A/N: Sorry if you guys didn't like the last chapter! But don't worry, the Craig and Paige friendship IS going to continue to develop! A HUGE thank you to KitiKat and SVU Obsessed because your reviews are always so kind and detailed =) But ugh... I HATE this chapter... it's sooooo lame! The next one should be better though! And yeah, to the person who asked about Hazel, she's not really THAT annoying, but Paige is extremely emotional!
Paige lay in her bed, asleep. She looked relaxed, and peaceful, and without the painful expression that had been twisted on her face recently. Actually, Paige was about as happy as she could be. She was having a deep, dreamless sleep. When she was sleep, she actually felt safe, and unscared.
"PAIGE! PAIGE! GET UP! WAKE UP!" her mother screeched.
She sat up in bed quickly, looking disoriented. Her mother may have taken notice, but she didn't show it.
"Well? Come on Paige! You're late! And you don't have half an hour to get ready like you usually do! So get out, now!" her mothers voice seemed to become more shrill as she yelled on.
Slowly she pushed her blankets off her, leaving her cocoon of warmth. She walked over to her sink, and washed her face and brushed her teeth. Next she pulld her hair into a no nonsense ponytail. As she went to get changed, she couldn't help but look into the mirror, just once. Old habits die hard. Paige walked to her closet and looked for her least revealing clothing. It was hard, but she managed to retrieve a pair of sweatpants. They said BabyDoll across the ass, but that was better than her trademark painted on pants. Then she choose a tank top that said Scorpio across it, in silver letters. (A/N: No idea if Paige is a Scorpio but I am so.. lol) It was kind of fitted, but not exactly tight. For some reason, Paige was confident this day would be better than the last. It had to be. Maybe she could even slowly act more like herself. Whatever that was. Paige knew that after an experience like that, she wouldn't ever be the exact same. As she walked down the stairs, she tried to keep her head held up high, although it was hard.
"Hey sweetie.. wow! You only took about 5 minutes! Good job! Usually you're so high maintenance, I'm glad you're branching out a bit." Paiges mom said cheerily.
Paige winced at her bright, cheery voice, but tried to smile. "Um thanks mom." she said.
Her mom smiled. She seemed to think whatever problem plagued Paige yesterday was gone. "So, would you like some pancakes sweetie?"
Although Paige planned on making a valiant effort to act more like herself, how could she eat? She wondered when it was the last time she ate... maybe Sunday? She had some random bites there. And yesterday? She was pretty sure she didn't eat anything at all. Forcing herself to smile, she finally replied.
"Yeah.. sure mom. But I don't want a lot. Actually, I just want one."
Her mother looked as though she had just gotten a diamond ring, as she doled out one pancake on Paige's plate. Cautiously, Paige took a small bite. Then another. Then another. Half the pancake was gone. Right now that was all she could manage, to be honest.
"Thanks Mom, I'm gonna get to school now though, ok? I'm already late and I promise to eat a big lunch in the cafeteria." Her mom smiled approvingly and gave her a kiss on the head.
"Bye Paige!"
"Bye mom."
Paige stepped outside into the warm air. There were plenty of children and teens walking to school, now that the weather was so nice. Instantly she felt as if they were all staring at her, seeing the neon slut sign that seemed to be over her head. She forced herself to close her eyes and compose herself. Finally, she opened her eyes and walked on to Degrassi Community School. As she reached the school, she debated over whether to walk inside, or to socialize with her friends. But she remembered that she wanted to become her old self again, so she decided to socialize. She saw Hazel standing with Jimmy so she walked over there.
"Um hey guys..." she said slowly.
Both of them smiled and responded "Hey."
Paige braced herself for questions of why she had been so upset yesterday, but they never came.
"Okay Paige, Terri's skirt. Yay, or nay?" Hazel asked.
Paige was overcome with disgust. She really wanted to slap Hazel, but she wasn't about to do that. There were more important things in life than Terri's skirt. Sighing, she decided socializing was not the way to go.
"I don't know... anyway.. I'm gonna go. I have to talk to Ms.Kwan, actually."
"Oh ok! Bye Paige!" Hazel called out.
"Yeah Bye Paige." Jimmy said as well.
"Morons." Paige muttered under her breath as she walked away. When had she ever gone to talk to Ms.Kwan?
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"Hazel?"
"Yeah Jimmy?" Hazel said.
"Don't you think it's strange how Paige went to talk to Ms.Kwan? Like when does she ever do that?" Jimmy said. It was slightly sad how Paige's best friend couldn't even notice that, but Jimmy could.
Hazel dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "No, no. She didn't leave because of Ms.Kwan. Duh. It's just that Spinner is on his way here. No biggie." Hazel said, giggling and flipping her hair over her shoulder.
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Craig walked into the school, later than usual. Quickly he ran to his locker. He wasn't expecting Manny and Emma to be standing in front of it, arms crossed, but they were.
"So.. Craig... anything you wanna tell us?" Emma said. There was a note of anger in her voice. Manny looked at Craig with her lips pursed and an angry look in her eyes.
Craig looked at them, bewildered. "No... should I?"
Manny laughed shrilly. It made Craig wince. "Well.. hmmm. We saw a certain slut by the name of Paige leaving your house yesterday."
"And not only that" Emma continued. "She was wearing your sweater!"
Their cruel words and childish anger upset Craig. They had no reason to call Paige a slut, and no reason to be angry that she had been at his home. Craig actually sort of liked Manny, but this was too much. She was definitely too immature and possesive. Both of them were. They were his friends, they had no right to tell him what he could and couldn't do.
"Paige isn't a slut. You guys don't even know her. And it was nothing. I went to the park, she was there.It started to rain, so we came to my house. I gave her a sweater and she went home once the rain stopped. I don't even know why I'm explaning this to you."
Emma and Manny exchanged glances. "Right. She's not a slut. Have you seen what she wears?"
Craig shook his head angrily. "I really thought you guys would have been more mature. I guess not. Think what you want. I don't care." Craig walked off, without getting his books. Once again, Manny and Emma exchanged glances, Manny looked panicked, Emma looked angry.
"Emma! I was so close! He asked me to dance! Paige can't take him away from me!" Manny was on the verge of tears.
Emma nodded. "If I can't have him, and you can't have him, no one can."
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Paige sat in class, bored to death. Ms.Kwan droned on and on about Great Expectations and the themes in it, but Paige wasn't listening. As she glanced around the class, it was clear she wasn't the only one. Hazel was filing her nails, Terri was picking lint off her skirt, Jimmy was looking outside with a longing expression on his face, and Spinner seemed extremely engrossed with his desk. Sighing, Paige rested her head on her hand, and she tapped her pencil on the desk. She tried her best to look interested in what Ms.Kwan was saying, but it proved to be impossible. A note landed on Paige's desk.
*Hey Paige! Omgggg could this class get ANY more boring?
Ewww who cares about books and stuff? Well.. besides Ashley
but she doesn't really count as a person! lol! Anyway..
You wanna go to the mall after school?
Ciao sweetie,
Hazel
Paige picked up her pencil. In neat little letters she wrote:
Hazel.. I have to talk to you. Remember when Dean and me
went upstairs? He raped me. No lie. So now I'm totally messed up
about this. I don't know what to do... please help me Hazel...
There. Now all she had to do was throw the note to Hazel. It would be so easy. And she wouldn't even have to face Hazel right away. But she couldn't do it. Everyone would find out. They would all know the nasty comments they made about her were true. That she really was a slut. And she didn't want people to look at her, thinking Poor Thing. No. She didn't want anybodys pity. She didn't want anyones help. Paige could deal with this on her own. She crumpled up the note and threw it in her bag. Then she looked at the clock. The bell rang. Perfect. Next was drama. The teacher for drama was terrible and they never did anything in that class besides play stupid games. They would be the perfect distraction for her. Paige made sure she was the last one to leave the classroom. She wanted the corridors to be pretty empty once she walked through. When they were overflowing with teenagers, they felt so intimidating and overwhelming. Finally, she walked in the halls, quickly, keeping her head down. Suddenly, she felt eyes upon her and she looked up. Emma and Manny had just walked by, and were giving her serious cut-eye. Paige just looked down. She had no idea why they would be so angry, unless it was still over that stupid cheerleading thing.She looked over herself, self-conciously. The old Paige would never do that. She would be confident that she looked amazing. But Paige wasn't sure of anything anymore. Everything seemed so foreign to her. Ignoring Manny and Emma, Paige walked into the drama class. She was the last one there. All eyes were on her. She looked at the floor, her face heating up. Being fair-skinned was the worst.
"Nice of you to join us Ms.Michalchuk. Now if you sit down, I'll continue where I left off."
Paige walked as discreetly as she could to a seat at the back of the class.
"Now, as I was saying.. enrollment in the dramatic arts has dropped tremendously. So today, in an effort to spark some interest, we are going to do a presentation for the Grade 8 class. I'm going to need you to get into pairs, female and male."
Paige bit her lip as she looked around the room desperately. Whenever she had a guy partner, it was always Spinner. Hazel went with Jimmy, Ellie with Marco, Ashley with Craig, Terri with anyone who was left. Who could she go with? Finally she saw Craig. They were sort of friends, right? So what they hardly knew each other. It was better than Spinner or Jimmy. She watched as Ashley touched Craig's arm with a smile on her face. Paige bit her lip harder. She saw Hazel go with Jimmy, and Ellie go with Marco. She also saw Spinner turn around, finally choosing Terri. Paige looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. Eventually, she opened them, and surveyed the room. It seemed everyone had a partner. Maybe she could just sit this one out. Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the teacher walking towards her. Desperation took over.
"Craig!" she hissed.
Craig looked over, confused.
"Can you please.. please be my partner? Please?" she said. She looked desperate, and Craig saw it.
"Umm sure.." he said tentatively.
Ashley shot him a disappointed look, but said nothing. Craig's face twisted into an apologetic look, but Ashley ignored it, searching for a new partner. Craig walked over to Paige, studying her face carefully. At first she seemed to be better, but as he looked closer, it was obvious she had put on a front. Craig smiled at Paige, akwardly.
"Thanks a lot Craig. Really." She whispered. "I don't know why you're being so nice to me, but thanks."
Craig didn't know what to say. Mentally, he tried out different responses to that, but they all seemed fake or stupid. Finally, he settled on a simple "You're welcome."
Mrs.Carlton, the drama teacher, began handing out the scripts. "Now everyone is receiving a different script, that relates to teen life and teen issues. You guys have a 15 minutes to rehearse, and then we will perform. I know it's short notice, but I didn't find out until this afternoon. Now use your time wisely."
As Mrs.Carlton handed Paige a script, she looked over it quickly. It was about teen pregnancy. Basically, there was a girl who was pregnant, and she had to tell her boyfriend. A sharp realization came over Paige. She could be pregnant. Right now. Bile rose in her throat, but she swallowed. Pregnant. She couldn't be. He used a condom. She had to be safe, right? The room suddenly felt smaller and hotter and she felt herself begin to sweat. She sat down quickly, overwhelmed. Craig knelt down beside her.
"Paige, are you okay?"
Slowly, she nodded. Great. After school she was definitely gonna have to take a pregnancy test. Just to be sure. She was almost positive she wasn't pregnant, but there was still that little chance, that maybe she was one of the minority, one of the unlucky ones. Paige stood up.
"Let's do this, okay Craig?" Paige said loudly.
Craig was confused but he nodded. "Sure. Okay. I'm warning you, I'm not a great actor."
Paige smiled wanly. "It's okay. I'm not in an acting mood either. Let's just get this over with, right?"
Craig smiled back. "Yeah, for sure." Craig actually found himself enjoying Paige's presence. She had always been the snobby popular girl, so he had always stayed away from her. But just like yesterday, he was enjoying her company.
"Okay... well I've got the first line.. so let's go." Paige exhaled quickly. This scene was hitting way too close to reality, but maybe it would help her feel better. If she put all her emotion into the scene, she could release some of it.
"Umm... Paul? I really, really, really need to talk to you.." she said meekly.
"Yeah whatever. Shoot." Craig said in a lazy voice.
"Well... I'm... p-pregnant.. and.. it's your baby.." Paige said in a frightened voice.
From then on, the scene went perfectly. Paige put her whole heart into the scene, and Craig worked equally hard. Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Mrs.Calton clapsed her hands together.
"Okay guys.. this is it! You better make us look good!" she said with a brief laugh. Paige swallowed hard. Already her knees felt weak, and her breaths were shaky and uneven. Craig grabbed her hand. "Hey, Paige, don't worry. You're great, we're gonna do awesome."
At that very second, Manny and Emma walked in after Mr.Simpson. Naturally, they scoped out the room for Craig first, and upon seeing him with Paige, the two girls both stopped dead in their tracks.
"Emma... do you see what I see?" Manny asked shakily.
Emma clenched her jaw, hard. "Yes, unfortunately." Quickly, she looked Manny over. "Manny, honestly fix your hair! It's such a mess!"
Manny blushed. "Okay, Okay." Self-consciously she smoothed her hair.
"GIRLS! Take your seats!" The teacher bellowed. Blushing, Manny and Emma found seats in the front row.
"Welcome to our drama class, children! Today, we will be presenting to you a series of short skits on Teen Issues. Unfortunately we only learned about the performance today, so we haven't had too much practice. Anyway, first up are Hazel Aden and Jimmy Brooks with their skit on drugs."
Hazel smiled widely and winked at Paige. Paige smiled half-heartedly and flashed Hazel the thumbs up sign. Next Terri and Spinner performed. Then Ashley and Andrew. Finally, Mrs.Carlton said "Now here are Paige Michalchuk and Craig Manning with a skit on Teen Pregnancy." Paige took a deep breath, and looked at Craig, unsure of herself. Craig smiled encouragingly, and they took place in the middle of the stage.
There was an audible gasp from the front row, but Paige ignored it, her heart racing.
"Umm... Paul? I really, really, really, need to talk to you.." Paige said, sounding afraid and unsure.
"Yeah. Whatever. Shoot." Craig said, exemplfying the perfect lazy boyfriend.
From then on, the skit went perfectly. At the end, there was a big round of applause, from everybody, but Manny and Emma.
After all the presentations, Paige quickly left the room. She walked over to her locker, only to see Manny and Emma standing in front of it, lips pursed, hands on their hips.
A/N: UGH UGH UGH! WORST.CHAPTER.EVER. Sorry guys! It was so BLAH. But the next one will be better, I promise =) Please don't give up on this story yet! Thanks again and please review!
Paige lay in her bed, asleep. She looked relaxed, and peaceful, and without the painful expression that had been twisted on her face recently. Actually, Paige was about as happy as she could be. She was having a deep, dreamless sleep. When she was sleep, she actually felt safe, and unscared.
"PAIGE! PAIGE! GET UP! WAKE UP!" her mother screeched.
She sat up in bed quickly, looking disoriented. Her mother may have taken notice, but she didn't show it.
"Well? Come on Paige! You're late! And you don't have half an hour to get ready like you usually do! So get out, now!" her mothers voice seemed to become more shrill as she yelled on.
Slowly she pushed her blankets off her, leaving her cocoon of warmth. She walked over to her sink, and washed her face and brushed her teeth. Next she pulld her hair into a no nonsense ponytail. As she went to get changed, she couldn't help but look into the mirror, just once. Old habits die hard. Paige walked to her closet and looked for her least revealing clothing. It was hard, but she managed to retrieve a pair of sweatpants. They said BabyDoll across the ass, but that was better than her trademark painted on pants. Then she choose a tank top that said Scorpio across it, in silver letters. (A/N: No idea if Paige is a Scorpio but I am so.. lol) It was kind of fitted, but not exactly tight. For some reason, Paige was confident this day would be better than the last. It had to be. Maybe she could even slowly act more like herself. Whatever that was. Paige knew that after an experience like that, she wouldn't ever be the exact same. As she walked down the stairs, she tried to keep her head held up high, although it was hard.
"Hey sweetie.. wow! You only took about 5 minutes! Good job! Usually you're so high maintenance, I'm glad you're branching out a bit." Paiges mom said cheerily.
Paige winced at her bright, cheery voice, but tried to smile. "Um thanks mom." she said.
Her mom smiled. She seemed to think whatever problem plagued Paige yesterday was gone. "So, would you like some pancakes sweetie?"
Although Paige planned on making a valiant effort to act more like herself, how could she eat? She wondered when it was the last time she ate... maybe Sunday? She had some random bites there. And yesterday? She was pretty sure she didn't eat anything at all. Forcing herself to smile, she finally replied.
"Yeah.. sure mom. But I don't want a lot. Actually, I just want one."
Her mother looked as though she had just gotten a diamond ring, as she doled out one pancake on Paige's plate. Cautiously, Paige took a small bite. Then another. Then another. Half the pancake was gone. Right now that was all she could manage, to be honest.
"Thanks Mom, I'm gonna get to school now though, ok? I'm already late and I promise to eat a big lunch in the cafeteria." Her mom smiled approvingly and gave her a kiss on the head.
"Bye Paige!"
"Bye mom."
Paige stepped outside into the warm air. There were plenty of children and teens walking to school, now that the weather was so nice. Instantly she felt as if they were all staring at her, seeing the neon slut sign that seemed to be over her head. She forced herself to close her eyes and compose herself. Finally, she opened her eyes and walked on to Degrassi Community School. As she reached the school, she debated over whether to walk inside, or to socialize with her friends. But she remembered that she wanted to become her old self again, so she decided to socialize. She saw Hazel standing with Jimmy so she walked over there.
"Um hey guys..." she said slowly.
Both of them smiled and responded "Hey."
Paige braced herself for questions of why she had been so upset yesterday, but they never came.
"Okay Paige, Terri's skirt. Yay, or nay?" Hazel asked.
Paige was overcome with disgust. She really wanted to slap Hazel, but she wasn't about to do that. There were more important things in life than Terri's skirt. Sighing, she decided socializing was not the way to go.
"I don't know... anyway.. I'm gonna go. I have to talk to Ms.Kwan, actually."
"Oh ok! Bye Paige!" Hazel called out.
"Yeah Bye Paige." Jimmy said as well.
"Morons." Paige muttered under her breath as she walked away. When had she ever gone to talk to Ms.Kwan?
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"Hazel?"
"Yeah Jimmy?" Hazel said.
"Don't you think it's strange how Paige went to talk to Ms.Kwan? Like when does she ever do that?" Jimmy said. It was slightly sad how Paige's best friend couldn't even notice that, but Jimmy could.
Hazel dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "No, no. She didn't leave because of Ms.Kwan. Duh. It's just that Spinner is on his way here. No biggie." Hazel said, giggling and flipping her hair over her shoulder.
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Craig walked into the school, later than usual. Quickly he ran to his locker. He wasn't expecting Manny and Emma to be standing in front of it, arms crossed, but they were.
"So.. Craig... anything you wanna tell us?" Emma said. There was a note of anger in her voice. Manny looked at Craig with her lips pursed and an angry look in her eyes.
Craig looked at them, bewildered. "No... should I?"
Manny laughed shrilly. It made Craig wince. "Well.. hmmm. We saw a certain slut by the name of Paige leaving your house yesterday."
"And not only that" Emma continued. "She was wearing your sweater!"
Their cruel words and childish anger upset Craig. They had no reason to call Paige a slut, and no reason to be angry that she had been at his home. Craig actually sort of liked Manny, but this was too much. She was definitely too immature and possesive. Both of them were. They were his friends, they had no right to tell him what he could and couldn't do.
"Paige isn't a slut. You guys don't even know her. And it was nothing. I went to the park, she was there.It started to rain, so we came to my house. I gave her a sweater and she went home once the rain stopped. I don't even know why I'm explaning this to you."
Emma and Manny exchanged glances. "Right. She's not a slut. Have you seen what she wears?"
Craig shook his head angrily. "I really thought you guys would have been more mature. I guess not. Think what you want. I don't care." Craig walked off, without getting his books. Once again, Manny and Emma exchanged glances, Manny looked panicked, Emma looked angry.
"Emma! I was so close! He asked me to dance! Paige can't take him away from me!" Manny was on the verge of tears.
Emma nodded. "If I can't have him, and you can't have him, no one can."
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Paige sat in class, bored to death. Ms.Kwan droned on and on about Great Expectations and the themes in it, but Paige wasn't listening. As she glanced around the class, it was clear she wasn't the only one. Hazel was filing her nails, Terri was picking lint off her skirt, Jimmy was looking outside with a longing expression on his face, and Spinner seemed extremely engrossed with his desk. Sighing, Paige rested her head on her hand, and she tapped her pencil on the desk. She tried her best to look interested in what Ms.Kwan was saying, but it proved to be impossible. A note landed on Paige's desk.
*Hey Paige! Omgggg could this class get ANY more boring?
Ewww who cares about books and stuff? Well.. besides Ashley
but she doesn't really count as a person! lol! Anyway..
You wanna go to the mall after school?
Ciao sweetie,
Hazel
Paige picked up her pencil. In neat little letters she wrote:
Hazel.. I have to talk to you. Remember when Dean and me
went upstairs? He raped me. No lie. So now I'm totally messed up
about this. I don't know what to do... please help me Hazel...
There. Now all she had to do was throw the note to Hazel. It would be so easy. And she wouldn't even have to face Hazel right away. But she couldn't do it. Everyone would find out. They would all know the nasty comments they made about her were true. That she really was a slut. And she didn't want people to look at her, thinking Poor Thing. No. She didn't want anybodys pity. She didn't want anyones help. Paige could deal with this on her own. She crumpled up the note and threw it in her bag. Then she looked at the clock. The bell rang. Perfect. Next was drama. The teacher for drama was terrible and they never did anything in that class besides play stupid games. They would be the perfect distraction for her. Paige made sure she was the last one to leave the classroom. She wanted the corridors to be pretty empty once she walked through. When they were overflowing with teenagers, they felt so intimidating and overwhelming. Finally, she walked in the halls, quickly, keeping her head down. Suddenly, she felt eyes upon her and she looked up. Emma and Manny had just walked by, and were giving her serious cut-eye. Paige just looked down. She had no idea why they would be so angry, unless it was still over that stupid cheerleading thing.She looked over herself, self-conciously. The old Paige would never do that. She would be confident that she looked amazing. But Paige wasn't sure of anything anymore. Everything seemed so foreign to her. Ignoring Manny and Emma, Paige walked into the drama class. She was the last one there. All eyes were on her. She looked at the floor, her face heating up. Being fair-skinned was the worst.
"Nice of you to join us Ms.Michalchuk. Now if you sit down, I'll continue where I left off."
Paige walked as discreetly as she could to a seat at the back of the class.
"Now, as I was saying.. enrollment in the dramatic arts has dropped tremendously. So today, in an effort to spark some interest, we are going to do a presentation for the Grade 8 class. I'm going to need you to get into pairs, female and male."
Paige bit her lip as she looked around the room desperately. Whenever she had a guy partner, it was always Spinner. Hazel went with Jimmy, Ellie with Marco, Ashley with Craig, Terri with anyone who was left. Who could she go with? Finally she saw Craig. They were sort of friends, right? So what they hardly knew each other. It was better than Spinner or Jimmy. She watched as Ashley touched Craig's arm with a smile on her face. Paige bit her lip harder. She saw Hazel go with Jimmy, and Ellie go with Marco. She also saw Spinner turn around, finally choosing Terri. Paige looked up at the ceiling and closed her eyes. Eventually, she opened them, and surveyed the room. It seemed everyone had a partner. Maybe she could just sit this one out. Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the teacher walking towards her. Desperation took over.
"Craig!" she hissed.
Craig looked over, confused.
"Can you please.. please be my partner? Please?" she said. She looked desperate, and Craig saw it.
"Umm sure.." he said tentatively.
Ashley shot him a disappointed look, but said nothing. Craig's face twisted into an apologetic look, but Ashley ignored it, searching for a new partner. Craig walked over to Paige, studying her face carefully. At first she seemed to be better, but as he looked closer, it was obvious she had put on a front. Craig smiled at Paige, akwardly.
"Thanks a lot Craig. Really." She whispered. "I don't know why you're being so nice to me, but thanks."
Craig didn't know what to say. Mentally, he tried out different responses to that, but they all seemed fake or stupid. Finally, he settled on a simple "You're welcome."
Mrs.Carlton, the drama teacher, began handing out the scripts. "Now everyone is receiving a different script, that relates to teen life and teen issues. You guys have a 15 minutes to rehearse, and then we will perform. I know it's short notice, but I didn't find out until this afternoon. Now use your time wisely."
As Mrs.Carlton handed Paige a script, she looked over it quickly. It was about teen pregnancy. Basically, there was a girl who was pregnant, and she had to tell her boyfriend. A sharp realization came over Paige. She could be pregnant. Right now. Bile rose in her throat, but she swallowed. Pregnant. She couldn't be. He used a condom. She had to be safe, right? The room suddenly felt smaller and hotter and she felt herself begin to sweat. She sat down quickly, overwhelmed. Craig knelt down beside her.
"Paige, are you okay?"
Slowly, she nodded. Great. After school she was definitely gonna have to take a pregnancy test. Just to be sure. She was almost positive she wasn't pregnant, but there was still that little chance, that maybe she was one of the minority, one of the unlucky ones. Paige stood up.
"Let's do this, okay Craig?" Paige said loudly.
Craig was confused but he nodded. "Sure. Okay. I'm warning you, I'm not a great actor."
Paige smiled wanly. "It's okay. I'm not in an acting mood either. Let's just get this over with, right?"
Craig smiled back. "Yeah, for sure." Craig actually found himself enjoying Paige's presence. She had always been the snobby popular girl, so he had always stayed away from her. But just like yesterday, he was enjoying her company.
"Okay... well I've got the first line.. so let's go." Paige exhaled quickly. This scene was hitting way too close to reality, but maybe it would help her feel better. If she put all her emotion into the scene, she could release some of it.
"Umm... Paul? I really, really, really need to talk to you.." she said meekly.
"Yeah whatever. Shoot." Craig said in a lazy voice.
"Well... I'm... p-pregnant.. and.. it's your baby.." Paige said in a frightened voice.
From then on, the scene went perfectly. Paige put her whole heart into the scene, and Craig worked equally hard. Half an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Mrs.Calton clapsed her hands together.
"Okay guys.. this is it! You better make us look good!" she said with a brief laugh. Paige swallowed hard. Already her knees felt weak, and her breaths were shaky and uneven. Craig grabbed her hand. "Hey, Paige, don't worry. You're great, we're gonna do awesome."
At that very second, Manny and Emma walked in after Mr.Simpson. Naturally, they scoped out the room for Craig first, and upon seeing him with Paige, the two girls both stopped dead in their tracks.
"Emma... do you see what I see?" Manny asked shakily.
Emma clenched her jaw, hard. "Yes, unfortunately." Quickly, she looked Manny over. "Manny, honestly fix your hair! It's such a mess!"
Manny blushed. "Okay, Okay." Self-consciously she smoothed her hair.
"GIRLS! Take your seats!" The teacher bellowed. Blushing, Manny and Emma found seats in the front row.
"Welcome to our drama class, children! Today, we will be presenting to you a series of short skits on Teen Issues. Unfortunately we only learned about the performance today, so we haven't had too much practice. Anyway, first up are Hazel Aden and Jimmy Brooks with their skit on drugs."
Hazel smiled widely and winked at Paige. Paige smiled half-heartedly and flashed Hazel the thumbs up sign. Next Terri and Spinner performed. Then Ashley and Andrew. Finally, Mrs.Carlton said "Now here are Paige Michalchuk and Craig Manning with a skit on Teen Pregnancy." Paige took a deep breath, and looked at Craig, unsure of herself. Craig smiled encouragingly, and they took place in the middle of the stage.
There was an audible gasp from the front row, but Paige ignored it, her heart racing.
"Umm... Paul? I really, really, really, need to talk to you.." Paige said, sounding afraid and unsure.
"Yeah. Whatever. Shoot." Craig said, exemplfying the perfect lazy boyfriend.
From then on, the skit went perfectly. At the end, there was a big round of applause, from everybody, but Manny and Emma.
After all the presentations, Paige quickly left the room. She walked over to her locker, only to see Manny and Emma standing in front of it, lips pursed, hands on their hips.
A/N: UGH UGH UGH! WORST.CHAPTER.EVER. Sorry guys! It was so BLAH. But the next one will be better, I promise =) Please don't give up on this story yet! Thanks again and please review!