The next day Cloe and Ebony ran down the hallway of their school. They were already 15 minutes late for their first class.
"I gotta go to my locker before I go to class." Ebony said quickly.
"Okay well make it quick." Cloe said as her pace started to decrease.
Ebony rummaged through her locker for a minute before finding her report. "Okay let's go." She said slamming the locker door closed and hurrying down the hall.
When the two girls walked into the classroom they were both out of breath.
"Note?" Mr. Kurt asked.
"Alarm clock problems. Sorry." Ebony said hurrying across the room with Cloe behind her. She took her seat and turned around to look at Bray.
"What?" Bray asked.
"Nothing." Ebony said turning back around and noticing that the seat in front of her was empty.
"Now as I was saying." Mr. Kurt started before going off into a speech from the book.
Ebony looked around the class for him but he wasn't there. As a matter of fact none of them were there. Amber, Jay, Mega, Ram and Trudy were all gone. "Where are they?" Ebony asked turning around to look at Bray.
"I don't know. Its like all of them vanished." Bray said with a big smile. "Isn't it great?"
"Is there something you two would like to share?" Mr. Kurt asked looking at Bray and Ebony.
"No sir." Ebony said turning around. "We were just noticing that a few of our classmates are missing." She muttered.
"Okay. Then I hope I can get back to my lesson." Mr. Kurt replied.
But before Mr. Kurt could say anything else the classroom door opened and in came the missing students, followed by the principal and another boy.
Ebony looked at Jay and smiled. His nose was still swollen and Amber had a black eye. But she also noticed that Jay had a fat lip as well. And Ram had what looked like dried blood around his nose and a cut on his cheek.
KC and Bray started to express amusement at the sight of Amber.
"Sorry to disrupt your class Mr. Kurt." said Mrs. Sadowski. "But these students have been in my office."
"Well thank you for making sure they get to class." Mr. Kurt said smiling as the five kids took their sets.
"Yes. And this is Slade Jones, he's new." Mrs. Sadowski said pointing out the boy that was standing next to him glaring at Jay and Ram.
"Well thank you. I'll make sure to have someone show him around." Mr. Kurt said before the principal left the room.
"I don't need anyone to show me around." Slade said looking at Mr. Kurt.
"Of course not." Mr. Kurt replied. "Well we're all glad to have you. You can have a seat behind Bray and here is a book."
"Whatever." Slade said taking a book and sitting down where the teacher pointed him.
"Miss Erickson I expect you to make sure that Mr. Jones knows where his classes are." Mr. Kurt said as he passed out a study guide. Everyone else in the room started to chat about their weekend.
"Mr. Kurt I can't. I'm only here for half a day." Ebony said looking up at him.
"Well then, I guess Cloe can do it." Mr. Kurt said looking at Ebony.
"I'm leaving as well Mr. Kurt." Cloe said smiling back at Jack.
"Who else is leaving today?" Mr. Kurt asked looking around the room.
Jack, KC and Bray slowly put their hands up in the air.
"And might I ask where you all are going?" Mr. Kurt asked.
"The Tony Hawk tour is in town today." Ebony said looking at him. "And Bam, and Ryan are going to be there."
"Bam?" Mr. Kurt asked.
"Bam Margera" Slade said looking up from the paper in front of him. "He thinks he's a skate boarder or something."
Ebony and Bray both turned around and looked at him.
"Well then fine. Someone else will show Mr. Jones to his classes." Mr. Kurt sighed and went to sit down in his desk.
"Thinks?" Jack asked looking at the guy.
"Yeah." Slade said nodding his head. "Both him and that Ryan kid have become sell outs to MTV."
"Do you skate?" KC asked.
"When I feel like it." Slade said looking around at the people watching him.
"You should come to the skate park sometime with us. It's not big or anything but it's something." Bray said looking at the kid. He wasn't sure yet if he liked him.
"Yeah. If it wasn't your first day I would ask you if you wanted to come today to the tour." Ebony said looking at him.
Slade looked up at the girl. She was stunning. Her mocha colored skin was smooth and her lips were full and looked prepared to be kissed. Her hair was pulled up and in braids. She was just the type of girl he would go after. "Maybe I should go anyways. It doesn't look like I'll be missing much here."
Ebony could feel her face grow red as her eyes locked with Slade's. "Okay." She said acting cool.
"Then maybe after you can show me this skate park." Slade said knowing that he was winning her over.
"We'll see." Ebony said turning around and looking at the back of Jay's head. She wondered if he had heard their conversation, and she wondered what he thought about it.
Ebony sat in the library by herself. She looked down at her notebook rereading what she had just written for her new English paper.
"Hey." Someone said sitting down at the other end of the table.
Ebony glanced up at him and then sighed and looked back down at her paper. When the person didn't leave she spoke. "What'd you want Jay?" she asked.
"To talk." Jay said looking at her. "I know that we are fighting right now, and we're both to stubborn to work it out right now, but I just want to tell you something."
"Okay talk away." Ebony said not looking up.
"Slade isn't someone you should be friends with. I'm sure that I won't be the only person to think this Ebony. And you know I wouldn't only be telling you this if I didn't mean it." Jay said quickly.
"Why are you telling me this?" Ebony said sitting down her pen. "Why do you think I shouldn't be friends with him? Is it because you're jealous?"
"Ebony." Jay said looking somewhat hurt. She was right, he was jealous, but he always wanted to keep her safe.
"Look Jay, I pick my friends. Not my mom, not Cloe or Mackenzie, not Bray and not you. Me!" Ebony said looking at him. "And so far I haven't seen anything wrong with Slade that would prevent me from being friends with him."
"Then please at lest be careful around him. I don't want anything to happen to you." Jay said standing up. "I do care about you Ebony."
"I know." Ebony said looking down at her paper and back up at him. "Maybe this just isn't the right time for us to try."
Jay sighed and looked at his watch. "I've got a meeting with coach about the fight. But can we talk later?"
"There's no hurt in trying." Ebony sighed as well. Talking didn't seem to be getting them anywhere at the moment.
"Mind if I sit here?" Slade asked looking down at Ebony.
"I don't care." Ebony said picking at the food in front of her. She has decided that today she would eat inside, away from her friends. She only had to be on campus for one more class, then she was free to leave.
"What's wrong?" Slade asked.
Ebony looked up at him. She was about to say something when she saw Jay walking by behind Slade. She couldn't help but watch him.
Slade looked over his shoulder and saw what captured Ebony's interest.
"Hey Ebony." Jay said standing at the end of the table.
Ebony looked at him and then looked away.
"Can we talk?" Jay said wishing she would say anything to him.
"Look blondie I think we both know she doesn't want to talk to you right now." Slade said feeling the tension between the two.
"Don't talk to me." Jay said looking over at Slade and then back to Ebony. "Please?" he asked.
"This isn't a good time." Ebony said looking up at him.
"Yeah you heard her just leave." Slade said smiling as he stood up.
"Don't push me man." Jay said looking over at Slade. "I don't want to get into it with you again."
"Well then why don't you just turn around and leave." Slade shot back.
"Look I'm not here to talk to you so just shut the hell up." Jay said getting annoyed.
Slade didn't say anything he just quickly swung his fist at Jay.
"Stop it!" Ebony shouted at the two boys began to exchange blows. "Both of you!" she shouted again. When the two had fallen to the ground with Slade on top Ebony managed to grab a hold of Slade's shirt and pull him away a little. "Leave Jay alone." She said getting between the two.
"I'm outta here." Slade said looking down at Ebony and then walking away.
"What is wrong with you?" Ebony asked looking down at Jay, who was still on the group with his lip split open.
"I didn't start it." Jay said looking up at her.
"But you didn't try and stop it either." Ebony said shaking her head.
"I'm sorry Ebony, I just don't trust that guy." Jay said as she started to walk away from him.
"I can't do this right now." Ebony said before disappearing .