Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi.

"Tell me or I'll kill myself!" I joked with Marco. I really wanted to know this big, mysterious secret he had.

He smiled, "Well, I wouldn't want that to happen, but I'm sorry, no."

The bell rang and we went to our homerooms. The day progressed as every other school day does; slowly and boring. Finally the end of the day came and I was more than ready to go home.

"Hey mom," I said as I walked through the door.

"Hey El," she said. "There's a surprise in the kitchen for you."

I dropped my bag a chair and went into the kitchen. "Dad?" I asked, not wanting to believe it.

"Are you just going to stand there, or hug your old man?" he asked.

I ran up to him and embraced in a bone-crushing hug. "What happened?"

"I was discharged," he explained.

"Why?" I asked.

He raised his pant leg and showed me a prosthetic leg instead of the real one. "Oh," I said, softly.

"Don't look so sad," he said. "I have a treat for us. Anheuser-Busch provides complimentary tickets to one of his theme parks for all military members and their families, and a room at a hotel. I have three tickets to Busch Gardens. Our plane leaves in two hours; I already packed your things. We'll be gone for a week."

I gave him another hug, thankful that I didn't have anything big in school coming up.

The vacation was great. I rode every ride that I could, from the kiddy ones to the fifty-foot drop ones. Even my dad was able to ride most of the rides (though he had to remove his leg). The food wasn't very good, but we were okay.

Even the hotel was nice. They gave us a gigantic room that looked like it was for a governor. They treated us like one, too. I was in complete bliss and never wanted it to end.

It did end, however. We got home exactly a week after we left. My mom wrote a note for me, explaining why I was gone. My parents completely forgot to call the school.

I tapped Marco on the shoulder when I got to school. He looked shocked when he turned around, then hugged me like he hadn't seen me in years.

"Marco, did you miss me that much?" I asked.

"I'll tell you the secret, just don't kill yourself!" he practically yelled.

"I was kidding when I said that," I told him. "What is it?" He was about to answer, but the bell rang. I went inside and caught quite a few people's attention. They looked at me like I was a ghost.

I passed Paige, "What's going on?"

"Hon, we all thought you were dead," she said.

"What!" I yelled. "Why?"

"You weren't here last week, no one could reach you," she explained.

"So you all automatically assumed that I killed myself?" I asked.

"Well, Hazel heard you telling Marco you were going to kill yourself," she said.

"I was joking!" I shouted. I was so furious! Yes, here I am Ellie Nash, the ex-cutter, emotionally unstable! I thought people had gotten over that! Just then, the warning bell rang and turned for my homeroom, where I got more stares.

I slapped the note on Kwan's desk and took my seat. Of course, I was in the center. I could feel people staring at me. Even if I had attempted suicide, I wouldn't have been the first person!

Around fourth period, I was called to Ms. Suave's office.

"Ellie, please take a seat," she said once I'd arrived. I sat. "Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

"No," I said.

"I've heard the rumors, Ellie, why did you do it?" she asked.

"I didn't," I said.

"Everything you say is confidential," she assured me.

"My dad came back from the military," I explained, "he took us to Busch Gardens for a week."

"Without calling the school?" she asked.

"I'm not lying," I said. "My parents forgot to call."

"I never said you were," she stated.

"Look, I've changed, Ms. Suave," I told her. "I didn't try to kill myself."

"All right, then, you may go," she said. She had this skeptical look in her eyes, though.

I left, even angrier than before. The lunch bell rang and I decided to go to The Dot. Half an hour passed, but I didn't feel like going back, so I skipped the rest of the day.

I got home, and was thankful to find that my parents hadn't found out yet, but I knew they would soon. For the first time in a couple of months, I bounced the elastic band on my wrist.

A/N Wow, I didn't think I'd get reviews. Thanks, and please review this chapter as well.