Chapter five

Logan couldn't take his eyes off of the computer screen. Did Dana really think that about him? Did she really think that he was ignorant, self-absorbed, a jerk…

Wait. All of that was true. Logan sighed. He knew that if he wanted Dana he would have to change. But could he do it?

bReAk

"Excuse me—excuse me, is anyone there?"

Ty, Jem, Ryder, Nicole, and Alyssa all turned to see where the voice was coming from. It was soft yet clear, obviously a girl's, judging by the pitch.

"Hello?" Ty called.

Alyssa snapped her gum.

"Hello?" the voice came again, this time closer.

Nicole's breath caught in her throat. What if it was a teacher? Would they get in trouble?

Out of the bushes stepped a figure. She was slender and a slight shade of tan, wearing pencil-thin Lucky Brand jeans and a simple, low-cut white Henley. She had long, silky dark hair, there was a light pink glow on her cheeks and dark eyelashes surrounded huge, mesmerizing eyes.

"Wow," Ryder whispered.

"Hi," said the girl nervously. She struggled to untangle her heeled shoe from unruly branches. "Um, I'm sorry to, um, interrupt what you guys were doing, but I'm new here. I wasn't supposed to arrive until next week, but—"

"Don't worry about it," said Jem, coming up to her. Alyssa scowled.

"'Kay. I'm Charlotte," Charlotte smiled. She was the most beautiful girl Nicole had ever seen.

"I'm Nicole!" she exclaimed. "And this is Ty, Jem, and Ryder"—she pointed to each person as she said their name. "And Alyssa. It's super-cool to meet you."

Charlotte laughed. "Thanks! It's super-cool to meet you, too."

Alyssa smiled devilishly. "Carmen—"

"Charlotte," Ty corrected, grinning at the newcomer.

"Carmen," Alyssa continued. "Is there a reason you're wearing heels? Everyone around here wears flip-flops or sneakers."

Charlotte flushed. "Oh, well—well I wear heels a lot," she explained, still embarrassed. "'Cause I wish I was taller."

"Whatever," Alyssa snickered. "It's weird. Isn't it weird, Jeremy?"

Alyssa shot Jem a murderous glance that said, 'You had better say yes, or just consider yourself dead meat'.

"Uh, I guess," Jem shifted his weight, looking down.

Charlotte looked hurt. Nicole just looked at Alyssa. What was her problem?

"Hey, whose there?"

This time the voice was gruff and mean.

"Oh no," Ty's eyes widened. "Teacher!"

The group scattered. Jem and Ryder took cover by diving in the bushes and crawling back to their dorms. Alyssa and Nicole took off towards the direction of the pool, even though that was the opposite direction of their dorms. And Ty ran! Charlotte, however, stood there paralyzed. Oh no, she thought to herself. I'm going to get in trouble my first night! What am I going to do?

She told herself to run, but she couldn't move. Run, Charlotte, run! She said in her head, but her legs wouldn't obey. They stayed rooted at the spot as the grumpy teacher drew closer.

"Charlotte!" Ty yelled, catching sight of her. He ran towards her.

"Why aren't you running?" he asked. She didn't have to answer; her frightened eyes explained everything. Ty grabbed her hand roughly and pulled her away, giving her nervous body no choice other than to follow. And they ran. And ran. Charlotte had no idea where to go, but Ty, still holding her hand, led her to the girls' dorm.

"Here you are," he said, breathless.

"Thanks," Charlotte whispered. "Well, I guess I'd better go in."

"Can you find your room okay?" asked Ty.

"Probably. I'm in room 103," she answered.

Ty nodded. "See you, Charlotte."

"Bye, Ty."

As Charlotte made her way down the deserted hallway, all she could think about was Ty. He was so cute.

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Quinn had read on a soda bottle that on average, humans rolled over seventy-two times in their sleep. Her theory, however, said that humans rolled over more than that. So as she slept she wore a large brass helmet that recorded how many times she rolled over. If she rolled over seventy-two times it would beep loudly. She would wear it every day for a month and then average the number of times she'd rolled. Sleeping soundly, Quinn was awakened by a soft knock.

"Yes?" she said abruptly.

The door creaked open. Slowly, a pretty brunette crept in. "Hi. Sorry to wake you—I'm Charlotte. I guess we're roommates!"

"That would explain the sudden appearance of suitcases," Quinn remarked, putting on her glasses. "I'm Quinn."

"Hi, Quinn," said Charlotte. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yes," Quinn said truthfully.

Charlotte bit her lip. "I'm really sorry."

Quinn's face suddenly brightened. "Hey, would you like to make it up to me?"

"Um—sure?"

"Alright," said Quinn, unstrapping her helmet. "See this? All you had to do is sleep with it for a month."

"Alright," Charlotte laughed uneasily. "Can I ask why?"

"Science," Quinn shrugged. Charlotte didn't know how to respond to that.

"Now," said Quinn, switching off a bedside lamp. "Good night!"

Charlotte wasn't so sure. The helmet weighed about ten pounds.

bReAk

The next morning was Sunday. The day of rest. Zoey slept late and found that, none to her surprise, Dana was still sleeping and Nicole was out, probably wandering around PCA aimlessly. Yawning, Zoey stretched out her arms, wondering why she dreaded getting up.

Then she remembered. It all came flooding back to her. Breaking up with Chase, how she lied about wanting to be single, his hurt face…Zoey shook her head. She needed to do something about the situation. She got up and took a card-board box out from under her bed. It was a break up box. She would put in it everything that reminded her of Chase and then throw it out. And that would be that.

Where to start? Zoey wondered. She looked around the room, at her beanbag chair, a TV, a bag of chips…chips! She would never forget the time Chase had paid for her bag of Doritos. Into the box the full bag of chips went.

Half an hour later, almost everything in the room was gone. Zoey hoped that Nicole and Dana would understand.

"Speak of the devil," she mused as Dana awoke and got up to the bathroom.

"Hey! Where'd the toothpaste go?" came Dana's scream two seconds later.

"Oh," Zoey blushed, stepping into the bathroom. "I had to put it in my breakup box. Chase loves mint toothpaste."

Dana's moth hung open. "What?"

So Zoey explained the concept of the breakup box. When she was finished, Dana said, "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"To get your man back," said Dana with a smile. Before Zoey could protest, Dana grabbed her hand and led her to Double Shot, where Chase always had breakfast.

"Maybe he's not there!" exclaimed Zoey, in a last attempt to get out of the situation.

"Yes, he is," Dana grinned. "I can see his hair from over here."

Zoey laughed. The two girls reached the doorway and stepped in. Chase was there, alright. He was sitting on one of the leather couches, making out with Alyssa.