The Great Kuro Neko: Was it that bad?? O_o, I ain't that great at writing romantic scenes. ^_^U
~kai~: I dunno, haven't decided yet.
bimbo-blonde: Thanx! Hey, how long did it take you to read the whole thing, lol! ^_^
Reicu: Wow, you have so many characters talking it's hard to keep track of them all!
~*~Prodigious girl*~*: Too bad, BI's never gonna be able to see it. ;_; That's some unique launch, I'll make a mental note. Yup, it's prodi- *receives death glare* O_o Never mind…
scarlet diamonds: :P, that suck, rotten team name…thanks! Yeah, finally, that was pretty long! Did you have a nice holiday??
Silly Chibi: Nah, it didn't sound too bad, you want flamey, go see my other fic and the review there. -_- You really do like Johnny, don't you? *hint* Me writing another fic, mostly Johnny/OC (Carly).
KAI'S GAL: Gee, you should just let me read when you finish Chapter 1! I wanna go to England, it's so pretty there! What chapter you up to now?
MaliksGal4 Eva: 144!!! *screams* Glad to see you back, lol! ^_^
whisper*2*imaginary: Johnny's had feelings for a while, but Carly doesn't return them. ;_; Too bad…lol, don't you just love Johnny? *glomps Johnny*
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* ~ ¤ ~ Quøte ~ ¤ ~ *
"If you haven't already made me what I am, you've made me what I'll be!"
~ Unknown
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Chapter 25: Partner Project
"How come I always end up next to you?" Hru complained, throwing her textbook down on her desk.
Tala shrugged, "It's not like I arrange it you know." His blue eyes shimmered in amusement though.
Hru made a face at him, "You think this is funny, don't you?" She huffed and dropped down on her seat.
"Hey ya, Hru!" Kai tapped her shoulder, "Look who's behind you."
"Hi Kai," Hru said, "Hey Holly, wow, everyone's in this class."
Holly nodded, she was sitting behind Enrique and Johnny was sitting in front of Tala. Hru could see Ray and Willow talking a few seats away. Max and Kailee were talking with Tyson and Cassandra a few desks away. She also saw Carly's friend, Michael, and Oliver, Mariah, Kenny, Robert, Aquana, and some other people she recognized.
"Cool," Hru said happily, "Nice class. Too bad Carly's not here, who sits in front of me?" She gestured to the empty desk in front of her.
"Carly," Kai joked, "Who else would sit between Enrique and Johnny?"
"Not funny," Johnny said, "If she's late again, she's going to get another detention."
Just as the bell rang, Carly stepped inside, rolling her eyes as she yelled something down the hall at some kid passing by.
"Carly, what have I said about being on time?" the Socials teacher asked, his voice was stern.
"I am!" Carly insisted, tossing her books on the desk, "Besides, you can talk with the my computer teacher if you don't believe me, I was discussing my graphics with him."
"Have a sit," the Socials teacher told her.
Carly winked at Johnny as she sat down, grinning roguishly.
"Mr. Johnson," Mariah's hand waved in the air, "Didn't you say we were going to start a project today???"
"Yes Mariah," Mr. Johnson said patiently, "It'll be a partner project -" He paused when he heard cheers and then he continued in a brisk tone, "- about a foreign country. Together, you will decide on a country and research it, I expect a lively presentation in a week. Now, before you get all excited, I will pick your partners."
The whole class groaned.
"But that's not fair," Carly said, "You can't pair me up with Robert! He's such a loser!"
Half of the class laughed, Michael laughed the loudest. The other side just looked upset with the new rule.
Robert turned up his nose, "You are so uncouth anyways."
"Someone as rich as you must have at least 10 dictionaries!!!" Carly said, "You really need a new word, it's getting old."
"Settle down Carly," Mr. Johnson said, "Now, if you please, no more complaining. First, Ray, you will go with Mariah."
Willow's mouth dropped open, she glared at Mariah who smirked. Ray looked uncomfortable and upset.
"Ooooh," Willow hissed, "I'd like to hang her."
"Don't worry," Ray assured her with a special smile, "She's not the one I like."
Willow blushed.
"Kai and Emily." the teacher continued, "Holly and Robert. Willow and Oliver..."
Holly glared as well, "Gosh, this is unfair." She glared at Emily who made a face back at her. Kai sweatdropped and groaned silently. Robert merely sniffed. Willow and Oliver exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Enrique and Courtney," Mr. Johnson droned on.
Carly stole a sympathetic look at Aquana who looked like she would burst into tears. Enrique looked uncomfortable and Courtney shot Aquana a nasty smile.
"What about me????" Carly called out.
"Ah yes, Carly, I wouldn't forget you, you'll be going with Aquana," Mr. Johnson said, not looking up from his list.
Carly smiled at her new friend and Aquana tried to smile back, struggling not to cry.
"Max and Tyson, Kenny and Cassandra..."
"Great," Cassandra said, crossing her arms, "Just great." She gave Tyson a longing look.
"It'll be fascinating, we can study the culture of..." Kenny started.
Cassandra groaned and covered her ears, "He's starting already...ugh..."
"Good call!" Tyson whooped.
"All right!" Max cheered.
"What about me?" Kailee said hesitated.
"Michael and Johnny...Kailee and Cathy..." the list droned on and on.
"You are sooooo lucky!" Carly said, pinching both Johnny and Michael, "You two will have an awesome project. But so will Aquana and I."
"I wanted to go with you," Michael and Johnny complained
at the same time.
"Come on guys," Carly scoffed, "At least, you can stand each other, Cassie and
Kenny...now that's ugh!"
Hru groaned silently, "Everyone's already got a partner, all the people left are people I don't know."
"There's still -" Carly started helpfully.
"Hru, since you and Tala are both new to the school, you two will be working on this project together. Perhaps, you can get to know each other better," Mr. Johnson said, "That's it folks."
Tala, who was staring boredly outside the window, looked up, startled.
Hru's mouth dropped open, "Tala? Gosh, I forgot he was here. Oh man, no way, I can't work with him, this is crazy."
Carly gave her a friendly punch, "It'll be fine, you'll get along fine."
"Yeah, it's not like he bites," Kai joked.
Hru sighed and met Tala's eyes. He grinned at her, "We're going to have fun."
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"I SO can't believe he put me with Tala!!!!!" Hru wailed, "He's going to drive me CRAZY for a week. I can't stand it, Carly, can I trade partners with you? Please? I'll work with Aquana no prob and you can handle Tala."
"Give me a break Hru," Carly laughed, "You like him, that's all!"
"I do NOT," Hru hissed, "Say that again and I'll kill you."
"You do so," Carly insisted, "Besides, you can't kill me, I'm invincible."
"This completely sucks," Ray complained, putting his arm around Willow's shoulder, "Hey, I hope you're not too upset about this."
"I won't be," Willow said, sighing, "That is, if you don't get too close to Mariah."
"I won't," Ray promised.
"Emily won't leave me alone until we get a topic," Kai complained.
"Ha!" Cassandra snapped, "At least you don't have to listen to Kenny's every interpretation of every single country he wants to research!"
"Robert and I are just going to do Germany," Holly said, "It is his home country and he knows everything there is to know, that'll cut out the work. I have a lot of tests this week."
"Just like Oliver and I are going to do France," Willow agreed, "It's the easiest thing. As long as he doesn't start talking to me in French."
"I'm going to break her neck!" Carly snarled.
That got everyone's attention.
"What are you ranting about now?" Johnny said, leaning against the wall.
"Courtney," Tala said, coming up, "She was practically spitting in what's-her-name…Enrique's girlfriend's face."
"Aquana," Kailee filled in.
Aquana was crying and Enrique was hugging her tightly, whispering something to her.
Carly cracked her knuckles, "Let me at her and she won't last a fraction of a second!"
"Leave me alone!" Cassandra grabbed Tyson's arm and shook him, "He's your friend, tell him to give me a break before my brain explodes!!!"
Tyson fell on the ground dizzily, "Hey Chief, maybe you oughta give Cassie a break."
"But -" Kenny protested.
"Better do that," Max advised, "She looks mad."
Carly whirled around, "Enrique, which country are you doing with your partner?"
Enrique shrugged miserably, "I don't know, that wasn't what she wanted to talk about. Carly, could I please switch partners with you?"
Carly patted his shoulder, "Listen pal, you're my best friend and I'll do anything for you, even if I have to be stuck with Courtney, but there's no way Mr. Johnson is going to let us switch. Cassie already pleaded with him, he's darn proud about his little pairings."
Aquana was sobbing against Enrique's shoulder, "I hate her. She's so mean."
"We all hate her," Willow said gently.
Holly touched her shoulder, Don't cry Aquana, what did she do?"
Aquana broke into more sobs, "She said that Enrique was only using me and that he'll dump me eventually like he did with her. And she said it so loud everyone around my locker heard her."
Enrique looked even more miserable, "Aquana...I..."
Carly cleared her throat loudly, "Enrique, may I talk with you for a minute, PRIVATELY?"
Enrique nodded numbly and followed Carly mutely. Holly put her arm around Aquana's shoulders, murmuring comfortingly words to her.
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"Hey buddy, this isn't working, Aquana's gonna have nightmares about you dumping her if you don't do something," Carly insisted, her green eyes flashing, "Courtney enjoys making life miserable for her and you know it! If you cared, you'd do something."
"Why can't you do something?" Enrique pleaded, "I don't wanna start a fight with the most popular girl in the school."
"Cuz it ain't my business!" Carly said, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation, "Honestly, Enrique, it ain't my problem and whatever I do won't be long lasting. People know I'm a troublemaker and they'll just expect me to fly off the handle, they won't expect retaliation from YOU." She probed her finger at Enrique, "This is YOUR problem pal and YOU have to solve it. I never liked the label that you put on yourself. You have a reputation of being a flirter and I'm sick of people always judging you by that mark. So unless you want that label for the rest of your high school years, I suggest you do something!"
"Like what?" Enrique asked tiredly.
"Let me ask you this, do you care about Aquana at all?" Carly demanded.
"I do!" Enrique protested, "It's just that I don't know what to do."
Carly's eyes flashed, "She's a nice girl and she doesn't deserve to be played with. The girls you've dated in the past were flirters themselves so it didn't matter, but Aquana's genuine and you ARE her first boyfriend."
Enrique looked surprised, "I am???"
Carly groaned, "Are you deaf???? Don't you ever ask? Gosh Enrique, you're so shallow, yes! You are, she told me this morning. It's hard for her, moving around and everything. I'm sick of the subject, for the time being I want you to comfort her best you can and then you think about this, and think HARD." She walked away.
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"Mariah *smash* is really *smash* getting on my *smash* nerves!!!!!!" Willow snarled, forcing her tennis racket against the ball so hard that she whipped it past Holly at incredible speed.
"Whoa, you are mad," Holly gasped, picking up the ball, "That was an incredible serve."
"Or you just suck," Emily said matter-of-factly, "I prefer the second one."
"You would," Holly said angrily.
"Please don't fight again," Kailee pleaded.
"So what interesting country did you and Robert pick?" Emily asked smugly.
"Germany," Holly said shortly, "Like it does you any good. You?"
"We haven't picked yet," a voice said glumly.
Holly nearly dropped her ball, "Kai! What are you doing here? I thought you were at fencing practice."
"We finished," Kai replied, "Johnny and Carly's performances were so flawless the coach couldn't find anything else to improve except speed. And ever since you-know-what, I've been improving as well." He cast Emily a sideways glance.
Holly knew he was talking about the Dream Realm, "Oh, good for you, what about Tala?"
"Can we get back to practice?" Emily interrupted airily.
"You can head home Kai," Holly told him, glaring at Emily, "This might take a while."
"I can't," Kai said, sighing, "Emily's coming with me. We have to work on our project." He brightened up a bit when Ray came over to chat.
"Don't worry," Emily said in sing-song voice when Kai was outta earshot, "I won't tell Kai you like him."
"W-what???" Holly spluttered, "I do NOT."
"It's not like I like him," Emily said, "I just like watching you squirm."
"You know guys, we're missing our fifth player," Willow remarked, "She hasn't been at practice for a while."
"Yes, that's right Willow," their coach said, "She's dropping tennis because of her drama rehearsals, but luckily, I found a new player for you guys who's just as good. Holly's team captain and you do your training from her." From behind the coach, Mariah smirked at Willow.
Willow's mouth dropped open for the second time in a row at the same person, "YOU!!! Argh!!!!!!"
"Willow, is there a problem?" the coach asked.
"N-no," Willow stammered, "Everything's fine." She threw Mariah a dirty look.
"Uh-oh," Kailee muttered, sighing, "This looks like it's going to a looooong practice."
"All right," Holly said with a sigh, "Back to work guys! Mariah, I'll play you to test you out, Willow, work with Kailee on her serve. Emily, you watch their match."
Holly served, Mariah smashed back, fast and furious, taking advantage of the Mariah's position, Holly scored deep in the end of the court.
"Looking good Holly, looking good!!!" a loud voice called.
Holly grinned, "Hey Johnny."
Carly looked at the court, "Oh my gosh, Kailee, I feel SO sorry for you. Don't these guys kill each other?"
Kailee winced, "Not if you don't remind them."
Johnny grinned at Holly, "We finished practice early."
"So I've heard," Holly replied, "Later Johnny, I've gotta get back to the game."
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Hru picked up the phone, impatiently tuning down her TV show, "Hello?"
"Hey Hru," a familiar male voice said.
Hru nearly dropped the phone, "Tala???"
"Yes, it's me," Tala said, his voice teasing, "I'm surprised, you recognize my voice."
//I'm surprised too,// Hru thought, //I've gone that far, I recognize his voice, what is the matter with me??// "How did you get my number????"
"Carly gave it to me," Tala replied, sounding like he was laughing.
Hru felt her face burn, once again remembering how easy Tala could embarrass her. "Remind me to kill her," Hru muttered.
"What?" Tala asked.
"Nothing!" Hru squeaked. She regained her composure, but unsure of what to say, "So....why did you call?"
"I was wondering, do you have any country in mind that you'd like the do for our project?" Tala said, sounding a bit uncomfortable himself, "I mean, we should get started."
"Yeah..." Hru said, "We should...well...it doesn't really matter to me as long as we don't do something that one of our friends are doing."
There was a silence that stretched so long, Hru felt like hanging up in desperation, "Umm...Tala? Are you still there?"
"Uh-huh," Tala replied, "Sorry I was thinking."
//We sure don't have a lot to say to each other,//Hru thought wryly.
"We make good conversationalists, don't we?" Tala said lightly, laughing.
"I was thinking it, but you said it," Hru replied.
"I was thinking Russia, since I did come from there," Tala suggested, "We could do something else if you don't want to."
"Russia sounds good," Hru agreed, "I grew up with Kai and Holly in Russia, so it's cool with me."
"Good," Tala said hurriedly, "I've gotta go, I'll talk to you tomorrow, later." He hung up before Hru could say another word.
"This is going to be harder than I thought," Hru murmured, "He sure didn't want to hang around and talk, what's his problem anyways? He sure likes keeping his distance.
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Whew, I am SO busy, it's crazy, I'm sure you all are too, with schoolwork and stuff. Hope I can keep up this updating stream, lol! Poor Aquana, I would love a go at Courtney. *cracks knuckles* Yeaaaah, I messed up the partners for the socials project, lol! Read and review please, even if you only have time to write a few words, better than nothing! Oooh, sign the guestmap on my site if you have time, lol, it looks kawaii! ^_^
PS: If you like Beyblade, check out my site @ members.the-bronze.net/ice_archergirl/.