MUGD Chapter 11

“What do you mean, you didn’t make the team?” Lee asked.  “Do you know what I’m going to do to that coach!?” His fists were clenched, and his eyes filled with rage.  I knew this look; I had seen in on Dan many times.  Lee didn’t plan on hurting the coach, but he really wanted to.  Dan taught me how to tell.  People who plan on inflicting damage on someone aren’t going to tell anyone; they’re going to act on impulse.  People who just want to inflict damage on someone are going to tell the world.  They’re going t vent, or start handing out empty threats.
“I mean, who wouldn’t want Nick Porker on their basketball team?”
“Apparently, Cabot’s,” Nick replied.
“But why…?”
“Well, it’s obvious,” I said.  Both boys looked at me like I wasn’t being as supportive as I should have.  Then, I remembered: Nick wasn’t just Nick, like I was just Monica.  He was Nick Porker, star of youth NBA.  He wasn’t used to this kind of rejection.  I decided to state my opinion… more gently than I had originally planned.  “What I mean is, this is Cabot’s School for the Talented and Bright.  Many famous people were discovered here.” I felt like I was quoting a brochure, and Lee and Nick simply weren’t getting my point.  I sighed.  “They probably want fresh talent.”
Clearly, this was the wrong thing to say to a semi-professional athlete.
“Fresh talent!?” Nick repeated with rage.  “Why does it matter to them how fresh the talent is, so long as it’s talent!? Talent is talent! So, why didn’t I get put on the team? Don’t these people care about winning?”
I looked over my shoulder.  Students who were currently, or already had arrived, were beginning to stare.  Luckily, they looked away as soon as they noticed I noticed. 
“And if they didn’t want me here for my basket ball skills, then why would I be here?”
I couldn’t say it.  I wouldn’t way it.  Though I knew the answer probably had something to with publicity, I refused to say it.
“Nick’s got a point,” said Lee.  “This is a school for talented people.  How are they supposed to nurture their talent if they won’t even put him on the team?”
I found myself seeing Lee as a lawyer.  If he learned to pay more attention in classes, maybe, one day, he would be.
“Well…” I knew the boys weren’t going to drop the subject until they received a satisfactory answer.  And I was the only one who could give them one (the coach, chances are, would not have wanted to be specific).  “Someone told me that, for the first few years here at Cabot’s, they won’t really do anything for your talent.  My guess is that you, Nick, have pretty much told them you’re talented.  Maybe they want to find out on their own.”
This wasn’t what Nick wanted to hear, and I was aware of it.  However, I longed for the conversation to be over, and ended it by saying, “A perfect opportunity to show them you’re talented in class.  Every virtue or skill necessary to pursue a dream with your talent.  Perseverance; dedication: Could you have your talent without them?” Now I really felt like an advertisement.  “To be more specific, Nick, to play basketball, you’ve got to use both strategy and awareness - not to mention physical capabilities.  Lee, playing checkers requires patience, logic.  You’ve got to know your opponent’s move before they make it.  Don’t you see? If you use these tactics in class, teachers are going to realize your abilities.”
The boys turned up their noses at the idea of ‘giving their all’ in classes, but over the next few weeks (we all stayed at Lee’s house over the weekend), I swore I saw improvement… or rather, they began to show a bit of effort.  Slowly, gradually, their grades were raised.  I suggested we celebrate, but they didn’t find the rising of one GPA point worth praised, so we let the event slip past, unnoticed.
Halloween crept up so stealthily, I was overcome by shock when I was told it was only a week away.
“Woo-hoo,” said Nick lamely.  “It’s just Halloween.  Who celebrates that anyway?”
I sank a bit in my seat in the cafeteria.  I felt like I was at my old elementary school again, at the Rejects’ table.
“Lots of people,” said Lee.  “Well, lots of little kids anyway.  You know, trick-or-treating and such… little kid stuff.”
I sank even lower in my seat.  Just the year before, I had been one of those ‘little kids’.  Dan and The Guyz had taken me trick-or-treating.  I was a queen, and Dan, Chad, and Brad had all been throne bearers.  I wasn’t all that thrilled about my throne resting on three boys’ shoulders, but the neighborhood though it was kind of cool, so I lived.
“Monica, what are you doing?” Nick asked.
I had no excuse for being eye-level with the table.  “Nothing,” I said, and then changed the subject.  “Did you know that Halloween really has nothing to do with the devil? I mean, loads of people won’t celebrate it because they think it’s the devil’s birthday or something, but really, it’s All Hallows Eve, the day before - Eve - All Saints Day.  Hallows means ‘Holy’ such as Saints.” The boys gave me ‘why-do-you-think-we-wanted-to-know-that?’ looks, to which I responded, “Thought you might want to know.”
“Speaking of things that people might want to know…” said a voice behind my shoulder.  The voice belonged to a thin man in a pinstriped suit.  His chin was pointed, and his cheekbones stuck out, giving his hazel eyes the appearance that they were being sucked into their sockets.
I gasped, and then tried to force words out of my mouth.  “I - I -  I-” I tried to bring oxygen to my lungs, enough to say a couple more words, but I found none.
“Could I have your attention, please?” he said loudly.
Silence fell, but no one reacted as I did.  I was disappointed that my fellow classmates couldn’t recognize their founder.  Those that weren’t in my class, I suppose, had the excuse that they had seen him the previous year.
Cabot cleared his throat.  “Ah, thank you.  Guess what time it is?”
“Lunch time?” Lee said.
Cabot looked at Lee.  “Guess silently.  Yes, thank you.  Now, as I was saying, it is Halloween.  And you all know what that means, don’t you?”
I saw people a few years older than me nod with excited looks.
Cabot nodded.  “Mm-hmm.  Yes.  It’s time for the first dance of the year!”
I could just hear Dan explaining why my elementary school didn’t have dances: “Because you’re emotionally immature.” Well, ha.  In your face, Dan.  I’m going to a dance.  I’m emotionally mature.
“Awesome!” Leah shouted.
“Ah.” Cabot pointed at Leah.  “Which brings me to another point: you must be at least thirteen to attend the dance.  Sorry.”
“And what exactly are we people younger than thirteen supposed to do while everyone else is out having a good time?” Nellie asked.
“Well, you all can touch up on the talents you’re supposed to have,” Cabot replied.
“Excuse me?” said Duke’s cold, sludgy voice.  “I wonder, what would happen if, say, an eleven-year-old was asked to the dance by a thirteen-year-old? Would you expect the eleven-year-old to say no?”
“That’s the only exception,” said Cabot.  “Now, I’ll leave you to finish your meal.”
Cabot left.
Lee waved a hand in front of my face.  “Hello? Are you through being awestruck? Who does that guy think he is, anyway?”
“That was William Cabot,” I explained.  “I’d know his face anywhere! He is the founder of Cabot’s School for the Talented and Bright.  I can’t believe you didn’t know that.”
“What on earth?” said Nick.  He was looking in the direction of a girl, older than the three of us, who was talking to Duke.  She was thing, and had very light brown, thin hair.  Another girl, not too far away, was watching Duke.  This girl was chubby and blonde.
“What do you s’pose is going on?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I said.  “The blonde girl is in our grade, and so is Duke.  The brunette’s old enough to go to the dance and is asking Duke to go with her.  The blonde girl isn’t sure what to think about this.” I shocked myself at how much of the “signs” for these things I remembered… I missed Dan.
The boys looked at me incomprehensibly.  “What’re you talking about?” Nick asked.
“Me?” I said.  “What’re you…?” I peered harder in that direction.  There was a flyer just behind Duke’s head.  All I could make out of it was a huge ‘13’.
“Oh, that,” I said.  “Forget what I just said, then.  I don’t know what that is.  A flyer for the dance?”
The boys shrugged.  We finished out lunch and then headed for the flyer.

For those of you who are
13
I hope you’ve touched up
your talents throughout
the past two years.
For, behold!
Your test is at hand!

The boys rolled their eyes.
“Behold, your test is at hand…” I muttered.  “I wonder what that means.”
“Who cares?” said Lee, who then pointed at the word ‘your test’.  “It’s a test.”
“Of talent,” I clarified, pointing at the word, ‘talent’.
“Cool,” said Nick.  “Finally, a test I can ace!”
“You sound awful confident, hot shot,” I said.
Nick raised an eyebrow at me.  “Monica, I’m Nick Porker.  I have talent.  I don’t need some multiple choice test to tell me that.”
For the next two weeks, the eleven- and twelve-year-olds were relatively secluded from the rest of the school.  Except Duke.  He was part of the crowd we were avoiding.  The crowd itself was organized into a few groups.  One group (that was by far the largest) was or girls, discussing wardrobe ideas and dates for the dance.  A slightly smaller group was the couples’ group.  We avoided these two groups like the plague.  A very small group included several guys planning some prank for the dance.  I found myself wondering which of these groups would include Dan at his current school…
“This is so lame,” said Lee, gesturing to the crowd we were trying to avoid.
“Not so much lame as sickening,” I said.
Nick snarled his nose.  “Too bad we can’t make them go away.”
“perhaps,” I said.  “But we can.  We can go away.  I’m sure this school has a lot to offer if we give it half a chance.”
“What’re you talking about?” Nick asked.  “We’ve given it months of chances!”
“And besides,” said Lee.  “If we stay in school, we can’t get away from-” he gestured to the crowd, “- the school.”
“You two are so naïve,” I said.  It felt weird for me, who had been called naive for years, to finally use the word on someone else.  “What is the most interesting aspect of a person or place? It’s secrets.  It’s hidden places.  Those things are often not seen fully by the people around them, however close those people might get.”
The boys looked at each other, and then back at me.
“I suspect that if we learn to thing of Cabot’s more like a home away from home, and less like a boarding school, we’ll find ourselves more prone to enjoy ourselves.”
The boys merely shrugged, expressions bare.
“For example,” I said, growing exasperated from their stubbornness.  “I’ve been wanting to check out the library.  We’ve been here for months and, save for detention, I’ve not hardly been there at all.  Nick, if the basketball team doesn’t have practice scheduled for today, you could check out the gym.  Work on your free-throws? And Lee, I wonder if there’s any amateur checker-players you could practice on…”
“Fine,” said Nick.  “We’ll come.  But only because, if we don’t, you’ll be nagging us again and again and again and again-”
“Fabulous,” I said.  “Where to first?”
Library, I guess,” Lee sighed.
The three of us walked to the library, me being the only one looking anxious and enthusiastic.
I headed immediately for the non-fiction section, for not only was it far vaster in inventory, but as Dan pointed out more than once, the truth is often more shocking than fiction.  However, I lost the boys before I’d even scanned the first shelf.  I looked over my shoulder to find them rummaging through the shelf of newly-released fiction books.  I sighed and skimmed the titles on the bindings of the books at my eye-level.  Within the first minute, I’d grabbed three: one that looked interesting, one by a well-known author, and one that was thick and leather-bound.
I made my way to the librarian’s desk, but before reaching it, noticed something.  A computer.
“Nick! Lee!” I hissed, but because  they were so far away, they didn’t hear me.  I waved my arms over my head, but they didn’t see me.  Eventually, I walked over to them and dragged them to the computer.
“Wow!” said Lee.  “A computer! You know they’re really rare in New York City…”
I rolled my eyes.  “Don’t be sarcastic to that which will help you.”
“And how are you going to help me?” Lee asked.
“Besides saving you from failing this grade?” I asked.  “But I wasn’t talking about me.  I meant the computer.” I sat down in the chair and logged on to the internet.  Easily, I located a site of online games, and amongst the online games was one of the most common: checkers.
“You’re welcome,” I said as I stood up, allowing Lee to sit down.  “Happy training.  Come on, Nick, I’m going to check out these books, then we’ll head for the gym, okay?” I stepped quickly, but softly to the librarian’s desk.  I got myself a library card, and check out my books.
Leaving Lee in the library, Nick and I went into the gym.  Like most, there was a basketball court.
“You got a ball?” I asked.
Nick grabbed a ball from a black bag on the floor, and dribbled it a couple times.  He then shot a basket without the ball touching the net.  “You can read on those bleachers over there.”
I scoffed, then snuck up behind him and stole the ball.  When I shot it, it rolled around the rim a bit, but it did go in.
“Whoa!” he said.  “What was that?”
“Haven’t you ever heard of the WNBA?”
“You play then?”
“Heck, no,” I said.  “But you should never underestimate a girl.”
He half-smiled, half-smirked.  “Can I…?”
“Yeah,” I said, holding up my books.  “I’m gone.  Actually, I think I’ll take these to my dormitory.”
And so I did.  I crawled into bed and began reading the leather-bound book (the only one I took out that turned out to be fiction).
It was about a girl who was an only child, and lived a practically normal life.  Until she became a teenager.  Then, the secrets of her life unraveled: her biological dad; her step-dad, the girl’s true identity.
I found the book so fascinating, I could hardly tear my eyes away from it; all three of the books provided the same captivating sensation.  However, they were so long, I had to renew them and check them out over and over again.  The day after I finished them…

“So, you both coming over for Christmas?” Lee asked.
“What!?” I exclaimed.  “Christmas already!?”
“How is it you can give us the time left, to the minute, ‘till our next test, but you can’t keep track of one of the biggest holidays of the year?” Nick asked.
“So, you guys coming, or what?” Lee asked.
“You know I’m there,” said Nick.
“And Monica, you’ll be coming, of course.”
“No, actually, I won’t,” I said.
“Why not?” Lee actually looked surprised.  “The Christmas dance is only for people thirteen and over, you know.”
“Lee, I haven’t seen my parents in four months,” I said.  “They’ll be furious if I don’t use these two weeks to visit them.”
“Yeah, I guess I forgot,” said Lee.  “Enjoy your flight to Alabama.”
“I’m not leaving yet, Lee,” I reminded him.  “I’ve got, what, a week?”
“Three days, “Lee corrected.
“Three days?” I repeated.  “Three days! That means our tests are  in-”
“Two days,” Nick finished.  “We though you knew.  We though you’d been studying all this time; you’d been reading so much…”
“I read,” I said.  “It’s what I do.”
For the next two days, I studied, hard.  I spoke to no one; focused 100% on my studies.  Lee and Nick accompanied me half he time, the other half, just me and my text books, as it used to be.  The memory embedding in my déjà vu seemed so far away.  Had it really been no more than a year?
“Hey, Mom,” Lee said into the payphone outside the school.  “Yeah, I did.  Mostly upper 90s.  Nah, she’s got folks in Alabama.  I know! I forgot too… Nick’ll be there, though.  Oh, yeah,” Lee glanced over his shoulder where I was hovering.  “Monica would like to know if, where you’re taking me and Nick back to the house, you could drop her off at the airport.  You can? Great.  Now Monica can stop breathing down my back about it.”
I took the hint, and stepped back a few paces.  While Lee finished his conversation, I considered my possibilities.  The first was obvious: to call my mother, and have her meet me at the airport.  The second was sneakier.  And I liked it.
“Bye, Mom,” Lee said as he hung up the payphone.  “I guess you’ll want to call your folks now?” He was talking to me.
“No,” I said, suppressing an evil grin.  “They’ll… they’ll be waiting for me.”
“How long will we be waiting for your mom, Lee?” Nick asked.
“She said a couple of hours,” Lee replied.  “She wants to clean house a bit.  And she wants to give us time to pack, I suppose.”
“Pack,” I muttered.  Then, I said that word again and again in my head.  For months, I had hardly had to pack anything, save for clean clothes.  Now I had to pack everything I had brought to Cabot’s… I nearly laughed at the thought, for even with all that I brought, I had about half the amount of stuff that Lee and Nick had brought, and therefore, was finished pack in half the time.
I used my extra time t return my library books.  Lee and Nick met me there.
“Come on, Monica, my Mom should be here soon.” Lee beckoned me to leave, then ushered me out of the school, where the orange minivan was waiting for us.
“First stop, New York Airport,” said Mrs. Sooplex.  “It’s going to be very crowded, so I’ll walk you in, and make sure you get on the right flight.”
“Oh, no,” I replied.  “That really isn’t necessary.”
“Hmm…” For a moment, I thought she was considering it, but, “Perhaps it isn’t.  But until you get on that plane, you are, so to speak, my responsibility.  Now, I wouldn’t have one of my own children wandering about unaccompanied in an airport.  It’s bad enough that you’ll be flying several states all by yourself; I will definitely be walking you in.”
“okay,” I said.  There was no saying no to that woman.
When we arrived at the airport, I realized just how right Mrs. Sooplex was; the place was packed! Not before driving around the parking lot a couple times did we actually enter the building.  Then, we had to wait in line and get my ticket.
“The next flight is in twenty minutes,” said the flight attendant.
“Get he a ticket for that, then,” Mrs. Sooplex requested.
“Two tickets? okay-”
“No!” I quickly interrupted the man.  “It’s just one.  Just me.  You see, I-”
“okay, one ticket then…”
Mrs. Sooplex reached into her purse.  She was about to pay!
“Look, I’ve got the money here,” I explained.  “My mother gave it to me at the end of last summer, right before school started.  Here you are, sir.” I handed the man the money before Mrs. Sooplex could object.
“Very well,” the man said, his face blank with boredom.
Mrs. Sooplex and I gave my luggage to an attendant.
“Your mother will be waiting for you at the other airport,” said Mrs. Sooplex.
“What? Oh, yes, of course.  Right.”
Actually, my mother wouldn’t be waiting for me at the end.  I knew this; it was part of my plan.
Mrs. Sooplex sighed.  “Now, just get on the plane, and enjoy your trip home.”
I smiled, again envying Lee that he had a mother who was always there for him.  “okay.  Bye, Mrs. Sooplex!” I called as I waved and retreated slowly toward the plane.
“See you in two weeks!”
“Have a merry Christmas, Mrs. Sooplex!”
“You too, dear.” That was the last I heard of the woman for two weeks.
I searched the plane for a good seat, and found one by the window.  I was terrified of heights, but I figured that, after we took off, the view would be nice.
I twiddled my thumbs for a few minutes.  Great.  The plane hasn’t even taken off, and already, I’m bored.  I sighed and buckled my seatbelt.  In only twenty minutes, we would be taking off.
And so we did.  I found the motion of the plane soaring through the air was soothing, and the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes.  We had landed.
I took a short breath, unbuckled, and then stood up.  I found my way to the exit, where Mrs. Sooplex presumed my mother would be waiting.  But, of course, my mother wasn’t there, and a wave of excitement passed over me.  I was on my own and liking it.  My parents were in for a surprise.
I asked an attendant about transportation services.  Surely I wasn’t going to walk home.
“Well,” she said.  “You’ve got your cab service, and there’s the bus.  I s’pose it’d depend on where abouts you were headed.  How many miles?”
I stopped for a moment, wishing I knew the distance, jogging my memory for any small clue.
“Mall,” I muttered under my breath, shuddering as I remembered my last encounter with the place.
“What?”
“Uh…” I shook my head.  “What’s the name of the nearest mall?”
“The Two-Story Mall,” the woman replied.
I paused for a moment.  I knew that name.
“Yes, yes, I know,” the attendant said.  “It’s a pathetic name.”
“Oh, that’s not what I meant.  It’s just that…” I took a deep breath while I collected my thoughts.  “How far from here is the Two-Story Mall?”
“Not too far,” the woman replied.  “Ten miles at most.”
“Then it should be about seventy-five miles I’ll need to travel.”
“I’ll? the woman repeated.  “You mean you’re hear by yourself? Golly, the things parents will let their children do on their own!”
“Ma’am, your recommendations?”
“You could take two buses and a cab,” the woman answered.  “Or, you know, we have a service that drives you home…”
“Well, ma’am, why didn’t you say so before?”
I couldn’t believe how much time I wasted talking to that woman, how much closer I could be to home, had I not talked to her.  So, I took what money I had left to pay for the cab service.
I sighed as I climbed into the car, and fidgeted uncomfortably through the whole ride, constantly checking the dial that said how much I owed.  When we were passing Tidal Park, I only had one dollar left, so I had the driver drop me off there.
Great, I thought as the car drove away.  Now I’ve got to drag my suitcase all the way home.  I hadn’t prepared for that, but seeing little other choice, I picked up my suitcase and walked home.
I gasped as I turned onto my street when the thought occurred to me that my parents might not be home.  I found it unnecessary to worry, however, when I saw a polka-dotted Cadillac in the driveway.  I smiled and crept toward the house.
I took a deep breath and opened the front door. 
“Robert, honey, is that you?” my mother’s voice called softly from the other room.
“Hello!?” I called loudly.  “I’m home!”
My mother rushed into the room.  “Monica…” she approached me slowly, like one would approach a corpse in a casket at a funeral home.  Then she wrapped me in a tight hug.
Maybe she is as sweet as Mrs. Sooplex…
“Yeah,” I said once she released me.  “I’m home for Christmas.”
“Oh, I’ve missed you,” she said, and for a moment I thought she was going to hug me again, but she didn’t.  “Well, aren’t you going to tell me about Cabot’s? I saw a bit of it when I dropped you off, but what’s it like?”
“Don’t you want me to wait until Dan and Dad are here so I can tell them, too?” I asked.
“No, no, it’s okay,” she replied.
“You won’t have to wait, I’m here.” After Dad spokaye from the doorway, there was silence.  The tone he used was the same tone that he used when Dan was in trouble.  But he wasn’t talking to Dan this time.  In face, Dan was standing right beside him, his irritable expression matching Dad’s perfectly.
“I, um… did I do something wrong?” I asked.
“You’re home early,” said my mother.
“Monica, how’d you get here?” Dad asked.
“Is everything okay at work?” my mother asked.
“What kind of question is that?” I asked.  “Huh, Dad?”
“Young lady, I don’t like your tone,” Dad scolded.
“Why is Daniel here?” my mother asked.  “Was he with you at work?”
I couldn’t believe that, with all the talking going on, Dan remained silent.  I stared at his eyes, so deep.  It felt like he was saying, “This is all your fault.  And you don’t even know what you’ve done, do you?”
“NO!” I replied, out loud.  “Could you all just stop it!?”
Then, there was a deafening silence.  And finally, my mother said, “So this is what New York’s done to you.”
“NO!” I said again.  “All New York’s done to me is pen my eyes to how great life can be! If anything, it’s changed me for the better!”
“Young lady, I-”
“Don’t you ‘young lady’ me!” I snapped.  “If anyone’s changed, it’s you.  You sound like an Aunt Julie clone!”
I stomped off to my room (though I almost walked into the bathroom by mistake) and threw myself onto my bed, letting my suitcase fall into the floor.  However, I had slept the entire flight from New York, and was only able to lie awake, staring at my bookcase, which looked pathetic after seeing Cabot’s library.  I skimmed the titles: Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, and 101 Things You’d Never NEED to Know.  Each of these books I’d read numerous times, and I didn’t want to read them again, not today.
“Hey, Girl, what up?” asked Dan’s voice, suddenly coming from my doorway.
“You could’ve knocked,” I grumbled, my arms crossed.
“Hmph.” Dan turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Knock! Knock!
Dan reentered the room, and I couldn’t help but laugh.  It wasn’t his most hilarious, but it certainly lightened the mood.
“So, Cabot’s School for the Talented and Bright… what’s it like?” he asked.  “The school, New York, all of it.  How was it?”
“You actually want to hear about it?” I rolled over on my bed to look at him.  “I thought you were angry about something.”
“Well, for a while, we all were,” Dan replied.  “You didn’t write us or call us- well, in less you count your message on the answering machine… what was that about anyway?”
“Long story,” I said.
“We’ve got two weeks,” Dan said,
“Right.” I sighed.  “Two weeks.  So, do you want to hear about Cabot’s or my phone call?”
“Fine, I get it,” he said.  “You don’t want to talk about it.”
“Or maybe I think you don’t need to know everything down to the last detail.”
“O…kay.” Dan looked taken aback, but why? Why was everything his business? “Come on, we’ll talk later.  Right now, let’s go to the park, just how we used to.”
I shrugged.  “Alright, let’s go.”
“Don’t you want to change out of your uniform and into something more sensible?”
I looked down at the uniform I was wearing, realizing that he meant that a skirt was not ideal for the park.  “Yeah.  Yeah, I’ll change and be out in a minute.”
Dan left the room, and I walked over to my dresser.  I pulled out a pair of jeans.  Immediately after putting them on, I missed my skirt.  The jeans were rough and tight, not at all like the baggy gym shorts I had grown accustomed to.  I threw on a too-big hoodie over a loose t-shirt.  The complete attire felt foreign to me, like I was a dog in a cat’s fir coat, but I ignored this and went outside, finding Dan by the stop sign.  I took out my bicycle and hopped onto it, stumbling only briefly to remember how to use it.
Finally, I caught up to Dan, who realized this, and sped off toward Tidal Park, where The Guyz were waiting.
Upon first seeing us, Chad laughed.  “I don’t know what you were so worried about, Boss, The Girl hasn’t changed a bit.”
“Right down to the hair,” added a voice from behind me that sounded horribly familiar.  It was a female’s , but I couldn’t remember her name.  Until I turned around.
The person standing before me, I had never seen before.  She was wearing skin-tight jeans, and looked far older than fourteen, but I knew she was.  Her long, black hair flowed down her shoulders and back like a polluted river.  I did not know her.  I had met the twelve-year-old her.  I didn’t like her at age twelve, and I didn’t like her at age fourteen either.
“Hey, Natasha, what up?” Dan said coolly.  Was he actually flirting with her? I wanted to kick him.
“Ahem!” I said, not for fear of seeing spit-swap, but because Tashy was not at all good enough for Dan.
“What?” Natasha said without taking her eyes off Dan.
I was positive that I could get some support from The Guyz on this one, but no.  They were grinning at two girls who were batting their eyelashes from a few yards away,
I sat down on the dead grass, watching the last leaves fall from the trees, and blow away, never to be seen again.