My GotY Stories

[NatKaya]

Next chapter is McKenna, then... I don't know. Yet.

[NatKaya]

Chapter thirty five- McKenna
As I watched Gwen and 12 being led up the aisle, and saw the look on the judge's face (it wasn't good), I sighed. Could this have been averted? If I had said something when Gwen and 12 left, or when they came back and one looked at me, or if Innerstar U had simply had different seating, none of this would have happened. "12, tell us what happened," the judge said as he turned towards my friend and the MAG being spoken to. Then 12 told all. How she had heard about the GotY building, despite no others learning of it. Only her. How she had looked up, seen Gwen, and knew. How Gwen told her everything, about us and there. How she had suggested they switch, not just for Gwen's sake, but also her own. How they had carried it through, and everything afterward. And suddenly I felt like I liked her, this MAG I never really knew, and believed her. But not everyone felt that way.

[NatKaya]

I might not be writing more for a while, I am having writer's block. I can't decide what to write next. It might be Marisol, but that's all I've got. If anyone has a suggestion, please tell me!

[NatKaya]

Chapter thirty six- Marisol
So 12 did it. It was 12's idea to do the thing that put Gwen on the judgement seat. It was 12 who ended up getting them arrested. All 12. And this did not amuse me. Gwen would be punished for someone else's plan. And then the judge said, "First witness- McKenna Brooks." "M-me?" McKenna stuttered, seeming shocked by the announcement. "Yes. You. Now come up here." McKenna didn't move, frozen in her shock. "Kanani." Kanani looked up. "Help McKenna up here." Kanani glanced nervously at Lanie for a split second, then nodded, a quick, short jerk of her head. She took McKenna's hand, and Saige gave McKenna a little push. McKenna stumbled to her feet, and holding Kanani's hand in her own, the two made their way up the aisle. Kanani looked nervously at McKenna, gave her a hug, and hurried back to her seat. "McKenna," said the judge, "tell us your story." McKenna sucked in a big breath of air, and began. "I had to wonder when, during the middle of Saige's mid-year release party, Gwen and a MAG identical to her left the room. Then, as the party was about to end, they returned. I whispered Gwen's name, and the MAG- at least I thought it was a MAG- turned to look at me. And at the building Gwen- at least I thought it was Gwen- seemed to forget a lot of things that Gwen knew well. And- and I don't know... why.." McKenna closed her mouth and looked at the judge. He nodded, and she ran back down to her seat. Behind us, the jury mumbled loudly. The judge pounded his gavel on his podium. Everyone looked up. "We will take some time to discuss this. Please return here in two hours. You may leave." A MAG left her seat and ran for the door, leaving the others around her staring. As the rest of us exited the room, I heard Sonali whisper, "Hang on, Gwen." And Gwen looked worse than she had when she got in here, though it may sound difficult to believe. But Sonali... just wanted her friend back. Her best friend. And she was who we should have worried about. But we didn't.

[NatKaya]

Chapter thirty seven- Chrissa
Two hours. It felt like two years before we were filing back into the courtroom to hear their decision. The jury looked down disapprovingly at us as we passed them. Someone sighed as we sat. A MAG, 13 maybe?, was biting her fingernails nervously as we waited. Then the judge said, "We have reached a verdict." "State the obvious," Caroline, behind me, whispered under her breath. Josefina poked her. "Ow!" Caroline cried quietly. The judge continued, not noticing the antics of the new Historical and her annoyance against Josefina. "The following judgements last until next August. 12 will be unavailable from American Girl's website until then, basically retired for that period of time, and Gwen will be in dorm arrest in Innerstar U, in a room where no one currently resides in." That was about a year without Gwen. How could we live without her that long? Apparently Sonali couldn't. She got up and came towards the judge. "Mister, you leave Gwen alone. You don't take her away that long, or I swear, by... Innerstar University, I will kill myself!" I gasped. Losing both of my best friends at once? I couldn't live with that. The jury gasped, mumbled, and argued among themselves extremely loudly. Some MAGs did too. Sonali looked out at us. "I would," she mouthed. And she looked at Gwen. Gwen looked like she'd cry, at the thought of... losing her.. A member of the jury ran up and whispered something to the judge. "But.." the judge started, interrupted by the juror whispering something more. He gestured toward Sonali, who was tying a strand of her hair into a tiny, extremely tight braid as she looked out at us. The judge nodded. "After discussing things again, we have come to another decision." Everyone leaned forward, eager to hear the second verdict. "12's punishment is still the same, but Gwen's isn't. After talking it over again, we realized it wasn't Gwen's fault." "And also, there was her..." said the juror, looking at Sonali, who was waiting for the answer. "Gwen, instead, will face dorm arrest for two weeks in the empty room at the GotY building." "My old room," whispered Kailey. "Are there any more objections?" the judge asked. Silence. "Well, that's that!" he said, banging his gavel. 12 and Gwen were released, and as 12 made her way back to the other MAGs, Gwen came running towards Sonali. Cue hug. Then, holding each other's hands like they'd never let go, the two came to us. And we were together again. I was so happy.

AND NOW A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: GIG IS ALMOST OVER!! IF THERE IS ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO HAVE HAPPEN, OR HEAR ABOUT HOW SOMETHING ELSE IS DOING (e.g., Saige's hand), TELL ME NOW BEFORE IT'S DONE!!!

Chapter thirty eight- MAG 12
As the other MAGs welcomed me back with hugs and cries of "Marie!", I couldn't help stealing a glance at Gwen. She hugged Sonali so tight a tear trickled from her eye. "I'll be right back," I whispered to Natalie, escaping the tight group of hugging friends. Gwen and Sonali made their way to the other GotY's. I watched them for a minute. They looked so happy. "Gwen," I called. Gwen looked out. "Just a second," she said, coming out toward me. "So," she said. "So... I guess this is goodbye. It was great knowing you, Gwen." "You too, Marie. See you someday!" Gwen smiled, drifting back to the GotY's. "Someday," I said, watching her get caught in a hug from behind. Just then, Holly came out from behind the GotY clump. The two of us came back to the other MAGs. And that was that.

Three weeks later...

Chapter thirty nine- Saige
Last week, Gwen went back to her own room. They threw a party in celebration. But now, I was on my way to the doctor to get my cast off. Finally. It's been impossible to draw or paint or anything since I got it. I can't wait. And as the doctor removed the cast from my arm, I imagined what I would do when I got back. When we got back, I saw McKenna waiting for me. We high-fived, for the first time for nearly a month. As I headed back to my room, I saw Sonali sitting in her doorway with a deck of cards, and Chrissa and Gwen coming over for their game. It was so happy again. And none of us could have expected what would happen next.

The end.

[NatKaya]

Warning: the following story is a bit different than previous GotY stories by me. It drops you in the middle of things with no explaination as to what exactly happened, unlike the other stories. If Jess is your favorite GotY, you may not want to read this. If Mia is your favorite GotY, you may not want to read this. If you still want to read this, go ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TJOJ

Chapter one- Marisol
Jess lay in her bed, struggling for the air we breathe. Something had happened. We weren't sure what. Nicki had left her room to retrieve her laundry, and found Jess there in the hall. She ran for help, in the form of me, Lanie, and Chrissa. Lanie gasped to see the girl who normally stood so strong laying helplessly there. The four of us took our friend to her room. While Chrissa ran out to get the rest, Nicki panicked. "What happened to her? What if something else happens? What if they don't take her to a hospital? What if..." Lanie, pacing nervously, shot a look of annoyance at the freckled girl, who blushed embarrasedly. I sat by Jess, hoping that she'd survive this, whatever it was. Soon Chrissa returned, with everyone except Gwen. And I knew why. We hadn't fully regained our trust in Gwen since what happened in the summer. Sonali, looking slightly guilty and very nervous, hung at the tail of the pack, squeezing McKenna's hand. You can imagine McKenna's great annoyance. Kailey's eyes went wide, and she gasped loudly after seeing Jess there on the bed. "Jess?" Mia asked nervously. "What happened?" she asked, more directed towards me than Jess herself. However, as I began to reply, Jess whispered, "the guard." Then.... Something happened. Jess disappeared into a world of dreams. For days on end, we came to her room, hoping, praying she woke up, she would respond. But she didn't. And I was scared.

Chapter two- Nicki
I remember when I found her. A scarlet leaf blew against the front door, as Jess lay there, helpless, on the floor. And I screamed. "Jess!" I cried, hoping for something that I don't recall what was. She breathed out one single quiet word, but in the noise and bustle of a day here, it was all I heard. "Help." And that's what I did, or tried to do. I ran for people I was sure could help- Marisol, Chrissa, Lanie. And as they gasped at the sight, I was stronger. Stronger than I ever had been before. For Jess's sake.

Chapter three- Sonali
I couldn't believe it when I saw her. They did something to her, I know they did. They'd called me to the office yesterday, told me to invite Jess over at three o'clock tomorrow, which is now today. And I thought nothing of it, did just what they said. And she never got there. This happened instead. And I think it's all my fault. I listened to them, forgetting what had happened before. And I never should have. Forgetting smaller, no longer important things put a life in danger. It's my fault. It really is.

Chapter four- Mia
Silence. No words passed through my lips for days after it happened. Though Nicki, my closest friend, and the others talked to me, I never responded. I didn't really know why. But somehow I knew inside that I had to. For Jess. Through the pain that she suffered, I was silent, waiting for a change for her. But then something happened that changed me forever. And the last words the adult said before I blacked out kept echoing through my mind, though I tried my best to remove them: "She may never skate again."

Chapter five- Chrissa
As we had nearly reached flu season, that week, and supposedly, though it didn't happen that way, the next week too, we were visiting our doctors. First Saige, then McKenna. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. On Saturday, it was Mia's turn. She waved goodbye to us, as she and a man (he worked here, but we didn't know him well) headed out to his car. Sonali and Gwen came over for a game of cards. As Gwen laid down her last card, preparing to shout "I won!", the door opened. "Girls," said Mrs. Mayson, "come to the rec room." It sounded so definite, like it was disguising something worse, that I couldn't help but wonder if something bad had happened again. When we all were there, except Jess, they broke the news to us. There'd been a car crash.

dun dun dun....

What will happen? Is Mia all right? What exactly happened to Jess? Find out the answers to at least some of these questions TOMORROW!! on the GotY channel. Thank you, and goodnight.

XD

[NatKaya]

Chapter six- Gwen
After gathering us together, Saige's beloved Mrs. Mayson cleared her throat, and glanced nervously at another woman, who sighed, and told us some of the worst news since Lindsey. "Girls, there has been a car accident. Mia was in it." She continued to explain it all. The man, taking the brunt and the full force of the crash, had been killed. Mia survived, but.... she was hurt. When the paramedics and police arrived at the scene, they had Mia rushed off to a hospital. I can't quite describe the last part, but those last words echoed in my mind forever. They told us, "she may never skate again."

Chapter seven- Mrs. Mayson
When I heard about what had happened, I drove to the hospital immediately. Mia quietly breathed in and out, as the IV machine pumped nourishing and healing fluids into her body. But the thing that scared me most at that moment? What had happened to her legs. The doctor, walking into the room, sighed in relief. "Oh good," she said, “you've arrived. I was hoping you'd be here by now. I wanted to talk with you about what happened. So from what witnesses have told us, the car with Mia had pulled up to a corner. The driver looked both ways, and no one was coming. As he pulled out, another car, going extremely fast, crashed into him. It was major. Mia's driver was killed on impact, and Mia was injured. His seat was shoved into her, as the windshield shattered, trapping her. That was where we found her when we got to the scene. But, her legs, and her left arm, may never be as strong as they were before, and we're not even certain that she will still be able to walk. But, most likely, she may never skate again." About an hour later, after I had come back to the building, they called me, and told me that Mia had gone into a coma. And that scared me the most.

Chapter eight- Jess
When I was in the world of dreams, as the others told me later, I didn't hear them. I didn't know that they were there. I was lost in a dream world, like Alice with her Wonderland. The first one I remember was that I was back home, in Michigan, like in 2005- before Belize, before I became a GotY. Everything was a little different, though. I don't want to tell this, or some other parts, because they scared me so. I don't want nightmares anymore. Then I was in Belize, and something happened, but I don't remember what. But it was bad. And then I was there, with Lindsey and Kailey and Marisol, as the new Girl of the Year. And Kailey's dog was fierce, unlike the Sandy I know here, and Marisol's cat took every opportunity it found to scratch me. And then it was 2012, and Lindsey was there, and she told me to come with her, to where she was going, where she is now. But I resisted, and she grabbed me, and I tried to pull away... away from what could be an imminent death or something else nearly as bad... and then Lindsey disappeared, and everything around me disappeared, and it looked like I was in the middle of an endless white field... And then I tried to escape the white field, but I couldn't... I looked down and I was white too, my clothes snow-colored, and my skin paler than it ever had been. And I knew something was wrong. And then a giant pair of scissors started to chop the field up, and as they got closer and closer, I got extremely scared... And then I was somewhere. Where snow blanketed the rocks and ice around me, where penguins stared at me quizzically... And I thought that I was in Antarctica, and I was, but it was so cold, and I thought I would freeze... There were other things too, but I have succeeded in forgetting them. I don't know exactly what happened that took me there, but I can nearly promise you that the dream world was one of the scariest places I've been in my whole life. I don't remember how long I was there... but I wish I never had been. It was horrible.

Chapter nine- Nicki
As days passed, Jess had no change. I felt extremely lonely with Mia not here, and Jess like she was. I pleaded to go and visit Mia at the hospital, and finally, on October 16th, they took me to see her. Looking up at the hospital from below, I could hardly believe how many floors, maybe... 21? were dedicated to the care of sick and injured children. They led me in, toward a desk, where they signed me in to visit her. "Mia St. Clair? Floor 16, room 162," said the receptionist. And we rode up the elevator... It made me so dizzy.... Then they opened Mia's door for me. "It may disturb you how Mia is hurt... You can come out at any time," Mrs. Mayson told me. But I went inside anyway. And there I saw her. It looked like she was sleeping, breathing quietly under the snow white sheet. But she probably wasn't. It had to be more serious, after what had happened.... I couldn't remember the last time I had heard Mia's voice. It was when or before what happened to Jess had happened to Jess. But, even if she couldn't hear me, or she ignored me, I wanted to talk to her. "Mia? You might not be able to hear me, but it's me, Nicki. I miss you so much. I hope you come back to us soon. Love you." I stifled back a quiet sob. "Nicki?" I heard Mrs. Mayson call. "I have to go. Bye, Mia," I said quietly. Then I left her room, and they took me back.

Chapter ten- Marisol
Each day I went to Jess. At first I watched her for signs of movement. One day, I took a piece of fruit from breakfast and put it in her mouth. Of course, she did nothing. So I reached over and helped her chew it. I felt like I was taking care of a baby or something. But Jess wasn't a baby. And as I sat by her side, I wished even more that she'd wake up. But she didn't.

[NatKyaa]

Chapter eleven- Lanie
The building was quiet. Midnight, mid-October. Everyone slept. Everyone but me. I stepped silently out of my room and looked around me. Mia's room seemed abandoned, empty since the crash. And as the moon gazed down to earth, I went there. To Mia's room. Looking in, it seemed like always. Mia's sketchpad was open on her desk, like it was when she was here. Her skates, with the slightest touch of dust on them (I can't remember the last time she skated), sat by her closet. Her sheets were tousled; she probably hadn't had time to make them on the morning when it happened. And on the desk was something. It had been waiting, but never quite finished. I came closer, to investigate. And that's where I saw it. It was a birthday present, half-wrapped. And something dawned on me. With Jess and Mia, we had forgotten an important day. Saige's first birthday with the GotY's. And she didn't mention it. She just let it pass. It had been over a week ago, and no one had remembered that Saige was a year older. Ten. And we missed it all. Such an important day. And it hadn't happened. I felt so ashamed of myself, of all of us. And I walked down the hall, toward her room. And I watched her. Saige slept on, unaware of my presence. I smiled. "Sorry, Saige," I whispered. "I'm sorry we forgot your birthday." And then I went to Jess's room. And she moved. Really. I saw Jess turn her head. It wasn't much, but it was something. I squealed, then covered my mouth, remembering the others. But it was still loud enough to make Marisol and Kailey come out.

Chapter twelve- Kailey
I may be the oldest GotY here at the building, but Jess is someone we've always trusted. With so many things. A year ago, when I was kidnapped, Jess was the one who dealt with the guards when they escaped to rescue me. In January, Jess took down the door when we were retrieving Marisol's things. In summer, Jess helped us get by when Gwen was arrested, like she had when Lindsey... But now who would? Nicki was growing stronger, like the Kelly Clarkson song, and wasn't as nervous as she had been before. But it was Nicki. Could she help us now, as Jess was... And Mia too. It had been such a shock when it happened. And I couldn't sleep at night. I just lay there, staring into space, as Marisol by me slept. And one night, as Marisol slept with probably everyone else, I heard something. A squeal, cut off by the sound of hands over a mouth. It woke Marisol. We looked at each other, and crept out, so as not to wake anyone else. Lanie, near Jess's door, hands still covering her mouth, as if if she moved them she'd squeal again. She was looking at Jess, her hazel eyes filled with happiness and excitement. And then Marisol broke the silence. "What is it? What happened?" Lanie looked back at us, carefully removed her hands from her mouth, and whispered, "It's Jess! She moved!" I pushed my way past them and ran into Jess's room. I could hear Marisol arguing with Lanie in the hall. Marisol was certain Jess hadn't moved, while Lanie assured multiple times that she had. Standing by Jess's bedside, I looked down at our beloved friend. She looked peaceful. Sleeping like. But now, if her eyes were open, she'd be staring at the wall, instead of the ceiling as before. Surely Lanie hadn't snuck in, turned her head, came back out, and squealed. So there was only one solution: Jess moved.

Chapter thirteen- Mia
Head aching, I tuned back into the world as something beeped. It beeped and beeped and beeped and beeped. (I think I thought it was an alarm clock.) Groaning internally, I reached out from under the sheet to turn it off, when I saw the IV tube taped to my arm. That's when I remembered where I was. A hospital. This wasn't at home, my alarm yelling for me to wake up. This wasn't the building, Nicki and I staying up late at night chatting and giggling. This was a hospital. And I was here because... My trying to remember why I was here was interrupted by a nurse coming in, with more medicine for the IV machine. Seeing me, she gasped, nearly dropping the medicine. "Mia! You're awake! What a pleasant surprise!" "..huh?..." I wondered, surprised by the sound of my own voice, a hoarse whisper. The nurse pulled a chair up to the side of my bed. "Oh, Mia. You have been in a coma for nearly thirteen days now, since the car crash on the fifth." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but the nurse continued: "Your friend Nicole came to visit you the other day-" "..iki?.." I interrupted excitedly, although it may not have sounded that way to her. "..yeah, she called herself Nicki." I grinned. "I suppose you'll be hungry. I'll tell the doctor you're awake," said the nurse, heading towards the door. I smiled, and looked around my room. There was a window on the right wall. I watched a plane fly by. On the other wall, there was a poster.. of a... kitten!! It was so adorable. Soon the nurse came back with breakfast. As I drank some chocolate milk, I smiled. It looked like (except maybe the hospital part) that it might just possibly be a good day.

Chapter fourteen- Kananï
Breakfast. It was the morning of October 17th, and as McKenna wandered into the dining room, rubbing her eyes and yawning, and the lunch lady drizzled syrup onto a pile of pancakes for the eagerly waiting Saige, and Lanie told me what she had seen last night, about Jess, and Nicki (who was helping the lunch lady) passed out glasses of icy orange juice, Mrs. Mayson walked in. McKenna collapsed into her chair, while the rest of us looked at Mrs. Mayson, wondering why she was here. Mrs. Mayson grinned. Chrissa looked at Sonali, as if to ask 'what's going on here?' Sonali shrugged. "Girls," said Mrs. Mayson excitedly, "I have great news!" "Huh?" asked the still-tired McKenna. "Mia is awake!!!" Nicki dropped a glass of orange juice. She stared at it as it pooled across the floor. Across the table from me, Saige cheered. Marisol stared at her. "What?" Saige asked. "It's a good thing, isn't it?" "This is true," Kailey amended. "Nicki? Nicki? Niiiiiiickii," Gwen said, waving her hand in front of Nicki. She didn't seem to notice. But still, Mia was getting better. We just needed Jess back.

Chapter fifteen- Kailey
They took me and Nicki, again, to see her. I fingered the pastry from the hospital restaurant. Music flew into my head- 'crumbling like pastries..' No. Please no. We can't live without them. Just thinking of it... Nicki would be crushed.. But no. Just erase the thoughts from my mind, just.. just calm down.. just eat your pastry, maybe it'll be okay again, maybe, maybe.. I looked at Nicki, who seemed to not be as stunned as she was this morning. "Mmph?" she asked, half her pastry sticking out of her mouth. I giggled. Finally, the call came. A nurse came out to get us, and led us to the door of room 162. She opened the door, and we were there. "MIA!!" Nicki screamed in excitement. Mia smiled. "..iki!...aily!.." She looked down, not amused by her weakened voice. I looked around her room. The IV machine, the kitten poster, the door, the closet, the Mia. Mia. Nicki telling her something or other. Suddenly Mia got this concerned look on her face. "Mia?" Nicki asked. "...age..irhdy?" Nicki looked at me, as if asking 'what does this mean?' Age... Irhdy... Something clicked. Saige's birthday. "Saige's birthday, Nicki! We forgot Saige's birthday! What with Jess, and then Mia, the one who really remembered it besides Saige herself was gone. We were too scared, Nicki! Too scared and concerned about them to remember it was then. And Saige never said a word! She had her birthday, probably the worst, most boring, or something birthday of her life, but didn't say anything! She didn't want to disturb us, in our concern for Mia and Jess. And it was forgotten, left behind us. But Saige didn't forget. But she didn't bother us, didn't let us know we missed it. She lived with it. Just lived with it." Nicki stared, almost shocked at what I said. Mia smiled. Yes. I was right. Saige's birthday. Nicki told Mia about some of the goings-on at the GotY building, until a nurse came in to give Mia something or other, and we had to leave. "Love ya, Mia!" Nicki called. "Bye!"

Chapter sixteen- Gwen
It's one more week until she's back. Only one week. And pardon me if I scream, but OH MY GOSH I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!! This is the best! "GWWEEEEEEEEENNN!!!" I heard Sonali call. I grabbed the deck of cards I'd been shuffling and ran to Chrissa's room. We played cards all the time, but hadn't, since Mia. Now that we knew she was coming back, we were playing again. "There you are!" Chrissa greeted. "So, what are we going to play today?" "...the one where you slap the jack?" Sonali suggested. "No. N-O, no. I think we agreed never to play that again, after last time.." "Oh yeah..." Last time we had played that, Chrissa and I ended up with bruises on our hands. In addition to being a very tight hugger, it turns out, Sonali is also a very hard slapper. We'll probably never play that again.. "Umm... Can you play War with three people?" "I don't know, but we can try!" And so we played cards. It was one of the happiest times since Jess drifted away.

A week later...

Chapter seventeen-Saige
Most of the others were in Mia's room, planning something-or-other, but I wasn't. I was too excited for Mia's return, and wanted to be there as soon as she arrived. So I was waiting in the hall, listening for the sound of a car pulling up. And, at half past eleven on October 25th, I heard it. Ten minutes later, the door opened. A nurse held it, as a wheelchair wheeled in. The nurse opened the inside door, and the wheelchair wheeled through it too. Mia looked up and smiled. "Hey Saige!" "Mia!" I exclaimed. "I'm so happy you're back!" "I'm happy to be back too." "Come on, everyone's waiting for you!" And so I led Mia to her room. I opened the door and let her go through, then went through myself. Mia looked around, and was about to ask where everyone was, when they popped up from behind her Bedroom Furniture, screaming, "WELCOME BACK, MIA ST. CLAIR!!!" Thus the party started. Lanie caught a blue balloon, and taking a green marker, doodled until it looked like the world. Mia wheeled over to her desk and turned on her MP3 player. Kanani started to dance. As we boogied, I couldn't help but grin. This was the best party ever!

Chapter eighteen- Lanie
We were celebrating Mia's return. Balloons floated around bumping into people, and Mia's MP3 player was singing away. Saige and Kanani started the dancing, and soon more of us joined in. As we danced, Mia sidled up next to me. "Lanie!" she whispered. "What happened to the present on my desk?" "It's in the closet," I whispered back. "Okay. Thanks," she replied, and rolled away. We continued to party for the next half hour, until Mrs. Mayson came to get us for lunch. We went to the lunch room, expecting sandwiches or spaghetti or something. But when the lunch lady sent out our dishes, they contained big slices of chocolate cake! "Awesome!" Saige exclaimed. "Thanks!" The lunch lady smiled, and passed out glasses of milk. "This is the best lunch ever!" commented Marisol. "I know, right?" agreed Nicki. As we ate the cake, I smiled. This was one of the best days ever.

Chapter nineteen- Marisol
October 29th. It's been three weeks since we found her, three weeks since she was taken by her dreams. Just like every day, after breakfast I went to her room. But what I saw this time wasn't what I was expecting. I walked in to see her, Jess, sitting there, looking back at me. I stared, hardly believing what I was seeing. "J-Jess?" I stammered. "Huh?" she whispered. "J-j-j-j-j-j-...." I was speechless. Sort of. "Jess!!!" I screamed, dashing to her bedside. "Hey, Mari," she said, as I... um, I went a little tiny bit crazy. Heh heh.. "I will be RIGHT back," I told her, running out of the room. "Guys, guys, guys!! Come here!" They came, McKenna, still in her pajamas, last to arrive. "Follow me," I said, leading them through the door. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!" someone shrieked. "Jess Jess Jess!!!" Jess blinked. "...why is everyone so excited? And what happened to Mia?" Mia looked down at herself, seated in the wheelchair that she had been in since she'd come back. So we told Jess the story. What happened to Mia, how long she'd been there in her dreams... The story that you're almost finished reading. Jess joined us at lunch that day, to our happiness. All twelve of us, together again. And that was the best of the many awesome days this month.

Chapter twenty- Jess
October 9th was Saige's tenth birthday. No one celebrated it, in their worry for Mia and I. So, we planned a surprise party one month after the forgotten birthday. On November 9th, Gwen went to get Saige, and brought her back to Mia's room. We jumped out, yelling, "SURPRISE!!! HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, SAIGE COPELAND!!" You should have seen Saige's face. "Oh my gosh, you guys! Thank you!! This is the best late birthday ever!" Gwen beamed, so happy to help with something that made another so happy. We celebrated all day, almost missing lunch. After returning from lunch, we had Saige sit on Mia's bed to open her gifts. From Kanani, a bracelet, intricately woven from strands of pillowcase. "What is this made of?" Saige asked, not realizing what it was. "Pillowcases," Kanani said offhandedly. Lanie drew her a picture of a hot air balloon. It was printed like the earth. I mean, what else could you expect from Lanie? From Nicki, a silly doodle of them, screaming, on a horse, which was running towards a cliff. It made us laugh. Finally, there was only one gift left. Mia's. Mia wheeled over to her desk and took her gift, then came back and gave it to Saige. "I was working on this for ages," Mia said, as Saige opened the wrapping paper. "Wow," Lanie gasped, as Saige pulled the canvas from the box. Yes, I did say canvas. Think about it. Mia, who isn't the world's best artist, too absorbed in her skating to care for it, painted with intricate detail, a beautiful painting, of all of us. All thirteen of us. Even Lindsey. "Wow, Mia, I never knew you were such a good artist!" Kailey commented. "Thanks. I worked on this for ages. I think I finally finished it the day before Jess's thing. You know what I mean, right?" And they did. We may never know the exact thing that caused me to drift into the dream world, but that doesn't matter. All that matters is that I'm back. And that's the most important thing of all.

~~~~~~~~~~

This is my shortest one yet! and GIG was supposed to be the short one... Oh well. I haven't started the next one yet, but it will be called ROTG. And that does stand for something, just so you know.

[NatKaya]

An announcement- the stories on here will be on a indefinite hiatus, until I can get Notes to quit crashing so I can write them.