Chapter 2: Wasted Chance

Todd was frozen in fear as his mind raced a mile a minute.

Maurecia's face was completely blank. Todd was trembling, trying to find the right words to say.

Suddenly, Maurecia let a huge smile spread across her face as she put on her usual giddy face whenever she was around Todd. Todd was trembling even harder now, "Oh jeez, what is she gonna do?" Todd thought as he pictured his own funeral.

Maurecia took a step forward and Todd closed his eyes in fear, preparing for the worst. As Todd continued to wait, he felt two arms wrap around him and squeeze him tightly. "What's going on? Why do I feel so warm?" Todd slowly peaked one eye open and saw the back of Maurecia's blue ponytail. Todd realized that Maurecia was hugging him.

Maurecia stopped squeezing Todd, took his hands, and looked him in the eyes. "Good morning Todd! Are you ready for all the fun we are gonna have this week my love?" Maurecia sweetly asked as she pulled her head back and she put her left hand lightly on Todd's face.

Todd was still very confused. Did she not even notice his punch? Todd looked at her face more closely and realized there was no sign that he had just punched her, not even a small bruise. "Oh yea. This is Maurecia we are talking about. She's the toughest girl at this school, I couldn't hurt her if I tried." Todd thought as he realized his fist was throbbing in pain from punching her iron-like face and now Maurecia was squeezing it. "Ow! Maurecia, you're crushing my hand!" Todd yelped as tried to pull his hand out of Maurecia's death grip. Maurecia frowned as she loosened her grip. Todd winced in pain as he brought his fist to his chest.

Maurecia continued to gaze at Todd as he blew on his hand. "So Todd, are you ready to be my boyfriend?" Maurecia asked.

Todd sighed. "Ok, she is too tough to speak her language physically, I'll have to go with plan b." Todd thought.

Todd's face started to get red as he remembered what plan b was. "Ok Maurecia. I have a proposition for you." Todd said as he grew even more red in the face. "Proposition?" Maurecia asked. "Yes, well, it's more like a promise actually. All you have to do is not punch me for the entire week." Todd said calmly. Maurecia squinted her eyes. "And what happens if I do?" "I… I will take you out on a date." Todd spat out quickly. Maurecia's heart started to beat faster, it felt as if she was doing ten different extreme stunts at the same time. "Are you serious? No foolies?" Maurecia asked, almost too happy to talk. "Yes." Todd replied. Maurecia thought about the deal for a moment and smiled. "Ok, I promise." Todd smiled. "To, ahem, give you some incentive, here is a small gift for agreeing to do this." Todd quietly said. Without warning, Todd pulled Maurecia into his arms and gave her a peck on the cheek.

As Todd pulled away, Maurecia looked stun. It took her a few seconds to internalize what had just happened. Todd had just kissed her cheek. Her love, her Todd. She could feel the intense heat coming from the area that Todd had kissed. She wobbly put her right hand on the part of her cheek that Todd had just kissed and slumped to the ground in utter bliss. This was the happiest day of her life.

Todd, who was still extremely red in the face, stared at Maurecia as she fell to the ground. "Well, uh… I better get to class. I'll see ya." Todd stammered. He looked at Maurecia for another moment and then started to walk away. "Ok, I'll just consider that a friend kiss." Todd thought. "This doesn't mean I like Maurecia. This is all for my shoulder's sake. And by the looks of it…" Todd looked back at Maurecia who still looked like she was in paradise, "That kiss basically just guaranteed me a week off from her punching." Todd thought happily as he continued to walk away.

Dana, who was looking through a door on the ceiling of the hallway, quietly squealed at what she had just saw. "Oh. My. God! Todd just kissed Maurecia! Todd finally showed Maurecia his affection towards her! I wish I could have heard what they were saying to each other!" Dana said excitedly to herself as she jumped up and down. "I have to tell everyone!" Dana then jumped up and pulled herself through a door on the next floor. She then started sprinting as fast as she could to the nearest staircase with a huge grin on her face.

Maurecia looked up to see her love and saw that Todd was walking away from her. As Maurecia slowly stood up, still in a daze from Todd's kiss, her subconscious caused her to clench her fist. "Just one hit. I have to hit him, he… he's my everything!" Maurecia said incredibly softly, still recovering from the kiss. Maurecia started to roll her way towards Todd with pink hearts formed in her eyes, completely blind to anything else.

Myron had just turned into the hallway and saw Maurecia slowly rolling."Hey Maur-" Myron started to say, but was quickly sent flying as he bumped into Maurecia. Myron smashed into a trophy case, shattering the glass. Several trophies landed on a dizzy Myron. "Ok, I'll see ya later Maurecia!" Myron said cheerfully as he wiped the dust off his shorts, quickly jumped back up, and walked away.

"Girl, you can't do this! This is the first real chance Todd has given you. Who knows if he will ever give you another chance like this! It hasn't even been a minute since you made that promise! Remember all the planning we did last weekend?" Maurecia's new voice yelled at her as she continued to skate towards Todd. "But I have to! This is no time for planning. This is time for action!" Maurecia yelled inside her mind as she shook her head.

Todd turned around, shocked that Maurecia was skating at him, now at full speed. "Maurecia? What are you-" Todd started to say but was interrupted by Maurecia's fist slamming into him. Todd was sent flying through the staircase, causing a huge hole to appear in the staircase.

As soon as Maurecia's punch connected, she snapped out of her intense love trance. Maurecia looked at her fist and then at the huge hole in the staircase. She looked back and forth several times between her fist and the hole, unsure of what to do.

Todd laid in the dark hole below the staircase he had just been forced through. "Not even a full minute." Todd said quietly as his body ached all over. "Not even one." Todd said angrily as he slowly picked himself up.

Maurecia heard Todd starting to get up. She started to sweat, scared of how Todd would react. As Maurecia heard Todd's footsteps, she turned her back to the Todd-sized hole and skated away as fast as she could.

Todd emerged from the hole moments later, still somewhat shook from going through the staircase. Todd looked around angrily, but Maurecia was nowhere to be found. As Todd ran down the hallway, he saw his suitcase laying in the middle of it. "Oh yea. I guess I need to stuff this away in my locker before I get to class and tell off Maurecia." Todd grunted as he bent over and picked up his suitcase.

As Todd started walking over to his locker, which was on the opposite side of the hallway, he noticed that the other kids in the hall were quietly whispering to each other as he passed. Todd turned to a pair of girls who were whispering and giggling at him. "What?" Todd asked annoyed. One of the girls told Todd that she had heard that him and Maurecia were officially going out. Todd began to violently shake. "NO. I AM NOT GOING OUT WITH MAURECIA." Todd yelled. The two girls ran away screaming. Todd angrily stomped his way to his locker and slammed his suitcase into it. "Why would anyone think that Maurecia and I were going out." Todd thought to himself, incredibly annoyed that someone would spread this false statement. "Now, who likes to spread rumors?" A moment later, Todd sighed. "Dana."

Maurecia skated up to the 30th floor as fast as she could, opened to the door to the empty classroom, and sadly sunk into her desk's seat. Maurecia looked up for a moment and realized the classroom was not empty. Dana was at the teacher's desk, organizing some papers. "Dana? What are you doing her? Class doesn't start for another 20 minutes." Dana carefully placed down the papers she was holding and looked at Maurecia. "I should ask you the same thing. Why aren't you with your beloved Todd?" Maurecia saddened at the mention of Todd. "I don't think Todd wants to see me… ever." Maurecia quietly said as she stared at her desk. Dana had a puzzled look on her face. "What, why? He is totally in love with you!" Maurecia looked up from her desk, surprised. "What? Really?" Dana walked over to Maurecia's desk and sat on top of it. "Of course, the whole school practically knows it by now." Dana said. "Well, thanks to me." Dana thought as Maurecia leaped into the air, filled with joy. Maurecia was extremely happy now, falling even more in love with Todd as she thought about him forgiving her.

Maurecia dreamily imagined what Todd was going to say to her once he got to class. "Oh Maurecia, I could never stay mad at you, no matter what you do! Marry me, and we can live together forever!" Maurecia blushed as she continued to fantasize about her love.

Maurecia stared at the door to the classroom, waiting for Todd to burst into the classroom and declare his love for her. The rest of the class trickled in one by one, each time Maurecia got her hopes up that it would be Todd who entered. With only one minute until class started, Maurecia's heart began to pound faster and faster.

As Maurecia continued to stare at the door, it finally opened and revealed Todd. A huge grin erupted across Maurecia's face as she leapt out of her seat and skated towards her love.

Maurecia stopped halfway to him though, her grin quickly vanishing.

Todd had a huge, dream-crushing scowl spread across. Maurecia immediately realized that Todd had not forgiven her. "Maurecia, I gave you a chance." Todd said quietly. "What did you say Todd?" Maurecia asked softly. "I SAID I GAVE YOU A CHANCE. And you threw it away, wasted it. And now I know you can't keep promises." Todd said, erupting in anger. Maurecia's lower lip began to quiver as she started to tear up. "Not only am I not ever going to be your boyfriend, I'm not going to be your friend anymore either." Todd said sternly. The entire class was silent. Todd walked past Maurecia and took a seat at his desk in the back of the classroom, completely ignoring everyone else. Maurecia's tears were flowing freely now. She skated out the classroom door, wailing. She quickly got into the girl's bathroom, ran into a stall, and locked it as tears continued to pour out of her now irritated eyes.

"Todd! How could you say that to your girlfriend?" Dana said angrily. "Yea Todd, how could you do that to Sister Mo?" Jenny said. Todd glared at Dana and Jenny. "First of all, I don't know why anyone would think Maurecia and I were dating. Second, did you not here what I just said? She BROKE A PROMISE. Even if we were dating, which once again, we were not, and still aren't, why would I stay with her after she broke her promise. Would anyone in here stay in a relationship with someone who broke a promise to them?" The whole class looked down sadly. "Well…no. But I saw you kiss Maurecia on the cheek!" Dana said desperately. Todd eyes widened as he blushed. "W..what? W..well that was…" The whole class continued to look at Todd. "Ok look, I told Maurecia if she didn't hit me for the entire week, I would take her out on a date." All the students in the class looked at each other and looked back at Todd in anger. "And you thought that would work?" Stephen, a red-haired boy in an elf costume asked. Dana popped up next to Todd. "Todd, why would you think that would work?" "Because I kissed her on the cheek, you know, to give her some incentive." Dana appeared even more angry now. "Todd, that's literally the worst thing you could have done. Anytime you gave Maurecia even the smallest amount of affection she would punch you, even if you didn't mean it, right?" Todd furrowed his brow. "She would punch me regardless! Remember last Friday? I hadn't even talked to her that day and she punched me out of nowhere!" "Ok, that's fair. But, you knew a punch would be coming if you showed her affection, right? I mean, you've been here for six months and she started doing this on the very first day you came here." Todd sighed. "C'mon Todd, even I could see that!" Myron said with a smug smile. Todd glared at Myron and then back at Dana. "What's your point Dana." Todd said dryly. Dana looked at Todd for a moment. "I think you knew she would break your promise." Dana said as she jabbed Todd in the chest with her index finger. Todd grew even more angry. "That is the stupidest thing I ever heard. Mrs. Jewels can we just start class already?" Todd asked as he looked at Mrs. Jewels, desperate to get out of the conversation. Mrs. Jewels looked around the room and could tell that her students were getting bummed out. "Yes Todd. But let's have a break to cheer everyone up. Let's have some recess to start off the week at Wayside!" Mrs. Jewels said cheerfully. The whole class's mood got a lot better as they all cheered and ran out the door, except for Todd who slowly dragged himself out of the classroom.

As everyone, except Todd, went out to recess, Dana looked around the field, hopeful that Maurecia would be there first like she usually was. Dana frowned as she continued to search, Maurecia was nowhere to be found. Dana looked around defeated, sitting next to Myron who was laying down on a bench. "Hey Myron." Dana said unenthusiastically. "Hey Dana, how's it going." Myron said nonchalantly as he pulled out a piece of string. Dana sighed. "I kind of feel bad for Maurecia and Todd. I gave Maurecia that hope before Todd came into class and now she feels worse than ever, I mean she never misses recess." "Uh-huh." Myron said, half-listening as he started to get tangled in his string. "I gotta think of something to get those two back together." Dana said, thinking intensely. "Hey, did you hear about the huge hole in one of the staircases?" Myron asked, now completely tied up in string. Dana raised her eyebrow. "What huge hole?" "It happened this morning. Louis is gonna have to shut down the stairs again." Dana then grew a smile across her face. "I've got an idea! Thanks Myron!" Dana said excitedly as she stood up. "It's what I do." Myron said coolly as he struggled to get out of the string. "Uh, a little help? Dana? Dana?!" Myron yelled as he watched Dana sprint away.

Todd was wandering around the school aimlessly while everyone else was at recess. "That is so dumb, I seriously thought my plan would work." Todd thought, annoyed that Dana say that. "Did you really though?" Todd paused as that weird new voice came back into his head. Todd slumped down next to a locker and continued to think.

Todd noticed a few kids from his class were making their way back to class, so Todd decided to go back as well. As the rest of the class trickled in from recess laughing and talking, Todd pulled out a Gameboy and started playing it. Mrs. Jewels came in to the class and started teaching once everyone was back.

As Todd continued to play, he subtlety shifted his eyes at Maurecia's desk. It was still empty. Todd also noticed as he shifted his eyes to the front of the classroom that Dana was absent as well. "Dana isn't here? That can't be good. She must be up to something." Todd thought as he squinted his eyes. "Why can't she just let this go?"

"Woah Dana, what's up?" Louis calmly said as he opened the Janitor's closet door. Dana was breathing heavily as she looked up at Louis. "Louis, I need your help. I made Maurecia miserable and you're the only that can help." Dana said. "Sure, little dudette. What do you need?"

Todd was looking out the window of the classroom when he heard the classroom door open. Todd turned his head and saw Maurecia step in. Maurecia's eyes looked hollow and uncomfortably dry. Her entire outfit was drenched in tears. She shuffled over to her desk and sat down, not saying a single word to anyone. "Are you alright Maurecia?" Mrs. Jewels asked. "Yes Mrs. Jewels." Maurecia said softly.

Todd started to feel worse as he saw the terrible state that Maurecia was in. He tried to ignore her, just like it was any other usual day at Wayside, but he couldn't. He claimed that he had always wanted to help people and yet, here is one of his friends in a deplorable mental state that was solely caused by him. This wasn't anything like the kindergarten incident that got him sent to Wayside. It was entirely his fault. Todd began to slouch in his seat as he continued to think of the pain he caused Maurecia.

As class was winding down for the day, the speakers came alive with a loud screeching sound. The entire class yelled in agony. They then heard a bunch of rumbling as Mr. Kidswatter started to curse the mic. "Sorry about that you whatchamacallits. Before we let you thingamajigs have fun around the school, there are some basic rules we need to lay down." Dana squealed at the mention of rules. "First, all students must remain on school property at all times." Todd gave a small smile as it was confirmed that he couldn't be sent home early. "Well…uh… that's pretty much it." Mr. Kidswatter announced as he flipped through his notecards. Louis whispered in Mr. Kidswatter's ear. "Oh, right. In regards to sleeping arrangements, after ten o'clock the school will be split into two sections. Floors 1-14 will belong to the girls and floors 15-30, well except floor 19, will belong to the boys. There will be teachers circulating around to make sure there is no funny business going on. Any students caught after ten not on their assigned set of floors will be severely punished. If you have any questions, ask Dana." Dana beamed a smile at the last remark.

The bell rang shortly after the announcement and everyone except Todd and Maurecia ran out, screaming in celebration. Todd laid his head down on his desk and sighed. Maurecia sadly got up from her desk and slowly skated out of the classroom. Todd looked up as Maurecia started to leave. Todd knew he should say something to Maurecia. Todd opened his mouth to say something, but he could not get anything to come out. The door closed behind Maurecia as she skated out. Todd closed his mouth and put his head back onto his desk.

"Hey Dana, you wanna go to the pool?" Myron asked, already bored. "Sure Myron, I just need to go check on something really quick. I'll meet you there." Dana said. "Ok, I'm gonna go change into my swimsuit." Myron said as he walked into the boy's bathroom. Dana quickly turned around, scanning the halls for Maurecia. Suddenly, Dana felt something underneath her shoes. She looked down and noticed that the hallway had a thin layer of water covering the floor. Dana followed the trail of water and saw that it was coming out of a girl's bathroom. "There she is." Dana said. As Dana opened the door, she was hit by a wall of sound coming from Maurecia who was still balling her eyes out. Dana rubbed her shoulder awkwardly as she approached the stall Maurecia was in. "Hey Maurecia, Louis wanted me to tell you that he needs all the girls out of the bathroom so he can clean it." Dana said softly. Dana waited a few seconds and the bathroom stall door slowly opened. Maurecia was looking straight at the ground and looked exhausted. Her eyes were even less dry than before and it looked like she hadn't eaten all day. "Um… Maurecia, if you want some privacy, might I suggest a place?" Maurecia sadly looked up at Dana.

Todd was asleep underneath a tree in the front yard of the school with a Gameboy on his stomach as the speakers came on. "Two-minute warning! All girls must be on floors 1-14. All boys must be on floors 15-30!" Todd suddenly woke up. "Oh crap, I overslept! I need to get my stuff from my locker and get to the 15th floor!" Todd said as he sprinted towards the school.

There were already only girls on the 1st floor Todd noticed as he entered the school. Todd quickly ran to his locker, grabbed his suitcase, and slammed it shut. "One-minute warning!" The speakers said. "Oh man, I can't climb 15 stories in a minute. What am I gonna do?" Todd said worried. "Hey Todd, what are you still doing here?" Todd turned around and saw Dana, who was now in her pajamas. "Dana, do you know anyway to get up the to the 15th floor quickly?" Todd asked. Dana put a finger on her chin and thought for a second. "Well, you could take the elevator. Louis is fixing the stairs because someone made a huge hole in them earlier today so you can use it." Todd rubbed his neck as he remembered Maurecia punching him through the stairs. "Oh really? That's weird. But yea, thanks Dana." Todd yelled already running to the elevator.

Dana waved happily. Once Dana saw that Todd was out of sight, she pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Is everything ready Louis?" "You know it little dudette." Louis replied.

As Todd zoomed his way to the elevator, he saw that Mrs. Jewels was starting to make rounds to see if anyone was breaking the rules. "Of course it's Mrs. Jewels." Todd thought as he rapidly tapped his foot on the ground, waiting for the elevator. "Todd?" Mrs. Jewels questioned as Todd looked back. "Oh man! She noticed. Open you stupid elevator!" Todd quietly said as he aggressively jabbed the elevator button repeatedly. The elevator dinged as it arrived and the door opened slowly. "Finally!" Todd said as he squeezed in as fast as he could. Todd started to rapidly hit the 15th floor button. Todd sighed in relief as the elevator door closed just before Mrs. Jewels got there.

Todd slumped to the floor, closing his eyes and smiling that he made it out just in time.

Todd opened his eyes and noticed a figure sitting on the opposite corner of the elevator.

It was Maurecia.

Hope you liked it. More likely to come. Please review, follow, favorite, criticize, etc.