WARNING: This story contains graphic depictions of violence and other mature or controversial themes/topics that not all audiences will find suitable. Please continue reading at your own risk.
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♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1b51Oqckcg
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKM0BcmjSWG
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJrnPZVrnUh
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡok1ft3le5A
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUu2psfxfs3
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGo6T1fod7l
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOVGkDXkryU
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebGjdbTN9j
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSiz5FSJQZ
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPvlGbmLqf
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins! ♪
***
Something
***
In the previous chapter of Something... knock-knock. Who goes there? Marta! Marta who? Marta and the crew, that's who! Marta, her mother and father, and Ram paid Tiane a surprise visit to serve up some revenge! Though they fought valiantly, their efforts proved useless. It seemed even when up against four people, Tiane still came out on top. Ram, after having her hand broken by the bully, decided she would take matters into her own last available hand and give Tiane what was coming to her. But sadly, she was still no match for Tiane, who held the element of quick reaction and speed against her.
As for Ikjot's side of the drama, he made a promise to Xandra that he would make Rye and his boys leave her and her friends alone. When Rye threatened to break Nydia's stick, Ikjot managed to fool him into believing that it would release a poisonous compound that could harm him, forcing Rye to discard it. In addition, Ikjot even managed to convince everyone to play a song for Xandra on Friday in the cafeteria, once again in attempt to make her like him. Little did Ikjot know that Xandra would be unappreciative in return, revealing to her colleagues that she had been leading Ikjot on the whole time just to make fun of him. She even promised that she would make Ikjot join both her clique and Orabel's, but purposely turned back on her promise as an act of spite. Xandra purposely recruited Ikjot in only her own clique, excluding Orabel so she could get on her nerves. She told Ikjot that to be accepted, he'd need to come up with a plan to get Rye and his boys off her back, once and for all! Orabel, feeling betrayed by Xandra, got into a fight with her, only for Ikjot to come and break it up before they could get in trouble. And when the teachers did arrive, another slick lie by Ikjot managed to brush them off.
As for Herbertia, she was displeased by the fact that Ikjot planned an event for Xandra and not his own girlfriend! But Ikjot managed to calm Herbertia down, giving him the chance to tell her what he planned to do to earn his initiation into Xandra's clique.
Meanwhile, Derick and Mike caught Vicky and Vanessa in the act of trying to escape their shack. But Derick proved he meant business when he rendered Vanessa unable to move, shooting her in the foot. Will the girls ever escape? CAN they escape? Stay tuned to find out or not... in this next chapter of Something!
***
Something11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nOXVjNr57
811Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3h3lGwbW0
Ikjot and the Fake Diary
***
At Nydia's trailer home, Nydia could only cry her eyes out on her sofa from Xandra's actions that day. Xandra and her clique were the only real friends that Nydia thought she ever had. Having been so cruelly betrayed by them, all she had left was this: No one.
Nydia's mother, Ms. Yarbrough, came to her daughter and said, "Nydia... what's wrong?" The mother was a rather large raccoon compared to most. She had long orange hair with bangs and wore a burgundy T-shirt with baggy tan shorts.
Still crying, Nydia said, "Well... Xandra and her friends, they—" But Nydia couldn't even find the strength to continue saying it; it was just that awful.
Ms. Yabrough could only sit beside her daughter with worry. She set her hand on Nydia's shoulder and said, "Hey..." in trying to get her to keep speaking.
Man... I just hoped my sister would come to this school soon. She was the only first and true friend Nydia had there.
***
Back at Xandra's house, she was in her room, using a small bottle to spray and disinfect her arm since I touched it earlier. Rrrrrrrrh! thought Xandra. First he traps me in this time period all over again... and now he's even disrespectful enough to touch my awesome body!
"Hey, Xandra!" shouted her father, Glendon Daud, from outside the room. Glendon was a tall, bulky bear with lemon-colored fur like his daughter. He was seemingly in his fifties, based on the graying short and spiky hair. "Thanks for the flowers you gave me earlier today!" he went on to tell his daughter. "I really appreciated them!"
"Oh, absolutely, my dearest dad in the whole wide world!" said Xandra, faking a nice girl personality while spraying her arm a few more times. "Did I ever tell you how wonderful of a man you are?!"
"Wow, really?!"
Xandra smirked slyly and put the spray bottle down. "Oh, absolutely! You're a genius, winner, and all of the above and more! You are absolutely the best and the most awesome person on the face of the planet! And let's face it: Handsome too!"
"Awwww," Glendon said before opening Xandra's door, walking in to hug her. "I love you, my dearest little angel!"
"I love you too, Daddy!" said Xandra, hugging him back. "You're the best dad in the whole world! You rock!"
"I'm not any better than my best daughter in the whole world.... You are my everything, Xandra. You know, even without the flowers, you are my greatest prize of all."
Xandra blushed, keeping her sweet smile. "Awwwww! No, you're way better than me!"
"No, you are!"
"No! You!"
"I insist! You are!"
Xandra hugged him, making him pause with shock. "No, Dad... I insist! You're the best there is!"
Happy about how much she loved him, he finally said, "How's about we both say we're the best?" He tickled her cheek. "But we all know who's the kindest...."
Xandra shrugged. "I just love humanity and the good of all people, that's all."
"Aw, Xandraaaa!" And then Glendon placed his hands on his sides. "I'm proud to be the father of such a sweet little angel!"
Xandra leapt up to happily hug him. "And I'm proud to be the daughter of the greatest father who has ever lived in existence itself!"
"Aw, Xandra..." Glendon said while hugging her too. "How could I ever live without you?"
"Oh, I'm not worthy enough to be in your presence, Dad! You could most certainly live without me, no sweat!"
"Aw, Xandra, that's not true! Without you, I wouldn't be anything.... You're my pride and joy. You are the one who makes me proud to be a father!" He looked down with slight disappointment. "It's just... so sad that I'm going to..."
Xandra puzzled before sadly catching on to what he was talking about. She backed away from the hug to look up at him, sympathetically. Her expression turned sad and her enthusiasm withered with every next word, "Yeah, I... I... know...." She looked down and thought, And of course... I have to... relive this now too.
Her father sighed sadly. "Yeah.... As you know, I'm only gonna be around for so much longer before I pass on...."
Xandra sniffed and started to shed tears. This wasn't her faking anything. She felt genuinely... frightened and said, "Your sisters, they... get this house if you go, yeah?"
Glendon sighed, looking down. "I've... talked with them before. They know putting their paws on you earns them that one-way jail ticket. They know that."
Xandra hugged herself, saying, "You say that... And after they move in here, no one will be callin' anyone on 'em when they start... punching me."
"Hey now!" yelled Glendon, believing he knew they wouldn't dare try that.
Xandra sniffed and wiped her teary eyes, telling him, "They all smile to your face, Daddy, but... your sisters have it out for me."
"Sweetie..." said Glendon, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Hey... look at me."
Xandra looked up to her father. Her sad eyes still shedding tears.
"I've been talking with them, over and over. They know it's in my last wishes that you'd be protected, no matter their feelings toward you as the daughter of that... guy who wailed on Kyra."
Xandra sniffed and looked down to the side with furrowed brows, saying, "I have to be reminded every day that I'm... the blood daughter of that man who ruined my life in this family. And now you bring him up too?"
Glendon gasped and said, "Xandra, I—"
"Please... stop saying he was my original father; he was just some dumb guy named Jack. You're my father."
Glendon was silent. He knew based on the authority in his daughter's voice... that it was best not to mention Jack again; at least not in the context of him being Xandra's father by blood.
Still, Glendon remembered the whole story behind... Jack. Jack had Xandra with Kyra, but he left Kyra for... a large tree frog. Kyra a few months later found Glendon, and they had Helena together. Glendon only thrived to make Xandra feel special because he never wanted her feeling like an outcast just because her biological father was no longer there. Yet still, Glendon's sisters viewed Xandra as the daughter of a land mammal who intermingled with an amphibian at the expense of his own people. Many months after when Xandra was maybe no older than six, Kyra eventually divorced Glendon over... what she called an endangerment to their child, although the Righteous Korrigan courts approved Glendon to retain custody of Xandra anyway. As for Kyra, she was approved to retain Helena.
Xandra remorsefully looked down, saying, "I'm really gonna miss you, Dad...."
"I'll miss you too, Xandra," he said, smiling with hope. "But... I'll still be watching over you, even when I'm gone."
Xandra nodded with a smile. "I know, Daddy...." She hugged him and said, sniffing and crying, "You're the... best dad a daughter could ever have!"
Her father hugged her too, saying, "You too, Xandra...." He let go and walked out of the room. "I am so proud to have such a loving daughter as you!"
"Not as proud as your... daughter is to have such a... loving father as you," said Xandra with a sympathetic smile, still shedding tears.
Looking down with a weak smile and some tears of his own, Glendon said, "You really are a... wonderful person... Xandra." And he thought, I only wish your mother was still regularly here to tell you these things too.
"Glendon, come look at what they're showing on TV right now!" called his youngest sister to him before laughing, "It's hilarious!"
"Coming, Nida!" said Glendon as he'd fully leave Xandra's room and close her door.
Xandra looked down tired and thought, I... hate you, Ikjot. Xandra then pulled out her cell phone and started dialing a number. If I'm goin' through this pain again... I'm bringin' this whole city down with me. And I'll use the gift you gave me... Daddy... to do it. She held the phone to her ear by pressing her shoulder against it, allowing her to continue disinfecting her arm while she'd talk.
"Hello?" answered Yosef's voice on the phone.
Continuing to spray disinfectant on her arm, Xandra said, "Hi, Yosef—my awesome and very beautiful friend!"
Yosef smiled with glee on her end of the line, sitting in her bedroom back home.
Xandra continued, "Ugh... can you believe that little creep touched ME?! ME OF ALL PEOPLE?!"
Yosef sighed... and said, "Xandra... you've told everyone about it over five billion times today. Don't you think you're being a little too paranoid—?"
"TOO PARANOID?!" complained Xandra. "THAT THING TOUCHED ME—ME OF ALL PEOPLE! MY BODY IS PRECIOUS! IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE INFECTED BY LOSER! EVERYTHING ON ME IS TOO GOOD FOR HIS KIND—!"
"OKAY, OKAY!" interrupted Yosef, stunned. "I was just making a point—!"
"I'M SPEAKING!" said Xandra.
Yosef sighed... and said, "Yes, Xandra...."
Pleased again, Xandra said, "Good! Now where was I...? Oh, yeah! I AM THE BEST THERE IS! THERE IS NO ONE BETTER THAN ME AND EVERYONE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT, BECAUSE I'M AWESOME!" And Yosef just mimicked silly with her hand while Xandra continued, "I'M AWESOME! I'M COOL—NO, I'M THE HIGHEST OF THE COOL! ONE PARTICLE OF ME IS WORTH MORE THAN ANY LOSER—NO, I CAN'T EVEN BE COMPARED TO LOSERS! Okay, I'm done.... He-he." Yosef stopped mimicking while Xandra went on to tell her, "So, my awesome friend, where's Wynfred...?"
Dialing Wynfred's number, Yosef replied, "I'll get her immediately, bud!"
Xandra just smirked slyly, keeping up the disinfectant spraying.
Wynfred, currently in her room and doing homework, picked up her ringing cell phone and pressed the button to answer. "Hey!" she said.
Xandra said, "Hey, Wynfred—wow, you sure pick up the phone fast! Need I also say how gorgeous you are twenty-four seven...?" Wynfred blushed with a smile while Xandra continued, "What's up?!"
Wynfred said with a sigh, "Not much... just doing boring homework—the usual. You?"
"That's so sad! I just wanted to say hi to my awesome friend—i.e. you!"
Now very happy, Wynfred said, "Aw, you're sweet...."
"Anything for my bud!" said Xandra. "Okay, y'all, so here's the deal. You know that homeless woman who always strolls her baby daughter pass that store downtown?"
"Oh, yeah!" said Yosef. "Yeah, I've seen her."
"Yeah," said Xandra.
Wynfred inquired, "Wait... we're gonna do something mean to a baby's mother—a baby's mother who's poor and homeless...?"
Feigning sadness, Xandra looked down and said, "Wow... my ideas are so awful that they... don't even deserve being made real...."
"Oh, no, Xandra! You're ideas are wonderful!" pled Wynfred. "Please, continue!"
"Aw, thanks, bud! You and Yosef are my best and closest friends!"
Wynfred and Yosef both said, "Aw, you too, Xandra!"
"Thanks, y'all! And no, we're gonna do something to the baby herself."
Both pausing, Wynfred and Yosef puzzled to each other, "What...?"
Unamused, Xandra said, "Uh... yeah, I just said it." Then back to being happily excited. "We're gonna—"
"No-no, I heard you; but... mess with a baby...?" asked Wynfred with disbelief.
"Xandra, I don't know..." said Yosef.
Xandra said, "Exactly, which is why I'm guidin' you."
Wynfred said, "Come on, Xandra, let's just mess with the mother."
Looking down with sadness, Xandra said, "Oh, I see.... My idea really is dumb..." and started crying.
Wynfred's eyes widened. "Oh no, Xandra!"
"We promise to do exactly as you say!" pled Yosef.
Again with a pleasant smile, Xandra said, "Good! Now, here's what we're gonna do. You know that rattle the baby likes to play with?"
"Uh-huh!" said Yosef.
"Yeah," said Wynfred.
Xandra continued, "Okay. We're gonna take the baby's rattle and crush it right in front of her."
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Wynfred and Yosef with shock.
Xandra replied, "Uh... yeah. I just said—"
Wynfred interrupted, "No, I heard you, Xandra—"
"Don't interrupt me."
"Yes, Xandra."
Once again pleased, Xandra said, "Aw, thanks, friend! Again, you and Yosef are just so awesome!"
"Thanks, Xandra!" said Yosef and Wynfred.
Yosef puzzled, "But... Xandra, how are we going to do that to the baby with her mother around?"
Xandra rolled her eyes. "Uh... you would know if you'd let me explain...?"
Yosef sighed and said, "Right...."
"Now, we're gonna tell the mom that the store is givin' away free food and clothing. Y'all, she'll flip when she hears that! Haha!"
Wynfred asked, "And what about the baby?"
"We'll steal the baby's rattle and bash it against the store's wall, over-and-over again, just to see her cry. It'll be SO funny!" and Xandra laughed.
"Oh my gosh..." said Yosef with disbelief. "Xandra, we can't do that...."
Xandra paused with disbelief.... She looked down with sadness and continued, "I see.... I guess I wasn't worth the time of you guys. Well... just know that you'll always be my best friends and that I'll do anything for y'all both, even when you don't wanna do the same for me. I love you guys, you have no idea how much I value you. You're my best friends."
Sniffing and shedding some tears, Wynfred said, "That is so..." And doing the same, Yosef concluded, "Beautiful...." Then they both started crying while Xandra smiled slyly, rolling her eyes. "Okay, Xandra!" said Wynfred. "We'll do as you say!"
"We promise!" said Yosef.
"Hmmm..." puzzled Xandra, smirking. "I don't know.... You two don't sound sincere enough."
Wynfred and Yosef paused before begging, "PLEASE, OUR BEST FRIEND!"
"We promise to do as you say, because we love you!" pled Wynfred.
"We love you, because you're our best friend!" pled Yosef.
Xandra replied, "Aw, you guys are sweet! I love you too!"
"Oh, thank you, Xandra!" said Yosef.
"You're our bestie!" said Wynfred.
Xandra happily said, "And y'all are my besties too! We'll meet after school tomorrow, go to the shop and take away that homeless baby girl's only source of happiness. Y'all are awesome for helpin' me do this! Thank you so much! You have no idea!"
"Aw, anytime, bestie!" said Wynfred.
"We'll always do as you say, Xandra!" said Yosef.
Xandra said, "You are the sweetest friends! If we weren't, like, on the phone and in person instead, I'd totally give you both a hug right now. Now, you both know the hang-up routine—I hang up first because I'm the coolest."
"Yes, Xandra!" said Wynfred and Yosef.
"Okay, see y'all tomorrow, my absolutely awesome and gorgeous friends!" said Xandra before hanging up. Continuing to spray disinfectant, she sighed... and placed the bottle beside her small mirror sitting atop her desk. Then she looked in her mirror... scowling as though there weren't even a soul present in her body. She thought, I'm going... to make everyone suffer this time... even the children.
As for Yosef and Wynfred, they remained on their lines. Yosef sighed with grief and said, "What are we going to do...?"
"I don't know..." said Wynfred. "I mean, this is just... awful. I don't wanna hurt a baby's feelings...."
"Yeah..." said Yosef, looking down in sorrow. "But... if we don't, then we won't be cool."
"Is it really cool to hurt a baby...?"
"Only if Xandra says so, since she's the highest of the cool in our class."
"Yeah, I guess..." said Wynfred. "But... what's sweet is that even though we're not nearly as cool as her, she still hangs with us."
"Well, the losers of our class—"
"According to her—"
"Right, according to her, are the boys, Nydia, Quenishia, Xandy... and I think that's it."
"Nydia's especially weird, 'cause she talks to herself."
"I know, right? Honestly though, what do you think about Ikjot?"
Wynfred giggled and said, "I think he likes Xandra...."
Yosef also giggled and said, "I know, right?! He's too nice for girls like us though.... We're the mean ones."
"Yeah.... Well, bye, Yosef."
"Bye! See ya tomorrow," and Yosef hung-up.
"Bye, see yaaaa!" Wynfred said before hanging-up also.
***
Meanwhile, back at The $40 a Night Hotel, Herbertia, having heard my plan, could only say one thing: "WHAT?!" She continued, "Ikjot, you would really do that?!"
I said, "Well, Rye and his boys are always being mean to Xandra. If I make a fake diary that sounds like Xandra's, talking about how much she cares for Rye and his boys, they'll leave her alone because they'll feel loved!"
"But, Ikjot... that isn't like you." Herbertia rubbed my cheek. "Come on. You're too nice for this...."
I blushed and said, "Well... I know. But if I don't do this, Xandra won't let me in her clique. Then I'll be a loser...."
Herbertia pecked my lips and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Ikjot... you're not a loser. Losers don't make a girl feel wanted the way you have to me. Had it not been for you, I would still be on the streets, asking one guy from another to be my boyfriend—only for them all to turn me down. But you changed that, Ikjot.... You made me feel loved."
I paused. "Well... you made me feel loved too. You see, before I met you, I practically spilled the entire story of my love life to yet another female who betrayed me in the end. But you came along right after to make me feel better."
"Wow! She sounds like a total jerk!"
I paused and said, "She was.... But that's why I'm so grateful to have you. The last time I had an actual relationship was with someone named Ilene. She and I had so much fun together!"
"Hmmm... really now?"
"Yeah! We'd tackle each other, roleplay with each other and so much more! Overall, she was a fun, nice, kind and caring person! But..."
Herbertia puzzled. "Uh...? But what...?"
"...Well... Xandra ruined it all." 1098 was listening as I continued, "You see... because I still couldn't let go of my love for her, I let go of Ilene."
"You mean...?"
I nodded with guilt. "Yeah... I broke up with her."
"Ah..." gasped Herbertia with shock.
I sighed. "...Herbertia, I'm sorry—"
"No, don't be..." said Herbertia, setting her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay...."
"But... I—"
"Tell me, was Xandra leading you on?"
"...I'm not sure. You see, the last time I had seen Xandra at that time was when I went to a school dance she attended. We never were in a relationship to begin with, because I never talked to Xandra. The only most I ever said to her was, 'Thanks!' when she told me I was fast at walking. Little did I know that compliment she gave me was just to make fun of me...."
"Wow!" remarked Herbertia. "What a... meanie!"
I laughed and said, "Believe me! People have called her worse...."
"So... why do you want to be her friend if you know she's this kind of person?"
"That's just it, Herbertia."
"Huh?" she puzzled.
"...Xandra wouldn't have been that way had I just... replied to her and her girls, when they asked me who I liked in our school. They even promised that they wouldn't tell anyone yet I... still sat there like a silent mute."
Herbertia tilted her head, sighed with frustration and said, "Oh, Ikjot..."
"Huh?" I puzzled.
"...Are you seriously doing all this just because you felt you were being 'rude' by not replying to this chick? It sounds more like if she saw the question was making you uncomfortable that she and those bimbos should have taken a hint; left you alone, you know?"
"Hey, they're not bimbos. And... how could you defend me in that situation? Is it not clear I did something wrong?"
Herbertia folded her arms, looking me in the eyes sternly. Following some silence between us both, she finally said, "Well, explain what you did wrong, Ikjot? Because there's nothing wrong about a twelve-year-old boy being too shy to tell a whole group of girls surrounding and intimidating him to admit something he's not comfortable with."
"Ah?" I gasped, feeling like something struck me when she... said that. All this time, I... hadn't seen it that way, but... No. No, of course I was wrong! I was being rude by not replying and it's not like those girls were intimidating me by asking a simple question. Come on, Herbertia.
Herbertia sighed again, looking down with closed eyes. "Ikjot, are you just going to stand there or are you going to say something to me?"
"O-Of course I'll say something!" I said, lifting a fist and realizing I was on the verge of making the same mistake twice. I wasn't going to be quiet anymore when females asked me questions! I said, "Herbertia, you can ask me anything and I promise you, I'll never sit still like some MUTE with my head down."
"Ikjot, come on, stop beating yourself UP over it!" said Herbertia, visibly growing irritated. "Don't let ANYONE pick on you like that!"
"Pick on me?!" I questioned, still not able to understand why Herbertia was calling Xandra the one who was wrong in the situation I cited.
Herbertia's fist tightened. Still looking me in the eyes, she said, "Ikjot... if she and her girls surround you like that in this timeline, I want you to deck those bullies right in their mouths!
I tried to explain, "Herbertia—!"
"And if they even think of hitting you back..." and Herbertia punched the palm of her right hand, "I'll squash ALL of them!"
I looked down, frowning and thought, She just doesn't... get it. They weren't making fun of me. Xandra and them genuinely wanted to know who I was interested in, and I acted so high and mighty by not even responding. I was so disgusting and unforgivable for insulting them like that!
Herbertia placed her hand on my shoulder, saying, "Ikjot? Are you hearing what I'm saying?"
"Ah?" I said, looking up to her.
"You will punch them," said Herbertia, sternly looking down at me. "Stand up to those who bully you."
I did... recall my sister, Vinanti, telling me once that Xandra and her groupies surrounded and warned her that they'd beat me up if I didn't stop liking Xandra... but that was in the original past. All that drama and those toxic moments wouldn't happen again because... I'd changed.
"Well?" Herbertia asked me, raising an eyebrow.
"Look..." I told Herbertia, "I deserved to get hurt the way I had, back in these days."
Herbertia's eyes widened with sympathy as she spoke more softly, "Ikjot... no you didn't. You're a victim of abuse."
Tch! Me, a victim of abuse? Now this was just getting ridiculous....
"Ikjot...?" Herbertia said to me, wondering if I was alright; wondering if all I needed even was a simple hug in that moment.
No... I wasn't a victim of abuse; I was a victim of my own stupidity back in these times. Thankfully, Dr. Blitz's machine awarded me opportunities like these to set everything right. And I was going to start... now. "Herbertia...?" I began to ask her.
"Huh...?" she puzzled, wondering if I'd reveal vulnerability. She was indeed ready to comfort and hold me if I needed it.
"Well... could you help me get this diary together for tomorrow?"
Herbertia inaudibly gasped... and said, "So I... guess we're giving Xandra and her groupies a pass on this."
"Like I said... all that was my fault. Xandra will treat me with respect now that I'm different." And I... remembered how Xandra called me an 'it' earlier. Perhaps I deserved it for being too forward... so I'd have to work on that too now. And the last thing I needed... at this point... was to tell Herbertia about that too. It was apparent to me that she had it out for Xandra... even though I was at fault for a lot of these things.
"She rudely told you 'What took you so long?' earlier," said Herbertia. "I don't call that 'treating you with respect,' Ikjot. She just sounds like a nasty person—"
"She's not a nasty person," I told Herbertia. "She and her girls are constantly telling me nice things; I only—"
"Whoa-whoa!" Herbertia interrupted, visibly mad. "What 'nice things' are those girls telling a taken boy?" And Herbertia leaned down, close to my face with a jealous pout. "Hmmmm?" she hummed.
I knew what she was implying without saying it... and told her, "They just... tell me how great and smart I am."
"Hmph!" hummed Herbertia, pouting more. She gently punched my left arm with saying, "You're great!" Then gently punched my right. "You're smart!" She put her fists down with her hands on her hips, smirking in my face with her brows still furrowed. "See? I can do it tooooo!" And she sighed, looking down and folded her arms. She soon said, "Ikjot... I honestly don't think this is your style. I don't even think Xandra deserves you helping her like this, let alone putting on a whole concert for her. But... there I go thinking about what I want, all this time. I have to consider your wishes, Ikjot... even if they involve you kicking yourself for people who don't deserve you."
I sighed sadly, briefly closing my eyes... and reopened them, looking down while I said, "Herbertia—"
"But!" she interrupted me. "But..." and she wagged a finger, "it's because I love you with all my heart, Ikjot... that I'll help you get this done."
"Aw..." I said, smiling sweetly. "Thanks, Herbertia. I... appreciate you understanding."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, smiling sympathetically to me. "Don't mention it, Ikjot...." And she patted my back, gently.
Continuing to watch us both, 1098 sternly thought to herself, Herbertia, you forgive him too much. And Ikjot... you are blind.
***
Hours later, Herbertia and I were amazed at how quickly we made-up a whole diary. Between different dates, topics and cute figures to show it was by Xandra, all we had to do was one last thing: Write the name on its cover.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMhtSOefSq
"Xandra..." said Herbertia, using a pink pen to write Xandra's name. She doodled some sparkles around it, just as I instructed, to make it seem as though it were a diary Xandra would have designed. "Done!" she said, finishing her work. I helped with the words Xandra would say. Herbertia helped with the design.
Herbertia asked me, "What do you think, Ikjot?"
I happily said, "It looks terrific, Herbertia!"
"You know it!" happily said Herbertia, giving me a high-five.
"Don't you two have homework to complete...?" asked 1098, unamused.
"Oh, put a sock in it, you Effect!" said Herbertia. She picked up the diary and placed it in front of 1098's face. "Don't tell me you're jealous because you couldn't help out."
"I could have..." replied 1098 before continuing to write on a paper, "but I have math problems to do."
"Hey, I wonder if our brains are younger, too," I puzzled. "I mean, since we're kids again, doesn't that mean we'll have a hard time doing some of this work?"
"Negative," said 1098, continuing to write. "The time machine, though it reverted you back to the ages you were in 2005, did not take away the level of knowledge you two had as adults. The only thing different about you both are your bodies. But your memories, knowledge and so forth are still the same."
"That's interesting..." said Herbertia.
"I'll say..." I replied.
1098 said, "Indeed.... Now, are you two going to do your homework, or am I going to have to do it for you?"
***
Back at the shack with Derick and Mike, Vicky was wrapping leaves around Vanessa's right foot. They couldn't afford anything like bandages, so they had no choice but to improvise for lots of things.
Vicky sighed and said, "We're going to need real bandages for Vanessa.... It's the only way we can effectively heal her wound."
"So go buy some, wench..." said Derick with a smirk, sitting next to Mike on the sofa.
"Derick, please!" begged Vicky, looking to him with sorrow. "Have a heart! Vanessa here could DIE if this continues!"
"Well, Vanessa should've behaved like she was supposed to," said Mike before drinking a soda and throwing the can at Vicky's head.
"AH!" screamed Vicky.
Derick laughed with Mike and said, "Good one!"
"Yeah!" said Mike with a laugh.
Vanessa begged, "Derick, please!" before whining in pain while Vicky continued to wrap the leaves. "We have to call Mr. Bourdon! He's our only hope!"
"Eh, naaaaaaah," teased Derick.
"Yeah! Maybe we should just let you die," teased Mike with a snicker.
"Please, you guys!" begged Vicky. "Derick, you're the only one among us who has a cell phone!"
Derick said, "Hey... I'll use this cell phone when I darn well feel like it."
"BUT DERICK, SHE COULD DIE!" begged Vicky.
"Yeah, so?
"If she dies, I will NEVER be your girlfriend!" And Derick groaned as Vicky continued, "Unless you help me take care of Vanessa, you can kiss me goodbye!"
"SHUT UP!" said Derick, making Vicky and Vanessa both draw back in fear. "...Fine," he said, reaching into his pocket to take out the phone, "but no more favors... GOT IT?!"
"Yes, Derick..." said Vicky, looking down with disappointment.
"We understand..." said Vanessa, doing the same.
Derick dialed Mr. Bourdon's number on his cell phone. From there, he held the phone to his ear, hearing it ring as he awaited Mr. Bourdon to answer.
Mr. Bourdon, sitting in his office, heard his phone ringing. He saw the number, recognized it soon enough and said, "Hmmm.... Derick, ey? Sorry, kids... but I know what you four did to Somer and Julian." Mr. Bourdon picked the phone off its hook and answered, "Hello?"
"Hi, Mr. Bourdon..." said Derick. "Listen, we need a favor from you."
"Hmmm... a favor...?" puzzled Mr. Bourdon, suspiciously narrowing his eyes.
"Yeah.... Our shack is low on money and we could use some funding. We were wondering if—"
Mr. Bourdon laughed, much to Derick's surprise and said, "And just why would I want to give any of you four funds? I heard what you did to Somer and Julian, kicking them out on false pretenses. You're nothing but a bunch of backstabbers."
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Derick, greatly angered. He held the phone down so Mr. Bourdon wouldn't hear as he turned to Mike and said, "Somer and Julian ratted us out to Mr. Bourdon...."
Everyone grew shocked as Mike exclaimed, "WHAT?!"
"NO WAY!" exclaimed Vicky. "HOW COULD WE HAVE OVERLOOKED THEM DOING THAT?!"
Derick groaned, holding the phone back to his ear and said, "Mr. Bourdon, please! You're our only hope! We have no food, no water—"
"Come now, that was never a problem before," said Mr. Bourdon. "Why, Somer and Julian fed you guys outside resources to keep you nourished. Why don't you four learn to do the same on your own?"
Derick was becoming desperate.... He knew that the only way he'd be able to get through to Mr. Bourdon at this point was to tell him the truth. He looked to Vanessa's bleeding foot, but knew better than to say he was the cause of it. Rather, he said, "Alright, you know what...? Here's the truth: Vanessa could die if you don't loan us the funds to help her live!"
"Oh...? Really now...?" puzzled Mr. Bourdon, suspicious of the sudden news. "And why didn't you tell me this before? Could it be that you're lying just to make me give you funds anyway?"
"MR. BOURDON, SHE COULD DIE!"
"I don't believe you, Derick.... You think just because I'm old, I've forgotten how to know a liar when they're talking right to me?"
"BUT MR. BOURDON—!"
"Goodbye, Derick...."
"BUT MR. BOURDON—!" Then Derick paused, realizing the call ended. He trembled with fear and said, "Mr. Bourdon...? Mr. Bourdon?! MR. BOURDON!" Growling with anger, Derick threw the cell phone to the floor and, with greater rage and a clenched fist, looked to Vicky and Vanessa. They drew back in fear as Derick said, "Hey, Mike...."
"Yeah, Derick...?" asked Mike.
"It looks like Mr. Bourdon isn't gonna help us out.... I guess we'll have to take out our anger on something for this."
Mike paused.... Then, realizing what Derick was getting at, he smirked and said, looking to the girls, "Oh, I get you...." And Mike snickered as Vicky and Vanessa trembled in fear, knowing what could come next.
***
Back at Marta's house in Sanne, the fighting continued—you could hear it from outside. However, what you couldn't see on the inside was that Ram was being punched in the face by both of Tiane's fists, over-and-over again. Marta and her parents watched in horror as the beating continued, and Ram was running out of options.
When the beating finally stopped, Ram stood before Tiane, breathing heavily and covered in bruises on her face. She also bled from the mouth, much to Tiane laughing and saying, "Wow! Ha-ha! Look at you! What a loser! You can't even keep up with me!"
Darn! thought Ram. With my left hand broken, this is much harder than I bargained for! Tiane could keep going like this if she had to.... We've been punching her all day, and all she can do is stand there like a wall of steel!
This idiot really believes she can beat me? thought Tiane. Ha! She's nothing but a little country girl loser! She can't hurt me; none of them can! Then Tiane told Ram, "Face it, pizza face, you can't win! You're up against the strongest girl in the world!"
"Strongest girl in the world, huh...?" puzzled Ram, breathing heavily from Tiane's hits. "Yeah right! Back at my daddy's ranch, I've lassoed cows stronger than you!"
Tiane said, "Oh?! So you're callin' me a cow?!" Then she punched Ram to the floor, causing Ram to scream as she fell.
"STOP IT, TIANE!" panicked Marta.
"HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS BRUTALITY CAN RAM TAKE?!" panicked Mr. Grey.
Tiane turned around and told her father, "Shut up, pops! Can't you see I'm just havin' some fun with the—huh?" Tiane turned back, seeing Ram charge her with a clenched fist.
"RH!" groaned Ram, throwing a punch at Tiane.
Tiane grabbed Ram's fist and kicked her in the stomach.
"AH!" screamed Ram, bending over in pain.
"What part of 'I'm stronger than you' don't you understand?" asked Tiane, punching Ram in the head and knocking her to the floor.
"AH!" screamed Ram, falling face-first onto the floor.
"RAM!" yelled Marta with fear.
Ram slowly regained balance, holding her hand in front of her face while her nose bled.
"Awwwww, looook!" teased Tiane. "Ha-ha! If I keep this up, you'll have a big red nose like a circus clown! Ha-ha!"
"Why you JERK!" said Marta, running towards Tiane.
"MARTA, NO!" Ram commanded.
Marta stopped running. "But... Ram—"
"No, Marta... you know you can't take this girl. She's already put you in the hospital once."
"But Ram, if I don't do anything, she'll put you there next!"
Still breathing heavily, Ram smiled with determination. "Marta... trust me. I won't let that happen...."
Tiane snickered, apparently not agreeing with Ram's words.
***
By morning at our school in Righteous Korrigan, Xandra, Yosef and Wynfred were talking to each other. Yosef looked around and asked, "Hey, where's Nydia?"
"I overheard Mrs. Ives talking to her mom," said Wynfred, rolling her eyes. "She said that Nydia wasn't coming today because she was sick or something...."
"That's good for her," said Xandra, holding her hands on her hips with her nose in the air.
Meanwhile, Orabel and her clique watched them from the distance. To Piper and Voleta, Orabel said, "I can't believe Xandra.... I'm never speaking to her again."
Yeah, right.... I know how impressionable Orabel was, especially when it came down to Xandra. No matter how mad she was at Xandra, Orabel could always be persuaded into changing her mind and being her friend again.
Voleta sighed... and told Orabel, "Well... we have no choice but to put up with Xandra."
"What do you mean?" asked Orabel.
Piper said, "She means we're nothing without Xandra, Orabel." Orabel groaned as Piper continued, "Remember, even though we're a clique of our own, we still have no choice but to succumb to Xandra as well. She's the highest of the cool in our class. Without her at our side, we're nothing but losers."
Orabel sighed in disappointment. "...You're right. What was I thinking...?"
"It's okay, Orabel," said Voleta, patting Orabel's shoulder. "I mean, hey! At least we're cool so long as we stay by Xandra!"
Orabel cracked a smile and looked to Voleta. "Yeah... you're right. Maybe I was being a little too overdramatic."
"Hi, Orabel!" said an all-too familiar voice to Orabel's ears. Orabel turned her head and saw Xandra, standing before her with her clique. "I just wanted to say... sorry—about yesterday, I mean. It was totally wrong of me to lie to you the way I did." Xandra held out her hand. "Friends...?"
Orabel paused.... She cracked a smile and shook her hand. "Friends!" Just then, Orabel puzzled, "Huh...?" turning her head to the side and seeing me, Herbertia and 1098 walking to our class lines. "Hey, it's Ikjot!"
"Wow! What's he holding in his hand?" puzzled Piper, noticing the book I had.
Xandra whispered to Piper with a laugh, "A diary I told him to make! It's supposed to be one by me; but it's not, and it makes us sound like we actually care about Rye and his friends!"
"Ooooooh!" laughed Piper while Xandra laughed too.
Xandra then noticed that Rye and his boys were standing at the back of the line. She whispered to Orabel with a laugh, "Hey! Make them go somewhere else while Ikjot arrives with the diary!"
"Diary...?" whispered Orabel with puzzle, not knowing what Xandra was talking about.
Piper came to Orabel with a laugh and whispered, "It's a diary that Ikjot made! He's gonna use it to get Rye and his boys off our backs! It's gonna make us sound like we actually care about them and stuff!"
"Oooooh?!" laughed Orabel with the other girls.
"Okay! Go, Orabel!" whispered Xandra with a laugh.
"Okay!" whispered Orabel with a laugh. She ran to Rye and his boys and said, "Hey! Can you guys help me look for something? I dropped it by the cabins yesterday."
In case you're wondering, the cabins were where classes below Kindergarten were held. I supposed Sister Yedda thought children below that grade level were too young to be in the main building with the other students.
"The cabins?" asked Rye.
"Yeah!" said Orabel, walking past them and pointing to one of the cabins. "It should be over there, somewhere!"
"Over where, now?" asked Rye, standing next to Orabel with his boys and trying to see where she was pointing.
"Over here somewhere..." said Orabel, leading them away from the fifth grade line and towards the cabins.
"Good luck on your initiation," Herbertia told me. She puckered her lips and leaned down towards me, preparing to kiss me on the cheek.
I quickly whispered to her, "Psst! Remember what I said about couples at this school...?"
"Oh!" said Herbertia, stopping herself. "My bad...."
"It's cool," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Good luck on your daily classes with Sister Nylah Zita!"
"Thanks!" said Herbertia, waving to me while I walked to my line.
Ilana came to Herbertia with her girls and asked, "Okay, did he just totally brush you off?"
"Huh...?" puzzled Herbertia. "What do you mean?"
Ilana rolled her eyes and said, "The kiss...?"
"Oh, that..." said Herbertia, catching onto what Ilana was talking about. "Well, he had to... because—"
"Xandra is more important?" interrupted Xiomara, rolling her eyes with unamused disbelief.
"No!" defensively said Herbertia, shaking her head. "He had to because he doesn't want anyone to make fun of us for being a couple!"
Ilana laughed with disbelief while saying, "You really believe people do that here?"
"Ikjot told me so!" Herbertia replied.
"Oh, really?" Ilana replied with a snide smile. "And how does he know?"
Herbertia couldn't say something like, He knows because he comes from the past and has already seen how everyone acts here! Couldn't freak these people out with knowing that, right? So Herbertia just told Ilana, "It's because... It's because he just... knows."
Hyacinth laughed with disbelief while saying, "That doesn't make any sense!"
"Yeah!" said Zine, laughing also. "He's totally tricking you."
"Now see here!" said Herbertia, defensively again. "I love Ikjot, and I know that he would NEVER lie to me!"
1098 could only stand there, watching as Ilana said, "Oh yeah...? Then why didn't he tell you about the party?"
Herbertia with folded arms shook her head and said, "It's not a party; it's a singing."
"A what now?" puzzled Ilana, looking to her girls.
"You know, a singing. It's what he and some other classes are gonna do for Xandra on Friday."
"That still doesn't change the fact that he's not doing it for you."
"Yeah!" said Gylda. "He's totally treating some other girl with more respect than you!"
But Herbertia kept her position. "Say what you want... but I trust Ikjot." With that, Herbertia walked away from them.
1098, realizing she would have been left behind to talk with Ilana and her gang, quickly followed Herbertia.
"I can't believe she's head over heels for a guy who doesn't even appreciate her..." said Xiomara with worry.
Hyacinth exclaimed, "Yeah! Where does he get off?!"
"I didn't want it to come to this..." sternly said Ilana, "but we have no choice except to take matters into our own hands."
"What do you mean?" asked Gylda.
"I mean we're going to speak to Ikjot for ourselves and find out what's going on." Ilana punched the palm of her own hand, determined. "We're going to see how he really feels about Xandra."
"And if it sounds like he likes her more than a friend...?" puzzled Xiomara.
Ilana narrowed her eyes and said, "Then he's done for...."
Meanwhile, I showed my completed diary to Xandra. Before I could say anything, she said, "Wow, Ikjot, it has so much style—like you!"
I said with a smile, "Thanks, Xandra! So what do you want me to do with this?"
Xandra looked to Orabel and Rye and his boys, making sure that Orabel was keeping them distracted—and she was. They were scurrying their hands through the wood chips, as was Orabel who asked them, "Did you find anything yet?"
"No," said Rye.
"Yeah, we don't see it," said Graysen.
Xandra, realizing the coast was clear, looked back to me with a smile and said, "Let me see...?"
"No problem!" I said, handing it to her.
As she began looking through the pages, Xandra couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my gosh!" she said, bringing it to the other girls for them to read as well.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHVfqUpAa7
I thought they were laughing because they enjoyed how good my lie was. What I didn't know was that they were actually laughing at my hand writing style, my design for it—everything that I did with Herbertia to create that diary.
Still with her smile and reddening face, Xandra thought, His handwriting looks like a chicken took its talons and just... clawed at the pages! Haha! Then she happily looked my way and said, "Ikjot, this looks SO AMAZING, dude!" And she handed me back the diary.
"Thanks!" I said, taking it. "So what should I do with it now?"
"Just put it in your backpack," she said with a straight face. "Then take it out later and place it on the ground somewhere in the walk path of Rye and his boys."
"Yeah," said Piper, also with a straight face.
They would always show me those straight faces when they were holding back a laugh at me—what backstabbers! But like I said, I didn't know.
"Okay!" I said before unzipping my backpack and dropping the diary inside, then zipping it back.
Xandra looked to Orabel in the distance and said, "Hey, Orabel! We found your thing!" This was code word for, The coast is clear and you can stop making fools out of Rye and his boys now.
"Oh, okay!" said Orabel, running to Xandra.
Rye told his boys, "Well, looks like she found it."
"Why couldn't she just tell us what it was?" asked Graysen.
Orabel made it to Xandra and held out her hand. "Thanks, Xandra!"
"You know it!" said Xandra, pretending to hand over whatever it was that Orabel lost.
Man... I was observing this and thought, Wow! What good liars! It was even more effective because Rye and his boys were too far away to see that Xandra handed Orabel nothing! All they'd need to see from their distance were Xandra and Orabel nearly touching hands! To Xandra, I said, "Smart move!"
Placing her hands on her hips and lifting her nose to the air, Xandra replied, "Of course it was! I'm the one who came up with it."
Rye and his boys made it to Orabel while Kip asked, "Uh... hey, Orabel? What was it that you lost?"
"Just a bracelet," said Orabel with a straight face.
"Oh..." said Rye and his boys.
From there, the bell rang and all classes would follow their teachers into their respective buildings—cabins for grades below kindergarten, and the main building for grades kindergarten through eight. Xandra and Orabel high-fived each other, commemorating their job well done with fooling the boys. Just wait until my diary lie would go into effect.... It was gonna be priceless!
***
Back at the hotel, Somer was on the phone with Mr. Bourdon who was telling her about Derick's call. Julian sat down and listened while Somer said, "Wow! Really?!"
"That's right!" said Mr. Bourdon with a nod, sitting at his office desk. "Derick asked me for funding and I told him no!" Then Mr. Bourdon laughed, as did Somer.
Julian, seeing how happy she was, asked, "Hey! What's he saying, Somer?"
"Stupid Derick called Mr. Bourdon and asked him for money!" said Somer with a laugh to Julian.
"Man! How dumb!" said Julian before laughing as well.
Somer continued on the phone, "Thank you so much for denying them, Mr. Bourdon! You have no idea how much it means to us!"
Mr. Bourdon laughed and said, "Oh, you won't believe how determined he was to make me budge! Why he even went so far as to tell me that Vanessa could die if I don't loan her the funds!"
"Wow! Vanessa must've put him up to that one!"
Mr. Bourdon laughed again. "I know! Tell me, did you get those costumes you needed?"
"Mhm!" happily hummed Somer, nodding. "You can call me Judie Barnes." Then Somer held the cell phone to Julian's mouth so he could say, "And you can call me Clarence F! Y'know, back in my days, we didn't have cell phones! We'd use logs to talk to flies instead!"
Mr. Bourdon laughed again and remarked, "You two crack me up! Well, I'll leave you guys alone now, since this is one of the few times you get to be home alone without the kids around."
"Oh! Not at all, Mr. Bourdon! It's always a pleasure to speak with you!" happily said Somer.
"Same to you, Somer! Same to you! You and your family take care! Tell Herbertia she'll be a great woman just like you one day!"
"You are so kind, Mr. Bourdon! I will do that!"
"Alright then! Talk to you later!"
"Same to you, Mr. Bourdon! Take care!"
"You too, Somer! You too! Have a nice day!"
"You too, Mr. Bourdon! Bye!"
"Goodbye, Somer!" From there, Mr. Bourdon and Somer hung-up.
Julian laughed and told Somer, "It's always good to talk to Mr. Bourdon!"
"Yes, it is!" said Somer, putting her cell phone in her shirt. Just then, she paused and looked down with worry.
Julian noticed this and said, "Hey...."
Somer didn't respond.
Julian got up from the bed and walked to Somer, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Hey... what's up?"
Somer sighed. "Oh, nothing... just Herbertia and Ikjot thoughts again."
"...Now, Somer—"
"I know... sometimes, I worry too much about things. But—"
"Listen to me..." said Julian, tilting her head to him. "Ikjot isn't a bad guy; you and I know that. We just have to give him a chance, that's all—"
"But what if he's not as good of a guy as she thinks he is, Julian? What if he's—?"
Julian sighed... and said, "Somer, how many times have I told you? We have to be glad that Herbertia has a boyfriend in the first place. You and I both know how long she's been searching for one. Let's just be happy for them; let's just be happy for Herbertia in general."
"Are you sure...?"
Julian searched his fingers through her hair. "Somer... I love you. If I know something will work out, you have to trust me. I would never steer you wrong...."
Somer took a moment to look in his eyes, wondering whether or not she could believe his words. Then she smiled and said, "You're right, Julian...." And she and Julian hugged each other while Somer thought, I hope you're right....
***
Back in Sanne at Marta's house, Ram's cries of pain could be heard from inside the home. Tiane was crushing Ram's stomach beneath her foot, laughing while Ram screamed louder and louder. Tiane laughed and said, "Man! What a WIMP!" She pressed her foot down even harder, making Ram scream even more.
Marta, having her fists clenched and grinding her teeth, couldn't just stand by and watch her friend be picked on anymore. She ran to Tiane and jumped on her back, grabbing her in a headlock. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" she commanded.
Tiane groaned with disgust, purposely falling back to the floor and crushing Marta beneath her.
Marta screamed loudly in pain as Tiane rolled around, back and forth, causing Marta to scream even louder.
"YOU MONSTER!" said Mr. Grey, running towards Tiane.
Tiane smirked and jumped off of Marta before running towards Mr. Grey and punching him in the mouth.
Mr. Grey fell to the floor as Tiane kicked his knee and dared him, saying, "GET UP!"
Mr. Grey just screamed in pain with furrowed brows and closed eyes, "AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"TIANE, STOP THIS!" commanded Mrs. Grey, running to Tiane.
Tiane then picked up Mr. Grey and threw him at her, sending them both to the floor and making them both scream in pain.
Tiane laughed at everyone's hurt and said, "HA! What a bunch of weaklings! I feel ashamed to say I even know you people!" As she continued to watch them scream, she rolled her eyes and said, "Eh... this is getting boring. It's time I made you guys cry!" Tiane snickered and cracked her knuckles, preparing to raise the stakes.
All four of them quivered in fear, realizing the worst was about to begin.
***
Back at my school, it was twelve thirty p.m. (and in case you didn't know, both Sanne and Righteous Korrigan ran on EST) when grades four through eight were having lunch in the cafeteria. I hadn't made it inside yet, but Xandra and her girls did. And Xandra couldn't help but snobbishly critique the food—if the word 'critique' is what you would've called it.
"What is this gross crud...?" said Xandra, looking at the meatballs on her plate.
"Uh... meatballs?" said Helena, unamused.
Xandra pushed her plate away and said, "I refuse to ingest dirt like that into my clean stomach." She picked up the plate and dropped the meatballs to the floor. "Let the bugs have it."
"Oh! I have it, alright!" said the random roach, crushed beneath one of the meatballs.
"Wow, good call, Xandra!" said Piper who was just as snobbish as Xandra.
"As always," said Xandra with her nose in the air. "I'm the best."
More like stuck-up, thought Wynfred, eating her meatballs.
As for me, I finally approached their table with my own food and said, "Hi, everyone! Mind if I sit here?"
Xandra covered her mouth with a giggle and said, "Well of course you can, Ikjot!" Then she playfully nudged me. "But y'know, you really have no choice anyway, my dude."
"Yeah!" Orabel laughed to me with her arms folded. "They don't let you sit at a table that isn't for your grade."
Those factors mentioned, I awkwardly chuckled and said, "Wow! How'd I miss that?" And I took my seat, sitting next to Yosef since the chair beside her was free.
Meanwhile, Herbertia and 1098, from their sixth grade table, were watching me. "Ah, just look at him..." admired Herbertia. "He's so dreamy when he's socializing."
"Right..." said 1098, rolling her eyes.
"Oh! Come on, 1098!" said Herbertia, breaking out of her trance. "Why you always gotta be so negative about my happiness?!"
"Oh! No reason," nonchalantly said 1098 before taking a meatball and eating it.
As for Ilana and her girls, they too watched me from the table and, by the looks of it, were not pleased. "Just look at him..." whispered Ilana to Xiomara, so that Herbertia and 1098 wouldn't hear.
"I know, right...?" whispered Xiomara. "I can't believe this guy...."
Hyacinth whispered, "Well, I can believe one thing: He's going down."
"Right!" said Ilana and Xiomara, giving each other and Hyacinth a high-five.
***
Later on the yard, I stood before Xandra and Orabel's cliques, and Helena, on the grass field—a second part of the playground. Xandra, holding out her hand, asked me, "Did you bring the diary?"
"Yup!" I replied. "It's in my shirt."
Knowing her fear of contracting 'loser' from me and the fact that would've been possible from touching something my body had, Xandra told Wynfred, "You hold it for us."
"Will do!" said Wynfred.
Xandra then looked to Rye and his boys who were playing basketball on the wood chips field. She observed their standpoints and told me, "Okay... go drop it behind the wood chips field, but don't let them see you."
"I'm on it!" I said with a salute. From there, I walked away and headed into the wood chips field.
Seeing me walk across the field, Herbertia gleefully whispered to 1098, "Oh my gosh! I think he's about to do it!"
"Hmmm..." puzzled 1098, also watching me.
After fully making it past everyone on the wood chips field, I briefly looked from side to side, just to make sure no one would see what I was about to do. Discovering the coast was clear, I quickly lifted the fake diary out of my shirt and dropped it behind the field, then walked away as if nothing happened.
Xandra folded her arms with a straight face before Yosef would ask, "Um... just curious, why didn't we just tell Ikjot to hand the diary over to Rye and his boys on the spot?"
Xandra rolled her eyes and said, "Uh... because that would've been stupid? Think about it.... Rye and his boys know how much Ikjot wants to promote our credibility as good people. They would only expect him of all people to have conveniently found a diary by me that talks about how much we 'love' them. They'd probably even be more likely to find out it was just a fake made by Ikjot."
"Ooooooh—"
"Don't interrupt me, Yosef."
"Sorry."
"So you see, by that diary just being out in the open without a holder of it, Rye and his boys won't be convinced that someone made it up."
"Xandra, that's so... smart!" said Piper.
Xandra rolled her eyes again and told Piper, "Only because I'm smart, duh?"
Helena asked her big sister, "But just one more question: What if Rye and his boys aren't the ones who pick it up? What if someone else does?"
Xandra replied, "Won't matter. Whoever finds it will spread the word of how..." and she finger quoted, " 'nice' we are—just imagine the kind of power we'll have then! We won't just be the cool girls of our class... we'll be the coolest girls of the whole school!" Xandra thought, But who cares about any of you losers? So long as I'll be the highest of the cool in the whole school, that's all I care about. And I'll be one step closer to fully takin' you all down. Hehe!
"Wow! I've gotta admit, Ikjot's really helped us out!" said Orabel.
Xandra observed her hand and said, "Yeah, but he's still a loser and we'll still dump him in the end. He's only good for laughs."
"You mean, after all of this, we're still gonna stab him in the back like that...?" puzzled Voleta with disbelief.
"Uh... yeah?" said Xandra, rolling her eyes and expecting her to know.
"But... that's so... mean."
Xandra looked down in sadness and said, "Oh, I see.... My idea is dumb...."
Voleta pled, "Oh no, not at all, Xandra!" and held out her arms. "GROUP HUG!"
And the girls all hugged Xandra.
Xandra happily said, "Awwwww! Y'all are sweet!"
I made it back to Xandra and the girls while slapping my palms clean. I told them, "Well, girls, you'll be pleased to know that the diary is sub to anyone taking it!"
Xandra whooped and said, "Awesome!" while Voleta high-fived me.
I asked, "So what happens now...?"
"We wait," said Xandra, watching Rye and his boys continue to play basketball.
My eyes widened when I remembered something. I said, "Hey, Xandra! I almost forgot, I've gotta ask Sister Yedda if we can do that singing for you on Friday."
"It's cool. You can talk to her before you leave," said Xandra with a straight face.
"Yeah!" said Piper with the same face. "She'll be in her office after school."
"Will do, guys!" I said.
Little did I know that Ilana and her girls were standing all the way at the end of the grass field, right before the barbed wire fence.
Ilana whispered, "Okay... let's go ask them for Ikjot."
"Right," said Xiomara with a nod.
***
Later, I sat on the swings of the wood chips field, looking at the diary on the ground in the distance. With all of the kids passing by and playing on the yard, I was hoping at least someone, even if not Rye or his boys, would pick that thing up and show it to everyone else. Alas, nothing was happening, and people just didn't seem to notice it.
Just then, a certain someone came to sit next to me on the swings: Ilana, accompanied by her girls. "Hi, Ikjot!" she said with a smile—and I had no idea how she knew my name! I supposed Herbertia, being in the same class with this backstabber, told it to her.
Again, I didn't like Ilana because I remembered her making fun of me behind my back and right to my sister! Of course, I... gave Xandra a pass for doing the same due to my... romantic biases. Anyways, my sister, Vinanti, told Ilana off... since Ilana asked my sister, to her face, if I was... mentally handicapped.
"Hi, Ilana!" I happily replied, hiding my anger towards her. "What's up—?"
"We wanted to ask you something," Ilana interrupted. She leaned close to me and whispered, "Do you like Xandra...?"
I could see where this was going. What did she think I was? Stupid? With her being in the same class as Herbertia, she could have easily reported the news to her. If Herbertia found out the truth, that would've been the end of our relationship. Herbertia could have even spread awful rumors about me from there and ruined my chance of a relationship with Xandra too!
Knowing all of this, I finally said, "As a friend, yes. But like-like her? No. Xandra and I are just really good friends."
"Herbertia's your girlfriend, right?" asked Ilana.
I knew that, once again, she was trying to see if I would say the wrong thing. If I told her no, then she would have probably told Herbertia what I said! But wait... if I were to say yes, then she could have told Xandra I was taken! Uh-oh.... What was I going to do now?!
Ilana shook her head while saying, "We won't tell anyone."
"Do you like Herbertia?" Xiomara asked me.
They were closing in on me... but I didn't want to be seen as the introvert who'd never reply to people again. So I had no choice but to start saying something. I puzzled, "Um... only Herbertia and I are supposed to know that."
But Ilana insisted, "You can tell us. We won't tell anyone."
Darn! Obviously, she didn't believe me.... Did Herbertia somehow tell these girls about our relationship, even though I told her to keep it a secret? Why would Ilana and her girls even suspect Herbertia and I were in a relationship to begin with?! But you know what...? I was gonna tell these girls, It's none of your business—wait! No! If I were to do THAT, they would've told everyone how I was a rude person or whatever... and everyone would've hated me again! It seemed like I had no choice but to do one thing....
"Ilana...?" I said.
"Yes, Ikjot...?" puzzled Ilana as her girls became curious as well.
I said, "Well... let me just tell you about what I'm doing, because you and your girls obviously want to know."
Zine said, "Ikjot, just tell us. Do you like Xandra or Herbertia?"
Ilana laughed, knowing it wasn't wise of them to grow impatient with me if they wanted information divulged. Ilana told her, "Zine!"
The other girls laughed also.
With disbelief, Zine laughed, "I'm just saying!"
But then, it hit me: Herbertia and I weren't supposed to be in a relationship, according to anyone in the school. So, if I told Ilana and her girls that I wasn't in a relationship with Herbertia, and they told Herbertia what I said, I could just wait until after school to tell Herbertia why I said that: Because no one was supposed to know about her relationship with me in the first place! Herbertia, understanding this, would easily forgive me for denying our relationship and bygones would be bygones.
I said, "Okay, girls, here's the truth: Herbertia and I are not in a relationship."
"What?!" exclaimed Ilana with a laugh of disbelief while her girls became shocked.
"No way!" exclaimed Noma Sione, one of Ilana's groupies. Noma was a tall badger with her white hair pulled back in a very long and thick pigtail.
Ilana continued, "But Herbertia told us you were!"
Okay... what was I going to say to that? Would it be smart for me to tell them that Herbertia was a liar? No... Herbertia would never forgive me for that, even if it were for the sake of keeping our relationship confidential. I decided to stick to my script and said, "Well, we're not." Wait... that's exactly what I was trying NOT to say!
"Are you positive?" asked Ilana.
"Yup," I said, realizing I couldn't take it back now... otherwise they'd know that I was the liar, and I couldn't afford to ruin my reputation back in this time period yet again.
"Absolutely positive?" asked Xiomara.
"I've never spoken a bigger truth than this," I said. But... ugh, I just hoped Herbertia wouldn't get in trouble. I was only doing what was... necessary to not fail with these peers again.
"Okay!" said Ilana before running away with her girls.
Just then, Xandra came to me and whispered, "Hey, Ikjot!" She pointed behind me. "Look!"
I turned my head, seeing that someone picked up the diary: Glen Mai! A very short otter with a white bowl-cut hairstyle. He was one of my old enemies due to how I went too far in standing up to my bullies, in the original 2005 year. But I was sure that with the new me around this time again, we'd have no problems.
"OH MY GOSH!" Glen Mai exclaimed before running to Azure. Azure, standing next to his friend Wade Brundage (a very short rabbit boy with hair that was more white than blonde), cracked a smile as Glen whispered, "Take a look at this!"
"WHOOOOOOA!" whispered Azure in a very excited tone of voice. He looked to Wade and whispered, "Wade! Look at this!"
"Look at what, Azure?" puzzled Wade, looking at the diary and seeing whose name was on it. "Woooow! Is that really...?"
Xandra told me and her girls, "Quick! Let's hide behind a tree!"
I nodded, running with Xandra and the others to behind the nearest tree we could find. We giggled and quietly laughed amongst ourselves, hearing as Azure continued, "We should go show this to Rye."
"Yeah!" said Wade.
"Let's go," said Azure before leading them over to Rye and his boys who were still playing basketball.
"Okay, go long!" said Graysen to Rye, preparing to throw the basketball.
"Okay!" said Rye before running backwards.
Graysen threw the ball as Rye ran even further back, seeing how long it was taking to hit the ground.
Rye quickly caught the ball in his hands before cheering with Graysen and Kip over his win.
"Good job, man!" said Graysen, walking to Rye and giving him a high-five.
"YEAH!" cheered Rye with a mighty tone of voice.
"HEY, RYE!" shouted Azure while alongside Wade and Glen, approaching Rye from the distance.
Rye, hearing Azure's call, replied, "Hey! What's up?!"
Azure's only response was to hold the diary in front of himself before fully making it to Rye.
"Wow!" said Rye. "What's that—" then he read the front cover. "OH MY GOSH!"
"I know!" whispered Azure, handing the diary over to Rye. "See it for yourself!"
Rye opened the diary, flipping through the pages. "Wooooow!" he exclaimed before stopping at one of the pages. He read aloud, " 'Dear Diary, it's me again—Xan! Anyway, I wanted to say how much I care for Rye and his friends. I think they deserve to have great lives, even if they're always mean to me in return. I know the only reason for their actions is to try to prove their self-worth to people.' " Rye paused and said, "What...?" feeling offended from that last part. But then, he continued to read, " 'But I think they're cool just for being themselves! I mean, they don't have to be bad just to make people appreciate them. If they feel they have to be someone other than themselves, I'd like to tell them they're wrong! Rye, you and your boys are such winners—even more than me. I don't care if you and your boys always try to prove yourselves. I don't care if you guys want to be something you're not. All I care about is your well-being, because I just appreciate you all for who you are! Graysen, you're—' Hey, Graysen! Come read this!"
Graysen looked in the diary, seeing what line of words Rye had his finger pointed to, and read Xandra's words for himself—well, my words, of course.
Wow! It looks like Rye and his boys are getting interested... but will they buy this? And what about Ikjot telling Ilana and her girls that he wasn't in a relationship with Herbertia, even though he was? Will they see Herbertia as a liar...?
Meanwhile, Tiane cracks her knuckles, ready to get even meaner in her brutalization towards Marta, her own mother and father, and Ram. Will they survive...?
As for Derick and Mike, they were not so pleased from Mr. Bourdon's news... and they proved it to Vicky and Vanessa:
Vanessa and Vicky were both laying on the floor, severely brutalized from Derick and Mike. They cried from their bloody noses, mouths, eyes, scars and bruises all over their bodies, and their overall pain. It was, indeed, a horrific and sad sight....
"Aaaaaah!" cried Vicky—she couldn't do anything else.
"SHUT UP!" said Derick, with Mike at his side, standing before the two girls. He threw his rifle right at Vicky's face.
"AAAAAAAH!" screamed Vicky, crying even louder with more pain.
Will the madness ever end for these two girls...? What's going to happen if this keeps up? Stay tuned for scenes from the next Something!
***
"Man.... And to think we've been nothing but nuisances to them this whole time," said Glen. "I feel so bad now...."
In the next chapter of Something... Ikjot's diary scheme has helped Rye and his boys see the light! Meanwhile, Herbertia finds herself in a situation where she has to throw herself under the bus for Ikjot's sake!
With disgust for ignoring her, Xandra said, "I hate when stupid kids don't listen to their elders...."
But let's not talk about buses right now.... Where are the COP cars for what Xandra's doing to that baby?! You don't wanna miss the next Something!
***
Something11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0tXeb8cgq
911Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilgzNN1Qct
Ikjot Knows Not of Xandra's Real Diary
***
♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxwxdNLF03
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwk4DhWEMft
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2Jd2YkDAV
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5agXv3xf2
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWW8Q6rbim
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVSEOAGLmu
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15srSF7ncg
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoobL8JlWNb
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTLg8Br537S
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjKDdjmWn0
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins! ♪
***
© 2013 Trerchry.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6N84YawJ9
All Rights Reserved.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjz6sRxWVQ
