Chapter Four: A Secret

The following morning, Anastasia stalked the school hallways with Cassie following close behind. "Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Can we please just drop the subject?"

"Alright...Fine."

"Thank you." There was an awkward silence held between the two for a moment. "I'm sorry I snapped at you," Anastasia apologized meekly.

"You didsound like Old Aunt Phlegmenkoff." Cassie puffed out her cheeks and narrowed her eyes into little slits, imitating Anastasia's aunt. Taking on a scratchy voice, she said, "I don't want to talk about it anymore." The imitation caused Anastasia to giggle. Cassie deflated, laughing, "But I forgive you."

Anastasia did not like being referred to as her crabby old aunt, and she playfully shoved Cassie. Cassie grinned mischievously and was about to return the favor, when suddenly her eyes diverted and focused on the man standing behind her friend.

"Anya, hi."

Anastasia's eyes narrowed, her lips formed a snarl, her teeth cringed, and she pivoted toward Dimitri, ready to melt him with her laser beam vision.

"Uhh...Hi...hi," he stuttered as he noticed her furious expression.

Anastasia didn't bother answering.

His eyes flicked from Anastasia to Cassie and then nervously back to Anastasia. "Um," he stuttered, his gaze flying back to Cassie.

She immediately got the message he was desperately trying to convey. "Ana, uh, I'll see you in class!" she told her friend. And then she was gone.

Dimitri looked at his shoes, then back up at Anastasia's eyes. "Ah...er...I think we got started off on the wrong foot..."

Anastasia replied curtly, "Yes, I do too, and I appreciate your apology. Thank you."

Dimitri smiled...that is, until he completely processed what she just said. "Great...wait, I wasn't apologizing."

"And I was just leaving," she said bluntly. She started to walk away.

He smirked thoughtfully, trying to think of something clever to say. But he could think of nothing.

Anastasia didn't stop walking as she silently counted down the seconds. "Three...two...one..."

"Wait, Anya, please."

She smiled in silent victory as she spun on her heel. "What?"

"I, uh, ooh..."

"On with it," she commanded, finally meeting his eyes.

"Okay, I think I acted immature and..."

"You think. You think?"

"I was immature and I would like to apologize. Can we please work something out? I think we could really work well together if we give us a chance. Please, Anya, at least try to give us a chance."

His wording caught her a little off guard. All at once, Anastasia averted her eyes, forcing them to focus on the wall behind him. Her voice faltering, she stammered, "Ye-yeah, I...I suppose I...I mean...I suppose that we could work something out....and give our assignment a chance...."

He grinned, holding back a huge sigh of relief. "Great!"

She nodded weakly and hurried away. As he watched her scurry through the mob of students crowding the hallway, he finally let out his breath. And that's when he noticed that he had been holding his breath for nearly the whole duration of the conversation.

Anastasia took her seat next to Cassie in the Spanish classroom. Anastasia dropped her bag under her desk and folded her arms, burying her face in them.

Cassie stared questioningly at the girl slumped over her desk. "So...how did it go? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, you know."

Anastasia replied with a groan.

". . . That bad, huh?"

The girl's muffled mutter was unintelligible.

"Sorry, Ana, but you're going to have to say that again...."

She lifted her head long enough to murmur, "He apologized and asked for forgiveness and wants us to work something out and....AHH!" She groaned in frustration as she buried her head again, but the action looked more like she was flopping back into her arms.

"Okay.....slow down. So he apologized and said he wants to work something out.... What's so bad about that? Did you forgive him?"

Raising her head for a moment, Anastasia sputtered, "I don't know!"

Cassie laughed in disbelief. "What? What do you mean you don't know?"

"I just don't know!" she cried into her sweater. "He said we could work well together if we give us a chance. It caught me by surprise and I didn't know how to respond. I made myself look like a fool!"

Cassie's eyebrows raised. "Sooo....what did you say?"

"I said, 'Yeah, we could give uh, ah, oh, blah!'" Anastasia's head flopped down—again.

Cassie's mouth formed into a gentle, understanding smile. "Sorry, Ana..."

Anastasia meekly shook her head from side to side. After a moment, she raised her head slowly, and her eyes stared into a vast nothingness. "Strange... I thought I was wearing my favorite sweater today."

"Huh? What does that have to do with Dimi...." Cassie hesitated. "Ana, you are wearing your favorite sweater."

"That's what I thought." Out of sudden realization, Anastasia sighed loudly. "I bet it's that detergent my aunt uses. It's changing the color of all my clothes." She was quiet for a moment. "It used to be charcoal," she said as she slowly picked at the sleeve, "and now it's gray."

The sweater was the color of charcoal. Cassie concernedly studied her friend. She was worried. That was the worst Anastasia had done with identifying colors during the entire month.

Anastasia, Cassie, and Crystal entered the dormitory. Cassie and Crystal immediately made their way to the "study" area and set up their notes. Anastasia, on the other hand, made a beeline to her bed and collapsed, staring at the ceiling.

"Ana, whatcha doin'?"

"I was thinking up a plan of attack."

Crystal nodded as if she understood, but then turned to Cassie. "What does she mean by that?" she whispered.

"Some things are just better left unsaid, or in this case, better left unexplained."

Anastasia hopped of her bed and rushed to the closet that she and Cassie shared. The closet door flew open and Anastasia rummaged through her footwear. "Mr. Jingles!" she exclaimed as she pulled the reluctant tomcat out of a pink bunny slipper. He raced to her bed, flouncing at the foot of it as Anastasia went back to her scavenger hunt. After a moment, she found what she was looking for. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed in triumph.

The cry of joy surprised Crystal and she almost choked on her gum.

"Bye, Girls!" Anastasia said jubilantly as she threw her purse over her shoulder.

"Wait! Ana! Where you going?" Cassie asked, finally looking up from her project.

"I'm going to make things right!"

* * *

Anastasia crossed the hall and knocked on the door of Room 515. Dimitri answered, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Ah, Anya, hi! What are you doing here?" he asked, unable to hide his joy at seeing her.

"I think we need to get started on that project."

"Oh, okay." He moved aside so that she could enter.

"No, let's go to the mall's food court. I mean, if that's fine with you."

"Sure, give me a second and let me get my jacket." He reached to the coat closet near the door and pulled out a black wool jacket. "Okay, let's go."

* * *

The pair walked into the food court laughing. Anastasia selected a table and sat down. He did the same, sitting on the opposite side of her. They just stared at each other awkwardly, not sure what to say. "Um, here," Anastasia said, passing him a slip of paper that she had been holding in her hand during the entire trek. "Whenever I may seem a little edgy, just look at this."

He turned the slip of paper over and a grin spread across his face. "What is this?"

"It's a picture of me singing in the first grade. Well, I was supposed to be singing anyway. I was actually screaming."

"You fell off the platform?" he asked incredulously.

"No, I didn't just fall. I fell off the platform and broke my wrist."

Dimitri winced. "Ouch...."

"And here's a secret: I always hid it in my slippers. I don't know why I didn't get rid of it; perhaps it was just too hilarious."

"But then why are you giving this to to me?" he inquired, perplexity written on his face.

"It will remind you that I'm human too. It will humble me down a little. So, you know, whenever I get a little on your nerves, look at this and have a good laugh."

The sound of a key turning in the door attracted Cassie's attention. In waltzed Anastasia.

"So, how did, 'making things right' go?"

Anastasia shut the door. Eyes gleaming, she smiled as she replied, "It was...nice."

So, which character is your favorite? Which character can you relate to most? What do you predict will happen? And finally, what do you think of the chapter? Thanks!