Untitled (NaNoWriMo) Part 4/?
I finally hit 20k! Even though I'm supposed to be past 35k by now, heh. I probably won't finish until well into December...
If anyone has an idea for a title... I suck at making titles so help would be appreciated.
This consists of my writing from days 9 through 12.
Over the next couple months, the Fearsome Four-o, as they called themselves, became close. Cammie spoke to Greg less and less and nearly forgot her mission to prevent him from becoming evil. By this point, most of the underclassmen knew that they were all best friends, and that you would rarely, if ever, see one without at least one of the others.
It was one Friday afternoon when they were hanging out after school that Tina said something that would change everything, even though Cammie didn’t think much of it at the time. The four sat in the shade of a picnic table at the park on the corner of Walnut and Pine. Although the weatherman had predicted a cool autumn afternoon, it was warm. They sat pondering the weatherman’s lie in silence when Tina spoke out.
“Hey, you know the movie Ezekiel premiers next Wednesday.” Jaime lifted her head out of the hood of her white hoodie, which was on backwards. Kirsten nodded and Cammie, who wasn’t up-to-date on the latest movies, didn’t respond. “Well I’ve been wanting to see it since I read the book last year. My cousin goes to Caldwell and they have Monday off, so he got four tickets for the ten o’clock showing. Only his friends couldn’t go, so he’s giving them to me.”
“Umm, Tina, hate to break it to you, but we don’t have Monday off.” Jaime said, raising an eyebrow. But then a grin spread on Tina’s face that could only mean trouble.
“I know.” She said. “We’re gonna ditch third and fourth period. If you guys are up to it, that is.”
“We’ll be marked absent and they’ll call our parents and tell them.” Kirsten reminded. “And I dunno about you guys, but I’ll get in deep trouble.”
“Hey, I think it’s worth it.” Jaime said, shrugging. “You guys don’t have to come with if you don’t want to.”
“I’m only coming if there’s a way we can avoid getting in trouble and being marked absent.” Kirsten said. “Otherwise, count me out.” She folded her arms, looking around between Tina, Jaime, and Cammie, waiting for one of them to come up with an idea.
“Guys… I have an idea.” Cammie said. She bit her lip. “I can fix it on the attendance computer when Mrs. Harris is gone.” She told them. “Like during lunch. She leaves the office, but her room stays open. I know how to work it because I was an office assistant in middle school.” Alright, so the part about being an office assistant was a total lie, but the girls seemed to have bought it. Cammie knew she couldn’t tell them about being a technopath, but that she could use her power to make the attendance computer think that all four of them were present.
Kirsten visibly hesitated. “Well… alright, I’m in.” she said with a smile.
“As am I.” Cammie said. “Obviously.” She paused. “And… if something happens and I can’t fix it in time…” she bit her lip. “I take full responsibility and you can blame me all you like.”
“We’re not gonna blame you Cammie.” Kirsten said. “We’re taking a chance here by doing this. If anything happens, it won’t be your fault.”
Cammie sighed. “Alright, fine. So, what’s the plan then, Tina?”
A grin crept onto Tina’s face; one that Cammie had only seen once before - moments earlier when Tina mentioned ditching class. The girls all leaned in and Tina spoke quietly enough so that the parents who sat at the next table watching their kids swing wouldn’t overhear. “During the break after second period, we can take the bus to the theater. Since people walk down the street to Starbucks all the time, nobody will think anything of it. We watch the movie, eat lunch, and then head back at the end of our lunch break, in time for class.” She said. “Once again, nobody will think anything of it, since people go down the street to eat lunch all the time. If anyone asks, either on the bus or at the theater none of us have a class then.” She shrugged.
The girls agreed, Tina’s plan was well thought out, even if it was Cammie who figured out how to prevent them from getting in trouble for being absent. Since the bus came every fifteen minutes and their break started at nine thirty, they’d have plenty of time to get to the theater and buy popcorn before the movie started.
The girls sat around and talked for another couple of hours, during which time Tina summarized the book Ezekiel, Jaime complained about how annoying a boy named Austin in her Biology class was, and Cammie reassured Kirsten that she wasn’t completely invisible to Aidan. There was a silence, during which the girls all realized how late it was, but it was Cammie who first pointed this out. “We should all be getting home.” She said. The other girls agreed and, after saying their goodbyes, they went their separate ways, planning on meeting before school under the tree in front of the library.
It was only a few minutes later that Cammie found herself walking home, passing house after house after stereotypically suburban white picket fenced house. From a small street, she turned onto an even smaller one, continuing down it and around the perimeter of the cul-de-sac, her eye on the house at the 12-o’clock position. There seemed to be nobody around and there was an upside down bicycle discarded in the driveway, its front wheel turning slowly.
Pulling her keys out of her pocket, Cammie unlocked the front door and stepped inside. “It’s about time you got home.” She heard from the kitchen. It was, of course, Allison. “I’m making enchiladas today. They’re almost ready, so you’d better wash up.”
Cammie heard her stomach grumble. “I’m starving.” She said. She took the stairs up to her room, two at a time. “I’ll be down in a minute.” She said, dropping her backpack near her desk before heading to the bathroom to wash up before dinner.
***
By the time the next Wednesday came, the Fearsome Four-o had gone over the plan numerous times. They met at their usual meeting spot by the large tree in front of the library. Cammie was the first one to arrive, since her previous class was the closest. With her backpack at her feet, she leaned back against the tree in the direction she anticipated the others would come from. Coming around the corner of the building in front of her, Cammie saw Jaime and Kirsten appear only moments later. Their classes were next to each other. Cammie waved at them, and they came over to her. “I expected Tina to get here before us.” Kirsten said, making a face. “Her class is closer than ours. Not as close as yours, Cammie, but closer than ours.”
“Yeah I know…” Cammie bit her lip. “And Tina has the tickets too…” she sighed. “Well all we can do is wait. Maybe something held her back.” It took a couple of minutes, but Tina finally arrived, appearing from the same direction that Jaime and Kirsten had come from earlier.
“I’m sorry, my teacher held us in!” she apologized as she practically ran over to them, clutching the straps of her backpack as it bounced. “I have the tickets and the bus schedule, so let’s go!” She grinned. Obviously, she’d been looking forward to this for a long time.
Leaving campus was like an adventure, especially since they knew they were going to do something they shouldn’t by not returning for class. Add the fact that they were freshman who had never been off campus during school hours before and the fact that none of them had ever taken the city bus before, and it was understandable as to why the girls had been excited about more than just the movie. Cammie couldn’t help but feel pretty cool as she and her friends walked down the sidewalk. Most of the others around her were sophomores walking to Starbucks for a quick snack. As far as she knew, there were no other freshman off campus. They were the only ones. Even though they were doing something they shouldn’t, it gave her a good feeling.
“This is the bus stop.” Tina said as they approached a bench with a bus stop sign next to it. The bench was only big enough for three, so Cammie, Tina, and Kirsten sat while Jaime, who was the tallest of the four, stood in front of the sun to attempt to keep it from getting in the girls’ eyes. Tina checked her watch. “Wow, it took longer than I thought it would to walk down here.” She said, making a face. “At least this means we don’t have to wait as long. It should be here in five minutes.” She told them. There was a pause, and nobody spoke.
Then Jaime chimed in. “Hey, did I tell you guys about Austin?” she asked excitedly.
Tina raised an eyebrow. “What, the annoying jerk in your Biology class?” she asked. Cammie and Kirsten exchanged glances. All three were wondering the same thing; why was Jaime so excited if she had previously found him so exasperating?
But at Tina’s words, Jaime just shook her head. “He’s not annoying. He’s opinionated. Like me.” She smiled. “We were working on cell models in class and we partnered up together… he has a lot of the same political views as I do. It’s awesome!” she grinned.
“Woah woah woah, hold on a second.” Cammie said, making a face. “I thought you hated him. Or at least found him bothersome…”
“Well that’s before I heard him quoting George Carlin.” Jaime said with a smile and a nod. “He was talking to someone about religion before class and started going on about the idea of an invisible man living in the sky who is always watching everything you do, and if you do any of his ten very bad things he’ll send you to a special place of fire and burning and torture… but he loves you…” Jaime laughed. “Anyway, he was quoting that. And I figure, any guy who likes George Carlin can’t be all that bad, right?” Tina nodded and smiled. Cammie and Kirsten, who weren’t familiar with George Carlin, just shrugged.
Jaime started going on about how she approached Austin in his conversation with his friend to talk about George Carlin, then how he asked to be her partner in Biology. Cammie was listening with one ear, but she managed to sneak the ear buds to her iPod out of her pocket and pop one in the other ear. Placing her hand on the iPod through the fabric of her jeans, she was able to turn it on and put it on shuffle with her technopathy.
When Jaime started talking about George Carlin, Kirsten seemed to lose interest too. She turned to Cammie and gestured to the ear bud that wasn’t in Cammie’s ear, but just swung at her side. “Can I listen?” she asked.
“Sure.” Cammie said. The two girls listened to a fast-paced song and bobbed their heads to the music. The next song that came up was slow and boring, so without thinking, Cammie placed her hand on her iPod and, through the fabric of her jeans, technopathically told it to skip that song. It went to a more fast-paced song again.
“Woah.” Kirsten said, jerking back slightly as the song changed to a fast one again before the slow song even finished. “It changed.”
“Oh, uh, it does that sometimes. It’s just old, that’s all.” Cammie said, pulling an excuse out of thin air. But Kirsten seemed to have bought it, and was now humming along with the song that was playing.
It wasn’t long before the bus arrived, and the girls each took enough money out of their pockets and fed it through the machine on their way to the very back of the bus, where they all sat in a row. While Tina and Jaime continued talking about comedy, Kirsten and Cammie were silent as they listened to the song. Cammie was relieved that Kirsten had bought what she said about the iPod changing by itself and, just as if to prove her point, used her technopathy to skip to the next song partway through a rather funny song they were listening to.
“Woah.” Kirsten said suddenly once again. Then she giggled. “Gotta get used to that.” Cammie repressed a sigh. So she was safe. The last thing she needed right now was for her friends to start getting suspicious, and maybe discover that she had powers.
The four talked and listened to music on the way there. When the words “East Valley Mall” scrolled across the screen at the front of the bus as the next stop, Tina pulled the chord. “Alright, the next stop’s ours.” She said. They were going to the theater across the street from the mall. After the movie, they’d be able to eat lunch at one of the restaurants at the mall.
After getting off the bus, the four girls crossed the street. Tina handed each girl a ticket and they all entered the theater, handing their tickets to the man at the door. The theater had opened less than a year ago, and its newness was obvious by the sparkling tiled floors and clean condiments area. The video games in the arcade were all new and the soda machine didn’t have any sticky puddles on the floor around it. Cammie smiled. She loved it when things were clean and shiny and new.
“So, who wants food and drinks?” Jaime asked. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving.” She laughed. Jaime was always hungry. Maybe it was because she was so tall or because she did kickboxing after school, but she was somehow always hungry. Tina was starving too, while Cammie and Kirsten were less hungry than their friends. Together, the girls ordered a hot dog for Tina, nachos for Jaime, and popcorn and drinks for all four of them. After each paying for their share, they grabbed their food and headed off to Theater Four, where Ezekiel was about to begin.
***
“That was so good!” Tina exclaimed as they burst through the theater doors. “I mean, not as good as the book, but is it ever?” She shook her head.
“Did it stay faithful to the book, though?” Jaime asked. “Because I want to read it now but I heard it wasn’t all faithful…” She used one of her last chips to scoop most of the remaining nacho cheese into her mouth.
“Well mostly.” Tina said. She popped a few popcorn kernels into her mouth and ate them. “I mean, the bit about his dad was completely different from how it was done in the book. But other than that? Only little details. Like how the actor had brown hair even though he had black hair in the book. But that doesn’t matter too much.” She shrugged. “Only the super rabid fans make a big deal about inconsistencies other than the dad thing. And I’m not a super rabid fan.” There was a pause. The other three girls exchanged glances. “Alright, well I’m not nearly as bad as some people.” Tina corrected herself.
“Hey, that movie didn’t take too long.” Kirsten said, checking her watch. “We have plenty of time to hang out before eating lunch.” She looked between the girls. “What should we do with our time, then?”
Cammie looked around. “Well there’s the video game arcade… and the mall across the street.” She paused. Even though she really wanted to try out the arcade, she knew the girls would pick the mall.
“I’d say mall.” Kirsten said. “I’m not too big into video games. Amanda is though, more so than I am.”
“Definitely mall, there’s an awesome shop that has cool vintage stuff.” Jaime said. “I wanna get a pair of boots. Like the kind that aren’t slutty. Or Uggs. I hate Uggs.”
“I’m gonna have to go with mall too.” Tina said. “I like video games, but I get enough of them with my brother at home.” She said, making a face.
“Mall it is, then.” Cammie said with a shrug, leading the girls out of the theater.
“That vintage store I mentioned isn’t far from here.” Jaime said, pointing it out on the map. “Do you think we could go there first?” The girls agreed.
“I need to pick up a book for my cousin’s birthday, so we should stop by Barnes and Noble next.” Kirsten said. “It’s only a few doors down from the vintage store.”
“And I wanna stop by that chocolates shop.” Tina said. “Too bad it’s on the other side of the mall.” She said with a frown. “Anywhere you wanna go, Cammie?” she asked.
Cammie studied the map and smiled, pointing to a store. “There.” She said. Her finger was on the electronics store. “Call me a geek, but I love electronics stores.”
Jaime chuckled. “Anywhere else to stop, or is that it?” Nobody spoke. “Alright then, onward!” she cried, leading the way off to the vintage store.
***
“Alright, one last stop.” Cammie said as she and the other three girls left the chocolate shop. “Are you sure you don’t need help with that, Jaime?” she asked. Jaime, who had exchanged the flip flops she wore before for a new pair of cowboy boots, was carrying two plastic shopping bags and the messenger bag she used for school. She kept insisting that she could handle it, even though she kept dropping her purse.
“I’m fine Cammie.” Jaime answered, just like she had so many times in the last hour. She turned her head back to look at Tina, who was staring longingly at the chocolate cake in the window of the chocolate shop they had just left. “Come on Tina, she said it was reserved for someone. We were lucky enough that they gave us the recipe for it. Maybe we can get together and bake it sometime. As long as Kirsten’s willing to help though. Otherwise we’d probably burn it.” She said with a laugh.
“You mean you were lucky enough that my dad’s coworker’s wife works here.” Kirsten said with a small smile. “And of course I’ll help. Anytime you guys need to cook or bake something, you had better ask me for help. And not just because you’d screw up without me, but because, if you recall, I actually like cooking.”
“Well you’re going to make an amazing wife someday.” Tina said. Kirsten giggled. “Seriously, I’d be the worst wife ever. I can’t cook, hate cleaning, love junk food, and want to actually get a job when I grow up. Become a scientist or something”
“You mean you’d make a horrible housewife.” Jaime said. “Not all wives have to be housewives. And it’s a good thing you want to get a job. We need more women in the working world, especially in science and similar fields.”
“I hate to cut this lovely conversation short,” Cammie butt in “but weren’t we going to stop by the electronics store? We’re still standing outside the chocolates shop.” And indeed they were. Tina stepped away from the window over to where the other three stood.
“Alright then, let’s go.” Jaime said. The four girls started walking towards the electronics store. “And hopefully we won’t get distracted by any shoe stores along the way. Not that I’m naming names… Tina.” She said, giving Tina a look.
“In my defense, they had Converse in my size. They never have Converse in my size.” Tina said. “My feet are too small.” She frowned. “Oh well, at least I got a pair.” She said, gesturing to the shoebox in her hands, on top of which sat a little white paper bag of chocolates.
“I’m just glad I got that book my cousin wanted.” Kirsten said. “And that CD for Amanda, too.” She said with a smile. “Actually I’m surprised that I managed to go in and out of Barnes and Noble without buying a book for myself.” I think that may be a first.” She mused.
“Yeah, why didn’t you buy anything for yourself?” Jaime asked. “It makes me feel selfish for getting two bags worth of stuff.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, this may be hard to fit into my locker.”
“Just put everything in one bag.” Cammie suggested. “Or it you want I could put the stuff into my backpack and give it to you after school. It’s just the two tops, jeans, and your flip flops, right? Since the second bag had your boots in them before you put them on.”
“Yeah, true.” Jaime said. “And if you don’t mind… could I put the stuff in your backpack now…?” she asked.
“Getting a big heavy, eh?” Cammie asked with a smirk. “Alright then.” They stopped by a bench and Jaime transferred her clothes to Cammie’s backpack. “You’re lucky that my third and fourth are my big binder classes.” She told them. “So I had Computers and Spanish and after lunch I have PE and Biology.” After making sure Jaime’s clothes were neatly folded next to Cammie’s two notebooks and one small binder, Jaime placed her flip flops inside and closed Cammie’s backpack.
“Alright, now no more distractions, and we’re going to the electronics store.” Jaime said. She paused. “Hey Cammie, I just realized this, but you haven’t bought anything yet. Are you saving up or buying something at the electronics store…?”
“I’m probably going to buy something there.” Cammie told them. “You’ll see what it is when we get there though.” She said, starting to walk towards the store.
It took a while, since the electronics store was on the opposite side of the mall and one floor up from the chocolates shop. Although Kirsten got distracted by a cute dress that she saw in a shop window, they decided they would come back and get it after stopping by the electronics store. Finally, after much anticipation on Cammie’s part, they arrived.
The display window had rainbows of MP3 players lined up, with matching headphones, and a row of cameras on the bottom, from the slim digital cameras to fancy digital SLRs. Stepping in, Cammie grinned. “I love this place.” She said. “It’s like a heaven or something, I swear. I love gadgets and stuff.”
“How geeky.” Jaime said with a smirk. “I love it.” The store was full of things on display whizzing, whirring and clicking, and people playing with the gadgets, pushing buttons, and gushing over the latest and greatest… and priciest.
“Ooh check out the cameras…” Kirsten said, gravitating over towards the camera section of the store. She picked one up and pressed the ‘review pictures’ button. “Wow, it’s so clear…” she started flipping through the pictures that previous customers had taken. “I’ve gotten really into photography lately. I’m looking for a camera to put on my Christmas list.”
“Already?” Tina asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s barely fall and you’re already looking for stuff for your Christmas list…” she chuckled.
While the girls were talking over by the cameras, Cammie snuck off to another section. The MP3 accessories section, to be exact. Walking down one of the aisles, she looked at each accessory, examining what it did, how, and whether or not it was better than what she already had. She stopped at the end of the aisle, staring at the particular accessory that she had come here to buy. After looking at the different colors, she grabbed one in silver and stepped out of the aisle, heading back over to where the girls still stood near the cameras.
“…and so then when I finally got home, I kind of just flopped down on my bed.” It appeared that Cammie arrived just as Jaime was finishing a story.
“What’d I miss?” Cammie asked, looking between the girls. It sounded like an interesting story, from the excerpt that she had heard.
“Jaime just told us about having to help with her uncle’s wedding this summer.” Tina said. “Remind her to tell you the story later. It’s hilarious. Totally worth it.” She told Cammie with a grin. She turned to Jaime. “I so wish I could have been there. The one time I went to a wedding, it was boring as hell.” She sighed.
“Hey Cammie, is that the thing you were gonna get?” Kirsten asked, pointing to the box Cammie held under one arm.
“Yup!” Cammie said with a grin. She placed it onto the table in front of them, so all the girls could see. “It’s an iDog. A little robotic dog that dances whatever music you’re playing.” She laughed. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s mainly for my sister. She loves dogs and she’s always listening to music.”
“That is so cute!” Kirsten squealed. “And it has little colored lights on it too!”
“Actually, that is really cool.” Tina said. “Like how it knows the beat of the music and all that…” a small smile crept up on her face, most likely at least slightly influenced by Kirsten’s squealing. “And I’ll admit, it’s pretty cute too.”
“Any ten year old girl would be lucky to have her sister buy something like this for her.” Jaime said. “I swear, if this was around when I was younger, I would have wanted it.”
“Hey, I still want one.” Kirsten said with a giggle. “Although I need to save up for that camera…”
“I thought you were asking for it for Christmas..?” Cammie commented, slightly confused by the sudden change.
“I was going to, but I decided I couldn’t wait that long.” Kirsten said, a slight blush sprouting on her cheeks. “If I save up, I’ll get it sooner. Then I can ask for something else for Christmas. Photoshop, maybe.”
“You don’t have Photoshop?” Cammie asked, eyes wide. Kirsten shook her head. “Well you know you can get PhotoFiltre for free. It’s not as good though but until you get Photoshop…”
“I’ll check it out, thanks Cammie.” Kirsten said with a smile.
“And hey. Not everyone is as techno-savvy as you are, alright?” Tina pointed out. “Remember, there are people out there who still use Windows 95, and you know what? That doesn’t matter.”
“Well if they don’t care about how horrible it is, yeah, then it doesn’t matter.” Cammie said. She shook her head. “Seriously, Windows 95…” she quickly did the math in her head. “That’s when I was born. Wow, that computer would be as old as I am!” Of course, Cammie was actually born in 2015, she was fourteen, and Windows 95 came out fourteen years ago.
The girls just shook their heads at Cammie’s reply. “Anything else you were going to get, Cammie?” Jaime asked. “Because you might want to buy your stuff and drag us out of here before Kirsten decides she wants to buy that camera right now.”
“Yeah, just a cover for my iPod. Oh hey, you all can help me pick one!” She grinned and grabbed Jaime’s arm, pulling her to the MP3 section, with Tina tugging Kirsten along behind them. “I was trying to pick between two of them.” They now stood in front of all the iPod cases. Cammie picked out two. One was black with what looked like a pattern of grey vines on it, while the other was navy blue with a skull. “Which one?” she asked, holding them up once Tina and Kirsten had caught up with them.
“The black one.” Jaime said immediately. “Skulls are overrated.”
“No they aren’t!” Tina protested. “I like the blue one.
“Hmm I’d have to agree with Jaime… but I’m not a fan of skulls. Although if it were me, I’d get that bright green one with the white polka dots.” Kirsten said, pointing to a green cover on the shelf.
Cammie looked between the two covers. “Yeah, I’m just gonna get the black one.” She said. “Alright, I’ll go buy these. Where do you guys wanna eat? I can meet you there.”
“There’s a Fresh Choice a couple of doors down.” Tina said. “We sort of have a tradition of eating there. If you don’t mind. We’ll wait outside for you.”
“Yeah, that’s cool.” Cammie said. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up.” So Tina, Jaime, and Kirsten left to go to Fresh Choice, while Cammie went to purchase her chosen iPod case and iDog. After buying them and sticking the boxes into her backpack, she left the store, giving it one last glance before turning and heading off to Fresh Choice.
***
After eating lunch, the girls made their way back onto campus. They had a few minutes before lunch break was over, so they sat under the tree in front of the library. Cammie, however, had to go fix the attendance record. If she was unable to do it before school ended, the office would call their families and tell them that the four of them were absent for third and fourth period.
Making her way through the halls, Cammie quickly found the attendance room, and stepped inside. However, her original plan was shattered when she noticed that the Mrs. Harris, the attendance lady, was sitting at her desk. She had an open Styrofoam to go container on her desk, revealing a half-eaten sandwich and a pickle. However, she didn’t notice Cammie enter, for she was speaking on the phone and shuffling through the files in her file cabinet.
Keeping one eye on Mrs. Harris to make sure she wouldn’t turn and notice her unexpected visitor, Cammie stepped over to Mrs. Harris’s computer and placed one hand on the monitor. Using her technopathy, Cammie told the computer to fix her attendance for third and fourth period today so that it said that she was here. She then did the same for Tina, Kirsten, and Jaime. After searching through the attendance files to make sure she had done it correctly and hadn’t messed anything else up, she snuck out of the room.
As she turned the corner in the office hall, she bumped into Kirsten. “Oh, hey. Yeah, I fixed the attendance record, just like I said I would.” Cammie told Kirsten, giving two thumbs up. “No need to worry now, yeah?”
“Wow, that was fast…” Kirsten said. She walked over to Mrs. Harris’s office and poked her head inside. “But Mrs. Harris is still there….” She said. But before she could turn around and question Cammie, the bell had rung and Cammie had disappeared down the hallway.
If anyone has an idea for a title... I suck at making titles so help would be appreciated.
This consists of my writing from days 9 through 12.
Over the next couple months, the Fearsome Four-o, as they called themselves, became close. Cammie spoke to Greg less and less and nearly forgot her mission to prevent him from becoming evil. By this point, most of the underclassmen knew that they were all best friends, and that you would rarely, if ever, see one without at least one of the others.
It was one Friday afternoon when they were hanging out after school that Tina said something that would change everything, even though Cammie didn’t think much of it at the time. The four sat in the shade of a picnic table at the park on the corner of Walnut and Pine. Although the weatherman had predicted a cool autumn afternoon, it was warm. They sat pondering the weatherman’s lie in silence when Tina spoke out.
“Hey, you know the movie Ezekiel premiers next Wednesday.” Jaime lifted her head out of the hood of her white hoodie, which was on backwards. Kirsten nodded and Cammie, who wasn’t up-to-date on the latest movies, didn’t respond. “Well I’ve been wanting to see it since I read the book last year. My cousin goes to Caldwell and they have Monday off, so he got four tickets for the ten o’clock showing. Only his friends couldn’t go, so he’s giving them to me.”
“Umm, Tina, hate to break it to you, but we don’t have Monday off.” Jaime said, raising an eyebrow. But then a grin spread on Tina’s face that could only mean trouble.
“I know.” She said. “We’re gonna ditch third and fourth period. If you guys are up to it, that is.”
“We’ll be marked absent and they’ll call our parents and tell them.” Kirsten reminded. “And I dunno about you guys, but I’ll get in deep trouble.”
“Hey, I think it’s worth it.” Jaime said, shrugging. “You guys don’t have to come with if you don’t want to.”
“I’m only coming if there’s a way we can avoid getting in trouble and being marked absent.” Kirsten said. “Otherwise, count me out.” She folded her arms, looking around between Tina, Jaime, and Cammie, waiting for one of them to come up with an idea.
“Guys… I have an idea.” Cammie said. She bit her lip. “I can fix it on the attendance computer when Mrs. Harris is gone.” She told them. “Like during lunch. She leaves the office, but her room stays open. I know how to work it because I was an office assistant in middle school.” Alright, so the part about being an office assistant was a total lie, but the girls seemed to have bought it. Cammie knew she couldn’t tell them about being a technopath, but that she could use her power to make the attendance computer think that all four of them were present.
Kirsten visibly hesitated. “Well… alright, I’m in.” she said with a smile.
“As am I.” Cammie said. “Obviously.” She paused. “And… if something happens and I can’t fix it in time…” she bit her lip. “I take full responsibility and you can blame me all you like.”
“We’re not gonna blame you Cammie.” Kirsten said. “We’re taking a chance here by doing this. If anything happens, it won’t be your fault.”
Cammie sighed. “Alright, fine. So, what’s the plan then, Tina?”
A grin crept onto Tina’s face; one that Cammie had only seen once before - moments earlier when Tina mentioned ditching class. The girls all leaned in and Tina spoke quietly enough so that the parents who sat at the next table watching their kids swing wouldn’t overhear. “During the break after second period, we can take the bus to the theater. Since people walk down the street to Starbucks all the time, nobody will think anything of it. We watch the movie, eat lunch, and then head back at the end of our lunch break, in time for class.” She said. “Once again, nobody will think anything of it, since people go down the street to eat lunch all the time. If anyone asks, either on the bus or at the theater none of us have a class then.” She shrugged.
The girls agreed, Tina’s plan was well thought out, even if it was Cammie who figured out how to prevent them from getting in trouble for being absent. Since the bus came every fifteen minutes and their break started at nine thirty, they’d have plenty of time to get to the theater and buy popcorn before the movie started.
The girls sat around and talked for another couple of hours, during which time Tina summarized the book Ezekiel, Jaime complained about how annoying a boy named Austin in her Biology class was, and Cammie reassured Kirsten that she wasn’t completely invisible to Aidan. There was a silence, during which the girls all realized how late it was, but it was Cammie who first pointed this out. “We should all be getting home.” She said. The other girls agreed and, after saying their goodbyes, they went their separate ways, planning on meeting before school under the tree in front of the library.
It was only a few minutes later that Cammie found herself walking home, passing house after house after stereotypically suburban white picket fenced house. From a small street, she turned onto an even smaller one, continuing down it and around the perimeter of the cul-de-sac, her eye on the house at the 12-o’clock position. There seemed to be nobody around and there was an upside down bicycle discarded in the driveway, its front wheel turning slowly.
Pulling her keys out of her pocket, Cammie unlocked the front door and stepped inside. “It’s about time you got home.” She heard from the kitchen. It was, of course, Allison. “I’m making enchiladas today. They’re almost ready, so you’d better wash up.”
Cammie heard her stomach grumble. “I’m starving.” She said. She took the stairs up to her room, two at a time. “I’ll be down in a minute.” She said, dropping her backpack near her desk before heading to the bathroom to wash up before dinner.
***
By the time the next Wednesday came, the Fearsome Four-o had gone over the plan numerous times. They met at their usual meeting spot by the large tree in front of the library. Cammie was the first one to arrive, since her previous class was the closest. With her backpack at her feet, she leaned back against the tree in the direction she anticipated the others would come from. Coming around the corner of the building in front of her, Cammie saw Jaime and Kirsten appear only moments later. Their classes were next to each other. Cammie waved at them, and they came over to her. “I expected Tina to get here before us.” Kirsten said, making a face. “Her class is closer than ours. Not as close as yours, Cammie, but closer than ours.”
“Yeah I know…” Cammie bit her lip. “And Tina has the tickets too…” she sighed. “Well all we can do is wait. Maybe something held her back.” It took a couple of minutes, but Tina finally arrived, appearing from the same direction that Jaime and Kirsten had come from earlier.
“I’m sorry, my teacher held us in!” she apologized as she practically ran over to them, clutching the straps of her backpack as it bounced. “I have the tickets and the bus schedule, so let’s go!” She grinned. Obviously, she’d been looking forward to this for a long time.
Leaving campus was like an adventure, especially since they knew they were going to do something they shouldn’t by not returning for class. Add the fact that they were freshman who had never been off campus during school hours before and the fact that none of them had ever taken the city bus before, and it was understandable as to why the girls had been excited about more than just the movie. Cammie couldn’t help but feel pretty cool as she and her friends walked down the sidewalk. Most of the others around her were sophomores walking to Starbucks for a quick snack. As far as she knew, there were no other freshman off campus. They were the only ones. Even though they were doing something they shouldn’t, it gave her a good feeling.
“This is the bus stop.” Tina said as they approached a bench with a bus stop sign next to it. The bench was only big enough for three, so Cammie, Tina, and Kirsten sat while Jaime, who was the tallest of the four, stood in front of the sun to attempt to keep it from getting in the girls’ eyes. Tina checked her watch. “Wow, it took longer than I thought it would to walk down here.” She said, making a face. “At least this means we don’t have to wait as long. It should be here in five minutes.” She told them. There was a pause, and nobody spoke.
Then Jaime chimed in. “Hey, did I tell you guys about Austin?” she asked excitedly.
Tina raised an eyebrow. “What, the annoying jerk in your Biology class?” she asked. Cammie and Kirsten exchanged glances. All three were wondering the same thing; why was Jaime so excited if she had previously found him so exasperating?
But at Tina’s words, Jaime just shook her head. “He’s not annoying. He’s opinionated. Like me.” She smiled. “We were working on cell models in class and we partnered up together… he has a lot of the same political views as I do. It’s awesome!” she grinned.
“Woah woah woah, hold on a second.” Cammie said, making a face. “I thought you hated him. Or at least found him bothersome…”
“Well that’s before I heard him quoting George Carlin.” Jaime said with a smile and a nod. “He was talking to someone about religion before class and started going on about the idea of an invisible man living in the sky who is always watching everything you do, and if you do any of his ten very bad things he’ll send you to a special place of fire and burning and torture… but he loves you…” Jaime laughed. “Anyway, he was quoting that. And I figure, any guy who likes George Carlin can’t be all that bad, right?” Tina nodded and smiled. Cammie and Kirsten, who weren’t familiar with George Carlin, just shrugged.
Jaime started going on about how she approached Austin in his conversation with his friend to talk about George Carlin, then how he asked to be her partner in Biology. Cammie was listening with one ear, but she managed to sneak the ear buds to her iPod out of her pocket and pop one in the other ear. Placing her hand on the iPod through the fabric of her jeans, she was able to turn it on and put it on shuffle with her technopathy.
When Jaime started talking about George Carlin, Kirsten seemed to lose interest too. She turned to Cammie and gestured to the ear bud that wasn’t in Cammie’s ear, but just swung at her side. “Can I listen?” she asked.
“Sure.” Cammie said. The two girls listened to a fast-paced song and bobbed their heads to the music. The next song that came up was slow and boring, so without thinking, Cammie placed her hand on her iPod and, through the fabric of her jeans, technopathically told it to skip that song. It went to a more fast-paced song again.
“Woah.” Kirsten said, jerking back slightly as the song changed to a fast one again before the slow song even finished. “It changed.”
“Oh, uh, it does that sometimes. It’s just old, that’s all.” Cammie said, pulling an excuse out of thin air. But Kirsten seemed to have bought it, and was now humming along with the song that was playing.
It wasn’t long before the bus arrived, and the girls each took enough money out of their pockets and fed it through the machine on their way to the very back of the bus, where they all sat in a row. While Tina and Jaime continued talking about comedy, Kirsten and Cammie were silent as they listened to the song. Cammie was relieved that Kirsten had bought what she said about the iPod changing by itself and, just as if to prove her point, used her technopathy to skip to the next song partway through a rather funny song they were listening to.
“Woah.” Kirsten said suddenly once again. Then she giggled. “Gotta get used to that.” Cammie repressed a sigh. So she was safe. The last thing she needed right now was for her friends to start getting suspicious, and maybe discover that she had powers.
The four talked and listened to music on the way there. When the words “East Valley Mall” scrolled across the screen at the front of the bus as the next stop, Tina pulled the chord. “Alright, the next stop’s ours.” She said. They were going to the theater across the street from the mall. After the movie, they’d be able to eat lunch at one of the restaurants at the mall.
After getting off the bus, the four girls crossed the street. Tina handed each girl a ticket and they all entered the theater, handing their tickets to the man at the door. The theater had opened less than a year ago, and its newness was obvious by the sparkling tiled floors and clean condiments area. The video games in the arcade were all new and the soda machine didn’t have any sticky puddles on the floor around it. Cammie smiled. She loved it when things were clean and shiny and new.
“So, who wants food and drinks?” Jaime asked. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving.” She laughed. Jaime was always hungry. Maybe it was because she was so tall or because she did kickboxing after school, but she was somehow always hungry. Tina was starving too, while Cammie and Kirsten were less hungry than their friends. Together, the girls ordered a hot dog for Tina, nachos for Jaime, and popcorn and drinks for all four of them. After each paying for their share, they grabbed their food and headed off to Theater Four, where Ezekiel was about to begin.
***
“That was so good!” Tina exclaimed as they burst through the theater doors. “I mean, not as good as the book, but is it ever?” She shook her head.
“Did it stay faithful to the book, though?” Jaime asked. “Because I want to read it now but I heard it wasn’t all faithful…” She used one of her last chips to scoop most of the remaining nacho cheese into her mouth.
“Well mostly.” Tina said. She popped a few popcorn kernels into her mouth and ate them. “I mean, the bit about his dad was completely different from how it was done in the book. But other than that? Only little details. Like how the actor had brown hair even though he had black hair in the book. But that doesn’t matter too much.” She shrugged. “Only the super rabid fans make a big deal about inconsistencies other than the dad thing. And I’m not a super rabid fan.” There was a pause. The other three girls exchanged glances. “Alright, well I’m not nearly as bad as some people.” Tina corrected herself.
“Hey, that movie didn’t take too long.” Kirsten said, checking her watch. “We have plenty of time to hang out before eating lunch.” She looked between the girls. “What should we do with our time, then?”
Cammie looked around. “Well there’s the video game arcade… and the mall across the street.” She paused. Even though she really wanted to try out the arcade, she knew the girls would pick the mall.
“I’d say mall.” Kirsten said. “I’m not too big into video games. Amanda is though, more so than I am.”
“Definitely mall, there’s an awesome shop that has cool vintage stuff.” Jaime said. “I wanna get a pair of boots. Like the kind that aren’t slutty. Or Uggs. I hate Uggs.”
“I’m gonna have to go with mall too.” Tina said. “I like video games, but I get enough of them with my brother at home.” She said, making a face.
“Mall it is, then.” Cammie said with a shrug, leading the girls out of the theater.
“That vintage store I mentioned isn’t far from here.” Jaime said, pointing it out on the map. “Do you think we could go there first?” The girls agreed.
“I need to pick up a book for my cousin’s birthday, so we should stop by Barnes and Noble next.” Kirsten said. “It’s only a few doors down from the vintage store.”
“And I wanna stop by that chocolates shop.” Tina said. “Too bad it’s on the other side of the mall.” She said with a frown. “Anywhere you wanna go, Cammie?” she asked.
Cammie studied the map and smiled, pointing to a store. “There.” She said. Her finger was on the electronics store. “Call me a geek, but I love electronics stores.”
Jaime chuckled. “Anywhere else to stop, or is that it?” Nobody spoke. “Alright then, onward!” she cried, leading the way off to the vintage store.
***
“Alright, one last stop.” Cammie said as she and the other three girls left the chocolate shop. “Are you sure you don’t need help with that, Jaime?” she asked. Jaime, who had exchanged the flip flops she wore before for a new pair of cowboy boots, was carrying two plastic shopping bags and the messenger bag she used for school. She kept insisting that she could handle it, even though she kept dropping her purse.
“I’m fine Cammie.” Jaime answered, just like she had so many times in the last hour. She turned her head back to look at Tina, who was staring longingly at the chocolate cake in the window of the chocolate shop they had just left. “Come on Tina, she said it was reserved for someone. We were lucky enough that they gave us the recipe for it. Maybe we can get together and bake it sometime. As long as Kirsten’s willing to help though. Otherwise we’d probably burn it.” She said with a laugh.
“You mean you were lucky enough that my dad’s coworker’s wife works here.” Kirsten said with a small smile. “And of course I’ll help. Anytime you guys need to cook or bake something, you had better ask me for help. And not just because you’d screw up without me, but because, if you recall, I actually like cooking.”
“Well you’re going to make an amazing wife someday.” Tina said. Kirsten giggled. “Seriously, I’d be the worst wife ever. I can’t cook, hate cleaning, love junk food, and want to actually get a job when I grow up. Become a scientist or something”
“You mean you’d make a horrible housewife.” Jaime said. “Not all wives have to be housewives. And it’s a good thing you want to get a job. We need more women in the working world, especially in science and similar fields.”
“I hate to cut this lovely conversation short,” Cammie butt in “but weren’t we going to stop by the electronics store? We’re still standing outside the chocolates shop.” And indeed they were. Tina stepped away from the window over to where the other three stood.
“Alright then, let’s go.” Jaime said. The four girls started walking towards the electronics store. “And hopefully we won’t get distracted by any shoe stores along the way. Not that I’m naming names… Tina.” She said, giving Tina a look.
“In my defense, they had Converse in my size. They never have Converse in my size.” Tina said. “My feet are too small.” She frowned. “Oh well, at least I got a pair.” She said, gesturing to the shoebox in her hands, on top of which sat a little white paper bag of chocolates.
“I’m just glad I got that book my cousin wanted.” Kirsten said. “And that CD for Amanda, too.” She said with a smile. “Actually I’m surprised that I managed to go in and out of Barnes and Noble without buying a book for myself.” I think that may be a first.” She mused.
“Yeah, why didn’t you buy anything for yourself?” Jaime asked. “It makes me feel selfish for getting two bags worth of stuff.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, this may be hard to fit into my locker.”
“Just put everything in one bag.” Cammie suggested. “Or it you want I could put the stuff into my backpack and give it to you after school. It’s just the two tops, jeans, and your flip flops, right? Since the second bag had your boots in them before you put them on.”
“Yeah, true.” Jaime said. “And if you don’t mind… could I put the stuff in your backpack now…?” she asked.
“Getting a big heavy, eh?” Cammie asked with a smirk. “Alright then.” They stopped by a bench and Jaime transferred her clothes to Cammie’s backpack. “You’re lucky that my third and fourth are my big binder classes.” She told them. “So I had Computers and Spanish and after lunch I have PE and Biology.” After making sure Jaime’s clothes were neatly folded next to Cammie’s two notebooks and one small binder, Jaime placed her flip flops inside and closed Cammie’s backpack.
“Alright, now no more distractions, and we’re going to the electronics store.” Jaime said. She paused. “Hey Cammie, I just realized this, but you haven’t bought anything yet. Are you saving up or buying something at the electronics store…?”
“I’m probably going to buy something there.” Cammie told them. “You’ll see what it is when we get there though.” She said, starting to walk towards the store.
It took a while, since the electronics store was on the opposite side of the mall and one floor up from the chocolates shop. Although Kirsten got distracted by a cute dress that she saw in a shop window, they decided they would come back and get it after stopping by the electronics store. Finally, after much anticipation on Cammie’s part, they arrived.
The display window had rainbows of MP3 players lined up, with matching headphones, and a row of cameras on the bottom, from the slim digital cameras to fancy digital SLRs. Stepping in, Cammie grinned. “I love this place.” She said. “It’s like a heaven or something, I swear. I love gadgets and stuff.”
“How geeky.” Jaime said with a smirk. “I love it.” The store was full of things on display whizzing, whirring and clicking, and people playing with the gadgets, pushing buttons, and gushing over the latest and greatest… and priciest.
“Ooh check out the cameras…” Kirsten said, gravitating over towards the camera section of the store. She picked one up and pressed the ‘review pictures’ button. “Wow, it’s so clear…” she started flipping through the pictures that previous customers had taken. “I’ve gotten really into photography lately. I’m looking for a camera to put on my Christmas list.”
“Already?” Tina asked, raising an eyebrow. “It’s barely fall and you’re already looking for stuff for your Christmas list…” she chuckled.
While the girls were talking over by the cameras, Cammie snuck off to another section. The MP3 accessories section, to be exact. Walking down one of the aisles, she looked at each accessory, examining what it did, how, and whether or not it was better than what she already had. She stopped at the end of the aisle, staring at the particular accessory that she had come here to buy. After looking at the different colors, she grabbed one in silver and stepped out of the aisle, heading back over to where the girls still stood near the cameras.
“…and so then when I finally got home, I kind of just flopped down on my bed.” It appeared that Cammie arrived just as Jaime was finishing a story.
“What’d I miss?” Cammie asked, looking between the girls. It sounded like an interesting story, from the excerpt that she had heard.
“Jaime just told us about having to help with her uncle’s wedding this summer.” Tina said. “Remind her to tell you the story later. It’s hilarious. Totally worth it.” She told Cammie with a grin. She turned to Jaime. “I so wish I could have been there. The one time I went to a wedding, it was boring as hell.” She sighed.
“Hey Cammie, is that the thing you were gonna get?” Kirsten asked, pointing to the box Cammie held under one arm.
“Yup!” Cammie said with a grin. She placed it onto the table in front of them, so all the girls could see. “It’s an iDog. A little robotic dog that dances whatever music you’re playing.” She laughed. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s mainly for my sister. She loves dogs and she’s always listening to music.”
“That is so cute!” Kirsten squealed. “And it has little colored lights on it too!”
“Actually, that is really cool.” Tina said. “Like how it knows the beat of the music and all that…” a small smile crept up on her face, most likely at least slightly influenced by Kirsten’s squealing. “And I’ll admit, it’s pretty cute too.”
“Any ten year old girl would be lucky to have her sister buy something like this for her.” Jaime said. “I swear, if this was around when I was younger, I would have wanted it.”
“Hey, I still want one.” Kirsten said with a giggle. “Although I need to save up for that camera…”
“I thought you were asking for it for Christmas..?” Cammie commented, slightly confused by the sudden change.
“I was going to, but I decided I couldn’t wait that long.” Kirsten said, a slight blush sprouting on her cheeks. “If I save up, I’ll get it sooner. Then I can ask for something else for Christmas. Photoshop, maybe.”
“You don’t have Photoshop?” Cammie asked, eyes wide. Kirsten shook her head. “Well you know you can get PhotoFiltre for free. It’s not as good though but until you get Photoshop…”
“I’ll check it out, thanks Cammie.” Kirsten said with a smile.
“And hey. Not everyone is as techno-savvy as you are, alright?” Tina pointed out. “Remember, there are people out there who still use Windows 95, and you know what? That doesn’t matter.”
“Well if they don’t care about how horrible it is, yeah, then it doesn’t matter.” Cammie said. She shook her head. “Seriously, Windows 95…” she quickly did the math in her head. “That’s when I was born. Wow, that computer would be as old as I am!” Of course, Cammie was actually born in 2015, she was fourteen, and Windows 95 came out fourteen years ago.
The girls just shook their heads at Cammie’s reply. “Anything else you were going to get, Cammie?” Jaime asked. “Because you might want to buy your stuff and drag us out of here before Kirsten decides she wants to buy that camera right now.”
“Yeah, just a cover for my iPod. Oh hey, you all can help me pick one!” She grinned and grabbed Jaime’s arm, pulling her to the MP3 section, with Tina tugging Kirsten along behind them. “I was trying to pick between two of them.” They now stood in front of all the iPod cases. Cammie picked out two. One was black with what looked like a pattern of grey vines on it, while the other was navy blue with a skull. “Which one?” she asked, holding them up once Tina and Kirsten had caught up with them.
“The black one.” Jaime said immediately. “Skulls are overrated.”
“No they aren’t!” Tina protested. “I like the blue one.
“Hmm I’d have to agree with Jaime… but I’m not a fan of skulls. Although if it were me, I’d get that bright green one with the white polka dots.” Kirsten said, pointing to a green cover on the shelf.
Cammie looked between the two covers. “Yeah, I’m just gonna get the black one.” She said. “Alright, I’ll go buy these. Where do you guys wanna eat? I can meet you there.”
“There’s a Fresh Choice a couple of doors down.” Tina said. “We sort of have a tradition of eating there. If you don’t mind. We’ll wait outside for you.”
“Yeah, that’s cool.” Cammie said. “Go ahead, I’ll catch up.” So Tina, Jaime, and Kirsten left to go to Fresh Choice, while Cammie went to purchase her chosen iPod case and iDog. After buying them and sticking the boxes into her backpack, she left the store, giving it one last glance before turning and heading off to Fresh Choice.
***
After eating lunch, the girls made their way back onto campus. They had a few minutes before lunch break was over, so they sat under the tree in front of the library. Cammie, however, had to go fix the attendance record. If she was unable to do it before school ended, the office would call their families and tell them that the four of them were absent for third and fourth period.
Making her way through the halls, Cammie quickly found the attendance room, and stepped inside. However, her original plan was shattered when she noticed that the Mrs. Harris, the attendance lady, was sitting at her desk. She had an open Styrofoam to go container on her desk, revealing a half-eaten sandwich and a pickle. However, she didn’t notice Cammie enter, for she was speaking on the phone and shuffling through the files in her file cabinet.
Keeping one eye on Mrs. Harris to make sure she wouldn’t turn and notice her unexpected visitor, Cammie stepped over to Mrs. Harris’s computer and placed one hand on the monitor. Using her technopathy, Cammie told the computer to fix her attendance for third and fourth period today so that it said that she was here. She then did the same for Tina, Kirsten, and Jaime. After searching through the attendance files to make sure she had done it correctly and hadn’t messed anything else up, she snuck out of the room.
As she turned the corner in the office hall, she bumped into Kirsten. “Oh, hey. Yeah, I fixed the attendance record, just like I said I would.” Cammie told Kirsten, giving two thumbs up. “No need to worry now, yeah?”
“Wow, that was fast…” Kirsten said. She walked over to Mrs. Harris’s office and poked her head inside. “But Mrs. Harris is still there….” She said. But before she could turn around and question Cammie, the bell had rung and Cammie had disappeared down the hallway.