It SUCKS once it hits the flyer part. But I did the best I could. If you're following my Bones fics, TC will be updated soon, I promise. But for now, I thought I'd experiment.

"Mary Anne!" Kristy's voice rang out down the crowded hall. She was shoving her way through the hordes of people. Unfortunately, she hadn't grown more than two inches in the four years of high school, so she was having trouble pushing people aside. Luckily, her lungs were as big as she was short, so I heard her loud and clear, along with all the other people in the hallway giving her dirty looks for either (a) shoving them aside, (b) screaming so loudly next to them (even if she didn't reach their ears, her voice did), or (c) both. I shot her another glance and saw that people were clearing the way for the little girl with a big voice.

Sometimes I wonder how Kristy and I have remained so close after all these years. She swears it's because I haven't forgotten my days as a shy, awkward, short kid like her. When she says this, I like to toss back that while she was never shy, I still am shy AND awkward, so that description is unfair. I like to think it's because whatever separate roads we may take, we'll always remember that nothing is as important as family, and the Baby-Sitters Club is a family of its own.

Thinking about the BSC makes me laugh. No matter what high school did to us, we still have our meetings three days a week, with Kristy showing up at 5:00 on the nose and Dawn and I not far behind. Now that we all can drive, it's easier to get to meetings for all of us. It's also easier for Stacey to breeze in late with fifty shopping bags (and blame it on traffic). We're all so different, but still love those meetings. Well, I guess we always were.

Kristy finally arrived at my locker and broke my reverie. "Mary Anne," she gasped. "Mary Anne, you HAVE to see this."

"What? What is it?" I giggled, mocking Kristy's enthusiasm.

"No, really, Mary Anne, it's not good."

"What? What is it?" I repeated, this time panicked—genuinely panicked.

"Come with me," she said, grabbing my wrist and starting to tug a little.

"No need," said Dawn from behind us. Yeah, Dawn. She ended up missing the BSC and her mom too much to stay in California. She showed up one night in sophomore year during dinner, casual as can be. Don't ask me how she had cab fare or where she found a cab in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. To Dawn, it's possible. And now she stood at my locker, two and a half years later, grimly holding up a flyer. It's hard to imagine a grim person holding up such a bright flyer, but like I said, Dawn does it. Kristy's face went ashen and I could feel the tears welling up without even knowing the content of the neon flyer. (One thing I still need to work on is emotion control.) One thing I knew for sure—this had Cokie written all over it. Yeah, sure, you'd think high school would change her, and it did. Only, it was for the worse—WAY worse. I swear, she got worse every year. And the sole purpose of her life was to torment me, Kristy, Dawn, and the rest of the club.

"What is it?" I said a third time, with all the urgency I could muster in my voice.

"Read it," Dawn and Kristy replied sadly, in one voice.

I took the neon paper from Dawn and saw my picture, read the caption:

Wondering who the biggest biotch at this school is? Stay away from her. She can't keep anything in her hands for more than an hour. Watch out. The Wicked Witch of the West is still out there.

I looked up from the paper, too shocked to even think about my other emotions, for once. Then, something came over me. I started to giggle uncontrollably. Kristy and Dawn looked on, surprised at my reaction. They hissed at me frantically, but I couldn't even get up off the ground where I had fallen in my fit. Finally, the giggles subsided and I could answer their worried whispers.

"Mary Anne, aren't you…"

"Upset?" I finished Dawn's unasked question. "Yeah, but I mean, think about it. Isn't this exactly out of that one book? And it's worded terribly, and it's so immature I can't even focus on the intended hurt, and it's not like it's true! So, if Cokie can't bully me with a little originality, I'm not going to worry about it."

My two best friends in the world (well, besides Tigger) gazed at me in shock and awe. This was kind of a new me—not letting my emotions take control of the situation. Well, except the giggling. Which wasn't even my initial reaction, so take THAT!

Just as they were coming to the conclusion that I shouldn't be hauled away, Cokie and her minions (freshmen, people. FRESHMEN!) showed up, oozing fake innocence.

"Oh, Mary Anne! You saw those! We've been trying to do some damage control, but I mean, it's so hard. People are so empty headed!"

"Nice try, Cokie. Good job stealing a line from Wicked, though."

"Oh! But we really have! I mean, it's not even true. You forced Logan to stay with you for just about forever."

I wanted to kill her.

But pretty please review? It'll have more chapters! And it'll get better!