"So he really asked you out?" Andi asked Lauren as they stood in a corner of the gym while most everyone else ran around trying to kick a soccer ball.

"Yeah...it was really sweet. He's really a sensitive guy." She replied with a smile "We finally ended up finding his song for the project but you'd never guess which one."

"From what I know of him so far, I'd guess some hard rock song or something a little bit more darker.

"You're going to be very surprised then." She said with a grin

"Girls." The teacher pointed to them "You're in."

"Great." Lauren muttered before glaring at the soccer ball "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from me."

The two of them took their places on the field with Duo and four other people. "Play ball!" The teacher shouted before running off the field

"Ummm...Mr. Connell, watch out for that puddle of..." Andi said before he slipped and fell, the entire gym able to hear his leg cracking as he landed on it in a very wrong way "...grape juice." She replied with a sigh "I swear that is one evil kind of fluid."

"Someone call the medics!" A girl shouted

"What are we going to do about our game tonight?" Another boy asked

"Don't worry about the medics." Wufei muttered "Just get Yuy down here and he'd be able to set it without a problem."

The nurse came running down the stairs to look at his withering form on the floor "No puke, no problem. Just use this and if it still hurts in five periods, come back up to see me." She tossed a band-aid down at him and then left

"God, they need to replace her." Donna muttered, "He broke his leg for God's sake."

"Are you okay?" Quatre asked, bending down next to him and wincing as if he could feel the pain the teacher was experiencing.

"I'll be fine as soon as some professional medics get here." He muttered, "I'm going to sue that nurse."

The ambulance wailed from outside and a team of doctors ran in and began to take him out. "Someone go get Miss Henry to supervise until I can come back." He instructed as they pushed him out on a stretcher

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!" Donna, Andi, and Lauren wailed "Not her! Now how are we supposed to do nothing?"

"Okay!" The big-boned woman said bounding over and taking control "I want you all to stop what you're doing right now and I want you to start practicing dribbling a soccer ball until you can all do it the right way."

"Looks like we won't have to play a game after all." Donna remarked as she tripped over the ball and then a line painted on the floor. "I don't think I'll be able to do this."

"You just need to try harder!" Ms Henry shouted, "Get moving! I want to see you girls sweating by the end of this period."

"God, that one sounded perverted." Andi muttered, nudging the soccer ball with the tip of her toe and moving it back and forth

"Everyone knows she a lesbian." Donna muttered, glaring at her

"You there!" They heard Ms. Henry shout out again. "What do you call those?"

"Clothes." Wufei muttered

"I saw you walking around the halls with them on earlier."

"What are you trying to say?" He demanded

"I'm saying that you need to change for gym." She retorted "And lose that attitude before you fail the class."

"I don't have anything here." He replied

"You're one of the boys sharing a locker, correct?"

He paused a moment, knowing what was coming "Hai." He finally muttered

"I want you to go in there and borrow a pair of shorts from your friend...pronto!" She shouted

Wufei grumbled but made his way back into the locker room "Who does he share a locker with anyways?" Lauren asked Duo

Duo smirked "He-Chan."

"Wait a second." Andi exclaimed "Are his gym clothes any different from his regular clothes?"

"Not a bit." Duo grinned, "You're about to witness the eighth wonder of the world." Wufei dragged himself out the door in a borrowed pair of Heero's shorts "Wu-Chan in spandex!"

The three girls burst out laughing and were rewarded with dirty looks from Wufei "Baka's." He scoffed before rejoining the class.

"Hey! Mrs. Dawson promised that we'd start singing something today." Lauren remembered happily "Maybe we'll get to do "O Sifuni Mungu" again!"

"Or at least to start out with." Donna smiled

"Girls! I don't see you moving!" Miss Henry shouted, "Pick up the pace!"

"Oh go blow a rabid-monkey." Donna muttered as the bell rang "Good, let's get out of here before I scream!" * * *

"Wow! It's great to see a full baritone section." The chorus director looked at the six guys sitting the in center of the room "And I see we have some new voices to help us out."

"This is a full baritone section?" Quatre asked in disbelief "How many are you usually working with?"

"Normally between two and four." She replied, "This is the biggest I've seen in years!"

"I didn't know they sang." Andi whispered to Lauren in the alto section of the room

"I had a feeling that Quatre did but I didn't know about Duo." She replied, "I thought Trowa might but I guess not."

"Okay." Mrs. Dawson walked behind the piano and started playing some scales "Let's warm up on "Do Re Mi Fa So Fa Mi Re Do." She played the notes and then led the chorus through a series of other vocal exercises. "Great!" She smiled "Here's some music that we sang last year and we're just going to go over it now so I can re-evaluate our sound for this year."

The group started singing, most quietly or not at all, Donna belting out enough noise to make up for the sopranos that weren't singing and Lauren and Andi trying to make enough sound for the altos. Quatre was singing softly, perfectly on pitch but the most noticeable sound in the room was coming from Duo.

He was belting out the words at the top of his lungs, not on pitch and he didn't seem to care, he just kept singing and smiling, as if he was having the time of his life. Mrs. Dawson stopped playing and looked over at him "Is this your first time in chorus?" She asked.

"Yep!" He replied

"I love the volume but you're a little bit...off key." She replied trying to put it nicely

"Oh, what key did you want?" He asked

"Not that one." Andi muttered under her breath "I don't even think that is a key."

"Try a B flat." She replied and then played the scale for him

"Okay." Duo grinned again

"Start again from measure 44." She replied "I'll give you a measure before you come in."

The chorus began to sing again, Duo once again belting out enough sound to make up enough sound for about 5 people but not even close to being on pitch.

"Let's change songs." Mrs. Dawson said quickly, with a sigh "Take out O Sifuni Mungu'"

"Yea!!" Lauren, Andi, and Donna yelled "Woo-hoo!"

"Take it from the beginning, don't worry about the solos, just sing everything as a group." She instructed "1, 2, 3, start." She started in playing again only to be rewarded with Duo's tone-deaf contribution.

She sighed and put up with it for the rest of the class "Duo, I'd like you to stay after school with me some day so we can work with your voice, I love being able to actually hear the guys part, I think you just need a little bit of extra help getting on pitch." She glanced up at the clock "Okay, stack the chairs and that's it for today."

"That's the first time I've ever heard of anyone getting remedial chorus." Donna commented, walking over to Lauren and Andi

"At least he's singing." Lauren replied, "Which is more then I can say for the majority of the people here."

The bell rang, announcing the end of the day "Guys, hide and seek at Shambo's Friday." Donna said suddenly as they walked up the stairs "Let's see if our new buddies want to go with us."

"Do you want to?" Andi asked Quatre and Duo when they caught up to the girls

"Do what?" Quatre asked

"Don't you mean who?" Duo muttered under his breath, shooting the blushing Quatre a saucy grin

"Go play Hide and Seek at Shambo's Friday night." Lauren replied

"What's so fun about Hide and Seek?" Quatre asked

"You'll have to come and find out." Donna replied "Just tell me by Thursday whether you want to go or not."

"Okay." Duo replied as the groups split to go to their lockers to get their homework * * *

Mrs. Griffin stood in the front of the room "Did everyone remember their lyrics?" She asked

She was met with a series of nods except with Duo who looked shocked "Shit." He muttered, slamming his head down on the desk "I forgot all about it!"

"Good one." Andi replied, "I'd say you have about thirty minutes to remember the lyrics to a song before a song or you can start up the year with a zero. Trust me, they're kind of hard to get rid of once you get them."

"Damn it." He replied before staring a piece of paper trying to think of something to put down.

"Okay, let's start with this group over here." She stopped behind Mark, Vaughn, and Aaron "What do you have?"

"Cheeseburger Paradise." Mark replied with a grin before reading it out loud to the class

"Okay...now what do you think the meaning is behind that song?" She asked

"Ummm...the guy wants a cheeseburger?" Donna asked

"Very good!" She replied laughing and then going through five more people who had everything ranging from country to some edited rap music. "Okay, Duo, what do you have for us?" She asked

"Ummm...." He looked at Quatre helplessly. Quatre just shrugged

"Can I take it as you don't have your assignment completed?" She asked

"No!" Duo jumped up "I've got something!" He stood up and proudly began to recite the lyrics "I'm a little teapot, short and stout, here is my handle and here is my spout. When I get all steamed up, here me shout, tip me over and pour me out." He sat down proudly as the class erupted in laughter

"Okay, I'll give you a 100 if you can find some deep meaning behind that song." She replied

"Ummmm...." Duo thought for a moment "It's about a person with so many pent up problems that they just keep everything inside and it keeps building up and building up until they can't handle it anymore and they have to shout out for help from some other force to help them rid themselves of the stress that they built up?" He looked up at her hopefully

"I can't believe you got that from "I'm a Little Tea-Pot.'" Donna's mouth was hanging open

"That was amazing, you've got your 100." She moved on to look at Andi "What angst lyrics do you have to share with us today?"

"It's not really angst." She replied "Natalie Imbruglia, "Left Of The Middle." She picked up her paper and began to read from it



End of the third round

As I put the phone down

Chasing the same lines

Over the old ground



I'm pushing zero

Where is my hero?

He's out there somewhere

Left of the middle



And your world falls down

And you're there calling out

But it's something I can't say

Though it seems the only way

But it's a game that I can't play

Not today



I got my ticket

And I've got a straight road

But I'm passing the same signs

Over and over



And my world falls down

And I'm there calling out

But it's something I can't say

Though it seems the only way

But it's a game that I can't play

Not today



I need to tell you

Trying to get through

It's not always easy

Left of the middle



She looked up at the teacher. "Okay...now what do you get from it?"

"I guess it's someone who's had a lot of bad experiences in her life, while she's trying to keep her individuality and hold onto her hope. She's singing about everything that she's had to go through so that others won't have to go through the same thing but they don't want to listen so instead of giving up on them, she keeps trying hoping that one day, they'll be able to understand what she's been saying."

"Very good. Not quite what I would have expected from you but I like it." She looked over at Lauren.

Quatre studied Andi quietly as she sat down; maybe she wasn't as mean as she wanted everyone to think. Maybe she just didn't want people to understand the true her because she was scared that they'd start understanding her.

Lauren stood up and picked up the booklet she had brought with her "Acoustic #3. Goo Goo Dolls." She said before reading



They painted up your secrets

With the lies they told you

And the least they ever gave you

Was the most you ever knew



And I wonder where these dreams go

When the world gets in your way

What's the point in all the screaming

No one's listening anyway



Your voice is small and fading

And you hide in here unknown

And your mother loves your father

'Cause she's got nowhere to go



And she wonders where these dreams go

'Cause the world got in her way

What's the point ever trying

Nothing's changing anyway



They press their lips against you

And you love the lies they say

And I tried so hard to reach you

But you're falling anyway



And you know I see right through you

When the world get in your way

What's the point in all the screaming

You're not listening anyway



"I guess it's about someone who's trying to clue someone else into reality but that other person is so happy living in a fantasy world with all the lies that people are telling them that they won't listen to the words of wisdom coming from the other person. Eventually the speaker gives up because the other person won't listen and really doesn't want anything to do with reality at all so they just hide away from it in a cage of lies."

"Nicely spoken." She nodded "Quatre?"

"This is the English translation of a song called "Rhythm Emotion" by the Japanese group Two-Mix." He stood up and recited from memory



I just feel rhythm emotion

The beat of my heart

Continues toward you so far away



Again, even if it wounds me,

Without looking away,

Hotly, intensely, I want to live



You give me unyielding strength

That's why I want to hold you



I just feel rhythm emotion

Even if I err, even if it hurts,

It guides me to the brilliant light of an instant

I just feel rhythm emotion

The beat of my heart

Continues toward you so far away



Yes, quickly catching the moment in my bare skin,

I want to find more gentleness!



Everything gleams

As I return to the wonder of childhood



I just feel rhythm emotion

It's painful for both of us

To share these feelings,

To believe in this warmth

I just feel rhythm emotion

With this kiss, I want to send you

Certain passions so far away



"It's about a longing to be with the person that you've fallen in love with, even if you know that they might not feel the same way about you, they make you feel stronger, they give you confidence in yourself and you just need to cling to that feeling so it just makes you more determined to make them yours." He replied

"Interesting." She replied, "I'd like to see the Japanese lyrics to it someday."

Quatre nodded "I'd be happy to bring them in for you."

She turned over to Donna "What do you have?"

"'A Thousand Words' by Savage Garden." She replied before reading



We stumble in a tangled web

Decaying friendships almost dead

And hide behind a mask of lies.

We twist and turn and we avoid,

All hope of salvage now devoid

I see the truth inside your eyes

So take all this noise into your brain

And send it back again

I'll bare the cost, shed my skin, call you up and then..

I'll say the words out loud



You could resurrect a thousand words

To deceive me more and more

A thousand words will give the reasons why

I don't need you anymore



Time manipulates your heart

Preconceptions torn apart

Begin to doubt my state of mind

But I won't go down on what I said

I won't retract convictions read

I may perplex but I'm not blind

So take all this noise into your brain

And send it back again

I'll bare the cost shed my skin

Call you up and then

I'll say the words out loud



You could resurrect a thousand words

To deceive me more and more

A thousand words will give the reasons why

I don't need you anymore



I'll say the words out loud. I'll say a thousand words or more



Manipulation

Fabrication

Conversation

Annihilation



I'll say a thousand words or more



Damnation

Frustration

Elevation

Procreation



I'll say a thousand words or more



You could resurrect a thousand words

To deceive me more and more

A thousand words could give the reason why

I don't need you anymore.



"Very interesting." Mrs. Griffin said "Now please dissect it for us."

"It's about a relationship that's based on deception and lies and when one partner gets sick of it, they find more and more reasons to end the relationship. However, the other partner takes his words and keeps twisting them around to form more lies that they feel will keep them together but are just driving them further and further apart." She grinned, "Pretty good, huh?"

"Very good." Mrs. Griffin nodded and moved on "Amanda?"

"Mariah Carey, "One Sweet Day." She stood up and read it



Sorry I never told you

All I wanted to say

Now it's too late to hold you

'Cause you've flown away

So far away



Never had I imagined

Living without your smile

Feeling and knowing you hear me

It keeps me alive

Alive



And I know you're smiling down on me from heaven

Like so many friends we've lost along the way

And I know eventually we'll be together

One sweet day



Darling, I never showed you

Assumed you'd always be there

Took your presence for granted

But I always cared

And I miss the love we shared



And I know you're smiling down on me from heaven

Like so many friends we've lost along the way

And I know eventually we'll be together

One sweet day



Although the sun will shine the same

I'll always look to a brighter day

Lord I know when I lay me down to sleep

You will always listen as I pray



And I know you're smiling down on me from heaven

Like so many friends we've lost along the way

And I know eventually we'll be together

One sweet day



Sorry, I never told you

All I wanted to say



"It's about seizing the time you have with your loved ones and making the best of each moment. You shouldn't take advantage of them now because they could be gone in the blink of an eye." She explained

"Could she have picked a more juvenile song?" Duo asked Donna who just shrugged in return

"Okay. Heero, what did you and Lauren come up with?" She moved on again

He stood up at his desk and read from a printed sheet of paper "Savage Garden, "Crash and Burn."



When you feel all alone

And the world has turned it's back on you

Give me a moment please

To tame your wild, wild heart

I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you

It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold



When darkness is upon your door

And you feel like you can't take anymore



Let me be the one you call,

If you jump I'll break your fall

Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

If you need to fall apart

I can mend a broken heart

If you need to crash, then crash and burn

You're not alone



When you feel all alone,

And a loyal friend is hard to find

You're caught in a one-way street

With the monsters in your head



When hopes and dreams are far away

And you feel like you can't face the day



Let me be the one you call,

If you jump I'll break your fall

Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

If you need to fall apart

I can mend a broken heart

If you need to crash, then crash and burn

You're not alone



Because there has always been heartache and pain

And when it's over you'll breath again

You'll breath again



When you feel all alone

And the world has turned its back on you

Give me a moment please

To tame your wild, wild heart



Let me be the one you call,

If you jump I'll break your fall

Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

If you need to fall apart

I can mend a broken heart

If you need to crash, then crash and burn

You're not alone



"I see what you mean now." Andi said to Lauren "That's one of the last songs in the world I thought he would pick."

"I like it." Mrs. Griffin said "Very hopeful."

"That's what it's about." Heero said "Hope and the people who send the message out to you over and over until you finally begin to believe it. It's just a universal massage that you're never alone, no matter what you're going through. There will always be someone else there experiencing the same thing."

She glanced up at the clock "I think we have time for one more before we run out of time. Wufei, do you have one?" Another printed sheet of paper was thrust into her hand "Do you know who sings this?" She asked

"A man by the name of Curtis Stigers, and the title is "To Be Loved." He stood up



Mind your manners

Watch your weight

Be a good boy

Just behave

What's wrong with you?

Settle down

Keep your two feet on the ground

Sit up straight

Stand up tall

Never falter

Never fall

Stay in school

Make the grade

Never fail and never fade.



Be a hero, be a star

Anything but what you are

Find a girl to possess

Always pay

Pursue, protect.

Be the master

Be the slave

Work your ass into an early grave.



But you deserve to be loved

You deserve something real

Time to heal

Time to feel,



Daddy's favorite

Little girl

Dressed up in your

Mama's pearls

Serve him breakfast

In his bed

Earn a little kiss on the forehead

You are sugar

You are spice

You are growing up so nice

Paint your nails

Paint your face

Paint around the empty space



Find a man who can provide,

Try to fill that hole inside

With a family and a home,

Tell yourself you're not alone

Keep your memories of yourself

In a shoebox on a closet shelf



But you deserve to be loved

You deserve something real

Time to heal

Time to feel,



You deserve to be loved.



Wufei finished reading the lyrics rather quietly and before she could prompt him to analyze what he had just read, he turned his back to her and faced the window. "I think that's enough for today." Mrs. Griffin said quickly "We'll let the rest of you go next time and then we'll start our first book for the year." She looked over at the small groups around the room and smiled, it hadn't changed much over the course of a year, there wasn't much room for newcomers but those few guys had been picked up rather quickly. There was something very special about those boys and she was going to find out what, if it killed her.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the class and they all spilled out into the hall. "That song was really good." Lauren tried to strike up a conversation with the now silent Wufei

He didn't answer her, he just kept walking, his eyes fixed straight ahead of him, but instead of looking hard as they normally did, there was a pained vulnerable look in them. "Wufei, are you okay?" Andi asked

He finally looked over "I'm fine, don't waste your time worrying about me. Save it for the weak." He lengthened his stride and moved into the masses

"He let us too far into himself." Quatre noticed aloud "Now he's got to cover up for it and push everyone away and try to alienate them again."

"Sounds familiar." Lauren replied, fixing her eyes on Andi who threw her hands up in the air

"What did I do now?" She asked

"No wonder you two were able to get that history thing done so fast." Heero nodded "You're both a lot alike, trying to keep a hard and sinister outer shell and afraid to let people see the true you."

Andi glared at him "Could you please go back to being secretive and silent and stop trying to analyze me. I know what I'm like but that doesn't mean that I have to let everyone else know it." She followed suit and vanished into the crowd

"Did I upset her that much?" Heero asked Lauren

"It's hard to tell. More likely then not she'll have forgotten about it before two more periods go by."

"Do you guys still want us to go play tomorrow night?" Duo asked suddenly

"Absolutely!" Donna replied

"Okay, we'll all be there."

"Do you want to do something tonight?" Quatre asked, "I mean, do you want to come over and hang out for awhile, maybe watch a movie or something?"

"As soon as you'll answer a question I've been wondering about for the entire week." Donna shot back "Why the heck are the five of you able to live on your own or is there some mysterious adult floating around that I don't know about."

"Shut up before I have to kill you." Heero hissed clamping his hand over her mouth "We'll explain later on tonight but I swear if you mention that subject one more time in public then I'll silence your mouth permanently." She stared at him wide-eyed but didn't speak out anymore.

"So we'll see you tonight?" Quatre asked

"I guess so." Lauren replied, "Do you want me to tell Andi?"

"No, don't worry about it, I will. I sit next to her in that lunch study hall, remember?" He jumped in a little bit too quickly

Lauren eyed him suspiciously before grinning and nodding. Duo snickered while Heero just looked slightly amused. "What's going on?" Donna asked, "Someone tell me something!"

"2 plus 2 equals 7½." Lauren patted her shoulder gently "You'll figure it out sooner or later so don't worry about it for now."

"What?" A sighing Lauren dragged Donna away to her locker while the three boys shrugged and walked into their study hall.