BOOM!: Part Five

     But I forced myself out of bed anyway, admiring my house model that lay still on my desk and then got dressed hastily.

     I saw a light under the slight crack of the bathroom door, which meant that April was in there. I ran downstairs and made my way to the kitchen, where the best thing to eat was a measly bowl of cereal. I wolfed it down as fast I could anyway, just so I didn't have to talk with April. I'd hold that for after school.

     I broke out in to the open air, feeling the wind slash against my skin with its iciness. I tightened my grip on my backpack and ran down the street towards school, pushing through a few kids along the way. Finally, the bitter cold disappeared as I entered the school and rushed to my class. I got a big surprise when I stopped at the door.

     Vicky was sitting in front of Ms. Fringle's desk with a small amount of tears in her eyes and a tissue in her hoof. I was positive she hadn't noticed me, so I backed away slightly and listened.

     "Ms. Fringle, I-I'm just hating myself right now," she cried, sounding horribly stuff. "I feel like I'm a horrible friend for yelling at Devyn and kicking her out of my house. And I just hate being with Lila and her friends. All they do is talk about Devyn, and make-up and all that junk."

     Ms. Fringle nodded, listening attentively.

     "And…I don't know who I should be with. Devyn and Lila hate each other, so I could never be friends with both of them. Being friends with just Devyn is great, but she can be so bossy and unfriendly sometimes. And with Lila, she's so rich and you always get free stuff from her but there's no friendship there."

     "Well, what do you think is more important?" asked Ms. Fringle. "Friendship or items?"

     Vicky sniffed, rubbing the tissue on her cheeks. "Friends. But am I picking the right one?"

     Ms. Fringle took hold of Vicky's right hoof. "Let your heart make that decision," she whispered.

     I turned back against the wall, my heart beating faster then ever. Oh gosh, would Vicky choose me? I closed my eyes tightly, absorbing all the words that Vicky had said. I knew what I had to do. I re-opened my eyes and suddenly ran inside the class. Vicky and Ms. Fringle instantly cocked their heads towards me, both seemingly startled.

     "Vicky!" I puffed, making it look as if I had just ran from outside.

     Vicky's brow furrowed into a glare. She shot up from her chair and walked up right to my face. "Don't talk to me anymore," she hissed, but made it seem quite unconvincing.

     I felt a numbness creep throughout my body as Vicky stomped to her desk. Hadn't she just told Ms. Fringle that we had great times together? But…she had also told her about my 'bossiness'. I heaved a sigh, my head already aching. I walked slowly to my desk and plopped down.

     "Oh, and Ms. Fringle?" Vicky said, looking up from her book. "May I now work with Lila's group for the science fair project? My last partner found it rather unimportant. "

     Ms. Fringle's eyes slightly widened in surprise, but she nodded nevertheless. "Yes, yes, you may," she said. She shot me a sympathetic gaze and returned back to her work.

     For me, it felt as if my heart had suddenly shattered into hundreds of pieces. A tear slid down my face and I said to myself, I can't believe she chose Lila.

     **************

     That night, I lay on my carpet, crying hysterically as I continued to build the model of my home. I had to hold the tears in all day, which was absolute torture, especially with Lila and Vicky laughing about your every move behind you.

     When I had come home, April had seen me from the kitchen in a fit of tears and she immediately took me into her arms, her warmness comforting my body. It felt as if everything that had happened yesterday between us was now merely a wisp of smoke in the skies.

     She was now helping me build the project, continually saying, "It'll be all right" and "She'll forgive you". I felt doubt every time she said these things, but hearing them made me somewhat better, which wasn't saying much in the state I was currently in.

     Two hours later, I lay in my bed, completely exhausted from all the energy that the crying had stolen. I kept smiling and then completely screwing up my expression as I stared at my completed project, which lay neat and almost perfect on my desk.

     I had another session of 'thinking about my life', which was almost feeling like therapy these days. I was so glad I had mended things up with April, even though it had been very unofficially done. And I think Ms. Fringle was beginning to see what a jerk Lila was, because she gave me a lollipop in Math for correctly answering a somewhat easy arithmetic question and then punished Lila with a detention for passing out notes while she was explaining the different types of angles. Or maybe it was just common sense for a teacher to do that.

     But all the good things that were happening to me meant nothing at the moment. The continuous dread that had been lingering in my mind for a week was now feeling like it would explode because tomorrow was the science fair. I felt confident about my project, but seeing Vicky with Lila's group and being humiliated by their project was not something to be excited about.

     And the last thing I remember saying to myself before falling into sleep was, Good night Vicky.

     **************

     Here it was, at last. The day that everyone had been talking about at school. The day where teachers were feeling the most agitated they had been this entire year. The day where it would be decided who the best and the worst were.

     April awoke me with a calming smile and slowly helped me up from bed. I was still feeling drained from energy, but I felt much better then last night, when my eyes felt like they were being literally forced to close.

     I dressed slowly, always eyeing my project, thinking that my window would suddenly snap open and the wind would blow my project away. I quickly shook the stupid thought away and hurried out of my room, where the sizzling of the cooking bacon could be heard all the way up here.

     "Devyn!" April called out. "Your bacon and scrambled eggs are ready!"

     I licked my lips and ran downstairs, where my owner smiled as I sat down in my chair.

     "Excited for the science fair?" she asked, an eagerness in her tone indicating that she was excited herself.

     "I suppose. A bit nervous too."

     "Don't be. I bet you'll do really good," she said.

     I played around with my eggs for a moment and then started eating. My stomach felt much better ten minutes later. I felt more energized and prepared for the hectic day ahead.

     I stood up from my chair, walked over to April and gave her a big hug.

     "You really think I'll do good?" I whispered, peering up at her warm face.

     "You'll do great," she answered, brushing the top of my head with her hand.

     I hugged her even tighter and then finally let go. "Well, I'd better hurry. School starts in twenty-five minutes."

     April nodded. I ran upstairs and grasped my project tightly in my arms, nervous that it would fall and break.

     "Please let me win," I whispered to myself. Suddenly, I froze. What would I do with Lila's project? I still hadn't thought of a way to ruin it. I thought for a few seconds and then decided I would figure out what to do once seeing the completed project for myself.

     "Have a good day, April!" I yelled as I ran to the door and swung it open.

     "You too!"

     I closed the door behind me and took in a deep breath. My heart pounding faster then usual, I knew that I would be ready for today.

     **************

     I entered through the doors of the school, covering my project with my arms so that no one would see it and try to trip me. I hurried towards my locker, where I looked around attentively and saw no one suspicious. I set my model on the floor and threw my bag in the usual array of clutter lying around.

     Suddenly, I felt a pull on my shoulder and I abruptly wheeled around. To my surprise, it was Vicky, who had a mischievous grin formed on her face.

     "Devyn, I have the perfect idea," she whispered excitedly.

     I raised an eyebrow, confused. "I-idea for what?" I kneeled and grasped my project tightly against my chest once more.

     "The perfect idea for ruining Lila's project! I've been spying on her for days, so I know everything about it!"

     My eyes widened in shock. "You mean everything that you were doing was a set up?" My chest rose in alarm as I said this. I couldn't believe everything that she was saying.

     "Of course, Devyn!" she said eagerly. "Now come on, we have to hurry!"

     And as Vicky pulled me away from my locker, I was so shocked that I wouldn't even have cared if my project fell from my arms and smashed in to hundreds of pieces on the ground.

To be continued...