31 REVIEWS! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! (Runs into a wall) Ow…I should go easy on the Dr. Peppers now... (Rubs head) That hurt…Anywho, thank you all so very much for reviewing and it really means a lot to me that you guys like my stories! ^^ You all are WONDERFUL and I couldn't ask for a nicer group of people to share my crazy little mind with! ^^ I hope you all enjoy this chapter! R&R (If you want) Thanks! ^^
P.S cathyrulez3000 had a good idea that she said in my reviews! ^^ Thank you and your wish shall be granted! And if anybody has any ideas AT ALL on something they want to happen in the story, PLEASE REVIEW TO ME OR PRIVATE MESSAGE ME AND SAY THEM, because I'm starting to get writer's block, and I think that that's a bad thing! XD
Disclaimer: Okay, we all know that fanfiction is made for fans who write about random things they come up with starring their favorite TV shows, so in other words I do not own Monster Buster Club!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hidden in Glass
Chapter 10: Don't leave, My Dear Friend
Another boring day of Mr. Peach saying Blah blah blah blah blah. A blond thought, huffing as her teacher continued to speak. "Blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah! And THAT my students, is how to speak idiot." Did you think she was using blah blah blah as a substitute? No, really! He had been teaching them how to speak 'idiot' and 'stupid' for the past three days! Frankly, the blond was quite sick of it! A sigh ran through her lips as the girl watched every kid close their books. The young girl arose from her seat. For some reason, she felt like making somebody's life miserable, so she was going to. The bored girl got up from her seat and walked over to her new friend, Samantha, who had her head in her arms, asleep on the desk. The girl sighed and shook her head. "Idiot…does she not get any sleep?" The blue-eyed girl reached down and pulled on her friend's sweater, pulling her back into her chair then slamming her head back into the desk.
"AHHH!" Sam's head shot up off the desk. "WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY?!" The girl looked all around. The girl responsible stiffed laughter then started to laugh out loud when she saw how clueless her friend was on what she had just done. Samantha turned and glared at the girl. "AMY!!!" Yes…the blond haired girl was named Amy. To everybody in school, she was known as the 'Misery Mistress.' Amy watched too much anime. (A/N: Much like myself! XD) Her favorite being 'Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.' Haruhi, the main character, treated others so terribly, and this caught Amy's attention. Amy practically worshiped Haruhi Suzumiya, whilst, acted exactly like her. This is the reason why she wanted to know Sam's…size…Because Haruhi did the same thing in one of the books she read. "S-STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" Sam exclaimed. "HAHAHA-I-I'M SORRY IT'S JUST SO-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" "Are you torturing our new dear friend, Amy?"
The two girls turned around to a boy with black hair and light blue eyes. "Jason!" Sam exclaimed. "What about it?" Amy asked, huffing at her friend's sudden appearance. "Nothing, I was just asking." The black haired boy walked up to Samantha and cupped her hands into his own. "Fear not, beautiful maiden. It will all be okay in the end." "Uhhhh…." The young girl turned her head towards Amy with a blank, annoyed expression on her face. "Amy…please tell me he's joking." Amy was twitching violently. "N-No…I don't think he is." Samantha turned back to Jason. "What's wrong with you?" Ms. Pop asked. (A/N: In case you guys didn't remember from the last chapter, Sam won the 'Ms. Pop' contest and was tilted as 'Ms. Pop.') "What is wrong with me? I am blinded by your overwhelming beauty!" Jason answered dramatically, putting the back of his hand to his fore-head. "No, seriously. What's wrong with you?"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Catherine walked down the sidewalk. Yesterday, the only boy she had ever loved played with her like a stuffed toy. How she fell for such a jerk, well, she did not know. She was asking that herself. A sigh escaped her glossy lips. What was she gonna' do? Well, maybe she should start focusing on finding Sam. Danny was a waste of time, no matter how much it hurt; she had to let him go. Besides, Sam was her friend. She should be focusing on her. Priorities! The girl stopped walking and stared at the cement under her. How was she going to help though? Chris had been searching on the computer for gosh knows how long, and Danny had been forced, by Chris, to find any clues about where she moved to. Judy had her hands tied at Pretty Petty Pets this summer, so she couldn't do ANYTHING! The girl sighed.
She herself wasn't told to do anything. She hadn't seen Chris for a while, that's probably the reason that she wasn't told to do anything. But what could she do? It's not like something involving Sam would swoop down and smack her in the face!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Samantha sat there with a blue rose, which Jason had randomly pulled out from behind his back once again, watching Amy beat the living crap out of him. "YOU HAVE A PICTURE NEWSPAPER OF SAM'S COMPETITION IN YOUR WALLET?! AND YOU HAVE IT ONLY BECAUSE OF HER OUTFIT IN THE PICTURE?! YOU SICK PERVERTED LITTLE SCUM BALL-" Jason put his hands up in alarm. "I-it flew away as soon as I got it! PLEASE STOP HITTING ME!" Samantha sighed as Amy dropped the boy onto the floor. "You're such a womanizer." "Did I detect a hint a jealousy in your voice?" "LIKE HECK YOU DID!" This kind of hit Sam as a problem. She didn't want anybody to know besides her school! The girl sighed. How far could that newspaper picture go anyway?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ironically, a piece of paper hit her smack dab in the face. "AH!" Cathy tore the paper from her face, pulling it away to look at it. "What the-" Cathy stopped her sentence in its tracks. The piece of paper was a little newspaper article from a school titled: "The Queen of Ms. Pops"
She raised an eyebrow at the paper but read on.
"There have been many Ms. Pops but none like this one! This student reached to the stars so easily! It got the kids of the audience pumped, and the teachers throwing up papers going 'no homework!'" She mentally sighed at herself. Why was she reading this again? However, something about the paper drew her in. She continued to read on. "This year's Ms. Pop has by far passed the limit of all others before her. Not only that, but this Ms. Pop is a new student here! So, without further ado, we openly welcome you to our school-" Cathy's heart beat stopped. This couldn't be true. She racked her head for explanations but she found none. "………Samantha Paterson." The word slipped like the first on her lips. How could it be that Chris and Danny spent a week searching for her and found nothing yet she just tries to start and she finds something? The first thing that clicks in her mind, I've gotta' tell Chris! The blond turned on her heel, ramming her way through people as she rushed towards the clubhouse.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Stupid…stupid…STUPID! I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ON THIS STUPID COMPUTER!" Chris screamed towards the object. "Dude…you're overusing the word 'stupid.'" Danny commented. Chris turned and glared at his fiery haired friend. The tech was about to argue when the club house door slid open. "GUYS, GUYS, GUYS!!!!!!!!!" The two boys turned towards the door. "What is it Cath?" Danny asked, shooting up from his seat. The blond simply glared at the boy.
Awkward silence……………
"Well…what is it?" The ted team member asked, crossing his arms. "HUMPH!" Cathy crossed her arms as well and turned away. Chris walked up from the super computer and put a hand on Danny shoulder. "Here, let me try." The boy turned towards his upset friend. "What is it Cath?" Catherine's face became cheerful again and she unfolded her arms, turning to face her two friends. "I've got a clue on Sam!" "WHAT?!" Both of the boys screeched. Christopher took the paper from Cathy's hands and read it aloud. "There have been many Ms. Pops but none like this one. This student reached to the stars so easily! It got the kids of the audience pumped, and the teachers throwing up papers going 'no homework.'" The rest, Chris read to himself, mumbling every few words. Soon, his eyes widened and a large smile crossed his lips. "YES! WHOO! WE FOUND SAM!" The boy cheered. "Huh? Chris, what's the school?" Danny asked, knowing now that his girlfriend-NO! FRIEND would not answer.
Chris turned the paper over. "State Middle." He answered. "Where is that?" Catherine asked. "I don't know." Chris answered. "But I won't give up till' I do." The boy returned towards the computer. "Danny, Cathy, you guys have to team up and search for any aliens the A-scan or super computer didn't pick up!" "WHAT?!" They both yelled, infuriated they'd have to work with each other. "Sorry guys, I've got to search online for Sam." He answered. The two sighed. They knew they didn't have a choice.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The two MBC members walked down the streets with the A-scanner. Cathy was holding it and Danny was looking all around. "See anything?" Cathy glared at the boy and scoffed. "Look for yourself." The girl pushed the scanner into the boy's chest. He gave her a questioning look as she turned away and continued walking. The boy sighed and caught up to her. "Come on Cath, can't we talk about this?" "What is there to talk about?" "Us." "What 'Us?" She answered, quoting the 'us.' Danny sighed once again. "Cathy, please let's just talk about this!" Cathy turned back around, glaring at him. "Would you just focus on the mission?" "The A-scan does all the work! If there was an alien in Singletown at the moment we'd know about it!" Danny answered. Cathy scowled and turned back around. "I'm not talking to you about this. It's already perfectly clear that I'm just your play-toy." "What?! You're not just my play-toy! You're my best friend!" When Cathy didn't answer, he took her wrist and forced her to look at him.
"Cathy…listen to me. If you were my play-toy, I would have done much worse things to you by now!" "Like what?" "Like this!" The boy wrapped his arm around her waist and forced her lips to his, smooching her for a good 20 seconds. Danny pulled away from his friend. "So I really am your play-toy now, aren't I?" Catherine asked, enraged that her partner would just kiss her like that. Danny gasped, realizing he just proved her point. "N-NO! Cathy! I-I didn't mean it that way!" "What way did you mean it in?"
"What?"
"You don't have many explanations to kiss a girl!"
"Ummm…"
"What do you like me or something?" Cathy asked hopefully. Danny glared at her.
"NO, please, as if I'd ever like YOU!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I'd NEVER like you!"
"So we're not even friends?"
"Uhhhh…" Danny's eyes widened. He'd gone to apologize and ended up making it worse. "Um, n-n-no! N-No! Not at all! We're friends I just-"
"What? Am I too different to like? I can't be a good friend cause' I'm not like Wendy?"
"NO! IT'S NOT THAT ALL!"
"BULLCRAP!"
Danny sighed. This was going nowhere! He had to say something to make it right, and he knew just what it was. The fiery boy was about to respond when the v-coms went off. Danny growled in slight annoyance at the small mechanical object, but answered it. "Yeah?" "I've got good news and bad news." "Shoot." Cathy answered to the blue tech. "Well, I've got a lock on Sam's school's location…" "Well, what's the bad news?"
"………There are several different 'State Middle' schools in that area." Chris answered. The happy looks that Cathy and Danny had gained instantly lost their charm. "Oh man! How will we ever find her school then?" Cathy asked. Danny had been wondering the same thing. "Well, we'll have to look at each school intently." "WHAT?! BUT I HAVE A SCIENCE TEST COMING UP-" "Oh like you care about grades Danny!" Danny glared at his blond friend but turned back to the v-com. "What do you think she's doing right now?" Cathy asked.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A blank face was crossing Sam's features as she watched her two new friends fight. "YOU SICK PERVERTED LITTLE PIECE OF CRAP LITTLE MONKEY TURD-" "AHHHHHHHHHH!" Screams of agony slipped out of the playboy's mouth. "You two are so strange…" "YOU'RE IN A PRIVATE SCHOOL! WE'RE ALL GONNA' BE!" Amy answered. Sam's eyes widened as Amy started to shake the Chris-look-a-like. Sam's eye began to twitch as the boy was being shaken by his collar. "H-H-HELP ME!!!!!!" Jason screeched. "SHUT UP AND EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" "FOR WHAT?!" "YOU'RE PERVERTED SELF! WHAT ARE YOU, A FAN OF TAMA-CHAN?!" "WHAT?!" The girl glared and stopped shaking the boy for a few seconds. Did she…stop? This question answered itself: No. The girl started to shake him again but twice as hard. "FROM OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB YOU IDIOT!!!" "OHHHH! YOU MEAN ONE OF YOUR FREAKY LITTLE ANIMES?!" "FREAKY?! I'M FREAKY?!" The girl hollered. "AS LONG AS YOU KEEP SHAKING ME YES!" Sam cringed. If Amy got any angrier, she'd give Jason a nose bleed from shaking him so much. A concussion at the most! "Amy…" Sam attempted to stop the girl from hurting the boy any farther when he was suddenly dropped on his butt.
"A-Amy?" Jason asked, looking up at his attacker. The girl was glaring down at him, tears straining her eyes. "I'm not a freak…" Sam and Jason looked at each other then looked back at the girl. "…MY LOVE FOR ANIME IS A LIFESTYLE AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! Even if you are my friend…" She continued to death glare at the boy. "Plenty of people who I barley know have told me that I'm a freak as well. Even my cousins have said that to me." The girl shut her eyes, blinking two tears away. "DO YOU REALLY THINK IT'LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO ME IF IT'S YOU SAYING IT?!" Jason blinked as his jaw dropped. "A-Amy…" The girl turned around. "And take a look at yourself you flirtatious womanizer…when you realize how much of a jerk you are…THEN YOU CAN COME AND TALK TO ME! BUT RIGHT NOW I DON'T WANNA' HEAR IT!" Sam and Jason started to blink and gasp at their friend, who happened to be on the verge of tears. "Amy, are you okay?" Sam asked, finally getting the courage to speak. The two could see the girl wipe her arm over her eyes before turning around. "O-Of course I'm fine!" "You were about to cry, weren't you?" Jason asked, getting up from his spot.
Amy scowled. "Don't be ridiculous, like I'D ever CRY!" Sam and Jason exchanged worried glances. "Are you sure?" Sam asked. The girl turned around again. "Sh-shut up! I'm just fine! I NEVER cry, EVER!" The two friends sighed. "Amy-" "Don't talk to me you womanizer! I'm going for a walk!" Amy interrupted. The blond stomped out of the room, angrily slamming the door behind her. Samantha turned towards her new friend. "Go after her." "What?" "I said…go after her." Jason started to cringe as the girl glared daggers at him. "O-Oh come on! I already have to be scared half to death of Amy! Don't make me be fully to death when you're both around!" Jason pleaded. "GO AFTER HER!" Sam hissed. "AH! OKAY!" Samantha smiled in triumph as the blue-eyed boy sprinted out of the room.
Amy walked down the path of the school yard, alone. The girl was unbelievably angry at her best friend. How could he say that to her? Who was HE to tell her she was a freak. She stopped in her tracks. She knew exactly who he was to tell her that. He was her friend for life, the only one who knows her better then herself. What was she feeling? Her eyes were stinging and it felt like her heart was ripping in two…was she? The girl felt something wet trickle in her eyes. She was crying. NO, she couldn't cry! Especially not over a boy! She was 'Mistress Misery', the most feared person in all of 'State Middle!' She couldn't cry! She wouldn't allow it! She couldn't allow it!
She had no choice but to allow it…
A small tear fell down her cheek. For as long as she remembered, she was called a freak and an outcast, forced to play by herself all throughout elementary. Well, most of it anyways. By the time 4th grade started, the girl had concealed so much anger, she was ready to do anything for a friend, and then it came to her.
(Flashback)
Amy sat at her desk, watching a young boy sit alone as well and eat his snack. All of the other students ate with friends. 4th grade had started two weeks ago and Amy saw that this boy got along with all of the other students incredibly well, his best works, the girls, but he tended to eat alone. The girl growled as she crossed her arms in her seat. How could he get along with others so well yet push them all away, preferring to eat alone? Was he stupid? The girl had enough of this. Amy got up walked over to the desk in front of the boy. The blue-eyed boy looked up from his sandwich at her. "Uhhhh, hello?" Amy simply glared down at him. "Starting right now, you're going to be my friend! Whether you like it or NOT!" She bent down and poked his nose. The boy put down his sandwich and smiled at her. "Sure!"
(End Flashback)
Ever sense, he's never said a word to her about her anime addiction until now. Was he trying to show off for Sam? He did seem to really like her…WAIT! Why did this hurt her chest even more? Why was she feeling this way? Was she jealous? No way, 'Mistress Misery,' jealous? PLEASE! She couldn't deny it though. He was very cute. His eyes were so loveable and caring. His smile was warming and heart-breaking as well! (She's starting to sound like Sam! XD) and that wasn't even the worst part about her thoughts on him. Next thought-he came after her.
"Amy!" The girl wiped her eyes quickly and turned around. "Get away from-" The girl was about to finish her sentence when her wrists were grabbed and she was forced to look into determined blue eyes. "Don't finish that sentence." He answered in a darker tone. Amy could feel her body start to shake at his grip. Was she scared or was she happy? She had no idea. "Amy, I didn't mean what I said back there, I just-" "I know, I know. You were showing off for Sam. You like her." Jason's eyes narrowed as Amy looked away from his face. He unwrapped his hand from her wrist and touched her cheek, forcing her to look at him. "Look at me." Her hazel eyes met his blue ones. "Sam is just my friend. She's nothing more to me. After all these years of knowing me you should know that!" "Are you sure?" Amy asked, her own eyes narrowing. Jason's eyes widened as he pulled back and smiled bigly. "You're jealous, aren't you?" Amy gasped and glared. "Excuse me?" "You're jealous because you think I like Sam! You like me!"
"In your dreams!"
"A dream that's real!"
"Oh, so you WANT me to like you?"
"Who ever said that?"
"What?"
"NM."
"What?"
"NM!"
"What does that mean?"
"There's no use in saying it if I have to say the whole thing!"
"What? Is it an acronym for never mind?" (For those of you who didn't know that, you learned something new today! XD)
"Yes!"
"Well then just say never mind!"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to!"
"There's something wrong with you!"
"Something wrong with ME?! May I mind you, you're the anime freak!" Jason inched closer to her face.
"Oh, so you say that I AM an anime freak now?" Amy did the same.
"Yeah, a certain kind!" Closer.
"What kind?" Closer.
"Do you really want to know?" A little closer.
"Yeah, I really do!" A little closer.
"Are you sure?" Even closer.
"VERY!" Even closer.
The two noticed they were a few centimeters apart. Their faces turned cherry red as they pulled away, their backs towards each other. Jason rubbed the back of his head and Amy threw her hands together behind her back. An awkward silence filled the room until Jason whispered something. "You're my freak." Amy's head shot up as an even darker shade of blush crossed her cheeks and her eyes started to water once again. Jason turned around, smiling at the girl. "You're a dear friend to me…and I don't want you to leave." He walked behind Amy and wrapped his arms around her. He brought his head onto her shoulder and whispered. "So don't." Amy looked down towards the arms that held her gently and wrapped her own around them, hugging back. The two stayed like that for a while, a sweet silence comforting them.
"What are you two doing?" "GAH!" The two let go of each other and turned towards the owner of the voice, disturbed and embarrassed. There stood Sam, in the doorway, a questioning yet innocent look on her face. "N-NOTHING!" Jason answered. "WHY WOULD WE BE DOING ANYTHING?!" Amy screeched, joining in. Sam arched an eyebrow at the two. "I'm' sorry, I was interrupting something, wasn't I?" Sam asked, remembering how bad she hated to be interrupted as well. "NO!" They both shouted.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you all once again for reading my stories! ^^ And I know that some of you might not like Amy's character too much, mostly because of what happened in the last chapter, well, I'm about to tell you why she acts this way! You see, Amy is an anime fanatic. Like I said earlier in the chapter, much like myself! XD However, just so you know, I DO NOT ACT LIKE HER IN REAL LIFE! Anyways, her favorite anime of all is 'Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.' In the anime, Haruhi has a friend named Mikuru. You see, Mikuru has pretty big…um, I'm' not going to say that. -.- Anyways, so Haruhi tends to, well, treat Mikuru very meanly because of it. For example, Haruhi dresses Mikuru in very…very…very revealing clothing. (Poor Mikuru. That's one of the few things I don't like about Haruhi's and Amy's character!) And, she will not let Mikuru get dressed in it by herself. Amy, seeing Haruhi do this, made her think it was okay to do it to Sam in the last chapter!
The main reason that I made Amy act like this is because I've been on a Haruhi reading KICK lately! ^^ (Yes, it is a real anime!) I had the thought, 'Hey, if Haruhi acts like this, then what would happen if I made a character act like that to Sam?' and as it turns out, it has gone with the story well (From my POV, at least! XD Please tell me if you think differently!) Anyways, Amy isn't the only OC made to act like an anime character. Jason was made to act like Tamaki from 'Ouran High School Host Club.' In this anime, Tamaki is quite the flirtatious boy. He is also, like Haruhi, the leader of a club. (Haruhi has the S.O.S Brigade, the 'Save the world by Overloading it with fun Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade.') I have also been on a kick of watching both of those animes lately, soooooo…lol (They both have characters named Haruhi! XD) so then came the idea of 'two leaders meeting each other' so yeah! XD I made it happen, resulting in Amy and Jason, AND a world full of drama and humor for Sam! XD (A lot of XD's are in here!) Anyways, that's why Amy acts like that! ^^ Thank you guys for reading again! YOU ALL ARE GREAT PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
