That's Life, Bud

the ultimate couple

"Hey, why is Addi sitting with the popular girls?" Michael asked us.

"Yeah, and why aren't they following you around, Carter?" Patrick added.

"By the way, your hair looks sick," Jet said.

"Sick as frick," Emma agreed. It was lunch and it was the first time I was able to sit with my actual friends and not have the populars bombard me. Everyone except Addi, of course, sat at the table, asking me questions.

"Thanks . . . I'm sorry, what was the question?"

"What is the deal with you, Addi, and the populars?" Michael said yet again.

"Oh, do I have a story for you," I said and got everyone's attention. Then I explained what had happened at the mall, from my hair dye to me walking away from the group of shocked girls. They all just looked at me with wide eyes. Then Harper gasped.

"So that's why she did that!" she muttered to herself. Then she realized we were all staring at her with confused looks and she said, "Oh, this morning I was going to ask her a question, but when I walked up to her, she just scoffed, rolled her eyes, and pushed past me with Kayla and Trin following her."

I winced. "Great, now she thinks that she rules the school."

"But wait, she only pretended to be our friend because she wanted to get closer to me?" Michael asked.

"Looks like it," I said and ate a salty french fry.

"Well, this is weird; I didn't even really like her as a friend. She was always kind of . . . I don't know, clingy," he told us. Emma chuckled.

"Yeah, I realized after that that she never really made an effort to talk to me outside of our group," I noted. Everyone else agreed.

We ate for a bit until Austin asked, "Wait, does anyone know why Mr. A wasn't in class today?"

I raised my hand. "I got him in trouble," I stated and munched on another fry.

Austin looked at me in surprise. "How did you manage to get a teacher in trouble?" he asked in disbelief.

I threw my head back. "Urggghhh, I've been talking too much today."

"But I need to know how you got a teacher in trouble!"

"Emma and Patrick and Harper where there! Ask them!" I exclaimed.

"We weren't with you at the principal's office, though," Patrick stated and Emma nodded in agreement.

"No, you weren't," I grumbled. "But Rian was . . ." I said under my breath.

"What?" asked Jet.

"Hey Rian!" I called over to the table across from us. He looked at me and I waved him over.

"Yeah?" he asked and sat down in a empty seat.

"Please explain what happened in the principal's office to my ignorant friends," I said and gestured to them.

"Hey!" Austin said bitterly.

"Oh, ok. Well. . . " Rian took the next 5 minutes telling everyone word for word what had happened in the office. When he was finished, he turned to me. "And that's about it, right?" he asked.

"Yup, thanks," I said.

"K, see ya," he replied and walked back to his table. K, see ya. Come on. How hard is it for you to say OK?

"So that's how you got a teacher in trouble," Austin stated.

"Pretty much. What did the sub have you do in Social studies?"