Things Change

      How do I find Jordan here?

     I passed it to Juliet along with my pencil. She responded:

     idk, sneak off the reserve? ;)

     I figured she was probably kidding, but then I got to thinking—the residential area wasn't too far from here, and it was quite small. The teachers all went to sleep around nine at night, giving us two hours to party in the cabins before lights-out time.

     Not to mention, I was very good at being quiet when I wasn't engaged in a deep conversation. Last night, after field class, I'd barely said a word. All we'd done was discuss plans and write them out on paper.

     I could do this. I could really do this.

     I tried to remember Jordan's address. He'd sent me the seashell bracelet a week after he moved, and the address was something like Fruit Street.

     Fruit…fruit…maybe…

     I turned over a few shells on the bracelet until finally I found one that had extremely tiny, barely legible printing:

     TIKI TACK GIFT SHOP – FRUITY PATH, MYSTERY ISLAND

     -

     "So…Terrah and Nina seem into it." Lola bounced the rubber glittery red ball into the chalk-outlined square across from her.

     Juliet caught it and said, "Blaire's a go," then bounced it to me.

     I bounced it to Annabel, who said, "Margo wants to bring some friends along," then bounced it back to Lola.

     I pushed away my thought of how we were going to play four-square with eight pets and thought about the Margo situation.

     "We'll have to meet them first, but I'm sure they'll work as long as they make us an even number," I decided, feeling confident and professional.

     "Oh, um, I sort of already said yes." The Aisha blushed. "But it's not too many… six to be exact."

     I watched the ball bounce past my square and into the equipment storage room.

     "Rotate," the Aisha called in her coach voice, then after I stayed idle, "Sage, I need to move to that square."

     "SIX?" I screamed, losing all control of my emotions.

     "They all seemed nice, I thought—"

     "This is the INNER CIRCLE, not the WHOLE SCHOOL!"

     I knew shouting Inner Circle was a bad idea because it sounded non-inclusive and all that, but come on!

     Then, suddenly, Catarina's voice startled me.

     "Hey, guys," she said as she, Ruby, and Emerald strolled over. "Margo said you guys would be playing four square?"

     No, no. No, no, no, no, no. Not them! Not now!

     Annabel shot me a look that said, 'that's what you get for bragging'.

     Huh?

     Who, on Neopia, else was here? Terrah and Nina talked to Blaire as they walked over, and Margo was bringing an island Wocky and two blue Kacheeks over.

     My head was pounding. I could barely see anything after I blinked a few times. Suddenly, the chatter got louder, and things began to fade out except for distinct words like 'Juliet', 'four-square', and 'circle'. I started to feel dizzy as if I'd been walking in circles for ten minutes straight or spinning around on the rolling chair in my bedroom. It was suddenly really hot outside. I could feel moisture under my sweatshirt and t-shirt. I went to take the sweatshirt off when suddenly, I blacked out.

     The last thing I remember was my face hitting the cold, bumpy asphalt terrain.

     -

     "What happened?" I asked, opening my eyes and looking around.

     Mr. Zepeta was hurriedly tidying up takeout boxes and dirty laundry. I saw a sign above the bed that I was in, reading "infirmary" in black marker with an arrow pointing to the cot-like bed.

     Come to think of it, this was just a coffee table with some sheets and a pillowcase full of old Neopian Times issues. Had they thrown this together in five seconds just for me? I'm touched.

     "You blacked out during freetime," Mr. Weston explained. "Juliet brought you here."

     I suddenly remembered. It must've been the stress from Annabel's circle expansion. I had a couple of small plasters on my right arm, and the shell bracelet was gone.

     "Where's my bracelet?" I asked. "What time is it?"

     "Your bracelet is right here," Mr. Weston handed me the string of shells. "We had to take it off to put the plasters on your wrist."

     A couple of shells were scratched up from hitting the concrete, but I was just glad to have it back and slid it right back into place without hesitation.

     "What time is it?" I asked again.

     "Lunch. You were out for about an hour," the Skeith replied.

     "Can I go to the dining hall, then?" I asked.

     "Answer a few questions, first," he said. "Did you eat breakfast?"

     "Yes."

     "What did you have?"

     "A serving of hot cakes, two glasses of orange juice, and about five strips of bacon."

     "How much water did you drink?"

     "A lot."

     "How much is a lot?"

     "A water bottle's worth during the hike and half a bottle during freetime."

     "Promise?"

     "On my diploma."

     "Were you exposed to anything you were allergic to?"

     "Besides springtime?"

     "What on Neopia is wrong with you then?" the Skeith asked, frustrated.

     "How should I know; I was blacked out," I said.

     He put his head in his paws. "Just go to the dining hall."

     I stepped outside. It had started raining—no, pouring—outside. Good thing I was still wearing my sweatshirt. I shivered a little and walked over to the dining hall. I tried to find anyone from the circle – conveniently, they were all seated at a huge table that looked like three tables pushed together.

     "Annabel, can we talk for a minute?" I asked, motioning to the washroom, much like she did on the first day.

     She nodded cheerfully as we strolled over. Like nothing had happened. I'd really come to appreciate those characters in the Times who had to deal with this.

     "Let me put this gently: WHAT ON NEOPIA DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" I asked.

     "Well, you said we were going to talk by the washrooms, so I walked over—"

     "I meant about Ruby and Emerald and Catarina and…them," I said, not knowing or caring about the rest of the names.

     Annabel tried to help. "Blueberry and Bluebell are the Kacheeks, Lucie is the Wocky."

     "We asked for one, you bring seven, and you don't even run them by any of us. And what's with Catarina? She's obsessed with that stupid book, and so are Ruby and Emerald."

     "It was the only way to get Margo in," the Aisha said irritably. "And how should I know they're your fans?"

     "By letting the rest of the group approve?" I asked. "And was it such a big deal if Margo didn't want to join? We could've picked another pet."

     "The rest of us, or you?" The Aisha grew a smirk upon her face, as if she'd been anxiously awaiting this moment for quite some time or had some sort of plan.

     "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked nervously, feeling the dizziness start to return.

     "Juliet and Lola didn't approve Margo; they didn't even meet her. Lola and I never met Blaire. In fact, wasn't the group name your idea, too?"

     "Actually, IC was your idea," I said. "And a very good one, at that! I gave you full credit for that. I asked you before I said the others could join. One thing you didn't do."

     What was happening? Annabel was my best friend! What had I done? I wanted to change something and now I'd torn the clique apart at the seams.

     "Maybe we should just go back to being the four of us," I said. "I thought more would be cool, but this is just insane."

     "But we already told them all they could join," Annabel said. "I don't like being rude."

     "You say that like I do," I said, my voice shaking.

     "You sit at a table without permission and brag about your story on a regular basis. You bring people half the group never even met and scream at me for doing the same thing, and act like you're the only one who can make decisions about our group—'I thought more would be cool but this is just insane'—well, who cares what you think?"

     The way she repeated my words in an exaggerated, mocking tone sent shivers down my spine. "What happened to you?" I asked. "We always got along so well. Ever since we met, we've been like sisters; closer than sisters."

     "I'm an aspiring actress, Sage," Annabel said. "I'm capable of a LOT of things."

     I watched her wave giddily and walk away. I felt like I was going to black out again, but I just couldn't. I walked into the girls' washroom.

     With all the insanity and headaches, I was sure of one thing:

     I had to find Jordan.

     Tonight.

To be continued…