"You and Claire are doing what?" Toby questioned. He had the glamour mask on and was pretending to be Jim. Mom was chuckling in the kitchen at his display. I laughed and answered, "Claire and I are having a girl's night at her house. I'll actually be heading there in about twenty minutes. Since the two of you have been getting very close and I have no doubt you'll be official soon, I decided that it's time for the two of us to get to know each other." "That sounds fun, Monica. I hope you two have a good time. I'm heading over to the cafe." Mom said. She kissed Toby and I's cheeks and left the room. When we heard Mom drive away, Toby took off the glamour mask and wondered, "Okay. So, what's actually happening here? Did you and Claire find something on the Janus Order that I told you about yesterday?" Toby informed me about if they were going to find the cure for Aaarrrgghh, we would have to go to the Janus Order, which was an organization of changlings that Blinky discovered about two days ago. "Nope. We are genuinely having a girl's night. Seriously, Claire and I have fought side by side with each other for months now and I actually still don't truly know her. This is some bonding time between us girls and it would give us a small break. Let me know if anything happens while I'm gone." I said and ruffled his hair to which he dodged quickly while saying, "You know that I hate it when you ruffle my hair, Monica." I grabbed my bag on the couch ignoring his comment and ran out the door calling back, "See you later, Tobes!" I made it to Claire's house, which was not far and rang the door bell. When the door opened it was Not Enrique who answered, "Hey, Teach! Pug Face was just telling me that you were coming. She's in the kitchen making her family's guacamole recipe." "Thanks, Not Enrique." I said and went towards the kitchen where it seemed that Claire was just finishing up. I commented, "Looks great, Claire!" "Thanks, Mo." Claire said. Then, the doorbell rang and I questioned, "Were you expecting someone else?" "No." Claire said. She went to the door and opened it. It was Darcy and Mary. They didn't seem to have noticed me yet and Mary exclaimed while throwing her arms around Claire, "Hey, C-Bomb!" "Hi, Claire! Ready for girl's night tonight?" Darcy questioned. I glanced at Claire who looked as confused as I was and Darcy frowned saying, "You forgot, didn't you. Girl, we planned this night two weeks ago because you've been hanging out with Jim and Toby so much! Tonight was supposed to be making up for it!" Claire's face deadpanned and she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! I totally forgot. I am so sorry, girls. Hey, why don't the four us just hang out?" "The four of us?" Darcy questioned. That's when Mary spotted me and she seemed gave me a weird look while asking, "Why is our English teacher here?" "Well, because Jim and I are getting closer, Monica and I decided to hang out and get to know one another. Also, since Jim is in the hospital with that disease, I thought it would be good for the two of us to get a breather with all the overwhelming things that have been happening." Claire explained. "Is Jim doing better? Do you think that he'll be out of the hospital soon?" Darcy questioned. "His health is improving. If it keeps improving, he could be out by the end of the month." I informed her. "That's great, Ms. Lake!" Darcy proclaimed giving Claire and I a hug. Mary joined in as well. "Please, Miss Scott. We are not at school at the moment. The three of you can call me, Monica." I said. "Do you mind if they hang out with us, Monica?" Claire wondered. "No, of course not, as long as they're fine with me being here. After all, you guys planned this night before we planned our girl's night." I stated. Claire looked at Darcy and Mary. They looked a little hesitant, but I didn't blame them. It would be weird having a girl's night with your English teacher there. My best friends, Elizabeth, Patrick, and I would've had the same reaction. "We're cool that. What do you think, Mary?" Darcy asked. We all looked at Mary who just shrugged and said, "Whatever. If C-Bomb and Darcy are cool with, then so am I." The four of us decided to watch a movie as our first activity and we decided upon Never Been Kissed and we all agreed that it was cute, but portrayed an inaccurate version of high schoolers, but Mary practically swooned at the ending. After the movie was over, we sat there for about five minutes, not really sure what to do... until Darcy declared, "We should do karaoke!" "Agreed. Monica told me earlier that when she has the house to herself, she really gets into it." Claire giggled. "Claire! That was a secret!" I exclaimed. Mary and Darcy laughed. "Not my fault. You should've told me that sooner." Claire retorted. "Touche. All I ask is that Jim never finds out about it." I said. The girls promised and we all had to make sure Mary promised because it was not a secret that she was the school's gossip queen. When that was all said and done, we set up the karaoke machine and began. Of course, Mary, Darcy, and Claire had me go first. By the end of it, Claire, Darcy, and Mary stared at me in shock, then Mary said, "That was the craziest karaoke I have ever seen!" "Hey. What I lack in singing department, I make up for in performance." I said taking a dramatic bow. The three girls clapped. Then, Claire proclaimed, "We should do a karaoke competition!" "Yeah! Totally! High schoolers vs. Arcadia Oaks English teacher!" Darcy declared. "That is a bit unfair, but I see where you're coming from. Do you mind if I call for some back up? My best friends, Patrick and Elizabeth, love karaoke just as much as I do. One time, the three of us were at Elizabeth's house, and we got so wild that one of Elizabeth's neighbors called the police. The police were so confused by how three high school kids could cause so much noise." I told them. The three girls' eyes widened in shock as if they were seeing me in a whole new light, then Mary said, "Oh. It's on." I quickly called Elizabeth and she said, "Hey, Mo. What's up?" "We have been challenged to karaoke." I stated. I didn't have to explain any further because Elizabeth said in a serious tone, "Patrick and I will be there in ten. We'll show those amateurs who the real karaoke champs are." She hung up the phone and I turned to the girls. I cracked my knuckles and leaned back in the chair stating, "You have no idea what has been unleashed." Before Elizabeth and Patrick arrived, Claire, Mary, and Darcy each went a turn. They got into karaoke just as much as I did. I was impressed. Elizabeth, Patrick, and I could have some serious competition. The doorbell rang and I answered it. Elizabeth gave me a bone crushing hug and Patrick patted my shoulder. He turned towards the three high schoolers and stated, "So, you're the ones who challenged us? Give us the deeds, Mo." "They have potential, but let's show them who the true masters are." I declared. "You three are going down." Claire said. "Heck ya, you are!" Darcy proclaimed. The competition began. Now, there wasn't any true judge of the competition. We were really just doing this for fun. By the end of it, we were all completely out of breath. Mary panted, "You guys definitely have more game than I thought. I never thought that our English teacher would be this cool and you guys two." Claire and Darcy both agreed. Elizabeth, Patrick, and I high-fived each other in victory. "You guys aren't bad either. Elizabeth, Monica, we shall train these three in the ways of karaoke." Patrick proclaimed while throwing his arms around the two of us. Elizabeth and I chuckled at his dramatic behavior, but agreed. "Perhaps, one day, the six of us can all do a song together for karaoke sometime." Darcy suggested. The five of us stared at Darcy, then exclaimed, "No!"
I placed my hand on her shoulder and stated, "The world's not ready for that, young padawan."