Chapter One: The assignment
Flashback to months before. Before Lizzie's last rejection episode with Ethan Craft. Before that infamous afternoon where Lizzie, on a quest for her thunderbolt, finally found it in her best friend. Back to that one month, that one day, that one class, to that one assignment that changed her life.
Flashback to months before things changed... well, except for the following scene that takes place in the exact same spot; in front of their lockers.
"There is no justice when it comes to the educational universe, is there?" Miranda Sanchez slammed her locker shut, her eyes blazing the infamous Sanchez fire.
David Gordon shook his head, chuckling in amusement at his friends' expense. He heard the other locker next to his slam shut. Already knowing that it was Lizzie McGuire's turn to gripe, he slightly turned his locker door towards him, allowing him to watch his favorite girl, his childhood best friend.
"That's the problem, Rand. There is none! High school is, if not worse than, Junior high... except the cheerleaders have bigger boobs, jocks have bigger jock straps than IQs, the nerds' have graphing calculators instead of scientific, and the teachers have no social life so they decide to ruin our own!" Lizzie leaned back against her locker and sighed.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, McGuire." David smiled, patting her shoulder affectionately.
Miranda straightened up, "Hey!" Her hands were on her hips defensively, "Not all nerds that we knew in Junior high are as geeky as they were before!"
Lizzie smiled apologetically at Miranda, "I'm sorry, Miranda. You're right... Larry isn't as big a nerd as before."
David grinned also, yet there was something mischievous in his eyes, "Oh, of course not! I mean, only geeks would play with their graphing calculators, as opposed to Larry who only plays a mini Star Wars game off of his hand-held Palm Pilot every chance he gets..."
Lizzie bit back her tongue to keep from laughing as Miranda slapped David's arm. It amazed everyone, Lizzie and David most of all, that the Miranda Sanchez had fallen for the Larry Tudgemen. Once considered the biggest nerd in their class, had actually grown up to shed his dorky exterior and become an actual normal cutie. At least a cutie in the eyes of those below the "superiority" of the popular crowd.
While being tutored by Larry for Math, Miranda had gotten to see beyond the shadow of a former geek. Sure he had his little "tendencies", like the occassional Star Wars and Lord of the Rings maraton, but beyond that, he was a regular guy that was actually quite devoted to keeping his girl happy. Running errands for his girl, placing little love notes in her locker, making his girl laugh, giving her space when she needed it and being there for her when she didn't even asked for it. Larry knew how to treat the girl that had captured his heart. And Miranda just happened to be that girl.
Miranda was also surprised by how much she wanted to keep Larry happy. Not only did she introduce him to her world of shopping and music, but she allowed herself to visit Larry's world of science fiction and computers. She even went as far as to spending a whole Saturday afternoon and evening watching the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy with Larry.
To Lizzie and David, if what Miranda did wasn't love, they wouldn't know what is!
"See if I refrain from making fun of your girlfriend someday!" Miranda threatened good and naturally.
Returning the jab, David jokingly placed his arm around Lizzie and quipped, "Have fun making fun of Lizzie then!"
Lizzie gasped, swatted him, then glared at David as he laughed at her stunned look. Ever since Miranda started dating Lizzie, rumors started up that soon Lizzie and David were going to publicly declare that they were dating. They both didn't have to search very hard for the source of the rumor, knowing Kate Sanders well enough. Lizzie, though not in the least bit incesed by the gossip, found it hard to convince Ethan and any other guy that she was interested in that she and her Gordo wasn't dating. Often times she wondered if David was having as much trouble as she was when it concerned their social life. If anything, both of them at least decided not to let Kate's gossip affect them, and decided to have fun with it!
So as a more inside joke, they often times joked around and pretended that they were a couple. Even doing what they found they did best with each other: flirting. One of those times just happened to be now.
"I can see that somebody doesn't want someone to kiss them for one whole week!" Lizzie said, with a teasing glint in her eyes.
Miranda giggled, watching David feigned shock and had a mock heart attack. He grabbed his chest and fell to his knees. "What?! Lizzie! Sweetie! Baby..."
Lizzie and David found much amusement in playing up to Kate's rumor. They found it even more fun to throw it back in Kate's face and cause attention to themselves in moments like these.
David grabbed Lizzie's hand, and began kissing it frantically, while she only yawned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, I hate it when grown men beg..."
While watching her two friends play "husband and wife", Miranda was surprised by a pair of loving arms wrapping themselves around her waist. She glanced up at Larry, then turned back to Lizzie, a teasing smile on her lips. "Well, I wouldn't know." Miranda planted a soft kiss on Larry's lips, then half serious, half joking, "Why don't you ever grovel like that for me?"
Partly kidding around with Miranda, Larry replied, "Well, dear... I only save the begging on my knees for those moments when I royally screw up."
"Need I even ask what you consider as royally screwing up?"
He shook his head, then laughed and gave her a reassuring kiss on the forehead. "The moment that I'm on my knees is when you send me to my knees via foot to groin! And even then, I probably would have done something so terrible that I don't expect you to even speak to me, much less take me back."
Miranda giggled, "In other words, you would have had to royally screwed up."
"Exactly." Larry smiled, hugging his girl.
"Okay, okay... how about if I promise not to make fun of you anymore and... and I carry your books to class from now until graduation?"
Amused with David's bargaining skills, "You would do it anyway..." She giggled.
He sighed, then with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Alright, how about I promise to make you the star for my first major film production?"
Lizzie pretended to give it much thought. Finally, she pulled him up, gave him a quick kiss on the lips and replied, "Deal!" Then she slyly added, "Do you think you can get Josh Hartnett to play my love interest?"
"Oh! Speakin' of Josh Hartnett..." Miranda smiled, "I was thinking--"
"Uh oh, danger Will Robinson, danger! Sanchez idea alert!" David snickered, causing Larry to laugh and Miranda to glare at them both.
"Anyway," She rolled her eyes, "Since we just have to read a book for our stupid mid term book report project thingy..."
"So is that what they're calling it nowadays?" David glanced at Larry, "'Stupid mid term book report project thingys'? How unique!"
Miranda glowered at David, then turned to Lizzie, "Okay, Liz, you better start tugging that lease around your boy a little harder, alright? Or... just get him neutered!"
Lizzie shook her head and silently prayed that her Gordo would take a hint and just stop before he gets killed... unfortunately...
"Neutered? Miranda! I am appalled by your answer to all of your boy problems!" Taking a dramatic pause, then, "Yet... it explains so much!"
Larry sighed, shaking his head and turned away from the sight that was to come. Lizzie gasped and then began to pray for Gordo. David chuckled what might be his last laugh... and Miranda, well...
She grasped Lizzie's shoulders, looked at her straight in the eyes, "Lizzie, you're my best friend. You're my girl. I love you like a sister. And I'm really sorry, but..." Miranda then whipped her head towards David, eyes flaming, "I'm gonna hafta make you a WIDOW!"
David yelped, jumping nearly a mile into the air as he became fully aware of his short life span. He quickly planted a small kiss on Lizzie's cheek, saluted Larry, then ran as fast as his legs can carry him.
"You're a dead man, David Gordon! A dead man, you hear me?!" Miranda hitched her bag on her shoulder and was about to chase after him, but a firm hand grasped onto her arm. "What?!" She turned to the person and her eyes immediately softened.
"Miranda, sweetie?" Larry softly spoke. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, then, "Try not to cause too much bloodshed... for Lizzie's sake, okay?"
"Yeah," Lizzie added, eyes practically pleading, "Try not to hurt him too much. Please?"
"Liz, I can't promise too much... all I can give you is that all of his body parts will still be present. Maybe not connected, but it will all be accounted for." Miranda replied, casting a reassuring smile at her best friend before she ran out to give chase.
Lizzie and Larry watched their two favorite people, smiles playing on their lips. Finally, Lizzie sighed and turned back to her locker to get the remaining things from there.
"So Liz, what are you gonna read for Mrs. Wood's book project?" Larry asked, folding his arms and managing his eyes off of Miranda for a moment to talk to his other good friend.
She glanced up at Larry, shrugging and giving him a small smile. "Don't know. I mean, I can't exactly show up to school that day and give a presentation on Harry Potter, now can I? Unless I want to be totally humiliated by Kate for reading a children's book." Lizzie sighed, "I can't believe she wants us to read a book and give an oral presentation on the book!"
Trying to be reasonable, "At least we don't have to write an essay."
"Yeah, you're right, Tudge. But still... we either have to give a character monologue or talk about how the book 'changed' you! How exactly is a book supposed to change you?!"
"Lizzie, you would be amazed at what kind of effects books leave on people."
Lizzie recalled a time when one book did sort of change her... at least her relationship with her mother. But she shook her head at that memory, "Okay, yeah, I suppose that books can change people... but still! We have to actually talk about it! I hate giving speeches!"
"No you don't!" David called out as he whizzed past Lizzie and Larry, closely followed by Miranda.
"Come back here, you Speilburg wannabe!" She cried out to him before disappearing around the corner.
Another memory flashed before her, of a time back when she was giving speeches as she was running for student council back in middle school. Again, she shook it out of her head. Exasperated, "Okay! Fine! To be honest, I don't want to do this stupid report because I can't find a book interesting enough to present! Kate is probably going to do her project on The Princess Diaries, Ethan is probably going to do his on..." She trailed off, in which Larry added in his two cents.
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? The same book he's read for every book report he's been assigned to his whole academic career?"
Lizzie gave him this look, but then reluctantly sighed in agreement. "And then you're probably going to present one of the Lord of the Rings trilogy!"
Larry bit his lip, "Uh, actually... I'm gonna present The Hobbit. More about Bilbo than Frodo."
"No Elijah Wood or Orlando Bloom?" Lizzie asked, causing Larry to shake his head. "Oh, well, then," She continued, "See! That would be something interesting!"
Larry placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Lizzie, don't worry too much about it, okay? You'll probably find a book by this Friday."
"Doubt it..." She sighed. "Miranda has a better chance at beating Gordo to a pulp than I do of finding a descent enough work of fiction!"
As if on cue, Miranda entered the scene, dragging in a very ragged and exhausted David Gordon. She shoved him to the ground, heard him groan in pain, placed her foot on him in triumph, and casually turned to her two favorite people. "Hey guys. So... what'd I miss?"