AN/ Hi chapter 3 is here. I personally think that this is a pretty interesting chapter and I hope you'll find it interesting too.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kickin' it.

Chapter 3

A Notebook and a Thief

Yesterday had been a blast. After my victory at the tournament we'd all gone to the carnival, enjoying ourselves for hours. I had talked Jerry into going on a dark ride called the House of Horror with me. Something that had probably scarred him for life…or so he'd said himself…

Eddie had bought the biggest cotton candy I'd ever seen and Rudy and Milton had gotten on a roller-coaster that apparently had been too much for them and they had ended up throwing up behind a bush…

As for myself, I'd enjoyed ever minute of our visit, getting on every ride and trying to win as many stuffed animals as possible… I had practically run from one end of the carnival area to the other, dragging the boys along with me for the entire day.

Using so much energy yesterday had its costs though… My feet were slightly sore and I would have done practically anything to stay in bed this morning. However, mum would never allow such a thing, so here I was; in the noisy and crowded hallways of Seaford High…

Yawning, I reached out and grabbed my books for my first class. Sensing even through my tiredness that someone was approaching me I turned around. I was instantly greeted with a big smile as I met the girl's gaze.

"I heard you did well at the tournament!" Grace exclaimed as she got up to me and gave me a quick hug. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks" I smiled and closed my locker behind me. "How'd you know?"

"Jerry told me… I'm sorry I couldn't be there. But Mum insisted me on going to Roy's stupid baseball game."

"It's okay, I understand. Of course you should attend your brother's baseball match." I said. "Besides you didn't miss much…It wasn't any big tournament..." It was true. My victory wasn't that important for the sake of the dojo, although it still meant a lot to me.

"I'll be there on the next one, I promise." She said as we started to head to our class. The hallway was full of people, creating that kind of noise that you don't really notice until someone points it out or until it abruptly stops.

"Kim!" We both looked up at the sound of someone calling my name. Somehow the voice had managed to break through the wall of sound that was surrounding us. "Kim!" Slowing down to a halt, we let the boy catch up with us. His skinny legs moved swiftly beneath him, as he hurried up to us. The urgent tone in his voice got me worried that something had happened.

"What is it Milton?" I asked. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he held up a hand in a gesture for us to wait for him to talk. He panted quite hard and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I mean Milton has been training karate several times a week for two years now and he still has the condition of an eighty year old.

"Have you guys seen Jack?" He gasped out eventually.

"No" I shook my head. "I don't keep track of him. Why?"

"He and I are working on a project together…It's due tomorrow…" I raised an eyebrow. Did he seriously almost give himself a heart attack because of a school project? "I've been looking all over school for him and if I don't find him we could end up getting a B." He was starting to ramble hysterically as he grabbed my shoulders. "…a B! Do you know what that means? I'll never be able to…"

"Milton!" I cut him off, trying to stop his minor panic attack. "Calm down. School's just started. Maybe he's overslept or he's just, you know… late as usual." Milton calmed down slightly. "I'm sure he'll show up… And if he doesn't; you're smart enough to do the project all by yourself and still get an A." I gave him a smile.

"Yeah….maybe you're right Kim."

"Of course I'm right." I said confidently. Milton seemed to be thinking, still not fully convinced. "Look…If I see him, I'll tell him you're looking for him. Okay?"

"Okay…Thanks Kim."

The school bell suddenly rang through the building, telling us that we better get going.

"See you guys." Milton said before taking off for another sprint, once again gambling his life for getting in time for class….

I looked at his scrawny figure disappearing in the crowd… Milton is one of my best friends and he's the nicest and smartest kid I know. It hurts me to know that others are taking advantage of him… He usually never sees it himself, but I've witnessed it several times. I clutched my books a little. I sure hope that our 'karate pro' shows up, for the sake of himself, because I swear that if Jack Brewer thinks he can ditch Milton and letting him do all the work for him, without there being consequences, he is being terribly wrong…

"Kim?" I snapped back to reality, looking at Grace who had a concerned expression on her face. "You ok?"

"Yeah" I said. She studied me for a brief moment.

"Something's bothering you." She stated, obviously not satisfied with my answer.

"It's nothing really" I said as we started walking down the hallway. "But I don't think that Jack will show..."

"Why? He's always here." I nodded, knowing that she was right. Even though Jack was terrible at being on time he still never missed a school day…unless we were going on a fieldtrip or something that he would find too lame for him to attend… I don't even think he stays home when he's sick… Never the less I had figured out the reason why he would ditch school today.

"He lost his first match yesterday. He didn't even make it to the finals." I explained and I swear I could hear a gasp coming from Grace. "Yeah I know…" I said, knowing what she was thinking by the way she reacted. Jack's fighting skills were well known and most kids here found him unbeatable. Something that really annoyed me… "He lost it big time." I continued, enjoying the fact that I was being able to say that sentence. Jack's always been competitive and he gives his heart out when it comes to tournaments. I have to give him credit for that… That was one of the big reasons why he rarely ever loses a fight, but yesterday the unthinkable happened and I'd be the one to start to spread the word.

"And let me tell you, he did not take it too well… He's the sorest loser I've ever seen." I tried to hold back a laughter as we made it up the stairs that would take us to the second floor. "You should've seen his little outburst yesterday… I don't know how far he would've gone if his father hadn't showed up to calm him down."

"Really?" Grace said, excitedly listening. She loved gossip and this was definitely something that she would love to spread around the school.

"Yes. He went all mad…" I stopped abruptly as we had reached our classroom. "Anyhow…" I whispered just before we entered. "I think he's too ashamed to show up…"

~~~~Wings of Love~~~~

While humming a silly melody I walked up our driveway, glad that the school was over and for once we didn't have much homework. I'd barely gotten halfway to our front porch when I heard my name being called, echoing through the neighborhood.

"Kimberly!" I would recognize that high voice anywhere. Scanning my surroundings, my eyes fell upon a redheaded lady sitting under the big oak tree in our garden. She had brought out an easel and a chair and was now obviously busy painting something. Beside her she had her bag full of material for her artwork.

Her back was facing me, making me wonder how she'd noticed me. Figuring that she wanted to show me her work I approached her.

Claire was very creative and her paintings were usually amazing. Peeking over her shoulder, I could see the bird feeding table that was decorating the canvas clearly. I recognized it as it had been a part of our garden for some years now. Looking up at the real bird table that was just a few yards in front of us and then back at the painting, I could tell that she had gotten it exactly right, down to the last detail. Three birds were also in the painting. Two of them were eating at the table and another one was flying around in the foreground.

"What do you think?" Claire wondered, never taking neither her eyes nor the brush of the canvas.

"Wow…" was all I could say.

"You like it?"

"Yes, it's beautiful." Claire added some grey brownish color to one of the bird's chest.

"Do you know what kind of bird this is?" I shook my head, looking at the small plump creature. It was brown-grey and didn't look anything special. I definitely recognized it, but knowing the names on different birds wasn't my strength.

"It's a sparrow." She explained. "It's my favorite bird. They don't look like much and they're one of the world's most common birds… People don't usually pay much attention to them, although sometimes the smallest of creatures could have the greatest impact on things…" I briefly reflected on what she'd said, but soon shook it off and focused on the painting once again. Claire seemed to have gotten lost in her own thoughts for a moment, before she decided to change subject.

"How was school today?"

"Okay I guess. It's just the same old, you know. Nothing interesting…" I shrugged, watching her dip her brush in the brown color on her palette.

"Hm…" She muttered under her breath as my answer hadn't been exciting enough. A moment of silent went by and I was thinking about going inside, but Claire came up with another question to keep me from leaving. "Was Jack doing ok?"

"Sorry, what?" Not having expected her to ask about him, I wasn't even sure I heard her correct.

"Jack." She clarified still not looking at me. "He took that loss pretty hard yesterday. Is he alright?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him, since he decided to ditch school and Milton…" Feeling the anger rise in me again, my voice came out with a small hint of bitterness. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Oh Kimberly…" She chuckled and for the first time she turned to me, her eyes sparkling like she was up to mischief. "I'm not the one who has picked him out, remember that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, confused by her answer. "Are you hinting that I'm the one who is obsessing about him? I can't remember one single time that I've started a conversation involving him. You're the one who keeps bringing him up all the time." She just smiled at me and turned her attention back to the painting. Giving me the feeling that she wasn't really listening to me, I felt the need to clarify it for her. "I don't know what you see in him. For all I know he's a stubborn obnoxious mean and selfish jerk."

"Just keep an eye on him, will you?" She said, clearly ignoring what I'd just said. "You know… the same way that you've done for the year you've known him."

"Why would I do that?" I said, starting to get really frustrated by her. "I don't care what he's doing. I don't care if I'll ever see him again. In fact I would be glad if he disappeared from my life." I spat and walked away before she would have the chance to say anything.

I can't believe her. I mean didn't she see the way he treated me yesterday? It actually hurt to be honest; to have her ask about how he was doing before she'd asked about how I was doing.

Once inside I dumped my backpack on the floor in our hallway and slowly started to recall what Claire had said outside. She wanted me to keep an eye on him like I used to… I hate to admit it but back when I had a crush on him I used to watch him all the time. Not in a creepy kind of way though… It's like I'd grown some supernatural power and I just couldn't avoid but spotting him all the time… Anyway, the thing that bothered me at the moment was that I hadn't told anybody about me crushing on him. Not even Grace…So how in the world did Claire know? Unless…

I shook my head. She wouldn't, right?

Not being able to convince myself fully I hurried off to my room. Knowing exactly what I was looking for, I quickly spotted the book lying on my desk. I panicked slightly when I realized that it wasn't lying on top of the stack of books up in the right corner of the furniture where I'd left it two days ago, but in the middle of the desk. Someone has moved it and most probably even read it. Having a hunch of who it must be I stormed back out.

Anger and disappointment was boiling inside of me when I reached my aunt.

"Have you been reading my diary?!" I blurted out. She totally ignored me, which only got me madder. "I can't believe you went through my stuff!" Still no reaction, instead she started to hum an old and sad melody. "I know it was you." I tried again, starting to feel upset by the way she blocked me out. "How would you feel if I went through your stuff, huh?"

I quickly bent down and reached inside her bag. Grabbing the first thing that I found, I pulled out a black notebook. This act actually got her to stop humming and she looked at me. I was too busy going through the pages to pay any attention to her though.

The notebook seemed to my surprise to be really old. The pages were yellow and the edges were worn down. Letters that were narrow and tall formed into words that were really old fashion and I could barely understand what it said. But I was being weirdly captivated by it none the less, forgetting the anger I felt inside. There was one page with something that looked like a poem that I found most interesting.

The foolishness of you all
Has brought doom as I call
The shadows of the past
Will come to haunt you at last

You are all too blind to see
The time will come when
I'll return to be…

The notebook was suddenly jerked away from my grip, not allowing me to finish. Surprised I looked up at Claire who had a very stern look on her face. An expression I'd never seen on her face before. I took a step back, not being able to say anything. Her eyes told me that I had done something that I shouldn't have.

"How much did you see?" She asked, seriousness filling her voice.

"Nothing much." I said, starting to feel a bit worried but also curious of her sudden change of behavior. "Why?" She studied me for a moment, making me feel uncomfortable.

"Don't you have homework to do?" She asked out of the blue.

"Yes" I answered hesitantly.

"Then why don't you get to it?" She gestured for me to get back inside to get started. I quickly obeyed, glad that I was being allowed to leave. In the corner of my eye I could see her put the notebook back in her bag, before looking in my direction making sure that I went inside.

It wasn't until I'd reached my room that I really started to reflect on the text I'd just read. I wasn't able to recall all the words, but it had been dark and it had brought shills down my back. If it hadn't been for Claire's so weird reaction I would've thought that it was just a poem… but now I had a strange feeling that it meant something more.

So many questions went through my head at that point, but the ones to haunt me the most were; why did Claire have something like that in her possessions and why didn't she want anyone to see it?

The more I thought about it the more I realized how little I really did know about my aunt. She always wants to talk about me and my life, but she never tells anything about her own.

That's when it dawned on me; she was a mystery. A mystery that I wanted to solve…

~~~~Wings of Love~~~~

It was Thursday. Almost the whole week had gone by and still no sight of Jack. Not that I really cared though… But I had to admit that it was pretty strange and I was beginning to wonder if he would ever decide to show up again. He hadn't even been at the dojo…

Poor Milton had somehow managed to get the project done all by himself, which sadly wasn't the first time he had to do something like that…

"You coming Kim?" The brunette in front of me wondered, obviously having noticed that I'd started to fall behind.

"Yeah…" I said and hurried up. It was morning and as usual we were heading side by side to class.

"I got Roy and his friends to fix the music equipment." Grace said excited. Her party was coming up tomorrow and all she could think and talk about was… that party. "The sound's gonna be awesome."

"That's great."

"Yeah I know."

Somehow we had made it to the classroom way before we needed to be there and no other students were around. I leaned against the wall, listening to Grace's rambling on. Some of it were pretty interesting other stuff were down right boring, but I listened and discussed it all with her like the true friend I was to her.

A few minutes went by until our health teacher Miss Applebaum walked up to us.

"Good morning girls." She greeted.

"Morning"

"You two are early." She stated with a smile and pulled out the keys to unlock the door to the classroom. "You must be really excited for today's learning experience." Me and Grace exchanged gazes, both knowing what the other was thinking. We hadn't exactly planned to be early…

Miss Applebaum unlocked the door with a click and opened it. Throwing one quick glance into the room was enough to cause her to freeze. I and Grace, who was standing right behind her, soon realized what had caught her attention. Standing over by the teacher's desk was a teenager boy. He had his hand in Miss Applebaum's purse, obviously searching for something. My best guess -money.

His soft locks jumped in the air as he snapped his head up, revealing two chocolate brown eyes filled with fear, knowing that he'd been caught red-handed. Instantly recognizing the boy, I didn't know what to feel. I was shocked to put it mildly, never thinking that he would ever sink so low that he would steal from a teacher. Grace that stood behind me was the first one to find her voice and she said that small word -or name actually- that I was pretty sure was going through all of our heads at that moment.

"Jack…?!"

Dun dun DUN... ok that was the third chapter. Hope you liked it.

So here's the deal; as you know I'm working on two stories at once. And I'm gonna put twice as much effort into the one story that gets the most reviews. So if you want me to update this story sooner, then make sure you leave a review:) It's more than ok to leave a review on both stories btw;)

See you at the next Chappie:)

/MJ