Unexpected

Chapter 4

                                                                                                    ~Elmo~

"So..." I trailed off awkwardly, trying to break the silence.

"Look, let's just get one thing straight. I don't care about anything that has to do with homework, so don't expect anything." Hunter suddenly said, and I was taken back at his bluntness. When I looked up at him, I saw he was looking at Dani's and Nicole's partners and I suddenly realized why he was so mad.

"You wanted to group with your friends, didn't you?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. His head snapped towards me, and slowly nodded as if looking for a reaction.

"I understand; I wanted to be grouped with my friends too. They're the ones that are grouped with your friends." I explained, and he looked at me with confusion and uneasiness.

"So you're okay with it? That I'd much rather be with them than be with you?" He asked, eyeing  me cautiously.

"Yup, it's totally fine. I honestly feel the same way, but we still have to work together. So let's just put aside what we want and do this project together." I replied, surprising him and myself with my calm and orderly voice. He was about to reply when the teacher spoke up.

"Oh and by the way, this project is worth 75% of your final grade in this class. If you don't complete this project, you will fail this class and have to take it again with me in the summer." The whole class, including me, groaned. "Cheer up! This will be fun if you use your time wisely." She says looking towards specific people.

The silence between us got way too uncomfortable for me, so I decided to say something.

"So what's our topic?" I asked him, and he takes out the crumpled piece of paper and reads it.

"It says 'today's society'. What the hell does that mean?" He replied, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"It means what today's society is like compared to before times. And I don't appreciate your cursing Mr. Stone." Mrs. Turner said from behind me, and we turned to see her glaring at Hunter. He just rolled his eyes at her.

"You two have the last presentation, and it will wrap up all of the other topics. You'll basically be talking about how society is nowadays and how much it has changed over the years. I'm counting on the both of you so don't screw this up." And with that, she turned around and walked away to go terrorize another group. "Jeez, no pressure at all." I muttered under my breath.

I hear Hunter laugh. "I never knew you had that in you miss 'goody two shoes,'" he says. I roll my eyes.

"They say brightest people have darkest sides." I replied, and the bell suddenly rang. I got up and grabbed my bag, giving Hunter one last smile before leaving with my friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I hate that Mrs. Turner. She's always been after me ever since the first day of school." Nicole stated angrily as we walked home after school. "Well maybe you shouldn't have fallen asleep in her class on the first day of school." Dani mocked, laughing at the memory as Nicole glared at her. "Well maybe she shouldn't have been so boring." Nicole snapped, walking ahead of us.

"I don't know, I kind of get why she's doing this." They both stopped walking when I started talking, turning to look at me in surprise. "You like this arrangement? But you're with the guy who shoved you this morning." Dani asked in confusion.

"Yeah, but I get why Mrs. Turner paired everyone with people they don't normally associate with." When I didn't get a reply, I took that as a sign to continue. "The whole reason for this project is supposed to talk about how society is changing us and enclosing us into groups or 'cliques' or whatever, and we only stick to the people in our groups. She's doing this so we can change society's idea and open ourselves to other people and maybe experience from their lives."

"Wow." Nicole said, staring at me in surprise. Dani's jaw dropped, making me blush. "What?" I asked shyly, feeling nervous under their stares. "Who knew you had all that in you Elmo." Dani say and laughs. Nicole joins her and soon we are all laughing.

That's what I love about them. We can laugh for hours about the smallest things.

"But serious talk now." Nicole says. "Do you like him?" She asks and both her and Dani look at me. "Not like how you're thinking." I say. "How are we thinking?" Dani asks. "You're thinking that I like him as in boyfriend like him." I say. "What? No..." Nicole says. "Yeah sure." I say and roll my eyes.

"So..." Dani says. "Yeah?" Me and Nicole say. "We should so have a sleepover today." Dani says, trying to act casual but we saw right through her. Lately, Dani's parents have been fighting ever since her mom, Mrs. Jones, found out Mr. Jones was cheating on her with his secretary. Let's just say things took an ugly turn after that, leaving Dani stuck in the middle of it since she's the only child left in the house ever since her brothers went into the army.

"Sure, why not?" I replied, making Dani sigh in relief. Me and Nicole shared a concerned look, but didn't say anything in fear of Dani breaking down. Dani always likes to think she's made of stone and that nothing can bother. But even stones crumble sometimes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours into our sleepover, I look over at Nicole. She looks back at me and I can tell we are thinking the same thing. What's wrong with Dani?

She gives me a look and I nod understanding. "Hey Dani, we'll be right back." I say to Dani as Nicole and I get up and go downstairs.

"I wonder if Dani's okay." I say once I'm sure we are far enough for her to hear. "Yeah, me too. She's been so depressed lately." Nicole agreed, biting her lip in worry. "Do you think it's about.. You know, her parents?" Nicole asks. "I have no idea... But that might be it." I respond sighing.

"I wonder if she will talk about it if we ask." I suggest. "Its Dani we're talking about here. You know she doesn't like talking about her feelings like that." Nicole says. "You're right... But what can we do?" I ask thinking. "Just be there for her, I guess.." Nicole says.

"I miss her crazy annoying personality. I want it back." I whined, leaning on the wall. Nicole nodded and sighed, leaning on the opposite wall so we were facing each other. A few moments later, Dani came walking in.

"What's up guys?" She asked, looking at both of us. "What's going on Dani?" Nicole blurted before I could stop her. Dani suddenly stiffened and looked at her. "What do you mean?" She asked in an innocent voices but we knew she was just putting up a facade. Dani has always hated sharing her feelings, so she usually just keeps hiding it away from everyone. That's why it's really hard for her to get close to people.

"You know what we mean." I replied before Nicole could say anything. Dani turned to me, and her eyes suddenly turned cold. "It's none of your business." She snapped in a cold tone, making me back up a little bit. "Danielle!" Nicole yelled, making Dani turn to her. "What? It's none your business either." Dani said in the same cold tone, but Nicole didn't back down.

"Just because you're going through a hard time doesn't mean you have the rut to snap at the people who actually care about you. Pushing people away isn't going to help anyone. Trust me; out of all people, I should know." Nicole snapped in an equally cold voice, her glare directed at Danielle.

"Whatever, you guys don't even understand. No one f*cking does." Dani replied. And with that, she grabbed her purse and stomped out of the house. I stepped forward to go after her, but Nic stopped me. "Let her go. She needs to cool off." She said, watching as Dani slammed the door closed.