Chapter 3: Better Things

CHawk: What are you doing after school today?

It's from Chris! Manny thought excitedly. She looked across the room at Chris and smiled. He smiled back and motioned with his hands for her to type back to him.

MSant: Well, I have to babysit until five.

CHawk: Want some company?

Manny grinned as she read the last message.

MSant: I'll have to call and ask but I'd definitely love some company! I'll let you know by lunch.

CHawk: Sounds like a plan.

Manny smiled at Chris again and closed out the message box. She opened up a new one and sent a message to Emma.

MSant: I think I'm in love:P

Emma looked over at Manny and rolled her eyes.

ENels: You're always in love:)

Manny closed that box too and actually paid attention to Mr. Simpson for the rest of class. When class was finally over, Manny was excited; all she had to do was get through math with Mr. Armstrong and then it would be time for lunch! Her spirits dropped when she found out that Chris was not in her math class. "I already took Algebra 2 at my old school. So I guess I'm going to be in Pre-Calculus with Mrs. Scott," he told her.

"I think she's a new teacher too. What, did DCS get a makeover or something? Anyways, I can at least show you where your room is. That's my job after all," Manny informed Chris. She showed him to his math room and got a pass from Mrs. Scott to her math class. Emma wasn't in it either.

Great, she thought. This year really is going to suck. JT was in her class, of course. And he sat right next to her. Just then, JT leaned towards Manny's desk and put his hand on top of hers. "This year is going to be great!" he said to her. Manny groaned and pulled her hand away. For the whole class, she daydreamed of her future with Chris. When the bell rang, she jumped out of her seat and ran out of the room.

Manny ran straight to the girls' washroom and pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She called Heather's work number. It rang three times before she answered. "Hello, Heather Daniels speaking, what can I do for you?"

"Heather! It's Manny."

"What's wrong? You sound upset."

"No, I'm not upset, just excited. I just wanted to ask you if my friend Chris could come over after school and babysit with me. He's new to Degrassi and…"

"Sorry Manny but I'm really busy here at work. I can't talk anymore. Yes, he can come, make sure you two behave. I have to go now, bye."

"Bye Heather! Thanks!" Manny shouted before hanging up her phone. She hurried off to lunch and almost ran right into JT.

"Looking for me?" he asked.

"Um, no. I'm going to lunch," she replied and went around him. She went straight to the lunch line to get some food. Boring old ham and cheese sandwich from the deli line. But hey, at least it tasted good. After paying for the food, she rushed over to a table where she saw Emma sitting. "Where's Chris?"

"He's still in the line. He got here after you did. Probably got lost, seeing as you didn't go to his class and bring him down," Emma told her.

"Oh no! I hope he's not mad at me! I completely forgot. I was calling Heather to see if he could come babysit with me today."

"Ooo! Tell me all the juicy details the minute he leaves," she replied.

"Juicy details, where?" Chris said as he sat down at the table. Manny jumped.

"You scared me! Oh Chris I'm really sorry. I had to call someone before lunch and I forgot to bring you down. I forgot and I hope you're not mad at me." Emma nudged Manny in the side. She was rambling again, a habit when she was nervous.

"No, don't worry about it. Someone named Marco from my math class showed me the way. He was really nice.

"Yeah and really gay!" Emma commented. Chris looked slightly confused but Manny began talking again.

"You can come babysitting with me after school today!" she blurted out.

"That's cool. How are we going to get there?" he asked.

"We have to walk to the daycare the kids stay at during the day and then walk home from there. It's actually a pretty short walk. It won't take too long." She told him. When lunch ended, the hallways filled with people going back to class. The rest of the day went by quickly. Chris was in two more of Manny's classes and Emma was in all of them.

Manny and Chris were walking to the daycare where the kids were. "Ok, their names are Jayden, Caleb, Anthony, and Quinn. Just to fill you in, I live with them. In their basement to be exact. I had some problems with my parents and it was for the best. I absolutely love it there. I feel more at home," she explained.

"Ok, so I met a bunch of people today. You told me about most of them on my little tour of DCS, but you never explained the relationships. I'm dying to hear who's with who. No one really looks like they go together well," Chris said. This gave Manny a chance to ramble, something she was very good at.

"Here it goes. Well, where should I start? I guess I'll begin with Marco. Emma wasn't joking, he really is gay. His boyfriend is Dylan. Dylan's sister is Paige. She used to be with Spinner, a very unlikely match if you ask me, and now she's with some older guy. Spinner's friend Jimmy is with Hazel, who happens to be Paige's best friend. They have a tight little clique right there. Let's see, who's next? Oh yeah! Craig, my ex, is now with Ashley (we are mortal enemies by the way). She's his rebound. Ellie is with Sean (who used to be with Emma). Emma doesn't have a boyfriend right now. I think JT likes me, he keeps trying to flirt but he's not very good at it. Liberty likes JT; she has ever since she met him. And then there's Toby. He's Ashley's stepbrother. Not a bad guy, but no one really likes him more than a friend," she paused.

"Wow," Chris replied. "There's so much to remember."

"I haven't even gotten to the parents. Ok this won't take as long. Mr. Simpson is Emma's step dad (her real dad had an accident and he is mentally retarded). Mr. Simpson married her mom (Spike) last year and his nickname from high school is Snake. Craig lives with Joey (his step dad) because his dad abused him and then was killed in a car accident. His mom died after she married Joey. I live with Jason and Heather. Well, that's really all that's important," she finally finished.

"You forgot one relationship," Chris said.

"Which one?" she asked, trying to think of who she could have missed.

"Manny and Chris," he answered with a smile. This took Manny by surprise and she began to blush. By then they had arrived at the daycare.

"We're here," Manny announced, avoiding the subject. In her mind she was really yelling, YES!