Disclaimer: Don't own Even Stevens.
"Is she still in there?" Twitty asked, peering around the hallway to Ren's closed door. "She's been in her room, like, all day."
"Yep," Louis said disinterestedly, "and let me tell you, I find it very fascinating and SO worth talking about right now. Anyway, dude, we gotta get our songs organized."
"What?" Twitty asked, still looking at Ren's closed door.
"Songs? You know, for the band? As in people playing musical instruments and singing songs in front of other people?" Louis said with a mixture of impatience and sarcasm.
Tawny looked at Twitty sympathetically, and then rolled her eyes at Louis. "Louis, you are SUCH a clueless wonder sometimes."
Louis gestured dramatically to Twitty. "ME? ME?!?!? I'M the clueless wonder???? HaHAhaha," he squeaked, his face getting redder as his voice got louder.
"Louis, CHILL," Tawny said, touching his arm gently. "We don't want you to have to go back to Temper Tantrum...."
"For the last time, " Louis interrupted, wagging his finger, "I just happen to SPEAK VERY LOUDLY sometimes!! Why can't you people understand THAT????" he yelled as Tawny led him down the stairs.
Twitty tried to ignore Louis's ranting as he shuffled closer to Ren's door. He could hear the plaintive tones of a song coming from under the door, although he couldn't quite make out what song it was.
He moved closer, ready to knock on her door, but paused, biting his lip. What was he doing? He was Louis' best friend, not Ren's. To Ren, it wouldn't make any sense for him to be knocking on her door and asking her if everything was okay. She'd be too astonished that Twitty had even noticed that Bobby had broken up with her a week ago that he doubted she would even listen to his reassurances. She didn't know anything about him and how.well, he didn't want to think about THAT right now. He stepped back, sighed, and started to walk down the stairs, cringing as he heard Louis howling downstairs about how calm and in control he was of his emotions.
. . . .
Principal Wexler clasped his hands together as he smiled at Ren, who was sitting across the desk from him. "So Ren, I think your 8th grade-to-7th grade tutoring and mentoring project is a terrific idea. As usual, of course."
Despite the sadness of the past week, Ren beamed. This project would not only earn her more service hours, it would do something more important -- get her mind off of Bobby, and ensure that there was no conceivable way she could accidentally run into him somewhere after school. "I think that if the 8th grade students are grouped with 7th grade students according to the subjects they can help with and need help with, respectively, it will not only help improve overall school grades but also help remove some of the rivalry between our two classes." "What can I say but - brilliant as always Ren." He took the stack of 8th grade mentor volunteer applications and placed them next to his computer. "I'll start going through the 7th grade volunteers' subject files and start matching up students after lunch. Come back after the final bell and I should have them ready."
. . . .
"Come on, Ruby," Ren pleaded as she led her best friend down the main hallway. "We have to get the names of our mentorees and then find them before they leave for the day."
Ruby hugged her notebook and grinned. "Maybe you'll get someone cute Ren," she smiled. "To help you forget all about Bobby, you know? The Junior High Spring Formal is coming up soon and."
Ren let out an irritated sigh. "Ruby, this is a tutoring and mentoring project, not a dating service," she frowned. "Even if I was tutoring the guy of my dreams, why would I want to go to a dance with someone a year younger than me anyway?"
Ruby raised her eyebrows cryptically. "Like I told you before Ren, younger guys are so in style this year."
"Whatever," Ren rolled her eyes as she opened the door to Principal Wexler's office.
"Ah Ren, now we can start." Principal Wexler smiled as she and Ruby moved to stand behind about a half dozen other eighth graders. "Thank you all for your help with this project," he said. "Here are your assignments." Ren and Ruby were the last to get their papers, and filed out behind the rest of the students into the hallway.
"Tawny Dean?" Ruby asked astonishedly. "What class could she be having problems with? Oh," Ruby nodded. "Home Ec." She smiled. "It'll be fun passing along my culinary genius to Tawny. So," she craned her neck to try and look at Ren's sheet, "Who'd you get?"
Ren stood, frozen, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. "I got --- Alan Twitty?"
Ruby grabbed the paper out of Ren's hands. "Well Ren, you are quite the genius at English and Lit. And you are editor of the paper, after all. So who would be better to help Alan in English?" Ruby examined her friend's expression closely. "Is there some reason you wouldn't be able to work with him Ren? Uhm, Ren?"
Ren shook her head and smiled weakly at Ruby. "No, no, none at all."
. . . .
Ren muttered to herself as she walked down the seventh grade hallway towards the park outside where the two grades ate lunch together and where many of them often hung out after school. How perfect, she said to herself. You come up with a brilliant idea to get your mind off of Bobby, and instead you get stuck babysitting your annoying little brother's best friend. NEAT, Ren.
. . . .
"Twitty, why don't you just TELL her?" Tawny asked for what felt to her like the thousandth time.
Twitty looked around nervously, hoping and praying that Louis wouldn't walk in on the middle of their conversation. Louis had a habit of overreacting and, well, the whole tempter tantrum thing and everything. He didn't want to even think what Louis would do and say if he told him.
"That you've has a crush on her since the 3rd grade?" Tawny finished his thoughts for him.
"No, I - I can't do that," Twitty said, looking across the table at Tawny while he fidgeted nervously with his book bag. "I mean - what would SHE say? And ohgeez what would LOUIS say? Or DO?"
Tawny shook her head. "Alan, sometimes you have to just DO something no matter what might happen. You have to just do what's in your heart, you know?"
Twitty snorted. "Like YOU should talk."
"We are NOT talking about me and Louis right now," Tawny hissed as she also looked nervously around the park for any sign of Louis. "We are talking about YOU and Ren!"
"Oh come on," Twitty sighed. "Ren is PERFECT. She is beautiful, and smart, and she's really good at helping other people, and . she's beautiful," he stammered under Tawny's curious gaze. "I am barely passing English -- I can't volunteer to help anyone else because I can barely help myself! So why would she want anything to do with me, you know, like THAT?"
Tawny threw her arms up in defeat and sighed. "Anyway," Tawny swiftly changed the subject, not knowing what else to say, "aren't we supposed to be meeting our mentor. tutor. whatever-ers out here?"
"Yeah - and I'm actually looking forward to this," Twitty said. "I can get help passing English class and get my mind off of things and, you know, off of." He suddenly looked up, turning paler than Tawny. "Ren?"
"Is she still in there?" Twitty asked, peering around the hallway to Ren's closed door. "She's been in her room, like, all day."
"Yep," Louis said disinterestedly, "and let me tell you, I find it very fascinating and SO worth talking about right now. Anyway, dude, we gotta get our songs organized."
"What?" Twitty asked, still looking at Ren's closed door.
"Songs? You know, for the band? As in people playing musical instruments and singing songs in front of other people?" Louis said with a mixture of impatience and sarcasm.
Tawny looked at Twitty sympathetically, and then rolled her eyes at Louis. "Louis, you are SUCH a clueless wonder sometimes."
Louis gestured dramatically to Twitty. "ME? ME?!?!? I'M the clueless wonder???? HaHAhaha," he squeaked, his face getting redder as his voice got louder.
"Louis, CHILL," Tawny said, touching his arm gently. "We don't want you to have to go back to Temper Tantrum...."
"For the last time, " Louis interrupted, wagging his finger, "I just happen to SPEAK VERY LOUDLY sometimes!! Why can't you people understand THAT????" he yelled as Tawny led him down the stairs.
Twitty tried to ignore Louis's ranting as he shuffled closer to Ren's door. He could hear the plaintive tones of a song coming from under the door, although he couldn't quite make out what song it was.
He moved closer, ready to knock on her door, but paused, biting his lip. What was he doing? He was Louis' best friend, not Ren's. To Ren, it wouldn't make any sense for him to be knocking on her door and asking her if everything was okay. She'd be too astonished that Twitty had even noticed that Bobby had broken up with her a week ago that he doubted she would even listen to his reassurances. She didn't know anything about him and how.well, he didn't want to think about THAT right now. He stepped back, sighed, and started to walk down the stairs, cringing as he heard Louis howling downstairs about how calm and in control he was of his emotions.
. . . .
Principal Wexler clasped his hands together as he smiled at Ren, who was sitting across the desk from him. "So Ren, I think your 8th grade-to-7th grade tutoring and mentoring project is a terrific idea. As usual, of course."
Despite the sadness of the past week, Ren beamed. This project would not only earn her more service hours, it would do something more important -- get her mind off of Bobby, and ensure that there was no conceivable way she could accidentally run into him somewhere after school. "I think that if the 8th grade students are grouped with 7th grade students according to the subjects they can help with and need help with, respectively, it will not only help improve overall school grades but also help remove some of the rivalry between our two classes." "What can I say but - brilliant as always Ren." He took the stack of 8th grade mentor volunteer applications and placed them next to his computer. "I'll start going through the 7th grade volunteers' subject files and start matching up students after lunch. Come back after the final bell and I should have them ready."
. . . .
"Come on, Ruby," Ren pleaded as she led her best friend down the main hallway. "We have to get the names of our mentorees and then find them before they leave for the day."
Ruby hugged her notebook and grinned. "Maybe you'll get someone cute Ren," she smiled. "To help you forget all about Bobby, you know? The Junior High Spring Formal is coming up soon and."
Ren let out an irritated sigh. "Ruby, this is a tutoring and mentoring project, not a dating service," she frowned. "Even if I was tutoring the guy of my dreams, why would I want to go to a dance with someone a year younger than me anyway?"
Ruby raised her eyebrows cryptically. "Like I told you before Ren, younger guys are so in style this year."
"Whatever," Ren rolled her eyes as she opened the door to Principal Wexler's office.
"Ah Ren, now we can start." Principal Wexler smiled as she and Ruby moved to stand behind about a half dozen other eighth graders. "Thank you all for your help with this project," he said. "Here are your assignments." Ren and Ruby were the last to get their papers, and filed out behind the rest of the students into the hallway.
"Tawny Dean?" Ruby asked astonishedly. "What class could she be having problems with? Oh," Ruby nodded. "Home Ec." She smiled. "It'll be fun passing along my culinary genius to Tawny. So," she craned her neck to try and look at Ren's sheet, "Who'd you get?"
Ren stood, frozen, her mouth hanging open in astonishment. "I got --- Alan Twitty?"
Ruby grabbed the paper out of Ren's hands. "Well Ren, you are quite the genius at English and Lit. And you are editor of the paper, after all. So who would be better to help Alan in English?" Ruby examined her friend's expression closely. "Is there some reason you wouldn't be able to work with him Ren? Uhm, Ren?"
Ren shook her head and smiled weakly at Ruby. "No, no, none at all."
. . . .
Ren muttered to herself as she walked down the seventh grade hallway towards the park outside where the two grades ate lunch together and where many of them often hung out after school. How perfect, she said to herself. You come up with a brilliant idea to get your mind off of Bobby, and instead you get stuck babysitting your annoying little brother's best friend. NEAT, Ren.
. . . .
"Twitty, why don't you just TELL her?" Tawny asked for what felt to her like the thousandth time.
Twitty looked around nervously, hoping and praying that Louis wouldn't walk in on the middle of their conversation. Louis had a habit of overreacting and, well, the whole tempter tantrum thing and everything. He didn't want to even think what Louis would do and say if he told him.
"That you've has a crush on her since the 3rd grade?" Tawny finished his thoughts for him.
"No, I - I can't do that," Twitty said, looking across the table at Tawny while he fidgeted nervously with his book bag. "I mean - what would SHE say? And ohgeez what would LOUIS say? Or DO?"
Tawny shook her head. "Alan, sometimes you have to just DO something no matter what might happen. You have to just do what's in your heart, you know?"
Twitty snorted. "Like YOU should talk."
"We are NOT talking about me and Louis right now," Tawny hissed as she also looked nervously around the park for any sign of Louis. "We are talking about YOU and Ren!"
"Oh come on," Twitty sighed. "Ren is PERFECT. She is beautiful, and smart, and she's really good at helping other people, and . she's beautiful," he stammered under Tawny's curious gaze. "I am barely passing English -- I can't volunteer to help anyone else because I can barely help myself! So why would she want anything to do with me, you know, like THAT?"
Tawny threw her arms up in defeat and sighed. "Anyway," Tawny swiftly changed the subject, not knowing what else to say, "aren't we supposed to be meeting our mentor. tutor. whatever-ers out here?"
"Yeah - and I'm actually looking forward to this," Twitty said. "I can get help passing English class and get my mind off of things and, you know, off of." He suddenly looked up, turning paler than Tawny. "Ren?"