What Happened to Sales?! (Chapter 5)

After the big ruckus, the girls decided to wrap up their day at the mall by heading to the food court and eating their purchased food by the fountain. Meanwhile, they talked as usual, especially about their crazy day.
"I can't believe we're banned from the Glam Barn," stated Madeline.
"Only for two months," Andrea added, looking at her corn dog. "I'm already counting the days... even though it happened an hour ago."
"It wasn't much of a good store anyway," commented Skye.
"At least I got my shirt," said Madeline.
"A shirt that you will wear only once a year because you have a million shirts."
"Wow, is that possible?" asked Lizzie.
"It takes two Cow Belles to ruin the day," said Andrea.
"Come on, our day wasn't that ruined," said Debra.
"I'll admit it: I had fun," Skye confessed.
"There's nothing fun about get whipped with a belt fourteen times," said Madeline.
"You're right. 'Funny' is the right word."
"Man, the Cow Belles are going to shred me at cheerleading practice," Lizzie noted.
"Oh, you'll be fine. Ever seen 'Black Swan'?"
"No."
"Watch it."
"Don't watch it," Debra shook her head.
"Boy, we are such girls to get into a fight over clothes," stated Madeline.
"Clothes I didn't even buy," said Andrea. "I didn't get to shop at that store."
"Relax. We'll go to other stores. The ones we weren't banned from yet."
"We're gonna get banned again?" questioned Lizzie.
"Everything's possible, Lizzie," responded Skye.
"At least I learned something today," said Madeline.
"Really?" asked Andrea. "Because I learned nothing. But what did you learn?"
"That I hate the Cow Belles even more."
The girls agreed with overlapping comments.
"Scumbags with perfect skin," Skye had the last say.
"Well, I got to go to work," Madeline mentioned. "See you, girls."
She stood up with her corn dog in her hand. Feeling that she couldn't bring it to work, Madeline unzipped her purse and dropped the corn dog inside. She zipped it close and walked away with her girlfriends looking at her with puzzled faces.

What Happened to Sales?! (Chapter 4)

The next day, the girls came to the mall once again and visited Madeline at her job. She asked for a break so she can hang out again. They felt like chilling instead of shopping but Madeline just had to go back to the Glam Barn. So the girls stopped there one more time so Madeline could check out some clothes. It was no surprise that the Cow Belles entered after only twenty minutes. They kept their distances, especially when the same employee from the day before stood on the mannequin platform again.
"Hello, shoppers!" she declared. "Okay, if you were here yesterday, you may know that there was a teeny, tiny contest for clothes half off and there was only one winner."
"Me!" shouted Pamela, pointing at herself. "Right here! I was the winner."
Andrea shushed her from afar. Pamela glared at her as a response.
"Okay, I felt a little bad that I set some of your expectations a bit high," continued the employee. "So for today, everything here is 25 percent off. All of everything. Enjoy and spend lots of moolah."
The employee stepped down as the customers began shopping but with happier faces.
"Maddie, can I borrow thirty dollars?" asked Skye.
"What do I look like?" inquired Madeline. "A piggy bank?"
Skye looked at her up and down. "Yes."
Madeline sighed. She unzipped her fuchsia purse and reached down inside. She took out her wallet and opened it to take out a few dollars to give to Skye. "Pay me back soon," she ordered.
"Yeah, maybe next month." Skye counted her money.
"Finally, I can buy that shirt I had an eye on forever."
"Madeline, stop pretending you're not poor when we know you are," said Andrea.
"I am saving money."
"Then why are you shopping with us?"
"I ain't saving that much money."
Madeline walked off and searched for her desired shirt. Once she found it under thirty seconds, she reached out to touch it. When she did, she saw another hand touch it. She looked up to see Pamela staring her down.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Madeline asked.
"I'm gonna buy this shirt," answered Pamela.
"You can't because I'm gonna buy this shirt."
"Excuse me, I've had my eye on this forever."
"Hey, I said that!"
"Well, now I'm saying it."
"Can you say 'ow'?"
Madeline gave Pamela a sudden kick on her bare leg.
"Ow!" Pamela uttered as she slanted to the left and tried to reach her leg. She stood up straight almost quickly. "Oh, you wanna play dirty?"
She turned around and took off a leopard-printed belt from the belt rack next to the regular clothes. She held onto the buckle and whipped Madeline on the waist.
Madeline placed her hands on her hurt side. "Hey! Jesus the Kaiser, that hurt."
"Really? I didn't know you could feel pain on your love handles."
Madeline leered straight into Pamela's eyes. "You want to go there?" She fiercely unbuckled the pink belt on her white jeans and pulled it off through the straps. "En guard."
She attempted to whip Pamela with her belt on her leg but she dodged it. Pamela thrust her belt which Madeline canceled the force of with her belt. They commenced to fight each other with their belts as if they were having a sword fight.
"Lizzie, buy the shirt for me!" Madeline shouted, trying not to lose her focus.
"On it," Lizzie responded.
She made a circle around the store to avoid the belt fighting between Madeline and Pamela which was getting heated as they moved around. She was feet away from the shirt until Mauricia, out of nowhere, blocked her way.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But if you want Pamela's shirt, you're gonna have to go through me."
From not too far away, Andrea heard the convenience and sprinted right next to Lizzie to back her up.
"You're gonna have to get through me first," Andrea said.
Mauricia's eyes widened. She knew what she was going to do and was scared about it. Still angry about yesterday, Andrea jumped on top of Maurica, knocking her down with her back on the floor. She furiously shook Mauricia around while gripping her wavy, chestnut-colored hair. Mauricia's screams caught Pamela's attention, turning her head to follow her friend's calls. Madeline took that to her advantage and whipped Pamela on the back with her pink belt. Pamela leaped and fell down, safely on a pile of clothes that were knocked down from their racks. Madeline attempted run over her but Pamela put her head up and tripped Madeline by trapping her leg into the leopard belt. Madeline bumped into a tall mannequin and tumbled down on it, later feeling a bit glad it broke her fall. Pamela picked herself up and zipped to where the shirt was. But she stopped when she saw Debra taking the shirt off its rack.
"Give me that," Pamela demanded.
"It's not yours; I'm sorry," said Debra.
"I will murder you like you murdered the pigeon to make those earrings!"
"These feathers are fake."
"Just like you. Now give me it!"
"Hang on a second now."
Pamela grabbed onto the shirt and pulled it towards herself but Debra did not let go of it. They had a tug of war with it while shouting at each other overlappingly. They continued to pull and tug and clamor until Debra head-butted Pamela. She let go of the shirt and fell backwards.
"Namaste," Debra bowed before running off.
She zipped past the aisles of customers but found herself coming to a halt when Mauricia jumped in front of her after escaping Andrea's violent grip.
"You're not going anywhere," Mauricia said with a crazed look in her eye. Her disheveled hair helped create a maniacal atmosphere around her.
"Debra!" Skye called from yards away. "Toss it to me!"
Looking at Mauricia's serious face, Debra was unsure. Every time she moved, Mauricia moved. But she trusted her gut, rolling the shirt over the hanger while stalling Mauricia. When she decided to throw it, Andrea had popped up unexpectedly from a corner and jumped on Mauricia once again, pushing her down with a scream. Debra hurled the shirt into the air with Skye catching it almost flawlessly. She approached the counter in no time since she was near it.
  Madeline landed on her feet and cheered once she saw Skye purchase the blouse. She ran towards her along with the other girls. When Skye turned around with the bag in her hand, Madeline spun her around into a hug.
"I never thought I would actually enjoy shopping," started Skye, "until today."
Madeline released her and took away the bag with a beaming grin. She pulled out the shirt and said in singsong, "Thank you, Skye! Now I have my dream shirt."
"It has a tear on the sleeve," Debra pointed.
"Uh, that's okay." Madeline dropped the shirt back in the bag.
"I can sew it up for you," Lizzie insisted.
"No way. I am not wearing a shirt that will be attached to you all day."
Lizzie pouted.
The store's employee -- the one who made all the announcements -- entered the middle of an aisle and noticed the big mess of merchandise. Also, from left to right, she spotted the Cow Belles lying on the floor, moaning and writhing in pain.
"Geez, over a shirt!" the employee asked.

What Happened to Sales?! (Chapter 3)

The next day, the girls went back to the mall after finishing their homework together. They thought that their spree was not over, therefore, they should be able to finish it. When they got to the mall, they visited the Glam Barn which had all of their favorite kinds of clothing there. After only a few minutes inside, the girls began to see the Cow Belles enter. They tried to ignore them and stay as far away from them as possible. As they looked for clothes, one of the employees stood on the mannequin platform in the center of the store.
"Hey, may I have your attention, please?" she declared. "I'm glad you are all here and buying our clothes. I just want to announce that we need to make more money around the end of the month or at least make money faster. So we are going to change things up a bit in here as a fun way for you all to shop. Right now, I would like to hold a little contest. You don't have to play but if you are, play fair. I want you guys to pick the ten top items that you like in here. Whoever brings their favorite items to the counter first will get them all for free. Now, don't pick any choice of clothing because when you give them to us, you will receive no receipt so you'll be stuck with those items. Plus, the person who's first will get a 50 percent discount on anything they buy in here for a whole month. So, are you ready?"
The customers cheered loudly.
"Bring it on!" Andrea shouted in a deep voice.
"Okay," the employee said. "One, two, three, shop!"
She leaped off the platform as all of the customers scrambled inside the shop and looked for things to buy for themselves. The girls, of course, broke away from each other, including the Cow Belles. They searched through racks and ran by tables with accessories on them. People took what they liked but did not make up at least ten pieces of apparel just yet within the two minutes. Every time the Cow Belles would pass their enemies, they would always push them to slow them down. After Andrea had been pushed by them three times, she looked for one of them instead of looking for any clothes to buy. She found Mauricia and pulled out her clothes from behind. Mauricia turned around only to get helplessly jumped on by Andrea. Glancing at Andrea practically mauling Mauricia on the floor, Debra scooted around the moving customers and tried to peel Andrea off without putting down her clothes. After a total of five minutes passed, Pamela ran up to the counter with her desired and gathered items. She placed them on the counter, making the employee turn on her air-horn. The customers stopped and looked at the winner, Pamela.
"Congratulations, miss," announced the employee. "You are able to keep your clothes without pay while also getting a 50 percent discount on anything you buy here for thirty days!"
"Yeah, I did!" Pamela cheered.
Mauricia crawled from Andrea, who was being held by Debra. "I'm happy for you, Pamela!" she said, standing up.
"Thank you, Mauricia. Since I'm getting my clothes for free, I'm gonna pay for the clothes you want today."
"Oh, I love you!"
"You know I love you back."
Madeline threw her selected pink blouse down in frustration.
"No fair," called Skye. "She totally cheated!"
"Um, you can't cheat when it comes to clothes," responded Pamela.
Mauricia walked up next to her best friend. "Yeah, she won fair and square."
"All is fair in love and war."
"Okay, honestly, I don't care anymore," Skye rolled her eyes.
"Please be here tomorrow for a special surprise," declared the employee.
"Oh, I will be here," said Madeline.
"Don't you have to work anyway?" asked Lizzie, approaching Madeline.
"Yes."
"You want to come back tomorrow, Pamela?" asked Mauricia.
"Only if you want to, Mauricia," responded Pamela.
"Oh, I want to."
"Then you know I want to, too."
"You're amazing."
"No, you are."
"If there's more of them, I don't want to live in this world anymore," commented Skye.
"I know I'm coming back," said Andrea, "to finish what I started." She glared at Mauricia, who grew scared.
"Violence leads to more violence," stated Debra.
"Then I'll finish somewhere dark so nobody can see and be influenced by it."
"That's better?"

What Happened to Sales?! (Chapter 2)

Madeline took out a lavender sweater by its hanger off the random rack. "Would this shirt make me look fat?" she questioned, putting the sweater close in front of her.
"Are you a medium?" asked Skye.
"No."
"Then that will make you look tres fat, my friend."
Madeline put the sweater back into the rack. "Thanks for being honest."
"Well, what would happen if I wasn't?"
"Don't have you a sweater similar to that?" asked Debra.
"Yes, but it's baby blue," Madeline responded.
"Having the two same shirts shouldn't be something to be proud of, Madeline," said Skye.
"I just want something that brings out my eyes."
"I want to bring out my eyes right now," said Andrea after looking back.
"Why, Andy?"
"Because I saw certain somebodies come in. Or should I say, 'Code Milk, Code Milk'?"
"I like cold milk but it surprisingly tastes better warm," Lizzie commented.
"Not 'cold milk', 'Code Milk'. Code. Code!"
"Code Milk?"
"Yeah, code. Code."
"What stupid thing are you all talking about now?" asked Pamela from behind, with Mauricia, whom make up the Cow Belles, the girls' arch-nemeses.
"Andrea is probably teaching Lizzie how to say words," said Mauricia.
"Oh, how cute!"
"Hi, Pamela and Mauricia," greeted Madeline.
"Hi, Anna Nicole Smith," Mauricia greeted back.
"What are you doing at our mall?" asked Pamela.
"Your mall?" Skye inquired.
"This is not your mall," said Andrea.
"Uh, our names are written all over it," said Mauricia.
Lizzie gasped. "Were you the people that planted the graffiti on the back of the mall? Because they already arrested four people for that."
"Why are you a person?" Pamela asked.
"Leave her alone," demanded Andrea.
"What are you going to do?" asked Mauricia. "Hit us?"
"I just might."
"But the security guard will get you," notified Pamela.
"And he'll escort you out," Mauricia added.
"Or possibly arrest you."
"Either is better."
"Yeah, either's better."
"Well... I would not like that," Andrea said, taking a step back.
"Why are you always starting stuff?" asked Skye.
"Why do you have faces?" Mauricia asked as a response.
"Because we're people," replied Madeline, "and people have faces, moron."
"Yeah, Moron-icia," Lizzie commented.
Skye chuckled. "I like that."
"You girls will always make me sick," shared Pamela.
"Well, they don't make us feel good," said Mauricia.
"That is true. We're done talking to you." Pamela looked over at the rack that Madeline was looking at earlier and picked up the lavender sweater by its hanger. "This is nice."
"Hey, that's mine," said Madeline.
"I didn't see you holding it."
"Yeah, Madeline," started Mauricia, "don't you know how malls work?"
The two shared a laugh before walking away from the other girls.
"I know why it's called 'Code Milk'," Lizzie realized. "It's because they have breasts!"
Andrea silently sighed. "Sure, Liz', that's why."

What Happened to Sales?! (Chapter 1)

Madeline handed an elderly lady a bag of shirts over the counter. "Thanks for shopping at the Pink Tee," she stated. "Come again... or try not to. I could use a break."
The lady gave Madeline a short smile before leaving the store. Madeline put her elbows on the counter and rested her cheeks in her hands as she gazed upon the quiet, empty store.
"How is this store still running?" she asked herself.
Unknowingly, Madeline's girlfriends came to the mall to ask her if she wanted to shop with them since they had nothing else better to do. The girls decided to stop by her job to check up on her. They came in with Lizzie saying, "Knock, knock" to capture Madeline's attention.
Madeline stood up straight and looked at her friends. "Hey!"
The girls walked over to the counter.
"What's up, my sisters?" Madeline asked.
"Oh, we were just in the neighborhood," answered Debra.
"I'm so glad you're all here. It was getting boring in here."
"Since nobody's shopping right now," started Lizzie, "how about you go on a shopping spree with us?"
"I would love to but somebody has to watch the store. And I am the only one who works here. I have to talk to my manager but I don't know where she went."
"I'm here," said Madeline's manager who had just entered the shop while eating a doughnut.
"Never mind then. So, Penelope, can I ask you a question?"
"No, Madeline, I don't have body wax so I can't remove my mustache."
"That's not what I wanted to ask. I wanted to know if you could get behind the cash register so I can take a break."
"What do I look like? A miracle worker?"
"No, but you are a worker and it would be a miracle if I could take a break."
"Well, since you did come on time and didn't slack off afterwards, I guess I can watch the store a little bit."
"Oh, thank you, thank you, Penelope!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Penelope took a bite of her doughnut. "But I'm going to give you half an hour so be sure to--"
"Penelope, Penelope. Please don't talk with your mouth full. Not only it's disgusting but we wouldn't want you to choke like last time."
"Mm-hmm."
"And if I save you again, you're going to have to give me a raise."
"I've been notified."
"Cool, try not to talk."
Madeline took her pink hat and dropped it on the floor. She walked around the counter to be near her girlfriends.
"I have body wax," said Lizzie. "I could lend you some if you want."
Penelope stared at Lizzie. "We'll talk. Just get out of here, Mad King."
"Alright," Madeline said, walking off out the store with her friends following.
"Why does she call you Mad?" asked Lizzie.
"Because that's part of my name."
"But you're not mad. See what I did there."
"Hilarious."

Straight D's (Chapter 5)

By the beginning of the week, everything went back to normal for Madeline. She changed back to her regular self: shiny, wavy hair, girly makeup and fun, preppy clothing. She decided to take her time in school more seriously and change up her studying habits. She felt like she was doing well to the middle of that new week.

Around that time, she was completing a worksheet along with her calculus class. This time, she was focused and prepared better than ever. As she answered her third question in neat handwriting, Chad Welch, who still sat behind her, tapped her on the shoulder. She tried to ignore him but after a good seven seconds, she turned around. He handed her a folded up piece of paper. She received it with a smile. After turning back around, she flicked the note over her desk then continued to work on the classwork. Seeing her throw the note made Chad baffled. He opened his blue binder and ripped out a random sheet of paper. With his pencil, he wrote his message on it then folded up the paper. He tapped Madeline on the shoulder with it but she didn't pay him any attention. He tapped her on the shoulder repeatedly; she pretended that Chad didn't exist. He eventually stopped then attempted to throw the note on her desk. When he did, the note landed on the desk next to Madeline. The girl who sat at that desk picked up the note and unfolded it. After reading the message, she turned around and grinned at Chad. He shook his head to indicate that the note was not for her, making the girl frown and turn back around.

"Time's up," the teacher alarmed. She walked up and down the classroom to collect the students' worksheets.

Once she got everybody's papers, she sat them down on her desk and searched through her desk. As she did so, Chad called Madeline's name as the other students began to speak to each other. Madeline turned around with an emotionless face.

"Why are you ignoring me?" he asked.

"Because I feel like it," she answered.

"But why?"

The teacher came up to Madeline's desk and planted a graded packet on it before walking away.

"Good job, Madeline," she commented.

Madeline looked straight at the big A that sat in the top right hand corner of the packet with a 92% right by. She knew that she didn't have to put the paper up in the light because what she was seeing was totally realistic.

"This is why," said Madeline, picking up the test and showing it to Chad. "I didn't have this when I was talking to you. My grades are very important to me and I'm not going to let boys become more significant in my life than school."

"So you're going to stop talking to me?" asked Chad.

"I'll still talk to you after school but during school, you're invisible."

"I'm invisible? I believe that I'm too gorgeous to be invisible."

"But you're too conceited to be not invisible."

"Like you're not conceited, Madame."

"Hey, a Madame can be whatever she wants to be. And I want to be an over-achiever, thank you very much. So I am not going to let this 'connection' knock me off my pedestal."

"Boy, I love it when you talk mean all of a sudden."

Madeline raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah, it's hot."

"Oh, well, then, that shirt is disgusting. I've seen boogers cuter than that shirt."

"Tell me more." Chad leaned in.

"Your hair lacks so much shine, even if it was wet, it would still look dry."

"Again, again."

"You have the IQ of lemonade."

"Do you want to go on a date later?"

"I can go on that date on Saturday."

"Can I make you dinner?"

"As long as you cook pasta."

"And cherry pie?"

"Stop it!" Madeline picked up her packet and chucked it on Chad's face.

Straight D's (Chapter 4)

Over the weekend, Lizzie got a call from Madeline's father, saying that she needs to help him with Madeline. Lizzie was aware that Madeline had been acting up lately because of the bad grades she was getting for the past week. She called her best friends about it and with her car, picked them all up and drove them over Madeline's home. Madeline's father opened the door once they arrived at the big house.

"I'm glad you're all here," he admitted, closing the door with the girls in the house.

"Where's Madeline?" asked Lizzie.

"In her room. Doing God knows what."

"Maybe she's doing witchery in there like Skye used to do," Andrea joked.

"I can so help her with that," Skye said.

Andrea looked at Skye straight-faced.

"Okay, weirdoes," said Madeline's gray-haired dad. "Since she won't listen to me, I expect she'll listen to you. If all fails, I just send her off to juvy."

"Juvy?" Lizzie inquired.

"Or an insane asylum. Do you girls want anything?"

"No thank you," answered Debra.

"Good because I'm not a waiter."

Madeline's dad turned around and walked away into the hall. The girls walked up the stairs together and entered the long hallway. They walked down until they found Madeline's bedroom, which has a flashy sign on the door with Madeline's name written in pink glitter. Lizzie knocked on the door three times.

"Go away!" ordered Madeline from behind the door which muffled her voice. "I'm burning incense."

"Neat," Debra said to herself.

"Maddie, open the door," shouted Lizzie. "It's us."

After a few seconds, the door opened by only an inch, as if a ghost opened the door. The girls produced confused faces, nonetheless, Lizzie opened the door all the way. The girls entered the room in a line, noticing its changes. The blinds on the window was closed so the room was dark, only to be lit dimly with a collection of candles on the dressers. Madeline was sitting on a beanbag chair in the corner of the room by the closet. She also sported a new look as her wavy hair had gone lazily straight, no pastel-colored makeup appeared on her face and her preppy clothes were replaced with an oversized sweater, ripped jeans and work boots. Skye, the last person to come in, closed the door, making the room more dim.

"Okay, I don't know what's going on here," Andrea broke the silence, "but if you have something that looks like Hawaiian punch, I would not like to drink it."

"Madeline, what is this?" asked Lizzie.

"My refuge," Madeline answered in a relaxed, vibrating voice. "I made my room a place to escape from the barks of life."

"You look like Kurt Cobain," Skye remarked.

"That's what I was going for."

"Madeline, this is not you," said Lizzie.

"No, it's not what I would go for. But that Madeline is gone. This Madeline is new so everything here is me now."

"So you're changing yourself because you're failing?" questioned Skye.

"Hey, I'm a rebel. It's not really much of a change. Rebels were born rebels."

"Oh, please, you are not a rebel. You can barely not recycle."

"Girls, girls. This is my escape pod from life trying to bring me down. If you are with me, you would not even attempt to bark at me. I'm not the girl you all met anymore. The girl from yesterday created the girl you are seeing. I got to commit to this, man."

"Madeline, you are going to act like a baby over several D's?" asked Andrea. "I've had more D's than that and I'm still the same."

"It's true," Lizzie agreed.

"You are way smarter than what you are acting like right now. This is not you if you're wearing size ten sweaters and sitting quietly in your refugee camp or whatever you call it."

"It's called a refuge," Madeline corrected.

"I don't care. If you don't stop it right now, I will punch you back into the old Madeline."

"She can," nodded Lizzie. "She can do that."

The girls quieted down and stared at Debra when they heard her loudly sniffing.

"Your room smells like apples and honey with oak," shared Debra. "Kinda like that special candle I bought yesterday but unfortunately lost."

"Yeah," Madeline said, closing her eyes.

"Wait, did you steal my candle?"

"Maybe... Maybe not."

"That means yes," said Lizzie.

"Why?" asked Debra.

"Because I'm a misfit, a fire in a poem," responded Madeline. "Since my grades are slipping, I got to accept that. While I do, I got accept the new acceptable qualities."

"So you're gonna fail on purpose and steal people's candles?" asked Skye. "That's sick, Maddie."

"If you mean 'sick' as in 'good', then yeah, it's pretty sick."

"Wait, 'sick' is used in a good way?" Lizzie questioned.

"Okay, Madeline, you find nothing absolutely wrong with this picture?" Andrea made a circle with her hand. "Like nothing wrong? This is not the Madeline I know. The Madeline I know does not look like Skye on drugs."

Skye crinkled her nose. "She does not-- You know what? She does. Oh, my God, she does."

"See, Maddie? This is your mirror. Just less on the drug addict side."

"Girls, I will ban you all from my refuge," said Madeline. "This is not a place where I'm gonna take all of this unneccessary judgement. If you were my true chums, you would support the fact that I do not care about anything. So may you please leave me in peace?"

"Why? So you can do harikari or something?"

"You don't care, huh?" Lizzie inquired with a smile. She walked over to Madeline's closet and dug her hands into her hung clothes. It did not take long Lizzie to find what she was looking for, which was a pink blazer. "So you don't care about this?" She showed the pretty jacket.

"Not at all," Madeline pursed her lips. "I dress grunge now."

"Okay, then you wouldn't mind if I did this to it?"

Lizzie walked over to the dresser next to Madeline and picked up a random candle. She dipped the blazer on top of the candle, setting the jacket ablaze from the bottom.

Madeline's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

"Getting rid of your favorite blazer in the world."

Madeline tittered nervously. "It's not my favorite anymore."

"Oh, yeah?" Skye inquired. She walked towards the pink-sheeted bed and picked up the cellphone that was just lying there. Skye began to press the buttons and swipe through the screen. "So you don't mind if I delete some of your contacts? The contacts from boys that you used to or currently flirt with?"

"Nope," Madeline uttered like a swallow.

"Oh, good. Now let's delete Aaron, Ace, Adam, Adrian, Aiden, Albert, Allan, Allen, Allen B., Allen C., Allen D.-- How many Allen's do you know?"

"A lot of hot ones... that I don't care about."

Debra watched Skye delete away Madeline's contacts but her eye crawled towards something that sparked an idea. She walked over to the dresser in front of the bed and picked up a leather-covered object on top of it. "And here's your wallet," she notified. "You used to love it but I guess you don't anymore, right?"

Madeline folded in her lips, trying not to say anything that didn't fit her new character. As she watched, Debra opened the wallet and pulled out a few dollars.

"Look at that," she said. "Three one-thousand dollar bills. You won't be needing those anymore." Debra picked up a candle from the dresser and held it under the money.

"Wait, Debra, it's three thousand dollars," said Andrea. "We can use that."

Debra ignored her. She let the flame eat the dollars alive.

"No!" Madeline howled. She hopped up from her beanbag chair and ran pass the girls towards Debra. She swiped the money away from her and blew out the flame. She fell down on her knees while clasping onto the half-charred dollar bills. "You broke me!" she said as tears rolled down from her closed eyes.

"We broke her!" shouted Lizzie with a big smile on her face. She flapped the blazer to make the fire go out and dropped it on the floor.

She and the rest of the girls went over to the crouched and crying Madeline and gave her a loving group hug.

Then Andrea scowled. "Ew, something smells like trash," she asked in a disgusted tone.

"That's where I got the jeans," Madeline whimpered.

"I'm leaving," Skye said, getting up and walking towards the door to open it.

Straight D's (Chapter 3)

Two days later, Madeline sat in French class, texting her crush under the desk. Even though she promised to stop letting Chad distract her, she couldn't just ignore him. The teacher passed around graded papers, not acknowledging Madeline who was giggling while looking down at her cellphone. Her attention moved away from the phone once she heard the sound of paper getting slapped against her desk. She looked up at the paper and there it was again: a big D sitting in the top right hand corner. Madeline scrunched her eyebrows at the D and the 60% next to it. She picked up the paper and held it up so the light from the ceiling could hit directly at the big letter. That D did not budge, angering Madeline once again.
The teacher stood in front of the classroom to instruct the students. "Okay, since that is out of the way, let's start--"
The teacher stopped talking when she saw Madeline raise her hand.
"Yes, Madeline?"
Madeline put her arm down. "Um, I think you graded my quiz wrong."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because I don't get D's in this class. I get A's."
"Yes, I've been aware of that. But I double-check everybody's papers when I grade and frankly, most of your answers on the quiz were wrong."
Madeline scrunched her eyebrows again. "But that's impossible."
"Not really."
Madeline paused. "But how could I be failing French? I speak French. I'm from Quebec!"
"You said you were born in Wichita," said the classmate that sat next to Madeline.
"Oh, yeah. That's right, I lied. But still, that doesn't add up to why I'm failing."
"Sweetie, look at your quiz," demanded the French teacher.
Madeline looked at the paper in her hand and glimpsed at the answers. "Oh, crap, I wrote, 'IDK' again. Just let me redo this and I guarantee this will be an A."
"I can't do that."
"Yes, you can. You're a teacher; you have the power to make people do what you say and other things like letting me retake that test."
"I don't allow retakes. Everybody knows that."
Madeline scowled. "Well, does everybody know that you're divorced because you cheated on your husband?"
The students murmured and glanced at each other. Hearing that question made steam come out of the teachers' ears.
"How did you-- Never mind," she said. "Madeline, that is none of your business."
"Then why are you scribbling it on Facebook?" asked Madeline. "Hmm? Why are you scribbling it on Facebook and posing with ex-boyfriends on Snapchat? Riddle me that."
"I am not appreciating your attitude."
Madeline stood up, scooting her seat back with her legs. "Then understand it. I've been getting A's ever since I was in second grade. I can't be getting D's now."
"Sorry to break your pattern but rules are rules."
"Then how come you didn't follow the rule of marriage when you were tonguing down that guy?"
"Ohhh..." mumbled Madeline's neighbor.
"Madeline, leave," the teacher demanded.
"Why?" asked Madeline. "That won't give me an A."
"Leave or I will seriously damage you."
"Now you threatening me? You're threatening me, your favorite student?"
"My favorite student does not talk back to me."
"Oh, I see how it is. I am seeing how it is. Fine, I will leave."
Madeline picked up her phone from the floor and walked around the line of desks towards the open door. She stopped and turned around when the French teacher grabbed her phone.
"No phones in the hallway," the teacher smiled wickedly.
"Oh, okay," said Madeline. "How about this? Keep the phone so you can keep taking pictures of you and your boyfriend. I don't even get why he wants you anyway when your boobs are lower than your--"
Out of fury, the teacher picked up a yardstick that laid on the shelf on her chalkboard. She swung it over Madeline's head and smack it on the wall next to her. Madeline ducked and out of worry and fright, ran out of the classroom through the door like she was in a horror film.

Straight D's (Chapter 2)

In the cafeteria, shortly after arriving, Skye cracked one of her jokes that made the girls laugh. They were so wrapped around the joke that they almost didn't notice Madeline coming in. With an angry look, Madeline slammed her lunch bag on the table and quickly sat between Debra and Andrea. The laughter cut short once the girls heard the slam and looked at the madness written all over Madeline's face.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Skye.
"I'm angry!" Madeline popped her head forward.
"Glad I asked," Skye said with a poker face.
"Why are you angry?" asked Lizzie.
"Because my calculus teacher failed me," answered Madeline.
"Why?" Andrea asked.
"Because she's mean!"
"You've never failed anything before," commented Debra.
"You don't think I know that?"
"I'm sorry, Maddie," said Lizzie.
"Oh, 'sorry' won't change the D on my test."
"Dang."
"You got to be so angry at everybody," Andrea noted. "It's just one D."
Lizzie giggled. "That stands for 'One Direction'."
"Did you study?" asked Debra.
"Of course I studied, Debbie," Madeline replied. "I study every day. I study over summer break because I want to."
"Listen, your teacher couldn't have failed you on purpose," started Skye, "because you're a complete teacher's pet."
"Hey!"
"Like you didn't know. I don't take calculus but I have to see your test.
"Oh, it's right here." Madeline pulled out her graded packet from under her peach-colored shirt. She stuck it in Skye's hands.
"Why did you put your test under your shirt?" asked Andrea.
"Because if I try to get some light on my paper, maybe my grade will change."
"It doesn't work that way," Skye remarked.
"Who do you think you are? Like, some kind of wizardry expert?"
"No, but I used to practice witchery as a kid."
Madeline scrunched her forehead and leaned back.
"Yes, be very afraid," Skye smiled. She looked at the packet and flipped through the pages. "Um, since I am passing in math, I can tell that some of your answers are wrong."
"That's impossible. I'm never wrong."
"Well... you're wrong now. Maddie, do you even remember taking this test?"
"Yeah, I'm not brain-damaged."
"Well, you answer questions like you are."
"Why are you insulting me?"
"Because, Alberta Einstein, for one question, which required a number as an answer, you put down, 'The first one'."
"What do you mean by, 'The first one'?" asked Andrea.
"You know," replied Madeline, "the first... whatever the question said."
"The question asked for no first one," Skye notified. "Plus, you wrote, 'IDK' for most of the problems." Skye showed the packet to Madeline so she could see the answers she wrote down that made them get marked as incorrect.
"Madeline, how could you say, 'IDK' when you 'DK'?" asked Lizzie.
"Maybe I got flustered," Madeline responded.
"You were flustered by something," Skye said, "because you got the first three questions right but then it went all downhill from there."
"Madeline, what's up?" Andrea questioned.
"Well, I took the test, feeling great," started Madeline, "then Chad started texting me."
"Chad Welch?" Debra inquired.
"The hot lacrosse player with the broad shoulders?" asked Lizzie.
"That's the one," Madeline shook her finger.
"So you texted him back and got sidetracked?" inquired Skye.
"Texted him back? We had a conversation."
"Why couldn't you talk to him later?" asked Debra.
"Because he's hot and hot don't wait."
"It's true," Lizzie agreed. "One time, I left my hot dinner on the table for twenty minutes and when I came back, it was cool. So hot don't wait."
"Madeline, if you want to go back to being a straight-A student again, you can't face any distractions," said Skye.
"Fine, I won't get distracted ever again," promised Madeline.
"I wonder how Chad got his shoulders to be so broad," said Lizzie.
"From playing lacrosse. Duh!"

Straight D's (Chapter 1)

Second period started on a bright early morning and Madeline had attended her complicated mathematics class. She always would participate in that class very confidently as she got A's in everything so she usually had nothing to worry about. Her confidence was one of the things that caught Chad Welch's attention. The two would always flirt with each other through text messages, phone calls, E-mails and even notes.

When Madeline finished completing the class drill, she waited for further instructions. As she did, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Chad, who sat behind her, smirking and holding a folded piece of paper. She smirked back and took the paper, purposely grazing her fingertips on his fingers. She turned her head back and and unfolded the piece of paper. On top of it was written, "You look stunning today."

Madeline rolled her eyes in gratitude. With her pink inked pen, she wrote under the statement, "Do I?" She looked up to see the teacher at her desk. She was busy organizing papers froms students. Madeline didn't want to caught passing notes but she couldn't not do it. So she looked at the teacher to make sure she was not looking at her. Madeline put the piece of paper on her lap and folded it back up. She placed it between her fingers and swung her arm behind herself to hand to Chad. He received it and read her response. He wrote down his response to that.

After folding it back up, he tapped Madeline on the shoulder with it. She took it and placed it on her lap. She unfolded it to see Chad's response: "You know you always are."

Madeline cocked her head and hid a giggle. She wrote down below that response, "That's true." She looked up, seeing the teacher still shuffling papers. The note passing became a routine as it went back and forth.

Chad wrote, "You're so cocky."

Madeline responded, "But you already knew that."

"Yeah and I like it."

"Do you now?"

"You make my mouth water."

"Easy now! I'm not apple pie."

"I was thinking more of cherry pie."

"That's not funny."

"I'm sorry."

"Just say something else."

"Your eyes look really nice today."

"That's better."

As they continued to pass notes, Madeline stopped looking at the teacher for caution. The teacher eventually walked around the classroom to return classwork. When Madeline put the paper on her lap to read Chad's response, the teacher walked by and slapped a packet down her desk. The sound made Madeline look up immediately. She looked at the completed packet with marks made over the questions and answers in marker. But what attracted Madeline the most was the big D next to 61% on the right hand top corner of the front page. She stared at the D, making sure it was the right letter. She held her packet up and squinted. The D was not changing. Madeline scrunched her forehead in anger. She never had a D in her life for anything. In fact, she never had any grade under a high B. She raised her hand to capture the teacher's attention.

The teacher turned around and spotted Madeline. "Yes, Madeline?"

Madeline put her hand down. "Uh, Miss Locksmith, I think you graded my test wrong."

"No, I think I graded it right."

"But, Miss Locksmith, I don't get D's. I get A's, like, all the time."

"Well, this time you don't."

"W-- This-- This is an outrage."

"Madeline--"

"How could I've failed the test?"

"Many ways and reasons. Maybe look over the test and you'll see why."

The teacher turned around to ignore the infuriated Madeline.

Madeline groaned and melted in her chair.

"Don't worry, Madeline," said Chad. "There's better luck next time, right?"

Madeline folded her lips in. She sat up straight and picked up her pen. She wrote down a response on the piece of paper that laid in her lap. After she was done, she slapped the paper down on Chad's desk and didn't look back.

Chad looked surprisingly at the response on the paper which read, "Shut up!!!"

The History of BF4E (Chapter 5)

"I can't believe you didn't like me when we were kids," said Lizzie.

Madeline lowered her slice of sandwich to respond to Lizzie. "I didn't not like you. I just thought you were... a bit clingy."

"Clingy?"

"But I got used to it. If I didn't like your clinginess, I still wouldn't be with you."

"That's true. But I'm not clingy!"

"Just go with it, Liz'," said Andrea.

"Is it wrong that I saw you more of a bodyguard than a companion?" asked Madeline.

"As long as you don't see me like that now."

"Then we're good." Madeline waved her sandwich in the air.

"I think it's awesome that you broke Pamela's nose," Skye remarked.

"And a thing is you didn't even hit her," said Lizzie. "You just crunched her nose."

"What can I say?" Andrea inquired. "I got hands of steel."

"I got to make sure to never make you mad."

"But let's talk about someone who can't get her nose broken like Debra Darling."

"Oh, please, I hurt like everyone else," said Debra.

"But nobody can take a punch and handle it like a champ," Madeline said, leaning on the table.

"I guess that's true."

"You had no black eye," Andrea mentioned. "No black eye! But if you did, you'd look stronger."

"Well, I pray that I don't get a black eye anytime soon."

"I know Skye wanted to give me a black eye," Madeline realized.

"That is not true," Skye responded.

"Well, you didn't like me."

"Doesn't mean I wanted to clobber you."

"Skye is definitely the same girl now as she was then," noted Lizzie.

"That's because you only knew me for a year."

Debra giggled.

"So it absolutely makes sense to why she's still so talented," commented Madeline.

"Stop it, you're making me blush," Skye said sarcastically.

"It's so thoughtful that you got Skye in a band which she happened to desire," remarked Debra.

"Hey, I thought Sean would fall in love with Skye so he could leave me alone," spilled Madeline.

Skye scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"But no, seriously, I wanted her to feel encouraged to pursue a career in music."

"Well, it helped because I wouldn't even be in a band if it wasn't for you," said Skye. "Honestly, I never had so much fun."

"Really?" asked Lizzie.

"Yeah... but I have lots of fun with you guys."

"Aw, that's what I wanted to hear," smiled Andrea.

"I'm glad we're friends," admitted Debra.

"Me, too," Lizzie grinned.

"If we stop being best friends, then there is something wrong with us," Madeline confirmed. "We are clearly made for each other."

"But what if one of us happens to find a better friend?" asked Lizzie.

Madeline frowned. "Lizzie--"

"I'm just saying; it's possible."

"Doll, we should have no reason to part," said Andrea. "Especially from Madeline, okay, because she's got money."

"I'm not rich; my parents are rich," asserted Madeline.

"Then if we do part from Madeline, let's be friends with her parents."

The History of BF4E (Chapter 4)

The freshmen were led by their teachers to the auditorium for the talent show. The students were given permission to sit wherever with whoever. So it did not take long for fourteen-year-old Madeline to decide who she wanted to sit with. Individually but quickly, she found Lizzie, Andrea and Debra. They sat together in the middle second row for the first six segments. After each one, they quietly discussed their opinion on them.

"Is magic real?" asked Lizzie.

"No," answered Madeline.

"Uh, I disagree," said Andrea.

"What? Magic is totally fake."

"How do you know?" Lizzie questioned.

"I've seen videos on how to accomplish magic tricks without the use of actual magic."

"That's for amateurs," said Andrea.

"No, it's for anyone or should I say everyone because everyone can't do magic."

"What do you think, Debbie?" asked Lizzie.

"I think anything's real as long as you determine yourself enough," answered Debra.

"Oh, what a way to squirm yourself away from a question," commented Andrea.

The students quieted down once they saw a man walk onto the stage with microphone. "Our next act is a new student," he declared into the microphone. "She says this performance would help introduce herself to the students. She loves rock music so it's not a surprise that the song she's singing is 'Teenagers' by My Chemical Romance. Everyone, give it up for Skye Carter!"

The man walked off the stage clapping, making the audience clap. The red curtains opened, exposing a short girl with pale skin and long blonde hair. She sung immediately into her microphone once the music started playing. Skye sung sweetly along the guitar riff:

They're gonna clean up your looks
With all the lies in the books
To make a citizen out of you
Because they sleep with a gun
And keep an eye on you, son
So they can watch all the things you do
Because the drugs never work
They're gonna give you a smirk
'Cause they got methods to keep you clean
They're gonna rip off your heads
Your aspirations to shreds
Another cog in the murder machine
They said all

Once the music got louder, Skye started hopping and her voice sounded more confident.

Teenagers scare the living crud out of me
They can care less
As long as someone'll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they'll leave you alone
But not me
Whoa, yeah

When the bluesy guitar solo hit, she jumped up and down while flipping her hair back and forth. The audience stared at her in a more puzzled way than an impressed way.

They said all
Teenagers scare the living crud out of me
They can care less
As long as someone'll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they'll leave you alone
But not me
All together now

Teenagers scare the living crud out of me
They can care less
As long as someone'll bleed
So darken your clothes
Or strike a violent pose
Maybe they'll leave you alone
But not me

After one pump of her fist as the song ended, the students continued to stare at her. The applause occured but slowly. Skye, feeling a bit embarrassed, walked off behind the curtains.

After the rest of the acts, the students were asked to head to their next classes. Half of them exited from the back while the other half exited through the front doors. The girls happened to leave through the front doors. As they walked together in the lounge, they passed by Skye who was sitting on a bench, wiping her cheeks. Madeline split from her friends and approached the sad Skye. The girls stopped to watch her.

"Hi," Madeline greeted.

Skye sniffled and looked up. "H-Hi."

"I'm Maddie."

"So?"

"I liked your performance."

"No, you didn't."

"If I didn't, then why did I clap?"

"Sympathy."

"Skye, you're an amazing singer. Why are you pushing me away?"

"I'm not. I... I know who I am."

"Well, we don't know who you are," said Lizzie, walking up to the two girls. "I'm sure I would like to know."

Madeline nodded.

"That sounds nice, Paris and Nicole," responded Skye, "but I would like to be left alone."

Suddenly, Madeline was approached by a white boy in a smell jacket with brown, messy hair. "Hey, Madeline," he greeted in an almost deep voice. "I just want to say I'm sorry for smelling your hair earlier. It's just that your hair was in my face and I couldn't control myself."

Madeline looked at the boy then looked at Skye. "It's okay, Sean," she forgived. "Um, did I happen to overhear you earlier about how you needed a singer in your band?"

"Yes."

"Well, I happen to have found the perfect singer for your group." Madeline motioned her hands to the wide-eyed Skye. "I would like you to meet Skye."

"Hey, Skye. You sing?"

"Yeah," answered Skye bashfully.

"Oh, would you like to sing in this band I'm forming."

"Sure. I've always wanted to be in a band."

"Cool. Thanks, Madeline."

Madeline nodded before backing up with Lizzie to be aligned with her friends. Skye stood up to engage in conversation with Sean. But that was soon broken when fourteen-year-old best friends, Pamela and Mauricia, stopped by.

"Nice performance... not," commented Mauricia.

"Yeah, like what was that?" asked Pamela.

"So not cool."

"Definitely so not cool."

"Hey, she did amazing," hissed Andrea. "Beat it!"

"Uh, we can't give our opinion?" questioned Mauricia.

"We have a right to hate, you fake J-Lo," said Pamela.

"Who are you talking to, Miss Nosejob?" Andrea responded.

Skye snickered.

"The only reason my nose got a job in the first place is because you broke it," Pamela explained.

"Don't think I'll break it again, cochina?" Andrea stared deep into Pamela's eyes.

Scared for her, Mauricia pulled Pamela away by interlocking her arm with hers. Andrea crossed her arms and broke eye contact, flipping her hair over her shoulder using her head.

"Thank you," Skye smiled, looking at all the girls. She walked away, out of the lobby, with Sean while conversing with him.

The History of BF4E (Chapter 3)

During lunchtime at Thurston Middle School, several people were allowed to take charge of stands promoting Earth Day outside of the cafeteria. Twelve-year-olds Madeline and Lizzie owned their own stand that sold pots of different kinds of flowers. To grab more attention, the two best friends wore showy sweaters with plastic flowers attached to them. Their stand was inbetween the stand for friendship bracelets and the stand for donations for preventing deforestation.

"Come on, people!" shouted Madeline. "Buy a flower, be a flower, all that yadda-yadda-yadda."

"Don't get frustrated, Maddie," calmed Lizzie. "So far, we made..." She grabbed the jar for cash and looked inside. "... one dollar."

Madeline glared at the smiling Lizzie. Almost instantly, they turned their attention to Andrea who stormed out of the cafeteria, being followed by a girl of Asian descent.

"Andrea, you can't get mad at me when you didn't tell me," said the girl.

Andrea stopped and turned, making the girl stop. "Fine, Kim. So why don't you dump Kevin so I can have him?"

"No way, Fannie May. He likes me and I don't want to punish him."

"Then I'll punish you, Sandra Oh."

Andrea pulled on Kim's black hair, making her shriek. She reacted by pulled on Andrea's curly hair, making her scream. The girls ran in a circle in the middle of the hallway, latching onto each other's hair like a bunch of lions. Suddenly, a skinny African-American girl ran from behind her bracelet stand and stuck her arms between the fighting girls. She shook them off each other, extending her arms out to give the girls space.

"Ladies, ladies," the girl started, "why are you fighting like this? You two are girls and what you are doing is unladylike. If you make violence, the world will just fill with more violence. It's like a chain, a cycle. Look, you may not be sisters by genetics but technically, we are all God's children. So frankly, you two are sisters in spirit. And sisters are made to love so settle your differences with love. Spread the message of love, not pain. Please settle your differences."

Andrea relaxed her shoulders and sighed while the black girl took a step back. "I'm sorry, Kim," Andrea sincerely apologized. "I love you."

Kim smirked. "I'm not and I don't. I'm still going to hurt you."

She grabbed Andrea's shoulder.

"Now wait a second--" said the black girl, trying to step in front of the girls to break them up again. Unfortunately, the girl stepped in too quick as Kim struck her fist in the girl's face, the punch being meant for Andrea.

Kim stepped back surprised as the black girl fell back into Andrea's arms.

"Kimberly!" called an approaching male teacher. "How dare you punch that poor girl in the face!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her away furiously. "You're coming with me."

Andrea tried to help the girl stand up. "Man, are you okay?" she asked.

The girl almost lost her balance but soon stood up steadily on her own. "Yes, I'm alright," she answered, holding her nose. She blinked away the pain and shook her head, showing herself unfazed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"She just punched you."

"Yes, I know."

"But you seem fine."

"I know that, too."

"Girl, talk to me 'cause we are so cool right now." Andrea began to smile.

"Hey!" called a Caucasian girl from behind the bracelet stand. "Debra, we got bracelets to sell!"

"Aren't you going to ask her if she's okay?" Andrea rose her eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah. Debra, are you okay because I need you to sell these bracelets and no one's going to buy them from a zombie."

"I'm coming," Debra said. She walked over to the stand.

"Stop fooling around. We need to raise enough money so I can get that bike."

Debra's eyebrow raised. "Bike?"

The girl's eyes widened. "I mean... raise enough money for the trees. The trees are important... like bikes."

"Mona, are you still thinking of that bike you saw in the commercials last week?"

"Please, I almost forgot about that."

"Were you going to sneakily use the cash to buy that bike?"

"What's wrong with treating oneself nicely?"

"Nothing but we would've made enough money to pay for the bike, meaning none would get donated."

"You watch commercials?" asked Lizzie.

"Debra, when are you gonna stop being such a tree freak for once in your life and think about me, your best friend?" asked Mona.

"Hey, that's not very nice," Madeline commented.

"Shut up, pageant queen."

"Don't tell that strange girl to shut up," said Debra.

"Oh, what are you going to do about it?"

"Wait, strange?" inquired Madeline.

"I meant as in 'unfamiliar'," explained Debra.

"Of course that's what you meant, you idiot," Mona remarked.

"Wait, the name's Mona, right?" asked Andrea.

Mona nodded with a look of disdain.

"Of course. That kind of reminds me of the Mona Lisa. Or at least it reminds me of its definition in Clueless." While speaking, Andrea walked over to her friends' stand and dug her fingers into a pot of a daisy. "I remember Cher saying that a Mona Lisa is when, 'from far away, it looks alright. But up close, it's a big ol' mess." Andrea held tightly handfuls of soil and walked over to Mona to slam the moist dirt onto the top of her head. "And that's what I see so clearly. Your name suits you well."

Mona's mouth gaped and breathed heavily as the dirt tumbled off her brown hair and down into her eyes and onto her nose. "Debra, we are not friends anymore!" Mona, with her eyes closed, idly walked out from behind the stand and attempted to run off.

"I'm sorry about that, Debra," said Andrea, looking into Debra's saddened eyes.

"It's okay," she responded. "I would've done that if I wasn't so chill."

"Hey, chill is good. I wish I can be chill sometimes."

"And Andrea is definitely not chill," Lizzie added.

Andrea turned her head to look at Lizzie but quickly turned it back.

"Thanks for standing up for me," shrugged Debra. "But now, I lost my only friend."

"That's not true," said Andrea. "I'm your friend."

Madeline stood and approached Debra. "I'm your friend, too."

Lizzie approached Debra as well. "Count me as a third," she smiled.

Debra's mood lightened up. "Wow, diverse friends!"

"How does she know I'm diverse?" whispered Lizzie to Madeline.

The History of BF4E (Chapter 2)

Three years has passed and Lizzie never left Madeline's side. First, she found Lizzie annoying but started to appreciate her friendship. They stayed strong friends ever since they were three. But as six year olds, they attended a third grade class together. In the middle of school hours, their teacher allowed the kids to go to the playground for recess. At the playground were another third grade class yet the kids had no problem intermingling.

Madeline and Lizzie sat together on the short wooden border of the playground. They had a thing for watching the other kids play. At a moment, they observed two girls talking to another girl, obviously of a Spanish descent.

"Who are those two girls?" asked Lizzie.

"I have no idea," answered Madeline. "They don't seem very nice."

"They remind me of the pitbulls that chased me down the street once."

"You were chased my pitbulls?"

"Down the street."

"Why?"

"That's what I asked the dogs but they kept running after me."

"At least you're okay."

"Yeah, a part of me is."

Afterwards, the two girls turned around and spotted Madeline and Lizzie. They did not hesitate to approach them.

"Oh, peanut butter, they're coming our way," Lizzie alarmed.

"No, they're not," said Madeline.

The girls, one with tan hair and white skin and the other with chestnut hair and darker skin, stood a foot away from Madeline and Lizzie.

"Hi," the girls greeted at the same time.

"I told you," whispered Lizzie to Madeline.

"Hi," Madeline greeted back.

"Where did you get that shirt?" asked the tan-haired girl.

Madeline looked down at her fuzzy pink sweater. "I don't know. My mom bought it."

"Can you ask her if she got it from 'Ugly-ville'?" the dark-skinned one questioned.

That girl and her friend laughed.

"That's a store?" asked Lizzie.

"That's not very nice," commented Madeline.

"Neither is your face, Airbud," said the tan-haired one.

"Who are you?" Lizzie questioned.

"I'm Pamela."

"I'm Mauricia," the dark-skinned girl answered.

"And you better recognize, Matilda."

"What did we do to you?" asked Madeline.

"You look too much like Lizzie McGuire," responded Pamela.

"And you look too much like her friend, Miranda," added Mauricia.

"And we frown upon that."

"Frown!"

"I thought I looked like Matilda," Lizzie remarked.

"Hey!" called the Latina girl from earlier. She walked up towards the four girls, confronting Pamela and Mauricia. "Why are you bothering them?"

"Um, we're done with you," said Pamela.

"So what? Since you're bored with me, you have to go to them?"

"Nobody told you to come here," Mauricia said.

"So why don't you go and find Boots, Dora the Explorer?" Pamela inquired.

Angered, the Latina quickly gripped onto Pamela's nose, making her squeal with pain with her head back. The Latina gave Pamela an evil look while pinching onto her nose for a long time.

"She's got my nose!" complained Pamela, holding onto the girl's arm. "She's got my pretty nose!"

The Latina let go of Pamela's nose, making Pamela jolt back and getting caught by Mauricia from behind. Mauricia, scared of what the girl would do to her, ran away while dragging Pamela with her in her arms.

"Wow, you hurt her unusually," Lizzie stood up.

"I know," said the Latina. "I'm Andrea."

"I'm Lizzie."

Madeline stood up as well. "I'm Madeline."

"Long name, right?"

"She can call me Maddie if she wants."

"Well, you can call me Andy if you want," said Andrea. "But not so much."

"Okay, Andy," said Lizzie.

"Do you want to eat a piece of candy with us?" asked Madeline.

"Eso suena bien, mi amiga," Andrea uttered.

Lizzie gasped. "Are you an alien?"

The History of BF4E (Chapter 1)

"Pick your seats, kids," declared the full-figured, brunette teacher. "Class will begin soon. Just pick your seat."

A small girl was already sitting in one of the small tables. The rest of the kids in the classroom were standing around until the teacher said something. They all scrambled, filling as many empty tables as they can. The small girl, with marble skin and golden ringlets, waited for someone to sit at her table. But it seemed like they were all avoiding her, making the girl feel sad. But eventually, the last girl to sit down chose to sit with the blonde girl. The blonde girl's posture improved and her attitude lightened. It is possible that the cheery attitude coming from the girl with inky hair and big, brown eyes rubbed off on the blonde one.

"Hi," greeted the brunette.

"Hi," the blonde girl responded.

"I'm Elizabeth but my parents call me Lizzie."

"I'm Madeline."

"Ooh, long name. That's probably why my parents call me Lizzie."

"Probably."

"Is this your first day?"

"Um, I think this is everybody's first day."

"Cool."

Madeline rolled her eyes.

"I like your bracelet."

Madeline looked down at her wrist. "Thank you."

"Is it made out of macaroni?"

"Yeah, I made it last year in Pre-K."

"What type of macaroni is it?"

Madeline's face stiffened. "I don't know."

"Cool."

"Are you new?"

"Yeah. I'm from Italy."

"Oh, I'm from Canada."

"Is that in Italy?"

"No."

"That explains why I've never seen you."

"Have you seen anyone here before?"

"No."

"That's why."

"Is everybody here from Canada?"

"Boy, you are stupid. But you're a kid so you're supposed to be stupid."

"But you're smart for your age. Wait, how old are you?"

"Three."

"Me, too! I think."

"You don't know how old you are?"

"Uh, I said I think I'm three. So I know."

"No, you don't."

"Are you my friend now?"

"Well, something tells me I'm going to be stuck with you for a long time. So, yeah, I'm your friend."

"Cool! Can I have your animal crackers?"

Madeline looked down at her plastic bag full of cookies. "Why?"

"Because you're my friend and friends share, I was told."

"What happens if I tell you no?"

"Then I'll forgive you."

"Then no."

"I forgive you." Lizzie put her hand on Madeline's shoulder.

She hugged her with Madeline having a baffled look on her face.

Girls Like Athletes (Chapter 5)

Lizzie woke up on one of the benches with her friends and Warren surrounding her. Warren pressed a Ziplock bag of ice on her forehead while she was unconscious and coming to.

Madeline leaned over Lizzie. "Lizzie, are you okay?" she asked.

Lizzie groaned. "Is this real life?"

"I don't know how to respond to that," admitted Skye.

Lizzie sat up. Warren took off the bag of ice. "What happened?" she asked.

Andrea responded with, "You got knocked the--"

"Andrea, language," Madeline stopped her.

"You fell down," Andrea said instead.

"Oh, yes, I remember," Lizzie touched her cold forehead.

"Take deep breaths," ordered Debra. "It will help you gain consciousness."

"She's already conscious," said Skye.

"Debbie knows best," Debra said after a chuckle.

"Um, not to be rude, can I speak with Lizzie alone?" asked Warren.

"Yeah, sure," answered Madeline.

"You so good-looking," Andrea remarked.

Madeline interlocked her arm with Andrea's and led her away from the two. Debra and Skye followed so Lizzie can be sort of alone with Warren.

"Hi," Lizzie said.

"Hi," Warren replied.

"I'm really embarrassed."

"Don't be. People knock themselves out all the time."

"I guess that's true."

"But why did you put yourself in danger like that?"

"'Cause I wanted you to notice me."

"Well, it worked. But why?"

Lizzie sighed. "I have a little crush on you. And I heard that you don't date girls who don't play sports. So I tried to prove to you that I play sports but I don't. I'm terrible at sports."

"So you tried to pretend to be someone you're not?"

"No, I was all me. The only thing that was pretend was the athletic part."

"Uh-huh."

"Oh, you probably still don't like me anyway. Now I look like a big, lying creep."

"Hey, I don't think you're a creep."

"So you think I'm big and lying?"

"No, I didn't say that. Lizzie, you seem like a nice girl--"

"A nice girl who doesn't play sports. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know; I get the picture. I'm just sorry for... being a creep."

"Lizzie. I-- I don't see many beautiful girls like you. In fact, I don't meet many girls who are as bubbly and funny like you. Girls like you are rare and if I don't like you, that would be my loss."

Lizzie looked up to think. "So... I should tell you to screw off?"

"No, I mean that... I'm asking you out."

Lizzie opened her eyes more wide. "Really? What's with the change of heart or mind?"

"I just know that I'm not a fool and I would like to get to know you more."

"Oh, jolly day! Wait, do people say 'jolly day'?"

Warren grabbed Lizzie's neck softly and pecked his lips on her forehead. "They do now."

Lizzie grinned. "I think I'm gonna pass out again."