Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for the ones I made up. They all belong to Disney (if they decide to keep it), Alliance Atlantis, and any other company that owns 'In a Heartbeat.'
Note: This story is the 3rd installment to the "NOEbY series" and a sequel to "The Odd Man Out." If you haven't read any of the two, I would suggest that you read it before proceeding. I'll be in New Orleans for a few days, so the next chapter will be posted then.
A Date to Remember
Taco Thursday
A slow week once again plagued the halls of Kingsport High and boredom was evident in the faces of students, as well as teachers. Luckily, it was Thursday and the longed-for weekend is just a day away. For Val and Caitie, every minute of Spanish class seemed to go on for hours and the monotonous tone of their teacher's voice wasn't any help at all.
"Caitie?" Val whispered with her gaze on the chalkboard. "Are you still awake?"
"Surprisingly," she answered.
"Look on the bright side. We have five more minutes left."
"Yea. Sure. Five more long minutes of listening to her talk about the common verbs and phrases used in while in the bathroom."
Val smirked at her best friend's comment. Five long minutes later, the bell rang as students hurried towards their next class. Val and Caitie stopped at their locker.
"Did you see the school paper?" asked Val excitedly.
"Yea. Why?"
"We made front page! Can you believe it?"
"Oh goody!" she said sarcastically. "What is everyone making such a big deal about this anyway?"
"Well, maybe not everyone. Jamie probably…"
"Jamie was the one who showed me the paper. He was ecstatic to be on the front page again. I felt like we went back in time when Jamie was dubbed the 'Keanu Reeves' of Kingsport High."
Val shrugged as she closed her locker.
"So…anything new?" Val asked.
Caitie had a smile on her face as she closed her locker, her mood obviously shifted.
"It depends," she answered as they walked down the hall.
"What is it?" Val asked.
"Let's just say that it has something to do with today."
"Come on, Caitie," Val said anxiously. "You can tell me."
Caitie motioned Val to come a little closer as she whispered something in her ear.
"Really? That's great. Wait, I thought you don't go for that stuff."
"I know but people change, Val," Caitie told her. "Besides, this time it's different. I'm happy."
"I know and I'm happy for you," Val said.
"Thanks, but don't tell anyone especially…"
"I promise. Well, I got to go. I'll talk to you later."
Val headed for her class and Caitie did the same.
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Caitie tapped her pencil against her desk as she impatiently waited for her chemistry class to end.
"Who cares about the Kinetic theory of gases?" she mumbled to herself.
The moment the bell rang, Caitie grabbed her books and headed towards Jamie's locker to meet him.
"Hey!" she greeted him.
"Hey yourself!" he said as he grabbed the last of his books.
"So…do you want to tell me anything today?"
"Not that I know of. Why?"
"Come on, Jamie. Stop fooling around. You know what today is."
"Oh yea. Thanks for reminding. It's Taco Thursday. Isn't that great?"
Caitie gave him a look that meant she wasn't pleased with his answer.
"What? It is Taco Thursday, isn't it?"
"That's not what I'm trying to tell you…"
"Are you saying you don't like tacos?"
"I didn't say that. I just wanted to tell you…"
"I thought you like tacos."
"JAMIE! THIS IS NOT ABOUT SOME STUPID TACOS!"
Caitie couldn't believe that she just yelled at him in front of everybody…about tacos.
"Then what are you trying to tell me?" asked Jamie exasperatingly.
"You really don't have a clue, do you?"
"A clue about what?"
"What today is?"
"I told you already," Jamie said grimly. "It's Taco Thursday. What else is worth mentioning about today?"
"Well for your information Jamie, there is something worth mentioning about today."
"I'm sure it's nothing special," he said although he didn't really mean it.
Caitie had a hurt look on her face and a tear started to fall from her face. She didn't care anymore if half of the school is watching them.
"You know what Jamie Waite? You are the most inconsiderate and thoughtless man I've ever laid my eyes on."
"What's up with you today?"
"You tell me!"
"You're just going around getting mad at me for no reason as though you're PMSing."
"No, I am not PMSing. And I do have a reason to get mad at you."
By now a crowd has gathered in the middle of the hallway, oblivious to the ring of the bell.
"I don't have time for this," Caitie said as she wiped the tears from her eyes, walking by him as she headed to class, despite the fact that she was late.
"Fine!" Jamie called out. "Leave all you want! I don't care!"
Jamie looked on as Caitie disappeared through the hall. He noticed that people are still looking at him.
"What are you people looking at?" he yelled in frustration as a bunch of them left and backed away. "Mind your own business!"
Jamie slapped his fists on one of the lockers when he felt a tap behind him on the shoulders.
"For the last time…GO AWAY! The show's over!"
"Mr. Waite," said the man behind him. "Are you aware that you're ten minutes late from class.
Jamie turned and saw Carlson.
"I don't care."
"Mr. Waite. You just earned yourself detention after school today. I expect to see you there on time."
"Whatever," he said before he walked away for class.
As Jamie walked down the hall, he couldn't help but look back at what just happened. 'I blew it this time. What did I do wrong? What is so important about today? I better ask someone fast before Caitie decides to banish me from her life. Well, lunchtime is coming next. I just hope Val knows something.'
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Ta-da! What do you think? I hope you liked it. The idea has been in my head for quite some time now. Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to review. I'll be back! ~ Scarlet182