Hugs and Envy

I woke up the mext morning sweating and breathing heavily. I laid there, staring at my star-streaked celeing and trying to flrgtire simply why I was sweating and so out of breath. I sat up and reached for the switch on my bed table lamp. I clicked the switch on and glanced at my digital clock next to my lamp. 5:49, it read. ‘Crap! I said aloud. I threw the covers off and rushed out of bed and stumbled into my bathroom. 1 only had 20 minutes to get ready for school. And it normally took me 40 minutes. I threw my pj’s off and jumped in the shower. I scrubbed as fast as I could and jumped right hack out, still wet when I threw my closet door open. I picked out a brown henely with small patterened yellow flowers and orange and yellow monkeys on it. I also dug up some faded blue jeans from the bottom of my dresser and mis matched socks. I threw them all on, only pausing at my mirror to rush a comb through my hair and make surc I looked okay. I shot out of my bedroom and ran downstairs to our kitchen islaiid, where we ate breakfast.
Our kitchen was huge, including two ovens, a giant fridge. a walk-in pantry, the top-of-line stove, the biggest dishwasher I had ever seen, and a lot of cabinets. Not to mention thc kitchen island and thc cat-in dining table close to it. And with the lighting and aromas that normally came from the kitchen, you would never feel like going anywhere else. But I wan’t thinking of that when I entered the kitchen. I took a seat next Giulio who was finishing a glass of 0].
“Good morning,’ my mom called from the counter next to the stove, where she was making our lunches.
“Morning mom,” I called back, scaning the kitchen wall for a clock that was digital. I settled on the stove clock. 6:10, it read. I reached into a hlue and white painted jar that rested on top of the island counter. I grabbed a piece of chocolate biscotti that had white chocolate drizzled on top of it.
“Buon giomo,” said Giulio, grinning for some reason.
“Bon giorno.” I said back. Gnawing on the biscotti, I got up and made myself a cup of hot chocolate.
I took it back to the island and sat down. Why are you grinning like that?’ I asked Giulio. sending him a look.
“No reason,” he said. ovbiously remembering some joke.
Mom walked over and set a paper bag down in front of Giulio and a lunch box in front of me. “Giulio, you have peanut butter and banna and An, you have cucumber, tomato, and onion. Now 1 have to go wake up Isa.”
“Thanks mom.” we both called.
I looked at the time and it said 6:15. 1 stuffed the last of the biscotti and hot chocolate in my mouth and took my lunch to my black Mudd backpack in dad’s study as Guilio followed suit.
“Does my hair look okay?” I asked as we put on our coats.
“Yeah.” Giulio said. smiriking.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, a bit ticked.
“Nothing,” he said as we walked out of the house to our bus stop.
We lived in a neighbor]iood ofa lot of other big houses like ours, but there were only two other famlies here that had kids our age. And that was Alexandria Warren’s family and Akizakura Zenkai’s family. Our bus stop was at the intersection of Scnic Route 77 and our street, Lebraux Drive,
‘Hey!’ I called to them, as soon I as I saw them. I jogged up to the bench where they were sitting, squeezing in between them.
“Hey,” said Alexa, stretching out the ‘ey’. “So, I heard about Alex.”
“What?” I said, astounded. I hadn’t told anyone. I had gone to bed as soon as I had logged offl So how’d she hear about Alex? “How’d you-”
She cut me off, “Your brother. He told like, the entire god damn school.”
I turned around to Guilio, who was still walking to the bench, and shot him a look.
“God,” I said, exasperated. “So Alex told him and he told everyone else.”
“Yeah.” Alexa said. “That’s pretty much it.”
I shook my head and turned to Akizakura, or Azura. “Hey,” I said.
“Huh?” she asked, looking up from her hook. “Oh, hi!” she exclaimed when she realized it was me. I smiled. “Are you still reading Eclipse?”
“Oh,” she said, laughing. “I finished that a long tim ago. This is some chick-flick that Kana gave me. “Oh.” I said. as the bus pulled up.
My stop was the second to last stop, so by the time we got on, it was tilled up. (Mainly by grade, because the buses went by grades.) Azura went to sit next to Kana, Giulio got in with his girlfriend, Celia, who by the way, despised me, and Me and Alexa found a seat in the front behind Lizzi and Vi.
“Oh, my god!” exclaimed Lizzi, turning around to face me and Alexa.
“What?” I sneered. “You know that I’m now going out with Alex and that you’re soo happy for me even though on the inside you’re burning up with envy.”
Lizzi’s face fell a bit, although she still managed to look bubbly. “Yes, and Ciro Costa asked me out!”
“No way!” exclaimed Alexa. “Tell me everything!”
“Wait,” I said, interrupting Lizzi even before she started. “Betbre you go out with Ciro.” I remembered when I had gone out with him, I had been obsessed with his soft, golden hair, and I had tried to stroke it, and then, for some strange reason, he had broken imp with me. “You should know that he hates anyone touching his hair.”
“Isn’t that why he broke up with you?” said Vi, turning around, smirking. “Because you tried to touch his hair?”
“Shut up Vi,” growled Lizzi. “And let me talk.”
"Psh, Fine.”
I really didn’t care how Ciro had asked Lizzi out; he was also a complete airhead. I slunk down in my seat, pushing against my backpack as the bus headed for the last stop. Which, incidently, was Alex’s.
“Arianna!”I heard from behind me. I turned around to see it was Justin Ricci, a tall jock who liked to make fun of everyone. “So.” he shouted, mock dripping from is voice. “Did you and Alessandro," he stretched out the 'sss', "Get it on yet?”
My eyes narrowed. “Tu fallo, bloody idiota!” I called to him, disgusted at him and Guilio. “Get a life and stop sticking your abnormally large butt in othcr people’s lives!” I turned hack around a hit satisfied, hearing ‘oohs’ and ‘bars’ from most of our bus. I was going to kill my dear brother when I got home. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on blocking the rest of the bus out. It was working. though, untill the bus stopped for Alex.
I opened my eyes and watched him get on and ask Sammy Costa. who was sitting in the seat beside me. if he could sit next to her. She was enthralled, and scotted over, glowing with pleasure.
“Hey,” he said, turning to me.
I didn’t say anything, but just glared at him through the corner of my eye.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. I could now feel the stares of Lizzi, Alexa, Vi, Sammy, and the girls sitting close to us on me. I however, just narrowed my eyes.
“Alex!” I heard from behind me. “You and Ari get it on yet?” Ugg, I thought, I didn’t even want to know who it was.
“Luke!” AJex called, sniggering. “You and Fina get it on yet?” So he was talking about Lucius Russo and Seafina DeLuca. I added Luke in my ‘to kill’ list, along with Giulio and Justin.
“You wanna know what’s wrong?” I shot at Alex. “This. This whole picture! The whole friggin’ school knows!”
“So?’ he said, grinning. “They would’ve found out anyway.”
“So?” I exclaimed. Suddenly the whole bus was quiet. “As if I don’t get enough attention anyway!”
“Look. Ari.” Alex said, much calmer than I was. “The only person I told was Giulio. And he got all pissed at me.”
“And then he told everyone else he knew.” I sneered. I now added Alex to my ‘to kill’ list.
“Ari,” Alexa turned to me. “I think you’re over-reacting.”

I sighed. “I guess.”
“Ari,” said Alex, leaning over to give me a one handed hug. “Don’t worry’, in a few days we’ll be old news.” I turned to him, leaning my head slightly against his arm. “I hope so.”

Reviews

[R.W. Blue]

ah, just wonderin', but, is alessandro based on...... forehead boy?
sounds like 'im to me, anyways.
but dude, this is awesome!!!!!
i'm usually not a fan of this romance/ school life genre, but this is an exception!!!!
WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVVVVVVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vannah]

yet again I say GREAT!