Let's experiment. For the past two chapters, I have been typing The Isadora Diaries while listening to a really beautiful Icelandic song.

Now I'm listening to Eminem.

Let's see how different they turn out, shall we?

The Isadora Diaries:

Saviour:

Saturday, April 14th (still about Friday, April 13th)

Sorry, I got hungry. It's, like, five in the morning, excuse me for getting breakfast!

Well, I'm back now and we can continue.

Where did I leave off?

Oh, yeah. We had just made it to the school and I was a nervous wreck. Well, almost. I had some faith, but I was still afraid.

"Look, there's Mark!" Duncan exclaimed pointing to the boy in the parking spot a few spots down. "Hi, Mark!"

I slapped him on the shoulder. "Duncan, that's a sixth grader."

"Oh."

He's only ever seen Mark once and it was just in a picture, but how could he confuse him with a sixth grader? Mark was tall and just looked older.

"Why don't you go in the gym and look for Mark?" Mother suggested, gripping my dad's arm, who looked kind of sick.

"Okay," I said, looking at my dad. It's was hard to see under the dim street light, but he looked kind of pale. He had one arm wrapped around his stomach, like he was in pain. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Woah, you look sick," Quigley said.

"I'm fine," he said, wincing a bit. "Never eat snails."

Mother looked at him worry. "You kids go inside. We'll meet up with you later."

I was reluctant to head to the dance with my father looking as sick as he did, but my mother kept insisting, so the five of us went ahead into the gymnasium.

"What did she mean they'll catch up with us?" Violet whispered to Quigley.

"They're supposed to be helping chaperone," Quigley whispered making a face. "Don't tell anyone."

Inside the gym, there were purple and blue streamers that lined the walls, and balloons covered the floor. There was also a big sign that 'Spring Formal'. Everyone was dressed as I recognized, and some I didn't

Even though there was good music playing, there wasn't a lot of dancing going on. Most of the people were kicking the balloons or shoving them in each other's faces. It looked so fun! But Bea and I had work to do. Miss Barb wanted us to meet her there to talk about starting the The Dating Game, but Bea wanted to procrastinate and take pictures first. I wasn't in the mood for pictures, so I was bout to protest when someone came running up to me.

"Isadora!" he said pulling me in for a side hug.

I got a small glimpse at him before he pulled me towards him and my heart skipped. "Klaus, get off!" I said, pushing him away. We couldn't be all friendly yet!

"Um, Isadora?"

Then I got a good look at him. "Oh my gosh, Mark I'm so sorry!" I apologized. Him and Klaus just look so much alike! It's easy to confuse one for the other at a glance.

"You're Mark?" Bea asked, her mouth slightly agape.

"Yeah," he said, giving her a friendly smile. "You must be Bea. Isadora showed me a picture of you. It's nice to meet you."

Bea looked at with her eyebrows raised. "I'm so done with you right now."

"Captain Jack Sparrow," Duncan introduced himself in his Jack Sparrow voice. "You may bow now."

Mark laughed. "You must definitely be Duncan."

"And I'm Quigley," Quigley said, pushing Duncan aside, "Isadora's other big brother." He looked like he was trying to intimidate Mark or something. I rolled my eyes. Quigley has always been sort of protective when it came to me, but it was kind of annoying. Thankfully, Violet saw what he was trying to do and pulled him away. "Come on, Quigley! I love this song!"

"But you hate The Jonas Brothers-"

"Quigley!"

He obeyed.

You don't mess with Violet.

Not even her boyfriend will.

"Wha-what, guys?!" Bea called after them holding up her camera. "What about pictures?!" She glared in their direction.

Duncan shrugged. "I guess you're stuck with me then." And he took her hands and dragged her to the center of the dance floor.

"It's good to see you again, Mark!" I said hugging him.

"You, too!" he said returning the hug. "You look great!"

"Thanks," I smiled. "Are you ready to meet the wicked witch of the eighth grade?"

"Are you kidding?" he said. "I've waited my entire life for this moment."

I laughed, and looked around until I finally spotted her. "Well, there she is! Do you see her? She's the blonde in the pink dress." I pointed to the far end of the gym.

He nodded, looking in her direction. "Yup, I see her! Where's Klaus? Isn't he her date?"

I looked back over at Haley again and saw Klaus walk up to her. "He's the one with the dark hair that just went up to her."

Mark made a face. "That guy?" He looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "You do realize he's wearing Sketchers, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "You do realize it's kind of weird for you to be paying attention to another guy's shoes, right?"

"Hey," he held up his hands in defense, "a lot of guys actually like shoes as much as girls. We just won't admit it."

"Whatever," I laughed. "Come on, you've got a girl to flirt with."

"I'm suddenly feeling used."

"Oh, come on!"

We walked to a part of the dance floor that was close enough for Haley and Klaus to notice us, but far enough to make it look like we weren't trying to get their attention. It suddenly got awkward. Mark and I were just standing there surrounded by people who were either dancing or shoving balloons in each other's faces, and I'm not much of a dancer, and I didn't want to shove a balloon in Mark's face. "So..."

"Don't just stand there, Isadora!" he said, taking my hands. "Let's dance!" He used my hands to get me moving by trying to sway me side to side. He twirled me around and said, "Get ready for the dip!"

"Wait, no!"

There are two things I hate: Heights and falling from heights.

Dipping is my head falling from a height.

But Mark ignored me and he did it anyway. He pulled me back up, laughing. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

I slapped his arm. "You're evil!"

He shrugged. "Maybe. But it looked good to them." He looked past me, and I turned around to see Klaus and Haley staring in our direction for just a second before they looked away when they saw me look in their direction. Klaus had been glaring at us (or perhaps Mark) and looked like he was itching to punch something. Haley just looked confused and...jealous almost? I hoped so. I needed her to be if I was going to get her and Mark to flirt.

I turned back to Mark. "We must be pretty good actors!"

"For real! We should get Oscars for this!" he laughed.

We had fun dancing until the song ended. We were about to give up on Klaus and Haley since they weren't doing anything, but then I head someone behind me say, "Hey, Isadora." I turned around to see Haley walking up to us, literally dragging Klaus by the wrist.

"Um," I said, trying to sound confused, "Hi, Haley...and Klaus." He wasn't even looking at me because he was too busy giving this awfully mean looking glare.

Haley crossed her arms and looked at Mark up and down. "So who's your friend?"

"I'm Mark," Mark said, giving her a friendly smile and extending his hand out, and I swear that Klaus's expression got worse, if that's even possible. At first he looked confused, but then his glare came back, and he was looking at me too.

Haley shook it and gave him a flirty smile. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Mark."

"It's a pleasure to meet such a pretty friend of Isadora," and he winked at her.

At the moment, Mark was my most absolute best friend.

Haley giggled and flipped her hair. "I try. You wouldn't mind if I stole your date away for a moment, would you? I need to talk to her."

Mark shrugged. "Sure go ahead. I'll keep your brother here company."

"Oh," Haley laughed. "He's not my brother. He's my date."

"Hm," Mark said, then he said bit quieter, but loud enough for her to hear, "Shame."

With every passing second, I was getting more and more happy with the fact that Mark agreed to do this for me because he was great! I even believed him!

Haley smirked, and I swear she was blushing, but I couldn't tell in the dim lighting, and took my wrist and pull me to the back of the gym.

"What are you doing?!" she whispered harshly.

"I'm trying to have fun," I said matter-of-factly, gesturing towards Mark. "That's what you're supposed to do at a dance. Have fun."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come off it, Isadora, I can see right through your little act."

"Then why did you ask me what I was doing if you supposedly know what I'm doing?"

She groaned. "Ugh, just listen!" She crossed her arms and glared at me. "You know Klaus is still into you-"

"Can I say something?"

"No," she deadpanned. "So you came up with this scheme to make him jealous to keep him going after you! When are you going to stop, Isadora?!'

I gave her an incredulous look, having hard time believing she just asked me that. "When am I going to stop? When are you going to stop?"

Haley opened her mouth to say something, but I held up my hand. "No, you listen to me now. Haley, all you ever do is be mean to people. You spread rumors, embarrass people, and now you want to top it all off by stealing my best friend?"

"Stop," she said, her voice barely audible and in a warning tone. I ignored her.

"You an Kaley are as close as twins can be, aren't you? You're practically conjoined at the hip! How would you feel if I tried to take that away?" I asked.

"That would never happen!" Haley argued. "Kaley's my sister, she wouldn't do that to me."

"I could blackmail you," I continued, glaring at her. "I could find a way to blackmail the both of you just to keep you two apart, or just because I want to be Kaley's best friend."

"It wouldn't work!" she argued.

"Well, it's working for you! Klaus is slowly pulling away from me."

"That's different," Haley glared. "Kaley is my sister. She wouldn't hurt me."

I shook my head. "No. It's the same thing and you know it. For months my own brother ignored me, and when he wasn't ignoring me, he would treat me like a crap. Just the idea hurts, but it can happen. And you're making something like that happen to me again, but this time with one of my best friends!"

"Enough!" she shouted, causing a few people to turn their heads towards us. "Just stop!" Her voice cracked a little, and if I didn't know any better, I would say that it almost sounded like she was at risk of crying.

"Isadora!" Haley turned our heads in the direction of the voice to see Miss Barb hobbling towards us. "Isadora! I told you to come see me once you arrived! Where's Bea? I need her too!" She started hobbling away, and Haley and I just watched her. After a few seconds, Miss Barb stopped and turned around. "Well, come on!"

"We're not done here," Haley glared at me as I began to follow Miss Barb.

"Not even close," I responded.

We pulled Bea away from Duncan, who wasn't too happy about that, and she took us to one end o the gym were some kids were setting up chairs, and one was putting a podium between them. "I told you girls to come see when you got here! Why didn't you?"

"Sorry, Miss Barb," Bea apologized. "The music was just too good to resist. This dance was a great idea!"

Miss Barb ignored her last comment. "Whatever. It's time to get ready to play The Dating Game!"

"Oh, yay!" Bea said in a high pitched voice, clapping her hands. "I'm so excited! I get to read all the questions, right?"

"Yes, now-"

She squealed and hurried to the podium. She started to speak into the microphone that was sitting on it, but she stopped once she realized she couldn't hear her voice echoing in the gym. "Um, I think this is broken."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not broken, Bea. It's just not plugged in." I gestured to the unplugged cord on the floor.

"Oh! Right!"

Miss Barb plugged in the microphone. "Now, Bea-"

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Bea said dramatically into the microphone. "Boys and girls! I would like to-hey!"

Miss Barb took the microphone away from Bea. Covering the microphone with her hand, she said to Bea, "I'm making the first announcement." Then she uncovered her hand and began to speak. "Welcome, students," she said grandly, "to our school's Spring Formal!"

Most everyone began clapping and cheering. I searched the crowd for Klaus, and I saw him standing with his arms crossed next to Haley, who was clapping her hands slowly. Mark was standing next to them, smiling (of course) and clapping with enthusiasm.

"Are we having fun?" Miss Barb asked, and everyone cheered once more.

"I'm happy to hear that," she said, "and things are only going to get better because it is now time to play The Dating Game!" I saw some people make faces at the mention of the game, but most everyone seemed excited about it.

"Now," Miss Barb continued, pulling a piece of paper out of her purse, "here are the couples I have chosen to participate."

Some kids started going, "Ooooo!" while others started chanting what people they wanted to be chosen.

"The first couple is...Katelyn and Jonas!"

The crowd began to cheer as Katelyn came up and took their seats in the chairs by the podium, both looking equally nervous and excited.

Now that the game was about to start, I had to get ready to get a hand on Haley's phone, s that when Bea asked the pass code question, I could quickly put it in and delete the videos, freeing me once and for all.

I told Katelyn, "Good luck," and hurried away from the front of the gym to the back. I wanted Haley to be called up first before I got close enough to her phone to snatch it.

One by one, Miss Barb announced the couples that would be competing against each other, and the crowd cheered for each one that was called up. Finally, Miss Barb announced, "All right, and the last couple is...Klaus and Haley!"

I was so upset that I didn't get to see Klaus's reaction to being called, but I felt much better after he took a seat in front of everyone, and I think the face the had on then was the same ace he had once his name was announced. His eyes were wide, his brow furrowed in confusion, and his cheeks were slightly pink.

I saw with gratitude that Haley had left her purse on the table, now was the time to steal it...or borrow it. I guess both terms work here.

But it was on the table that was surrounded by her friends. They would never let me get close to it...but Mark was standing over there. And with Mark being the attractive boy that he is, his presence was accepted. I pulled out my phone and texted him:

Hey, can you get the phone? I cant do it, I'll get caught.

He responded a few seconds later:

I'm on it.

Mark was definitely one of my new best friends.

Hands down.

While I was texting him, Miss Barb had been talking about the rules of the game, "Bea, our host," Bea bowed before the crowd, "will be asking the questions. When she asks the girls a question about their date, the girls must write the answers on the dry erase boards that they'll find under their chairs. Then she will bring the microphone to each boy and they will say the correct answer. The same will be done for the boys, and a couple will be given a point each time he or she answers a question correctly."

Finally, as Mark texted me back, Miss Barb said, "Now let the game begin!"

Mark casually turned his head around to look at me and gave me a thumbs up behind his back. Then he turned back around and put his hands in his pocket. I watched him inch closer to the purse as Bea began the game with the first question. It was a question for the girls, so all of them (including Haley) had their heads down, writing. Mark got the attention of the girls surrounding the table by pointing at one of the guys and saying something. The girls covered the mouths and laughed. For a small second, none were looking at him or he purse, but at the one of the boys that Mark had pointed at, and in that moment, he slipped his hand into Haley's purse and pulled out a white cell phone that he quickly sneaked into his pocket.

He pointed a thumb behind him in my direction and said something to the girls, then he walked away from the table towards me, grinning triumphantly.

I swear, that kid was my savior.

Well, I was listening to an instrumental of one of Eminem's songs, and it wasn't working out. So I went back to the pretty Icelandic song! :D

By the way, I wanted to upload more than four chapters, but I also feel like I've made you guys wait too long, so I decided to upload tonight.

I'm sorry, I was a dead potato this month! Well, last month I guess...and January...

Seriously, in the beginning of January I took the final exam for my Anatomy and Physiology class, which was a VERY stressing class. Especially for me, with science being my worst subject and all. So the freedom from it took over me and I sat around like a dead potato everyday, taking in the fact that I can actually go to sleep at night and NOT stay up late studying.

And I enjoyed it.

But it's time to get back to work. I've kind of been procrastinating on the story (I still kinda am), but I got these chapters done (with the 3,000 minimum word limit I gave myself), and I will continue to get more done until this story is finished! :)

And when it is, I probably won't write any more for this fandom. Other than one story, this is the only archive I've written in since I was eleven...I'm sixteen now. I really want to write a multi-chap story for the PJO archive, but I want to finish this story first because I absolutely have to!

So, yeah. Feel free to read my future PJO stories, I would still love to hear from you guys. I love you all! :D

"Brosandi
Hendumst í hringi
Höldumst í hendur
Allur heimurinn óskýr
Nema þú stendur..."

~ Hoppípolla by Sigur Rós

It's a really amazing and beautiful song...and the pretty Icelandic song I keep mentioning. xD It's also what Isadora's mom was singing in the last chapter if you wanted to know.

If you haven't heard this song yet, do yourself a favor and listen to it now. :)

Soldier on, you wonderful diary readers!

;)