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.
***
♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Ula4ATaUG
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqamKTqK5t3
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD9k9TChHEY
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFAeW7p7ouI
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQFz4TygAP
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzY9l7AAQZ
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCQygHXJQT
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPe8d3SOdoI
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLmsKuUfci
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mxZxh7KCq
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins! ♪
***
Something
***
In the previous chapter of Something... Monday morning at Ikjot's school would kick off with Xandra realizing she was finally the highest of the cool among all her peers. Meanwhile, Nydia was getting picked on by Xandra and her girls.
As for Ikjot, his bandaged face worried everyone... except Xandra, of course.
And as for Ilana, she decided to give Herbertia a heavy dose of pain! But her hit had no effect on Herbertia. Instead, Ilana would be taken away by the sudden balloon that was her own hand.
And in Sanne at Marta's school, although Marta and Penelope sealed the deal for Tiane's downfall, Penelope found it more logical to attack Tiane after school, just to better protect Marta. Little did she know, however, that Marta would have to spend the whole day with more torment from Tiane before victory could beam its lights upon her.
The back of Marta's head was hit by a flying book, making her say, "OW!"
Tiane flicked back her hair and told her colleagues, "Come on, girls. Let's leave the losers to whine about their loss..." and laughed while she and they walked away.
Back in Righteous Korrigan, Herbertia defended weight-challenged Ximena who endured bullying from his peers, and her defense earned her his friendship; but does she see it as something more? Then again, with a boyfriend like Ikjot, who cares?
Be careful, Herbertia... thought 1098.
Lucky for Ikjot, or so he thinks, Xandra is finally coming around to him. Little does he know that she's only making fun of him. Indeed... Xandra's undying hatred towards Ikjot has pushed her to wanting everyone's downfall—even her own sister's, if it means making the timeline that Ikjot wishes to repair into an absolute NIGHTMARE... for him to endure! And what better way to achieve that than by getting her own flesh and blood a one-way ticket to detention?! A reprimanding that Helena received for not doing her homework, even though it was Xandra who was the one truly responsible for its absence—or rather, its destruction! Indeed... Xandra found that her original intentions of spite for Ikjot to do loads of work for no reason would actually come in handy for this very situation.
"Leave it to me!" chuckled Xandra as she grabbed all the papers from the folder and began ripping them to shreds. She soon held the pieces of torn papers in her hands and placed them into Helena's own while saying, "Here, Helena!"
"Why do I have to go throw 'em away?" asked a confused Helena.
Xandra made puppy-dog eyes and pouted to Helena.
Helena looked down and said, "Fine...."
"Aw, you're the best sis ever!" sweetly said Xandra.
With that, Helena got up and walked towards the trash can.
Xandra took note of Mrs. Ives who peeked up to see that Helena was holding a lot of torn-up papers.
Helena made it to the trash can and dropped the torn-up papers inside.
This made Mrs. Ives raise an eyebrow.
The verdict for Xandra? She'll go scot-free again! The verdict for Helena? She'll get no recess for the day. When will Xandra's evil cease? And when will Ikjot see Xandra for what she truly is?!
***
Something8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kemADsCQZ
168Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwc3Cc1AjB
Ikjot is Betrayed
***
By twelve-thirty p.m. in the cafeteria—my school, of course—grades five through eight were once again having lunch. Today's dish: Eh, who cares...? At the sixth grade table, Hobbs and Ilana were... Oh heck, you'll see for yourself.
"Hobbs, have I ever told you how I like your hair...?" Ilana asked him with an admiring smile.
Hobbs told Ilana, "My hair is nothing compared to your..." and his eyes glittered, "gorgeous face...."
Real smooth, you two.... You're meant for each other.
Meanwhile, Herbertia, as she'd eat her lunch, kept her eye on Ximena who talked with Azure and Wade.
Noticing what Herbertia focused on, 1098 immediately cleared her throat to gain Herbertia's attention.
Turning her head, Herbertia puzzled, "Huh...?" And said, "Oh, hey, 1098! What's up?"
1098, since so many students could have easily heard her, telepathically told Herbertia, You do realize you have a boyfriend, right?
Shocked to hear a voice in her head, Herbertia exclaimed, "WHOA—!"
1098 interrupted, Shhh.... Don't be alarmed. I can telepathically communicate with anyone responsible for my spawning. You can telepathically talk back to me, just for privacy purposes.
Oh... thought Herbertia back to her. Well, okay.... Now then, WHY DID YOU SUGGEST I WAS CHEATING ON MY BOYFRIEND, YOU OBNOXIOUS—?!
Um... because I see you gawking at Ximena?
GAWKING?! Are you suggesting that I'm an unfaithful girlfriend?!
1098 smirked. I never said you were—
NO MIND GAMES!
Then 1098 went back to frowning. Regardless... just remember that Ikjot is very sensitive—
I-DON'T-LIKE-XIMENA-AS-MORE-THAN-A-FRIEND, OKAY?! I'm just being nice to him, that's all!
You're going to keep it that way, right?
Um... DUH?!
Then no longer telepathically communicating with Herbertia, 1098 thought to herself, You're not as defensive about your morals as usual, Herbertia—that proves to me you aren't completely sincere. Then again, I've been reading your thoughts just as I have for Ikjot. You grow tired of a boyfriend who wants you to be someone other than yourself. The old Herbertia would have punched anyone who even looked at her funny, whereas the Herbertia Ikjot wants for this school is one who is a sweet angel... only because of his secret intentions to stay at the school for as long as possible to get his romantic chance with Xandra. Honestly, if Ikjot wants Xandra so badly, he should just break-up with Herbertia. Then again, after all his experiences of heartbreak, he feels that having two girlfriends—both not knowing anything about the other—only ensures he'll at least get one faithful out of them both. Being backstabbed by women so much has resulted in him having no regard for how he breaks a woman's heart in return, because he always fears that she first was planning to do the same to him. It seems what those four girls mentioned at the park the other day... has come true for you, Ikjot.
As for the fifth grade table, I nor Xandra were currently there; but everyone else, except Helena, was. At the end of the table was Nydia with her friends—Kip, Yam, Quenishia and Xandy Khúc. And Rye and Graysen just sat besides Orabel and Xandra's cliques.
With a snooty and prideful look, Piper told the girls, "So, yeah, my dad's a proud racist. He even has signs all over our trailer and the lawn. And oh yea... his truck is covered in red strikethrough signs of amphibians too."
And the girls all awed with shock.
"How many times has she told everyone this?" Rye, unamused, whispered to Graysen.
"Probably forty times this semester," said Graysen, looking bored.
"Your dad's a racist...?" Wynfred asked in awe to Piper.
Piper chuckled with saying, "He ain't the only one! I absolutely hate amphibians." She smirked slyly and nudged Wynfred's way. "And since Ikjot's an amphibian..."
"You hate him too?" asked Yosef.
"Yup!" said Piper.
Orabel laughed, "Well, no one hates Ikjot more than Xandra!" And Orabel leaned forward, resting her arms on the table while keeping a giddy smile. "Who could blame her though? He is a loser...."
"But he gave you his pen..." puzzled Wynfred.
With disbelief, Orabel laughed and shrugged, "That just lets me know he's gullible! It doesn't make me like him!"
"Besides, Ikjot made fun of me behind my back!" said Voleta.
"Uh, yeah...!" said Yosef, pretending to believe it too.
"Ikjot is so mean!" said Wynfred, going along with the lie like Yosef.
"So is Helena!" said Piper. "She was backstabbing us with Nydia!"
"Let's not forget, Nydia was also makin' fun of Ikjot with Quenishia!" said Wynfred.
"Uh, Wynfred...?" said Yosef. "That was a lie Xandra told Ikjot, remember?"
"Ooooooh," said Wynfred, scratching her chin and realizing.
"Yeah, we all know that," said Orabel.
Just then, a little boy camel approached Orabel from behind and asked, "Um, excuse me, miss...."
"Yeah?" asked Orabel, turning her head to look down to him.
He held out a small pen and paper and asked, "Can I have your autograph?"
Orabel chuckled, took the pen and paper and said, "Aw, sure...!" She signed her name before handing the pen and paper back to him. "Here you go!"
The boy elatedly said, "Wow, thank you, Orabel!" He ran off while shouting, "YOU REALLY ARE NICE!"
Piper said, "Well, Ikjot has served his purpose in handing us this school's respect on a platter." Then she rolled her eyes. "But he's still mean."
Just then, Orabel overheard us—Xandra and myself—while we approached the fifth grade table from behind. Xandra, who kept her hand on my shoulder, told me, "Your answers are so smart though! I mean, just look at how well you did that homework for us! It's too bad Nydia's so backbiting to you! She is so mean!"
I muffled, "Yeah, I remember you telling me how she was backstabbing me with Quenishia."
"Yeah, and she was doing it today too!"
"Wow, seriously?"
"Yeah, I heard her telling Yam that you were a loser." Then while reaching into her own shirt, pulling out a small flash card and showing it to me, Xandra went on to say, "And I found this at her table."
My eyes widened with curiosity as I muffled, "Wha...?" I then read from the card, " 'Ikjot is nothing but a walking, talking piece of trash. Love, Nydia! 10/3/05—' WOW! She totally just wrote that this morning!"
"I know, right?!" Xandra said while placing her arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, Ikjot! I'm your friend all the way! If Nydia or anyone ever messes with you, I'll be there to stop 'em!"
Just then, Herbertia turned her head and saw me and Xandra. Herbertia gasped and exclaimed, "HEY!" She stood up from her chair, rolling up her right sleeve. "WHAT'S THAT THING DOING TO MY BOYFRIEND?!"
1098 panicked in a low voice, "Herbertia, please—!"
"Hey, ladies!" said an all-too familiar voice to Herbertia's ears from behind. As Herbertia turned her head to Ximena, he continued, "Mind if I sit with you?"
Hiding her arms behind herself and nervously laughing with a sweet smile, Herbertia replied, "Um, sure, Ximena!" and sat back down before thinking to 1098, 1098, I AM SO TICKED!
Calm down, Herbertia... thought 1098. Remember your deal with Ikjot?
Herbertia thought back, I thought he only wanted to talk with those girls—I didn't know them touching him was included! NO ONE TOUCHES MY IKJOT BUT ME!
1098 furrowed her brows and thought back, Okay, now you're just talking out of both sides of your mouth. One minute, you're distracted by Ximena. Now you're worried about Ikjot again?
WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN, YOU—?!
Ximena told Herbertia, "Hey, thanks again for standing up for me back there in P.E. this morning," and started eating some of his fries.
Herbertia dismissively waved her hand with a chuckle and said, "Oh, don't mention it!" before eating some of hers as well.
Oy... thought an unamused 1098 while rolling her eyes in disgust.
***
At recess, Xandra and I were sitting on the swings, laughing and talking with each other. This was making her girls, who would watch us from the distance, jealous.
"Man..." said Wynfred with folded arms and a laugh, "isn't Xandra going to hang with us at some point?"
Yosef curiously said, "I guess she plans on getting closer to Ikjot than we thought." Yosef then laughed nervously with saying, "She must be plannin' to really hurt him...."
Wynfred nodded, smirking with saying, "Yeah...."
Now touching her face to mine and holding me close, Xandra told me, "I'm serious.... You, my friend, are gonna be the president of Fletcher someday!"
I muffled, elated, "WOW! The entire country...?!"
Xandra whooped, gave me a high-five and said, "YOU KNOW IT!" She then pointed to the grass field. "Hey, could you do me a favor?"
"Yeah?" I muffled, curious.
Xandra looked up while saying, "Well, I have this..." She then sucked her lips in... before shyly looking down and chuckling, "Gosh! I've completely forgotten how to describe it!"
I chuckled and muffled, "It's okay! I forget things all the time!"
Xandra chuckled and asked me, "Wow, really?!"
I laughed, muffling, "Yeah! I make mistakes all the time; but I still want to help you find what you lost."
Xandra puzzled, "Um.... Okay, you know those things with the circles, have two line-thingies, and numbers around them?" And she chuckled.
I puzzled, "Circular things.... OH, does it have a strap at the top and bottom?!"
She nodded while saying, "Yeah!" and giggled.
"Oh, you must mean a watch!"
She had an elated realization and said, "YEAH! That's what it is!"
"Okay, do you remember what color it is?"
She looked up and puzzled, "Um..." and snapped her fingers, "I think it was green!"
I got up from the swing, said, "I'll get right on it!" and ran to the grassy field.
"Be careful, Ikjot!"
I stopped and puzzled, looking back to her while muffling, "Huh...?"
She said with a shy smile, "I... wouldn't want you to run too fast and get hurt...."
To that, I gave her a sweet smile and said, "Okay, Xandra.... I'll slow down."
"Good luck, Ikjot!"
"I'll do my best!" And with that, I kept running.
With that, Xandra giggled to herself and got up from her swing. She ran to Wynfred and Yosef in the distance and chuckled, "Can you believe he's actually buying it?! HA! What a loser!"
"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" laughed Yosef. "I've gotta' know though, why did you lie to Voleta this morning—you know, about Ikjot?"
Xandra said, "Simple—Voleta thought I was mean for tearing up all that fake homework I had Ikjot do; especially horrible of me since he's injured and whatnot. So to make myself seem nice in front of her, I had to make it seem like I was doin' the right thing, because Orabel and her clique members are supposed to think that we're a 'nice' clique like they are." Then Xandra thought, HA! Yeah, right! If Orabel and her clique are supposed to be so nice, I wouldn't have made fun of you two to them. Makin' fools out of people is so fun, and I turned Voleta against Ikjot so she'd be one less friend he'll have when I dump him. Voleta's obviously clinging towards the side of the nice people in our class who also pose as potential friends for Ikjot to have. Well, guess what, Ikjot? I'll make sure none of 'em turn out to be your friends! HA! I plan to leave you, Ikjot, with no one. And I'll make sure that comes to pass....
"Oooooh," said Yosef and Wynfred.
Wynfred added, "But... wait... if that's the case, then why have we made it possible for them to know us as a mean clique this whole time? Our charade back at the Young Horseflies Hangout with gettin' that 'Vincent' kid kicked out wasn't exactly kind."
Xandra gasped and asked, "Are you suggesting I've made a mistake? Me of all people?!"
"Yeah," said an unamused Wynfred.
With that, Xandra sniffed as tears began to run down her face. She said, "Oh... I see.... You think I'm..." and she covered her face with her hands, "dumb...!" Then Xandra started crying... fake as always.
With shock, Wynfred immediately said, "Oh, no-no, Xan!" and hugged her. "There, there.... I'm sorry for doubting you!"
Xandra looked to Wynfred with a sweet smile and said, "Aw... you're the sweetest friend a girl could ever want!" And Xandra hugged her back. "Hey, could you and Yosef do me a huge favor?"
"Sure, Xan!" said Yosef. "What kind of favor?"
"I lost a green watch I usually carry with me in the grass field." She chuckled, "Ikjot's lookin' for it, but I can't trust that loser will be able to find it on his own. Could y'all lend him a hand?"
Yosef puzzled, "Wait, so then... you really did lose a watch?"
"Yeah, I walked over there to help a girl get her ball after accidentally throwin' it over the fence and that was the last time I remembered havin' my watch on me."
Yosef told Xandra, "We'll go see if we can find it." Then Yosef looked to Wynfred and said, "Come on," and started walking towards the grass field.
"Yeah!" said Wynfred, following behind Yosef.
Xandra called out to them, "I'll be with y'all in a second! Yam wanted me to check a scratch on her arm!"
Briefly looking back to Xandra, Yosef said, "Sure, no problem!" then faced forward while she and Wynfred kept walking the way of the grass field.
With a sly smile, Xandra turned away from them, walked towards Nydia and her friends who were talking with one another and thought, HA! I could've used 'em to help me do what I'm about to do; but trickin' them out of spite was so much better. I didn't lose no watch; I don't even own one, those things are dorky and bracelets are cooler anyway. And Xandra was indeed wearing a dark blue bracelet on her left wrist. Before walking any further, she saw a tree in the distance and walked behind it; it was the same one that Herbertia used to hide herself back when she overheard Xandra, Orabel, Piper and Voleta backstabbing me. Xandra listened to Nydia and her friends while Nydia sympathetically said, "Thanks again for being my friends, everyone!"
"No problem, Nydia!" happily said Kip with folded arms.
"After seeing how mean Xandra, her girls and the boys were treating you, we had to do something!" happily said Yam, nodding with folded arms also.
Quenishia chuckled, "I guess all five of us are the losers of the class, but that's why we have to stick together!" Then Quenishia placed her arm around Nydia's shoulder. "Right, Nydia?!"
Doing the same to Quenishia, Nydia happily said, "Totally right, Quenishia! Thank you! Thank you, everyone, for being my only friends here!"
Xandy Khúc elatedly said, "GROUP HUG!"
And they all hugged Nydia, making her very happy.
Xandra rolled her eyes.
Nydia looked down with disappointment and said, "It's too bad that Helena's in detention.... I should go ask Mrs. Ives if I can see how she's doing. She's probably really lonely right now and could use a friend; I mean, did you see how upset she was this morning?"
Who cares? thought Xandra with a smug smile.
Placing her hand on Nydia's shoulder, Yam said with a caring smile, "You go do that, Nydia. We'll be out here waiting for you!"
Kip placed his hand on Nydia's shoulder and said, "I think I should go with you, Nydia!"
Shaking her head, Nydia said, "Nah, I'll be fine! Mrs. Ives and I aren't necessarily tight, but I'm pretty sure I'll work something out if I agree that she can watch me while I keep Helena company!"
A bit worried in his tone, Kip replied, "Well, okay, if you say so!"
"Promise not to have too much fun without me, guys!" Nydia said before she went running. "I'll be right back!"
Xandra briefly peeked her head from behind the tree, saw Nydia running towards the class building and thought, Perfect.... From there, she immediately walked from behind the tree and headed towards Nydia's friends.
"Nydia is such a good friend!" happily said Yam.
"No kidding!" happily said Kip. "I just wish Xandra and the others would be nicer to her!"
Finally making it to them, Xandra said from behind, "Oh, I beg to differ...."
They all turned around and exclaimed, "HUH?!"
"Xandra?!" exclaimed Xandy Khúc. "Girl, what you doin' here?!"
"Yeah! Why don't you get lost?!" angrily said Quenishia.
Xandra admired her fingers while Kip angrily added, "Haven't you done enough to Nydia and us?!"
Xandra chuckled before saying, "Oh, I am so sorry.... I had no idea that bein' cooler than y'all would result in you being the class losers." Xandra then went to Yam and wrapped one arm around her shoulder. She had to stand on the tips of her shoes to do it, since Yam was a bit taller than her. Xandra happily told her, "But not you, Yam. You're actually pretty cool in my book!"
With that, Yam looked down with skepticism.
Kip said, "Don't think you can turn any one of us against... um... US, Xandra!"
Xandy Khúc added, "Yeah, Yam would never side with you!"
Xandra said, "Regardless, I wanted to show y'all..." and she reached into her shirt.
They all said, "EWWWWW!"
"Why do you always have to try and woo people, Xandra?!" complained Kip.
Rolling her eyes, Xandra said, "Oh... I'm sorry...." She then looked back down, searching her shirt. "I was just tryin' to show y'all..." and she took out four flash cards with writings on them, "these...."
"Let me see...?" puzzled Kip, holding out his hand for Xandra to give him a card. Then Kip read from it, " 'I think Kip is a little chubby pig with no chance of ever attracting girls. Sincerely, Nydia.' " And Kip remarked, "Pfft! Yeah, right!" He gave the card back to Xandra. "Do you really think we'd actually fall for something like this?!"
"But she wrote bad stuff about all of you..." said Xandra with remorse clear as her face and voice.
"Forget it, Xandra!" said Quenishia.
"We know your tricks!" said Xandy Khúc. " You can't fool us and you know it!"
Xandra happily told Xandy Khúc, "Exactly—well, not this way, at least." She then got serious with them. "Don't tell me about what I can and can't do, because there are no limits to what I'm capable of." Then Xandra giggled to herself. "Why else do you think I didn't put any effort into tryin' to trick the people who I knew wouldn't fall for me so easily?"
"Exactly," said Kip, "so why don't you go make fun of us behind our backs like you enjoy doing or—" Then Kip immediately held his head. "Ow! What...?"
All of them, minus a smirking Xandra, gasped.
"Kip?!" exclaimed Quenishia before she too paused and grabbed hold of her own head, saying, "Ow...! What the...? What's... happening...?"
Xandra kept a sly smile while Yam said, "My head... feels... funny...."
Xandy Khúc said, "What is... going on...?" Then in a tired, pained voice she said, "Aaaaaah."
Xandra continued to watch them until they all looked her in the eyes with stern expressions. In unison, they said, "We live to serve you, Mistress Xandra."
Xandra telepathically told them, Okay, don't call me 'mistress' in public—that's dorky.
They telepathically replied, Sorry, Mistress Xandra.
Xandra telepathically replied, Better. Now these are your commands: Make Nydia's life a livin' underworld—a.k.a. stop bein' her friends and act as if you've all dumped her totally. It'll make her so sad for no reason! Haha! Are these commands clear?
Yes, Mistress Xandra....
Good.... Oh, and one more thing—stop speakin' in unison, at least when you're in public. Again—dorky.
Yes, Mistress Xandra.... And with that, the four of them walked off.
Watching them, Xandra thought, Look at my trump card workin' like a charm on them. HA! And I could've easily tricked 'em into hatin' Nydia through one of my natural scams, and even made 'em think I was their friend again; but controllin' their heads makes sure that Nydia definitely can't get them back on her side. Hehe! Xandra then looked to Wynfred and Yosef who were helping me look for the imaginary watch. I could easily mind control Wynfred n' Yosef, but they're already stable enough to maintain... for now. As for Nydia... no. Haha. I'm havin' so much fun makin' her life miserable; mind controllin' means she becomes my slave and I no longer get excited beating up that little weirdo. As for Ikjot... I have no use for him. I'll make him think I like him, then I'll crush him in the worst way.... Just then, she heard the sound of Orabel's giggle and looked to the side, seeing her and her clique talking with each other by one of the slides. Xandra thought, Perfect.... She walked to the three girls and sweetly said, "Hiiiii!" and chuckled.
Turning her head, Orabel happily said, "Oh, hi, Xandra!" and hugged her.
"Hey, girl!" said Xandra, also hugging her. "What's up?!"
"Oh, nothing, and you?"
"Nothin', just comin' to tell y'all how sorry I feel for ya! I mean, Ikjot makin' fun of Voleta is just plain unacceptable! I think y'all should totally do somethin' about him!"
"Like...?" puzzled Piper.
"How's about we ignore him and pretend he doesn't exist?!" angrily asked Voleta.
Walking to her and setting her hand on her shoulder, Xandra said, "Now now, Voleta, calm down.... You have to approach this like a sneaky person would."
"Like...?" puzzled Voleta.
"Well, the way I see it is that Ikjot's the kind of person who would do anything for you, even if it meant takin' up time for his own needs—such as a weekend of rest from homework, which we deprived him of."
"Yeah...?" puzzled Orabel.
"So if Ikjot was willin' to do all that for us, just imagine what else he'd be willin' to do...."
"Hmmm..." puzzled Orabel. "I think I know what you're suggesting here..." then she smiled, "and it sounds enjoyable!"
"That it will be," Xandra said while keeping her smile.
Just then, accompanied by Wynfred and Yosef, I came to Xandra from behind, looked down with a sigh and muffled, "Well, I've done everything I possibly could.... I'm really sorry for letting you down, Xandra; but maybe the watch was brought to the lost and found—either that or it's somewhere over here."
Placing her hands on my cheeks and leaning down to face me, Xandra sympathetically said, "Aw, it's okay, Ikjot...."
She couldn't see my smile through my bandages, but... I felt really happy to be face-to-face with her like this.
Meanwhile on the grass field, an unamused 1098 was the only one watching me from the distance. Herbertia, in the background, was too busy playing tag with Ximena to notice.
Xandra continued to me, "Hey, did you know that our merged cliques actually help in this school's economy?"
"Wow, really?!" I muffled.
"Yeah, we were assigned by Sister Yedda to donate funds to this school on a regular basis."
Knowing that Xandra was once again up to a lie, Wynfred played along and said, "Yeah, our clique is an academic thing!"
I shyly muffled, "Gee, I guess that means I can't legally be part of it...."
"Oh, not at all!" said Xandra while she placed her hands on my shoulders. "I'm the captain of our group—Sister Yedda's the president—and I have permission to make anyone who we as a group feel worthy to be a part of our clique. We don't really go by the term 'clique' but 'pack' instead."
"Oh, I see—like a wolf pack!"
To that, Xandra and the girls laughed—I did too, just to fit in, and said, "I'm sorry!"
Now rubbing my chest, Xandra chuckled, "NO, IT WAS FUNNY! HA! But yeah, that's pretty much our pack in a nutshell."
"Yeah, and we do everything we can to keep this school afloat!" happily said Piper.
"WOW!" I happily muffled. "I am just SO honored to be a part of such an important group! This is amazing!"
Xandra thought, I can't believe he's actually fallin' for this lie. He is so easy! Haha! Now to have even more fun! Then she said, "Hey, Ikjot, I'm feeling sad for some reason...."
"Wow, is it about the watch?" I muffled.
"No, I just..." and Xandra made puppy-dog eyes and pouted, "need something to cheer me up...."
"Hmmm..." I puzzled but in a muffled voice (bandaging, of course). "How can I make you feel better...?"
Xandra tickled my chin, causing me to smile and said, "Could you punch yourself in the nose for me...?"
"Hmmm...?" I muffled with widened eyes.
XANDRA, YOU DOG! thought Orabel with an elated smile.
"Punch myself in the nose...?" I muffled. "...But... my nose is the only thing I have to breathe from at this point—"
Xandra sympathetically said, "Don't you love me, Ikjot...?" She looked down. "I'm just... feeling sad and... wishing to feel better." She then gave me a sad smile. "But... sincerely, Ikjot, I'm by all means understanding if you don't want to help me with this. I... I understand, really."
Knowing I wasn't looking their way, the other girls chuckled among themselves.
"Well..." I muffled while raising my fist, "I may be injured, Xan, but this is the least I can do for not finding your watch."
Smiling through her sad eyes, Xandra shyly chuckled while saying, "Oh, it's not about the watch." Then she stopped chuckling and looked even sadder. "I just... wanna feel happier again; but... like I said, I completely and wholeheartedly understand if you don't want to do this." She thought, Actually, I wanna use your loyalty against you for fun. But I ain't tellin' you that.
I muffled, "No, no, Xandra, it's no trouble at all! If happiness is what you need... then happy I will make you!" And so I punched my own nose, causing myself to fall in the wood chips while the girls laughed.
1098 was shocked beyond belief and even started to angrily march towards us... until Herbertia came to her with a whoop and said, "XIMENA IS SO MUCH FUN TO PLAY HORSEY WITH!" Then she grabbed hold of 1098's arm. "COME ON! HE'LL SHOW YOU!" And Herbertia started running with her.
1098 pled, "WAIT, HOLD ON—" before her leg hit the ground. "OW!"
While Xandra and the girls kept laughing, I slowly got up, touched my hand to my nose and found no trace of blood—thank goodness, but that still hurt! Ow! I muffled to Xandra, "Happy yet?"
Still smiling, Xandra shyly said, "Well... not quite," and chuckled. "You know what would really make me happy...?"
I muffled, "Whatever it is, I'll do it for you!"
Xandra said, "Well, I just..." Then she covered both hands over her face. "Ugh, I'm such a weirdo, haha."
I hand motioned her not to be ashamed, saying, "No, not at all, Xandra. Go right ahead."
Xandra uncovered her face and said, "Well, I... wanna see someone slam a ball into your face, but..." Then she touched my shoulder, sympathetically frowning at me. "But only if that's ok with you! I understand if that's too much."
All the other girls were turning red in their faces, desperately trying to hold back their laughter.
I shook my head and muffled, "Xandra, that's no trouble at all! You're my friend and I have to help you."
Smiling sympathetically, Xandra placed a hand over her chest and told me, "You really are the kindest, Ikjot." Then looking to Piper, Xandra asked, "Piper, do we have any balls around here?"
Looking to the side, Piper saw Xandra's basketball laying on the ground—this was obviously pre-planned—and said, "OH, there's one!" And she ran towards it.
As for Xandra, she looked back down to me with a warm smile and said, "Ikjot, you're just... such a kind person. I know I'm... weird for asking you to harm yourself. I'm so sorry, Ikjot, for making you—"
I shook my head, saying, "Xandra, it's no trouble at all. I just want you to be happy."
Xandra's smile turned even more sympathetic to me... while the other girls giggled in secret, more red in their faces than before.
Piper ran back to us with the ball in her hands, quickly offering it to Xandra.
Xandra shook her head and said, "Oh, Piper, no worries! It's all yours to keep!"
"Oh, okay, Xandra!" said Piper, smiling and keeping up with the lie. "Thanks!"
Hope you're liking your payback, Ikjot, thought Voleta, frowning with folded arms.
I gulped with fear while Xandra said, "Alright, so Piper's gonna throw the ball into your face while you stand still." She frowned, sad. "You'll... help me feel better, right, Ikjot?"
No... I didn't want Xandra to feel depressed. I nervously muffled, "Uh... READY WHEN YOU ARE!"
Looking to Piper, Xandra smiled sympathetically with saying (loud enough for me to hear), "Ikjot really is the kindest person! He's so kind to me and everyone! Go ahead and throw the ball for him, okay?"
Piper nodded, grinning and giggling as she threw the ball head-on into my face. THANK GOODNESS FOR THE PAPER COVERINGS, OTHERWISE THIS WOULD HAVE HURT TWICE AS WORSE—BUT THAT DIDN'T PROTECT MY NOSE! BOOM! went the ball as it slammed right into my nose, causing me to fall back and cry—I couldn't control such a reaction from a hit like that!
Xandra and her girls tried everything not to laugh aloud, covering their mouths while turning red in their faces, though the glee was clear as their eyes.
1098, currently on Ximena's back with Herbertia, overheard the crying, looked to me and puzzled, "Ikjot...? OH NO!" She fretfully told Herbertia, "HERBERTIA, IKJOT'S IN TROUBLE!"
This was incredibly shocking to say... but Herbertia's only response was a joyful, "WHEEEEEEEEEE! FASTER, XIMENA!" And Herbertia laughed, "FASTER!"
1098 was shocked beyond imagination... but even Ximena soon noticed as he stopped moving and puzzled, "Hey, what's going on over by the wood chips field...? I see a lot of people gathering around—uh-oh.... Sister Nylah Zita's coming."
Smiling sweetly at him, Herbertia asked Ximena, "Why did you stop, horsey...?"
Ximena looked to her and said, "Hey, I think one of our classmates is in trouble!"
But Herbertia's only response was kicking Ximena's side with a, "WOOO!" and saying, "Come on, Ximena! Don't stop now, 'cause this is SO much fun!"
"Uh..." puzzled Ximena.
Meanwhile, Sister Nylah Zita helped me up and looked at my bloody nose. She asked the crowd, "Who did this...?"
Xandra thought with a straight face, I could easily not say anything for Piper's protection, but... And she said aloud to Sister Nylah Zita, "It was Piper!"
And all of them gasped, including a shocked-beyond-belief Piper....
"PIPER!" exploded an angry Sister Nylah Zita.
Still in shock, Piper puzzled, "Xa-Xandra, I don't understand...." She then shouted, "HEY!" while Sister Nylah Zita grabbed hold of her arm.
Sister Nylah Zita firmly said, "You're comin' with me!" And with me still held by the sister's other hand, Piper and I both were being walked away.
"WAIT!" pled Piper before looking behind herself. "XANDRA, DO SOMETHING!"
"I have no idea what she's talking about..." said Xandra with visible worry.
Piper was shocked beyond imagination and pled, "XANDRA, PLEASE! HELP ME!" before she and I were escorted out of the crowd.
Xandra continued to feign worry. And from there, everyone except Xandra's girls walked away.
Wynfred said, "Xandra...? Wow..." and chuckled with disbelief.
"Yeah, you totally stabbed Piper in the back!" exclaimed Yosef, also with disbelief.
With a sad expression, Xandra told them, "But... I only did that because I overheard Piper makin' fun of y'all behind your backs."
"Pfft..." said Yosef. "...Xandra, we ain't always gonna fall for your tricks, y'know."
"Tricks...?" puzzled Xandra. "...I... don't understand—"
"Oh, come on, Xan!" said Wynfred. "Knock it off! We all know how tight you and Piper are! Why would you betray her like that?!"
Xandra said, "But... I really did overhear her makin' fun of y'all—"
"It's true..." said Orabel.
"WHAT?!" exclaimed a confused Wynfred and Yosef.
Xandra gave a puzzled look from Orabel helping out.
Orabel continued, "Yeah, Wynfred, I caught her calling you 'fat' to Nydia!"
Wynfred gasped and exclaimed, "She was backstabbing with Nydia?!"
Yosef turned to Xandra and said, "Xandra, we are so sorry! We thought you were makin' this stuff up!"
"We had no idea!" fretfully added Wynfred.
Xandra said with a straight face, "It's cool, y'all. I just think it was awfully mean of Piper to do this kinda stuff!"
"So what do we do about this?" asked Wynfred.
Xandra said, "We just do the same thing we're doin' with Helena: Act natural. But let's start backstabbin' Piper too, just so we're even." And Xandra placed her hands on her hips.
To that idea, Wynfred and Yosef looked to each other with puzzle.
Keeping a straight face to Wynfred and Yosef, Orabel thought, I know it's... wrong to lie. But I'm starting to like acting like Xandra.
***
Meanwhile, inside the nurse's office, a penguin female nurse had given me some ice to set on my nose while she said, "Alright... that should be able to stop the bleeding. If not, I would recommend going home for the rest of the day. Can't have your nose bleeding in class."
I muffled, "No, I'll be fine..." and thought, Just disappointed... because in a minute—
Just then, Sister Yedda, Sister Nylah Zita, and Piper walked into the room.
I thought, Oh boy....
"Okay, Ikjot..." said Sister Nylah Zita, "it's all on you—tell us what happened."
"Yes..." added Sister Yedda, "we need to know what happened so we may know who needs to receive punishment...."
Oh boy.... What was I going to do now? More importantly, shouldn't Herbertia have been here by now to see how I was doing...? Well, regardless, I would either tell them the truth: It was Xandra's fault. Or I would tell them a lie: It was Piper's idea. But then... I came up with something clever.... OH, but wait! If I told them I did it to myself, it would have made them realize that Xandra lied on Piper!
"Ikjot...?" puzzled Sister Yedda.
"Ikjot, you're gonna have to tell us what happened; I don't know what else to say," said Sister Nylah Zita, growing impatient in tone while shaking her head.
Forget it; I'd go with my next safest bet on this. I sighed and muffled, "...Well... I forget now. You see, it's all suddenly a blur to me...."
Looking me in the eyes, Sister Nylah Zita questioned, "...You don't remember?"
I shook my head. After a short pause... I muffled, "No, I don't. That ball must have hit my face so hard that I got a brief case of amnesia...."
Sister Nylah Zita sighed and told Sister Yedda, "Well, I guess we're gonna have to go with what Xandra said. She always tells the truth anyway."
"Yes..." said Sister Yedda before walking out with Sister Nylah Zita... who dragged Piper along with them.
"WAIT, IKJOT!" fretfully pled Piper, causing both Sisters to halt. "ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T REMEMBER?!"
Looking back to me, Sister Nylah Zita asked, "Yes, Ikjot, are you sure that you don't remember...?"
I became a bit nervous and muffled, "Um... yes, I'm sure...."
Piper pled, "IKJOT, PLEASE—I KNOW YOU REMEMBER!"
I muffled, "Well, fine, I do remember! Piper DID plunge the ball in my face—"
"ONLY BECAUSE XANDRA TOLD ME TO, REMEMBER?!"
No... I couldn't let Xandra get in trouble, even if that meant I'd have to... hurt Piper. I shook my head while replying, "No.... That I don't remember...."
With that, Piper's eyes widened with great shock while Sister Yedda said, "That is all we needed to know...." She then looked down to Piper and told her, "Come." And she walked with Sister Nylah Zita to escort her out of the office.
"WAIT!" pled Piper while the Sisters escorted her down the hall. "IKJOT! IKJOOOOOOOOT!"
Gee... that had to be the evilest thing I had ever done. And I just... made Piper into one of my enemies in this past again. No....
***
Back on the playground, Xandra was in her usual hideout on the yard, though surprisingly backstabbing with unsuspected allies: Zine Xiomar and Gylda Hlavacek! (Did I mention Gylda's last name before? Huh. Well, I was mentioning it now.)
Zine laughed and told Xandra, "Wow, you actually think that way about Wynfred?!"
Xandra flicked her hand dismissively with a smile while replying, "Oh, totally! And don't even get me started on her mom—" and she laughed, "she's only in a wheelchair because she's so fat, oh my gosh!"
And Zine and Gylda laughed with her.
Xandra went on to tell them, "Then there's Orabel—she thinks she's cool, but she is so not! HA! I'm actually plannin' to have Piper cut her hair at some point."
"Wow... you're actually going to have Orabel's hair cut...?" puzzled Gylda before chuckling... still with puzzle.
"Orabel's hair is down past her shoulders but not to her elbows, isn't it?" puzzled Zine.
"Yeah, like the rest of ours," Xandra chuckled. "Why not make her practically bald compared to all the other girls here? Well... scratch that—there are girls here like Xandy who have shorter hair too."
With a puzzled laugh, Zine asked, "But Orabel's hair is so pretty. Why cut it?"
Xandra said with a sly smile, "For no reason at all..." and laughed before giving the girls a high-five. She briefly thought, Man, I can't wait to make Orabel miserable next. I can't wait to turn everyone at this school against each other, for that matter. This timeline is gonna be TRAGIC, fam! Haha!
***
After backstabbing with two sixth grade girls—a move no one in her class would have even suspected—Xandra approached Wynfred on the yard and whispered with a giggle, "Do you know how skinny and ugly Yosef is...?"
"Wha...?" puzzled Wynfred with shock. "That's... mean!" She then looked mad. "Yosef's our friend, remember?!"
Xandra puzzled, "But... I heard Yosef sayin' mean stuff about you to some of the guys."
"The guys...?" puzzled Wynfred.
"Yeah, she was sayin' stuff like, 'Wynfred's so fat!' "
Wynfred gasped.
Xandra continued, "And, 'Oh my gosh! How many lunches is Wynfred eating at this school?!' All kinds of MEAN things that I just don't think are right!"
"THAT JERK!" said Wynfred, clenching and shivering her fist. "I can't believe she'd betray our friendship like this—no." And Wynfred started walking off. "She and I ain't even gonna be friends anymore!"
Xandra immediately grabbed Wynfred by the shoulder and said, "Just remember..." before coming close to her ear, "I'm your friend...."
"Yeah, well with all these people backstabbin' around here, I'm beginnin' to think you're the only one I can trust with that."
With a straight face while bumping fists with Wynfred, Xandra said, "I am, bud. Always!"
***
Next was Yosef, currently searching the yard for Wynfred. Xandra soon enough came chuckling to Yosef and said, "Guess what?!" then whispered to her ear, "I heard Wynfred tellin' Voleta that you were an anorexic and they both laughed about it." And Yosef gasped while Xandra continued, "Can you believe that?!"
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Yosef. "OH MY GOSH! I HATE WYNFRED NOW!"
"Just remember what I told you about Helena and Voleta: We gotta hate 'em in secret, and don't let Wynfred know that you know about this." Then Xandra looked down with sorrow. "I wouldn't wanna feel guilty for a fight breakin' out between y'all."
Yosef replied, "Well, Xandra, I hate to say it," and went walking, "but I gotta' give Wynfred a piece of my min—"
With a chuckle, Xandra grabbed Yosef by the shoulder and told her, "Wait, it might hurt Wynfred more if you hurt her behind her back." And she rubbed Yosef's cheek. "Come on, say all the nasty things about her that you would never say to her face."
"Well... I think she's... STUPID AND FAT!"
"There, you see?" said Xandra, keeping her smile. "Let it all out!"
"WYNFRED'S NOT A DOE; JUST SOME BIG FAT PIG THAT CAME FROM A FARM!" Yosef angrily snapped again.
Xandra laughed, "NOW YOU'RE GETTIN' IT!" and gave Yosef a high-five. Then Xandra thought, Like puppets on my strings....
***
By three o'clock p.m. in Sanne, the bell ringing signified that Marta's school was out for the day. As students by the many ran out the front door of the building, Marta, Ram, Penelope and Simona walked out together while discussing their plans for Tiane.
Ram said, "Well, school's out. What're we gonna do next?"
With her nose to the air and eyes closed, Penelope said, "You mean what I'm going to do. I'm going to give Tiane the pummeling of her life!" Then Penelope fiercely looked down, punching the palm of her hand. "She won't know what hit her by the time I'm done!"
"Can I go home, Penelope?" plainly asked Simona.
Penelope looked down to Simona and said, "Um, no... AND YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE CARRYING ME!"
Simona quickly panicked and said, "YES, PENELOPE!" And Simona picked Penelope up by the back with her hands while she kept walking... or rather, walking much slower since she carried Penelope. And Penelope relaxed as though she were laying on a lawn chair.
Marta puzzled, "So, Penelope, what do Ram and I do—?"
"Eh-eh-eh," interrupted Penelope, wagging her finger. "I'm the one doing everything here. The best and strongest girl in the world—no, wait... the universe..." and Penelope smiled proudly, "needs no help."
Marta and Ram rolled their eyes.
Looking to the side, Simona stopped and, before she could say anything, Penelope said, "Um... why is my chairlift no longer moving...?" Simona flashed an unamused expression... and said, "I think I see her, Penelope!"
"See who...?" asked Penelope while she'd now fluff her hair, admiring herself in her small mirror.
"Psst..." whispered Marta (while pointing to Tiane who was accompanied by her two colleagues). "I think she means my sister!"
Penelope looked to them and said, "Oh... right...."
Simona awaited Penelope's response. "...Uh..." Simona soon said, "should we follow them or—"
Rolling her eyes, Penelope said, "According to you, I obviously can't think for myself, Simo—"
"Shhhhhhhh!" nervously shushed Marta. "We don't want her to hear us...."
Again rolling her eyes, Penelope said, "Whatever..." and again watched Tiane. "She'd obviously hear us if we follow her. We'll have to if we wanna find her apartment."
"What do you suggest, Penelope?" asked Simona.
"Um..." said Penelope, again with her nose to the air, "I would tell you, if you let me finish...."
With that, everyone remained momentarily silent.
Penelope eventually said with a smile, "...Better!" Then she scratched her chin, coming up with a tactic. "Okay, we'll just make her divulge her whereabouts of the apartment, beat her up, and make her take us there so we can get back Marta's family's stuff. Sound good, everyone?"
Marta and Ram nodded to each other. "Uh, sure!" said Marta. "Yuh-huh!" said Ram.
"Good!" said Penelope before pointing forward and telling Simona, "NOW, CHAAAARGE—oh, wait!" She politely told Marta and Ram, "Could you two head home so Tiane doesn't spot you or suspect you had anything to do with her untimely beating...?" and batted her pretty eyes with a smile.
"Uuuuuh," puzzled Marta and Ram to each other, "...sure!"
"Good!" said Penelope. Once again pointing forward, she told Simona, "NOW, CHAAAARGE!"
And Simona ran forward, keeping Penelope in her hands.
Penelope whooped, "WOOO!" and said, "THIS IS FUN!"
Looking to Marta, Ram suggested, "Uh... let's get going before her loud voice gets us killed."
Marta said, "Agreed..." And they sped off, leaving behind a brief smoke cloud.
While Tiane and her colleagues walked the streets, they'd laugh with each other before Tiane would say, "Can you believe how weak my sister is?! HA! My dumb family didn't even put up a fight and look where it got 'em! I've got all their stuff and there's nothing they can do about it! HA!"
"You said it, Tiane!" said the first colleague, smiling their leader's way.
"They're probably crying right now!" said the second, smiling their leader's way also.
Tiane said, "Well, whatever they're doin' is no skin off my bones—HA!"8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQe5aFs24Io
Tiane and her colleagues then stopped in their tracks, as Tiane heard an all-too familiar voice shout, "ON THE CONTRARY, IT'S SKIN OFF YOUR FACE!"
Tiane turned her head and exclaimed, "WHAT THE—" while Penelope flew towards her with a flying fist and said, "MAYBE YOU SHOULD USE SOME OF THAT MONEY YOU STOLE TO GET SOME INSURANCE FOR THE TEETH YOU'RE ABOUT TO LOSE!" Making it to Tiane, Penelope slammed her fist against the bully's face and sent her flying down the sidewalk.
"AAAAAAAAH!" yelled Tiane, wide-eyed and flying.
Penelope then landed feet first to the ground before running after Tiane.
As for Simona, she'd tiredly walk to Tiane's two colleagues, panting for air while telling herself, "The things... I do... for that girl...." As she went falling, Simona said, "Oy..." and hit the ground face-first.
Tiane's two colleagues just watched Simona. They were both visibly confused and frowning.
As for Tiane, she slammed into a trash can, causing the whole thing to turn over while Penelope leapt at her from above, swooped down with a flying fist and socked Tiane in the cheek, causing the bully to fall face-first to the ground while Penelope kneed her in the back.
"AUUUUUUGH!" painfully screamed Tiane, bending forward at the belly.
Upon landing to the ground, feet-first again, Penelope turned her head to Simona and said, "Cheer me on!"
"Oh, uh..." puzzled Simona, "RIGHT!" She cleared her throat and said, "GO, PENELOPE!"
"Come on, Tiane!" shouted Tiane's second colleague.
"Show Penelope who's boss!" shouted the first.
Tiane lifted her elbows upon sliding her hands back across the ground and bent her knees, allowing her to slowly regain balance and stand-up, dusting off her shirt while she snickered and said, "Y'know... I've only been deceivin' you this whole time. HA! I'm not as weak as ya think...."
"Oh...?" asked Penelope with a cocky smirk while she raised her eyebrow. Her eyes then narrowed with a stern expression while she went on to tell Tiane, "...I couldn't tell. You seem weak to me."
Tiane chuckled and asked, "Marta put ya up to this, didn't she...?"
"No, she didn't..." responded Penelope, knowing better than to get Marta and Ram in trouble for this. "And if she did, so what? By the time I'm done with you, you won't be able to even crawl towards her to make her pay."
"...That's mighty funny.... Now let me ask ya somethin' else...." Tiane turned around to Penelope with a smirk while going on to say, "Do you really think you'll last long against me?"
"Hm?" hummed Penelope, scowling with a small mouth.
Before Penelope could detect the movement, Tiane lifted her leg and kicked the egoistic girl across the face.
Penelope was sent flying to the left and yelling, "AAAAAAAAH!" while eventually crashing into a trash can of her own.
Tiane's colleagues laughed while Simona watched with sudden worry.
Tiane laughed, "Ha-ha!" and teased, "Wow! Look at the big and strong Penelope, huh, girls? HA! She can't even stand on her own feet against me!"
While she slowly got up, Penelope weakly said, "Oh... yeah...?" and rubbed her fist against her mouth to wipe off some blood. Penelope clenched her fists and continued, "Why don't I show YOU that I go unbeatable?!"
"Bring it..." teased Tiane before saying with a hand gesture, "Come on...."
Penelope groaned and ran towards Tiane to throw a punch.
Tiane grabbed Penelope's fist and twisted it.
"AAAAAAAAAAH!" painfully screamed Penelope, shivering with wide eyes and faded pupils.
Then Tiane tossed Penelope to the right, sending her body to hit the wall of a building.
Determined to win, however, Penelope angrily gritted her teeth, got back up and ran towards Tiane with another punch she prepared to land.
Tiane remained still and smirking, awaiting Penelope's arrival.
"PENELOPE!" panicked Simona while Tiane's colleagues chuckled with glee.
Penelope began throwing various punches at Tiane, only for Tiane to continuously dodge each one while being backed down the sidewalk. Tiane and Penelope both stayed cautious not to go into the road of moving vehicles. You would think one of those drivers would have pulled over to try stopping the fight, right?
Penelope grunted while kicking Tiane in the leg.
Tiane smirked while standing still.
Penelope inaudibly gasped, shocked with her wide eyes and body shivering.
Tiane then grabbed hold of Penelope's head, lifted her off the ground and punched her in the stomach.
Penelope paused in great shock and pain. "Aaaah... aaah-aaah," she groaned, quickly too weak to add much force behind her sounds.
Simona pled, "I've got to help Penelope!" and went running forward, only for Tiane's first colleague to knee her in the stomach, causing Simona to fall face-first to the ground and unconscious.
"SIMONA!" panicked Penelope.
Tiane used that brief distraction against Penelope, swinging a fist right into the side of the younger girl's face.
Penelope yelled, "Auuuuugh!" while flying into moving traffic.
A moose driver quickly panicked and rolled to the side, allowing Penelope to fall back-first into the right lane of the road.
Tiane and her girls laughed at Penelope, seeing that she was now down for the count.
While the cars would pass around her, Penelope was not ready to give up. She shivered her closed eyes, weakly and slowly opened them, slowly regained balance, breathed heavily, and fiercely looked to Tiane.
Tiane laughed and said, "WOW! I was thinkin' it'd be over by now! Oh well... I guess your little slave gettin' hurt wasn't enough to make you turn tail. I'll just have to hurt you and her again—HA!"
Angrily gritting her teeth with a groan, Penelope shouted, "NOW SEE HERE: I AM THE MOST ELITE FIGHTER IN THE UNIVERSE! DO YOU HEAR ME?! ...No one can beat me, especially not YOU!"
Tiane mockingly yawned, folded her arms and said with a chuckle, "Yeah, well... you're gonna have to prove that to me."
"I BEAT YOU BEFORE AND I CAN BEAT YOU AGAIN!" And Penelope ran towards Tiane and punched her in the stomach, only for Tiane to remain still. Penelope was shocked while Tiane snickered.
"Oh, come on!" happily mocked Tiane. "I can throw punches harder than that!" And Tiane drew back her fist and said, "Watch!" Then Tiane swung her fist into a shocked Penelope's face.
Penelope was sent flying back into the right lane of the road and, once again, caused a car to make a panicky detour.
Tiane and her girls once again laughed at Penelope's fall.
Now with a bloody nose and mouth, Penelope was shadowed by Tiane's silhouette as the bully soon stood over her. Tiane laughed and teased, "What's this?! Suddenly we're not as tough as we were before?!" Tiane then used her foot to tilt Penelope's face by the cheek while going on to tease, "Huuuuuh?" Bringing her foot away, Tiane said with disappointment, "Man... you just aren't any fun anymore. I guess I'll just have to beat you now—"
Penelope angrily opened her eyes with a groan, jumped up and punched Tiane in the face.
But Tiane just remained standing still.
Penelope became shocked again.
Tiane laughed and teased, "Hey, dork, what was that?!" Then Tiane gently slapped Penelope across the right side of her face and continued, "Come oooooooon," and laughed, "make me stooooop!"
Penelope drew back her fist before Tiane would push her to the sidewalk's ground, causing her colleagues to laugh while she teased, "What's wrong? Suddenly we're gonna sit down on the job when we're in the middle of a fight...?" and chuckled.
As Penelope prepared to regain balance, Tiane immediately stomped down on the girl's stomach.
Penelope screamed in pain, closing her eyes.
Tiane laughingly teased, "What's wrong?!" She moved her foot around, just to let the pain of her step sink in for Penelope. "Aren't you gonna keep fightin' me?!" Tiane leaned down to Penelope with an evil smile and taunted, "Come oooooon," before drawing back her fist.
Grunting intermittently, Penelope weakly opened her eyes to see the bully above her.
"What's wroooong?" teased Tiane. "Not gonna fight back...?" and she swung her fist down into Penelope's nose, causing Penelope to scream in even greater pain. Tiane just laughed in response, looked to her laughing colleagues and said, "Look at her! She can't even fight back!" Tiane then looked back down at Penelope. She lifted her fist covered in and dripping blood. Then she drew her other fist back and said, "Maybe she should've stayed at home—that's where losers like her belong." From there, one could see the shadows of Tiane and Penelope on a nearby building's wall, with the Tiane shadow constantly punching the Penelope shadow's face. One could also hear the laughter coming from Tiane and her girls while Penelope would cry in pain from the nonstop pummeling.
***
By six thirty-eight p.m. in Righteous Korrigan, I was walking back to our hotel, though I wasn't accompanied by Herbertia, 1098, Somer nor Julian. For a first time, I was walking home by myself. And when I finally made it to our door and knocked, I waited for someone to answer. I could hear laughing and talking going on from the inside. But alas, no one would come—not even within the five, to ten, to fifteen seconds I waited for a response. I thought, Man.... First Herbertia wouldn't see what was going on with me at school today and now she won't answer the door—what's up?! I hope she's not backstabbing me.... Rrrrrrrh!
My eyes then widened to a familiar voice that said, "Looks like I'm not the only one who has been kicked out...."
Turning my head to the side, I muffled, "What the...? 1098...?"
She nodded and said, "Yes... that is right..."
I muffled, worried, "You... sound a little upset about something.... What's wrong... and why isn't Herbertia or her parents letting me—us in...?"
To that, 1098 remained silent....
I widened my eyes and muffled, "...Oh no.... Don't... tell me that..."
"...To you, it is called a backstab.... To Herbertia, it is called being dumped in the coldest, possible way...."
To what I was beginning to gather, I remained silent with shock.... Then I looked away with anger, growled while I clenched one fist and muffled, "Man...! I messed up, didn't I...?!"
For a few seconds, 1098 had no words... and soon looked down. "...I'm afraid so..." she said eventually.
I paused with disbelief... then groaned with anger, pulled back my fist and muffled, "OH, SHUUUUUCKS!" and punched the door. I'm pretty sure they heard that sound, but Herbertia and her parents still refused to acknowledge my presence. I looked down with disappointment, slowly taking my fist off the door and luckily didn't cause a crack or anything. I whimpered and shedded tears....
1098 remained silent and walked to me, placed her hand on my shoulder and said, "...I know you're upset... but I also know that you are puzzling on the answer because you doubt your own belief of, 'I know it was because of me making her change herself or not giving her enough time.' No. You think that's not the reason at all.... Let me tell you what is going on: Though this betrayal is structured in the same way of many others you've faced that were based on spiteful backstabbing, Herbertia's reason was that of a noble cause. Not a trace of spite was imvolved."
Still with teary eyes, I looked to 1098 and puzzled, "Ah...?"
1098 was silent for a moment.... She then nodded while saying, "Yes... Herbertia dumped you because she felt you valued changing your past more than spending time with her. You see, this whole time, she secretly wanted you to be just as social with her at school as you'd been here at home... but you weren't."
"..." I paused, taking in the fact that everything 1098 pointed out was... accurate. I soon looked down and eventually said, "...No... I wasn't...."
"...In result, Ximena coming along—"
"Ximena...? Ximena... Yuille...?"
"...Ximena Yuille, yes."
"...I guess because she and he were outcasts in the classroom, they felt—"
"That it was okay to be friends? Yes. But on Herbertia's side, she was quickly beginning to see it as more than that.... Sadly, her final judgment of not wishing to offend you by dating someone of the same school that was originally yours—"
"Mine...?"
"You don't wish to rule it; but she believes it was your turf, not hers, and she didn't want to interfere with that... so she's decided to drop out of the school entirely."
"Aaaaaaah!" I exclaimed (muffled voice, of course) with shock and widened eyes. "...But... But she's always welcome to stay; she knows that—"
"No, Ikjot... she thinks not.... And she isn't willing to change her judgment on this." I remained shocked while 1098 continued, "Herbertia plans to stay away from love now... forever. She isn't willing to give it a second chance...."
I remained shocked. I just seemed frozen in my own realization of all this. I then wildly knocked on the door while I pled, "HERBERTIAAAAAA!" and my voice echoed throughout the area, despite it being muffled.
1098 just watched me. She was silent for quite some time. Eventually, she placed her hand on my back while my arms weakly dragged down the door. I turned my head down in the process, whimpering while 1098 told me, "...Ikjot... I am sorry that this happened to you... but Herbertia is gone.... I also know, however, that you still have your hopes set on Xandra."
With many tears in my eyes, I looked to 1098 with an expression of mine that seemed confused. But I knew she had me pegged... even in that moment.
1098 told me, "Use that hope to help you get through this.... Put all of your trust into her being your girlfriend now. With Herbertia gone, you are finally free to do as you please with Xandra. Do what you must to make her fill in the spot that Herbertia has left in your heart.... This is your only option now...."
I sniffed and muffled, "You're... You're right..." and sniffed again, "1098...." And again, sniffed. "...I've... got to," and sniffed again, "...fully invest in Xandra; I know she'll... be trustworthy. I didn't do my past in a way this time that'd... ruin her again...."
1098 nodded, knowing I understood.
I got my arms off the door, completely faced 1098 and continued, "I just... don't like it when... girls dump me this coldly, y'know? I mean... here Herbertia was beginning to seem like the perfect one. But she still has that one flaw: She can't just speak up and say how she feels...." I then angrily looked to the door. "Here I could have been standing outside all night, just because she didn't want to tell me anything. Do you know how many females have done this to me before when they wanted to 'break it off?'"
"That I do..." 1098 said, nodding.
"I mean... it's just not right, y'know...? Just... speak up when you have a problem. Don't leave someone in the lurch like some heartless monster, y'kno—"
"That is enough, Ikjot.... You don't need to get unnecessarily angry."
I shivered, just watching the door. Eventually, I looked down with a defeated sigh... and muffled, "...You're right...."
Setting her hand on my shoulder, 1098 said, "Come on.... Let's go for a walk for awhile...."
I muffled, "...Well..." and we began walking away from the door, "okay...." And I remembered something Herbertia told me:
"Well... just know that I'm not planning on breaking up with you if you hurt my feelings."
Tch. So much for that promise... right, Herbertia? I should have... known she was too good to be true.
Little did I suspect, however, that Herbertia was watching us through the door's peephole from inside. She was whimpering with tears in her eyes....
***
That same night, back on the island of Sanne, with their time zone being the same as ours—EST—Marta, her parents and Ram all patiently sat inside Marta's home and by the door, waiting for Penelope to deliver a verdict....
"...I wonder what's taking them so long..." puzzled Mrs. Grey.
"...Yeah..." said Mr. Grey.
...Just then, they heard their doorbell ring, and Marta exclaimed, "THAT MUST BE HER!"
And Marta ran to the door while Ram cheered, "YEAH! WE'RE SAVED!"
Upon opening the door, Marta excitedly said, "HEY, WHAT'S UH—" before gasping from what she saw....
In Simona's hands was seen a bloody-faced and unconscious Penelope. Simona looked down with sadness and said in a low voice, "I'm... sorry...."
To this, Marta's shocked and sorrowful eyes sparkled.
Ram came beside Marta, whooped and cheered, "WE'RE SAVE—" before noticing what Marta saw. Ram gasped in horror from Penelope's condition.
"WE'RE COMING!" said Mr. Grey with worry while he ran to the door with Mrs. Grey, only for the two to become just as shocked as Marta and Ram were. Mr. Grey trembled while exclaiming, "My... goodness...!"
"PENELOPE!" exclaimed Mrs. Grey.
It looks like the worst happened: Penelope lost.... What does this mean for Marta and her family? What does this mean for Penelope?!
Indeed, tonight seems to be a night of many sorrows... as Ikjot too has his own share of problems: Herbertia has left him with only one girl to rely on giving him love: Xandra. Well, Ikjot... good luck!
What will happen in the midst of all this dismay...? Is doom the only thing the lives of these people has to offer?! Don't miss the next Something....
***
In the next chapter of Something... Nydia's made a mistake that could cost her and her family their home! And who ELSE would stoop so low as to turn a bad situation worse?! The evil Xandra would, of course!
Xandra then told the girls, "Y'all destroy her backpack and the rest of her belongings—not you, Sheila, you stay in the van."
"Okay!" laughed Sheila.
Watch out, Nydia... and you too, Ikjot! Don't you know that Xandra's the biggest liar of all time?! What's wrong with you, Ikjot?! And why are you smashing your face against a fence?! Don't miss it... in the next chapter of Something!
***
Something8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzXZwJIOyP
178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlnzdKIK185
Ikjot's Mission Accomplished
***
♪ Yes, I didn't talk to anyone. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxmKZYElJP
♪ I was made fun of by everyone. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpob1PnhRjW
♪ It's something I wish could be undone. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQW1Q1Ujfl
♪ She asked me. I wish I'd had respond. ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHauOuvV2Id
♪ But hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDyZ2NL9fG5
♪ Please hear me out: We're all worth being loved! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yxBTYGmik
♪ I'm crying out: We're all worth being loved! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIntxKKsxMQ
♪ I have no doubt we're all worth being loved! ♪
♪ Please, I beg you all, let's become friends! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFe4B5KXxzN
♪ Let's not judge each other by what's been! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjx0TcjvjF
♪ It was years ago! It came and went! ♪8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKR5sbQR1RP
♪ That's a past chapter! New one begins! ♪
***
© 2013 Trerchry.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOD73oULhPQ
All Rights Reserved.
