Chapter 2- "The Next Day"
When Lizzie woke up the next day she felt an insanely terrifying feeling in her stomach. Like an ache of some kind, but it only took her milliseconds to realize what it was: That she liked Gordo!
Okay, so maybe it wasn't that in particular but at least it was official by some weird standards. She now knew that Gordo truly does like her and that the feelings she's been experiencing for months are valid.
It was a tremendous feat trying to keep all those emitting sensations built up like a butterfly trying to break it's cocoon. And when she was finally able to let go the conclusion was death defying. Lizzie felt like a new person in reality, and she wanted to make sure every minute of it counted.
Getting up and beginning her normal morning ritual (which included dancing and singing with her comb), she went down for breakfast unusually happy. And that is when she realized she would have to deal with 'parent control'. And not a second too late Sam and Jo appeared at her beckoning with eyes peered.
"Hi honey" squeezed Jo. Her taunting attitude and overly bombastic nature surprised even Lizzie. She was very curious to see what was going on...
"Uh, hi mom" said a very quiet Lizzie. She tried not to appear startled even though her positioning gave that away in an instant. Sam, sipping coffee suspiciously, garnered a peek.
"How's it going?"
(Animated Lizzie: "Is that the best he's got? Heh!")
"Hi dad."
"How was dinner last night? Roberta told me you and Gordo ate...alone."
"We didn't eat alone!!!" pleaded Lizzie. Then she retracted. "We did, but not like that!"
"Then like what?" eyed Sam.
"Like nothing!" gestured Lizzie.
A screeching sound came from upstairs. Piling down with roller-skates on; Matt plummeted downwards until it gave Jo a reason to leave Lizzie. Sam was still eying Lizzie when an arm gripped powerfully by Jo changed that.
"What are you doing, mister?" interrogated Jo.
"Ahh...nothing." Matt's face was pale as a whitened ghost.
"Don't give me that, Matt! I know when something's up so spill!" ordered Jo.
"Yeah, what she said." Finished Sam. Jo gave him an irritated look but didn't hesitate to proceed to Matt.
"I was just, eh, messing around." Jo sighed and took the shoes immediately off herself. Matt nearly fell to the floor with a thump.
"Ouch." Said Matt as he rubbed his toes. Throwing them in the closet, Lizzie saw this as an opportunity to escape but...
"LIZZIE!"
She stopped. Jo walked aggressively over to her daughter, and remarkably didn't lose a beat when Sam interrupted her 'walk'.
"Hey honey, Gordo's on the phone." Everyone stopped. Heck, even Matt gave an accelerative glance. Sam walked on by and was going to hand the phone to Lizzie when-
Jo took it right from him. "Hey!" screamed Lizzie. Sam and Matt looked utterly confused. "Is something wrong with the phone?" asked Sam.
"No. Something is wrong with the person wanting to use it" snickered Jo. She then took Lizzie's arm and ran them upsides and slide into Lizzie's room before slamming the door.
Sam and Matt were still at odds. "Women" sighed Matt. "Let's go watch some TV," said Sam excitedly. They walked off.
In Lizzie's room, Jo gently pushed her onto the bed. Lizzie was very concerned and a little mystified. Jo had her hand on the phone so no one could hear. She suddenly burst into a smile.
"Sorry for the theatrics Lizzie, but I had to do something or the boys would have gone nuts."
Lizzie's eyes widened.
(Animated Lizzie: "Thank goodness! I could have died!")
"I can't believe you did that!" yelled Lizzie. "I was going insane over here!"
"Shush! Gordo might hear you," whispered Jo. Lizzie gave an 'oh' look and winked.
"So what are you going to do, Mom?" asked Lizzie with a slight edge. Jo gave a calming smile and put her arms around her daughter.
"Let you deal with it personally," said Jo. Lizzie couldn't believe this.
(Animated Lizzie: "Did my mom just say that? Rewind!")
"What do you mean...personally?" questioned Lizzie. "What I mean is that you can talk to Gordo and have some time with him...but if I catch you for a second doing anything beyond that you'll be so grounded, missy!" barked Jo.
Lizzie hunched. Jo hugged her daughter once more and prepared to leave before saying one last thing.
"You've been waiting for this for a long time, Lizzie. Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Gordo is a good guy. I trust him. It's going to be okay."
A sigh of relief and calmness filled the room. Like an enormously heavy weight lifted.
"Oh, and Lizzie?"
"Yeah, mom?"
"Gordo's still on the phone."
Lizzie realized he has been waiting on the phone all this time! She quickly picks it up and shoves her mom out the door!
(Animated Lizzie: "D'oh!")
Complete and utter silence. Lizzie takes a moment to collect herself and then talks.
"Hey Gordo," said Lizzie into the receiver. Gordo immediately responded.
"How many times must I tell you...I hate girl talk!" said Gordo jokingly.
"Hey! That's not fair!"
Gordo laughed. So did Lizzie. A moment.
"So...how was your night?" asked Gordo. "Terrible, just terrible..." began Lizzie, "I couldn't sleep an ounce."
"Really?" asked Gordo. Then he realized he was being too obvious, and rephrased it with "I mean...so, really?"
"Yeah. My stomach was hurting the entire night and everything."
"Really? Mine too."
Lizzie smiled.
"So, what do you want to do today?" asked Gordo. Lizzie thought about his for a moment.
"Well, for starters, we have to tell Miranda."
"Ah, do we have to?" whined Gordo. Lizzie freaked. "Of course we do! She has to know!" she shouted.
"Okay, okay. Calm down. We'll tell her. Just as long as I don't have to listen to hours worth of girl talk, we can tell her."
"You're so good to me, Gordo."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. See you soon." "Bye!" They hang up and Lizzie just becomes embroidered with joy.
At Gordo's house, in his room, he just smiles to himself and begins to get ready.
A few hours later, Gordo and Lizzie met up at Miranda's front porch. They would have 'greeted' themselves but Mr. Sanchez immediately, if not sternly, opened the door.
"Lizzie! Gordo! It's about time!" said Mr. Sanchez as he rushed the kids inside.
"Is there a problem?" said a fazed Gordo. "No, it's just the wife wants to go shopping. I'm trying to avoid her-"
"Oh, Edwardo..." began Mrs. Sanchez. Miranda's dad suddenly became spasmodic and ran to the other room while Mrs. Sanchez bumped into Lizzie and Gordo and in return greeted them.
"Oh, Lizzie and Gordo. It's so nice to see you guys again. You two look like SUCH a good couple!" gleamed Mrs. Sanchez.
Gordo gulped and Lizzie blushed. "We're not a couple! I mean, we, you know-," trailed Gordo. "Who said we were a couple?!" said Lizzie freakishly.
Mrs. Sanchez smirked. "Nobody..." Lizzie and Gordo gave themselves a very discerning look. "Let me get Miranda for you then. Oh Miranda, Lizzie and Gordo are here!"
"I'll be right down, mom!" yelled Miranda from upstairs as Lizzie and Gordo just nervously 'smiled' at Mrs. Sanchez, protruding an awkward silence until Miranda came down finally.
"Hey guys".
Lizzie and Gordo brightly grinned back at her, as did Miranda. Clearly everyone was happy to just be together again after all those uncomfortable weeks.
"I'll let you three be alone. Oh, Edwardo..." said Mrs. Sanchez as she left mischievously.
"It looks like you two are talking again," teased Miranda.
"Yeah, that's what we came here to tell you," began Lizzie.
Gordo just nodded. "A little help here, Gordo!" whispered Lizzie. "It's all yours, cupcake," said Gordo quietly as he padded her on the shoulder.
Lizzie moaned and went back to Miranda, who was obviously aware of the present scenario-taking place...but still wanted to play along and have fun.
(Animated Lizzie: "Urgh! I hate it when Gordo acts like a girl! For someone who hates girl talk, he definitely seems like he would!")
"Uh, Miranda, Gordo and I were talking last night and..." trailed Lizzie as she mumbled her speech patterns and stuttered.
"Yeah?" encouraged Miranda. "And we, you know, were talking and..." Lizzie couldn't get it out.
"And?" asked Miranda teasingly. "Well, you know what happens, and stuff," said Lizzie. She stomped on Gordo's foot and he blurted out "Yeah, stuff sure happens!"
Lizzie gave him a pressuring look but Gordo just shrugged as Miranda finally gave in and giggled.
"I know you guys are going out," she said almost like it hurt to stop this game of Lizzie speaking miserably.
"You do?" said both Lizzie and Gordo, whom both shocked themselves at the statement.
Miranda laughed. "Yeah, I kinda do. So does everyone else, including my florist," smirked Miranda.
"Hey! So does my dad-"Gordo suddenly cut himself off when he realized the 'true' situation. "Very funny, Miranda."
Lizzie was puzzled, but regained stance. "So...what happens now?" she asked.
"We go to the mall," said Miranda. Lizzie and Gordo looked confused. "Don't you guys wanna go..."
"Yeah, of course we do!" stammered both Lizzie and Gordo whom again gave themselves odd glances.
(Animated Lizzie: "Why is this happening? We are physic now?")
"Doesn't...us...make you..." began Lizzie. "Feel odd?" asked Miranda. "Nope. I knew you guys had a thing for each other since the fourth grade."
Lizzie blushed. Gordo grew a giant smile and giggled then was suddenly hit on the arm by Lizzie whom obviously didn't find that amusing.
"I'm just glad you two found yourselves," said Miranda wholeheartedly. They all grinned and hugged.
"So the Three Amigos aren't going anywhere?" asked Lizzie.
"Nah. They never will," said Miranda happily and they all laughed.
"So...when are we going to the mall?" asked Gordo. At that exact moment Mr. And Mrs. Sanchez walked in.
"Now," said Mr. Sanchez in defeat. His wife smiled. The trio laughed.
"Looks like female dominance triumphs once again," said Gordo sarcastically. Mr. Sanchez gave him a 'very funny' look as they all left the house and to the car.
Minutes later, the Sanchez's let the trio spend some much needed time alone to roam the mall and have some fun.
In the food court, they ordered some cheeseburgers, fries, and cokes and found a table. They eat so fast and eagerly that it looked like carnivores feasting on their prey.
"Good burger," said Gordo as he jumbled a large pile of meat in his mouth.
"Not that attractive though," smirked Miranda as Gordo had mustard all over his face.
Lizzie giggled and picked up a napkin. "Here, let me get that," as she whipped it off his face. The two didn't realize what they were doing until Miranda looked at them evilly.
"Oops," said Lizzie.
"It's okay. I don't mind. Just keep the kissy, mushy stuff at home and not at school," reminded Miranda.
"Oh, right. I forgot!" remembered Lizzie.
"What?" asked Gordo?
"School! How are we going to re-act at school, Gordo!" stammered Lizzie.
"Uh...like we always do?" gestured Gordo.
"Umm...hello! We're like, you know-"
"Boyfriend and girlfriend now?" asked Gordo.
Lizzie blushed. Miranda laughed.
"Way to keep it under the radar, Gordo," joked Miranda.
Gordo just shrugged. Lizzie began saying "What I mean is that how are we going to be- you know- at school?"
"Like we always do," said Gordo in a sweet monotone. Lizzie didn't buy it.
"But what about Kate?" asked Lizzie?
"What about her?" said Gordo?
"Gordo! If she finds out we're, you know, dating- she might ruin us for the entire school year," squealed Lizzie.
"So I'm not good enough-"began Gordo. He was soon cut off with Lizzie's loving demeanor. "Of course not. It's just-"
Gordo realized what was going on and put his hand on Lizzie's flagging and sweating palm. "It's going to be okay, Lizzie," he said with a comforting smile.
Surprisingly, that gave Lizzie the re-assurance she needed as she smiled graciously at him. Gordo returned the favor.
"Yeah, and if Kate or anybody else bugs you, I got your backs." Said Miranda.
Realizing that Miranda was trying to re-join the conversation, Lizzie and Gordo laughed with her and nodded.
"Oh, look, it's the nastiest couple of the year: Lizard and Gor-freak."
The trio's smiles soon faded. They turned around, slowly with an aching pain, and saw Kate and her bickering friends laughing casually.
"Great. The Devil's Triad has arrived," snickered Gordo.
Kate scowled at him. "You guys look so cute...like not!"
"You're just jealous that you don't have a boyfriend, and Lizzie does," charged Miranda.
Kate rolled her eyes. "Since news travels slow in Dorkworld, let me be so kind and explain it for you: Ethan and I are going out. He asked me days ago and I happily accepted."
Kate acted like a princess. This really pained Lizzie and gang.
"Obviously," began Gordo "since he was the only one who didn't have to get binoculars just to see your large head," finished Gordo angrily.
Kate gave him a harsh look. "See you at school, losers! I'm sure everyone will want to know this year's most awful couple!"
She left. Gordo and Miranda just rolled their eyes and went back to their food. Lizzie was still.
"What's wrong, Lizzie?" asked Miranda. She came back to reality and shrugged.
"Nothing. I'm fine, really." Gordo eyed her suspiciously.
(Animated Lizzie: "I can't believe Ethan is dating Kate! It's an outrage! A crime! Wait a second...does that still mean I have feelings for Ethan?")
Lizzie pondered. Gordo was still looking at her mysteriously, but Miranda broke the tension.
"I can't believe she's still a dirk. I thought she was actually nice to you guys in Rome."
"So was Ethan," began Gordo.
"Ethan??? What about Ethan???" asked Lizzie urgently?
"Exactly," said Gordo with a sigh. Lizzie realized how the situation was unfolding and gulped massively.
(Animated Lizzie: "Oops! This is sooo not good!")
The trio sat, not speaking a word. Something was definitely up.
And it wasn't good.