"Are you thinking about going to this basketball camp thing?"

Zoey sat on her bed, feeling exhausted from her shift at the Coconut Tree House. As soon as she had gotten back to her dorm room, she had collapsed on the floor and didn't move until Nicole poked her with her hair dryer. After brushing her teeth and changing into her pajamas, Zoey didn't feel as tired as she had before so instead of going into hibernation she showed Nicole the basketball flyer that had attacked Quinn in the face.

"I'm thinking about it," Zoey said as she brushed the tangles out of her hair. "But I'm not sure what I'm going to do about my job. I can't quit because I was lucky to get hired there in the first place." She sighed and put her hair brush down. "I was thinking maybe I could get a friend to fill my place for a month if I go to camp…" She looked at Nicole.

"Good plan, but who are you going to ask?" Nicole said, frowning as she flipped through her notebook. Half of it was already filled with her poems. She would need a new notebook soon. "I mean, who would be stupid enough to work at the Coconut Tree House?" She paused and glanced over at Zoey. "Um… that's not what I meant. I meant who would be stupid enough to work instead of you!" She paused again. "Wait, that's not what I meant either."

"Whatever, Nicole," Zoey sighed and flopped down on her bed. "I guess I can't go to the basketball camp then. That kind of blows, doesn't it? I thought I could really improve my skills if I went there." She rolled over on to her stomach and sighed again. "But if you aren't willing to take my post then I don't know who would…"

Nicole snapped her fingers and sat up on her bed. "I know who would take your spot!" she cried. "Chase! Chase Matthews! Chase the guy who's crazy about you!" She smiled slyly. "And the guy you're crazy about." She sighed and threw her hand dramatically to her forehead. "Oh… how sad. I wonder when you two will finally start dating."

Zoey's cheeks turned red. She grabbed her pillow and threw it at Nicole. "I'm not crazy about him!" she cried. Then she smiled and pressed her hands against her burning cheeks. "Well… not that much anyway…" She giggled, but then sighed. "Anyways, there's one thing you're wrong about. He doesn't like me and he never will."

"Weren't you going to the movies with him today?" Nicole asked.

Zoey rolled around on her bed while shaking her head. "I had to cancel. I was so tired after work! If I went to the movies with him today I would've bored him so much he would've wished he never asked me to go with him to see…" She paused. "I don't know, to go see whatever movie we were going to see I guess."

Nicole sighed. "Oh, teenage love… how sad you are." She paused. "Hey that would make a great poem, don't you think?" She grabbed a pencil and frantically opened her notebook to a fresh page. She started to scribble furiously. Zoey sighed.

"You're no help, Nicole," she said.

"Cant talk- writing."

Zoey lay in bed for a few minutes before sitting up and grabbing her cell phone. She had Chase's number on speed dial so she quickly called him. The phone rang once, twice, three times… She was just about to hang up when he answered. "Hello? Is this Zoey? I was hoping you'd call."

She felt her face turn crimson. "Yeah, it's me. And… um, you were hoping I'd call? Why?" She knew she was getting her hopes up too high. The truth was Zoey had had a secret crush on Chase for two years now. She knew Chase only thought of her as a friend.

"Well I just got back to my dorm," Chase explained. "I caught a movie with Michael since you couldn't make it. Anyways, I was stuck on this Math problem and I was hoping that you know… you could help me? I didn't want to call you because you sounded so tired before, but man I am so relieved that you phoned me!"

"Oh," Zoey said disappointment in her voice. "Sure, I'll help. What's the problem?"

"Great! Zoey, you're one in a million."

"Yeah," Zoey sighed. "I guess."

The bright sunshine woke Nicole up. It was a Saturday so she didn't have any classes. She yawned and stretched, sitting up in her bed. She looked out the window. Although it was sunny she could see the tree branches shaking in the fierce wind. She shivered and clambered down the ladder to go to the bathroom. Dana and Zoey were already gone- Nicole had obviously overslept.

After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Nicole changed into the Pants and an old, comfortable purple sweater. She didn't feel like dressing up that day. She felt like being grungy. She pulled on some rainbow coloured toe socks and running shoes. She grabbed her purse and walked out of the dorm, ready to get some late breakfast.

When she went down to the cafeteria, she found a few scattered people, but other then that, it was nearly empty. She bought some pancakes and sat down to eat. She didn't know why, but she had a great feeling of sorrow in her stomach. Maybe all the poems she had written were getting to her? She wasn't sure. Maybe the Pants were giving her a queasy feeling. Quinn must've done something to them or…

Ring, ring, ring!

Nicole pulled her cell phone out of her purse and flipped it open. She made a mental note to herself to get a better ring tone. "Hello?"

"Nicole…?"

Nicole froze. "Mom?"

"Nicole!" Nicole's mother sounded relieved. "Hi, how are you?"

"Why are you calling me?"

"Can't a mother phone her own daughter?"

"No."

The previous summer came running back into Nicole's mind. She had gone back to her parents' house for the vacation only to find out that her mother had disappeared. Her father had refused to tell her where she was. Nicole spent days trying to track her mother down and ended up in the hospital with a broken leg. After Nicole had returned to PCA, her father had phoned her to inform her of her mother's return. Nicole was angry and hurt that her mother had not wanted to see her and refused to speak to her.

"Oh, Nicole, I can tell you're still upset that I wasn't there this summer," her mother said uncomfortably. She coughed. "Well… I just phoned to apologize and to see that you're doing well… and um… I was near your school and I was hoping we might be able to get together for lunch or something…"

"Why would you of all people want to see me?" Nicole said harshly. She felt anger bubbling up inside of her and it was as if some sort of devil had taken over her. She couldn't control herself. The hatred spilled out of her like a volcano spitting out lava.

"Because I miss you," her mother replied softly.

Nicole burst into tears. People looked up in from their breakfast to stare.

"I haven't played basketball in so long," Dana commented, dribbling the ball past Zoey and taking a shot at the net. The ball swished through and Dana caught it as it fell through the air. "Not since I quit the team last year anyways."

"Your playing hasn't gotten any worse though," Zoey commented, stealing the ball from Dana and dribbling it through her legs. She sighed heavily as she remembered the basketball camp she wouldn't be attending.

"What are you sighing about?"

Dana snatched the ball from Zoey and the two of them went to go sit down on the bench to take a little break. Zoey grabbed her water bottle and explained her dilemma to Dana.

While listening, Dana got a brilliant idea. "I know!" she said, snapping her fingers. "I'll take your job at the Coconut Tree House!" She paused. She knew she would have to choose her words very carefully. "I've… had a lot on my mind lately and I need something to busy myself with. You go to basketball camp and I'll take your shift for the time you're gone."

Zoey's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" She threw her arms around Dana. "Thank you so much!" She leaped up to her feet, sloshing water on to her shirt by accident. "I've got to go sign up now! I hope it's not too late. I'll phone my boss and organize things with her and… oh, you're so great!" She hugged Dana again before rushing off.

Dana sighed happily and took a long drink from her water bottle. Good, she thought. I need something to take my mind off Logan and his smoking. She frowned. There I go, thinking about Logan again! When am I ever going to stop? It's like I'm addicted… I'm addicted to him like he's addicted to smoking. She shook her head and grabbed the basketball. It would help her clear her thoughts.

Quinn had never liked boys. She was an individual and stuck to her experiments and chemicals. They made her happy and being around dangerous explosives made her feel safe. Believe it or not, it was true. The first crush she had had was on Mark Del Figgalo. They had been together for awhile until he moved last year and they had lost touch. Now Quinn was solo again and… well, she was happy, but apart of her felt sad and lonely.

She longed for love.