Post by laurcat on Dec 26, 2012 12:33:57 GMT -5
If you have not read Chapter 3, which is also new, please find it and read it first.
The history lesson consisted of a simple get-to-know-each-other game Mrs. Baldwin put together, and the period passed quickly. Our class stayed in the room when the bell rang, and Mrs. Baldwin explained to us newcomers that for the first half of fourth period, we had tutorials. Tutorials was most often a talking time, so our group of four just decided where we would sit for lunch and commented on the loudness of the BEST clique’s giggles. I proposed that they were doing it for attention, and Jena told me I was spot on. They even glanced around the room to see if anyone was watching them, which I thought seemed insecure.
When lunchtime came, we all took a table for ourselves and kept the conversation limited to funny pictures online until I pointed something out.
“Hey, Kara and her followers are looking at us.” I turned to look at Jena. “Probably you, actually.”
Jena nodded. “Yup. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re talking about my brother. ‘Oh, Jansen’s so cute!’ ‘Have you seen his eyes?’ ‘Do you think he’d go out with me?’” Jena smirked. ”The answer is no.”
We laughed, keeping an eye on BEST. Karol glanced at us.
“That’s something else I’ll explain when you guys come over.”
“It needs an explanation?” Kita acted surprised.
This time we laughed very loudly, and the whole clique stared us down. They did not look away for several seconds, prompting Kita to make a remark involving our potential murders. Cherrie nearly choked on her milk trying not to laugh.
When lunch was over, math with Mrs. Cole and art with Ms. Lee flew by. For seventh period, we had American Girl Current Events, or AGCE, which was run by Mrs. Tate. In AGCE, we would learn about prices, new releases, future releases, fan reviews, and other news about American Girl. Mrs. Tate had the three of us new girls stand at the front of the class and model, well, ourselves, as we were new releases. Most everyone seemed to think the idea was cute, but judging by the bored look on Kara’s face, the queen of the BEST obviously wished it could be her standing at the front of the room.
Eighth period was a free period for the whole school, where we could walk around campus, hang in a classroom, or just do whatever. There wasn’t much education to be given to dolls, especially when the teachers had to save something for the years ahead. Many dolls had been there for years, and had begun to learn the same material over again.
When school let out, we went our separate ways, and Jena promised to call us and tell us her address when BEST left her home. My cell phone rang at around five-thirty. Within twenty minutes, the four of us had all arrived at the Jamison residence. All My American Girl dolls’ houses were close to each other, so the walking distance wasn’t far at all.
Jena gathered us all at the kitchen table. She retrieved a bag of potato chips from the pantry and promised us that BEST hadn’t touched them. We had just begun to converse when Jansen walked in.
I felt my heart jump. I had a sensation as if something were swimming in my stomach. Jansen’s hair was a dark, dark black, which I thought looked remarkable. He turned to look at us, and the second I saw his eyes my heart picked up its pace. The way they contrasted with his hair was amazing. Whatever was swimming laps inside my stomach should have really checked out his ocean-like irises.
“Are they gone?” Jansen asked. His voice was gentle.
“Ha. Yeah. These are the ‘awesome girls’ I was talking about.” Jena went around the table introducing us. “This is Kita, Cherrie, and Allegra.”
“Oh, cool.” Jansen looked around at us, without much of an expression, but then gave a sweet, lingering smile.
The skipping of my heart told me something. He had directed his smile not to all of us, but to me. I glanced over at the others, and was assured I hadn’t imagined it. My friends shot me interesting expressions. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I slid around in my seat as Jansen complained about Kara and her friends. As if my heart wasn’t already getting enough exercise, Jansen took the chair directly across from me, but not before flashing me another sweet smile. Cherrie and Kita were raising their eyebrows at me.
“Man, Lydia got lipstick on our hand towel.” He rolled his blue eyes. “And I really think you were right about Kara liking me.”
“Of course I was. I told you she was trying to get to you through me. She usually ignores me and heads straight for you.”
Something went off in my head when I heard Jansen say ‘liking’. I wondered if him saying something like that made him think of other girls that liked him, and if that led him to thinking about me and whether I seemed to like him, which I was making obvious by the way I kept looking at him. That was when common sense kicked in and told me to stop overthinking, and to avoid staring at him. A split second before I looked away, he glanced back at me. I wondered if my quick diverting of eye contact would make him believe I liked him…
When Jansen had concluded his rant, Jena excused us so we could go talk in her room, and Jansen left for his own. I watched him go, then felt awkward and wondered if Jena knew I couldn’t take my eyes off of her brother. Once Jena’s decorative bedroom door was shut and we were all seated Indian-style on Jena’s bed, the noise started.
“Oooooh, Allegra!” Kita shrilled, and Cherrie joined in.
Jena laughed. “So do you guys want to hear the rest of the Kara situation?”
“Yes!” We all shouted with excitement.
“Well, it goes like this. Macy Slavensky has a twin brother, Brydon. He basically looks like her; blue eyes, blonde hair. There was a time-summer of 2010 to be exact-when Kara went crazy over him. Somehow, someway, whether she had used some magical love potion or hypnosis, she convinced him to go out with her. They dated all that July, but Brydon came to his senses and dumped her. She threatened to make Macy’s life miserable if she didn’t tell anyone who asked that it was Kara who broke up with Brydon, not the other way around. Macy did as she pleased, so she’s safe. She still acts friendly towards BEST, though, just to make sure they’re on good terms.”
Kita had a puzzled look on her face. “If she couldn’t tell anyone what really went down, how do you know?”
“Good question. You see, Macy knew Kara was about to do the same thing to me. I had no clue as to why BEST was suddenly acting friendly towards me, but Macy shed some light on it. She had seen Kara talking to Jansen after one of his baseball games during the summer. It reminded her of the time Kara first met Brydon at the pool, which is when it all started. She told me everything about her situation, and warned me about what was to come. She was very accurate.”
“Oh.” Cherrie nodded. “So what about Gail? What happened with her?”
“She wouldn’t lie,” I spoke.
“Exactly. Gail’s brother Garrett dated Kara. He regretted it and dumped her. Kara tried to make Gail reverse the story, but she wouldn’t to do that to her brother. That’s when the clique started making trouble for her. They pretended to be her friend, tried to manipulate her, and attacked her when she refused. She doesn’t trust anymore.” Jena gave a small, sad smile. ”Pretty brave of her to defend her brother.”
“So what if it happens to you?” Kita asked.
Jena’s eyes lit up. “That brings me to my next point: The reason I let BEST come to my house, other than the fact that they would hate me otherwise. You ready?”
We nodded.
“Truth is, the joke is on them. Jansen isn’t naïve like Brydon and Garrett were. He knows better than to date girls like that.”
I felt a tingling sensation every time Jena said Jansen’s name. I secretly wanted her to talk about him more.
“Jansen likes smart, nice, down-to-earth girls. He doesn’t go for snobby girls who put themselves on a pedestal, no matter how pretty they may be.” Jena looked at me. “I honestly think Allegra would be good for him.”
As everyone laughed, I excused myself to get a soda, and Jena offered to show the girls the funny pictures she had talked about at lunch. I traveled back to the kitchen with Jena’s voice still ringing in my head. I honestly think Allegra would be good for him. Had she really meant it? What if I really did have a chance? My thoughts stopped abruptly when I stepped into the kitchen and my heart did one more somersault. Jansen gave me a friendly ‘Hey’.
“Oh, hey, I just…came to get a, uh, soda.” I stammered, feeling stupid. I suddenly felt very self-conscious. Was I walking funny? What if he thought I had a wedgie? Did I have a dumb look on my face?
“Oh, okay, they’re in here.” Jansen opened the fridge and motioned to its contents. “Here you are, m’lady.”
“Thanks.” As I pulled out a soda, I hid my face behind the fridge door so he wouldn’t see my burning cheeks.
While I opened the soda, I kept my head down so my hair would cover my face, but I could feel him watching me. My heart was running away and I had no chance of catching it. I looked up at him, he smiled, and I said it. I said one thing to him that was on my mind.
“You have really pretty eyes,” I told him.
Before he could react, I turned and hurried back to Jena’s room, my face on fire. I wondered and worried over how he had reacted.
The history lesson consisted of a simple get-to-know-each-other game Mrs. Baldwin put together, and the period passed quickly. Our class stayed in the room when the bell rang, and Mrs. Baldwin explained to us newcomers that for the first half of fourth period, we had tutorials. Tutorials was most often a talking time, so our group of four just decided where we would sit for lunch and commented on the loudness of the BEST clique’s giggles. I proposed that they were doing it for attention, and Jena told me I was spot on. They even glanced around the room to see if anyone was watching them, which I thought seemed insecure.
When lunchtime came, we all took a table for ourselves and kept the conversation limited to funny pictures online until I pointed something out.
“Hey, Kara and her followers are looking at us.” I turned to look at Jena. “Probably you, actually.”
Jena nodded. “Yup. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re talking about my brother. ‘Oh, Jansen’s so cute!’ ‘Have you seen his eyes?’ ‘Do you think he’d go out with me?’” Jena smirked. ”The answer is no.”
We laughed, keeping an eye on BEST. Karol glanced at us.
“That’s something else I’ll explain when you guys come over.”
“It needs an explanation?” Kita acted surprised.
This time we laughed very loudly, and the whole clique stared us down. They did not look away for several seconds, prompting Kita to make a remark involving our potential murders. Cherrie nearly choked on her milk trying not to laugh.
When lunch was over, math with Mrs. Cole and art with Ms. Lee flew by. For seventh period, we had American Girl Current Events, or AGCE, which was run by Mrs. Tate. In AGCE, we would learn about prices, new releases, future releases, fan reviews, and other news about American Girl. Mrs. Tate had the three of us new girls stand at the front of the class and model, well, ourselves, as we were new releases. Most everyone seemed to think the idea was cute, but judging by the bored look on Kara’s face, the queen of the BEST obviously wished it could be her standing at the front of the room.
Eighth period was a free period for the whole school, where we could walk around campus, hang in a classroom, or just do whatever. There wasn’t much education to be given to dolls, especially when the teachers had to save something for the years ahead. Many dolls had been there for years, and had begun to learn the same material over again.
When school let out, we went our separate ways, and Jena promised to call us and tell us her address when BEST left her home. My cell phone rang at around five-thirty. Within twenty minutes, the four of us had all arrived at the Jamison residence. All My American Girl dolls’ houses were close to each other, so the walking distance wasn’t far at all.
Jena gathered us all at the kitchen table. She retrieved a bag of potato chips from the pantry and promised us that BEST hadn’t touched them. We had just begun to converse when Jansen walked in.
I felt my heart jump. I had a sensation as if something were swimming in my stomach. Jansen’s hair was a dark, dark black, which I thought looked remarkable. He turned to look at us, and the second I saw his eyes my heart picked up its pace. The way they contrasted with his hair was amazing. Whatever was swimming laps inside my stomach should have really checked out his ocean-like irises.
“Are they gone?” Jansen asked. His voice was gentle.
“Ha. Yeah. These are the ‘awesome girls’ I was talking about.” Jena went around the table introducing us. “This is Kita, Cherrie, and Allegra.”
“Oh, cool.” Jansen looked around at us, without much of an expression, but then gave a sweet, lingering smile.
The skipping of my heart told me something. He had directed his smile not to all of us, but to me. I glanced over at the others, and was assured I hadn’t imagined it. My friends shot me interesting expressions. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I slid around in my seat as Jansen complained about Kara and her friends. As if my heart wasn’t already getting enough exercise, Jansen took the chair directly across from me, but not before flashing me another sweet smile. Cherrie and Kita were raising their eyebrows at me.
“Man, Lydia got lipstick on our hand towel.” He rolled his blue eyes. “And I really think you were right about Kara liking me.”
“Of course I was. I told you she was trying to get to you through me. She usually ignores me and heads straight for you.”
Something went off in my head when I heard Jansen say ‘liking’. I wondered if him saying something like that made him think of other girls that liked him, and if that led him to thinking about me and whether I seemed to like him, which I was making obvious by the way I kept looking at him. That was when common sense kicked in and told me to stop overthinking, and to avoid staring at him. A split second before I looked away, he glanced back at me. I wondered if my quick diverting of eye contact would make him believe I liked him…
When Jansen had concluded his rant, Jena excused us so we could go talk in her room, and Jansen left for his own. I watched him go, then felt awkward and wondered if Jena knew I couldn’t take my eyes off of her brother. Once Jena’s decorative bedroom door was shut and we were all seated Indian-style on Jena’s bed, the noise started.
“Oooooh, Allegra!” Kita shrilled, and Cherrie joined in.
Jena laughed. “So do you guys want to hear the rest of the Kara situation?”
“Yes!” We all shouted with excitement.
“Well, it goes like this. Macy Slavensky has a twin brother, Brydon. He basically looks like her; blue eyes, blonde hair. There was a time-summer of 2010 to be exact-when Kara went crazy over him. Somehow, someway, whether she had used some magical love potion or hypnosis, she convinced him to go out with her. They dated all that July, but Brydon came to his senses and dumped her. She threatened to make Macy’s life miserable if she didn’t tell anyone who asked that it was Kara who broke up with Brydon, not the other way around. Macy did as she pleased, so she’s safe. She still acts friendly towards BEST, though, just to make sure they’re on good terms.”
Kita had a puzzled look on her face. “If she couldn’t tell anyone what really went down, how do you know?”
“Good question. You see, Macy knew Kara was about to do the same thing to me. I had no clue as to why BEST was suddenly acting friendly towards me, but Macy shed some light on it. She had seen Kara talking to Jansen after one of his baseball games during the summer. It reminded her of the time Kara first met Brydon at the pool, which is when it all started. She told me everything about her situation, and warned me about what was to come. She was very accurate.”
“Oh.” Cherrie nodded. “So what about Gail? What happened with her?”
“She wouldn’t lie,” I spoke.
“Exactly. Gail’s brother Garrett dated Kara. He regretted it and dumped her. Kara tried to make Gail reverse the story, but she wouldn’t to do that to her brother. That’s when the clique started making trouble for her. They pretended to be her friend, tried to manipulate her, and attacked her when she refused. She doesn’t trust anymore.” Jena gave a small, sad smile. ”Pretty brave of her to defend her brother.”
“So what if it happens to you?” Kita asked.
Jena’s eyes lit up. “That brings me to my next point: The reason I let BEST come to my house, other than the fact that they would hate me otherwise. You ready?”
We nodded.
“Truth is, the joke is on them. Jansen isn’t naïve like Brydon and Garrett were. He knows better than to date girls like that.”
I felt a tingling sensation every time Jena said Jansen’s name. I secretly wanted her to talk about him more.
“Jansen likes smart, nice, down-to-earth girls. He doesn’t go for snobby girls who put themselves on a pedestal, no matter how pretty they may be.” Jena looked at me. “I honestly think Allegra would be good for him.”
As everyone laughed, I excused myself to get a soda, and Jena offered to show the girls the funny pictures she had talked about at lunch. I traveled back to the kitchen with Jena’s voice still ringing in my head. I honestly think Allegra would be good for him. Had she really meant it? What if I really did have a chance? My thoughts stopped abruptly when I stepped into the kitchen and my heart did one more somersault. Jansen gave me a friendly ‘Hey’.
“Oh, hey, I just…came to get a, uh, soda.” I stammered, feeling stupid. I suddenly felt very self-conscious. Was I walking funny? What if he thought I had a wedgie? Did I have a dumb look on my face?
“Oh, okay, they’re in here.” Jansen opened the fridge and motioned to its contents. “Here you are, m’lady.”
“Thanks.” As I pulled out a soda, I hid my face behind the fridge door so he wouldn’t see my burning cheeks.
While I opened the soda, I kept my head down so my hair would cover my face, but I could feel him watching me. My heart was running away and I had no chance of catching it. I looked up at him, he smiled, and I said it. I said one thing to him that was on my mind.
“You have really pretty eyes,” I told him.
Before he could react, I turned and hurried back to Jena’s room, my face on fire. I wondered and worried over how he had reacted.