Chapter Four: now and again it seems worse than it is

Crackhead in Confusion

Chapter Four: now and again it seems worse than it is

A/N: I am very, very pessimistic. But thank you all SOOOOOOOOO (okay, teeny moment) much for reviewing! Forty-one reviews for three chapters! squeal Haha.

Saturday, October 25, 12 p.m.

"So, Mia, Shameeka, and Tina are spending the night, honey?"

"Yeah," Lilly said, shoving a spoonful of Cap’n Crunch into her mouth.

Why must Mia be coming over the night that there’s a lecture about quasars at Columbia? I mean, they really do pick the worst timing to have sleep overs, so I can’t even leave my shirt off and pretend like I didn’t know they were there, watching Valley Girl or some other equally draining movie.

"Are you two going anywhere tonight?" Lilly asked, hopefully.

"Oh, no, honey," Mom said, smiling warmly. "Your father and I are staying in tonight. We’ll probably rent a movie and get some dim sum from Number One Noodle Son."

"Oh," Lilly said, obviously disappointed. "And you’re staying home too, like always?" She said this to me.

"No, actually, I’m going to a lecture about quasars over at Columbia," I said. "It’ll probably be a couple of hours."

"So exciting, Michael," Lilly said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes and left. I walked to my room and started working on next month’s issue of Crackhead.

I was busy at work on an article titled "Subliminal Messages: Mind-Controlling Messages through Music" when the phone rang. Trust me, I’m not much of a person to spend all day talking on the phone to who knows who so I didn’t exactly dive for the phone, hoping it was Anna Blaire, calling to fill me in with the latest gossip.

After a few moments more of ringing, I finally grunted and picked up the phone. We really need Caller ID, or something. It was Kenny Showalter.

Me: Hello?

Kenny: Uh, hi. Is Michael there?

Me: This is him.

Kenny: Oh, can I speak to Michael?

Me: (sounding slightly confused) This is Michael. Who is this?

Kenny: Oh. Um, sorry. This is…Kenny. You know. From the Computer Club.

Me: Kenny? Oh, hey, Kenny…what’s up?

Kenny: Judith wanted me to call all of the members and ask if they want to go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween night.

Me: (sounding happy—I love the Rocky Horror Picture Show) Really? Yeah, that sounds great.

Kenny: Okay. So, Judith said we should all invite friends, if we want to. I had this one girl in mind.

Me: Oh, really. Who?

Kenny: …Just this girl from my Biology class.

Me: Oh, okay. Who else besides me is coming?

Kenny: Uh, Judith, Suzanne, Shaun…you know, the whole Computer Club. Could you ask Lilly if she and Boris want to come?

Me: (hesitantly) Er, I guess so. Okay.

Kenny: Okay. Well, uh, see you on school Monday.

Me: Yeah. See you then. Bye.

Kenny: Bye.

Maybe I should ask Mia…

Okay, that was what I was thinking after Kenny asked me to come, seeing as I am the treasurer of the Computer Club after all. But would she want to come? Especially if I asked her? No, probably not. She might think that I’m trying to ask her out on a date or something…which I might be. But I could explain how it’s a group outing and how it’d be cool if she could come.

Yes. Good plan.

Saturday, October 25, 10 p.m.

Okay, so tonight wasn’t such a waste after all. Except, you know, for the fact that the lecture I had been planning to attend was canceled. I actually took the subway to Columbia and when I got there, there was this poster advertising the lecture. Then, in big red letters, was the word: CANCELED.

So, I basically went there for nothing. But still, it was nice just checking out the campus for a few seconds that I might attend (if I get accepted, that is…I applied early) soon. With a sigh, I walked back to the subway station and took the subway back again. Boring, if you ask me.

So, after I got back, I walked up to the apartment. I greeted my parents. They were surprised to see me back so early. I told them that the lecture had been canceled an headed for my room. I was walking by Lilly’s room (and, for some reason, the door was open) when I saw the girls (including Mia, I noticed) crowded around the window. Mia was holding something; a vegetable, I thought.

That’s when Mia dropped the thing she was holding out of the window. My eyes widened and I ran into Lilly’s room. What the hell was happening? Her friends seemed surprised to see me there, and I threw my arm around Mia’s waist and pulled her backward not go gently, I’m afraid.

"Are you guys stupid, or what?" I said, sounding angrier than I had intended. "Don’t you know, besides the fact that it’s a good way to kill someone, it’s also against the law to drop something out a window in New York City?" Couldn’t they think of something better to play? Like Jenga? Man, good times.

"Oh, Michael. Grow up. It was just a common garden vegetable," Lilly said in a disgusted voice. I felt myself growing angry. It was probably Lilly’s fault that Mia almost could’ve been spotted throwing the vegetable out of the window.

"I’m serious," I said. "If anyone saw Mia do that just now, she could be arrest." Mia’s face contorted into a look of utmost terror.

"No, she couldn’t," Lilly argued. "She’s a minor."

"She could still go to juvenile court," I insisted. Why can’t Lilly ever admit that I’m right and she’s wrong? "You’d better not be planning on airing that footage on your show." I added, indicating the camera she was holding.

Honestly, Lilly. How dense are you?

"I most certainly am."

"Well, you’d better edit out the parts that show Mia’s face."

Lilly looked at me as if I was some way underclass subordinate. "No way."

I took a breath and reluctantly let go of Mia’s waist.

"Lilly, everybody knows who Mia is. If you air that segment, it will be all over the news that the princess of Genovia was caught on tape dropping projectiles out the window of her friend’s high-rise apartment. Get a clue, will you?"

"Lilly, Michael’s right," said Mia’s friend, Tina Hakim Baba. "We better edit that part out. Mia doesn’t need any more publicity than she already has. Too right you are, Tina.

Lilly got up and walked over to the window. She started to lean out but I quickly jerked her back.

She really does need a clue. My God. Amateurs.

"Rule Number One," I said. "If you insist on dropping something out the window, never, ever check to see if anybody is standing down there, looking up. They will see you look out and figure out what apartment you are in. Then you will be blamed for dropping whatever it was. Because no one but the guilty part would look out under such circumstances."

I mean, I should know.

Hey, I have a… bad boy side. Seriously. I do.

"Wow, Michael," said another one of Mia and Lilly’s friends, Shameeka Taylor. "You sound like you’ve done this before." Well, that’s because I have.

"Let’s just say I used to have a very keen interest in experimenting with the earth’s gravitational pull."

I noticed, with delight, that Mia was beaming admirably at me. I smiled slightly in her direction and told them not to even think about dropping any more projectiles out of the window unless they wanted the Drs. Moscovitz to find out about their antics.

Mia has rather nice pajamas with little yellow ducks and pink rabbits.

A/N: You know what to do. D