zMac'nCheese

Leafered Adams Academy for Priveleged Young Boys [and Girls] 8

    I was frozen. Everything was still in slow motion. It took a minute and my friends calling my name to bring me back to reality.
    "Sue?"
    "Sue!"
    "SUE"
    "SUE!"
    "SUE?!!" I snapped out of it. Masks finally made contact with the floor, peoples screamed became un-muffled again, jumping bodies went back to normal speed, and my friends surrounded me in a circle of worried faces. They all held their masks in their hands. (Oh yeah by the way. These are the costumes matched with the girls)

Julie

Trisha

Katrina

Amanda

Molly

Michelle

Sue (Moi!)

Abby

    "Huh?" I said looking around. I looked from Molly to Michelle, Josh to Kurt, Seth to Peter. Then my gaze went from Cole to Matt. Both were equally full of worry and my stomach turned in knots.
    "Sue are you alright?" Michelle asked. I was in a daze still. But my mind was racing and my head hurt. I kept looking from Cole to Matt and then to Michelle and Molly. I looked at the exit door.
    "I have to go." I said and then pushing my way out of the circle and off the dance floor, I ran towards the exit. I threw my mask on the floor as well as my shoes and I sprinted onto the cold wet grass and ran towards the school's green. I ran into the heart of the maze and sat down at the School fountain like I did the night Cole asked me to the dance. I sat down on the edge of the fountain with the water cast light on my shaking body.
    Next thing I knew I felt myself leave my body. I was in the sky looking at my body shaking and trying to push back tears of guilt. I felt sorry for the me that was down there staring into the water and sniffling. A tear hit the water making a small ripple that quickly disappeared. Then, my body fell backwards unconscious and my arm floated in the water that limply hung over the edge. It went dark.

******************************************************************************************************
    It was dark. Where I was I mean. I was lying in darkness. Then a bubble started floating to the sky and I realized I was in black water. So I tried following the direction the bubble was going and I saw a faint shimmering light. I swam towards it but I found that I could just run. I couldn't tell where the floor was. But I kept on going. When I thought I reached the surface I pushed my head up to the air. I breathed heavily, just realizing I was holding it the whole time, and I looked around. I was in the fountain. Like I'd fallen into the water. I climbed out and magically, my costume was on me. And it was dry. My mask was at my feet. I could have sworn I threw it on the ground before, I thought.
    I then heard the clock strike 9:59 and I ran to the Ballroom. I saw my friends chatting happily. But then the clock rang 10 with loud gongs from the bell. All of a sudden everyone faded into the darkness except for someone. I walked over to them to ask them what's going on but I never seemed to get any closer to the person. I started running but I never got any closer. Then, they turned around and I stopped running paralyzed with shock. It was a guy. But half of his face was Matt and the other half was Cole. I screamed but nothing came out. I started running the other direction only to find them again. Everywhere I turned the two faced person was there.
    "Sue." They said in a voice that was a mixture of the two. "Sue. Sue. Sue." all of them started chanting my name and I just collapsed to the floor in the darkness shaking. I started yelling no! But nothing was heard. I kept yelling though, hoping someone would hear me.

******************************************************************************************************
    "Sue!"
    "No. no. . . no . . . NO!" I mumbled unconsciously and then screamed no and shot my eyes open. I bonked heads with someone and groaned. I looked around to see everyone looking at me worried. I was in the common room in the girls' dorm building. Everyone was in pajamas. Strict school policies say that guys can't sleep in the girls' rooms. But they're allowed to sleep in the common room. And that's what the guys were doing. There were sleeping bags and pillows all over the place as well as backpacks, cellphones, cellphone chargers, laptops, i-Pods, etc.
    The girls were all in their pajamas. Plaid pajama pants and tank-tops. Molly's was dark green. Michelle's was light green, Julie's was black and yellow, Katrina's was pink, Trisha's was red, Abby's was light blue, Amanda's was purple. The guys were either in gym shorts, plaid pajama pants, or boxer pants, and tee shirts. I had a suit jacket over my torso and a blanket over that. I was still in my costume.
    I started to sit up but then a headache suddenly rushed to my head and I put my hand to my temple while wincing slightly.
    "Hey take it easy." Molly said and she eased me back onto the couch. I shook my head.
    "I gotta get out of this dress." I said. I got up and headed upstairs, half stumbling from getting up too fast. When I came back downstairs I was in my blue and black plaid pajama pants and a white undershirt.
    "What happened?" I asked sitting down on the couch trying to remember what happened.
    "You fled the ball room and by the time we found you, you were passed out on the edge of the fountain about to fall in. Cole found you." My gaze shifted to Cole. He smiled at me.
    "I didn't make it though. You fell in. But I grabbed you before you drowned." He said.
    "How long was I out?" I asked.
    "Not long. 2o minutes. It's 10:50. The older kids are at an after party. The younger kids are already asleep. Kids our age are in the other common room  watching a movie. It just started so you're just in time." Michaels said. I nodded. "Are you ok?" I didn't reply. I walked over to him.
    "I need a hug." He smiled and gave me a hug. Then the girls all hugged me. Then Cole walked over to me. He smiled at me and I smiled back weakly. He pulled me into a hug and it made me feel safe.
    "Hey can we go now or do you need a moment alone?" Michaels asked. I smiled and we headed to the common room where the movie was playing. Our entire grade the the grade older/younger than us were all in the large room watching the TV that was just started playing the movie, Men in Black I and II. We all joined in sitting down. I sat next to Cole and things started getting back to normal. But occasionally I'd look over at Matt and see him looking at me but then we'd both look back at the screen.
    "You had me worried about you." Cole said in my ear. I turned to face him and I could tell I had really shaken him up.
    "I'm sorry." I said  back. He wrapped his arm around me and crashed his lips down on mine. In front of everyone in the room. Not that anyone noticed. They were all concentrating on the movie. But it was like the perfect moment. I was on the verge of confusion while he was there, prepared to be my support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    The next morning I woke up to the smell of Reeses Puffs cereal and milk. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Molly starring at me while chewing with a bowl and spoon in her hand.
    "Morning sleeping Beauty." I smiled. I slowly got up and walked into the mini kitchen in the dorm. There was a bunch of kids all sleepily sitting at the tables and munching on cereal and other breakfast foods. I groaned and grabbed an apple.
    "Look who finally woke up." Michelle said. I smiled.
    "Well we have Special Operations classes today. So get dressed." I rolled my eyes. I nodded and went back in to my room and changed into my uniform.
    "Knock knock." I heard through the door.
    "Come in." I said. It was Matt. I fixed my blue head band in the mirror and turned towards him.
    "What's up?" I asked.
    "Nothing. Just checking if you were ready.
    "Yea just about. Lets go!" I smiled. We started heading out the door.
    "Listen. About last night." Matt said. I remained quiet so he continued talking. "I know you didn't expect it was me so I kno you didn't mean to dance that close." I slowly nodded. "We can still be friends right?" I looked up at him and he smiled. I smiled back and nodded.
    "Yeah. That'd be fine. Mayb things were getting better now.

Leafered Adams Academy for Priveleged Young Boys [and Girls] 7

    "Welcome to the Masquerade dance. We all hope you enjoy your time here. Tonight is the night of getting to know one another, dancing, having fun, and for the lucky few, romance. Just make sure you now who you're with. You may turn out to be surprised at the strike of 10." The headmaster said. He was also in a mask but we could tell from his voice and his steady pace, like a wise turtle taking his time.
    Then the lights became brighter and the music came on again. There was applause and people started to get back to dancing. just like my class, the whole school was taught how to waltz, ballroom dance, and tango. I walked over to the guy I suspected as Peter. He had dark hair, a mask, and his shirt was even tucked in.
    "Are you my date?" he had the physical appearance of Peter from what I could tell. But his voice seemed a little lower than I remembered. Maybe he was trying to just throw me off.
    "That depends who you're looking for." I said.
    "Well then. Shall we?" He held out his hand and I took it. I didn't feel right pretending to flirt with a guy I didn't know the face of. Even if it was just fake. He lead me to the dance floor and I had a wave of deja vu as the music started and we started to dance a waltz. The way it felt in his arms, his smell, the height difference, it all felt familiar. But it wasn't Peter. Which means I was technically with the wrong date tonight. But I assumed that everyone was. I carefully and subtly looked around through my mask to try and locate who was who but everyone looked the same in their costumes and masks. All the guys were in suits. Some of the older guys had tux's on.
    So then who was I with? This was all going against my instincts. I never dance with someone if I don't know who the heck they are. I might as well grabbed some guy from the street outside the gates of the school, put him in a costume and a mask, and then started dancing with him. Then I started to have a mini panic attack. I hurried over to the The girl who I assumed was Michelle (Or someone had the same features and same dress tonight. Highly unlikely)
    "I have no idea who I'm dancing with." I said. She turned around and gave me a "HUH?!" look through her mask. "I danced with him and I realized that it wasn't Peter because it felt familiar dancing with that guy. So I haven't got the foggiest of who's my date!!!" I practically screamed.
    "Ok take a chill pill or two before you cause a scene. Now just. . . i don't know . . . pretend it's a field test for Special Operations." I nodded and took a deep breath. That's how pathetic I am. I have to think of things as school work in order for me to not freak out. I walked over to the refreshment area and downed a glass of punch before my heart rate started to go back down. And then it went right back up when I heard a voice behind me.
    "I know it's you Suzie." My heart started beating faster. For a second I worried that my date was Daren because only he called me that ridiculous name. I turned around and luckily saw a different person with a different costume and mask.
    "I'm sorry who are you talking about?" I asked. I could see him rolling his eyes. For some reason, even I didn't even believe myself. Something was throwing me off my game.
    "Oh come on you know you can't try and throw me off right now. I know that body anywhere." I shuddered.
    "Oh because you have seen my body before?" I said giving up my whole cover. This made him smirk.
    "So it is you. I knew it." I glared at him.
    "No telling anyone or anything that it's me." I said getting back my confidence.
    "Or what?" He challenged.
    "I'll tell everyone who you are and what you did when we were 3 during Halloween trick-or-treating." I said smirking. I could see him start to blush.
    "Ok fine. But you tell no one about that." and then he stormed off defeated. I smirked then I downed another cup of punch and returned to the dance floor.
    "There you are." I heard someone say. I refrained from flipping the guy over my shoulder like I usually do when I'm in a field operations. So instead I stiffly turned around and saw the costume and mask of the guy I was dancing with earlier.
    "Hi." I said and forced a smile. I was back in my undercover mode. The mask and dress I was wearing now felt like the protective skin that hid my true identity. I felt a rush of adrenaline. "You wanna dance?"

    From then on I was completely back on my game. I was pretending to have fun so much, that I actually started to. But one part of my mind through all of the partying was keeping watch. It was kind of like the designated driver. This guy disappeared a lot and when ever he came back he looked and acted a little different. I didn't try and mention anything because to be honest, I was having too much fun to even care.

    "Ladies and gentlemen." The dean said into the microphone on the stage.
    "I'll be right back." My date said. I nodded.
    "It is 5 minutes until we unmask ourselves to our friends and dates. Be prepared for the best . . . or the worst." and then the murmurs of chatter started up again and the music continued. I went to go find my friends.
    "Hey you guys." periodically whenever my date disappeared I would go to my friends and talk to them. "Have you guys noticed your dates disappearing a lot?" I asked.
    "And then coming back as if they're a completely different person? Yeah I noticed." Michelle piped in. The other girls nodded.
    "My theory is that they're fibbing us by switching costumes." Trisha said.
    "And also why whenever you come around we're all dateless. So we have more time to talk." Molly said. I started wracking my brain. The first guy I was with my supposed date, he seemed familiar. Then the second time he seemed familiar in a different way. Meaning it was familiar when we were just talking on the sidelines and not when we were dancing. The third time he seemed a lot taller than before. Then the fourth he was a little shorter but still tall, and a lot skinnier. The fifth time he seemed really short. The sixth time he didn't seem to know how to dance very well. The seventh guy was also tall and skinny and he was funny.
    "Hey there." I turned to see my date's costume. I couldn't tell which one this was since he's switched 7 times already meaning all the guys have been my "date" already. Maybe it was Daren. Then I started to get a panicky feeling again. What if it really was him?
    I couldn't loose my cover now if it wasn't him. Not when we only had . . . 3 minutes before unmasking. So I decided as long as he didn't call me Suzie I was safe.
    "Oh hi." I said putting another smile on my face. "I'll catch you girls later after unmasking." I said and then my date lead me to the dance floor for one more dance. It was a slower song. Actually the band was on break so a DJ was playing Hey There Delilah. Couples started getting on the dance floor including me. It was around this time that I was wishing my date was Cole instead of who ever it really is.
    "so the count down begins." he said. Again he seemed somewhat familiar but since I've technically danced with 7 different guys tonight it could just be one of the guys from before. Meaning that it couldn't be Daren. YES!!!
    "And so it does." I replied keeping my fast whit and smirk on high speed. I only had to stand strong for . . . lets see. Where's a clock, where's a clock, aha! On the far end of the hall lay an antique grandfather clock. 2 more minutes left. Then I could take off this stupid mask and go find my real date for the night, Cole.
    As we danced I took notice to how close we were. My arms were slung around his neck and his stronger arms were gently resting on my waist. It seemed so familiar . . . familiar and yet, safe. Without realizing it I lay my head on his shoulder. His grip on my waist tightened slightly but I didn't mind. It felt good being there. We gently swayed like that until the end of the song. I was so comfortable that I had closed my eyes and it took me a good 5 seconds to realize the song was over.
    Embarrassed slightly I pulled away and sheepishly smiled.
    "That's was nice." He said. I nodded slightly and then turned towards the dean who was once again on the stage. The music was cut and he was holding a micro-phone. The murmurs died down till it was silent. His voice, still as strong as a lumberjack (Ha ha. Lumberjacks.) came out through the speakers.
    "We will begin the count down. Face your date and follow along." I turned towards my date and he smiled at me.
    "Ready to be amazed? . . . Wetherstine." He smirked and suddenly I realized who I was slow dancing with. Who's shoulder I had lay my head on. Why this guy was so familiar.

five
Four
Three!
TWO!!
ONE!!!!

Masks were pulled off and everyone cheered. Many of them threw their rented masks in the air not caring where it landed or who was hit in the head with it. I slowly removed my mask and so did my date. Then everything was on slow-motion. The screams of people in shock, happiness, sorrow, all were drained out of my head. Everything fell in slow motion. People smiled, and talked, and jumped, and hugged, in slow motion. I didn't even see my friends and their dates running over to me to see my reaction.
    All I was able to see. Were two brown eyes, bushy brown hair, and the face . . .

. . . Of Mathew Cloud staring back at me. With the same smirk that first made me fall for him, way back when.

Leafered Adams Academy for Priveleged Young Boys [and Girls] 6

    "Oh My G-d Sue why are you still asleep?! Get up, get up, get up!!!!!" I felt a pillow make contact with my face and I shot open my eyes. I looked at the poor sucker whose gonna get it. It was Julie and Michelle this time.
    "If you wanna live to see the dance, you. Will. Run. now." I said.
    "Oh boy." Michelle and Julie said before I chased both of them into the hallway again. But the guys weren't there this time. So I continued chasing them down the hall until I chased them out the door. Instead of continuing the chase, I locked the front door and went back to my room to change. But when I walked passed the common room, I saw the guys sitting there starring at me. I remembered I passed through here when I was chasing Michelle and Julie. And then I noticed my girl boxers. Oh thank G-d. They're just plaid. But I'm still in girl boxers. In front of a group of guys. Who always somehow find a way to make their way into the girls' dorm building.
    "Um, hi. I'm gonna go change." I said and then rushed into my room.
    When I was decent I came back out in my uniform.
    Oh I never told you! The girls' uniforms while we're at Leafered Adams are regular Blue and White uniforms. But here we've got our blue plaid skirt that's a little above the knee, a blue tank top, under a white button down 3/4 sleeve fitted shirt. It's different than our uniforms back home but they're not completely demeaning. Other than that we just wear sneakers. Students usually change up their uniforms. That's the power of creativity.
    The guys' uniforms are regular white button down shirt, Navy blue blazer, khaki pants during the colder seasons, and cargo shorts in the hotter seasons.
    "Where are Michelle and Julie?" Kurt asked when I came back out. That's when I finally remembered that I locked them out of the dorm.

    "Oh jeez." I said to myself. "Well they'll be here in a matter of seconds." I said putting on a smile. And as if on cue, not only 2 seconds later, Michelle and Julie appeared out of one of the bathrooms.

    "Soo not cool Sue." Michelle said. The guys looked at them weirdly. "You made me mess up my hair just to get back into the building."

    "Where did you guys come from?!" Alec asked kinda scared to know the answer.

    "We didn't go through the gutters to the toilet or anything like that so get your mind out of there as well." Julie said.

    "We've got secret passageways hooked up to basically every room. Essential for lockdowns and such." Michelle said.

    "Oh of course because that's just normal." Matt said sarcastically.

    "Well come on! We've only got 20 minute periods today." Molly said.

    "Wow. The one day Molly's excited for class." Katrina said. We all laughed as we headed out the doors for our short day of classes. The reason this is so is well, it's Friday. And from my memory, I  do believe that it's the day of the school Masquerade. It's gonna be amazing since everyone got costumes, masks, and we're having the dance in this old fashioned ball room that's on one part of the campus. I checked it out on Wednesday. It was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. High ceiling, stained glass windows, glass dome in the middle of the ceiling, floors made of shiny marble, walls the color of cream with gold trimmings, and roman pillars around the edges of the room.

    "Oh my goodness it's Friday already! And we get the whole day to prepare." Michelle said. I laughed.

    "Chill Michelle." Julie said hitting Michelle on the head.

    "Um, ow!" Michelle said holding her head. I rolled my eyes.

    "Come on you guys. We still have classes." I said.

    "Ok fine. Be that way." Michelle said and we all headed off to classes.

With the guys:

    "Guys, the dance is tonight. You ready to put on your masks?" Kurt asked all his friends.

    "No but do we got a choice?" Cole asked.

    "OK someone other than Mr. Sour Puss over here.

    "I'm ready!" Michaels said pumping his fist in the air.

    "Wow. Dramatic much dude." Josh said giving him a weird look.

    "Well ok then. Tonight's the night that everyone's in disguise and it's not for field work in Special Operations." Peter said typing away at his laptop.

    "True true." Alec said. "And I'm guessing if I know Sue well enough, her and the girls aren't going to give any clue as to who's who tonight. So it's our job to figure it out I guess." He concluded.

    "A game. That'll be fun." Matt said rolling his eyes.

Back to the Girls:

    We're in our second to last period. Dance. The class was split into boys and girls. They guys used the other studio and worked with Giorgio while we stayed in the bigger studio with Ms. Gradey.

    "Girls, listen up. Giorgio shall be working with the men on ballroom dancing. And we will be doing the same. Get into pairs and I'll get the music. Then we'll start learning the routine." Sally Sue raised her hand.

    "I thought we already learned ballroom dancing back at Alberto." She said. Some of the other girls nodded their heads agreeing.

    "That may be true my dear, but we're going to be learning the 18th century version of ballroom dancing.

    "So it's like a recreation of the Phantom of the Opera?" Molly asked. Ms Gradey laughed.

    "Yes in a way I suppose. But without all the violence and drama. Of course you are all teenagers so we never know what will happen." Most of us laughed and snickered at each other. Both Michelle and Molly nudged me and smirked. "Now lets get cracking. Or dancing I suppose."

After classes:

    Everyone was rushing to get back to their dorms to get ready. Everyone was running in and out of rooms with wet hair, blow dryers, straighteners, masks, high heels, bows, necklaces, makeup, nail polish, anything that you could imagine to find in a beauty salon. It was hectic. It was like a horror-Slasher-flick to a tom-boy. . . or a regular guy.

    "Sue, Michelle, Problem!" Melanie, a girl who lived down the hall yelled barging in the door. I jumped hearing my name. I was just in my room finishing the touch-ups on the costumes we bought (Amanda's dress was too long, Molly's dress looked too Renaissance, Trisha's dress was too frilly, Julie's dress needed a yellow stripe across the top, Abby's dress was a little short [the next size up was too big around the waist], and Michelle's dress was also too long. My dress just needed a different ribbon.)

    "Who died?" I asked. I jumped up but then sat back down a bit dizzy. Staring at a needle going in and out of fabric for 2 hours does that to some people. I saw spots for a second and had to blink a few times.

    "No nothing like that. It's worse. Someone killed all the outlets in the building without turning off the lights." I sighed and rubbed my eyes.

    "Pranking you think?" Michelle offered. I nodded.

    "Definitely. I'm guessing it's the other girls' dorms. Stopping the pampering so that they get more time and we get less ready and more-"

    "This is a disaster!" Melanie screamed. Then I heard muffled the screams of the other girls in my entire floor. Michelle and I immediately clamped our hands over our ears.

    "Ok be quiet!" Michelle yelled in the hallways. It went dead silent as every girl in the hall came to our doorway.

    "It's all covered. Trisha installed the emergency 'In Case of Pranking' power house." Molly said walking over to a switch in the corner of my room behind my dresser. Hair dryers started making noises again and some girls screeched from holding hot curling irons (they were 'smart' enough to hold it on the metal part and when the power came back it got hot again).

    "Now that that's done, I think it would be a good thing if I finished these costumes, BEFORE the dance tonight." I said and then closed the door in Melanie and the other girls' faces. Was it rue? Yes. But I had to finish this pronto and then get ready myself.

    "Jeez. Way to be pushy." Michelle said laughing and sitting back down in front of the sewing machine and lamp.

    "Yeah I know. But we have to finish these. Why did we buy these when they needed work on them still?" I asked plopping back down in my swivel desk chair.

    "Because we agreed that it wouldn't be a problem fixing the dresses before the dance." Michelle pointed out.

    "Ugh. Why do I always over-estimate my abilities?!" She just laughed and we got back to work.
~~~

    "You guys do know that you only have 1 1/2 hours to get ready?" Tori said. Tori's the girl that was in my home Ec. class though she's a year younger. Michelle and I had just finished getting the dresses fixed and were relaxing a bit.

    "What?! only an hour and a half?!" Michelle jumped up and ran to the shower. I laughed and slowly got up.

    "Aren't you gonna get moving?" Tori asked.

    "I showered before I worked on the dresses. I only have to get dressed, do my hair, and make-up." I said.

    "You planned what your schedule was gonna be from way before huh."

    "Done by instinct. SO classes since the first grade." I walked over to my closet and pulled my dress and mask out. "Well, better start getting ready."

    "Yeah. You need help with your hair?"

    "Yeah that'd be good, thanks." I smiled.

    "Hey Sue are you . . . Oh my goodness." I was looking at my reflection and I turned to face my friends in the doorway.

    "Holy . . . You look great." Michelle said. I smiled.

    "You guys look even better. Especially with the perfections." I said over satisfied with the work Michelle and I did.

    "Well lets get moving." Abby said.

    We were just in time to go. I grabbed my camera, my mask, and ran to the main common room for one last big talk before the dance.

    "Ok my lovely ladies!" I said managing to stand on a couch in a dress and heels. "Tonight is the School's first dance, and it involves masks!" there was a chorus of cheers and claps from my peers.

    "So have fun. Don't regret anything,"

    "Unless you did something illegal" Michelle added.

    "And the only rule. don't remove your mask until we reveal ourselves at the stroke of 10." Trisha said.

    "It would be more romantic and exciting if it were at Midnight. But we still have something known as a curfew so that's the best we can get." Molly said. Everyone laughed.

    "Ok well lets make our grand entrance." Julie ended. We all cheered as we made our way out of the dorm in all our dresses, heels, and chatter. As we got closer to the ballroom everyone put their masks on over their hair full of hairspray, bobby-pins, banana clips, mouse, etc.

    "You think it was kinda not smart that we have dates but we can't reveal ourselves until half the night's over?" Michelle asked.

    "Got it covered. We switch up who were going with." Trisha said. Everyone seemed to stop when they heard that. All of a sudden girls were going to their friends asking to switch because they trusted them and such and such.

    "Wow. At least this way when everyone's done panicking we'll be fashionably late." Amanda said. I laughed.

    "Ok but who's switching with who?" I asked looking around. We all exchanged glances.

    "We should probably switch with someone who has similar characteristics." Molly said. "Julie, Katrina, you guys are both tall and you have similar hair color so you guys switch dates." Katrina and Julie nodded.

    "Oh and Molly and Michelle can switch since they're similar in height." Julie said.

    "Yeah. aka, taller than me." I said.

    "Not hard to do. No offense!" Molly said slinging an arm around my shoulders. I rolled my eyes and fake-glared at her.

    "Yeah, uh-huh, sure. Anyway, Who do I switch with then?" I asked. "I'm the only gal in this group with black hair." I pointed out gesturing to my hair.

    "Well since I'm the next closest thing to black hair, I should switch with you." Trisha said. "Regardless of height difference."

    "Right. Just say it's the heels." Katrina said.

    "Amanda, Abby, you guys switch. You have the lightest hair." Trisha said.

    "Yeah and use the whole heels deal to conceal the height ordeal. Oh my G-d I made a whole rhyming sentence! Sweet!!" Molly said.

    "The lovely work of Molly Holly." Amanda said. We all laughed.

    "Well now that that's finished, we should get going before the dance is over." Abby said. We agreed to that and headed towards the entrance.

    "Oh"

    "My"

    "G-d" Michelle, then myself, then Julie said. The hall looked even more spactacular now that it was decorated and in use. There was a huge chandelier in the middle of the hall circled by smaller chandeliers. There was a small stage at the far end of the hall where a small orchestra was playing. Some kids were already dancing. Mostly they were the older and younger kids.

    "Wow." We all said still gaping at the beauty of the room.

    "There you girls are." We all turned around to see the guys in their masks. "Well who's who?" one of them asked.

    "That's a good question." I said looking at all of them. Damn they were doing the whole switch it up thing too.

    All of them were wearing black suits and a different mask.

    "This can't end up well. No one knows who is who." Michelle said.

    "Well we can start. Who are you?" one guy who was slightly lanky who I was guessing was Seth, said. Well that knocks one down. 7 to go. Katrina had a date. This kid named Chris who was quiet in all our classes and then managed to muster up the strength to ask her to the dance. And now he was like best friends with the other guys.

    "Nuh uh. Not releasing who's who until the strike of 10. You guys can guess all you want but we're not revealing." Molly said. We were all having the times of our lives being mysterious, and for once it wasn't for Special Operations homework.

    "Well that's when the guys are revealing themselves." Another guy said.

    "Well then it'll be all the more surprising." Julie said.

While we're at it, here's the dresses and masks of the girls. Try to figure out who's who:

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

 

 

Leafered Adams Academy for Priveleged Young Boys [and Girls] 5

    "Sue wake up already!" it's a week before the school dance. We all have the day to go into town to get a costume at this dress boutique/store in the city. All of us piled into the buses and headed out onto the highway.
    "This is the first time to New York City in a while." Julie said. I nodded agreeing.
    "Yeah. Last time I was here was last year." Katrina added.
  "We go there a lot during the school year." Michaels said.  We ended up taking pictures, solitaire on i-Pods, and taking videos to pass the time.
    "Ok can I have your attention please?" the bus monitor said. We all looked over to the front except for the rowdy kids in the back of the bus. After the big tough security guard from school, Joe, went back there, we could finally hear the bus monitor. "We're going to break into two main groups, guys and girls. Then those two groups will break into smaller teams of at most, 8, people." then we all climbed out of the buses. People were in regular clothes rather than uniforms. I was just wearing jeans, sneakers, an American Eagle tank under a baby-doll tank, and a corduroy bag carrying my wallet, camera, sunglasses, my journal, and a sweater.

    In the end we broke up into groups and I was with Michelle, Julie, Molly, and Abby. Amanda, Trisha, Katrina, Trina, and Tori were in another group. We all had 3 hours to get a costume, mask, and anything else for the dance from the stores listed on the paper. We were given money for the costumes. Luckily the stores are all on the same street. We just have to meet back at the buses on 5th Ave by 4 PM.

    "Hey come on Sue!" Michelle said pulling me away. I laughed and let her pull me away leaving the guys to their 'shopping'.

With the Guys:

    "Ok men. Where do we start?" Josh asked. looking up and down the street.

    "No where. I hate shopping for clothes." Cole said. Alec rolled his eyes.

    "Well suck it up dude. We've gotta get a costume or else." Matt said.

    "Or else what?" Cole challenged.

    "We get a letter grade marked down in Home Ec." Alec put in.

    "You're kidding right?!"

    "We kid you not my dear friend." Peter said.

    "Oh shut up and lets go." Josh said as him and Kurt were pushing all of them into a store.

Back to Sue's Point of view:

    "Ok ladies. Where to first?" Julie asked.

    "I think we should do dresses first, then mask, then shoes, then other stuff like jewelry." Michelle said.

    "I second that." Molly said. We all nodded and then headed to the first store on the list. The Dancing Mask it's called.

    When we walked in we saw some of our other classmates and the store split between a girls side and a boys side. We went over to the girl's side and started looking around the racks of poof dresses and such.

    "Hey look!" Molly said pulling out a Queen Victoria looking dress. It came with a sun bonnet. I laughed and took out my camera.

    "Ok you're trying that on." I said. molly laughed and headed to the changing rooms. When she came out she looked hysterical. I took pictures as she modeled the dress. It was like a 27 Dresses moment then. We were all grabbing dresses that looked odd and taking pictures. Then we finally started looking for dresses seriously.

    "Hello ladies. Is there something I can help you with?" a store clerk asked walking up to us in a sort of Dorothy kind of dress from the Wizard of Oz. We took her up on her offer and let her show us the Masquerade section.

    And then Finally after a good hour of searching for something, we all found a dress to our own liking. What do they look like? I'll only tell you later.

    "Ok we have dresses. Now we need masks." Julie said. I nodded. We ended up bumping into Amanda's group on the street and we headed to the mask place together.

    "Oh. My. Goodness." Amanda said from the entrance of the store. There were so many masks on the walls and in cases that it was a little spooky. So many feathers, sparkles, and lace all around it made me feel a bit dizzy. We stumbled into the store and looked around sort of scared to touch them. There were so many varieties and sizes of the masks.

    "Need any help?" We turned to see a man in his 20's or so. We all nodded fast still spooked by all the eye holes in the room. With the help of Craig, (the name of the clerk) we found masks fast and were out of that store fast.

    "Oh thank G-d. That store gave me the creeps." Katrina said. I nodded in agreement.

    "Hey you guys!" Michaels said. I turned to see the guys with bags of their own.

    "Hey. How's shopping for you?" Abby asked.

    "Slow and painful." Cole said. I laughed.

    "He's just saying that. We had to drag him into each store and into the changing rooms." Alec said. We all laughed.

    "Yeah I was almost sure we'd have to dress him too." Peter added.

    "Well are you guys heading over for a mask?" I asked.

    "Yeah why?" Josh asked.

    "It's super scary in there!" Julie said.

    "huh?" they all said.

    "Just take our word for it. Loads of masks staring at you as you walk through the room." Amanda said. Molly widened her eyes and looked from Peter to Michaels, to Cole, to Josh, to Matt, to Alec, to Seth, to Kurt, to add dramatic effect.

    "Um, ok. We'll see you guys back on the bus." Matt said unsure. They started walking away.

    "Oh see now they think we're crazy." I said.

    "Don't think. We already thought you guys were before. This just confirms it now." Seth said.

    "Hey!" We all said. Then I sighed.

    "I'd give them 20 seconds." I said. We all counted down in our head.

    "In 3, 2, 1," Molly said.

    "AHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" the guys ran out of the door and back into the street tripping over each other and making a scene on the sidewalk in time square. The girls and I just all started dying of laughter. We walked away still laughing to ourselves making our way to the Payless Shoe Source store.

    The rest of our time in the city was a breeze. We got shoes, earrings, necklaces, everything else that we could possibly need for the dance.

    "I love the idea of a Masquerade. It's so mysterious and yet romantic in a way." I said. The girls all nodded in agreement.

    "And I bet the guys won't recognize us with masks on. So it'll be even more fun toying with their minds." Michelle said. I laughed and we started heading back to the buses.

    "So what did you girls get?" Kurt asked. We just shook our heads.

    "Not telling. It's a secret. And the night of the dance it's your job to figure out who's who." Amanda said.

    "Yeah and we're not letting a single detail about our costumes out." Katrina said.

    "Oh come on! It's just a dance." Cole said.

    "Shows how much you think of a Masquerade." I said.

    "Yes it does. It's just a dance and it's not too big of a deal." he said. I rolled my eyes. On the way back we did what we were doing before. Taking silly pictures and listening to music.

That night with the guys:

    "Hey you guys ready for the dance this Friday?" Matt asked walking into the room.

    "Yeah I guess. I still don't get the big deal here." Cole said.

    "Well I think I'm planning on Kissing Molly on Friday." Kurt said. He tossed the football he was holding to Josh.

    "Wow. Really?" Peter asked. Kurt nodded and shrugged.

    "Well I'm not 100% sure but I've been thinking bout it for a while." Josh passed the ball to Michaels.

    "Yeah I was thinking of that too." Michaels asked. "Except to Amanda of course." he added tossing the ball to Alec.

    "Well now you know the big deal with the dance this Friday." Matt said to Cole. Cole just rolled his eyes and nodded.

Sue's POV again:

    "Hey you guys." I said walking into the room.

    "HEy Sue. What's up?"

    "Nothing. Just waiting for the week to end so the dance can come already." I said sitting down.

    "Yeah I know. It's a big deal." Molly said.

    "Well I hope things are perfect." Michelle said.

    "Yeah me too." Trisha said.

    "I think every girl hopes for a happy ending on Friday. It's the first dance of the year." Katrina said.

    We only talked about the dance a little until we went to bed for classes. But I couldn't help but think that drama was gonna happen the night of the dance. I mean you can never be too careful. Especially with my friends behind the drama.

Leafered Adams Academy for Priveleged Young Boys [and Girls] 4

    "Oh my goodness."  I said walking into the Home Ec room.  Again, I dropped my bag onto the table and collapsed in a chair.  Michelle and Amanda exchanged glances.
    "Ok if nothing happens between you and Cole soon, I'm about to stick my nose in your business."  Michelle said.
    "Yeah me too!"  I heard from behind me. I turned to see Molly in the doorway with Kurt.  He was holding her hand.  I raised my eyebrow.  "Michelle called us for fittings."  I nodded and got up.  I went over to the cupboard and grabbed the fabrics we were working on.
    "Thanks for your concern but you can't really force a guy into asking someone to a dance."  I pointed out.
    "We can if you're his girlfriend and yet he still hasn't asked u to the school dance."  Molly said.  I gave her a look.
    "And you're in the position to say that to me?"  I looked her and Kurt up.  Kurt was blushing.
    "Actually . . ." Kurt said.  I looked from him to Molly.  She nodded and Michelle screamed.
    "When?!"  Amanda asked.
    "Right before we got here."  Molly said.
    "Ok.  Who feels like an idiot?  Yeah that'd be me."  I said raising my hand (if you haven't caught on, Kurt had asked Molly to the dance before the arrived in the doorway.  And thankfully, no ducks were harmed in the process)
    "Hey you want me to talk to Cole for you?"  Kurt volunteered.
    I said no at the same time as the others said yes.  I slapped a hand over my forehead.
    "Um, I'm just gonna take this as a yes." I sighed again and sat down in a huff.
    "You guys are so unbelievably stubborn."  I said.
    "Yes we know."  Michelle said slinging her arms around Amanda and Molly's shoulders.  I laughed and just hugged them.
    We finished our work for the day and got outlines for the costumes for Molly and Kurt and we left for lunch.
    I was avoiding Cole K and I knew it wasn't helping my situation.  But it was awkward whenever we were around each other.  It was like the air all of a sudden turned into the chocolate pudding being served for dessert today.
    We walked into the lunch room and Matt, Cole K, and Michaels were already there eating.  I sighed.  We sat down and started eating.
    "Hey guys.  Wassup?"  Michaels asked.  Amanda sat down next to him and he wrapped his arm around her.  She smiled.  I smiled at both of them and Molly made a heart with her fingers.  I laughed and sat next to Michelle and Amanda.  I saw Daren walk over to us.

    "Oh hey Daren."  I said.  He smiled slightly and then walked passed our table and over to another.  I still felt bad but I shrugged it off and forced myself to act like nothing was wrong.

   The rest of classes seemed to pass like a faze.  I wasn't paying attention to anything and my friends were starting to become really worried about me.  I tried not to worry them.  It was only my problem and I didn't want them to trouble themselves.

At dinner:

    "Hey Sue.  So who's your date?  You told me someone already asked you."  I winced at the memory.  Then I glanced over at Cole K.  He seemed surprised and disappointed.
    "It's nothing Daren.  Just drop it."  I said getting up and walking away.
    "Um Sue.  You haven't eaten ye-"
    "I'm not hungry."  I said interrupting Trisha and then opening the door out of the cafeteria and slamming it shut.

With the table:

    "Um, what'd I say?"  Daren asked.
    "Don't.  Say.  A word."  Michelle snapped.  Daren looked slightly offended but walked off.
    "Um, man, this is ALL on you."  Kurt said.
    "Oh no.  He knows it's all on him."  Matt said.
    "Um ok.  Does someone want to fill me in?"  Michaels asked.
    "NO!"  everyone else exclaimed.  He jumped back in surprise and intimidation.

    "Well you heard Daren.  She's already had someone else ask her."  Cole K said.  Molly slapped her forehead in frustration.

    "My goodness could you be any more dense?!"  Molly said hitting Cole K on the head.

    "Woh.  Lay off.  He's only a boy."  Michelle said.

    "Hey.  What are you getting at?!"  Seth asked pretending to be offended.

    "Boys are dense and you know it."  Michelle said.  Seth shrugged and the rest laughed.

    "Ok but this isn't a laughing matter.  Cole, Sue told Daren that someone already asked her but she's just holding out for you."  Julie said.  This caught him off guard.

    "I still don't get it.  How come I have to ask her?  I'm already her boyfriend so what else does it matter?"  He said defensively.

    "Oh my G-d!  Wake up and smell the friggen Coffee!"  Molly said.

    "It's still your job to make her feel special.  Being a couple doesn't replace the effort to ask her to just a dance."  Amanda added.  Cole K seemed to be deep in thought.

    "Dude, you gotta talk to her."  Alec said.

    "Ok ok.  I'm going.  But where could she be?"  Cole K said getting up.

    "Only one place she'd be."  Molly said.

    "The school fountain."  all the girls and Alec said in unison.  Cole didn't waist another second.  He left.  And he left without finishing his lunch.

    "Now what?  Can we spy?!"  Amanda asked.  The rest laughed.

    "No.  As much as I'd love to spy on them . . . we should give them their moment.  It's all up to him."  Alec said.  The rest exchanged glances and then they all took off after Cole.

Back to Sue:

    I started running after I got out of the building.  I'm not a star track runner like Michelle, but I refused to let myself stop running until I collapsed.  I ignored the pains forming in my stomach.

    And when I finally couldn't run any longer, I found myself in the school gardens.  It was full of flowers and it was used for the science classes but it also had the school's huge stone fountain.  I found it comforting being near fountains.  This school fountain had the school mascot along with a statue of the founder of Leafered Academy.  The bottom of the fountain under the water there were lights and a pebbled bottom so the water looked like it was glowing.  I sat on the edge and just looked at the water and listened to the sounds of the water pouring out of a Gourd that the founder was holding.

    I had such mixed emotions and the school year had just barely begun.  I pulled my legs closer to me and I let the evening breeze send chills down my spine.  I closed my eyes and just tried to sort things out in my mind.  Then I someone spoke.

    "They told me I'd find you here."  I jumped and turned around.  There was Cole K.  Standing there.  The light from the water reflected off of him.  I felt my heart leap.  But I turned my gaze back to the water.  He walked closer and sat down next to me.

    "Why are you here."  I asked.  My voice was shaking.

    "Because I'm here to ask you something that I shoulda asked you a while before."  I looked at him.

    "And why didn't you ask before?"  I asked.

    "Because I was confused.  I'm not that good in the whole dating field.  And I'm still getting used to it."  he said.  I gave him credit for actually coming to find me.  "So I'm here to make things right."  he faced me completely and I did the same.  We were sitting on the edge of the fountain both criss-crossed and facing each other with only the light from the fountain.  It was like a dream.  "Would you go to the dance with me.  And every other dance the school will have this year?"  I laughed.

    "Yes."  then I heard applause.  Oh. My. G-d. They. Did not. hear. everything.  I looked around to see all my friends coming out and applauding.  I felt color rise to my face and I just laughed nervously.

    "Congrats dude.  You did it better than I would've ever done."  Matt said.  I laughed again and all my friends came up to me screaming.

    "Ok it's official.  I'm deaf."  I said covering my ears.

    "Finally!"  Amanda said.  I looked over at Michaels and he nodded and smiled.  He pulled Amanda aside and I already knew what he was talking to her about.  We all headed back towards the dorms after the two of them came back.  I hugged Cole farewell as did the other girls with their 'men' and we walked into the building.

    "That, was, unbelievable."  I said collapsing on the couch.  All the girls did the same.

    "Well Sue finally gets what she was waiting for."  I laughed.

    When I was safely in my bed that night, I couldn't help thinking that this was going to be one hectic year.  But with my friends, then things will be alright.  Cole says he's still not used to relationships and getting used to handling things.  But tonight, he was ok for an 'amateur'.  But can he learn things in time so he doesn't make mistakes again?  I have no idea.  But I'm willing to wait and see.

The reality of our world

    The reality of life scares people.  When there are the adds asking for donations for children in Kenya and other places, many people change the channel because they just wanna get on with their lives.  Not wanting to deal with the painful truth about people less fortunate enough.
    I'm one of them.  I was flipping through channels late in the night, I came across this add.  Feed-a-Child and this broke my heart.
    More than once I was tempted to change the channel and just forget that I ever saw it.  But something told me to stay and watch.  So this is a post about the harsh truth of the world around us.
    Reading about it in text books and hearing the hardships from the past, is nothing compared to seeing actual footage of places of today where there are kids as young as 16 months old that are on the streets sleeping on roofs with nothing more than the rags on their backs.
    It's devastation throughout the world is a level of depression that cannot be measured.  Everyone always say that there's something that needs to be done.  Yet nothing has changed.  No one has stuck out their hand to the orphans of Kenya, China, and other devastated places in the world.
    Even I know that I can't do anything about it.  If I were able to, I would've picked up the phone and called the number that they kept mentioning over and over.  Asking for help.  Asking for the little kids who cannot reach out to us themselves.  I would've done it.  Donating only 8 dollars a month.
    But I'm only 12 years old.  I can't do much at 12.  All I know is that people can help these kids.  But no one has done anything.  Not enough people at least.  I want to make a difference and make my mark on affecting this ugly face of the world.
    But I'm only 12.  I want to help kids that are my age and younger.  But there's always that little bit of doubt.  What kind of difference can I make?  I'm only one person.  Donating to help only one kid?  What will that do?
    It means that one more kid will have a nutritional meal and get to sleep in a warm bed and receive medical treatment.
    And this is a commercial of crucial necessity and it's running at 1:00 AM.  When no one's going to see it.  It just shows how people think of this.  I don't want to blow it off and just watch a re-run of My Super Sweet 16 instead.  I don't want to be able to watch this add and then buy 300$ Jimmy Choo heels.  Not when I know that the money could go to a cause that needs our attention.
    And I'll end up forgetting about this post and what I saw on that TV screen within a week.  But I think that everyone else should know that ugly truth about our world.  Whether they want to or not.  Whether they know it or not.
    It's how I make my mark on it all.  Hopefully I'll be able to make more of an impact on this than just telling people.  I'm just 12.  But you can help other people in the world who need the care.  Please.

Leafered Adams Academy for Priveleged Young Boys [and Girls] 3

    "Because. . . Well I was already asked."  I lied.  It wasn't true but I was holding for Cole K to ask me.  Daren's face fell.
    "Oh.  Ok.  Well, I'll see you in class."  I nodded and walked away.  A sinking feeling in my stomach.  When I walked into the home EC studio, i dropped my bag on the table and sat down in a huff.  Amanda and Michelle looked at me questioningly and I could already feel a girl's moment coming on.
    "What happened?"  Amanda asked carefully.
    "Boys."  Michelle and I responded in unison.  I didn't even try to jinx her.
  "This stinks."  I said.  Amanda gave me a look to continue.  "We'll talk about it later this night.  I'm calling a girl's night."  I said. Michelle liked the sound of it.
    So after working on the costumes we dropped by the school store and bought maybe 3 pounds of candy including pixie-stix, Resses, Swedish Fish, Hershey's, and Twizlers. We called everyone and told them that it was a girl's meeting night.

Meanwhile:

    "Dude, when are you just going to ask her to the dance already?"  Matt said to Cole K as they walked out of their classroom. "You are her boyfriend."  Mat was spinning a basketball on his finger.
  "That's the thing though.  Doesn't it mean I don't have to ask her if I'm already going out with her?"  Matt sighed and shook his head.
    "So naive man.  Just because you're going out, doesn't mean she's completely off market."  Cole K was confused now.
    "Huh?  I thought it did."  Matt rolled his eyes.
    "This is seriously your first girlfriend?"
    "Well, technically, no.  First serious girlfriend, yes."  he pointed out.
  "Same story, different version.  You're just dating.  You're not official like going steady or something like that."  Matt said brushing off Cole's excuse.
    "Isn't that term a bit old fashioned?"
    "Dude, our school is old fashioned, our curriculum is old fashioned, what kind of question is that."
    "Point taken.  So wait.  If someone else were to ask her to the dance, she could say yes?"
    "Catching my drift now?"  Cole K just nodded.
    "So how do I make sure she's not available at all to other people?"  Matt slightly laughed at Cole K's choice of words.
    "Make her your steady.  Show her you love her.  And ask her to the dance. Before someone else like Daren does."  Cole K had a sinking feeling in his stomach.  He wasn't really one for saying it out straight.  But for Sue, he knew he had to act.

Back to Sue:

    "So what's the girl dilemma?" Molly asked when everyone was in a circle in our room.  I sighed.
  "The dance."  Michelle said.  As if those words were some sort of power switch, everyone seemed to immediately start thinking of their own stories.  "Anyone wanna share first?"  Michelle offered.
    "Has anyone gotten a date yet?"  Katrina asked.  No one raised their hand.  but then Abby slowly raised her hand.  We all looked at her expectantly.
    "Name please?"  Julie asked.  Abby laughed at our suspenseful faces.
    "His name's Clinton."  I recognized the name but forgot the face.
  "oooooooo.  Abby's got a secret luver!"  Molly exclaimed.  It seemed to break the tension and everyone started telling their own stories. Hearing it seemed to make me feel a little better.  Like I wasn't the only one.
    "Well, Kurt hasn't asked me yet.  But I think he was about to.  But then the random-est thing happened to ruin it.  A duck flew in between us and landed on the ground between us.  We were able to laugh it off but the moment was killed."  Molly said.  We all laughed.  The pounds of candy was slowly eaten down to only 2 pounds.

    "Ok.  well my story has a little less humor.  I was at the gym practicing for Volleyball when I saw Josh and his friends walking by. Josh had said something to his friends and he started walking over towards me.  But I got so nervous and I was only in sweats and I was all icky so I bailed.  And I was almost certain that he was going to be there!"  Julie said.  I pitied her.  She took another Resses and ate it.

    "Ok my turn."  Michelle said.  "Nothing exciting happened, but Seth did say he had something he needed to ask me.  So I've got my fingers crossed."  We smiled at Michelle's happiness.

    "Ok.  Well I don't know if it means this.  But Peter and I agreed to go with each other to the dance in order to take notes on our latest project."  Trisha said.  We all laughed and I said,

    "You got a date.  There's no other option other than you're related and going.  But you're not related.  So you got a date."  Trish just smiled and laughed.

    "Nothing happened with Michaels and myself.  Nothing!  At all."  I nodded.

    "Yeah.  Same here."  I said.  Everyone turned to me and looked at me like I had just grown 3 heads.

    "What do you mean?  Cole hasn't asked you out yet?!"  Molly said not believing it.  I shook my head.

    "Unfortunately.  And I don't even know what's wrong."  I said.  Michelle put a comforting arm around me.

    "Well if he doesn't do anything, we'll take care of him for ya."  I laughed.

    "That's ok Michelle.  If he doesn't take me, I don't know, I might have to say yes to Daren."  This made everyone stop what they were doing.

    "Daren asked you to the dance already?  What did you say?"  Julie asked.

    "I said that I was already asked by someone, but . . ."  I drifted off but Katrina finished for me.

    "You're just waiting for Cole?"  I nodded.  Why are boys so complicating?

The next day - morning:

    "Hey there."  I looked up to see Julie and Abby standing in my doorway.  I slightly smiled at them and grabbed a sweater and stuffed it in my bag.

    "Ready."  I said pretending to act normally.  But last night's conversation didn't help me forget Daren's face when I lied about going with someone already.  When it comes to guilt-trips, I have one of the biggest ones.  I walked out into the hallway and saw the others there.  We started walking towards the Mess Hall for breakfast.

    When we claimed out food, we sat down at the table that we claimed as ours in the first week of school.  The guys came and took their places.  We all said hi and good-morning (with the exception of others that were still mentally asleep *ehem Kurt, Matt, and Molly ehem*)

    "So what's up you guys?"  Michaels said.  We all shrugged.  I picked at my eggs.  I wasn't very hungry.

    "Hey Sue.  What's wrong?"  I looked up to see Cole K's concerned brown eyes.  I looked back down at my eggs.  They looked like two yellow eyes staring at me.  I shook my head.

    "Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I'm not very hungry guys."  I said getting up and walking out of the cafeteria.

At the lunch table:

    Matt gave Cole K a warning look.

    "What's up with her?"  Michaels asked.  Him, Peter, Josh, Kurt, and Alec were clueless as to what was going on.  But the rest were exchanging glances.

    "I'll go talk to her."  Alec said getting up.  Michelle started to protest but Molly stopped her.  Alec walked off and left the rest silently @ their table even though the sounds of the Mess Hall around them was loud enough.

Back to Sue:

    I sighed and sat down on a bench.  Thoughts were zooming through my head.  Then I looked up and saw a teacher.  She looked like she was in a daze.  Hard at work writing something down.  I looked closer and saw an exact replica of my journal.  I was focused on memorizing the motions of her hand with her pen.  She seemed to be writing a list.  I started copying the motions and it came out with the words, collect all Bronx Zoo souvenir coins.  It was like a list of things to do when you go on vacation.  But she wasn't a teacher from Alberto.  So she could be a new teacher.  Or a student teacher.  She didn't seem that old.  But we never were good at letting in student teachers since our schools aren't exactly normal.

    I didn't even notice Alec sit down next to me until he said something.

    "Thinking hard?"  I jumped slightly and came back to reality.  I looked over at him and then looked back over to the lady but found her gone already.  Was it a hallucination?  I don't think so.  "What's wrong?  You're kind of out of it."  I sighed.

    "I've got three words for you.  Date, for, dance."  Alec nodded seeming to understand everything from those words.

    "He hasn't asked you yet?"  I shook my head.

    "No.  And Daren had asked me to the dance and I lied to him that I was going with someone else.  But . . ."

    "But you're really holding out for him to get the guts to ask."  I nodded.  "Wow it's weird.  Somehow I'm still able to finish all your sentences like when we were little."  I nodded and laughed.  "Aha!  I got you to laugh.  One point for Alec!'  I laughed again and we headed to classes since first period was about to start.

    "Ok.  New partners!  Katrina, Billy.  Julie, Seth.  Michelle, Cole Katz.  Sue, Cole Michaels.  Molly, Josh.  Trisha, Kurt.  Abby, Peter.  Amanda, Matt."  I looked at my friends.  Another miss-matched partnering.  But throughout class, my mind was elsewhere.  After class I walked up to Matt.

    "Hey Matt.  Does our class eventually go to the Bronx Zoo?"  I asked.  Matt thought about it and then nodded.

    "Yeah.  We  go in the Spring when it's warm out.  Why?"  I shook my head.

    "No reason.  Thank you."  I was about to walk away when Matt spoke again.

    "Are you ok?"  I turned around and didn't answer.  "You were upset this morning because of Cole, right?"  I again, didn't answer.  With my back still to him, I started walking away.

    "If it's that obvious, why do I need to confirm what's already known?"  and then I walked out the door.

Leafered Adams Academy for the Gifted Young Boys [and Girls] 2

    "Sue, PLEASE tell me that's not Daren Pace."  Molly begged.

    "I would, but then I'd be lying."  I said wincing slightly.  Molly and I live near Daren Pace.  He was obsessed with me when we were little.  He was attractive to me at one point.  But now, I don't see him as anything more than a friend.  A very persistent friend at that.

    "Sue, Molly, Who's Daren?  and why the heck did he call Sue Suzie?!"  Michelle said starting to freak out.  I don't let any of my friends or anyone for the matter, to call me Suzie except for my dad.  It's a father,daughter thing.  And it's special to me.  Yet Daren Pace has been persistent on calling me Suzie because he claims it sounds better as ' Suzie Pace ' as opposed to ' Sue Pace '.  Which brings me to my next point.  Daren Pace is also set out on making me his fiance and wife.  Every year he proposes to me.  I'm too nice to completely turn him down (and the fact that with the press of a button, he could sue my parents for more money than they've ever made in their entire life.  But it sounds better when I say I'm too nice)

    "Daren's this kid who lives near us and he was OD obsessed with Sue when we were little."  Molly explained.  I sighed in frustration.

    "This school year just took another turn down Drama Lane."  I said.  Cole K walked over to me and protectively/comfortingly put his arm around me.  It calmed me a bit but it also made me more nervous for the reuniting of Daren Pace and my face and the greeting of Daren and Cole K.  Why me?!

    "Suzie!! It is you!! How have you been?!  I haven't seen you in so long!  Have you missed me?!"  I heard his voice. It made me cringe slightly.  He walked over to our group of friends and he then noticed Cole K's arm around mine.  I noticed a flash of anger enter his eyes but Cole K kept a straight face.  "Who's this."  he asked still looking at Cole K.  Actually, it was more of a demand more than a question.  I sighed.  Jeez this boy can change his attitude at the drop of a pin.  I sent Molly and the others a look crying for help.  Michelle responded first.

    "I'm Michelle.  I lift weights and I can run.  What about you."  She said standing up tall.  Though Daren was a good inch taller than her she still seemed intimidating.  He looked at her weirdly but then seemed to start to back off a bit.  next, Molly stepped forward.

    "Molly!!  So good to see you!"  Molly didn't say anything.  detted!  Josh and Matt took a step forward.  Since Josh is like SUPER tall, he towered over Daren.  It was kind of funny.

    "I'm Josh.  this is Matt."  He said in his low voice.  "And you are?"  he looked Daren up and down acting unimpressed.

    "Um, Suzie?  You wanna help you boy out?"  I tried so hard not to snort in disbelief.

    "Do I want to?" But then my guilt kicked in and I sighed in defeat.

    "You guys.  Heel."  I said.  They backed off slightly.  Daren stood up taller trying to act like his pride wasn't just kicked out the door.  NOT WORKING TOO WELL.

    "So anyway.  how about you and me meet for a movie later to catch up?"  he said totally ignoring the fact that Cole K was standing right there.

    "Can't"  I said.  I looked over at Molly.

    "She's helping me with Spanish."  Molly lied.  I sighed and played along.

    "Oh.  Well how about this weekend?"

    "studying."  I said.  "we'll play it by ear."  I started to walk off when Daren stopped me.

    "It was really nice seeing you again."  he said this sincerely and I almost felt bad for him.  He walked off and we walked in the opposite direction.

    "That was too hard to do."  I said as we're walking away.

    "What do you mean?"  Michelle asked looking puzzled.  "I thought you guys didn't like him."  I nodded.

    "Yeah, he's annoying.  But I'm not very good at completely blowing someone off."  I said.  Molly rolled her eyes.

    "And there's the fact that he can sue the pants right off of you."  We all laughed.

    "Yeah that too.  But either way, that's not the point.  He's going to keep bothering me for all of eternity while we're here."  I began to dread this school year and It's only our first day.

    First I wake up and flash Betty Boop to all the guys.  Now I've got my ex stalker is now attending the same school as me.

    "Lets get to introductory classes first and then we'll worry about everything later."  Michaels said.  We all agreed and started heading towards the buildings where classes are held.  "Who's got, Science with me?"  Michaels asked.

    "That would be me."  Amanda said.  Michaels smiled.

    "Same here."  I said.

    "Actually, it looks like we all do."  Peter said looking at all of our schedules.

    "So why don't we get a move on before we're all late?"  Abby offered.  I nodded in agreement.

    "That would be the smart thing to do."  Katrina said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    "Class, my name's Ms. S.  I will be your science teacher."  The lady said.  I exchanged glances with everyone else and I realized that we all had the same question on our minds.  ' is she related to Mr S? ' "Some of you may know Mr S from Alberto Lennard Academy.  Well he's my twin brother."  We all exchanged weird glances around the room.  Some of the people had no idea what she was talking about but the rest of us were in utter babbling shock.  And as if right on cue, there was a knock on the door and Mr S appeared.

    "I heard my name."  he said.  Ms S smiled and went to hug  her brother.

    "Very funny."  she said sarcastically.

    "I see you have my best students in here."  he looked over at our group.  "grade them extra hard."  he said.

    "Great.  Give us the unfair grading."  Michelle said.  I laughed.

    "I'll take care of that.  You, out.  You're not one of my students so out."  Ms S said.  Mr S held his hands up defensively and walked out.

    Ms S turned out to be as awesome as Mr S.  After her class we got to meet our new dance teacher.

    "Well hello there.  I'm Madame Velma.  I'll be your dance teacher for this year.  First off we'll split up into pairs."  I looked around at the people in the room.  Our whole group was here except for Peter, Trisha, and . . . oh crap.  Cole K's not here and Daren is.  "You'll be assigned a different partner every day until I permanently give you your dance partner."  she started reading off the names.  "Cole Michaels, Abigail Parcot.  Amanda Silberman, Josh Littles.  Matthew Cloud, Susan Wetherstine.  Julie Dorian, Billy Shakeman."  I looked around at my friends and I could tell that this was going to be all twisted compared to last year.  When she finished reading off the names I walked over to Matt.  My heart was beating louder with every step.  What is wrong with me?  Maybe I'm coming down with something.  no way can I be nervous about being partners with Matt.

    "Well long time no dance."  he said in his usual cool self smirking.  I smiled weakly.  After warm ups, Madame Velma started making a routine.

    Regardless of her age of late 30's, Madame Velma could dance!!  She explained that she was captain of her high school and college dance team and she loved every minute of it.  Which is what inspired her to become a dance teacher.

   The rest of classes weren't anything worth repeating except for advanced chemistry that i had with Trisha, Peter, and Cole K. so we placed ourselves in a group together.

    but then during some intense speed reading done by Ms S, someone called from the intercom.  They used old fashioned telephones to communicate and Ms S stopped her super-speed-racer reading to answer it.  She listened for a while and then hung up.

    "Susan, Michelle and Amanda.  Madame Velma would like to see you in the auditorium right now.  Take your bags too.  She said you might be there for a while."  I nodded and we walked out the door.

    "It's only our 3 day of school and we're already being called somewhere.  What do you think we're being called for?"  Amanda asked.  I shrugged.

    "We've done the worse.  Couldn't possibly be any worse than last year."  I pointed out.

    "Unless secretly she's some sort of mad cereal killer who's going to lock us in there and then kill us so quick we can't even scream."  Michelle said.  Amanda and I looked at her like she was crazy.

    "Yeah because we're just ordinary kids who end up just screaming out heads off till they're not connected to our body anymore.  Michelle, even if that were true, which is isn't, no way would we go down without a fight."  I pointed out and then I high fived Amanda.

    "Besides.  She's too nice to even try and harm us."  Amanda pointed out.

    We made our way to the auditorium like summoned and there was Madame Velma.  She was sitting on the raisers and was scribbling something down.  She looked up when she heard our footsteps.

    "Well hello girls.  nice to see you again.  You're probably wondering why I called you here."  She smiled warmly at us.  Amanda and I shot Michelle an 'I we told you so' Michelle just rolled her eyes and continued to listen to Madame Velma.  "I've spoken to your old home EC. teacher, Ms Cosmo.  She said that you guys are amazing when it comes to sewing.  I hear that Susan and Michelle have produced a few outfits themselves."  I smiled proudly and so did Michelle.  "So I've asked you three to take care of the costumes for this years school play."  I exchanged glances with my two friends before me.  It sounded like a huge job.  More of a challenge to just three eighth graders.  "It sounds like a big task, I know.  But you can use any materials you need and you can recruit as many of your friends as you'd like.  You can still be a part of the play as well.  I'm the head of the drama section as well so this is why I'm asking you such a big question."  she looked at us with her bright blue eyes full of happiness and hope.  It made me feel imobile to move let alone decline her offer.  And I didn't even feel like declining anyway.  It was a challenge and us Alberto Lennard Academy girls are hard at declining challenges thrown our way.  The three of us smirked and all said at the same time,

    "We're in."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    "dude lets get moving!"  Michaels said into his phone.  the Glide is the latest phone and since Michaels' phone mysteriously "fell into the pool" over the summer, he got to get another phone.

    "ok ok.  Keep your shorts on!"  I said back.  I had the en-V and I was across campus.  I hung up and closed my mac-book.  I stood up and looked over at Amanda who was changing back into her regular clothes.  Ms Gradey assigned us along with Michelle the duty of making the costumes for the school play this year.  "OK lets go before your boyfriend has another fit and yells at us again."  I said.  Amanda laughed and nodded.

    "Yeah lets go.  I'm just about back to normal clothes."  Amanda said.  We put away the costumes in the making and headed out the door.

    "hey wait for me you guys!!"  Michelle called after us.  She was stumbling into her flip-flops and ended up falling flat on her face.  Amanda and I started laughing in hysteria.  "Very funny guys.  Now does someone want to help me up?" 

    "I will do the honors."  I heard a voice say.  I turned to see Seth Jacobs standing there with a grin on his face.  Michelle laughed a cheesy smile as Seth helped her up.

    "Can we get a move on here people?  Amanda's boyfriends acting like he's got a Wasp up his pants and he's not settling down any time soon."  I said.  "we can save the flirting for later.  Right now, WE GO!"  And we rushed out of the Home Ec building and towards the Mess Hall.  It was actually a relief knowing that we had Seth here.  He knows the school grounds better than any of us girls still and it would really suck to get lost on our own school grounds just because Michaels is getting on our case and because it's lunch time and everyone's dying of hunger.

    As we walked out into the late summer air, I breathed in the sweet smells of the flowers.

    "I think the end of the summer's my favorite."  I said.  "Next to spring of course."  I said opening my arms wide open and twirling.

    Then I felt an arm around my stomach.  I looked to see Cole K.  I lowered my arms and smiled.

    "Hi!  Where are you coming from?"

    "I was in the library."  I nodded.

    "come on.  I'm starving!"  Michelle said starting to jog in the direction of the Mess Hall.

    "Mind if I sit here?"  Daren said walking up to us.  I exchanged glances with everyone and I sighed.

    "Yeah sure.  Go ahead."  He took the seat and started eating.  No one talked at our table.  Then we all started talking.  Not really paying any mind to him.  That's how it's been since we ran in to him a week ago.  Classes have already reached the end of the first week and everyone's relaxed knowing they can start slacking a little more.

    "So did anyone hear hear about the graduating dances planned?"  Daren asked trying to become a part of a conversation.  This caught people's attention.  Michelle was the first to speak.

    "What do you mean?"  Daren seemed pleased that he was able to catch our entire table's attention.

    "Well I know all about the dances planned.  There will be themed dances once a month.  this month's dance is supposed to be masquerade.  Kicking it like the Phantom of the Opera."  Daren took a sip of his sprite and continued.  "It's going to be next weekend actually.  The school's doubling it as our "welcome" dance as well."  I looked over at Amanda and Michelle and we smirked.

    "Well that's another to do in our creativity book."  I said.  Michelle nodded.

    "We'll brainstorm tonight."  We exchanged high fives.  That's when I noticed two pairs of eyes on me.  I turned to see Daren and Cole K looking over at me.  I gulped slightly and tried to pay attention to my lunch but it didn't look too appetizing anymore.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    "Suzie?"  I tried to ignore his voice as I walked out the arts building.  But when he was right in front of me blocking my way, I had to acknowledge him.  I sighed.

    "What is it Daren?"  I asked.  He took a deep breath.

    "Would you go to the dance with me?"  I felt a pang of guilt.  I looked at him standing there nervously and more vulnerable than I've ever seen him before.  I sighed again and looked away.  "Not to rush you or anything.  But I'm gonna be late for my next class."  I looked back at his face and saw the hope in his eyes.

    "Daren I'm sorry. I can't."  He looked at me so vulnerably.

    "What happened?  Why?"  I sighed for the third time.

    "because . . .

What's on my Mind?

    It got me to think at 5:12 PM on Friday, June 13th.  The unlucky day of Friday the 13th hit home to someone.  Or rather hit the heart of someone.  My dad didn't know him.  But he knew about him.  He hadn't talked to him.  But he has heard him.  He was a lecturer that moved my dad whenever he spoke.
    The first time that we heard him speak was in Nantucket in a small neighborhood church house with no air-conditioning and so many people that we ended up standing through his whole speech.  It was only 2 years ago when we heard him.  My dad seemed to enthusiastic about seeing him speak.  I was more concentrated on trying to stay cool in the crowded, white wall, high ceiling room with so many people.  Yet only one voice.  At the end everyone clapped.  Some people might have cried.  I don't remember the topic he talked about.  But it didn't matter.  Babies didn't care what they were crying about and so why should it matter now that we've grown up?
    So how did it make me think?  Well small news always seems to make me think.  And this guy.  this lecturer that my dad was so moved even if he was only hearing the story of The Giving Tree for the first time.  Had a heart attack.  He died today, from a heart attack.  No older than my dad, his last breath was that of struggling to stay alive.  I doubt that it was the poor guy's fault for dying on an unlucky day.  But it made me think of other great leaders.  Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr.  All were killed/assassinated in the primes of their lives.  We were all moved by their words.  Even if they were reading the poem of Auxiliary words.  They were all taken from this world before we believed it was their time.
    Why does this spark an interest in my mind?  Why does this want me to write this?  Why does this thought seem to have made its own mental post-it in my brain that'll stay there until I write it down?  I have no clue in all honesty.  Maybe it's because of that ever repeating line, "You don't know what you've got till it's gone." maybe we didn't appreciate these men enough so they were taken to find a much more worthy place and time for them to shine.  Would we become to persuaded that there's a solution to everything and that no matter what dream we have of a new and better nation of equal blacks and whites, can come true?  Would that mean that a 3 year old girl will be able to imagine up her dream pony and princess dress?  A woman would dream up her dream relationship, home, family, and wedding?  that a young boy out of high school will dream up his future career as the star athlete that all the major league teams will beg to put on their team?  It doesn't work that way.
    Without the balance of good and bad, it would all be psychotic and nothing would get done unless we dream it.  I wouldn't call it crtisism to Martin Luther King's speech.  the speech moved me to tears when I was in the second grade and I didn't even know why.  I thought it was beautiful withought having to even look at a painting.
    The founding father forgot so many more members of the shapers of out nation.  uncles, grandfathers, cousins, brothers, sisters.  They all deserve their own credit for managing to inspire at least one ear.
    That's why this caught my eye.  The post it was stuck on my mental bilboard and it sits along side the photos of who I believe their faces belong on Mt Rushmore.  the inner me at the end of the day looks at the bilboard and thinks to herself, "All in a days work.  But it's all thanks to them."  The only reason we're as successful as we are now.  But also, I haven't found any real leaders that have inspired me too much over the years.  All the good guys have been used up and they were rencarnated into small children whose potential hasn't woken up yet.  realizing that they've got a founding father, uncle, brother, sister, cousin, and mother inside of them.  And maybe that's even me.  I'm only a 7th grader.
    I'm only a 7th grader whose gains a thought, looses a thought, texts all day, and types all night.  Whose constant thought is either what college I'll go to, or if I look ok in this shirt.
    So I'll either wait for the next leader to come along, or become a leader myself.  I'm no polotitian but who is really?  These days they're all on Law and Order and other crime shows.  You don't usually see anyone who inspires you these days.  All you can see are people.  regular ordinary people.  whose either got potential, lost their potential, or are at their peak of potential.  I want to think that it's legal to go on a search for an inspiration.  A diamond in the ruff.  Something shining through all the dirt and crud.
    I wanna be that diamond.  But I also want someone else to be the diamond.  Are you an inspiration?

Practice Test Essay

     Friendship. A powerful word.  There are many levels of friendship in this world and the stories of   Ántonia and Jim and  Gina and Soo-Hyung show a couple of the different levels of friendship.

     In the story My Ántonia, by Willa Cather, there is a special friendship between Jim, a young farm boy, and Ántonia, a cheerful girl who helps work on Jim's farm after her father has just recently died. Friendly, cheerful, and quite bubbly, the pretty young Ántonia and the kind, hardworking, and maybe even a little shy Jim start to develop a friendship that gets stronger by the day. They have a deep connection with each other while they find beauty, peace, and enjoyment in the same things. With the two of them on a farm where you might not find the most mesmerizing activities, Ántonia and Jim find joy in what they do and being with each other. Jim and Ántonia, though they might seem more closed around other people, freely express their feelings and thoughts and can just be themselves whenever they are together. Jim and Ántonia don't have to be afraid of what the other might think, or say, because they know that it won't matter as they really care for each other. Their little friendship might one day even develop into a sort of love. They care for, and enjoy, each other so why not?

     The two young girls in Once Around Manhattan by Greta Anderson share another type of friendship. The girls get together and battle obstacles to achieve a common goal.  Gina and Soo-Hyung are in a Challenge Club together and are the only girls, so they spend lots of one-on-one girl-to-girl time together. They talk and giggle and share memories and have a great time. They are so close that when one of them is sad or shocked by something, like the polluted river, they don't even have to say anything to know what the other is thinking. The girls can just feel one another's pain as well as one another's joy, like when they finally made it back to the Statue of Liberty. Gina and Soo-Hyung can just look at each other and know that they are each thinking that they are proud and excited but too tired to do anything and they need to rest and talk about it later. And that's okay. These two are so close it's almost like they share one mind. Even when Soo-Hyung was thinking that Gina was as inspirational as the Statute of Liberty, Gina had the exact same idea in reverse.  "'I know. I'm  going to have to call her Gina," said Soo-Hyung, rolling her eyes, "because she was my only hope back there."  "Oh, no," said Gina, "her name is Soo-Hyung, steering us to solid ground."

     These two friendships are very alike in many ways. First off, both pairs of friends have similar interests.  Jim and Antonia both love life on the farm while Gina and Soo-Hyung both want to prove that they are as good as the boys in their group.  Both of these friendships seemed to have started accidentally.  Jim and Antonia met because they were neighbors and she came to work on his family farm.  Gina and Soo-Hyung met when they each joined the Challenge Club and were paired together in a boat by Mr. Kravitz.  The friends have to endure hardships and challenges together.  Jim and Antonia face brutal heat, harsh storms and hard work together.  Gina and Soo-Hyung must paddle 30 miles around Manhattan battling the clock, the tides and their own weariness (not to mention Mr. Kravitz's doubting their ability to finish the trip.)  In each friendship, the pair of friends are stronger, more confident and happier together than they are apart as individuals.  Their friendships make them better people.