Chapter 4-

That night I sat at home doing my homework.

"Honey, is everything ok?" Mum asked me.

"Yes of course why wouldn't it be?" I answered her probably doing homework.

"You're doing Maths, which is one of your best subjects and you put down six plus two equals ten," Mum pointed out.

"I'm trying to figure out how to get revenge on Nick," I responded to her.

"Ah, the boy Ella was telling me about," Mum thought aloud.

"Yeah that would be him," I mumbled.

"Max, you know I don't want you dating," Mum warned me.

"Mum, eww and I don't want to date him, I want to torture him," I insisted. I wasn't lying I didn't want to date Nick, I barely knew Nick but I had a need to get revenge on him, and believe me I was going to get it even if it killed me.

I felt lonely and I couldn't get Nick out of my head although I was looking forward to seeing him being Spud the Scarecrow. Unfortunately I had to be in the skit as well but I was a pyramid. You see Ms. Overwood thought that we should make human pyramids in a line and Spud the Scarecrow should knock us down and then Bob would come and fix us. How this showed cooperation skills I have no idea, I know that it showed humiliation that was for sure, but then again I wasn't gong to have to pretend to be a scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head. Maybe I should just call him spud, hmm that could work but then again I liked spuds as in the potatoes and just like that I was back to square one.

"Hey, sis, what are you doing?" Ella asked as she bounced into my room.

"Nothing much," I shrugged.

"Still stuck on how to get revenge on Fang?" She asked me. I nodded silently.

"I know that I'm only nine but if there's one thing I've noticed, is that you're happier this year," Ella commented. I looked up at her in surprise.

"Ella, I've only been at school for a week," I pointed out to her.

"Listen, you came home in tears practically every single day last year and now you're happy, I mean everyday you're distracted by Nick and you haven't been thinking about Casey," Ella explained. She gave me a hug and walked out.

Was it true? Was I happier when because I was distracted by Nick? If it was true what did that mean? Why do I constantly bug my brain with these annoying questions?

I saw Nudge the next day talking to a boy I didn't recognise. Sophie wasn't there yet so I decided I should go and talk to Nudge.

"Hi, Nudge," I called out.

"Oh my god, hi, Max!" She exclaimed.

"Max, this is Ethan," She introduced to me to the boy. He looked about Nudge's age; he was about her height with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Ethan, this is my friend Max,"

I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"He's just starting school today and he's in my class, well I mean he's started school before but not at this school, it's his first day at this school," Nudge clarified.

"Got it," I assured her.

I sniffed the air and tried my hardest not to fall over gagging.

"What is that smell?" I demanded.

"No idea," Ethan said. I wanted to believe him but that was a sheepish, on the other hand though that smell was not natural!

"Oh hey, look Ian's back," Nudge told me. I turned around to see Ian walking with Nick.

"Wasn't he on some sort of holiday?" I asked even though I knew the answer, in fact I had asked Nick last week but I was not I repeat not about to admit that.

"Yeah, to um LA I think," Nudge replied trying to remember.

"I still don't understand why everyone calls him Iggy," I scoffed.

"I know, it's so weird," Nudge agreed.

"Well people call you Nudge," Ethan shrugged. I laughed and walked over to class. I was not about to be late, the bell means that you walk to class immediately!

"Hi, Max," Iggy called to me. It was so odd, Iggy never spoke to me… ever but then again neither did Nick before this year.

"Um, hi," I replied awkwardly.

"Have I missed anything important?" He asked me.

"Why don't you ask Nick?" I asked him.

"Well I did and something is definitely up with him," Iggy nodded.

"Huh?"

"Oh he said about how he was picking on you and as he was talking about it he smiled," Iggy explained as if this was world breaking news.

"He's been smiling at me before," I pointed out.

"Holy, crap!" He exclaimed.

"What?" I asked him, Iggy wasn't making any sense at all.

"Nick never smiles," Iggy told me.

"Well he smiled at me a few times, I mean they were kind of half smiles but still," I argued with him.

"Well lets just say it's unusual to see Nick smile," Iggy explained.

Now that Iggy had mentioned it I realised that I could count on two hands the amount of times that I had seen Mr. Dark and moody smile. So why did he smile at me and when he was telling Iggy about me? And once again why was I bugging my mind with annoying questions? Why were all of these annoying questions about Nick? Why can't I shut up? Why am I sounding like Nudge?