Young Writers Society

! Ok so I changed her best friend;'s name from marni to Jackie because I had no idea when I was writing this chapter that she would start hating her best friend, and I can't just go and diss the name Marni like that, because it is my aunt's name and we are best friends. Sorry for the confusion. !

Two things everyone.

First- The first and second chapter are the same day, the third chapter is the next day. Just so that's cleared up .

Second- My good friend, Olivia, (day tripper) helped me a LOT with the begining of this chapter! Most of it she wrote and I just want to say thanks. Without you this probably wouldn't have been so good.

So enjoy!

Chapter Three

Nicole opened her dreary eyes, ears pounding from the loud screaming escaping her alarm speakers. She pulled her head forward to look out the window in front of bed, and then plopped it back down onto her pillow.

"It's too early." She groaned out loud. After a few minutes of waking up, Nicole pulled her still half-asleep legs off the bed, meeting the soft carpeted floors.

Before she padded into the bathroom, Nicole shut off the alarm and stretched. In the bathroom, Nicole took a shower. The hot water was a complete change from the cool air that was circulating through out her room. After a quick shower and after she’d thrown on her favorite Pink Floyd tee- shirt and skinny jeans, Nicole thudded down the stairs of her home.

“Nicole? Are you going to eat breakfast?” Her mother called out from the kitchen. Jeff was already sitting at the table, eating his cereal like a mad man. She looked away, disgusted. Nicole placed her backpack on her shoulders and thought ‘food? Or no food?’

“Nah, I’m alright mom!” Nicole decided and pulled opened her front door.

She slipped on her jacket and pulled up the hood, it was raining, yet again. Nicole loved the rain, always had.

Nicole hopped on her bike and turned onto the main road. She watched her hot pink converse all-stars peddle the bike down the street. She could get a ride with her brother every morning, they both went to the same high school, but she refused.

They had pretty much nothing to do with each other, he was a jerk. Jackie, her best friend, thought he was hot. She was disgusted by the very thought.

She locked her bike up at the bike rack outside of her school and pulled her hoodie up again. It had blown back on the way. She was nearly drenched.

She stepped into the halls of her crowded high school and pushed and shoved her way to her locker.

She put her hoodie inside and opened her backpack to take out the stuff she didn’t need for her first two periods and found the book sitting right next to her history binder.

“What?” she whispered out loud and took the book and set it in her locker. “Will you just go away?” she said, giving it a bonk on the spine.

She slammed her locker shut and headed off to first period.

“Nicole! Nicole! Nicole!”

Nicole turned around to see her best friend, Jackie, running up to her.

“Oh my Gosh! Oh my GOSH! Guess WHAT?” she screamed once she had reached her.

“Let me guess,” Nicole sighed. “Eric asked you out?”

“Yes! How’d you know?” she screamed again.

“Jeff told me, him and Eric are best friends. Don’t you think you’re a little young to be with a senior?” Nicole asked. “You’re only in the tenth grade.”

“Well, I don’t know. But come on! You know how long I’ve, like, loved Eric!” she said, stamping her foot on the ground.

“Mhm,” she mumbled, turning around and walking to class. Jackie followed behind her.

“Don’t be mad, Niki,” she whined.

“I’m not mad, it’s just Eric is really mean to me,” she said. Jackie was by her side now.

“I talked to him about that. He said he would try harder not to be, Jeff too.”

“You talked to my brother?” she said, raising her voice and looking Jackie in the eyes.

“I always do, sort off,” she said lowering her eyes.

“He’s a complete idiot. I don’t know what you see in either of them,” she said. They were outside of Nicole’s first period class now.

“Well, I’m going to go,” Jackie said, switching her backpack to her other shoulder, nervously. “I’ll talk to you later, ok?”

“Ok. See you in third.”

* * *

Nicole sat down with her tray at her usual lunch table. Only Jackie wasn’t there. She looked over at her brother’s lunch table and saw her sitting with Eric, holding his hand and laughing at his every word.

She fake puked on her food. She couldn’t eat.

She stood up to throw her tray away and saw Jackie waving her over. She looked away and walked outside.

“Stupid Eric, stupid Jeff,” she paused, and then added, “stupid Jackie.”

She shoved her hands deeper into the pockets of her jeans and hung her head. Only a few kids were outside, most were huddled in groups to keep from getting cold.

Whatever, she thought. I just won’t have any friends. I can be a loner.

Who was she kidding? Jackie was her best friend, although she could be a real wench sometimes. She had no one else, just Jackie.

She slumped down the brick wall and sat on the wet, cold cement.

“Nicole?” she looked around to find James standing there. His cheeks were bright red.

“Are you ok?” he asked her.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” she replied. “Thanks.”

“You want some company?” he asked, his cheeks turned redder this time.

“Sure, Jimmy,” she said. “Why not?”

He sat down next to her.

“Jimmy, when are you going to finally realize I’m a loser?” she asked, laughing.

“You aren’t a loser. You’re very pretty.”

Nicole could swear his cheeks were as red as a fire truck.

“Thanks,” she smiled. “You’re very, erm, nice.” Nicole was at a total loss for words.

“Do you want to hear a joke?” he asked her.

“Oh yeah! I could use one of those,” she said.

“Ok. Why did the chicken cross the road?” he started.

“I don’t know,” she said, trying to look dumbfounded.

“To get to the other side. Duh, Niki. You should have known that!” he laughed. “Why did the monkey cross the road?”

“To get to the other side?” she asked, laughing.

“No! Because he was stapled to the chicken!” he laughed, and then snorted. He pushed his glasses back up his nose.

“You know, you told me that one,” he said.

“Really?” she asked. “I don’t remember.”

“Yeah. It was in, like, the third grade.”

“We’ve really known each other for that long?” she asked.

The bell rang. James stood up.

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said.

“Anytime, Jimmy.”

He smiled and walked away.

* * *

She dropped her bike on the grass outside her house. Jeff’s car was already in the driveway.

She opened the door and saw the all too familiar skull hoodie lying draped over the couch. It was Eric’s skull hoodie. She groaned. She ran up the stairs and into her room before they could see her.

She could hear them laughing in his room. Idiots, she thought.

She put in Pink Floyd: The Final Cut in her CD player and turned it up to drown out their raucous laughter.

She heard Jeff’s door open and close and then them walking down the hall towards her room.

Knock, knock, knock.

She groaned and walked over to open her door.

“What?” she asked.

“What? What?” Jeff and Eric mimicked and laughed.

“Sorry, Niki,” Eric laughed.

“Can we borrow you CD player?” Jeff asked.

She stood in the doorway, the ghost of a smile, haunting her face like a cheap hotel sign.

The CD player played in the background.

“What the crap is this?” Jeff asked and walked over to unplug her radio.

“I never said yes!” she said, grabbing it from his hands.

“Ah, come on!” he begged. “You listen to crap music anyways,” he laughed, taking the CD player back and throwing her Pink Floyd CD on the floor. He took the radio and left.

Nicole slammed her door and sat on her bed, tears streaming down her face.

She grabbed her backpack and zipped it open. She took out The Storybook and set it on her bed.

“It’s time to find out what you really are,” she whispered. She opened it to find the same exact picture on the front page.

“Can I climb inside of you, or no?” she asked it and stuck her hand right through the picture.

The next thing she knew, she was really there, just like in her dream. She looked up to see her ceiling and the book slamming shut. Now only blue sky hung overhead, and she lay under the tree, feeling the soft grass under her.

“Great!” she screamed to the air. “If I’m asleep, I’d better wake up right now!” she shouted, pinching herself over and over again. Nothing happened.

She curled up on the grass and cried. Eventually she fell asleep.