Lunch*

Nikki grabs her lunch and heads to the usual spot to meet her friends.

"Guys, I've got something to tell you," Nikki says.

"What's up?" Chloe asks.

"I heard a rumour that at midnight when it's raining if you look at the TV, you'll find your soulmate."

"Oh, we already knew that," Zoey replies. "In fact, we were going to tell you about it."

"Really? How did you know?"

"The whole school was buzzing about it yesterday, but you weren't there because you went home early."

"So, are any of you going to try it out?" Chloe asks. "I don't know about you, but I definitely want to know who my soulmate might be."

"To be honest, I don't really believe in this kind of stuff, but I'm really curious to see who it is," Zoey replies. "I think my soulmate would be someone I know, maybe Theo. I really do like him after all."

"I'm just hoping I get Brandon as my soulmate," Nikki gushes.

"Girlfriend, you don't need to look at the TV; it's already in motion," Chloe jokes. "After all, he did kiss you at that charity event."

Nikki's face turns red. "I-it's not like that! It's just that he did it because he paid money to help less fortunate children," she stammers.

"Nikki, everyone paid $5 to kiss you on the cheek; he paid $5 and kissed you, not on the cheek, but on the lips," Zoey reminds her.

"Yeah, but—"

"Look, it probably took a lot of courage for Brandon to do what he did, but now it's up to you to take that chance."

"Yeah, Nikki," Chloe interjects. "This should be undeniable proof that he feels the same way about you, so why let that chance just slip by?"

"If a window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade-Tom Peters." Zoey quotes.

Okay seriously, where does this girl get those quotes from? Out of thin air, Nikki thinks.

"Fine, you win. I'll talk to him about it in biology," Nikki concedes.

"You sure you won't get cold feet at the last second?" Zoey asks

"Have some faith in me."

"Alright just checking."

As lunch progressed the girls talked about different topics until the bell rang for the 5th period.

Afternoon*

After the girls said their goodbyes, they headed to their next lesson. For Nikki, it was French, and she had to sit directly behind Mackenzie, who was already in a bad mood. Usually, Mackenzie would take the time to make fun of Nikki, but today, she didn't.

As the lesson continued, Nikki noticed a dead stink bug stuck in Mackenzie's hair. She tapped Mackenzie on the shoulder. "Um, Mackenzie! Excuse me, but I just wanted to let you know that—"

"Nikki, WHY are you talking to me?! Just mind your own business!" Mackenzie snapped, glaring at her.

"Okay! Then I won't tell you that there's a huge dead STINK BUG in your hair!" Nikki replied calmly. "Besides, it kinda looks like an ugly barrette! It totally complements your eye colour!"

"WHAT?!" Mackenzie gasped, her eyes widening in shock. She whipped out her makeup mirror. "OMG! There's a big black... INSECT with prickly legs tangled in my golden tresses! EEEEEEK!" she shrieked, jumping up and down hysterically while shaking her head to try to get it out.

"You're making it worse. Now it's tangled even more in there. Just sit down and chill!" Nikki said, grabbing a tissue and reaching for Mackenzie's hair.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Mackenzie screamed. "I don't want TWO disgusting CREATURES in my beautiful hair!"

"Stop acting like a spoiled BRAT!" Nikki shot back. "I'm just removing the bug for you! See?!"

"That is DISGUSTING! Get it away from me!"

"You're welcome!"

"Hmph! Don't expect a thank you from me! It's all YOUR fault that bug was in my hair! It's probably from those nasty showers I was forced to clean."

Mackenzie suddenly folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at Nikki. "Or maybe YOU put it in my hair to try and ruin my reputation! I bet you want everyone to think that my house is overrun with disgusting bugs! Again."

"Mackenzie, I think your lip gloss must be leaking into your brain. That's ridiculous!"

"How could you put that nasty BUG in my hair?! I'm getting sick just thinking about it! UGH!!" She then covered her mouth and said, "Help! I think I'm going to throw up!!"

Desperate, she took off running toward the wastebasket at the front of the room, but she was too late and threw up on the floor.

A few minutes later, the janitor came in to clean up the mess. The teacher sent Mackenzie home and directed the rest of the students to the library for the remainder of the lesson. Unfortunately for Mackenzie, it seemed like people were already gossiping about her recent meltdown, and some students even recorded it on their phones to share with others.

Eventually, the bell rang for the sixth period, Biology, meaning that Nikki could finally talk to Brandon about what the kiss meant. It was even better because Mackenzie wouldn't be there to interrupt the conversation like always.