Author's Note: I apologize in advance for the short chapter. I really wanted to end it here, though, for now. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! :)

The next Friday had to be the single greatest day of Sinead's life.

She was nothing less than a hero at her school now: Kenzie's tale had circulated throughout the student body faster than news of Mr. Katswell's surprise quiz in math that day (passed with flying colors, naturally), and now, everyone looked at her in a completely different way than they had mere days ago, when the lie had been going around. They stared at her now with admiration and awe.

Suddenly, she found herself with so many friends that she couldn't keep track of them all, even with her excellent memory. Her smart phone was constantly receiving texts inviting her to hang out. And no less than six boys had asked her out in the past few days.

She had turned each of them down. Because as she became abruptly idolized in the halls, she recalled who had made it that way: Hamilton Holt. The one person that- she was now starting to admit to herself- she honestly wanted to be asked out by. Seriously.

Speaking of Hamilton, Mr. Katswell took him aside after math class. "Mr. Holt, a word, please."

Hamilton swallowed audibly. "Yeah, sir?"

His nervousness was unwarranted; the man gave him a rare smile as he said, "I just wanted to tell you that I've put some new grades into my computer, and your average is now an eighty-six: a B."

"Really?"

Mr. Katswell nodded, his bald crown glistening in the overhead lights. "You've been making a lot of progress lately, Hamilton. I'm proud of your hard work."

Hamilton's face went slightly pink, and he said, "Well, it's not just me; Sinead's been tutoring me like you said."

"Ah. Well, commend her for me, too, then."

But Hamilton didn't need to. Standing just outside the door, Sinead heard every word.

She was likewise proud of Hamilton for all of his good work in math. He had been working extremely hard, and she was glad to see that it was paying off for him.

However, she couldn't help but realize, in the back of her mind, what this meant: his days of needing her help were drawing to a close. Though she wasn't going to admit it to him, of course, she had come to somewhat enjoy tutoring him. Once, she had eagerly anticipated the day when he would be off her hands; now, she was dreading it.

But despite these thoughts, something else continued to make the day shine like gold: it was Sinead's birthday (well, hers, Ned's, and Ted's, of course). Her parents had gotten her the new laptop she had been wanting, and yesterday, Amy had sent her the newest in one of her favorite book series. Mary-Anne Carlisle had even gotten her a gift card to the mall.

Hamilton had forgotten what day it was, of course; he seemed extremely surprised to hear a passing peer call out, "Happy birthday, Sinead!" It irked her a bit, but then again, she hadn't really expected anything from him to begin with.

Which is why she was admittedly surprised when, after saying that he would be running late to their tutoring session that afternoon, he showed up at her doorstep at four thirty-seven with a clumsily wrapped box in his arms.

"Happy birthday," he said, his features slightly sheepish. "I got you a present."

"Thanks…" She could feel the heat rising to her face as she opened up the box. It was a chemistry set (with the Wal-Mart price tag still on it, though she pretended not to notice). She already had more chemistry sets lining her walk-in closet than she knew what to do with, but nevertheless, she smiled and repeated, "Thanks. I love it."

It was then that she noticed Ted and Ned lurking in the hallway, wearing identical grins. Ted said teasingly, "Hey, you do realize we're triplets, right? So where are our presents?"

"Yeah?" added Ned.

Hamilton didn't quite realize they were joking and began rummaging through the pockets of his baggy blue jeans. He produced a coin and a gray piece of fluff. "Um, here," he said, "I've got a nickel and some pocket lint…."

Ned stared at the two objects in his meaty hand before saying with a completely straight face, "Dibs on the nickel, Ted."

Author's Note: Again, sorry for the length of this chapter. Hopefully, the next one will be a lot longer! :D

~Lily