Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.
AN: God…104,000 signatures, maybe even OVER that for the SOPA petition...
Well, sad to say, my updates will slow down now, because I really need to try and catch up on this story and some others…Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 10:
Ellie sighs as she walks towards the small alive at the back of the school, reaching the small garden with the low-hanging trees. She just needed a break from everything today. They had had PE before lunch, and Manny's lack of sympathy was even more glaring as he and Diego were paired up for an activity.
Thank goodness it wasn't a trust fall - Ellie could almost believe that Manny would let Diego fall to his death, judging from his looks and comments. This confused her so much - why did Manny hate Diego? Sure, he might have been a little condescending at the start, but it wasn't like Diego was actively encouraging Manny's wrath.
If anything, the boy seemed to be trying to avoid Manny now as much as often, sending often disgruntled looks at the other boy, leaving Ellie to play mediator as Sid remains too terrified to interfere while her brothers continued their mess.
Being the only female in a group of boys was definitely a pain. She hoped Shira would spend more time with them; the silver-haired beauty was smart, sharp, and unafraid to stand up to any nonsense that she was witness to. It would be a relief to have someone else to trust and talk to instead of trying to coax Manny into conversation and dates all the time.
Ellie thanks her free period once again as the fresh air and brisk winds sweep over her face. For once, she was glad that she didn't share this free period with her friends.
She shivers, wrapping her coat and scarf more securely around her. The cold was starting to get to everyone, winter ominously making its call to Valley early.
Avoiding another low hanging tree, she heads towards the bench waiting in the centre.
She pauses.
Diego is sitting at the bench, legs crossed underneath him as he closes his eyes, head nodding along to music coming from his earphones. His laptop is propped precariously on his lap, left hand tapping some unknown rhythm on his knee. He opened his eyes, and for a second Ellie was worried he saw her.
She needn't worry.
Diego hunched over the laptop, clicking and sliding a few things into place, before he pressed the spacebar and closed his eyes, listening again.
Ellie tried to creep closer, thankful for all the times she spent hiding from her mother with Eddie and Crash. It had ingrained good ninja skills in her despite her large size.
Just as she was a couple of feet away, she stopped when Diego suddenly looks around, eyes narrowed.
Ellie is sure that he could hear her heart beating.
She heaves a sigh of relief as Diego snarls and turns back to his laptop, clearly unable to locate the disturbance he was looking for.
Ellie's eyes widened as she watches Diego's laptop: to say she was surprised was an understatement. She can see the different music files from where they were arranged in what appeared to be a medley of songs that Diego was currently editing.
As she continued to watch, Diego replayed a section he had just edited, then continued to cut and paste pieces of music.
Ellie cocked her head to the side. Diego White, second-in-command to Soto's football team and countless others she probably didn't know about, who despised Valley as much as his classmates, was doing something related to music in his spare time.
Diego suddenly straightened and slammed his laptop closed, causing Ellie to jump.
As she turned around, she realised what he had heard: footsteps and low conversation heading their way. When she glanced back, she noticed Diego was already gone.
Ellie came out of her hiding spot and looked at where Diego had been sitting. A glint of metal caught her eye, and she turned to see Diego's phone lying there. He must have forgotten it in his haste to get out of the alcove. Carefully picking it up, she admired the lightness of the phone, and guessed it was probably an expensive brand.
Well.
She did say that his personal relationships were none of her business, but what about his phone, which he carelessly left there?
There was a voice scolding her, but it was overpowered by the louder voice in her head, encouraging her to hack it with her minimal but still existing hacking skills, thoughtfully provided by her brothers.
With that thought in mind, Ellie unlocked the phone and tapped the music icon, eyes widening at the range of songs that greeted her. She did not know how many songs there were, only that she had been scrolling for three minutes that they still kept popping up. The genres were notoriously diverse - almost random, Ellie mused.
She backed out of the list and tapped the most-played section, confirming her suspicions.
Tartini's Devil Trill was among the most frequently played song, right there with three other artists that Ellie did not recognise.
Cautiously tapping it, she listens to the songs on the list, taking time to note them down.
Interesting.
These were actually quite good songs, though they seemed to be from independent artists rather than well-known names.
Backing out, she did a hasty search of Diego's apps and search history, noting with fascination the sheets of music that greeted her, alongside what seemed like compositions of his own. As she hummed the tunes, she couldn't help but wonder: why would Diego deny knowledge, much less interest in music, when he was so obviously good enough to join Valley?
Manny sighs as he walks to music, alone for once. Ellie had had to go and chase after Eddie and Crash after they had been caught playing some prank on some half-Peak students (surprisingly not Soto or his pack, which to Manny was practically a rousing statement that they were worried about the quiet member of their group). Sid was…well, somewhere.
He had not seen Diego since the previous day, and had only seen Shira a few hours ago, scribbling aimlessly in her book as their English teacher droned on something or the other about Shakespeare.
He sat down in his usual seat, then watched the seconds tick by, followed by the students beginning to trickle in.
Diego and the pack stroll in with the rest of the student body and take their places in a corner of the room; Ellie drags her brothers by the ear to sit beside him, shooting him a brilliant smile that turns into a dirty look when Crash attempts to escape. Manny rolls his eyes good-heartedly as Sid almost trips taking his seat.
After glancing at Diego - his animosity seems to have currently abated in the face of Diego's apparent weakness - he gestures to the seat next to him. Diego eyes him suspiciously, and Soto rests a hand on his shoulder, muttering something darkly. Diego listens, nods, then heads over and sits down.
He eyes Manny suspiciously, almost as if he were a rare and dangerous specimen.
That irrational spike of anger strikes again, and Manny swallows as he forces down the anger. He can see Ellie's worried and worn-out expression out of the corner of his eye, and he knew that this was wearing down on her already strained nerves.
He knows that she is still worried about the glee he had displayed in the canteen, and had attempted to bring up the topic more than once.
Manny had shut down all those attempts for one single reason: he still did not know why. He hadn't liked it, hadn't liked feeling that happiness through him that placed him in a good mood for the rest of the day despite being forced to wait outside the nurse's office. He felt almost…evil in a way, and it wasn't a good feeling.
It had terrified him, in fact, the idea that he could relish in another's pain. Now, Manny was far from the active bystander, but he usually did not go out of his way to enjoy someone's injury.
Regardless, he straightens in his seat as Ms Mitford makes her way to the front of the classroom and claps her hands to get the students' attention.
Everyone falls silent and turns to her.
"I will let everyone get on with their work," she smiles at them all, "but I have a quick reminder: you have a week left to finish your project, and then I suggest you make a start on your compositions."
Collective groans travel around the room, Manny joining in. Ellie rolls her eyes good-humouredly and nudged him, but otherwise remained silent as her brothers slump over their chairs.
Manny is justified, in his opinion. After all, to compose your own music was hard. But basing it off a guy who supposedly dreamed of a 'devil', of all things, playing the violin in his bedroom, and then writing it down? Tartini clearly had issues, no matter how amazing the result was.
He turns to his side, noting Diego's expression: he looked tired as always, but there is a haunted look in his eyes. He didn't look sickly any more, but he was clearly tired, his bright green eyes dim.
"I expect good things, everyone," Ms Mitford smiles innocently, a gleam of amusement in her eyes. "Does anyone have any questions?"
Ellie raises her hand. Manny turns to her.
"Yes, Ellie?" Ms Mitford smiles delightedly. Ellie had always been her best student.
"When we compose the music, do we all have to compose it together? Or can it be composed individually and performed together?"
Ms Mitford nodded. "You are certainly welcome to perform it however you want to; so long as everyone pitches in, then it will count towards a group effort."
"What if our composition was a mashup?"
Ms Mitford blinks, clearly not expecting this question. To be fair, neither did Manny, and he was actually dating her. Just what had happened during her free period that changed her? Just before, she was stressing over finding ways to compose new music.
Ms Mitford cocks her head thoughtfully. "I suppose that would be acceptable; I understand that this project is a difficult one."
Ellie beams and nods, and Manny sees Diego also shoot Ellie a suspicious look. As soon as they separate into groups once more, Manny frowns at Ellie.
"What was that all about?"
Ellie beams again. "Diego can take care of the music, and we'll play it. After we finish the project of course."
All of them stare at her as if she had gone insane. Manny exchanges a slow gaze with Diego, both of them on the same page for once.
"No." Diego scowls, crossing his arms.
"Why put him in charge of the music?" Eddie asks, crossing his arms. He isn't shutting down the idea, but he wants to know the reasoning behind it. Crash nods, clearly agreeing with his twin.
"Because of this," Ellie presents a phone with a flourish.
Diego's eyes widen as he snatches it. "You stole my phone?"
"No," Ellie waves off his indignation. "You dropped it."
Diego ignores her, unlocking the phone and scrolling through it with his lips pursed. "You hacked into my phone?"
Here, Ellie looks slightly sheepish. "Maybe…?"
Diego shoots her an unamused look as he tucks his phone back in his pocket. Manny arches an eyebrow at his girlfriend. Just what had encouraged her to think this was a good idea?
"Look, you can do it!" Ellie chirps happily. "I saw you during our free."
"Free?" Diego asks, sounding like he regrets asking the question.
"Yeah!" Ellie enthuses. "Just now? In the alcove? Where you were making some sort of mashup?"
"No." Diego repeats firmly. "Also, you're delusional and I can actually report you for this."
Ellie rolls her eyes. "No one's going to believe you." Manny shoots her an impressed look, though he is equally apprehensive. "Anyways-"
"No." Diego cuts in, but he quickly lets out a yelp as Crash takes him, Eddie snatching his phone up. "What the hell are you doing?! Get off me!"
He shoves the twin off him with a resounding crash. Valley students, long since used to the twins' antics, merely turn back to their conversation. Soto looks concerned but amused, and he remains in his spot in the corner.
"Give that back!" Diego lunges out.
"Not until you agree to do this!" Ellie says cheerfully, accepting the phone with a smile at her brothers.
Diego glares at them, muttering unsavoury things under his breath. "This is theft of property."
Ellie bats her eyelashes. "Me? Steal? Never."
Manny hides a laugh at the disgruntled look on Diego's face, before he sighs. "Fine. Fine. I'll do this stupid thing."
Ellie brightens up immediately. "Really?"
"Just give that back to me!" Diego reaches for the phone, but Ellie dances out the way.
"Promise?"
Diego grits his teeth and glares at her. "I'm not performing."
"Of course you're not," Eddie scoffs, but Ellie quickly whacks him on the head with a pointed stare. Eddie clears his throat and nods.
Ellie smiles. "See? That wasn't so hard." She tosses the phone back to him which he catches one-handed. It would be more impressive if he wasn't sulking like a child.
"Why the hell do you even want me to do this though? You guys are the musical prodigies."
Ellie snorts. "Please, our composing skills are rubbish. Half-Peak students are generally worst," she ignores Diego's disbelieving eye roll, "but you have a pretty good ear. Also, you don't know how to play an instrument."
"How do you know that?" He mutters under his breath, crossing his arms.
"Can you?" Ellie looks interested once more.
"No." Diego emphasises with a scowl, but it's not very believing with his glance at his friends, who thankfully remain ignorant about the conversation.
"How did you even learn about this?" Sid asks, bold enough upon seeing Ellie easily dance around him.
Diego turns a venomous glare on him.
"It's not that tough a question." Ellie says softly.
Diego rolls his eyes. "My dad went to Valley." Manny frowns. Then what the hell was Diego doing at Half-Peak, of all places? Ignoring them, Diego leans back in his chair and pulls out his laptop. "You guys better finish the project."
