BOOM!: Part Four

     "I'm positive, Ms. Fringle," I said in a very low voice, ashamed of myself for doing this.

     "Did you see her stealing it with your own two eyes?" asked Ms. Fringle, looking very surprised. I wasn't one to throw accusations so randomly and she knew this perfectly well.

     "Well, no," I said, coughing to hide the words. "But she would have her reasons to."

     "Listen to me, Devyn," Ms. Fringle said strictly. "Theft is something taken very seriously at this school and unless you have complete proof that Vicky supposedly stole your essay, it'd be best if we merely deemed it as lost."

     "Good idea, Ms. Fringle," exclaimed Lila, flashing a big, sweet smile.

     "You stay out of this," I grumbled, flashing her a piercing glare.

     Lila rolled her eyes and then turned to Vicky. "She can be so lame sometimes."

     "Why would I steal it?" Vicky suddenly exclaimed, looking very hurt. "I'm not like that, Devyn!"

     I stared at her, startled, a mixture of feelings flooding my mind. It was worse seeing her so sad about my accusation rather then angry.

     "I'm s-sorry," I whispered, but I could tell she hadn't heard me.

     "Excuse me class," a small high-pitched voice piped from the front.

     I wheeled around and found Mr. Googlesworth standing at the front door with shuffled pieces of paper in his fins.

     "I happened to find this essay on the floor," he said. "And it says here that it belongs to Ms. Devyn. Is she present?"

     I gulped and immediately felt like my heart had flipped. How could I have been so stupid? The essay must have fallen out of my book when one of Lila's friends tripped me. Angry and embarrassed with myself, I ran towards Mr. Googlesworth, snatched the papers away and grew a light shade of red on my face when I turned around and saw the entire class gazing heatedly at me.

     "Well, thank you Mr. Googlesworth," said Ms. Fringle, half-smiling.

     He nodded and left the classroom.

     "Are you happy now?" said Vicky with a quiver in her voice.

     I heaved a sigh and slid into my desk, closing my eyes and wishing I could absorb myself in the world of darkness.

     **************

     After school, I was now properly known as the 'Lie-Baby'. I shuddered as I heard people shouting the horrible name. I dashed down the halfway and soon burst outside, peering up at the sun and smiling for the first time today from its comforting rays.

     "Devyn!"

     I raised an eyebrow, wondering who could it be.

     I turned to my left and saw my owner running up to me, waving but with a let down look on her face.

     "What the? Why are you here?" I asked confusedly.

     "Ms. Fringle said she wanted me to come meet her today for a discussion about-"

     "Me," I sighed, crossing my arms together.

     April nodded and took me by the paw. We entered the school and this time the pets whispered 'Lie-Baby' to their friends so April couldn't hear. I hung my head down in shame as we came in to Ms. Fringle's very quiet class.

     "Ah, hello April," greeted Ms. Fringle cheerily.

     "Hello, Ms. Fringle. How's work been?'

     "Phew, frantic as usual. Summer's nearing, so the kids are growing more agitated," she explained.

     April and Ms. Fringle have always had a good relationship, which was good for them but not for me. Anything I did wrong would be quickly reported to my owner and thus would cause the trouble.

     "Well, take a seat," said Ms. Fringle, pulling out a comfy, navy chair. She never offered me one though and simply began talking.

     "Devyn's been having some troubles lately in school," said Ms. Fringle slowly.

     April nodded worriedly.

     "As you may remember, just a few days ago she harmed another student in the class with a book, and today she accused another student of stealing her essay."

     "What?" said April gravely.

     Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead and I gripped onto the back of April's chair more tightly. I knew this would end up in a very bad situation.

     "Yes, I know," retorted Ms. Fringle, making it sound so scandalous. "Mr. Googlesworth, our principal, eventually found it in the hallway."

     "Why would it be in the hallway-" She turned to me, "Lila?"

     I shivered, trying to fight back tears. "Because one of Lila's friends tripped me and it fell out of my book."

     "Oh my gosh! When will you stop all this fuss about Lila?" April exclaimed, sounding extremely irritated. "You've always been causing trouble between the two of you since kindergarten. You're too old for that now."

     Ms. Fringle nodded the entire time April said this.

     "Yes, I must admit, it's getting out of hand," she said, perching her glasses on the tip of her nose.

     I felt my heart shattering into hundreds of pieces. Every person that could have helped me was now retaliating and joining Lila's side. Vicky, April, and Ms. Fringle. I suddenly burst into a fit of tears and, even to my own surprise, raced out of the classroom, hearing April's yells behind me.

     Tears splattered against the ground as I pushed open the school doors and flew outside, feeling the familiar warm breeze against my skin. I didn't want to stop running at all. I wanted to continue, reach my home and plop down on my comforting bed, where I could cry all I want without being called a Lie-Baby.

     Each stab of the sidewalk, each tear falling from my eyes, each thought about losing Vicky. Everything was making me feel so sick to the stomach that I thought I was going to collapse under the stress.

     At last, I caught sight of my home and rushed inside. I let my backpack drop at the door and ran to my room where I fell on it clumsily. I cried, wondering when April would return. Was she still talking to Ms. Fringle or chasing after me?

     My question was answered when I heard the door swing open and April yell out, "Devyn? Are you there?"

     I felt more pain burn in my heart and quickly snuck under the blankets. This hiding spot was useless though, since I heard April's footsteps in my room. She said, "Devyn, are you all right?"

     I sniffed, trying to dry my cheeks with the back of my paw. "No," I whimpered. "Just leave me alone, April."

     "Can we discuss this problem?"

     "N-not right now," I told her. "I don't want to talk."

     I heard her sigh and close the door soon after. Exhaling the breath I had kept in for almost a minute, I threw the covers off of me and lay my back on the bed. Looking up at the ceiling, I realized that the science fair was only three days away and Vicky and I hadn't done much. Would we still be partners or was she going to leave the entire thing behind?

     I looked around my room and saw a box of Popsicle sticks on my desk that I used for crafts. An idea suddenly sprung in my mind. Wiping away some more tears, I stood up and walked over to my desk, feeling a burst of energy. I grabbed the box and a bottle of glue lying at the corner, and sat myself down on the carpets, beginning to work on my own creation.

     Four hours, hundreds of Popsicle sticks, heaps of glued used, and one meal later, I felt incredibly proud as I gazed at my project. It wasn't a replica of Fyora's castle like I had done with Vicky. It was a model of my home, the most special place to me in the world. I felt it was a much better idea then having to design such a complicated castle design. I decided to paint the Popsicle sticks to add a more realistic feel to it.

     A cloudy, white color for the exterior walls and baby-blue paint for the roof. I super-glued real glass for the windows, and peered into it, frowning at my worn-out expression.

     I heaved a sigh, and carefully lifted my project up to my desk. I smiled at it one final time, excited to continue working on more of it tomorrow.

     I glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it read 10:30, which meant it was already past my bedtime. I quickly changed into my pjs and slid into my warm covers, but didn't close my eyes. I thought for a long time about all the little things in my life. I didn't close my eyes for hours, and even when I did, I never felt an ounce of sleepiness.

     I tried thinking of ways to ruin Lila's project, but it was so difficult at the moment. The real thing that worried me was Vicky. She was too much of a good friend to just lose like that. And even when I had yelled to Vicky that ruining Lila's project was more important then our project, I realized that both of them didn't matter at all compared to our friendship.

To be continued...