The Block Estate
Kendra and William's Bedroom
Sunday, October 17
7:30 PM
Massie was lying on her mother and father's bed (something her mother was hasty about). The bronze duvet cover was neat, and wrinkle free. The walls were the color of the ocean, and the carpet was a sandy brown. The bed was filled with chocolate brown pillows with gold stitching. The room had been redone (for about the third or fourth time this year).
"Massie!" Kendra snapped. "Why are you on my bed?"
"Sorry, I was waiting for daddy," Massie answered sweetly.
"Well, that doesn't change the rules."
"Fine, I'll leave then."
"Oh, no you don't, young lady," Kendra snapped at her daughter (something she has been doing a lot lately).
"Mom! Why are you always snapping at me now? What did I do wrong?"
"Massie, go to your r-"
Massie walked out of her parents' bedroom and grabbed her iPod. Her mother was still shouting when Massie blasted her iPod, until her couldn't hear anything except for the sound of some, random Iron Maiden song.
"What?" Massie snapped at nobody. She quickly pulled out the iPod and took a look at the screen. It said "2 Minutes to Midnight," Iron Maiden, The Best of the Beast. "Crap, this is Melody's iPod!" she sighed, "It'll have to do-I'm not going back to that nut house."
She walked outside, took off her old denim jacket, and laid it, neatly, on the ground. She sat down, as the music blasted in her ears.
"Ugh! It's not working-it's just not the same," she said, as she pulled one headphone out of her ear. "Let's see, does she have a-ny songs that can be useful?"
She scrolled through the list, and she wasn't having much luck. One of the first songs was "Afraid This Time". As she scrolled through the B's, she found a song title that was, oddly, familiar-"Back in Black".
"Wow, this is loud," Massie thought she said; she couldn't hear herself speak.
Feeling the crisp, fall air on her bare arms, and knees (ripped jeans are in…ah-gain) and listening to nothing but music was what she was used to. This was her "escaping" from her own home, without actually leaving. She wasn't sure why her mother was, all of a sudden, being so hard on her. Was it stress from the party? The song ended, and Massie told herself that if she didn't like the next song, then she would leave.
"Shocker," Massie said sarcastically, "I don't like the song."
"Bean, why is everything going wrong this year?" Massie asked her small dog, who was curled up in a ball on her bed. Her eyes were closed and her left ear started to twitch. She was asleep.
"You talk to your dog?" Melody appeared at the doorway.
"Ehmagawd!" Massie gasped. "Uh, no, I mean-"
"Chill, I talk to my cat," Melody admitted.
"Uh-um-oh," Massie stuttered, sounding relieved.
"So, how is everything going wrong?" Melody asked.
Massie, then, explained everything that she was embarrassed to admit before.
"Yeah, eighth grade sucked for me, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah, eighth grade sucks."
"You're telling me."
"Don't worry, kid, I'll help you out."
"Will I get my friends back?"
"Think about it," Melody started, sounding wise, "how many times has, well, any of them back-stabbed you?"
"Well, Alicia has tried-how many times was it? Well, I dunno, a ton of times, I guess," Massie explained.
"Then do you really want her to be your friend again?"
Massie was silent. She thought about all the times Alicia had tried to take control. There was the time when she cheated in the Uniform Contest, when she stole her friends by lying, the time she tried to steal the starring role in Dial L for Loser, when she tried to get Connor Foley to bring her to the wrap party, the beginning of the year when she ditched Massie, and the boyfast, for Josh and his loser squad, and, finally, the "Cheer Alpha" crap that she's trying to pull.
"Hello, are you still mentally here, kiddo?" Melody asked, waving her palm in front of Massie's face.
"It's-it's just what you said, about Alicia," Massie slowly answered Melody.
"Yeahhh," Melody motioned for her to continue.
"She-she-she," Massie struggled," she was using me-for power, wasn't she?"
"You tell me."
"She was."
"Picture it this way: you're Julius, so don't let Brutes stab you again."
"Huh, that's funny, one of the first times she back-stabbed me, we were learning about J.C."
"Oh, I'm good!" Melody said.
Massie, without thinking, hugged her genius of a cousin.
"Hello!" Melody said with surprise.
"Aw, isn't that precious?" Kendra said, as she walked into Massie's room.
"Hey Kend-Auntie Kendra," Melody corrected herself.
"Melody, can you help me outside?" Kendra asked her.
"Um, okayyy-wait, help with what?" Melody asked.
"Music," Kendra answered.
"Ah," Melody said. "Where. Is. My. iPod?" Melody asked, as she looked through one of her many bags.
"Sorry," Massie said, handing her the iPod.
"That's cool," Melody forgave her. "Look, if you need help with anything, get your thoughts together, make a list if you have to, so I can help you."
As Melody walked out the room, looking fabulous, as always, Massie grabbed her purple Claire Fontaine notebook, and got to work.
Person Problem Revenge/Solution
-Alicia -Now the "Cheer -Cheer off
Alpha" and probably -embarrass her
the true alpha -steel her crush
(well, not TRUE alpha)
-Dylan -Insists I'm too -Get her and Derrington to break up
-Kristen -Keeps ditching me -N/A
-Took Layne's side
-Possibly dating both
Dempsey and Dune
(and she promised me
she'd hook me up with
Dempsey)
controlling
-Still dating my ex
"Hopefully Melody's brilliance can help me come up with a 'solution' for Kristen," Massie said to Bean, after she finished constructing her chart.
