When the Heartache is Over by Raederle
	The crew of the Christa looked around dubiously at their surroundings. They had desperately needed repairs, and this had been the closest station, but did they really need help that badly? Radu narrowed his soft blue eyes and said: "Commander? Are... all deep space outposts this... um..." "Freaky's the word you're looking for, bud," Harlan remarked obtusely. He laughed as a unicycle topped with twenty midgets sped by them, chased by a group of monkeys dressed as clowns. "No, Radu. The last time I saw an outpost like this was... Spring Break." Goddard shook his head as the previously mentioned monkeys started throwing bananas at them. "Let's move on, team." The crew cautiously moved forward as a multicolored menagerie of insane party-goers passed them by. Some humanoid, most not, they all seemed to be celebrating something wonderful. "Konnichiwa!" The group jumped as an orange-haired girl wearing a Taiko jacket and a pleated skirt hopped in front of them. "Who are you?" Suzee demanded irritably, stepping in front of Radu. This irritated Radu because she never seemed to notice him unless there were other girls around. The orange-haired girl smiled. "I'm Sarah Noble. You peeps look lost. Have you been to Frieza University before?" She confidently placed a hand on her hip, as though she had never found herself in the wrong. Radu regarded her with amazement. Rosie was the only person he'd ever seen with that much energy. "No, we had thought this would be a place that we could come to for repairs on our ship," Goddard explained to the perky young undergrad. She shook her head. "Nope. Well, usually you could, but not right now. You see, finals just finished, and it's Carnivale, too, so all the engineering majors are probably drunk already. I can hook you up with some dorms to stay in until some of the seniors find out that they won't be graduating. Believe me, that's a sobering revelation." She smiled widely and flashed a peace sign. Goddard turned to confer with Ms. Davenport, who was already panicking. "We could stay a few days," he said softly. "After that spatial flux, we're going nowhere like the Backstreet Boys." "Stay with these wild children? Why, what kind of influence -" "They're no wilder than the ones we're looking after." Davenport considered that. "I hate to admit it, but you're right." She turned to her students and proceeded in a very firm tone. "If we are to stay here for a few days you must all exercise self-control - " "No, problem, teach," Sarah Noble butted in. "We have zero tolerance on campus. No underaged partying whatsoever." "That's very good to hear. What is the age they need to be over?" "Five. You two are, what, um... 55 and 70?" Sarah scratched her head comically. Bova snickered and received a scathing look from the direction of Ms. Davenport. "These students that I see going berserk around me are definitely older that the ones I have with me," the Martian woman spat angrily. Goddard took a step back in fear. "Chill, I was just joking. Here, I'll show you a place where your kids can stay until the worst of it is over." Sarah led them to a room down the hall of the east wing. "Look in here." Goddard and Davenport peeked into the Kids Room, and Sarah quickly shoved them inside, snapping the door shut after them. "There." She smiled smugly, mock dusting off her hands. The kids looked on in shock. "Hey!" Radu protested. "Let them go." "Sorry, cutie. No go." Sarah Noble shrugged. "No adults allowed on the premises directly after finals. It's for their own good." "I'd say," Suzee remarked snootily. "Where do you get off kidnapping them like that?" They could hear Goddard and Davenport pounding futilely on the door. Radu faintly heard another teacher telling them that there was no way out. "I kind of exaggerated the age law. It's overaged partying really." Sarah took Radu's reluctant arm. "I can give you guys residence for a little while though." She started to play with Radu's hair. "Maybe you'll loosen up and take me to a Jimmy Buffet concert." "Jimmy who??" The look of genuine bewilderment on the boys face made her laugh heartily. Sarah took the crewmates to her dorm room, where several students were fighting over a remote control. "Happy Days!" A tall brown-headed boy demanded. A blond girl scowled at him. "No! SeaQuest!" She yanked back on the poor piece of equipment. "Whatever," another boy said snidely. "You just want to watch that because that Kristian Ayre guy is in it." "His name is Jonathan Brandis, you dope. Kristian Ayre? Where'd you get a name like that?" She made a face. "Anyway, do you really want to watch Happy Days??" "These weasels are my roommates. Duo, Minako, and Hiei." "Allo!" "Hey thar!" "Hnnn." "How 'bout Space Ghost: Coast to Coast?" Sarah offered them. The three students nodded vigorously. "Do you guys want some ramen?" Hiei offered, showing them some chopsticks. "I have the real stuff here." The young students sat down and tried to emulate the college students at eating the noodles with two little sticks. Bova gave up and just slurped. Radu, however, seemed to get the hang of it fairly quickly. "This is neat. Kind of like at home." "You're bizarre, Radu," Harlan said, trying to keep a noodle from falling, but failing. Duo stood up. "Would anyone like to join me and my friends for a game of basketball?" "Kewl." Harlan gave up on the strange soup and joined the group of boys collecting at the door. "Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Heero," Duo said, introducing them. The boys went off. Rosie leaned over to Minako, who was drawing as she alternatively chewed her ramen. "What's that?" the Mercurian asked. "A Pikachu, and Sailor V. And the Magic Knights. It's Anime." She grinned suddenly. "Of course, no one's as good at Anime as Sarah, right?" "I don't know about that." Sarah said modestly. She noticed Radu who was mesmerized by the various colorful fish that were swimming around in the walls. He leaned back and smiled at them as they floated around. "I like animals," he said softly. Rosie grinned. "Me too." "Fish are nice. Even if they don't say much." "Um, " Sarah said pointedly. "Fish don't say anything. They're fish." "Radu can talk to animals," Rosie explained. Sarah nodded in understanding. "Suzee's a fish." Radu told her. Suzee turned red. "I am not!" She growled. Radu looked at her in surprise. "But... you- you have gills and webbed feet. I t-thought you said your p-people evolved from fish." Suzee shot him a pervasively hateful look and stormed out. "PMS." Minako giggled. "She really is a fish." "Come on!" Sarah said to the still shocked Radu, grabbing his hand. Minako nodded in understanding. "You guys like sundaes? With chocolate syrup?" "Ymm," Hiei said, leading them into the kitchen area. Sarah tugged on Radu again. "Where are we going?" he asked rather sadly. "To my 1978 Chevy Cavalier." Sarah said. Soon they were in her car and zipping across the outpost. "You're gonna have so much fun, sweetie." "Whatever you say, Sarah." Radu's voice was a bit muffled, as his hair had whipped around and begun to strangle him. A few moments later. "Here we are!" The 1978 Chevy Cavalier stopped abruptly. Radu could hear the loud music playing in the club. He winced. "Where's here?" "This is our campus night club." "But I can't dance!" "Of course you can!" Sarah Noble swung him around to the disco music until Radu finally got the hang of it and was pointing and waving with the best of them. "This is awesome, Sarah!" he shouted happily. "Soon you'll forget that fish chick!" "Who?" Sarah laughed and pulled Radu in for another dance. They started to sing along to the chorus as the sparkly light from the disco ball rained down on them like a soft summer shower. "When the heartache is over! You know I won't be missing you!