Riddle Middle Two

Chapter 35: The Lizard

Smiley (1st person)

That night, I had hardly slept. I couldn't stop thinking about the conversation me and Phil had. Just because I've been abducted by aliens doesn't make me an alien, right? On the way to school, I tried to act as normal as possible. Maybe Phil felt the same way as me. Maybe he hadn't slept either. If he was trying to hide his feelings, I didn't notice. At school, the first few periods were uneventful. At least, I think they were. I wasn't paying much attention. Anyway, after lunch and in the hallway, I was walking to history with Phil when we ran into Joy. "Do you have my band homework?" She asked. I did, but I don't know why Joy didn't just to it herself. It was probably the easiest assignment we've gotten all year. I hesitated to give it to her.

"You didn't forget it, did you?" Joy asked. Something about her tone suggested that if I didn't give it to her, I would be spending more time in my locker. "...No... Here," I said, handing her the worksheet. She grunted and walked away. "That homework wasn't even hard. Why did she make me do that?" I asked Phil. "Because she can. Why would she do anything herself if you do everything for her?" Phil answered, not providing much, or any, sympathy. But maybe the truth was what I needed to hear. Temporary comfort doesn't mean much when the exact same thing happens every day. "Yeah, I guess... Didn't 5 say something about Joy being scared of lizards?" I asked, keeping my voice down. "...Yeah... But where are we supposed to get a lizard?" Phil replied.

Zack (1st person)

When me and Lauren were heading to 5th period, we ran into Joy in the hallway. I don't know why, but she really wanted to start a fight today. Maybe it's to make up for the fact that she'd left us alone for a while. Anyway, I could tell she was trying to agitate Lauren, probably trying to get a reaction. "Can you move?" Lauren asked, considering that Joy was blocking the doorway. "Maybe if you weren't so fat, you could fit through the doorway." Joy said smugly.

Lauren's expression completely changed. I couldn't tell if she wanted to cry, appear calm, or punch Joy in the face. Maybe all three. Instead, Lauren just scoffed and pushed Joy out of the doorway. Of course, Joy acted like Lauren had just slapped her as hard as possible. Lauren got a detention. After school, I wanted to wait around until Lauren got out, but it would be an hour or more, so I just went home. An hour or so later, she texted me and asked if I could come to her house. I said sure and went over, but I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. The second I got inside, she rushed me up to her room. "Hey, uh, I'm sorry about what Joy said. It's not true," I said. "Yes, it is," Lauren said. "No, it's not. You're, uhh..." I had no idea what to say. "Zack, you're not helping anything," Lauren said. "...Sorry..." I said. "It's fine, whatever, but I know how we can stop Joy," Lauren said. "How?" I asked, intrigued. "Look," she said, walking to her dresser. A detailed robotic lizard in a plastic box, along with a remote control.

"Does it have a tumor or something?" I asked, pointing to the lumps on either side of its neck. Lauren looked at me like I was stupid. "No. It's a frilled lizard," she said. "Oh! Those are the ones with the-" "Frills? Yes." Lauren said, finishing my sentence. "Right... So, what are we gonna do with it?" I asked. "Use it to scare Joy. She's afraid of lizards, remember?" Lauren said. "Right. We should tell the others, though. They can help us come up with a plan," I suggested. I'm sure Phil especially would have a good idea. "Yeah," Lauren said. We called the others, and after some brainstorming, decided that we would essentially jump scare Joy. We would stand near the schools entrance right after school with the remote, and hide the lizard in the bushes up the sidewalk. When Joy walked past it, we could make it chase her. I hope this works...

Phil (1st person)

When Zack and Lauren told me about their idea, I couldn't say no. Especially with Smiley being sad and all. My only concern is that Joy will want revenge. We want to end this cycle, not make it worse. I don't know how we're gonna do that though. There's not really a way to make someone like Joy give up. At least, not that we know of. Maybe this will be it. If not, then I guess we'll just have to keep trying...

Zack (1st person)

The next day, after school, Lauren put the lizard in the bushes. She put is far enough up so that Joy wouldn't just run back to school. We discussed who should control it, and we decided Lauren was the best option, since she bought it. We waited for a few minutes, and eventually, Joy separated from her friends and began walking towards where the lizard was hidden. When she had just passed it, Lauren made it move slightly. Joy quickly turned around and stared at where the bush had moved. The lizard was green, so it blended in perfectly with the leaves. Joy seemed skeptical, but she turned back around and kept walking. Lauren made it move slightly again, and Joy turned back around.

She stared for a moment, then kept walking. Lauren did it one more time, and this time, when Joy turned around, she made it chase her. Joy screamed as if someone had just stabbed her, and then she began running. She was a little faster than the lizard, but it was able to keep up a good chase. Once she was almost all the way down the street, we began losing control of the lizard. Lauren couldn't move it anymore, since it was so far away. Joy kept running for a while, and eventually, she turned around. The look on her face made us all laugh. Once she realized the lizard was fake, she was understandably angry. She ran up to it and kicked it. I have a feeling she would have done that even if the lizard was real.

Anyway, since our street is on a hill, it rolled all the way down and almost all the way back to the school. Lauren picked it up and turned it off. "I think it's broken," I said. It looked pretty beat up, and the wiring was exposed in some areas. "It's fine," She answered. When Lauren picked it up, Joy must have realized it was ours. Her next expression did not make us laugh. She looked like she wanted to murder every single one of us. She began speed walking down the hill, and me and my friends panicked. She would be outnumbered if she decided to fight us, but we were still scared. At least 5 doesn't seem to be on her side anymore. That would make our situation a whole lot worse. I don't really know what side Pico is on now. I don't think he likes Joy, but he's certainly not our friend anymore. I'm a little disappointed, but from what Phil told me, it sounds like he tortured Lila and 5. If he did it in his dream, though, maybe that was the best way for him to get his anger out.

I don't know. Anyway, Joy now stood in front of us, her arms folded. Smiley ducked behind Phil, who ducked behind Phred, who ducked behind me. Me and Lauren were now side by side, facing her. "I'm assuming this was your idea," Joy said, looking to Lauren. "Yeah. Pretty clever, wasn't it?" Lauren asked. At least she didn't blame it on me. "You'll regret this. All of you!" She yelled, then storming off, back towards her house. Now I don't know what to expect.