A/N: Dudes and dudettes, I'm glad y'all find this story mucho awesome. Here is the latest installment of Crackhead In Love. I hope you like it! =)
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Monday, December 8, Homeroom
I tend to thrive on pressure. And this time was no different. They just passed out the final exam schedules. Here is my schedule:
FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE
December 15
Periods Three and Four
December 16Reading Day
So, I'll be having English Lit and History finals on the 15th. I'm doing well in both of those subjects…and, not to boast, I'm doing very well in all of my subjects. Life isn't tough when you're a genius (that was meant to be purely sarcastic and in no way am I bragging about my intelligence…).
December 17
Periods One and Two
Chemistry and Calculus. Not too bad.
December 18Periods Five, Six, and Seven
Considering there's no exam for Gifted and Talented, that'll be a breeze (not meant literally). I have P.E. & Health sixth period, and that's pretty easy (I haven't been lifting weights for nothing…well, yes, actually, I have). I have French seventh period. I was considering doing Spanish when I was a freshman. The French swear words sound cooler though. Oh, I'm so evil. Yeah.
December 19
- Nondenominational Winter Carnival and Dance
The Winter Carnival will be great…and just might be horrible too. I've been working on this computer program (aside from the one for the Computer Club's booth) and…I'm thinking about using it to tell Mia how I feel. I was thinking about how much she loves Beauty and the Beast (we can't all be perfect) and I thought that I would design this castle. Then, the picture would lead into the courtyard where there was a garden with roses blooming everywhere. Then, this banner would show up, looking like it was being blown by the wind. And, on that banner, I would put something like I love you, Mia or Mia, I think you're really swell. Want to go out with me? OK, I definitely wouldn't put the latter on the banner.
The carnival will be followed by the dance in the evening. And, as you might have guessed, I was hoping that Mia would want to go with me after she saw the computer program. Unless, of course, she ran out on the computer program, screaming. Then, I would most likely skip the dance.
Monday, December 8, Chemistry
Chemistry has always been one of my favorite subjects. Along with history. And math. Today, instead of actually doing any chemistry, Mrs. Duke has been informing us about cloning and said that we might even be able to clone a fruit fly. Wow. I'm so amazed. That should be easy for Judith, considering how she won the Albert Einstein High School Annual Biomedical Technology Fair for her science project, in which she cloned a fruit fly, as mentioned on the 6th.
Oh, I have to go. Mrs. Duke is asking people about cloning and she's almost up to me.
Monday, December 8, French
I finally saw Mia at lunch. I was walking to the burger grill when I saw Mia at the salad bar, making some sort of pyramid with chickpeas and pinto beans. I stopped, a small smile on my face, and asked her how she was doing. She said the standard "Fine" and then she asked me how my dentist appointment went. Not exactly the conversation topic I was hoping for but I could talk to Mia about anything and not be bored.
Anyway, I started telling her about how I had to have a cavity filled and that my lips were still numb from the Novocain (which really sucks, I must say). I figured that Mia could sort of relate, seeing as how she bit her tongue and everything. I noticed her sort of staring at my nose, or maybe it was my mouth. And then, I started feeling a little self-conscious. My voice became a bit quieter. Was there something on my nose? Hoping there wasn't, I casually wiped that area very, very quickly so it didn't look like I was picking my nose. But she continued staring.
Right then was when Kenny Showalter walked by. He was in the Computer Club, like me. But, he was also obsessed with anime. I wondered how his dates with Mia were. He always talked about anime (and had suggested making an anime computer program for the Carnival, which all of the other members of the Computer Club protested) so the conversation must've been stale.
We (Mia and I) both said "Hi" to him but he didn't say anything back. He just kept on walking, to get his usual lunch of a Coke and an ice-cream sandwich. I honestly wonder how Kenny can function on a lunch like that. Then, I realized that maybe (hopefully) Kenny thought that Mia and me were having a deep conversation and that I might even be taking Mia away from him (not to say that Mia is an object or anything…and I don't usually send out Mia-stealing vibes to him).
Anyway, in spite of all of that, Gifted and Talented went by pretty smoothly. Mrs. Hill, the "teacher" for G&T, spent the entire class period in the teachers' lounge across the hall, yelling at American Express on the phone. This pretty much left us all to do whatever we wanted. What I wanted was to help Mia in algebra but I ended up having to work with Judith on the computer program for the booth.
Mia was talking to Lilly about the term paper proposal that Lilly's honors English teacher had shot down. Lilly said something about how she is appalled by that fact that, considering how much the tuition costs, this is the kind of support we can expect from our teachers. Mia said something about Mr. Gianni and Lilly responded with something else about Mr. G. I didn't really catch it, seeing as how I was working.
"Michael, don't you just love working on this computer program?" Judith whispered into my ear. "With me?" I fought the urge to shudder and, with a quick nod, I continued working. Mia's and Lilly's voices became a lot louder so I could hear every word of their conversation now:
Lilly: The real problem with this school isn't the teachers. It's the apathy of the student body. For instance, let's say we wanted to stage a walkout.
Mia: A walkout (Mia sounds so "cute" when she's questioning something)?
Lilly: You know. We all get up and walk out of the school at the same time.
Mia: Just because Mrs. Spears turned down your term paper proposal?
Lilly: No, Mia. Because she's trying to usurp our individuality by forcing us to bend to corporate feudalism. Again.
Mia: And how is she doing that (I noticed, with "glee," that every sentence coming out of Mia's mouth was a question…I am so strange sometimes)?
Lilly: By censoring us when we are most fertile, creatively speaking.
Boris: (his head sticking out of the supply closet…don't ask) Fertile? Did someone say fertile?
Lilly: Get back in the closet, Boris. Michael, can you send a mass e-mail tonight to the entire student body, declaring a walkout tomorrow at eleven?
Me: (looking up, an eyebrow raised) I can, but I won't.
Lilly: (looking more like a pug than usual) WHY NOT?
Me: Because it was your turn to empty the dishwasher last night, but you weren't home, so I had to do it.
Lilly: But I TOLD Mom I had to go down to the studio to edit the last finishing touches on this week's show!
Oh, I guess I didn't mention this before. Lilly's TV program, Lilly Tells It Like It Is, is one of the highest-ranking shows on Manhattan cable. It surprises me that people would actually watch the show for more than five minutes without ripping their heads off.
Me: (impatiently) Look, if you're having time-management issues, don't take it out on me. Just don't expect me to meekly do your bidding, especially when you already owe me one.
Mia: Lilly, no offense, but I don't think this week's a good time for a walkout, anyway. I mean, after all, it's almost finals.
I nearly jumped for joy. Mia was supporting me more than Lilly! And plus, she made an excellent point.
Lilly: SO???
Mia: So, some of us really need to stay in class. I can't afford to miss any review sessions. My grades are bad enough as it is.
Me: (kindly) Really? I thought you were doing better in Algebra.
Mia: If you call a D plus better.
Michael: (in an almost joking tone) Aw, come on. You have to be making better than a D plus. Your mom is married to your Algebra teacher (hoping I didn't come as too mean)!
Mia: So? That doesn't mean anything. You know Mr. G doesn't play favorites.
Michael: (a bit nervously) I would think he'd cut his own stepdaughter a little slack, is all.
Lilly: WOULD YOU TWO PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE SITUATION AT HAND, WHICH IS THE FACT THAT THIS SCHOOL IS IN VITAL NEED OF REFORM?
Thankfully, the bell rang right at that minute so we didn't need to hear anymore about how the school was substandard or anything. I closed my laptop and, with one last quick glance at Mia, walked out of the classroom.