“I have an idea,” Ophelia said. She’d calmed down enough to return to the classroom and talk to her fellow Clique News Crash members.

“I’m all ears,” Ms. Gibson replied.

“How about if we go visit Emily after school? Kind of a ‘get well’ type of thing. Maybe we could stop by the mall and pick up a few gifts for her,” Ophelia suggested.

“That’s a nice idea. I’m sure Em will love it,” AJ responded excitedly. “It’ll really cheer her up.” The others voiced their agreement.

“It’s settled, then. Whoever wants to do it, I’ll drive them to the mall after school, and we can pick up some gifts for Emily. Then, we can head to her house and hang out with her,” Ophelia said.

The others nodded. Even Tiffani bit her lip a little, concerned about Emily’s welfare, not that she’d actually admit it to anyone.


Poor girl, Tiffani thought. That jerk really hurt her. I know AJ is taking this really hard, not that I can blame him. And Ophelia… well, those two are like best friends, so of course, Ophelia’s upset. Personally, I’m not all buddy-buddy with Emily, but I don’t think she deserved what happened either. She squeezed AJ’s hand a little.

AJ raised his eyebrows slightly, surprised, realizing that Tiffani felt sympathy for Emily. I guess she does care about Emily, in her own way, he thought, smiling a little.



“Earth to Mae,” one of the girls said.

“Hm?”

“You’ve been out of it for a good while now. The bell just rang. You need to get to class before you get in trouble.”

“Again,” the other girl added.

Mae nodded slightly. “Fine,” she said, slowly rising. She wasn’t feeling up to attending American history, but she had to go. She’d already skipped enough classes to where the teacher was starting to get suspicious, and she knew that if she missed any more classes without a doctor’s note, her father would find out and lecture her.

She walked slowly to her class and flopped into her seat. As if for the first time, she looked around the room, at the bland walls and floors, the drab-colored furniture, and the typical failed attempts to brighten the classroom. This place is like Hell, she thought. They want to make us into identical drones who neither think or act “abnormally,” but fit the status quo to the letter. In other words, it’s good for these “normal” people who want to live typical lives-- marriage, kids, blah blah blah, but for people like me and Ophelia and Cy, it’s a nightmare. They’re trying to fit square pegs into round holes.


Here, she flinched a little. Cy, she thought, you really worked your way into our lives. I don’t hate you, though. I don’t hate Ophelia either. You are both just cruelly innocent. Wasn’t it Ophelia who tried to convince me that miracles exist? But, you see, I have no choice but to give up, because there are no such things in this world as miracles…



Ophelia stretched out, peering up at the cheap ceiling. She had speculated, for years, that at any time, the ceiling would cave in on her and Mae, and that would be the end of them both. Mae sat nearby, legs crossed. She peered at Ophelia through narrowed eyes. Ever since that day they met Cyrus, Ophelia had been acting stranger and stranger. Not that Ophelia wasn’t already strange, mind you, but she wasn’t acting in the typical “Ophelia” manner of strangeness.

“You know…” Ophelia said slowly, breaking the monotonous silence finally. She paused, her thought forgotten.

Mae sighed. She had to break the silence. “Ophelia?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

“I need some advice.”

Ophelia rolled over onto her side to look at her friend. She peered at the girl from behind heart-shaped sunglasses. “Yeah?”

Mae sighed again. She licked her dry lips and spoke. “There’s… I… how do I tell someone I like them?”

A small smirk crossed Ophelia’s lips. “It’s Cyrus, huh?”

Mae glanced away, blushing. Ophelia grinned. “Just let him know, then. Believe in miracles, and he will know your feelings.”

“You’re always saying that kind of stuff,” Mae replied. “Have you ever thought that maybe miracles don’t exist?”

Ophelia rose and brushed the dirt off her clothes. “Never. I have some errands to run. See you later.”