Chapter Eleven

Rings that go ZAP and a Dwarven sing-along

The three males crowded around Jamie, their faces three matching pairs of ultimate surprise and confusion. Nicky squinted his eyes at the elegant piece of jewelry that still ornamented her finger.

"Well," he said after a moment, "that was interesting. You should come around more often in these type of circumstances."

Michael laughed nervously.

"Yeah; then we'd never have detention."

Still giggling, he promptly fainted.

Carrying him to the fountain in the middle of the yard, Legolas dumped him into the ice-cold water. Mike woke up with a soggy sputter.

While Jamie and Nick helped their friend out of his oceanic predicament, the group heard a groan coming from behind them and realized that they had best get out of there while they could, before their presently indisposed wizard awoke. Walking as quickly and silently as they could, the group made their way back to where Legolas, Jamie and Boromir had been sitting just moments before.

The knight in question was sitting there when they arrived, the look on his face one of supreme wretchedness. Jamie and the elf had a very good idea of what must have happened.

Before any of them could offer their condolences and some comfort for the poor teen, the bell rang for the end of lunch. To Jamie's grief Boromir instantly got up and headed for his next class. Mike patted her shoulder comfortingly and smiled a sad smile.

"I'll keep an eye on him."

The girl nodded, watching as he and Nicky followed the Gondorian to chemistry class.

As Jamie reached down for her book bag, a happily gabbing Vikki walked out, still talking to Robby about something or other. When she realized Jamie was there, the girl turned to smile. Upon seeing her friend's face, however, the smile died instantly on her lips. She knew what was wrong, though she couldn't imagine why it was any fault of hers. Vikki self-consciously looked up, as if the sky was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Jamie didn't even say anything as she followed Legolas to English class.

The rest of the day seemed to pass by as a thick gray fog that refused to dissipate. Jamie could hardly remember English (Valar help her when it came to homework) and Math class . . .well . . . (definitely something to be desired). Legolas and Aragorn had tried to get her attention, but their friend just seemed too distraught and angry to care about her classes at the moment.

The last period of the day was Music. Aragorn and the prince were particularly looking forward to this class since Mike and Nick were in it, thus giving them backup when it came to knocking Jamie out of her reverie.

Sitting down in the back of the room, the five boys (Roland was included) and Jamie stared at each other. Only Nicky was smiling.

"Aw, c'mon, Jamie! Smile! You're always the one who's smiling."

Nothing came from the girl's direction except to very vacant eyes. Nick was still smiling and, if truth be told, it was beginning to freak even Michael out.

"Jamie . . ." he sang, twiddling his fingers in front of her face. It, of course, did nothing. All the girl was thinking about at present was whether she should comfort Boromir before or after she fed Vikki to a rabid hoard of broccoli. The boy, however, was not to be dissuaded.

"Hey, I know something that will make you happy."

This, at least, got her rather occupied attention. The other boys, meanwhile, had scooted their chairs away from the happily smiling Irishman.

"Yeah," Nick continued, "I wanted to tell you all that Gimli and I (the group cringed: the two of them were bad enough by themselves) have asked the office to start a dwarven warriors club and guess what?"

His friend's eyes were wide with horror; even Jamie was awake enough now to look afraid.

"They agreed!" Nicky cried, "The first meeting is today right after school! I signed you all up because I knew you guys would never want to pass up on something like this-"

He stopped talking when he realized that everyone was unconscious.

True to his word, at exactly three o'clock that afternoon, the dwarven warrior's club was begun, Nick, Gimli, and a group of other short hairy people starting off the meeting with what was probably the group's theme song:

We are the dwarves, the mightiest dwarves,

We delve for treasures untoooo-OOLLDD!

We woke up the Balrog, and hid in our caves,

Yes, we are the dwarves of old!

The unholy din went on for several more verses. After that scarring experience, Gimli went on to say how happy he was that the club had had such a good turnout, and that if anyone didn't show up next week, they would be, ": "hunted down like the elf-loving scum that they are!" ".

By the time it was all over, the PA system was blaring that the students all proceed to the courtyard where Vice-Principal Gandalf would tell them where to go to sleep, since all students and faculty were locked inside the school by Sauron.

"Isn't plate glass a wonderful thing?" Mike muttered while staring at the spot where the main door of the school once stood. Jamie would have answered him, but was too busy searching for a certain knight of Gondor. Suddenly she spotted him.

Leaving Mike alone with Nicky, who was quietly humming the dwarven theme song to himself, she raced across the grass and grabbed onto the young man's arm ad swung him around to face her.

To her surprise, it was not Boromir.

It was Faramir, his younger brother.

Letting go with a rather embarrassed look on her face, she mumbled, "Um, have you seen your brother anywhere?"

Faramir winked.

"Yeah, I think he went into the east stairwell. Didn't look too happy, though."

The smirk on Faramir's face told Jamie what he was undoubtedly thinking. She needn't have assumed what he thought, however, since he soon voiced his opinions.

"So, you gonna go over there and comfort him?"

When all she did was glare at him, he pushed her in the general direction of the stairs saying, "Make sure you wear lot's of lipstick!"

Before Jamie could reach the appointed spot, she was stopped by yet another pitfall: Vikki. To Jamie's inward satanic delight, her 'friend' actually looked upset.

"Jamie, I-"

"I don't wanna talk about it." she interrupted, shoving past Vikki. The other girl stepped back in front of Jamie, however, before she could move more then a couple of feet.

"Jamie! Listen! I . . . I've been thinking about what I did, and I'm really sorry."

Her acquaintance sneered.

"Hey, don't tell me! Tell Boromir! He's the one you dumped!"

Vikki immediately looked hurt and Jamie wished she hadn't been so harsh.

"I would, but," Vikki continued, "I don't know what to say . . . and I'll be the first to admit that I'm a very proud person! Will you help me?"

Jamie just looked at her.

"You want me to help you? You're lucky I'm even talking to you! Besides, it won't matter that much coming from me: it has to come from you."

Vikki looked down at the ground thinking.

"All right; I'll go see him."