When I got there, I took some notes down while the other students started coming back to class. I was glad I stayed out of Carlos and Meredith's fight. I did not want to take their sides. I was still doing notes when the last student and the teacher came back.
"You may take notes if you want to," said the teacher.
At least I had that started right away. At lunch, I was in line when both Meredith and Carlos came. They were both arguing to be with me.
"Either you both can or none of you can be with me if you keep on fighting," I said.
There. That did it. Somehow they stopped. By the time I got my lunch, they were at it once again. They are driving me nuts! But I walked away without them knowing it. I sat with my other friends.
"What's going on with Carlos and Meredith?" asked Kristy.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to bother to be put in the middle," I replied.
"That was a smart idea to do," agreed Kristy.
"I agree," said Stacey.
Meredith and Carlos must have noticed I went by them because they both came to me. I just rolled my eyes.
"How come you didn't join us?" asked Carlos.
"Well, you were both arguing again," I replied. "I don't need that. If Dad knew you were yelling at each other, he would ground you both. He hates it when someone yells and you know it."
After lunch, I was getting ready to start a project. I was planning to make a shirt with a cat design on it. I made a blueprint on how I wanted to make it. The teacher agreed with my idea and the other students had decided to do that as well. They liked that plan, too.
After school, Meredith came up to me and said, "Carlos is so immature when he wants to be today. He thinks everything is my fault."
But I walked away without listening. I know this may sound stupid as a listener, but I'm not going to listen to any complaints about each other.
Later, at home, I was in my room doing homework when Carlos came in to me.
"What did Meredith say about me?" asked Carlos.
"Nothing. I didn't pay attention since I didn't have time to hear a thing," I replied, which was true.
"She can be rough often," said Carlos.
Oh, brother, here we go, I thought.
"Don't believe what she says about me," said Carlos.
"Well, I wasn't the one who was immature this morning, you were," said Meredith who walked by.
"That's not true!" cried Carlos.
"I am not kidding," said Meredith.
"Can you both quit it?" I asked. "You could get in trouble if Dad hears you."
I got up and got away.
"You've got to listen to what I say," said Meredith who stopped me.
"Why? So I can be caught in the middle? No thank you," I said. "I may be a good listener, but I don't think any great listener would want to be put in the middle."
I went downstairs and decided to go outside to read on a hammock when Carlos came out to me.
"Can you please listen to my side of the story?" asked Carlos. "Meredith was a drama queen all day today. She wouldn't let me check out just because she was mad at me. So, I had to do something else. You know what else happened? She took over my assignment."
"What if the librarian tells her to do something? You can't get mad at her for nothing," I said.
"She just does stuff without being told and if I didn't do something, the librarian would yell at me in front of everyone. That's not right," said Carlos. "On the top of that, she takes Meredith's side. That's not fair. As you can see, she's the teacher's pet. The other classmates agreed with me on that when they all noticed."
"Do not mention that to Meredith. She will be very mad at you and if you probably told anyone else, she could get teased and she will blame it on you," I warned him.
"I don't care. She deserves it," said Carlos.
"Carlos, you and Meredith protect me from getting hurt. I don't need her to get very upset because of you," I said. "Like me, Meredith is sensitive. I don't want to hear it anymore."
I got up and head back inside. This is how I could be caught right in the middle, which is why I refused to do so most of the day. I would go out of my mind. What if it was a lie? Meredith could go after Carlos one of these days. That's all I need for them to be put me in the middle for the whole time.
