Chapter 4: The 8

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Yelled the small dark haired boy as he bounced up and down on the mass of blankets. Sleeping under that mass was a very unhappy 9 year old Ria. Alex was 8 at the time. Rias birthday was January 9th and Alex' was on December 17th of that same year. She was only a little less then a year older but for the month in between birthdays they were considered the same age. She grunted a bit and shifted under the blankets trying to get him off to no avail.

"Why?!" she whined as she glared at him from under the blankets.

"Its your BIRTHDAY!" He shouted back. "You're 9 now! And its raining!" Alex had always loved the rain. When ever it rained he would force his sister outside with him even though the rain blatantly contradicted her fire. On the other hand Ria always forced her brother outside for snow.

"Just let me sleep a little bit longer." She said as she pushed her brother off her bed.

Alex stood by the side of the bed waiting but after a few minutes Ria threw the blanket off with a loud grunt and lifted him over her shoulder before walking downstairs with a giggling Alex.

**Perfect**

"Do you thinks she's alright?" Asked a Alex with a concerned look to his friends. Ria never just disappeared without telling anyone.

"I already told you. The office called her and the homeroom teacher said the new girl will be her partner." Said Nate as he rolled his eyes. They were in the cafeteria and had been texting Ria since their last class ended.

Nates partner ,James, was sitting with them. He was a large muscular boy with short blonde hair and a scar on his left cheek. He didn't talk much but always followed Nate around like a lost puppy. As time went on he was slowly getting let into their small group of friends.

"Maybe her phone died?" Guessed James.

"No I made sure she charged it last night." Said Alex sadly.

"Whats up Guys?" Came a sudden voice from behind them. They all looked up to see Ria Standing as if nothing happened.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" shouted Alex making the girl behind Ria jump. They all noticed the movement and tried to look around Ria to see. "And who's That?"

"Well I've been showing Elsa around school." she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh ya! Guys this is Elsa" She gestured to the girl currently hanging on to the back of her shirt like it was a life line. Again she held her book to her chest for protection.

"Elsa these are my Friends. Sophia, Nate, James and my brother Alex." She pointed to them respectively and they all waved when she said their names. Elsa waved in return without letting go of the other girls shirt.

"They called a meeting for 'The 10' and their current partners." Said James suddenly.

"Did you all go?" asked Ria as she sat down two seats away from her brother. She reached behind her to push Elsa to sit down between them. Elsa sat down and grabbed hold of Rias shirt again as if to hide behind her.

"We have to. Its required that we ALL show up." Stated Sophia.

"What are 'The 10'?" Asked Elsa suddenly making the group (except for Ria) jump. Elsa Immediately seemed to cave in on herself making the rest of the group feel bed about their reaction.

"Well my friend" Said Ria trying to recover from the awkward moment. "'The 8' is just our way of saying the 8 students who got closest to wining last year. If someone says 'The 10' they're talking about 'The 8' and last years winner."

"You all were in the top 10?" Elsa said shocked making them all laugh.

"Yep" Alex replied. "Me and Sophia were 3rd and 4th last year. James and Nate were 5th and 6th. Ria and her previous partner were 1st and 2nd."

"Wait. I thought if you won you could stay partners?" Elsa asked in utter confusion and oblivious to the sudden tension.

"You can." Said Nate for the first time in the entire conversation. "But some people don't appreciate what they have."

The rest of the meal was spent in an awkward silence until the bell rang for the small group to go to their next class. They left with short hugs and words of goodbye leaving Ria and Elsa to wonder the halls for the rest of the day.