I'll Give Ya Four Fingers- The Fourth Finger
Disclaimer: Here is the quarterly disclaimer… Yeah, so what if we don't own it… at least we continued it.
Sending: We would like to send you to read Lsupergirl's story 'Dance.' It has a great "awwwwwwwwwwww" factor for all you Scott and Shelby fans. If you would like us to recommend your stories, just tell us which one you want us to read and we'll get on it.
Sophie sighed in frustration; she had been trying to cheer Peter up all night, but nothing was working. "All right Peter, spill."
Peter looked at her as if he was dumbfounded. "Spill what? There is nothing to spill, I am just fine, just peachy keen."
Sophie gave him her patented 'yeah-right' look. "Come on Peter, you aren't one of the kids, and I am not the counselor you despise, I'm your wife, you can talk to me, so SPILL!"
Peter looked around his office. "I don't think you should be up here with me, something might cause pressure, and the doctor said that this was a very critical time, and you don't want anything to…"
"… the baby, I know. But the only thing that will put me under pressure here is you. Now I came up here to see you, and talk to you, and that is exactly what I am going to do, so tell me what is wrong."
Peter looked at her and then shook his head. "It's just the Cliffhangers, I mean, let's be honest, they are my favorite group here, and I trust them. And I gave them my trust, and they just took advantage of it, and I still don't know exactly what happened. I thought Shelby had something to do with it, but she didn't and both her and Scott ran off, in different directions though, and the new girl, Riley, I came out and saw her run off into the woods. I sent Roger after them, but I… I just don't know what to do."
"Do you think any of them ran?" Sophie asked worriedly.
"No, I just think they needed some space, some time, I don't know, but they went in the wrong directions to be running away in any case. So now I have one unpunished fight, with no suspects, and three upset Cliffhangers."
"Whoah, a fight? When were you going to mention this to me?"
"As soon as I figured out who it was. All I know right now is that it one of them was a Cliffhanger, and Shelby got hurt in the process."
"Well, what did the other Cliffhangers say?"
"None of them are talking, but I don't think any of them know anything about it."
"Well then, you know you have to ask Shelby who it was."
"I know, but I don't think she will be very willing to talk to me about it after I accused her. I just don't know what to do Sophie." Peter said and rested his head on Sophie's protruding stomach.
Sophie laughed; Peter was so cute when he was stressed. "How about I go talk to Shelby, I haven't seen her in awhile, maybe she would be willing to talk to me."
Peter nodded. "Probably, go work your magic. I have to work on your substitute's instructional pamphlet."
Sophie smiled at her Mountain Man and then headed in the direction of the woods they used for their hikes and ect. She hadn't gotten too far, when she saw Shelby walking aimlessly in circles.
"Shelby," she said before she could look up and get scared.
"Sophie!" Shelby said excitedly and ran up to her to give her a big hug. Then she looked down at Sophie's stomach and rubbed it. "When are you due?"
"By looking at me you would think anywhere from a month to now, but actually I still have three to go," Sophie said with a laugh. Shelby smiled and Sophie knew she had to get her, but she just had to work her question in subtly. "But, enough about me, how have you been doing? I have missed you guys so much."
Shelby looked down at her hands. "I'm fine, so I hear they have your replacement."
Sophie laughed. "It's not forever Shelby, I will be coming up to visit you guys whenever I can. But right now I just can't be a full time counselor." Shelby just nodded her head and appeared deep in thought about something. Sophie decided to press on. "So how is Scott?"
Shelby looked up at Sophie and she saw something in her eyes, but Shelby looked down too quickly for Sophie to know what it was. "He's doing good, or so I hear."
Shelby then looked up and bit her lip. Shelby knew she had said enough for Sophie to have reason to talk to her like a counselor. But Sophie decided to dismiss it; she knew that forcing her to talk about it would likely make Shelby defensive. "Uh huh, well, I hear that there are two new Cliffhangers. How is that working out?"
Shelby seemed to be surprised that Sophie hadn't pushed her on the subject of Scott, but then her features stiffened. "It's really not, I mean…" Shelby stopped and looked at Sophie. Sophie knew it was over. Shelby knew just as well as Sophie that even though they could talk like friends, Sophie was still a counselor. "…Umm, I don't know what I mean, you know me though, I hate change."
Sophie nodded knowing that wasn't what Shelby was really going to say. Sophie shook her head, she had tried subtle, but now she needed the truth. "Look Shelby, I know you hate talking about your emotions, and hearing that if you need to talk to me I am always here, but I am. And right now I need to talk to you and I need you to tell me the truth, because this is very important."
Sophie looked at Shelby to see how her mood was. Shelby just looked down, but Sophie was pretty sure she would be willing to help her… a little. "What?"
"I need to know who was fighting today."
"Why? The ones who were don't have any bruises… yet. I mean, none of them are seriously injured, so why do you need to know?"
"Because, in order to keep you all safe, I need to know. Shelby, look I don't know if you are protecting someone, but eventually it is going to come out, and it is better now than later."
"I can't," Shelby said now looking into Sophie's eyes. "I can't. I mean, he may be acting like an asshole right now, but if he gets in trouble again… Peter said he would put him on shuns for the rest of his natural life. I can't, I can't not be able to talk to him. He needs me, and even though I don't want to admit it, I need him." Once Shelby was finished she looked at the ground.
Sophie nodded; Shelby couldn't have made it more obvious who she was talking about unless she had out right said his name. "It was Scott wasn't it?"
Shelby looked down at the ground and didn't say anything. Sophie didn't really expect her to anyway.
"So who was the other guy?"
"I'm not a nark!"
"Look Shelby, if you tell me then I will make sure this doesn't get leaked to Peter and Scott doesn't get in trouble. But if you don't tell me I am going to turn Scott in."
Shelby looked up at Sophie angry, but her eyes showed relief. "Fine, it was the new guy, you know, Colin. I was ragging on Juliette and Auggie came in and told me they were fighting, and I went to go stop them, and Scott was going to stop, I think. But then Colin decked him and he started again. I… I tried to pull him off, but he knocked me off, and. When I ran out, they stopped I guess. I don't really know."
Sophie smiled thankfully; Shelby had spared her the agony of trying to extract the story from her. "Okay, that is all I needed to know. It was good seeing you, but you should really get back on campus before you get in trouble." Sophie said as she turned to walk away.
"Wait, what are you going to tell Peter, I mean, you can't just hide it from him, he is going to find out eventually."
"I'll tell him that I took care of it, and that he better not press this, but I am going to need to talk to both of them about it."
Shelby followed Sophie back in silence to the campus. "Bye," she said as she walked off to the direction of her dorm.
Sophie nodded a good-bye to Shelby. Then she braced herself. She knew she couldn't tell Peter that, she would just have to find a way to convince him from keeping Scott off of shuns. She walked in with a smile on her face, but when she walked into Peter's office there were already people in there.
"Sophie, this is our last admit for awhile. This is Mr. and Mrs. Copperfield. And this is their daughter, Rian." Peter said to her. "This is Sophie she is the Cliffhanger counselor, which is actually the group we will be putting Rian in. But actually, we will be getting a brief replacement, until Sophie is up to the job." The Copperfield adults smiled at Sophie. Their daughter however seemed uninterested.
"Hello it is nice to meet you." Then she walked over to Rian and smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you too, I am sure we will have a great time together."
"I wouldn't bet money on it," Rian bit back.
"Rian!" Mr. Copperfield shouted.
"You can't tell me what to do anymore, you signed those papers putting me in his control. Whoops, maybe you should have waited until you were about to leave, but then again you never think about anything."
Mr. Copperfield just shook his head at her. "You're right Rian, I've signed all the papers, we're leaving." With that both he and his wife got up and left.
"Well, that was easier than I thought. Score two for me."
Sophie couldn't help but smile; at least she was somewhat optimistic.
"Well, now that they're gone let's get back to business. I really don't want to be here, but it is way better than home. That wasn't really my Father. Well, it was, but my parents aren't together, they just put that act on so you guys would think I was the only screwed up one of the bunch, but really, I'm not. It's just that my "dad" is going to be paying for this school. So, now that we've gotten all the lies out of the way, I would appreciate it if you would show me to my quarters." Rian finished with a laugh and Sophie smiled, and the baby kicked. Sophie couldn't help but like her attitude, she kind of reminded her of Daisy.
"Well, thank you for being honest, but that isn't enough for a room. I need to ask you a few questions."
"Fire at will."
"It says here you have never done drugs, and your physical shows no sign of it. So, have you really never done any drugs, or just not hard ones?"
"Puh-lease. Like I would do drugs, that's so stupid. All it is, is some false nirvana, and when you come back down, everything seems even worse. You might as well just stay here. I mean, at least then you don't have the memory of a place way better than this."
Peter nodded, Sophie could see her attitude was infecting Peter, and cheering him up a little bit. "Well, then what have you done? There's nothing here in your file, all it says is that you ran away."
"Well, that would be because my parents filled out that file, and they are liars remember? Anyway, they didn't want to deal with me as a person, and when I ran away, they decided it would be better to force me into here, than keep me at the house. I didn't do anything wrong, except maybe in their minds. But then again most of the population in our town is going insane."
"Uh huh, so then why did you run away?"
"To get away, away from them. I just needed some space. Woo, look, I'm a bad, screwed up adolescent teen who is lost, save me from death and despair."
"Well, that's good enough for now, Shelby could you please take her to the Cafeteria, she hasn't had breakfast, just get her some fruit or something."
"Sure thing boss," Sophie said and walked off with Rian.
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Scott couldn't believe what a bad day he had been having. He was lying on his bed absent-mindedly flipping through a sports magazine. In frustration he threw the magazine on the floor. He needed to take a walk. He grabbed his jacket. Even though it was only October it was pretty cold in Washington . He walked through the door and couldn't decide where to walk to when he saw someone behind the Girls' Dorm. It looked like she was trying to not be seen, which wasn't really hard because the Cliffhangers had the last set of cabins. He walked a little closer to see if he could see who it was. He saw the wavy blonde hair that was over her face and realized it was Riley. Normally he would have just avoided her all together and left her to her business, but then after today's conversation, his curiosity go the best of him. He walked over silently, pretending as if he was just walking in that direction, and didn't even know she was there. When she saw him pass by her she stood up straight and wiped off her face.
"Hey, what are you doing over here?" She called out to him her voice was scratchy.
Scott turned around pretending like he was surprised someone was there. He decided not to go for the cheesy, 'Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there' line. "I needed a walk," he said gently.
"Oh," she said looking down. It sounded like she was disappointed so Scott decided to try to be nice to her.
"You wanna come? I mean, I could use the company."
Riley looked up. Scott could tell she was trying not to look excited, but her eyes gave it all away. "Sure, I guess. I mean, I've got nothing better to do."
"Yeah, it's normally that way on Sunday. Come on."
Riley walked at a normal pace to Scott, not to fast as to not look so eager, but not to slow as to look like she was trying not to look eager. Then they walked aimlessly side by side. They were silent for a while, but it was a comfortable silence.
Riley was the first to speak. "I'm sorry I was… mean to you earlier."
Scott was sorry he had called her a skank, but he didn't want to tell her he was, because then he would be admitting he was wrong. He opted for acceptance. "That's okay. So, what did you mean."
Riley looked at him and then quickly turned her head away. "When I told you to go fuck yourself?"
Scott laughed. "Before that."
Riley stopped walking and Scott turned around to look at her. "Look, it was nice of you to offer to walk with me or whatever, but… but we're not friends. I'm not going to go around telling complete strangers about my past, when they won't even give me a chance."
"Well, I'm giving you a chance now. And besides, I'm not a complete stranger. I mean, we had a conversation, and it ended with you telling me off, I'd say we know each other pretty well."
Riley laughed. "Yeah well, that conversation shouldn't have happened in the first place."
That comment actually put a small pang in his heart. He looked down at the grass, his shoes, Riley's shoes, the ground in general. He finally looked up. "What do you mean?"
It was Riley's turn to let her eyes wander on the ground however she looked up much quicker. "I mean, you said stuff you didn't mean, and I said too much."
Scott kept their gaze, he was about to say something when he noticed something he really didn't like out of the corner of his eye. Shelby was walking into the Guys' Dorm and Colin was following her. When Riley realized he was no longer paying attention to her she turned to see what he was looking at. She turned back and smiled Scott. "Come on, let's go see what they're up to."
Scott smiled, he was glad she was being so cool about it. They walked together up to the Boys' Dorm, but then they walked into the Guys' Dorm Riley behind Scott. They made as little noise as ever. Scott was waiting to hear what was going on before he pounced on Colin.
"Shelby, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit him, but he…"
"Look Colin, I don't care why you did it, but you better not ever do it again, or I swear it will be the last thing you do. I like you, but I love Scott, and if he…" Shelby's voice started to crack as she fell into her own tears, making Scott's heart break slowly into pieces. "If he gets in trouble again, Peter said he would put him on shuns forever, and he told me that if it was because he got caught with me, or he was in a fight, he was going to move him to a different group or send him home. And I… I couldn't take that. You don't understand, I wouldn't be able to do it, I just couldn't." Shelby finished just above a whisper, and she fell to her knees tears streaming down her face.
Scott was shocked, not just because Peter hadn't told him about moving him, but also that Shelby had just broke down. She never broke down; she always kept her cool in front of everyone. All these thoughts raced through his head as tears slipped down his face. He couldn't stop himself if he had tried; he ran over to Shelby and wrapped her up in his arms. He just wanted to protect her from everything. All this time he had thought she was so strong, a lot stronger than him, but she was just as weak, if not weaker. They stayed there like that rocking back in forth, both taking comfort in the others presence. Scott loved Shelby so much it hurt. And when he saw her cry like that, just over him, he couldn't understand it, and he hated it. He didn't understand it, because to him he was a messed up, wimp who couldn't stop some woman from hurting him. To him he wasn't anything special, but to Shelby he was everything. He hated it because of how he could make her cry so easily, how he could hurt her with even a look. He wrapped his arms around her tighter. They were both in some weird bliss, wrapped up in the other. They didn't even notice as Colin and Riley walked out of the room. Nothing mattered to either of them. They were all each other needed.
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David looked down at his non-appealing food. He really wouldn't have minded, except no one was around for him to make fun of it. David did a double take on the cafeteria; there were definitely no Cliffhangers in sight. He knew that Daisy and Ezra had gone to talk to Peter about some sort of project, and that Juliette and Auggie were making out in the tool shed, but as for the rest he didn't have a clue. David didn't like being alone, it left him to think about his thoughts and his feelings, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts about his thoughts that he didn't even notice when Sophie came in and hovered over him with a girl behind her.
He jumped when he finally realized she was there. "Geez, talk about when pregnant women attack." The girl behind Sophie laughed, but Sophie just smiled.
"Very funny David, where are the rest of the group?"
David didn't want to rat out Juliette and Auggie, but he didn't just want to say he didn't know. "Well Daisy and Ezra went to talk to Peter about something top secret, I think they may be hustling drugs or something." David said looking around suspiciously.
He saw the girl crack a smile, but Sophie, pregnant belly and all, didn't appreciate it. "That isn't very funny David. And since when are Daisy and Ezra the only Cliffhangers?"
"Since when do you care? Who's the girl? She's got a nice ass." David said with a smile, Normally a chick would have beaten the crap out of him but this one just smiled.
"David, that is inappropriate. And this is Rian, she is going to be a new Cliffhanger. Now where are the rest of them?"
"As far as I'm concerned me and cute cheeks are the only ones that matter."
"David, I don't want to have to tell you again. Now where are they?"
David looked under his tray and his chair pretending to be looking for them. He was about to say he didn't; see them anywhere when the two blondes walked in. "Well, there are two of them in line. And the others weren't where I put them, I knew I should have double knotted their ropes, or maybe the rocks weren't heavy enough…"
"Funny David, I'm going to leave you here with Rian, don't scare her." Sophie said and went over to a table with a bunch of counselors.
"Hey babe," David said to Rian giving her a once over. She kind of looked like Riley except her hair was straight and light blonde. She also had blue eyes instead.
"I don't think pigs would appreciate you using their name in vain, which I guess is why I can't call you one. Damn."
"Well then, hey sexy. Does that work for you?"
"What poor girl are you traumatizing now?" Scott said as he walked over and put his tray down next to David. Shelby sat across from Scott and next to Rian. Disgustingly enough, they held hands under the table, and when they weren't doing that they were playing footsie.
"Believe me, compared to the rest of my life, David is the least traumatizing thing," Rian spoke up. "I mean he isn't as bad looking as that clown at my Sixth Birthday."
Shelby laughed. "If you say so. Anyway, what are you in for?"
"What? No hello? Not even a 'what's your name'? Well, I think I would prefer that, at least you're direct instead of all that small talk crap."
"Shelby's known for her bitchiness," David said, which earned him a strong kick from Scott.
"And I suppose the guy next to you is known as her lap dog?"
"Basically," Scott said. "Hey, I'm Scott."
"Hi, I'm Rian, and I was landed here because my parents expected too much of me, and when I wasn't their perfect model of a daughter they didn't want me, and now, I'm here. Fun, fun, fun."
"Sounds like my Dad," David said, he looked down when he realized he had said it out loud.
"Well I guess we don't have to worry about having something in common."
"Are you coming on to me?" David said cockily, expecting her to be joking around.
"So when you said you liked my ass you were just joking around? That really hurts, I thought we had a promise for a relationship. Darn, it's always the cute ones."
David laughed. "Well, I'm more of a feeling man than a looking one."
"Well, I wouldn't want to get in trouble my first day. Maybe tomorrow." Rian said with a wink. David felt something down under and decided to go throw his tray away before it got worse.
"Yeah well, I'm gonna go take a shower with that in mind."
David knew he was going to get a reaction out of each of them. Shelby responded with an "Ohh, you're so disgusting." Scott laughed, and Rian said, "Well, if that's where you want it."
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Shelby couldn't believe David has just said that, and that Rian had just said that back to him. But she had to admit she liked this new girl, possibly because she wouldn't have to fend her off from Scott. Rian had barely even noticed him; she was too busy drooling over… David.
"So Rian, I know that's not all that happened." Shelby said pressing her for the real story.
"Well, I ran away once because of… but it didn't matter, he actually said it was good for business, because more people knew who I was. So I came back on my own. Then my Mother pretended like she was shocked, said I was a screw up and a liar and she told my Dad, he decided to fund my leaving, so he didn't have to pay my Mom for extra stuff for me. They got divorced because I wasn't perfect for my Dad, and he couldn't bare it any longer. My Mother got stuck with me. It's a much longer story, but I don't even know what your last name is, so I don't think I will be spilling any further."
Shelby laughed but inside was wondering what she meant by "good for business."
"Actually, I think I have seen you before." Rian said nonchalantly.
That was it hook line and sinker. Shelby knew exactly what she meant by "good for business." She looked at Scott wondering if he got it too, but he was just scarfing his food down, oblivious to what was right in front of him. "Hey, your one of Jake's aren't you?"
Rian looked embarrassed but then she shook it off. "Yeah, actually, were you one too?"
Shelby looked over at Scott but he wasn't even paying attention, so she decided it was okay to answer her. "Actually, no. I was my own."
Rian looked down at her non-touched food. "Well, I didn't exactly do it by choice. Jake… he, he's my, um."
"It's okay," Shelby said with a laugh. "You can tell me, I'm not going to tell anyone, I know what it's like. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, it's cool."
"Well, I mean, you seem nice and everything, but despite my cool, calm, open exterior, I'm not ready to talk about that."
"Yeah, I don't normally talk about it either. Actually you are part of an exclusive club. You, Scott, and my friend Daisy are the only ones who know about my…"
"Cool exclusive club, can I be Treasurer?"
Shelby laughed. "Sure, Daisy and Scott are the worst at math."
Scott looked up. "Huh, what?"
Both girls laughed and then Shelby went on to talk about Horizon, Peter, and all of the other Cliffhangers.
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Riley looked over at Colin and laughed.
"What? What's so funny?" Colin asked a confused look on his face.
"I don't know, I don't know. So, what do you make of Scott and Shelby?"
Colin looked down at his hands and didn't say anything. He just shook his head at her. "What do you make of it?"
"I think they're both more screwed up than the rest of us," Riley said laughing. Colin cracked a smile, but then frowned. "What's wrong?"
"There not more screwed up than I am, believe me. I don't know, Shelby's really hott, but Scott is such an asshole. I really don't think he deserves her."
"I have many a problem myself… Yeah, well, if you ask me Shelby is such a bitch, she doesn't deserve Scott. I mean, he can have a mean streak, but he is totally gorgeous, and he can be pretty sweet." Riley looked off dreamily.
Colin laughed, the first laugh she had heard come from him. It was a deep, throaty laugh that sent chills down her back. "You're such a dork." He said and threw a flower at her.
Riley's mouth opened wide and she pretended to be upset, while she was grabbing a big handful of grass. She looked over at him. "I am appalled by that."
"Yeah, well then I suppose I am sorry."
"You suppose? You suppose? I don't think so, nope Colin, I think you're going to BE sorry. And I think you're gonna FEEL sorry in a minute."
"Yeah, and who's gonna make you."
"ME!" Riley yelled and threw the grass down his shirt, then they began to play fight in the grass until they were interrupted.
"Riley! What are you doing? You're getting grass stains all over your jeans."
Riley and Colin stopped in the middle of what they were doing. Riley was on top of Colin. They formed an 'X.' Riley turned around to see Juliette and Auggie standing in front of them. "Oh, hey Jules." Riley said as she stood up and brushed off her jeans, Colin did the same.
"Hey," Colin said barely above a whisper. Riley looked over at him and was surprised at what she saw. This Colin she was seeing now didn't even look like the guys he had just been throwing grass at. He look like he had when Shelby was confronting him. Riley didn't really know what to think of it. She had just met him. Peter said they were going to wait until the third admit came to do some sort of group 'getting-to-know-you' type activity.
"Umm, actually, I am kind of hungry. I'm going to go to the cafeteria."
"Oh well, we were just headed there, we'll come with you. What about you Colin?" Juliette said looking at him eagerly.
"Umm," Riley gave Colin a little nudge. "Yeah, I was getting kind of hungry."
"Well, you know, you don't have to come," Auggie said sharply.
"Auggie," Juliette said under her breath.
"What? He's trouble Jules, I mean, look what he did to Scott."
Colin looked away. "Well, I'm sorry if you have problems with him Auggie, but I don't recall Jules asking your permission. If he wants to come eat lunch with us he can, and you're not going to stop him." Riley said angrily.
Auggie didn't say anything, but instead looked shocked that Riley had just told him off. She didn't care though, she wasn't one to hold her tongue. So they all started walking toward the cafeteria.
The walk their was awkward, and getting their trays was awkward, but Riley didn't care because she was still mad at Auggie for being a jackass. Riley went and sat down across from Juliette but was so mad she didn't even notice that Scott was on the other side of her. Auggie sat next to Juliette, as a little lap dog would, and Colin was across from him.
"Hey meat," Auggie said giving Scott the infamous guy nod.
"Hey muchahco, where were you?"
Auggie didn't say anything but he just nodded at Juliette and Scot gave a nod to say that he understood. "I guess you didn't get caught by Peter yet," Auggie said as he cast a brooding glance in Colin's direction.
Shelby sat up straight in her seat like people do when they know a secret on the subject at hand. "No," Scott said looking over at Shelby.
"Well, as interesting as learning about your disciplinary issues, I think we should move the topic onto something more interesting. I don't know, maybe like what a skank Shelby is." Riley said just waiting to stir up trouble.
"Listen, just cause you were little Miss Barfs A Lot wherever you came from, doesn't mean you matter here. So why don't you just shut the…"
"Cliffhangers," Peter said walking up behind Shelby. "Shelby, I hope you weren't being rude to our new admit Riley here."
"Oh no Captain, I wouldn't ever do anything like that."
"That's good to hear. Well, Scott, Colin, when your done eating you both need to come into my office."
"Peter look, I didn't mean to…" Scott started suddenly, almost scared.
"Who said you were in trouble?"
"Well, no one, but…"
"Well, you aren't… yet. Although I hope I don't end up hearing things later on today."
"Oh you won't."
"That's good to hear. But, as far as the rest of the Cliffhangers are concerned, we'll be having group in thirty." Peter left to go to his office Riley assumed.
"What's going on?" Scott said looking baffled. He looked over at Shelby for some comforting glance but instead she had her eyes diverting every which way. "Shelby?"
"Huh? What? I don't know. Why should I know? Where's Daisy? I need to put my tray up. Bye."
"Well, she really has no room to be talking about being weird now does she?" Riley asked looking at the group. Colin laughed and Juliette cracked a smile but the other two guys just stared down at their trays "Well, I'm not hungry anymore, and even thought I really enjoy this 'Mutes-R-Us' thing you have going, I think I am going to go to my room."
"You don't have to go leaving," Scott said so only Riley could hear her.
Riley sat back down and turned to face him. She made sure no one was paying attention to them. "Well, you could always come with me," she said raising her eyebrows at him.
Scott moved in a little closer to her. "As fun as that sounds, I have to go see Peter." Scott looked up and realized he had everyone's attention. "Bye Skank."
Riley looked down at her tray. She knew he had just said that so no one would think any thing was weird, but still. Riley just didn't understand Scott Barringer. "I'll figure you out one of these days Mr. Barringer." She said under her breath so no one could hear. "One of these days."
Authors' Note: So, what did you think? Well, we know in Chapter Three we asked for seven reviews, but it becomes clear to us that our story got pushed down by many others, so most of you probably didn't notice we updated. However, thanks Nicole Lopez for reviewing, we really appreciate, and we will be reading one of your stories as soon as we get this registration business settled. IN any case, since we only got two last time (mind you they were from the same person), we would like seven this time, as a collective thing. If you would like us to put you on our list of people to e-mail when we have updated then just say so in your review, or e-mail us at the_fruit_and_the_duck@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Here is the quarterly disclaimer… Yeah, so what if we don't own it… at least we continued it.
Sending: We would like to send you to read Lsupergirl's story 'Dance.' It has a great "awwwwwwwwwwww" factor for all you Scott and Shelby fans. If you would like us to recommend your stories, just tell us which one you want us to read and we'll get on it.
Sophie sighed in frustration; she had been trying to cheer Peter up all night, but nothing was working. "All right Peter, spill."
Peter looked at her as if he was dumbfounded. "Spill what? There is nothing to spill, I am just fine, just peachy keen."
Sophie gave him her patented 'yeah-right' look. "Come on Peter, you aren't one of the kids, and I am not the counselor you despise, I'm your wife, you can talk to me, so SPILL!"
Peter looked around his office. "I don't think you should be up here with me, something might cause pressure, and the doctor said that this was a very critical time, and you don't want anything to…"
"… the baby, I know. But the only thing that will put me under pressure here is you. Now I came up here to see you, and talk to you, and that is exactly what I am going to do, so tell me what is wrong."
Peter looked at her and then shook his head. "It's just the Cliffhangers, I mean, let's be honest, they are my favorite group here, and I trust them. And I gave them my trust, and they just took advantage of it, and I still don't know exactly what happened. I thought Shelby had something to do with it, but she didn't and both her and Scott ran off, in different directions though, and the new girl, Riley, I came out and saw her run off into the woods. I sent Roger after them, but I… I just don't know what to do."
"Do you think any of them ran?" Sophie asked worriedly.
"No, I just think they needed some space, some time, I don't know, but they went in the wrong directions to be running away in any case. So now I have one unpunished fight, with no suspects, and three upset Cliffhangers."
"Whoah, a fight? When were you going to mention this to me?"
"As soon as I figured out who it was. All I know right now is that it one of them was a Cliffhanger, and Shelby got hurt in the process."
"Well, what did the other Cliffhangers say?"
"None of them are talking, but I don't think any of them know anything about it."
"Well then, you know you have to ask Shelby who it was."
"I know, but I don't think she will be very willing to talk to me about it after I accused her. I just don't know what to do Sophie." Peter said and rested his head on Sophie's protruding stomach.
Sophie laughed; Peter was so cute when he was stressed. "How about I go talk to Shelby, I haven't seen her in awhile, maybe she would be willing to talk to me."
Peter nodded. "Probably, go work your magic. I have to work on your substitute's instructional pamphlet."
Sophie smiled at her Mountain Man and then headed in the direction of the woods they used for their hikes and ect. She hadn't gotten too far, when she saw Shelby walking aimlessly in circles.
"Shelby," she said before she could look up and get scared.
"Sophie!" Shelby said excitedly and ran up to her to give her a big hug. Then she looked down at Sophie's stomach and rubbed it. "When are you due?"
"By looking at me you would think anywhere from a month to now, but actually I still have three to go," Sophie said with a laugh. Shelby smiled and Sophie knew she had to get her, but she just had to work her question in subtly. "But, enough about me, how have you been doing? I have missed you guys so much."
Shelby looked down at her hands. "I'm fine, so I hear they have your replacement."
Sophie laughed. "It's not forever Shelby, I will be coming up to visit you guys whenever I can. But right now I just can't be a full time counselor." Shelby just nodded her head and appeared deep in thought about something. Sophie decided to press on. "So how is Scott?"
Shelby looked up at Sophie and she saw something in her eyes, but Shelby looked down too quickly for Sophie to know what it was. "He's doing good, or so I hear."
Shelby then looked up and bit her lip. Shelby knew she had said enough for Sophie to have reason to talk to her like a counselor. But Sophie decided to dismiss it; she knew that forcing her to talk about it would likely make Shelby defensive. "Uh huh, well, I hear that there are two new Cliffhangers. How is that working out?"
Shelby seemed to be surprised that Sophie hadn't pushed her on the subject of Scott, but then her features stiffened. "It's really not, I mean…" Shelby stopped and looked at Sophie. Sophie knew it was over. Shelby knew just as well as Sophie that even though they could talk like friends, Sophie was still a counselor. "…Umm, I don't know what I mean, you know me though, I hate change."
Sophie nodded knowing that wasn't what Shelby was really going to say. Sophie shook her head, she had tried subtle, but now she needed the truth. "Look Shelby, I know you hate talking about your emotions, and hearing that if you need to talk to me I am always here, but I am. And right now I need to talk to you and I need you to tell me the truth, because this is very important."
Sophie looked at Shelby to see how her mood was. Shelby just looked down, but Sophie was pretty sure she would be willing to help her… a little. "What?"
"I need to know who was fighting today."
"Why? The ones who were don't have any bruises… yet. I mean, none of them are seriously injured, so why do you need to know?"
"Because, in order to keep you all safe, I need to know. Shelby, look I don't know if you are protecting someone, but eventually it is going to come out, and it is better now than later."
"I can't," Shelby said now looking into Sophie's eyes. "I can't. I mean, he may be acting like an asshole right now, but if he gets in trouble again… Peter said he would put him on shuns for the rest of his natural life. I can't, I can't not be able to talk to him. He needs me, and even though I don't want to admit it, I need him." Once Shelby was finished she looked at the ground.
Sophie nodded; Shelby couldn't have made it more obvious who she was talking about unless she had out right said his name. "It was Scott wasn't it?"
Shelby looked down at the ground and didn't say anything. Sophie didn't really expect her to anyway.
"So who was the other guy?"
"I'm not a nark!"
"Look Shelby, if you tell me then I will make sure this doesn't get leaked to Peter and Scott doesn't get in trouble. But if you don't tell me I am going to turn Scott in."
Shelby looked up at Sophie angry, but her eyes showed relief. "Fine, it was the new guy, you know, Colin. I was ragging on Juliette and Auggie came in and told me they were fighting, and I went to go stop them, and Scott was going to stop, I think. But then Colin decked him and he started again. I… I tried to pull him off, but he knocked me off, and. When I ran out, they stopped I guess. I don't really know."
Sophie smiled thankfully; Shelby had spared her the agony of trying to extract the story from her. "Okay, that is all I needed to know. It was good seeing you, but you should really get back on campus before you get in trouble." Sophie said as she turned to walk away.
"Wait, what are you going to tell Peter, I mean, you can't just hide it from him, he is going to find out eventually."
"I'll tell him that I took care of it, and that he better not press this, but I am going to need to talk to both of them about it."
Shelby followed Sophie back in silence to the campus. "Bye," she said as she walked off to the direction of her dorm.
Sophie nodded a good-bye to Shelby. Then she braced herself. She knew she couldn't tell Peter that, she would just have to find a way to convince him from keeping Scott off of shuns. She walked in with a smile on her face, but when she walked into Peter's office there were already people in there.
"Sophie, this is our last admit for awhile. This is Mr. and Mrs. Copperfield. And this is their daughter, Rian." Peter said to her. "This is Sophie she is the Cliffhanger counselor, which is actually the group we will be putting Rian in. But actually, we will be getting a brief replacement, until Sophie is up to the job." The Copperfield adults smiled at Sophie. Their daughter however seemed uninterested.
"Hello it is nice to meet you." Then she walked over to Rian and smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you too, I am sure we will have a great time together."
"I wouldn't bet money on it," Rian bit back.
"Rian!" Mr. Copperfield shouted.
"You can't tell me what to do anymore, you signed those papers putting me in his control. Whoops, maybe you should have waited until you were about to leave, but then again you never think about anything."
Mr. Copperfield just shook his head at her. "You're right Rian, I've signed all the papers, we're leaving." With that both he and his wife got up and left.
"Well, that was easier than I thought. Score two for me."
Sophie couldn't help but smile; at least she was somewhat optimistic.
"Well, now that they're gone let's get back to business. I really don't want to be here, but it is way better than home. That wasn't really my Father. Well, it was, but my parents aren't together, they just put that act on so you guys would think I was the only screwed up one of the bunch, but really, I'm not. It's just that my "dad" is going to be paying for this school. So, now that we've gotten all the lies out of the way, I would appreciate it if you would show me to my quarters." Rian finished with a laugh and Sophie smiled, and the baby kicked. Sophie couldn't help but like her attitude, she kind of reminded her of Daisy.
"Well, thank you for being honest, but that isn't enough for a room. I need to ask you a few questions."
"Fire at will."
"It says here you have never done drugs, and your physical shows no sign of it. So, have you really never done any drugs, or just not hard ones?"
"Puh-lease. Like I would do drugs, that's so stupid. All it is, is some false nirvana, and when you come back down, everything seems even worse. You might as well just stay here. I mean, at least then you don't have the memory of a place way better than this."
Peter nodded, Sophie could see her attitude was infecting Peter, and cheering him up a little bit. "Well, then what have you done? There's nothing here in your file, all it says is that you ran away."
"Well, that would be because my parents filled out that file, and they are liars remember? Anyway, they didn't want to deal with me as a person, and when I ran away, they decided it would be better to force me into here, than keep me at the house. I didn't do anything wrong, except maybe in their minds. But then again most of the population in our town is going insane."
"Uh huh, so then why did you run away?"
"To get away, away from them. I just needed some space. Woo, look, I'm a bad, screwed up adolescent teen who is lost, save me from death and despair."
"Well, that's good enough for now, Shelby could you please take her to the Cafeteria, she hasn't had breakfast, just get her some fruit or something."
"Sure thing boss," Sophie said and walked off with Rian.
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Scott couldn't believe what a bad day he had been having. He was lying on his bed absent-mindedly flipping through a sports magazine. In frustration he threw the magazine on the floor. He needed to take a walk. He grabbed his jacket. Even though it was only October it was pretty cold in Washington . He walked through the door and couldn't decide where to walk to when he saw someone behind the Girls' Dorm. It looked like she was trying to not be seen, which wasn't really hard because the Cliffhangers had the last set of cabins. He walked a little closer to see if he could see who it was. He saw the wavy blonde hair that was over her face and realized it was Riley. Normally he would have just avoided her all together and left her to her business, but then after today's conversation, his curiosity go the best of him. He walked over silently, pretending as if he was just walking in that direction, and didn't even know she was there. When she saw him pass by her she stood up straight and wiped off her face.
"Hey, what are you doing over here?" She called out to him her voice was scratchy.
Scott turned around pretending like he was surprised someone was there. He decided not to go for the cheesy, 'Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there' line. "I needed a walk," he said gently.
"Oh," she said looking down. It sounded like she was disappointed so Scott decided to try to be nice to her.
"You wanna come? I mean, I could use the company."
Riley looked up. Scott could tell she was trying not to look excited, but her eyes gave it all away. "Sure, I guess. I mean, I've got nothing better to do."
"Yeah, it's normally that way on Sunday. Come on."
Riley walked at a normal pace to Scott, not to fast as to not look so eager, but not to slow as to look like she was trying not to look eager. Then they walked aimlessly side by side. They were silent for a while, but it was a comfortable silence.
Riley was the first to speak. "I'm sorry I was… mean to you earlier."
Scott was sorry he had called her a skank, but he didn't want to tell her he was, because then he would be admitting he was wrong. He opted for acceptance. "That's okay. So, what did you mean."
Riley looked at him and then quickly turned her head away. "When I told you to go fuck yourself?"
Scott laughed. "Before that."
Riley stopped walking and Scott turned around to look at her. "Look, it was nice of you to offer to walk with me or whatever, but… but we're not friends. I'm not going to go around telling complete strangers about my past, when they won't even give me a chance."
"Well, I'm giving you a chance now. And besides, I'm not a complete stranger. I mean, we had a conversation, and it ended with you telling me off, I'd say we know each other pretty well."
Riley laughed. "Yeah well, that conversation shouldn't have happened in the first place."
That comment actually put a small pang in his heart. He looked down at the grass, his shoes, Riley's shoes, the ground in general. He finally looked up. "What do you mean?"
It was Riley's turn to let her eyes wander on the ground however she looked up much quicker. "I mean, you said stuff you didn't mean, and I said too much."
Scott kept their gaze, he was about to say something when he noticed something he really didn't like out of the corner of his eye. Shelby was walking into the Guys' Dorm and Colin was following her. When Riley realized he was no longer paying attention to her she turned to see what he was looking at. She turned back and smiled Scott. "Come on, let's go see what they're up to."
Scott smiled, he was glad she was being so cool about it. They walked together up to the Boys' Dorm, but then they walked into the Guys' Dorm Riley behind Scott. They made as little noise as ever. Scott was waiting to hear what was going on before he pounced on Colin.
"Shelby, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit him, but he…"
"Look Colin, I don't care why you did it, but you better not ever do it again, or I swear it will be the last thing you do. I like you, but I love Scott, and if he…" Shelby's voice started to crack as she fell into her own tears, making Scott's heart break slowly into pieces. "If he gets in trouble again, Peter said he would put him on shuns forever, and he told me that if it was because he got caught with me, or he was in a fight, he was going to move him to a different group or send him home. And I… I couldn't take that. You don't understand, I wouldn't be able to do it, I just couldn't." Shelby finished just above a whisper, and she fell to her knees tears streaming down her face.
Scott was shocked, not just because Peter hadn't told him about moving him, but also that Shelby had just broke down. She never broke down; she always kept her cool in front of everyone. All these thoughts raced through his head as tears slipped down his face. He couldn't stop himself if he had tried; he ran over to Shelby and wrapped her up in his arms. He just wanted to protect her from everything. All this time he had thought she was so strong, a lot stronger than him, but she was just as weak, if not weaker. They stayed there like that rocking back in forth, both taking comfort in the others presence. Scott loved Shelby so much it hurt. And when he saw her cry like that, just over him, he couldn't understand it, and he hated it. He didn't understand it, because to him he was a messed up, wimp who couldn't stop some woman from hurting him. To him he wasn't anything special, but to Shelby he was everything. He hated it because of how he could make her cry so easily, how he could hurt her with even a look. He wrapped his arms around her tighter. They were both in some weird bliss, wrapped up in the other. They didn't even notice as Colin and Riley walked out of the room. Nothing mattered to either of them. They were all each other needed.
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David looked down at his non-appealing food. He really wouldn't have minded, except no one was around for him to make fun of it. David did a double take on the cafeteria; there were definitely no Cliffhangers in sight. He knew that Daisy and Ezra had gone to talk to Peter about some sort of project, and that Juliette and Auggie were making out in the tool shed, but as for the rest he didn't have a clue. David didn't like being alone, it left him to think about his thoughts and his feelings, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts about his thoughts that he didn't even notice when Sophie came in and hovered over him with a girl behind her.
He jumped when he finally realized she was there. "Geez, talk about when pregnant women attack." The girl behind Sophie laughed, but Sophie just smiled.
"Very funny David, where are the rest of the group?"
David didn't want to rat out Juliette and Auggie, but he didn't just want to say he didn't know. "Well Daisy and Ezra went to talk to Peter about something top secret, I think they may be hustling drugs or something." David said looking around suspiciously.
He saw the girl crack a smile, but Sophie, pregnant belly and all, didn't appreciate it. "That isn't very funny David. And since when are Daisy and Ezra the only Cliffhangers?"
"Since when do you care? Who's the girl? She's got a nice ass." David said with a smile, Normally a chick would have beaten the crap out of him but this one just smiled.
"David, that is inappropriate. And this is Rian, she is going to be a new Cliffhanger. Now where are the rest of them?"
"As far as I'm concerned me and cute cheeks are the only ones that matter."
"David, I don't want to have to tell you again. Now where are they?"
David looked under his tray and his chair pretending to be looking for them. He was about to say he didn't; see them anywhere when the two blondes walked in. "Well, there are two of them in line. And the others weren't where I put them, I knew I should have double knotted their ropes, or maybe the rocks weren't heavy enough…"
"Funny David, I'm going to leave you here with Rian, don't scare her." Sophie said and went over to a table with a bunch of counselors.
"Hey babe," David said to Rian giving her a once over. She kind of looked like Riley except her hair was straight and light blonde. She also had blue eyes instead.
"I don't think pigs would appreciate you using their name in vain, which I guess is why I can't call you one. Damn."
"Well then, hey sexy. Does that work for you?"
"What poor girl are you traumatizing now?" Scott said as he walked over and put his tray down next to David. Shelby sat across from Scott and next to Rian. Disgustingly enough, they held hands under the table, and when they weren't doing that they were playing footsie.
"Believe me, compared to the rest of my life, David is the least traumatizing thing," Rian spoke up. "I mean he isn't as bad looking as that clown at my Sixth Birthday."
Shelby laughed. "If you say so. Anyway, what are you in for?"
"What? No hello? Not even a 'what's your name'? Well, I think I would prefer that, at least you're direct instead of all that small talk crap."
"Shelby's known for her bitchiness," David said, which earned him a strong kick from Scott.
"And I suppose the guy next to you is known as her lap dog?"
"Basically," Scott said. "Hey, I'm Scott."
"Hi, I'm Rian, and I was landed here because my parents expected too much of me, and when I wasn't their perfect model of a daughter they didn't want me, and now, I'm here. Fun, fun, fun."
"Sounds like my Dad," David said, he looked down when he realized he had said it out loud.
"Well I guess we don't have to worry about having something in common."
"Are you coming on to me?" David said cockily, expecting her to be joking around.
"So when you said you liked my ass you were just joking around? That really hurts, I thought we had a promise for a relationship. Darn, it's always the cute ones."
David laughed. "Well, I'm more of a feeling man than a looking one."
"Well, I wouldn't want to get in trouble my first day. Maybe tomorrow." Rian said with a wink. David felt something down under and decided to go throw his tray away before it got worse.
"Yeah well, I'm gonna go take a shower with that in mind."
David knew he was going to get a reaction out of each of them. Shelby responded with an "Ohh, you're so disgusting." Scott laughed, and Rian said, "Well, if that's where you want it."
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Shelby couldn't believe David has just said that, and that Rian had just said that back to him. But she had to admit she liked this new girl, possibly because she wouldn't have to fend her off from Scott. Rian had barely even noticed him; she was too busy drooling over… David.
"So Rian, I know that's not all that happened." Shelby said pressing her for the real story.
"Well, I ran away once because of… but it didn't matter, he actually said it was good for business, because more people knew who I was. So I came back on my own. Then my Mother pretended like she was shocked, said I was a screw up and a liar and she told my Dad, he decided to fund my leaving, so he didn't have to pay my Mom for extra stuff for me. They got divorced because I wasn't perfect for my Dad, and he couldn't bare it any longer. My Mother got stuck with me. It's a much longer story, but I don't even know what your last name is, so I don't think I will be spilling any further."
Shelby laughed but inside was wondering what she meant by "good for business."
"Actually, I think I have seen you before." Rian said nonchalantly.
That was it hook line and sinker. Shelby knew exactly what she meant by "good for business." She looked at Scott wondering if he got it too, but he was just scarfing his food down, oblivious to what was right in front of him. "Hey, your one of Jake's aren't you?"
Rian looked embarrassed but then she shook it off. "Yeah, actually, were you one too?"
Shelby looked over at Scott but he wasn't even paying attention, so she decided it was okay to answer her. "Actually, no. I was my own."
Rian looked down at her non-touched food. "Well, I didn't exactly do it by choice. Jake… he, he's my, um."
"It's okay," Shelby said with a laugh. "You can tell me, I'm not going to tell anyone, I know what it's like. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, it's cool."
"Well, I mean, you seem nice and everything, but despite my cool, calm, open exterior, I'm not ready to talk about that."
"Yeah, I don't normally talk about it either. Actually you are part of an exclusive club. You, Scott, and my friend Daisy are the only ones who know about my…"
"Cool exclusive club, can I be Treasurer?"
Shelby laughed. "Sure, Daisy and Scott are the worst at math."
Scott looked up. "Huh, what?"
Both girls laughed and then Shelby went on to talk about Horizon, Peter, and all of the other Cliffhangers.
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Riley looked over at Colin and laughed.
"What? What's so funny?" Colin asked a confused look on his face.
"I don't know, I don't know. So, what do you make of Scott and Shelby?"
Colin looked down at his hands and didn't say anything. He just shook his head at her. "What do you make of it?"
"I think they're both more screwed up than the rest of us," Riley said laughing. Colin cracked a smile, but then frowned. "What's wrong?"
"There not more screwed up than I am, believe me. I don't know, Shelby's really hott, but Scott is such an asshole. I really don't think he deserves her."
"I have many a problem myself… Yeah, well, if you ask me Shelby is such a bitch, she doesn't deserve Scott. I mean, he can have a mean streak, but he is totally gorgeous, and he can be pretty sweet." Riley looked off dreamily.
Colin laughed, the first laugh she had heard come from him. It was a deep, throaty laugh that sent chills down her back. "You're such a dork." He said and threw a flower at her.
Riley's mouth opened wide and she pretended to be upset, while she was grabbing a big handful of grass. She looked over at him. "I am appalled by that."
"Yeah, well then I suppose I am sorry."
"You suppose? You suppose? I don't think so, nope Colin, I think you're going to BE sorry. And I think you're gonna FEEL sorry in a minute."
"Yeah, and who's gonna make you."
"ME!" Riley yelled and threw the grass down his shirt, then they began to play fight in the grass until they were interrupted.
"Riley! What are you doing? You're getting grass stains all over your jeans."
Riley and Colin stopped in the middle of what they were doing. Riley was on top of Colin. They formed an 'X.' Riley turned around to see Juliette and Auggie standing in front of them. "Oh, hey Jules." Riley said as she stood up and brushed off her jeans, Colin did the same.
"Hey," Colin said barely above a whisper. Riley looked over at him and was surprised at what she saw. This Colin she was seeing now didn't even look like the guys he had just been throwing grass at. He look like he had when Shelby was confronting him. Riley didn't really know what to think of it. She had just met him. Peter said they were going to wait until the third admit came to do some sort of group 'getting-to-know-you' type activity.
"Umm, actually, I am kind of hungry. I'm going to go to the cafeteria."
"Oh well, we were just headed there, we'll come with you. What about you Colin?" Juliette said looking at him eagerly.
"Umm," Riley gave Colin a little nudge. "Yeah, I was getting kind of hungry."
"Well, you know, you don't have to come," Auggie said sharply.
"Auggie," Juliette said under her breath.
"What? He's trouble Jules, I mean, look what he did to Scott."
Colin looked away. "Well, I'm sorry if you have problems with him Auggie, but I don't recall Jules asking your permission. If he wants to come eat lunch with us he can, and you're not going to stop him." Riley said angrily.
Auggie didn't say anything, but instead looked shocked that Riley had just told him off. She didn't care though, she wasn't one to hold her tongue. So they all started walking toward the cafeteria.
The walk their was awkward, and getting their trays was awkward, but Riley didn't care because she was still mad at Auggie for being a jackass. Riley went and sat down across from Juliette but was so mad she didn't even notice that Scott was on the other side of her. Auggie sat next to Juliette, as a little lap dog would, and Colin was across from him.
"Hey meat," Auggie said giving Scott the infamous guy nod.
"Hey muchahco, where were you?"
Auggie didn't say anything but he just nodded at Juliette and Scot gave a nod to say that he understood. "I guess you didn't get caught by Peter yet," Auggie said as he cast a brooding glance in Colin's direction.
Shelby sat up straight in her seat like people do when they know a secret on the subject at hand. "No," Scott said looking over at Shelby.
"Well, as interesting as learning about your disciplinary issues, I think we should move the topic onto something more interesting. I don't know, maybe like what a skank Shelby is." Riley said just waiting to stir up trouble.
"Listen, just cause you were little Miss Barfs A Lot wherever you came from, doesn't mean you matter here. So why don't you just shut the…"
"Cliffhangers," Peter said walking up behind Shelby. "Shelby, I hope you weren't being rude to our new admit Riley here."
"Oh no Captain, I wouldn't ever do anything like that."
"That's good to hear. Well, Scott, Colin, when your done eating you both need to come into my office."
"Peter look, I didn't mean to…" Scott started suddenly, almost scared.
"Who said you were in trouble?"
"Well, no one, but…"
"Well, you aren't… yet. Although I hope I don't end up hearing things later on today."
"Oh you won't."
"That's good to hear. But, as far as the rest of the Cliffhangers are concerned, we'll be having group in thirty." Peter left to go to his office Riley assumed.
"What's going on?" Scott said looking baffled. He looked over at Shelby for some comforting glance but instead she had her eyes diverting every which way. "Shelby?"
"Huh? What? I don't know. Why should I know? Where's Daisy? I need to put my tray up. Bye."
"Well, she really has no room to be talking about being weird now does she?" Riley asked looking at the group. Colin laughed and Juliette cracked a smile but the other two guys just stared down at their trays "Well, I'm not hungry anymore, and even thought I really enjoy this 'Mutes-R-Us' thing you have going, I think I am going to go to my room."
"You don't have to go leaving," Scott said so only Riley could hear her.
Riley sat back down and turned to face him. She made sure no one was paying attention to them. "Well, you could always come with me," she said raising her eyebrows at him.
Scott moved in a little closer to her. "As fun as that sounds, I have to go see Peter." Scott looked up and realized he had everyone's attention. "Bye Skank."
Riley looked down at her tray. She knew he had just said that so no one would think any thing was weird, but still. Riley just didn't understand Scott Barringer. "I'll figure you out one of these days Mr. Barringer." She said under her breath so no one could hear. "One of these days."
Authors' Note: So, what did you think? Well, we know in Chapter Three we asked for seven reviews, but it becomes clear to us that our story got pushed down by many others, so most of you probably didn't notice we updated. However, thanks Nicole Lopez for reviewing, we really appreciate, and we will be reading one of your stories as soon as we get this registration business settled. IN any case, since we only got two last time (mind you they were from the same person), we would like seven this time, as a collective thing. If you would like us to put you on our list of people to e-mail when we have updated then just say so in your review, or e-mail us at the_fruit_and_the_duck@hotmail.com