Please Don't Envy Me
Written by: American Idiot's Broken Dreams
Chapter Nine
D-Mail of Mass Destruction
"Hey, Michalchuk, seems like Santos the Slut's been teaching you some things, huh?"
"Ever heard of abstinence, Paige?"
"'Sometimes you've got to hand it Manning; he knows how to pick the sluts. So guess who has become Manning's screw of the week? The now pregnant Paige Michalchuk.'"
As Manny, Hazel, Jimmy, Craig and I walked into Degrassi that morning, those were the type of comments being thrown around, and from people we didn't even know. Now, my paranoia was becoming real as I people hissed and catcalled at me, some whispering and pointing and my slightly protruding stomach. I was wearing my favorite halter dress with a pair of jeans, but I didn't think anyone could see how big I was getting. After all, the dress flared, giving me plenty of room.
"Am I hearing what everyone else is hearing?" I asked weakly, as we all arrived at my locker.
"I heard that last one," Craig breathed, leaning against the locker.
"Paige!" I heard someone call out.
I leaned around Craig to see Marco, hurriedly walking towards me, clutching a piece of printing paper.
"Hey Marco, how—" I started to greet him, but cut me off.
"Have you checked your D-mail this morning?" Marco questioned.
"No, I just got here—" Once again, the frantic Marco cut me off.
"Go check it, now! There's something in there that you should know about."
Without giving me a chance to reply, Marco dragged me down the hallway to the Media Immersions Lab. He sat me down in front of a computer, and logged me in. And there, right on the screen in front of me, my D-mail inbox said that I had well over a hundred messages. But, there was only one I was interest in, the one that read, "To a Skanky Slut from Someone who knows."
"Marco, what in the world—" I started to ask did he know anything about this, but I was once again interrupted.
"Just open it," he pushed.
I clicked on it and found that my life was now ruined. The message in a variation of capital and lowercase letters read:
SoMeTiMeS yOu'Ve GoT tO hAnD iT tO mAnNiNg
He KnOwS hOw To PiCk ThE sLuTs
So GuEsS wHo'S mAnNiNg's ScReW oF tHe WeEk?
ThE nOw PrEgNaNt PaIgE mIcHaLcHuK!
Tears filled my eyes as I started at the screen. Someone knew that I was pregnant. But, the biggest question weighing on my mind was, did every else know?
"Marco, how did you know about this?" I asked with a quivering bottom lip.
Marco looked at me sadly, and informed, "I think everyone knows, Paige. I mean, I had one in my account and so did Ellie, so I'm guessing that everyone's got one."
"Oh, no, Marco! Now every one knows I'm pregnant!" I distressed in low, pitiful whisper.
Sitting down in next to me, Marco replied, "So it's true! Paige, you're pregnant?"
"Yes," I mumbled, wiping discreetly at my eyes as not to smear my makeup, "Sorry, I didn't tell you sooner, but I just found out Sunday and you were sick so…"
"No, no, it's okay; I'm not worried about that. What I'm worried about is who sent this." Marco soothed.
"I think I've a very good idea." I muttered darkly.
"Well, I've got one question, before we set off on finding who's done this. Who's the father?" he pried softly.
"Craig," I enlightened.
"Craig, Craig Manning!" Marco gasped.
"Why does everyone always do that? You act like he's a leper or something just because he got me pregnant. It wasn't his fault—okay, well, yeah it was his fault, but I came onto him." I snapped angrily.
"Okay, I'm sorry! It's just…I never imagined that you two would—you know—let alone be together." Marco countered.
"Yeah well, he's the best boyfriend I've ever had. I mean, we first started off as friends, you know last year at the Christmas pageant last year, when he and Ash broke up. He just needed someone to talk to and be there for him, and I was that person. Suring the summer, we called each other, chatted online, and even met a couple of times, just to talk. And then, a week before school started, he told me he liked me.
"I admitted to him that he'd been growing on me too, so we just decided to go out. Yes, I know I was with Spinner, but Craig was just so much better for me. He didn't care about my past and I found that I didn't care about his past. We were just so comfortable with each other, it was amazing. Then, at Heather Sinclair's party, back in September, we snuck up to the roof and made love." The memory of that night brought a dreamy smile to my face, and I didn't notice Marco shocked face.
"You had sex with Craig on the roof of Heather Sinclair's house!" he whispered looking around to make sure he wasn't over heard.
"It's not sex, Marco, its making love. And yes, it was beautiful." I corrected.
"Well, I'm glad your enjoyed it so much, because look where it's gotten you."
His eyes traveled from my stomach to the computer screen, and I was violently dragged into reality.
"So, you sure it wasn't Manny?" Marco asked tentatively
"No, Manny and I are friends now."
"What? Wait, wait, wait, hold on—how and when did this happen?" he asked dumbfounded.
"Yesterday, long story. But she's totally not the one behind this." I assured him.
"How can you still be so sure? I mean, she's been hung up on Craig for like—ever." Marco countered.
"Marco, Manny is not like that anymore. I'll explain what happened, but for now, we've got other things to think about." I said, closing out my account and standing.
"A guy misses one day of school, and this happens," Marco muttered, following me from the MI Lab and back to my locker.
"Hey, what was that about?" Craig asked looking between us.
"This," Marco shoved the crumpled piece of paper at Craig, and as he read it, his emerald eyes flared with anger.
"I'll kill him," Craig said, looking up.
"Kill who?" Marco questioned.
"Spinner," Craig informed angrily.
"Could someone, someone please, explain to me what has happened? I miss one day of school, and all of a sudden, Paige and Craig are together, Paige is pregnant, Manny is cool with Craig and Paige again, and Spinner is going to get murdered. So, someone has five seconds to explain something!" Marco ranted in a whisper.
"Come," Jimmy said putting a hand on Marco's shoulder, "I shall explain the finer points of your sick day to you."
Jimmy walked off with a confused Marco, and the rest of us were thrown into silence.
"Wait, you guys," Hazel said suddenly, "if Marco has one of those and random people have one, then—"
"PAIGE!"
All of our gazes traveled to where my name had come from, and I felt all the color drain out of my face as I saw a furious and heated Ashley walking towards us. Her icy blue eyes carried an unusual fire that I'd rarely seen and I knew she was very mad.
"Paige, is this true!" Ashley questioned, shoving the same type of paper Marco had in my face.
The same message stood out on the page, but this message had something more added onto hers than Marco's. I snatched it out of her hands and read it.
And Ash, if I were you, I'd think again about getting back with that man whore who you call your soul mate. If you didn't pick it up in the note, the slut's pregnant by your man whore and they've been sneaking behind both our backs. So, if I were you, I'd rethink begin friends with the whole lot of them—who knows what else they've been hiding.
I looked up numbly from the paper, my face blanched and my heart pounding furiously. How was I going to tell her that I was indeed pregnant and Craig and I were together? She was my oldest friend and I didn't want to loose her, but it knew she wasn't going to take this well.
"Ashley, I'm not going to lie to you—" I began slowly.
"So it true! You're really pregnant by Craig?" she yelled.
Now, everyone in the entire hallway had stopped to listen to the growing fight. And for those who hadn't checked their D-mail, they knew now.
"Come on, Ash, there's no reason—" I tried to make this work, but Ashley obviously didn't.
"Paige, you knew, I mean you were the only one who knew exactly how I felt about Craig. And you knew what I wanted to happen, and you go and do this? To me? To our friendship?" Ashley said heatedly.
"No, I had been there for Craig. After you lost you mind on him, he needed someone there for him—just to be there for him. You weren't that person so I was! And pretty soon, we just related to each other better! Unlike you, I didn't try to change him or make him something he wasn't!" I hissed back, crudely.
"I have never tried to make Craig something he wasn't!" Ashley defended.
"Yeah right," I mumbled, turning to leave.
"We're not finished here!" Ashley grabbed my arm and turned me back around.
I turned back to look at her expectant. I knew what was coming next. I knew what she was about to say because I could see it in her eyes.
"I thought you were my find and you really wanted us to be close again. But, I was wrong. Friends don't do this to each other, Paige. And all I have to say is: I hate you. I really and truly hate you Paige." She left me standing there, with my mouth opened and tears filling my eyes.
It must have been minutes before I turned to Craig, his eyes holding the same shock as mine. I looked up at him, the tears slowly down my face.
"I knew she wasn't going to take that well, but did she really have to say she hated me? Am I that bad?" My bottom lip trembled and before I knew it, I was quietly sobbing my hand over my mouth.
"No, babe. She's just—Paige, you're not horrible at all—" Craig tried to console me, but I was just beyond consoling.
Someone actually hated me, and that sent my hormones over the edge.
"Horrible! I just said bad!" I jerked away from him, confused and hurt about Ashley. "Great, I'm glad to know you think I'm a horrible person!"
Watching Craig's scowl with confusion, I swiftly turned on my heel heading for the bathroom. The tears were coming heavy and fast, only giving everyone more reason to whisper, gossip and giggle about me. I pushed the door to the bathroom open, only to find Emma Nelson standing at the sink with her little friend Darcy laughing and talking happily about what, I didn't know. When I came in, the looked up and immediately stopped talking, their faces clearly curious to what was wrong with me.
I locked myself in a stall, and leaned against the wall, crying. My life was suddenly taking a turn for the worse and I didn't know how to handle it. Spinner and Ashley were no longer my friends, I had blown up at Craig for know apparent reason, and now, the whole school knew me secret. The basic question was, what was I supposed to do now?
I distinctly heard Emma and Darcy muttering, obviously contemplating whether or not to come see what was wrong with me, but they were saved the trouble when the door swung open, and two sets of feet that I knew stopped in front of my stall.
"Manny," I heard Emma say, "what's going on with—?"
"I'm sorry Emma, but not now, I…" it seemed as thought Manny wove Emma off, because seconds later, she was knocking gently on the door, just like Hazel.
"Come on, Paige, open the door." Hazel pleaded softly. "Craig knows you didn't mean to blow up about Ashley,"
"Yeah, he was more concerned with you than how he was feeling, so come on, open the door." Manny gently shook the door for effect.
"Why does everything have to happen to me?" I asked the bathroom as a whole.
"Paige, this could be a lot worse, hon. For one thing, you could have been thrown out of your house, Craig could have denied it was his baby, and everyone could hate you." Hazel informed matter-of-factly.
"Yeah I know, but I've known Spinner and Ash since I was six and now they don't even want to so much as look at me—Spinner even sunk so low as to seen that D-Mail of Mass Destruction out to everyone in the school. Haze, I just want my friends back." I whined, miserably.
"You've go friends, Paige!" Manny interrupted before Hazel could say anything, "You've Hazel, Jimmy, Craig, Marco…and you've got me."
Despite my feelings of complete hopelessness and misery, I smiled. Manny and Hazel were right; I wasn't alone in this and did have people that supported me. Slowly, I unlocked the door and found Manny and Hazel standing there, looking hopeful.
"I'm so glad that you two are my friends," I smiled, grabbing both of them in a huge hug.
"We're glad that we could be your friends," Manny replied warmly.
I opened my eyes to see Darcy and Emma looking on with a mixture of shock and tenderness. Darcy had one of those looks on her face, like when you see a sappy chick flick and the guys pronounces his undying love for the woman in some romantic way. But, Emma, Emma looked sort of like she was torn between shock and jealousy. It was just one of those looks.
"That's so sweet," Darcy commented, smiling.
I smiled warmly at the pair and took a deep breath. I was ready to face a full day of classes, because I knew that nothing could be that bad when I had friends.
"So, you okay?" Hazel asked, rubbing my back soothingly.
"Yeah, I guess." I said sniffling a little.
"Good, because not to be brutal, but today's not going to be a picnic." Hazel crudely told me, a grim look on her face.
"I know, but I'm ready." I said bravely, as we walked out of the bathroom and into a world of trouble.
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Okay, so maybe that Author's Note wasn't completely accurate, but hey, you got your chapter didn't you? But, I am still leaving for Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, so don't get your hopes to high up. I've still got the rest of the day to write a chapter or two, do just keep reviewing, I hate not seeing the reviews jump two to three every few hours! And next chapter, I promise is going to ROCK! And I'll be moving on, just to let you know. I know everyone's like "Damn it's taken her TEN WHOLE CHAPTERS for like, three and a quarter days!" but have no fear! I'll be scooting right along! I'm so excited about the next chapter—we get a new character, and American character that so hott, I've got to use two Ts! Ooh boy I can't wait!
Reviewers
Xcrazibabii69x- It just so happens that my new little brother's (read my profile to completely understand) sister just made some cookies from her native country of Mexico, but I'm not touching them—they look like crack-cocaine rocks and when you put you mouth on them and blow, all this white powder flies all over the place…just know that you don't want any of those…
Total Havoc- Thanks! I'll try to get to to read some of your stuff, but can't really promise anything with my traveling dilemma! Keep reviewing!
Medicated and Dedicated: Like I said before, I won't tell anything concerning the content of future chapters, but as you can see hint, hint I'm obviously foreshadowing something! Ah, no more badgering! But, yeah, like I said before in chapter eight, I was even tearing up while I was writing this. Goes to show how some stuff just moves you, regardless.
Bomp8032000: Thank you! I try my best to make everyone wonder, anticipate, and bite their nails—must be working!
Unleashmysoul: I won't lie when I say I'm confused about the whole predictable unpredictable thing. I guess I'm just slow on things like that…but, to answer your question, no, Ash and Craig aren't together. Remember, nothing after "Anywhere I Lay Head" and "Islands in the Stream" happened, so while they were on friendly terms, nothing romantic happens between them, and as you can see, she no longer friends with Paige or Craig. So, you'll just have to keep reading to find out how that goes!
Ilovedc: Thanks dude and I intend to keep writing!
Baby05: Ha, I read the review for you left for me on "Confessions" and I just want to say, you can have Usher! Because when there is someone as fine as Baby Bash walking around here…shoot! I don't even know why I'm starting with you; cause you getting me all hot and bothered talking about that fine piece of Mexican-Anglo-American! WHOO! But, keep the reviews coming on all my stories!
Lychee Arika and Miki: I think I got us all teary! Sahnjeet gets to read everything before everyone else, and she was almost weeping, the weakling she is. So, I do what I can…
Jaydat: I'll take the cookie! Any cookie is better than the cookies my little brother's sister made…anyways. I'm glad Spaige is over too! I hate that he acted like a complete ASS and made her pay for his car. Like Hazel said, good boyfriends don't hold that against you. Ain't nothing wrong with you for reading diverse pairing fics, I think those are more interesting than the 'we-know-that's-going-to-happen' couples. Thanks, I know my penname rocks! Green Day is the BEST band in the world and then Simple Plan, and then after SP is Crossfade, then after Crossfade is Bowling for Soup, after Bowling for Soup is Relient K, and so on in so forth. That's just the order I think they rock in, no necessarily the order they really should be. I'm interested in knowing what your taste in music is!
Maibe Josie: I know EXACTLY where I'm taking this. All planned out in my little notebook…you may not like it, but where I'm taking it is where I've got to go with it so that everything will work out. But, you're one of those rare reviewers, so you might like where this is going to go. Who knows?
So many reviewers, so little time! I love you all, because you KICK ASS in my book! Keep 'em coming!