"This fucking sucks," Ethan muttered to Miranda as he took his place in the special education/ in house suspension lunch line.
"No talking!" Coach Swanson roared, giving Ethan a disapproving look. Miranda, who was standing in front of him, rolled her eyes and put a carton of milk on her bile colored cafeteria tray.
Lizzie watched from the cheerleaders table as Miranda and Ethan went through the lunch line with the special education students.
"I got you something," Gordo said as he slid into the seat next to her. He placed a frosty bottle of root beer in front of her.
"Thanks, babe," Lizzie said absentmindedly. She saw all of the in-house suspension kids forming a single file line as they got ready to go back to their room. Gordo looked over at her and sighed.
"You're watching Miranda and Ethan, aren't you?" he asked. Lizzie nodded. "They got what they deserved," Gordo assured her.
"I know. It's just so weird to see them there!" Lizzie shrugged and unscrewed the top of her root beer, flipping it over to see if she had won any type of contest. She couldn't help but think of Ethan and Miranda. It had been a fight for the McGuires to get Ethan placed in in-house suspension, since the assault hadn't taken place on school property. Eventually, Sam had used his law-school background to make a deal with the Crafts. The McGuires wouldn't press charges if Ethan agreed to spend the remainder of the school year in in-house suspension. The Crafts readily agreed to the proposal, and Miranda had gotten some company in IHS. Lizzie noticed Miranda glaring at her and rolled her eyes. Miranda was making some sort of obscene gesture with her hand.
"Is she flipping you off?" Gordo asked, astounded. Reaching the end of her rope, Lizzie pushed the root beer aside and got up, walking over to the in-house suspension/special education line that Miranda was standing in. "Do you have something to say to me?" Lizzie demanded, coolly putting her hands on her hips. Miranda quickly looked over her shoulder. Coach Swanson was helping one of the retarded kids pay the cashier.
"Yeah, I do," Miranda hissed. "If it weren't for your psychotic mother not being able to handle the fact that you're a slut, I wouldn't be here!" Lizzie laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Just keep telling yourself that," she advised Miranda. "I'm not a slut, and my mother is definitely not psychotic. You tried to ruin my reputation and it backfired on you. That's why you're here. End of story." Again, Miranda extended her middle finger and thrust it in front of Lizzie's face. Coach Swanson walked up to them.
"Is there a problem here?" she asked.
"Ohh, tell on me, you fucking baby. I dare you!" Miranda challenged.
"Miranda, that's enough." Coach Swanson said. She pulled a pad of office referrals out of her tote bag and quickly filled one out. "Come with me. We're going to have a little chat with Principal Young. I've just filled out a referral for your transferal to District Alternative Education Placement." Lizzie walked back to her table and sat down next to Gordo.
"What happened?" Gordo asked. Lizzie watched Coach Swanson herd the special ed/suspension kids out of the cafeteria.
"Miranda's being referred to District AEP," she announced. "Her behavior is so out of control lately. I seriously think that she's on drugs.But District AEP isserious. Ifeel kind of bad," she added.
"Don't feel bad. She's getting what she deserves," he said. "What she did to you was inexcusable, and if she still can't see that, she needs to get serious help." Lizzie looked up at him.
"You don't think I'm a bitch?" she asked. Gordo kissed her gently on the lips.
"Babe, I could never think that about you. Besides, you're just standing up for yourself. What's bitchy about that?" Matt and Melina walked up to the cheerleaders table and sat down across from Lizzie and Gordo.
"Was Miranda bothering you?" Matt asked. Lizzie smiled. It was so cute how Matt was protective of her now.
"No, Matt. I don't care what she does anymore. She couldn't bother me if she tried." Matt was reassured.
"Mom and Dad wanted me to tell you that you need to come straight home after cheerleading today," he said. Lizzie looked confused.
"What? But Gordo and I were going to go to In-N-Out," she protested. Matt put her keys in the pocket of his backpack.
"Sorry. We're having one of those gay family meetings," he said.
"Oh, my God," Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Okay. I'll be there," she said grudgingly. She hated McGuire family meetings. It made her feel about seven years old. Had something important happened? She tried to think, but nothing came to mind. Maybe someone had died? Lizzie started to get worried. Suddenly she remembered. Spring Break was coming up. Were they going on a vacation! An excited smile crossed her face as she bit into her Snickers bar. A vacation was just what she needed right now.
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It was 5:16 pm, Lizzie was sprawled out on the red floral Ralph Lauren couch in her living room, waiting for their family meeting to start. Matt was in the green leather Lazy Boy, playing Grand Theft Auto. The doorbell rang and Lizzie looked towards the front door. It was obvious that Matt wasn't going to pause his game to answer the door, so she reluctantly got up.
"Surprise," Gordo said as Lizzie opened the door. Lizzie tilted her head, confused.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. "We're having a McGuire family meeting, remember?" Gordo laughed.
"Well, apparently, it's a McGuire-Gordon family meeting." He gestured to the driveway. Sure enough, Roberta Gordon's Lexus SUV was parked behind the McGuire's minivan, and Gordo's parents were walking towards the front door, carrying what looked like some brochures. Jo greeted them excitedly, inviting them in. When everyone was situated, Sam held up one of the brochures.
"As you know, Spring Break is in about a month. Your mother and I have been looking into it, and we think that everyone in this family deserves a vacation. We've been talking to the Gordons, and made the joint decision that we'll all be going to Cancun for Spring Break!" Lizzie squealed excitedly and grabbed Gordo's hand.
"We're going to Mexico!" she shrieked, dancing around the living room. Matt smiled.
"Nice," he said, imagining himself drinking a Corona on the beach. "The beaches there are topless, right?" he asked. Sam shot him a surprised look.
"Matthew!" Jo exclaimed. "Enough!" Lizzie grabbed the brochure from Sam's hand and looked at the picture. A white sand beach, with crystal clear water and large palm trees lining the shore.
"Gordo, I'm so excited!" she squealed. Gordo nodded.
"Me too," he said. "Prepare yourself, McGuire. This is going to be the best Spring Break of your life!"