Opposites Attract

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Annabelle

"GET UUUUUUP!!!!!!!!!!" Mom yells, "GET UP YOU ARE ARE ARE ARE GOING TO SCHOOL TODAY! NO BUTS! YOU MUST!"

I moan and pull the covers over my head and whimper, "Whyyyy?"

"Because you are completely fine, and you are just putting it off. JUST GET UP AND OUT OF BED!!"

"Noooo..."

"Breakfast's ready. Go to school without it or with it, just be ready by eight." Mom calls, and I hear her go downstairs.

I moan again, roll over, and fall off the bed. It hurts. A. Lot. A lot lot lot lot loooot. Painfulness. Well, I'm out of bed now. At least that's over with. I untangle the blanket from around me and pull some jeans and a plain t-shirt from my drawer.

Once I'm changed, I head downstairs slowly, my head feeling as if it is ten thousand pounds instead of like eight or something.

I eat my oatmeal slowly, annoyed that it is too mushy for my tastes. Then I go upstairs and crawl back into bed until Mom calls me down again to leave.

Annoyances.

* * *

"...and that," my math teacher concludes, "Is how you get the sum of eight x plus seven y plus three x, and it is eleven x plus seven y. Annabelle, would you like to come up and demonstrate the next problem on the board?"

NO. "Sure." I get up from my seat and bump against the table leg. I almost fall straight on my face. Laughter breaks out, and my face gets red as I continue to the board. I pick up the white board pen.

"All right, do this one: three m plus four d plus seven x plus four d plus thirteen n."

I stare at the problem I've written down: 3m + 4d + 7x + 4d + 13n = Equals... equals... equals... EQUALS... 3m + 8d + 7x + 13n I write.

"CORRECT! GOOD JOB! BRAVO! YAY!" Ms. Burmingsfeld claps excitedly. No one else does. I walk back to my seat and sit there, bored, for the rest of math.

"I'm hungryyyyyyyyyy." Ali complains, her huge blue eyes downcast. I hear her stomach rumble, and she looks at me pointedly.

"I don't have any food!" I exclaim, feeling guilty.

"Hi." Mabel says.

"Food?" Ali asks hopefully.

Mabel rolls her eyes, "No. I know you just want candy." 

"No I DON'T!" Ali complains, "I want something to eat. I didn't have breakfast. But candy is good..." Ali has this... well... completely utterly crazy candy obsession. To say the least. "Sugar helps me concentrate. And stuff." Ali tells us.

"Yeah, right." Mabel snorts, "Come on, we've got to hurry up or we'll be late to Spanish."

"No one CARES, Mabel." Ali informs her, "We don't learn anything, all we do is pass notes. All. Class. And no one, NO ONE has ever noticed. Like, um, EVER. Half the class is late every single day."

"Let's not be TOO late, though..." I say. The final bell rings. We're still in the other building.

"Whoops!" Ali giggles, and I glare at her,

"Now we're LATE!"

"And?" Ali pointedly looks around at the other groups of students taking small, small steps towards the building.

"Ugh!"

"Okay, come on, come on." Mabel says, smiling at the two of us. How is she so so so so so so so so sooooo calm and relaxed and perfect all the time?! Crazy girl... Crazy crazy crazy crazy insane person.

We walk into the Spanish classroom and take our seats all next to each other, which was a REALLY bad idea on the teacher's part, but what can I say? I'm perfectly fine with this arrangement! Ooops... we kind of are the last people to be in the class. OOOPS.

Señora Medina clears her throat and says, "¿Tarea?" Then, translation because we are all stupid (I SO KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS, BUT... I kind of... forgot to do it? And she assigned it last week...) "Homework! Pile it up in the front! On the desk!"

I gulp and head up to the desk, "Um, Señora Medina, I... uhh... well, I kind of-"

She doesn't even bat an eye, "I'll mark it down that you don't have homework. You and the seven other people..." She sounds frustrated. I WONDER WHY.

"Sorry..." I mutter, but she doesn't appear to have heard me. So I walk away.

As soon as I get back to my table, Mabel stares accusingly at me, "YOU DIDN'T DO YOUR HOMEWORK! YOOOOOU DIIIIDN'T DOOOO YOOOUR HOOOOMEWOOOOORK!!!!!!"

"Busy week." I shrug.

The funny thing is, Mabel SHOULD be in the smarter class, or "Accelerated Spanish", but she didn't talk much last year, so the teachers just assumed that she was... stupid or something, even though her test scores and homework and worksheets showed differently. Not the nicest thing, but at least we're all together!

"Heyyy..." Ali says, an all-too-familiar teasing gleam in her eyes, "Are you still obsessed with CHAAAAASE?"

I feel my cheeks burn, "SHUT UP! Someone's gonna HEAR idiot!"

"He's not here." She shrugs, "What does it matter?"

"Well, some of his FRIENDS are here, idiot. Idiot. IDIOOOOOT!"

"Touchy, touchy, darling."

"Ugh, you don't understand, do you, Ali? You HAVE a boyfriend!" I shoot at her.

Now Ali's cheeks burn. Payback. "I do NOT! To be boyfriend and girlfriend, you have to go out on three dates, and we've only been out on-"

"Two, soon to be three." Mabel interrupts her.

"Shut UP!" Ali gets up to turn her homework in.