(Slow dissolve to Ted, sitting at a school desk and looking mighty tired. It is now the third week of January, 2013. The Lorax enters from behind near the door.)

Lorax: "We bring you now to Ted, now a year older and back in school, where I've heard all kids should be. As you can see, he's having a bit of trouble waking up. (Glances over and sees a short-haired blonde boy smack his head down and start sleeping.) And judging by the looks of it, he's not the only one."

(The Lorax exits.)

Chapter Four: Gona Da-lier

*Ted's POV*

I'll admit: I've never really gotten jealous-okay, too terrifically jealous- of others. Except during this time of year where I ALWAYS find myself wishing I was my mom's cousins, who live on the west coast, where I've heard they get a few more days off before winter break ends (1). It's been what, a little over two weeks since school started again and Mom STILL has to come wake me up.

I look to the row beside mine towards my friend Billy (2). He sits in the next row and one desk ahead of mine and normally I would be chatting with him before class starts but he has to get up even earlier than me due to living further from school than I do. So during the beginning of the year, he's usually more tiring to get back into the swing of getting up earlier than anything. So I'm left to my own thoughts.

I can't believe it's almost a year since trees-real ones as Audrey'd said- came back. Now Thneedville's trying to encourage the animals to come back by transplanting other kinds of trees in the valley. And according to the Once-ler, the Truffalas around his house are growing faster than he'd excepted so hopefully, more animals should be coming soon. As for me, nothing much in my life has changed although occasionally people will still come up to me and ask me questions.

Now don't let fame get to your head, the Once-ler would cajole me. No worries- after hearing smaller details from him about being really famous, I decided I want no part of it. Oh, hang on, class is starting. Billy starts to rouse himself.

Miss Sneetcher (3) arrives and explains we have a new classmate, who she brings up to the front of the room. I have to admit, my eyebrows rose a bit when I saw her. The girl is wearing what looks like a blazer, and matching dark-green skirt. She has long black hair and her eyes are really brown (4). She's…actually kind of pretty. Not as pretty as Audrey, of course, but awfully close.

"My name is Gona. Gona Da-lier (5). Or you could call by my middle name Vanessa." She shifts her feet quite a bit and looks down at them. I certainly can't blame her for feeling so nervous, she looks like she wants to be anywhere but the front of the classroom (I don't know any 'new kid' who felt like being there on their first day at a school!).

"That's a very unique name, Gona. Are you named after someone?" Miss Sneetcher asks.

"I was born on a gondola in Italy." And that's all she'd say. With that, she's put in a spot just a few seats ahead of me on the left. I stare at her for a couple of seconds before we're called to start discussing our book assignment. As we start reading, I find myself constantly glancing at Gona.

I can't shake this feeling that there's…something familiar about her.

Hello all! Here's another relatively short chapter for you, introducing our first OC! But first, our markers (the #s):

#1: I lived on the East Coast for most of my elementary school years, and during that time, we'd get out like, really early in December for break and then we'd get back almost the day after New Year's Eve. The West Coast, you get out a few DAYS before Christmas and you usually have a couple of extra days after New Year's before school starts again (that's what I've noticed, anyway).

Oh, and Ted was just mentioning other family but only his mom and grandma will appear.

#2: The idea for him came from a Deviantart user called KicsterAsh, who drew this amazing (unfortunately discontinued) comic named 'Truffula Trove'. I basically used Billy because I realized I didn't give Ted any friends other than Audrey.

I don't know this artist personally, but all credit for him should go to her (and if anyone knows her, please tell her!)

#3: Miss Sneetcher is the name of the teacher from Dr. Seuss's Daisy-Head Mayzie, which was published in 1995. I have it, and it's rhyming is really funny!

#4: For Gona's appearance, picture the character of Yozora Mikazuki from the anime/manga Haganai (its shortened title, by the way) in her green uniform. Think of that, but Gona's eyes are really brown, not purple. You will see why Ted finds her so familiar later!

#5: Her name is really unusual, I know. I was trying to create a Seuss-sounding name. Her name is pronounced GO-NA DA-LEER. Gona is actually the name of a coastal village in Papua New Guinea and I was trying to make her name also sound like gondola. Read more and you'll also learn why her middle name is Vanessa.

While I was looking over my last chapter, I'd realized I forgot to write in what #6 meant, so here it is:

#6: Do you remember near the end of 'Let It Grow' where the Once-ler reached for the axe to chop away the boards on his window, we get a brief glimpse of Ted's 'payment' on top of a red book? It looks like a photo album, in my opinion. I decided to expand on it!

For Ted's classroom, I kept in mind my tenth-grade science room. It had three rows of chairs in the middle of the room and a row of lab tables on either side. The entry/exit that I normally took were in the back of the room, so Ted would be sitting in the back of the middle row of seats and he'd have to turn around to see the clock :D

Stay tuned for more! Next up, Audrey meets Gona, and Ted manages to get more than a few sentences out of her…