Sunday, January 31, 2010

Cool With A "K" PART 16 - CHAPTER 7

Mouse arrived at practice to see Lydia talking with Michelle. She was talking about something that happened at her old school, in Alabama, which didn't make any sense to Mouse. Michelle was nodding slowly, listening intensely to what Lydia was saying. Mouse, however, found it quite hard to listen to Lydia talk. 
"A-and me and my friends w-would always g-go to this one store in the m-mall. Oh, we had s-so much fun th-there." Lydia struggled to pronounce the words, stuttering heavily.
Stephanie went up to them and said, "Come on, girls. Practice time."
"Y-yes, Stephanie." Lydia said, standing up. Mouse almost felt sorry for her, she was like Stephanie's little slave.
Stephanie studied Lydia and said, "What's wrong with you?"
Lydia looked confused and said, "W-what do you mean?"
Stephanie raised her eyebrows at Lydia and Lydia said, "Oh, the s-stutter?"
Stephanie nodded, sighing. Mouse wanted to punch her.
"Oh," Lydia said quietly, "S-speech impediment."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not stupid." Stephanie said, turning to Mouse, "Oh, speak of the devil."
Mouse scowled at her, "Nice to see you too. Are we gonna go through the routine, or what? You don't seem too eager to get things done here."
Stephanie walked up to Mouse, putting her face close to Mouse's. That was really starting to bother Mouse, they seemed to do that a lot. 
Stephanie said, chuckling a little, "Oh, Mouse. You think you're so great, don't you?"
Mouse smirked, "Better than you, fo shiz." 
Stephanie glared at Mouse, who grinned back at her like she knew everything. 
Half doing it just to annoy Stephanie, Mouse snapped her fingers and said mockingly, "Lydie, Melon, come on, Routine Four."
Melonie scowled at Mouse, who stifled a laugh. Lydia wanted to laugh too, but she knew better. 
The cheerleaders all got into formation, except for Stephanie, right behind Mouse. She started doing the routine, the others following her perfectly. Stephanie stood by the bleachers, watching Mouse with a look of pure hatred as she took her job. Mouse noticed her and grinned, not slowing the routine down. 
Lydia stumbled and fell, Mouse stopped to help her, "Are you okay?"
Lydia blinked, a little confused, "Um, yeah. I'm f-fine. Th-thanks."
Mouse nodded, realizing that the other cheerleaders were staring at her. 
"Okay," She cleared her throat, "On with the show."
Stephanie joined the group, taking lead and eyeing Mouse throughout practice.
Once practice was finished, Mouse saw Lydia sit on the bleachers, examining her ankle. Mouse swallowed and slowly went up to her, "Hey, are you alright?"
Lydia looked up, her blue eyes shining, "Oh, yeah. D-don't worry about me. I'll be ok-kay." Mouse nodded, looking concerned, "Um...." She said, at loss for words, "Are you sure? That ankle doesn't look too good." It was true, Lydia's ankle was bent at a slightly unnatural angle. Lydia sighed, "Okay, maybe I c-could you use some h-help." 
Mouse helped her stand up and uncertainly put her arm around Lydia's waist, helping her walk. 
Stephanie, Melonie, and the other cheerleaders watched them walk off to the school. The cheerleaders cocked their heads to the side. 
"Why does Mouse keep helping her?" Gwen the cheerleader said, "I mean, Mouse isn't nice and Lydia isn't...... likable."
Melonie shook her head, "Who knows? I think she's just a freak."
Stephanie said, a small smile breaking across her lips, "Everyone just assumes that girl doesn't like boys or girls, but maybe they're wrong...." She chuckled evilly, the other cheerleaders studying her curiously.
Stephanie paused dramatically before saying, "I'm thinking maybe little Mousey is a lesbo."
The other cheerleaders gasped and started murmering. 
"Or maybe she's bi!" One cheerleader cried, the others buzzing with excitement.
Stephanie smiled evilly, thinking about all the embarrassment she could cause for Mouse as she watched the showoff walk helpless little Lydia to the nurse.


This was going to be fun.

Cool With A "K" PART 16 - CHAPTER 6

"So, Leo, are you busy this Friday?" I asked Leo. 
His face lit up, "Why do you ask? Are you aski-"
"I'm not asking you out, I was thinking about taking Chris to see this movie and Alice would come too, blah blah blah...."
Leo cringed, "Probably some stupid baby movie....." 
He ran his fingers through his hair, "Ah, sorry, Ange, I told Michelle I would go to the school football game this Friday, she's cheerleading."
I shrugged and he said, "Wanna come? You can bring your baby, too." 
I laughed, he was talking about Chris. "Sure. Can I bring Alice?"
"Yeah." Leo nodded.
I pursed my lips, 'What about Mouse? Is she coming?"
Leo shook his head, "Nah, I doubt it."

Oh, she came, alright. 
Chris, Alice, and I sat down by Leo in the crowded bleachers. We waited for the game to start and talked. We watched as the cheerleaders came out and our eyes widened in shock.
My face turned pale and I cocked my head to the side, pointing at the cheerleaders, "Hey, is that...?"
Eyes wide, Leo swallowed and nodded, "Mouse....."
We all watched in shock as Mouse tripped over her feet, running onto the field with the other cheerleaders, dressed in an orange cheerleader uniform.
Chris and Leo suddenly burst out laughing. 
Alice said, trying hard to fight back laughter, "Chris, that isn't funny! Don't laugh at her!" 
She giggled and started laughing, I was right behind her. 
We all sat in the bleachers, laughing our heads off at Mouse the cheerleader.
Then, they started their pre-game routine. 
Our jaws dropped as every cheerleader including Mouse did a perfect, amazing routine. 
Kathy was the flyer, which wasn't surprising. She was so skinny that the heaviest part of her was probably her hair. Her ponytail was probably about three feet long, maybe longer.
Leo watched in awe as Kathy's red hair flew around her (almost majestically) as she was tossed through the air, paying no attention to Mouse. 
I was too surprised to roll my eyes at him. 
Chris was still laughing his ass off, tears running down his cheeks. 
"Oh my God, this is sooo going on youtube!" He hooted.
Chris took out his video camera and turned it on, filming the cheerleaders and closing up on Mouse several times. 
Damn, the boy was really starting to think like Mouse, but I didn't object because I was comforted by the thought of Chris and I watching the video every night before bed and laughing about it until Dad made us shut up.
The routine ended and we all stood up, hollering at Mouse, "Yay, Mouseeeyyy!!!" 
Mouse whirled around, the grin fading from her face when she saw us. Her face went pale and we called out, "Hey, Mousey! Go Mouse!" 
We started laughing hard. 
Mouse's eyes widened and her face flushed with anger and embarrassment, she had noticed Chris's video camera. 
Chris waved at Mouse and pointed to the camera, mouthing, "Youtube."
Mouse seemed to be yelling something at him, but we couldn't hear her over the roar of the crowd. 
The other cheerleaders laughed and motioned for Mouse to follow them off the field. 
The football game started, but we just watched the video Chris had filmed in a loop throughout the whole game.
After the game, we found Mouse and 'congratulated' her. 
"Hey, Mousey!" I patted her on the back hard. She almost jumped out of her skin, "Angie!" 
We all started laughing, except for Mouse. 
"Really. A cheerleader, Mouse?" Leo said, smirking, "That's a new one."
Chris gestured to her uniform, "Okay, I'll just tell you upfront, Mouse. Orange is sooo not your color. The ponytail, however, is kind of a nice extra."
Mouse clenched her teeth, "Chris, can't you go be a diva somewhere else?"
Chris chuckled, "And guess what? I got the whole thing on tape to show your little family." 
He added innocently, "They said they were so sorry they couldn't come." 
Well, that was kind of an automatic death sentence for poor Chris. 
Mouse immediately ran after Chris; what a shock. 
I must say, Mouse can run a lot faster than you would think.... a heck of a lot faster than Chris.
"Chris!" I yelled stupidly, "She's gonna break the camera!"
Leo snickered, getting Alice's and my attention. 
"What?" I said. 
He held up the video camera and watched Mouse pointlessly chase Chris all around the football field. 
I tried to look mad. 
"Leo, that was a very mean thing to do." I said stupidly, "She could hurt him, you know Chris can't outrun her."
We all started laughing soon enough, watching cruelly as Mouse attacked Chris and discovered that he didn't have the camera. She looked up at Leo, a wild look in her eyes. 
Leo smirked, waving the camera up above his head. 
Mouse ran up to him and started uselessly jumping for the camera. 
Leo easily held it out of her reach, grinning.
Mouse stepped back, clenching her teeth, "Leo, give me the camera!"
"Oh, did those cheerleaders finally tell you that it's not ladylike to attack people into giving you things?" Leo said. Well, that couldn't be smart.
Mouse charged at him, snatching the camera. 
Leo then performed a stunt that was pretty clever for him. When he saw Mouse, he pressed the button on the side of the camera and flipped the tape out of it, catching the tape in between his fingers.
He apparently noticed this, because he smirked triumphantly. 
"Woah," He said dumbly, "I am a beast!"
I rolled my eyes and said, "Please never say that word again. I better go make sure Mouse didn't kill Chris."
Leo nodded, glancing at the tape in his hands. 
I picked Chris up off the ground and started dusting off his shirt, "Dude, that wasn't smart."
Chris laughed stupidly, "It sure as heck was funny, though." 
Were people just unusually stupid tonight?


When Chris and I got home, we went straight to my room to watch the video Chris filmed. Chris's creepy cat, Ger10, came and sat on my head. 
"Chris!" I said, "Get this stupid cat off my head!"
"Sorry," Chris said, picking Ger10 up, "You want to see the video of Mousey being weird too, don't you? Yes, yes you do."
I rolled my eyes. Something really bothers me about that cat, but I don't know what it is. It's just always... staring at me.
We watched the video about seven more times before I kicked Chris and his cat out and went to sleep.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Cool With A "K" PART 16 - CHAPTER 5

Mouse actually went to cheerleading practice, arriving almost on time. 
Stephanie looked a bit surprised to see her there. 
A few of the other cheerleaders giggled at the sight of Mouse in her uniform. 
Mouse ignored them and turned to Stephanie, "So, what do you want me to do, Barbie?"
Stephanie crossed her arms and said, "So, you think you're cool now? You think you can do this?"
Mouse smirked, "Anything you can do, I can do better."
Stephanie glanced at her other cheerleaders as if to say, Yeah, sure. 
She grinned, "Okay, Butch. Let's see what you got."
Stephanie walked over to the cheerleaders' radio and turned on Tik Tok by Ke$ha. She walked into the middle of the field and started a mind-blowingly elaborate cheerleading routine with flips and kicks and the like. 
Mouse watched in horror, the blood draining from her face as Stephanie landed in a perfect split. 
Stephanie stood up and walked over to Mouse, smirking evilly. She bent down to Mouse's level, taking advantage of Mouse's height. "Try to top that, Smartass."
Mouse swallowed and slowly walked onto the field, signaling for Lydia to turn the music on. Tik Tok started playing again and the cheerleaders watched Mouse. 
Mouse stood in the middle of the field, looking nervous as the music started. 
To the team's complete shock, Mouse repeated the routine perfectly, getting every move right. Kathy, Stephanie, Lydia, Melonie, Michelle, and the other cheerleaders watched as Mouse landed in a perfect splits. She turned her head to face them and grinned at their shocked expressions.
Mouse stood up and walked over to Stephanie, "How was that?"
Now it was Stephanie's turn to go pale, "Uhh....." She managed, clearing her throat, "That.... wasn't bad."
She took in the shocked faces of the cheerleaders, smiling proudly. "I'll see you chicks to-ma-row." 
Mouse spun on her heels and mockingly flipped her dark brown ponytail over her shoulders the way the cheerleaders did.
Kathy leaned over and whispered to Stephanie, "That was good. I know Mouse, this really isn't her thing. Where the hell did she learn to do that?"
Stephanie blinked, still in shock, "I.... I don't know. It couldn't have just been dumb luck...."
"Are you s-sure?" Lydia said, "Who knows? Maybe s-she's just a p-prodigy for cheerleading. Or maybe she just h-has a good memor-ry."
Melonie shook her head, "Unbelievable." 
She involuntarily grinned and Stephanie shot a look at her.
"Wooowwww!" Jenny laughed loudly, "That was crazy, Steph! She was, like, as good as you! Maybe even better!"
Stephanie shot a glare at her, "Shut up!"
"Wait, that was who?" Michelle said innocently. 
Stephanie rolled her eyes and Lydia said quietly, "M-Mouse, th-that was Mouse." 
Michelle's jaw dropped, "Really? Wow!.... She's good."
Stephanie gritted her teeth, "Okay, let's run through the other routine."
Lydia said quietly, "B-but Mouse isn't here."
"We don't need her!" Stephanie snapped, causing Lydia to recoil. She clenched her teeth, "Come on! You heard me, routine two!"


Mumbling, the cheerleaders got into formation for their second routine.

Cool With A "K" PART 16 - CHAPTER 4

Mouse and Leo came to sit by us in French. 
I studied Mouse, "Hmm...."
"What?" Mouse said firmly.
I gestured to her hair, "Did you do something different to your hair?"
"It looks nice." Chris said, smiling politely.
Leo grinned, "Oh, well I suppose you've never seen her hair like this, have you?"
Chris, Alice, and I shook our heads, "No, never. What did you do with it?"
"I washed it." Mouse said flatly. 
We all blinked, exchanging glances. 
Chris sniffed and leaned closer to Mouse, causing her to tense up. 
He sighed, "I'm not gonna hurt you, Mouse." 
Mouse scowled at Chris and he sniffed her hair and stared at her in surprise, "You used shampoo? Your hair smells like lavender!"
Mouse's shoulders tensed more and she looked embarrassed, "Uh, yeah.... I-I used this stuff Stephanie gave me yesterday..."
We all gaped at her and, eyes wide, Chris said, "Stephanie? Stephanie as in cheerleader Stephanie? Stephanie as in Stephanie Bradley?"
Mouse nodded reluctantly, "Yep, cheerleader.... Stephanie Bradley."
We all looked around at each other, curious and confused. 
Mouse said, sounding strained, "Why do you guys have to freak out about that? I mean, a girl's gotta wash her hair sometime..." 
We all gaped at Mouse stupidly, not sure how to answer. 
All we knew was that Mouse would never usually say something like that and she would never usually have anything to do with the cheerleaders.
We let it go for now and got to work on French stuff.


Mouse walked as slowly as she could to the gym after school was over. She wasn't afraid of the dark or anything, she was more afraid of the cheerleaders coming out of nowhere and ripping her face off with their bare hands.... or something like that.
Her sneakers squeaking on the wooden floor, Mouse opened the gym door and turned the lights on. The whole gym lit up with bright lights, causing her to flinch. Mouse turned around and almost had a heart attack, Lydia and Melonie stood right in front of her. 
"What the hell?" She hissed. 
The cheerleaders cocked their heads to the side creepily and Mouse said, "You, like, appeared out of nowhere!"
The cheerleaders stared at her with that creepy blank look they had, spinning on their heels and Melonie pushed open the supply room door. She turned on the light and walked into the largish room. Well, large for a supply closet, anyway. 
Melonie opened a box, revealing a stack of orange and white cheerleading uniforms. 
Lydia reached for a uniform and Melonie slapped her hand away, picking one up herself and holding it up to Mouse. 
Melonie shook her head and picked up another. She sighed and started going through the box, trying to find one that would fit Mouse. 
The cheerleading uniforms were kind of thoughtlessly sized and annoyingly small. They were basically meant for tall, ultra skinny girls, and Mouse was neither of these things. She was a bit heavy-set and very short for her age; Shorter than Chris, which drove her crazy.
Melonie finally pulled out a uniform and thrust it carelessly at Mouse, remarking rudely, "Here. It might be a little tight." She turned around, mumbling, "God, she's so short."
Annoyed by Melonie's perfectionism, Mouse went to the bathroom to try on the uniform. She predictably hated it in every way. It was orange, it had a short skirt (Mouse wasn't particularly fond of skirts in general, but this one bothered her more than most), and for many other reasons.
Having changed back into her normal clothes, she returned to the gym. "Thanks, girlies."
Melonie smiled tightly and said, "Arrive at practice from 3:30 to 5:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays."
Melonie hadn't let Lydia say a single word the whole time, but Lydia managed to say quickly, "Bye, Mouse!"
"Yeah, whatever, Cheerleader." Mouse said without turning around.




Mouse sighed and left the gym, regretting ever saying yes to being a cheerleader.

Cool With A "K" PART 16 - CHAPTER 3

Well, I must say, I had kind of a weird Valentine's Day. 
All day Leo followed Mouse around, singing 'Happy Birthday'. Freak. 
Kathy stalked Chris even more than usual (creepy to think about, I know. You're probably thinking about it right now, "More than usual?"..... *shiver*

Chris walked down the hall to 4th period, glancing behind him; Kathy was going around, holding something in front of people and talking. 
Chris quickened his pace, glancing over his shoulder. 
"Crap, Kathy. Don't notice me!" He whispered to himself, almost in prayer.
"Hi, Chris!" Kathy called out, giggling. 
Chris noticed what she was carrying; A video camera!
Kathy put her arm around Chris' shoulder and held the camera out, pointing toward them. She giggled, "Hi, Chris! Hi, everybody!" 
She waved at the camera. Chris was so confused. 
Kathy went on, "This is Chris! We're gonna get married someday!"
Chris shot her a surprised look, "What?!"
Kathy shushed him and whispered, "I'm making a tour video of the school. Stephanie offered to use it for the end of the year party if I filmed it!"
Then she added, "Wave to the camera, Chris!" 
Chris blinked and slowly waved at the video camera.
Kathy giggled and whispered loudly to the camera, "Isn't he the cutest? Yeah, like I said, we're gonna get married and he's gonna be my husband."
"Kathy!" Chris hissed. 
Kathy grabbed his collar, "Shhhhh...." 
She smiled sweetly at the camera, putting it in Chris's face, "So, what do you have to say, Chris? Wouldn't we be so great together."
Chris shook his head slowly, looking tired of being pestered by this lunatic, "No, we wouldn't, actually. While I would go to collage and try to get a good job, you would crash my dorm and say 'Come on, Honeyface! Let's ditch this place and live far away in the mountains where I can harass you without your sister there to save you!'"
Looking a little offended, Kathy wiped her frown off her face and giggled, shaking her finger at him, "Now, now, Chris. Don't tell lies, it's not good for your brain." 
She ruffled Chris's hair and he combed it back into place.
Kathy held out the camera and giggled at it, "Well, well, it looks like I'm going to have to edit that part out! Ha ha ha! See what you did, Chris? Naughty, naughty!" 
She playfully slapped Chris's shoulder and he took a step away, eyeing her hatefully.
"Bye, Chrissypoo!" Kathy frolicked away and ran up to a girl named Julie. "Guess what? Julie said that I'm her best friend in the whole wide world!" 
She giggled stupidly and Julie said, "What? No I didn't-"
"Oh, looks like we're going to have to edit that part out too!" Kathy shook her finger at Julie, "Bad girl, Julie."
Chris clenched his teeth, stomping all the way to 4th hour, which he would no doubt be late for. 
Chris hated being late for things. It was rude, it deducted points in the class, it made the teacher angry. And all because of Kathy.... What could be worse?

Chris came into French late, which was weird for him. He looked angry as he quietly slipped into the room. He sat down next to me, "Hey, Angie."
"Hi. Is something wrong?" I asked. 
Chris shook his head, "Nah, Kathy just won't stop following me."
"Oh." 
Hmm.... Nope, nothing out of the ordinary.

I sat by my friends at lunch, waiting for Chris, who hadn't arrived in the lunchroom yet. 
"There he is." Alice said, pointing across the room. 
Kathy trailed behind Chris, holding a video camera and chattering, "Why don't you want to be in my video, Chris?"
"Because, Kathy, you scare me!" Chris snapped at her without slowing down. 
Kathy sighed, "Oh, I get it." 
Chris turned around, looking at her. 
Kathy went on, "You're still mad about the whole thing where Leo and Johnny and I came to your house and I came in through your window...."
Chris snorted, "And a heck of a lot more than just that."
Kathy grasped Chris's hand in hers and said innocently, "Chris, am I too clingy? That's why you're upset, isn't it?"
Chris said, "Uh, yeah. That's exactly why, actually." 
Kathy let go of his hand and he stomped over to our table. 
Kathy squealed, "Ooh, this will be perfect for the drama scene in my movie!" 
I couldn't help rolling my eyes.
Chris sat down next to Alice and complained to us, "Uhg! Kathy is so annoying!"
"Uh-huh." I said in a 'duh' tone and Chris rolled his eyes.
"Don't be a smart-aleck, Angela." He said. 
Ooh, I made him mad. Oops.


So, that was my Valentine's Day. I found out that Leo was following Mouse around and singing 'Happy Birthday' was because Mouse hates her birthday, it being on Valentine's and all....

Friday, January 29, 2010

Cool With A "K" PART 16 - CHAPTER 2

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOUSEYYYY!!!!" Leo screamed on the top of his lungs. 
Mouse's eyes shot open, "What the hell man? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep? Damn it, Leo!"
Leo grinned stupidly, "But it's your birthday, Mousey!"
Mouse looked around the room, "Oh, is it now?" 
Leo nodded, "Yep, February 14th. You're sixteen as of today." 
Mouse eyes widened, "T-that's not my birthday! Ha ha! Silly boy...." 
She put her covers over her head.
Leo grinned, "Oh, I'm pretty sure it is." 
He called down the hall, "Hey, Jessica!" 
Mouse grabbed Leo's hair, "Shut it, Leo! Don't!"
"Is today Mouse's birthday?" Leo hollered.
Leo's mom called back, "Is it the 14th? Yep, happy birthday, Hun!" 
Mouse gritted her teeth, giving Leo a shove. "You moron! Do you have to spread the word?" 
Leo sang out loudly, "And do you know what else happens on February 14th?"
Mouse said through clenched teeth, "Leo, don't..."
Leo continued, "Valentine's Day!" 
Mouse grabbed his shirt and ran him against the wall, "Shut up, Leo!"
Leo grinned, "What's wrong, Mousey? You seem a little tense. How can I help?" 
Mouse shoved him toward the door, "I'll tell you how. Get the hell out of my room!"
Leo pouted, "I'm sorry, I should let the birthday girl sleep." He gasped, "But, it's a school day...."
Mouse gritted her teeth, hesitating, "Fine, I'll get up." Leo smirked and Mouse shoved him into the wall as she passed.
Mouse sat at the kitchen table, wishing she could just crawl into a hole and leave all the freaks singing Happy Birthday to her to sing by themselves. Leo, Mouse's mother, and Leo's little sister, Mary, were singing on the top of their lungs, "Happy biiirrrthdaaaaay dear Moooooouseeeee! Haaappppy biiiirthdaaay toooooooo yooooooooouu!"
"In French now!" Leo hollered and they started singing in French.
Mouse slumped down in her chair, hating her life, hating her family, hating her birthday.


Mom put plates of eggs in front of Chris and I and said, "So, is there anything special happening today?"
"Well, I believe it's Mouse's birthday, but I'm not sure." I said, my mouth full of toast.
Chris raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? No one told me."
I shrugged, "I guess they didn't think you'd care."
Chris sighed wistfully, "I still can't believe that thing is older than me...." Chris is fifteen; He's supposed to be a freshman, but he skipped fourth grade and has been in the same grade as me ever since. He's pretty smart, I guess, but my theory is that they got sick of hearing Chris scream 'ANGIE!!!!!!' every time he was upset, which is a lot. So they decided to move him so he could cry onto my shoulder instead of bothering the teachers.
I filled my mouth with more food and said, "Age doesn't matter, Chris." Mom smiled at me proudly and I continued, "You will forever act like a five year old until further notice."
"Angela!" Mom scolded. I started laughing hard and got eggs up my nose. Gross.
Chris sighed at my 'immaturity', "Oh, Angela. When will you learn not to talk with food in your mouth?"
"When will you learn that most fifteen-year-old boys don't still believe in leprechauns?" I said, smirking. 
Chris's eyes widened a little and he looked at Mom in surprise. "You knew?" He said, his voice cracking. Geez....
She shrugged and said gently, "Sorry, Honey. Leprechauns aren't real."
Chris turned to me in disbelief, looking hurt. I glanced nervously at Mom and said to Chris, "Should I have let it go on a few more years?" I shrugged, laughing nervously.
Chris shook his head and stood up, "I'm going to bed." He said, walking to his room with his head down.
Mom and I exchanged looks and she called to him, "Um, Sweetie? You have school today.... Honey...."
After a moment's hesitation, Chris returned to the kitchen and we left for school. I turned to Mom and whispered, "I'll handle this."




At school, Alice glanced at Chris and said, "Hey, Ange? Is something wrong with Chris?"
I shook my head, "Nah, he's just depressed 'cuz this morning Mom and I told him that leprechauns aren't real."
Alice gasped, drawing her hand up to her heart, "Oh, poor kid...."
I shrugged, "Don't worry about him, he didn't cry as hard as he did when he found out about Santa Claus."
Alice nodded, glancing nervously at Chris. "Oh, I hope he'll be okay...." Chris is the kind of person that stays upset about things for a long time and Alice knew how hard life without leprechauns would be for him.
"He'll get over it." I said cooly. 
It was pretty weird to see Chris not being ecstatic on Valentine's Day, so I started to kind of get worried. Soon enough he came around, though.


A few cheerleaders sat in the bleachers and the team captain, Stephanie, was blabbering to the newest girl. "So, any guys you think are cute?"
The new cheerleader, Lydia, shrugged. "Oh, n-not really."
Stephanie and the other cheerleaders exchanged glances and laughed nervously.
"Wait, are you serious?" Stephanie asked Lydia, "None?"
Feeling that she had done something wrong, Lydia quickly said, "Um, n-not yet! B-but I'll p-probably notice someone soon..."
"Girl, it's Valentine's Day." One of the cheerleaders, Gwen, said stupidly, "I can't believe you don't have a date."
Stephanie pursed her lips, studying the school grounds. 
Lydia half expected her to stand up, grab a random boy, and bring him over, saying, "Here's your date, Lydie!" 
But no, Stephanie said instead, "What about that kid? Chris Harper, A lot of girls like him. He's good if you like the helpless type."
Helpless type?
Jenny, another cheerleader, cackled maniacally and said loudly, "Oh, my gosh! You two would be perfect together!"
Jenny laughed more and Lydia shook her head distastefully. 
"No, n-not my type, I-I need someone who can take care of me s-so I won't need to d-do anything." She lied, smiling uneasily, "P-plus, I think he's gay."
Stephanie chuckled, "That doesn't stop Kathy."
All the cheerleaders turned to watch as their fellow cheerleader broke into a run and attacked Chris from behind, jumping onto his back and screaming, "HI CHRISSY!!! HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!"
Chris then screamed, "Angie!!! Kathy's on meeeee!!!" 
A blonde girl ran up to him and pulled Kathy off his back. 
Chris was in tears now, the girl patted him on the back said, "Oh, it's okay, Sweetie. Shh..."
The cheerleaders laughed at the pathetic sight. 
"So pathetic. Did you see how Kathy just attacked him? That kid can't even handle a girl like her!" Stephanie laughed.
One of the other cheerleaders hooted, "'Ahhh! There's a cheerleader on my back! The short skirt, the flowing hair, oh, the horror!"
"You got that right. Those things are awful creatures." A voice came out of nowhere. 
The cheerleaders all jumped, whirling around to find the source of the voice. 
Mouse stood on top of the bleachers, taking a bite of the red apple in her hand. "Hey, what's up, Fembots?"
Stephanie put her hands on her hips, "What are you doing here, Butch?"
Mouse shrugged, "Avoiding my step-brother."
Lydia grinned, "Oh, Chris? Yeah, h-he looks annoying."
Mouse snorted, "No, he's not my step-brother, but I agree with the 'annoying' part. That kid drives me nuts."
She sat down near the cheerleaders, "You know, he was all depressed this morning 'cause his sister and his mom told him leprechauns aren't real." 
The cheerleaders laughed. 
"Oh my god, are you serious?" Jenny cried, laughing loudly.
Grinning, Mouse nodded and stood up, "Yeah, there's a lot more where that came from!"
The cheerleaders giggled excitedly and Mouse said, "Last summer, when we went to camp, Chris got bullied so much by the boys that he had to sleep in the girls' cabin! Which, of course, didn't bother him at all!"
The cheerleaders roared with laughter. 
Seeing the commotion, some football players and other kids came by the listen. 
A huge grin broke across Mouse's face and she went on, "A-and one time Kathy snuck into his bedroom through the window and sat on his lap and he woke up and screamed 'AAAAANGIEEE!!!!'"
The crowd laughed hard and a cheerleader called out, "Is that his sister?"
Mouse nodded, her eyes gleaming, "Yep! One time at the burger joint downtown, when me and Angie and Chris were there, Jesse- Jamie Wright's friend- he came in and Chris stared at him like 'oh, he is sooooo hot!' And then he spilled pop all over himself and went 'oh no! Hide me, Angie!'"
The crowd irrupted with laughter again. "That freak! What is with that kid and his sister?"
Mouse shrugged innocently and said with sweet voice and a fake lisp, "Oh, I don't know, I guess little Chrissy just has some separation anxiety." 
More laughter.
Mouse nodded again, grinning, "Yeah! And at Angie's birthday last year, they were playing Spin The Bottle and Chris kissed my step-brother!"
The whole crowd broke out in furious laughter and Johnny Thomas called out, "Hey, who is your step-brother?"
"Leo! Leo White!" Mouse answered, laughing. 
The crowd laughed harder.
"I bet he liked it, too!" One of the cheerleaders chirped. 
"I bet they both did!" Another called out.
Mouse beamed proudly, she had gotten an entire group of high schoolers laughing their asses off. 


I got Kathy off of Chris's back and had mostly calmed him down by the time we heard an enormous rupture of laughter come from the bleachers. Chris and I turned to see what was going on. To our surprise, Mouse was standing on top of the bleachers, her hands in the air and a crazy grin on her face. 
I strained to hear what she was saying that made the crowd so excited. I heard my name, I heard Chris's name, I heard mocking comments.... 
Gesturing for Chris to come with me, I started walking towards the bleachers. 
"Hey, Mouse!" I called out.
The smile faded from Mouse's face and she got a little pale. 
Seeing the eyebrow raises from the crowd, she started grinning again. 
"Hey, what's up, Ange?" She bent down to Chris and said, "And how is my little Christina today?"
The crowd laughed and Chris scowled at Mouse, who laughed loudly, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your widdle feelings?" 
She pursed her lips, shaking her head, "I guess I shouldn't be telling these stories about you, but hey, it's my birthday and you're just so easy to make fun of!"
The crowd laughed and Mouse pinched Chris's cheeks, saying, "Yes, sooo entertaining! Look, buddy, you're making all these people so happy!"
I clenched my teeth, taking a step toward Mouse, "Stories? You were telling stories about 
us?" 
Mouse's face paled and I got the feeling that she thought we had heard her and already knew. She glanced around nervously at the waiting, mumbling crowd. She swallowed and said, "Oops." 
Her face paled more and the crowd snickered.
Mouse sighed and put a grin back on her face, "Don't be so sensitive, Angela."
"Don't be such an ass, Mouse!" I shot back. 
The crowd oohed sarcastically as I grabbed Chris's hand and stormed away.
Once we were far away, Chris cleared his throat and said, "Don't listen to her, Angie. She's just trying to be 'cool'."
I huffed, blowing my bangs out of my eyes, "Yeah, by backstabbing us!"
Chris looked a little surprised. 
"Backstabbing. Hmm..." He rolled the word around a few times and said calmly, "That's a new one."
I sighed, sitting on a bench nearby, "Mouse is just so.... stupid."
Chris sat down next to me, pursing his lips. He said honestly, "It's her birthday, you know." 
I stared at him. Was he joking? "Dude, did you seriously just say that?" 
Chris shrugged, "You tell me to cut her some slack sometimes-"
I laughed hollowly, "Ha! Yeah, 'I'm sorry I got mad at you for talking about me and my brother behind my back. My bad!'"
Chris sighed patiently, "Angie, I don't think we need to bring sarcasm into this-"
"Stop being Therapist Chris, man! You're freaking me out...." I burst out. 
Looking kind of offended, but still calm, Chris stood up, holding his hands over his head in surrender. "Sorry, sorry...."
Seeing his lower lip tremble a little when I didn't respond, I sighed, "I'm sorry, buddy. I... I'm not in the best mood."
"Clearly." Chris mumbled. 
I gritted my teeth and Chris crossed his arms. 
"Just try to ignore Mouse, okay? It's her birthday and on top of that, Valentine's Day. Just try to forgive her," He smiled warmly, "For me."
I looked at my brother like he was crazy, "Hypocrite."
Chris sighed, looking tired and older than usual. "I'll see you later, Ange."


Mouse watched Chris and Angela leave the field as the crowd watched her curiously. 
Mouse took a deep breath. Do I go after them? 
She shook her head at the thought. No, I will not upset my audience. 
She put the grin back on her face and said, "So, you think that's funny?"
The crowd cheered and she went on telling them about how stupid her friends were. 
After she finished and the crowd broke apart, Stephanie snapped her fingers, "Girls, conference!"
The cheerleaders gathered into a group and started whispering so that Mouse nor anyone else could hear them.
"I don't know, I k-kind of like her." 
"Yeah, she's funny." 
"That girl sure can raise a crowd." 
"But, is she really cheerleader type?" 
The cheerleaders all turned to look at Mouse and said in unison, "No." 
They turned back to their conference and Mouse shrugged. 
The group broke apart and Stephanie said, "Mouse, um... is that really your name?"
Mouse nodded, clenching her teeth. 
"Yep." She lied. Mouse hated her real name and preferred the rather unflattering nickname that she had gotten used to. 
Stephanie sighed and said, "Okay.... Mouse."
Mouse nodded, waiting for her to get to the point. 
Stephanie sighed and said, smiling tightly, "How would you like to become a part of the cheerleading squad?"
Mouse burst out laughing, not caring if she was making the cheerleaders uncomfortable. 
"Are you freaking serious?" She laughed. 
The cheerleaders nodded and the grin melted off Mouse's face. "Wait- really? Why?"
Stephanie said through clenched teeth, trying to smile, "Because, Mouse, when you make fun of people, it's funny. Making the lesser kids feel bad about themselves is a big part of being a cheerleader." 
This didn't sound right, even to Mouse, but she let Stephanie continue, "You can walk around with us, torment the freshman, wear the uniform...." 
Stephanie paused, eyeing Mouse distastefully, "Date the football players....."
Mouse rolled her eyes, tossing her apple in the general direction of a trash can, "Look, Princess, the whole girl-clot-going-around-making-the-newbies-cry scenario really isn't my thing...."
Melonie, one of the prettier cheerleaders, walked up and stood in front of Mouse, so close that Mouse could smell her perfume. 
Mouse took a step back.
"Look, we think you would be good for the squad. Why won't you join?" Melonie fluttered her eyes innocently.
Mouse eyed her uncomfortably, clearing her throat and her face flushed a little, "Um... don't you do other things as a cheerleader? You know, like cheering?"
Melonie barely smiled and said, "Yes, we have cheering routines for the football games."
Mouse nodded, stepping back and still blushing a bit. "So, what's in it for me?"
Melonie smiled at her and Mouse really hoped she wouldn't say what she thought she would. She didn't. 
"Why not?" Melonie said.
Mouse was getting irritated now, "I told you, it's not my thing!"
Suddenly, Lydia spoke up, "I dare you." 
Everyone turned and looked at her. 
"What?" Mouse said. 
Lydia nodded, "I d-dare you to join the ch-cheerleading squad."
Mouse gritted her teeth, this girl was good. 
Mouse never in a million years pictured her self joining the cheerleading squad, but this was a dare. The thing about dares is if she said yes, they would hopefully leave her alone. If she said no, she would be a chicken. Mouse was no chicken.
"Fine." Mouse heard herself say. 
Looking a little surprised at first, the cheerleaders smiled evilly and Stephanie said, "Coolness. You can pick up your uniform in the gym after school tomorrow." 
With that, all five of the cheerleaders flipped their hair, spun on their heels, and left Mouse standing alone, wondering if this was a bad dream. 




She sighed, thinking to herself. I hate my birthday, I hate Valentine's Day, I hate my life, I hate Mondays. 

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Cool With A "K" PART 16 - CHAPTER 1

So, we were back to regular life now, for a while, anyway.
This quarter, we had to take Heath. This didn't bother Leo in anyway and Mouse intended to just sleep through it. I was sure none of the information would be able to process itself through Michelle's thick skull, so I didn't worry about her. I didn't really care about it, I would just try to be mature about it. I must admit, I was a little worried about Chris for when we would watch the Live Birth tape. I wasn't sure Alice would be too excited either, but I didn't say anything to her.
Straightening Chris's collar like Mom did when he was five, I said to Chris, "Okay, Sweetie, now you can close your eyes if there's anything scary, okay?"
Chris crossed his arms, "Please, Angie. What's so scary about a Heath video? I think you're just being immature."
I sighed, turning to go into the Heath room, "Okay then, I guess you'll be perfectly okay with watching the life birth." 
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the blood drain from Chris's face. I turned around, gesturing for him to follow me. "Come on, Sweetie."
He rushed up to me and took hold of my sleeve. I grinned at him and started whistling Beethoven's 5th as we entered the Heath room. Chris and I sat down at a table, next to Alice. 
"Hi, guys." She said, scrubbing the table with disinfectant wipes. What a shock. Alice has kind of a pathological fear of the science room because of all the stuff we have to do and how 'unsanitary' it all is.
Our Science/Health teacher turned on The Miracle Of Life, a film from the 80's about how babies are made, yada yada yada. I'll tell you, it was a lot more then all that stork crap. Leo was extremely interested in the video, which I couldn't help finding a little bit disturbing, knowing Leo. Mouse slept. Chris seemed to be pretty cool about it for most of the film and Michelle just sat there, staring blankly at the screen and smacking her gum. Alice didn't take it so well, she sat in the fetal position in her seat, curled up, almost trying to hide from the video.
Then, the moment of truth, (da da da daaa!) the Live Birth part of the film. Almost everyone cringed and I glanced over nervously at Chris, who stared at the screen in pure horror.
Alice had the same expression on her face as Chris and, after a few seconds, she collapsed and I caught her.
"Oh great, not again!" The science teacher said, sighing, but not carelessly. She took Alice to the nurse's office, leaving the student teacher in charge and we continued our movie.
I glanced at Chris again, "Chris, you don't have to watch."
"How does it fit through? Doesn't that hurt?" He said, gesturing to the screen.
I chuckled, "Well, yeah, but don't worry, Buddy. You don't ever have to go through that, you're a boy." I must say, I might've died a little bit if he had objected to that.
Chris started breathing heavily and put my arm around him. He said, "Ange, when you have a child, do I have to watch?"
"No, Honey."
Chris started wheezing and I said under my breath, "Oh, crap."
I raised my hand and asked the if we could be excused. I took Chris out into the hall and gave him his inhaler. At this moment, a couple of football players walked by and started making fun of us. Crap, stupid jerks. 
We both went back in and Chris said he was okay to watch the rest, but he held my hand the whole time. I was surprised Leo took it so well. After we watched the video, he wouldn't stop blabbering about how interesting it was. Talk about split personalities! 

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Cool With A "K" PART 15 - CHAPTER 11

Leo was so confused. He was standing in an fifties, sixties style house and the air was grainy, like in old movies.
Suddenly, the front door opened and Geoffry came in. What the- Geoffry was wearing a suit and carrying a brief case. "Honey, I'm home!" He called. That was vaguely familiar to Leo, but he couldn't place where he knew it from. 
To Leo's immense horror, Chris emerged from the kitchen in a polka dot I Love Lucy dress and apron, holding a plate of cookies. That was it! I Love Lucy; that old show that all the parents talked about.
"Hello, Geoffry darling!" Chris chirped, frolicking over to Geoffry. He was about to kiss him....
"AAHHH!!!" Leo sat up, sweating and breathing hard. He let out a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god.... it.... was just..... a..... dream."
He ignored Mouse, who stood over him, holding a jar full of red ants, ready to pour them on Leo as he slept. She quickly retracted. "Uh, hey, Leo. 'Morning, what's wrong?"
Leo was still breathing heavily. After a few seconds he turned to Mouse, "Chris never wore a dress, did he?"
Mouse studied her step brother for a minute and said carefully, "No, he didn't."
Leo nodded, looking relieved. Mouse said, "I'll see you at breakfast, Leo." She patted him on the back and left his room. 
Leo walked to the bathroom, trying hard to get the image of Chris in a dress out of his head.


Leo was acting kind of weird at school today, he was keeping his distance from Chris (which isn't that weird for him) and he was very.... jumpy. I asked him what time it was earlier and he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"What's wrong with Leo?" I asked Mouse, feeling like I had said the same thing about her to Leo not long ago.
Mouse shrugged, "Nightmares, I don't know."


Later that day, when I was at my locker, Kathy came up to me. "Hi, Angie."
I froze. Crap, I hate it when it talks to me. I smiled tightly, "Hey, what's up, Kathy?"
Kathy bit her lip, not looking at me. I followed her gaze and saw Geoffry and Chris. Kathy said quietly, "So, um.... Geoffry and Chris?"
I nodded and said, a little insensitively, "Yeah, they're kind of in a relationship."
Kathy nodded and sighed wistfully, "Well, Geoffry isn't really my type," She broke into an evil grin, "But that Chris...." She made a claw with her hand and made a flirtatious cat-like sound and walked away. 
I closed my locker and pretended I never saw that.


I guess you can say I've mostly gotten used to Chris and Geoffry's relationship, but Leo, however.... Let's just say he would be a bit harder to convince. I kind of stopped trying to help get it through his mind after a while. Why did he need to be involved? I decided to let the whole thing go.... unless Geoffry did anything weird.


He didn't do anything that bad, but he did a few things that Chris and I found a little... odd.
At lunch last week, Chris and Geoffry were sitting across from each other, staring dreamily into each other's eyes, grinning dopily. Geoffry was eating apple sauce with a spoon at this moment. Grinning at Chris creepily, he licked the spoon, wiping his tongue all over it.
Chris blinked and glanced at Alice. She shrugged as if to say, I don't know, sorry. I guess your boyfriend is just weird. 
Chris gently took the spoon out of Geoffry's hand and put it on the table. "Geoffry, um, could you stop please?" 
I snorted, covering my mouth and trying to fight back a grin. Chris's face was flushing now, but he let it go. 




Something was up, I could feel it.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Cool With A "K" PART 15 - CHAPTER 10

Chris held up a red dress, "So, is this a casual thing or fancy or what?"
I nodded, "Casual, very casual. Not fancy at all, as un-date-like as possible." 
Chris tried to hide his grin. "What?" I said.
He shook his head, "Nothing, you're just so silly." Look who's talking, Mr. Everything-a-phobic. 
I raised an eyebrow at Chris and he sat down on my bed. "Why did you say yes to Leo? You don't like him like that, am I correct?" 
I wrinkled my nose at the thought of Chris not being correct. "No, I don't. Ah, I don't know, Chris, I guess I was just trying to be nice. This week is my 'nice week', you know."
Chris looked at me, annoyed. "What? You call trying to erase my emails nice?"
"Oh, come on, Chris. Those were some pretty stupid emails." I said shortly. 
Chris rolled his eyes, "If you hate Geoffry so much then why do you invite him to this thing tonight?" 
I sighed, blowing my bangs out of my eyes. "Because I can't do this alone. If I went on a date with Leo alone, years of therapy couldn't get me through it. Plus, the double date thing was Leo's idea...."
Chris pursed his lips, "So, what are you gonna wear?"
"What are you gonna wear?" I said. 
Chris grinned as if he had waiting for me to say that. "I quote Kurt Hummel, every day is an opportunity for fashion."
I groaned, "Stop talking about that stupid show, Chris."
He looked offended, "Glee isn't stupid!" Sure. "Anyway, I'm going to wear my special sweater vest!" He squealed excitedly.
I snorted and my jaw dropped involuntarily, "Dude, are you serious? You have a special sweater vest? Oh, how perfect for a date! How attractive!"
Chris glared at me, "You know, you're really bad at this 'nice' thing." 
I shrugged, "I know, it's a curse."
We heard a knock on the door and I felt the blood rush from my face. Chris laughed, "Hey, you look a little pale, Sweetie." Hey, I'm the one who's supposed to baby him! 
It was Leo. "Hey, Leo." I said. Leo was wearing his usual jeans and a t-shirt. I was so glad he hadn't dressed up. "'S Geoffry here yet?"
"Nope." I said flatly. I was hating myself for agreeing to this. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.... pshaw! Yeah right.
Geoffry soon arrived and I tried not to groan. Chris smiled stupidly at Geoffry. "Hi, Honey." Make me puke.
Geoffry smiled at us all and I managed a tight smile back. I don't know what it is, I just get a creepy vibe from that guy. He bothers me for some reason.
We decided to go watch a movie and go for ice cream afterward. I know, too classic, Leo would like it. But if that bastard tries to kiss me, I'll make him regret it.
Of course, about fifteen minutes into the movie, Leo reached for my hand. I quickly pulled it away without looking at him. Leo glanced at Geoffry and Chris, sighing. Chris had his head on Geoffry's shoulder and they were holding hands.
Leo glanced at me. Don't do it, Leo..... Leo slowly put his head on my shoulder, imitating Chris. I gritted my teeth, Leo was lucky that all I did was whisper sharply, "Leo...."
"Sorry." He said, quickly sitting back up.
As the movie went on, Leo attempted and failed several more times to hold my hand or put his arm around me. Looks like the boys win. Maybe I should try to get Leo and Kathy together again, but no, Kathy is too much of a rebel. She can't have just one boyfriend, it just.... doesn't work. 
In short, Geoffry and Chris make a much better pair then Leo and I. They're so sweet to each other, while Leo's just creepy. Uhg, I can't believe I got myself into this mess! I thought miserably, What am I going to do? 
Suddenly, Kathy came out of nowhere and said, "Hi guys!"
Chris, Leo, and I almost had a heart attack. Chris huddled closer to Geoffry (either I was too far away or I wasn't Chris's favorite anymore, which would break my heart).
Kathy sat down at our table, right in between Geoffry and Chris. I tried not to laugh (note: we went to a nearby ice cream parlor after the movie). 
Kathy grinned, "Oh, what a surprise to run into you guys!" Sure, a surprise... "So, what's up, Chris?"
Having no protection, no sleeve to hold on to, I was surprised Chris didn't have a nervous breakdown right there. "F-fine, Kathy. I'm just.... on a date."
Kathy giggled, "A date, huh? With Geoffry?" She sounded like she was trying to hide her jealousy and surprise.
Chris nodded, "Yep, with Geoffry."
Getting bored, Kathy stood up, "Bye, guys. Nice to see you here." With that, she frolicked off to who knows were.
I yawned, "I'm tired. Let's go home, Chris." 
Chris drew himself away from his conversation with Geoffry and said, "What? Why?"
Leo said, "Yeah, why?"
I groaned, "I said, I'm tired! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" This was supposed to work! 
Leo nodded slowly, "O-okay. Um... I can walk you home-"
"Nope! No need, we're fine." I grabbed Chris's sleeve and rushed out the theatre door a bit too quickly. I felt kind of rude, but I needed to get the hell out of there. Chris waved sadly at Geoffry and he waved back with the same sad expression. Guilt trip much?
Once we got to our block, Chris said, "Well, that was rude."
"I'm sorry, Chris, but you don't know what it's like to have to date Leo." I said, "You can't argue to that unless you know something I don't....."
Chris grimaced, "No, you're right, I have no argument, I have never had to date Leo."
"That's what I thought, now come on, it's getting dark. Let's go faster." I said, grabbing Chris's hand
"Uhhhgg...." Chris complained, "Angieeeee. I don't like running."
"We're not running," I said, breaking into a run, "We're walking home quickly to avoid being eaten by the night spirits."
Chris sighed, "Oh, come on, Ange. I don't believe in night spirits anymore, that's kid stuff."
"Uh huh." I said, grinning as Chris looked around cautiously at the shadows.


Immediately when we got home, Mom attacked us at the door, firing us with questions. How was your date, kids? How did things go with Geoffry? What about Leo? Did you kids have fun? 
I groaned, blushing a little, "Mom, it wasn't a date."
"It was great!" Chris's eyes lit up, "Me and Geoffry had so much fun! I don't know about Angie, but I had fun!"
Mom smiled cheesily, "That's great, Sweetie!"
Dad sat silently on the couch, pretending he couldn't hear us. Poor Dad, all uncomfortable. I knew how he felt, I was hating this. Chris always blabbing about his new boyfriend in front of me and Dad, I was almost on Dad's side.
"I'm going to bed." I said loudly, kind of trying to draw attention to myself.
"Night, Sweetie." Mom said, glancing at me and then turning back to Chris to hear how the 'date' went. A little hurt, I went down the hall and into my room, flopping face-down on my bed. I fell asleep instantly, hoping I wouldn't have nightmares.