A/N: Thanks to everyone who reveiwed for chapter seventeen. I really appreciate it. I hope you all like this next chapter just as much.
Disclaimer: I only own Miranda Norton. All other characters in this chapter are the property of CBS/Criminal Minds.
The following morning, nineteen of Miranda Norton's students were sitting at their desks, talking to each other. Most of them had noticed that neither JJ or Miranda were in the classroom.
"Where's Miss Norton and JJ?" Savannah asked.
"I saw Miss Norton in Principal Prentiss' office, talking to someone on the phone. Whoever she's talking to, she looked scared. But I don't know where JJ is though." Spencer said.
"Who cares where she is?" Emily coldly said.
There were a few gasps from some of the other children. They couldn't believe Emily would say that. After all, JJ and Emily were like best friends.
"Why would you say that, Emily?" Ashley asked.
Emily shrugged her shoulders. "Because me and Jennifer are not friends anymore."
"Why?" Aaron asked.
"She was being very bossy and mean to me when I was at her house yesterday. So we both just decided to stop being friends."
Suddenly, Penelope placed her hands over her face and began to cry. Jason lightly placed his hand on one of her arms.
"It's going to be okay, Penelope." He tried reassuring her.
Removing her hands from her face, Penelope's eyes were stained with tears. "No it's not. It won't be okay until JJ and Emily are friends again." She choked back a sob.
"But we can't be friends anymore." Emily said.
"Yeah, you can. You have to try to fix your friendship." More tears were spilling from Penelope's eyes.
"She's right, Emily. You have to try to fix it. You can't just stop being friends." Will said.
For a moment, Emily was silent. She didn't know what to say, until finally she had an answer.
"Okay, Penelope, I can't promise you that me and Jennifer will ever be friends again, but I'll try."
"You promise, you'll try?" Penelope had stopped crying.
"Yeah. I promise."
Miranda had soon arrived in the classroom with a worried look on her face. The children were still talking to each other. She stood at the front of the classroom for a moment, until finally speaking.
"Can I please have everyone's attention? I've got something very important to say."
At their teacher's request, the children grew quiet. Miranda thanked them for their cooperation and began telling them what she had she been told when she was on the phone.
"I was just on the phone with Jennifer's mother, Mrs. Jareau, and she informed me that yesterday evening, she and her family were involved in a car accident."
There were gasps from many of the children. Fear and worry had spread acrossed their faces.
Emily raised her hand, "Miss Norton."
"Yes, Emily?"
"Is J, I mean is Jennifer gonna be okay?" Emily sounded very concerned.
"She did get a very large cut on her forehead and some bumps and bruises, and she'll have to spend a couple more days in the hospital. But her mother said that she should be fine."
"Why does she have to spend more time in the hospital?" Elle asked.
"Because the doctors want to make sure she's fully recovered and in good health." Miranda said.
"What about the rest of JJ's family? Did they get hurt too?" Spencer asked.
"They managed to escape with minor injuries."
"What does minor mean?" Grant asked.
"It means that they didn't get hurt very bad." Maeve explained.
"I know this must be scary for all of you, and I just want you to know that if you need to talk to anyone about it, you can talk to me or even the school counselor or anyone that you feel comfortable talking to. Alright?" Miranda asked.
The children all nodded their head in agreement.
"Miss Norton." Once again, Emily's hand was raised.
"Yes, Emily?"
"Can we make some get well cards for Jennifer?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Emily. Would you all like to do that for Jennifer, too?" Miranda asked the rest of her students. They all happily agreed.
"Why don't we do that now? I've got plenty of supplies in the arts and crafts bin and you all are very welcome to use it if you'd like. And please take your time with the cards. We need to make them very pretty for Jennifer." Miranda said.
After each child got the supplies they needed from the arts and crafts bin, they all sat down at their desks and began making get well cards for JJ. They were all being very creative with their cards.
About twenty minutes later, nearly all children were finished with their cards and it was now time for morning recess. They had all opted to stay inside to play. However, as most the children got up to play, Emily quietly stayed at her desk. Just staring at the card she had made for JJ.
Noticing that Emily had not yet gotten up to play, Miranda was concerned. She got up from her desk and walked over to Emily. She knelt down to the seven year olds level and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Emily, it's recess. Don't you want to go play?"
Emily's eyes met with her teacher's. She was trying hard to fight back the tears. "No. I just wanna make sure this card is perfect for Jennifer."
Miranda picked up the card and looked at it for a moment. It was blue with a purple glittery butterfly on the front of it. Glued to the top left corner of the card, there was a green ribbon tied into a bow. She opened the card and read the words, "Get well soon, Jennifer. I hope we can be friends again, someday." She carefully placed the card back onto Emily's desk, and smiled.
"Emily, this is very beautiful. I'm sure Jennifer will love it." A concerned look then crossed her face. "But I don't understand that last part. What did you mean about being friends again, someday? Did something happen between you and Jennifer?"
Emily's eyes began to water. "I feel like it's my fault."
"Sweetheart, what are you talking about?"
"Jennifer getting hurt and being in the hospital."
Miranda gasped. "Why would you say something like that?"
"I was at her house yesterday and we were fighting because I wanted to play something else, but all she wanted to play was soccer. So we decided to stop being friends and I went home. I told my mommy, "I hope I never see Jennifer again." And now looked what happened. Jennifer got hurt and it's all my fault." Emily began to sob.
"Emily, we sometimes say things that we don't mean. But that doesn't mean it's our fault when someone gets hurt. Jennifer got hurt in a car accident, not because of what you said. She's going to be okay. And I'm sure she won't blame you for what happened. You have to understand that, okay?"
"Do you think we'll ever be friends again?" Emily asked hopefully.
"I'm sure you will be."
End of chapter eighteen. Reviews please. I'll have chapter nineteen up as soon as possible.