`-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
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`-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Sat 13 Nov 2010, 4:56 pm
Hello! I got this idea today, while at my friend's birthday party. I switched up some things, because obviously, we weren't at school, and it wasn't midnight, so yeah. Oh, and none of us were being hunted... Lol, you probably guessed that too.... 
Enjoy!
Guide: Chapter 1, part 1 on post 1.
Chapter 1 part 2 on post 1
Chapter 1 part 3 on post 1
Chapter 1 part 4 on post 1
Chapter 1 part 5 on post 1
Shelby Grey lounged back in her green plastic chair, taking a long drink from her bottle of water. She, and everyone else in her fifth period science class were waiting for their teacher, Mrs. Meyers to tell everyone her "surprise". Knowing her, it would just be yet another announcement about the science fair, but, anyways, she had better hurry up, Shelby thought, because it's almost time to go home!
"Now," Mrs. Meyers said, "you're all probably dying to know what the surprise is!" she said. She had come back from the copy room, gripping a stack of hot pink papers. "These," she said, gesturing to the papers, "are permission slips. As you probably guessed, these are for a little 'field trip', however, this is different. You won't need to go anywhere, per say, except the school." she gave her class a sly look.
Murmuring filled the class room, and Shelby sat up, and turned over to her friend Jade, who was grinning widely. "Oh," Jade said, "my gosh. I wonder what Meyers is talking about! I mean, what field trip could possibly happen at the school?" she asked. "It better not be something stupid," she said.
"I know," Shelby said. "I hope it's nothing stupid."
"Now now," Mrs. Meyers said, "let me tell you what it is, as you're all probably trying to. Also, this 'field trip' will take place at ten o' clock at night, so you'll all need to get here at nine. Anyways, what this is going to be, is a big game of hide-and-seek."
More murmuring and excited cries filled the class room. "Oh my God!" Shelby cried. "This is unbelieveable! A hide-and-seek game?! This is what everyone's wanted! I- I can't believe it! And practically the whole school will go!" she crowed.
Jade grinned deviously, her sea-blue eyes glinting. "And I'd be willing to bet anything that Danny's going to be there," she said. "Also Charles!" she said, her eyes softening.
"I know," Shelby said, blushing. "And shut up about Danny! Someone might hear you!" she said.
Jade rolled her eyes. “Oh please,” she said. “Like everyone -except Danny- doesn’t know that you’re totally in love with him- and have been since like, the fourth grade!” she said. “Hun, I think it’s about time to tell him, and a hide-and-seek game is the perfect time! It’ll probably be dark, and then-”
“Class! Be quiet!” Mrs. Meyers snapped. “You’ll all want to know the rules, or you’ll be disqualified! So everyone listen up,” she began, “when you walk into the school, go straight to the office to sign in. You’ll notice that, most likely, the rest of the school, except the office and other various rooms will be dark; that’ll be where you play your game. You will separate into ten groups, each of about twenty-five students. Seven teams will hide at once, and the other three can search anywhere they like. If you’re caught hiding anywhere where the lights are on, you will be disqualified. Also,” she said, “I almost forgot. You’ll want to bring a flashlight. Any questions?” she finished.
Katie Thomas raised her hand. Without waiting to be called on, she burst out, “Do we have to play? I despise hide-and-seek.” she said, crossing her arms. Everyone of Mrs. Meyers twenty-three students glared at her. Katie wasn’t exactly popular, and this little outburst wasn’t helping her popularity.
“Well,” Mrs. Meyers began, “no, but if you’re either first, second, or third, your team will win one extra credit one hundred in everyone of your classes, so I recommend that you come! However, we do realize that some of you won’t be able to come, due to transportation issues, so we’ve made a special deal with buses, that if need be, they can pick you up. Does that answer your question, Katie?” she said with a smile.
Katie scowled. “I guess so, but I’m still not going.” she said firmly. “Why would I want to play a stupid baby game? We’re in the fricken’ seventh grade!”
“Mrs. Meyers,” piped up Lucy Kirn, “do I have permission to punch Katie in the mouth?” she said in all seriousness.
The class erupted into laughter, and Shelby leaned forward to high-five her. “Nice one!” she said, as Lucy returned her high-five. “Honestly girl, where do you come up with this stuff? You’re pure genius!”
Lucy flipped her silky shoulder-length mousy brown hair. “I know,” she said, in mock superior-ness, “what would you do without out a friend like me?” she said.
Shelby laughed again. “Um, die?” she suggested. “See, you make me laugh all the time. This is why you’re my best friend- besides Jade, of course. Well, you two are tied.” she said, grinning.
“Woot!” Lucy exclaimed, pumping her fists in the air, “love triangle!”
Jade, who had scooted her chair closer to Shelby and Lucy giggled. “Lucy, you are the absolute bomb! Oh, how I love you,” she said, still giggling.
Lucy shot out of her chair, and walked over to Jade, slinging her arm around Jade’s neck. “I love you too, dude. Sorry Shell, but the two of us are running off to Vegas tonight to hit the slots, and you’re not coming!”
By now, a small crowd of about seven people were watching and laughing at them- well, watching and laughing at Lucy, who was well loved throughout her team. Many boys found her and her sparkling emerald green eyes attractive, but she always said the only love she was looking for, was the love of her best friends.
“Class!” Mrs. Meyers snapped. Lucy rolled her eyes, and plopped back into her seat ahead of Shelby, and Jade scooted back two seats next to Shelby. The rest of students that had gathered around Lucy, Jade, and Shelby were shuffling back to their seats, still giggling. “We’re going to meet with the rest of the seventh grade, and you will each choose your teams. Remember, you will have twenty-five people in your group- and twenty-five people only. Not twenty-four, not twenty-six, but twenty-five. Okay?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Okay,” her class echoed. Most of them were on the edge of their seats, just itching to fly out of their seats, and race down to the café, ready to choose their teams. Most of them probably had their teams in mind.
Mrs. Meyers looked satisfied. “Good. Now, if you’d all line up at the door in an orderly fashion, we’ll head down to the caf-” she began, but the class had already rushed out of their seats, and was more or less lined up neatly at the door. “eteria.” Mrs. Meyers finished. “Well, if you’re all ready . . . Okay, Brian, lead us down!” she called. Brian Anderson bobbed his head, and began marching down the hallway, his class hot on his heels.
As Shelby walked down the hallway, staring absently at various posters stuck to corkboards that read things such as, “My Life Map!” or, “All About Me!”, she felt a slight prodding on her back, and turned around to see Lucy, her green eyes shining. “You’re going to be on my team, right?” she asked, her green eyes shining.
“Well of course!” Shelby exclaimed, slowing down to match her friend’s pace. “I was worried that you wouldn’t want to be in my group,” she said, “you’re pretty popular, and you know it.”
Lucy immediately frowned, looking down at her lime green Converse. “I know,” she said glumly, “but I don’t want to be. But I can’t help it! It’s just who I am; cracking jokes, good grade,” she looked up, and flipped her wavy hair. “Good looks.”
Shelby laughed. “You see, this is why everyone loves you! Er, not that that’s a bad thing- more of a point proving thing, really,” Shelby said shrugging. “Anyways, who’s going to be in our group beside you, me, and Jade?” she asked.
“Well,” Lucy said, pursing her lips, “I was thinking maybe Annabelle, Danny, Charles, Rob, Cassy, and maybe Danielle . . .” she tilted her head, deep in thought. “That’s pretty much it, unless you had anyone else in mind,” Lucy said.
“You forgot Carol,” Shelby began, “and Fern, Rosie, Peter, Derek, and Alice.” she said. She stuck out one hand, and began counting her fingers. “But that’s only fifteen people. Where’re we going to come up with ten more . . . ?” Shelby said, frowning.
Lucy shrugged. “Who knows? We’re probably forgetting a ton of people that we won’t remember until we get there. The whole school’s going to be there, so we’ll have a better chance of getting more people.” she said. She peered around the hallway, where most of the kids had scattered into groups, and were chattering loudly. “See, we’re almost at the café, and look at how many people there are! We know most of ‘em, too,” she said.
“Um,” Shelby said, rolling her eyes, “correction: you know most of the people. I, on the other hand, couldn’t name half of the grade. You, on the other hand, can name three quarters of the school.” she said.
Lucy rolled her eyes as well. “I know, I know. But still.” As they approached the cafeteria, Lucy stretched up enough to let her fingers trail on the low part of the ceiling. “I love being tall.” she snickered.
“And I,” Shelby said, leaping up to let her index finger just touch the ceiling, “love being short- no, not short, but fun sized.” she said. “Together, we are fun sized and king sized. How perfect is that?” she laughed.
“Almost like we were meant to be,” Lucy chuckled, briefly giving Shelby a half-hug.
As they filed in the café, the Mrs. Meyers’ class sat in the back table, as they were the last class to enter. The lights were dimmed, so that the students could just see, and at the front of the room, there was an overhead projector set up. In front of it stood the school’s principle, Mr. McMillins.
“Hello,” Began McMillins, once everyone had stopped chattering and was staring idly up ahead, “and thank you for coming- not that you had much choice,” he joked. “But, anyways, here are the rules and guidelines about what is about to happen. For those of you who don’t know, the whole school will be playing a massive game of hide-and-seek- one grade at a time. The eighth graders have already gone, and were told not to tell anyone of this, to keep it a surprise.” he paused, and turned his head to where Abby Mitten was raising her hand. “Yes?” McMillins said, inquiring for her to speak.
“I heard from my sister, Gabby that we were going to be playing hide-and-seek. I didn’t really believe her, so I didn’t tell anyone. Does that mean that she’s going to get in trouble?” Abby asked, cocking her head.
McMillins pursed his lips. “Thank you for telling us this, Abby. I’ll contact you -and Gabby- after the assembly, and if you have any further questions, than I’ll be more then happy to answer them for you. Okay?”
Abby nodded, and folded her hands in her lap, but not before flipping her strawberry blonde hair, sending a wave of fruity perfume across the room.
“Anyways,” McMillins said, “I assume that most of you already know what’s going on by now, so I’m not going to waste my breath telling you over and over again, because then you’ll just get bored and tune me out, never know when to tune back in, and miss all’ve the directions. Anyways, on my word ‘go’, you will be able to make ten groups of twenty five. Now, before I begin, are there any questions?” he scanned the room, looking for hands.
Katie was raising her hand again, a scowl (which Shelby was convinced was set there permanently) shouted out, “But what if I’m not playing? Do I still need to make a group?”
“Yes,” McMillins said, “or else the groups will not be even. Now, unbelievably, everyone is here today, so there shouldn’t be any odd people out.” he scanned the room one last time. “Any more questions? No? Okay. GO!” As soon as McMillins shouted the magic word, absolute chaos broke out. Screaming, angry or delighted broke out, and people were running everywhere. Students were tugging each other by the arms, begging people to join their measly groups.
Shelby looked over to see Lucy shrinking down in her seat, as more and more people came up to ask her to be in their group. And time after time, Lucy would politely decline, over and over and over.
Jade, who had somehow become separated from Lucy and Shelby, came slinking from behind a couple staring dreamily into each other’s eyes. “Hey, I finally found you!” she exclaimed, standing beside Lucy’s chair. Then her face fell. “Wait, I am in your guy’s right?” she asked hurriedly. “I- I mean I was wrong to just assume that I was going to be in your group. With Lucy being so popular and what not, you probably have more then enough people to be in your group, so why am I even bothering asking. I-”
“Dude,” Lucy laughed, “chill. You, me, and Shelby are always going to be in the same group, no matter what! You’ll never have to think that you’ll be left out, Jade Kaylight, you remember that!” she said as if she were scolding her; maybe she was.
Jade looked almost embarrassed. Well, Shelby thought, that just goes to show how modest that Jade can be. Shelby smiled and said, “Yeah, Jade. Honestly, you’d never have to worry about not being in our group; it’s an unwritten rule.” she said.
Jade smiled as well. “So who else will be joining our group?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.
“Well, first off Annabelle, so just look for golden ringlets . . . She shouldn’t have a group, and if she does it ought to be small, as she has a very small clique of friends. Actually, now that I think of it, she’ll probably be with Cassy and Danielle. So look for golden curls, long blonde hair, and short dark brown curls.” Lucy said.
“Okay,” Jade said, “but why hair? What if they’re facing us?”
Lucy grinned. “Then two pairs of blue eyes, and one pair of deep green. Are there any questions, ladies?” she asked, still smiling.
“Ma’am no ma’am!” Shelby shouted, giving Lucy a mock solute. The three girls laughed, and turned their backs on each other, looking for anyone else that may want to join their group. As Shelby’s enormous brown eyes scanned the tidal wave of students, she spotted the short brown hair of Danny, and next to him the blonde hair of Charles. Immediately, Shelby elbowed Jade. “I see Charles!” she hissed, “and Danny!”
Jade’s eyes shone. “Great! Are they with a group?” she questioned, her blue eyes searching intently through the crowd, looking for her almost-boyfriend, and Shelby’s crush.
Shelby shook her head, as they two boys looked around, seemingly very alone. “No, I don’t think so. They appear to be alone, very, very alone.” Shelby said, squinting to make sure that they weren’t with the pretty redhead behind them.
“Excellent!” Jade cried, as she sprang forward in the direction of the lone friends. It took her maybe eleven paces to reach them, before her blue eyes softened, and she started speaking lowly to them. Since they were some what far away, Shelby couldn’t hear their conversation well, and all she heard was the low murmur of Jade’s voice.
Suddenly, Charles nodded enthusiastically, while Danny shrugged with a smile on his face. Is he smiling . . . At me?! Shelby thought nervously as the group approached them. And if he was . . . Why? We barely talk, and when we do, it’s nothing! Is it possible that he fancies me? She thought excitedly. “. . . Shelby? Are you okay?” came Danny’s soft voice. Was it slightly worried. “Can you hear me? Are you okay?” he repeated, frowning.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “Yes, yes I’m fine. Just . . . Thinking,” she said with a smile. She tapped her noggin, giggling. “There’s a lot of crazy stuff up here, you know.”
Danny grinned. “Oh, I’m sure. But some of it’s not crazy . . . Some of it’s actually pretty cool. You’re brilliant, Shelb. Even when you won’t admit it to yourself, you are. And, to top it all off, you’re awesome,” he said, his dark blue eyes softening.
Shelby could feel herself blush a deep scarlet. “Um, thanks, Danny. That um, means a lot,” she murmured, looking away. When she looked back up, everyone that Lucy had named was standing in a small cluster, their heads all bent together as they murmured their ideas to each other. Lucy was wondering around the emptying café, herding any stragglers over to her group. From the looks of things, Shelby’s group only needed five more people to make twenty-five, and it looked like it was going to be too easy. Already, their group consisted of: Herself, Jade, Lucy, Danny, Charles, Annabelle, Alice, Fern, Derek, Peter, Rosie, Cassy, Danielle, Carol, Rob, Jess, Jake, Brad, Katrina, and Sophie.
“We don’t really have a lot of people in our group,” Shelby mused.
“What are you talking about?” Danny said, laughing. “We have just about twenty people in our group! It’s almost done!”
“I know, I know,” Shelby said, “but I mean, compared to anyone else. Most of the groups are done. All Lucy’s doing is getting the people who weren’t picked over here on our team. I don’t know half of them!” Shelby said, pursing her lips.
“You know me!” came a friendly voice from behind them. Shelby turned to see none other than Jared Arnk- her ex-boyfriend- he also happened to be one of Danny’s best friends. How coincidental.
“H-hey man, was sup?” Danny laughed, fist pounding Jared, and giving him a manly half-hug. “I haven’t seen you since you went skiing for a week! Where’ve you been, man?”
“Skiing, dude! That’s my passion, my life . . .” his gaze rested on Shelby, and he smiled. “You should know that more then anyone, Shelby.” he said.
Shelby was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She’d never really liked Jared; in fact, it had been a dare to ask him out, and she’d received twenty dollars for doing it. Of course, everyone was shocked when Jared had actually said yes. Shelby wasn’t sure what it was exactly that she didn’t like about him- maybe it was his cocky attitude, or maybe the way he looked when he was angry, like he wanted to lash out at you, and hit you. Just his gaze resting on Shelby made her feel fidgety, and she had the desperate urge to go and try to round up people for their group with Lucy. “I . . .” she started to say, but stopped. What could she say? What should she say? “I’m going to go get people to get people to join our group. There’s only sixteen, and we need four more-”
“Not to worry, Shelby! Now we have twenty!” came a cheerful voice from behind her. Lucy.
“O-Okay, good.” Shelby said. “May I ask who joined our group?” she questioned, gazing around at their cluster of people. She only recognized one person that she didn’t recognize; a pretty blonde, with odd silvery eyes.
“Sure! That blonde over there is a German exchange student, Gretta. She’s pretty cool, but she’s awful quiet. Nice enough, though her heavy accent makes it hard to understand half the stuff she says. But from what I can understand, she loves hide-and-seek, and she’s pretty good at it. Her petite figure lets her squeeze into a lot of places no one would think to look!” she exclaimed. “Oh, and Tiffany, Alex, and Greg joined as well. Over all, a pretty good group,” Lucy sounded satisfied.
After Lucy had finished chattering, teachers began organizing kids without a group into groups that needed one or two more people. Once all ten groups were properly organized, McMillins hopped onto the stage in front of the over head projector again. “Now that you all have your groups,” he began, “we can start to talk about the rules that your teacher hasn’t gone over, and the overall procedure. To begin,” he said, pressing the ON button the projector. Instantly, a green background with bold black writing that read, “RULES” filled up the massive screen by the back of the stage. “The rules.” he finished, stepping off of the stage, and staring up at his screen.
He pressed the remote in his and, and the screen dissolved, and was replaced by more bold words that read, “RULE NUMBER 1: YOU MUST STAY WITH YOUR GROUP AT ALL TIMES.” After a couple of minutes, he pressed the remote again, and it read, “RULE NUMBER 2: YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO ANY AREAS WITH LIGHTS ON.” He pressed another button, “NUMBER 3: IF THE GROUPS “IT” HAVE NOT FOUND EVERYONE, A BLOWHORN WILL GO OFF, AND EVERYONE MUST COME OUT OF THEIR HIDING SPACES, AND START ANOTHER ROUND.” More and more basic rules were shown, as were the consequences to any rule breakers. It also stated that the game would go from 10:00 p.m., to 1:00 a.m. It was also revealed that the office had contacted everyone’s parents, and that most of them were okay with this.
After the slideshow, more teachers came around and assigned everyone their group names. When it came turn for Shelby’s group to receive their name, the teacher, Ms. Jenkins, stated, “Your group name is Group Number Thirteen.”
“Ooh,” Lucy said, “an unlucky number. This is going to be interesting.”
Danny shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is," he said, "thirteen's just a number, and nothing more. I mean, really,superstition isn't exactly real now, is it?"
Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. But who cares? This is going to be epic!" she cried, "a game of hide and seek, and-" her face lit up. "Oh! I just remembered! My mom said that I was having a party after school. I had no idea why, but now I know. She said something about the whole grade being invited? Anyways, I don't care. It's going to be really fun," she exclaimed.
"No way," Shelby uttered, "your parties are the best! And, really, the whole grade?! That's a lot of people."
"Yeah," agreed Danny, "the whole grade. How will your house hold everyone?"
Lucy laughed dryly. "Obviously you haven't seen my house," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "There's plenty of room for the whole school, and then some!" she exclaimed. "So, to answer you question, yes, there'll be enough room for the seventh graders. Also, my mom said she had a whole list of things to do. And," she smiled slyly, "one of them I know for sure was skin the bottle."
"No way!" Fern cried, "we're too young! I mean, most of us are thirteen! My mom says that I can't even think about kissing until I'm thirty!"
Jade, Shelby, and Lucy rolled their eyes. “Oh, littler Fern,” Lucy sighed, “older than most kids, but more immature than most fifth graders.” she finished, laughing.
Fern turned a shade of red. “That’s what you think!” she said crossly. “But I’ll be the one at your party the bottle always lands on. You’ll see!” she exclaimed. She turned around, as if to stomp away, but soon realized she couldn’t leave her group, so she sighed, her back still facing away from the three girls.
“Katrina! What the..! Why are you sitting down?” asked a raised voice that could only belong to Peter.
Katrina grinned goofily, her pin straight mud-brown hair swaying. “I felt like it. You know, it does get quite boring -and tiring- standing up all the time Especially since I have competitive gymnastics after school! I need all the energy I can muster up,” she finished, sprawling her legs out in front of her. “I wouldn’t mind a nap either . . . Does anyone have a pillow, by any chance?” she asked seriously, glancing around the room.
Shelby turned to see Peter shaking his head, while laughing. His short ginger hair appeared to be gleaming in the light, glowing with health- or grease. “Trina, or Trina. Where did they go wrong with you?”
“Hmm?” Trina chided, turning to look up at him, her brown eyes shining.
“He said,” Carol said, raising her index finger, “that you were thrown as a baby, bounced off the wall, hit the ceiling fan, and landed on concrete. Or at least he thought it,” she ended, shrugging.
Trina looked confused. “How did you know? I thought that my mom only told me and my brother . . .” she screwed up her face, obviously deep in thought. “Oh well. Word must’ve gone around that I’m just a special child,”
“Do you buy it?” asked a heavy British accent. Shelby turned to see Mable, eyeing her, her navy blue eyes staring at Danny, though her question was obviously directed at Shelby. Mable had transferred years ago, (apparently their middle school was a popular place for exchange students) and her raven black hair, and striking eyes had made her popular with the boys immediately. Currently, she was dating Tom Hill, but it wasn’t exactly a secret that she fancied Danny- this alone made Shelby dislike her, but she supposed that she was nice enough.
“Buy what?” she asked, not exactly caring about whatever it was Mable was trying to tell her.
“That that Trina person was actually dropped as a baby, or course! I think that it’s absolutely rubbish. Don’t you think?” she asked, her blue eyes stopped looking Danny up and down, and switched their penetrating gaze to Shelby.
“I- er . . . I think she just likes to be funny. But, I mean, with Trina, anything is really possible.”
Mable shrugged, flipping her long glossy hair. “Whatever. That girl drives me mad.” she said. “Oh, and just to let you know, I swapped with Tiffany, and I’m now in your group. I’m not too fond of this game, but it’s worth it. Also, did you get Lucy’s party invitation? Tonight, at seven. It said that there would be spin the bottle . . .” she glanced back at Danny, and her eyes glinted. “He’s mine.” she said firmly.
Shelby almost blew a fuse. “He doesn’t date.” she said loudly. “I’m going to go find Lucy. If you want to stand around, and stare at Danny like a creepy stalker, than be my guest!” she exclaimed. She stalked over to where Jade and Shelby were chattering excitedly together, leaving Mable alone. She didn’t even seem to notice Shelby’s absence, as her eyes were still glued to Danny.
“Gosh, she makes me so mad!” Shelby exclaimed crossly.
“Who?” Jade asked, her brilliant turquoise eyes full of concern. “Do you need to talk to someone? You know you can always talk to me or Lucy- or both. That’s what friends are for, Shelby. But, if you need time to just be alone, then that’s fine too. I think you wanted to talk though, because you came to us, but-” she broke off. “I’m so stupid, babbling on like this. What’s on your mind, Shelby?” she asked.
“It’s stupid Mable!” she wailed, placing her head in her hands.
Immediately, Jade and Lucy knew what was wrong. She took either side of Shelby, and began trying to comfort her. “She’s got a good chance of him liking her. I don’t have the slightest!” she said bitterly. When she looked up, she noticed that most people had cleared out of the café, and the only people that were left were her, Jade, Lucy, Annabelle, Charles, Jared, and Danny.
Danny, looking over in their direction, began maneuvering his way over to them, frowning. When he had reached them, he murmured, “Shelby? What’s wrong?” he asked, worriedly. “Are you okay?”
Shelby hadn’t even realized that tears were streaming down her face, until she looked at her wet hands. Well, she thought, that just goes to show how much she actually liked him, how much it would hurt her for him to be with someone else. “You.” she muttered.
“What?” Danny asked, cocking his head slightly. Perplexed, he looked at Jade, who was biting her lip, then to Lucy, who was smiling a tiny bit.
“It’s you, Danny! Mable likes you, and she says that ‘you’re hers’, but I don’t want you to be hers! Because, Danny, the truth is, I love you! And I have since the fourth grade, but apparently you were just to blind to know! How could you be so blind? It was so obviously!” She cried. And with that, she bolted out of the auditorium.
“I told you my plan would work.” Mable said smugly, leaning against a blue beam in the middle of the café. The shade of blue of the beam seemed to match her blue eyes.
Jade bit her lip, frowning. “I don’t know about this. I mean, tricking Shelby into telling her most deepest, guarded secret, just so you can prove a point? That’s positively evil!” she exclaimed, standing up from her chair. “And I’m going after her!” she too, bolted out of the door, and raced after Shelby, though Lord knew where she was.
In the meantime, Danny was shaking his head. “Unbelievable.” he muttered. “And all this time, I never knew…” he began rubbing his temples, pushing his short hair back. “Mable, when you first told me that you suspected that Shelby . . . ‘fancied’ me, I didn’t believe you. But, now . . . Now that you’ve told me . . . I . . .”
“Go on,” Mable encouraged, slinking forward, closer to him. “How do you feel about that?”
“I . . .” Danny paused, his head reappearing from his hands. “I don’t know, Mable.”
Jade had found Shelby sobbing in the bathroom, her usually bright brown eyes sparkled with tears, and her usually pretty auburn hair was ruffled and untidy. She truly looked awful, Jade thought. “Shell?” she whispered, carefully pushing forward the half-open door. “Shell, it was all a trick,” she murmured, crouching down to where Shelby had looked up at her.
“W-what do you mean?” she stammered. Stray tears still ran from her eyes. She began trying to stand up, but teetered, and crouched down again. “How was that a trick?” she demanded.
Jade bit her lip, and twiddled her thumbs. “Well,” she began, “Mable knew that you liked Danny- or at least, she suspected you did. So, she told Danny, but he didn’t believe her. So she came up with this scheme to prove to Danny that you liked him.” Jade dropped Shelby’s gaze. “And, it worked. Thankfully, we were the only ones in the caf, so no one heard us -except Danny.” she said.
Shelby moaned. “So I overreacted? All of this was just some sort of sick joke?” she wailed.
“Um,” Jade said, “yeah, I guess you could put it like that.” she said, shrugging.
“So what does he think?” Shelby asked, scrambling over to Jade. “What does Danny think of all this? Does he like me? Does he not? Before you left, Jade, tell me, what happened? What did you hear, see, and do?”
“Well . . .” she began, “Mable began boasting that her plan had worked. And Danny looked horrified -not that you liked him- about how she’d done it. So, I pretty much called her evil, and left the caf.” Jade said, shrugging again. “But, I think that you should go back, and give Mable a piece of your mind!” she crowed.
“I guess,” Shelby said, “but she’ll make up some ridicules story, and then I’ll be the one in trouble. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before,” she sighed, shaking her head. Shelby unsteadily stood up, using the back of a toilet to support her. “Well, let’s go anyways.” she said, shrugging.
Jade stood up more gracefully, and smiled. “Sure.” she said. “I believe everyone went to the gym for something more, but I’m sure no one has noticed our absence. With two hundred and fifty kids, and two missing, I’m sure that no one’s noticed!”
“Why,” Ms. Fisher drawled, “are you missing two students from your group?” she looked up at Lucy from behind her narrow glasses frame, with beady piggy eyes. She glanced down at her clipboard, and flipped through multiple sheets of paper. “It seems that Miss Kaylight, and Miss Grey are missing from your group. Why?” she demanded again.
“They had to go to the bathroom,” Lucy lied smoothly. It wasn’t exactly a lie, though. She was sure that Shelby had gone straight to the bathroom, and Jade would’ve known this.
“For twenty minutes?” she asked, raising her thin eyebrows. “There’s something suspicious about that, and the fact that the pair are best friends, and are both missing!” she exclaimed. “I can tell you’re lying, Miss Kirn, so please tell me the truth. Where are your friends?”
“Ms. Fisher,” Lucy began hastily, “I can assure you that I’m not lying! If they’re not in the bathroom, than I don’t know where they are. Perhaps they forgot something, maybe a sweatshirt, in the cafeteria? And maybe they both went so that they wouldn’t be alone? Honestly, I don’t know where they are!” Lucy repeated. She turned to Danny, whose eyes looked like they were somewhere else besides the gym. He’d been like this ever since he found out, Lucy thought. He was daydreaming- but of what? Was he thinking of hideous things to say to Shelby when she got back? Or perhaps ask her to the movies tomorrow? Honestly, Lucy thought, what goes on in a boy’s mind?
“Miss Kirn!” Ms. Fisher burst out again, “why in the world are you staring at Mr. Robinson?”
“Hmm? Oh,” she said, slyly, “I was just thinking that he may know where they’ve disappeared to. I’m quite positive that he was the last one who’d talked to them before they left. Perhaps he knows where they’ve run off to?” she suggested. “If not, than we’d better send a search party out!” she joked.
“I don’t appreciate your humor!” Fisher snapped, marching off in Danny’s direction. Lucy wasn’t sure why she’d dumped this all on Danny. But Lucy was suddenly tired, and didn’t feel like doing anything. Instead, she remembered back to this morning, when the strange men had contacted her as she was walking to school . . .
“Hello, Lucy!” Pauline the crossing guard called cheerfully. Her breath made puffy clouds appear. Her wrinkly face was half-buried in a colorful scarf that was whipping in the cold morning wind. Lucy had known her since she was just a girl, maybe seven. Ever since she’d first started walking to school, with her parents.
“Morning!” Lucy called equally cheerful. As she approached Pauline, the older woman’s facial expression changed, as if she’d just remembered something of great interest. “Pauline,” Lucy said, “is something the matter? You look . . . Different.”
“I just remembered,” she said, “as I walked to work today, there was a black van parked in front of your school. It couldn’t have been much earlier than five, but that’s not the point. I felt like I’d recognized the van somewhere. Maybe on the news, or the paper, or something like that. I wish I could remember why . . .”
“Was there anyone inside the van?”
“Oh yes. Six men, to be precise. All of them looked so much alike, they could be sextuplets!” she exclaimed. “They were all around forty, and had five ‘o clock shadow, all wearing black hats. They seemed friendly enough, when they eventually noticed me. They seemed to be looking at a sort of pamphlet, and they appeared to be watching your school through binoculars.” she said, cocking her head slightly. “There wasn’t anything scheduled to be going on at the school today, was there Lucy?”
“No, not that I know of. How peculiar,” she murmured. She shuffled her black Uggs in the snow, trying to warm her freezing feet. “Well, I’d better get going now, or I’ll be late. See you, Pauline!” she called, jogging off in the direction of her middle school.
“Good bye!” Pauline hollered, waving. “I just wish I knew where I’d seen those men before . . .” she muttered to herself. As she watched Lucy’s figure disappear, it hit her- but, then she lost it again. Discouraged, she waved her “STOP” sign, nearly causing an accident.
As Lucy approached her school, always the earliest, she did indeed notice the black van that Pauline had told her about. Four men appeared to be bickering silently, while the last two observed the school, and wrote notes. As she warily approached them, (she had no choice, as they were right by hr only entrance to the school) one of the note takers looked up, and smiled, revealing rotten missing teeth. “’Ello, there, pretty gal,” he said. “You go here?”
Nervous, Lucy nodded slowly. She continued walking, but one of the men ran up to her. “You know anything about a game goin’ on here?” he demanded.
Lucy shook her head. “No. Now stop bugging me!”
The man nodded. “Very well, pretty. See you . . . around.” he began howling with laughter.
Startled, Lucy began booking it to the front door, where she was welcomed by McMillins, who ushered her hurriedly upstairs to her classroom. Once there, Mr. Ronco, her homeroom teach looked distraught. “What did they say to you?” McMillins demanded.
“They asked if I went to school here, and asked me if I knew anything of some sort of game,” Lucy explained. “They’re mad! Frightening too, don’t you think?”
Mr. Ronco’s face was grim. “Evan,” he began. Lucy knew her principal’s name was Evan, but she’d never heard anyone call him that, even the teachers, “we should hold off. I-it’s too dangerous! I don’t trust them, and they look too much like those people they showed on the news last night, even if they don’t own a red pick up truck. There’s just something off, and I think that school should be canceled as well . . .”
“Nonsense,” McMillins said, waving his hand dismissively. “Honestly, Arnold, you worry to much. School will go on as planned, as will our activity. But, we will take caution, and that’s all I can say. The parents are already informed, and probably already have plans made. What kind of school would we look like if we changed it?”
Mr. Ronco’s facial expression didn’t change. “Lucy,” he said. It was the first time either of them had addressed her since they’d asked her what the strange man had said to her. “Why don’t you go and pass out day starters while Principal McMillins and I . . . talk,” he said.
Lucy nodded, very slowly. “O-of course,” she said. “Where are they? On your desk, or by the overhead?”
“On my desk, Miss Kirn.” Mr. Ronco said dismissively.
As Lucy handed out papers to every desk, she tried to tune into her teacher’s conversion, but had no success, as they were talking in soft murmurs. Once in a while, there was a distraught outburst, which quickly ended. And once the first bus had dropped off its batch of kids, McMillins departed back to his office, leaving Mr. Ronco flustered. He sighed, for there was nothing more he could do. So, he went back to his desk as Lucy took her seat in the left corner of the back row.
“Where were you two?” Demanded Ms. Fisher. Shelby wasn’t sure where the “Ms.” part came from; it was quite obvious that she wasn’t married.
“We were in the bathroom,” Jade said, throwing Fisher a “Wow, are you really that stupid?” look. “I thought Lucy told you . . . She said that she would . . .” Jade said, sounding confused.
Ms. Fisher looked flabbergasted. “She- she’d told me that, but I didn’t believe her. But, for once your stories actually match up . . .” she paused. “Wait. Why were you two in there together?” She narrowed her beady eyes, and wagged her sausage finger at the two girls.
“Well, you know what they say,” Shelby said, “two bladders go together! No, wait, am I thinking of another saying?” she asked, glancing at Jade. “Well, either way, we went to the bathroom. We’re all better now!” she said, cheerfully.
Ms. Fisher’s eyes narrowed to teeny slits. “You’re okay now, Kaylight and Grey, but any funny business tonight will result in detention- maybe even suspension. So do anything tonight that you expect that I won’t know about. There’s nothing that goes on in this school that I don’t know about. So just remember that I’m watching you kids. I’m always watching.” And with that, she spun on her fat high heeled shoe, and began screeching at more unsuspecting students.
“Well,” Shelby said, “that was too close for comfort.”
“I know,” Jade said, walking over to her group. “We need to be more careful next time- though hopefully, there won’t be a next time,” she said firmly, stopping when she was on Lucy’s left side.
Lucy looked relieved. “Hey, guys . . . ?” she said. She looked like something was on her mind, that something was bothering her. Without waiting for her friends to answer, she quickly told them of Pauline seeing the strange men outside of her school, how the six men had asked her if she went her, and what they were going to be doing today, and how McMillins and Mr. Ronco had been concerned about it, and even talked about canceling hide-and-seek. “So,” Lucy concluded, “something’s definitely up. And I’m not sure what, but it’s bad,” she said.
Jade’s face was a mask of horror. “Lucy,” she gaped, “you did see those men on the news! Those men- they were . . . There was something bad about them . . . But, that’s not the point! They’ve been searching for them, for weeks!”
“Shelby?” called a soft voice, not very far behind her. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest. Danny. Was he here to tell her that he hated her, and that he was dating Mable? Or to get lost, because her stupid crush on him would only ruin their friendship? Or, Shelby thought, would he tell her that he loved her?”
“Y-yes?” she stammered, spinning on her grey UGG boot. His untidy blonde hair was just the way she’d always remembered it- the way she loved it. And his piercing blue eyes were boring straight into her chocolate brown ones.
“I . . .” he paused, and swallowed hard, dropping her gaze. “I-I came here to tell you that I-I-”
“Students may now return to their classrooms, seeing as our hide-and-seek assembly is now over!” came McMillins’ voice.
But before Shelby could say anything, and ask what he was going to say, Danny was being dragged away by Charles and Jared. He looked back, and gave her a kind of apologetic smile. But deep down, he was angry at Charles and Jared. How dare they? He was really going to tell her this time, tell her the truth. In fact, the words still lingered on his tongue: love you, too.
Unfortunately, Shelby thought, this stupid assembly took up all of our time, and now we have to go home! Oh, she thought, what I wouldn’t give to find out what Danny was going to say! He what? Loved her? Hated her? There were many possibilities. Too many.
“Wassa matter, Shelby?” The voice was Lucy’s. She was standing just ahead of Shelby, eyeing her carefully. “You look deep in thought, and maybe in pain. What’s up?”
“Just thinking . . . Of Danny.”
Lucy smiled sadly. “I wonder what he was going to say,” she mused. “it couldn’t have been anything bad, if you saw his face. He was . . . Sort of happy, like he was revealing a secret. Perhaps he was . . .” she pondered this thought, replaying what had happened as Shelby left. Not really anything. Danny had just been in a daze . . .
Shelby smiled. “You think so? Well, hopefully, he likes me too. If not, I don’t think I can go on living!” she said, jokingly. She looked up at the clock, and frowned. “Two-fifteen,” she said. “We’d better get going, or we’ll miss the bus!” she exclaimed, fretfully.
Lucy nodded, and trudged off toward the double doors, where the rest of the bus-ers were exiting. Missing the bus, Lucy thought, is not a very fun experience. You have to sit in the office, while they call your unhappy parents, and tell them that they must pick you up, since you missed the bus. Depending on how you missed it, you will get a detention. “You ever missed the bus?” Lucy asked, cocking her head slightly.
A shudder passed through Shelby’s entire body. “Yes,” she said finally. “Yes, I have, and I never will again. The office gave me one weeks worth of office detentions, and my mom was pissed off. Never again,” she repeated.
Lucy smiled. “How exactly did you miss it?” She asked, as they stepped outside into the warming air. She inhaled happily. This was her favorite time of year.
“Well,” Shelby began, “it was the day that I broke up with Jared.” she looked up at a large fluffy cloud, that resembled a tortoise. “He began crying, so I tried comforting him, but he pushed me away. The office didn’t believe me, and when Jared asked what happened, that said I kicked him! So, yeah, they gave me office detentions.”
Lucy smiled. “Jerk,” she muttered. “If he shows his face tonight, I’ll. . . I’ll . . .” she wracked her brains, trying to think of something devious to do to Jared. How dare he treat her best friend like that? The nerve of him, lying like that!
“. . . . Lucy? Lucy! I see your dad’s van. Shouldn’t we be going over now . . .?”
Lucy hadn’t realized that she’d stopped, until Shelby’s voice and roused her from her plot. “I- oh! Yeah, let’s head over. You’re helping me set up, right? There’s a lot to do, though, I must warn you,” she said.
Shelby nodded, excited now. “I’m game!”
“Is everything set up in the den?” Lucy called from the basement.
Shelby inspected the large room, that the Kirns called the den. The floor was wooden, but covered in a dull blue rug. Four matching cream couches surrounded a small wooden coffee table. On the table, was a cream placemat, matching the couches. On top of the placemat, wasn an empty wine bottle. “Yes!” Shelby called, “yes, everything’s perfect!”
Downstairs in the basement, Lucy inspected the games/dance floor section. Her large, carpeted basement looked like a nightclub. Lucy’s mom, Diane, had set up a mini disco ball that was hanging from the middle of her ceiling. Strobe lights were set up by a large stereo, that would play local hit music. In each corners stood games; air hockey in one corner, a ping pong table in another, and other games Lucy didn’t know the names of, as her mom had set the games up.
Behind her mother’s miniature bar counter, were hundreds of bags of snacks. Beer and wine had been replaced with water and soda. “Good!” Lucy called finally. “The basement is perfect! It looks like a real night club! Hey, come down here! Mum’s not letting us see anything else, because she wants us to be just as surprised!”
Not a moment after she’d called, Lucy heard Shelby barreling down the stairs. She could practically see her, as she skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, and charged down two more flights of stairs, before she entered the basement. As Lucy heard the basement door slam, she looked up the carpeted stairs, to see Shelby flying down the stairs, and nearly collide with the ping pong table. “Whoa,” she murmured. “T-this place is amazing!” she spun around, taking everything in. “Your mom is awesome.”
Lucy put her hands on her hips in mock irritation. “Hey,” she said, “I did all of this! All my mom did was set up the games down here, and put the disco ball in! I set up everything!” she exclaimed, though her tone was friendly.
“And,” Shelby corrected, “buy the food. I’d be willing to bet that you didn’t do that now, did you?”
Lucy rolled her eyes, and tossed a pair of potato chips at Shelby, who, to her surprise, caught it. “I’m ninja,” Shelby said, opening the bag of chips. “So when’s Jade getting her? She was coming early, right?”
“Yeah, she should be coming about a half hour earlier than everyone else. Hey, do you by any chance know what time it is?”
Shelby blinked, staring at the small grey and pink watch on her wrist. “It’s four seventeen. So, the party starts at five, so that must mean. . . ”
“That Jade’s going to be here soon.” Lucy said excitedly. She grabbed her friends arm, and said, “c’mon! Let’s go wait for her!” without waiting for Shelby’s reaction, she bolted up the stairs, and into her grand living room, complete with a chandelier, and three couches. Lucy sat down on one of the dull blue couches, and pulled Shelby down next to her.
“She’s got to be here soon,” Shelby said, nestling into the soft cushions. “Was she bringing anyone with her, or was she coming alone?” she asked, glancing over at Lucy with large, soft brown eyes.
“I think that she was bringing someone with her- which is fine with me and my mom, but she wouldn’t tell us who it is, only that they go to school with us. I wonder who it is?” she asked, pursing her lips. She didn’t really hang out with anyone else except Shelby and herself. Who could she be bringing?
“What should we do while we wait?” Shelby wondered aloud. What should they do? There really wasn’t much, given that everything they could entertain themselves with was set up in one of the party rooms.
“I dunno.”
Shelby pursed her lips, and glanced around the room, hoping that Jade would hurry up and arrive, because she was bored. “Ugh, Jade, when will you get here?” she mumbled, lounging back further into the plush cushions.
Next to her, Lucy appeared to be dozing. Her green eyes were closed, and she was lightly snoring. Looking to peaceful to wake up, Shelby didn’t disturb her. The doorbell did. Rushing up from the couch, Shelby charged over to Lucy’s grand front door, and opened the door to a bright eyed Jade. “Hello,” she said slyly. “Look who I brought with me!” she lightly stepped aside to reveal the figure beside her. It was Danny. Stiffening, Shelby flung the scrunchie that was around her wrist at Lucy, rousing her from her rest.
“Wha-?” she exclaimed, waking with a start. Once she spotted her two guests, she leaped off of her couch, and ushered them in. “Er, welcome,” she began, “Danny, I didn’t know that you’d be coming tonight.”
Danny nodding. “Yeah, I was able to get in touch with Jade, and her mom said she’d be more than willing to take me, so, yeah . . .” he trailed off awkwardly, looking up at one of the many paintings that decorated Lucy’s walls.
Again, Shelby stiffened. Why Jade? What was so special about her? Was it possible that he liked Jade, and not herself? No! I mustn’t think these things! Shelby too, glanced around the room. “Awkward silence,” she said at last, half laughing.
Everyone seemed relieved as well, and began smiling and laughing. “So, um, when are the rest of the guests coming?” Danny asked, obviously trying to make small talk.
“Five ‘o clock.” the girls automatically replied in unison. Danny nodded, his eyes wandering back to the paintings on the walls. “People will probably arrive sooner or later, though,” Lucy put in. “Everyone always does that. It gets quite annoying, but,” she shrugged, “at least they come at all.”
“How do you like living in such a big house?” he mused lightly.
“It gets lonely at times,” Lucy admitted, “mum’s not here often, and when she is, she’s with Dad. Ever since he came home from Mexico month, he’s all that’s ever been on her mind. But, I have Jade and Shelby, and when Mum comes back from work before Dad, she spends time with me, which is good.” she said, a small smile on her lips.
Danny nodded. “I see. Living in a duplex, I’m never alone,” he explained, “so, fortunately, I don’t know the feeling.”
Lucy nodded, and the group fell back into another long, awkward silence. The minutes ticked away, and the grandfather clock in the corner read four fifty-six. People would arrive any minute. “I wonder who’ll come first?” Shelby mused, glancing back at Lucy’s front door. Was that a car coming down Lucy’s quiet street?
“Probably Charles,” Danny said, addressing Shelby for the first time.
Shelby nodded, looking back at the car put-putting along the freshly-paved street. It appeared to be a navy blue mini van. “Is that his car?” she asked, pointing a slender index finger in its direction.
Danny peered around Shelby’s slender-ish figure, and nodded, looking relieved. “Yes, that’s his car-- or at least one that looks a lot like his.” he said. He grinned as the van halted in front of Lucy’s long, winding driveway.
A slender figure that had to be Charles emerged, and began hurrying up to the front door. He began pounding on the door, peeking through the glass next to the front door. Once he spotted his friends, he grinned, and waved. Lucy walked over to the door fluently. She was very fluent in moving her hips; probably due to years of dance practice. She reached out a thin hand, and yanked open her door, as Charles stumbled in. “Hey!” he said, wiping the grime off of his shoes, and then tugging them off. “Am I the only one to officially arrive? I saw tons of cars, and I figured that they were all coming here . . .” he frowned, looking around Lucy’s empty house. “Huh, I am the only one here, aren’t I?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah, they should be coming soon. But, yes, for now, you’re the only one that’s formally arrived. What do you want to do first? There’s loads.” she explained, returning his grin.
Danny, Lucy, and Shelby rolled their eyes. Typical flirting, with them. Suddenly, Shelby frowned, sad. “Hey, guys . . .” she said, sadly. “I just remembered something.”
“What?” Lucy and Danny asked in unison, their concern level the same.
“Patrick’s not in our group!” she exclaimed. “I feel really sad now . . . He’s awesome! But I didn’t see him when we were picking groups . . . Perhaps someone will be willing to trade with him?”
By now, Shelby recognized -to her horror- Jared’s car strolling down the street, eight more cars following it. One by one, they stopped, and kids began streaming out. Shelby recognized them as everyone that was in Goup 6, (even Mable) with the exception of Noah, who was in Group 2. As soon as everyone approached the door, Lucy opened it excitedly for them, and began ushering people in, explaining where to put their sweatshirts, and where their shoes should go. Immediately, chatter broke out. But Shelby’s words still hung in the air, and Lucy walked over to her couch. She leaped up on it, and cleared her throat. “Attention,” she said, “now that all of Group 6 is here, I would like to say something.” she paused. “As you all know, Patrick Regned, is a dear, dear friend of ours. We would like him to be in Group 6, but someone would have to be willing to trade their spot for a Group 1 kid.” Hands raised before Lucy was done speaking. She frowned, biting her lip.
Murmurs of disagreement spread through the twenty-six kids, (with the exception of Charles, Dnny, Shelby, Jade and Lucy.)
“We don’t want him in our group!”
“Yeah, he’s in a wheel chair!”
“We’ll lose for sure!”
“I’ll trade! I don’t want to be with him!”
“He’s gross! I’m joining another group if he comes in!”
Shelby’s eyes gleamed with anger, and she roughly shoved her way over to the couch next to Lucy. “Why,” she began “would you say such . . . Such . . . horrible, such-such nasty things about someone?!” she shrieked, her face turning red with anger. “I’d be willing to bet,” she said, “that none of you even know why he’s in a wheelchair!! Do you?!”
An embarrassed silence passed over the group of kids. Shelby sneered. “Just what I thought! Now,” she said, holding up one wrist. A blue motivational bracelet fell down to her forearm. “Do you know what this says? It says, ‘End Duchenne.org’. I bet that none of you know what that is, do you?”
The kids looked around at each other, dumbfounded. “It means,” Shelby began, “that because of a rare . . .” she searched for the right word, “disease, Patrick can’t walk. The muscles in his legs have died. But, that doesn’t mean that Patrick isn’t like you in anyway, shape, or form, except for the fact that he may be unable to walk. He still laughs, he still loves, and most of all, he still has feelings. So if you heard someone calling you such dirty things, you wouldn’t be so happy. Would you?” she demanded, her furious gaze sweeping over the students.
“Patrick helped me with my homework once. I got an A+,” Brad Kennedy admitted. “He was really nice, and even invited me over. But I never called him back . . .” he said, embarrassed.
“Do you still have his number?” Shelby pressed, glancing at Brad, her eyes softening.
“Yes,” Brad said, “yes, I do. It’s on my fridge, but I never bothered calling him. I- I think that I will call him now. Not because I feel bad for him, or because I’m being forced to, but because, the truth is, he did seem pretty cool in study hall.” he looked away from Shelby, and scratched his head.
“Call him. Wait, no. Just tell him when he gets her.” Shelby instructed.
Brad nodded, and slunk away from the crowd, and jumped onto he couch opposite Shelby and Lucy. Carol and Alice followed him, stretching out on either side of him. “I feel bad now,” Carol said, her amber eyes sad. “I feel like I’ve been so mean to him. But that’ll change!” she exclaimed, her eyes becoming more happy.
Shelby smiled warily. “Now I want to make sure that when Patrick arrives, I do not want him to be segregated. I’m not doing this because I feel bad for him; it’s no different than becoming someone’s new best friend because they dropped their book- it’s about liking Patrick for who he is.” she ended, and people began clapping. By now, Jade had let in at least thirty more people. Everyone who’d heard at least part of Shelby’s speech was clapping, and cheering.
Shelby bounced off of the couch as Lucy began to speak. “And now,” she said, “I would like to let this party begin! During Shelby’s . . . inspiring speech, I had Charles and Danny move a sign telling people to let themselves in. Now, what would you guys like to do first?”
*End of Chapter 1*
Enjoy!Guide: Chapter 1, part 1 on post 1.
Chapter 1 part 2 on post 1
Chapter 1 part 3 on post 1
Chapter 1 part 4 on post 1
Chapter 1 part 5 on post 1
Chapter 1 part 1
Shelby Grey lounged back in her green plastic chair, taking a long drink from her bottle of water. She, and everyone else in her fifth period science class were waiting for their teacher, Mrs. Meyers to tell everyone her "surprise". Knowing her, it would just be yet another announcement about the science fair, but, anyways, she had better hurry up, Shelby thought, because it's almost time to go home!
"Now," Mrs. Meyers said, "you're all probably dying to know what the surprise is!" she said. She had come back from the copy room, gripping a stack of hot pink papers. "These," she said, gesturing to the papers, "are permission slips. As you probably guessed, these are for a little 'field trip', however, this is different. You won't need to go anywhere, per say, except the school." she gave her class a sly look.
Murmuring filled the class room, and Shelby sat up, and turned over to her friend Jade, who was grinning widely. "Oh," Jade said, "my gosh. I wonder what Meyers is talking about! I mean, what field trip could possibly happen at the school?" she asked. "It better not be something stupid," she said.
"I know," Shelby said. "I hope it's nothing stupid."
"Now now," Mrs. Meyers said, "let me tell you what it is, as you're all probably trying to. Also, this 'field trip' will take place at ten o' clock at night, so you'll all need to get here at nine. Anyways, what this is going to be, is a big game of hide-and-seek."
More murmuring and excited cries filled the class room. "Oh my God!" Shelby cried. "This is unbelieveable! A hide-and-seek game?! This is what everyone's wanted! I- I can't believe it! And practically the whole school will go!" she crowed.
Jade grinned deviously, her sea-blue eyes glinting. "And I'd be willing to bet anything that Danny's going to be there," she said. "Also Charles!" she said, her eyes softening.
"I know," Shelby said, blushing. "And shut up about Danny! Someone might hear you!" she said.
Jade rolled her eyes. “Oh please,” she said. “Like everyone -except Danny- doesn’t know that you’re totally in love with him- and have been since like, the fourth grade!” she said. “Hun, I think it’s about time to tell him, and a hide-and-seek game is the perfect time! It’ll probably be dark, and then-”
“Class! Be quiet!” Mrs. Meyers snapped. “You’ll all want to know the rules, or you’ll be disqualified! So everyone listen up,” she began, “when you walk into the school, go straight to the office to sign in. You’ll notice that, most likely, the rest of the school, except the office and other various rooms will be dark; that’ll be where you play your game. You will separate into ten groups, each of about twenty-five students. Seven teams will hide at once, and the other three can search anywhere they like. If you’re caught hiding anywhere where the lights are on, you will be disqualified. Also,” she said, “I almost forgot. You’ll want to bring a flashlight. Any questions?” she finished.
Katie Thomas raised her hand. Without waiting to be called on, she burst out, “Do we have to play? I despise hide-and-seek.” she said, crossing her arms. Everyone of Mrs. Meyers twenty-three students glared at her. Katie wasn’t exactly popular, and this little outburst wasn’t helping her popularity.
“Well,” Mrs. Meyers began, “no, but if you’re either first, second, or third, your team will win one extra credit one hundred in everyone of your classes, so I recommend that you come! However, we do realize that some of you won’t be able to come, due to transportation issues, so we’ve made a special deal with buses, that if need be, they can pick you up. Does that answer your question, Katie?” she said with a smile.
Katie scowled. “I guess so, but I’m still not going.” she said firmly. “Why would I want to play a stupid baby game? We’re in the fricken’ seventh grade!”
“Mrs. Meyers,” piped up Lucy Kirn, “do I have permission to punch Katie in the mouth?” she said in all seriousness.
The class erupted into laughter, and Shelby leaned forward to high-five her. “Nice one!” she said, as Lucy returned her high-five. “Honestly girl, where do you come up with this stuff? You’re pure genius!”
Lucy flipped her silky shoulder-length mousy brown hair. “I know,” she said, in mock superior-ness, “what would you do without out a friend like me?” she said.
Shelby laughed again. “Um, die?” she suggested. “See, you make me laugh all the time. This is why you’re my best friend- besides Jade, of course. Well, you two are tied.” she said, grinning.
“Woot!” Lucy exclaimed, pumping her fists in the air, “love triangle!”
Jade, who had scooted her chair closer to Shelby and Lucy giggled. “Lucy, you are the absolute bomb! Oh, how I love you,” she said, still giggling.
Lucy shot out of her chair, and walked over to Jade, slinging her arm around Jade’s neck. “I love you too, dude. Sorry Shell, but the two of us are running off to Vegas tonight to hit the slots, and you’re not coming!”
By now, a small crowd of about seven people were watching and laughing at them- well, watching and laughing at Lucy, who was well loved throughout her team. Many boys found her and her sparkling emerald green eyes attractive, but she always said the only love she was looking for, was the love of her best friends.
“Class!” Mrs. Meyers snapped. Lucy rolled her eyes, and plopped back into her seat ahead of Shelby, and Jade scooted back two seats next to Shelby. The rest of students that had gathered around Lucy, Jade, and Shelby were shuffling back to their seats, still giggling. “We’re going to meet with the rest of the seventh grade, and you will each choose your teams. Remember, you will have twenty-five people in your group- and twenty-five people only. Not twenty-four, not twenty-six, but twenty-five. Okay?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Okay,” her class echoed. Most of them were on the edge of their seats, just itching to fly out of their seats, and race down to the café, ready to choose their teams. Most of them probably had their teams in mind.
Mrs. Meyers looked satisfied. “Good. Now, if you’d all line up at the door in an orderly fashion, we’ll head down to the caf-” she began, but the class had already rushed out of their seats, and was more or less lined up neatly at the door. “eteria.” Mrs. Meyers finished. “Well, if you’re all ready . . . Okay, Brian, lead us down!” she called. Brian Anderson bobbed his head, and began marching down the hallway, his class hot on his heels.
As Shelby walked down the hallway, staring absently at various posters stuck to corkboards that read things such as, “My Life Map!” or, “All About Me!”, she felt a slight prodding on her back, and turned around to see Lucy, her green eyes shining. “You’re going to be on my team, right?” she asked, her green eyes shining.
“Well of course!” Shelby exclaimed, slowing down to match her friend’s pace. “I was worried that you wouldn’t want to be in my group,” she said, “you’re pretty popular, and you know it.”
Lucy immediately frowned, looking down at her lime green Converse. “I know,” she said glumly, “but I don’t want to be. But I can’t help it! It’s just who I am; cracking jokes, good grade,” she looked up, and flipped her wavy hair. “Good looks.”
Shelby laughed. “You see, this is why everyone loves you! Er, not that that’s a bad thing- more of a point proving thing, really,” Shelby said shrugging. “Anyways, who’s going to be in our group beside you, me, and Jade?” she asked.
“Well,” Lucy said, pursing her lips, “I was thinking maybe Annabelle, Danny, Charles, Rob, Cassy, and maybe Danielle . . .” she tilted her head, deep in thought. “That’s pretty much it, unless you had anyone else in mind,” Lucy said.
“You forgot Carol,” Shelby began, “and Fern, Rosie, Peter, Derek, and Alice.” she said. She stuck out one hand, and began counting her fingers. “But that’s only fifteen people. Where’re we going to come up with ten more . . . ?” Shelby said, frowning.
Lucy shrugged. “Who knows? We’re probably forgetting a ton of people that we won’t remember until we get there. The whole school’s going to be there, so we’ll have a better chance of getting more people.” she said. She peered around the hallway, where most of the kids had scattered into groups, and were chattering loudly. “See, we’re almost at the café, and look at how many people there are! We know most of ‘em, too,” she said.
“Um,” Shelby said, rolling her eyes, “correction: you know most of the people. I, on the other hand, couldn’t name half of the grade. You, on the other hand, can name three quarters of the school.” she said.
Lucy rolled her eyes as well. “I know, I know. But still.” As they approached the cafeteria, Lucy stretched up enough to let her fingers trail on the low part of the ceiling. “I love being tall.” she snickered.
“And I,” Shelby said, leaping up to let her index finger just touch the ceiling, “love being short- no, not short, but fun sized.” she said. “Together, we are fun sized and king sized. How perfect is that?” she laughed.
“Almost like we were meant to be,” Lucy chuckled, briefly giving Shelby a half-hug.
As they filed in the café, the Mrs. Meyers’ class sat in the back table, as they were the last class to enter. The lights were dimmed, so that the students could just see, and at the front of the room, there was an overhead projector set up. In front of it stood the school’s principle, Mr. McMillins.
“Hello,” Began McMillins, once everyone had stopped chattering and was staring idly up ahead, “and thank you for coming- not that you had much choice,” he joked. “But, anyways, here are the rules and guidelines about what is about to happen. For those of you who don’t know, the whole school will be playing a massive game of hide-and-seek- one grade at a time. The eighth graders have already gone, and were told not to tell anyone of this, to keep it a surprise.” he paused, and turned his head to where Abby Mitten was raising her hand. “Yes?” McMillins said, inquiring for her to speak.
“I heard from my sister, Gabby that we were going to be playing hide-and-seek. I didn’t really believe her, so I didn’t tell anyone. Does that mean that she’s going to get in trouble?” Abby asked, cocking her head.
McMillins pursed his lips. “Thank you for telling us this, Abby. I’ll contact you -and Gabby- after the assembly, and if you have any further questions, than I’ll be more then happy to answer them for you. Okay?”
Abby nodded, and folded her hands in her lap, but not before flipping her strawberry blonde hair, sending a wave of fruity perfume across the room.
“Anyways,” McMillins said, “I assume that most of you already know what’s going on by now, so I’m not going to waste my breath telling you over and over again, because then you’ll just get bored and tune me out, never know when to tune back in, and miss all’ve the directions. Anyways, on my word ‘go’, you will be able to make ten groups of twenty five. Now, before I begin, are there any questions?” he scanned the room, looking for hands.
Katie was raising her hand again, a scowl (which Shelby was convinced was set there permanently) shouted out, “But what if I’m not playing? Do I still need to make a group?”
“Yes,” McMillins said, “or else the groups will not be even. Now, unbelievably, everyone is here today, so there shouldn’t be any odd people out.” he scanned the room one last time. “Any more questions? No? Okay. GO!” As soon as McMillins shouted the magic word, absolute chaos broke out. Screaming, angry or delighted broke out, and people were running everywhere. Students were tugging each other by the arms, begging people to join their measly groups.
Shelby looked over to see Lucy shrinking down in her seat, as more and more people came up to ask her to be in their group. And time after time, Lucy would politely decline, over and over and over.
Jade, who had somehow become separated from Lucy and Shelby, came slinking from behind a couple staring dreamily into each other’s eyes. “Hey, I finally found you!” she exclaimed, standing beside Lucy’s chair. Then her face fell. “Wait, I am in your guy’s right?” she asked hurriedly. “I- I mean I was wrong to just assume that I was going to be in your group. With Lucy being so popular and what not, you probably have more then enough people to be in your group, so why am I even bothering asking. I-”
“Dude,” Lucy laughed, “chill. You, me, and Shelby are always going to be in the same group, no matter what! You’ll never have to think that you’ll be left out, Jade Kaylight, you remember that!” she said as if she were scolding her; maybe she was.
Chapter 1 part 2
Jade looked almost embarrassed. Well, Shelby thought, that just goes to show how modest that Jade can be. Shelby smiled and said, “Yeah, Jade. Honestly, you’d never have to worry about not being in our group; it’s an unwritten rule.” she said.
Jade smiled as well. “So who else will be joining our group?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.
“Well, first off Annabelle, so just look for golden ringlets . . . She shouldn’t have a group, and if she does it ought to be small, as she has a very small clique of friends. Actually, now that I think of it, she’ll probably be with Cassy and Danielle. So look for golden curls, long blonde hair, and short dark brown curls.” Lucy said.
“Okay,” Jade said, “but why hair? What if they’re facing us?”
Lucy grinned. “Then two pairs of blue eyes, and one pair of deep green. Are there any questions, ladies?” she asked, still smiling.
“Ma’am no ma’am!” Shelby shouted, giving Lucy a mock solute. The three girls laughed, and turned their backs on each other, looking for anyone else that may want to join their group. As Shelby’s enormous brown eyes scanned the tidal wave of students, she spotted the short brown hair of Danny, and next to him the blonde hair of Charles. Immediately, Shelby elbowed Jade. “I see Charles!” she hissed, “and Danny!”
Jade’s eyes shone. “Great! Are they with a group?” she questioned, her blue eyes searching intently through the crowd, looking for her almost-boyfriend, and Shelby’s crush.
Shelby shook her head, as they two boys looked around, seemingly very alone. “No, I don’t think so. They appear to be alone, very, very alone.” Shelby said, squinting to make sure that they weren’t with the pretty redhead behind them.
“Excellent!” Jade cried, as she sprang forward in the direction of the lone friends. It took her maybe eleven paces to reach them, before her blue eyes softened, and she started speaking lowly to them. Since they were some what far away, Shelby couldn’t hear their conversation well, and all she heard was the low murmur of Jade’s voice.
Suddenly, Charles nodded enthusiastically, while Danny shrugged with a smile on his face. Is he smiling . . . At me?! Shelby thought nervously as the group approached them. And if he was . . . Why? We barely talk, and when we do, it’s nothing! Is it possible that he fancies me? She thought excitedly. “. . . Shelby? Are you okay?” came Danny’s soft voice. Was it slightly worried. “Can you hear me? Are you okay?” he repeated, frowning.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “Yes, yes I’m fine. Just . . . Thinking,” she said with a smile. She tapped her noggin, giggling. “There’s a lot of crazy stuff up here, you know.”
Danny grinned. “Oh, I’m sure. But some of it’s not crazy . . . Some of it’s actually pretty cool. You’re brilliant, Shelb. Even when you won’t admit it to yourself, you are. And, to top it all off, you’re awesome,” he said, his dark blue eyes softening.
Shelby could feel herself blush a deep scarlet. “Um, thanks, Danny. That um, means a lot,” she murmured, looking away. When she looked back up, everyone that Lucy had named was standing in a small cluster, their heads all bent together as they murmured their ideas to each other. Lucy was wondering around the emptying café, herding any stragglers over to her group. From the looks of things, Shelby’s group only needed five more people to make twenty-five, and it looked like it was going to be too easy. Already, their group consisted of: Herself, Jade, Lucy, Danny, Charles, Annabelle, Alice, Fern, Derek, Peter, Rosie, Cassy, Danielle, Carol, Rob, Jess, Jake, Brad, Katrina, and Sophie.
“We don’t really have a lot of people in our group,” Shelby mused.
“What are you talking about?” Danny said, laughing. “We have just about twenty people in our group! It’s almost done!”
“I know, I know,” Shelby said, “but I mean, compared to anyone else. Most of the groups are done. All Lucy’s doing is getting the people who weren’t picked over here on our team. I don’t know half of them!” Shelby said, pursing her lips.
“You know me!” came a friendly voice from behind them. Shelby turned to see none other than Jared Arnk- her ex-boyfriend- he also happened to be one of Danny’s best friends. How coincidental.
“H-hey man, was sup?” Danny laughed, fist pounding Jared, and giving him a manly half-hug. “I haven’t seen you since you went skiing for a week! Where’ve you been, man?”
“Skiing, dude! That’s my passion, my life . . .” his gaze rested on Shelby, and he smiled. “You should know that more then anyone, Shelby.” he said.
Shelby was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She’d never really liked Jared; in fact, it had been a dare to ask him out, and she’d received twenty dollars for doing it. Of course, everyone was shocked when Jared had actually said yes. Shelby wasn’t sure what it was exactly that she didn’t like about him- maybe it was his cocky attitude, or maybe the way he looked when he was angry, like he wanted to lash out at you, and hit you. Just his gaze resting on Shelby made her feel fidgety, and she had the desperate urge to go and try to round up people for their group with Lucy. “I . . .” she started to say, but stopped. What could she say? What should she say? “I’m going to go get people to get people to join our group. There’s only sixteen, and we need four more-”
“Not to worry, Shelby! Now we have twenty!” came a cheerful voice from behind her. Lucy.
“O-Okay, good.” Shelby said. “May I ask who joined our group?” she questioned, gazing around at their cluster of people. She only recognized one person that she didn’t recognize; a pretty blonde, with odd silvery eyes.
“Sure! That blonde over there is a German exchange student, Gretta. She’s pretty cool, but she’s awful quiet. Nice enough, though her heavy accent makes it hard to understand half the stuff she says. But from what I can understand, she loves hide-and-seek, and she’s pretty good at it. Her petite figure lets her squeeze into a lot of places no one would think to look!” she exclaimed. “Oh, and Tiffany, Alex, and Greg joined as well. Over all, a pretty good group,” Lucy sounded satisfied.
After Lucy had finished chattering, teachers began organizing kids without a group into groups that needed one or two more people. Once all ten groups were properly organized, McMillins hopped onto the stage in front of the over head projector again. “Now that you all have your groups,” he began, “we can start to talk about the rules that your teacher hasn’t gone over, and the overall procedure. To begin,” he said, pressing the ON button the projector. Instantly, a green background with bold black writing that read, “RULES” filled up the massive screen by the back of the stage. “The rules.” he finished, stepping off of the stage, and staring up at his screen.
He pressed the remote in his and, and the screen dissolved, and was replaced by more bold words that read, “RULE NUMBER 1: YOU MUST STAY WITH YOUR GROUP AT ALL TIMES.” After a couple of minutes, he pressed the remote again, and it read, “RULE NUMBER 2: YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED INTO ANY AREAS WITH LIGHTS ON.” He pressed another button, “NUMBER 3: IF THE GROUPS “IT” HAVE NOT FOUND EVERYONE, A BLOWHORN WILL GO OFF, AND EVERYONE MUST COME OUT OF THEIR HIDING SPACES, AND START ANOTHER ROUND.” More and more basic rules were shown, as were the consequences to any rule breakers. It also stated that the game would go from 10:00 p.m., to 1:00 a.m. It was also revealed that the office had contacted everyone’s parents, and that most of them were okay with this.
After the slideshow, more teachers came around and assigned everyone their group names. When it came turn for Shelby’s group to receive their name, the teacher, Ms. Jenkins, stated, “Your group name is Group Number Thirteen.”
“Ooh,” Lucy said, “an unlucky number. This is going to be interesting.”
Danny shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is," he said, "thirteen's just a number, and nothing more. I mean, really,superstition isn't exactly real now, is it?"
Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. But who cares? This is going to be epic!" she cried, "a game of hide and seek, and-" her face lit up. "Oh! I just remembered! My mom said that I was having a party after school. I had no idea why, but now I know. She said something about the whole grade being invited? Anyways, I don't care. It's going to be really fun," she exclaimed.
"No way," Shelby uttered, "your parties are the best! And, really, the whole grade?! That's a lot of people."
"Yeah," agreed Danny, "the whole grade. How will your house hold everyone?"
Lucy laughed dryly. "Obviously you haven't seen my house," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "There's plenty of room for the whole school, and then some!" she exclaimed. "So, to answer you question, yes, there'll be enough room for the seventh graders. Also, my mom said she had a whole list of things to do. And," she smiled slyly, "one of them I know for sure was skin the bottle."
"No way!" Fern cried, "we're too young! I mean, most of us are thirteen! My mom says that I can't even think about kissing until I'm thirty!"
Jade, Shelby, and Lucy rolled their eyes. “Oh, littler Fern,” Lucy sighed, “older than most kids, but more immature than most fifth graders.” she finished, laughing.
Fern turned a shade of red. “That’s what you think!” she said crossly. “But I’ll be the one at your party the bottle always lands on. You’ll see!” she exclaimed. She turned around, as if to stomp away, but soon realized she couldn’t leave her group, so she sighed, her back still facing away from the three girls.
“Katrina! What the..! Why are you sitting down?” asked a raised voice that could only belong to Peter.
Katrina grinned goofily, her pin straight mud-brown hair swaying. “I felt like it. You know, it does get quite boring -and tiring- standing up all the time Especially since I have competitive gymnastics after school! I need all the energy I can muster up,” she finished, sprawling her legs out in front of her. “I wouldn’t mind a nap either . . . Does anyone have a pillow, by any chance?” she asked seriously, glancing around the room.
Shelby turned to see Peter shaking his head, while laughing. His short ginger hair appeared to be gleaming in the light, glowing with health- or grease. “Trina, or Trina. Where did they go wrong with you?”
“Hmm?” Trina chided, turning to look up at him, her brown eyes shining.
“He said,” Carol said, raising her index finger, “that you were thrown as a baby, bounced off the wall, hit the ceiling fan, and landed on concrete. Or at least he thought it,” she ended, shrugging.
Trina looked confused. “How did you know? I thought that my mom only told me and my brother . . .” she screwed up her face, obviously deep in thought. “Oh well. Word must’ve gone around that I’m just a special child,”
“Do you buy it?” asked a heavy British accent. Shelby turned to see Mable, eyeing her, her navy blue eyes staring at Danny, though her question was obviously directed at Shelby. Mable had transferred years ago, (apparently their middle school was a popular place for exchange students) and her raven black hair, and striking eyes had made her popular with the boys immediately. Currently, she was dating Tom Hill, but it wasn’t exactly a secret that she fancied Danny- this alone made Shelby dislike her, but she supposed that she was nice enough.
“Buy what?” she asked, not exactly caring about whatever it was Mable was trying to tell her.
“That that Trina person was actually dropped as a baby, or course! I think that it’s absolutely rubbish. Don’t you think?” she asked, her blue eyes stopped looking Danny up and down, and switched their penetrating gaze to Shelby.
“I- er . . . I think she just likes to be funny. But, I mean, with Trina, anything is really possible.”
Mable shrugged, flipping her long glossy hair. “Whatever. That girl drives me mad.” she said. “Oh, and just to let you know, I swapped with Tiffany, and I’m now in your group. I’m not too fond of this game, but it’s worth it. Also, did you get Lucy’s party invitation? Tonight, at seven. It said that there would be spin the bottle . . .” she glanced back at Danny, and her eyes glinted. “He’s mine.” she said firmly.
Shelby almost blew a fuse. “He doesn’t date.” she said loudly. “I’m going to go find Lucy. If you want to stand around, and stare at Danny like a creepy stalker, than be my guest!” she exclaimed. She stalked over to where Jade and Shelby were chattering excitedly together, leaving Mable alone. She didn’t even seem to notice Shelby’s absence, as her eyes were still glued to Danny.
“Gosh, she makes me so mad!” Shelby exclaimed crossly.
“Who?” Jade asked, her brilliant turquoise eyes full of concern. “Do you need to talk to someone? You know you can always talk to me or Lucy- or both. That’s what friends are for, Shelby. But, if you need time to just be alone, then that’s fine too. I think you wanted to talk though, because you came to us, but-” she broke off. “I’m so stupid, babbling on like this. What’s on your mind, Shelby?” she asked.
“It’s stupid Mable!” she wailed, placing her head in her hands.
Immediately, Jade and Lucy knew what was wrong. She took either side of Shelby, and began trying to comfort her. “She’s got a good chance of him liking her. I don’t have the slightest!” she said bitterly. When she looked up, she noticed that most people had cleared out of the café, and the only people that were left were her, Jade, Lucy, Annabelle, Charles, Jared, and Danny.
Danny, looking over in their direction, began maneuvering his way over to them, frowning. When he had reached them, he murmured, “Shelby? What’s wrong?” he asked, worriedly. “Are you okay?”
Shelby hadn’t even realized that tears were streaming down her face, until she looked at her wet hands. Well, she thought, that just goes to show how much she actually liked him, how much it would hurt her for him to be with someone else. “You.” she muttered.
“What?” Danny asked, cocking his head slightly. Perplexed, he looked at Jade, who was biting her lip, then to Lucy, who was smiling a tiny bit.
“It’s you, Danny! Mable likes you, and she says that ‘you’re hers’, but I don’t want you to be hers! Because, Danny, the truth is, I love you! And I have since the fourth grade, but apparently you were just to blind to know! How could you be so blind? It was so obviously!” She cried. And with that, she bolted out of the auditorium.
Chapter 1 part 3
“I told you my plan would work.” Mable said smugly, leaning against a blue beam in the middle of the café. The shade of blue of the beam seemed to match her blue eyes.
Jade bit her lip, frowning. “I don’t know about this. I mean, tricking Shelby into telling her most deepest, guarded secret, just so you can prove a point? That’s positively evil!” she exclaimed, standing up from her chair. “And I’m going after her!” she too, bolted out of the door, and raced after Shelby, though Lord knew where she was.
In the meantime, Danny was shaking his head. “Unbelievable.” he muttered. “And all this time, I never knew…” he began rubbing his temples, pushing his short hair back. “Mable, when you first told me that you suspected that Shelby . . . ‘fancied’ me, I didn’t believe you. But, now . . . Now that you’ve told me . . . I . . .”
“Go on,” Mable encouraged, slinking forward, closer to him. “How do you feel about that?”
“I . . .” Danny paused, his head reappearing from his hands. “I don’t know, Mable.”
Jade had found Shelby sobbing in the bathroom, her usually bright brown eyes sparkled with tears, and her usually pretty auburn hair was ruffled and untidy. She truly looked awful, Jade thought. “Shell?” she whispered, carefully pushing forward the half-open door. “Shell, it was all a trick,” she murmured, crouching down to where Shelby had looked up at her.
“W-what do you mean?” she stammered. Stray tears still ran from her eyes. She began trying to stand up, but teetered, and crouched down again. “How was that a trick?” she demanded.
Jade bit her lip, and twiddled her thumbs. “Well,” she began, “Mable knew that you liked Danny- or at least, she suspected you did. So, she told Danny, but he didn’t believe her. So she came up with this scheme to prove to Danny that you liked him.” Jade dropped Shelby’s gaze. “And, it worked. Thankfully, we were the only ones in the caf, so no one heard us -except Danny.” she said.
Shelby moaned. “So I overreacted? All of this was just some sort of sick joke?” she wailed.
“Um,” Jade said, “yeah, I guess you could put it like that.” she said, shrugging.
“So what does he think?” Shelby asked, scrambling over to Jade. “What does Danny think of all this? Does he like me? Does he not? Before you left, Jade, tell me, what happened? What did you hear, see, and do?”
“Well . . .” she began, “Mable began boasting that her plan had worked. And Danny looked horrified -not that you liked him- about how she’d done it. So, I pretty much called her evil, and left the caf.” Jade said, shrugging again. “But, I think that you should go back, and give Mable a piece of your mind!” she crowed.
“I guess,” Shelby said, “but she’ll make up some ridicules story, and then I’ll be the one in trouble. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before,” she sighed, shaking her head. Shelby unsteadily stood up, using the back of a toilet to support her. “Well, let’s go anyways.” she said, shrugging.
Jade stood up more gracefully, and smiled. “Sure.” she said. “I believe everyone went to the gym for something more, but I’m sure no one has noticed our absence. With two hundred and fifty kids, and two missing, I’m sure that no one’s noticed!”
“Why,” Ms. Fisher drawled, “are you missing two students from your group?” she looked up at Lucy from behind her narrow glasses frame, with beady piggy eyes. She glanced down at her clipboard, and flipped through multiple sheets of paper. “It seems that Miss Kaylight, and Miss Grey are missing from your group. Why?” she demanded again.
“They had to go to the bathroom,” Lucy lied smoothly. It wasn’t exactly a lie, though. She was sure that Shelby had gone straight to the bathroom, and Jade would’ve known this.
“For twenty minutes?” she asked, raising her thin eyebrows. “There’s something suspicious about that, and the fact that the pair are best friends, and are both missing!” she exclaimed. “I can tell you’re lying, Miss Kirn, so please tell me the truth. Where are your friends?”
“Ms. Fisher,” Lucy began hastily, “I can assure you that I’m not lying! If they’re not in the bathroom, than I don’t know where they are. Perhaps they forgot something, maybe a sweatshirt, in the cafeteria? And maybe they both went so that they wouldn’t be alone? Honestly, I don’t know where they are!” Lucy repeated. She turned to Danny, whose eyes looked like they were somewhere else besides the gym. He’d been like this ever since he found out, Lucy thought. He was daydreaming- but of what? Was he thinking of hideous things to say to Shelby when she got back? Or perhaps ask her to the movies tomorrow? Honestly, Lucy thought, what goes on in a boy’s mind?
“Miss Kirn!” Ms. Fisher burst out again, “why in the world are you staring at Mr. Robinson?”
“Hmm? Oh,” she said, slyly, “I was just thinking that he may know where they’ve disappeared to. I’m quite positive that he was the last one who’d talked to them before they left. Perhaps he knows where they’ve run off to?” she suggested. “If not, than we’d better send a search party out!” she joked.
“I don’t appreciate your humor!” Fisher snapped, marching off in Danny’s direction. Lucy wasn’t sure why she’d dumped this all on Danny. But Lucy was suddenly tired, and didn’t feel like doing anything. Instead, she remembered back to this morning, when the strange men had contacted her as she was walking to school . . .
“Hello, Lucy!” Pauline the crossing guard called cheerfully. Her breath made puffy clouds appear. Her wrinkly face was half-buried in a colorful scarf that was whipping in the cold morning wind. Lucy had known her since she was just a girl, maybe seven. Ever since she’d first started walking to school, with her parents.
“Morning!” Lucy called equally cheerful. As she approached Pauline, the older woman’s facial expression changed, as if she’d just remembered something of great interest. “Pauline,” Lucy said, “is something the matter? You look . . . Different.”
“I just remembered,” she said, “as I walked to work today, there was a black van parked in front of your school. It couldn’t have been much earlier than five, but that’s not the point. I felt like I’d recognized the van somewhere. Maybe on the news, or the paper, or something like that. I wish I could remember why . . .”
“Was there anyone inside the van?”
“Oh yes. Six men, to be precise. All of them looked so much alike, they could be sextuplets!” she exclaimed. “They were all around forty, and had five ‘o clock shadow, all wearing black hats. They seemed friendly enough, when they eventually noticed me. They seemed to be looking at a sort of pamphlet, and they appeared to be watching your school through binoculars.” she said, cocking her head slightly. “There wasn’t anything scheduled to be going on at the school today, was there Lucy?”
“No, not that I know of. How peculiar,” she murmured. She shuffled her black Uggs in the snow, trying to warm her freezing feet. “Well, I’d better get going now, or I’ll be late. See you, Pauline!” she called, jogging off in the direction of her middle school.
“Good bye!” Pauline hollered, waving. “I just wish I knew where I’d seen those men before . . .” she muttered to herself. As she watched Lucy’s figure disappear, it hit her- but, then she lost it again. Discouraged, she waved her “STOP” sign, nearly causing an accident.
As Lucy approached her school, always the earliest, she did indeed notice the black van that Pauline had told her about. Four men appeared to be bickering silently, while the last two observed the school, and wrote notes. As she warily approached them, (she had no choice, as they were right by hr only entrance to the school) one of the note takers looked up, and smiled, revealing rotten missing teeth. “’Ello, there, pretty gal,” he said. “You go here?”
Nervous, Lucy nodded slowly. She continued walking, but one of the men ran up to her. “You know anything about a game goin’ on here?” he demanded.
Lucy shook her head. “No. Now stop bugging me!”
The man nodded. “Very well, pretty. See you . . . around.” he began howling with laughter.
Startled, Lucy began booking it to the front door, where she was welcomed by McMillins, who ushered her hurriedly upstairs to her classroom. Once there, Mr. Ronco, her homeroom teach looked distraught. “What did they say to you?” McMillins demanded.
“They asked if I went to school here, and asked me if I knew anything of some sort of game,” Lucy explained. “They’re mad! Frightening too, don’t you think?”
Mr. Ronco’s face was grim. “Evan,” he began. Lucy knew her principal’s name was Evan, but she’d never heard anyone call him that, even the teachers, “we should hold off. I-it’s too dangerous! I don’t trust them, and they look too much like those people they showed on the news last night, even if they don’t own a red pick up truck. There’s just something off, and I think that school should be canceled as well . . .”
“Nonsense,” McMillins said, waving his hand dismissively. “Honestly, Arnold, you worry to much. School will go on as planned, as will our activity. But, we will take caution, and that’s all I can say. The parents are already informed, and probably already have plans made. What kind of school would we look like if we changed it?”
Mr. Ronco’s facial expression didn’t change. “Lucy,” he said. It was the first time either of them had addressed her since they’d asked her what the strange man had said to her. “Why don’t you go and pass out day starters while Principal McMillins and I . . . talk,” he said.
Lucy nodded, very slowly. “O-of course,” she said. “Where are they? On your desk, or by the overhead?”
“On my desk, Miss Kirn.” Mr. Ronco said dismissively.
As Lucy handed out papers to every desk, she tried to tune into her teacher’s conversion, but had no success, as they were talking in soft murmurs. Once in a while, there was a distraught outburst, which quickly ended. And once the first bus had dropped off its batch of kids, McMillins departed back to his office, leaving Mr. Ronco flustered. He sighed, for there was nothing more he could do. So, he went back to his desk as Lucy took her seat in the left corner of the back row.
“Where were you two?” Demanded Ms. Fisher. Shelby wasn’t sure where the “Ms.” part came from; it was quite obvious that she wasn’t married.
“We were in the bathroom,” Jade said, throwing Fisher a “Wow, are you really that stupid?” look. “I thought Lucy told you . . . She said that she would . . .” Jade said, sounding confused.
Ms. Fisher looked flabbergasted. “She- she’d told me that, but I didn’t believe her. But, for once your stories actually match up . . .” she paused. “Wait. Why were you two in there together?” She narrowed her beady eyes, and wagged her sausage finger at the two girls.
“Well, you know what they say,” Shelby said, “two bladders go together! No, wait, am I thinking of another saying?” she asked, glancing at Jade. “Well, either way, we went to the bathroom. We’re all better now!” she said, cheerfully.
Ms. Fisher’s eyes narrowed to teeny slits. “You’re okay now, Kaylight and Grey, but any funny business tonight will result in detention- maybe even suspension. So do anything tonight that you expect that I won’t know about. There’s nothing that goes on in this school that I don’t know about. So just remember that I’m watching you kids. I’m always watching.” And with that, she spun on her fat high heeled shoe, and began screeching at more unsuspecting students.
“Well,” Shelby said, “that was too close for comfort.”
“I know,” Jade said, walking over to her group. “We need to be more careful next time- though hopefully, there won’t be a next time,” she said firmly, stopping when she was on Lucy’s left side.
Lucy looked relieved. “Hey, guys . . . ?” she said. She looked like something was on her mind, that something was bothering her. Without waiting for her friends to answer, she quickly told them of Pauline seeing the strange men outside of her school, how the six men had asked her if she went her, and what they were going to be doing today, and how McMillins and Mr. Ronco had been concerned about it, and even talked about canceling hide-and-seek. “So,” Lucy concluded, “something’s definitely up. And I’m not sure what, but it’s bad,” she said.
Jade’s face was a mask of horror. “Lucy,” she gaped, “you did see those men on the news! Those men- they were . . . There was something bad about them . . . But, that’s not the point! They’ve been searching for them, for weeks!”
Chapter 1 part 4
Shelby and Lucy looked perplexed, before Lucy uttered out, “Pauline said something about them being on the news! She couldn’t remember why, but they were . . . She seemed almost worried about it, though. I think something’s up for Mr. Ronco to be so upset . . .” she looked around, as if trying to see something that would spark a memory, and tell her where she’d seen those men on the news. “I . . .” she began, “I know I’ve seen them somewhere . . . Maybe it was the paper mum was reading? Oh, I don’t know. I can try to ask Mr. Ronco, or see if the school paper has anything on them-”“Shelby?” called a soft voice, not very far behind her. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest. Danny. Was he here to tell her that he hated her, and that he was dating Mable? Or to get lost, because her stupid crush on him would only ruin their friendship? Or, Shelby thought, would he tell her that he loved her?”
“Y-yes?” she stammered, spinning on her grey UGG boot. His untidy blonde hair was just the way she’d always remembered it- the way she loved it. And his piercing blue eyes were boring straight into her chocolate brown ones.
“I . . .” he paused, and swallowed hard, dropping her gaze. “I-I came here to tell you that I-I-”
“Students may now return to their classrooms, seeing as our hide-and-seek assembly is now over!” came McMillins’ voice.
But before Shelby could say anything, and ask what he was going to say, Danny was being dragged away by Charles and Jared. He looked back, and gave her a kind of apologetic smile. But deep down, he was angry at Charles and Jared. How dare they? He was really going to tell her this time, tell her the truth. In fact, the words still lingered on his tongue: love you, too.
Unfortunately, Shelby thought, this stupid assembly took up all of our time, and now we have to go home! Oh, she thought, what I wouldn’t give to find out what Danny was going to say! He what? Loved her? Hated her? There were many possibilities. Too many.
“Wassa matter, Shelby?” The voice was Lucy’s. She was standing just ahead of Shelby, eyeing her carefully. “You look deep in thought, and maybe in pain. What’s up?”
“Just thinking . . . Of Danny.”
Lucy smiled sadly. “I wonder what he was going to say,” she mused. “it couldn’t have been anything bad, if you saw his face. He was . . . Sort of happy, like he was revealing a secret. Perhaps he was . . .” she pondered this thought, replaying what had happened as Shelby left. Not really anything. Danny had just been in a daze . . .
Shelby smiled. “You think so? Well, hopefully, he likes me too. If not, I don’t think I can go on living!” she said, jokingly. She looked up at the clock, and frowned. “Two-fifteen,” she said. “We’d better get going, or we’ll miss the bus!” she exclaimed, fretfully.
Lucy nodded, and trudged off toward the double doors, where the rest of the bus-ers were exiting. Missing the bus, Lucy thought, is not a very fun experience. You have to sit in the office, while they call your unhappy parents, and tell them that they must pick you up, since you missed the bus. Depending on how you missed it, you will get a detention. “You ever missed the bus?” Lucy asked, cocking her head slightly.
A shudder passed through Shelby’s entire body. “Yes,” she said finally. “Yes, I have, and I never will again. The office gave me one weeks worth of office detentions, and my mom was pissed off. Never again,” she repeated.
Lucy smiled. “How exactly did you miss it?” She asked, as they stepped outside into the warming air. She inhaled happily. This was her favorite time of year.
“Well,” Shelby began, “it was the day that I broke up with Jared.” she looked up at a large fluffy cloud, that resembled a tortoise. “He began crying, so I tried comforting him, but he pushed me away. The office didn’t believe me, and when Jared asked what happened, that said I kicked him! So, yeah, they gave me office detentions.”
Lucy smiled. “Jerk,” she muttered. “If he shows his face tonight, I’ll. . . I’ll . . .” she wracked her brains, trying to think of something devious to do to Jared. How dare he treat her best friend like that? The nerve of him, lying like that!
“. . . . Lucy? Lucy! I see your dad’s van. Shouldn’t we be going over now . . .?”
Lucy hadn’t realized that she’d stopped, until Shelby’s voice and roused her from her plot. “I- oh! Yeah, let’s head over. You’re helping me set up, right? There’s a lot to do, though, I must warn you,” she said.
Shelby nodded, excited now. “I’m game!”
“Is everything set up in the den?” Lucy called from the basement.
Shelby inspected the large room, that the Kirns called the den. The floor was wooden, but covered in a dull blue rug. Four matching cream couches surrounded a small wooden coffee table. On the table, was a cream placemat, matching the couches. On top of the placemat, wasn an empty wine bottle. “Yes!” Shelby called, “yes, everything’s perfect!”
Downstairs in the basement, Lucy inspected the games/dance floor section. Her large, carpeted basement looked like a nightclub. Lucy’s mom, Diane, had set up a mini disco ball that was hanging from the middle of her ceiling. Strobe lights were set up by a large stereo, that would play local hit music. In each corners stood games; air hockey in one corner, a ping pong table in another, and other games Lucy didn’t know the names of, as her mom had set the games up.
Behind her mother’s miniature bar counter, were hundreds of bags of snacks. Beer and wine had been replaced with water and soda. “Good!” Lucy called finally. “The basement is perfect! It looks like a real night club! Hey, come down here! Mum’s not letting us see anything else, because she wants us to be just as surprised!”
Not a moment after she’d called, Lucy heard Shelby barreling down the stairs. She could practically see her, as she skidded to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, and charged down two more flights of stairs, before she entered the basement. As Lucy heard the basement door slam, she looked up the carpeted stairs, to see Shelby flying down the stairs, and nearly collide with the ping pong table. “Whoa,” she murmured. “T-this place is amazing!” she spun around, taking everything in. “Your mom is awesome.”
Lucy put her hands on her hips in mock irritation. “Hey,” she said, “I did all of this! All my mom did was set up the games down here, and put the disco ball in! I set up everything!” she exclaimed, though her tone was friendly.
“And,” Shelby corrected, “buy the food. I’d be willing to bet that you didn’t do that now, did you?”
Lucy rolled her eyes, and tossed a pair of potato chips at Shelby, who, to her surprise, caught it. “I’m ninja,” Shelby said, opening the bag of chips. “So when’s Jade getting her? She was coming early, right?”
“Yeah, she should be coming about a half hour earlier than everyone else. Hey, do you by any chance know what time it is?”
Shelby blinked, staring at the small grey and pink watch on her wrist. “It’s four seventeen. So, the party starts at five, so that must mean. . . ”
“That Jade’s going to be here soon.” Lucy said excitedly. She grabbed her friends arm, and said, “c’mon! Let’s go wait for her!” without waiting for Shelby’s reaction, she bolted up the stairs, and into her grand living room, complete with a chandelier, and three couches. Lucy sat down on one of the dull blue couches, and pulled Shelby down next to her.
“She’s got to be here soon,” Shelby said, nestling into the soft cushions. “Was she bringing anyone with her, or was she coming alone?” she asked, glancing over at Lucy with large, soft brown eyes.
“I think that she was bringing someone with her- which is fine with me and my mom, but she wouldn’t tell us who it is, only that they go to school with us. I wonder who it is?” she asked, pursing her lips. She didn’t really hang out with anyone else except Shelby and herself. Who could she be bringing?
“What should we do while we wait?” Shelby wondered aloud. What should they do? There really wasn’t much, given that everything they could entertain themselves with was set up in one of the party rooms.
“I dunno.”
Shelby pursed her lips, and glanced around the room, hoping that Jade would hurry up and arrive, because she was bored. “Ugh, Jade, when will you get here?” she mumbled, lounging back further into the plush cushions.
Next to her, Lucy appeared to be dozing. Her green eyes were closed, and she was lightly snoring. Looking to peaceful to wake up, Shelby didn’t disturb her. The doorbell did. Rushing up from the couch, Shelby charged over to Lucy’s grand front door, and opened the door to a bright eyed Jade. “Hello,” she said slyly. “Look who I brought with me!” she lightly stepped aside to reveal the figure beside her. It was Danny. Stiffening, Shelby flung the scrunchie that was around her wrist at Lucy, rousing her from her rest.
“Wha-?” she exclaimed, waking with a start. Once she spotted her two guests, she leaped off of her couch, and ushered them in. “Er, welcome,” she began, “Danny, I didn’t know that you’d be coming tonight.”
Danny nodding. “Yeah, I was able to get in touch with Jade, and her mom said she’d be more than willing to take me, so, yeah . . .” he trailed off awkwardly, looking up at one of the many paintings that decorated Lucy’s walls.
Again, Shelby stiffened. Why Jade? What was so special about her? Was it possible that he liked Jade, and not herself? No! I mustn’t think these things! Shelby too, glanced around the room. “Awkward silence,” she said at last, half laughing.
Everyone seemed relieved as well, and began smiling and laughing. “So, um, when are the rest of the guests coming?” Danny asked, obviously trying to make small talk.
“Five ‘o clock.” the girls automatically replied in unison. Danny nodded, his eyes wandering back to the paintings on the walls. “People will probably arrive sooner or later, though,” Lucy put in. “Everyone always does that. It gets quite annoying, but,” she shrugged, “at least they come at all.”
“How do you like living in such a big house?” he mused lightly.
“It gets lonely at times,” Lucy admitted, “mum’s not here often, and when she is, she’s with Dad. Ever since he came home from Mexico month, he’s all that’s ever been on her mind. But, I have Jade and Shelby, and when Mum comes back from work before Dad, she spends time with me, which is good.” she said, a small smile on her lips.
Danny nodded. “I see. Living in a duplex, I’m never alone,” he explained, “so, fortunately, I don’t know the feeling.”
Lucy nodded, and the group fell back into another long, awkward silence. The minutes ticked away, and the grandfather clock in the corner read four fifty-six. People would arrive any minute. “I wonder who’ll come first?” Shelby mused, glancing back at Lucy’s front door. Was that a car coming down Lucy’s quiet street?
“Probably Charles,” Danny said, addressing Shelby for the first time.
Shelby nodded, looking back at the car put-putting along the freshly-paved street. It appeared to be a navy blue mini van. “Is that his car?” she asked, pointing a slender index finger in its direction.
Danny peered around Shelby’s slender-ish figure, and nodded, looking relieved. “Yes, that’s his car-- or at least one that looks a lot like his.” he said. He grinned as the van halted in front of Lucy’s long, winding driveway.
A slender figure that had to be Charles emerged, and began hurrying up to the front door. He began pounding on the door, peeking through the glass next to the front door. Once he spotted his friends, he grinned, and waved. Lucy walked over to the door fluently. She was very fluent in moving her hips; probably due to years of dance practice. She reached out a thin hand, and yanked open her door, as Charles stumbled in. “Hey!” he said, wiping the grime off of his shoes, and then tugging them off. “Am I the only one to officially arrive? I saw tons of cars, and I figured that they were all coming here . . .” he frowned, looking around Lucy’s empty house. “Huh, I am the only one here, aren’t I?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah, they should be coming soon. But, yes, for now, you’re the only one that’s formally arrived. What do you want to do first? There’s loads.” she explained, returning his grin.
Danny, Lucy, and Shelby rolled their eyes. Typical flirting, with them. Suddenly, Shelby frowned, sad. “Hey, guys . . .” she said, sadly. “I just remembered something.”
“What?” Lucy and Danny asked in unison, their concern level the same.
“Patrick’s not in our group!” she exclaimed. “I feel really sad now . . . He’s awesome! But I didn’t see him when we were picking groups . . . Perhaps someone will be willing to trade with him?”
By now, Shelby recognized -to her horror- Jared’s car strolling down the street, eight more cars following it. One by one, they stopped, and kids began streaming out. Shelby recognized them as everyone that was in Goup 6, (even Mable) with the exception of Noah, who was in Group 2. As soon as everyone approached the door, Lucy opened it excitedly for them, and began ushering people in, explaining where to put their sweatshirts, and where their shoes should go. Immediately, chatter broke out. But Shelby’s words still hung in the air, and Lucy walked over to her couch. She leaped up on it, and cleared her throat. “Attention,” she said, “now that all of Group 6 is here, I would like to say something.” she paused. “As you all know, Patrick Regned, is a dear, dear friend of ours. We would like him to be in Group 6, but someone would have to be willing to trade their spot for a Group 1 kid.” Hands raised before Lucy was done speaking. She frowned, biting her lip.
Murmurs of disagreement spread through the twenty-six kids, (with the exception of Charles, Dnny, Shelby, Jade and Lucy.)
“We don’t want him in our group!”
“Yeah, he’s in a wheel chair!”
“We’ll lose for sure!”
“I’ll trade! I don’t want to be with him!”
“He’s gross! I’m joining another group if he comes in!”
Shelby’s eyes gleamed with anger, and she roughly shoved her way over to the couch next to Lucy. “Why,” she began “would you say such . . . Such . . . horrible, such-such nasty things about someone?!” she shrieked, her face turning red with anger. “I’d be willing to bet,” she said, “that none of you even know why he’s in a wheelchair!! Do you?!”
An embarrassed silence passed over the group of kids. Shelby sneered. “Just what I thought! Now,” she said, holding up one wrist. A blue motivational bracelet fell down to her forearm. “Do you know what this says? It says, ‘End Duchenne.org’. I bet that none of you know what that is, do you?”
The kids looked around at each other, dumbfounded. “It means,” Shelby began, “that because of a rare . . .” she searched for the right word, “disease, Patrick can’t walk. The muscles in his legs have died. But, that doesn’t mean that Patrick isn’t like you in anyway, shape, or form, except for the fact that he may be unable to walk. He still laughs, he still loves, and most of all, he still has feelings. So if you heard someone calling you such dirty things, you wouldn’t be so happy. Would you?” she demanded, her furious gaze sweeping over the students.
“Patrick helped me with my homework once. I got an A+,” Brad Kennedy admitted. “He was really nice, and even invited me over. But I never called him back . . .” he said, embarrassed.
“Do you still have his number?” Shelby pressed, glancing at Brad, her eyes softening.
“Yes,” Brad said, “yes, I do. It’s on my fridge, but I never bothered calling him. I- I think that I will call him now. Not because I feel bad for him, or because I’m being forced to, but because, the truth is, he did seem pretty cool in study hall.” he looked away from Shelby, and scratched his head.
“Call him. Wait, no. Just tell him when he gets her.” Shelby instructed.
Chapter 1 part 5
Brad nodded, and slunk away from the crowd, and jumped onto he couch opposite Shelby and Lucy. Carol and Alice followed him, stretching out on either side of him. “I feel bad now,” Carol said, her amber eyes sad. “I feel like I’ve been so mean to him. But that’ll change!” she exclaimed, her eyes becoming more happy.
Shelby smiled warily. “Now I want to make sure that when Patrick arrives, I do not want him to be segregated. I’m not doing this because I feel bad for him; it’s no different than becoming someone’s new best friend because they dropped their book- it’s about liking Patrick for who he is.” she ended, and people began clapping. By now, Jade had let in at least thirty more people. Everyone who’d heard at least part of Shelby’s speech was clapping, and cheering.
Shelby bounced off of the couch as Lucy began to speak. “And now,” she said, “I would like to let this party begin! During Shelby’s . . . inspiring speech, I had Charles and Danny move a sign telling people to let themselves in. Now, what would you guys like to do first?”
*End of Chapter 1*
Last edited by PeggySnow on Tue 14 Dec 2010, 3:22 pm; edited 12 times in total
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Sat 13 Nov 2010, 5:13 pm
Awesome! I've always wanted to do that... A massive hide and seek game... I will definitely keep reading...
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Sat 13 Nov 2010, 5:49 pm
Thanks! And yeah, me too. Sadly it will probably never happen. :-\
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Sat 13 Nov 2010, 7:14 pm
I know... *sigh* Our school would be so scary to play in, though. There are a bunch of corners, and secret hallways... I seriously want to make a Marauder's Map of it...
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Sat 13 Nov 2010, 9:26 pm
Hehe. I wonder how one would make a Marauder's Map...
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Sat 13 Nov 2010, 9:39 pm
Well, obviously not a magical one, but I desperately want to map out my school.
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Dreamer Sat 13 Nov 2010, 11:52 pm
Omg, your school sounds amazing, Lauren. *dies* Map it out, seriously!
Anyway, interesting so far, Mir!
Anyway, interesting so far, Mir!
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Sat 13 Nov 2010, 11:58 pm
It's seriously awesome. And supposedly haunted. I'm not even joking, and I believe it.
More please? O.o
More please? O.o
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Sun 14 Nov 2010, 7:32 pm
Hmm, story time? xD
More added!
More added!
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Sun 14 Nov 2010, 7:43 pm
No... It freaks me out too much.
OOh.... I'm dying! MOOOOREEEE!!!!
OOh.... I'm dying! MOOOOREEEE!!!!
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by superdork11 Mon 15 Nov 2010, 8:28 am
It is kinda creepy, like our auditorium, Lauren and I refuse to go in there if the ghost light isn't on. It is haunted, I know it is.
Yes, I want to see how this plays out.... Mauahhaahahahahaha!
Ooh, Lauren, I love your sigge.
Yes, I want to see how this plays out.... Mauahhaahahahahaha!
Ooh, Lauren, I love your sigge.
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Mon 15 Nov 2010, 9:05 am
And then, I'll go in, and Josh turns the light of. Curse you, Josh. xD
I can't wait!
Thanks.
I can't wait!
Thanks.
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Mon 15 Nov 2010, 4:41 pm
Hmm... Ghost light? xD
More coming soon, I promise!
Ooh, I love it too!
More coming soon, I promise!
Ooh, I love it too!
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Mon 15 Nov 2010, 7:07 pm
Literally, there is a light in our performing arts center that's always on when the lights are off. It's called the ghost light, because it's supposed to ward off the ghosts that live in there...
Yay!
Thanks.
Yay!
Thanks.
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Mon 15 Nov 2010, 7:09 pm
That's weird.... I wonder how it got haunted in the first place?
Yep!
No problem!
Yep!
No problem!
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Mon 15 Nov 2010, 7:23 pm
Well, I know for a fact that a little boy fell 10-15 feet off the stage and into the orchestra pit and died a really long time ago...
Woohoo!
Woohoo!
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Mon 15 Nov 2010, 7:54 pm
Oh that's horrible! And really creepy at the same time...
Yeah!
Yeah!
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Mon 15 Nov 2010, 8:00 pm
More added now! I am to lazy to just add it all at once, but don't worry, they'll be plenty of time for suspense. 
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Mon 15 Nov 2010, 8:34 pm
Yeah, it was really bad...
Ooohhh... OOOOHHH! AHHH.... xD More sooooooonnn... O.o
Ooohhh... OOOOHHH! AHHH.... xD More sooooooonnn... O.o
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by superdork11 Mon 15 Nov 2010, 10:27 pm
Yeah, it was, but it was like, before we were born, I think... Not to sure though.
Yes, *agrees with Lauren* please do!
Yes, *agrees with Lauren* please do!
superdork11- Rising Star 1
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Age : 26
Location : Watching you. O.O
Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Tue 16 Nov 2010, 6:06 pm
Wow... Still!
More coming up! ...As soon as I write it.. xD
More coming up! ...As soon as I write it.. xD
PeggySnow- Scholar 3
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by superdork11 Wed 17 Nov 2010, 8:24 am
Yeah, it's pretty creepy.....
OKay, good. xDD Yeha, that's my problem too...
OKay, good. xDD Yeha, that's my problem too...
superdork11- Rising Star 1
- Posts : 3726
Points : 56935
Reputation : 16
Join date : 2009-11-04
Age : 26
Location : Watching you. O.O
Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Thu 18 Nov 2010, 3:40 pm
Yeah....
Haha, it's up!
Haha, it's up!
PeggySnow- Scholar 3
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Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by Tolly12bells Thu 18 Nov 2010, 7:18 pm
ROFL! I loved the ending! Spin the bottle. Ahahaha... "We're too young!" xD Can't wait for more! And are we going to get a party scene?
Tolly12bells- Rising Star 2
- Posts : 6116
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Location : On a midnight train going anywhere...
Re: `-Hide-and-Seek; a story of a deadly game-`
by PeggySnow Thu 18 Nov 2010, 8:55 pm
Oh, you bet. Thank you!
Thank you!
PeggySnow- Scholar 3
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Join date : 2009-09-18
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Similar topics» ~The Story With No Name~ By Me :)
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» Unfinished Story Section
» A Skier's Lie: A short story
» Real Love Story : A song by Dream
» this story is yet to be named. A Seto No Hanayome fanfiction
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