Chapter Nine
Lil was still going on about her breakfast meeting with the producers of Mia's movie that was happening this Friday, so I couldn't get a word in edgewise to Mia. All we managed to say to each other the whole trip to school was 'Hi' Lil started ranting again.
I did, however, sneak into Mia's Algebra class on my way to English to give her the Pearl Jam's CD I had burned off for her the previous night.
She looked surprised and curious when I handed it to her, explaining to her who the band was (she knew of them from me and had heard them because of me, but she had never actually listen to them for herself) and that I thought she might like to give them a try. Which she said she would, as she smiled up at me making my heart do all these funny things that I never realised it could do before finding I had feelings for her.
Yeah, I thought, as I gave Mr G a wave (he's given up even bothering to look amuse at my turning up in his class to visit his step daughter, he's pretty much just letting it slide), you'll listen to it, in like, two months time. Because it's true, Mia's interest in bands are fairly limited at the moment, but I'm fairly sure that'll change. I mean, when Judith first started hanging out with Felix, Paul and me, she detested rock and roll and now, she listens to Linkin Park.
"What's wrong with you?" Was Felix immediate question the moment, he, Paul, Judith and I all sat down at our usual lab bench at the back of the Chem lab.
"What?"
"You've been down all morning. What gives?" Felix demanded.
"Nothing."
"Uh huh, you know, when most people say it's nothing, it usually means it's something, so spill." Paul said while Felix held up his text book threateningly, making the motion that he'd give my head a sound bashing if I didn't spill my guts soon.
"Nothing," I said again, and Felix raised his book a little higher to bring it down upon my head, "I'm just thinking about tomorrow night. I need to think of some alternative plans, that's all."
"Huh? I thought you were going to Star Wars." Paul said confused.
"What happen? Why do you need alternate plans?" Felix asked at the same time.
"She has something on tomorrow night, doesn't she?" Judith guessed, she had been quiet up to this point.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Do you know what? Like how long whatever she's got to do will go for?" Jude asked. I shook my head.
"I don't even know what she's actually doing that night, except that it's something Princess-y. I only know is that she'll probably miss the seven o'clock showing of Star Wars. And like hell I'm taking her to the eleven o'clock showing." I added because Felix looked like he was about to suggest just that.
"Oh the bright side, at least you know she's as down about this as you are." Paul said and I gave him a weird look.
"I saw her earlier and she looks as mopey as you do." He explained and I felt suddenly bad. I didn't want her feeling bad about this. I mean, I get and understand that her being a princess must come first, I didn't want her to feel bad about that just because it was going to mess up our date.
"So what are some of your alternate plans for Friday?" Jude asked.
"I was thinking of her simply coming over to mine and watching Star Wars there. I just need to get my Star Wars DVD off my Dad's friend."
The other three nodded. Only a couple of nerds would actually think that that classed as a good back up first date plan.
"Sounds like a good backup plan," Felix started, "but how bout you wait and see if she can't get out of whatever she has on Friday first."
"You think she will." Jude asked.
"I think that she'll try her hardest too." Felix replied as he stretched his arms above his head. He looked to me for confirmation. I nodded.
"She said she would try." I admitted, but that didn't stop the worry curling around in my stomach.
Lunch was a little weird.
From what I gather from the chaos around me was that Tina had been dumped by her boyfriend and it was all Jane Eyre's fault.
It took me the better half of lunch to find out that Jane Eyre was in fact not a person but in fact a romance novel written around the same time as Jane Austen's books Mia had explained to me when I had admitted to never having read or even heard of the book in question.
Hey, I still thought they were talking about an actual person, not a book, and you would have too, what with the way some of the girls were talking about it, it really was like she was, in fact, a real person instead of a fictional one.
Mia actually looked relieved when I said I hadn't read or even heard of the book. When I asked her about it, she went a little red in the face as she admitted that her grandmother had made her read it over the Winter break and while reading it, she had thought that it would be a good book for Tina to read too. She looked guilty at that.
"It's not your fault that she, from reading the book, decided to play mind games on her boyfriend." I reassured her quietly even though it seemed that this simply only made her feel even guiltier.
It was hard to stay focused on the conversation when all the conversation was about was how evil boys and men are and that it was all the fault of romance novels for building false hope and whatever in girls about their relationships.
I glanced at Boris who just so happen to be sitting next to me and showed him what I had hidden in my coat pocket. His previously bored out his mind face lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw what I had in my hands.
At first I did sort of worry that Mia and Lil might get mad at the two of us for playing a video game during their lunch time conversation, but if anything, they both seemed to be relieved that we were amusing ourselves while they took care of Tina.
They're surprisingly good at it, taking care of someone, making them feel better about themselves, when they work together. They made up a list for Tina something about Romantic Heroines and the Valuable Lesson they taught us or something along those lines.
After reading that Tina seemed to calm down and concede that yeah, it probably was Dave's fault for their break up, along with some of her own.
I was just thinking that I might actually been able to spend some quality time with my girlfriend, except that another drama broke out at the table.
"I'm trying out for cheerleading." This was from Shameeka. She looked sort of nervous and excited at the same time as she looked around the table at all the open mouths staring back at her. Well, everyone but mine and Boris's. Boris was too involved in the game by this point in time and me, I didn't really see an issue with her trying out for cheerleading, it might, if she gets in, balance out the status quo with the squad… or she could just end up becoming like them, which is what I think all the girls' here fear will eventually happen.
Mia looked particularly horrified at the idea of Shameeka joining the squad, though I can understand, very well in fact, why that is. She is, after all, out of all the girls present at the table, the main victim of Lana and her fellow witches. I don't really understand why that is, why Mia is victimised by the cheerleaders more than any of the other girls here, but I have the funniest feeling that it has something to do with Lil.
Anyway, I don't actually see Shameeka falling into the grips on the dark side, mainly due to her response to Lil's rather rude comment of why the hell she would want to do a thing like that, in which Shameeka very calmly responded with this answer.
"Because I'm tired of letting Lana and her friends push me around. I am just as good as any of them. Why shouldn't I try out for the squad, even if I'm not in their little clique? I have just as good a chance of getting on the team as anybody else."
The other girls were slowly nodding their heads, though of course; still worried about their friend they were at least now coming around to the idea. Well, all except Lil, of course, who was prepping herself for a fight.
Rolling my eyes I went back to watching Boris battle it out with my game.
I wasn't interested in cheerleading anyway, if Shameeka got on the squad, good for her, if she didn't well, there is always next year.
I tuned out of the rest of the cheerleading debate, though I knew, by the end of lunch that the idea of Shameeka joining the squad was more or less accepted by the group of girls. They weren't exactly happy about it, for obvious reasons, cheerleaders were, after all, their main enemies, the group that pick and bullied them the most out of every other cliché group in the whole school. So of course they would have some hesitation and reserve to allow one of their own to go and join the hornet nest.
I would have been too, if I was in their situation. Luckily for me, I'm not; no, instead all I have to worry about is the fact that my two best friends have both got the hots for my third best friend who is more or less oblivious to their feeling for her or rather, she is forcing herself to be oblivious to them. Still trying to figure out if that really is the smartest of thing Jude could possibly be doing in this situation. I mean, I get her whole not wanting to hurt either of them, so is pretending not to notice but that, in truth, is only going to make the two of them simply try harder. But what really amazes me is the fact that the two of them are both oblivious to the fact that they both like the same girl. They have no idea! And I have no idea how to tell them, not sure if that will make the situation better or worse.
Anyway, just before lunch ended I managed to snag some alone time in an empty stairwell with Mia, because it honestly did feel like forever since the last time I had kissed her and I wanted to make sure that I was completely forgiven for being such a jerk to her last night, though she had looked rather confused when I called myself that when I apologized to her about it.
"Why are you sorry?" she asked, "I was being a pain."
"More you were using avoidance techniques on me," I paused for a moment, "you're still not going to tell me exactly what's happening Friday night, are you?" She shook her head.
"I'm working on getting out of it though." She reassured me.
"It's Thursday." I reminded her gently. She got a stubborn look in her eye that was another new quirk of hers.
"I know but I have powers that be on my side." She informed me slyly and I couldn't help but laugh and then kiss her warmly.
I never realised that kisses from the right person could be intoxicating, but that was how Mia's felt to me, intoxicating. I could quite happily live on simply her kisses alone.
I ran my fingers through her hair, which had grown out some while she was over in Genovia, while Mia's arms were wrapped securely around my neck.
We were just settling down into a pretty good make out session when the final bell for the ending of lunch rang out through the school.
"Class," Mia mumbled, quite unwillingly against my lips.
"Mmm hmmm." I replied.
"Or how bout, stairwell will be flooded with students in about five seconds." We heard Lars call up to us, sounding amused.
We jumped apart, though I still kept a hold of her hand, running my other one quickly through her hair, where I had messed it up.
"You know, no matter what you do, it's not going to behave the way you want it too." Mia informed me after a couple of seconds of my trying to get her hair to behave itself.
"And here was me thinking that was only Moscovitz hair." I said, giving up on the attempt of getting her hair in order. It still looked good to me, so what really was the problem?
"Oh yeah, the hissy fits you and Lil used to throw whenever your mom tried to brush either of your hair." She giggled as we walked out into the corridor, ignoring the surprised and curious looks sent in our direction.
I pulled a face at her.
"Ok, in my defence, I was eleven the last time that happen." I grumbled and she giggled some more.
"Hey!" I said poking her side, "Lil still throws a hissy fit whenever her hair is threaten with a brushing."
"I know. I really need to video tape one of those occurrences."
"Why don't you?" I asked as we walked into G&T, where Lil was already sitting, working on her next episode of Lilly Tells It Like It Is or she might be working on what she was planning on saying tomorrow at her breakfast meeting. Wasn't sure, didn't care.
"Because she'll kill me." Mia replied with sincerity.
"You can come hide out in my room." I replied as I pulled out her seat for her before sitting beside her.
"Then she'll kill you too." Mia said and there was actually worry in her voice as she said that.
"Who am I killing and why?" Lil demanded from Mia's other side.
"Go back into Lilly world, Lil. You're not killing anyone." I said and she rolled her eyes back at me but actually did what I asked and returned to her own little world that she ruled.
"I still don't think it would be a good idea." Mia mumbled as she pulled out her Algebra books along with this notebook that she carries around with her everywhere. I'm fairly certain it is her diary, though I have never got any confirmation of that from either Mia or Lil.
I swear, there are times when I would love to get my hands on that notebook, especially last month, when I was filled with all that doubt and anger and insecurity about everything that I had and didn't have with Mia.
It had been so tempting to have a peek into those pages during those few rare times that Mia had left it unattended. I never did though, that diary was Mia's personal space from the rest of the world, her space to write all her hopes, dreams, doubts and insecurity. I had no right to read it, no matter how depressed and desperate I was during that time.
"Just think of the blackmail material you would have though." I reminded her with a grin, which caused her to giggle while Lil shot us suspicious looks.
I helped Mia with her Algebra homework for about half an hour. She still having a lot of trouble with it but she was far better than when we first started these tutoring session. For the rest of the time after that I went on to my new laptop while Mia wrote in her diary.
Honestly the amount of words that can come out of that pen as she writing is amazing.
Author's Note: So that was short chapter 9. I wanted to get onto Friday, so I didn't spend much time on Thursday. And Friday is a lot of fun as you might guess. Three more chapters left of this fic... well two official chapters and an extra chapter at the end, that will link the months between book 4 and 5 together. Just little details that are mention in the books and in these fics that I'm throwing into this little extra chapter so that book 5 doesn't have so many random, sudden moments in it. Anyway, you'll see when we get there.
Just to let you all know, it might be awhile between the end of this fic and the start of book 5, because I'm going away for a little while. I'm leaving on the 13th of the this month and will be gone until just before Christmas, so not too long, but I'm just letting you all know so you don't think I've died or just given up on The Fifth Note of SkinnerBx or anything like that, I'm just going somewhere that the likelihood of internet is low (aka this place is known as Grandmparents domain.).
I might also be gone from here for a couple of weeks in Jan, so again don't freak out or anything.
Hope you all enjoyed and I'll update with Chapter 10 tomorrow sometime.
P.S. I'm sorry to everyone who is reading this and is finding Michael a little too romantic in this, when in the books Mia doesn't think that he is, but you have to remember with Mia, especially with the early books, is very much a Romance novel Romantic.
I think that Michael is quite romantic, in his own way and that his romantic side really only comes out for her, when he's with her and only at certain moments in time.
It just that when he does do romantic things for Mia, while she might be extremely happy that he's done whatever romantic thing he's done, to her, they at times, still don't fall into a Romance Novel version of Romance, which she, in the early books and at times through the later ones, is searching for in her relationship with him, completely missing what she has with Michael is quite romantic and is also far more realistic then some of the stuff that happens in romance novels.
What I want to do with these fics is to show all the different sides of Michael when he's with different people in his life and with Mia. I think, he does try to make himself romantic for Mia, it just that he's version of romance is quite different to the romance that are in the Romance books that Mia and Tina read. Also it's fun writing him being affectionate with Mia, when in the later books, it's mainly focuses on him not being around or them fighting over something or other. I want to show them, in these fics, as a normal couple who have a very deep, very real love for each other.