To my dear reviewers:
Sorry for taking so long! I hope I meet everyone's expectations! Esperwen
"Ok, ok! I'm going!" yelled Michael.
"Yes!" cheered Michelle, "Thank you!" she added as she hugged him.
"Why do you even want me to go? The sleepover is just for the niners, right?"
"Not quite. It's for the NEWCOMERS, so that they feel welcome. As in, anyone who's new to the school can go. And you said you'd go, so you can't back out now. And I want you to go since Melissa's not going, and Adam doesn't wanna talk much anymore."
Michael threw a pillow at Michelle, who promptly caught it and threw it back.
"I'm only going because you threatened to never let me into your room again," Mike said, tossing the pillow back.
"I can't believe you like my room that much," Michelle commented, throwing the pillow at Mike's head.
"If I can't go into you room, I can't talk to you at night anymore," argued the boy.
These two were born to argue with each other.
"Then why don't you just tell me ahead of time that you want to talk?"
"Because you may not want to talk, and if I come up, then you have to talk if you're not asleep."
"What?"
It was nearly two weeks past the beginning of school, and Martingrove was holding a sleepover for all the "new kids" in the school. Everyone had been doing well in school lately. Michelle and Adam were actually staying on top of their schoolwork. Mostly. Melissa had always done well, and Phil's teachers were actually ok with him. This was important, because during the last school year, Phil's grade 8 homeroom teacher was always against Phil for some reason. Well, she was actually against everyone in class (so Michelle and Melissa were included), but Mrs. Teirney had started yelling at Phil for no apparent reason when he walked into class on the last day of school. Holly and Geordie were battling for the top of their drama classes at ESA.
"Who's gonna be going?" asked Mike.
Michelle took a deep breath.
"Adam."
There was a pause.
"That's it?"
"Yep."
"Ok.I guess I have to go then. Why won't Adam talk to you?"
Michelle shrugged, "I don't know. Probably because I refuse to show signs of still 'like' liking him, and maybe even because of a humanoid substance that happens to always hang around me."
"Are you saying I should just leave you alone while we're at school?"
"No.I'm saying that you should find other friends around your age."
"One year isn't that far."
"Really?" Michelle raised an eyebrow
"Um.ok fine. But its not like I have some old friends here that I can be reunited with."
The group had come across a person who Phil, Adam, and Michelle all recognised from four years ago. Kevin Ryans was Michelle and Phil's classmates during grade three and four, and had met Adam in grade five when Adam had switched to their school, since Adam had become fast friends with Michelle. Then Michelle introduced Adam to Phil and Kevin (who was in the other grade five class). However, during the school year, Kevin had sworn at his teacher, and so was suspended for a day, and then had switched to another school. Then, in grade nine, Kevin had also registered for Martingrove, and the group was reunited. Now the circle of friends' Martingrove division was composed of eight people: Michelle Gilpo, Melissa Gregoire, Philip Miles, Adam Mogyorodi, Michael Bertrand, Kevin Ryans, Kael Watt and Gordon Lacy.
"True," Michelle sighed, "Our group is huge now. In grade three, there was just Kevin, Phil and I. Then Adam came along in grade five, but Kevin left. Then Melissa showed up in grade six, and Kael started bothering us. Then we met Gordon in grade seven. And then the group was reduced to Adam, Phil, Melissa and I since Kael and Gordon graduated a year before us. Then."
".Look at us now! The group is huge!" Mike finished with mock ecstasy.
"Yeah."
Michelle chewed on her pizza slowly. The others had either not come yet, or were still in line, collecting their pizza that the school was providing for 'dinner'. Michael had for some reason been slow when registering, maybe because the people there hadn't heard his last name right, and Adam hadn't come yet. Finally, Mike pulled a chair up by Michelle with his pizza and Coke.
"Finally," Mike said under his breath.
"You seem perky."
"Diana was one of the people that was giving out pizza."
Michelle grinned.
"How is she? I haven't seen her since that day we had the group meeting. Oh, and how's her wrist?"
"She seems fine! Her arm for some reason is still in a sling, even though it's been about a month, but she's fine! Happy! Slutty! A true ho-" Mike stopped himself, realising that his voice tone was going up, and hoped that most people hadn't noticed him.
"Yeah, that's her," Michelle said calmly, biting into her pizza and silently laughing.
"How are you friends with her?" Mike whined.
"We're not close friends. We're just two people on friendly terms. In other words, if someone bad-mouths me behind my back, then she'll find out, tell me about it, as well as maybe spread around something about the person that started the rumour. And if someone says something about her to me, then I'll set the person straight, tell Diana about it, then talk to the person that started that."
"In other words, you make sure that bad rumours about each other don't get out of hand."
"Yeah. Hey look, there's Adam."
"Good for you."
"Come again?"
"He hasn't been entirely kind to me lately. When I pick up the phone when he calls to talk to you, he has this really cold tone of voice. He-"
"-Thinks you've been replacing him as my closest friend."
"Well.sort of. Hey, how did you know?"
"Last time he called me, he said that. Adam was the closest guy friend that I could talk to. And he feels he's being replaced since you're here now."
"Oh.I was thinking more along the lines of.anyway, he's got his pizza and coming here."
"Hey Michelle. Mike," Adam greeted as he walked up. He pulled up a chair at the opposite side of Michelle that Mike was sitting.
"Hi Adam," said Michelle.
"Hi."
Suddenly, Mike was deeply interested in the details of the pepperoni on his pizza.
"What's with Diana?" asked Adam, "She seemed distracted."
"Oh, and you never explained to me how she knew a lot of Michaels," added Mike.
"Ok, Diana is really absorbed with her new hobby 'Capture Mike Bertrand's heart,' and."
Adam choked on a bit of his pizza and Mike scowled at this point.
"And," Michelle continued, "Mike brushed off Diana yet again."
"If not literally," muttered the emotionally scarred teen.
"So Diana's trying to cook up some other plan."
"I thought Diana said she'd changed?" asked Adam, hiding his smiles.
"Sure doesn't seem that way. Oh, and Diana used to 'date' this guy also named Michael, who also really didn't like her and she knew it. But Diana spread rumours that they were 'together' anyway."
Michael studied his half-eaten slice of pizza, his appetite suddenly gone.
"Is she spreading rumours about me and.HER yet?"
"Not that I know of."
"No," answered Adam, "So she's really intent to actually get you to like her for real, considering how here rep got tainted with the last guy."
"Goody."
Michelle threw out her crust, and looked up as a teacher started yelling orders to go into the gym.
"Guess it's time to go. Come on guys!"
Michael didn't need to spend most of his time at the sleepover worrying about Diana, as she was put into one group for the games and he in the other. He and Adam ended up in one group, and Michelle and Diana in the other. The sleepover wasn't that bad, even Michael had to admit. The games were really weird, really 'creative' games that one of the Martingrove seniors, David Chow, had cooked up either overnight, or over his years at Martingrove. Amazingly, the games were actually really fun (so long as you weren't totally zonked out, which all three of our dear friends were not). And during square dancing lessons that the seniors who were helping out gave, there were no problems as the trio was all separated. Finally, there was free time from 10 o'clock on, with the gym being divided into three gyms using huge retractable walls. One was for the girls 'dorm' at one side, the boys 'dorm' at the other, and a brightly lit 'activity room' in the centre room for anyone who wanted to stay up a while longer. Michelle, Adam and Michael all sat on the folded up bleachers that came out whenever there was a game or pep rally in the gym.
"So." started Michelle, trying to break the silence around the three teens.
"Well." added Mike.
"Nice.day?" continued Adam.
There was a pause.
"So." started Michelle.
"Well." added Mike.
"Nice.day?" continued Adam.
There was an even longer pause.
"So." started Michelle.
"We need therapy," added Mike.
"Nice.hang on a minute.that's not what you're supposed to say!" exclaimed Adam.
"It started with a 'w' and an 'e'," argued Mike.
There was yet another long pause.
"So." Michelle shook her head, "Ok, this is pathetic."
Mike sighed.
"Yeah," agreed Adam.
"MICHELLE!!!!"
The elite sleepover division of the group jumped when a new, high voice entered their heads. Michael groaned out loud.
"Hi Diana," waved Michelle.
"Michelle, why did.oh," Diana's voice changed from a shrill pitch to what she considered seductive, but what at least two Michaels in the world considered disgusting.
"Hi Michael. Fancy meeting you here."
"You were the one that gave me two slices of pizza, as well as made a pass on me just a few hours ago," said Michael coldly.
But Diana didn't hear.
"Michelle," Diana's voice when shrill again, "How could you have told me that my sprain was mild?! When I got home (just about fainting from pain), my parents told me it was quite major! You, of all people, who aspires to be a nurse! I had to be rushed to the hospital because of you!"
Michelle merely ignored her, jumped down from the bleachers and walked toward the girls' dorm. But Diana wasn't done with her.
"Hey!"
Diana grabbed Michelle's shoulder, gripping hard, with the SAME HAND THAT WAS IN A SLING! Michelle grabbed the hand on her shoulder, pried it off, let it drop, and then turned around.
"Oh! How wonderful, Diana! Your arm is better now!" said Michelle cheerily, but not without some hidden venom.
"Um.eh-he.yeah! Um.very good.I just remembered something." and with that
Diana was gone.
Both Adam and Michael chuckled.
"Well, she can't fake pain in her arm now," Adam said.
"I'll say," winced Michelle as she felt her shoulder. Her fingers found small cuts where Diana's nails had dug in.
"Anyway, I'm going to get a drink," declared Michelle.
"I saw the other Adam and Nikola earlier. I'm gonna hang around them for a bit," Adam said, and took off towards the boys' dorm.
"Wait up. I'm getting a drink too, just as soon as I tie up my shoe," said Mike.
"Ok, I'll walk ahead."
Michelle walked through the girls' dorm, and into the hallway. No-one noticed her, as she had practised stealth walking to perfection. Michael tied his shoelace and jogged to the hallway to meet her. But she wasn't there. Michael walked up and down the hallway nearest the gym, looking down the ways that Michelle could have turned and walked through. No Michelle. Then, he heard something like a dog whimpering. Or a person's voice being muffled.
"Michelle?!"
The sound was coming from one of the further hallways, opposite the drinking fountains, near the cafeteria.
"Oh, s&#*.Michelle!"
Mike ran down to the hall near the cafeteria, and barely glimpsed Michelle being dragged down the hallway, struggling, near the stairwell to the school's second level. He could hear Michelle's muffled voice, and the sound of lockers being banged as she tried to be set loose.
Then he heard her scream.
Sorry for taking so long! I hope I meet everyone's expectations! Esperwen
"Ok, ok! I'm going!" yelled Michael.
"Yes!" cheered Michelle, "Thank you!" she added as she hugged him.
"Why do you even want me to go? The sleepover is just for the niners, right?"
"Not quite. It's for the NEWCOMERS, so that they feel welcome. As in, anyone who's new to the school can go. And you said you'd go, so you can't back out now. And I want you to go since Melissa's not going, and Adam doesn't wanna talk much anymore."
Michael threw a pillow at Michelle, who promptly caught it and threw it back.
"I'm only going because you threatened to never let me into your room again," Mike said, tossing the pillow back.
"I can't believe you like my room that much," Michelle commented, throwing the pillow at Mike's head.
"If I can't go into you room, I can't talk to you at night anymore," argued the boy.
These two were born to argue with each other.
"Then why don't you just tell me ahead of time that you want to talk?"
"Because you may not want to talk, and if I come up, then you have to talk if you're not asleep."
"What?"
It was nearly two weeks past the beginning of school, and Martingrove was holding a sleepover for all the "new kids" in the school. Everyone had been doing well in school lately. Michelle and Adam were actually staying on top of their schoolwork. Mostly. Melissa had always done well, and Phil's teachers were actually ok with him. This was important, because during the last school year, Phil's grade 8 homeroom teacher was always against Phil for some reason. Well, she was actually against everyone in class (so Michelle and Melissa were included), but Mrs. Teirney had started yelling at Phil for no apparent reason when he walked into class on the last day of school. Holly and Geordie were battling for the top of their drama classes at ESA.
"Who's gonna be going?" asked Mike.
Michelle took a deep breath.
"Adam."
There was a pause.
"That's it?"
"Yep."
"Ok.I guess I have to go then. Why won't Adam talk to you?"
Michelle shrugged, "I don't know. Probably because I refuse to show signs of still 'like' liking him, and maybe even because of a humanoid substance that happens to always hang around me."
"Are you saying I should just leave you alone while we're at school?"
"No.I'm saying that you should find other friends around your age."
"One year isn't that far."
"Really?" Michelle raised an eyebrow
"Um.ok fine. But its not like I have some old friends here that I can be reunited with."
The group had come across a person who Phil, Adam, and Michelle all recognised from four years ago. Kevin Ryans was Michelle and Phil's classmates during grade three and four, and had met Adam in grade five when Adam had switched to their school, since Adam had become fast friends with Michelle. Then Michelle introduced Adam to Phil and Kevin (who was in the other grade five class). However, during the school year, Kevin had sworn at his teacher, and so was suspended for a day, and then had switched to another school. Then, in grade nine, Kevin had also registered for Martingrove, and the group was reunited. Now the circle of friends' Martingrove division was composed of eight people: Michelle Gilpo, Melissa Gregoire, Philip Miles, Adam Mogyorodi, Michael Bertrand, Kevin Ryans, Kael Watt and Gordon Lacy.
"True," Michelle sighed, "Our group is huge now. In grade three, there was just Kevin, Phil and I. Then Adam came along in grade five, but Kevin left. Then Melissa showed up in grade six, and Kael started bothering us. Then we met Gordon in grade seven. And then the group was reduced to Adam, Phil, Melissa and I since Kael and Gordon graduated a year before us. Then."
".Look at us now! The group is huge!" Mike finished with mock ecstasy.
"Yeah."
Michelle chewed on her pizza slowly. The others had either not come yet, or were still in line, collecting their pizza that the school was providing for 'dinner'. Michael had for some reason been slow when registering, maybe because the people there hadn't heard his last name right, and Adam hadn't come yet. Finally, Mike pulled a chair up by Michelle with his pizza and Coke.
"Finally," Mike said under his breath.
"You seem perky."
"Diana was one of the people that was giving out pizza."
Michelle grinned.
"How is she? I haven't seen her since that day we had the group meeting. Oh, and how's her wrist?"
"She seems fine! Her arm for some reason is still in a sling, even though it's been about a month, but she's fine! Happy! Slutty! A true ho-" Mike stopped himself, realising that his voice tone was going up, and hoped that most people hadn't noticed him.
"Yeah, that's her," Michelle said calmly, biting into her pizza and silently laughing.
"How are you friends with her?" Mike whined.
"We're not close friends. We're just two people on friendly terms. In other words, if someone bad-mouths me behind my back, then she'll find out, tell me about it, as well as maybe spread around something about the person that started the rumour. And if someone says something about her to me, then I'll set the person straight, tell Diana about it, then talk to the person that started that."
"In other words, you make sure that bad rumours about each other don't get out of hand."
"Yeah. Hey look, there's Adam."
"Good for you."
"Come again?"
"He hasn't been entirely kind to me lately. When I pick up the phone when he calls to talk to you, he has this really cold tone of voice. He-"
"-Thinks you've been replacing him as my closest friend."
"Well.sort of. Hey, how did you know?"
"Last time he called me, he said that. Adam was the closest guy friend that I could talk to. And he feels he's being replaced since you're here now."
"Oh.I was thinking more along the lines of.anyway, he's got his pizza and coming here."
"Hey Michelle. Mike," Adam greeted as he walked up. He pulled up a chair at the opposite side of Michelle that Mike was sitting.
"Hi Adam," said Michelle.
"Hi."
Suddenly, Mike was deeply interested in the details of the pepperoni on his pizza.
"What's with Diana?" asked Adam, "She seemed distracted."
"Oh, and you never explained to me how she knew a lot of Michaels," added Mike.
"Ok, Diana is really absorbed with her new hobby 'Capture Mike Bertrand's heart,' and."
Adam choked on a bit of his pizza and Mike scowled at this point.
"And," Michelle continued, "Mike brushed off Diana yet again."
"If not literally," muttered the emotionally scarred teen.
"So Diana's trying to cook up some other plan."
"I thought Diana said she'd changed?" asked Adam, hiding his smiles.
"Sure doesn't seem that way. Oh, and Diana used to 'date' this guy also named Michael, who also really didn't like her and she knew it. But Diana spread rumours that they were 'together' anyway."
Michael studied his half-eaten slice of pizza, his appetite suddenly gone.
"Is she spreading rumours about me and.HER yet?"
"Not that I know of."
"No," answered Adam, "So she's really intent to actually get you to like her for real, considering how here rep got tainted with the last guy."
"Goody."
Michelle threw out her crust, and looked up as a teacher started yelling orders to go into the gym.
"Guess it's time to go. Come on guys!"
Michael didn't need to spend most of his time at the sleepover worrying about Diana, as she was put into one group for the games and he in the other. He and Adam ended up in one group, and Michelle and Diana in the other. The sleepover wasn't that bad, even Michael had to admit. The games were really weird, really 'creative' games that one of the Martingrove seniors, David Chow, had cooked up either overnight, or over his years at Martingrove. Amazingly, the games were actually really fun (so long as you weren't totally zonked out, which all three of our dear friends were not). And during square dancing lessons that the seniors who were helping out gave, there were no problems as the trio was all separated. Finally, there was free time from 10 o'clock on, with the gym being divided into three gyms using huge retractable walls. One was for the girls 'dorm' at one side, the boys 'dorm' at the other, and a brightly lit 'activity room' in the centre room for anyone who wanted to stay up a while longer. Michelle, Adam and Michael all sat on the folded up bleachers that came out whenever there was a game or pep rally in the gym.
"So." started Michelle, trying to break the silence around the three teens.
"Well." added Mike.
"Nice.day?" continued Adam.
There was a pause.
"So." started Michelle.
"Well." added Mike.
"Nice.day?" continued Adam.
There was an even longer pause.
"So." started Michelle.
"We need therapy," added Mike.
"Nice.hang on a minute.that's not what you're supposed to say!" exclaimed Adam.
"It started with a 'w' and an 'e'," argued Mike.
There was yet another long pause.
"So." Michelle shook her head, "Ok, this is pathetic."
Mike sighed.
"Yeah," agreed Adam.
"MICHELLE!!!!"
The elite sleepover division of the group jumped when a new, high voice entered their heads. Michael groaned out loud.
"Hi Diana," waved Michelle.
"Michelle, why did.oh," Diana's voice changed from a shrill pitch to what she considered seductive, but what at least two Michaels in the world considered disgusting.
"Hi Michael. Fancy meeting you here."
"You were the one that gave me two slices of pizza, as well as made a pass on me just a few hours ago," said Michael coldly.
But Diana didn't hear.
"Michelle," Diana's voice when shrill again, "How could you have told me that my sprain was mild?! When I got home (just about fainting from pain), my parents told me it was quite major! You, of all people, who aspires to be a nurse! I had to be rushed to the hospital because of you!"
Michelle merely ignored her, jumped down from the bleachers and walked toward the girls' dorm. But Diana wasn't done with her.
"Hey!"
Diana grabbed Michelle's shoulder, gripping hard, with the SAME HAND THAT WAS IN A SLING! Michelle grabbed the hand on her shoulder, pried it off, let it drop, and then turned around.
"Oh! How wonderful, Diana! Your arm is better now!" said Michelle cheerily, but not without some hidden venom.
"Um.eh-he.yeah! Um.very good.I just remembered something." and with that
Diana was gone.
Both Adam and Michael chuckled.
"Well, she can't fake pain in her arm now," Adam said.
"I'll say," winced Michelle as she felt her shoulder. Her fingers found small cuts where Diana's nails had dug in.
"Anyway, I'm going to get a drink," declared Michelle.
"I saw the other Adam and Nikola earlier. I'm gonna hang around them for a bit," Adam said, and took off towards the boys' dorm.
"Wait up. I'm getting a drink too, just as soon as I tie up my shoe," said Mike.
"Ok, I'll walk ahead."
Michelle walked through the girls' dorm, and into the hallway. No-one noticed her, as she had practised stealth walking to perfection. Michael tied his shoelace and jogged to the hallway to meet her. But she wasn't there. Michael walked up and down the hallway nearest the gym, looking down the ways that Michelle could have turned and walked through. No Michelle. Then, he heard something like a dog whimpering. Or a person's voice being muffled.
"Michelle?!"
The sound was coming from one of the further hallways, opposite the drinking fountains, near the cafeteria.
"Oh, s&#*.Michelle!"
Mike ran down to the hall near the cafeteria, and barely glimpsed Michelle being dragged down the hallway, struggling, near the stairwell to the school's second level. He could hear Michelle's muffled voice, and the sound of lockers being banged as she tried to be set loose.
Then he heard her scream.