Disclaimer: no one mentioned belongs to me, I guarantee it.
~Animal Attraction~
Chapter Seven: Silver Cat
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Just as Gordo and Ethan were talking, Lizzie had the misfortune of running into the very gruesome twosome her best friend had abandoned. Seeing as how the eighth grade lockers were in alphabetical order, Lizzie was unlucky enough to be sandwiched between Parker Mackenzie and Claire Miller. Parker wasn't so bad, especially since she'd apologized profusely for calling Gordo short, but Claire was another story. They'd managed to work out an unspoken schedule that allowed them to never run into each other outside of class. But apparently after school, all bets were off.
At the moment, Claire was rifling through a pile of notebooks systematically, trying to find the one she'd scribbled the math assignment in, while Kate leaned against the row next to her, looking effortlessly cool.
"Oh, hi," Lizzie muttered, keeping her head down as she spun her lock, knowing full well it was useless to even attempt civilized conversation with the queens of mean.
But to her surprise, Claire turned to her and smiled almost sincerely. "Hey, Lizzie."
Lizzie's eyes widened, and this sudden burst of unnaturalness caused Kate to lean forward, craning her neck around Claire's open locker door to peer at them.
"Um...hi," Lizzie repeated. "What's up?"
"Do you know what the math assignment was? I can't find it."
Oh, she just wanted the homework. It explained a lot. Lizzie finished turning the combination, hit her locker in just the right place, and pried it open. She pulled out her math notebook, and handed it to Claire. "It should be there on the last page," she said, turning her attention to her backpack. No point in trying to fake politeness with Claire Miller.
She heard the telltale ruffle of the pages being flipped, then the scratching of pen against paper as Claire no doubt copied the assignment. "Oh, look, McGuire's into Animology, too," Kate said, but the disdain in her voice wasn't up to its usual level, and when Lizzie glanced at her, she wasn't wearing a sneer.
"Yeah," Lizzie said cautiously. "I'm a magenta tiger."
Kate tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled smugly. "Silver cat."
"Black horse," Claire said, and something clicked in Lizzie's brain, something about getting along with cats and the need to avoid horses. Well, staying away from Claire was a no-brainer, but Kate as a friend?
Well, stranger things had happened. As a matter of fact, it *had* happened before, way back in their past.
"Oh, that's cool," Lizzie said, for lack of anything better to say.
"Magenta tiger...your soul mate is the navy owl, right?" Claire said, passing back the notebook. Lizzie blinked, then nodded. "The only navy owl *I* know is your little friend Gordo," she added with perfect nonchalance. Over Claire's shoulder, Kate smirked, and Lizzie felt blood rising to her face. She hastily looked down, busying herself by stuffing the notebook in her bag. Did Claire have the entire Animology book memorized? If only she dedicated this amount of effort into her studying, she could have been named valedictorian.
"Aww, wassamatter, Lizzie?" Kate said. "Got a crush on the Gordork?"
"I do not," Lizzie said hotly. "Just 'cause some stupid book says we're soul mates..."
"Pity you're not Ethan's soul mate, huh," Kate tutted, shaking her head.
"Yeah, if you were a purple giraffe, wouldn't everything be easier?" Claire said.
Lizzie's eyes widened. "A what?"
"A purple giraffe is the soul mate of a red turtle," Claire explained slowly, like she was talking to a child. "And Ethan is a red turtle."
Miranda was a purple giraffe, and her soul mate was a red turtle, Lizzie remembered. So if Ethan Craft was a red turtle, that could only mean one thing...
Lizzie slammed her locker shut and tore down the hallway.
~Animal Attraction~
Chapter Seven: Silver Cat
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Just as Gordo and Ethan were talking, Lizzie had the misfortune of running into the very gruesome twosome her best friend had abandoned. Seeing as how the eighth grade lockers were in alphabetical order, Lizzie was unlucky enough to be sandwiched between Parker Mackenzie and Claire Miller. Parker wasn't so bad, especially since she'd apologized profusely for calling Gordo short, but Claire was another story. They'd managed to work out an unspoken schedule that allowed them to never run into each other outside of class. But apparently after school, all bets were off.
At the moment, Claire was rifling through a pile of notebooks systematically, trying to find the one she'd scribbled the math assignment in, while Kate leaned against the row next to her, looking effortlessly cool.
"Oh, hi," Lizzie muttered, keeping her head down as she spun her lock, knowing full well it was useless to even attempt civilized conversation with the queens of mean.
But to her surprise, Claire turned to her and smiled almost sincerely. "Hey, Lizzie."
Lizzie's eyes widened, and this sudden burst of unnaturalness caused Kate to lean forward, craning her neck around Claire's open locker door to peer at them.
"Um...hi," Lizzie repeated. "What's up?"
"Do you know what the math assignment was? I can't find it."
Oh, she just wanted the homework. It explained a lot. Lizzie finished turning the combination, hit her locker in just the right place, and pried it open. She pulled out her math notebook, and handed it to Claire. "It should be there on the last page," she said, turning her attention to her backpack. No point in trying to fake politeness with Claire Miller.
She heard the telltale ruffle of the pages being flipped, then the scratching of pen against paper as Claire no doubt copied the assignment. "Oh, look, McGuire's into Animology, too," Kate said, but the disdain in her voice wasn't up to its usual level, and when Lizzie glanced at her, she wasn't wearing a sneer.
"Yeah," Lizzie said cautiously. "I'm a magenta tiger."
Kate tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled smugly. "Silver cat."
"Black horse," Claire said, and something clicked in Lizzie's brain, something about getting along with cats and the need to avoid horses. Well, staying away from Claire was a no-brainer, but Kate as a friend?
Well, stranger things had happened. As a matter of fact, it *had* happened before, way back in their past.
"Oh, that's cool," Lizzie said, for lack of anything better to say.
"Magenta tiger...your soul mate is the navy owl, right?" Claire said, passing back the notebook. Lizzie blinked, then nodded. "The only navy owl *I* know is your little friend Gordo," she added with perfect nonchalance. Over Claire's shoulder, Kate smirked, and Lizzie felt blood rising to her face. She hastily looked down, busying herself by stuffing the notebook in her bag. Did Claire have the entire Animology book memorized? If only she dedicated this amount of effort into her studying, she could have been named valedictorian.
"Aww, wassamatter, Lizzie?" Kate said. "Got a crush on the Gordork?"
"I do not," Lizzie said hotly. "Just 'cause some stupid book says we're soul mates..."
"Pity you're not Ethan's soul mate, huh," Kate tutted, shaking her head.
"Yeah, if you were a purple giraffe, wouldn't everything be easier?" Claire said.
Lizzie's eyes widened. "A what?"
"A purple giraffe is the soul mate of a red turtle," Claire explained slowly, like she was talking to a child. "And Ethan is a red turtle."
Miranda was a purple giraffe, and her soul mate was a red turtle, Lizzie remembered. So if Ethan Craft was a red turtle, that could only mean one thing...
Lizzie slammed her locker shut and tore down the hallway.