A/N: Sorry it took me so ridiculously long to update. I feel bad, but I don't really think it could be helped. I think this chapter is crap, but it wasn't working at all for me, and I wasn't sure how to get past that. So I just wrote it, and if it sucks, hopefully I'll be able to push past that and get on with the story. Please R&R, thanks.

The phone rang, and rang, and rang.

What's going on? Manny thought to herself. This was the fourth phone call she had made that morning, and it was the fourth time she had received no response. It's almost like they're all giving me the silent treatment. She thought with a laugh that was supposed to contain humor.

After reaching Liberty's rather excited mother, she had called Liberty's house and found an answering machine that barked: "Leave your name and number if you're calling about something important. If not, don't ever call me again." Manny had been surprised for a moment, but after contemplation decided that it sounded like an extremely stressed, busy, and grown-up Liberty, and had left a short message hoping she hadn't provoked her.

After that attempt, she had tried to reach Toby, and found, to her dismay, that he was not living in Toronto anyone. In fact, he wasn't even living in Canada. According to his step-mother, who, luckily, was completely oblivious to the history Manny shared with her daughter, he was now living in Tokyo. She had rattled off some techno-babble that Manny knew she didn't understand herself, so it wasn't much of a surprise that Manny didn't understand any of it either. Apparently, Toby was working as the Tokyo assistant to the consultant for Microsoft. Yes, Microsoft. Manny didn't really find that surprising either. She tried his number but got his answering machine. She didn't really figure he would travel back to Canada for this thing, but she did figure he had a right to know.

She took a short break to make herself some lunch, a grilled chicken sandwich and a small salad, and to change the laundry.

Twenty minutes later she decided to call J.T. He too was nowhere to be found. She called his mother, who had chatted her ear off for a good half and hour and would not say goodbye, and received his phone number. She was stalling for time, because she really didn't want to get another answering machine, when she noticed something about the numbers. 1-589-548-6969. For some reason this made her laugh hysterically. She looked at them again, and wondered if he had paid extra for this ridiculous phone number, or if it had just been a coincidence. The sad thing was, she honestly couldn't tell. It was J.T. after all. But, he wasn't there either, and she almost didn't have the heart to leave a message.

She tried Paige next. She figured that she might be able to get a hold of her. Her mother was also oblivious to the high school tiffs that Manny had shared with Paige, and Manny was made to wonder if she was the only person she knew who kept that time in her life close to her heart. She had scribbled Paige's new phone number down, and found out that Paige had left the country too. She was living in New York. Manny called her, and reached: "The apartment of Bill," in a deep man's voice, "and Paige!" in a weird chirpy Paige voice. The whole thing sent Manny a creepy 'this is an odd relationship' vibe. She left a short message identifying herself and asking Paige to call her back.

By then she was getting extremely discouraged. She only had three other people to call and she didn't really know which one she wanted to attempt first. The thing was, she couldn't just call Ellie. She had no way to get a hold of her. She had no idea what her mother's phone number was. She didn't even know what her mother's first name was.

So she turned to the pad of paper in front of her, and pulled a phone book up. She had Emma's number, she needed Ellie's, and she was still afraid of Craig's.

She placed a shaking hand on the receiver and willed herself to stay calm. She brought it to her hear, and heard the dial tone. She let it beep four times in her ear, and breathed in time with it. Her heart stopped racing.

She dialed the number and waited, willed someone to pick up. They did.

"Hello?" the voice was polite and warm.

"Hello. Is…uh…Emma Nelson there?" She asked in a rush.

"This is she." The voice replied, slightly puzzled.

"Hi." Manny said, unsure of how to continue. Perhaps you should tell her who you are… "This is Manny Santos." She said hopefully.

"Manny? Manny Santos? How are you?" Emma asked her earnestly. Manny could practically see the smile on her face. She smiled in return.

"Just fine. I'm married." She paused for a second to allow Emma to make the appropriate noise. "And yourself?"

"Great. I've been working on establishing an activism organization for the schools of the Toronto area. Well, tell you the truth, I've been focusing more on…"

"Degrassi." They said together and laughed.

"That's fantastic, Emma. I always knew you would end up doing something great." Manny said happily.

"Thanks. What about you, Manny? What are you doing?" Emma asked pleasantly.

"I'm being a stay at home mom." She couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice. She wanted to be a mom, she really did, but she also wanted to live her dream of fashion design. They didn't fit together well. She tried not to be bitter. It was hard.

"Oh, Manny! That's wonderful!" Emma sounded so happy, and… relieved. Manny felt she had to clarify.

"They're Sam's, my husband, kids." She said softly.

"Oh, Manny." Emma now sounded somewhat sad. She obviously just wanted to change the subject with her next line. "So…why did you call?" She asked politely.

"Well…" Manny said lightly, trying to forget some of the bad memories that were resurfacing. "Do you remember that time capsule we put together in high school?" Manny asked, praying for a yes.

"Time capsule? Time capsule…" Emma repeated to herself as if trying to remember. "Oh my God!" She ejected. "I had completely forgotten about that!" She said with wonder. "How could I have forgotten that?" She asked herself, and she sounded disappointed, like she had remembered how important it was and was disappointed in herself because she had forgotten.

Manny sighed. "Don't feel bad. The only reason I remembered it, was that I received the e-mail." She took a deep breath. "By the way, thanks for that. The e-mail reminder was a great idea. I never would have remembered it otherwise."

Emma let out a short laugh. "I don't even remember suggesting it, but thanks. So, what's the next step?" She asked lightly.

"Well," Manny said. "I want to get a hold of everyone else." Emma made a noise of affirmation. "And then I figured we could all decide on a time to go err…" She searched for mature way to say it, "Dig it up." She failed to find one.

"That sounds like a good way to go about it." Emma said with a good-natured laugh. Manny smiled. She had missed talking to Emma. There was something comforting about her. She always had everything together, and you always felt like you could trust her to be…a good person. No matter what had happened between them, or what old wounds Manny still nursed, Emma was still there, softly being…herself. It was a relief.

Manny thought about where to take the conversation next, and realized that although she still felt as though Emma was her friend, she had nothing to really talk to her about.

"So…" Emma said softly after a few moments of complete silence. Manny's cheeks began to burn a bit. As the person who initiated the call, she felt it was her duty to keep it going.

"Well…" She floundered. Wait! Ask her about Ellie! "I've gotten everyone else's phone number, and I've called…almost everyone," She took a deep breathe, "except Craig." She let out her breathe in a rush, and she could feel Emma on the other end murmur sympathetically. "And Ellie."

"Ellie?" Emma asked with a thoughtful lilt to her voice. "Hmmm."

"Well," Manny supplied hopefully. "I just don't know what her mother's first name is." Emma was silent, probably thinking, but Manny continued to babble. "If I had it, I could, you know, look it up, and then, I could, um, call her." What the hell is wrong with you! She asked herself furiously. You sound like a fourteen year old!

She was starting to think that any thought at all about her high school days sent her right back into that inexperience, immature, gossipy eleventh grader mode. Did this happen to other people?

Emma laughed softly again, but this time there was a bit of a question, or maybe worry, at the way Manny was acting. "Well," She said a little uncertainly. "I'm pretty sure it was Eleanor as well." Manny's breathe caught. That was too easy. I'm such an idiot.

"Oh." Many breathed out, her face beat red. All she wanted at the moment was to get off the phone. Get off the phone before she embarrassed herself further. "Well, then." She said quickly. "I guess that I should get on calling her then."

"Oh, sure." Emma said. There was some incredulousness to her voice, as if she couldn't understand at all the way Manny was being.

"Right." Manny said, again much too quickly. "So, I'll let you go for now. And, um, I'll call you when we've got some definite times!"

Emma raised an eyebrow, and though she couldn't see it, Manny felt it.

"So, uh, goodbye."

"Alright, it was nice talking to you-" Emma began

"You too." Manny jumped in.

"goodbye?" Emma's voice was completely uncertain, but as she heard the final syllable, Manny dropped the phone into its cradle with shaky hands.

She took a deep breathe and stared at the table.

Well, that was only the worst it could possibly have gone...