Chapter 4: Oxymorons

Lizzie felt the smooth palms of hands on her eyes and curved her mouth into a smile, but then she paused. Who could be behind her? She heard a distinct and calm female voice.

"Guess who?" Lizzie screeched and jumped around to face her cousin. Roxy hadn't changed much. She still had shoulder length strawberry blond hair that curved in towards her face, and playful green eyes. Lizzie hugged Roxy and the two just yelped like little kittens until Gordo interrupted them.

"Are we allowed to say hi too?" Lizzie shrugged with sarcasm.

"If you want to." Gordo smiled and gave Roxy a hug. She studied him and smiled.

"Gordo, you have not changed a bit since I last saw you in middle school!" He grinned. Miranda coughed and Roxy turned and smiled at her.

"Miranda, oh my gosh girl. You look great! I love that top!" Miranda smiled.

(AN-- You have to hand it to Roxy, [tugs at pink shirt] She does know how to give a nice compliment)

"So, Rox, what are you doing here early? I thought you wouldn't be here till next week!" Roxy smiled slyly.

"My parents sent me down here a little earlier. They called your house this morning actually. Your mom said that she would be glad to have me for a week or so." Lizzie's eyes widened in knowledge.

(AN-- And now it all makes sense.)

"So, Lizzie, let's get to class, shall we?" Roxy asked. Lizzie nodded and headed off to begin a neat day with her cousin by her side.

(AN--Watch out Kate! Roxy's here!)

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Lizzie poked at her tray of food for lunch. She then poked Gordo who was seated next to her. She wrinkled her nose.

"You said that the food was better here." Gordo shrugged and poked what looked like macaroni and cheese, but resembled more of rubber than food.

"Maybe it only was better when I was here." Miranda placed her tray down on the table across from Lizzie and was beaming.

"What is it Miranda?" Miranda opened her mouth and then just smiled again.

"I just got asked out!" she cried with happiness. Lizzie patted her best friend's shoulder, reaching across the table.

"Good for you! Who is the lucky guy?"

"Larry." Gordo and Lizzie looked at each other in shock and Gordo began to fake choke on his food. Lizzie slapped his arm.

"What?" he asked innocently. Lizzie tried to form the right words, but it turned out that she didn't need them, becuase across the cafeteria she could see Larry Tudgeman coming their way. She gawked. Larry had changed his old green and khacki wardrobe to a stylish polo shirt and faded jeans. His hair looked combed and he had a bright smile on. Lizzie swore that Gordo couldn't have been more surprised than he was at that moment. Larry sat his tray down next to Miranda's and smiled.

"Hey guys. Long time no see, huh?" Lizzie opened her mouth and no sound came out. This was Larry looking....well, cute.

(AN-- That's it. I have an explanation. Aliens. It could only be that. Yeah, that's it. This isn't Larry, is it?)

"So," he said, turning to face Miranda, "are we still on for the Star Trek convention on Saturday?" Lizzie and Gordo finally touched back to planet Earth again.

(AN-- [flying saucer floating over her head]. Yeah, that's Tudgeman)

Just when that occured, Roxy joined the group and nodded her head towards the cafeteria's enterance.

"I met some people in Geometry today, and they seemed really nice. They're gonna sit with us. Hope you guys don't mind." Lizzie shrugged and nodded. The more the merrier, as her mom would say. But as Lizzie followed Roxy's gaze, she nearly died of a heart attack, or a panic attack. It was no other than Kate Sanders and Ethan Craft. Kate strode to the table with a cute new purse and freshly done nails, probably for the occasion, and flipped back her prefect hair. She smiled at Lizzie.

(AN-- This is it [puts on war helmet] My social life is now officially over, thanks to my cousin)

"Hey Lizzie, Miranda, Gordo, Larry. Oh, thanks for having us sit with you all Roxy!" Kate replied with no sneer, no sarcastic comment, and no cackle.

(AN-- Whoa! Kate---nice? Now there's an oxymoron.)

Lizzie couldn't resist. "Kate, you're not going to blow us off? You actaully want to sit with us, you're actually being nice..?"

(AN--...You're actually human?)

Kate smiled, displaying her perfect white teeth. Everything was perfect about Kate, down to the last toenail.

"Look Lizzie, about all of those years. I was hanging with the wrong crowd, and it showed when I made Varsity squad this year and Claire only made JV. She can have fun being the dragon now, because I am so over it. Don't you guys agree, that was so middle school?" Miranda was appaled, Larry just munched on his cheesy macaroni, Ethan just ate, Lizzie stared, and so did Gordo. Roxy obviously was shocked. She had no idea of the long time rivalry between Kate and Lizzie. Ethan paused and looked over at Lizzie and Gordo for the first time.

"Yo, Gordon, Lizzay. So, are you two like an item now...ya know. Like what happened in Rome?..." Lizzie and Gordo looked down at their plates, and avoided each other's eyes. Kate placed a palm over Ethan's mouth.

(AN-- I never thought this day would come but...thank God for Kate!!)

"Ethan, don't talk with your mouth full, it's impolite," she said with a shaky smile at Lizzie. Lizzie actally smiled back. Truth was, it was kind of cool to have Kate back on the good side.

A wave of pom poms barricaded the table and Lizzie looked up from her food. Claire Miller. Once Kate's sidekick and partner in crime, now the ringleader.

"So Kate, I heard that you made Varsity. Good for you. It's time we needed a new leader around her, and with you off the squad, that means...me. But I still don't understand why you have to crawl back to all of your loser friends. So pathetic. Oops. Did I say that out loud?" Claire asked venomously. "Yeah, I did." Her posse of petty cheerleaders cackled along with her. Kate kept her chin high and even though she looked tough, Lizzie knew that she was on the verge of crying. Lizzie stared Claire square in the eyes.

"Look Claire, why don't you take your maincured, primped up, fake nailed, hairsprayed little posse out of our way. We are trying to eat, but you know we can't on account of the fact that I am getting nausious from all of the perfume." Claire narrowed her eyes and Lizzie arched her back, feeling at least two feet taller thanks to her newfound confidence. But before Claire left, Lizzie stopped her. She had one more thing to say. Something that had been said to Kate in her reign of popularity.

"Hey Claire, don't bother coming back either. We heard that snob is contagious." The cheerleaders let out their pathetic sigh and left without a word of retaliation. Lizzie beamed.

(AN-- That felt so good!)

Kate and the entire table looked over at Lizzie. Quiet, shy, laid back Lizzie who needed defense from Kate herself last year because she couldn't stand up to her. Kate had a shimmer in her eyes that resembled tears.

"Thanks Lizzie. Really, I mean it." Kate said with a small smile. And Lizzie began eating again. She knew that Kate really meant it too.