A/N: Sorry for the not-updating-as-fast-as-I-wanted-to thing, but 1) my computer was being retarded and 2) this took me forever to type. I love you guys for reviewing for chapter two. To know that you guys stuck to reading my story and hope for more makes me all warm and fuzzy inside! Seriously, I can't thank you guys enough! Luvya! Okay, A LOT of things happen in this chapter, and yes, Michael is back (I'm glad cause I missed my Mr. Comedy Relief man). Well, my brain hurts right now from all this typing, so I'm gonna stop for now and let you guys read.
DISCLAIMER: No, people, I do not own Zoey 101 or any of its characters, even though in my mind I treat them as if they were my little babies. My zany, adorable, slightly insane babies.
"Excuse me! Excuse me! Out of my way, please! Coming through!" Chase couldn't get enough of bumping into random students as he ran out of Fulton Hall, through the courtyard and back into Maxwell. He looked at his watch to learn he had…ten minutes and eighteen seconds to get this baby wrapped up and packaged before the MailEx truck left for the night. He was so NOT going to get another merciless beat down from Holly this year if he could help it.
Chase was running so blindly he didn't notice the troubled boy with three huge bags of luggage in front of his face. In an instant the two crashed into each other and hit the ground with a loud THUMP. Chase landed to the left—the boy towards the right. During the crash, Chase's purse slipped out of his hand and landed on one of the boy's red duffle bags—which caused the beautiful necklace to stumble out as well. The boy staggered but was able to rise up before Chase (our poor fuzzy boy had his head smashed with a gym bag). A quick wave of guilt and concern washed over the boy: he hoped he didn't hurt the guy. He rubbed his neck to work out the kinks when he noticed the green Danicci laying near him.
The guy carries around a purse? That's…not strange at all… But then he froze. It was not the stylish purse that caught him extremely off-guard; right by his foot rested a stunning gold heart-charmed necklace. A familiar stunning gold heart-charmed necklace. There was a one in a million chance that necklace was what he thought it was, but he was just too curious to let it go. He knelt down and grabbed it by the chain.
His heart stopped.
It couldn't be.
It is…but how…?
Before he had time to articulate a coherent thought, the boy with the purse began to rise from his position on the floor. He could've done a lot of logical things with the necklace, but because of his current state of shock, he panicked. He hurriedly stuffed the necklace in his pocket and straightened his clothes. Act natural, he repeated over and over in his mind.
"Oh, man," he grabbed one of his hands to help Chase up, "I'm sorry about that. I guess I couldn't see where I was going."
"Oh, no, oh, no, dude I'm sorry," Chase staggered a bit but was overall able to finally stand. He dusted the dirt off his shoulders (lol like the song). Instead of taking a first glance at the boy with the entire luggage, he spun around frantically looking for his sister's gift. Oh, crap! He had…nine minutes and four seconds to get it ready!
"Um," he asked, "have you seen my purse, I really—oh, there it is!" he caught the sight of his bag resting on a duffle bag, but it was only after he grabbed it and cradled it did he realize how queer he must have looked (not that kind of queer) to passing strangers.
"Oh, uh…t-this isn't m-my purse…" he stuttered in embarrassment. "My girlfriend gave it to me—uh, well, not for me, for m-my sister. See, she's 24 lives in Napa and married to a guy with a dog named Schlappy and she's gonna commit sibling homicide if I don't give her a gift which I have to MailEx in…eight minutes and twenty-four seconds and you really don't care at all, do you?"
The boy laughed. "Oh, of course I…okay, no not really." The boy with the purse may have been…strange…but he could tell he was a really nice guy; a really nice guy with incredibly wild hair. That's when it dawned on him. This face…he's seen this face somewhere before. Somewhere…but where?
"Sorry, man, I get caught up like that sometimes." He held out a hand to offer a handshake. "Hi, I'm—"
"Chase Matthews…" Of course! He'd never forget that picture of his hair!
Chase gave him a very confused look then turned around to study the area. He wasn't being Punk'd, was he? He turned back to the mysterious boy. "Um, how do you know my name?"
"Oh, right, how rude of me," the boy shook Chase's outstretched hand. "Hi, I'm James Garret." (0.o)
"Hey, Michael, all my plain white T's (pun!) are in the wash, can I borrow one of yours to sleep in?" Logan glanced in Michael's drawer. If he was going to say no, he'd steal one anyway.
"Meh." Michael lied in his top bunk (Chase got the single this year, yay!), head suffocated by his pillow with a very dead/apathetic gleam in his eyes. He really had no clue what Logan asked, let alone if he said anything at all.
"Uh, was that a yes or a no?"
"Meh." Logan rolled his eyes. He's had to deal with Michael's nothingness ever since he came in the dorm after Quinn left to study with DelFigello (a study session that was only supposed to last one hour and fifteen minutes). At the time Michael just got back from saying goodbye to Lisa but wouldn't tell him anything about it—he just climbed up the bunk stairs and Meh-ed every time he was asked a question. Don't get him wrong, Logan sympathized for his friend—Lord knows what he'd do if Quinn moved to New Hampshire—but he didn't believe this was an acceptable reason for him to behave not like himself. This nothingness version was way too depressing and not fun: not the Michael he knew.
"Well, if that's how you feel I'll just be taking one."
"Meh"
Logan ignored that statement and created one of his own. "'Oh, go ahead, Logan, you're the most awesome person in the world; you can have one of my t-shirts!' 'Oh, thank-you, Michael, how oh-so generous of you. And you're right, I am awesome.'" He was slipping the shirt on when Chase walked into their dorm with something behind his back.
"Hello, comrades of mine."
"Hey," greeted Logan.
"Meh," Michael's head was still covered by his pillow.
Chase turned to Logan. "Is he still Meh-ing?" He ran into Michael earlier—apparently right after Lisa left—and when he asked how'd he feel, he was greeted with: Meh.
"Oh, yeah. It's like something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers."
"Well," Chase made his way towards Michael and leaned against his bunk. He removed his hands from behind his back to reveal a basket full of potato chips. Michael's been his best friend since the sixth grade, and if he knew one thing about him, it was that he LOVED his potato chips. "I guess that means he doesn't want to join me in a delightful bedtime snack of Leroy's Potato Chips—barbeque flavored." Chase reached in his pocket to grab a mini fan and it soon began blowing the irresistible aroma towards Michael's nose. It took a couple of seconds, but Michael finally turned around and snatched the basket from Chase's hand. Logan chuckled and started gargling with his White Crest mouthwash.
"Meh," and he then began stuffing his face. Chase smiled in accomplishment and started scratching behind Michael's ear. "That's a good boy; who's a good boy, yes you are, yes you are, my little zombie."
"Hey, Chase," Logan interrupted the patronizing moment between him and Michael, "I got your text message as to why you couldn't shoot pool with me earlier. Did you find that gift for your sister?"
Chase moved away from Michael (still chomping down sullenly on his chips) and walked toward his drawer. He kicked off his shoes and began getting ready for bed. "Yeah, yeah, Zoey helped me out…" his mind immediately sent him to that surprising event that happened not too long ago. "But you can't believe what happened to me."
Logan spat into their miniature fern plant and began gargling again. "Did you trip over someone in the hallway like you usually do?"
"NO—wait, yeah…but you'll never guess who I tripped into."
Logan thought. "Um…Brick Hunter?"
"No."
"Good, cause he'd squash you like a bug. Who'd you run into already?"
Chase finished putting on his pajamas and sunk down on his bed. All joking was pushed aside; he was serious now. "James Garrett."
Logan performed the classic "spit shock" and spat out his mouthwash all over the floor. What? "James Garrett?"
"Yeah, I suppose you know him considering he was you guys' roommate last semester."
"Yeah, but how do you know him?"
"I told you, man, we bumped into each other in the hall."
FLASHBACKIE!
"…Hi, I'm James Garrett."
Chase froze. If it wasn't for James tugging his hand free, he would've probably squeezed it to death (by accident, people). "James…Garrett…"
"Right, I used to live with your roommates, Logan and Michael… They had a group photo with you on the dresser, which explains how I know your face…yeah" He didn't know if Chase was feeling more awkward then him right now; maybe, maybe not.
Oh, yes, Chase knew James. How could he forget the name of his seemingly replacement for a whole semester and not to mention his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend? Zoey told him about James and their relationship during their ride to Maui—she also told him that even though he's a really nice guy she could never feel the same way about him as she does Chase. That was enough to win Chase over, and he never spoke of his name again. He's never seen his face, however, which was why he didn't recognize him.
"Oh, well…what are you doing back at PCA? Dean Rivers said you left to visit your grandfather."
"I did, and now that I'm done I've decided to come back. Or…am I not…welcome?" He tried not to consider it too much, especially since he's had a lot to go on during the summer, but it always bothered him whether he'd be accepted by his old friends if he returned. Well, while he was getting into his father's car last year about to depart, he heard news from two random students that Chase Matthews was back. He knew Michael, Zoey, and the others would be ecstatic that he was back, and probably already forgot he existed. How would they feel if the supposed "Chase Matthews understudy" was to return?
Chase felt slight guilt course through him. "No…no man, I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I'm not in charge of who stays here; PCA's for everyone. Me Casa, Su Casa!"
James laughed. That did make him feel relief…well a little…kind of…not really, but still. "Thanks. Well, I'd love to chat some more, but I have to find my new dorm room and you have," he checked his watch, "six minutes exactly to mail that purse."
Oh, crap! Of course! Chase looked down at the green bag. "That's right, thanks, I gotta go!" He was about to dash in the other direction when all of a sudden James stopped him.
"Wait!" James knew he shouldn't do this. From the looks of things he was on a relatively good page with Chase and didn't want to ruin it. But the gold necklace in his right pocket was eating at him. He just had to know why this was here. "You said before your girlfriend gave you that bag. Does that girlfriend happen to be Zoey Brooks?"
Chase was silent for a few seconds, maybe even more. Why did he want to know? "Yeah, she is. Is that a problem?"
"No, no, just curious." He shifted his weight to his right heel; gosh, that necklace felt like it weighed a ton. "Anyway, you'd better go."
"Right…"still confused, Chase didn't want to give James the opportunity to say anything else and walked away.
END FLASHBACKIE!
"Wait…" said Logan, "If he's here…then he's here…as in back here here" (hey, if it makes sense to Logan then it makes sense to everybody)
"Yep, I'm pretty sure all the luggage gave it away."
Logan thought back to last year. Prom was like the wildest night of the year (especially considering he made out with Quinn like fifty times, followed by the constant third degree from his friends). There was an after party in the girls' lounge, and it wasn't until the end did Dean Rivers make an appearance to announce to him and Michael that James took an early dismissal on account of his sick grandfather. Logan and Michael were surprised to see him go so abruptly, but made an agreement with angry Ms. Bervich to let Chase stay with them. The summer came by fast, so no one really spoke much of him. But now that he was back, there was just one thing Logan HAD to know…
"Dude, is he hot?"
Chase gave Logan a very discomfited stare. "…Well…he had nice hair, but—"
"I knew it!" he fumed and sunk down on Chase's bed. "It's that beautiful blonde hair and those gorgeous green eyes that draws them in! Let me bet, there were groups of girls following him around, weren't there? Darn him and his attractiveness!"
Chase scooted a couple of seats away from Logan. "…um, well after drowning in his sexiness (he rolled his eyes) we talked for like a minute and…he seemed nice…" his voice trailed off as he thought deeper.
Logan focused back on the topic. "Yeah, I guess he's good people, but you're voice has a distant-vibe going on. What else happened?"
Chase sucked in a breath. A part of him knew he shouldn't, that he'd just be making something out of nothing, but that part wasn't as influencing as the part that told him to freak out and worry. "He asked me if Zoey was my girlfriend."
"…and?" Logan didn't see the harm in that.
"…and he asked me if Zoey was my girlfriend." Chase couldn't get why Logan didn't seem flustered. Obviously this was a big deal.
"…AND?"
"…AND he asked me if Zoey was my girlfriend!"
"Okay, okay! Jeez, what's your problem? So he asked you if you're going out with Zoey. You guys' are right?"
"You don't think it's kind of odd that the ex-boyfriend is asking the new boyfriend about his ex-girlfriend?"
"…No. Michael, you don't think that's odd, do you?" They both looked at the top bunk but unfortunately saw Michael dead asleep with scattered potato chip crumbs on his face. Hm, he must have been tired out from crying.
Chase huffed. He knew his feelings were not dramatized and he had to show Logan that in a way he could understand. "So you're telling me you wouldn't find it the least bit suspicious if Mark came up to you asking you about Quinn. You know, how she was doing after you guys have been dating for what, ten months?"
That sure did it. Logan's fingers tightened into a fist and he abruptly rose from Chase's bed. "That doofbag! He wishes he was on my level with Quinn. Wait—he probably DOES wish he was on my level with Quinn!" He started reaching for his cell phone. "That's it, I'm calling Quinn—"
Chase rose and stopped him. "Dude, it's eleven thirty, they're probably asleep. And besides, I was just trying to make a point."
Logan looked back to his phone pondering whether he should still call, you know, just to make sure Mark wasn't there. But he realized he was being a tad ridiculous and closed his phone. "Well, you've made your point," he said to Chase. "So, does this mean you're thinking James still has feelings for Zoey?"
Chase let out deep sigh. "I don't know. Hey, let me ask you something: when he and Zoey broke up did he seem mad, angry, overwhelmed in despair?"
"You're asking the wrong person, dude. None of us was there when they broke up. If you wanna know, you're going to have to ask Zoey."
Chase sunk back down on his mattress. He rested the palm of his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling in thought. He knew he was going to have to tell Zoey what happened: they never keep secrets from each other. They don't lie and they don't keep in things that are bothering them—and this was bothering him. It wasn't anything personal about James that he didn't like—his brand of sarcasm was impressive—but he couldn't help but get the vibe that there was something on his mind, something he wanted to say but couldn't. Just why exactly did he want to know if Zoey was with him? They're over, what should it matter? Maybe…maybe Logan was right (that's something you don't say everyday). Maybe it was just an innocent query. Maybe he didn't mean anything by it. Maybe…maybe he just needed some sleep.
"Well," he yawned, "that's just something we're going to have to deal with in the morning. Until then, I'd like to enjoy my eleven hours of sleep."
Logan shrugged and hopped into his bottom bunk. "Way to delay the drama, dude. Night."
"Yeah…goodnight."
About one minute later, Chase was able to fall right asleep, but Logan kept turning in his blanket. "UGH! SOMEONE GOT POTATO CHIP CRUMBS IN MY BED!"
"Mm, this low-fat doodlecake is like heaven with a side trip to paradise." Lola's mouth watered at the taste of the cream-filled snack and enjoyed another bite. It was Saturday morning and she and Zoey were lounging on the girls' dorm couch, waiting for the Saturday morning announcements to air.
"I don't think that snack is very breakfast-friendly," commented Zoey.
"Hey, it's low-fat and milk was probably needed to make this. Therefore it is the perfect mini-breakfast."
"Okeedokee."
"Speaking of doodlecakes, did you find out what you wanted to do with James' necklace?"
Zoey paused, but replied without giving a straightforward answer. "You know, Chase it right; you are horrible with word associations."
"Well, I'll work on that, but you still haven't answered my question."
Zoey's distraction was useless; she gallingly dropped her head on the arm rest of the couch. "Ugh, I don't know!"
"Have you thought about telling Chase?"
Zoey buried her head with her hands. "Well, I did…"
Lola started to become worried for her friend. "But…" she urged.
"But then I had a dream last night that I told him. I showed him the necklace and he got so angry he broke up with me, robbed a bank, and camel-backed all the way to Milwaukee."
Lola looked at her with VERY confused features.
Zoey continued. "Well, apparently he would never rob a bank or camel-back all the way to Milwaukee, but you have to admit the first one could happen!"
Lola pulled her arms away from her face and sat her up in an upright position. "Zoey, please don't beat yourself up over this. Look, it's obvious you had too much coffee before bed and your brain went haywire. Chase would never EVER do something like that to you. …And besides, he's terrified of camels."
"Yeah," Zoey tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I guess you're right. Chase is like, the most caring, considerate boy I know. If I told him the truth, sure it may bother him a bit, but he'd understand that me keeping James' necklace was purely—"
"SHH!" Lola stuffed her remaining doodlecake in Zoey's mouth. "Exne on the ecklessne! Logan's coming!" Zoey was a bit confused but did as she was ordered.
Logan strode into the lounge and waved to a couple of passing boys. "Heya, chicks," He greeted Zoey and Lola as he approached them.
"Hey, Logan," both chimed, but Zoey's greeting came out extremely muffled and incoherent. Logan gave her a peculiar stare.
"Hehe," Lola tried to cover. "She loves her doodlecakes!"
"Um, sure she does. Say has anyone of you guys seen Quinn?"
Zoey chewed the last bit of the doodlecake and swallowed. "Last time we saw her she was still in our room, but she said she'd meet us in a bit."
"Oh, that's good."
"Aw," Lola teased, "you're worried she's with Mark, aren't you?"
"No," Logan crossed his arms and glared.
"I think you are," Zoey added in. "It's written all over your face."
Logan rolled his eyes and turned around so his back was facing them. Now she couldn't even see his face, so HA.
"Oh," Lola just couldn't get enough of this. Witnessing Logan Reese jealous of another boy because of a girl was something she used to bet money on she'd never see. Now that that was true, she just couldn't let chances to mock him go. "I think he let her borrow his pocket protector; you better be careful, Reese, he's after your girl!"
Logan swung back around. "Shows what you know! Quinn doesn't even wear pockets, so there! And besides, I'm so not the jealous type."
"Alright," she ended their conversation, but in a whisper, she turned to Zoey. "He's so jealous."
"Yeah, he so is," agreed Zoey.
"What was that?"
"We love pie!" Zoey covered.
"Okay…" slightly bored, Logan walked over to the flat screen. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and pressed the circular red button.
Nothing came on.
He pressed it again, but again nothing happened.
"I think this is broken."
"Just like your brain?" Logan shot a glare at Lola.
"Just kidding."
He decided not to give her the satisfaction of a slick comeback and grabbed another remote off the table.
"What are you doing?" asked Zoey.
"Switching the batteries." He opened the back of both remotes and began the switching.
"You should just leave them alone," warned Lola.
"You should just jump off a cliff," he shot back.
"Your mom should just jump off a cliff!"
"I have eight step moms, pick one!"
Logan didn't give Lola time to reply and turned on the TV. The PCA News header appeared on the screen. At the sound of the catchy theme music, students started gathering around the TV to get another dose of mediocre high school broadcasting.
"Where's my makeup!" Jeremiah could be heard saying. "I need my makeup!" He was given a signal by the cameraman that they were on air, and immediately straightened his tie.
"Hello, fellow student body, Jeremiah Trottman here with your PCA News."
"Have you ever noticed he never changes his shoes?" Zoey asked to Lola.
"Yeah, but you have to admit, the orange does suit him well."
"Now, before I begin with the days' events, I'd like to make a quick and special announcement. I have with me here a very special and familiar face, not to mention my new roommate—"
"Oh, no…" Logan glanced back to Zoey and inwardly bit his lip. He knew Chase wanted to be the one to tell her, but he wasn't sure if 'publicly to the whole school' was apart of his plan. He cringed before turning back to the TV.
"James Garrett!"
A cornucopia of replies and commentary could be heard throughout the lounge, but nothing compared to Zoey's reaction. Her eyes were the size of grapefruits and her mouth hung agape as she stared transfixed at the television.
"James…Garrett…?" her voice caught in her throat and she was barely audible.
Lola gulped. Never before was the stench of drama so abundant. She waved a hand in front of her face in hopes of sending her back down to Earth. "Maybe…we heard it wrong. Maybe he said…James Barret, you know…Michael's evil twin…" But that theory was flushed down the toilet as soon as James' face was seen on the TV.
"Hey, everyone. I'm so excited to be back here at PCA."
"Yeah," replied Zoey bitterly, "I didn't know Michael's evil twin had green eyes, blonde hair, and looks nothing like him."
"You're right," Lola replied pathetically, "he's too cute to be evil."
"So James, please tell us all the things you missed here, besides your very handsome anchorman, of course."
"Riiight…Well, I miss the lunches. I've swear you have the meatiest meatloaf this world has ever seen."
"Thank-you!" a random cafeteria lady shouted from across the room.
"I also miss the amazing sporting events and the awesome teachers, not to mention the sick lounges here."
Jeremiah nodded in agreement.
"But…I especially miss all the great and wonderful friends I've made," he turned to face the camera directly. "I haven't forgotten about you, and I hope you haven't forgotten about me."
Zoey froze. She really hoped her ears just were playing tricks on her and not that what he said was a secret message directed to her personally. She could have suppressed that thought a lot easier if the students weren't whispering and eyeing her curiously. James made a lot of good friends last year; he could mean anyone. She mentally slapped herself. Even she could tell she was in denial.
"That was truly a pleasure, James, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your year here." he turned to the camera. "I'll now be taking you over to sports with my buddy Johnny Silverman—"
Logan cut the TV off. Mostly all the students started to disperse, so it really didn't matter. He could feel the tension in the air radiating from Zoey. He glanced at Lola and she gave him a look as if she was saying, Yeah, this is gonna be bad. If I were you I'd go.
You don't have to tell me twice, he telecommunicated back. "So, um…I'm going to fetch Quinn and um…make-out! See ya!" and he was gone.
Suddenly the headache Zoey had from last night came back. Why? Why did every bad thing that could jeopardize her and Chase' relationship have to happen now? Last night she found her ex-boyfriend's necklace that said "I love you"; today that same guy returns to PCA and says over TV "I haven't forgotten about you, and I hope you haven't forgotten about me". What was going to happen tomorrow? Was he going to beat up Chase and ask her hand in marriage in front of the whole Malibu population?
No, she had to stop that before it happened.
Determined to talk to James before anyone else (i.e. Chase) could, she rose from the couch and headed for the exit. Lola, puzzled, watched her go.
"Hey," she called after her, "where are you going?"
"To welcome our new student," and she was gone. Lola turned back around and sunk in her seat. Great, now one of her best friends was in the midst of a great ordeal and she didn't know what she could do to help. Plus she was now bored! Logan was probably fifteen seconds away from running into Quinn so hanging out with her wasn't an option. Chase—oh, she wouldn't dare hang out with Chase alone in fear she might totally blow Zoey's secret; Vince was at an early football practice with some others on the team (which made her very mad. Really, why would you want to practice and get sweaty on a Saturday instead of spending quality time with your girlfriend?), and Michael was…wait, where was Michael? She hadn't heard anything from him since yesterday, and didn't know how he took the Lisa news. She had to find him: he was now her one and only source of non-boredom.
Almost right after she had that thought, Michael came dragging his feet entering the lounge. He walked slowly until he found the couch and sat in the seat that Zoey once occupied. He was arched forward; his elbows rested on his knees and cheeks were smashed between his palms.
"Hey, Michael," Lola welcomed.
"Hey…" he monotonously welcomed back. Lola took it as a bit strange, but since she didn't have to hear him "meh"-ing last night, she didn't realize what an accomplishment this was.
"So…how was your morning?"
"Okay…" again his tone was lifeless. Lola began feeling a bit uncomfortable. One word answers? This was definitely not the Michael she knew.
"Okay," she paused for a second, thinking of something that he would give a better answer to. She got it! "Hey! Did you watch the PCA news? James is back, how exciting is that?"
"Very…"
Lola huffed. That was all she could handle of his zombie-like attitude. "Oh, come on! That's a very serious topic that requires at least a 3-dimensional answer. I know you have more to say than just 'very'."
Michael sighed. "Okay… how about this: 'that is very exciting news'. Is that simple-structured sentence enough for you?"
Lola clearly noticed the irritation in his voice. A little hurt, she backed down. "Sorry…"
Michael inwardly winced. He knew he shouldn't have taken that tone of voice with Lola. She was, after all, just trying to start a conversation. The back of his mind had many exciting comments to say about James being back, but this…this thing was just in the way, constantly overpowering his thoughts so that it was the only thing he could think about. He knew what it was: Lisa.
"No, I'm sorry," he began, trying his best to verbally express his feelings for the second time today (Chase asked him when he woke up how he was feeling, and he told him about the brain allegory. Chase understood and thankfully let it go). He couldn't forget he still had friends that cared. "I know it's not like me to be like this—I don't even like me when I'm like this. But could you all blame me? My girlfriend just dumped me for New Hampshire. What's worse is that I didn't even see this coming. She dropped the metaphorical bomb on me and I'm still getting the after-effects of it; I barely have the strength to move today."
Lola listened to all of his words and no longer was her feelings hurt. She had no idea he felt this badly, and now she couldn't help but feel a little guilty that she didn't pay much attention. She decided not to go for the whole "I'm sorry" or the classic cliché, "there's more fish in the sea"; boys hated that with a passion. Instead, she decided to just be a friend. "At least now you're up to the compound-complex structure of your sentences; and don't say you have no strength. How were you able to get up out of bed if you had no strength?"
"I had to get up; the mattress was drenched in water."
"From what?"
"From my tears!" He finally broke down and started crying in Lola's lap.
"Aw, Michael…" Lola delicately began to pet his head. That boy could certainly cry up a storm. She had to lift him up before he made it look like she wet herself. "What can I do to make you sit up and stop crying?"
"Nothing!" he continued to sob. "Nothing you do can ease my pain, my heartache, my abandonment, my depression, my anger, my sorrow, my misery, my woe, my…"
During Michael's monologue of sadness, Lola contemplated on things that always made Michael happy. Well, from her three years of knowing him, she was able to make a list in her head. The number one thing was definitely his friends: well, he had one of them right now but she alone was not able to help. The second thing was in New Hampshire—not to mention the cause of this—so that was also out of the question. The third thing was…of course! The third thing! Genius!
"…my anguish, my rejection, my loneliness, my desolation, my grief, my distress, my—"
"Oh, Michael," Lola reached into her purse and grabbed out her GEO. Music was the third source of his happiness and feel-good attitude. Besides junk food, music was like heroine to Michael. She searched through her songs and soon found the perfect one to revive his perkiness.
"This song is number one on the Dance Party Revolution playlist. It's pumped up beats make it impossible for you to resist." She placed a tiny earbud in his right ear and hit play.
Dam Dadi Doo Dam Dam Didoo Didam Dam Dadi Doo Dam Dam Didoo Didam… (Okay, people, this is a real song called 'Dam Dadi Doo' by Nightcore. It's one of my favs)
Michael's tears slowly resided as he took in the fast-pace melody through his eardrums. He felt absolutely miserable and was probably in the biggest flump in his life, but he had to admit this was catchy. He could definitely see this as a song to dance to—
That's when it hit him.
Dance.
Lisa left him for dance.
In literally a second he relapsed and took the earbud out of his ear. He removed his head from Lola's lap and covered his face in hands. Lola hit pause on her GEO and forcefully pulled his hands away from his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Don't lie to me, Michael; I saw your head slightly nod to the beat."
"It did!" He cried again.
"So what's wrong?"
"Lisa loves to dance! She dumped me for dance! Dance won her over, but I couldn't!"
Lola crossed her arms. "So you're never going to listen to music again because it reminds you of dancing which reminds you of Lisa?" Even she had to admit that was unbelievably ridiculous.
"Well, duh." Michael gave her a look as if that was extremely obvious.
"UGH! THAT'S IT!" Unexpectedly, she yanked Michael by the arm and stomped out of the lounge.
"Wh—where are you taking me?" asked a baffled Michael.
"To my room; I have something to show you that I KNOW you can't resist."
Michael was still confused, but he let Lola drag him to wherever. It didn't matter where she took him anyway; he was still going to feel miserable.
Lola dragged him past the students and into room 101. She pulled off her purse and headed for the computer. She motioned for Michael to stand next to her.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"You'll see." Once the computer was turned on, Lola navigated the mouse and clicked on a shortcut on the desktop. Soon, an adorably cute image of a chipmunk wearing headphones appeared on the screen.
"What's this?" asked Michael.
Lola smiled. "It's an awesome computer program Quinn installed for me. It's called Chipmunk Funk."
"Chipmunk Funk?"
"Yeah, you know how some people mix songs to make the voices sound really squeaky and high?"
"Yeah, me and Chase have been trying to figure out how to do that for our show." Michael couldn't hide it anymore: this was really beginning to interest him.
"Well, that's what Chipmunk Funk is for!" She moved the pointer to a window in the top right corner of the screen. "You just pick a song from the library, then you press these hoodicky buttons, turn this whatchamacallit, slide the thingamabob, and then you have a hilariously awesome chipmunk remix!"
Michael smirked. "Nice instructions."
"Yeah, I had no idea what Quinn was talking about when she explained it to me, so I messed with it myself and now it's a piece of cake."
"Okay, even though I have to admit this looks pretty drippin, what does this have to do with me?"
"Okay, you can't deny the awesomness of this, right?"
Michael glanced at the screen again and noticed the dancing chipmunk in the top left corner. He lightly chuckled. "Okay, no I can't."
"And you can't deny how much you want to mess with this right?"
Michael kept staring at the mouse. "Okay, no I can't."
"Now tell me, can you let the thought of Lisa stop you from having your fun—fun you haven't had in two days?" she stared pensively into Michael's eyes, forcing him to tell the truth. Michael stammered and his fingers fidgeted on the mouse. It was like the Korean War in his mind (or some type of war; he wasn't good with historic events). Two parts were battling back and forth with each other. Here was Lola, forcing him to make a decision he knew was hard to answer. Grieving because of Lisa—the girl that used to be the love of his life—or making an attempt to heal himself by engaging in what looked like too much fun. He knew it was over between him and Lisa, but still…
Lola continued staring at him. Finally,
"Gimme that thing!" Michael grabbed the mouse and scrolled down the music library. Lola smiled, she actually made an improvement with him today; yay!
"What song should I pick first?" Michael asked, eyes beaming at the sight of all the song choices. Lola smiled at him one last time before turning back to the computer.
"Hm, let's try…ooh! Pick 'Stuck in my Straw' by Strawberry Lumps!" (If you watch iCarly you would so get that lol)
"Alright, Strawberry Lumps, prepare to be chipmunkified!" He pressed the hoodicky buttons, turned the whatchamacallit, slid the thingamabob, and hit the playback button. In about two seconds the high-pitch and distorted sound came from the speakers. They both laughed as the song continued.
"You're right; this is hilariously awesome!" Michael said with clear amusement in his voice.
"Told ya, now pick another one!"
"Hm…" Michael scrolled down the song choices then finally saw one worth remixing. "How about 'Speak Low' by My Fellow Americans?"
"Speak Low it is," said Lola and this time she pressed the controls. A new sound soon came through the speakers and intoxicated the two with mirth. If it wasn't for him being temporarily distracted with musical chipmunk entertainment, he would have realized that this was the first time in two days that he engaged in laughter, spoke more than two words in a sentence, or occupied more than a frown on his face. His mind was truly taken off of Lisa, and Lola was the one that helped him do that.
"Wow," he started once his laughs quieted down, "I never knew listening to a furry mammal sing could be so fun."
"Well, pull up a chair and let's continue with our fun!"
Michael gladly obliged and reached for one of Zoey's vanity stools. He scooted next to Lola and picked more songs to "chipmunkify". About ten minutes past and the two worked through Longer by Sanjay Kwest, 5 Minutes by Ladonna, Sexy Pak by Dustin Timbersnake, and Start It Over by Riley Vyrus.
"Okay," Lola sighed to release one more laugh and exited out of the computer. "That's all the Chipmunk Funk I can take for one day."
"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Lola got up from the chair and walked toward her mirror to straighten her low pigtails, leaving Michael sitting alone in front of the computer. The blackness of the screen allowed Michael to see his reflection, and he froze at what he saw. His features were no longer hard and lifeless; his cheeks stung from laughing so hard and his eyes were a lot brighter than before. He for once did not feel the need to frown. It made him think; this was the Michael his friends knew and loved, that made everyone—including himself—cheerful. The Michael before—the desperate, poor, and downright pathetic Michael—wasn't him, and even though it still hurt him that Lisa was gone, it hurt him even more to see what he had become. He finally came to the conclusion that he didn't want to be that Michael ever again, and if that were to happen, he had to find a way to get over Lisa.
He turned around and stared at Lola who was now reapplying her lip gloss. She was the one to get him to laugh again; maybe she could help him with this. "How do you do it?"
Lola paused. "Apply lip gloss? Well first you need to start off with a base—I recommend a chap stick cause it'll leave your lips extra glossy—then, depending on your complexion, you add the—"
"No, no, no!" Michael interrupted. "I'm not talking about your cosmetology applications. I mean…how do you get over someone that you really cared for but dumped you?"
Lola stopped reapplying her lip gloss. Poor Michael… He was still really hurt by Lisa and it was clear the funking of chipmunks wasn't going to ease that. But inwardly, she couldn't help but smile. Admitting that he wants to change and get past this was showing a thousand percent more progress than earlier. She was totally proud of him. But then again…getting over Lisa—especially since they've been dating for a year—was going to be extremely hard. What could she say, better yet, what could she do to help him?
"That's it!" she jumped.
"What's it?"
Lola grabbed Michael by the hands and pulled him up from his seat. "I know the perfect way to help you get over this AND cure me of my boredom!"
Michael gave her a quizzical brow. He could see the gleam in her eyes and new that meant she got a new—and slightly dangerous—idea. "How are you going to help me get over this and cure you of your boredom?"
"The same way Quinn helped me get over my fear of people in giant costumes!"
Michael stepped back. "Wait…you aren't going to light me on fire, are you?"
"No, remember she set Chase on fire. Anyway, I'll guide you through a 3-step program that'll help you heal, find your inner strength, and move on with your life."
"You sound like a weight instructor for Body Watchers."
"Well," she joked, "it wouldn't hurt to lose a pound or two."
"Hey! I am purely 90 percent abs and 10 percent Leroy's Potato Chips, okay?"
Lola laughed. "Okay, don't worry I'm just kidding. Look, it's just 3 measly steps: accepting your problem, finding small ways to deal with it, and then facing it head-on. You've already past step one: accepting that Lisa's gone. Now you just have to find ways to slowly deal with her absence and getting over her. Finally, you have to do this huge challenge to prove you're really healed."
"Yes; and how do you suppose I do that?"
She smiled. "With me as your coach! I'll help you every step of the way."
Michael silenced and thought about this plan. Having a coach to help you get over your ex and move on with your life—that sure made the makings for a bad reality TV show. But he couldn't deny he hated feeling so awful and was willing to do anything to get rid of that. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea…
"Are you sure this could work?" he questioned, his mind slowly warming to the idea.
"Look, if I know anything, I know boys, and I know how their mind works."
Michael couldn't disagree to that. After dressing her up as a dude in sophomore year, he couldn't believe how well she fit to that character. For a girl, she sure knew how to think like a boy (which for a while made him very uncomfortable). "For real…you can get me out of my flump?" he had to be convinced one last time.
"I could so get you out of your flump. Trust me; by the end of three weeks, you'll love me."
Lola watched him slowly pace the room. In her mind she was already conducting several plans and tasks. This was so exciting! It was like for once she was the acting coach, blessing the pupil with her expertise. The impact she could make on Michael made her squeal with delight!
Michael thought her words over one more time before turning back to Lola. "Alright, Senorita Martinez, I'm all yours."
"Yay!" she jumped for joy and glomped Michael with one of her famous bare hugs.
OMG that took forever! I don't know how long it takes for you guys to read this, but it takes me a century to type it. I'm a little disappointed about where I ended this chapter, because I wanted to send out another twist to you people, but once I get over 7,000 words (which I did) I just HAVE to stop. I hope you guys liked this despite the mega drama. At this point in the story things are about to go up the hill of the emotional rollercoaster. I'm sorry for lack of Quogan, but don't worry, I promise you'll get full Quogan exposure next chapter. I also hope you like the twisting of names. You can't believe how much fun I had changing Kanye West to Sanjay Kwest :). Now, before I go I'll like to introduce my new and super cool idea-thingy. It's called Z101 Trivia Moment. Woo! I'll ask a question that has something to do with Zoey 101, and the first person to answer this question correctly in their review gets a little clue or snippet as to what's going on in the later chapters. Why am I doing this? Because I'm bored and I can. So…
Z101 Trivia Moment Woo! : What is the name of the band that performs for the prom in Chasing Zoey? Their songs are awesome and I really wanna know! Thanks so much for who answers this! Now, I'm sure you guys' eyes hurt from reading all of this, so ta ta!