Chapter 9: School and Home (The two places anyone under the age of 18 will be found)

Cleo awoke in a white room. There were many empty chairs then one with Ash sitting in it right across from her. She sat up which made Ash jump a little. It was 8am and the moon had set almost an hour ago.

"What's going on?" Cleo asked.

"Well let's just say this wasn't the best wedding for our parents. Now we are in the hospital, waiting for word on Aggie. Alex's finger is fine now and they have Ashley back there too," Ash explained.

"Where are the others?" Cleo asked.

"Across the street in an old, hotel, which will be our new home," Ash told her. "You know this is Grange Street. You know the street with the big but easy to afford homes. It also has an orphanage, a nursing home, and a homeless shelter. It's a really great place," Ash told her. "The others will be back in time for us to go to school."

Cleo looked around. There were doctors with clipboards, holding coffee, or talking to parents. Still even though this was the children's section, it was quit white. There was nothing on the walls, no paintings or children's drawings or anything colorful.

Just then a nurse came out and walked up to Ash. Ashley and Alex were right behind her. She smiled and introduced herself as Hannah May, the triplets' personal nurse. She worked with two other kids with the same medical problem as the triplets and was telling Ash about a program where the girls would come to the hospital after pre-school and hangout with Jessie and Maryann.

As Ash was talking to Hannah, the parents came in with Claudia on their heels. They went right over to Hannah to talk about the after school program for the triplets. Ash motioned for Cleo to follow him. They headed out and across the street to a big house with a truck parked outside. Ash opened the door and the teens walked inside the half empty hotel/house and grabbed their school bags. Then they started off to school.

Emma and Zane

Emma's alarm clock went off at 8am. She sat up and looked around the perfectly normal guest room. Nothing seemed to be different, so why did everything seem so unfamiliar. Well there was the fact that she was not in her old room. She looked up to the door way and there stood Zane.

"You're up. That's good. School starts in an hour," Zane told her.

"What happened last night?" Emma asked.

"Not much, get ready," Zane said turning around, smiling, then leaving the door way.

Emma jumped out of bed and got dressed in a white miniskirt and a blue tank top and started to go through the homework on the desk. She put her math book, math journal, Spanish workbook, social studies book, and English folder in her school bag. She didn't even bother to check her English easy. Then she ran down stairs to see Zane and Elliot sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"Over slept again?" Elliot asked.

"No, I was just working on… a homework… thing," Emma told him sitting down and grabbing a plate.

"Did that include not brushing your hair? It's sticking up in a really funny way," Zane pointed out as Elliot laughed.

Emma turned and looked at her hair in the mirror. She quickly grabbed a hair brush off the island and started rapidly bushing her hair. Then she set it back down and sat right in front of Zane. She gave him a look that said you're-impossible and grabbed a piece of toast. She ate it quickly and ran out the door.

"She's never late, is she," Zane asked Elliot who nodded.

Zane got up and started for school. He had to run to keep up with Emma and end the end gave up. She was already at her locker when he finally made it to the school. Cleo and Rikki were not far behind her, coming up out of no where. Lewis was right on their heels with Ash right behind him.

"So, how was everyone's night?" Lewis asked.

"I don't know. I'll tell you when we get the damages bill," Ash answered.

Everyone looked at him like he said a volcano will cause the ocean to burn up.

"That sounds… really bad. What on earth happened?" Lewis asked after 10 secants of silence.

"Nothing good, that's for shore. Aren't we going to be late? I have to get to class," He said running off in the opposite direction.

Cleo just shrugged as they said good-bye to Lewis and Zane who then started off to math class. Emma, Cleo, and Rikki straggled into science.

After the torturous day of no stop projects and work, they finally made it to their last class of the day, for Emma, Lewis, and Cleo, English. Emma and Cleo sat in the back behind Lewis, as they always. They took out their folders and started through their home work.

"Ok, everyone put your stories in the basket," Mrs. Penny Ceil said as everyone in the class got up and placed their papers in the metal basket on her desk.

Emma turned her easy in without even looking at it. She still had no idea it was switched.

"Ok I am going to start going through these, partner up and read the thirteenth chapter of Wish You Well." Mrs. Penny Ceil instructed.

Emma and Cleo turned right toward each other and took out their novels. They turned to the page and quickly read the chapter. They were finish before anyone else and started to talk about anything but English. They kept up with their conversation, as did every other group in the class, until Mrs. Ceil stood up and announced she had something to say.

"I just read the best easy ever. The writer will stay ammoniums, but I just had to let you hear the story." She said picking up the paper and started to read. "It's not the jump. It's never the jump. It's the feeling that comes over me as I fall deeper and deeper, the feeling of never coming up, and not being able to breath. I close my eyes and let the water roll over my skin and touching every part of my body. I let it rush its way to my head, covering even the top most part of my hair. Still it's not until… It stops there but still isn't it great, just like reading one of Sophie's stories?"

Emma's jaw dropped. She could not believe her ears. That was her story and not the one she believed to have turned in, but the one she left on the desk in the room she was staying in. Someone had switched the stories, and she was pretty sure she knew who. Zane is going to get it. She thought.