Melanie Meets World

On The Fence

"Say you could pick any superhero to be your dad. Who would you choose?" Melanie heard Cory say as she sat down at the table.

"Where were you?" Shawn asked.

"Just went to get a drink."

"Batman, no question," Ellis replied, "Live in a cool cave, borrow the Batmobile."

"He lets Robin hangout with him and play with all his stuff. And Robin's not even his real kids. He's his ward." Shawn pointed out.

"How do you get to be a ward?" Ellis wondered and Melanie laughed.

"Batman? Is he faster than a speeding bullet?" Cory challenged, "I don't think so."

"But what about the Batmobile? Isn't that faster than a speeding bullet?" Melanie questioned as she subconsciously shifted her bag onto her lap.

"Nah. It's not a natural power." Shawn explained and Melanie nodded.

"Is he more powerful than a locomotive?" Cory shook his finger, "Uh-uh. I want Superman."

"Seeing through walls," Shawn shook his head, "You'd never get away with anything."

"Because I'd make a very cool ward." Ellis said and Melanie looked at him.

"We are way past that part in the conversation."

"I'd like to have Superman for a dad." Cory said.

"Superman would be cool. He wouldn't have that weird voice." Melanie agreed and Shawn nodded as he spaced out.

Melanie followed Shawn's gaze and found herself looking at Shawn's 'arch-nemesis', Stuart Minkus. She couldn't exactly remember when Shawn and Minkus became enemies, but what she could remember was that everything was fine between them until Shawn pushed Minkus into the sand. Melanie herself found that Minkus could be a bit annoying at the times when he would brag about his smarts, but he wasn't 'popular' and she guessed that's how he made up for it.

Shawn's story with Minkus, however, was different.

When they were in first grade, Shawn didn't like it when any boy talked to Melanie besides him and Cory. So, when a classmate named Stuart Minkus shows up and decides that he wants to sit next to Melanie during lunch, that didn't go well with Shawn. Yes, Shawn would admit it, he is a possessive guy when it comes to his friends, but this was when he had promised Cory that he was going to marry Melanie and he felt threatened that someone was going to take her away from him. Shawn approached Minkus and proudly looked down at his small form. It had started off as Shawn telling Minkus to 'Leave his future wife alone," but Minkus said that Melanie was going to marry him instead and Shawn pushed him into the sandbox.

Even though five years have passed since that day, Minkus and Shawn still didn't get along. Shawn knew that Minkus could provide Melanie with a life that he could only dream of. I mean, think about it. Minkus was basically royalty compared to Shawn's trailer-park trash.

A plus side to this whole thing, however, was that Melanie didn't have any attraction towards boys yet and Shawn smiled to himself.

"Hey, there's Minkus." Shawn said and he pulled out a squirt gun, shooting Minkus in the head.

"Ow." Minkus continued to read his book.

"Whoa!" Cory exclaimed as he saw Shawn's squirt gun, "The 2000-X Hydro- Saturator!"

"Careful. If Feeny sees this baby on school grounds, he'll shag it, and I'll have to sit out during the water wars." Shawn cautioned as he placed the squirt gun back underneath a table.

"Gentlemen," Ellis announced as he pulled out his squirt gun, "meet the Hydro- Sat 3000-Z."

"The 3000?" Melanie gasped, "That's not even supposed to come out till Christmas."