Hellooooo all you wonderful readers!
Wow, well, I haven't updated in so long. I actually did have a chapter in progress, but for some reason, I haven't reached the end just yet. And then I suddenly felt the urge to write this chapter instead of finishing the other one, so... enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!
Gum
Grade One
May (6), Drew (7), Gary (7), Ash (7), Paul (7)
"Gary," Drew whispered. "You're not allowed to eat in class."
Gary shrugged and continued chewing. He'd had something in his mouth for a long time, and Drew was certain he would get in trouble if he didn't finish it soon. The teacher hadn't noticed since she was writing something on the board, but she could turn around at any moment.
"Gary," Drew whispered again.
"Drew."
Drew flinched. Mrs. Thomas was looking straight at him.
"Is there anything you'd like to share with the class?" she said sternly.
Drew hesitated. He could tell her Gary was eating without permission, but then Gary would call him a tattletale and make him feel bad all day. So he shook his head.
"Then no talking." She went back to writing on the board. Drew glared at Gary; even though he sat right beside him, his chewing had gone entirely unnoticed. Gary smirked back and, still chewing, started working on his homework sheet.
It wasn't fair. Drew had been trying to be good. Why did he have to be the one to get in trouble when it was all Gary's fault?
This always happened.
Gary (and Paul too, for that matter) was always doing something he wasn't supposed to, and he got away with it. And there was also the fact that he was kind of mean to him sometimes. Sure, they'd had their good days, and there had been plenty of times they'd had a lot of fun together, but was it worth it? His butler didn't seem to like him very much either. Maybe he shouldn't associate with him after all. Maybe he should pick a better friend. He'd watched cartoons where people had bad friends, and they always made new ones, so he should too, right?
Drew's sulky mood lasted all class. When the bell rang, and it was recess, he went straight to Gary. "You're not supposed to eat in class," he said.
"I wasn't," said Gary mischievously. "I was just chewing. It's gum." He opened his mouth to prove it. There was a white blob on his tongue.
"What flavour is it?" asked May, who sat in the desk in front of Drew's.
"Mint," said Gary. He frowned. "The flavour's gone, though." He spit it into the trashcan and, reaching into his pocket, pulled out another piece.
"You have more?" said May, her eyes shining.
"Yup." He unwrapped it and popping it into his mouth. "I got it from my sister. A whole pack!"
"She gave you a whole pack?"
"Nope. I just took it. She doesn't even know."
He looked proud of himself, but Drew felt this only confirmed that he shouldn't hang out with him. He didn't want a thief for a friend.
"Gary," Drew declared, "I don't want to be your friend anymore."
"What?" May's attention snapped towards him in complete shock. "But… but why?"
"He's just angry at me," said Gary, unconcerned. "He got in trouble because he was tryin' to talk to me in class."
"Drew, you shouldn't talk in class," said May.
Drew fumed. "No! That's not why! You're just… you're just… mean. And you said you stole your sister's gum. And you don't even get in trouble!"
"What's going on?" Ash asked, walking up to them. He looked worriedly from Drew's furious face to Gary's placid one. "Why's Drew angry?"
"'Cause he got in trouble," said Gary.
"And now he doesn't want to be Gary's friend," May said in horror.
Drew struggled to compose himself. "Ash, don't you think Gary's mean sometimes?"
Ash hesitated. "Well… sometimes, I guess."
"Yes," said Drew, nodding. "Then maybe you shouldn't be his friend either. May, you too."
"But why?" May said. "Gary's my friend, and… and…"
"But he's mean," Drew said. "It's not good to be friends with mean people."
"He's not always mean."
"He is to me, and to Ash. So we're not gonna be his friends anymore. Right, Ash?" He looked expectantly at his cap-wearing friend, but Ash didn't agree. He looked down at his shoes.
"I kind of like having fun with everyone, though…" He looked up again, his eyes brightening. "I know! What if Gary becomes Drew's friend? Then, even if Drew's not his friend anymore, Gary will be his, and Drew will have to be his friend back, and we can all be friends again!"
May blinked. "I didn't even get what you said."
"I'm not Gary's friend anymore," Drew said, looking a little annoyed. "And I'm not gonna be his friend back if he asks."
"I'm not gonna ask," said Gary. He was starting to look a little annoyed too. "I don't wanna be your friend."
"I'm not your friend first," said Drew.
"No, I'm not your friend first!"
May and Ash looked at each other, concerned. This didn't look so good. They needed to convince Drew to be Gary's friend again. They needed help. They needed...
"Paul!" May exclaimed, she and Ash hurrying to where Paul had his head down on his desk.
"What?" he grumbled, lifting his head a little and opening an eye. He'd seen some kind of fight going on with his friends and decided to stay away. He wasn't in the mood to join in and rile them up even more. Besides, he wasn't really feeling that well.
"Drew doesn't like Gary 'cause Drew got in trouble, and Ash thinks Gary's mean too, and now, Drew and Gary don't want to be friends and they're gonna stop being friends and, Paul, you gotta help!" May babbled, Ash nodding vigorously beside her.
"No I don't," Paul said. He put his head back down, closing his eye. "Go away." His voice came muffled from within his arms.
"But if you don't—"
"Then they'll never be friends and I won't have to be their friend and that's okay, because they're annoying. Go away."
May gasped. "Don't call your friends annoying!"
"They're not my friends," he snapped. "Go away." He didn't mean it. He was just really not feeling well, and May prattling on and on was not helping.
May looked at Ash in horror. "Now Paul doesn't want to be their friend!"
"Paul, you gotta be their friend," said Ash. "Or else… or else then we're gonna be your only friends and—"
"If you don't go away, you're not my friend either."
Ash backed away in horror.
"We should go away," said May nervously.
"Yeah," said Ash.
They were on their own.
"Drew, Gary," pleaded May, heading back to them. "Please, please be friends again. Because then, Paul will be your friend again too, and then we'll all be friends."
Gary gave her a strange look. "Why isn't Paul our friend anymore?"
"I don't care," said Drew, crossing his arms and flipping his hair. "I don't want to be his friend either." Paul was just as bad as Gary.
This was becoming catastrophic. May and Ash needed to fix this, and fast!
But before that, they needed to get ready to go outside. Mrs. Thomas didn't let anyone stay in the classroom at recess if the weather was nice enough.
As they put on their coats (even though it was spring, it was a little chilly out—the weatherman suspected rain soon), May noticed Paul was still in his desk. "Paul," she called worriedly. "You have to get ready to go outside."
He didn't even answer this time. Mrs. Thomas frowned, went to his desk, and started talking to him quietly, but May's mind was elsewhere. Did Paul hate them so much, he didn't even want to be with them now? She gulped. Their entire group was falling apart. If only Drew and Gary would be friends again...
"Hey Gary," Ash said as the four of them headed outside, Drew walking as far from Gary as possible. "I was thinking... you could make Drew your friend again if you give him some of your gum, right?"
"I already told you," said Gary sourly. "I don't want to be his friend anymore. I don't need him!"
"But people always become friends when they give each other yummy stuff!"
"Good idea. I'll give a lot of other people gum and make them my friends, but not Drew, 'cause he's not my friend anymore."
"That's not nice," said Ash, frowning. But Gary had already reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of wrapped gum.
"Ashy-boy, would you like some gum?" Gary said in an unusually polite voice, though his eyes were spitefully fixed on Drew.
Ash stared at him blankly, then beamed. "Wow, thanks! That's nice of you, Gary."
"I know," said Gary smugly, handing him the piece. "May, you want some too?"
May nodded eagerly. "Yes please!"
Drew couldn't help but eye his friends noisily chewing away. It made him want to have some, but he couldn't admit that. Unfortunately, Gary noticed the longing in his eye.
"None for you," he said, smirking. He ran off to random classmates and gave them gum as well. Soon, word got out that Gary had candy he was willing to share, and Gary proudly passed gum to nearly everyone.
Except Drew. Everyone except Drew.
"Wow, Gary sure has a lot of gum," May marvelled.
"That just means he stole a lot," said Drew. He pointed at May accusingly. "You're eating stolen gum."
When he said it like that, May felt a little bad. But the gum was so good, she didn't want to spit it out before it lost its flavour. Besides, she hadn't been the one who'd stolen it; she'd gotten it as a friendship gift from Gary.
"It's not stolen gum," she said. "It's gift gum."
"Yeah," said Ash. "It's really yummy!"
"Well... well I'm not gonna have any. I'm not gonna have Gary's stolen gum!"
May and Ash looked at each other and frowned. He was really ruining it for them.
"You know what I think?" said Gary, strutting back to the group. "I think, Drew, that you're just mad because I gave them gum and not you. I only give gum to my friends, and you said you're not mine, so..." He shrugged nonchalantly.
"Yeah," said Ash. "Drew, you gotta say you're his friend again so he can give you gum."
"It's not good to stay mad at your friends," May added. "First you got mad at him 'cause you got in trouble, and now you're mad at all of us because you didn't get gum. So..." She looked at him hopefully. "Will you say sorry and be friends with Gary again?"
Drew was seething. How had this turned against him? He'd been trying to be good! He'd been trying to guide his friends—his good friends, May and Ash—away from a mean person like Gary. But they were acting as if he were the mean one!
"I'm not gonna say sorry," he said. "If... if none of you guys are gonna be nice to me, then I'm leaving!"
With that, he marched away from them, heading to the other side of the playground alone.
Gary stuck his chin in the air, but May couldn't help but worry. All her attempts at bringing them back together were failing. What was she supposed to do now? After the bell rang and they returned to the classroom, May noticed another troubling thing.
"Mrs. Thomas?" she said. "Where's Paul?"
"He went home," Mrs. Thomas answered. "He wasn't feeling well."
But May was so horrified by the first part of her answer, she didn't hear the second part. Paul had gone home. He'd left. He hated them so much, he didn't even want to be in the same room as them. Something had to be done—Drew and Gary had to be friends again! But from the way things were going, that was looking less and less likely...
The day passed, and still, Drew refused to talk to Gary. When the next day came, May hoped Drew would return to school without his grudge, but, unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.
"Hi Drew," said May, turning around in her desk to face at him. "Are you friends with Gary again?"
"Hello," said Drew politely, though he sounded a little smug. "No, I'm still not his friend. But that's okay, because you're still my friend, right?"
May nodded. "Yes, I'm your friend."
"That's good, 'cause I have something to give you at recess."
May's eyes brightened. "Really?"
"Yes. It's something you only give your friends."
May couldn't wait for recess after that. He could give it to her immediately too, because there was a rainstorm outside, so they had indoor recess today. The moment the bell rang, she immediately turned to Drew. "What? What did you get me?"
Casting a glance at Gary, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a brand new pack of gum. He opened it up and gave a piece to May. It was a thick cube—much bigger than the pieces Gary had had yesterday.
"Thank you," she squealed, popping it into her mouth.
"You're welcome," said Drew, flipping his hair. "And it's not stolen, so it's good gum."
"Yeah, it's really, really good," said May, chewing happily. "Mmm, strawberry!"
"What's really good?" Ash asked, walking up to them.
"My gum," said Drew, offering him a piece. "Want some? I'm only giving it to my friends."
"Hey, thanks!" said Ash, his face lighting up.
After Ash started chewing, Drew looked straight at Gary. "I'm not giving you any, Gary."
Gary shrugged. "I don't care. I have my own."
"But mine's bubblegum," said Drew. "Watch." He popped a piece into his mouth and, after chewing it enough, blew it into a bubble. It wasn't as big as the one one of his mansion's maids (the one who'd given him the gum pack) could blow, but Drew knew it was bigger than anything Gary could make with the type of gum he had. He was cautious when popping it, so it wouldn't get stuck all over his face.
"I can blow bubbles too," said Gary, a little edge to his voice. He began chewing one of his own pieces, but, no matter how much he tried, he couldn't blow a satisfying bubble. He added another piece into his mouth, but still he failed.
"Drew's better at blowing bubbles than you," Ash observed.
"No," said Gary, irritated. "It's just a different kind of gum. Mine's a chewing gum so your breath doesn't smell. Even if Drew blows bubbles, his breath's always gonna smell."
"Yes—it's gonna smell like yummy strawberries," Drew retorted confidently. He'd seen someone make a witty comeback like that when his butler had been watching some show once.
"No," said Gary, growing frustrated. "It's gonna stink. Your breath's gonna be stinky!"
Drew crossed his arms and flipped his hair. "I'll brush my teeth. And blow bubblegum bubbles." To rub it in his face, he blew a small, pink bubble.
"Well... Well, it doesn't matter!" said Gary. He looked at May and Ash accusingly. "If you guys are gonna be his friend and not mine, that's okay, because Paul's still my friend!" He looked to where Paul was supposed to be sitting.
Except Paul's desk was empty.
"He's not here today," said Ash, who sat in front of Paul. "He's absent."
May gasped. She'd forgotten all about Paul—he'd stopped being their friend because Drew and Gary had stopped being friends. Now, he didn't even want to come to school!
"Drew, Gary," she said frantically. "You guys gotta be friends again!"
"No."
"No way!"
"But if you don't, Paul's not gonna be your friend either!"
"I already said I don't want to be his friend."
"I don't care!"
May looked desperately at Ash, but he was enjoying his bubblegum too much (he kept trying and failing to make bubbles). It was up to her.
But what was she supposed to do? What would someone smart do? Someone like... Gary's friend Leaf?
"Gary, Drew," said May. "We're all gonna play a game."
They looked at her curiously. "What kind of game?"
"A game where we see who's the bravest out of all of us. We'll tell each other to do stuff, and if we do it, it means we're really brave."
"I don't have to play," said Gary. "I already know I'm really brave."
"You're not brave enough to play this game," May countered.
Gary glowered at her. "Fine! I'll play. But I'm super-brave, so I'm gonna win. Drew's gonna lose, 'cause he's not brave at all."
"No, I'm brave," said Drew, sending him a glare. "I'm gonna play, and I'm gonna win."
"I wanna play too," said Ash excitedly.
"Okay," said May, nodding importantly. On the inside, she was cheering. It had worked! Now all she had to do was tell Drew and Gary to be friends again! "Okay," she said. "First thing you have to do is—"
"Why do you get to tell us what to do first?" said Gary, crossing his arms. "I wanna go first."
"But I thought of the game!"
"But I can think of something I wanna make you guys do!"
"We can go in alphabet order," said Drew. "That means, if your name starts with a letter that comes first in the alphabet, you get to go first."
"Like my name starts with A!" said Ash excitedly. "That means I go first!"
"And then I'm next," said Drew, quietly saying the alphabet to himself to be sure. "And Gary's after, and May's last."
May frowned. She had not wanted to go last. But she couldn't complain, because if the others decided her complaining was annoying, they wouldn't want to play anymore.
"I wanna go first," Gary grumbled.
"You're not brave enough to go later because then, other people will make you do scary stuff," said Drew smugly. "That's why."
"I am brave enough! Ash, do your turn!"
"Wow, I'm going first," said Ash, beaming. "Um, so I can make you guys do anything?"
"Yes," said May. "But you're gonna have to be fast."
"Um, okay. Okay, so you guys... you guys have to..." His eyes went from Gary, to Drew, to May...
And then locked on May. She must have looked worried, because his eyes lit in remembrance, and travelled back to Gary and Drew. They had to make them be friends again.
"Gary, Drew," said Ash. "You guys have to give each other some of your gum."
Drew blinked. "What?"
"What about May?" said Gary.
"She doesn't have gum, so she doesn't have to."
"But giving someone else gum isn't brave," said Gary sourly.
"My mom says sharing with someone you don't want to is brave," said Ash boldly.
And, thought May, they would have to be friends again if they share gum. Ash was so smart!
Drew and Gary glared at each other. Then, Drew reached into his pocket to take out a piece. However, Gary pulled the blob he was chewing from his mouth and stuck it on Drew's shirt. Drew's eyes widened in disgust.
"There," said Gary smugly. "I gave him some of my gum."
"Ewww!" May squealed.
Drew's face pinked, and he put away his fresh gum and, instead, took out the pink blob in his mouth.
"No!" Gary yelled. He got up and started to run.
"I have to give you my gum, Gary!" Drew shouted back, chasing after him.
Their other classmates watched them confusedly while they ran around the classroom, until Mrs. Thomas stood from her desk.
"Gary! Drew! What are you doing? Stop this instance!"
Gary and Drew stopped running and stood guiltily while their teacher walked up to them. "What is the meaning of this?"
"He's tryin'a put gum on me!" Gary said, pointing at the pink blob in Drew's hand.
"Drew, stop bothering Gary. I'm giving you a warning."
"B-but—! But he—!"
"No excuses. Honestly, I'm surprised at you, Drew. You're usually so well-behaved."
"But Mrs. Thomas—"
"No more of this, all right? Behave yourself, or there'll be trouble for the both of you."
She went back to her desk, and Drew and Gary returned to May and Ash, Drew in a considerably more bitter mood. He'd gotten in trouble because of Gary again!
"My turn," said Drew, sitting down with crossed arms. He gave Gary a dark look. "Gary, you have to... you have to go to your sister, and give all her gum back, and tell her you're a bad stealer."
"What!" Gary yelped. "I'm not gonna do that! That's not brave, that's dumb!"
"My mom says being honest is really brave," said Ash. "So if you tell Daisy the truth, you'll be really brave, Gary!"
"Fine," said Gary, crossing his arms. "But I can't right now, 'cause we're not allowed to leave class." Honestly, he wasn't planning on giving the gum back after school either.
"And you have to let me put this gum on you and not tell the teacher," Drew added, holding up his pink blob.
"You can only make us do one thing!" Gary said.
"I know that," Drew said calmly. "But Ash said we have to give each other gum, and you didn't let me give you any."
"That's true," said Ash sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. Though the gum exchange was not going as he'd planned.
"I don't want it!"
"Because you're not brave enough," Drew accused. "You're not brave enough to let me put this gum on you."
Gary fumed, but he didn't protest when Drew triumphantly stuck his gum on his shirt. (He'd considered sticking it in his hair, but he knew Gary wouldn't be able to get it out, and Mrs. Thomas would know exactly who was responsible.)
"Whose turn is next?" asked May.
"Mine!" said Gary quickly. He turned to Drew. "Drew, you have to give all your uneaten gum to me."
Drew's eyebrows furrowed, but, without another word, he reached into his pocket, and took out his bubblegum pack. He handed it over to a victorious Gary and, before anyone could say anything, he took the gum Gary had stuck on his shirt and stuck it on Gary's.
"I said your uneaten gum," said Gary in disgust.
"It's not eaten," said Drew coolly, remembering what Gary had said when he'd accused him of eating in class yesterday. "It's just chewed."
The tension in the air was thick. May gulped. "Um, my turn. Um... Gary and Drew have to be friends again."
She looked between the two, but neither said anything, neither made a move. They stared at each other unpleasantly. Finally, Drew spoke.
"I don't like this game," he said, getting up. "I'm going to the washroom." He went to Mrs. Thomas to get permission, and, soon, he was out the door.
Gary smirked. "He's just mad 'cause he lost," he said. "And I have his gum."
"That wasn't very nice of you, Gary," said May quietly. "Drew's right. You're really bad sometimes."
"If you don't wanna be my friend, then you won't get any gum," said Gary. He held out the pack he'd gotten from Drew. "Want some?"
But May didn't take it. This didn't feel like gift gum. It felt like stolen gum. She hadn't seen Gary take his sister's, so it hadn't been as bad, but Gary had made Drew give up all his gum right in front of her.
"Drew's right," said Ash, rubbing the back of his head. "This game isn't really that fun."
"Yeah," said May.
"Then let's play something else," said Gary. "I can pick a game."
"Aren't we gonna wait for Drew?"
"No. He's not our friend, remember?"
May and Ash looked at each other.
"You know," said Ash to Gary. "I don't feel like playing with you anymore."
"Me neither," said May.
"What? How come?" Gary frowned a little. He'd offered them gum and all; why did they suddenly not want to be his friends?
"You gotta say sorry to Drew," said May. "He didn't look very happy with you. And you got him in trouble with Mrs. Thomas, and you made him give you his gum."
"He gave me his gum 'cause that was the game," said Gary. "And he got himself in trouble. He was the one chasing me."
"But you put gum on him first," Ash pointed out.
"And he was gonna give you good gum when Ash said you guys had to," May added. "He was being good. But you were bad. And then you ran away. That wasn't very brave, Gary."
"But..." What was going on? How were they turning against him?
"Recess is almost over," Mrs. Thomas announced.
"I gotta go back to my desk," said Ash. He made his way back to the other side of the classroom, spitting out his gum into the trashcan as he did. May spit out her own, and Gary, making sure no one else noticed, brushed the chewed gum off his shirt into the garbage as well.
"Drew's still not back," May noted nervously.
"He's just mad," Gary muttered. He reached into his pocket for the pack of gum he'd taken from him. Suddenly, taking it didn't make him feel quite so victorious.
When class began, Drew was still not back. Mrs. Thomas took note immediately.
"Does anyone want to go check on Drew?" she asked. "He's been gone a while."
May would have volunteered, except she wasn't allowed in the boy's washroom. She waited for Ash to say he could go, but he seemed preoccupied in hurriedly writing something (he'd forgotten to do his homework). That left...
"Gary," she whispered. She gave him a pointed look, and he grumpily raised his hand.
"I'll go."
"Thank you, Gary."
Gary walked out the door and headed for the washroom. He didn't really want to check on Drew, but it meant getting to miss a couple of minutes of class. Also, the look May had given him made him worry that if he didn't, May would really not want to be his friend, and, no matter how much Gary avoided saying it, he liked his friends. Leaf, May, Paul, maybe even Ash.
And Drew. He liked Drew too.
To tell the truth, Gary hadn't thought much of it when Drew declared they were no longer friends. He'd thought it was something that would pass, just a minor friend-fight.
But he hadn't expected it to last so long, not with Drew. Paul, maybe (Paul could be pretty stubborn when he wanted), but not meek, goody-two-shoes Drew. In fact, he'd been rather surprised at how far Drew had gone to spite him today.
He walked through the washroom doors, dreading an awkward scene where he'd find Drew crying, but Drew wasn't. Instead, he was calmly leaning against the tile wall, playing with a rubber band. He looked up when Gary entered.
"Mrs. Thomas said she wants you to come to class," said Gary.
"Tell her I'm still in the washroom," Drew said coolly.
"No you're not."
"Yes I am. I'm not using the toilet, but I'm still in the washroom."
Gary was taken aback. Was Drew deliberately... ditching class? Drew of all people?
"Why won't you come?" he asked curiously.
"'Cause I don't wanna be in class with you," said Drew casually.
"'Cause you're still mad at me?" How long was this going to last?
"No. 'Cause you're mean, and I don't wanna go to school with mean people."
"But you have to. It's the rules."
"You don't follow the rules either, Gary. Like you were chewing in class. And you got me in trouble. And you're not a nice friend." He shrugged nonchalantly, as if that settled it all.
"I only do that stuff 'cause I'm joking," said Gary.
"They're not good jokes. I don't like them."
"So you're not gonna be my friend anymore for real?"
"Nope."
That stung. There was no way Gary would admit it, but that stung. In that moment, Gary realized just how much he wanted Drew to stay his friend.
"The teacher still said you hafta come to class."
"I'm not gonna."
"But I have to listen to her so I have to bring you back."
"You'll have to go back without me. Then you'll get in trouble."
Gary frowned. Drew never liked any of them getting in trouble. Well, anyone from their friend group. And if Gary wasn't his friend anymore...
"Fine," said Gary, trying to cover his hurt with anger. He crossed his arms. "I don't care. You're too goody-goody anyways. You're no fun."
"It's not bad to be good, Gary."
"But then you don't get the things you want. I got to have gum and stuff. You can get anything you want, but not if you're so good all the time."
"Anything you want, except friends," said Drew. "You can't get friends if you're not good, 'cause then, people don't like you."
Gary paused at that. Because no matter what way he looked at it, it was true. Drew was leaving their friendship because he thought Gary wasn't nice. And May and Ash hadn't seemed to like how he'd been treating Drew these past couple of days. What if he lost all of them?
He preferred their friendship a lot more than gum, he realized.
Huffing, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack he'd made Drew give him. "You can have this back."
Drew looked puzzled. "Why?"
"'Cause it's yours. I only took it for the game." It wasn't true. He'd been planning to keep it.
Drew cocked his head, still confused, but took the pack. Gary stood up straighter.
"And now we're friends again," said Gary. "'Cause you gave me that gum before, and now I gave it to you, and Ash said if you give each other yummy stuff, you become friends. So there." He said it with a sense of finality, as if this exchange didn't embarrass him in the slightest, and turned to go out the door.
"Wait," said Drew.
Gary paused. He didn't want to, because that would mean having to continue this awkward situation, but he waited to hear what he had to say anyways.
"I didn't really give you gum," said Drew. "I only gave it to you for the game. So... here."
Drew held out a fresh piece of bubblegum. Gary stared at it. Then, smirking widely, he took it. "I bet I can blow a bigger bubble than you."
"No you can't," said Drew, grinning back and flipping his hair. "I have more practice."
"Let's see."
Gary popped the piece into his mouth, and Drew started on a piece himself. They blew bubbles, trying to outdo each other, and breaking out into muffled laughs when the bubbles popped in their faces. They were attempting to pick off the bits of sticky gum from their lips and cheeks when Ash walked in.
"Um, you guys are taking a long time," he said. "Mrs. Thomas said you have to..." He trailed off, looked from one to the other. "What are you doing?"
"You were wrong, Ash," said Gary, smirking. "I can blow bigger bubbles than Drew."
"No," said Drew, mimicking Gary's smirk. "My bubbles were much bigger."
Ash blinked. "Um... Mrs. Thomas is waiting."
"Almost done," said Drew, turning back to the mirror.
He and Gary cleaned themselves up the best they could and followed Ash out. Mrs. Thomas was not impressed by their lateness, and Drew was sure he'd made a really bad impression on her at this point. But he didn't care, because he was friends with Gary again.
Maybe, he thought, Gary wasn't as bad as he'd thought he was. After all, he'd done the good thing and given him back his gum today, right? Or had he done it because Drew convinced him it was good to be good?
That, Drew thought, was a reason to keep being his friend. Because Gary could be good after all—he just needed someone like Drew to remind him to be. Drew could be the friend who kept his friends being good when Gary and Paul were being bad.
Speaking of Paul, where was he?
The next day, May was absolutely delighted to see her purple-haired friend at school. She'd been right: Drew and Gary becoming friends again was the way to bring him back! After all, he'd only returned after Drew and Gary had suddenly stopped being angry at each other. Even though he did have a bit of a cold.
And Drew and Gary? They seemed to carry on like they always did, as if they'd never gotten angry at each other in the first place. May thought it was a little weird, but it was better than them not being friends.
"Hey guys!" May chirped when all her friends had made it to class and before Ash and Paul went to their faraway seats. "Guess what I have!"
"Gum?" said Ash excitedly.
"Why gum?" said Paul, raising an eyebrow.
"Nope, not gum!" said May. She pulled out a large packet from her lunchbox. "Gummy Weedle! And I'm only gonna share with my friends." She looked at all of them. "You're all my friends, right?"
"Of course!" said Ash.
"Yes," said Drew, flipping his hair.
"You know I am!" said Gary, eyeing the gummies.
"What is going on?" said Paul, giving them a strange look.
"Then you all get to have some!"
They were about to reach for the packet, when Mrs. Thomas's voice cut through the air.
"Ash, Paul, to your desks. Class is starting. May, put that away. You know there's no eating in class."
Whoops.
Well, it could wait until recess.
And done!
I admit, I wrote the majority of this chapter the day before a final that I'd hardly studied for... But I think the final went pretty well, actually. To be honest, I have another final tomorrow, but I've been polishing off this chapter instead, haha. Why am I most motivated to write when I'm not supposed to? (I think another motivation is that I got a new laptop, since I've been having a lot of internet and keyboard trouble with my old one, and I just want to keep writing on here now. Love this thing!)
Anyways, what did you think? Reviews are appreciated, and thanks for reading!
Bye bye for now! Have a great day, and smile all the way! And best wishes to those of you in the throes of exams these days! :)