American Scholar

I had to do this project for class

どれほどアニメと漫�"�であなたが本�"に頭が良いキャラクターと本�"に愚かなキャラクター�'�-�'とった、そ�-て（彼・それ）らが同じ学校に行く両方ともであるか�-付きます？[1]

“HEY STOP COPYING LUCKY STAR!”

OW!

American Scholar

“Ow,” I said rubbing my head, “You didn’t have to go and hot me you know!”

“Yeah, I know.” Kayla said standing over me in her school uniform and cracked her knuckles darkly, “Now stop screwing around; we have a project to do.”

“Baka ie,”[2] I said trying to get up and steadying herself on a desk, “What kind of fun is that?”

“The kind that gets you into college.”

Kayla had thick dark hair and dark blue eyes; she was always concerned with going to school to be a doctor or something…

“Quit staring you weirdo.” Kayla said with a swift kick to my face.

I blocked up, “Cute undies.” I mocked before jumping up and running from Kayla.

I had waist long brown hair with chocolate brown eyes; I lazed around most of the day with video games and Facebook.

“Damn it get back here!” Kayla shouted chasing me around the somewhat empty class room.

We normally ate lunch in this empty dark class room on the third floor in the older section of the building. It had a few broken desks, a chalkboard and all the cobwebs you could ever want.

I neatly jumped over one of the broken desks as Kayla rounded to corner.

“I can’t leave you two alone for a second can I?”

I and Kayla both turned to see May standing in the door way with their lunches.

May was the shortest with ocean blue eyes and soft shoulder length light purple hair. It was a light blonde but she lost a bet and had to dye it.

I smiled and locked her fingers together behind her head, “Nope guess not.”

Kayla rolled her eyes, “Yeah ok Naruto.”  She nodded a thank you to May before taking her brown bag lunch from May. I snatched it from her hands.

“I’m Sora this week Riku!” I said jumping onto one of the only not broken desks in the room.

“Damn it I’ll kill you!” Kayla shouted trying to steal her lunch back.

“Too slow Riku!” I shouted lifting the bag higher every time Kayla made a sweep for it.

Kayla growled, “You animade freak give me my lunch!”

“Say please!” I sang sweetly dangling the bag higher still over Kayla.

“PLEASE!” Kayla shouted with her fists at her sides.

I laughed as I threw Kayla her lunch back and sat down on the old desk.

“H-Here you go.” May said handing the brown bag that was Carmen’s lunch to her.

I smirked and took a bite of my sandwich, “You know May.” She chewed and swallowed, “Our school uniform does nothing for you.”

May nearly choked on her soup, “W-What do you mean?”

My smirk got wider as she took a slip of her juice, “I mean a black jacket with a black and white bow and a black skirt with a white ribbon running along the bottom,” I motioned to my own skirt and ran a finger along the white ribbon, “I mean for our emo kid Kay-“

“Hey!”

“But for sweet, innocent-“

 “Spare us.” Kayla said half way through her soda.

I snickered and kept eating as Kayla finished her soda and May pulled out her sketchbook.

“Oh no, it’s completely soaked! I just bought this one!” May cried as she removed the dam paper pad.

“That’s rain for you, here I’ll run it down to the bathroom and get it blow dry it for you.” I said bagging the rest of her sandwich and holding out her hand.

“Thanks Carmen.” May said with a weak smile handing over the super wet mound of paper.

I took it and dashed down the stairs, swerving around people, flexing and bending around them with ease clear of the goal in mind.

I kicked the bathroom door open minding the wet paper in her hands.

“Oh my god can’t you open the door like a normal person?”

Darla, or Day as her ‘friends’ called her was my arch enemy. Miss preppy perfect was just about always looking at herself in a mirror adding layer upon layer of dark powers and shining pink.

“Oh my god, can’t you stop applying makeup?” I mocked turning towards the hand dryer.

Darla turned slightly red that had nothing to do with the six feet of blush she’d covered her face with.

“It would do you some good pizza face!” Darla laughed with a laugh so annoying that even a hyena would cover its ears.

True I did have a zit problem but six tons of w***e paint would fix any of that.

“Admit it, under all that concrete you call beauty product your worse off than I am!” I shouted as the hand dryer hummed to life.

“As if loser, I am the most beautiful girl in school.” She smiled at herself in the mirror and tossed her blonde hair.

“Well Narcissus,” I said and Darla made a face; she wasn’t a good student, “Your roots are showing.”

Darla looked in the mirror closer and made a half gag half scream sound before whipping out her cell phone and texting one of her minions to the bathroom.

Two of the click came in as Darla starting screaming and yelling about her hair as I slipped by to be out of range of a preppy temper tantrum. As much as I liked seeing Darla suffer I didn’t need the headache.

I started to carry the now stiff paper mound around the people in the hall and back up the stairs where May and Kayla were waiting…

“I… am… so… bored.”

“Sit up and pay attention.”

“I don’t want to… I’m bored.”

Kayla was sitting straight and up right in her chair while I was hunched over with my head on my desk looking out a window.

I normally was bored in English class seeing as though I didn’t like the students, class, teacher or the fact it was the last thing I had to do. To me it was like having Professor Snape in Hogwarts. I was so very often daydreaming about being anywhere but here, in the moment or present, I hated it and often said how much I hated it to her teacher or fellow students. My teacher laughed and students mocked her.

“Come on take notes please.” Kayla was begging oh how desperately she wanted me to grasp school, she knew I could but loosely had focused ever.

“Later.” I said returning back to the window.

Hollows and heartless; I was fighting side by side with Sora and Ichigo. A million miles away with my eyes closed and imaging it.

Keyblade, sword.

Fighting, blood splatter.

Paper?

I looked up to the eyes of my teacher.

“Good nap Miss Carmen?” she said with an evil glare.

“Not really, you kind of woke me up.” I said resting my chin on the desk.

The class laughed and the teacher turned a reddish color, “Well-“

Crap I’m going to get it now. I thought.

“I asked you if you even started on the project I assigned sometime during your little nap.” She was tapping foot. Not a good sign.

“Well teach; there’s no need to ask…of course I haven’t.” I said with a great big smile.

The class then again erupted in laughter and Kayla groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“It is due Tuesday.” The teacher said every word with great force and I knew she was trying not to beat the bloody hell out of me.

“I’m sure I’ll come up with something.” I smirked as the bell rang and she jumped from my seat and shoved her papers into her bag.

“I didn’t say you could leave!” The teacher shouted as half of the class started to file out.

“Ah, but teach Civil Diss says I can just leave if I want to.” I said slinging my Bleach massager bag over her shoulder.

The teacher said nothing as I merrily skipped to the door and the class started filing out.

“Good old Civil Diss.” I mocked taking out her keys and spinning my key ring around on her index finger.

I snickered until the rogue key ring flew off my finger tip and a very audible cuss.

“What the hell was that?”

“Dude it’s a key ring!”

“Crap.” I said running to get her renegade key ring back.

One boy was holding a shallow cut on his face and the other the key ring in question. I started to wish I’d never removed it from her bag. For the boy with the shallow cut was my crush Noah. I really could help having a crush on him.

Noah had been in my freshmen group the first summer as a high schooler and I’d been stuck liking the same guy forever…or well 1.5 years. He had jet black hair with light blue highlights that nearly matched his ice blue eyes, and the fact he had his ears and lip pierced had nothing to do with it…cough.  

The boy holding the ring o’ keys was Lucas. Lucas wasn’t really a closer friend but they did talk a bit and share quite a few classes. Lucas had bleached his already blonde hair to just white and his eyes were a much darker blue. Just because he could he had gotten gauges, snake bites, bell bar and six studs on each ear. I guessed it was because he really wanted to set off metal detectors…

“So this is your instrument of death is it?” Lucas laughed spinning the key ring in a similar fashion I had done.

 “Yeah metal face now I need those back.” I said trying to ignore the fact Noah was even standing there.

Lucas’s face quickly broke into a smile, an evil deadly kind of knowing smile. Someone had let it slip that she had a thing for Noah and standing so close wasn’t really her brightest idea all day.

“Well since I’m a metal face I have no problem with being attacked by it but-“his smile really could not have gotten much bigger, “He might have taken some offense to it.”

Lucas pointed back to Noah who was indeed still clutching his cheek and throwing a bit of a death glare at Lucas. And I was having the worse time trying not to blush under pressure.

 “U-Um sorry my keys kind of attacked your face.” I said suddenly looking at my stuffed up shoes.

“Aren’t we both.” He bit back.

“Aw come on Noah she’s sorry her keys went ninja on your face can’t you be nicer?” Lucas said putting a hand on my shoulder.

Before Noah could speak again I withdrew from my bag a black bandana and some water, “Here,”

A few awkward moments pasted, ten seconds so there was a gay baby born somewhere in that time, “Um, thanks.” Noah said still following suit with the awkwardness of the moment.

I then took that moment to escape the moment much like any girl would…I sped walked away down the hall then dashed down the stairs to the front of the school and to the gate . I topped leaning on one of the cement pillars to catch my breath which was coming in needy gasps.

“Smooth…move….”

 

I didn’t want to get up the next morning. Saturdays meant sleeping in and having an in depth affair with my bed, pillows and sheets. I had snuggled deeper into my bed nestled in warmth and darkness when the shrill happy chirp of her cell phone sounded less than three feet away.

Figuring it was my alarm I threw it into the mound of pillows to get it to shut up when the shrill chirp started along with vibrations.

I growled and hit the send button, “What could you possibly want ON A SATURDAY!” I shouted making the black cat that had been sleeping in the corner of my room vacate to a much quieter area.

“Your own damn fault for sleeping in when you should be working.” Kayla’s cold voice came from the other end.

“Screw you Squall!” I shouted hanging up the phone and chucking it into a pile of unwashed clothes.

I snuggled deeper in to her sweet mound of fluff and blankets when a knock at the door threw me into another fit.

I kicked of my beloved sheets and blankets, “WHAT?” I shouted.

“Phone.” my older sister said chucking the phone point blank into my forehead.

Such a charming girl, “Hello?” I asked acidly.

“Get up already we have work to go.”

Click.

I chucked the phone into the hall and snuggled back into my bed that willing took me back even with the abuse.

Stupid Kayla calling on a Saturday morning, ruining my precious sleep…

“Don’t come on knock it off!”

“She’s got to wake up sometime.”

“But w-we could just-“

“No she’s in on it she has to work too!”

“Oh all right.”

“WAKE THE HELL UP!”

I was met with a hard blow to the head and Kayla and May sitting on my bed.

“Told ya I could wake her up if I hit hard enough.” Kayla said flexing her arm muscles.

I shoved her to the ground where Roger had been laying and the pure white cat hissed and clawed at Kayla to get off before stalking away for meow mix.

“Why are you at my house on a bloody Saturday morning?” I said my fist twitching angrily.

“Our project is due remember?” May asked picking up her backpack before Frankie had a chance to spring in it.

I picked up the kitten by the scruff of his neck and set him in my lap, “So your point is?”

“Point is we’re all going to fail if you don’t get it in gear missy.” Kayla said getting up off the floor.

“I’ll keep that in mind mommy.” I said rolling my eyes to her as Frankie starting clawing up my shirt, “Yo Frankie cut it out and find Gerard!” I said prying him off my shirt and he meekly meowed at me. A few moments later G came in the room no doubt from a scare that mean old Roger put him through and I dropping Frankie on his brother and watched them roll around, “KITTY FIGHT!”

Because none of us can deny the ultimate cuteness of two calico kittens rolling around on the floor we simply watched them for a few minutes we forgot about everything but a candy bar bet of who would give first.

“Ok fine, can I eat first?” I said smiling knowing Frankie always gives up first because little Gerard is a little ball of energy as I walked to the kitchen with Kay and May at my heels.

“Fine but then we have to get to work ok? No more games.” Kayla said making that face she makes when ever she’s wrong.

“What games, can we play?”

My head snapped to the breakfast bar where two completely adorable twins sat over Coco puffs.

Danny and Damian are my twin little brothers and just about the cutest things on the face of the planet. They both (because they are identical twins) have dark brown almost mahogany colored hair and the biggest chocolate brown eyes the world has ever known. Danny’s hair is in a Harry Potter like style because he likes his neat but it always sticks up funny and Damian absolutely hates haircuts so his is past his ears and messier than Danny’s which is the key way to tell Danny from Damian. Which reminds me of their cats Gerard and Frankie who are also twins; unless you know you can’t tell the two apart.

“We aren’t playing any games.” I smiled and fluffed their hair, which fluffed more of Danny’s and made Damian’s look worse.

I turned my back on them to get OJ and cream cheese and I heard Kayla sit on the counter and May look for bagels.

“Dam, you brush your hair today?” Kay asked.

“No I hate brushing my hair.” Damian replied no doubt with a mouth full of soggy coco puffs.

“But Damian brushing your hair keeps it nice and healthy.” May said handing me the bag of bagels.

I nodded taking the bag, “May he’s a seven year old boy he won’t care about health for another thirty years.”

“Yeah!” Damian shouted nearly spilling the puffs of chocolaty goodness all over the breakfast bar.

“My brother is eight and he cares about his health!” May half shouted as I put a bagel in the toaster.

“That’s because your parents support the fact schools are killing creativity and want you on weird diets and the best freaking grades ever.” I said pouring some of the OJ into a glass.

“She’s got a point May.” Kayla said before May could open her mouth again.

“Didn’t Sir Ken Robinson do a speech on that?” May asked as I took the bagel from the toaster.

“Yeah.” I said spreading the strawberry cream cheese on the bagel.

“Good, lord she was paying attention!” Kayla said with a fake shocked voice.

I turned as I took a bit from the bagel, “Shove it.”

Kayla started to laugh as I chewed the strawberry smothered bagel and I nearly choked as my brothers tackled her to the ground.

 

“What part of ‘I hate work’ did you not understand?”

“The ‘I’ and ‘hate’.” Kayla said with a smirk.

“I hate you both.” I said lying on my book.

“You both.” Kayla mocked.

“Come on guys knock it off we’ve hardly started!” May said trying to get us to focus.

“Right, evaluate the content and purpose of a presentation by analyzing the language and delivery. Give informational presentations that present ideas in a logical sequence include relevant facts and details from multiple sources and use a consistent organizational structure, explain techniques used by authors to develop style, identify similar recurring themes across different works, explain and analyze how an author appeals to an audience and develops an argument or viewpoint in text.” Kayla read off our paper.

“Bore to the ring.” I said rolling over to my back.

“Evaluate the content and purpose of a presentation by analyzing the language and delivery.” May said tapping her chin.

“BORNING!” I shouted.

“What does that even mean?” Kayla asked opening her book of Emerson’s work.

“Choices made by the speaker.” May said opening to the American Scholar piece.

“He chose to make a freaking long speech at Harvard. Next.” I said flipping though pages of Emerson.

“Hardy freaking har smart one it’s more like his use of metaphors of bringing people together.” Kayla said, “Like the fingers and the hand, or ‘The world�"this shadow of the soul, or other me�"lies wide around.  Its attractions are the keys which unlock my thoughts and make me acquainted with myself.’ Right?”

“Yeah and how Pink uses his lawyer tactics right?” I said sitting up.

“Look who’s getting into it.” Kayla smirked.

“Oh shut up you.”I said throwing a notebook at her.

“No your right Carmen!”May said, “What about Clay?”

“He uses a lot of visual aids to get his point across right?”

“Something like that.” Kayla said checking her phone for texts.

“Text freak.” I said glaring at her.

“Anime loser.” Kayla said pushing in buttons.

“Ok guys come on we still and benchmarks!” May said, “Give informational presentations that present ideas in a logical sequence include relevant facts and details from multiple sources and use a consistent organizational structure.”

“Duh?” I said confused.

“I’m going to say duh.” Kay said almost dropping her phone.

“We have to use facts, sources and structure.” May said reading off her sheet.

“Ugh!” I shouted falling back, “That just sounds like school!”

Kayla resumed texting, “You said it.”

“Aw come on guys! Your essays are due!” May shouted then sighed, “Explain techniques used by authors to develop style.”

“I say same as choices by speaker.” I said starting to balance a pencil on my nose.

“Same.” Kayla said still texting.

“Same.” May sighed and scribbled something “Identify similar recurring themes across different works?”

“Hmm.” I said turning back around, “Coming together?”

“Like what bonding?” Kayla asked dropping her phone.

“No more like convergence or connecting, right?” May asked scribbling a little more.

“Yeah, yeah and schooling sucks!” I shouted getting into it.

“Well duh genius, but sucks how.” Kayla said.

“Killing creativity, and trees for books, no recess?”

Kayla started to laugh, “You did not just say recess.”

“Free time, right? Like how we need work time and time to rest and relax.” May said writing like mad now.

“I get it! 80-20 right?” Kayla said starting to write.

“And how we need to come down and chill.” I said pulling out a piece of paper.

“That is 80-20 smart one.” Kayla laughed.

“Oh shut it!” I said throwing a paper ball at her.

“Hey!” she threw it back.

It wasn’t long after we had an all out paper and ink war. May was smart by stashing her notes and hiding behind a binder. At the end I had wasted two gel pens and half a Sharpie marker and Kayla had killed three pens, a highlighter and a neon pink marker.

“Well didn’t that go poorly.” May said wiping of her newly stained binder.

“I thought it went well.” I said pushing Kayla side so I could wipe the neon pink word ‘freak’ off my face.

“Yeah not too bad.” Kayla said pushing back wiping the glittery purple ink word, ‘loser’ from her face.

“You two are so childish.” May said rolling her eyes.

Kayla and I looked at each other before throwing water at her.

“H-Hey!” she cried.

 

“Ugh finally!” I said flopping onto my bed.

I stretched and cracked my ankles on my soft bed with a groan of happiness. I heard Frankie and Gerard rolling around and pouncing each other under my bed at which point I chucked the spare kitty ball from under my pillow and out into the hall. After the two kittens ran into the hall after the happy jiggling ball I let out a sigh and snuggled my face into the mount of pillows.

My room is dark and quite I like it. My bed is a large queen in the center of my room and not touching the wall. There is a thin curtain hanging down from the high ceiling down that can drape around the whole bed but normally just stays near the head of the bed. The pile of unwashed clothes stayed in the far corner of the room where every once in awhile I’d take them down the hall to be washed but as of now they sat sad and neglected and somewhere my cell phone was eaten up by the unwashed mass. There was a TV with a large assortment of video games and a few consoles a few feet from the foot of my bed and the whole set was against the wall. I had a few standing lamps around and a stereo at the head of the bed and again up against the wall with two of the lamps around it and some Japanese lanterns hanging about from the ceiling. When just the lanterns are on it gives the room an eerie glow which is just fine by me.

I heard Rukia; one of the black cats come into my room and settle on a kitty bed next to the XBOX 360 which is where she liked to spend a lot of her time. Her sister Midnight wasn’t a huge fan of my room and usually stayed in my sister’s room. Rukia started to meow at me like she always did when she either wanted attention or something was bothering me, she wouldn’t ever get up from that cat bed just meow until I moved.

“Shut it Rukia.” I mumbled into my pillows but the cat kept meowing.

There was something bothering me.

One, I thought I was never going to finish this paper and the follow up also due with it. And two I hated that I had absolutely no spine whatsoever to talk to one boy. Everyone else seemed to be doing all right in school and in their personal life while I was ever so slowly falling behind.

I growled into my pillows and I felt four little feet spring onto my back. Rukia was now meowing in my ear. I tried to shift to get her off my back but she wouldn’t have it, she hissed and dug her claws into my back like she was trying to get me to listen something. I stopped wiggling and she meowed once more, walked around, purred and went to sleep.

“Great.” I sighed. She wanted a place to lay down not to comfort me.

A moment later the sad mass of unwashed clothes started to chirp happily. I sat up, knocking Rukia off my back at which she was rather unhappy and stalked away to her cat bed and I headed for the phone.

I started thinking it would be Kayla coming up with plans to ruin my Sunday already like a nice icy dip in the lake followed by Algebra. I shivered at the thought and without looking at the caller ID I hit send.

“Plans for ruining Sunday in the works?” I asked.

“What?” That wasn’t Kayla.

“What? Who is this?” I asked thinking I was stupid for not checking the ID.

“Um,” whoever it was sure did sound awkward, “Noah Clearwater that kid you kind of slash with your keys of death?” Really awkward now.

“O-Oh,” I said tempted to hang up the phone, “How’d you get my number anyway?”

“Lucas gave it to me.”

Got to kill him later, “Oh, well is there something I can do for you?”

“Yeah, um well I have your bandana and all so um,”

“I can just get it in Monday.” I said totally unbelieving how calm I was being.

“Oh, um ok cool then.”

“Cool.”

“Mind if I save your number?”

“What?” I asked in a bit of shock.

“Is it cool if I save your number?” he repeated, “In case your keys ever do another number on my face.”

I laughed at that, “Yeah sure I guess.”

“Cool.”

“Cool, bye.”

“See ya.” Click.

I held the phone to my ear for a few more seconds utterly shocked at how calm and collected I had been. I didn’t even noticed Danny and Damian jump on me.

Most nights our parents aren’t home so we’ve had movie Saturday ever since we were ‘old’ enough to not need a babysitter. We were ‘old’ enough when we faked Damian’s rise from hell and Danny’s jump from the roof. Who would have thought that would have scared a 40 year old strict as bamboo lady to run screaming from our house.

Danny and Damian dragged me into the living room where a long line of scary movies were lined up. There was ‘The Amityville Horror’ one, two and the new one, ‘The Entity’, ‘The Haunting of Connecticut’, all three ‘Grudge’ movies and ‘Shutter’.

“Pick, pick, pick!”  Damian shouted pulling my left arm.

“Yeah, yeah come on!” Danny shouted pulling my right arm.

“Can we not pull Carmen a part guys?” Jamie said making a brief appearance in the living room.

“Yes let’s not tear my arms out!”

Jamie is my darker older sister. She dyed her hair black back when she was a freshman in high school, it was dark brown at some point but she had dyed it many times over before it was black. She wears heavy makeup and black clothes years round with slight color variations.

“Not staying.” Jamie said taking a soda out from the cooler next to the couch. A movie night tradition; to prevent from movie missing all snacks and beverages are kept near the couch.

“Shocker.” I said rolling my eyes and sitting on the couch with two overly happy bouncing seven year olds.

“Date.” Jamie said cracking the soda open.

“Again I state, shocker.” I said lifting the movie ‘Shutter’ from the table, the others didn’t compare (mainly because I’d seen them all at least twice.)

“Whatever.” Jamie said tossing on her black handbag.

She wasn’t always this bad. We used to all watch scary and cheesy scary movie together. But the older you get I find the less you want to hang out with your family.

“Later.” Jamie said with a lame wave and was out the door.

Damian had snatched the movie out of my hands and put it in the DVD player as Danny curled up next to me with the popcorn bowl in hand. Then Damian sat next to me and took hands full of popcorn.

“C-Can we play video games in your r-room?” Danny said once the movie was over.

“Y-Yeah can we?” Damian asked trying not to shake as hard as his brother was.

I laughed a bit at how cute they were it was scary I’ll admit but I didn’t mind. At least it was ‘The Exorcist’ never doing that again.

I shivered and nodded. The two rather quickly ran into my room and from what I saw they weren’t happy with the overhang light but they all had to be on. I laughed to myself and started throwing away cans and emptying popcorn kernels from bowls. The front door opened and I jumped at least a good inch from the ground spilling a nearly empty can of soda on the floor and I heard Danny yelp from upstairs.

“No Bob, we can have it in tomorrow!” someone was laughing and judging by how annoying it was; dad was home.

I don’t hate my father he just annoys the snot out of me. My mom? Great lady nice and kind and I’d rather be with her but she’s settling to a get this house so I just have to wait.

He was laughing again, “Ok yeah good night.” He came into the kitchen and saw the pop on the floor.

“What the hell is this?” he started getting mad.

“Good morning.” I said glaring at him as I took the paper towels down and started to clean the mess.

“What?” he glared back.

“Good morning, you told Bob or whoever good night, it’s one in the morning.” I said tossing the paper towel.

“What does it matter? It’s still night.”

“No, at 11:59 it’s still night the second it’s 12:00 its new day and it turns into the morning.”

“It’s dark. It’s night.” He was speaking through his teeth; not good.

“Night starts at sunset around six and ends at twelve in the morning? See how that works?” I said with another glare as I started putting dishes in the dish washer.

He was about to open his mouth again when the door opened again this time I didn’t jump or hear anything upstairs.

“Baby are you here?” sounded some unknown female.

“Oh, are you doing someone tonight?” I said slamming the door to the dishwasher closed.

The unknown woman yelped and then I heard her crossing into the kitchen. Her appearance was almost too much to bear; it was Darla’s mom.

“Oh, I didn’t know your daughter was up.” She said in a sick sweetly tone.

 “His two sons are up too!” I shouted in rage and pushed her roughly to the ground.

“Carmen!” he shouted grabbing my arm at which point I shoved him into the dishwasher and ran up to my room and slammed the door hard.

Danny and Damian jumped then paused the game of ‘Boom Boom Rocket’ they had been playing.

“What’s up? Are you ok?” Danny asked his messy hair starting to bother me.

“Yeah what’s up?” Damian asked taking my hands.

“You’re both staying in here tonight.” I said and held them close to me.

We got into bed the boys in spare night shirts of mine about two hours later with them yawning and snuggling into pillows.

“Are you scared Carmen?” Danny asked his face buried in a large Bugs Bunny pillow.

“No babe, I’m ok.” I said flicking his ear at which he laughed.

“Danny’s scared!” Damian shouted and laughed in the darkness.

I pulled the navy blue beanie pillow from under his head and held Danny.

“Nothing to be afraid of.” I said before drifting into sleep.

The next morning I figured Darla’s mom and my dad would be long gone like he always was then I’d have plenty of time for May and Kayla to come over and finish up those bench marks. But as always I had to be ever so wrong.

I got up and Danny and Damian were sleeping. I gently shook them and they very sleepily went downstairs to watch Sunday morning cartoons and I started to make pancakes.

As the first batch of blackberry pancakes and the second batch of cinnamon pancakes were about to roll out she came down stairs.

“Well good morning boys.”

I bit the inside of my cheek.

“Um hello?” both of the boys said at the same time in confusion.

“Carmen.” Darla’s mom said sitting down at the table, “Make me some pancakes.”

I bit hard on my lip trying to keep it together.

“Now. I want pancakes.” She said in that sweet mocking voice that Darla had used on my before.

“Ain’t enough for you.” I said flipping a pancake.

“What did you say?” she was slowly standing behind me and had a somewhat deadly tone of voice.

“There ain’t enough for you.” I said sliding some of the pancakes onto a plate.

“Is there enough for you father?” she asked still sounding deadly.

“No Umbridge, there isn’t.” I whipped around with the spatula in my hand, “Go out and buy some.”

She looked surprised by my mouthyness which means she didn’t know me.

“Well I’m just going to go and get him then.” She said in a huffy like manner and left.

“Dan.” I started but he already understood and got the phone.

Damian stood up as well and got his shoes on and started out the door.

The two weren’t new to the whole evil girlfriend thing Darla’s mom was actually the third. Danny would call May on her cell say the phase ‘Spider Walk.’ And she would be over in two minutes flat. Damian would go to Kayla’s normally in his pajamas and say ‘Pennies for hire.’ Then Kayla would run over most likely also in her pajamas. And when Jamie was home she should open her door and blast death metal I hoped she was because shortly after Danny hung up the phone and went to her door. Even in fuzzy skull pajamas she was scary.

Kayla and Damian busted though the door and sat down at the breakfast bar as Danny ran down the stairs followed by a rather tired Jamie. Both Damian and Kayla kicked off their shoes and Kayla dropped her bag on the floor as May dropped her bag at the door and pulled a seat up to the bar. A few moments later I was serving the whole group pancakes.

“See she won’t-“

The evil new ‘girlfriend’ stopped midsentence. The whole group turned around to see dad and Darla’s mom staring at us from upstairs.

“Well there a lot of kids here.” Dad said weakly.

“T-They weren’t all there, I swear!” Darla’s mom pointed down at all of us kids.

True enough only two boys were sitting at the bar where as now there was a tall older teen in skull pajamas and black bed head, a tall younger teen with thick dark somewhat combed hair, a short teen with combed purple hair and the two twins with a mouthy teen serving pancake.

“Did you want me to run to the store and pick up some more pancake mix?” I asked trying my hardest not to smirk.

“N-No it’s quite alright.” Dad said going back to bed.

Once he was inside I flipped Darla’s mom the bird.

“Good pancakes.” Kayla said taking out her notebook.

“Thank you.” I said watching TV with Danny and Damian.

“Really good.” May said with her mouth half full as she started to charcoal a tree.

“Should we focus?” Kayla asked starting to be TV drawn.

“Right,” May said setting down her charcoal and sketch book and taking out the school paper, “Oh, the last benchmark explain and analyze how an author appeals to an audience and develops an argument or viewpoint in text.”

“Say what now?” I ask nearly dropping the plate of pancakes.

“How does the author get you to listen to him, is what it’s basically asking.” May asked taking out her school notebook.

“They talks.” Damian and Danny said then started laughing.

Kayla and I started laughing too, “Yeah they do!”

“Guys!” May cried trying to get our attention.

“Oh lighten up.” I said with I sigh and set my plate down.

“Real examples.” Kayla said taking another bite of pancakes.

“How insightful, wise one, now is there a point there?” I asked rolling my eyes again.

“No think about it,” May said, “Pink uses the Candle Problem as a real example of why carrots and sticks don’t work right? Then Shirky uses Flickr to show 80-20 right? Um Sir Ken Robinson uses school examples. Then Emerson uses all his metaphors and examples from his era!”

“By Joe, I think we got it.” I said laying on a thick British.

 We started our paper that afternoon after a few more pancakes and another paper war. Then next day my teacher was so surprise that I was a day early she gave me a candy bar. The whole idea of carrots and sticks is bad I guess but in the case of candy bars maybe not that bad.

 

 

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[1]“Ever notice how in anime and manga you got the really smart character and the really stupid character and they’re both going to the same school?” From popular anime Lucky Star.

[2] Means nonsense in Japanese