Entry Number One Hundred Seventy-Six:
Today's the last day of the cheerleading season.
And do you know what that means?
Entry Number One Hundred Seventy-Seven:
That's right! Hamtaro's going to ask me out!
Ok, no, that's not what today means. (But I can dream, right?)
I have to present the butterfly garden the cheerleaders paid for to the rest of the school.
Entry Number One Hundred Seventy-Eight:
And do you know what that really means?
Entry Number One Hundred Seventy-Nine:
I get to give the speech and Sparkle doesn't! Muahahahahahahahaha….
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty:
So, Sandy and Pashmina are worried about me…They won't let me eat my lunch in peace.
"Bijou! Why do you keep putting yourself down?"
"You're perfect just the way you are!"
If I'm so perfect, why won't Hamtaro ask me out!
"Here he comes now…"
I thought out loud again, didn't I?
"Yup."
"You've really got to get over that habit."
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-One:
"Hey guys!"
"Hey!"
"Watsup?"
"Bonjour!"
Don't you love the fact that all three of us have different greetings?
"Yeah, you girls are cool like that."
Grrr! Must stop thinking out loud! (And yes, this time I am actually thinking to myself!)
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Two:
"Anyway, I was wondering if I could speak to you, Bijou?"
Pashmina Sandy and I stare at each other.
If no one else was in the cafeteria right now, we would SQUEE with delight.
"Oui, 'amtaro."
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Three:
He leads me out to the butterfly garden that's supposed to be unveiled later today…
…but for some reason is out in the open…
"It's a pretty garden. You girls worked really hard on it."
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Four:
Enough with the small talk! What do you need to say!
Boys are so annoying like that…
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Five:
"Well, what I brought you out here for is to ask you something…"
Here it comes…
"I heard you talking about your dream last night with Boss…"
"And?"
"I heard you say you started dancing with him…"
He pauses and looks at me.
His eyes get lower.
"…and that you liked it…"
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Six:
"Oui, 'amtaro. Boss and I are close-"
"How close?" he asks immediately.
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Seven:
I stare at him suspiciously. This wasn't the exclamation of love I was hoping for.
"Very," I answer after a while of staring him down. "I am closer zoo 'im zhan I am with mozt ozzer boys."
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Eight:
His ears droop in front of my eyes (as does the rest of his body).
"Thanks, Bijou. You told me everything I needed to know."
Entry Number One Hundred Eighty-Nine:
When I return to my lunch table, Pashmina and Sandy start attacking me with questions.
"Did he ask you out?"
"You said yes, right? Of course you did!"
"How'd he ask it?"
"Did he tell you that you were everything he ever wanted and more?"
"Did he give you chocolate and flowers?"
"When's your first date?"
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety:
"'amtaro zid not azk me about zat at all!"
"What?"
"Are you serious?"
"What'd he want?" They ask in unison.
"'e azked me 'ow close I waz zoo Boss!"
They look at each other.
"Well! What did you tell him?"
"Zat Boss and I are very close!"
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-One:
Pashmina and Sandy slap their foreheads in frustration.
"BIJOU!"
"What?"
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Two:
So, in ten minutes I go out and give my speech to the school.
And Sparkle thought that she could take this opportunity away from me.
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Three:
At the moment, every cheerleader is behind the garden, waiting for their cues to approach the podium in front of the audience, who is in front of the garden.
A fellow cheerleader comes up to me and holds up a tray of cookies.
"One of the cheerleaders baked cookies for the whole squad. Would you like one?"
"Merci, but no. I am zoo nervous for zhis speech zoo eat."
"Oh, but these cookies will get rid of any pre-speech jitters!"
I start picking up a cookie, but the cheerleader stops me.
"The cookies were made personally for each member of the squad! The one with the blue and white sprinkles is for you."
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Four:
I pick up the cookie and the cheerleader watches as I eat it.
Hmm…these sprinkles taste….bitter.
The sprinkles dissolve into a nasty feeling liquid and leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth.
The cheerleader waits for me to finish the whole thing and then she leaves.
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Five:
That's when I started to glance over my speech again.
I start reading my opening lines, and that's when it hit me.
I don't hear anything when I speak.
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Six:
I look around at the garden and the audience facing me.
In a few minutes, I have to present the garden to the audience…
And I don't have a voice!
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Seven:
I try to scream. Maybe my ears are bad.
No one turns around and looks at me.
That's because they can't hear me.
I can feel my eyes get watery.
I try to clear my throat, but it feels like me throat is completely empty.
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Eight:
I grab one of the cheerleaders. I try to talk to them, scream at them, anything!
But all she does is look at me, confused.
"Bijou, are you OK?" she asks.
Entry Number One Hundred Ninety-Nine:
I shake my head furiously.
"Hello, Bijou."
I turn around and see Sparkle. I gesture furiously at my mouth, but she simply smiles.
Entry Number Two Hundred:
"I see you've tried my cookies. A lot of people think they taste simply amazing. In fact, you could say that they leave you speechless."
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I was depressed when no one realized at the end of the last chapter the huge Hamtaro/Bijou clue I put in. Did you notice when Bijou told Boss she had fun dancing with him that Hamtaro dropped the bag he was carrying? Hmm…Maybe I was being too subtle.
If all goes well, there are only two more chapters of the story.