The Aislin Chronicles

Part XLV

A/n: Sorry this has taken so long. I'm not sure what happened. I wait, I do know: I became obsessed with Firefly and it's amazing and you should totally watch it. Um, anyway, cross country is starting and I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write. Plus I have to do some much needed college app-ing, which I've kid of been avoiding… :whistle: We shall see, we shall see. Enjoy!

12-5-03

11:32 PM

Journal, tonight may have been the most… liberating night of my entire life. Basically, I let myself snap on Lauren. It felt SO GOOD. I'm pretty sure I won't have any trouble ignoring her for a while, now.

I guess it started this morning, when I found another note in my locker. Another note from my secret admirer, that is. Luckily, I wasn't running late today, so Jess and I could properly analyze it while we walked to class.

Dear Aislin,

I can only wishfully hope that you will attend the Activity Night this eve. And I can only wishfully hope ever more that you might graciously grant me one innocent dance. Alas, I may only gaze upon your glorious dancing form from afar.

Your Secret Admirer

"You think this kid is going to try to dance with me?" I asked her as we walked through the door.

"I don't know, the last line makes me think he's too shy. He'll just watch you like a hawk the whole time."

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better."

We couldn't really talk much further, though, because we have a concert next Wednesday and Mr. English was intent on getting us focused today. Actually, I had forgotten all about the note when I was getting ready for the Activity Night.

Jess and I started out with Kathleen in the gym like we usually do. Jess and I mess around like we actually can play ball, and Kathleen shakes her head at us and silently shows us up. Then we spend a few minutes sitting against the wall "because we need to take a break" while we really watch the guys playing half court on the other side of the gym. Then we usually feel like taking a walk around the open halls around the gym and cafeteria and stuff, and eventually end back up in the cafeteria, find our circle of girls and start talking up storms and kind of bobbing to the music. Suddenly a slow song comes on and we split to find our dance partners: Ian, in my case. Then it ends, we go back to the circle, and basically continue in this fashion until it's time to go home.

Tonight was no exception to our usual routine. That's pretty much the way this has been for all the Activity Nights I've been to. You can imagine, then, that we finally got bored with it tonight. We made a bold move, actually, by having a bunch of the guys and a bunch of the girls head out to form our own little circle in the foyer. It was new, different, and so much fun. We still went back into the cafeteria to dance when a slow song came on, we couldn't change that. Not that any of us wanted to. Anyway, the first time we came back in to dance, there was this group of sixth grade boys staring at Ian and I and the others, I guess they were confused or something. Sixth graders are weird, man.

It was while we were dancing then that I remembered the note. I also realized what time it was, and figured that it was the last song before we'd have to go home. So my secret admirer didn't come forward after all. I told Ian about it, how he wrote me another note and had wanted to dance with me. He didn't respond too enthusiastically, which I thought was pretty amusing but didn't let him know that.

The song ended, and another song came on, so apparently the dance wasn't over yet. Ian kind of sauntered away to talk to Adam and Justin and some other guys. I think he might have been mad that I got another note. I wandered back into the foyer, where maybe seven of us stood in a circle and played Tips with a can of Root Beer that someone bought but didn't feel like drinking.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I'm not sure yet, Lauren Putnam came out and wanted a drink from the fountain, then decided to sit on the bench with some girl whose name I don't know for a rest. Of course, she just had to make a comment.

"So did you see Ian's face after he danced with Aislin?" she said a little too loudly to her friend. "Trouble in paradise." I wasn't listening. I wasn't listening. I wasn't listening. "I wonder what she did wrong this time…" That was it. I was listening. And I was getting sick and tired of her crap. "Gosh, I'm just sooo thirsty."

The Root Beer can got thrown to me, and instead of jumping in the air and tossing it to someone else, I caught it and turned to Lauren. "Then here!" I aimed the top in her direction, cracked it open, and watched that baby explode all over her.

It was amazing.

It was wonderful.

It was a beautiful sight.

You really have to love carbonated drinks when they're all shaken up.

She screamed and stood up right away, trying to shake it off of her, but it had already completely soaked her skanky little halter top and was dripping like crazy down her legs. I added an innocent, "Oops," before I tossed the can at her and walked back into the cafeteria.

Ian was there gaping in the doorway. "That was awesome," he grinned as I wiped my kind of wet hand on my jeans. I just shrugged and tried to play it cool, but I was totally blushing like mad. It was probably the best compliment I've ever been given. Soon I found myself being surrounded by the group we had been playing Tips with, and they were giving me high fives and telling me how sweet that was. They didn't need to tell me. I'm pretty sure they had no idea how cool that really felt.

As soon as I could I found the janitor and told him that somebody had spilled their soda in the foyer and it was all over the floor. What. I wasn't just going to let it set and get sticky! That's gross. Hehehe. I wish you could have seen the look on her face. I think she just might leave me and Ian alone for a bit.

12-7-03

11:17 AM

Had an excruciating babysitting experience last night. I can't even go into elaborate details about it. It was just… Ava was supposed to be asleep but woke up because she had a bad dream and would not stop screaming because she wanted her mom. And Caleb, oh gosh, he had been to a birthday party earlier and had way too much sugar and was just bouncing off the walls like you wouldn't believe. So while I was trying to quiet Ava, Caleb was flying around the room with his war cry and I was soooo not happy with them. I don't even want to think about it anymore. Can't write.

12-10-03

3:39 PM

I got another note this morning. From Love Note Boy, as Jess likes to call him. His note didn't say as much this time, at least no creepy descriptions of me. He said he was going to come to the concert tonight to hear my "luscious voice singing sweetly." Well. I guess that's a creepy description. How is my voice luscious? I have the weirdest accent ever because I've sort have combined my Cork sound with my American sound. Sometimes I surprise myself at the end of a sentence because it sounded so differently than in my head.

Anyway. Mom and Dad are really excited that they finally get to hear us sing. I mean, I pretty much sing all the time and hum and stuff, but somehow it's different in choir. Jess and Krissy are singing a duet, which I think is cute. Mr. English asked if I wanted to do a solo but I told him I didn't want to. I kind of do want to, but, I don't know, I've never been on a stage like that were everyone is staring at me. It might freak me out and I could forget how to sing or something. My point was that Mom and Dad are excited, wasn't it? Oh well. Since when have I ever stayed on topic? I need to do my homework. Dang. There I go again. Sigh.

9:05 PM

Ah! Ahhhh! I know who he is. I know who my secret admirer is. Oh my gosh. He's… I don't even know his name. I don't care. I'm so creeped out though, now that he has a face. What do I do? Ahhh!

He was standing in the foyer when I got to school. I didn't know it was him, though, I just thought it was someone's little brother wandering around before the concert started. He was looking at the pictures of the basketball teams on one of the bulletin boards. He turned and flashed a quick smile at me, and unknowingly, and really stupidly, I smiled back at him. Of course I didn't think anything of it at the time, and I just wandered back to the choir room to get ready. We were all hanging out in Mr. English's room for awhile because the sixth graders were going first, then the seventh graders, and then us. Dee gave me an invitation to her birthday party, which is actually Kathleen's birthday party too. Dee's birthday is on the twelfth, and Kathleen's is on the fourteenth, so they always have a party together, this year on the thirteenth. I'm really excited about it. It's going to be at this big playground, and we're going to be big kids playing on a giant playground. It's going to be so much fun, I can't wait.

Finally after forever we got to go out and sing. Because it was a big combined concert we only got to sing two songs by ourselves, not to mention the two solos, the duet, and the two songs we all sang together. To sum it all up, it was a long night. I tried to look for Mom and Dad when we got on stage, but the lights were too bright and I couldn't find them. We sounded really good, I was actually a little surprised. Our rehearsal in class today went awful, so, you know, it was a nice ending.

Right after the concert there were refreshments in the cafeteria, so I found Mom and Dad sitting towards the front in the right aisle and brought them into the cafeteria. Then Dad gave me a hug. "That was really good."

He sounded surprised, I have to chuckle a little. "Even the sixth graders?"

"Okay, well… The eighth graders were good."

Mom looked like she was getting sleepy, but I knew she wasn't going to say anything. "We can go home now, I still have some math homework to do." It was a lie, but I didn't want to make Mom stand around too much longer. So Dad went to get the car, and Mom and I started moseying into the foyer to wait. I thought I heard someone say my name, but when I turned around I didn't see anybody looking at me.

When Dad pulled into the circle drive and we started walking towards him, I thought I heard my again, and when I turned around there he was. This little short kid, with glasses, and braces, totally blushing with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Other sixth grade guys stood around him, kind of punching him on the shoulder and giving him a hard time.

I just hurried into the backseat of the car, praying he wasn't staring at me anymore. I realized that at the Activity Night, it was him and his friends who had been staring at us. Err. At me. I just… Ugh. Every time I think about it I shudder. He's so creepy! He looks like he's ten! Ahh, what do I do?

12-14-03

12:02 PM

I guess this has been a good weekend. Yesterday was Dee and Kathleen's birthday party, which was a total blast. We played a massive game of hide-and-go-seek tag on this giant playground thing where we had their party. I hung out with Ian, mostly, which was nice. We talked about how mild Lauren Putnam has been the past few days (hmm, I wonder why? Mwahaha), and how basketball was going, and I decided to tell him that I knew who my secret admirer was. I also told Dad last night. But one conversation at a time. Ian's first:

"So, uh, remember those notes I keep getting in my locker, from my secret admirer?" I was trying to keep the conversation lighthearted, but as soon as I asked the question he had a very serious look on his face.

"Uh-huh."

"I think I know who wrote them…"

"Who?" he demanded suddenly.

"He's a sixth grader. He came to the choir concert and started calling my name and staring at me, and I had Dee find out his name when she does office aide–"

"He's a sixth grader?"

"Yeah. And he looks like he's ten but Dee said he was twelve! And his name is Zach, and–"

"But he's a sixth grader?"

I nodded. I started to get the feeling that Ian didn't care for the minor details. A small grin started to spread across his face, and he seemed to relax his body a little. At the time I was a little ticked off that he didn't care about what I was telling him, but looking back on it now, I think Ian was more concerned about who was his "competition" (not that anyone compares to him). He has a much better chance than a sixth grader does, and I think he knows that. I hope he doesn't get cocky about it. Ahh, boys.

I told Dad about it after I got home. Actually, it was Jess's fault. She came over and was spending the night, and she just happened to let it slip that I knew who wrote the love notes.

Dad was confused at first. "Wait, what?"

I was too busy death-glaring Jess to respond, which was rather unfortunate, because she recited part of the first note. "Oh Aislin! How your name makes my heart flutter! How I wish you would be mine forever!"

"Oooh, that note."

I finally snapped out of it, once I remembered that I was adopted and therefore did not genetically inherit the power of death vision. "Dad, the note wasn't a joke, and I know who wrote it to me." I leaned my head forward and pounded my forehead into the table a few times. When I looked up Dad was laughing at me. Jerk. "This really isn't that funny."

Jess was still amused by her previous imitation of the note. "Yes it is."

I sighed. "Why me? Why is there a little sixth grade boy with a crush on me?"

"More like stalking you."

Dad furrowed his brow. "He's stalking you?"

"No! He's just… writing me notes. And staring at me. And… being creepy!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Vaughn," Jess actually said without laughing, "Aislin's pretty much got a personal body guard at school to keep Zach away."

I could feel myself starting to blush. "Ian is not my body guard."

"Then why does he follow you around from, like, every class."

"I don't know, we like to talk." Oh yeah. Bright red cheeks.

"Mm-hmm." Jess winked at me. I threatened to throw the salt shaker at her. That's when I looked at Dad, and I totally could not read his expression. I really wanted to know what he was thinking, and I wished he would say something, but he didn't. Eventually, he just smiled at me, stood up, and patted my head on his way out of the dining room to go do a little work in his office.

I kind of getting hungry so I'm going to try to sum up all that I want to say. Okay, sure, Zach is really creepy, but he wouldn't do anything that would require Ian as my body guard (or anyone). I mean, the kid is at least a foot shorter than me, not to mention… Did you read the first note he wrote me? He's definitely a pansy. A Shakespeare and poetry pansy. Not that I have anything against Shakespeare or poetry, he's just, well, not your most athletic looking boy. Well, stick a fork in this, I think I'm done.

12:27 PM

And for the record, Ian does not follow me around from every class. If anything, I'm far more likely to follow him, and we only walk together when we're going to the same class. So there.

12:28 PM

And for the record, yes I did just stick my tongue out at a journal.

A/n: I'm going to try really hard to make some fast updates, because we're getting closer to baby time and I'm antsy for the gargantuan amount of impending S/V-ness. So get excited! And leave me a happy review, please!