0

Ze prologue

(This is a prologue . . . DUN DUN DUN . It's just to set the mood .)

Happy endings do happen . Just not to me . 

Because I'm named after a season . But other girls are named after a season . There are girls named Summer and Autumn . I think they get happy endings . 

I realize there are a lot of reasons I don't get happy endings . (I'm insane , a little mean , a smidge bipolar , and a teaspoon of melo dramatic swirled with usually talking WAY too loud . ) But then again . . . I do . Because I have kick ass friends , a guy who really cares about me , and cheese fries . Cause that stuff's SOOO good . 

So I could keep telling you my flaws .  . . Or I can eat these cheese fries .

Anyway , to get the happy ending , you gotta read the WHOLEEEE book . Which is what I had to do . Sometimes the plot line of my line got so frustrating that I wanted to rip my hair out . But I didn't . Cause that REALLY hurts .

Some parts of my life made me want to cry . 

But all the laughs and real smiles made the whole plot of my life weave together . I know you're probably thinking , "Stop with the metaphors ! -_____-" And I will , just let me say : 

This story starts with a soggy  bowl of Captain Crunch and my good friend , Spongebob . 

1

A day in the life

"Hell yeah ," I murmur with a mouth full of cereal when I see Coming up next: Spongebob Spuarepants in goofy , orange letters on my TV screen . 

When I shovel the last of the Captain Crunch into my mouth I just put my bowl in the sink . I don't feel like drinking the milk swirled with colors from the dye of the cereal . Then again , I never do . Instead I gulp down my orange juice and pull my shirt down . Then I check for an orange juice mustache , and quickly wipe it off . 

I jog into my room and pick up my backpack . I'm ready to go , but then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror . . .

DON'T DO IT . Don't do it , Winter ! It's only torture . But I don't listen to myself . (Which is a horrible choice since I'm VERY wise) I strut over and check myself out . 

Oh , GOD . I'm not the best looking person ever , IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT . Or at least here in Idaho it is .

I don't know what color my hair is , but I 've been told it's auburn . I like the word , not the color . And it's flat . It's always flat . Unlike my stomach . . . Everything about my body seems out of place . Boobs ? Too small . Stomach ? Too horrible to describe . And I'm a big jean fan , but my thighs look big in every pair . My skin's really tan , but in my county that's considered unnatural and slutty . Boys automatically think you're easy . But it's wrong to call mу a whore since I've NEVER been with a guy .

So after I'm done torturing myself I look over to the cat clock that hangs over my desk and realize that if I don't rush now I'm gonna be late . And my dad's at work so he can't drop me off . And my mom's dead . So , she can't drive me either . . . 

In my rush I almost forget the keys to the apartment , but I grab them at the last minute . After flying down a flight of stairs from my apartment to the ground floor of my building , I push open the door and I'm hit by a cold wind . 

It's March in Idaho . And while some counties don't get very cold , Mayflower County  (My county) is always below freezing . My town , Red Fleece Hill (I know , TERRIBLE name) , just looks like a cold town . The buildings are all a drab brown that could pass for cardboard . It looks like it's right out of A Christmas Carol . And sometimes I think I'm Ebenezer Scrooge . 

Sometimes I know . 

I jog to my bus stop . Not the best idea since now I'm now sweating and it's FREEZING . Also my hair is a mess . I look like Ursula . I know I want volume , but these are just tangles . I barely make it in time , and the bus driver , Georgia , gives me my daily evil eye . 

Ten seats down , on the left , is The Seat . Wendy and I sat there ever since we were freshmen . And you  can see the evidence . We stuck a couple of magnets under the window , but the next day they weren't there anymore . So we put glittery unicorn stickers there . That made Georgia very happy . If you take vein throbbing as happiness . Which I do . 

"Guess what we're doing tonight ?!" Wendy cries before I even sit down . I love her . I remember the first time that we met . My first words to her were , "I'm not bulemic , bitch !" Okay . . . It's not how it sounds . 

I was kneeling over a toilet in the girl's bathroom ready to vomit . And I wasn't letting out very friendly noises . That's pretty much why a lot of girls don't talk to me . Well that's ONE of the reasons . Wendy walked in there , and she thought I was making myself throw up . She's really nice so she started , "You don't have to do this to make yourself beautiful ! Everyone's beautiful in their own way -" but I cut her off .

"I'm not bulemic , bitch !" I cried more harshly than I should have . But my knees were getting cramped from squating for 15 minutes . "Oh ," Wendy said . "Was it the spaghetti or meatloaf ?" she said rather airily . Like I didn't just yell at her for calling me pretty . (But she was just saying it , so . . . I didn't really get a head a big head about it .) 

"Spaghetti ," I said dryly . But now that I think about it , the only reason I wasn't MAKING myself throw up in that bathroom is because I don't have a gag reflex . 

"OHHHH ! You're the new kid , aren't you ? If you aren't then you got what's coming to you ." And she was my first friend, here, in Idaho . And we've been best friends for four years . 

She scoots her backpack aside so I can sit down . I plop into place , and before I can guess she blurts out the answer , "Dempsey Royleng's party !" Oh . Dempsey Royleng . . . Is a  . .  . SENIORRRR ! AAAAH ! "AAAAH !" 

"I KNOW !" she cried . Okay , fine . To specify Dempsey Royleng is the party king . He's thrown the wildest parties in the history of Red Fleece . They ALWAYS include booze and hook-ups . Every senior is there . Well not the few valedictorians who are ACTUALLY going to a quality college , but who cares about that ? (No , I'm not serious . That's a magical thing called - Sarcasm .) 

Of course only the 'cool' juniors are invited , and some sophomers . If a freshman were invited , they should consider it a high honor . Which makes you wonder , "How come you're invited ? You're a loser ." Shush . But , anyway , Wendy is VERY pretty (And she hardly wears any make-up) so it was no surprise she snagged Calvin Ripkar , one of the star football players . And he's cool with all the seniors on the team , and ALWAYS gets invited to EVERYTHING .

I don't know HOW Dempsey throws these parties . His parents are very well-bred people that are active community and PTA members . There are some rumors that his parents don't really live with him . 

"Wait a minute ," I said stopping her squealing . "Will . . ." I raise my eyebrows . "HEEEE be there ?" By HEEEE I mean Stefan Hoffman . The only guy for me . But I'm not the only girl for him . Because he's a senior . And I'm only a measly junior . And he's never even looked my way . 

Wendy gave me a look . "OF COURSE ! He's a SENIOR ," she said like it was obvious . she tried to make a 'DUHH' tone , but her voice is so soft that she can't make it sound mean . She can call me a whore and make it sound like she cares . Not that she cusses . She makes a , 'Tee-hee ," everytime the word Hell slips out of her mouth . 

"Y-y-y-you ain't seen my balls ! Y-y-y-y-you ain't seen my balls !" pierced the air . I let out a giggle . Wendy's ringtone ALWAYS made me laugh . She flipped her phone open and rolled her eyes . "What ?" I asked leaning toward her . 

New message from Cal 

Demps has a pool so wear a two piece (;

January 15th , 7:12 am 

I scoffed . Calvin never failed to make me laugh . Wendy and I both knew that Calvin was just being a guy , but sometimes we couldn't help but make fun of that . Wendy snapped her phone shut , and shook her head . But I saw she had a grin on her face . 

"I wish I had a boyfriend, " I mocked sticking out my bottom lip . Wendy let out a laugh too . "You can have mine !" she cried with a wave of her arm . But we both knew she wouldn't give Calvin up . Even for a new paint set . (Which she is obsessed about !)

The bus pulled into the driveway of Red Fleece High School . I like to refer to it as a kingdom . I like to start with the Nobilities . This is usually made up of people who WORKED for their popularity . Mostly the football team and other athletes . It's made up of some singers and things like that . 

But above them is thу Royal Court . And of course I'm gonna tell you about the uber exclusive clique at our school . Because there always is one . But I don't look up to them . Other girls don't look up to them . because they're not the brightest crayons in the box . But they THINK that everyone looks up to them so they still look down on everyone . We don't like them , and they don't like us . The end . 

Their 'queen' is Katy McCurk . And I say queen loosely . Katy's a junior . Like us . But somehow she's managed her way to the top . I think it's cause she has more brains than all the other girls in the royal court combined . But that's not a big compliment if you actually meet these girls . 

But she's also mean enough for them . She didn't get to the top by being nice . 

Onto the people of church . There are heavily religious people here . They usually stick together and host celibacy club . The Church class is actually fairly popular . Most

are cheerleaders (Our mascot is a bright red sheep -___-) . Either way ALL of their parents are strict . I , myself , am a Christian . But an awful one at that . 

Anyway under the royal court and Nobility is the commons . During Medieval times this was the most populated social class . Although it feels there AREN'T enough losers at Red fleece . But I guess it always feels that way in the Commons . 

I pick my stuff up and make my way off the bus . Wendy makes her way through , and jumps down from the last step onto the curb . "You ready ?" she asks when she sees the look on my face . 

I always feel dread before entering high school . Even on Fridays , which was today . 

We're not the richest high school . I don't know if we are rich , but our school isn't really ugly . Just plain . 

In front there is a pretty garden the PTA set up filled with pretty , pink hydrangeas and yellow lilies . There are two pathways that make the shape of a V . Across the lawn a bunch of guys were tossing around a football and laughing while students tried to amble into the school without getting hit . Katy and some girl from the royal court were sitting on a picnic bench under a grove of trees a little farther down the left wall .

Yoko ambled of her bus and started toward us with a warm smile . "Wen and Win ," she said with a wave . "Yoko !" I said smiling at her . We high-fived eachother , then touched our right leg's inner ankles together . Then we made our hands jellyfish and they squirted away , and in Yoko's case , into a pocket .

We started walking toward the school , and ducked when a football flied above us . "So how was dinner with the devil ?" Yoko asked Wendy as she pushed open the door . Wendy snorted . "Ohh yeahh ! I thought that was tomorrow ," I said hitching my backpack higher on my shoulder . 

We stopped at the intersection of hallways to let Wendy answer but she just said , "Tell you guys at lunch !" and headed to the left wing . Me and Yoki went up the north wing . When she saw Stefan talking to some guy by his locker she wiggled her eyebrows and bumped her hip into my hip . 

"Shut up ," I rasped under my breath . I gazed over at him , but quickly looked away . It's not like he noticed . He's too busy talking to some jock . I let out a breezy laugh . "I didn't say anything ." Yoko stuck her tongue out at me and stopped at her locker . 

I  continued all the way toward mine . 

I'm not gonna bore you with my horrible 1st period art , or second period math . It wasn't horrible just not exciting . I will never speak of third period gym . Except I fell , and Stefan always has soccer practice third period . But I don't think he saw . He never sees me . 

Fourth period is chemistry . I don't really remember anything from there so there's not much to say . Dahlia , Yoko , Anna-Maria , and I  are usually chattering in the back . 

Then came lunch . My table was loud and rowdy . We were having way more fun , flinging peas (and some of Dahlia's cupcakes , but they were delish so then we ate them), then the 'Royal Crowd' ever will . They always sit there stiffly trying to make light

conversation , and then leaving to apply lip gloss in the bathroom for five hours . That's how it looks like to me .

On my walk to the bathroom I bumped into Katy . When she saw it was me she screamed , "EWW !" then she wiped her hand on some guy's shoulder . I get no respect in this school . Dana snickered . I just rolled my eyes . I remember when Dana was on my side . 

I should've said something about her having herpes or , "What is it , Katy ? Afraid of catching the cool ?" I SHOULD'VE SAID THAT . FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

Wait , no . That's really lame . 

Anyway, before I rudely interrupted myself , things really picked up pace during 5th period . Which is surprising because 5th period sucks . My fifth period is World Studies . It's not history . We learn about different cultures and practices , not the boring , old stuff . But our teachers can really drone on , and his voice is a dull monotone . I'm usually half asleep . 

But today something DIFFERENT happened . Not good , but different . And nothing DIFFERENT ever happens here . Because this is Idaho . Unless we discover a new way to use potato . Ha , I'm a genius . I don't know why I don't have straight a's . Oh , wait . . . Where was I ? Something different ? 

I leaned forward in the cold metal seat . I now understand what the term, 'Freezing your butt off ,' means . None of my friends are in this class , so I have no notes to pass . So I actually have to listen . Sometimes Stefan's science class goes outside to study things , but it's too cold for that . 

No friends . No hot guys . Just knowledge . I need something sharp . . . So I can end myself . No luck . My pencils are all dull . Just like this period . Maybe I can bang my head against the desk . No that hurts to much , and I don't want to get an Owen Wilson nose .

Sometimes I get Angelina Jolie lips when I drink from that really cold water fountain near the locker banks . 

"So we all know International night is in two months ," Mr. Jones implied . No , I'm positive 60% of this class is thinking , 'Wtf is International night ?!" I let out an inward groan . I can sense the impending doom of a future project .  I liked it better when we didn't do anything in this class . 

"I thought ," he said putting his chalk down , and putting one hand in the other .  "Why not have a project on it ?" The whole class let out a symphony of groans and outraged , "WHAT ?!"s . I couldn't blame them . I didn't have the time to be working on something . I'm  a very busy woman . Okay , fine . I'm not . But this is high school ! We're not supposed to do any work . 

"I know you're all just SO excited ." Mr. Jones is such a teacher . That's just what all teachers say . He picks up a stack of papers from his desk , and starts passing them out . "So basically you're all going to be assigned a country , and on international night you'll have to make a booth about your country ." 

Another symphony of groans and , 'WHAT ?!'s . Plus a few not-so-quiet swear words . My class could come together and make a band called The Underachievers , but I think that name's already taken . 

"I will choose your partners ," he continues . Partners ? I'm not , exactly , friendly with anyone in this class . I can't imagine making a booth with some jock or snobby 'Royal' . Of course there is another symphony . But there are no more 'WHAT ?!'s . Just a mix of swear words , groans , and , 'Are you kidding me ?!'s . 

Mr. Jones gives us a minute to read over the sheet . I'm not going to give you the boring and yet cheesy details of it . We basically have to learn basic facts about our country and make a booth out of it . Oh , yay . I'm jumping for joy in my cold , metal seat . 

Finally he says , "I'll read off the partner list . " Okay , at this point I droned out everything . My ears only perked up at the sound of my name . "Winter Tack and . . . " I leaned forward , and rested my chin in the palm of my hand . "Carter Summers ." 

OH GOD . Why of all people , Carter Summers ?! I looked across the room at him . I can see him as the future Charlie Sheen . 

"You may get with your partners and discuss what country you would like . On the back of the paper I handed out are the countries you can choose . I turned sideways to get through a narrow desk aisle (THAT'S how fat I am) , and plopped down in the seat in front of Carter . But he continued sleeping . I sat there awkwardly . 

Should I wake him up . . . ? I don't want to just sit here . Some girl was giving me the evil eye because I'm his partner . You can have him , evil eye girl . I leaned across the aisle and thumped the back of his head . Then I sat back , and pretended to examine the sheet when I saw him stir . 

Wait . Why did I wake him up ? I could've let him sleep and just choose the country I want . WHY AM I SUCH A GOOD PERSON ?! WHY DID I GIVE HIM A SAY IN THIS ?! Or the better question is : Why am I so stupid ? -____-

I start whistling and look everywhere , but at him . I don't look suspicious AT ALL . 

"Good . You're up ," I said faking a smile . He arched his eyebrow , but I just continued on . "We were assigned a project . We have to pick a country first , though . I was thinking we could do -" he sat up and instantly interrupting me . "Listen , Wilma ," he said loking me straight in the eye . 

"It's , um , it's Winter ," I said trying not to lunge at him and stab him with the paper I'm holding in my hands . Don't do it . He's not worth going to jail over . He laughed boastily . "You're named after a season ? HA !" his tone sounded a little harsh .

20 years in the slammer is starting to look like a more attractive offer as long as I can sock it to this jerk . "You were going to say something ?" I said gripping the top of my desk . He looked quizzical then said , " Oh yeahhh ! So , Winter (Snicker) , I was thinking that I could help a little with the booth  . While you do the research ." 

Don't stab him . Don't stab him . "So basically ," I nearly seethed . "You want me to do all the work ?" He nodded . "Yeah . Pretty much ."

Then I smiled . It's not like I didn't expect it . And that's exactly what I said . "Yeah , I knew you wouldn't want to do the work . Guys like you . . . Don't EVER want to do the work . So , it's cool ."

He nodded and grinned with satisfaction , but then stopped when he ealized what I just said . "Wait ," he looked confused , and I smirked . "Did you just insult me ? What do you mean by 'guys like me' ?" I laughed . 

Mr. Jones's loud voice boomed , "Alright . Most of you are done discussing so let's pick the countries ." "Shit , " I muttered under my breath .

"Okay , we're doing Britain ," I told Carter . He raised his eyebrows and looked at me like I was joking . "Yeah , no . We're doing New Zealand ." "NO . Britain ." I tried asserting my dominance . "Ha , HELL NO . New Zealand or nothing . "

When he got to us Russia , Italy , France , Japan , Korea , Serbia , Greece , Australia , China , Brazil , Chile , Spaim , Portugal , and Hungary were taken .

Carter shifted behind me and lurched forward grabbing my mouth with his right hand . I was leaning way too far back in my seat and the cold metal dug into my back . I screamed , "MR . JONES ! HELP ! HE'S CRAZY ! WE CHOOSE BRITAIN ! WE CHOOSE BRITAIN !" But it came out like , "Mmm ma-mmmmm ! MMMMM ! MMMMM MMAMMMEEE ! Mmmmmoooomooom mmmm !"

But my cries for help were barely heard over the chatter of the class . Which just shows how easy it is to get raped here . Mr. Jones didn't even turn around when he asked , "And what country do you want , Winter and Carter ?" If he did he would see that I was being held hostage , and we wouldn't be doing our project on New Zealand . 

"New Zealand ," Carter cried . By then it was too late . I tried licking his hand the moment he said it , but he wasn't grossed out until later . On the board , Mr. Jones wrote Winter , Carter - New Zealand . Carter released me from his grip . 

"Grosssss ," he whined wiping his hand on the back of my shirt . "I don't like you ," I huffed . I sniffed the air . "Great now I smell like Axe !"

He leaned back in his seat . The only answer he gave me was a smug look and a smirk . Then Mr. Jones rambled on , and as soon as the bell rang , I practically dashed out of there . 

6th period was magical . As it always is . Because Stefan is in my class . I'm not even going to try to hide the fact that I'm beguiled by him . He's not like the other guys . He has jet black hair and dazzling blue eyes , and he's one of those guys who's not a total idiot . I mean he doesn't make farting noises for fun , and looks at a girl's face if she talks to him . Not her boobs . 

I've only talked to him a few times , and we just exchanged witty banter . The first time he spoke to me , he and his friends were throwing around a football and it hit me . My stuff flew everywhere and I bended to pick up my stuff . I didn't expect the jocks to help . Just pick up their football and go . But Stefan bent down and said , "Whoa , are you okay ? " I was already done picking up my stuff , but he picked up my book and handed it to me . "Stephen King , huh ?" I looked into his blue eyes in a daze .

Finally my brain kicked into action and I was finally able to say , "It's my guilty pleasure ." He smiled . "See you around ." Then he walked away toward his friends who gave him a shove in the shoulder . 

My sixth period is advanced english . Stefan would be in advanced English too , but last year he got a serious case of flu and missed a majority of the year . He had to do a lot of his classes over . It was tortue not seeing him so long . 

When I was walking into class I was also shoveling through my binder for my homework when I bumped into someone . STEFAN ! I even smelled him . I mean  . . . NO . . . I'm not some creep , but  .  . . Okay I am .

"We have got to stop meeting like this ," he said with a laugh .  I notice he had his face buried in a book .  I laugh too, but on the inside I'm screaming . He remembers me

and how we met . But I don't take it to my head because it could mean nothing . I feel the butterflies , and my palms start sweating .

SAY SOMETHING , YOU IDIOT ! "We should ," I said biting my lip . "One of us could get a serious injury . " He smiles . "What are you reading now ?" My heart beat quickens and I continue smiling like an idiot . Then I look down at the book I'm reading . Stop in the name of pants . I love you , Georgia Nicolson , but I'll look insane if I tell him that's the name of my book . 

"Oh , nothing . . . " I say sheepishly . He laughs . "Let me see ," then he reaches over and takes the book (Touching my arm in the process . Insert swoon here) . He reads the title quizically , and hands it back to me . "Never heard of it ."

"We're gonna be late ," I say motioning toward the door . "Oh yeah ," he says suddenly . Me and him walk to the door . I'm about to leave him for my seat on the opposite side of the room when he says , "Wait . . . " So I wait . "Are you going to Dempsey's party , tonight ?" 

I widen my eyes . "Probably ," I say with a nod . But my voice sounds like a monotone because I'm not really in my body anymore . I'm tap dancing across the room in happiness . "Cool ," he says with his super sexy crooked smile . "See you there ." Then he leaves me in the ghost of his presence . I suddenly can't wait for this party . 

   In seventh period French I told Wendy , Dahlia , and Macy all about it . "I'm always so confused . What does see you there even mean ?!" Macy said biting her lip . "I KNOW !" Wendy cried . "Does that mean I'll just look at you or I'll come over and say hey ? Or does it mean it's onnnnn in the bedroom later ?" We all erupted into to laughs because of the way Wendy said ONNNN . Mrs. Turcotte eyed us . "Girls . . . It doesn't sound like you're conjugating verbs back there . . . " 

"Sorry  Mrs. Turcotte !" Wendy cried , and then looked down at her work sheet . I could tell she couldn't read any of it by the face she made . "How do you say . . . " she started off scanning the paper . "I swim , Dahlia ?" I laughed . I didn't feel like working right now . 

Dahlia squinted her eyes . "Umm . . . Je . . . Nage ?" Wendy rolled her eyes . "Are you asking me or telling me ?" 

"I don't know . Are you telling me or asking me ?" Dahlia mocked Wendy . The bell rang and I packed up and left . 

I was stuffing my books into my backpack when someone thumped on the back of my head . "Owww ," I whined . I stood up and rubbed the back of my head . "I was thinking about what you said , Wilmarie ," Carter started off . I looked at Stefan who was bounding down the hall and out of my view .

I gave Carter a look . LEAVE . I wish Stefan would visit my locker . "It's WINTER . you even made fun of my name ! How can you forget the name of a SEASON ?!"

He just ignored me and continued on . "And I'm going to do the work . Just to prove GIRLS LIKE YOU wrong ." I rolled my eyes . "That's GREAT , but I REALLY don't care ." I slammed my locker shut and rushed down the hall hoping he wouldn't follow me . He didn't . And that's how reverse psychology works , ladies !

I climbed onto the bus , and plopped down next to Wendy . "Wanna come over before the party and get ready ?" I asked her as I poked her in the shoulder . 

"Oh , sure ," she said giving me a warm smile . "But I need to change ." I rolled my eyes . Wendy left her whole wardrobe in my house . Although she was skinnier than me ,

we could still fit into each others clothes by some miracle of nature . This is why I don't pay attention to biology . It can't possibly teach me things that matter . Like how short and petite , little Wendy's clothes could fit on me . But , they could be tight sometimes . 

"Dude , you left 4 pairs of pants at my house and that really cute shirt ," I explained to her . "Okay ," she smiled toothily . "I'll just wear that ." 

2A REAL day in the life

"AND I'M JUST LIKE BABY , BABY , BABY , OHHHHHH -" Dahlia's voice rang from my alarm clock . She personally recorded herself singing 'Baby' on my alarm clock . She explained , 'I want it to be the first thing you wake up to .'

Good job , Dahlia . You manage to interrupt my slumber , even when you're not around . 

I barely opened my eyes . Is it 6:30 already ? My hand escaped the warm confines of my bed and felt around on my night stand . I could feel the lamp Yoko gave me for my birthday , but not my alarm clock . Oh , wait ! Now I remember . I roll to my other side , and rip off the covers . Instant shivers . 

I groggily make my way to my closet . After flipping open the doors I see a pile of jeans are vibrating . Oh yeah . Yesterday , I wanted five more minutes of sleep so I picked up my alarm clock and covered it with jeans . 

I bent down slowly and threw the jeans over my shoulder in a haste . Anything to stop Dahlia's singing . Finally I picked up my alarm clock . How do you turn this blue demon off ?! Screw it . I ripped the batteries out , instead . 

But then I put them back in . 

It's too cold to go to school . I pull on some navy basic knit leggings I got on sale at Forever 21 (Wendy dragged me there , if she hadn't I probably wouldn't even know what Forever 21 is ) . Wendy said they would look cute with a shirt dress , but I don't exactly own one . So I pull on a denim , purple , not-so -mini skirt . (It's not-so-mini because it reaches mid thigh . And that's nothing compared to some of Katy McCurk's skirt)

The shirt was the hardest part . I settled for a teal wife beater , and since it was cold I wore a dark blue jacket with wings on the back . I padded into the kitchen and without thinking poured milk into a bowl . Cereal every morning had become a habit . 

You know how it goes . Captain Crunch and Spongebob . I don't have to go over that again .

I slip my feet into purple Mossimo ruffle ballet flats (Courtesy of Macy) , and head out with my backpack on my shoulders . I get there a little early , and since I don't talk to anyone on my bus stop I just , kinda , stand there . I whip out my phone and pretend to check it . The bus will only  be here in 6 minutes . And it's freezing . 

Georgia eventually pulls up and I climb on in a rush . It's surprising how warm this bus is . And yeah you know what seat . Today Wendy wore her whiskered , skinny , pale blue Sevens , foil tiger crop top (Which she also got from our visit to Forever 21) , and her multi-striped Canvas espadrilles . But she wouldn't be Wendy if she didn't add some pizzaz to her outfits so around her neck was a floral woven scarf with a fringe , and she wore an assortment of rings on her fingers .

"I love your scarf ," I immediately say . "Love your shoes ," she returned . 

I plopped down right on her backpack . "Ooops ," she giggled . I pulled it from under my butt and handed it to her . "You can keep it ." She stuck her tongue out at me . 

"Can you believe it ?" she  asked me . "I'm having dinner with the devil ." By the devil . . . She meant her new stepmom . And her step kids . "When ?" I asked bewildered . I didn't really take a liking to Kendra or her children : Seth and Yuri . 

Wendy's not judgemental , and she wants her dad to be happy . So it's very rare when she hates anyone . It's just that Kendra's very . . . Critical ? Also a smidge judgemental , cynical , vain , and meddling . Her children (the boy's 8 and the girl is 4) are rowdy and break anything and everything . 

"Guess what she said this morning ?" Wendy said shaking her head for effect . "What ?" I asked leaning forward . "She said , 'Oh . You're wearing THAT to school ?'" She rolled her eyes . 

That must suck for Wendy . Even I hated it when people said that to me . And Wendy actually has style . My mouth fell open . Wendy's outfit is CUTE . Kendra can be such a bitch . And I'm not just being petty . Wendy hears Kendra's cynnical comments at least four times a day . And Kendra's kept her from going to art class . She thinks her idea of being an illustrator or manga drawer is 'mediocre' . And I know it's hard to make money in the drawing business (Actually I don't . I don't know anything about the drawing business .) , but Wendy is GOOD . 

"But I LOVE your outfit !" I exclaim . And I mean it . Wendy takes pride in every outfit . "But , get this ," she said . I could hear the outrage in her voice . "Then she said , ' Then again this isn't the 70s anymore . Girls don't have as much class as they used to .'" This outrages me , too . 

Class ? Really ? I know my mom was born and raised during that era , but I can't help but scoff . "In the 70s a lot of women walked around without bras , and gladly took part in orgies . Also they practically never took bathes and didn't own houses . They just lived in vans and cars ." Sorry mom . 

Wendy laughed . "Yeah , but those were the hippy women ," Wendy said thoughtfully . "Plus orgies everyday isn't that bad ." She stuck her tongue out . 

"Yeah , but can you imagine not wearing bras ?! And not showering ?!" We both shuddered . 

The bus pulled up and as we walked down the aisle Wendy told me , "And dad told me he's gonna be working late for a couple of days . So I'm gonna have to spend the whole afternoon with her . He better be cheating on her ." I laugh and jump off the step onto the sidewalk . 

"Don't say that ," I say , but I don't really mean it . I'm afraid to go to Wendy's house because Kendra is always there . And always disapproving everything we do . "But If you want you can tell them you and I have a project and come over after school . My dad won't mind ," I offer . "Plus he's not even home most of the time ." My tone's rather bitter and my eyes glaze over . 

Wendy pushes the door open and says , "Aww , hun ." Wendy's the only person who knows about my 'daddy issues' . "He just wants to make some money so you can get what you need ." But we both know it's far more than that . 

It's so warm inside . Or slightly warmer , which is all I need . We walk to the intersection of hallways and Wendy continues , "Besides , I'll have to face her at one point or another . Might as well be now ." And then she headed off toward her locker like a brave soldier .  

I head off toward my locker , and bump into some guy . After putting in my combination I glance over to where Stefan is opening his locker . I'm so happy I get to be in the senior's locker bank . My hair is like a shield . Or one of those screens they use at the police station . I can see him , but he can't see me .

He takes his books and leaves . I really want to scream , 'BUT I'M NOT DONE LOOKING AT YOU !' But I have a brain so I don't . I head off to first period , books in tow . 

"Hey Yoko !" I say walking over to her seat . The bells didn't ring yet so I have some time before I have to go back to my actual seat . Yoko's also good at art , but she can only draw cartoons . Wendy can draw anything . 

"Hey ! Are you gonna sneak over here like last time ?" Yoko asked with a mischevious smile . She looked really pretty as a strand of hair fell onto her face . (Not that she's not pretty without a strand of hair on her face . She just looks mysterious now !)

"I'll try ," I assured her , but then stuck my tongue out at her . I was known for switching seats without being noticed by teachers . And Stefan . The bell rang and I sprinted to my seat . I sat across from Nasty Chris Thomas who could only talk about disgusting things , so I gladly retreated from my seat to the empty spot near Yoko when Mrs. Koko turned the lights off and started a powerpoint on texture . 

Yoko sat at the last table that was never noticed so I didn't really worry about being caught . Across from her sat Craig Jefferson and he whispered , "Welcome to the dark side . Err , table ." Yoko and I laughed . Then Yoko added , "We have cookies ."

Yoko and Craig would make the best couple ever . Actually , they wouldn't . Even though they have a lot in common they run in completely different circles . Yoko runs in our circle (The weirdo circle . . .) , and Craig . . .Well , he runs in the ghetto circle . Her father would never approve , but Yoko can't help but crush on him . 

The lights flip on and we're supposed to get to work . And we try to . We're working on two point perspectives of a road , but I'm only halfway through mine (and it looks like crap) . I think it's due today . Yoko's looks amazing and all she has to do is add the finishing touches .

"Did you hear ?" Yoko said turning to me . I couldn't help but notice the Wrapper Crochet Ruffled Woven dress she was wearing with her beige Ugg boots . Was she wearing that for Craig ? Her favorite saying is , 'Dress to impress ' . She's also a fashion freak like Wendy . 

"What ?" I asked not looking up . I REALLY needed to work . "You know Patricia ? She gets to spend senior year in ENGLAND !" she exclaimed . Every one of my friends dreamt of England . "Lucky bitch ," I muttered as I colored my street black . 

Yoko giggled . "It's part of some foreign exchange program . " She signed her name on the big canvas paper and held it up . "Where can I sign up ?" I asked drawing a little person who looked more like a werewolf . 

I could imagine myself in one of those cool skirts with a bag filled with scones that had the British flag drawn on it . And the British boys . And their accents . Oooh la la !

She smiled and headed over to the drop off bin . And then to Mrs. Koko's desk . She was probably asking for the next assignment . I turn in Craig's direction and wish I can tell him Yoko likes him . He obviously likes her too , but he won't ask her out because of his friends . 

"Hey , do you believe in 2012 ?" I asked him . I had been pondering the term since Wendy explained to me why people thought it was going to happen . The Mayans were never wrong . He took a breath and said , " I don't know but I'm gonna have a lot of shit to do December 20th ." I nodded . A sly look crossed his face and then he said , "Like get laid . "

I laughed . "Me too ," I replied . Yoko sat down and immdeiately joined our conversation . "I need to get laid real bad . I need to let the beast out of the cage . Let the snake crawl into the

bush . Get dooooowwwwn !" Yoko and Chris gave me a bewildered look . But then they looked up , above me . I slowly turned around and saw Mrs . Koko standing there looking pissed . 

"Winter . . . Is this your seat ?" she asked pretty calmly . "No ma'am ," I answered in a small voice . Yoko and Craig were holding back laughter . "Well then get to it ." I picked up my paper and colored pencils and scurried away . 

Nothing interesting happened after that . Yoko walked me to second period and made fun of my , 'Yes ma'am .' 

"I hate Mrs . Koko ," I grumbled as I slid into my seat next to Macy . Macy nodded in agreement . "Sometimes I think she wants to choke me with those watermelons she calls boobs ," she murmurs . I let out a loud laugh .

"You know , I think they're more like pillows ," I say sounding like I just said something very wise . And I did . Compared to what a lot of people say . Macy snaps her fingers . "You got it !" 

But then class starts and our talk of Mrs. Koko's boobs end because Mrs . Laseur is the strictest teacher in the school . Once she caught me and Macy passing notes and she gave us lunch and after school detention . But I think it's because we were drawing pictures of our gym teacher in a bra . 

After 40 horrible minutes in calculus learning about applications of the derivative I amble out of the room with Macy . "Dear God , that woman is Hitler reincarnated !" Macy cried . "Four pages of homework ?! Does the woman have no mercy ?!"  

I scoff . "It's like you haven't been here for the past school year . You notice how much she assigns JUST NOW ?!" I hop down the stairs and rush into the locker room . I hope I'm not late again or Mr. Turble (The one who we drew wearing a bra) will make me run another lap around the field . Him and Mrs . Laseur would make a good couple . I quickly dial in my combination and fling my locker open . 

I pull on my black Soffe shorts and Killers t-shirt . I dig my feet into some sneakers I got on sale at DSW and rush out of the locker bank since I'm the only one left . I only stop at the mirror to fix my hair and then jog out again . 

I run my fastest to catch up with Wendy who's already on the field . She runs as fast as I do (Which is a pretty good pace) . "Heyy ," she gasps as we round the corner . 3/4 of our lap are done . I look across the field and see Stefan playing goalie in an intense game of soccer . "He is so hot ," I breathe out . 

My breathing's loud . "If I walk I'll kill you ," I murmur linking arms with Wendy . I have nothing to worry about since she runs every lap . We eventually make it through the horrible torture people consider excercise , and pass  out right on the grass at the end of the field . 

Dahlia stood , looking down on us and drinking some Deer Park . She probably finished this lap with ease . She tilted the bottle a little and smiled evilly . When I realized she was about to send some water my way I screamed and rolled onto my side , and then I stood up . 

She took a big gulp of her water and I reached for it . "Gimme sooooooome ," I whined . She smiled , shook her head , and handed me the bottle . "I'll just take a sip ." Then I put the bottle to my lips and gulped down what was left . 

Dahlia snatched the bottle away from me when it was too late and then huffed , "You suck ." I stuck my tongue out at her . 

Today , there was a substitute so we didn't have to do anything . That's how things worked at my school . "Poor Macy . She actually has to play basketball today ," I said as we watched her attempt to make a basket . Dahlia and Wendy laughed . Because we are sadists .

"Maybe we could go join her ," Wendy offered . Because she's a nice sadist . "Or ," I piped up . "We could watch the seniors' soccer game ." I gazed over at Stefan who jumped up to block a goal . 

Dahlia rolled her eyes . "Your obsession is transparent ." 

But stalking Stefan sounded better than playing basketball in the cold , so (SORRY MACY !) we hid out in the tall grass right behind the goal . We lay down so we weren't seen and made a small opening in the grass . Someone should really cut it .

A bug crawled onto Dahlia's leg and she slapped it with ferocity . "I don't see what I'm doing here ," Wendy muttered . "I have a boyfriend . I don't think he'd approve of me stalking seniors ." 

"Oh , shush ," Dahlia said as the soccer ball made its' way back to Stefan's side of the field . "It's cold ," I murmured . "Ohmyplatitude DEREK IS PLAYING !" she cried . I tackled Dahlia and covered her mouth as Stefan looked our way . Wendy immediately put her hands on her head (What she does everytime she sees a bee) . "Shhhh ," I said calmly . 

We straightened up (as much as we could laying down) and continued watching in silence . 

"Shit !" Dahlia cried when she saw the soccer ball rolling toward us . It stopped five feet in front of us . My eyes widened when I heard Stefan cry , "I'll get it !" Shitshitshit . We all held our breath as he made his way over . 

Dear god , this is the end ! But he didn't even look our way . He just picked up the ball and jogged back . We all let out a sigh of relief , and started breathing normally . "Can we go now ?" Wendy whispered cautiously . We all carefully  army crawled back , till' we were ten feet away , stood up , brushed ourselves off , and ran off to go play basketball with Macy . 

Fourth period Chemistry was a mess . We sat at the back table trying to decipher a worksheet on chemical bonds . Well , Anna Maria was . Dahlia was cleverly peering at her answers and writing them down . Yoko and I were not-so-cleverly copying them . I kept an eye on Mrs . Tabitha and the other one my friends as I talked . I'm very lucky Mrs. Tabitha's too busy helping Massie Raymond with her worksheet or I'd have to do some actual work . 

"Do you think he saw us ?" I asked Dahlia nervously after telling Yoko and an unenthusiastic Anna Maria . 

"No ," she answered seriously (Or as seriously as Dahlia gets) . "But I think he heard us ." I gulped . I have nothing to worry about . He probably doesn't even know it's me . But I have one of those shrill voices . 

Mrs . Tabitha walked by and we immediately began working (Or Yoko pretended to) . I didn't really get this worksheet (Or chemistry) so I guessed most of the answers . Let's see . . . A . . . A . . . A . For all  three multiple choice questions . 

"Hey , what did you guys get for the mutliple choice questions ?" I asked with furrowed eyebrows . "I got B , D , and then C ," Anna Maria answered .  "Same ," Dahlia said looking up . 

Next came lunch . I plopped down into my usual seat at table 18 . Wendy was in the middle of telling a Kendra story and sounding completely outraged . Dahlia shook her head . "The nerve of that woman . " I was a little tired of hearing about Kendra so I turned to Yoko . 

"Do you know when Patricia is leaving for England ?" I ask her . Yoko stops mid chew of her sandwich and holds up her finger as if to say , "Hold on ." Finally she gets the bite down and says , " I don't know for certain , but she's supposed to spend senior year in Birmingham ." I nod . 

"So is a British person gonna come HERE ? To Red Fleece ?" It's not very often this school gets a new student . And when we do people are all over them . Yoko nods . "Yup . Her name's Tara . Patricia was bragging about it on the bus . She's our age ." 

I nod again . This latest discovery is not very exciting since Katy will probably snatch her up the first chance she gets. "Katy'll probably snatch her up the first chance she gets ," I tell her as I think it . "Yeahhh ," Yoko says a little solemnly . 

Fifth period was utter torture . The only thing that got me through it was the thought that when I'm an adult we'll have advanced technology so people will be able to make little giraffes . (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ?! THEY'LL BE SO CUTE !)

Mr. Jones can really drone on . If you block out what he's saying and start playing some Miley Cyrus song in your head . . . Well , it's a very fun activity . Whoa - oh - oh - oh ! It's a party in the U.S.A. ! Or the Russian federation which we're reviewing right now . 

I lean forward in my seat and TRY to pay attention . But it's like his mustache has a life of his own . It's like it's speaking to me . It's saying , "Help me ! Help me ! I'm stuck ! I'm just a caterpillar trying to make its coccoon !" 

I hold in a yawn , but I can't take it anymore . 

I'M GONNA EXPLODE . 

Eww , There's a bruise on my elbow and it's turning yellow . How do you even get a bruise on your elbow ? I can already hear Dahlia say , "Wow you and Stefan must have a very active bed life to get a bruise on your elbow ." That perv . 

That from the intelligent mind of Winter Willigreen . My REAL last name is Willigreen . (Winter Tack just doesn't flow . But Winter Willigreen ? It's beautiful ! Or as beautiful as it can be since my first name is a season .) Tack is my dad's last name . Willigreen is my mom's last name . She wanted to keep her 'independance' (The fact that she was a hippie might explain a lot) so she didn't change her last name . But when dad filled out some forms to get me into this high school (Huge mistake on his part) he put Tack as my last name . I guess he just doesn't want to think of mom . 

So for study hall I have Mrs . Walsh . She's a nice lady . But I'm not in my study hall most of the time (Which is a shame since Yoko , Wendy , and Dahlia are in there) . Because I have a secret . It's a big secret that I can't tell anyone , but I'll tell you . Because I've taken a strange liking to you .

I'M JANE . From our school newspaper . . . You know ? From the ask Jane column ? What do you mean that's not a good secret ? 

I forgot to warn you : I'm a loser .

Anyway , our school newspaper is called the Red Fleece Journal . I guess an okay amount of people read it . And I have my own column ! You see , since I'm so wise I get to provide advice . 

I glided into the meeting place of the school newspaper : The computer lab . "Hey guys ," I say leaning against the doorway . "Yo ," Melvin says looking up from his computer . He's in charge of recording the scores of our schools' games . Jaylin , a freshman who doesn't really do anything , looked up . "Hey Winter !" she said flashing a bright smile . "Here's the Ask Jane box ," she said handing me the frilly pink box that usually stood in the office . It was really just a shoe box taped together and covered in wrapping paper . There was a slit at the top where people could slip in their letters . 

"Thanks , " I said trying to return her smile . But I probably looked like a sociopathic clown . I opened the box and frowned . Only four letters ? I sighed and started reading them . 

Dear Jane , 

My parents just got divorced and I'm devastated . Also now that my mom's moved out this horrible woman that my dad's dating moved in . I want him to be happy , but this woman is so cynnical . She tells me horrible things everyday . 

-Love , Cinderella 

I frown . This is obviously Wendy . I sigh and start writing . 

Dear Cinderella , 

Dear god , what am I supposed to put ?! 

Don't worry you'll get your happy ending . But first you have to ask yourself : Does this woman make my dad happy ? (I.e Do they argue a lot ? Do they laugh together ?) If you think that there could be someone else for your dad you should talk to him . Tell him you don't like this new

woman , and that she's mean to you . Remember that YOU'RE his daughter , and that gives you more power than her . If it gets worse always remember that you still have your mom . 

-Love, Jane 

Maybe I shouldn't include the thing about the mom . Because even though Wendy's mom lives only an hour away , I'd like it better if she were only 5 minutes away . 

I put the cover on the box and ask ,   "When should I bring these in , Rick ?" He's basically in charge of the whole newspaper . "Well we're printing our newest issue out on Tuesday so Monday would be nice ," he answered tapping his pen on the desk . "I'll just work on it over the weekend ," I tell him slipping out of the computer lab . I jog to my locker and shove the box into my backpack . 

Sixth period is Stefan stalking time , but I can hardly enjoy it because of Wendy's letter . Our teacher , Mrs . Yerman , is speaking about our assigned reading Lord of the Flies . I stare at the back of Stefan's head . I kind of wish he'd turn around . It's really nice to see his face . But then he'd think , 'Why is this chick staring at me ?!' 

Mrs. Yerman passes out a book to each of us . "I want you all to get to chapter 4 by Monday ," she says . I love Mrs. Yerman , but NOOOOOO ! This means I'll have weekend reading to do . 

Seventh period comes around and I'm already half asleep . This day has been so boring . Well , except for almost being caught by Stefan . I'm ready to climb onto the bus , go home, eat , take a bath , and SLEEP . Not exactly in that order . 

I can take a bath in a sink if I excuse myself . No, I won't fit . I can take a bath in one of the toilets . 

"Cal's taking me out to Carrabba's Italian grill Saturday . I know you love their food ! Do you want me to get you some Penne pasta ? But it might be my leftovers ," Wendy said leaning across the aisle . Mrs. Turcotte is at the front explaining our vocab sheet . Her voice rings through the room saying , "Repeat after me : Here I am ! Me voilà !" But it sounds more like gibberish to me . 

Dear god , this is supposed to be the language of love ! Wait , no , that's Spanish . . . But either way I will never learn this cursed language . 

"Could you please not rub it in my face that I'm a fattie ?" I joked . Wendy rolled her eyes . "You AREN'T fat . If you say that one more time I'll KILL you . And I'm just offering free food . If you don't want some , you won't get any ," Wendy said a little aggravated . "Wait , no ," I said . Because I'm a fattie . "Some penne would be nice .  And tiramisu if that's not too much . . ."

Wendy scoffed and Mrs. Turcotte looked our way . We immediately straightened up and pretended to be writing on the vocab sheet . 

Let's see , boring walk to my locker , boring bus ride (Wendy had volleyball practice) , and boring walk home . I immediately rip open the fridge door as soon as I'm inside . 

Lunchables give me way more joy than I deserve . I rip open my turkey and cheddar cracker pack and devour it all in record time . I'm horribly hungry everyday after school because I don't eat lunch . But I'm also , just , hungry all the time . 

I try to put off doing homework but with the motivation of 2 cans of diet pepsi (Trying to lose weight here)(And failing), a very sexy ham sandwich , and some Girl Scout cookies I get it done in two hours . It's 5:45 and dad's not home yet . 

BATH TIME ! I've grown a horrible habit of taking baths , reading , and eating at the same time . And I do it A LOT . Today I'm lying in the warm water trying to read Lord of the Flies . But if that fails I also put L.A. Candy nearby as a back up book . I am also eating Milano cookies .

I wish I could stay in this bath tub forever . I'm so lucky I'm a woman . Men can't do this .

The lukewarm water warms up my poor , cold feet . I try to read comfortably , but I get water all over the pages  . So I've given up reading and I'm trying to just relax .  

And at the same time Tara was trying to fall asleep with the happy news that she was going to America . And she was failing .

3What the devil is a party ?

I'm not invited to parties a lot . . . 

I'm not exactly , as you young ones say , 'cool' . I am in fact . . . far from it . I know , I know - GASP ! Winter Willigreen -the one who's named after a season- is not exactly cool ?! How can it be ?!

Okay , FINE . I know no one's gasping . But I would feel better if you at least TRIED to act surprised . 

How was I supposed to know you can't just wear jeans and a T-shirt to a high school party ?! Well , actually , you can . Apparently Wendy doesn't get out that much , either . 

"What do you mean you're going to wear JEANS AND A T-SHIRT TO DEMPSEY'S PARTY ?!" She gasped as she rifled through my limited wardrobe . "Well , yeah . . . " I mumbled awkwardly . "It's not like we're going to a black tie event ." 

Wendy gave me a look . I think I'd better shut up before I make myself seem even lamer . "I didn't say we were going to wear ball gowns ," Wendy said with exaggerated impatience in her voice . She put her hands on her hips and continued , "TRUST me . I've been to these things . I know how it works . And a t-shirt and jeans is NOT how it works ." 

I suddenly felt even more like a loser . I pouted without realizing it . Wendy saw the look on my and tried to reassure me , "Plus Stefan'll be there . You want to show some skin , don't you ?" 

And that's why I'm in a tube top . And booty shorts . 

And also because of my daddy issues . 

"Hold on ," I said . "I don't even know if I'm going to this thing . Let me ask my dad ." I scurried off toward the phone . After a few rings I thought it would go to voicemail , but he picked up . "Hello ?" he grumbled . He sounded half awake . 

"Hey , dad , there's this party tonight . It starts around 8 , and I'll get home 11-ish . Macy can pick me up and drop me off . Plus a few people might sleep over ," I quickly breathed into the phone . "Oh . Okay . Have fun ." And then the line went dead . 

Did I tell him there wouldn't be alcohol ? No . Did I tell him there wouldn't drugs ? No . But he still let me go . I know I should feel like the luckiest person on the planet since lots of girls wish their parents would pay LESS attention , but it feels like I've lost both my parents . 

"It's okay ," I said non-enthusiastically . Then I sniffled . Wendy gave me a hug , and that was all I needed . I have kick-ass friends and that's all that matters . 

So that's how I'm standing here awkwardly with my skin on display and a red cup full of beer . "You've been to these things , huh ?" I whisper to Wendy . But she doesn't hear me cause she's sucking Cal's face off . That's the only appropriate way to describe what they're doing . 

I study the girls around me . 95% of them are wearing jeans . And a t-shirt . Note to self : Kill Wendy if Cal doesn't suck her face off first . 

"I feel overdressed ," I whisper to Macy on my right . Macy scoffs . "There's no such thing as overdressed ." She checks out the guys and then sighs . "Let's go dance ," she says steering me toward the dance floor . "What about Wendy ?" I ask worriedly . I'm so bad at dancing . She rolls her eyes when she sees Wendy sucking face . "She'll be alright ." 

Macy leads me toward the dance floor (Or the living room) , and I put my cup of beer ( I took a sip , but that stuff is GROSS) on one of the coffee tables . Some girl bumped the table

and my beer spilled everywhere . The girl and I gasped at the same time . The girl nudged Dempsey and pointed towards the spill . He just nodded . 

He'll clean it up later . With his tongue . 

Macy dragged me onto the dance floor as I finally noticed how trashed Dempsey's house was . He had a pretty big house that was on the rich side of his neighborhood . His parents put lots of sleek , modern furniture everywhere . On the floor near us a lamp lay on the floor seemingly broken . It's a shame . It was a cool lamp . 

Dear god , why is everyone so sweaty ?! You really can't do anything at these parties , but hook up . This living room is so crowded and I hardly know anyone here . I'm going to kill Calvin when we get out of this . No , he's probably on his way through Wendy's digestive system . 

Me and Macy attempt to dance together , but then some guy comes over and they 'dance' . And by dance I mean Macy's probably pregnant now . 

So now I'm all alone in Dempsey Royleng's living room . The only thing to do in this situation ? Do the chicken dance . All alone . Might as well continue making an ass of myself . I prefer the chicken dance beat to this repetitive techno . I think it's something by LMFAO . Not the chicken dance song , the repetitive techno . 

Of course some jerk has to bump into me when I'm in the zone . Oh yay it's Carter . With some senior girl clinging onto him . Is every girl here , but me , planning to get pregnant ?! "You're so weird ," he says with a shake of his head when he sees what I'm doing . And then the red sea of dancing people parts and they walk through . Probably to Dempsey's bed . Room . 

 I wouldn't really mind getting pregnant if it was Stefan . I squint my eyes , stand on my tip toes , and try to spot him . Oh god I NEED to pee . I glance over at Macy . I think she's in safe , groping hands . 

So , because I'm not Carter , the crowd does not part for me . I have to shove my way through and get elbowed everywhere imaginable . I rush into Dempsey's bathroom that is near the front door . 

Wow he has a cool bathroom . There's porcelain everywhere and a picture of dolphins . That's awkward . Their beady little eyes are watching do my business . Oh gosh . Pervert dolphins . There's a knock at the door and I scream , "Occupado !" A voice shouts back , "Okay !" 

I flip open my phone and text Yoko :

Me: You should come over later . Wendy + Macy are sleeping over !

Yoko loco : Can do (: Is the party fun ? I really hate my dad for not letting me go .

Me : It's definitely fun for Macy and Wendy . Come 11-ish . 

After rinsing my hands with their delicious smelling Milk and Honey soap (he's lucky I didn't shove it down my bra and take it home ) I open the door and guess who's standing there ? "Oh , hey Winter !" Stefan says , but I don't have time to reply since he runs into the bathroom and locks the door . 

I walk over to the kitchen and pick up an abandoned can of beer after realizing that my pee sounds echoed . Oh god this is so gross , but with every sip it doesn't taste so bad . . . you know . . . A second cup wouldn't be so bad . Or a fourth . 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE OUT OF BEER ?!" I scream at the guy who brought the illegal packs . "Sorry , but there's no more !" he cries with a frightened tone . Whatever . 

"I love this song !" I scream at some guy . "Yeah !" he calls back . "Whooa ," I kneel in the middle of the dance floor . "YOU GUYS IT'S FRIDAY THE 13TH !" I yell at the top of my lungs . I get a bunch of 'yeah's in return . 

And that's all I remember before Wendy rustled me awake on the couch . "I found her !" she called to Macy . "I think she's drunk ."

"Shutup . . . you flurrr . . . " I slur . "I ain't drunk ! I'm the president , god dammit !" Wendy erupts in giggles . "How much beer did you have ?!" Wendy asks shaking my shoulders . "As much as I want , woman ," I say lifting a limp hand and attempting to slap her . 

"Come on ," Wendy says helping me up and together we stumble towards Macy's car . We pull into the parking lot of my building just as Yoko's car does . "Hey guys !" she says walking toward us . "Winter's wasted ," Macy says and then snickers . Yoko laughs too . "I never knew I'd see the day ."

"Ba humbug ," I murmur . 

We make our way to my apartment and my dad's already asleep so we quietly amble to my room . They throw me on to my warm mattress , and that's the last I remember . 

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

Oh god , my head ! It feels like someone's pounding on it with a hammer . My eyes flutter open and I see Wendy's face next to mine . I sit up and see Yoko and Macy lying on the floor . 

I thump Wendy on the head and when she opens her eyes I say , "Good . You're awake ." Yoko's eyes fly open too . "I'm hungryyy ," Wendy murmurs softly . 

I get up and instantly regret it . "My head ," I moan putting my hands to my temples . "My throat ," I say when I feel the dryness . I rush to my kitchen and Yoko and Wendy follow suit . I flip my sink on and grab the nearest cup . I gulp it all down and the dryness is still there , but now it's not as strong . 

"You're having a hangover , my dear , " Wendy informs me . I sit down at the kitchen table and put my hand to my head . "Where do you keep your aspirin ?" Yoko asks searching my cabinets . "The cabinet next to the microwave ," I murmur . 

She brings me some aspirin and a cup of water which I down in seconds . They lead me back to my room and to my bed . I'm still in my tube top and shorts . And Macy's still sleeping . But she usually sleeps till' 2 pm on weekends so I'm not surprised . 

Wendy pokes Macy in the shoulder , and Macy swats her . Wendy tries again and Macy wakes up . "Drive me home ," Wendy commands her . "Winter has a hangover . She needs rest ." I don't have the strength to say that I want company so I just lay there . 

After a while they're all gone , and I feel like a horrible hostess since all we did was sleep . They didn't even get breakfast . At 3 pm my dad waddles to my doorway and asks , "Did your friends leave ?" 

I nod . "I'm not feeling well . I think I'll just stay in bed today . " He just nods back . 

So my Saturday was spent in my bed of pain watching reruns of America's Funniest Home Videos . Bob Saget's pretty nice looking . 

I woke up Sunday and my eyes ached , but my head ache was almost gone and so was my dehydration so I decided to text my friends . 

To : Dahliaaa , Yoko loco , Wendy , Macy , Anna Maria

We should hang out today . 

Wendy told me she was sorry because she was busy , but she could bring over the Carrabba's leftovers later . She'll come around 8 . Dahlia's busy too , but her dad's having a cook out at 6 and Macy and Yoko will be there . No reply from Anna Maria . Now all I need is a ride to Dahlia's . 

Finally Yoko replies , 'Can't right now . Sorry "/'

Me : That's ok . But can you give me a ride to Dahlia's at six ?

Yoko loco : No problemo 

So I just need something to do . It's 10 am . 8 hours before I'm actually doing anything . No need for getting out of my pajamas . 

10:25 - Thank God for On Demand ! Now I can watch a few (Or a lot) of episodes of Spongebob . 

11:37- I watched way too much TV . My eyes hurt . What if I need glasses ?! Glasses may work for Yoko , but not for me . I need to do something else . I could get around to my homework . 

12:56 - Just finished this horrible , horrible thing they call homework . And my Ask Jane stuff . Here's one of them : 

Dear Jane , 

My friend just got a boyfriend . I'm trying to be happy for her but this is a guy I used to like . It's not her fault since I didn't tell her , but I really like him . And I think he likes me . What do I do ? 

-Love , Brutus 

Dear Brutus , 

Always remember sisters before misters . ALWAYS . High school is NOT for finding your husband . It's for finding your bridesmaids . And learning , but I'm not sure anyone does that anymore . I know this guy might be really cute but you're probably not going to marry him . You will, however, always have your girlfriends . My advice is to try not to get romantic with him . Oh , and warn your friend about this guy if he makes a move on you . Telling her that you like him can make matters a lot better or a lot worse so really consider her possible reactions . 

-Yours truly , Jane

I know . I'm a mastermind . 

1:15 - I found a pack of cards . I'm going to make a house of cards and then play poker . 

1:21 - I gave up . Cards are not for me . I have to go clean them up now . Screw poker and screw people who make houses of cards . I'm gonna go text people on my phone . 

1:23 - No one texted (FAT AND ALONEEEE ! I'm out on my own . Queen of blubber sitting on my throne . No one's calling on my telephone ! No never , no never , no never !) , but at least I changed my signature toIn my bed . 

2:45 - 3 hours and 15 minutes before I go to the barbecue . I'm bored . I'm going to go out on my porch and read L.A. Candy . I'm only on page 13 . I really hope no one's going to be in the park out back because I'm in my cat pajamas . 

3:00- I got to page 33 , but then someone started this huge basketball game and I  rushed inside . What if someone saw me ?! It doesn't matter because I'm sure my notifications on Facebook are racking up . Let's see . . . Username: nutellalover56@gmail.com . Password . . . Stefanstefanstefan . Let's see loading . . . 

Bitch , how long do you have to load ?! Okay , okay it's done . 1 notification . Just what I expected . Let's see . . . Millie BigGuns Hinyata sent me a request on Farmville . Do I even know this person . . . ? Accept . Let's see who's online . . . Don't want to talk to you . . . You either . . . Don't know you . . . YOU don't know me . . .

I shut my laptop . Because spending too much time on the internet is NOT good . I should do something productive .

  3:16 - I'm done eating . I think I'm gonna go watch more Tv . 

3:34 - There's nothing good on . I hate my life . 

3:41 - I'm gonna go get changed . And go outside . For a walk or something . When does dad get back from hanging with his poker buddies ? 5-ish ? 

3:45 - I pulled on my comfy jeans and I'm outtt ! I'm hungry . . . Do I have any money in my piggy bank ? Let's see . . . 2 dollars and 48 cents . Okay I'm putting on my shoes and leaving . 

Oh God , it's cold ! I'm gonna go put a jacket on . 

3:59 - I'm across the street at McDonalds . It got so cold . I'm so hungry . I  always am . Let's see . . . What can I get for 2 dollars and 48 cents ? 

4:01 - I am enjoying a fine feast of a cheeseburger with no pickles and one of those swirly ice cream cones . Oh and a gumball I got from one of the gumball machines . It's blue . AND I have 23 cents to spare . I think I'll put them in my college fund . That's non-existant .  

You know , there's a better chance of bumping int Stefan if I stay outside . Even though he lives on the other side of town . And so do all his friends . Maybe I'll run into a hot guy . . .  ?

4:05 - Maybe I should walk to Wendy's house . It's soo cold though . 

I'll suck it up and walk to her house . 

4:26 - The bitch ain't home . Her dad's car isn't in the driveway and her bedroom curtains are open and no one's inside . I'm too scared to knock at the door in case Kendra answers . 

4:27 - She's hiding from me . I can sense it . All my friends are in cahoots ! They're going to exterminate me ! 

4:28 - The cold is getting to my brain I'm going home . 

4:51 - I got home just in time . Dad will be home any minute and he doesn't know I went out . 

5:03 - "Heyyyy dad ," I say trying not to sound suspicious . "Hi Winter ," he says furrowing his eyebrows . HE CAN SMELL THE ADVENTURE ON ME . "Dahlia invited me over for a barbecue . And then Wendy's coming over later ." Notice how I don't ask . I just inform . 

5:05 - Reading L.A. Candy in my warm bed after a long and cold journey . It's getting good . 

5:54 - Yoko FINALLy shows up . "You ready ?" she asks me . Do I look UNready ? Did I forget to put some clothes on ?! I don't understand her question .

"Yupp ." 

It's not good for me to be by myself . I get bored and do stupid things . Like go to McDonalds . Skinny people might be able to go to McDonalds , but I'm not one . Clearly . 

Her ford truck rumbles on to Stefan's neighborhood which Dahlia luckily lives in . But he lives on the other side . 

We pull up into her long ass driveway and that takes a total of two minutes . I don't even get a driveway . Dahlia lives in this HUGE house . It's two floors (but no basement) and it's mostly stone since it was built a while ago . There's a huge archway and then her front door . Yoko pulls the door open and the sound of her shoes on the expensive wood flooring echo . 

"Yoko ! Winter ! Welcome girls ! The party's in the back !" Dahlia's dad cries as he walks through the living room looking for something . "Thanks Mr . Haddad !" Yoko calls as we head through their kitchen and into the backyard .  

"Hey guys ," Dahlia says huddling near a  bonfire . "I know it's cold but the fire'll keep you warm ." I'm so happy to be in other people's company . I was driving myself insane . 

They had chicken and corn grilling , already . And I was more than happy to eat it . 

30 minutes later I lay down on Dahlia's expensive leather couch in the living room  and murmur into the pillow , "I'm never , ever eating again !" But everyone knows that's a lie .

I had way too much chicken . And corn . I don't know how I'm going to eat Wendy's leftovers . 

After just sitting and talking in Dahlia's living room for another half hour Yoko had to go , and since she's my ride I had to , too . "Bye Dahlia see you tomorrow . Bye Mr. Haddad !" I yelled as I walked off the steps to their house . I'm home by 7:20 and I practically beg Yoko to come in . 

"Nahhh ," she says shaking her head . "My gram's coming over for dinner . I can't ."

So I have some time for myself . 

OH NO . I'm all alone with myself . Who knows what I'll tell myself ?! What is I start thinking ? Or even worse - GETTING IDEAS . I finally know what it's like to be Ceasar . 

By 8:12 Wendy arrives with 2 containers . One of them better be my tiramisu or someone'll get shot . I'll shoot the whole building if that's how I have to  get my point across ! And the point is : I DON'T JOKE ABOUT MY TIRAMISU . 

You know I'm starting to think chicken and corn wasn't enough . I'm pretty hungry . I COULD EVEN EAT WENDY . Yeah , I just creeped myself out a bit there , but I shouldn't be surprised . 

"Hey ." She sounds breathless . I bet it's cause she was sucking face . I need to face the music : My friends are such whores ! But so am I . In my mind . If I was attractive I'd be such a whore . But I'm not . . .  

"Here's the penne ," she says slamming a paper plate on my kitchen counter . "And here's the tiramisu ." HALLELUJAH ! HALLELUJAH ! I hug the tiramisu and whisper , "I've been waiting for you so long ." 

"Listen I gottta go ," she says turning towards the door . But my mouth is full of tiramisu . This is suspicious . Doesn't she wanna do something ?! The weekend is fleeting ! I give her a suspicious look  but that's hard to do when you look like a squirrel when it stuffs its face with nuts (Teehee whore squirrel !) . 

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out ," I say putting the penne in my microwave . Wendy slips out , and I'm alone with myself . OH NO . 

"Hey dad you wanna watch a movie ?" I ask popping up in his doorway . He looks up at me surprised . Why is he lying in bed ? . . . It's only 8 , dammit ! "Not now , Winter . I'm tired . I want to go to bed ." 

Gee , I didn't know playing poker and then lying at home on your butt is that tiring . 

I flip open my computer and see a commercial for Barbie Princess and the Pauper . I haven't seen that in a while . . . And that's what I do till' I'm dead tired and I can barely make it to my bed . 

It's okay tomorrow you will see Stefan . And my last thought before I drift off is : StefanStefanSTEFANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN .

4There are souls in your panties !

 This is just SUCH a great way to start the week . I just wanna prance through a field of sunflowers with a trail of unicorns following me and feed homeless babies . Maybe , even , pet depressed cats . The world is my oyster ! 

If you haven't noticed the sarcasm in my voice you should now . 

I hate my life and I'm feeling an excruciating need to stab someone . I woke up at five am because of these unbearable cramps ! At first I thought I caught some horrible diesease , but then I saw the blood . 

Mother Nature has just visited my pants . It's THAT time of the month . No , not the full moon . The OTHER time of the month . 

If you think about it . . . It's terribly gross . Because it's not just blood . You're letting unborn babies fly out of your body ! There are souls in your panties ! 

Okay , well . . . It's not exactly like that , but . . . THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A BABY .

Well at least I'm sure I'm not pregnant now . Well , I'm not one hundred percent sure . But I can assume . . . I'm not really one hundred percent sure about anything .

Dear God , I'M SO FAT . I think my thighs have doubled in size . My stomach feels like dough . Teehe , it's funny to karate chop ! I'm so flubbery .

I don't even feel like going to school . Dad's probably awake at this hour . . . I must inform him I refuse to go to school .

Good he's in the kitchen . "Dad ," I say leaning against the wall . He jumps and almost spills his coffee . "You're up early ," he said in confusion . "Yeahhh ," I start . "I'm feeling under the weather . Can I stay home today ?" He nods . "You look a little yellow . Okay , you can stay home ."

On my way back to my bedroom I stop when I see the mirror . I just want to check if I really do look yellow , but I see more than I want to .

And back to sleep !

So after two hours of sleep I wake up . I'm double H . The worst combination . Hungry and horny . I amble off to my kitchen scavenging for food . How could I forget we had Starbucks icecream ?! YUM . In 3 minutes half the container is gone . Should I just finish it ? It's not like dad will notice . I look down at my thighs and shudder . Don't do it ! You will get elephantine legs and die of obesity .

I finished the ice cream off .

I'm gonna leave the kitchen before I do something I'll regret . Like eat a whole carton of ice cream . Oh , wait . . .

Let's see . . . Comp-uter timeee ! My fingers automatically type in Facebook.com . Let's see . . . No one's online . Except for some chick I don't know with a creepy profile picture . At least I THINK she's a chick .

Bruise report : My bruise is now green . Well it's half green half yellow. With purple spots in the middle . It's kind of like a demented pokeball .

I'm so lonely . All my friends hate me . I bet no one even notices I'm missing . I bet they do and they're all partying . I bet Katy McCurk is talking with my friends . Flirting with Stefan . The bitch .

See this is what happens when I'm all alone .

I'm not very proud of what happened next . But I get really horny on my period . And even when I'm not on it . Oh , shush . I'm a high school girl . It's just a phase .

I brought my laptop closer to me and type : porn . Teehee . Let's see . . . Two Blond Babes . Okay let's see what is this . . . OH . This is not straight people porn . Ehhh , whatever . Anything's good . WHOA . Oh god . That looks like it hurts . I close it immediately and hope I die a virgin and never experience the pain that poor girl felt .

Next time I should choose something without barbed wire being one of the tags .

Wait . . . Next time ? No this will be over . I will no longer do disgusting things like watch porn on the internet . Which is why I was searching it up on the internet again . How come it's only okay for guys ?! 

Let's see . . . Tumblr.com . . . Oh , yay I got a new follower ! Now I have a total of five . And I'm following . . . 155 people . I should've just watched porn . 

Let's see the Forever Alone blog . . . 

AHAHAH ! That's so me ! Wait . . . 

I type in Facebook.com again and go to the search bar . Search : Stefan Salvatore . Winter Salvatore . It's not exactly as good as Winter Willigreen , but it's okay .

Oooh he has a nice profile picture . It's him and his friend . They're both really groovy looking . He's smiling up at the camera as if the person who was taking the picture was standing over them . He has this slick black hair that's not too long , but not too short . And these crystal blue eyes . And a button nose . And cute pale pink lips . He got a tan since last summer , but in Idaho no one but me is tan . I think he's the perfect shade . Not pale , but not tan . 

Who is this girl writing on his wall ?! Sheila Bernadettee . And she says . . . 'Heyyy buddy ' . She's obviously trying to steal my man . It's girls like this that you have to watch out for . My phone buzzes and I let out a sigh of relief . THEY REMEMBER ME !

Dahliaaaa : Chem was sooo boring without u ! anna maria actually expected us to work (Recieved at 1:58 pm) 

I laugh . That is soo Dahlia . 

Me : I'm so sorry D': That sounds horrible . I'm feeling under the weather  . Can you go on without me ? (Sent at 2:01 pm)

I put my phone on my night stand , only to have it ring the second I do . 

Dahliaaaa : Oh shush . You better get well soon or I'll come over there with a big pot of chicken soup ! (Recieved at 2:02 pm)

Me : OH NO ! ANYTHING BUT THE CHICKEN SOUP ! D: (Sent at 2:03 pm)

I got another text . From Wendy . 

Wendy : Do you want me to come over after school ? I hear you're 'under the weather .' (Recieved at 2:03 pm) 

Me : Nahh ; I look like crap . (Sent at 2:04 pm) 

OH CRAP ! I forgot the Ask Jane thing was due today ! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

Me : Hey can you ask Yoko if she can pick me up ? RIGHT afer school ? (Sent at 2:06 pm)

Wendy : Sure . . . (Recieved at 2:10 pm)

Wendy : She says she'll try . (Recieved at 2:11 pm) 

School ends soon . Yoko will come . I know it ! I won't let my journalism buddies down . I hope everybody's staying late at the computer lab . It's what we always do . . . I pull on a normal shirt and my Fugg boots , but I'm still in my pajama pants when I see Yoko pull up . I grab the apartment keys and run outside . I stuff the flashy pink box into a plastic bag and dash out of the apartment .

"I am so sorry , Yoko !" I cry as I jump into her car . "This was the last day to turn in my English project , and our teacher won't accept it any later even if you're sick !" 

Yoko nods , and I pray she won't ask anyone anything about my 'English Project .' "So to school ?" she asks as we pull out of the parking lot . I nod vigorously . 

"You can stay in the car if you want ," I tell Yoko and then I slam the car door shut and sprint toward the school and into the main office . The office ladies are confused by my outfit but I just ask them , "Can you please deliver this to the newspaper editor ? Urgently ." 

They nod and take it out of my hands . The office lady says , "I'll bring it over there right now , honey ." My worries are lifted off my shoulders , and I jog back to Yoko's car . I climb in and she asks , "Home , now ?" I nod .

"How was school ?" I ask suddenly . "Did I miss anything ?" Yoko smiles . "Craig told me that my picture was as pretty as me . " I let out an , 'Awwww !' She shakes her head . "He's never going to ask me out , is he ?" 

She parks in front of my apartment building . "It's cause of his stupid friends . YOU should ask him out ." She wrinkles her nose , but then thinks it over . She sighs and says , "I dunno . " I climb out of her car and tell her , "Thanks for the ride ! I owe you one . And you should really take my advice !"

Because I am a wise and bearded one . 

The next day I went to school because my period wasn't that bad . But I am , still , extremely hungry . "Can you get me some fries ? OH PLEASE ! PLEASEEE !" I beg Wendy . She rolls her eyes . "You don't have to beg . Fine ." She takes her place in the lunch line . 

Time to change my pad . I walk over to the bathroom and I see Katy McCurk reading . I KNOWWW ! But it gets even stranger . . . She's reading the Red Fleece journal ! I think I'm gonna faint . She once said that the Red Fleece Journal was soooo lame ! And she seems to be examining the left panel on the back . That's the Ask Jane column . Next thing you know pigs will be flying !

A bag of pork rinds flies over my head , and I see a little pink pig on the bag . Freaky .

Next came fifth period . Oh , the horror !

We were in the computer lab trying to get facts on our country . And I think everyone else did . "Dude , if you practically strangle someone to get a certain project topic you might as well research it !" I cried when I saw him type in Facebook.com into the search bar . My period was putting me on the edge .

The edge ! The edge ! And not of glory . I'm on the edge of sanity . Wait . . . I never had it to begin with . I'm on the edge of a cliff .

He gave me an annoyed look and signed in . Some guy hacked into the block system and now free internet access for everyone !

"Cooldude45@yahoo.com ?" I say and then laugh . "You've got to be kidding me ." He squints his eyes and types in his password grudgingly . "Great now you can stalk me ," he says clicking the sign in button .

I scoff , "Stalk YOU ?" Whoa . The dude has 10 notifications . "10 notifications ? When did you last check your account ?" I barely get that much in a week . "This morning , " he says with a smirk .

"If we don't get some work done I'll KILL you ," I threaten as he scrolls through photos . "You're a violent girl , " is all he says . He opens a picutre of Katy McCurk showing off her cleavage . "Damn ," he says . He clicks the like button . I see 78 other people did too . How in the world ?!

"You're disgusting ," I say with a grossed-out tone , but inside I feel deflated . He rolls his eyes . "I'm just being a guy . " He clicks the X . "Anyway , I don't feel like dying today . But I do feel like proving you wrong ."

I cross my arms over my chest . "I'm never wrong ." Okay , I'm ALWAYS wrong . But he doesn't have to know that .

He raises his eyebrows . "Okay Ms . I'm-Always-Right-And-So-Full-Of-Myself what's the first question ?" he asks opening a new browser . I pressed my lips together . FULL OF MYSELF ?! Your head is probably full of feathers and nudy pictures of Vanessa Hudgens , you dousche !

"What continent is your country located in ?" I read off non-enthusiastically . Carter rubs his chin as if he's thinking (but he obviously cannot) , and then says , " Well it's considered to be in the Oceania region so I guess you could say it's a part of Australia , BUT -" I cut him off . "I'm just putting Australia down ."

What really gets me is that he doesn't even need the internet . He probably memorized all this before he came here . "But it might be wrong since a lot of people -" he starts off . But I have no time for this . "I'll . Kill . You ," I say slowly and menacingly . I'm extra-murderous when I'm on my period . He just laughs . "Somehow I'm not very frightened . "

Grrrrr . Ruff ruff ! GRRRRRRRRRRRR . Suddenly the bell rings and I say , "GREAT . In forty five minutes you've managed to be a complete pervert and only get ONE question done ." He brushed it off . "Don't worry about it ." DO NOT , I REPEAT , DO NOT STRANGLE HIM . Oh please God , give me some self control ! I might sin badly if you don't help me ! And I might die of hunger ! Could you please send me some fajitas ? Or is that asking for too much ?

Sixth period rolls around and I'm staring at the back of Stefan's head again . He turns around to pass back papers and our eyes lock . I quickly look away . And that's it . All I got was one stinking look and a load of homework .

I'm not going to bore you with this week of my life . Because everyday was the same . Watch Yoko flirt , goof off with my friends , waste time on Carter , and be ignored by Stefan . It's a hard life , but someone has to live it .

So by Friday I'm exhausted . I'm in fifth period again and Carter's ACTUALLY being cooperative today . "We're never gonna finish this ! This research packet has 107 questions and

we're only on 43 ," I groaned . He scrolled through some website . "Well aren't you so sunny and optimistic ?" he said turning towards me . I sighed . "Well it's due Monday ." "If you want I'll take it home and finish it ," he offered . And it sounded like a decent offer . So , that's how I knew he was lying . "I don't trust you ," I said looking him up and down . He laughed as if I was joking . "How about I take it home and finish it ?" I offered . I trust myself way more with this . He shook his head and said , "If you don't trust me , I don't trust you ."

I rolled my eyes . This is ridiculous . I tried to swipe the packet off the desk , but he grabs it seconds before me and holds it up high so I can't reach it . "I have a solution to this problem ," he says . "How 'bout you come over and we'll finish it at my house ." I try to snatch it from him again , but I brutally fail .

I can't even imagine what his house might look like . No , how about HE comes over . But dad might come home early . Who knows what he'll think . . . I try snatching it out of his hands again , but I fail . I'm tired of fighting so I say , "FINE . But only cause the research is 20% of the project ." I squint my eyes challenging him . "Okay ," he said completely unaware of my unfriendliness . "Tonight ? Around 6 ?" I squint my eyes even harder . "Fine give me your address ."

6th period rolls by and I'm utterly depressed that I agreed . I hardly notice Stefan standing over me . "Hey do you have Mrs . Lockhart for math ?" he asks . "Hmm ?" I stir from my thoughts and immediately straighten up . "Oh . Hey . Nope . Sorry ."

"Ohh it's cool ," and then he stalks away . With my heart . I sigh . If someone could illustrate my love life it would be a bridge collapsing and a bunch of people dying . Because that's what I think my love life is . A collapsed bridge .

On the bus Wendy invites me over . My eyes widen . "Ohh , err , I can't ." She raises her eyebrows at me . I know I'm a loser but you don't have to make it this obvious Miss I've Been To These Things . "Why ?" What do you mean 'why' ?! Am I not allowed to have a social life , now ? You're the one who left me and my tiramisu , woman ! But I don't really say that . Because I have a brain . "I'm . . . Errr . . . busy ," I'm quick to say . She gets even more suspicious . "With what ?"

"Oh look it's your stop !" I cry as the bus comes to a creaking stop . I practically have to shove her out of the bus . PHEW . The woman of many suspicions is gone ! Now I'm left to be raped by Carter Summers . Oh goodie .

WHY IN THE WORLD DID I SAY YES ?!

You know . . . It would be really groovy if Stefan invited me over to his house . Real groovy .

Let's see . . . I can't ask my dad for a ride . He would not approve of me going to a guy's house , no matter the circumstances . Let's see . . . Let me google map his address . 105 Cherokee drive . Sounds like the street of a jerk-off . And OMG ! It is . But the good thing is that it's in Dahlia neighborhood . I print out directions that say how to get there from Dahlia's house . Macy lives there so she probably knows it's Carter's house , and Yoko will ask whose house it is .

After using my big , big brain I have decided to ask someone to drop me off at Dahlia's house and then walk there . I'm so clever .

Me : (To Yoko and Macy) Can you drop me off at Dahlia's house at 5:50 ? (Sent at 3:01 pm)

At first I thought Carter gave me the address to some strip club , but when I checked online it seemed to be a legit house . Probably some rapist's house . Or it could be Carter's house . I don't see the difference .

Macy texted back :

Yeah sure . (Recieved at 5:16 pm)

I let out a sigh of relief .

And in forty five minutes I was in Macy's Toyota and my palms were sweating . "So what're you guys doing ? Can I join ?" she asked as her car pulled to a stop at a red light . Her manicured

fingers tapped against the steering wheel . Let's see . . . What'll drive Macy away ? "We're just working on a project . "

"Oh ," she said immediately rethinking her offer . "I just remembered I had something to do at home ." I laugh out loud , but it sounds more like and animal dying a painful death . She pulls up in front of Dahlia's house . "Here we are ." I crawl out and give her a smile . "Thanks . I owe you one ." Then I walk to Dahlia's front door as Macy pulls away . Once she's out of view I pull out my map and continue toward his house .

Atleast I hope it's his house .

5

God defend New Zealand

It's his house alright . 

That surprised me . What also surprised me was that he didn't live in the playboy bunny house . He actually lives in this pretty house at the end of the road . It's not too big like most of the houses on this street . It's nice and homey . It's made of and decorated by this fancy wood and it looks straight out of a fairytale . There are trees bearing pretty flowers all over the front yard , and a cute little porch . On the porch there's this slick rocking chair and a bunch of potted plants . 

As I walk onto the porch and I'm about to ring the doorbell when the door opens , and out comes Katy McCurk . "Pleasure  doing business with you ," Carter says as she steps out . She gives me a look of disbelief and then gives Carter one too , but we both ignore her .  

As soon as she's far enough I say , "I always knew she had a future as a prostitute ." 

He shook his head . "I don't PAY for sex . It's always free for me ." I gag a little in my mouth . Why , oh why , did I come here ? "Anyway , welcome to casa del Carter ," he says opening the door wider so I can come in . I hesitate . 

"THIS is your house ?" I ask with wide eyes . I study the inside . It's so pretty and intricately decorated . They have wood paneling like Dahlia and it's so glossy and clean . There's a pretty rug on the floor that has tons of flowers woven on it . And a HUGE TV . Also his kitchens cabinets are a pretty red that matches well with the cherrywood floor . They have soft looking red couches . 

I kind of assumed his mom was a drug addict . I know , I know how HORRIBLE ! Why would I even tell you  this , reader ? 

A look passed on his face . I don't know what it was supposed to look like , but it looked like he had down syndrome . "Are you insulting me ?" he asked rather defensively . 

"Like I have nothing better to do ." Which I don't . I roll my eyes , though . He shrugs his shoulders . "Are you coming in or are you just gonna stand here all day ?" I shove him aside and step in . I know , I know I'm just SUCH a good guest . 

"Should I take my shoes off . . . ?" I say with hesitation . Oh God . I'm in his house . I want to go HOME . There is an awkward cloud hovering above us . I don't want to swat it away . I want to get a big , big gun , shoot the crap out of this metaphorical cloud , then shoot the crap out of Carter , go home , and take a bath while eating milanos . 

But Carter answers no and we head off to his dad's study , instead . 

It's all nice and leathery . I plop down on the couch next to Carter's dad's computer and slide off . You are a stubborn couch , but I will tame you . I press my butt on it firmly . I win Mr. Couch . 

"What are you doing ?" Carter asked with arched eyebrows as I rub my butt on the leather couch . "Uhh . . . Sitting ?" I let out a nervous laugh . He musn't know of this , Mr. Couch ! 

I reach for the packet and flip to where we left off . "I did some questions without you ," he said leaning back in his chair . Let's see . . . He did a total of . . . One question . 

44 . What is your country's national anthem ?

God defend New Zealand 

"That's it ?" I ask flatly . Are you fo' serious ? Haha , fo shizzle my nizzle . Off da hizzle ! I remember during freshman year that's all me and Dahlia said for half an hour . "And then Katy came ," he said running his hand through his hair . 

I squint my eyes . I will never accept that demon of a girl as an excuse . "I'm sorry you couldn't say no to sucking face for five hours ," I say as I throw the packet onto the desk . He rolls his eyes . "We weren't 'sucking face .' We were actually doing something important ." 

I scoff . "Were you helping orphans ?" A confused look passes over his face . "What does that have to with anythi-" "Then it's not important ," I say deicisively . He squints his eyes . "Let's do something you've probably never tried : working ." 

Well then ! I thought I'D be the one saying , 'Let's get to work !' , but he beat me to it . "Alrighty then ," I say leaning towards the computer . I instantly lean back when I smell his strong cologne . I put my hand on my nose . "Oh ! DUDEE ! YOU REEK ! You know you're only supposed to spritz , NOT pour the whole bottle on your self ?" 

He brushes it off . "Whatever . That just proves that you sniffed me ," he said smugly . He clicked on the google chrome logo and the browser opened . "It's POLLUTING the room ! How can anyone not smell it ?!" I cried . I did NOT sniff him . I am the victim !

He smiled smugly . "Mhmmm , mhmmmm , sure ," he mumbles . A smile creeps onto his face . "I know it's hard  , but can you stop adoring me and get some work done ?" 

I pretend to look around the room . "Are you talking to ME ?" 

But we got to work after that . I'm not going to tell you the many boring facts I learned about New Zealand . (National animal : the kiwi . I thought it was the fruit , too ! But it's actually a bird ! The New Zealand-ese are truly mad . )

It was , evidently , 10 pm and I was too tired to sit up on this sofa so I was just lying down . "It's getting late . . . Do you want to call your parents and ask them to pick you up ?" he asked when he saw me close my eyes . They flew open . 

"It's parent . My mom died ," I slur . "Oh ." I laugh , but it doesn't sound real to me . "That's what they all say . But it's okay . We only have 16 questions left . I can make it ." 

"What's the next question ?" he asks from the computer . His eyes are obviously aching because he stared at the computer screen for too long . I try to keep to drowsiness out of my voice as I say , "What is your country's national flower/plant ?" I smirk . What good is this knowledge ?! He types it into google . 

"Hey Carter ?" I hear myself ask . He looks from the computer screen to me . You know , he has these groovy brown eyes . They're like Hershey kisses . "Hmmmm ?" 

"Why did you pick New Zealand ?" I ask looking up at him . I try to keep my drooping eyes wide open , but I'm failing . It sounds like I'm talking into a pillow . Carter looks at the screen and sees that it's loading , and then he leans back in his seat and looks back at me . "Well it's such a beautiful place . I can't say there's any place like it ." His eyes sparkle . "And my ex-girlfriend was French so she ab-sooo-lutely hated it ." A look passes on his face , and I can't describe it . Maybe I'm just really drowsy .

I remember the pictures I've seen of it . "It really is beautiful ," I murmur softly . 

And that's all I remember when , like in a game of Mario Kart when you fall off the track , everything turned black .  

6A carpeted coffin

Sunlight streams in through the window and I yawn . I stretch my arms wide and rotate a little so that I'm facing away from the light . I switch from side to my stomach and feel my body crash against something . 

"Ouch ," I murmur into the carpet . Getting a mouth full of tiny , little hairs . 

"Oh , good ! You're up !" I hear someone call from somewhere . I can't really see  since I'm either lying face down on a floor or a carpeted coffin . I'm really hoping it's just a carpeted coffin . 

I stand up and see that I'm , sadly , not in a carpeted coffin . I'm standing in Carter's living room . Wait a minute . . . I was here last night , so . . . I study the soft red couch and the blanket on it . I FELL ASLEEP HERE ! Or , well . . . On the couch in the study . I'm not really sure how I got here . 

"How did I get here ?" I ask as I rub my eyes . My eyes ache and so do my knees . I  SLEPT HERE . I feel around to make sure every article of clothing I had on is STILL on . Pants ? Check . Shirt ? Check . Under garments . . . ? Check . . .

I squint my eyes . "What did you do to me ?" He gives me a look of disbelief . "I didn't do anything to you ! All I did was finish the packet ! Besides , why would I WANT to do anything to you ?!" he said rather loudly . And meanly . 

I cross my arms over my chest and look away . "Could've just said , 'nothing' . . ." But it's okay because I don't care . He finished the packet . . . . ? "WAIT . Let me see it . . . "

He rolled his eyes and turned around to go retreat the packet . I looked over at the mirror . My hair looks like a bird's nest . No , not a rat's nest . A bird's nest . I've never even seen what a rat's nest looks like . But I'm hoping it doesn't look like an auburn mess . Like my hair does . 

I could really use some lip gloss . But it's not like I'm seeing Stefan anytime soon . 

"Are you done grooming yourself ?" Carter asks as I turn away from the mirror . No . A girl is never done grooming yourself . But I'm not Macy so I don't say that . I just snatch the packet out of his hands and flip through it . All 107 questions are done . I clap for myself on the inside . 

"I've done well ," I said flipping through the packet backwards . Carter scoffed . "You were dozing off during the last few questions ! Plus all you did was write !" 

"Whatever ," I grumbled . "I'm hungry . I should be heading home ." I told my dad thу same story I told Macy : Project with Dahlia . So I bet he's not surprised that I slept over . I bet he even expected it . Carter opened his mouth to say something , but a pretty blond woman walked into the room . 

She had a cute face , with high cheek bones and wide brown eyes . Her shoulder length blond hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing sweats that were probably too small for me . I'm guessing she's Carter's mom . She looks around 40 , but she can't be ! She's so skinny ! NO ONE CAN BE THAT SKINNY AFTER GIVING BIRTH .

"Morning Carter !" she said then she saw me . She looked over at me and gave me a smile so big I was afraid her face would split . "Well , hello ! Would you like to join us for breakfast ?" She gestures towards a little room that the kitchen leads to . Whoa , this house is so big that it has a breakfast nook !

Carter gives me a look . And I smile evilly . "I'd love to Mrs. Summers ," I say trying to keep the mischief out of my voice and off my face . But that's no fun . "BUT ," Carter quickly exclaimed . "She can't ." 

I arched my eyebrow at him . "Why can't I ?" He plastered on a smile but spoke through gritted teeth . "Your dad just called , silly ! Didn't you say you should be heading home ?" 

Another day , another day ! WAIT , no . . . ! There will be no other day . I smacked my head . "You're RIGHT ! I'm SO stupid !" I let out an inward sigh . 

"Here I'll lead you to the door ," he said grabbing my shoulder . With his claws . He practically pushed me out of his house . "I need a ride ," I whispered to him as he dragged me to the front door . "Well you're out of luck ," he whispered in reply . 

I stood on the front porch for a few seconds . Maybe I could walk to Dahlia's house and ask my dad to pick me up . Or maybe I could walk to Dahlia's house and ask for a ride . I know it's rude to just pop up uninvited but Dahlia's family and I are closely bonded . But what if they ask what I'm doing in the neighborhood ? I'll say I'm jogging . They'll never believe that . I'll say I've been feeling fat lately . They'll believe that . Everyone will believe that . 

So I start down the street . Oooh , a pebble - KICK ! 

But my thoughts were disturbed by someone calling my name . "WINTER ! WINTER !" Shit . I've been discovered . I turn around slowly and see it's just Carter .

Oh . Greaaaat .

I'm ready to kill this dude . Very ready .

Well I don't have any weapons and I don't know jiu jitsu , but I could start concentrating really hard and look like I need to take a trip to the bathroom until he sets on fire . You know . . . Like in those movies . Oh , who am I kidding ?!

I whipped around (And get slapped in the face by my own hair ) (Damn you , you auburn failure !) and wait until he runs over here . Which doesn't take long at all . "I can drive you !" he cried as he stopped right in front of me . He's not even tired . I'd be panting and be huffy .

I roll my eyes . "You don't have to pull some dramatic hero act . I'll just walk to Dahlia's house and ask them for a ride ." I turn around and head towards Dahlia's house . "You idiot ," he murmured behind me . "What if nobody's home ?" he asked loudly , this time . What I should do is run back and kick flip him in the face . But my life sucks so I just flip open my phone , ignoring the fact that I have two new text messages (But no call from my dad) . It's 9:23 am so Dahlia's probably at soccer practice . But her mom might be home . . . But I don't know .

I sigh and turn around . "Fine . I didn't feel like walking , anyway ." I shuffle behind him and he points his keys towards a car that's standing on the curb in front of his house . "Ooooh ," I say examining his car . "Chevrolet . Very manlyyy ."

It does that beepy thing as he opens it . "Get in ." I crawl into the front seat . Because it's a habit . And I also have full control of the radio . "I meant the back ," he grumbled . But I just turn the radio on . It's on 98.1 some sports channel . "Ewww ," I say flipping through everything until I find a decent song .

"Where to ?" he asks driving off his street onto some other street that's a grove of cherry blossoms . But then after the song ends , some horrible beat turns on and I just flip off the radio . "Broad Bear Towers . Out by that Giant ." He nods . "Hey , do you have any CDs ?" I try looking somewhere , but there's little leg space . Also the back's pretty crowded so I can't make out any CDs .

He reaches across from me . "WHOA . NO ," I say slapping his hand . He rolled his eyes but immediately turned back to the road . "Relaaax . I was just reaching for some CDs . " Oh ." I thought this would be a sexual harrassment episode .

He reaches across from me into the drawer that's built into his dashboard and takes out a CD that has the word Mixtape scrawled on it .

I take the CD case from him and flip it open . Then I insert it into the CD player and press play . 'I Can Do Anything ,' by 3Oh!3 blasts through the speakers . "You like 3Oh!3 ?" I ask gazing out the window . There are a bunch of joggers in this neighborhood so I'm not surprised when I see one as we pull out of the neighborhood . We stop at a red light and I glance back at the jogger . Wait a minute . . . That's Macy ! She catches my eye and I duck down .

"What are you doing ?" Carter asks looking down at me . As soon as the lights turns green the cars starts moving again and I come back up . "Sorry . Dropped something , " I squeak . "Oh ," he says turning his attention back to the road .

I see a plaza and in it , a friendly sight . "Oooh ! Yogi Castle !" I cry . " And . . . ?" Carter asked eyeing me . "And I didn't have breakfast ," I point out .

"Fine ," he groans pulling into the nearest entrance into the plaza . He parks in front of Yogi Castle and I tumble out of his car and into Yogi Castle . "You know you're a cool dude ," I say picking up a cup . I immediately run over to the birthday cake flavor . Because that's the best . "That's why you should pay for me ." He picks up a cup , too . But he chooses the vanilla flavor . Then he walks over to birthday cake flavor . "I wouldn't have expected to do anything less ," he says as he pulls down the lever . It lets out a loud hum as I put caramel turtles and a bunch of random toppings on my beautiful creation . It turns out it's six dollars . Carter's was only two . So I eat it with self conciousness .

Carter sits down across from me in one of the funky pink booths . I shift my butt around on it . Like I do on every piece of leather furniture . I take a big spoon of the cold , creamy heaven that is a cup of fro-yo . "So what did you say about 3Oh!3 ?" he asks putting a spoon of fro-yo in his mouth . "Oh yeah . You like them ?" I aske biting into a caramel turtle . He only nodded because his mouth was full of fro-yo . "I love them ," I say . "I can't stop listening to Love 2012 and Colorado Sunrise . But my favorite is Double Vision ," I drone on . Hello ? Nobody cares !

He cocks his head to the side . "I like it , too . I didn't really think a lot of girls would like it , though . Because of the way they talk about hooking up . " But I like it . I agree on their view on relationships .

I stare at his fro-yo . " What ?" he asks with a mouthful of sprinkles and birthday cake flavored frozen yogurt . A bell twinkles signaling someone came in . "Lemme try some ,"I say grabbing his cup and dipping my spoon in .

After I shoved it into my mouth I instantly regretted it . "DUDE ! these flavors won't make anyone believe you're straight ," I said wrinkling my nose . He overdosed on sprinkles , which I hate . "Well let's try yours ," he said leaning across the table and taking a tiny scoop of mine . He put it in his mouth . "That's horible ," he says making a face . Then he reaches into my cup and take another spoon .

"Hey Winter ," Stefan said walking over to our booth . My eyes widened . "H-hi ," I stammered . "Yo bro ," Carter said eating another spoon . His cup was now empty . And mine was almost empty . I took another spoon and got a ton of caramel turtles . Which I would've enjoyed if it wasn't for my nerves . "Are you two here together ?" I nearly spit the caramel turtles out at Carter . "NO ," I practically yelled . "Um , no ." Carter shook his head . But I think it was more towards my reaction than to Stefan's question . He nodded his head and put his hands in his pockets . "Cool . I'm just stopping by with my friends ."

I smile up at him , and he smiles back . Then I realize that I probably have a fro-yo mustache . Fun when not in front of your crush . "Are you done , Winter ? I should probably take you home ," Carter says leaning back in his seat . "Yup . I'm done ," I say . We both get up and I quickly wipe the mustache away and give Stefan another warm smile . "It was nice seeing you !" "I guess I'll see you around ," he says a little awkwardly .

He guesses ?! Well he's pretty right . There is a chance I'll never see him again in case I die a horrid death . But it's still a little morbid . Or maybe that's what guys say when you creep them out . No, it's the death thing . I'm sure of it . 

Carter arched his eyebrow at me . "How do you know THAT guy ?" Oh . Uh . "He's in my English class . . ." I say with a slight blush . "How YOU know that guy ?"

Carter opens the car back up and I climb inside . I'm really cold from all the cold fro-yo in my digestive system . "We're both on the soccer team ," he says as if it's obvious . Which it , kind of , is . He scoffs . "'H-hi !'" he says imitating me in an incredibly squeaky voice . Which is actually pretty good . I narrow my eyes . "Whatever it's better than , 'HEY BROOO !'" I say in a deep , booming voice .

He shakes his head . "You're obviously in love with the dude ," he says with a smug expression . "WHAT ? NO ," I'm quick to say . I can feel my face heating up even though seconds later I was freezing . He shrugs his shoulders . "Sureeee . . ." He takes a turn into my neighborhood .

"Anyway we're here ." I open the door really wide and give him on last menacing look . "I am NOT in love with him . I'm not in love with anyone ! I am heartless , and I WILL kill you ," I cry . Then I slam the door shut . I hope I wasn't too obvious .

I ignore his , 'MY CAR !' as I head towards my apartment .

It's six'o'clock and I haven't done anything . Well except for embarrass myself in front of Stefan . My friends are so unloving . They just abandon me on this Saturday . I have NOTHING to do . I finished L.A. Candy . I'm going to go through random people's photos on Facebook just to rub it in my face how much of a loser I am .

It is now midnight . And I still haven't done anything . My Saturday has gone to waste , and now all I have is Sunday ! Because I wasted my Friday , too .

Sometimes I feel that my life is like a giant jockstrap . Wait . . . So if Stefan plays on Carter's soccer team . . . I should go to one their games . AS SOON AS POSSIBLE .

I'll contact Carter on Monday . Falsley tell him I care about whether they win or not . Because I don't . If Stefan is sad about the loss he's easier to take advantage of . But if he wins he'll be all happy and willing . Happy sigh .

You know , I really don't want a relationship . Because relationships make people so boring . Like my dad . And Wendy . Once you're in a relationship you're sealed off . I know it's not good for me to be alone with myself , but it's not good for me to be tied down to someone else . I need to find a happy medium . Like a cat .

Maybe I should just give up on Stefan and buy a cat . Or maybe 2 cats . OR MAYBE 40 . Who knows ?! The world is full of possibilities .

But what if I want to mate with someone ? I'm a teenage girl , that happens a lot .

We'll worry about stuff like that later .

First I need to get a cat .

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

"Dad ," I murmur as I pad into the kitchen "I need a companion ." Notice how I'm fully dressed and ready in case we go to Petsmart NOW . He looks up from his breakfast . "What ?" he asks a little bewildered as he furrows his eyebrows . "Like a CAT , dad !" I exclaim . "Can I get a pet ? It'll teach me responsibility and blah ."

He thinks . Or he doesn't . You never know with men . That's why I want a cat .

If he is thinking , his thoughts will probably be : Hmmm , well , she'll be out of my way . Yes , but what if it poops a lot ? Whatever , she'll have to deal with it . "Alright , but we need to get the house ready and everything before and learn every-" I cut him off . "Or we can go now ."

My dad's usually always out of it so I'm not surprised that he agreed . We drive to Petsmart in silence . He parks in front of the store and I run in without even waiting for him . ROWS AND ROWS OF COMPANIONS ! Less than an inch of glass seperate me and a heavily fanged snake . Moving on . . . Oooh , a gerbil ! As soon as it sees my face it scurries into it's little igloo . Furry bitch , my face is not THAT scary .

I continue onto the mice . Oh . Look at all that poo . Onto the next display . . .

I stare into its (I don't know its gender yet) black eyes . Its stares back into MY black eyes (Yes , they're horribly boring) . But then it blinks and continues eating its cheese . No , my friends . This is not a mouse .

Noticing you . . . Noticing me . . . From across the room I can see you noticing you , noticing me . That rat is so dangerous ! That rat is so dangerous ! That rat ! I've seen its type before ! Its so dangerous !

"What is this beautiful creature ?" I ask a saleslady pointing towards its cage . "Oh ," she says . "That's a female blue fancy rat . But people usually buy them as snake food ." I turned to my dad and in my best British accent say , "Pa , can we geeet it ? " He smiled uncomfortably . "Uh , sure ," he said . HIP HIP HOORAY FOR PEER (Although he's , about , a thousand years older than me ) PRESSURE ! HIP HIP - What no one ?!

So after buying a ferret cage and a big bag of food that's good for rats . I also got a free pamphlet . I've decided that instead of putting wooden shavings in the cage , it would be better to put cloth down . And rats catch cancer easily so I shall feed her tons of blueberries everyday . After setting her up it's five . And I'm bored .

Me : (To Anna Maria , Dahliaaa , Macy , Wendy , Yoko loco) I got a new pet ! Who wants to come over and check it out ? (Sent at 5:05)

Dahliaaa : Hell yeah ! What time should I be over there ? (Recieved at 5:07)

Wendy : Okiedokie . If I walk I can be there in 15 min. (: (Recieved at 5:07)

Macy : What time ? (Recieved at 5:08)

Yoko loco : Can't "/ I have Vietnamese . (Recieved at 5:09)

Anna Maria : What type of pet ? I'm allergic to dogs and cats (Recieved at 5:11)

Err . . .

Me : (To Anna Maria ) Hamster . You're not allergic to them , are you ? (Sent at 5:12)

Me : ( To Dahliaaa and Macy) : Come in 15 min. ? (Sent at 5:13)

Me : (To Macy and Yoko Loco ) Okayyy ; (Sentat 5:13)

Dahliaaa : Okay !

Macy : Suree

Anna Maria : nope . i'll be there .

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

"AAAAH !" Anna Maria shrieks when she sees my new companion . "You said it was a hamster ! Not a RAT !"

"Sweet ! A rat !" Dahlia cries examining her in her cage . Wendy looks confused for a second . "That's a rat ? I thought it was a guneia pig . . . Oh . . . " I burst out laughing . I am the one and only wise and bearded one .

Macy and Anna Maria say at the same time , "Do you know how many diseases those things carry ?" Except Anna Maria looks petrified . Macy has this sick grin on her face . Which is why I love her .

"Is it a boy or a girl ?" Dahlia asked as she poked her finger into the cage and my companion sniffed it . "Girl . " "Oooh what's her name ?" Wendy said getting over her confusion . "RATMAN ," I say in a deep voice . Macy rolled her eyes . "You're not naming your GIRL rat : Ratman ." I sighed . "Fine . How 'bout Linda ?" They all nodded except for Anna Maria . Who was washing her hands . After Anna Maria went home Macy , Wendy , Dahlia , and I all gathered around my kitchen table .

"So did you guys finish your 'project' ?" Macy said raising her eyebrows at me . I WILL KILL YOU , MACY . I try telepathically sending that to her , but she obviously doesn get it . Wendy and Dahlia both looked confused . Dahlia turned to her . "Are you talking to ME ?"

"Yeah that's why she needed a ride to your house , right ? But what really confused me was how she was in Carter Summers' car ," she said turning an accusing eye to me . I sigh . "FINE . Dahlia and I didn't really have a project . Me and Carter did ," I started off . "I came over Friday to finish the research . It was getting really late , and -" "OH MY GOSH ! YOU GUYS DID NOT HOOK UP !" Dahlia cried immediately . I'm so happy dad's with his poker buddies . "GOD , NO !" I cried in disgust . But it was too late . "WHOA !" Wendy cried . "Was he good ?" "Yeah , was he ?" Dahlia mimicked .

I'm considering murdering them all .

No , I'll have no one to talk to !

"SHUT UP AND LET ME FINISH ." They all hushed . "I fell asleep . At his house . And then I woke up . And asked for a ride home . I didn't tell you guys because I knew you'd react like this ."

They all sat silent for a moment then started screaming things like , "DID YOU GUYS USE PROTECTION ?" "ARE YOU PREGNANT ?" "WAS THERE ROLEPLAY ?"

You know , having no one to talk to doesn't seem so bad .

7It's about to get better .

"AND I'M JUST LIKE - BABY ! BABY ! BABY ! OHHHHH ! THOUGHT YOU'D ALWAYS BE MINE !" My hand slithers out of the confines of my bed and onto my nightstand . I feel around . . . Tissue box . . . Lamp . . . ALARM CLOCK ! I GOT YOU !

I feel around for the tiny , plastic button . Dahlia's horrible singing stops as soon as I press it . I swear , she sounds like a walrus going through puberty . 

  Time to get out of bed . . . 1 . . . 2 . . . Oh , but it's so warm ! Dad doesn't have to know that I didn't go to school today , does he ? Oh , fine . 3 ! I roll onto my side and push myself up . Goodbye , warmness ! Hello , cold harshness of the world ! 

For the first time ever I'm not hungry . I don't feel like eating anything this morning . Except for 5 Girl Scout cookies , but I swear that's it !  I pull on some teal stretch jersey leggings and denim shorts that are really supposed to be worn in the summer . For the shirt I just pull on a

grey hoodie . (But underneath is a teal tank top that really finishes the look , but I'm too fat and cold to show it off .)  And I'm off ! TO THE BUS STOP !

I try to gallop there (Because I am in a galloping mood) , but , alas , I am not a pony . 

I stand at the bus stop for a while . The cold shows no signs of leaving . All the trees are still bare , and the air is still quite chilly . The weatherman said it would be cold for a while .  The beige cement is littered with leaves , and everything looks utterly depressing to me . The stop sign has a dent in it . The trees are all drooping . Everything seems to have a grey tint to it . 

The bus pulls up and I'm last to climb in . I barge through the aisle and into the seat . Wendy gives me a smile that scares me a little . "How's Carter ?"  I squint my eyes , lean in slowly , and then attack .

And by attack I mean slap her shoulder , and she returns my slap . Right now we're slapping hands . Because we're both wusses .  "IT'S HOW'S STEFAN ! NOT CARTER ! GAHHH , SCREW MACY !" I cry slapping her hand harder . Damn it , I really shouldn't talk so loud . A freshman arches her eyebrow at us , but we both continue wuss-slapping .  "OUCH ! OUCH ! SORRY , GEEZ !" she says drawing her hands away . Now both of our hands are beet red .

We sit back as we usually do and I ask , "So how's Cal ?"  We get to school and I climb off the bus and into the cold air . I shivered all the way to my locker . Someone taps my shoulder and I turn around slowly . 

Whoa . It's Katy McCurk .  She sneered at my outfit . "Who wears a grey hoodie with teal leggings ?" she asks in disgust . Before I can say , 'I guess I do ,' she continues , "Anyway , what were you doing at Carter's house ?"  "What's it to you . . . ?" I ask as I shut my locker and start down toward my first period , but she follows me . "Because I have to stop Carter before he makes the mistake of sleeping with you ."  I roll my eyes . "Well we already know he made the mistake of sleeping with YOU ," I say . I'm pretty annoyed . And probably going to be late to first period , and I'm trying to stay on Mrs. Koko's good side .  She crossed her arms over her chest and looked a little hurt . But we all know she has no heart . Or soul . "Tell me why you were there , and I'll tell you why I was there ." I looked her up and down . She was wearing a romper . How can you wear that in January without freezing to death ? You can't . Which is good news for me .  "Fine ," she said letting her arms fall to her sides . She looked down and it seemed that she was embarrassed . "I was . . . " Yes ? "Getting guy advice ." Her face flushed . HA . HAHAHA ! My life is complete .  I tried to suppress my laughter , but I burst out laughing . She squinted her eyes and look PISSSSSED . Before she could say anything I wiped the tears of happiness from my eyes and said , "We were just working on a project ."  Then I charged down the hallway before I was late to class . And before she could dig her manicured claws into my flesh . 

First period flew by . I was too scared to move to the empty seat next to Yoko so I just sat where I usually sit . And I actually had to work ! The nerve of some people !  Making me work ! What is this ? School ?  Anyway , onto second period calculus . . . As Mrs . Laseur explained how to do the homework , I did the homework . (It turns out I got it all wrong) Then she passed out a worksheet on who-knows-what , and then showed us a power point on who-knows-what . I don't see how this stuff is going to help me , anyway ! When I grow up I'm gonna be a pirate princess and everyone else can suck it .  Macy was ACTUALLY paying attention to the power point . I'm extremely scared . I think aliens have abducted her . I WILL AVENGE YOU , MY FRIEND !

Third period gym . My , my . I was just standing there with a plastic hockey stick (AND I'M ACTUALLY GOOD AT FIELD HOCKEY !) when - BAM ! Something hit me hard in the back , and I toppled over .  "Whoever kicked that should be a professional soccer player , because that was one hard kick ! " I said in a daze to the grass .

A bunch of people ran over , but I made no attempt to get up . I will just lay here in the grass and slowly become it . 

"Winter ? Winter ? Are you okay ? Here , let me help you up ," said a sexy voice . It was none other than Stefan . I tilted my head to where I thought he was standing , and surprise ! He's kneeling over me ! "I'm fine ," I croak out . But it feels like I was shot . 

He takes my hand in his , puts his arm around my shoulder , and helps me sit up . I hope he doesn't think I'm too heavy .  I notice there's a crowd around us . . . Do people really care ? Nahhh , they probably just want to see someone die . Well they're in luck because I just fell into heaven . STEFAN TOUCHED ME !

I stand up and brush myself off . But I have to waddle to walk . "Sorry Winter ! That was my fault ," Carter cries from behind Stefan . Note to self : Murder Carter . But then thank him .

Mr. Turble comes around and starts yelling , "ALRIGHT PEOPLE ! NOTHING TO SEE HERE !" Everyone scatters like cockroaches . And so does Stefan . Mr. Turble leans close to me and one of his man boobs (Or moobs for short) almost slap me in the face . "Are you alright , Winter ? Do you need an ice pack ?" I just shake my head . "But I think I need to sit down for a bit ." 

And that's how I sat out for the rest of gym . 

During fourth period , when Mrs. Tabitha was telling us instructions to something important that could actually give us second degree burns if not done carefully , we chatted . Oh well .  Anna Maria got up to go get a Bunsen burner , and we continued chatting . "That's so chivalrous !" Yoko cried happily when I finished . Dahlia nodded . "Hey , was Derek there ?"  I rolled my eyes . "Why are you so hooked on this Derek dude ?" She pursed her lips . "I dunno . . . He's HOT ?" Me and Yoko giggled .

Anna Maria returned , and with her it's all business . She put down the Bunsen burner and a bunch of glass vials filled with different colored liquids .  "Oooh this one's purple ," I said twirling one in the air . "CAREFUL !" Anna Maria cried as she snatched it out of my hand . Poo , you're no fun . 

Apparently , we're supposed to make some concoction . So with our nerdy , plastic safety goggles we worked . Or Anna Maria , Yoko , and Dahlia worked . "Winter , could you pour some of the green mixture into the concoction ?" Anna Maria asked as she turned around to talk to Mrs. Tabitha .  I took the vial , screwed the top off , and poured what was left in there into the barrel . With her back turned Anna Maria said , "Just a drop ." Ooops . 

I screwed the top on and quickly hid the , now empty , vial . "Oookay ," Anna Maria said turning back to me . I flashed her a smile , but I probably looked like a sociopath . "Now all we have to do is add some of this purple and we're done ."  As soon as she poured the purple liquid into the barrel it started to fizz . It started fizzing so much that it reached the top and spilled over . Anna Maria let out a shriek as it spilled onto the desk . All four of us jump back from the table . Mrs . Tabitha comes running over wearing anti-bacterial gloves and quickly throws the barrel into the sink . Where it just continues fizzing .  The lesson here is : The bedroom is a place to fool around in . But not your science class . 

At lunch everyone was pissed at me . I don't see the use for crying over a spilled concoction . "I'm sorry , guys !" I whimpered . They were outraged when they found the empty vial I was hiding . "It's not like Mrs. Tabitha is taking off points !" Anna Mari glared at me . "She is ." Oh .  FINE , since I'm not liked here I'll just go over to Wendy and Macy . They're understanding . Since they weren't exactly there .

"That was a nice fall you took ," Macy said as soon as she saw me . Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with these people . . .  I shuffle over to the bathroom . Because I am utterly depressed . I think I have manic depression . And binge eating disorder . And obesity . I sigh as I look into the mirror . Someone flushes a toilet and Dana struts out . I can't even look at her . She can't even look at me . I rush out of the bathroom . 

"Whatever happened to us ?" I want to ask her . But I think both of us know the answer . Dana got popular . And once you get popular you want more .  So I sat pouting in fifth period . "Hey partner ," Carter said walking over to my seat . "Hey ," I say dully and then I sigh . I would cuss him out , but I'm too depressed . To do anything . Even finish my sentences . "What's with the long face ?" Carter asks kneeling down so he's at my seated level . Oh , so now I'm a nobody and I have a long face ? This is such a great day . 

Some cheerleader taps him on the shoulder and says something . I don't care enough to listen . But it's impossible to drown her giggles out . Someone give me a shotgun so I can end my misery .

As soon as she leaves Carter kneels back down . "Oh yeah sorry about the soccer ball ! Is your back okay ?" he says glancing at my back . I turn my head so that I'm looking at him , now . "You're so lucky that I'm depressed or I'd stab you with my binder for that ," I growl .  "And she's back ," he says and then grins . Stupidly .

I groan and put my head on the desk . Getting my auburn hair everywhere . The bell rings and Carter says , "I gotta get back to my seat . "But I'll walk you to your next class ." And he storms off . And now , I hate to admit it , I have no entertainment . 

I'm so lonely . I sigh again .  Five years from now , I sit at home . Feeding the rat , I'm all alone . I turn on TV , and guess who I see ? Stefan rockin' up MTV ! I call up my ex-friends . They already know . And they've all got tickets to see his show . I tag along and stand in the crowd , looking up at the man that turned me down . 

The bell rings and I'm happy this day is almost over . Carter catches up to me and says , "Are you still depressed ?" I roll my eyes . Yes . "I don't need to be walked to class . I'm not an idiot ," I say picking up my pace so I can lose him . No luck . 

"I know I need to talk to you ," he says . I have duck through the hallways and jocks and other people who are taller than me elbow , trip , and bump shoulders with me . Carter , though , just glides through the hallway . No one wants to pummel him ! He only slows down when some girl talks to him .  I stop in front of Mrs. Yerman's room .

"What ? And make it quick because I don't want to be late ," I snap . He smiles smugly . "I'm waiting . . ." I murmur . The hallways are now empty . And suddenly the bell rings . "Bye !" Carter cries and then he hurries down the hallway .

"WHAT ?!" I call after him . God , I hate that guy .  "You're late ," Mrs. Yerman says as I walk in . "Yeah I know , I know ," I grumble .  Sixth period ended early and Stefan walked over to my desk . "Hey is your back okay ?" Yeah it's just it feels like I've been cut in half when I bend over , and I have to walk like a penguin . But I'm fine . I just give him a heroic smile and say , "I'm fine !"  "Yeah , Carter's got a mean kick ," Stefan said . Suddenly some girl from across the room calls him over . Note to self : Find and destroy said girl .  During seventh period we were exercising our social skills . And what that means is Mrs. Turcotte and her husband got in a fight and she didn't feel like making plans . She sat at her desk and sniffled . 

Yoko , Dahlia , Wendy , and I put our desks in a circle (Or square , depends on how you look at it) and chatted . "I need to pee ," Wendy said getting up from her seat and walking over to Mrs. Turcotte's desk to get a bathroom pass .  Dahlia and Yoko reluctantly forgave me . But not Anna Maria . . .

Dahlia leaned in and said , "Okay she's FINALLY gone ." I'm a little scared . . . "You know how her birthday is this Friday ?" "That doesn't sound like French , Dahlia !" Mrs . Turcotte cried from her desk . "Sorry !" Dahlia cried back . 

"Vous . . . know comment ses parents . . . Err , never lui laisser une partie ?" Dahlia struggled to say . What she said was , 'You know how her parents never let her have a party ?' "Oui ," Yoko and I say at the same time .  "Nous devrions jeter son une partie !" Dahlia cried . (Means we should throw her a surprise party !)

"J'accepte ," Yoko says with a nod .  That translates to : Mission accepted .  Well actually it translates to, 'I agree ,' but whatever .  I rode alone , since the future birthday girl has volleyball . But I'm fine with it since I texted Dahlia about the surprise party all the way home . 

And then I took a bath and ate milano cookies . The end .  Of my social life . 

Anyway , the next day was très boring .  I glided into 5th period and plopped down into my seat at the back of the first row . Suddenly somebody clasped their hands over my eyes and said , "Guess who ?"

I let out an inward groan . "GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY FACE BEFORE I RIP THEM OFF , CARTER ," I roared . But he knows I'm just playing . I'm actually in a pretty good . "Wrong . It's Rosie O'Donell ." But he removed his hands anyway .

He plopped down in the seat in front of me because Yvonne is always late so the seat in front of me is always empty . It's rather lonely . "Anyway you know the surprise party for Wendy ?" 

"How do you know about it ?! It's supposed to be a SURPRISE party !" I cry . Carter shakes his head . "Calvin's my boyyy ," he says leaning back in his seat . And looking like an idiot . And talking like an idiot . And just being an idiot . 

"Wait , you're coming ?" I inquire suddenly interested . "Yup ," he says . I squint my eyes . Damn you , Calvin ! What other guys did he invite . . . ?

"So what time do we have to be at Macy's ?" Carter asks sounding as uninterested as possible . He stares as some cheerleader jumps up and down .  I scrunch my face up . There is something wrong with every high school guy . Except for Stefan . "I'm getting there at 4 , but -" "Then I'll be there at four ." There was finality in his voice .  "But everyone else will be -" I start off . Carter makes a demented face and says in a deep voice , "I'll . Kill . You . Sounds familiar doesn't it ?" I just glowered . "You're not cool ," I huffed .

During sixth period I didn't really stare at Stefan . I just payed attention to the lesson . And he didn't even glance over at me once so I didn't miss anything . I am being deprived of a love life . Everything is so unfair . 

In seventh period all we did was add , "Au lit (In bed)(For example . . . Class repeat after me . Au lit . Err , in bed .)," to everything Mrs. Turcotte said . THIS is the type of education I'm getting .  Whatever , everything else sucked I just want to fast forward to Wednesday .

Because a miracle happened . 

I woke up and did what I usually do : Eat cereal and watch Spongebob . Nothing different there . Then I ambled off to school , and on the bus Wendy was being completely oblivious to the plans we were making .

Which she always was . 

First period art was a bore . . . 2nd period calculus wasn't too bad . Me and Macy just talked about inappropriate things . As usual . During gym we continued playing field hockey but we added a twist to it . We called it Pants hockey because we would just randomly pants one another . Mr. Turble didn't stop us . Which really says a lot .

I'm happy I wore my rainbow undies cause they don't make my butt like a giant pile of mashed potatoes . But Stefan never , even looked our way .  But a bunch of other guys did . But I think they were more entranced in Dahlia frilly pink knickers , not my rainbow ones . 

During lunch Wendy went off to the lunch line , and we quickly planned somethings . "Winter , bring your iPod ! There's some pretty good music on there ," Dahlia barked at me . I nodded . "YES MA'AM ." Since when does anyone like my music choice ? My iPod's just a bunch of 3Oh!3 and some other songs . Nothing too special . 

During fifth period Carter slid into the seat in front of me . Is this gonna be a daily thing . . . ? "Nice underwear ," Carter said with a scoff . I remember we used to tell people that in third grade when their underwear was on display .  I lean back in my seat . "Oh , I know ." Then I paused . "Wait you were watching us ?!" 

Carter smiled mischievously . "When girls take off their pants I can't help but look ," he states and shrugs his shoulders . I lean forward and murmur , " So who had the best ones ?"

Carter looks confused for a second . "Best what ? OHHH !"  He leans forward too , and I can smell his Axe . But it's not as strong as it was on Friday . "Well . . . The guys sure did get a kick out of Dahlia's pink ones . But I think most of us liked yours ." I blink a few times and then with fake happiness say , " WOW . I'm just . . . I'm just so honored ! I just . . . Oh my gosh ! I'd like to thank my dad first ! I'd also like to say thanks to my wonderful agent who helped me through this !" I fake sniffed . "This is just SUCH a surprise ! You don't know how honored I am !" 

Most people say that when they win a Grammy . But I've just won a , ' Who had the best panties ?' contest .

Or at least Carter said I did . 

He laughed . "Easy there , tiger ."  As Carter walked me to my sixth period I was stopped by the devil , himself . Err , herself . "I saw what you did during gym ," Katy McCurk sneered . "It was DISGUSTING . You and your friends are so weird !"

"Yeah , no one wants to see that !" Farrah cried from her spot next to Katy .  I put my hand on my hip and gave them a blank look .

"Well maybe you should put a paper bag on your face first . Because no one wants to see that ," I snapped . Carter looked away , but from the corner of my eye I could see he was cracking up . I pointed to Katy's shorts that were beyond short and said , "And what's disgusting is the way you parade yourself in that denim underwear ." Carter started laughing but pretended it was a cough . 

I turned around and started down the hall . Carter was quick to follow me . He shook his head . "You really showed her who's boss ," he said with an amused expression . I rolled my eyes . "Oh , please ! You know you love it when she wears those shorts ." 

He shrugs his shoulders . "Chick fights are way hotter ." And then it happened . As I sat in advanced English Mrs. Yerman made the big announcement . "Class I think it's time we had a new seating arrangement ." Some people groaned while others were happy . I  payed close attention to where I would be sitting .

"Winter ," she said pointing to a desk that was in the middle of aisle three . "Stefan ," she said pointing to the desk behind it . My stomach fluttered , and my heart stopped .  Have my prayers finally been answered ? I could almost kiss Mrs. Yerman .

Almost . 

I slide into my seat and immediately straighten my back . Thank you God ! I will now do nothing but pray !  Now Stefan can see how much I struggled . Now HE has to watch the back of my head ! I have to make it as attractive as possible ! Have you seen your hair , darling ? Oh shush . You're always so mean .  I'm officially going mad . 

"Hey ," Stefan says sliding into his seat . HAY IS WHAT HORSES EAT . CAN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING ELSE ?!  It's okay . Once we're married I'll take care of that . Why would anyone want to marry you . . . ? Oh shush , mean voice in my head . I'm tired of you . I'm turning you off . 

"Hello !" I beamed . "How are you enjoying Lord Of The Flies ?" Truth be told I didn't read past the fourth chapter . "I absolutely love it ! Did you get to chapter 11 ?" 

I faked a smile . "Err , yes ." He smiled , "I LOVED it ! Golding could not have written it better !" Oh . Err . So THAT was the author's name . I thought it was J.K. Rowling. Or that's what Macy told me .

"I KNOW !" I exclaimed like I knew what he was talking about .  But then Mrs Yerman , thankfully , started the lesson . 

I slid into my seat in French . "Devinez quoi !" I cried (Meaning guess what ) . "Qu'est-ce ? (What ?)" Macy asked arching her eyebrow . "Je suis dans la barque de l'amour !" I said happily . It meant I am in the boat of love , and I didn't care if it didn't make sense .

When I got home I TRIED reading Lord of the Flies . But I got hungry . So I took a bath . And ate milano cookies . And then heated up some Lean Cuisine .  When my dad got home I made him drag me to Bed , Bath , and Beyond so I could get Wendy a present . 

"Maybe she'd like this . . . " my dad said picking up a bath set . He is so awkward . "Nahh ," I say examining it . I don't want her to think that I was imagining her bathing .

Finally I settled on getting her a Crayola Monster Party Plush pillow , some paints , and a ten dollar gift card to an ice cream shop .  I know . I'm the bestest friend anyone could ask for . 

So , on Thursday I wore my best pair of jeans (Perfect Waist straight leg jeans , but I definitely do not have a perfect waist .) , my yellow tube top , and my yellow ballet flats with the pointed toes - I look like a fat person . But an okay dressed fat person .  I think he can overlook all the blubber and seу the nice clothes on it . I hope he can . 

"DAMN GIRL !" Wendy cries as I climb onto the bus . "MARRY ME !" I giggle . "But what about Calvin ?" Wendy shushes me . "It's okay . We can run away . No one will have to know ! We shall elope !" she cries . The freshman looks over at us again , but she's not surprised . "Okay , my love !" I whisper . 

I'm really hoping that will be Stefan's reaction , too .  1st period . . . BORING . 2nd period . . . BORING . 3rd period went a little like this . . .  "I REALLY LIKED YOUR OUTFIT TODAY !" Dahlia cried as she shoved her shoulder into mine . She stole the ball ! Aww hell , no ! I chased after her , my hockey stick swinging wildly . I elbowed her . "THANK YOU !" I ran as quick as I could , with the ball at the tip of my hockey stick , to the goal and - GOAAAAAAAL ! This might be the only sport I'm good at . 

But I shouldn't praise myself too much . Their goalie is Ramsey . He's not enthusiastic about anything . He just stands there . And they're outnumbered .  But , still , this is probably the first goal I've scored in my life !

Carter slides into the desk across from me in aisle 2 . "This is now my permanent seat ," he asserts . I shrug . "Whatever you heart desires ." I glance over to his old seat .

"Dude , you sat in front of Double DeeDee !" I exclaim a little loudly . But she doesn't hear me .  "Double DeeDee ?" he asks with an amused grin . "Clever ." 

"I know I am ." 

"So , WHY were you named after a season ?" he inquires and leans across the aisle examining my binder . On it are pictures of Ed Westwick , Simon Rex , and Mr. Bean .  "Well . . . " I start off . "My mom was a hippie . And my dad's a complete pushover ." He nods as if he understands . Which he doesn't . 

Mr. Jones starts class and Carter scribbles something on a piece of paper and chucks it at my head . It bounces off my head and lands somewhere near my feet . I sigh and bend down to pick it up . In pretty good hand writing it says : 

If they made denim boxers . . . Do you think I'd look good in them ? 

I looked over at him and smiled . Then I wrote : 

Oh , definitely . What about me and the whole denim panties deal ? 

I bit my lip and tossed it to him . It landed two inches from my desk . Carter rolled his eyes and moved his foot to where the paper lay . He kicked it over to himself and unfurled it . He glanced over at me then back down at the paper and wrote something quickly .

Finally he threw it right onto my desk and smiled smugly . I smoothed it out and read his response : 

Just stick to normal panties , kay ? 

I crumpled the paper up and threw it at his head . TAKE THAT FOR AIM ! I faked an angry expression and whisper-yelled , "You suck !" 

"Calm down ," he said smoothing the paper out again . He scribbled on it again and tossed it onto my desk . I unfurled it and read less willingly this time . It said : 

By that I mean , we'd all miss your rainbow panties ! 

I laughed . For the rest of class we passed notes like kids in kindergarten . Right before the bell rang I tossed the paper at Carter loosely and lazily and Mr. Jones turned and saw . The bell rang and everyone filed out . I try to get out of there as quickly as possible but Mr. Jones says , "Winter , Carter . I'm going to have to give you a tally ."

Damn . Our school has this dumb system called 'tallies' where every time you're late or do something minor you get one tally . If you get three by the end of the week you have Saturday detention . I now have two tallies . This is probably my first time getting two tallies . 

I jog towards my class since I'm behind and I don't want Saturday detention . "Damn , now I have two tallies ," I breath to Carter as we rush down the hall . "I have six ," he says shaking his head . "You're such a goody-goody ." 

I pause at the doorway . "So you DEFINITELY have Saturday detention ?" I ask raising an eyebrow . Carter nodded . "It's extremely boring . Well aren't you going to go in . . . ?" 

I shake my head . "Well , detention's not going to be as boring anymore ," I proclaim with a smile . "I might as well go too ."  The bell lets out a shrill ring , and my fate is sealed . I will be going to my first Saturday detention in two days .

"That's really cool of you ," he says returning my smile . I go into my classroom and Mrs. Yerman says , "Late . I'll have to give you a tally ."  Yeah , you do that . 

I slid into my seat in front of Stefan but I didn't really look at him . I just did a short glance . I'm trying to play hard to get here !  But I had no reasons to turn around for the rest of the period except to pass back papers . Our fingers touched and it sent a bolt of electricity through me .  But that was it . 

During French Macy leaned toward Wendy and said , "Wanna come over tomorrow ? Around five ?" Wendy licked her lips . "I dunno . . ." She squints her eyes . "Can you pick me up ?" "YEAH DEFINITELY !" Macy cried . Wendy nodded . "It's a date , then ." 

Friday came around and I wanted it to end as soon as possible so I could go to Wendy's surprise party . Stefan wasn't here anyway . I wore these shorts for nothing . And I'm freezing .  My poor ovaries . . . 

By fifth period I was extremely excited . I knocked my knees together nervously . Carter slid into the last seat in the second aisle again . "HEYYYYY !" I was quick to shriek .  "Are you okay . . . ?" Carter asked examining me . "Never been better ," I was quick to reply . 

Sixth period flew by , and I was muy depressed that Stefan was not behind me . But the show must go on . 

During seventh period everyone was telling Wendy happy birthday , and Mrs. Turcotte made us sing happy birthday in French . "Joyeux anniversaire à toi ! Joyeux anniversaire cher , Wendy ! Joyeux anniversaire à toi !" we all sang offbeat . 

On the bus Wendy smiled happily because of how many people cared it was her birthday . It was a pretty big number . "So did you enjoy your birthday ?" I said trying to sound as unsuspecting as possible . And I was failing .  She smiled even wider . "It was amazing ." 

And now it's about to get better , I refrain from saying .

8SURPRI - OW ! FUCK !

"I'm here !" I cried when I maneuvered my way through the maze that is Macy's basement . It's got eight rooms down here ! But other than that it's like most basements . There's the white carpet and the white walls . And then the flat screen in the corner ! OOH ! I dash over to where Dahlia and Macy are standing .

"Hey guys ! Brought my iPod !" I say waving it in the air . I know , I'm so careful with my things . "Goooood ," Dahlia said studying it . "Put it in the dock ."  I waddle over and insert it .

I swing my bag of amazing presents onto the table . "Can we make this the present table ?" I ask twirling around . It's not like I have to work .  OOH MOZZARELLA STICKS !

I reach for some and Macy slaps my hand . "NO . No one's eating until Wendy gets here ," she commands .  "Okay , okay ," I grumbled plopping down into a bean bag chair . I heard footsteps and I whispered , "SHE'S HERE ?! ALREADY ?! But no one's here ! The show must go on !" I jump out on the people that are coming in and scream , "SURPRISEEEE !"  Macy shakes her head and Dahlia giggles . "You idiot ! Those are just other guests ," Dahlia cries . Oh , I almost gave Felicity a heart attack .

Anyway , all the girls crowd on the couch in plain view . I , however , am a wise and bearded one . So , when I spot a comfortable looking chair near the snack table I take this opportunity . I sneak a mozzarella stick into my mouth . OOOH ! CHEETOS !  I bring one to my mouth and chew it loudly and awkwardly . All the girls turn their heads my way and stare for a minute . Then we all crack up .

"Winter , you're gonna eat all the snacks before Wendy even gets here ," Macy mutters . Meanie .  Dahlia sighs . "Where are the guys ?!" she asks impatiently . I stuff some Cheetos in my

mouth and mumble , "That's what you get for relying on men ."  "Hey , I'm kind of thirsty . . . Where can I get some water ?" I ask licking the orange from my fingers . "Near the bathroom ," Dahlia said pointing to a corner . I fell to the floor and crawled over there like a dog . Ooh Pepsi ! I crawl back to my seat .

"YOKO !" I cry as she walks through the doorway . "Come , sit ," I say gesturing to my chair . We both squeeze in , and my big butt takes up a lot of space . 

Suddenly there are roars down the hall . "YO ! YO !" "Where the girls at ?" "DAMN MACY ! YOU'VE GOT A HUGE BASEMENT !" Every girl perks up . They sit up straighter and fix their hair . I just roll my eyes and put another Cheeto in my mouth .  

Dahlia smiles as soon as the guys walk through the doorway . I'm taking the tall , blond one is Derek by the way she's all over him . Some guys walk over and talk to the girls .

But a majority of them yell , "FOOD !" and start toward the snack table .  "OH HELL NOOO ," I cry guarding the snack table . "MY food ."

"Move aside , Winter . We just finished soccer practice , and we're hungry ," I hear Carter's voice say .

Suddenly Macy's phone rings . "EVERYBODY SHUT UP ! THAT'S HER !" Macy cried pouncing on her phone and flipping it open . Everyone got quiet . "Heyyy ," Macy said sweetly into the phone . "I can go now if you're ready . Okay . Now ? Okay . Byeee !" She flipped her phone shut . 

She narrowed her eyes . "I'm going to go get her . When I get back you guys better not mess this up . She better be really surprised ." And with that she left . 

"Okay ," Dahlia said walking to the center . "We wait until she walks in , and we'll all be hiding . Then we all scream 'SURPRISE !' and hug her ."  

"AND THEN WE TACKLE HER ," I cry from my seat . That gets some laughs . Dahlia rolled her eyes . "I'll tackle you first , Winter ."

I reach over and start chewing on Cheetos loudly again . So after five minutes of flirting Dahlia cries , "EVERYBODY HIDE ! They'll be here in five minutes !"  I groaned . "Isn't it a little early . . . ?" But I still complied . I crawled underneath the snack table , but then reached out and swiped the bowl of Cheetos . I continued munching on them under the table . Yoko jumped behind the chair we were sitting in .  

"Oh , hey ," Carter said crawling under the snack table , too . "CHEETOS !" He stuck his hand into the bowl . "Mine ," I growled . "WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP ?!" Dahlia cried from across the room . "Sorry ," I whispered . 

The room quieted down and the only sound was me chewing on Cheetos . Yoko cracked up , but Dahlia didn't find it as funny . "WINTER -"

"Alright , alright ," I murmured pushing the Cheetos aside . Carter shook his head in mock disapproval .  Suddenly Wendy's voice came from the staircase .

"Ooooh the one with Leonardo DiCaprio in it ?" Wendy's voice came from somewhere . "Mhmmm ," Macy anxiously muttered . She peered into the room and flipped the lights on . "SURPRISEEE !" everyone cried . Everyone , but me .

  "SURPRI- OW ! FUCK !" I yelled as I bumped my head against the table . Carter cracked up . "You klutz ."  I crawled out from under the table , and as soon as Wendy was done hugging everyone I ran over and tackled her . It was a light tackle . A playful tackle . 

"OWW ! WHAT THE HELL , WINTER ?!" she cried . But then she smiled . Because these are the type of friends we are . "Ohh . . . That wasn't in the plan anymore ?" I asked Dahlia . She just shook her head . But then she , too , smiled .  I turned my iPod onto shuffle and music blasted everywhere . Calvin and Wendy started dancing , but it wasn't dirty dancing .

Dahlia on the other hand . . . Well she's pregnant . She and Derek started grinding and then some other guy joined in . "Dance with me , Yoko ," I said dragging her onto the middle of Macy's basement where everyone was . . . Err . . . Dancing . Or getting pregnant . 

Me and Yoko danced really close and I have invented a new dance called - Front grinding .

Carter tapped Yoko on the shoulder and said , "Could I steal her for a moment ?" Yoko grinned at me then at Carter . "Sure . . . I'm done with her ." And she ran off to Macy .  "Hey !" Carter shouted over the music . I nodded . The song ended and I Can't Do It Alone by 3Oh!3 came on . "Hell yeah !" I cried . "I love this song !"  So we danced . But not like Dahlia . We were probably the only people in Macy's basement that weren't grinding . WE WERE PROBABLY THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD THAT WEREN'T GRINDING .

I swung my hips from side to side and my hair flew everywhere . "You know ," I said over the music . "I might need a ride to detention !"  "WHAT ?" he cried . "I MIGHT -" I started . "I'm just kidding I heard you !" he called . "WHAT ?" I yelled . "I SAID -" he started off . "WAIT !" he said suddenly realizing I was kidding , too . I giggled .  

Dahlia flipped off the music . Everyone was confused and stopped mid-grind . Oh God , my hair is a mess . "Let's play truth or dare !" Dahlia insisted with a proud smile . Macy got an empty Pepsi bottle and as soon as we made a circle , she put it in the middle . It was Ramsey's turn first . He spun it and - SURPRISE !

It rolled to a stop in front of me . Ramsey pondered for a minute then said , "Winter . . . I dare you to . . . Put your bra over your shirt ."  Well it's definitely not the worst dare he could give me , but I wasn't exactly wearing the best bra ever . It was plain white with sparkly pink straps . On the cups there were unicorns and  rainbows . I rushed into the bathroom and did the deed . "Well I hope you're -" I started off but was cut off by a camera flash .

"BAHAAH !" Dahlia erupted with laughter and took another picture . "I love the unicorns !" Macy shouted from the couch . "Winter , me and you should go to Victoria's Secret . Very soon ," Wendy called from across the room .  "Whatever , you're just jealous of my unicorn !" Derek brought out a vial of something and I took a tiny sip . Because I thought it was Kool-Aid . It was not Kool-aid , my friends . After that Wendy opened her presents and thanked everyone . And then everyone started grinding again .  I got more comfortable and Yoko , Dahlia , Wendy , Macy , and I huddled together . You COULD consider what we were doing dancing . Then a bunch of guys joined .  

My eyelids were drooping and I needed to sit down for a second . I padded over to the door which leads to the spare bedroom in Macy's basement . There I smoothed out the covers on the bed and flopped onto it . Just for a second . 

And then I fell asleep . 

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

I rolled awake . Oh my .

My legs ! I have no feeling in my legs ! Okay , I do . But I wish I didn't . I quickly sit up .

SHIT ! I'm gonna be late to Saturday detention .  I slide off the bed and nearly kick Carter in the face . He's sprawled out on the floor . Whoa so is Wendy and Calvin . I glance back at the bed . Yoko and Macy were lying there , also .  I kneel over Carter and shove his shoulder . "Carter . . ." I whisper . "Mmmm ," he mumbles into the pillow . "Five more minutes . . ." then he turns onto his other side , facing away from me .

I shake his shoulders more violently this time . "GET UUUUP !"  

"I'm up , I'm up ," he says sitting up . He blinks a few times before he opens his eyes wide . "HAHA ! YOU SHOULD LOOK IN A MIRROR ! " I roll my eyes . "We have no time . We're gonna be late for Saturday detention ," I command .

Where are my shoes . . . ? Oh God , I ate too many mozzarella sticks and Cheetos .  It turns out one of my shoes was jammed between two couch cushions and my other one was near the staircase . "Wendy I'm off ," I whispered to her . But she just continued sleeping .

"Come on ," I urged him as he struggled with his car keys . His car unlocked and I crawled inside . "Oh God ," he moaned as he started the engine . "I don't know how I'm going to play soccer today ." 

NOW would be a good time to tell him about going to his soccer game . "Speaking of soccer . . . I was thinking of coming to your game today ," I implored with fake enthusiasm .

He raised his eyebrow at me . "I didn't know you were interested in soccer ."  "Well -" I respond nervously . "But you might be interested in one of the players ," he insists with a smirk .

I am silent for a few moments . He glances over at me and says , "It's okay . You can just admit it . I'm not going to tell that Stefan guy that you like him ." I thought for a moment . He kept Katy's secret . But I never really asked . . . But it would be nice to have a male specimen's view and advice on this . Lord knows I need it . I let out a breath . "Fine . I . . . Kind of . . . Have a crush on him ."  

Carter nodded , satisfied . "Obviously ," he whispered to himself . "So you wanna watch it and then come with us to celebrate our victory ?"  I grimaced . "You are so arrogant . How do you even know you're gonna win ?" He opened his mouth to say something . "NO ," I interrupted him . "Don't even say anything . It'll just make me want to stab you . And you're driving which will also kill me ."  

"So if I die , you die ? Well I don't see the point in shutting up , then . I'll just be doing the world a favor ," he continued . Because he is an idiot .  "DAMN IT !" I yelled all of a sudden . "I forgot my iPod ."  I flipped open my phone and texted Macy , Dahlia , Wendy , and Yoko :  

Hey guys(: Had to go to Saturday detention , but we should go to the guys soccer game later ! Also . . . Can someone bring me my iPod ? 

Carter parked in front of the school and I slip out of his car . It's really cold today . My phone vibrates and I get a message from Macy : 

Macy : HAHA ! Detention ? You don't have to lie . Just say you didn't want to help clean up , you bum !

But I don't have time to reply . I just turn my phone off since it's a rule that you cannot have your phone on during detention . We amble into room 404 , which Carter informs me , is where detention is held . 

This lady that's wrinklier than a raisin looks up from her crossword puzzle . She gives us both a dirty look and rasps , "Welcome to detention . I'm Mrs. Lorbury ." She might as well add , 'And your worst nightmare .'

Oh goodness . She's wearing a nun's outfit . But in purple . 

We walk to the last table , all the way in the back . I plop down into a seat and Carter climbs into the one that's next to me . "Why in the world did I come here ?" I whisper to Carter . "Mrs. Lorbury is scaring the pants off me !" 

Carter leans sideways , toward me . "Cause you're madly in love with me , remember ?" he joked . I sigh and mumble , "Your argument is invalid . " 

Mrs. Lorbury pointed at us and shouts , "YOU TWO ! BE QUIET !" I immediately straighten up in my seat . Because for a woman of what is probably 90 , she could lead an army . "Yes , sir ," I murmur to Carter and he smiles and holds a laugh in .

I stare out at the window . AN HOUR ?! HERE ? Why in the world did I do this ? Because you're an idiot . Oh hush . NO I WON'T HUSH . I'M SICK OF SITTING BACK AND WATCHING YOU BE AN IDIOT . I'M LEAVING ! No , wait ! I love you ! You do ? YES ! I always have ! 

This is what happens when I get bored . 

I poke Carter in the ribs . "I'm boreeeeeed ," I whisper . He turns his head my way and shrugs his shoulders . "Everyone is ," he mumbles carefully to me . I groan and put my head on the desk . 

"How much time is there left ?" I moan . Carter looks flips his cell phone open under the desk and checks the time . "40 minutes . . ." 

I groan louder , and Mrs. Lorbury looks our way . I raise my hand . Wait , what am I doing . . . ? "What are you doing, girl ?" she hisses from her desk . I widen my eyes out of fear , but then just spit it out . "Uhh . . . Could we do something interesting ? Like . . . I dunno . . . Clean the school ?" I tilt my head to the side . "Yeah ," Carter mimics and tilts his head to the side , too . "Can we . . . Like . . I dunno . . . Clean the school ?" 

"This is NOT what I meant by clean the school ," I grumbled to the cheap yellow tiles I was scrubbing at .

We're kneeling in the stalls of the boy's bathroom . "You overdid it ," I mumbled to him . Then I scrubbed angrily at the floor . "Dear God , you guys are so good with aim ! So how come you miss the toilet every time ?!" 

The boys bathrooms . . . Are a nightmare . There's pee on the floor . There's pee in the sink . THERE'S PEE ON THE WALL . I don't understand it . "And why are your jeans so tight ? Huh ?! It's like a second layer of skin ," I ramble on . 

Carter lazily scrubs at the wall and checks his phone at the same time . "You're unbelievable ," I mumble from the floor . I throw my sponge at him . "Can you get some work done ? AT ALL ?!" 

"Careful ," he says throwing the sponge back at me . "This 'second layer of skin ' was expensive ." I really wish this sponge was a jack knife . 

He walks over to where I'm scrubbing and stands over me . "You know , you're a very violent girl ,"he responds . "But I think all that anger is just pent up sexual frustration ." My eyes twitches . I lunge for his leg . But he jumps back . "HA ! Too quick for you !"

"Shush man-whore ," I fume . He laughs . "You're not the first to call me that ." I glare up at him . He's just leaning against a bathroom stall . "I wonder why . . . Let's see . . . List of girls you slept with and then broke their heart . . . First there was Rhonda Ferdinand ," I start off . Carter nods . "She wasn't the first , but okay ." 

I roll my eyes . "Then there was Bianca Gudrachev . Oh , and let's not forget Quinn Matthews . That was when you used your famous line , 'It's not you . It's your boobs .'" 

"Well have you seen those things ? You could consider them mosquito bites . I don't know what I was thinking ," he replies . I shake my head . "You NEVER think . About anything ! About anyone's feelings !"

He walks over to one of the mirrors and examines his face . He leans closer to the mirror and replies numbly , "You've never had your heart broken , have you ?" Pain flashes through his eyes . 

I think . Not exactly . I've liked a couple of guys and they didn't like me back . But I started to think they were douschebags after a while . "Well I thought I did . For a little bit . But I got over it ." 

He chuckles but it doesn't sound like a real laugh . It sounds empty . Like an echo . "I didn't get over it ," he whispered . His words echoed in my mind . They frighten me more than any ghost movie I've never seen , and make me feel empty . 

But he turns on the water and rinses his hands as if he actually did any work . Then he turns around and flicks some water at me . "Got you !"he rejoiced . 

And he was back to the old Carter . 

I was a little relieved . But then he started speaking . 

Anyway , I finished cleaning the whole bathroom while Carter tried to shower me with toilet water . He's lucky he stopped when he did or I would have gotten an AK-47 and went Rambo on his ass . 

A little severe , I know , but he was trying to pour toilet water on me !

FINALLY , Mrs . Lorbury opens the bathroom door and examines the bathroom . "Your time's up ," she blurted . HALLELUJAH ! HALLELUJAH ! I never knew I'd be so happy to be out of the boy's bathroom . Not because I'm a pervert or anything . . . It's just that I'm a pervert .

"Just in time for soccer ," Carter says gliding out . I walk out , too but he's halfway down the hall . "OKAY ! THANKS FOR WAITING FOR ME ! I'll be fine ! I hope you trip !" I call so that he can hear from the other end of  the hall . But he just continues toward the locker rooms . 

I flip open my phone and see that Dahlia and Wendy are coming . Perfect . I head off to the ticket sales booth , but . . . I'm broke . So I stand there and wait for Dahlia and Wendy . "Hey guys !" I cry as they both step out of Dahlia's mom's car . "Shh . . . Not so loud . . ." Wendy moans . I catch on that she has a hangover when I notice her sunglasses . 

"WHAT NOT SO LOUD ?!" I yell . She flinches and mumbles , "You're a sadist . . . "

"Hey Dahlia ," I lilt . "I love you . You really are a sister to me ! Pay for my ticket ." Dahlia rolls her eyes . "When are you gonna get a job ?" I scrunch my face up . "Why in the world would I do that ?!" I cry . Wendy shushes me again . "Sorry . . ."

"So you can make MONEY ," she implored . "Fine . . . I'll be a stripper by this Monday ," I say sticking my tongue out at her . A job ? Oh , Dahlia ! You're lucky you're cute . 

"I'm serious ," she mumbles as she buys me a ticket . "Yeah you should join me at Dairy Queen ," Wendy emits . I think about their uniforms . No . Plus , I need to be away from all that food . "Maybe I'll sign up to work at Bloomingdale's ," I croon and squint my eyes , trying to see into the future .

I DO need to refresh my fashion sense . Oh the free clothes I could get !

Anyway we made our way to the bleachers . "Do they have snacks here . . . ?" I murmured . Dahlia rolled her eyes . "You will be the death of me , Winter Willigreen ." 

"No , seriously . . . Do they ?" I inquired . 

They did not . Because our school is cheap . The game started and everyone cheered . They scored a goal did an ollie kick flip . . . You know , I really don't know soccer . But I know that Stefan is the goalie . And Carter is offense . And now I know why my back hurt so much . The dude is a maniac ! 

Carter's kicks are muy powerful . Everytime he kicks it sounds like a gunshot . 

But I am trying to catch Stefan's eye . Come on . . . Look over here , young man ! YOUNG MAN ! YOU ! THE ONE IN THE GOAL ! It is of no use . He is using a telepathetic block so that my mind messages can't get through . But he is still muy caliente .

So after I watch them play (Or play with Dahlia's hair as she watches ) I drag Dahlia and Wendy to Carter . I tap him on the shoulder as he gulps down a whole water bottle . Err , he's so sweaty . "So you said something about a victory or losing celebration . . . ?" I ask . I lean toward Dahlia and whisper , "Did they win or lose ?" 

"Lose ," she affirmed . "Oh , I'm sorry ! " I cry to him and pat him on his sweaty shoulder . He rolls his eyes . "We won . Were you even watching . . . ?" 

"I'm , err , a busy woman ," I blurted . Dahlia gestured towards the braid in her hair . "So . . . Victory celebration ?" I continued brightly . "Yeah . . . I guess you could come ," Carter says with a shrug . 

Turns out the victory celebration is just a bunch of people crowding around a booth at Cici's Pizza . And a lot of them are sweaty . But Stefan , with some good luck , is sitting across from me . Which goes to show that the world doesn't altogether hate me . 

Or the world is jusst toying with me and will take away everything that I need and love just when I need it most . But I'm fine with either one if I can sit across from Stefan . 

"I didn't know you were interested in soccer , Winter ," Stefan disclosed to me . He then gave me a smile , but it was an awkward . "Well Carter and I are just ," I started . I elbowed Carter who was squished next to me . "SUCH good friends ." 

"Hmm ?" Carter said glancing back over here . He was staring hungrily at the pepperoni pizze that's being passed down . "Oh yeah . Whatever she says ." Finally the box was passed down and Carter grabbed a piece of pizza and took a bite . 

I smiled apologetically over at Stefan . Stefan nodded and said , "I got that from when you two got frozen yogurt ." Wendy looked at me quizically and flipped open her phone . A second later mine ringed . And I do not have the best ringtone . "JUST CAUSE I'M A MUPPET DOESN'T MEAN THAT I WON'T HUMP YOU ," I pounced on my phone and put it on silent . I thought getting a ringtone called Muppet Sex would be a good idea . But I was so wrong . 

Wendy tried to kick me but instead she kicked Dahlia , who was between us . "Hey !" Dahlia whisper-yelled . She kicked Wendy back . "Ow ," Wendy yelped . And then she kicked Dahlia .

And Dahlia kicked her back . 

It went on and on . "Hey ! Stop ! You guys !" I whisper-cried as I mercilessly kicked Dahlia . Dahlia and Carter both kicked me at the exact same time . "OUCH !" I turned to Carter . "What was that for ?!" 

Carter shrugged . "What you guys were doing looked fun so I decided I'd just join in ," he conveyed . OW . Combined with the fatigue I'm feeling from dancing all night my legs hurt like hell ! And Dahlia's wearing pointy shoes . 

"That's what she said !" Dahlia cried happily . Ignoring my pain . "Nice one !" Carter praised , and then he reached over me and high-fived her . 

For the love of God , Winter , do NOT laugh . It's not even that funny . Come on . Just hold it in . But then I exploded . "BAHAHAHA !" I leaned over and clutched my stomach because it hurt from laughing so intensely . 

Stefan just stared from across the table with wide eyes . Wendy , Dahlia , and Carter got quiet . 

"I hope you're happy ," I murmured to Wendy as we rushed out of Cici's Pizza . "Why did you even kick Dahlia ?!" 

"I was trying to kick you . . . " she mumbled . "WHY ?" I questioned . "Well I wanted you to check your phone . . ." she said even more quietly this time . I flipped open my phone : 

U + Carter got fro yo ? O:

"Yes . Because I was hungry  . It wasn't a date or anything ," I explained . "Oh ," she piped . "Sorry ." I smiled a little sadly and shook my head . "It's fine . He just thinks I'm insane ."

After that Stefan kind of avoided talking to me . And Wendy and I decided to leave early . 

Wendy's dad pulled up and Wendy and I climbed into the backseat . "Hey Winter ! I haven't seen you lately ! What's up ?" he cooed from the front seat . "Oh shush , dad ," Wendy said sticking her tongue out at him . "Everything's fine Mr . Fisher !" I chimed in . 

"Wanna come over ?" Wendy suggested . I shook my head . "I've got to get home . My dad's probably worried sick . "

My dad was not worried in the least . But he was pissed . As soon as I opened the front door he pounced on me . "Winter Gina Tack ! Do you know what kind of phone call I just got from Mrs. Lorbury ? You got detention ? And then you talked back to her ?!" he thundered . I gulped . "My last name is Willigreen . Not Tack ," I whispered . 

He buried his face in his hands . "GO ! Get out of my sight !" he fumed . He still kept his hands on his face as if he couldn't look at me . My eyes flood with tears and I rush to my room . Fine if you don't want to see me , you don't have to ! 

I slammed the door shut and locked it . I heard the door to the apartment slam shut , too . And I realized he left me . Then I flew onto my bed and sobbed .

I heard Linda taking sips from her water bottle . I lifted my tear streaked face and looked over at her . I sniffed and murmured in a soft voice , "You must be hungry . . . " She looked over at me and did that cute little nose twitch . 

I crawled over to her cage and slipped my fingers through the bars , and pet her soft fur . She complied and gave into my petting . I felt around for her giant sack of food . I pulled it out , took a handful , and sprinkled it into her food dish . 

She ran over and started munching . I smiled at her . Suddenly my phone ringed . I groaned and crawled back over to my bed . Dahlia's calling . I flipped open my phone and grieved into the phone , " Dahlia ! Hey ! (Sniffle) My dad and I . . . We just . . ." And then I hicupped . 

"Whoa , are you okay ? This isn't Dahlia . Have you been crying ?" someone else's voice said . I felt a pang in my stomach . "Hey , Carter ," I murmured . And then in the most cheerful voice I could mutter said , "No , no . I'm completely fine ."

"No you're not . You sound like you're about to burst into to tears . What's up ? You left early and Stefan was wondering where you were ," he empathized into the phone . I smiled briefly , but I couldn't get my dad's reaction out of my mind . 

"He was ?" I ask trying to sound happy . But my voice breaks . "Winter . . . What's wrong ?" he asks sounding concerned . His voice is very comforting . 

So , I spill my guts . "Me and my dad . . . . It's not even that big a deal ," I murmur into my phone . "I stilll care ," he insisted . I let out a breath . "Me and my dad . . . We got into this fight , and . . . and . . . He said he wanted me out of his sight . And he couldn't even look at me ," I blubbered . I am a mess . 

"Do you want me to come over ?" he sympathized . "No , I look like crap ," I muttered into the phone then laughed . "Maybe tomorrow ." 

I ripped off my dirty clothes and jumped into the shower . I scrubbed at my hair vigorously then rinsed it . After feeling refreshed I crawled into my pajamas and crawled into bed . But it's only 4 p.m. . . . 

I took a nap for two hours and awoke groggily . I peeked out of my bedroom to see that my dad was home . He was lying on the couch with a bottle of Heiniken . "Dad . . . ?" I murmured . 

"What ?" he grumbled without even turning around . "I'm sorry . . . I only got detention because I was late ." And Mrs. Lorbury was asking for it . "It won't happen again ." "Okay , " he muttered and he took a sip . 

I slipped back in my room . 

Do I get an apology ? I know he didn't really do anything just now . But ever since mom died . . . He's been putting up this shield . He won't let me get close to him .  He won't get close to me . Nothing I do is satisfying , and I'm tired of it . 

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be someone else's daughter . 

So for four more hours I just lie around and do stupid stuff on my computer , and then I go to bed at eight . On a Saturday . 

My Sunday's not much better . I wake up at 10 a.m. and see that my dad's not home . He left a note , though . It says there was something wrong at the airport and he had to go to work today . But I really don't care . About anything . 

10:05 a.m. - I'm so hungry . Let's see . . . Lean Cuisine . Yum yum . I heat it up and sit alone at the kitchen table . It's always been like this . Me , eating Lean Cuisine all alone .

And when I am a cat lady I will probably do the same thing . 

10:10 a.m. - I'm Stefan's biggest fan ! I'll follow him until he loves me ! Papa-paparazzi ! Baby you'll be famous ! Chase you down until you love me !  PROMISE I'LL BE KIND , BUT I WON'T STOP UNTIL THAT BOY IS MINE . 

Linda is crowding in the corner of her cage because that's how good my singing is . But I'm going to stop . Because I sound like a creeper . 

11:50 a.m. - Just finished watching Valentine's Day . With a box of Kleenex near me in case I start to feel extremely lonely . I'd text some people , but my phone died . And I can't seem to find the charger . 

Or my phone . 

12:09 a.m. - I just cleaned Linda's cage . Oh the things I saw . . . But it's okay now . I hope . I'm going to go puke now .

12:56 a.m. - Okay fine . I took a bath . Have you ever cleaned a rat's cage ? It's absolutely frightening . I needed to rinse myself off . It felt taking a bath without my milano cookies , but my appetite disappeared after cleaning Linda's cage .

But now I'm out and dry . Maybe I should do my homework . . . ?

Haha . I'm funny . 

12:58 a.m. - Maybe I should start a diary like Anne Frank . Maybe it will get published ! Wait . . . I don't want my most intimate thoughts to be published . 

Would my dad publish it . . . ? No , he doesn't care enough . 

1:00 p.m. - FACEBOOK ! Let's see . . . Yay ! Five notifications . That one's for Farmville . . . I was tagged in a video from Wendy's party . 

Oh , yay someone caught my head bumping against the table on video ! Like . . .

2:03 p.m. - I'm hanging upside down on my bed and listening to love songs . First up - Eenie Meenie by Justin Beiber .

"SHAWTY IS AN EENIE MEENIE MINEY MO LOVERRRR ! OH , SHAWTY IS AN EENIE MEENIE MO LOVER ! I wish our hearts could come together as one !" I sang off key . And gave Linda a heart attack . 

5:34 p.m. - Just finished being lonely . I just wish this day would be over with . I let out a long and drawn out sigh . 

5:36 p.m. - I realize there are somethings you might not know about me . . . Like why my dad hates me so much . Well it's simple . . . I'm a fat version of my mom .

And after she died . . . He just stopped being himself . He cut of ties with everyone he knew in Cali , and came here . And there it was almost like she never existed . There was no evidence of her . Except for me . 

5:40 p.m. - I've gotten over my nausea and I'm going to McDonald's . AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME . 

5:56 p.m. - I felt like such a fat ass when I saw how many calories were in a McFlurry . I am so bored . 

6:00 p.m. - Also one thing you didn't know about me : I am trying to write a book . Trying and failing . It is a romance novel . I have tried writing fiction and sci-fi , but I just couldn't feel it . So , I decided to write romance . But I've never actually experienced love . So , it makes it awfully hard to write about it . 

Maybe I should scrap the whole idea and write a western themed book about octo-mom in cowboy boots . 

12:03 a.m. (Three minutes past midnight) - I am done writing the faithful tale of Octo-mom in cowboy boots ! Okay , fine . . . I've given up on that . I finished a chapter of my story . And all it took was 6 hours . 

Now all I have to do is making sure I don't fall sleep at the laptop and make it to my bed . I shut my laptop and waddle to my bed . It's time for sleep . . . Tomorrow  you will see Stefan , and he will not be able to run away . . . La , la , la !

9Winter Dick Dong Wong

It's Monday . Someone give me a shot gun . 

I don't feel like learning ! But you will see Stefan . . . OKAY ! I'M UP ! Let's see . . . What to wear . . . I'm so happy Wendy left her loose charcoal gray crop top at my house because this is the perfect time to wear it . I retreat to my comfy blue jeans , and slide on my purple mossimo ruffle ballet flats . I know it doesn't really match , but it'll do .

I rush to the bus stop and pray that I won't miss the bus . And that Wendy won't notice that this is her shirt .  "HEY !" shу cries as I scoot into our seat . "That's my shirt !" Well . . . at least I didn't miss the bus . Anyway , I just hurried off to my locker and then to first period . Today we're learning how to properly shade in circles . THIS is the kind of education I'm getting , mon dieu !

Yoko and Craig are getting on my nerves . Must they be so happy together ? He better ask her out . Or I'll kick him in the balls . 

Hard .

Second period . . . Was worrying . It made me realize that high school would be over soon . I have only a little over a year left . Oh God , I don't want to grow up ! 

Macy was actually paying attention so I poked her and said , "WHOA . You're actually paying attention !" 

"Yeah ," she said slowly . "I WANT to get good grades so I can get out of this town ." Oh . 

I always assumed that after we finished high school , me and my friends would fly off to Neverland . Which is what I get for making assumptions . 

Wait . . . What am I gonna do when high school's over . . . ? 

So I was still distressed by third period . What am I gonna do ? WHAT ?! So I hardly noticed when Dahlia chucked a basketball at my head .  I screamed as I flew face first into the grass . A couple of heads turned and Dahlia ran to my side . "It's okay , everyone !" she cried as she leaned over me . "DON'T YOU DIE ON ME !" she whisper-yelled .  

I rolled onto my back and pouted . "What's wrong ? You've been in a sour mood ALL DAY ," she exclaimed . 

I just shook my head . I am NOT experiencing an identity crisis . That's just silly . But I have another question in my head : What will I be remembered for in high school ? If I'm even remembered . . . 

I just shook off the thoughts and got my ass kicked at basketball . 

4th period chemistry was slow and boring . Because I actually worked . It was horrible . I'd rather be a bum than go to college if I have to work so much ! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ?! The woman made us do a worksheet ! With 13 questions ! 

Okay , maybe I am a lazy bum . . . But your mom loves this lazy bum . Anna Maria gave me a quizzical look . "Winter ," she whispered . "I don't know if you noticed . . . But you're actually working . It's scaring me ." Dahlia shook her head and said , "I KNOW . She's been like this all day ." 

My face turned grim and I didn't say anything . I work ! I mean , come on . . . I've worked . . . I've worked , right ? 

Lunch came around and Dahlia plopped down next to me with a sandwich covered in saran wrap . She ripped it off and took a bite of her sandwich . "Winter , what's going on ?" OH , GROSS ! She got ham on me . 

I wipe at my face . "Dahlia , do you know what you're gonna do when you get out of high school ?" I pondered . I gaze off at some empty hallway for dramatic effect . 

"Of course !" she cries putting down her sandwich . "First I'm going to be noticed by some soccer scout in , about , two or three weeks . . . That's when our tourney is . Hopefully that'll help me get into Eastern Oregon University . And it's in Oregon so it's not too far away from my parents ! I know there's a slim chance I'll get in , but I have a good feeling about this !" 

She paused and looked over at me . "Why do you ask ?" "Because I don't know what I'm doing when I get out of high school ," I murmured as I examined our shoes . 

"Oh great she's sad again ," Carter muttered when he walked over to my seat . I stared off at the chalk board . Maybe if I just stare and not reply maybe he'll go away . "OW !" I yell as he flickes my arm .  

No such luck . 

"It's like you get depression every day ," he acknowledges . "Maybe it's cause you keep showing up ," I say dryly . "No it can't be that ," he utters . 

I wish I had this power where I could give anyone I want a beard . If I did Katy McCurk would be a not wise yet bearded one . Carter would be an unwise bearded one , too . 

Oh , revenge would taste so sweet and beard-y ! 

"Anyway , class ," Mr. Jones says as soon as the bell rings . Carter quickly slides into the seat across from me . "We will be taking a break from our International Night projects for a while to learn about European customs ." I let out a silent groan .

But I need to get a good grade so I pay attention . 

"Hey Winter . . ." Carter whispers . "Winter . . . Winter !" Do not look . Whatever it is . . . It's not worth your time . "What ?" I mutter not looking over at him .  "Come on ! Look over here !" he cries . DO NOT LOOK . Whatever you do , do not look over there . Who knows what you'll see . . . So I flip my head to see because the suspense is killing me . 

Carter quickly looks away and pretends to be staring at the board . Then he turns his attention back to me and in fake bewilderment asks , "What ? Why are you staring at me ?"

And he did that the whole class period . 

I ducked under some senior as I tried to run to my 6th period , but Carter's too fast . "You never told me why you were staring at me ," he states blankly .  "It's cause you had something on your face ," I grumbled . "And what was on my face ?" he said catching up to me . I roll my eyes . "Stupidity . "

"Ouch ," he says touching his heart .

But I duck into my sixth period and out of his clutches . "Hey ," I breath as I plop down in front of Stefan . He looks up from his book . "Hey ." 

The bell rings and Mrs. Yerman walks to the front of the room and starts the lesson . Today we are discussing the mask of society that was suggested in Lord of the Flies by William Golding .  NO , I didn't read it . I got all that from Spark Notes . 

She passed out a worksheet that tested us on how well we read Lord of the Flies . I'm so happy I read chapter 6 because this is what it was on . "You can choose your partners ," she says from the front of the room . Aww man . I'll just sit here , then . 

Stefan taps me on the shoulder and I whip my head around . "Be my partner ?" YES YES YES ! "Let me consider the other people who are lining up from all over the world to be my partner , " I say as I point to an empty space . Stefan smiles . "So I'll take that as a yes because I'm the best partner anyone could ask for ," he joked . 

Oh , you can definitely be my partner . In life .  But I don't REALLY say that . I just turn 180 degrees in my seat , plaster on the best smile I can , and work on this baby .

I mean the paper .  We're not working on babies just yet .

And I'm surprised that I knew the answers to some of these questions . And in a few minutes we were done . And ahead of everyone . So we had time to chat .  Hopefully we got that all right ," I blabbered on .  He nodded . "I sure need it . Gotta get my grades up for graduation ," Stefan said as he leaned back in his seat . Oh  , right . He's a senior . And he's going to graduate soon . And I only have a few months with him until he goes off to who-knows-where . 

This is why I'm double depressed in 7th period .  "Mes idiots !"I cried in outrage as some girl wrote the answer to problem six on the board . "Savez-vous . . . Err , ce que ce . . . moyens ?!"(My idiots , do you know what this means ?!) I struggled to say .  Dahlia rolled her eyes . "Vous . . . sont . . . un poo !" she exclaimed . (You are a poo) "No , no ," Wendy muttered . "Your conjugations are all wrong . It's , 'Vous êtes un merde .'" I need new friends .  I rode home alone because Wendy has volleyball . We've been through this . I fogged up the glass and drew a beard with my finger . And some other inappropriate things . 

No ! I am in a depressed state ! I will not laugh or be happy at all .

WHOA ! That jogger almost got slapped in the face by one of his moobs ! AHAHAHA !

I am a sadist . It is horrible . This poor man clearly needs a bra and I am laughing at him . I will donate more bras to the homeless .

Let's see , I am at home . When people are depressed they do not eat . So . . . I will not eat . I will NOT eat . Okay , maybe just a SPOON of ice cream . Just a spoon .

Maybe another . . . I mean what harm's another spoon gonna do ? A third isn't so horrible either . Which explains how I ate half the carton . I'm disgusting ! Who eats half a carton of ice cream ?! That's it . I'm going on an ice cubes and water diet . Tomorrow morning I will eat nothing , but ice cubes . And I will drink water .

No more diet Pepsi ! Ice cubes . And water .  And maybe some crackers and an apple . . . But that's it . But just plain crackers ? That's so boring . Maybe some cheese ? It wouldn't hurt . 

Let's see . . . Homework .  No , I think I'm going to go clean the kitchen . NO . You will work ! You just need your iPod , some Snapple , and a snack . NO ! No snack .  Okay fine . . . Maybe some Oreos .  Thankfully . . . Macy brought my iPod to school today . So it's somewhere . . . FOUND IT ! In my backpack .  Let's see . . . Shuffle . I don't really like this song . . . Skip . Or this one for that matter . Skip . Nope , not this one . Skip . Dammit ! When I pick Shuffle I want you to play GOOD music , iPod ! 

Okay . I'm starting my homework .  Which takes me four hours to do .

But when I'm done I do enjoy a few episodes of Hannah Montana . 

Ooh ! A text message ! From a number I don't know . . . Goodie .  It says : 

Hello girl who is named after a season (Recieved at 9:17 pm) 

Could it be Stefan ? No .   So I just text back : 

Hello random number ! Which season ? You may have the wrong person .  ~In my bed ~ (Sent at 9:17 pm)

If it IS Stefan any chance I had with him is gone . Because ~In my bed~ is not a signature normal girls would have . I quickly go to my phone settings and disable it .  Signatures only do harm ! I remember in 8th grade I liked a fellow named Josh so I made my signature W+J (I know ! WHAT was I thinking ?!) . So Dahlia's cousin James already thought I was creepy ( It's a VERY long story) , but I didn't know .

And I like to make fun of him so I got his number and we texted for a while . And then I noticed what my signature was .  And I banged my head against a wall .

You may have the wrong person . . . In my bed . Tee hee ! 

It works for everything . But I cannot celebrate now . 

Nice signature . And the really cold season . Not the semi-cold season . The really cold one . (Received at 9:20 pm)

Okay so this isn't some complete stranger trying to rape me . Dang it . It's actually someone I know .  Then this is she . Might I ask who you are ? Oh , and thank you . (Sent 9:21 pm) 

So it's DEFINITELY not Stefan . Or James . Maybe . . .

But then my phone buzzed . 

It's only the hottest guy in school ! (Received at 9:22 pm)  

Oh , I have an inkling .

Dammit , Carter ! You manage to haunt me out of school . Well , you already have . . . You manage to haunt my phone !  

Oh , hey Carter . NO I didn't know it was you cause you're the 'hottest guy in the school .' I noticed by your arrogance -___- (Sent at 9:23 pm)  

There . Now where were me and Miley ? Oh yeah . She's breaking up with that Jake guy . But he's so right for her ! WHY ?! Oh , yay . Carter replied .  

Don't lie [; Katy Perry wrote the song Hot and Cold about you . (Received 9:31 pm)  

I have been acting a bit bipolar lately . But can I help it ? I don't even know who I am ! Plus , it's only okay for me to point that out .  

Do you mean hot and cool ? (Sent at 9:35 pm)  

How did you get my numbahh , anyway ? You stalker ! (Sent at 9:36 pm) 

Hannah Montana is over for today so I take this as a s perfect opportunity to shower . If I don't my hair will turn into a huge mop of grease and look like I put a bunch of gel in it . Even though I didn't .  

When I come out I see have one new message .  

I have my sources . . . And no . That song was written about ME . (Received at 9:37 pm) 

And so we texted . For a while . Until two am to be precise . It wasn't like I was going to get any sleep , anyway . Linda was squeaking away on her little treadmill wheel .  

And I do admit . . . When it is late I get a little . . . What's the word ? . . . Loopy . 

Me : I've never kicked anyone in the balls , but it sounds exquisite ! (Sent at 2:05 am)  

Carter : Not if YOU'RE the one being kicked in the balls -__- (Received at 2:06 am)  

Me : I would like to kick Zac Efron in the balls . I bet there are real acorns somewhere in his pants . I just have to search harder . (Sent at 2:08 am)  

Carter : You have fun searching Zac Efron's pants . Bring me a back a souvenir , will you ? (Recieved at 2:13 am)  

But I fell asleep .  In bed . So , you can imagine how groggy I was at 6 am when my alarm clock started singing . Let's see . . . That's a little less than four hours of sleep . Oh God , what was I thinking .  I don't even notice what I'm putting on . Just my comfry jeans and a t-shirt .  

I nearly don't go to school , but I'm so happy I do .  When I climb up onto the bus Wendy greets me , but I don't reply . I try and take a nap on the bus . No luck . I'll have to sleep through most of my classes . Yippee .  

"Why are you so tired ?" Wendy asks with concerns as she helps me amble off the bus . "I - I . . . was up till' two a.m. ," I murmur sleepily . "DOING WHAT ?!" she cried letting go of my arm .  "I don't remember ," I stammer managing to sound nervous and sleepy at the same time .

I scramble to my locker and get my stuff which feels ten times heavier than it usually does .  I barely did any work during 1st period . When Mrs. Koko walked by I just pretended to work .  During second period I tried to sleep , but Mrs. Laseur is very strict . Thankfully I sit behind a very tall person , but I was still worried about being caught .  

P.E. was torture . I still hadn't gotten enough sleep and it was freezing . The teachers wouldn't accept my forged note so I actually had to work .  Today we'rу doing track . I'm almost last . My everything hurts ! This is just one of those days that suck ass .  

"Are you okay , Winter ?" Dahlia asks as the teachers give out instructions . I let out a shiver and before I can reply Wendy says , "She's really groggy . She was up till' 2 a.m. On a weekday ."  Well that basically summarizes it .  

Then after gym I got even more tired . I could barely keep my eyes open and my eyelids ached . I couldn't register ANYTHING Mrs. Tabitha was saying .  I'm so happy I befriended as smart person like Anna Maria . Because sisters help sisters out when they're dead tired .  So that's the only way I got through Chemistry .  

At lunch I just plopped into a seat and tried to fall asleep , but Wendy kept tickling me and such . Because she is a sadist . So , no luck there . Thanks a lot , Wendy ! And you didn't help either , Macy , with trying to put french fries up my nose . That was NOT funny . Only because it was happening to me . If it happened to anyone else . . . That would be hilarious ! 

So during fifth period I wasn't very happy . "You kept me up ALL night . . . " I groaned as I rested my head on the desk . At least I'm not the only one's who's deathly tired .  Carter seems tired , too . But he doesn't look like a mess . Like I do . His hair is slightly messier than it usually is , his face isn't bearing that annoying smirk as it always is , and his eyelids are slightly drooping .  

"I kept you up ?! You were the one ranting about Zac Efron !" he cried and rested his head on his mutilated binder .  So I spent the rest of class half asleep and half pretending to listen . My eyelids weren't as droopy when I got to sixth period . I tried to clean myself up by the doorway , and then I waddled into class .  "Hey ," Stefan greeted and did a quick nod . "Hiiii ," I sleepily moaned .

I just wanted to sleep through this whole period . "Well . . . I remember you like to read King , and there's this writer . . . And he's pretty good and his books have the same quality as King ," he started off . I just nodded . "And he's doing this book signing tomorrow . . . Do you want to join me ?"  

"Yeah , sure ," I mumble . Then Mrs. Yerman starts class .  Finally during 7th period I realize what just happened ! "MON DIEU !" I cry all of a sudden . "J'ai un . . . date . . . avec Stefan !" (MY GOD ! I have a date with Stefan ! Or something like that . Shut up . I'm groggy .)  

" Qu'est-ce ?!"(WHAT ?!) Wendy cries . Dahlia also cries , "Qu'est-ce ?!" But she only says it because she has no idea what I just said .  

Anyway , I go home . Do homework . Eat everything in the fridge . You know . . . The usual . I just want to fast forward .  "DRIVE ME ! PLEASE ! PLEASE !" I beg Yoko in first period . "Winter , is this your seat ?" Mrs. Koko asked behind me .  "Just one second Mrs. Koko ," I murmured then I turned away form her . I could feel her staring daggers into the back of my head , but this is urgent .  

"I'll see . . . But I don't know if I can for certain !" she mumbled awkwardly . My eyes widened . "PLEASE ! I'LL NEVER ASK YOU FOR ANYTHING AGAIN ! OH , PLEASE ! OH , PLEASE  !"  Yoko looked helpless . "Fine ," she breathed . "THANK YOU SO MUCH !" I cried .

Then I turned to face Mrs. Koko .  "I'm afraid , Winter , that I must give you a total of two tallies ," she said calmly . The woman sounds like a psychopath .  But I didn't care ! BECAUSE I HAVE A DATE WITH STEFAN ! Err , fine . . . It's not a date . But we're getting there .  I didn't care about 2nd period . Or 3rd . Or 4th even though it was a little fun . By lunch I didn't feel like eating anything because my stomach was fluttering so much .  

My foot tapped on the floor quickly during 5th period . I wish it was just over with . "Well you seem pretty restless ," Carter noted as I shook my leg . My eyes widened . "How much more time do we have in this period ?!" I demanded as I gripped the top of my desk with all of my might .  

"40 minutes . . ." he said eyeing me . He raised his eyebrow but I just stared at the board . We were supposed to be doing partner work , but I didn't feel like working at all . "What's up ? It's like you drank five red bulls before coming here ."  I slowly whipped my head around . "Je suis dans la barque de l'amour !" (I'm in the boat of love) I cry . He narrowed his eyes . "You're so lucky I sit next to Freda Munroe so that I don't pay attention in French ." I shrug my shoulders .  

He looks away for a second and then looks back at me with a big smirk . "It's that guy isn't it ?"  I glance sideways sideways at him and narrow my eyes . "What's it to you ?" He nodded . "I'm always right ," he said smugly . He leaned forward .

"So what's my teammate been up to ?" he asked raising an eyebrow .  I flicked his ear . "We're just going to a book signing ," I mumbled . He nodded his head as if analyzing this . "Not JUST a book signing ," he murmured looking off at the distance .  "I'll drive you ," he stated .

HAH , NO . "That's okay ," I said putting on a fake smile . "Yoko's already driving me ."  

"No , you'll need my help ." Thank you , my insensitive friend . You just make me feel so good about myself .  

Sixth period came ! FINALLY . I thought I'd get hit by a bus before it came around . Well , I know I'm in school . But we have some pretty strange drivers . I don't doubt that they'll drive into the school one day .  

"Hello !" I cried happily when I saw Stefan . I smiled warmly at him and when I sat in front of him I could feel the heat radiating from his body .  "So , you still coming to the book signing ?" he asked . OF COURSE ! "Wouldn't miss it ," I murmured . "I just need the name of the book shop ."  

Mrs. Yerman started class . YOU HAVE THE WORST TIMING , WOMAN ! Well that's not exactly true , but . . . Oooh ! A note ! Stefan slid a piece of paper onto my arm . I flipped it open . He doesn't crumple it like Carter . He neatly folds it .  It said :  

That Borders in Manchester Plaza . Around 4 . Do you need a ride ? 

I turned around and mouthed a quick , 'no .' "I already have a ride ," I grumbled to myself and scrunched up my face .  

Seventh period made me even more restless . GAHH ! "What is I would like to order the lobster , Winter ?" Mrs. Turcotte asked as she turned to me . "JE VOUDRAIS . . . Um , COMMANDER LE HOMARD !" I yelled . Mrs. Turcotte jumped back with wide eyes .  "Alright . . ." she murmured and moved on to interrogate Wendy .  I rushed over to Yoko at her locker and tell her , "You don't have to drop me off anymore !" And then I run off towards my bus .  I think I'm just gonna go in my school clothes . For the hour until my 'date' I will read .  

Around 3:30 I padded over to my kitchen and took the whipped cream container and filled my mouth with the creamy goodness . Suddenly someone knocked at the door . I opened it without thinking . I had squirrel cheeks and I was guiltily holding a whipped cream can . "You're early . . . " I awkwardly mumbled trying not to swallow the whipped cream .  Carter shook his head . "Just as I expected ," he blurted . I narrowed my eyes . "What's that supposed to mean ?!"  

He stepped in and examined my apartment . "It means we've got work to do . Where's your closet . . . ?" he asks squinting into the direction of the kitchen .  "Get out of my house , you creep !" I manage to cry . He continued toward the hallway where my room was . Dammit . "I'm guessing it's this one . . ." he said walking right into my room .

I place the whipped cream can onto the table and rush after him , only to find him searching through my closet .  I plopped down on my bed . "What on Earth are you doing ?!" I miffed . I am outraged and confused . And a little hungry . "Put this on ," he said tossing something my way . I picked it up . It was that satin blue tiered mini skirt Wendy left at my house .

My eyes widened at the horror of me in a mini skirt .  "And this ," he said tossed a navy wife beater to me .  "I don't think so ," I say pushing them aside and I let myself sink to the bed . I let out a sigh .  Carter turns his head and narrows his eyes . "You can do it voluntarily . . . Or I can force them on you ," he warns . My eyes widen and I collect the clothes .

Somehow I don't think he's bluffing .  

I slip into my bathroom and then into the clothes . I glance down at my thighs . No , this will not work .  I'm reluctant to leave the bathroom , but I do anyway . "Now put some make-up on ," Carter commands . But I don't know how . . . 

I find my trunk of make-up that my aunts give me every year for my birthday in hopes that I'll use it . "This is all that I have , " I mumble as I rifle through the contents .  "Let's see ," he says with determination in his voice . He picks out some liquid blue eyeliner , lip gloss , silver eye shadow , and some facial glitter . It's actually a pretty good combination . It looks like he knows more  about make up than I do . I grudgingly apply a smudge of eye shadow and swipe some lip gloss across my lips . I try to apply some eye liner but my eye twitches every time .

"I'm not wearing the eye liner ," I murmur shoving it away from me .  I add a few splotches of facial glitter to my face . Carter grabs the eyeliner and leans over me . I instantly tense up when I notice how close we are . My mind doesn't even have to time to react before he quickly swipes the eyeliner around my eyes .  

"Relax ," he mutters as he leans back . "I'm just putting some eye liner on you ." Oh . We both walk over to the mirror and I gaze at the surprising reflection . "Oh . God . I . Look . Like .

Ke$ha ," I mutter in disbelief . Except for the hair . And the slim body . But , overall , I don't look awful .

Carter nods . Then he sneers . "You wish you looked like Ke$ha ."  So Carter drives me to Borders and I waddle out . There's a long line on the inside . It's a little past four so Stefan must be here .

I push open the door and instantly spot him .  "Heyy ," I say strutting over to him . He looks me up and down . "You're dressed pretty fancily for a book signing ," he notes . He's still in his school clothes . Dammit , Carter ! I flash him a nervous smile . "Oooh , err , I have somewhere to go after this ." And then I flip my hair .  I know . I'm SO good with boys . Not . 

"Where's your book ?" he asks gripping as old paperback copy of something . I rip a book of a shelf that has the exact same title and cover . "Here it is ," I joke . I'm so happy I took twenty dollars with me .  He smiles at my awkwardness and the line moves a little .  

We stand there and joke around , and I'm sad the line moved so fast .  Finally it's my turn to get my book signed . This author that Stefan is so obsessed with is a fairly bearded bloke . He just said , "And who should I dedicate this to ?" He clicks his pen and in wild cursive write a few sentences .  I pondered . "To Winter Dick Dong Wong . . ." I murmured . He let out a laugh , but then went silent as he ACTUALLY wrote it .

"They get more creative every time . . ." he muttered as I walked away .  I bought the book at the register , and went to Stefan who was waiting for me outside . "So . . ." he started off gawkily .

"Do you want a ride home ?"  I nodded madly . I didn't dare utter a word to ruin this moment . "So , what did he write in your book ?" Stefan inquired as his car roared to life .  I stared at the page with wide eyes . I started to read off , "'To my beautiful fan , Winter .'" I didn't lie , did I ?

"He was right about the beautiful part ," Stefan said glancing over me . His eyes sparkled .  And it's like Nicki Minaj says , "He just gotta give me that look , when he give me that look , then the panties coming off ."  My stomach fluttered , and my legs felt a little numb .  I told him where my house was and he dropped me off . I gave him a big smile and said gratefully , "Thanks for the book suggestion . The author , Gergor Hibiscus , sounds really cool ."  I grinned toothily , and he returned my smile .  I stared at him for twenty more seconds in case he decided to lean in and kiss the lip gloss of me , but he never did . I'm a little happy since I don't really want my first kiss to happen on our first not-even-official date .  

I clambered out of his car and walked across the parking lot to my apartment building . I looked back , flashed one last smile , and stepped inside . When he saw I was in the building he drove out of the parking lot .  I leaned against the mailboxes and sank to the ground in happiness . I'm so happy ! Happy go lucky me ! I just go my way ! Loving everyday !  

I hardly noticed the old lady standing over me and yelling , "YOUNG LADY ! YOUNG LADY ! YOU'RE BLOCKING MY MAILBOX ! YOUNG GIRLLL !" 

School flew by for the next two days since I was happy . When I showed mes idiots the book they all erupted with laughter . "Winter Dick Dong Wong !" Dahlia cried and then she erupted into laughs .  

Carter was equally amused . "I was right . I'm always right !" Carter cried happily as he examined the signature . Stefan asked me a lot about the book , and all I can say is : Thank God for Spark notes !  For this short time period I can honestly say that I love my life .  I lean forward in my history seat and look over at Carter who's talking to some girl .

"Ha , ha ! YEAH !" she giggles . Carter nods . I'm too happy to roll my eyes and warn this poor girl what she's in for .  Carter whispers into her ear , and she nods . "See you ," she says as she struts away . She turns around and gives  him away . But he's obviously staring at her butt .  

I lean across the aisle and flick his elbow . Carter slips out of his daze . "Yes ? You flick my elbow BECAUSE ?" he asks .

"I'm gonna be so bored today . I don't know what I'm gonna do ," I mutter . "I know what I'm doing during homeroom ." Carter smiles smugly . "Her ."  

I instantly shudder . Tiger Woods has nothing on this guy . . . "I mean AFTER school ," I continue . "Well Derek , Patrick , and I are going to the movies . . ."  Derek ? Dahlia's obsessed . "Oooh ? Derek ? What movie ? I can bring my hot friends along ," I instantly preach .

I do NOT want to spend another Friday lying at home and talking to Linda as she eats her cheese . No offense , Linda . . .  Carter nods . "Bring the one that looks like Victoria Beckham ." Which is obviously Dahlia . "And the one with the black hair and rippy jeans ? Patrick thinks she's hot ." Perfect .  

"Just give me a location and a time ," I say rather smoothly if I do say so myself . 

10A swim .

"Don't you want to try something on ,  Winter ?" Dahlia asked as she rifled through her clothes . Macy was trying on some skinny jeans . 

I shook my head . "No . I don't have a guy to impress , and I'm perfectly fine in these jeans ." 'It's not like any of your clothes would fit me anyway ,' I try not to say . 

I examine them as they fret over what to wear and their hair . It is true that I am living in a material world . But I am no material girl . Anyway , these girls would look pretty even if they showed up in chicken costumes . I don't see what all the panic is about . 

Then again , men do that . 

It is a (NOT) sunny Friday in Idaho . We are at Dahlia's house . Which is not unusual . What was unusual was that my friends were practically going on a double date . And I am a fifth wheel . And I will actually have to watch the movie . Which the guys are picking . They insist . 

I sprawl out on Dahlia's bed and make bed angels . "Winter !" Dahlia cries as she walks over to me . "You messed up my whole bed !" My bad .

"You look pretty ," I'm quick to say . I smile widely to show that I mean it .  Maybe now she won't skin me alive .

"Oh , thanks ," she murmurs . She smiles and checks herself out in the mirror . Oh , women . They're so easy to please .  "Did he really say that Patrick said I was hot ?" Macy asked as she trudged out of the bathroom wearing Dahlia's skinny jeans . I let out an inward groan . This was the fifth time she asked that in fifteen minutes !  Macy walked over to the mirror and examined herself . More inward groaning for me .

"Yes Macy . . . For the hundredth time . . . He actually said that ," I moaned from my position on the bed . How many minutes before 7 . . . ? 16 ? I think I can go that long without killing myself . Dahlia giggled .  "Macy , you look cute in those ! Try this top ! It goes with your shoes AND brings out your eyes !" 

Actually , I don't think I can make it . Someone give me a shot gun . Or a crow bar . I really can't be picky . 

I wonder what Stefan's doing . . . Hopefully not listening to his friends drone on and on about how these pants would make their look butt perfect or how this shirt makes them look edgy . Probably not . But a girl can never be too sure . 

I pretend to sleep for ten minutes and then Macy and Dahlia exclaim that it's time to go . "Can I just stay here . . . ?" I mutter . No such luck .

I am dragged into Macy's car . "Can we at least eat something ? I'M SO HUNGRY !" I beg . Dahlia's eyes flicker to me in the rearview mirror . "Just ask Carter to buy you something ," she says then smiles , pleased with herself .  I WILL ! 

It takes ten minutes to get to the theater which I warned them about , but they said , 'NO ! WE'LL LOOK UNCOOL IF WE SHOW UP ON TIME .' Alright , but the guys were already there and the movie had already started . But I guess that's totally fine since we look - COOL . 

"DEREK !" Dahlia cried running over to him . She is officially in Strawberry Shortcake mode . Macy , however , took a less obvious approach . She made Patrick come to her . Which took a total of about two seconds . 

"Hey Mace ," Patrick said smiling down at her . She nodded , grinned , and gave out a  , "Yo !" By this time Dahlia and Derek were making out . I watched in horror .  Finally Dahlia pulled away and turned so she could see everyone . "So what movie ?" she asked clasping her hands together .

Derek scratched his head then said , "Well we were thinking Absolutely Charlotte . . ."  I laughed out loud . Macy and Dahlia twitched a little at the suggestion . Everyone turned to look at me .

"Absolutely Charlotte ? I'd rather not . . . How about . . ." I squinted my eyes as I examined the movie titles that were flashing on the animated screen that hung over the ticket booths . Tons of couples filed into the movie theater .  "How about . . . Legion ?" But it's more of a decision than an answer . If I'm actually going to watch this movie , I want to see blood . Not some girl who meets some guy . NO . 

The guys shrug indifferently , but I can tell they're relieved they don't have to sit through a chick flick either . Macy and Dahlia smile . Again , I am a wise and bearded one . 

The lovely couples just go on ahead without Carter and I . They're giggling and linking arms .

While the prospect of a relationship with Stefan sounds fun . . . I might turn into THAT . The typical needy girlfriend . 

"I need new friends . . ." I mutter as we walk up to the ticket booth . "I know what you mean ," Carter agrees . We both narrow our eyes . "Two tickets to Legion , please ," Carter says sliding a crisp 20 dollar bill to the woman who is behind the thick plexi-glass . 

"Hey ," I cry nudging him . "I can pay for my OWN ticket ." I smile at the woman who is behind the plexi-glass . "You can cancel the second one . I'll be paying for that ."  Carter rolls his eyes . "Now is not the time for you to pull an , 'I'm an independant woman - hear me roar !' act . Sorry ma'am . Don't listen to her . I'll take two tickets ," he insisted . He gave me the evil eye . And so did the lady behind the plexi-glass who had fallen under Carter's spell . 

"Fine ," I grumbled . "I'm completely fine with a free ticket ." I crossed my arms over my chest , and pushed open the door to the theater .

Macy said ,"What took you guys so long ? The movie started , like , twenty minutes ago ."  Carter just shrugged and turned to me . "Anyway that ticket wasn't free ," he stated . "You're buying me food ." I groaned . But I want food , too .

"What do you want ?" I blurted out . He ran his hand through his hair and rocked back and forth on his heels . "Hmmmm . . ." he muttered as he examined the menu . "We don't have all day here ," I snapped . 

Everyone had already headed into the theater . Everyone but us . 

"Nachos will be cool . But I can't eat them all . Want some ?" he asked still staring at the menu . "I'd be honored ," I was quick to say just so we can head into the theater . Plus , nachos aren't so bad . . .  Finally some chick walks over and stares at Carter , completely ignoring me .

"Would you like something ?" she asks sweetly . BARF . I shove aside Carter and say , "Yeah some nachos and a medium Icee . It would be lovely if you could swirl the two flavors together ." She reaches down and gets a box of nachos . Then she walks over to the Icee machine and pulls the lever until my cup is full .

She flashes Carter a huge smile and says , "That'll be 18.95 ." I thrust the money at her and then snatch up my change . "Pleasure doing business with you ," Carter says examining her chest . "Lola ." She nearly faints at the fact that he knows her name . I repeat , BARF .

"I don't know how you do it ," I mutter as we walk into the theater . DAMMIT ! Someone's already dying . I will forever remember this , Carter Summers . 

Of course , Dahlia is sitting next to Derek . And Macy is sitting next to Patrick . So I'm left to sit at the edge .

I dig my hand deep into the nacho box Carter is holding and shove the handful into my mouth . But it is too much .  So I sit there with a mouth full of salty nachos .  Carter reaches over and takes a sip of my Icee . "Oh come on , man !" I try to cry . But it comes out more like , "BOOH BOH BOOOO BOOO !" And I get crumbs everywhere . 

"Gross ," he mutters as he wipes himself off . I grab my Icee furiously and take  giant sip . Which is a horrible choice . I now have brain freeze and my mouth can takes on the taste of hay . I quickly try to chew it up . Oh God , this is so gross !

Carter looks over at me and raises his eyebrow , but then he turns back toward the movie .  So I just sit here .

But suddenly it's one of those moments where random crap pops onto the screen and it's followed by a really loud noise so I'm completely caught off guard . So that's why I spit out all the contents in my mouth all of a sudden . And they spill out onto the seats before us .  Carter and Macy look at me bewildered , and a lot of the people sitting in front of us let out cries like , "WHAT THE FUCK ?!"  but I just pretended to be deeply engrossed in the film . So the movie flies on by . Dahlia and Derek make out during the whole thing . Macy and Patrick actually watched it . They smiled at eachother sheepishly as they discussed the plot . 

"So what was up with that EXPLOSION , you had ?" Carter inquired . I let out an uneasy laugh . "What EXPLOSION , silly ?"  He rolls his eyes .

"Did you projectile vomit ?" he continues . "I DID NOT PROJECTILE VOMIT ! I . . . I . . . WANTED TO SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A FOUNTAIN ," I cried . A little too loudly . Hell , I should even announce what color my underwear is . 

"It's like you only have two volumes : Yelling and somewhat yelling ," Carter remarked as he looked me up and down . Then he turned around and started examining some girl who was sitting in a cafe .  I turn to Dahlia who is chatting with Derek animatedly . No . I turned to Macy . "So , what now ?" I ask with a shrug of my shoulders .  "Me and Patrick were thinking about going to that little cafe across the street . . ." she murmurs and looks shyly over at him .

OH NO ! NOT MACY , TOO ! She's becoming a . . . GIRLFRIEND . 

Let's see . . . My stomach is filled with Icee , tortilla chips , and nacho cheese . I'm not exactly hungry . And I think if I try to stuff anything else into me , I'll go into fountain mode again . "I'm not exactly hungry . . ." I claim . I look out at the little pond behind the movie theater . I've always wanted to go on one of the boats ! "We should go on one of those boats !"

"Yeah !" Dahlia exclaims . She takes Derek's hand and directs him toward the boats . Macy and Patrick stay behind for ALOOONE TIIIIIME .  I just awkwardly waddle there . "Your friends sure are enthusiastic . . ." Carter notes . "Welcome to my life ," I mutter . 

So we all chip in a couple of bucks to afford a boat and then they go over the rules and all that rah-rah .  We climb into the plastic boat , and Dahlia and Derek immediately climb into the back . Where they proceed to make out . SURPRISE ! 

"Dammit ," I muttered . "I don't want to do the work ." The two people who sit in the front have to work the peddles . Lucky me .  I grunt as I crawl as into a seat in the front  . Carter

climbs into the seat next to me . "You guys can start peddling , now !" Dahlia calls from the back . Then she continues sucking face .  "Yeah , yeah ," I mumble as I start peddling . I turn to Carter who is NOT peddling . "Aren't you gonna peddle ?" 

He leaned back in his seat . "I'll be too fast for you ," he concluded . I narrowed my eyes . "I bet that's code for , 'Sorry Winter . I'm just sooooooo lazy .'"  I smirked over at him . He narrowed his eyes . "Challenge accepted ," he declared .

He started peddling . About the same speed as me .  Suddenly he picked up speed and I tried to too . The boat was going at an unnatural speed . I lifted my feet .

"STOP !" I cried when I saw that we were about to crash onto the shore . I grabbed the stick that steers the whole boat and made it take and abrupt turn to the right .  I let out a sigh of relief . And then I looked over at Carter . "You're an idiot ," I declared .

Dahlia and Derek looked up abruptly from making out . But then they started sucking face again . "Whatever you say , princess ," he dismissed and rolled his eyes . I crossed my arms over my chest and started paddling .  "PRINCESS ?" I scoffed . I glared at him . "It works ," Carter continued . "Since you're always trying to control everything ." I drew in a breath . Don't say anything .

"I do NOT try to control anything !" I exclaimed . Too late . "Guys . . ." Dahlia murmured from the back . "Yeah , sure ," Carter said with sarcasm in his voice .  I growled . "You have no idea what you're talking about . You don't know me ," I cried . "Well there's the fact that you've NEVER had a boyfriend ," he pointed out . "You are so -" And then I shoved him .

Which is not the best thing to do , but I was really mad at that point .  And I guess I shoved him pretty hard because he recoiled and flew into the water .

"OH MY GOD !" Dahlia and I yelled at the same time .  Carter started struggling to keep his head above water . "Shit !" he cried . "I can't swim !" He kept struggling .

Without thinking I jumped into the water .  "Crap !" Dahlia cried as the paddle boat starting tipping because all the weight was on the back . She jumped into the front seat . Oh God this water is freezing .

Carter' head wasn't above water and he was now struggling underwater . SHIT . SHIT . SHIT .  I quickly put my arm around him , and tried to pull him up to the boat . I gripped the edge of the boat and gasped for breath , as did he .  He gripped the edge of the boat and gasped for breath .

"I am so sorry ! So , so , so , sorry !" He didn't say anything , he just climbed onto the boat .  I pushed myself onto the plastic and he offered his hand , and I quickly took it and together we climbed back onto the boat . Dahlia kept yelling things , but mostly it was , "ARE YOU OKAY ?!" Derek also tried to help .

They offered to switch places with us , and we both climbed into the back . When my breath and heart beat got steady I looked over at Carter .  "I am so , so , so , so , so , so , so , so SORRY !" I cried . He just shook his head . Suddenly the wind blew and we both shivered . Our teeth chattered in unison . "It's fine . . . Besides you saved me ," he offered .  I shook my head vigorously . "No , no . I pushed you in ! Ohmy ! I almost killed you !" I cried in horror . My hands flew up to my face . "I am so , so , so , so sorry !"

Carter continued shivering . "It's fine ," he whispered . "It was an accident ." His face was blank , and his eyes made it seem like he was somewhere far away .  I decided that he didn't really want to talk to me after that .

Dahlia and Derek padded to the hut where we payed for the boat . The lady in the hut gave us an odd look . "Is everything all right ?" she was quick to ask .  Dahlia smiled . "Everything's all right . We just had a little accident ." Then she quickly hurried away . We all marched after her .

Macy and Patrick were walking down the street and when she saw us dripping wet she exclaimed , "WHAT HAPPENED ?"  Dahlia walked over to her . "WELL , Winter and Carter got into this huge fight and Winter shoved him . And she shoved him pretty hard because he fell in ,"

Dahlia proclaimed . I looked away with shame . "Really sorry . AGAIN ," I whispered to Carter . He shook his head and dismissed it . "It's completely fine ." 

"And then he couldn't swim so she had to jump into the water and save him ," Dahlia concluded . Macy looked at me with wide eyes . Carter was quick to butt in . "Yeah , she's a real hero ! She saved me from almost drowning !"

I shuffled awkwardly and avoided looking at all of them . "I guess I should head home ," Macy told Patrick letting her fingers slip out of his .  I clambered over to Macy's car , but she said , "Nuh uh . I CANNOT get my seats wet !" 

"How am I gonna get to Dahlia's house , then ?!" I cried . Macy thought for a minute then said , "How 'bout I drive Patrick and Derek home and you go with Carter ? He's getting his seats wet anyway ." 

So it was arranged . I climbed into Carter's car , but Carter put some cloth there so his seats wouldn't get too wet . He turned the heat up and rode out without a word .  After a few moments of awkward silence I asked , "So . . . Why can't you swim ?"

I lean back and gaze over at him . His face is blank again . I think he's thinking . You can never be sure .  He shook his head and something passed across his face . Like pain . "Never learned how to ," he emitted . Then there was an awkward silence in the car .

"Which is Dahlia's house ?" Carter asked studying the streets . "The first house on the next left ," I uttered . My voice sounded awkward in the harsh quiet of the car .  He parked in front of Dahlia's house and my eyes swept over at him . We locked eyes , and I held my gaze for a while . Then he glanced away .

"Well , thanks for the ride . I'm still really sorry about pushing you in I can pay for dry cleaning and every -" I started off . "It's fine , Winter ," Carter murmured .  I opened the car door and attempted a smile . "Okay . Bye ." And then I slammed the door shut .He pulled out of the driveway and drove off and I stared after him . 

"EEEH !" Dahlia cried ripping open the front door and running over to me . "You guys !" Macy cried running over to me . They both hugged me despite how wet I am . But I'm not THAT wet anymore . And that's good because I'm absolutely freezing . 

We head in and Dahlia brings a container of cookie dough ice cream (Of course I changed before we did any of this) to us . We all take huge spoons out of the container and ate it . We tried to watch The Notebook , but they were both so abuzz and happy with the results of their 'double date .'  Dahlia turned to me . "What about you and Carter , Winter ?" she murmured . "NO ," I said decidedly . I nodded my head vigorously . "JUST FRIENDS . I mean , we're barely even friends ."  And then we all fell asleep because we were so exhausted . 

Wendy came over on Saturday because she wanted to get away from Kendra . "I can't stand her ! She's just so . . . UGH !" she cried . "Mhmm ," I murmured as I examined my phone .  Carter hadn't text me . I texted him apologizing , again . No reply .

"Are you even listening ?" she beseeched immediately sitting up on my bed . "Yes , yes . Of course ," I murmured as I stared up at the ceiling . 

Wendy sighed . "Maybe we should go to the park behind your apartment ," she suggested . I just nodded and finger combed my hair so that I looked at least a little bit presentable . 

We sauntered over  to the park and rode on the merry go round , slides , giant rope spider web , swings , teeter totter (But that wasn't much fun since I was on the bottom most of the time . Dahlia would get a kick out of what I just said .) , monkey bars , the tire swing , and the glider . It is a fine day . And we are exhausted . My dad comes home and Wendy heads home .

I instantly collapse on my bed and drift off .  I fall asleep at 8 p.m. , and that is why I wake up at 6 in the morning .  What am I going to do today . . . ?  Yoko has ice skating this morning . Maybe I can go watch her !

So that is why I'm sitting in the cold stands . After her class I will join Yoko and we'll ice skate together . But I suck .  WHOA . Yoko is good ! She can do a flawless figure 8 , a bunch of

spirals , and that move where you lift your foot into the air . She can also jump into the air and spin ! I can't even do that without ice skates !

Finally she skates over to me and yells , "Come on ! Get some skates !" So I shuffle over to the shack where they give out skates . I show them the little paper I got when I purchased entrance .  Of course my ice skates are too small . But I'm going to pull a hero act and skate with Yoko no matter how tight ! 

I step out onto the ice - And instantly slip . Yoko giggles like a madwoman , but helps me up . And with our arms linked we try to skate . Because I can't really skate without aid . 

"OOH ! That guy's cute ! And so is that one ! And that one - no , never mind ," I say as I count the number of cute guys here . But , sadly , most of them are here with other girls . Yoko rolls her eyes . 

"So , how are you and Craig dooooing ?" I inquired and nudged her . She rolled her eyes . "Peachy ," she muttered . She gazed over at me . "I might take your advice . On , you know , asking him out ."  "EEH !" I squeaked . "You've finally come to your senses !"

She turned a deep red color . "Err , um . . . MAYBE . I might chicken out ." I shook my head . "So what if he says no ? If he does we'll see his true colors ," I egged her on . I am SUCH a wise and bearded one . I don't see why Harvard is not fighting over me . My report card does not reflect me at all . I don't see how it matters . 

After tiring myself out I head home . It's only two'o'clock . But I have nothing to do .  So I ACTUALLY (Well I use internet and skip a few problems . . . ) do my homework . That takes a grand total of four hours .

Now I feel like eating .  I reheat an old slice of pizza .  You know . . . The kitchen looks a little dusty . I might as well clean it . Hold on . . . I need my iPod for this . I jog and get it . Then devour my pizza .  Let's see . . . Shuffle . I hope this song's appropriate , too . Because my dad is taking a nap . And he will not be happy if he figures out what content I have on my iPod .  Oooh , yay ! Colorado Sunrise . "AND IF I HAD SOMETHING TO SAY TO YOU , I'D WHISPER IT SOFTLY !" I sang into a mop a I cleaned the kitchen floor . This went on for two hours . 

When the kitchen was squeaky clean , I took the dance party to my room . Which lasted about an hour . It consisted of mainly jumping on my bed to You Belong With Me . Poor Linda . She had to endure that . 

By 9 , I'm pooped out . I have done much more exercise than I usually do . I practically did Zumba and an ice skating routine ! Well , not exactly . . . But you get it .  So I change into my pajamas and instantly fall asleep .

But you know where you really want to sleep , but you're not falling asleep ? I was having one of those moments .  I just lay there with my thoughts . Is Carter mad at me ? Why'd he get all weird ? Why am I so weird ? But the most important question of all . . . Does Stefan like me ? Probably not .

But everything would be so fun if he liked me back .  I could imagine all the groovy dates we'd go on and the the movie worthy romantic moments we'd have . Everything would be so perfect . 

But relationships are SUCH a bore . 

But I get free food . Oh , the inner struggle !

I sigh and sink into my pillow . If only life were easier . 

Wouldn't it be cool if the Milky Way Galaxy was just some man's belly button ? It would make loads of sense .  I glance down at my belly button . I really hope there's not a galaxy in my belly button . . . I would be awfully frightened .

What if it had the same exact people in my belly button ?! What if there's a mini-Winter in there ?! Ew , whatif there's a mini Katy ? 

This is going to be like Horton Hears a Who . No one will believe that there are people in my belly button , and I will be marked as crazy ! But there ARE people in my belly button ! You believe me . . . Right ?!

"It's okay . . ." I whisper to the people in my belly button . "I'll protect you . . ."

11If it's was she wants . . . It's war she gets .

I wake up . I brush my teeth . I wash my face . I get dressed . I eat cereal . I watch Spongebob . I head out for school . It's like that every morning .

  Yet , I still can't help but get annoyed at my alarm clock . "SHUT UP !" I cry from my bed . But it does not shut up . I moan and rise from my bed of pain . "Alarm . . . You will be quiet . . . I COMMAND YOU !"

No . Apparently it does not take commands . So , like the great swamp monster I am , I lift myself from the warm sheets and into the daylight .

"How the hell is it so bright as six in the morning ," I groan . I reach over and exterminate the alarm clock . Or turn it off . It's all the same to me . I roll out of bed . Literally . I'm lying on the floor right now .

What to wear . . . What to wear . . . It's warm enough for capris , I notice . So I pull on my cool rippy ones . I , then , pull on a big , pick t-shirt that's about two sizes too big . But it's laundry day .

Let's see . . . We're all out of Captain Crunch . And all we have is Special K . I let out a tired sigh and reach for the Special K box .

I stuff my mouth with cereal as I flip through the channels . Where the hell is Nickelodian . . . ? 

Finally my bowl of Special K is empty and I have failed to find Spongebob . I just grab my backpack and head out . After slightly jogging to the bus stop I board the bus and plop down next to Wendy . 

"YO ! YO !" she cries as I sit down next to her . "Heyyy !" I exclaim with an arch of my eyebrow . "You seem to be in a good mood . . ." Which is unlikely .

She nodded . "Why wouldn't I be ?" I just dismissed her question . "Guess what ?! I almost killed Carter !" I cried rather excitedly . The freshman leaned a little closer to hear us better . 

Wendy raised her eyebrow at me . "Umm . . . I know you didn't like the guy , but I didn't think you would try to kill him !" Wendy announced to the whole bus . "Then again . . . You can get really mad sometimes . . ."

I nudged her shoulder as the bus came to a stop . I shoved my way out of the bus and waited for Wendy . She finally appeared from the crowds of the others students . 

"So how did you almost kill him ?" Wendy inquired as she walked over to me . "I'll tell you at lunch ," I say pushing the school doors open and saying , "Ladies first !"

Some other people cleverly slip in and then I do . We walk in unison to the intersection of lockers and then we go our separate ways .

I fling my locker open and take what I need , then I head off to first period . I put my battle face on and am ready to face Mrs. Koko .

I immediately walk over to Yoko and say , "Yoko ! You look hot today !" She immediately looks up . "Oh , thanks !" she beams . 

I glance over at Craig and the smile falls off her face . "Hey Craig !" I cry . He looks up and nods . "What's up ?" The bell rings and I rush off to my seat . 

So I sit there . I don't exactly talk to anyone . I just watch the conversations . And try to paint . But I use too much water and everything looks like a giant blur instead of a street view .

I glance over multiple times at Craig and Yoko . I can't tell if she asked him . But I hope she did .

Second period came around and I am now an even wiser and double bearded one . "We need a gang sign ," I announce right before the bell rings . Right when it rings Macy nods enthusiastically . 

"Hell yeah , we do !" she whispers . I keep suggesting things throughout class . Finally we both agree that crossing your middle and ring finger over your pointer finger and wiggling your pinky is a suitable gang sign .

Mrs. Laseur asks , "And what, class , is A and B ?" I don't really know the answer , but I raise the gang sign up in the air . Macy giggles but then covers her mouth .

"Yes , Winter ?" she says giving me a quizzical look . "A is . . . 54 ? And I think B is 983 ?" I guess cocking my head to one side . Mrs . Laseur shook her head . "You've got the A right . But not the B ." I'm really hoping a question like this won't be on the next exam . 

Third period gym was alright . We weren't really up to much evil . We just played basketball . Which is just evil for the teachers to make us do that . 

Wendy lazily dribbled the ball and passed it to me . I caught it with luck , and tried to throw it when Dahlia walked over . "Oh no you don't !"

I quickly swiveled around and passed it to Felicity who was standing behind me . A panicked look crossed her face and she quickly tossed it back to me .

"COME ON !" I yelled tossing it back to her . But she just tossed it back to me again . Finally Dahlia clawed it out of my hands and aimed for the basket . BUT SHE FAILED .

"FAAAIIIIL !" I shrieked a little obnoxiously . "Dammit !" Dahlia cries as it bounces off the rim and towards the soccer field . 

"I'LL GET IT !" I immediately announce and rush to get it since it's near Stefan's goal . I flounce over hoping he'll notice me , but he doesn't . I pick up my basketball grumpily and start back .

But then I look over at Carter who's really ripping it up on the field . He kicked at the soccer ball angrily and it flew right past the goalie .

I hurry back to the courts and throw the ball at Dahlia who catches it and aims for the hoop again .

Fourth period was as usual . Anna Maria , poor thing , worked . We kept asking her what the hell to do . But it's okay since Mrs. Tabitha basically gave us all the answers to the packet we were given . I honestly learn nothing in this class .

I finally left that horrible room where they teach Chemistry and head off towards lunch . I plop down next to Wendy . Who is animatedly talking to Macy . So I just sit here awkwardly .

I'm gonna go check myself out in the bathroom . So I stand up and head over to the bathroom . I cross paths with Katy McCurk , and I try not to look her in the eye .

Suddenly a cold sensation runs down my chest and I whip my head around to look around at Katy .

She spilled her can of diet Coke down my shirt ! What the hell is this ?! Glee ?! No , you don't sing good enough . SHUT UP !

"Bitch ," I whisper as I examine the liquid running down my chest . I look up at her and narrow my eyes . "BITCH !" I exclaim louder this time after finally coming to my senses .

She just smirks . The whole cafeteria quiets down and everybody turns to stare at us . A couple of guys examine my wet chest .

Katy starts to walk away and my friends rush over to my side . I try and lunge at her but Dahlia holds me back . "Come on ," Wendy insists . "I keep extra shirts in my locker in case of accidents ."

We get the shirt and a bunch of paper towels and head off to the bathroom . I hold back tears . There's nothing special to cry about but every time I tell myself not to cry , I want to cry harder .

We trudge down the locker bank and Wendy puts in her combination . "What a BITCH !" Dahlia exclaims . Her mouth becomes a thin line and her eyes stare off into the distance . "I don't even know why she's popular . She's a dumb , manipulative slut . She doesn't have the biggest boobs or the shortest skirt ."

At this , she was right . But I was far too embarrassed to listen or care . Wendy's locker flew open and she looked up . "I know !" she cried . "I just don't get what the big deal about her is !" 

She reached into her locker and pulled out a brown shirt with an owl on it . I gladly took it because it's not as bad as I expected .

We all walked arm in arm towards the girl's bathrooms . I walked into a stall and started changing when I could hear Dahlia saying , "She's not even worthy of being queen bee ." 

Then after a few rustling sounds I walk out of the bathroom and Dahlia , Wendy , and Macy have fiery looks in their eyes . The corners of their mouths are turned up in a mischievous smile .

"You okay , hun ?" Wendy asked putting her hand on my shoulder . Everyone suddenly looked over at me and became nurturing best friends again . I nodded meekly . Dahlia started to say , "It'll be alright Winter . This is war now , that -" She stopped and her eyes fluttered to the feet that were standing in the stall farthest to the left .

The toilet flushed and Farrah shuffled out . She looked us all up and down . "Like your shirt , Winter ," she remarked maliciously . I crossed my arms over my chest in self consciousness .

When the girl strutted out of the bathroom Dahlia's eyes sparkled . "Let's take the bitch down ."

She got Wendy , Macy , even Anna Maria , and all the girls in our clique riled up . Their heads were full of ideas of revenge and rising to the top .  I didn't get too excited . My life wasn't Mean Girls . I knew whatever attempts we made to get revenge , Katy would always one-up us . 

So , I just wallowed in my own despair . On my walk to fifth period people didn't even bother hiding the fact that they were gossiping about me . "Damn . Why couldn't it be the other way around ?" some jock said scratching at his head . "You know , that chick pouring the coke on Katy ? That would be so hot , dude ."Maybe because I'm not a malicious bitch ! Guys can be so ignorant sometimes . A lot of girls looked me up and down , then snickered . I rolled my eyes . 

There were of course remarks like , "Katy is such a hoe ! Poor girl ." But they didn't calm me that much either . One question caught me off guard though . . . As I paused to take a drink of water right before the doors to Mr. Jones's room some girls stood behind me and whispered to another , "Why would Katy waste time on her . . . ?"

Why WOULD Katy waste time on me ? Is it because I laughed at her for getting guy advice ? Or maybe she just wants people to see that she does not take kindly to losers .

I plopped down in my fifth period seat and waited for Carter to walk over here and annoy me . Still waiting . . . 

But he didn't show up . 

I glance over at his old seat . Yup , he's there . And he's talking it up with some girl . She leans forward and kisses him on the lips . I frown .

I wait until all the popular people are done talking to him , and then I head over . "Heyy ," I cry and then I wave at him . Then a thought hits me . What if he's embarrassed to be seen with me ?

I instantly hold my breath . "Yo , Winter !" Carter says . I finally breath again . "Again , I'm REALLY sorry about pushing you into -" He frowns and cuts me off . "It's fine ," he insists . A tired look crosses his face . "Can we not talk about it anymore , Florence ?"

"Florence . . . ?" I ask skeptically with a raise of my eyebrows . Carter's eyes widen and then he quickly blurts out , "OH . Sorry . . . Stupid me . Always getting names mixed up ."

"Nobody named Florence goes to this school . . ." I responded looking up at him quizzically . Carter continues looking helpless . Finally he just dismisses the whole conversation and says , "I saw what happened with you and Katy ."

I immediately narrow my eyes and recoil . Thankfully , I don't have to reply to that because some stoner saunters over here . "Yo , Carter , I-" He looks over at me and flashes me a big , toothy grin .

"Hey , babe ," he sneers . He blows a hot breath at me . "I saw what happened in the cafeteria today . That was so hot . Maybe you and I could get together later -"

"Gross !" I yell . My face shrivels up with repulsion . "Dude , go away . She's not that type of girl ," Carter asserted , rising up from his desk . 

"Okay , okay ," the dude says backing away . He turns to me and rasps ,"Whore ." My bottom lips trembles , and suddenly the bell rings . I rush back to my seat where no one can see me .

I don't pay attention to the lesson . I try to calm myself . I'm not sad , I'm angry . And tired of Katy McCurk .

I am not easy . Katy McCurk may be easy , but I'm not . Fine , my tan does not do me justice (It also doesn't help that guys think fat chicks last longer in bed) . But I'm not easy . Dahlia was right . The bitch needs to go down .

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

Farrah Elkridge hurried off to her fifth period quickly . Because that was one of the two classes she had with Katy McCurk . And she could not wait to tell her something . 

She slid into the last seat of row four in Mrs. Turcotte's french class . Katy sat in front of her lazily examining her fingernails . "Farrah , you're late ," Mrs. Turcotte announced to the whole class 

"Sorry , Mrs. Turcotte ," Farrah said sweetly . "I'm going to have to give you a tally ." Yeah , yeah , Farrah thought . She rolled her eyes as soon as Mrs. Turcotte turned away .

She tapped Katy on the shoulder . All Katy did was turn around and lift her eyebrow as if to say , "What ?"

Farrah took a breath and smiled happily . Finally , SOMETHING exciting was happening at this school . She leaned in closer to Katy and whispered , "Guess what I overheard in the girls bathroom ?"

Katy squinted her eyes and examined Farrah . "What ?" she finally asked . All the other girls were done with their warm-up , and Katy hadn't even started . Nor had Farrah . 

"So that loser , Winter , and her buddies were talking about some weird SHIT ," she drawled . "They were saying stuff like how you were a plain Jane and how you didn't deserve to be queen bee ." But on the inside , Farrah agreed one hundred percent .

Katy stopped breathing for a moment . This is exactly what she had been afraid of . That people would start to figure out that she really was some plain girl  Her blue eyes widened .

Katy bit down on her pen hard . "Did they say anything else ?"

Farrah nodded and smiled wickedly . She was completely satisfied with Katy's reaction . "One of them said something about a war , and how you're going down ."

Katy scrunched up her pretty face . "KATY !" Mrs. Turcotte exclaimed . "Turn around and pay attention to the lesson ."

"If it's a war she wants , it's a war she'll get ," Katy muttered to herself and then clicked her pen to get ready for action . 

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

"Okay ," Dahlia said scribbling stuff down on a piece of paper . We had all finished our warm ups and decided to make a grand plan as soon as we could . "Let's all think back to Mean Girls ."

She lifted the paper up grandly and used her pencil as a pointer . "La Katy a (Katy has . . .) : un «corps chaud» (A hot body), Barbie esclaves (Barbie slaves) , copain chaude (Hot boyfriend) , et encore une chose (And one more thing) . . . " 

We all leaned in and nodded . "Une carte d'identification de faux (A fake ID) ."

I raised my hand . "Oui ?" she said as she pointed at me with her pencil . "I'm not gonna use a fake ID . Also , in Mean Girls Lohan befriended the mean girls . None of us want to do that . Lastly , I think Macy should be doing this presentation since she looks and acts more like Janis Ian ," I conclude . 

"Yeah !" Macy cries from her spot next to Dahlia . "I am SO Janis Ian ! You can be Damian ," Macy continues . I roll my eyes . "We are NOT in Mean Girls ," I announce . 

"Girls ," Mrs. Turcotte calls from across the room , and then she raises her eyebrows at us . 

"Vouse . . . sont pas drôle (You are no fun ) !" Macy exclaimed to me . Dahlia looks off into the distance in deep thought . "You know , Damian . . . est cool ," she admitted . "And I do have a bunch of pink shirts . And I do like guys ." 

I rolled my eyes . I am spending my life with nincompoops . Nurturing nincompoops , but nincompoops either way .

"Wait , who am I ?!" I cried out . They all examined me . "You can be Lohan ." I shrug my shoulders . At least I get Aaron Samuels .

Anyway , I am finally at home . And it feels so good . I would take a bath to calm my nerves , but it's too not cold for a bath . No , it's not warm . But it's not cold !

So I just eat milano cookies . Without bathing .

Homework . . . I don't have too much . Let's see . . . A French worksheet , some assigned reading for English , and no math homework since I did it in class .

So that takes about an hour and it is now 6 . My dad usually gets home by now .

But today he came home by 6:30 . "Hey dad !" I cried as the door flew open . He just nodded my way . Oh , alright . Nice to see you , too !

I head back to my room and hang out with Linda . I feed her some daily blueberries , and then I take her out of her cage . I put her down on my bed and make a cage of pillows and stuffed animals so she can't get out .

Together we watch Gossip Girl , which I haven't seen for the longest time .

I rest my head on one of my pillows , and coincidentally drift off . Oops . "Linda . . . ?" I murmur as I glance over at the cage of pillows . One of the pillows fell over , and it does contain any rats anymore . 

I immediately sat up and started frantically searching everywhere . She's not on the bed , under the bed , under my desk , or in my closet . I glance over at the bathroom door which is wide open .

"OH GOD ," I murmur . I rush into my bathroom praying that Linda didn't fall into the toilet or anything . I frantically search everywhere .

My first companion in life , AND I LOSE IT ! I'm so responsible that I'm not even responsible .

Suddenly I hear her little rat squeak . I duck under the sink and find her sitting there . "There you are ," I whisper . I scoop her up in my hands and put her back in her cage .

Then I do all that stuff I usually do before going to bed , and I flop onto my bed and pass out . 

Next morning I wake up and instantly pull on my comfy blue jeans . And a blue sweater . I pick my backpack up and jog out of the house .

"PEACE !" I yell to Linda before shutting the door .

I climb onto the bus and rush to Wendy's seat . "What's up , my sexy sister ?" I ask raising my hands in the air and doing our gang sign . Wendy returned my greeting with a gang sign .

We rode on and kept storming up ideas of how to get back at Katy . They were all okay , but too obvious and too much work . 

First period was horrible . I gave Yoko a whole pep talk before we walked into class , but she still didn't do it ! "WHY ?!" I cried as she walked me to my second period . "I just-" But she was cut off by Craig who was calling her name . "Yoko !" he yelled by the time he caught up to us .

The ends of my mouth curled into a smile . "You forgot your pencil ," he mumbled awkwardly as he placed the pencil into her hand . It lingered for a bit and her eyes widened . "Will you go out with me ?" she blurted out . Craig straightened up and quickly said , "Yeah . Sure ." Then he smiled sheepishly . 

I wanted to go 'AWWW !' and barf all at the same time . 

Because I am very bitter when it comes to love . But I am also a sucker for love . But I am also bipolar so that explains it all .

I continued the walk to my second period by myself . I sighed as I slid into my seat next to Macy . "Yoko and Craig are onnnn ," I announced and she immediately looked up from the homework she didn't do last night . "That's my girl ," she shrieked happily and high-fived me . 

Anyway we learned some new formula . That won't help me in anyway . But it's cool . I have plenty of time to waste . 

Third period gym was a party because we didn't do anything . We were now onto softball and our team was on the bench the whole time .

We would sing , braid each other's hair , and just yell stupid things . Because we are THOSE type of friends . "Can somebody please give me a piggyback ride ?" Dahlia groaned . "Here ," Macy said bending down a little so that Dahlia could jump onto her back .

Dahlia quickly jumped onto her back and they ran a circle . "Jump on my back , Wendy ," I commanded positioning my back for her to easily access my back . She quickly hopped on and I dramatically yelled , "PIGGY BACK RACE !" 

Macy and I idly ambled across the field . She was ten times slower than she usually is because the leech was on her back . Err , I mean Dahlia . "COME ON ! PUSH IT !" Wendy yelled into my ear .

I made a quick stride that put me ahead of Macy and hopped onto the finish line , or the blacktop . "VICTORY !" I cried triumphantly and then I tossed Wendy off my back . Lovingly .

The people playing basketball looked at us with freaked out expressions . We all smiled apologetically . "GIRLS !" Mr. Turble called from across the field . "GIRLLLLS !" 

We turned on our heels and ran over there as fast as we could . "Sorry , Mr. Turble ," Dahlia murmured sweetly . "We just wanted to stretch our legs ." 

Chemistry is as usual . We are causing tremendous mayhem in the back . "Guys , do you know the answer to number 16 ?" Anna Maria piped up . We all shushed her . "We have better things to ," Dahlia announced . "Like a list of guys' abs we would lick ."

"Did you guys add Chace Crawford ?" she pondered . She was finally sounding like a normal teenage girl ! "Nahh , he doesn't really have any ," Dahlia quickly dismissed . But I smiled over at her .

I was starving by lunch . "We need to take action !" Dahlia cried slapping a spiral notebook onto the desk . I reached over and tried to sneak some cookies from Dahlia's lunch box . She just slapped my hand and continued .

"I'm taking ideas now ," Dahlia announced and then she prepared her pen over the paper . She held her chin high . "Still taking ideas . . . "

We all sat silent for a while thinking it over . "We need to figure out one of her deepest secrets ," I suggested . They all nodded . "But how ?"

Today , Carter was back to normal . "Hello Summer ," he says slipping into the seat across from me . "Yo Wagoner ," I reply and then I high-five myself .

Fifth period was as it always is . Carter annoying me .

Sixth period was uneventful . Except for one moment . I slid into my seat and faced forward . Stefan tapped my shoulder and I turned around with a pleased smile . Yeah , you make the first move ! 

"I heard what happened with you and Katy in the cafeteria ," he commented with a pitiful expression . My face fell . Oh . "She was way out of line ." 

I just shook my head in agreement . "I was just so surprised ," I said with false sadness . "I thought we were friends . I never did anything to her ." Except call her shorts , 'denim underwear .'

Stefan narrowed his eyes and looked off . "I've never liked her ," he conceded . And at that moment I knew we were soul mates .

I floated all the way to seventh period . Today , Mrs. Turcotte gave us some worksheet . Which I filled out with joy . Dahlia , Macy , and Wendy actually fought for my answers . The power of love overcomes me .

"Je suis tellement heureuse !" I exclaimed and then I sighed dreamily . Dahlia raised her eyebrow at me and then insisted , "Can we please speak in ENGLISH ?! Mrs. Turcotte is across the room and we finished the worksheet ."

"Fine ," I groaned . "I am very happy ." 

"Clearly ," Macy remarked picking a piece of lint of her sweater . "Yeah , why is that ?" Dahlia looked me up and down suspiciously .

"Stefan hates Katy ," I announced . Thankfully all the other people around us ignored the statement . The gang's eyes widened and then they all smiled . And THEN they started clapping pretty loudly . They clapped until a bewildered Mrs. Turcotte came over .

Wendy and I clambered onto the bus and into our seat . "I still don't know how we're going to get back at Katy ," Wendy confessed . "I know . . . " I murmured .

For eight years we kept trying to think of ideas . Or , fine , it was just two days . But that's how long it feels when you're learning . We kept thinking up ideas , but nothing worked . Then a miracle happened on Friday .

At least I thought it was a miracle .

By lunch time I was exhausted . I just wanted to get home and take a nap . Because learning does this to you .

I crawled into my fifth period seat . I need to stalk Stefan better . I try going to his soccer games , but I need to do something even better . I need to join his after school clubs .

"You know how we always spend Friday nights with each other ?" Carter wondered out loud sliding into the seat across from me . I thought back to my past Fridays . First I fell asleep at his house . . . Then there was that party . Oh , after that we went to the movies and I pushed him into the pond .

"Oh yeah . We do . Sadly ," I realized . He nodded . "You might as well go to the park today . A bunch of people are hanging out there ." I raised my eyebrow . I will probably get mugged .

I'm going to Dahlia's house , anyway . We might get bored . NO . You must break this cycle . "I'll think about it ," I concluded with a professional nod of my head .

By study hall the wheels of fate were set in motion . Because that is when Farrah Elkridge approached me . I was walking towards the computer lab to get the Ask Jane box . I wanted to finish up the letters early for the February issue .

Then someone places a hand on my arm . A well manicured hand . A hand that is ready for war . "Winter !" Farrah cries with fake happiness . "Can we talk for a moment ?"

She leads me toward the girls' bathroom that is closest to us , and I follow in a daze . Why is she talking to me ?!

"We haven't talked in forever . I miss you ," she murmured and then fake-pouted . She ducked to make sure no one was in the bathroom and then continued . "Katy's been such a bitch lately ! I heard you and your little friends in the bathroom ."

My eyes widened . "Oh , err , that was nothing . . ." I quickly interjected . Farrah waved her hand in the air and rolled her eyes . "It WAS something . And I totally agree ! I am so sick of her !"

WHAT ?! Suddenly I smiled . "Listen , I gotta go . But text me after school ," he whispered and then she scurried out of the bathroom .

I rushed out of the bathroom to get the Ask Jane box as quickly as possibly . So that I could tell Wendy that we have our plan now . 

 

12

I fed my pet walrus a dessert

The inside of my nose is horrible . 

It's purple . The inside of my nose is purple . And I think I'm growing nose hair . I thought that's something only forty year old men do ! 

But , no . It is a cruel world where innocent teenage girls , like moi , have to undertake the labor of growing nose hair . 

"Eww , what're you doing ?!" Dahlia cries as soon as she catches me examining the inside of my nose . I quickly straighten up . "N-nothing . . ."

"Your house is SOO boring ," I roar as I flop onto her bed . "Damn it , Winter !" Dahlia emphasized as she smoothed out her bed spread . "Not again ."

Oops . I rolled over to check my phone and coincidentally roll up the bed spread . Dahlia lets out a groan . Let's see . . . New message . To Farrah . 

I still haven't deleted her number . It's pathetic . All this time , I was hoping she's come crawling back to me . Oh God , I'm making it sound like we broke up . No , she was just a friend . And then we got into a huge fight . 

Let's see . . . I hastily type in : Hey ! 

"We should go to Greenview Park !" I suggest casually . "Carter said a few people were meeting there . . ." Dahlia whips her head toward me . "LIKE DEREK ?!"

Oh yeah . That guy ! "Mhmm ," I murmur even though I don't know for sure . But this is the selling point for her , and I gotta do what I gotta do . 

"Yay !" she squeaked . "When Yoko comes over we'll head to the park ." 

Well that was easy . 

Finally , Yoko pulled up . It's surprising that she's late , but I don't care because precisely at that moment my phone buzzes . I nonchalantly flip it open and read Farrah's message . 

H0LA ! GRL ! Whatsup ?

I took a deep breath . This could either go pretty cleanly and nicely , or Farrah could completely freak out and put me in shit loads of trouble . Ehh , it's worth it . 

Me : I need dirt on Katy . (Sent at 5:04 pm)

Yoko barged into Dahlia's room and cried happily , "Hey guys ! Sorry I'm late . . . Whatcha doing ?" I tapped my nails anxiously against the bed's headboard . 

"Waiting for you !" Dahlia exclaimed . "We're going to the park ." I smiled over at Yoko in case she sensed my nervousness . 

My phone buzzed again and they both looked over . "Wendy ," I explained . I faked a smile , but then it fell as soon as I read the message . 

Farrah : Meet me @ Starbucks , tomorrow , @ 5 (Recieved at 5:13)

I hesitated before typing in :

Me : It's a deal . (Sent at 5:16)

We trudged to the park near Dahlia's house and when we finally got there I saw some faint silhouettes near the volleyball court . I squinted my eyes to check if it was really them . 

Dahlia and Yoko rushed to the outlines and , finally , when we could make out some people they started swarming around us . "Hey ! Dahlia , Yoko , and Winter are here !"  Felicity cried running toward us . 

They all smiled toothily and got enveloped by hugs . I kind of stood there awkwardly . This is a Royal Court / People of Church hang out . No peasants , but me , in sight . 

"Hey Carter !" I exclaim , happy to see someone I talk to on a daily basis . He runs his hand through his hair and glances over at me . "Hey ," he said coolly and then smiled .  

I can't help but notice Edna Blanker . Third prettiest girl in school . She doesn't even weigh one hundred pounds , and performs in many beauty pageants . And she's pretty friendly so I don't feel too worried . 

But I'm a little scared of Deena Norick who's liked Carter for a while , and who is now giving me the evil eye . She's definitely not as pretty as Edna . She has a plain face with medium sized eyes and a pointy chin . 

Dahlia immediately goes off with Edna , giggling . Yoko strides over to me and smiles . A bunch of guys are tossing a ball between each other by the volleyball court . Thankfully , one of them is Derek .

One of them toss it flirtatiously at Edna , and she graciously catches it . "ERIC !" she shrieks in fake outrage . "You almost hit me !"

"Yoko ," I mutter grabbing her hand , and steering her towards the playground . "Let's go to the swings ." We both plop down on the swing set which contains three swings . 

One is a baby swing , it's like a giant chair without legs . I sat into the thick , purple plastic and instantly felt enveloped . It included a safety bar , and I pulled it down (Barely being able to close it over my fatness) . Now how do I get out of this thing . . .

I giggled . The only way I could take off the safety bar is to press a small button between my legs . I giggled and showed Yoko . "You whore !" she cried .

"What kind of sick pervert designed this . . . " I commented it , examining the button . Oh , and then Deena dragged Carter over here . 

"Hehe ," she giggled . I don't know how he does it . I mean , survive that horrible giggle that girls world wide give him . "Carter will you push me ?" she murmured sweetly . 

Deena plopped down into a swing , and Carter started lazily pushing her and trying to check his phone . 

Yoko and I held in laughs about the perverted swing . "This swing must be a hit with guys . . ." I whispered . Yoko held in a manic giggle . 

Deena glanced over at us and then rolled her eyes . I can't really blame her . . . If I were cool I wouldn't like me either . But I'm , thankfully , not cool . 

"Of course you'd choose that swing , Winter ," Carter teases and then pushes Deena . "Oh , you haven't seen the best of it . . ." I murmured and Yoko let out a laugh . 

Carter flips his phone shut and turns his attention toward me . "And you're swinging . . . What ? About point two miles per hour ," he continued with a smirk . I stuck my tongue out at him .

"Let's see you get some air in this giant purple death trap !" I exclaimed with false bravado . I turned to Yoko and then whispered , "Or this giant purple rape chair . . ."

Yoko put a hand on her mouth to keep from bursting into laughs . Then she drew her legs back to start swinging , too . 

Carter abandoned Deena and walked over to my swing . Deena gave me the most vile look she could muster , and I sank in the swing . "But Carter !" she cried trying to make it look like she's flirting . "You were pushing me ." She takes a strand of hair and wraps it around her finger .

I look the other way so she doesn't see me scoff . "Sorry Deena ," Carter dismisses with a shrug of his shoulders . "Winter needs all the help she can get ."

"I do NOT need help ! You can continue pushing your girlfriend . I'm perfectly happy with my point two miles per hour speed ," I insisted trying to look behind at him . 

Carter just pushed the swing harder , and Deena got very grumpy . "I'm a very persistent fellow ," he replied with some mischief in his voice .

Carter drew the swing back really far , and let go . It flew pretty high and I tried digging my feet into the wood chips to stop it , but I really like these shoes so I didn't make much progress with that . 

"You suck !" I exclaim as I swing by him . It slows down and by the time it stops - My hair is a MESS . "How do you get out of this death trap ?!" I murmured as I fuddled with the button . With one press I would be out of this purple death trap and free !

Carter scoffed . "THAT'S how you get out of the swing ? Who made that ?!" Deena piped up and said something , but Yoko's laughs drowned her voice out . (Thankfully .) 

I tried pressing the button , but it was stuck . . . I looked up with my mouth agape . "Oh God . It's stuck ," I cried worriedly . Carter exploded into laughter . "Here . . . This is my specialty ," he announced coming closer to me . Deena looked panicked . 

"NO !" I was quick to shriek . I swung my legs and tried kicking him . "You will not enter ! Yoko . . . My beloved friend . . . Will you please help me ?!" 

Yoko gulped . "Fine . . ." she mumbled . She sounded like someone who was about to be hanged . Deena stood up , bored , and looped her hand into Carter's . "Carter , you wanna go check what Edna's doing ?"

Carter brushed her off . "Hold on . I wanna see this train wreck . . . " 

You cannot imagine how morbidly obese I feel . I used to be small enough to have someone sit next to me in one of these swings . That was ten years ago , but . . . That doesn't excuse the fact that I can barely fit into one now . 

"Err . . ." Yoko mumbles as she kneels near me . Carter leans closer , too . "Go away !" I screech . He shakes his head . "NOTHING will make me miss this ."

Yoko creeps forward a little and I roll my eyes . "Screw you . . . I'll just try it again . . ." I mumble . I fumble with the button for a while , but I'm finally free . I push myself out of the swing and run a circle . 

"HA !" I yell , pointing at Carter and sticking my tongue out at him . "I'M FREE !" 

After a while everybody huddles near the volleyball court in a circle . I'm not exactly in the circle . I have to sit half-behind Dahlia and half in the circle . Which is a metaphor for my popularity . And sanity . 

Edna leans in and continues talking about , Roy , our soccer team's all star and his crumbling relationship with Naomi Lermer . "He texted her , like , five minutes after their date . And it said something , like , I wish I could see you right now ! I was like , "Oh my gosh !" That is soo creepy ." 

I've never even spoken to Naomi Lermer , and I wish a guy like Roy would EVER want to see me . I sat there awkwardly and silently . Dahlia spoke up , "Ughh . . . Five minutes after ? Do you know how possessive he is ?!" 

I flipped my phone open and pretended I had some new messages . Buffy , a beauty queen who left our school for an elite private school  , turned to Yoko and said , "How're you and Craig ?" 

How she knows about them is beyond me . . . She doesn't even go to our school . Yoko smiled sheepishly and glanced off . Oh God she is beet red . "We're pretty good ," she mumbled . "What about you and John ?" 

Suddenly Edna tosses some sand at Dahlia . "What was that for , midget ?!" Dahlia shrieked as if the sand burned her skin . "Midget ?! Who are you calling midget ?!" Edna stood up and started running after Dahlia , and they're both pretty good runners . This could go on for a while .

They both disappeared up the street . "Guys !" Deena yelled running after them . A couple of guys followed . Yoko and Buffy continued talking together . 

And I just sat there . I looked around for some entertainment when I was saved by Carter . "Wanna go for a walk ?" Carter offered . He reached his hand out to help me up . 

I brushed his hand away and breathed , "Gladly ." We both started off down the path , into the woods . 

"I have a question ," I piped up . I shoved my hands into my pockets , as did he . He stared at the ground before looking over at me . "Deena is so into you . And , umm , she's not ugly . Why don't you go out with her ?"

Carter scoffed . "Carter Summers doesn't DATE ," he said entertained and like it's obvious . The matching smirk didn't do him any justice , either . "Carter Summers doesn't make sense either ," I grumbled under my breath . 

I stopped in my tracks and shook my head at him . "I forgot . . . You just sleep with them . And then break their hearts . Oops , silly me !" He shrugged . 

Carter examines the tree tops . I keep stepping on leaves which makes an awkward crunching sound . I finally realize how far we are from the park . 

Well I don't know exactly . . . Just far . Really far . I quickly whip my head around . "Oh God ! Where are we ?! Do you even know where we're going ?!"

Carter rolls his eyes . "Relax . As long as we're on the path we're not lost ," he concluded . 

I let out a breath and continue walking along with him . "You know ," I inquired . "Every player is emotionally unstable inside . They have some dark , brooding past or something and it makes them insecure . And the only way they feel better is by sleeping with other girls ."

I glance over at him . His jaw is clenched and his eyes are far off , again . "Or they have massive egos , like you , and feel like they can sleep with every girl in the world ," I'm quick to say and then I plaster on an awkward smile . 

Everything looks the same in this forest . There are branches and leaves scattered all over the forest floor . It's mostly pine trees and a few fir trees . I'm so happy there's a path , if there wasn't it would be so easy to get lost . 

"Last night . . . I had this dream that there were people living in my belly button ," I continued . Then I glanced down at my belly button . Carter shakes his head and smiles . 

He looks over at me , and we kinda stare at each other for a second until I look away . I glance over at the trees . "Ooh ! What type of bird is that ?!" I exclaim , but then it flaps away . 

I look back over at him , and he's still staring at me . "Winter . . . Why do you like that guy ? Stefan ?" We clamber up to a bridge and I stop in the middle of it and examine the water . The rushing water against the rocks calms me .

I am completely prepared for this question . Because he's gorgeous . No , I'm not completely superficial . He's also extremely nice . And there's a spark . Right . . . ?

I open my mouth to answer Carters question , but he just continues . "I mean he's so dull , and you're just so -"

"OOH ! A fish !" I exclaim as I see something snake its way through the water . I squint my eyes . "Nahh , that's just a condom ," I state , disappointed . 

He laughs . "Exactly . You're just so you ." I smile and glance over at him , and then I turn back to the water and lean over the railing a little . 

Carter walks over to where I'm standing and also leans over the railing . He stares at my face , but not at my eyes . I look over at him and giggle . "What ?"

And he leans over and kisses me . 

Err , it's warm . And quite nice . I've just decided that I rather like being kissed . He puts his arm around me and I lean into him and kiss back . 

OH MY GOD . This is my first kiss . And it's not with Stefan . My eyes fly open . It's with Carter . 

I push him off me and shriek . "AAAAAAAAAAAH !" I yell at the top of my lungs . "What have you done ?!" And then before I can even think , I turn on my heels and dash off like a mad woman . 

I'm not a lip virgin , anymore ! It took sixteen years , but I have been kissed . It's okay ! Taylor Swift got her first kiss at fifteen , and she's gorgeous . All that matters is that I've been kissed . By the wrong guy . 

I hear Carter calling my name and some other stuff in the background , but I just keep running as fast as I can . Not really knowing where I'm running too . Where is the path ?!

I'm breathing heavily and my hair flies into my eyes which makes it hard to see anything . 

I quickly brush it out of my face , and miss the tree root I cleverly avoided before . I trip on it , fall harshly to my side , and after my leg bends the wrong way I fall onto the ground . Which is also steep . I roll down slowly and feel a sharp branch scratch my face . I finally stop rolling .

I'm in utter shock . I can barely understand what just happened to me . After a few seconds I feel a jagged pain in my knee and in the back of my head . The sharp pain brings immediate tears to my eyes . 

"Winter !" I hear Carter cry from somewhere . "Winter !" 

I immediately try to sit up , but get a sharp pain in my back . "CARTER ! OVER HERE ! HELP !" I shriek . I hear his voice get a little closer . "Winter ? Where are you ? Winter !"

"HERE !" I yell as loudly as I can . "HERE !" I hear him scrambling somewhere near me . "Carter !" I cry . I moan in pain . 

"There you are ," he says standing over me . "You klutz ." 

"My leg . . ." I moan . He kneels down and exclaims , "Oh my God ! There's blood on your jeans !" He quickly pulled up my (Now ripped) jeans to my knee and I gasped in pain . And at his touch . 

Carters eyes widen when he sees my knee . I glance over and regret it because I have a nervous stomach . The sight of all the cuts and the giant gash under my knee , make me sick . "We have to get you back to the park ," he murmurs . 

Carter puts his arm around me and tries to lift me up . I instantly recoil from the pain . "No !" I exclaim . 

"Come on ," Carter implores desperately . He looks really worried . I lift myself up again and ignore the pain . I put my arm around him , and he puts his arm around me . Together we limp along and I try to ignore the warmth my shoulder is getting from his arm .

"You know ," he grunts and he helps me over a fallen tree . "When I kiss a girl . . . That's not the usual reaction I get ." My face immediately reddens by memory , and I hide my face with my one free hand . 

Finally we make it to the path and I reply , "I was just . . . Surprised . I was hoping my first kiss would be with . . . Stefan ." We amble along the path and I finally recognize some landmarks from before . 

"That was your first kiss ?!" Carter exclaims absolutely surprised . He almost drops his arm off my shoulder . I smile nervously , but immediately wince because I feel another sharp pain in my leg . 

"Yeah ," I breath . "I'm not exactly popular with the guys . . ." I glance over at him and flick his forehead . "Ow ," he groans rubbing at the spot I flicked . 

"Why the hell did you kiss me ?! Did I give off a please-kiss-me vibe ?! I was just admiring the condom fish when - BAM ! You had to lean over me and steal my innocence ! What the

hell ?! You've just made things SO awkward !" I yell . I notice we're near the exit of this stupid park and close to the playground so I limp faster . 

"Please ," Carter insinuated with a roll of his eyes . "You kissed back . And don't act like your first kiss was unpleasant . It was on a cool bridge like in those chick flicks ." 

"But , WHY ?!" I bellowed . But I shut up when we exited the park and everyone was huddled together . Dahlia pointed at us and everybody swarmed over . 

"OH MY GOD !" Yoko cried . "What happened ?!" 

I slid off Carter's shoulder and he said , "We were walking when the klutz started running and fell ." Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Deena smile . 

"I tore up my knee ," I announced . Everybody examined it . "Oh God ," Yoko murmured . "We need to clean the wounds and then bandage them . . ."

Everybody helped me pile into Yoko's car and we drove back to Dahlia's house . "My mom and dad went out for a while ," Dahlia announced as she pushed open the front door . 

Yoko and I raced to the bathroom . Or she did . I barely got up the stairs . Dahlia rushed to her medicine cabinet and got a bunch of stuff out . 

Yoko rinsed the blood off the shower , and Dahlia made me change pants . I pulled on some basketball shorts , and Dahlia bent over my knee . "This might sting a little ," she said dabbing at the wounds . 

I winced in pain . "YOU SAID A LITTLE !" I shouted . Finally she put some cloth to absorb excess blood , and then wrapped it all in a bandage . 

I sat down on her bed and this time she didn't yell at me for messing up the sheets . "What happened , anyway ?" Yoko inquired searching me for any other cuts . Nope . I'm clean .

"Carter . . . Err . . . Did something . And I ran away screaming . And I tripped ," I struggled to say . "What did he do ?" Dahlia immediately inquired springing up onto my bed . 

"Errwellhekissedme ." Their eyes widened . "HE KISSED YOU ?!" they exclaimed at the same time . 

They interrogated me for a while . Until Yoko had to go home . And she was my ride , so buh-bye Dahlia !

The car ride was exhausting . She just kept asking me about the kiss . All I wanted was to go home , take a shower , and sleep my troubles away . 

I hobbled out of her car and into the apartment . Dad was thankfully asleep so I didn't have to answer any questions . I threw my ripped up and bloody comfy jeans into the dirty clothes bin . 

I tried to sleep , but everything kept playing through my head . The kiss . MY reaction . The pain I felt . Also my leg throbbed , and when I showered I discovered I had six new patches of red skin .

I lost my first kiss . To Carter Summers . Why in the world would he kiss me ?! He's just made things so awkward between us . 

Maybe he likes you . . . For the first time the voice in my head didn't insult me . But it didn't bring good news either . I just brushed off the suggestion . I'm just Winter Willigreen horribly hurt girl pirate . And he's Carter Summers . Player . He can have anyone he wants . 

But one question rang in my head . . . Did I like my first kiss ? I didn't have time to answer . I just fell asleep . 

I wake up and my eyes hurt . As does my leg . "Hello Linda . . ." I croak . She looks over at me and scurries into the igloo . 

"Fine then ," I mutter . "Be that way ." 

My Saturday was long and boring . Up until 5'o'clock . I could walk now . The pain wasn't as bad . I wore long jeans that hid the bandage .

I asked my dad to drop me off at Starbucks and I glanced in , to see where Farrah was . She was tapping her fingers against the well cleaned linoleum table .

I tried to walk normally , but I ended up hobbling . "Heyyyy !" Farrah cried as soon as she saw me . She slides her purse under the table and leans forward . 

"Hello ," I mutter . I awkwardly try to settle into the tiny chair . "I missed you so much ! I'm really sorry about our fight ," Farrah exclaimed then pouted like a little girl . 

I'm hoping this won't take long because my dad will be out of the grocery store across the street any minute . "You wanted dirt on Katy ?" she inquired . 

My eyes widened . "I just . . . Kinda want . . . Revenge ." Farrah nodded  with a malicious smile and a twinkle in her eye . "I know the feeling ."

"Ugh , I hate that bitch ," Farrah continued . "Guess what ? She tried to steal my boyfriend ! She wrote to ask Jean or something . . . And she told her some shit and she came to me and told me she liked my boyfriend !"

My eyes widened . SHE was Brutus ?! I bit down on my thumb nail . I looked over at Farrah and said , "That's so horrible !"

Farrah nodded . "Mhmm . Do you want a frappuccino of anything ? It's on me ," she murmured . "It's on me ." I shook my head . 

She nodded and took out a bottle of plain water . Which is weird cause we're in Starbucks . I furrow my eyebrow and she explains , "Too many calories in coffee . I'm trying to lose weight ." 

SHE'S trying to lose weight ?! She's one of the skinniest girls in the school . Her calves are probably half the size of mine . 

I nod . "But . . . Farrah . . . Do you have anything else ?" 

She sits up . "Oh , do I ! I didn't call you here for nothing ! Whatever you want . . . I'll tell you . Just don't leave ." 

"Okay . . ." I whispered . "Does she stuff her bra or anything ?" Odd question . And it doesn't make me look straight in the least . Farrah pondered for a moment . "No ," she looked off into the distance . "But she does use Booty Pop ." 

I walked out of Starbucks with a proud grin on my face . My dad approached me and I quickly texted Wendy :

I've got big news . Come over tomorrow . 

So , on Sunday Wendy came over . I didn't really feel like getting out of bed so we just stayed in my room like lazy bums . 

"She uses booty pop ," I announced as I threw a pillow into the air , and then caught it . Wendy lay upside down on my bean bag chair , flipping through a magazine . "You're kidding , right ?" she scoffs . 

I shake my head . "Nuh-uh . One hundred percent true ." Wendy flips out her phone and dials someone's number . "Here I'll put it on speed dial . . ." she murmurs . 

"Hello ?" Dahlia's voice says . "I have new for you ," Wendy cries happily into the phone . "KATY MCCURK USES BOOTY POP !"

I could hear Dahlia let out a laugh . "Tell everyone !" Wendy cries before hanging up . I laugh too , but then I ACTUALLY consider her feelings . 

"Maybe we shouldn't tell the whole school . . ." I start to say . I'm about to add , 'What happens in her panties is none of our business ,' but Wendy thankfully interrupts me . "Winter , baby ," she exclaims throwing her hands in the air . "It's not THAT bad . Plus she'll probably just be a mega-bitch about it and ruin our lives . And if she doesn't karma will ! So , either way , we'll learn our lesson ." 

"That's pretty solid thinking ," I agree . She nods . "It always is ." 

So , in thirty minutes , when we're done lying around I poke her . "What do you wanna do ?" Wendy just blinks up at me . "I'm not doing this again ."

Which explains why thirty seconds later she poked me and said , "I dunno . What do you wanna do ?!"

"I dunnoooo . What do you wanna do ?" 

"I dunno . What do you want to do ?"

"I DUNNO . WHAT DO YOU WANNA DO , BITCH ?!" I yell as I throw a pillow at her face . "Girrrl ," Wendy drawls . "You did NOT just do that !" 

She took a pillow and smacked my face with it . "Awww hell nahh !" I yelled in my ghetto voice . I picked up my Pikachu pillow and slapped that girl upside the head . 

And the pillow war was on . 

"Girls . . . ?" my dad said poking his head into my room . I coincidentally threw a pillow at this moment and it landed on his face . "SORRY DAD !" I immediately exclaimed . "It's fine ," he grumbled . "Just stop making so much noise ."

We collapsed onto my bed , completely exhausted . Linda squeaked from her cage . "She wants to join ," I breathed . "You know . . . You never answered my question ."

"You know what I wanna do . . . ?" Wendy said rotating onto her stomach and resting her face against her fist . "I wanna talk about your first kiss ."

Damn . "You heard about it too ?!" I exclaimed in frustration . I just wanted to forget about it . Wendy nodded . "What happened ?! So Carter , like , forced his lips onto you ?"

"I wish that's how it went ," I murmured into a pillow . I told her all about it , and she nodded sympathetically . "A girl's lips virginity is a precious thing . You only get it once ."

I looked over at her , and burst out laughing . My friends are truly mad . . . But I love them . 

"But you might want to check for aids . Because this is Carter Summers we're talking about ," she concluded .

I never thought of that . He's kissed millions of girls . Does that mean I'VE kissed millions of girls ?! Has he kissed Katy McCurk ?! Who hasn't . . . ? 

I covered my lips with my hand . "Oh my God ," I moaned into my hand making it sound like I am a monster . "I've got cooties !"

This time Wendy burst out laughing . "I want cooties , too !" she exclaims and puckers her lips . "Come on Winter ," she teases . "Just pretend I'm Stefan . Or better yet Carter ! Damn . Two men . YOU CHEATER !"

I took a pillow and slapped her . "Shut up !" I giggled . 

Things got pretty quiet when she left . I just went onto Facebook and such . Then I rinsed my hair and put on my pajamas and night cream . 

I made sure I fed Linda her dessert , and then I made sure I fed my pet walrus a dessert . Oh , wait . That's not a walrus . It's just me .

I hate my life . 

I turn my phone off in case I get the urge to text Carter . But that urge isn't very strong at the moment . 

For a while I lay awake and stare at the ceiling . When I was twelve I hung a Jonas Brother's poster up there so I that Nick would be the first thing I saw everyday . 

But it fell on my face one night , and I thought it was a ghost . That didn't end well . But it did end my Nick Jonas obsession . Or did it . . . 

Okay I will sleep . Right now . I will close my eyes and sleep . But I lay awake . Thinking . It's the worst thing a person can do at night . 

So instead of thinking I will count sheep . . . One . . . Wait . Those aren't sheep . That's Bob Barker . That's okay . I can adjust . 

One Bob Barker . . . Two Bob Barker . . . Three . . . And I'm asleep .