*McKynleigh*

Alright, so I've always been a little tall. Therefore, at assemblies and everything, I'd always be in the back. And you know those really long, dull speeches that make you wanna fall asleep? The day before ninth grade summer break I kind of… sort of… did.

"Um, sorry about that," I muttered.

My homeroom teacher glanced up from shuffling a stack of papers. "You fell asleep in the middle of the end of school assembly."

"Sorry, Mr. Woodlee," I repeated, standing awkwardly, my hands locked behind my back.

"What, were you up all night partying, or something?" he asked, turning back to his papers.

"Watching horror movies, actually…" I admitted.

"Very nice, Abraham." He didn't look up. "As for your punishment, you're officially enrolled in summer school."

I froze. "What?"

"Summer school," he repeated. "You. Going."

"But…" I started, gaping. "B-b-but I…"

He glanced up again. "You're going, Abraham. End of story."

I turned away, trying not to cry. Summer school!

Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the few boys I actually knew trying to reach something on a high shelf. He was failing.

I walked over, grabbed the box he was reaching for, and leaned down to hand it to him, forcing a small smile. "For you."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you making fun of me?"

I shrugged, my smile turning a bit more amused. "Maybe a little."

He glared, grabbed the box from my hand, and shoved past me, almost making me fall over.

"Hey!" I said, turning around, hands on my hips, now fully standing. "What was that for?"

He ignored me, set the box on Mr. Woodlee's desk, and started to move back to his seat. I growled inwardly and stepped in front of him.

He glared up at me. "What?"

"Why'd you shove me?" I tried to sound more intimidating than hurt. He'd been glaring at me ever since the beginning of the year, when we'd found out we had every class together.

"You were in the way, Amazon," he said simply, slipping past me.

I tensed. Amazon? I turned and glared at him. "What'd you call me, midget?"

He turned back around, scowling. "You wanna fight?"

"What if I do?" I asked, clenching my fists.

"Hey, break it up!" Mr. Woodlee called from across the room. "Save the flirting for after school!"

"The what!" we exclaimed in unison, whipping around.

"You are going out, right?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"No!" we yelled, again in unison.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the last class on the last day of school – for everyone but me, at least. The two of us turned away from him, still scowling, grabbed our stuff, and joined the rest of the school in the hall. Everyone else had been in the gym or cafeteria. We'd been with Mr. Woodlee because at the beginning of the year we'd been unwillingly chosen to be the class representatives.

"Ugh, I can't believe that," he grumbled as we slipped out. "Why the hell would he think we were going out?"

"I dunno." I shrugged, my scowl slowly turning into a soft frown. I glanced over at him. "Hey, Matheus?"

He looked up. "What?"

"Why do you hate me?" I asked curiously.

He paused, surprised. "What?"

"Why do you hate me?" I repeated calmly, stopping next to him.

He stared up at me, confused. "Who said I hate you?" His gaze drifted off to the side. "Hey, Cameron, wait up!" he yelled, tearing himself away from me and running after the other boy.

"Wait a – Matheus!" I yelled after him. "You do not get to end this conversation like that! Get back here!"

Of course, he didn't hear.

Aaaargh! I screamed inwardly. God, he pisses me off!

"Miki!"

I turned around. My two best friends were headed in my direction, Emily strutting and Ellis keeping Emily's pace, but looking like she'd rather run.

"Oh, hey, guys," I said as they stopped in front of me. "How've you been? I haven't seen you all day."

Emily shrugged. "Fine. Ooh, what'd Zach say about you falling asleep?"

I rolled my eyes at her use of his first name and sighed. "I have to go to summer school."

Ellis's eyes widened. "You in summer school? Little Miss Goody-Goody?"

"Hey, I'm in it, too!" Emily said defensively.

"Oh, I know," Ellis said, shrugging. "I'm just surprised that she is."

Emily glared. "Chica, you wanna go?"

I stepped between them. "Hey, guys. We're all friends, right?" I put my arms around the two of them.

"I was kidding, you know," Ellis said, sincerity replacing her nonchalant expression.

Emily sighed and smiled a bit. "Yeah, boo, I know."

"The power of friendship!" I said happily, letting them go.

"Do you think I should come, too?" Ellis asked.

I looked at her, surprised. "Why would you?"

"I don't wanna be alone!" she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You two are my only friends! And no, Emily," she placed a finger in front of Emily's half-open mouth without even looking, "Cameron doesn't count."

Emily looked at me. "You consider him a friend, right?"

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. He's around too much for me not to."

Emily turned back to Ellis, smiling haughtily.

Ellis rolled her eyes and turned back to me. "So, do you think I should come?"

I shrugged again. "Why not? If you think it's be more fun than being alone with your anime."

She thought a moment. "Ooh, three months of Inuyasha and Soul Eater… Nope, too lonely. Summer school it is!"

Emily and I laughed.

"Well, before that," Ellis continued, half-jumping in place, her short hair bouncing against her cheeks, "let's go do something! I'm far too hyper to stand around talking."

I shook my head at her, trying to hide my grin. "Fine, fine. Let's go to the park. You can swing to your little heart's desire."

"I'm not little!" she indignantly as we started walking. "Emily's only two inches taller than me!"

"Well, that is a whole two inches, boo," Emily said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Shut up," Ellis grumbled.

"Oh, come on, 5'2" isn't that bad," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"You're 5'10", you don't get to say anything," she said, turning away from me in a very Emily-like fashion.

"So," Emily cut in, trying to tone down the drama for once. "Everyone's being placed together, right? Do you think there'll be any hotties?" She grinned.

"You have a boyfriend, Emily," Ellis reminded her. Emily winked at her.

I stuck my hand out, palm facing Ellis. "Forever alone?"

She nodded and high-fived me. "But at least you have a guy who talks to you."

I raised an eyebrow. "I do?"

She looked at me like I was crazy. "Uh, yeah. Matheus."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She shrugged. "I think you two would be cute together."

Emily raised her hand for a high-five. "Up top, girl!"

Ellis chuckled and complied.

I froze in my tracks, mouth agape. "Not you guys, too!"

Ellis looked up at me, confused. "What do you mean?"

Emily grinned at me. "C'mon, the little guy's adorable! Go for it!"

I groaned. "No." I picked up my pace, my slight heels hitting the ground hard.

That did it. This summer I had to find a boyfriend, summer school or not.