There are things I've written, that factor into the story later, but no one is asking about them. I'll let you figure out what they are.
Disclaimer - I do not work for/with Disney/Ren-Mar Studios, or anyone involved with Lizzie McGuire.
On to Chapter 8.
Soon after Miranda left for her aunt's, Hillridge Junior High had, you guessed it, ANOTHER dance. Gordo wondered why they would hold so many dances, they could do so much more with all the money they spent, to expand the science lab, or the library, or get better computers, anything is better than 4 dances in a year.
Lizzie was able to attend this time, but she chose to DJ. So, she wouldn't actually have to get a date. Gordo would attend, but dateless, and help Lizzie.
The dance went well, to put it mildly. Lizzie enlisted Gordo, and even Matt, Melina, and her parents in an elaborate scheme to help get more Lizzie and less Kate in the yearbook, and amazingly, they pulled it off.
It was hard for Lizzie to make it to school on time with Miranda gone. Sure, her parents would check to see she was up, but their idea of when she needed to be up was later than the time she wanted to be awake. Most of the time, Miranda would call Lizzie early in the morning, and they would discuss their warddrobe for the day, among other things.
One day, Lizzie was late to school, more than an hour. She found the class just letting out. Gordo had assigned everyone jobs on the school online newspaper. She thought surely he'd saved her a primo job, since he was the editor, and she, his best friend, but he didn't.
For once, Gordo was out of ideas. He couldn't believe he had forgotten Lizzie, but didn't know what job was left for her. The school advisor wasn't much help.
The idea of an advice columist came up, and Lizzie grabbed it. She wasn't sure at first she wanted her name on it, if the students knew who was giving the advice, they might not write, but it all worked out
She felt she was genuinely helping people, and visualizing who the writer of each question might be was fun. A few days later, a girl came to Lizzie and told her the advice didn't work. As this was the first time she knew of that her advice backfired, she decided maybe she should quit the column.
Gordo begged her to reconsider, then relented if she'd answer just ONE more letter to fill out the next "issue." Lizzie scrolled through the list of email. "Hmm," she thought. "Twenty-five questions, I should be able to answer one of these, shouldn't I?" She tried to think up good advice, but she kept seeing her advice turn into problems. In frustration, she deleted all the questions, hopefully anything new would be easier to handle. She talked to her parents, and they convinced her that she wasn't giving instructions, just suggestions, and not to worry about what could happen, just to give the best advice possible.
Meanwhile, Gordo was waiting for the question to finish the e-zine. No one knew it, but he could access the files from home. Since he was the editor, he had access to the questions as well. He saw how many emails she'd discarded, without even opening. He thought of returning them to "new", so she'd have to pick one, but came up with a devilish idea. He deleted the few questions that had appeared recently, and stayed on, deleting any new questions while posting one of his own. This was somewhat risky, but he was getting desperate.
Lizzie tried to find Miranda for help on what to do, but she wasn't online, so she logged into the "Dear Lizzie" mailbox, and told herself she was going to answer a question! She only found one question. She couldn't believe it. It had been like 2 hours! It must be some sort of sign...
"I'm going to answer this no matter what", she convinced herself. She would not try to visualize who the sender was, it would be easier to answer. It was a very tough question.
"Dear Lizzie, I think I may like my best friend as more than a friend, what should I do? Signed, Confused Guy."
She thought and thought, then sent off a reply into Gordo's editor box.
He was almost asleep when he heard the beep and his heart did a flip when he saw that his letter had been answered. He read the reply, but didn't quite get it. What would he say to Lizzie tomorrow?
Lizzie slept well, knowing that her assignment was complete. She woke up extra early the next day, and when she entered the computer lab, she found Gordo already there, setting up her last column. He thanked her for finishing the assignment, and when she said she hoped her advice had helped, he halfway confirmed it. She wondered how he would know.
He thought if she couldn't figure it out by now, he'd just blurt it out. But before he could, another girl came in to walk with Lizzie to her next class. He tried to catch his breath, he'd make another moment! But, once again, he was chicken, and made an off-hand remark about her giving "great advice". As he watched her leave, he felt he'd never be able to tell her, and if he did, what was the use?
Kate walked in a few minutes later, and found a stunned Gordo. She saw what was on his screen, and had seen Lizzie leaving before, and kind of figured things out. She started to give him a smile, and realized that wasn't part of her normal behavior, and she didn't want to make him suspicious as to why she'd actually be nice to him...
"Earth to Gor-dork. IMPORTANT people need to use the computers!" He snapped out of his trance, and saw what was on his monitor. He quickly closed all the programs he'd been using, and hoped Kate hadn't seen anything she shouldn't have. He gave up the computer, but came back after she left to work a little more. He couldn't stand it anymore. He needed to talk to someone. Someone who could help him be a little more obvious to Lizzie. He needed Miranda...
A/N I don't care much for this chapter or the previous, but have to include them. I promise the next will be much better. That's why I updated quickly, to get this part done. Review or email JP5683@webtv.net or JP5683@msn.com Thanks!
March 12, 2003