, you got me…” he says, guiltily.
“I just made the whole thing up…” He admits.
Bubba’s gaze softens. “But… why….?”
Kickin looks away sadly.
“I… I just wanted to spend time with you…”
He says.
Bubba was shocked. “W-what…?”
Kickin 'sighs.
“I… I know that you think I'm stupid.. so I wanted to try and prove to you that I'm not…” Kickin continues. “I admire you a lot, and..”
He looks up to meet Bubba’s eye.
“I wanted to… impress you so… maybe one day you might…”
He blushes a bit.
“feel the same way I do about you…”
Bubba was speechless.
Kickin sighs again, turning away.
“Whatever…” he says, getting up to leave.
“Sorry for wasting your time…”
Bubba snaps out of it.
“K-Kickin wait…” He says, gently grabbing Kickin's arm.
Kickin stops, looking at him.
“I… I do not think that you’re stupid…” Bubba says, gently.
Kickin’s eyes widened. “Y-you don’t…?”
Bubba shakes his head. “No.” he says. “Impulsive and reckless, maybe, but not stupid.”
He smiles a bit. “I mean your whole ‘Qt exam’ plan was very clever.” he says.
Kickin 'blushes a little. “Y-you really think so?”
Bubba nods. “Yes, and… I enjoyed being your mentor.”
Kickin smiles a little. “Well, I made it with stuff I liked, like rockets and explosions,” he said. “Cause I really am interested in science when it comes to stuff like that.”
Bubba giggles. “I think that suits you.”
Kickin smiles happily. “Thanks bubba.”
Bubba smiles back.
They share a silent moment.
“I don’t suppose you’d… want to keep learning with me?” Bubba asks. “Just for fun?”
Kickin nods. “Yeah, I'd like that.”
Bubba smiles. “Thanks.”
He looks away. “You know, I never thought you’d even want to spend time with me…”
Kickin’s eyes go wide. “Really…?”
Bubba nods. “I thought you saw me as a boring, stuffy old curmudgeon who just wanted to stop you from having fun…”
Kickin giggles. “Well, maybe a little at times… But honestly…”
He looks him in the eye. “You’re one of the coolest people I’ve met!”
Bubba blushes. “Y-You think I’M cool?!”
Kickin nods. “Yeah!”
Bubba looks away, blushing. “W-wow… thanks…” he says.
“That means a lot coming from you…”
Kickin giggles, hugging him. “Well it’s true!” He says.
Bubba blushes more, hugging back.
They embrace for a bit before Bubba asks another question. “Key Kickin?”
“Yeah?”
Bubba giggles.
“What was that about me ‘feeling the same way you do about me’?”
Kickin turns red, pulling back. “Uh…”
Bubba smirks at him.
Kickin averts his eyes, letting go of him. “H-how about we stop talking for a while?!”
Bubba giggles.
“Okay, whatever you say.”