chapter twenty-three ━ pork chop dinners & the hall of fame
( season two, episode twelve )

❝ oh, my gosh... i'm classmates with
my uncle! no! ❞

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐉𝐎 with a stack of mail in her arms and a bright smile on her face. "Guys!" she exclaimed making her uncle and the three boys inside look at her. "Look at what Lily made me!" She held out her wrist. "It's a colorful bracelet!"

Jack tilted his head. "It's—"

"Don't worry, she made you one, too," she interrupted, holding out the blue bracelet the little girl and he slipped it onto his wrist. She smiled softly at him before looking at her friends. "You know, Jerry, you almost getting suspended might have been the best thing to happen to me. Here." She held out three more bracelets. "One for all of you. And if you know anyone else who needs a bracelet, I have a bag full of them. We were doing crafts all morning."

She paused and looked around the room. "What did I miss?" she asked, noticing the awkward tension in the air. "Was it the 'soaring crow' kata?"

"So you watched the video?" Milton asked her while she began sorting through the envelopes in her hands and she looked up slowly.

"I live with him," she replied, nodding at her uncle. "Of course I watched the video."

Jack sighed and walked over to their sensei. "Look, Rudy, we're sorry but we're really busy at school."

"'We're really busy with school,'" Rudy mocked him and Veronica raised her eyebrows. "You want to feel pressure? Wait till you're my age. Trust me, no one gets an award for being an adult." He took the envelopes from his niece and she crossed her arms as he ripped open one of them. "I don't believe it, I'm getting an award for being an adult!"

She furrowed her brows. "Huh?"

"Seaford High is inducting me into its hall of fame," he replied, still reading the letter and Veronica glanced at her friends in confusion.

"Why?" they all asked in unison.

Rudy held up the letter in front of Jack and Veronica's faces. "Starting to lose it," he said, his voice shaking dramatically. "Someone please read this. Read it with some pizzazz."

"I'm not doing it," Veronica told Jack, shaking her head and handing it to him.

He rolled his eyes. "'We are pleased to formally acknowledge your contribution to the youth of Seaford through your leadership and commitment to physical fitness.'"

"In your face, mother!" Rudy exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling.

Veronica frowned. "For the millionth time, Nana's not dead!"

"And they're giving you a black-tie pork chop dinner!" Jack added, reading from the card and Rudy stared back at him.

"Black tie?" he repeated and Veronica tilted her head at him. "Pork chops? It's all happening so fast."

She sat down beside him with a smile. "Aw, brother and sister duo in Seaford High Hall of Fame," she said, looking at the card. "How cute."

"Your mom is in the hall of fame?" Milton asked.

She nodded. "About a year before she died," she replied, letting out a breath. "It was actually the last time I was in Seaford before moving here. Well done, Uncle Rudy, she'd be proud."

A few hours later, the group of five were sitting in Falafel Phil's with a pile of Rudy's childhood photos and memories on the table in front of them. Veronica was showing Jack a picture of her mother and uncle when they were younger when Phil walked up to them.

"Hey, guys, I have favor to ask for you," he said and they looked up at him. "My niece, Mika, she moved here from Hachmakistan. She will be ninth grader in your learning house." Veronica shared an amused smile with Jack. "And I was wondering if you would make friendships with her."

They nodded. "Sure."

"Yeah."

"Oh, thanks," Phil replied, letting out a breath of relief. "There is something that I need to tell you though. I love her very much, but... she is, how do you say... ugly like a pig." Veronica tilted her head. "I will show you. Let me summon the beast."

"What did we just agree to?" she asked Jack while Phil called out to his niece with what sounded like a tribal shriek. "And should we be scared?"

He shrugged. "Maybe?"

The doors to the kitchen opened and when the person turned around, it turned out to be a man making the boys all scream. Veronica jumped and smacked the nearest boy, Jack, on the shoulder. "Really?"

"That is not her," Phil said, shaking his head and she raised her eyebrows pointedly. "That is my new busboy, Rafael. That is Mika."

Veronica turned to the doors and a girl with light brown hair pulled into a ponytail walked out. She was wearing a floral dress and had on a pink sweater. "Aw, she's so cute." She looked over at the boys and saw Milton, Jerry, and Eddie looking like they were going to swoon at the sight of her. "Oh, get a grip." She raised her eyebrows when she glanced at Jack who had been looking at her. "What?"

"She is not like the beauties that we have in my country," Phil told them and she looked at him. "Poor thing, with her separate eyebrows, hairless nose, and complete... lack of tail."

"Y—" Veronica cleared her throat. "You have tails in your country? Uh—I just gotta ask... Do you have any books about your country? I have a lot of questions."

"Mika, these are the boys that I was telling you about. And Veronica," Phil added and Veronica smiled at the girl, giving her a small wave. "The ones who do the—" He jumped in the air and kicked out in front of him.

She nodded. "Yep. That's us."

Mika smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"What it do, Mika?" Jerry asked, leaning back on his side of the booth, and while Mika looked at him in amusement, Veronica shook her head.

"Okay, come," Phil said, turning to his niece. "I'm going to teach you how to make sandwich."

"Okay, bye-bye, boys." Mika waved at them. "And Veronica."

Jerry let out a breath as soon as she was gone from their table. "Yo, Phil's niece is hot!" he exclaimed and Veronica looked back at him.

"She's also human," she reminded them. "Maybe don't stare at her like you've never seen a girl before." She glanced at Jack who was looking at her. "Seriously, do I have something on my face? You keep looking at me."

Before he could say anything, Rudy ran into the restaurant. "I just autographed my first baby." Veronica blinked slowly; did she hear him wrong? "When his mom gets out of the bathroom, she is going to be so proud!"

"You autographed an unattended baby?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows and he nodded enthusiastically. "Uh—"

"Right across the face!" he exclaimed.

Veronica stared at him. "You know the term, 'stranger danger'?" she asked, crossing her arms. "You're the danger. Who signs a baby's face?! What is wrong with you?"

"Got some more pictures of me for my Hall of Fame induction video," he said, either not hearing or choosing to ignore Veronica's quip.

"Rudy, I think we have enough," Milton replied while his niece examined the contents. "We went through your school records, photos, and video clips."

"Yeah, we got a great five minutes," Jack added.

Veronica nodded. "I think I know more about you than I ever needed to."

"Five minutes?" Rudy repeated, raising his eyebrows. "Oh, no, no, no, no." He chuckled and shook his head. "That's not gonna work." The group of teenagers looked up at him. "Don't forget, this night is about me and me alone."

"And the other inductee," Veronica muttered, sipping on her soda.

"Whoa, this isn't good," Milton said, holding up one of the many papers covering the table. "Rudy, you have a problem here. According to this, you missed five days of mandatory attendance in ninth grade."

He nodded. "Yeah, and?"

"That means..." Milton sucked in a breath. "Technically you didn't complete high school."

"Wait." They looked at Eddie. "If he didn't graduate, then he's not eligible to be in the Seaford High Hall of Fame."

"What?"

Veronica jumped when she heard a loud scream come from outside. "What kind of animal would sign a baby's face?"

"We should probably get him out of here," Jack said and the boys agreed, ushering Rudy out of the building. He turned back to the table. "You coming, Ronnie?"

She tilted her head at a photo. "I thought I burned all of these. My bob phase... ugh."

"Let me see."

"No!" she exclaimed, pulling the picture away from him and running out of Phil's. "No one will ever see this picture."

"Ronnie!"

___________________________

𝐑𝐔𝐃𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 head of the hall of fame committee and learned there was one way he could still get inducted into the hall of fame on time.

Veronica turned from her locker and held onto her math textbook when her eyes widened. "Wow, Rudy," Jack said, standing next to her and looking at their sensei. "You've actually come back to school."

"Yeah." He nodded and Veronica's eyes glossed over his jeans and 'Seaford' sweatshirt. "I was the king here, once. Figured I'd spend five days back on the throne."

"Oh, my father once spent five days on the throne after he ate cajun food," Eddie said making his friends furrow their brows at him.

Rudy faced the teenagers. "Well, guys. You got one week to learn all you can from the king of cool." He did an awkward spin and walked over to the set of lockers, struggling to open it. "Will one of you guys please help me?"

"Oh, my gosh..." Jack looked at Veronica who almost looked horrified while Milton went to help the man. "I'm classmates with my uncle! No!"

He chuckled at her. "It's a hard life you live."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Hey, watch it, Brewer. You're still his favorite," she replied, adjusting the bag on her shoulder and trailing after him toward their math class.

Unfortunately for Veronica, it seemed that she and Rudy shared a majority of her classes which meant that she spent much of her time hiding behind her hand. Why did he have to be so loud about being back in school?

Nobody would be that content returning to high school.

"I remember health class," Rudy said, walking into the classroom while Veronica and Jack trailed behind him. "I wonder if my old girlfriend's still here." Jack glanced at Veronica who shrugged. Rudy opened one of the cabinets and nodded to himself. "There she is." He pulled out a dummy and smiled. "Hello, beautiful!"

Veronica shook her head. "I cannot believe you and Mom are related..." she muttered to herself, crossing her arms.

"Rudy, I wouldn't touch that thing," Jack said, walking over to their sensei who was setting the dummy on a nearby table. "It's a forty-year-old slobber bag."

"This doll is not a slobber bag," Rudy countered with a frown. "It's designed to teach you CPR. Watch and learn."

The boy wrinkled his nose. "Rudy, I—"

"Jack," Rudy interrupted, shaking his head. "After pinching her nostrils, you use your breath to fill her lungs with life." Veronica tilted her head and watched her uncle over Jack's shoulder. The more he blew into the dummy, the more her stomach began to inflate like a balloon.

"Uncle Rudy, are you sure you're doing this right?" she asked him, moving to hide behind Jack when the dummy began to inflate more. "Because—"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, looking at them. "Now, her stomach is filling up with air. Gently apply some pressure."

Jack shook his head. "I am not touching—"

"Do it!" he snapped and Veronica jumped. "There's a life at stake!" Jack shrugged and hit the dummy's stomach. An orange liquid burst from the dummy's mouth and hit Rudy directly in the face making Veronica gag at the sight and force Jack in front of her. "Little too much pressure, Jack!"

"What is going on here?"

The students all quickly sat down at their desks when their health teacher walked in and Rudy wiped away the orange liquid from his face. "Learning," he said and Veronica furrowed her brows. "Learning's going on here. And who might..." Rudy gagged when he suddenly smelled the liquid. "...you be?"

"I'm Bethany Applebaum," she replied. "The teacher."

"I'm Rudy Gillespie," he said with a smile. "The teacher's pet."

Veronica groaned and held her head in her hands. "Oh..."

Ms. Applebaum smiled at him. "Oh, right. Ronnie's uncle, you're the student who came back to graduate." Rudy tilted his head while Veronica buried her head in her hands; Jack glanced at her and chuckled at how red she was becoming. "Finishing your education, that is so... adorable."

"No, flirting!" she whispered, shaking her head.

"Come here," Ms. Applebaum said, pulling out a tissue to wipe Rudy's face.

Veronica looked over when the door opened and immediately sighed. "Oh, great. Today just gets better, doesn't it?"

"Hello, Bethany," Coach Funderburk announced, walking into the room. "Who's this loser?" He laughed at his own insult and Veronica and Jack glanced at each other.

"He's not a loser, Martin," Ms. Applebaum replied with a frown. "He's... my student."

"I'm Coach Funderburk," he said to Rudy with an obnoxious smile. "Me and Bethany kind of have a thing."

"No!" Ms. Applebaum exclaimed, shaking her head. "No. We don't." She chuckled awkwardly. "There is no thing—"

"Pretty big thing!" Coach Funderburk interjected. "Everybody's talking about it!"

That was definitely not the case.

In fact, a majority of the talk happening around the school was courtesy of Milton and Kim. When were Jack and Veronica going to admit they liked each other?

That was what everybody's been talking about.

"Um... Rudy?" Ms. Applebaum pointed at his face. "I think you're having a reaction to that forty-year-old phlegm?"

Veronica glanced at him, noticing the red rash starting to appear around his mouth. "So, Bethany." Coach Funderburk annoyingly cleared his throat. "You want to split a panini?"

"I already ate, Martin!"

Rudy smiled. "I'd get in on that panini."

"You're not touching my panini," Coach Funderburk replied with a glare. "So..." He gave the sensei a look over. "Step off."

Ms. Applebaum clapped her hands, preventing anything from happening between the two men. "Yeah, I think you should probably get to the nurse's office."

Coach Funderburk nodded. "Yeah, you should go."

"Alright." Rudy frowned. "I'll go. But because m'lady asked me. Not because of you. And certainly not because of the excruciating, burning sensation that is taking over my entire face." Veronica winced when Rudy screamed as soon as he was outside of the classroom.

She looked up at Coach Funderburk. "I don't like you. I hope you know that."

___________________________

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐄𝐑 book while sitting with the boys at lunch later that week. "I gotta give Rudy credit," Milton said and she looked at him. "This hall of fame thing is really important to him and he's really hanging in there."

"Oh, Rudy's tough," Jack replied with a shrug. "He'll never let you see it's getting to him. Ronnie's like him that way."

She tilted her head and hummed. He wasn't wrong. "Well, then if I'm like him, he probably cries in the shower. That's what I do." She glanced behind her and winced at Rudy's missing tooth, half of his face was red from rashes and the ball that had hit him during dodgeball, and was limping. "I have our dentist on speed dial now..."

Suddenly, Coach Funderburk stuck out his leg while Rudy was walking past him with his lunch tray and tripped, falling to the ground. "Whoops." Coach Funderburk laughed loudly. "Pudy! Pudy! Pudy! Pudy!"

"Ah, shut it!" Rudy snapped, standing up and throwing his arms up in defeat. "That's it! Stupid classes. Stupid school! Stupid... fork jammed into my thigh!" Veronica looked at his leg and he pulled out the utensil with a whimper. "I'm done! I'm dropping out of high school."

Her face fell. "Rudy—" She let out a breath as he left the cafeteria. "Rudy!" She bit the inside of her cheek. "Just tell me one thing, were you always this mean in high school?" she asked, turning to Coach Funderburk and her friends looked at her. "Or were you bullied as a kid that you decided to grow up and become the bully?"

"Well—"

"Because it's a sad life you live if this is how you choose to live it," she continued quietly. "Sure, Uncle Rudy is a little weird and quirky. But that's who Uncle Rudy is. He lives life with joy and a smile on his face. But he also teaches kids to be the best, most confident versions of themselves. I don't know if you tease him because you have this delusion about you and Ms. Applebaum, or if you're upset that this person you've never met is going to be in the Hall of Fame. But he deserves it. Because he's done so much for so many people."

She shook her head and hurried out of the cafeteria in search of her uncle, shaking off Jack's arm to catch her.

"I don't think I've ever heard her speak that much in school without stuttering," Milton said, watching her go and Jack looked at him. "She always turned red whenever she does. Lesson learned—nobody messes with her uncle."

Later that day, the boys walked into the dojo, trailing behind Rudy. Veronica, it seemed, was not anywhere they could find.

Maybe she was angrily texting Kim. That was Milton's thought.

Jerry thought she might be plotting Coach Funderburk's downfall, but a look from Jack made him stay quiet.

"Come on, Rudy, you can't drop out of school," Milton said with a frown. "You won't get into the hall of fame."

"I don't care," he replied, shrugging. "School is a mean, dark place. And if you kids had half a brain in your heads, you'd drop out, too!"

Jack sighed and furrowed his brows when his phone buzzed. He looked down at the text before glancing up at the defeated sensei.

"Rudy, you can't give up," he said, sitting down next to him on the bench next to him. "Do you know why? Because we haven't given up on you. Ronnie hasn't given up on you." Rudy looked at him. "She loves you with her whole heart—so much so that she yelled at a teacher."

Milton nodded. "Which she would never do."

"Unless it was for you," Eddie added.

"You deserve to be in the Hall of Fame," Jack continued and Rudy turned back to him. "You've helped us all and a bunch of other kids. And I'll help you get there."

"We'll all help you," Milton said.

"Thanks, guys—"

"Oh, I could strangle him!" Veronica exclaimed, walking into the dojo and they looked at the frustrated brunette. "Did you know that our idiot of a gym teacher claimed that I was out of shape?" Jack raised his eyebrows. "So you know what we did? I raced him and I lapped him twice. Serves him right."

"You—?"

Before Jack could finish his sentence, Rudy hugged his niece and she paused, looking at her friends. "What's going on?" she asked, wrapping her arms slowly around her uncle.

"Just enjoy it," Jack said with a small smile.

"Okay...?"

___________________________

𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐎 Veronica's desk while she showed him a text from Kim. "Class," Ms. Applebaum said from the front of the room. "Stop talking, please!"

"Hey." Veronica furrowed her brows when she heard Rudy's voice and found him standing in front of them with a crumpled-up paper airplane. "Your teacher said stop talking. Punks!"

She looked around when everybody jumped at his insult. "What just happened?"

Ms. Applebaum smiled. "Rudy, you've come back."

"Did she just giggle?" she asked Jack, watching her uncle and teacher's interaction. "Tell me she did not just giggle. I feel like I'm watching a horror movie."

"Yes, I did," Rudy replied, turning to face her. "And I just wanted you to know that after class I was hoping to... clap your erasers."

Veronica's eyes went wide. "Stop talking!" she whimpered, covering her ears and closing her eyes. "I'd rather meet my future aunt the traditional way. You know, at Christmas when everybody is half asleep or drunk."

"What kind of family gatherings do you have?" Jack asked her and she tilted her head. "I realize now that that was a dumb question since you are related to him." He gestured to the man who was currently sharing an apple with Ms. Applebaum very uncomfortably for the rest of the room. "Okay, is anybody else as creeped out as we are?"

The entire class raised their hands and Veronica slid further down in her seat, humming to herself. "I think Rudy broke Ronnie..." Eddie said, looking at her.

[ PAPA BEAR ]
1:28 pm
Okay, I finally got your texts and
I feel like I missed some info. What
do you mean you think you've met
your future aunt?

[ RONNIE ]
1:30 pm
well, rudy just shared an apple with
my health teacher in a very...
uncomfortable sort of way and i
don't like it.

[ PAPA BEAR ]
1:33 pm
I don't think I can help you with
that, honey. Good luck!

[ RONNIE ]
1:34 pm
rude.

Veronica put away her phone and looked up when she and Jack walked through the doors to the gym. All Rudy had to do to officially graduate was complete the rope climb. "The man looks like he's going to fight an army of sharks," she said and Jack followed her gaze. "And he's not even off the ground yet."

"You have an eyelash stuck on your cheek," he told her suddenly and she looked up at him. She rubbed at her cheek with her sweatshirt. "It's still there. Hang on." He gently wiped her cheek with his thumb. "There we go."

"Th—Thanks," she stuttered, clearing her throat. He nodded and she reached up to her cheek; she just knew she was turning into a tomato. She followed him to the front of the group gathering to watch the potential hall-of-fame-worthy rope climb. "Alright, let's go, Uncle Rudy!"

He was starting well; he was halfway up the rope and the bell was in sight for him when Coach Funderburk blew his whistle and Veronica winced at the sound being blasted in her ear.

"Listen up, class!" he called out to the students, dragging a rack of dodge balls behind him. "The first person to know Pudy off of that rope with one of these balls doesn't have to run laps for the rest of the year!"

She groaned. "Ugh—why do you hate him so much?" she asked him, looking up at him. She slapped a ball out of another student's hands. "Don't even try it. I beat our gym teacher in running laps, do you want to test me?"

She looked up when she heard a small whimper come from Rudy and Jack glanced at her momentarily before beginning to climb up the second rope. She raised her eyebrows once he was at Rudy's height, beginning to kick the balls away from him.

"Come on, Uncle Rudy!" she exclaimed, pressing her lips together when he started to lose grip on the rope. "You can do it!"

Coach Funderburk pushed his way through the students to take matters into his own hands. He took a ball and aimed directly at Rudy's face. Jack, however, saw it and kicked it. The ball hit Coach Funderburk square on the nose and he fell to the ground.

"Yes!" Veronica cheered and looked back up at the rope where Rudy had finished his climb. He rang the bell with a screech and she smiled. "Yes!"

She grimaced when he let go of the rope and fell on Coach Funderburk who was still on the ground. Just as Jack landed on the ground, she hugged him tightly. "I don't know what I love more—that you helped Rudy or that you kicked a ball at Funderburk. Either way, it was great."

He chuckled to himself as she let go, turning to help her uncle off the floor. She dusted him off and hugged him tightly.

The smile never left Jack Brewer's face.

___________________________

𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐀𝐍𝐃 Milton at the hall of fame ceremony, clapping for the other inductee. "Wow," the head of the committee said, stepping up to the microphone. "That was one amazing story, Dr. Hanft. You saved more than a village, you saved ten thousand lives. Up next is Rudy Gillespie, a karate guy."

"A karate guy," Veronica repeated in amusement, taking a sip of her water and chuckling to herself.

Rudy walked up to the podium. "Uh—thank you so much, chairman," he began, adjusting the microphone. "Um... I could begin the story of my life by starting with the day I was born, but that wouldn't be fair to you..."

Jack glanced at Veronica who sighed quietly to herself. "For my story begins when my great-great-great-grandfather, Jebbidiah Gillespie—" Veronica hung her head. "—came to America with nothing in his pocket, but a spare pocket in case the first one ripped."

"And rip it did," Veronica said, gesturing to her uncle. "Get comfortable, boys, we're gonna be here for a while."

___________________________

━ author's note:

oh, that boy is down bad.

tell me why this chapter took me three days to write? i don't know why, but it did.