Chapter 3

A/N: I'm really, REALLY sorry for not updating sooner, but I've been busy. (I'm sure you've never heard that one before, eh?) Anyway, the new season of Degrassi and Stacey's eternal hotness has inspired me to continue with this. Hope y'all enjoy.

"No personal e-mails during class," Mr. Simpson whispered in surprisingly close proximity to Paige's ear.

Ellie watched, bemused, as Paige forced a smile onto her cherry-flavored lips. "Right, Mr. Simpson, sorry." She hit the 'X' button in the top right corner of the window, closing the browser.

"Now that Ms. Michaelchuk has so generously blessed us with her mental presence," Mr Simpson said, addressing the entire class, "We can go ahead and choose our topics for our slide shows. I've set up a random name-generator on the network, with all of your names in it. Click the button, and a name will pop up. We'll use it as a lottery for who gets to choose first."

Mr. Simpson moved behind his desk and hit the mouse connected to his laptop. The class looked to their own computer screens, watching the networked program. A name appeared on the screen in simple black-and-white text: 'Jimmy Brooks'.

"Oh," Jimmy said, looking back over the list of suggested topics, "I'll take...uh... rites of passage."

Mr. Simpson nodded and made a note of Jimmy's choice. He pressed the button again, and the next name to pop up on the screen was Hazel's.

Ellie zoned out everyone else, staring at her computer screen with a slightly glazed-over look. Her temple was resting in her left hand, her free hand tapping nervously against her leg. She thought about what had happened in the bathroom three days ago, about how Paige couldn't mind her own damn business. And, worst still, Ellie couldn't risk cutting again at school. She knew that if Paige caught her again, she'd be true to her words.

Her eyes refocused as she saw her own name pop up on her computer screen, startling her slightly.

"Ellie?" Mr. Simpson asked, "What topic do you want?"

"It's not on the list," she said apologetically, "but I'd really like to do transvestitism."

Mr. Simpson nodded in approval, made a note, and looked up. "Paige, you're the only one left. What taboo do you want to cover?"

Ellie glanced over to see Paige smirking slightly. "It's also not on the list, Mr. Simpson," Paige began. Ellie turned around to face her screen again, not caring about what shallow faux pas Paige would pick.

"But I'd like to cover cutting."