Chapter 2: The First Day
Lizzie was the first to arrive at the bus stop. She could not believe that she was again forced to ride the bus. Last year her parents had let her walk to school, but the high school was ten miles away. The only way to stop riding the bus was for her to get her license, which was still a few years away.
Other people soon began to arrive at the stop. Many were sophomores, whom she knew from two years ago. Lizzie never talked to anybody other than to say hi, she was nervously pacing back and forth.
"You had coffee this morning, didn't you?" said a familiar voice behind her.
Lizzie instantly recognized Miranda's voice and turned around. "Just a little. I couldn't sleep all night. I kept thinking about what I should say to Gordo. I don't think I want to go out with him anymore." Lizzie looked down at her feet admitting that she had used her head not her heart in making her decision.
"But I thought you liked him."
Lizzie nervously played with her hands, "I do, but I just don't think it is a good idea. I mean you saw what he wrote on the postcard. I don't think I could deal with that type of romance."
"But you like him. Go for it." Miranda's voice was soft and sweet.
"That's no all," Lizzie continued, "I saw Ronny yesterday, and the pain of being dumped still hurt me. There is no way that I could be friends with him again, and I don't want that to happen to me and Gordo. Just being away from him this summer was hard enough." Lizzie wiped away a tear that had begun to travel down her face.
Miranda gave Lizzie a big hug. She knew that Lizzie and Gordo belonged together, but maybe now was not the time.
Soon the bus arrived, and everybody got on. Once onboard Lizzie became more sociable, talking to everybody about his or her summers. She soon figured out that everybody else only cared about her summer. Talking about her experience soon put Lizzie in a better mood.
Before anybody realized it, the bus had pulled up to their new school. Lizzie and Miranda looked at the Gothic red brick exterior in amazement. In just a few minutes they would be transformed from kids to HIGH SCHOOLERS.
Lizzie and Miranda walked towards the school talking about all the new experiences they were about to have. Concerts, driving, staying out late, Miranda almost said boys, but knew Lizzie did not want to talk about that subject.
The two opened the front doors and stood in amazement of the new world they had just entered. The two could barley see the hard wood floor of the hallway thought the crowd. Unlike their former school, the High school was packed full of students.
"So this is it?" Lizzie said quietly to Miranda.
"Yeah, no wonder Gordo only stayed one day."
"Listen just remember what he told us. All we have to do is stay out of the main hallways and we will be ok. Come on lets go find our lockers"
The two pushed their way trough the crowd and quickly ducked into one of the side hallways. Immediately the crowd thinned and the two began exploring the school. They soon found their lockers on the other side of the school, which amazingly were only two lockers apart.
The first order of business was to decorate the lockers, and Lizzie and Miranda quickly began. Along with the usual mirror, Lizzie was hanging up pictures of her friends, and some of Gordo postcards, along with other colorful items. Miranda was doing the same, this year she devoted the locker door to all the cool places in Mexico she had taken pictures of.
"Oh my gosh," Miranda blurted out. Coming down the hall just over Lizzie's shoulder was Ethan Craft. His hair was just a perfect as she remembered, and she would normally go weak at the sight. Both her and Lizzie had huge crushes on him since the beginning of the seventh grade. Somehow over the summer the unthinkable had happened, right next to him was Kate Sanders. The two were walking down the hall holding hands. This was torture for Miranda. Seeing the biggest hottie in school, not to mention Miranda's crush, holding hands with her archenemy. She could hardly look at the two.
Lizzie turned around, took a quick look, and turned back to Miranda. "Oh yeah, they got back together in Rome."
Miranda stated in shock. The only person who had a bigger crush on Ethan was Lizzie, and now she did not even care that he was with their former friend. "What do you mean 'Back together,' when were they first together?"
"Well they went on one date at the end of last year, but broke up that night. I think that they reconciled in Rome. And a lot of things have changed over the summer," Lizzie explained as she put the finishing touches on her locker.
Just before Miranda could reply, the girls were interrupted by the most beautiful voice they had ever heard. "Lizzie, busted out of the big house!" Hearing Ethan's voice again, made Lizzie's feelings toward Ethan return. She knew that she should not feel this way towards him. She was still struggling with her feelings towards Gordo, and did not have room for Ethan.
"Hi Lizzie, Miranda," Kate chimed in, "We just saw Gordo, and he told me to tell you that he really wants to talk to you." This was an unusual move for Kate. Normally she would take this opportunity to remind Lizzie and Miranda of their low social status, and her enormous popularity.
"Hi Kate, hi Ethan," Lizzie replied. "Thanks for the message." Before Lizzie could say anything else the bell sounded. "Oh, we have to get to class. Talk to you later." Lizzie shut her locker, and headed down the hall with Miranda just behind.
_________________________
Gordo walked through the familiar halls. He had only attended classes at Hillridge High for one day last fall, but the strange feelings associated with going to a new school still filled Gordo.
Gordo opened up his locker assignment. "Great," he thought to himself, "locker number 152." The same broken locker he had last fall. He approached his locker, and started tuning the lock. Just as he suspected the locker would not open. He tried again, but still no luck. All summer he had been waiting to return to high school. This time he would be with his friends, and people who know him. As it was he was back to being surrounded by the upper clansmen, who made his day at HHS miserable. Just to make maters worse Miss Ungermeyer, was walking his way.
"Mr. Gordon," she said in her eerie cheerful voice, "welcome back to high school. I trust that you will be staying with us for more than a day this time."
"I hope so," Gordo replied. "I don't have any reasons to go back to junior high this time," although he was thinking about it. He continued to look around hoping to see somebody, anybody he knew. "I am wondering, were is everybody? I haven't seen a single freshman all morning."
"Well they normally put all you mouth feeders at the other end of the building, near the freshman classes," she answered. "I looked at your file last week and saw that you are taking more challenging classes, so I moved you to this locker which is closer to your classes. For some reason this locker is almost never assigned."
As usual, Gordo replied with a direct answer. "It could be because it won't open."
Miss Ungermeyer gave Gordo a puzzled look. "That's nonsense, you just have to persuade it." She made a fist with her had and slammed the side of it against the locker door. The locker door slowly began to open just as smooth as the day it was installed.
"If that's persuasion," Gordo thought, "I don't want to see her being forceful
"Well good luck to you Gordon. Now I have to go take care of something." Turning her attention away from Gordo, Miss Ungermeyer began yelling, "Hay you to get away from each other. You don't do that in front of your parents do you?"
As Gordo watched Miss Ungermeyer walk away, he could not help but laugh. Although he and Miss Ungermeyer did not get off to a good start in Rome, it seemed that he just might make it trough high school with her as the principal after all.
Gordo turned back to his locker, and placed his notebooks inside the locker. He slammed the locker door shut and headed towards the bookstore. He had just enough time to pick up his books before his first class.
The hall outside the store was crowded, but at least he knew people standing in line. Gordo tired to make small talk with the people staining in line but had little luck. Everybody around him kept talking about Lizzie. As the chattering spread some began singing "What Dreams Are Made Of." Even more people joined in and before long some began imitating Lizzie's dance routine. Gordo began looking around. Hopefully Lizzie would hear this and come in to see what was going on. He had no luck, the only escape from the madness was Kate and Ethan.
While waiting in line the three began talking about each other's summers. Gordo felt weird; normally he would be having this conversation with Lizzie and Miranda, not Ethan and Kate.
The three talked about their summers. Ethan and Kate seemed to be inseparable after Rome. Spending most of their time in Italian restaurants. This was driving Kate crazy trying to figure out ways to stay together without eating too many carbs. Nonetheless, the two were completely happy together.
Gordo was eager to replay his adventures across the country, although most of the history that he had seen was lost on Ethan.
The conversation inevitably changed to Lizzie. Kate was just waiting for a good piece of gossip to spread around the school. She never got the chance. Gordo avoided giving any direct answers to the questions. Not because he still did not fully trust Kate, but mainly because he did not know himself. Starting to really miss Lizzie, Gordo pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He opened it up and began reading the contents to himself.
Almost immediately Kate noticed the paper. "What's that," she demanded.
"Oh ah, nothing," replied Gordo as he quickly folded the paper and stuffed it back into his pocket. He was now in front of the store. He handed his class schedule to the clerk. As the clerk began stacking his books, Gordo turned to Kate and Ethan. "If either of you see Lizzie will you tell her I need to speak to her?" He turned back to the clerk, grabbed his books and started walking back to his locker.
_________________________
Lizzie and Miranda could not find their first class and as such they arrived five minutes late. They were not the only ones, only two thirds of the class was already there. The teacher did not mind, this was a usual occurrence on the first day, she waited for the final students to arrive before beginning her speech. It was just like every other first day speech. She read the syllabus and discussed the class rules. It was boring but nobody minded, everybody was glad to have one easy day at the beginning of the school year.
Lizzie started reading ahead in the syllabus. It was only English, one quick read through and she understood all the rules, and assignment dates. After finishing, she pulled out a piece of paper and began writhing on it. She figured that because of how nice Kate was to her earlier that it would be ok to fill Miranda in on their new relationship. After she finished she passed the piece of paper to Miranda who began reading it.
Hay Miranda, I just thought that I should fill you in on something
else that happened in Rome. I was rooming with Kate. She soon
figured out what I was up to. She never told anybody, and even helped
me. She told me that she would help me if I never told anybody that
she was helping me, and after we returned she would be the popular one
again. After a while she was the only one I could talk to about what
was going on. Gordo was jealous, so he would not sit through my
stories. I think that she and I cleaned up some of our issues. I
don't want to be friends with her, but I really don't want to be
enemies anymore. Hope this clears up what happened this morning.
Please don't tell anybody.
Miranda was in shock. It did explain why Kate never insulted the two earlier. She was relived to know that Kate would not be bothering them anymore, and so she agreed not to tell anybody.
After English, the two had American History. The class was again a typical first day class. Next the two hurried across the school to their science class. Unlike the first two classes they had attended, the teacher actually began lecturing, and to the dismay of the students homework was assigned.
Just as Lizzie could not take any more the bell rang and it was time for lunch. The two hurried through the crowd on their way to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was about three times larger than their old cafeteria in junior high, but twice as crowded.
"Who ever heard of a school without a place to eat lunch outside," Miranda complained. The crowd and the noise was unbearable, not to mention the large line for food.
"Probably the same people that thought Wednesday was a good day to start school." Lizzie replied.
The two waited in the large line. Surprisingly the line mover rather quickly, due in part to the large serving area, which was the only improvement the two could see. The girls soon had their food, and were back out in the crowded eating area.
"I can't believe that they are still serving us these frozen pizza thingies," Lizzie said to Miranda as they walked.
"You could have gotten the Salisbury Stake," Miranda sarcastically replied.
"Ugh, that is like the worst food that you can get from a cafeteria." Lizzie just shuttered at the thought of eating that. "Oh look there is Gordo."
The two made their way to the table that Gordo was sitting at. As they approached Miranda had an idea. She made a few gestures at Lizzie who quickly understood. The two walked up behind Gordo and each one put a hand around his head and covered his eyes. This had no effect on Gordo, who just kept eating.
"Hello, this is the part where you are supposed to guess who it is." Miranda was quickly losing patience with him.
"Well in that case I would have to go with Britney and J. Lo," Gordo replied with his usual lack of emotion.
"Well thank you," Lizzie said as she walked around the table and took her seat with a large smile on her face.
"So Gordo, when did you get back in town?' Miranda asked.
"I just got back this morning. I just had time to shower and change cloths before my mom drove me to school. How was your summer?" Gordo asked in return.
"It was great, Mexico is a cool country."
The three continued to share stories about their summer adventures throughout lunch. Miranda could not stop talking about the Mayan step pyramids that she had visited. Gordo on the other hand had seen so many things, and he was able to recall minute details about every one. Lizzie just sat and listened to the wonderful things that her friends had done over the summer. She had already heard all of the stories from their letters, but she knew that they had not heard from each other, so she let them talk. Lizzie just felt better being back with her two best friends at last.
The lunch period at the high school was fifteen minutes longer than at the junior high. The trio soon found that they had finished their food with plenty of time to spare. They were not the only ones, many students had already returned their trays, and were heading back into the hallways.
Gordo had tried to bring Rome into the conversation, but Lizzie kept rejecting it. Thinking that she did not understand what he was wanting to talk about, he decided to try something different. "Well I don't know where my next class is. I think I will go find it," Gordo said with perfect clarity, but as he continued it was clear that he was nervous. "Do you want to come with me Lizzie?" Both Lizzie and Miranda knew what he was saying, and Miranda was willing to let her go.
"No, I actually have to," Lizzie looked around quickly trying to find a way out. "Go get our books," she quickly added. "We have not gotten them yet." Lizzie grabbed Miranda as she got up, and the two returned their trays before heading out of the cafeteria.
"What was that about," Miranda asked once Gordo was out of sight. "Why didn't you go with him, he was going to ask you out?"
"That's WHY I did not go with him," Lizzie replied as sadness filled her voice. "I still don't know what I am going to say."
"You could say YES," Miranda suggested with a bit of sarcasm that she was famous for.
The bookstore was just around the corner from the cafeteria. When the two arrived, the line was still as long as it had been before school. The two leaned up against the lockers while they waited for those in front of them to collect their books. As they waited, Lizzie noticed a boy walking towards them.
"Oh great, two days in a row," Lizzie moaned.
Before Miranda could question Lizzie's remark she noticed the boy too, it was Ronny. Miranda had never actually met him, but recognized him from a picture Lizzie had shown her while they were going out.
"Hay Lizzie," Ronny said with a smile on his face. Lizzie was not smiling, she was just staring back at him. "Well, I just want to say I am sorry, I do want to be your friend. Well........ sorry." Ronny realized that he was just digging himself into a bigger hole, so he turned and walked away.
Miranda was in shock. She had never seen Lizzie act like this before. Normally she was either polite and would at least talk to the person, or if provoked she would return an insult, but she just stood there without saying a word. "What's with you, why did you just stand there?"
"I just can't stand that guy," was the only response Miranda received.
Miranda changed the subject by commenting on the outfits of a couple of sophomores that had just passed them. Soon Lizzie had broken out of her bad mood, and her cheerful smile once again appeared. Soon the two girls had their books and were rushing to class.
Lizzie and Miranda did not have the same classes for the next two periods. Lizzie had finally taken Gordo's advice, and enrolled in advanced Drama for her fourth Period. Her parents had forced her to take a computer/typing course for her fifth period. They said she would need it out in the real world. Miranda on the other hand was taking choir and orchestra for her next two classes. The trio did have math class together for the final period. Gordo had convinced Lizzie and Miranda that they could both handle Geometry. The two did not want to, but it was the only way that they could all have a class together. Finally after much persuasion, and Gordo's commitment to help the girls, they had agreed.
When Lizzie entered the math room, she saw that Miranda and Gordo had already arrived. The two were talking, and did not notice her. As she entered the room, Lizzie was surprised to see that the room had been covered with posters, and charts that reminded her of a 6th grade classroom, not an advanced math room. As she approached her friends, they soon realized she was in the room.
"Lizzie I saved you a seat," Gordo announced as he removed his bag from the seat next to him.
This surprised Lizzie. Normally her two friends would have placed her in the middle, so that they could both sit next to her. She did not mind being on the side it was just different.
"Thanks," Lizzie replied as she took her seat. "I can't wait for this day to be over. The only good thing is that we don't have to take gym until our junior year. I can not remember the last time that I spent an entire day at school without stepping foot in the gym."
"Last year, when we got half the day of for Miss Dew's Mural of Unity," Gordo instinctively replied.
"Ok, where do you keep this stuff," Miranda asked as she looked all over his head, as if she was actually looking for the useless knowledge part of his brain.
Gordo just ignored her. He was use to his friends making fun of his inelegance. "What about the rules. Have you had any problems with the seniors?"
"Well, no. I completely forgot about that." Lizzie replied. "Well then there are two things that went well today."
Just then a short lady walked into the room. It was their new trig teacher Mrs. Bell. She looked around the room and began reading the role.
Lizzie looked around at the classroom once again, and noticed that the class seamed extremely small. There were a total of only ten students in the room. At first Lizzie thought that it was because it was so far from the rest of the freshman classes and everybody was running late. As Mrs. Bell continued down the role, nobody was absent, nobody that is until she reached Larry Tudgeman.
"Tudgeman is in four of my classes, and did not show to a single one. I wonder where he is?" Gordo quietly asked.
"Maybe the mother ship finally came and took him away," Miranda stated with all sincerity.
Lizzie and Gordo both broke into laughter. Mrs. Bell just ignored the two.
The final period of the day sailed by. Mrs. Bell really had a way of talking that made Lizzie want to listen. The only other teacher that had made her feel like this was Mr. Dig. She hoped that it would stay like this throughout the entire year.
When the final bell of the day had rung, the trio left the class together. "I gotta, go," Miranda started. "The first Glee Club meeting is in five minutes."
"Call me when you get home," Lizzie said as Miranda started down the hallway.
"Lizzie can I talk to you for a sec," Gordo asked. The panic had again returned to his voice."
Lizzie new that she would have to confront him sooner or later. She thought for a second, and replied, "I guess so. What's up?"
Gordo took a deep breath, and started, "Well I was wondering if you would..... If you would like to.... To go do something this weekend. Like a.... you know, .......a ....... a date?"
Lizzie felt so sorry for Gordo. He was trying so hard to get the words to come out. She had no idea what to say. She just stood there with a puzzled look on her face while she tried to come up with a decision.
Gordo's face slowly turned red as he waited for Lizzie's answer. He had seen her do this before, and it always meant that she was thinking very hard. He had hoped that she would just say yes without thinking about it. He was now thinking very hard himself. Had he mistaken the kiss in Rome, and the one on the last day of school?
"Yes, yes, yes, yes," cried a voice inside Lizzie's head. Strangely enough it was not her voice, but rather it was Miranda. Miranda had somehow entered her head and was yelling so loud that Lizzie could not hear her own thought. Finally she opened her mouth, hoping that the correct words would fall out.
"I can't," she finally replied. "I'm sorry." Lizzie wiped a tear that was falling down her cheek, turned and walked away.
The bus ride home was pure torture. She sat alone leaning her head against the glass. "What have I done," she kept repeating quietly to herself. She wished that Gordo had never written that final letter. She really wished Miranda was with her, "I need a hug," she thought.
Lizzie was the first to arrive at the bus stop. She could not believe that she was again forced to ride the bus. Last year her parents had let her walk to school, but the high school was ten miles away. The only way to stop riding the bus was for her to get her license, which was still a few years away.
Other people soon began to arrive at the stop. Many were sophomores, whom she knew from two years ago. Lizzie never talked to anybody other than to say hi, she was nervously pacing back and forth.
"You had coffee this morning, didn't you?" said a familiar voice behind her.
Lizzie instantly recognized Miranda's voice and turned around. "Just a little. I couldn't sleep all night. I kept thinking about what I should say to Gordo. I don't think I want to go out with him anymore." Lizzie looked down at her feet admitting that she had used her head not her heart in making her decision.
"But I thought you liked him."
Lizzie nervously played with her hands, "I do, but I just don't think it is a good idea. I mean you saw what he wrote on the postcard. I don't think I could deal with that type of romance."
"But you like him. Go for it." Miranda's voice was soft and sweet.
"That's no all," Lizzie continued, "I saw Ronny yesterday, and the pain of being dumped still hurt me. There is no way that I could be friends with him again, and I don't want that to happen to me and Gordo. Just being away from him this summer was hard enough." Lizzie wiped away a tear that had begun to travel down her face.
Miranda gave Lizzie a big hug. She knew that Lizzie and Gordo belonged together, but maybe now was not the time.
Soon the bus arrived, and everybody got on. Once onboard Lizzie became more sociable, talking to everybody about his or her summers. She soon figured out that everybody else only cared about her summer. Talking about her experience soon put Lizzie in a better mood.
Before anybody realized it, the bus had pulled up to their new school. Lizzie and Miranda looked at the Gothic red brick exterior in amazement. In just a few minutes they would be transformed from kids to HIGH SCHOOLERS.
Lizzie and Miranda walked towards the school talking about all the new experiences they were about to have. Concerts, driving, staying out late, Miranda almost said boys, but knew Lizzie did not want to talk about that subject.
The two opened the front doors and stood in amazement of the new world they had just entered. The two could barley see the hard wood floor of the hallway thought the crowd. Unlike their former school, the High school was packed full of students.
"So this is it?" Lizzie said quietly to Miranda.
"Yeah, no wonder Gordo only stayed one day."
"Listen just remember what he told us. All we have to do is stay out of the main hallways and we will be ok. Come on lets go find our lockers"
The two pushed their way trough the crowd and quickly ducked into one of the side hallways. Immediately the crowd thinned and the two began exploring the school. They soon found their lockers on the other side of the school, which amazingly were only two lockers apart.
The first order of business was to decorate the lockers, and Lizzie and Miranda quickly began. Along with the usual mirror, Lizzie was hanging up pictures of her friends, and some of Gordo postcards, along with other colorful items. Miranda was doing the same, this year she devoted the locker door to all the cool places in Mexico she had taken pictures of.
"Oh my gosh," Miranda blurted out. Coming down the hall just over Lizzie's shoulder was Ethan Craft. His hair was just a perfect as she remembered, and she would normally go weak at the sight. Both her and Lizzie had huge crushes on him since the beginning of the seventh grade. Somehow over the summer the unthinkable had happened, right next to him was Kate Sanders. The two were walking down the hall holding hands. This was torture for Miranda. Seeing the biggest hottie in school, not to mention Miranda's crush, holding hands with her archenemy. She could hardly look at the two.
Lizzie turned around, took a quick look, and turned back to Miranda. "Oh yeah, they got back together in Rome."
Miranda stated in shock. The only person who had a bigger crush on Ethan was Lizzie, and now she did not even care that he was with their former friend. "What do you mean 'Back together,' when were they first together?"
"Well they went on one date at the end of last year, but broke up that night. I think that they reconciled in Rome. And a lot of things have changed over the summer," Lizzie explained as she put the finishing touches on her locker.
Just before Miranda could reply, the girls were interrupted by the most beautiful voice they had ever heard. "Lizzie, busted out of the big house!" Hearing Ethan's voice again, made Lizzie's feelings toward Ethan return. She knew that she should not feel this way towards him. She was still struggling with her feelings towards Gordo, and did not have room for Ethan.
"Hi Lizzie, Miranda," Kate chimed in, "We just saw Gordo, and he told me to tell you that he really wants to talk to you." This was an unusual move for Kate. Normally she would take this opportunity to remind Lizzie and Miranda of their low social status, and her enormous popularity.
"Hi Kate, hi Ethan," Lizzie replied. "Thanks for the message." Before Lizzie could say anything else the bell sounded. "Oh, we have to get to class. Talk to you later." Lizzie shut her locker, and headed down the hall with Miranda just behind.
_________________________
Gordo walked through the familiar halls. He had only attended classes at Hillridge High for one day last fall, but the strange feelings associated with going to a new school still filled Gordo.
Gordo opened up his locker assignment. "Great," he thought to himself, "locker number 152." The same broken locker he had last fall. He approached his locker, and started tuning the lock. Just as he suspected the locker would not open. He tried again, but still no luck. All summer he had been waiting to return to high school. This time he would be with his friends, and people who know him. As it was he was back to being surrounded by the upper clansmen, who made his day at HHS miserable. Just to make maters worse Miss Ungermeyer, was walking his way.
"Mr. Gordon," she said in her eerie cheerful voice, "welcome back to high school. I trust that you will be staying with us for more than a day this time."
"I hope so," Gordo replied. "I don't have any reasons to go back to junior high this time," although he was thinking about it. He continued to look around hoping to see somebody, anybody he knew. "I am wondering, were is everybody? I haven't seen a single freshman all morning."
"Well they normally put all you mouth feeders at the other end of the building, near the freshman classes," she answered. "I looked at your file last week and saw that you are taking more challenging classes, so I moved you to this locker which is closer to your classes. For some reason this locker is almost never assigned."
As usual, Gordo replied with a direct answer. "It could be because it won't open."
Miss Ungermeyer gave Gordo a puzzled look. "That's nonsense, you just have to persuade it." She made a fist with her had and slammed the side of it against the locker door. The locker door slowly began to open just as smooth as the day it was installed.
"If that's persuasion," Gordo thought, "I don't want to see her being forceful
"Well good luck to you Gordon. Now I have to go take care of something." Turning her attention away from Gordo, Miss Ungermeyer began yelling, "Hay you to get away from each other. You don't do that in front of your parents do you?"
As Gordo watched Miss Ungermeyer walk away, he could not help but laugh. Although he and Miss Ungermeyer did not get off to a good start in Rome, it seemed that he just might make it trough high school with her as the principal after all.
Gordo turned back to his locker, and placed his notebooks inside the locker. He slammed the locker door shut and headed towards the bookstore. He had just enough time to pick up his books before his first class.
The hall outside the store was crowded, but at least he knew people standing in line. Gordo tired to make small talk with the people staining in line but had little luck. Everybody around him kept talking about Lizzie. As the chattering spread some began singing "What Dreams Are Made Of." Even more people joined in and before long some began imitating Lizzie's dance routine. Gordo began looking around. Hopefully Lizzie would hear this and come in to see what was going on. He had no luck, the only escape from the madness was Kate and Ethan.
While waiting in line the three began talking about each other's summers. Gordo felt weird; normally he would be having this conversation with Lizzie and Miranda, not Ethan and Kate.
The three talked about their summers. Ethan and Kate seemed to be inseparable after Rome. Spending most of their time in Italian restaurants. This was driving Kate crazy trying to figure out ways to stay together without eating too many carbs. Nonetheless, the two were completely happy together.
Gordo was eager to replay his adventures across the country, although most of the history that he had seen was lost on Ethan.
The conversation inevitably changed to Lizzie. Kate was just waiting for a good piece of gossip to spread around the school. She never got the chance. Gordo avoided giving any direct answers to the questions. Not because he still did not fully trust Kate, but mainly because he did not know himself. Starting to really miss Lizzie, Gordo pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He opened it up and began reading the contents to himself.
Almost immediately Kate noticed the paper. "What's that," she demanded.
"Oh ah, nothing," replied Gordo as he quickly folded the paper and stuffed it back into his pocket. He was now in front of the store. He handed his class schedule to the clerk. As the clerk began stacking his books, Gordo turned to Kate and Ethan. "If either of you see Lizzie will you tell her I need to speak to her?" He turned back to the clerk, grabbed his books and started walking back to his locker.
_________________________
Lizzie and Miranda could not find their first class and as such they arrived five minutes late. They were not the only ones, only two thirds of the class was already there. The teacher did not mind, this was a usual occurrence on the first day, she waited for the final students to arrive before beginning her speech. It was just like every other first day speech. She read the syllabus and discussed the class rules. It was boring but nobody minded, everybody was glad to have one easy day at the beginning of the school year.
Lizzie started reading ahead in the syllabus. It was only English, one quick read through and she understood all the rules, and assignment dates. After finishing, she pulled out a piece of paper and began writhing on it. She figured that because of how nice Kate was to her earlier that it would be ok to fill Miranda in on their new relationship. After she finished she passed the piece of paper to Miranda who began reading it.
Hay Miranda, I just thought that I should fill you in on something
else that happened in Rome. I was rooming with Kate. She soon
figured out what I was up to. She never told anybody, and even helped
me. She told me that she would help me if I never told anybody that
she was helping me, and after we returned she would be the popular one
again. After a while she was the only one I could talk to about what
was going on. Gordo was jealous, so he would not sit through my
stories. I think that she and I cleaned up some of our issues. I
don't want to be friends with her, but I really don't want to be
enemies anymore. Hope this clears up what happened this morning.
Please don't tell anybody.
Miranda was in shock. It did explain why Kate never insulted the two earlier. She was relived to know that Kate would not be bothering them anymore, and so she agreed not to tell anybody.
After English, the two had American History. The class was again a typical first day class. Next the two hurried across the school to their science class. Unlike the first two classes they had attended, the teacher actually began lecturing, and to the dismay of the students homework was assigned.
Just as Lizzie could not take any more the bell rang and it was time for lunch. The two hurried through the crowd on their way to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was about three times larger than their old cafeteria in junior high, but twice as crowded.
"Who ever heard of a school without a place to eat lunch outside," Miranda complained. The crowd and the noise was unbearable, not to mention the large line for food.
"Probably the same people that thought Wednesday was a good day to start school." Lizzie replied.
The two waited in the large line. Surprisingly the line mover rather quickly, due in part to the large serving area, which was the only improvement the two could see. The girls soon had their food, and were back out in the crowded eating area.
"I can't believe that they are still serving us these frozen pizza thingies," Lizzie said to Miranda as they walked.
"You could have gotten the Salisbury Stake," Miranda sarcastically replied.
"Ugh, that is like the worst food that you can get from a cafeteria." Lizzie just shuttered at the thought of eating that. "Oh look there is Gordo."
The two made their way to the table that Gordo was sitting at. As they approached Miranda had an idea. She made a few gestures at Lizzie who quickly understood. The two walked up behind Gordo and each one put a hand around his head and covered his eyes. This had no effect on Gordo, who just kept eating.
"Hello, this is the part where you are supposed to guess who it is." Miranda was quickly losing patience with him.
"Well in that case I would have to go with Britney and J. Lo," Gordo replied with his usual lack of emotion.
"Well thank you," Lizzie said as she walked around the table and took her seat with a large smile on her face.
"So Gordo, when did you get back in town?' Miranda asked.
"I just got back this morning. I just had time to shower and change cloths before my mom drove me to school. How was your summer?" Gordo asked in return.
"It was great, Mexico is a cool country."
The three continued to share stories about their summer adventures throughout lunch. Miranda could not stop talking about the Mayan step pyramids that she had visited. Gordo on the other hand had seen so many things, and he was able to recall minute details about every one. Lizzie just sat and listened to the wonderful things that her friends had done over the summer. She had already heard all of the stories from their letters, but she knew that they had not heard from each other, so she let them talk. Lizzie just felt better being back with her two best friends at last.
The lunch period at the high school was fifteen minutes longer than at the junior high. The trio soon found that they had finished their food with plenty of time to spare. They were not the only ones, many students had already returned their trays, and were heading back into the hallways.
Gordo had tried to bring Rome into the conversation, but Lizzie kept rejecting it. Thinking that she did not understand what he was wanting to talk about, he decided to try something different. "Well I don't know where my next class is. I think I will go find it," Gordo said with perfect clarity, but as he continued it was clear that he was nervous. "Do you want to come with me Lizzie?" Both Lizzie and Miranda knew what he was saying, and Miranda was willing to let her go.
"No, I actually have to," Lizzie looked around quickly trying to find a way out. "Go get our books," she quickly added. "We have not gotten them yet." Lizzie grabbed Miranda as she got up, and the two returned their trays before heading out of the cafeteria.
"What was that about," Miranda asked once Gordo was out of sight. "Why didn't you go with him, he was going to ask you out?"
"That's WHY I did not go with him," Lizzie replied as sadness filled her voice. "I still don't know what I am going to say."
"You could say YES," Miranda suggested with a bit of sarcasm that she was famous for.
The bookstore was just around the corner from the cafeteria. When the two arrived, the line was still as long as it had been before school. The two leaned up against the lockers while they waited for those in front of them to collect their books. As they waited, Lizzie noticed a boy walking towards them.
"Oh great, two days in a row," Lizzie moaned.
Before Miranda could question Lizzie's remark she noticed the boy too, it was Ronny. Miranda had never actually met him, but recognized him from a picture Lizzie had shown her while they were going out.
"Hay Lizzie," Ronny said with a smile on his face. Lizzie was not smiling, she was just staring back at him. "Well, I just want to say I am sorry, I do want to be your friend. Well........ sorry." Ronny realized that he was just digging himself into a bigger hole, so he turned and walked away.
Miranda was in shock. She had never seen Lizzie act like this before. Normally she was either polite and would at least talk to the person, or if provoked she would return an insult, but she just stood there without saying a word. "What's with you, why did you just stand there?"
"I just can't stand that guy," was the only response Miranda received.
Miranda changed the subject by commenting on the outfits of a couple of sophomores that had just passed them. Soon Lizzie had broken out of her bad mood, and her cheerful smile once again appeared. Soon the two girls had their books and were rushing to class.
Lizzie and Miranda did not have the same classes for the next two periods. Lizzie had finally taken Gordo's advice, and enrolled in advanced Drama for her fourth Period. Her parents had forced her to take a computer/typing course for her fifth period. They said she would need it out in the real world. Miranda on the other hand was taking choir and orchestra for her next two classes. The trio did have math class together for the final period. Gordo had convinced Lizzie and Miranda that they could both handle Geometry. The two did not want to, but it was the only way that they could all have a class together. Finally after much persuasion, and Gordo's commitment to help the girls, they had agreed.
When Lizzie entered the math room, she saw that Miranda and Gordo had already arrived. The two were talking, and did not notice her. As she entered the room, Lizzie was surprised to see that the room had been covered with posters, and charts that reminded her of a 6th grade classroom, not an advanced math room. As she approached her friends, they soon realized she was in the room.
"Lizzie I saved you a seat," Gordo announced as he removed his bag from the seat next to him.
This surprised Lizzie. Normally her two friends would have placed her in the middle, so that they could both sit next to her. She did not mind being on the side it was just different.
"Thanks," Lizzie replied as she took her seat. "I can't wait for this day to be over. The only good thing is that we don't have to take gym until our junior year. I can not remember the last time that I spent an entire day at school without stepping foot in the gym."
"Last year, when we got half the day of for Miss Dew's Mural of Unity," Gordo instinctively replied.
"Ok, where do you keep this stuff," Miranda asked as she looked all over his head, as if she was actually looking for the useless knowledge part of his brain.
Gordo just ignored her. He was use to his friends making fun of his inelegance. "What about the rules. Have you had any problems with the seniors?"
"Well, no. I completely forgot about that." Lizzie replied. "Well then there are two things that went well today."
Just then a short lady walked into the room. It was their new trig teacher Mrs. Bell. She looked around the room and began reading the role.
Lizzie looked around at the classroom once again, and noticed that the class seamed extremely small. There were a total of only ten students in the room. At first Lizzie thought that it was because it was so far from the rest of the freshman classes and everybody was running late. As Mrs. Bell continued down the role, nobody was absent, nobody that is until she reached Larry Tudgeman.
"Tudgeman is in four of my classes, and did not show to a single one. I wonder where he is?" Gordo quietly asked.
"Maybe the mother ship finally came and took him away," Miranda stated with all sincerity.
Lizzie and Gordo both broke into laughter. Mrs. Bell just ignored the two.
The final period of the day sailed by. Mrs. Bell really had a way of talking that made Lizzie want to listen. The only other teacher that had made her feel like this was Mr. Dig. She hoped that it would stay like this throughout the entire year.
When the final bell of the day had rung, the trio left the class together. "I gotta, go," Miranda started. "The first Glee Club meeting is in five minutes."
"Call me when you get home," Lizzie said as Miranda started down the hallway.
"Lizzie can I talk to you for a sec," Gordo asked. The panic had again returned to his voice."
Lizzie new that she would have to confront him sooner or later. She thought for a second, and replied, "I guess so. What's up?"
Gordo took a deep breath, and started, "Well I was wondering if you would..... If you would like to.... To go do something this weekend. Like a.... you know, .......a ....... a date?"
Lizzie felt so sorry for Gordo. He was trying so hard to get the words to come out. She had no idea what to say. She just stood there with a puzzled look on her face while she tried to come up with a decision.
Gordo's face slowly turned red as he waited for Lizzie's answer. He had seen her do this before, and it always meant that she was thinking very hard. He had hoped that she would just say yes without thinking about it. He was now thinking very hard himself. Had he mistaken the kiss in Rome, and the one on the last day of school?
"Yes, yes, yes, yes," cried a voice inside Lizzie's head. Strangely enough it was not her voice, but rather it was Miranda. Miranda had somehow entered her head and was yelling so loud that Lizzie could not hear her own thought. Finally she opened her mouth, hoping that the correct words would fall out.
"I can't," she finally replied. "I'm sorry." Lizzie wiped a tear that was falling down her cheek, turned and walked away.
The bus ride home was pure torture. She sat alone leaning her head against the glass. "What have I done," she kept repeating quietly to herself. She wished that Gordo had never written that final letter. She really wished Miranda was with her, "I need a hug," she thought.