Mariah continued to cry, more tears soaking her bed. How could Queen... Ray... How could they do that to her? And to James? She actually didn't want to know. It was pure evil. Pure evil. And after all the things Mariah had done for them...
So it was before school on a Friday. Pretty much the whole school had gathered in the drama room. It was the night of the talent show, and with a lot of persuading from Mariah and the others, Matilda finally agreed to sign up and do some flips and twists on the dance floor. Matilda didn't see why everyone was so down Mariah's throat for hanging with the plastics. Mariah had still been really helpful in getting her to do this tonight. But where were Mariah and Ray anyway? Not like them to miss something so important... Maybe they were sick, I mean, Matilda, or anyone else for that matter, had seen Mariah or Ray since lunch. Neither turned up for their classes either. Oh well, the last thing Matilda needed was worry. The pinkette was backstage and kept peering out around the curtain. Matilda gulped. WAY too many people. WAY, WAY too many people. But she couldn't back out now. Miguel himself had said that he had a surprise for her. And Miguel was her boyfriend, so needless to say, Matilda was ecstatic wondering what it could be. Grinning in her head, she peered out again.
Everyone was there; Miguel, Kai, Tala, Mariam, Cassy and Ashley, ...A few more people. The only ones who weren't in sight were Mariah, Ray, King and Queen. And it's not like Matilda was sad that those two weren't there. She didn't need such peer pressure. But she also wondered why no one else was entering the talent show. But suddenly, the stage lights dimmed. The show was beginning...
All of a sudden, Mariah jolted from her daze. All the things she'd done for them... The plan! Oh my god, the trick! Her friends- true friends... Would never forgive her if she let the plastics go through with their plot! Giving a wild string of curses, Mariah leapt up and ran to her dresser, trying to find something decent to wear for the time being. She had to stop that talent show! After she had pulled out bits and pieces of fashion from her drawers, Mariah raced out the door. And slammed into her now-ex boyfriend.
"Mariah! Thank God I found you, I need to talk to y-" But Mariah quickly cut Ray off and picked herself off the floor.
"Not now Ray! What floor is the show on!?" Mariah asked frantically. Ray looked up in thought.
"Uhhhhh......."
"Come on Ray, I don't have all night!" Mariah seemed to yell.
"Seventh!" Ray retorted, also picking himself off the floor. Mariah groaned. "Why?" He stammered.
"No time! We've gotta get to that show!" And with that, Mariah grabbed Ray's arm and they began to run. Just their luck that the show would be on the seventh floor while the dorms were on second and third.
Matilda gulped as the last performer besides herself went out on stage. Matilda could feel her knees start to quake, and her breath caught in her throat. What if she went out there and tripped? Fell? Off the stage???? She groaned. Did she really wanna think about the negatives? Matilda nodded to herself. Falling off stage. Worst that could happen. Right? Wrong.
"This will be a nice little treat." Queen smirked as she looked up from stirring her craft. She and King were on the overhead balcony, peering down at the contestant doing a rhythmic poetry reading. Wasn't the target the duo were waiting for, though.
Mariah had to stop and take a breath when she hit the drama room back door. She gently pushed it open, but still with enough force to cause a racket. Someone shushed her, but a good flipping off was all they received in return. And that was when the crowd began to roar. Mariah stared out through a crack in the curtain. Matilda had taken the stage. Gasping, Mariah struggled to run around to the curtain opening on the right. Ray continued to ask questions, but Mariah dismissed all in her frantic state.
Everyone was clapping, and cheering as they saw their favorite contestant say her hello and what act of entertainment she would be doing. Matilda was actually starting to feel comfortable while she waited for the props group to start her first song. Then, out of the corner of her eye, there! It was Mariah. She didn't look too good...
"Matilda! Matilda please, get off the stage! Come here!" Mariah said to her, trying to cause as less noise she could. Matilda glanced at Mariah from the corner of her rosy eye wearily. But someone else had also seen Mariah. And they weren't too happy.
"Do it! Do it now!" King said, as Queen pushed something over the balcony railing.
Matilda let out a shrill scream as red paint covered her in head from toe. She lifted her hands and stared at them in horror. She was completely taken by surprise. Matilda's mind drifted back on track before she heard the wild laughter from atop the stage. She looked up in disgust. There, were the two enemies. Matilda choked a tear, and ran off the stage, red paint still dripping from the front of the hardwood surface.
Mariah had never felt so crushed. Ray just looked at her in utter shock. He shook his head wearily before running off with everyone else to find Matilda. Mariah groaned before sulking off to her dorm. Would they ever forgive her?
After the talent show incident, everyone had run off in search of Matilda to aid the girl. They found her leaning against a deserted corridor wall crying heavily.
"Ohhhh, Matilda! I can't believe they did this to you!" Emily growled, helping Matilda rinse the red out of her pink hair in the bathroom sink. Matilda was still sobbing. Not too happy, of course. All of a sudden, Matilda jerked her head up from the running water of the tap.
"Mariah!"
"Mariah?"
"Mariah! Mariah must've told them I was performing. Because she knew! She knew it was gonna happen because she was standing on the side of the stage and was telling me to get off!" Emily gasped. That's what Mariah had been up to! Sending them glares, laughing at them... Probably all because they'd accused her off betraying them... And turns out, how right they were.
Anyhow, it was Friday. The night of Mariam and Tala's date, and the day of doom for Mariah. No matter how many times she apologized, how many times she pleaded, the whole group, especially Ray and Matilda wouldn't even spare her a glance. Mariah had spent all recess and free period crying in her dorm. Now she knew how Matilda felt. If only they'd listen, if only they'd forgive her. She had to try.
Queen and King spent the whole day laughing behind the exhausted group's backs. But they weren't laughing for long. Cassy, Ashley, James, King, Queen and Ming Ming sat at their special table and opened their lunches. The plastics refused to order from the cafeteria. 'Too much fat' in the foods. So they packed. Salads, fruit, pudding... The usual low-fat princess diet. You know what else was stupid? They ate certain parts of their lunch at the exact same time. And this gave Ian, Joseph, Kevin and Miguel their chances for sabotage.
"Okay, pudding next!" Ming Ming announced. Everyone at the table peeled back the label of their puddings. BOOM! Thick, green smoke billowed from the pudding tins. And it smelt BAD. The table a few meters away from them which held our heroes; Burst into laughter. Stink bombs. Miguel had come up with a plan to sneak stink bombs in the tins and attach them to the lids. He got Ian, Kevin and Joseph, because of their stealth, to sneak them in there and then re-attach the lids. Everyone was hysteric with laughter. But the plastics, well they were sneezing, choking and covering their noses.
"I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!" King's voice was heard as he ran from the cafeteria. Other anonymous students were giggling and praising the actions of our friends. The smell wasn't very pleasant, but they withstood it: Just to see the plastics running out of the café, tails between their legs.
Anyway, there was still some friction involving the Mariam x Tala situation. But Salima had to admit: Kai was being a real gentleman. He was there whenever she needed him. Maybe he wasn't so bad...? Kai had helped her with homework, partnered with her for all the hard assignments and even drove halfway across town just because she felt like having a coffee. Now that was commitment. But how could Salima repay him? She could only think of one way.
"Hey Kai?" Salima asked as she and the stoic Russian plodded the corridors of the last floor.
"Yeah?" He smiled down at her. She suddenly found her feet to be very interesting, and Salima could feel her cheeks burning.
"Do you wanna... Go, somewhere tonight? Maybe to the movie?" Sal asked, tweaking her fingers together. Kai raised an eyebrow in wonder. He thought she didn't like him in that way...? Oh well. If this was Kai's only chance, he'd be damned not to take it. Kai placed a sincere smile on his lips and nodded. Salima looked away before she nodded herself. Looked like she and Kai had a date. But somewhere, far away in a little creaky corner in Kai's head, he had a negligent little thought.
'Tonight... Is the same night as Mariam and Tala's date. Is she just using me to spy on him?'...
Tyson paced the rouge carpet in his dorm room. To join the soccer team or not to join the soccer team? To ask Hilary out or to not ask Hilary out?
Those were the questions. Man, this year has been so complicated! And they were not even into the first week of term 2 yet! But Tyson was a determined young man- And everyone knew it. Tonight, Tyson was feeling confident. He was, indeed, going to ask that feisty brunette (soon to be his) out! Needless to say, rejection was a worry buried beneath his hat today. Tyson drew a thumb over his bruised lips in an expression of pure confidence. He then turned and marched out of his room, heading towards the cafeteria. A little snack would top off the perfect week. It had been a good week for Tyson. He'd been accepted to the soccer team, whistled at a hot girl and not gotten slapped, and even aced his test. Too bad a close friend wasn't having as much luck.
Micheal brought his hand to his head in an exasperated gasp. That was the fourth test he'd totally failed this semester! And only the first week in! How was he going to manage to pass in that position? God only knows... So, that makes a failing science grade, total crash in mathematics, and let's just say he wasn't gonna be studying in Harvard a few years from now. Unless he brought up his mark BIG TIME. Micheal pushed his cap down on his head in a frustrated growl as he stared down at the eraser-ridden paper on the mahogany desk. With a loud roar of anger, he grabbed the paper and crumpled it into a ball, threw it with as much force his pitching arm could muster into the trash can.
"Okay Micheal, calm down, you're just in a funk..." He whispered to himself, breathing heavily from stress. With a great sigh, Micheal leant back, arms behind his head, eyes closed. Think Kai lounging around in a chair. Except Micheal had his chair tipping on the two stable back legs. At least they looked stable...
CRASH!
Micheal fell backwards with a groan.
"Ugh... This is so not my week..."
Emily coughed. Wow, all the cold days they'd had before Summer parted the skies must've really been getting to her. Shoving her test into her jacket pocket, Emily walked back inside the school. She couldn't bare to look at her mark. They'd actually been dropping lately. Emily York, all-strength brainiac, had scored a 70 on a science test! The redhead was too embarrassed to tell her bff Kenny, he'd go ballistic. He'd probably get worried too. Oh well, it was no big deal right? Just a little aftershock from her late nights and doses last week... Right?
Hilary drummed a small beat on her magazine page with her finger, while her other was tracing the words on the smooth paper. The girl was a gossip queen, magazines, movies, teen flings, she loved it all. Hilary could not, by no means, keep a secret. Not many knew that. Hilary just seemed too trustworthy to go around blabbing others' secrets. So she always got away with it. But of course, it still made her feel guilty. She did try her best to keep those secrets that she knew were important, but they always slipped out somehow. It's like the minute when she sensed her friends were getting bored with her, she needed to grab their attention with a quick blurb of juicy gossip- Usually about someone they all knew and cared about. Interesting never the less. Hilary smirked to herself after reading that Nicole Richie got arrested for a DUI.
Julia turned the wheel of her red Mercedes through the busy streets. People were walking on every side, and traffic lights were numbered highly. The hyper girl just finished a small shopping spree. Hey, who says being a beyblader didn't pay very well? It certainly had it's good points. But Julia's shopping spree was yet to be over. She had to hit Dior before it closed.
Upon seeing the clear glass and all-too-familiar fashions on display in the store window, Julia hastily pulled her gorgeous car to a stop on the curb and climbed out. It was a good day; Despite the whole poor-Matilda thing, and the stupid date that had Max so riled tonight. Julia was indeed kind of pissed that Max liked Mariam more than she, Julia wasn't so upset that she wasn't dating him tonight. Embarrassed, Julia had gained a bit of weight in the last few weeks. Gladly, no one noticed. Anyway, the blonde-brunette was looking forward to expanding her credit card and doing some damage. Walking through the gold platted doors, Julia almost ran smack into a tall, brooding face. And she was a little hesitant to look up at it. It wasn't anyone her friends knew.
And she was very glad. At the surprise collision, the guy with smooth brown hair with blonde strings looked down at the object of his affections. Julia groaned. A month before school began, Julia's friend whom she'd met in her travels was in the town that her circus was currently boarding. And this friend happened to be throwing a party. So Julia got a little giddy that night, you know, she downed a couple shots and partied. There, was where she'd met the man towering above her. He was wonderful; Sexy, appealing, and single... Looking for a bit of fun. And with the guy (Nathan)'s pleading, Julia let the alcohol take advantage. Julia could still remember the heated kisses, passionate spooning and the ecstatic cries and moans that both had produced while 'enjoying each others' company'. After that night, Julia bid ado to this mystery man; Her circus left the next afternoon. And frankly, a little concust about what the two had done together after they'd been talking for about 20 minutes at that party, Julia kept the whole ordeal to herself and hoped never to see that man again. But here he was, standing in front of her.
Julia didn't want this... So before Nathan could say a word, Julia turned in the opposite direction and bolted back to her car.
Matilda's eyes still felt soggy from all the crying. Mariah had tried countless times to get her forgiveness. But she wasn't exactly ready to give that up yet. Matilda groaned upon hearing a knock at the door. Matilda climbed off the bed in a dorm that she shared with Emily (who was never actually in) and plodded over to the door. She fumbled with the doorknob and finally opened it. Miguel stood before her.
"I never got to give you your surprise." With that, Miguel thrust a big, beautiful bouquet of red roses forward to Matilda. She squealed in delight.
"Miguel! These are Beautiful!" She said, taking them and burrowing her nose into the scent filled present. Without sparing a second, flowers in one hand, she glomped Miguel in a bone-crushing hug. That he returned lovingly.
"Since most things that happened to you today had you seeing red in a bad way, I thought I'd get you something red that was nice."
