Halloween Humor!

So, earlier today, while attempting to make sense of my homework, I had the following conversation with, well, my dog.
Me: Hi Tallie!
Tallie: ...
Me: You know, you're super-cute. You're so cute that, frankly, it's frightening me a bit. You should be a halloween costume! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Tallie: ...
Me: I'm sorry, that was... CANDY CORNY! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Tallie: ...
Me: I know, my humor is making you Snickers! Get it? The candy? Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!
Tallie: ...
Me: My jokes are out of this Milky Way! More candy! Ahahahahahasdnfiunlsiufhaoidnasuilha!!!
Tallie: ... grrrrrrr...

This is probably a sign that I am not completely sane.
...
TALLIE BARKS AT KIT-KATS! Get it? Cats?
Oh, that crazy Halloween humor.

*Insert catchy title here*

Yesterday was a big day. A big BIG day. It was a day of infinite proportions!

Well no, not really, but it was pretty busy.

I woke up at 6 and put on some newly acquired business attire, which is always fun, and went to my school so that a bus could take me and my fellow delegates to the SJMUN (South Jersey Model United Nations) conference at Eastern High School, which was pretty pointless considering I live closer to Eastern High School than my own school. But I got to see Strawberry with a skirt and over-hairsprayed hair, so it wasn't completely pointless!

The two of us were both representing Venezuela (which was awesome for me, since I really am Venezuelan, although the people who assigned me the country didn't know that) but we were in different commitees, so we were forced to (un?)fortunately separate.

Then, seven hours of debating and resolution-paper writing. Funfunfun.

Then back to school to have my "business attire" questioned by the other marching band members. That was actually pretty fun.

So, at the award ceremony, the rankings are (starting with best) as follows:

-Superior

-Outstanding

-Excellent

-Good

Our rating was the third out of nine bands to be announced, and we got "outstanding", which made us super-happy because that's the same score everyone before us had gotten, so at least we weren't worse than them!

Actually, it made us super-happy for only about four seconds, because everyone announced after us got superior.

Oh, and by the way:

(Proudly taken by me. The one on the right is Jemima.)

Ohhh the teen angst.

So I reread my last entry, and realized how mean I sounded.
Je suis une mauvais fille.
So I'm here to correct it!
Lotso fun!
By "something evil" I meant "sulk in my teenly jealousy and pass it off as PMS."
I am not hiding mace and tar in my locker. Or am I...?
Nah, just a couple o' nanobombs here and there.
...
So, I have to get up at 6 tomorrow.
Yes, I know it's a Saturday. But I have a Model UN conference with the always adequate Strawberry. Yes Strawberry, I called you adequate.

Model United Nations conference: 7:30-4:00.

After that, I would normally eat a dinner of some sort, but I'm obviously not that lucky.

Neshaminy Marching Band Festival: 4:30-11:00.

Then on Sunday, there's the joy that is homework of honors proportions.
High school is Hades.

I am a blogging fail.

Utterly and completely. I should... not ever forget to blog again.
SO TODAY.
Model UN. Model United Nations. Poor Venezuela got stuck with me as their food and agriculture representative. The first conference (with other schools) is on Saturday, and it lasts about six hours.
SIX HOURS. OH WOE IS ME.
Then, immediately after the conference, I have to rush to my school to get ready to leave for a marching band festival in somewhere called Nushaminny.
Ah wait, I googled it; it's Neshaminy. It's be pretty sad to live in a town named Nushaminny.
*no offense to anyone who lives in this possibly-nonfictitious-town of Nushaminny*
Strawberry's grounded. Ha. Haha.
Oh, and I like Catman. Did I mention that in my last, not-so-recent post? Well, I do. No big deal.
Here's the problem. Joy does too.
Whoa snap.
Normally I would shamelessly do something evil to her (I...dislike competition of any sort), but she's too nice! I actually have...well, not a conscience... something that sort of resembles a conscience!
So now I get an average of five hours of sleep each night. Not fun.
Ack. Homework.

So blog, I've missed you.

Strawberry has been pressuring me to blog. (Peer pressure, peer pressure!)
I haven't been able to because high school has been keeping me really busy. Honestly, I don't know how she does it.
Should I make a list? I think I should.

• Strawberry- Much the same. Unfortunately.
• Violet- In half of my classes. Fortunately.
• Silver- Silver who? I... don't see or talk to her any more. At all.
• Leo- I don't like him any more. But I think he likes me. Or at least he did, until he found out that I now like...
• Catman- Sadly, in none of my classes. But then there's marching band twice a week. :)
• Basil- As irritating as ever. Maybe even more so, if possible. Also know about my... preference towards Catman. Luckily, we only have one class together.

High school is awful in so many ways, but amazing in so many others. I won't even...begin explaining its perils.

Leo's been acting strange. At first, when the year began, we were really close frieds, but now we could be walking in the hallways practically next to each other and not even acknowledge the other's presence. I think it has to do with Catman. I'll weasel it out of him tomorrow.

I want to type more, but I didn't plan this post well. But there's always tomorrow! I won't desert my blog again!

Oh blog.... You again.

Didja miss me, blog?

Huh?

HUH?!

Well then. I'll interpret that silence as a "yes".

I would have posted, but summer vacation has been exactly as it should be.... lazy and uneventful. So, nothing to report.

Strawberry's birthday is tomorrow....

Um, should I have gotten her something?

Well, I came up with the idea for her party. We're going to film a movie!

She wants a spy thriller thing, but we don't have a script. Or video camera.

We'll, er, figure something out.

Violet's coming too! Woo! Spontaneous rhyme!

Strawberry and I are supposed to co-write the script, but no progress on that.

I tried out for tennis. And completely and utterly failed. Ah well, there's always track and field! Sprint is pretty much the only sport I can do anyway, what with my awful eyesight. At least I'm good at it!

60-mile traffic jam in China. May last several weeks. Poor suckers.

40

Dear me,

You are cordially invited to a sleepover/maekovr fest. Bring your flatiron and hair curler. And makeup and beautifying weapons of mass destruction.

I CAN'T WAIT TO STRAIGHTEN/CURL HAIR. Whether the victim likes it or not. Whether they are conscious or not. I just need to do something hair related.

Today I played 007 with my cousins on the Wii. I slaughtered and went kind of nuts with the missles. Not......pretty.

Here's Tallie being irritated by my camera's flash. She's watching you. 0.0

LET'S GATHER ROUND THE CAMPFIRE N' SING THE CAMPFIRE- no.

Okay, so I was GOING to talk about how I hate camping and how I'm doing it this weekend, but now there's a more pressing matter.
I have Facebook open in another tab, and Albert IMed me. He was in my elementary school but we went to different middle schools. He used to have a bit of a crush on me in elementary school...well more than a bit. Here's the convo. Read it while I hyperventilate.
Albert: Hello buttface
Me: uh...thanks? and hi.
Albert: Don't u wanna call me buttface
Me: no, because i'm nice, unlike you.
Albert: Some people never change.
Me: uh no, I used to be evil, remember?
Albert: No you were always the sweetest little angel.
*and so begins my hyperventilating*
Me: HA. HAHA. very funny, but now i'm three years smarter and nicer.
Albert: How's that even possible? You were already the smartest nicest girl ever!
*now my fingers are quivering*
Me: there's always room for improvement :)
Albert: I guess that means now you are perfect
At this point I IMed Jim in panic and begged for help. He told me to say "brb" to Albert so we have time to think. Albert then said "Kay I'll be awAiting your return" and that was... almost twenty minutes ago. So much for "be right back". I ordered Jim to IM Albert and ask him if he still likes me. And that's what's happening now. Unfortunately, Albert is a notoriously slow responder, so Jim's only gotten five worda out of him while trying to "ease" into the subject of me. I told him to get to the point. Albert can't ignore him then. So, now, to wait for Albert's response... NO! He went offline! Not that I'm unhappy about that, but now he'll keep cyber-flirting with me. Great. I'm going to go speedwalk in circles to rid myself of anxiety.

Whoa! It's like some crazy dream!

This morning, I woke up and the world seemed...wrong. Unfamiliar. Then I happened to glance at the clock, and it was seven A.M. I don't remember the last time I woke up before noon, you know, because of summer vacation and all. For the first time in months, I had breakfast instead of brunch. I got to watch morning talk shows. Watch the sun rise instead of set. It was pretty darn spectacular.
I have decided among my decisions! I've been torn between sports I want to do in high school this fall. Cross country, tennis, or soccer? After careful deliberation and endless pro/con charts, I have made my decision. What, you want to know what it is? Tough luck, I'm not telling.
For the first time since pre-K, I don't have a crush on anyone. It gives one a strange feeling. Like you're hollow. But it's not a bad feeling, I would say. Of course, I'm still trying to get Leo to like me, but only because I want to be the one to reject him. Evil, aren't I?
Animal Crossing. Is. My life and soul.

"Time may change me, but you can't chase time" -David Bowie

Well, summer's pretty much half over. Where oh where has the time gone? I've spent the past few days doing nothing more eventful than eating a bowl of cereal. But then again, that's pretty eventful in itself. Those Honey Bunches Of Oats are one craaaaaazy ride!
So for the past three weeks I've been absolutely positive that Leo is coming back from New Mexico on Friday, the 23rd. Well I was WRONG. He came back today, according to Facebook. It's like finding out that you've been celebrating your birthday the day after your actual birth day every year. Not that I like him any more. I hope I can still say no if he asks me out, but if it does happen, I'm not sure if I'll have the willpower necessary. But there's no need to stress out now, so I'll just...not!
I really need to get started on my summer reading work, but my book has been missing for a month, and my dad just told me that it's at his house, so I have to wait another week. So much for getting it done in June.
This Sunday, Jim, Anne, Leo, and I are planning to go see a movie. I wonder if something will happen then...?

Hum dee dum dee dum dee bubble gum.

So I've noticed that I'm awful at blogging. And any writing outside of school. It's almost enough to make me wish for high school to start already. Almost.
Right now, I'm waiting for the piano music for the song Don't Stop Believin', but since I'm not a "premium member" of the sheet music website and I want it fr free, they're making me wait twenty minutes to begin downloading. No, seriously, there's a clock counting down and everything. Now it's on twelve minutes or so.
Besides those few occasions where I hung out with friends, this is what I've done this summer:
-play Animal Crossing
-eat
-sleep
-OVERsleep
-spend most of my waking hours on Facebook
The Facebook thing is quite a crisis. I need to find a new hobby.
OH! And also, I'm trying to do some productive things this summer so I don't feel totally useless, so I'm studying science books and learning German and Spanish. And keeping up with the stock market. Google's been doing pretty well, by the way.
My hanging out with friends has dropped to an all-time low since Leo left for New Mexico, because without him Jim can't hang out with me and Anne since his parents won't let him out with only girls, and when I visit Anne alone, which is the only doable thing, she spends the whole time IMing Jim. So I've resorted to my Wii for happiness. If only someone else had Animal Crossing so I could visit their town! If you do, please say so!!
Hm, I don't know whether to do tennis or soccer in high school as my fall sport. Or maybe even cross country...
And also I WANT MY HIGH SCHOOL SCHEDULE. ASAP.

The Pianist.

I just realized that our motley blogging trio, me, Strawberry, and Violet, each have a core talent that makes us uniquely, well, us! Violet has her artistic abilities, Strawberry is this incredible writer, and mine would be music, I guess. I didn't realize it until now; I thought that Violet and Strawberry were the only talented ones in this bunch. Now, I have something to be proud about! I taught myself how to play the piano, without a teacher and without lessons (except those three I had when I was seven which taught me where to place my fingers on the keys), I just bought a book of the hardest music I could find and looked at it and knew! I can play it all! I'm not hopeless!
It occured to me now, because I put my mom to sleep. My mom has been pretty stressed out lately, and she was at the computer, buut then decided to come downstairs to the living room and take a nap. I was doing my daily practice at the piano when she came down, and when I saw that she intended to sleep on the couch, I almost turned off the piano. Then I thought that maybe I could do something. You can tell when she's stressed because she sleeps on the couch during the afternoon, and when she's asleep, her face is twisted into a worried grimace. So I continued the song I was playing, but changed a few notes until I morphed into my favorite song, Clair De Lune. Yes, the one from Twilight. No, not Bella's lullaby, the other one. I played it softly, and it was 6 pages, so it took a good ten minutes or so, especially since I was playing it more slowly then usual. When I was on the final notes, my mom heaved a great sigh in her sleep, and after the final chord, I got up slowly and peeked over the couch at my mom. Her face was smooth, and almost happy. Almost. But then again, my mom isn't a very happy person in general. My dog was passed out by the front door, sleeping just as peacefully. My mom doesn't support my piano playing at all; in fact, she somewhat dislikes it. But at least I gave her a few moments of peace with the piano. At least she tolerates it more than when I play the clarinet.
I don't expect anyone to ead this (if you did, good for you!), but it just put me in a good mood. A bloggy mood. So...yeah.

Title. Creative, no?

First off: It's Complicated is the most ridiculously boring movie ever. I watched it for about half an hour, then came up here to blog about how boring it was.

Secondly: Hello Violet! Thank you for the talk about signals, but it doesn't help me at all. Why? Because of something I decided the minute the Farewell Dance was over. Remember what was supposed to happen at that dance? And didn't? I decided right then that that was the last chance Leo was going to get. The last free chance, at least. Cowardice is not attractive to me at all, and that was just awful, especially since he lied about "not promising". Puh-lease! If he wants me to go out with him or anything of the sort, he'll have to work up some courage. Do something completely un-Leo-like. If he likes me, well then he'll have to prove it. He's in New Mexico until the 23rd though, so don't expect anything of the sort to happen soon.

Third: Today I went to the mall with Strawberry and Violet! Oh, but before that we went to see Despicable Me. Every time I go to see a "3D" movie, I see it in 2D. Not by my choice! Honestly, the last 3D movie I saw was Spy Kids 3D. Yes, I know that's pathetic. I even saw Avatar in 2D, which almost made me cry. At the mall I got: a navy-colored shirt, shoelaces, and a Coach wristlet. Yes! No more relying on my pocket to carry my crap! :)

p.s. No more chasing after Leo for me! For once, I want to be the one chased after.

The best of us never truly grow up...

No matter how old we may physically seem, youth will always pulse through our veins, and we shall live in the in-between land of Adult and Child.
Why am I blubbering about age? Because I saw the movie Grown-Ups today, that's why. It got suckish reviews according to my iPod, but it was pretty darn hilarious. I was with Anne and Jim, and then Anne's sister Bonnie (one grade younger than Anne) and HER boyfriend Phil. Yes folks, when it seemed that I couldn't sink any lower than being the third wheel, I became the fifth wheel.
There's a girl in Bonnie's grade named...uh...I shouldn't say her real name, as common as it is, so I'll come up with a random nickname. "Cheese" will suffice. We all hate Cheese. Unfortunately, Anne and Bonnie are too polite to tell her so, so they act like her friends. Big mistake, because today, Cheese repeatedly called and texted both of them asking if she can come to the movies with us and sit with us. No one had the courage to tell Cheese off. "Cheese, we would rather you no sit with us," would have worked, but of course no one listens to me, so arriving at the movie theater was awfully frightening, because we imagined her leaping out the front doors, throwing her arms around us, and not letting go until the finishing credits.
We made it through the front doors and into the ticket line without incident, except for Bonnie spotting Phil in the next line over and screeching his name at the top of her lungs. Then into the lobby, where there was still no sign of Cheese among the insanely long snack lines. We were getting tense. Where would she pop up? Were we lucky enough to make it into the theater without her? At this point we were all together except for Jim. We called him, and he was already in the hallway outside our theater. Yesiree we were home free.
Or so it seemed.
When me and Anne met Jim outside the door (Bonnie and Phil were God-knows-where) we were just about to enter the door on the left when Cheese burst out of the door on the right. We went to "look for Bonnie" and luckily lost her, but as soon as we entered the theater, there she was, in the very middle, the only head turned away from the screen, staring at us.
We sat wayyy in the front, as far away from her as we could. But we could still feel the stare of that convoluted Cheese on the back of our heads.
...*shudder*. I still feel the stare. Combined with the chocolate lava cake with chocolate ice cream I had at Friendly's afterward (Jim and Anne shared a sundae, as did Bonnie and Phil), I think I might just barf now. So good night!

Fireworks, friends, and a light-up plastic sword.

Yesterday! Fireworks!
Last night I went to the nearby Cooper River with Jim and Leo (and Leo's parents) for this radio-station-classic-rock festival. There were these guys singing on a huge stage with fog and lights and everything. However, there were hundreds of people there, maybe thousands, and we sat so far back from the stage that there wasn't much possibility of watching the concert. I also got to see Silver's dad there. Huh.
As a belated birthday gift for Leo, I got him a light-up plastic sword, as well as one for myself. He unwrapped his, and it glowed brightly in different colors and even had sound effects of a sword slicing through th air whenever he moved it! Mine was dim and mute. They were 8 bucks each. Rah.
We sat in those fold-out chairs that had to be carried on our backs. Jim, the tallest, got a midget chair with no armrests or cupholders, unlike mine and Leo's. Ha! While we were in these chairs, Leo seemed to be making a concious effort to touch his knee against mine, but fo some reason I kept moving mine away. Maybe because my knees were so incredibly dry? Or I just didn't want him to touch my knee? I don't even know.
Before that!
I spent the weekend at my dad's house, and was woken up yesterday morning by my sister softly poking me in the head. Then at 2, my mom came to pick me up and take me to my uncle's house. We go there every 4th of July for barbecue and fireworks. My fellow New Jerseyan cousins were there. Tammy (15) and Charlie (17 or 18?) and brother and sister. Wesley (15) and Serena (18 or 19?) live there and are also brother and sister. Unfortunately, I am 14, the youngest, and treated as such. Technically, I am only half a year younger than Wesley, but sometimes I'm treated like a 10-year-old.
At around 5 my mom said that we should get going, and all four of them turned to me and cried "What? You're not staying for the fireworks?" I explained that I had plans with friends and ended up being pelted with beach balls and cries of "Traitor!" (we were in the pool).
This morning, at 5, Leo departed for New Mexico. He told us all that he was staying there for a month, but it's really less than three weeks. After that, Six Flags!
I need to find more people to have fun with this summer. I've been spending most of it with Jim, Anne, and Leo. Anyone wanna do something?

Aaaaaaaaand, Post 30!

I spend many a summer's day,
Chasing thoughts of school away.
It's strange how I found more time to blog during the school year when I was busy with homework and projects and such, but I'm blogging less and less frequently during the lazy summer days. Well, not quite so lazy. Jim, Anne, and Leo have been keeping me somewhat busy.
Sunday was Anne's birthday, and we celebrated by going to the mall (the four of us) and getting the "free" piercing at Claire's. It ended up costing forty dollars. Her mom needed to come with us to sign some approval papers, so she did, then when Anne was done, she left. We also left, confused, because Jim had intended to pay. So we left, and halfway to the food court, we saw the lady from Claire's chasing after us because no one had paid. So Jim had to follow her back while we snickered behind him. I paid for Anne's lunch and movie ticket (Toy Story 3), and Leo got her a Target gift card. Leo and I sat next to each other for the movie, and while that may sound romantic, we didn't acknowledge each other at all. And we didn't share popcorn or anything.
Afterward, we were supposed to go to this park that I had found on Google Earth. Across the street from the mall, there's a plaza (K-Mart, Marshalls, etc.) and behind that there's a park with a large lake. I thought it would be easy enough to walk there. Boy was I wrong.
STEP ONE: Cross Route 38.
We were only halfway across the mall parking lot when everyone started complaining. And blaming me. I reminded them that we could just go with Plan B (which I'll explain in a sec) and go back to the mall, but they just kept pestering me about making them walk. Finally, we crossed the crosswalk.
STEP TWO: Cross the plaza.
Yet another large parking lot. More complaining. I reminded them about my earlier suggestions to go to the mall, but they claimed I had said no such thing. When I assured them that I had indeed suggested Plan B, they said things like "But we were already outside of the mall!" and "We were halfway through the parking lot!" That. Is not. My problem.
STEP THREE: Go behind K-Mart.
I mentioned how we must look to other people, two teenage boys and two teenage girls sneaking behind a K-Mart, and they all cracked up and shoved me. When we finally made it back there, all we saw were office buildings. No park. Then I realized that the park must be closer to the end of te plaza, and there were trees back there at the other end, but it was blocked by a fence and some poison ivy, and none of us could find a decent entrance.
STEP FOUR: Ask for directions, because we are hopelessly, utterly lost.
The Dollar Tree cashier lady was really helpful. She told us to go back to the K-Mart at the other end of the plaza (where we just WERE, we all glared at Leo, whose idea it was to come to the other end), follow the street next to it until we came to a Lukoil gas station, then turn right, and go down that street until we came to the entrance of the park.
STEP FIVE: Drag our exhausted selves back to K-Mart and then to a Lukoil.
Not much to say about this. Except that we were excessively tired and sweaty and thirsty. Jon walked about ten paces ahead of us and refused to slow down. Leo joked about what happens when you trust Google.
STEP SIX: Turn right at Lukoil; follow that street to the park entrance.
Me and Anne are nearly passing out at this point. No, literally. We both have the same medical problem, and get the same message from our doctors every time: if we drink any less liquids than we currently do, then we will pass out. We are dehydrated people. Finally, Jim sees the entrance (he's still way in front) and lo and behold, the park. The lake is massive and glassy and magnificent, and on the opposite side, there are trees galore, perfect for Anne's "surprise". On our side, though, the trees are sparse but pretty and less wild. I say something about crossing the lake, because the surprise needs coverage, and Leo agrees, but Anne hesitates, and so of course Jim does too. Then a shirtless man on a bench says "Cross the lake? Easy!" and urges us to try it. Leo and I give each other a look and walk to the edge of the lake. Where we are, there is a dam, wet yet crossable, except for a small water fall in the middle where we would have to get down on the shallow side of the dam and walk a bit, but the water would only reach our ankles. I start taking off my shoes, but Anne refuses. Since it's her birthday, we have no choice but to listen to her. We walk through the sparse trees on our side of the lake when I spot a leafy arch. I walk through it and gasp. It led to some smooth logs turned into benches, and had a view of the whole lake. It was secluded and romantic. It was PERFECT. The surprise was a first kiss between Anne and Jim (Jim's idea, Anne knew nothing). I whisper-asked Jim if me and Leo should leave now, and he said yes, so I turned around to call Leo to help me find something I'd dropped at the front of the park, when I saw him crashing his way through some trees. I wanted to scream at him to come back, because if Anne followed him, then the surprise would be ruined. I called his name, but he didn't stop, and Anne started to follow him. I called more loudly, but he didn't turn. Then I realized that he was doing it on purpose and started to run over him, telling Anne to stay with Jim while I got Leo.
I don't think I can disclose the details, but it was a success. Yay!
P.S. Plan B was the same thing, but in the refrigerator section of Sears, which had better coverage. SO not my idea.

"Hold on, I need to laugh."

These past two days have been pretty spectacularly fun. I spent all day yesterday at Anne's house with Lefty, but maybe yesterday wasn't all that great because she spent most of the time talking to Jim on Facebook chat. I know they're dating, but she totally ignored us. Me and Lefty spent that time entertaining Anne's baby brother, and changing his diapers. That was... a joy.
Oh wait! Maybe yesterday wasn't totally hopeless! In the late afternoon, Jim asked if we wanted to meet him at the nearby elementary school. So, me, Anne, and Lefty were going to meet him there, but then his parents went and told him that he wasn't allowed to be there with only girls. Huh, shouldn't it be the other way around?
Anyway, I suggested inviting Leo, who lives a block from Anne. Jim agreed and texted Leo asking him to come. Now, Leo had just texted Jim moments before, so we knew he was with his phone. We waited five minutes, and almost decided to ditch Leo (the ultimate slow texter) when we got a response. "Why?" We were speechless, we really were.
We were about to leave, finally, when Anne told us she invited this girl from across the street that neither me or Lefty knew. She's two years older than us, and I'll nickname her Margo (Silver's probably the only one who may get that). We all felt really awkward with her there (except for Anne), but we finally left for the school. We got about half an hour of fun, then a thunderstorm hit us. I get half an hour with Leo outside of school, and the heavens have to come down on us.
Jim's parents made him go home via cellphone, so he bade us goodbye then jogged off, and Margo was also ordered home. Leo invited the remaining three of us to his house, and me and Lefty wanted to go, but Anne did not. She suggested we return home. It broke my heart to see him ride off on his bike without us, it really did.
Last night, sleepover at Anne's (we stayed there). Today, mall and pool with Anne and Lefty. Nothing really eventful. But I may now be hooked to Bath And Body Works.
SUNDAY IS THE DAY OF ANNE'S "SURPRISE". FOUR MORE DAYS.

Pomp And Circumstance... and lots of plaques.

Huh, I poured my heart into a letter to Basil for Strawberry's benefit, and she didn't even comment.
SO TODAY. Graduation. That song they always play at graduations, Pomp And Circumstance, is still ringing in my head. I was one of the kids in the little band playing it at the 8th grade graduation last year, so I know from experience that this song will stay in my head for several days.
Parcheesi made a really good speech. Yes, that was the first nickname for her I could think of, based on her last name. I got to stand up for having a grade point average of over 3.7, but then again, so did about 50 other people.
Many plaques were given out, but I didn't win a single freakin' one. It's now my goal to be good enough in high school to win a plaque of some sort, even if it's a cheesy one like "This plaque commemorates the girl who managed to trip and fall in tennis more than anyone else in high school history".
Earlier today, in school, we received our yearbooks. Basil, being the wonderful and charming gentleman he is, drew a heart around the picutres of me and Leo (which were right next to each other), and the comment "I love your love for Leo". Luckily, my mom didn't ask to see my actual picture, and didn't notice that comment. I wrote a long and personal message in eeryone's yearbook. Except for Strawberry's, where I merely wrote "HAGS". She was upset by the lack of deep meaning, but she didn't notice all the emotion thriving within those four letters. Look within, Strawberry.
Last day of school tomorrow! Hip hip hooray!

Dear Basil,

Can you ever possibly fathom the emotional power you held over Strawberry for years? You were a cruel, heartless manpulator, and you held her heart on strings. But know that she was no marionette. She did, does feel. She never was yours to toy with, and you never deserved her affection, or even her partiality. She has eyes, and she could see the ridiculing sneers you cast in her direction. She has ears, and she could hear your snide remarks. What are your eyes but items of unjust judgement. They see only skin-deep; they are not capable of seeing what lies beneath. I know that with your miniscule brain and limited imagination you think I mean her organs, but I am speaking of the passionate and brilliant writer and thinker that lies beneath. Your heart pumps blood like everyone else's, but it lacks the spark that enables kindness and this foreign and alien concept that we call love. Your brain has placed you in a math class two grades more advanced than your own, but you only see things for what they very bluntly are, not what they could become. You think you're the greatest, smartest being on the face of the Earth, but you cannot think outside of the box. Hell, you're so in the box that you must've been born in a UPS store. Don't think unkindly of her if you ever do see this letter, which I doubt because I have no intention of ever giving it to you. These are my thoughts and opinions, and if you think that thhis gives you the right to loathe me as much as you abhor her, then go right ahead. But please, cut loose her puppet strings. Just let her go.

Final sprint!

Three (half) days of school are left, and the finish line has come within sight! I wonder if it'll be like an actual race, where everyone pushes and shoves their way to the front to make it first. But, really, what is there to win in middle school?
Well, here's what's goin' on.

• I have nothing to wear for graduation on Monday, and my graduation partner is some guy named Jason I don't even know. Leo got Lavender, who's never even here. So unfair.
• I really, really want to receive an award at graduation, but seeing as I didn't do anything at all noticable this year, I almost definitely won't.
• My Father's Day Gift: fresh-baked cookies and a playing of the song Clair De Lune on the piano. Maybe I should buy something too?
• Today in science class, we did that thing where you drop Mentos into a bottle of soda. My group was Sally and Leo. Did you know that there's actually a contraption designed for this experiment? A red and transparent tube. I really would have never guessed.
• Violet is being creeped out by her beau, Zucky. Apparently, they never have real conversations; it's mostly just him staring at her. He seems to like her so much, and I have the feeling that he's more into the relationship than Violet is. Violet? You two need to have a talk.
• I got 100 on the math finals! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
• Halden's being evil, and she didn't give me a grade for my Holocaust project. This brings my grade of 100 down to 89.97. If she doesn't round that up to an A-, I swear I'll...

The life that never dies; the truth that never lies...

Huh, strange title today. I'm in a quirky mood, I guess.
So, today!
We watched two movies that each bored everyone half to death, which makes it surprising that we're all still among the living. They were both about the Civil War, and we were all split up into different classrooms based on our humanities classes. Unfortunately, Leo is not ni my humanities class, so I had to spend morning AND afternoon without stalkerishly staring at him, which is probably good for my health and all.
Speaking of Leo, today was his birthday!
Happy happy birthday, happy birthdayyyyy to you!
May the coming year be splendid,
And in your heart ring true!
That was a random birthday song I just made up right now. I don't even understand the last line myself, but it really needed to rhyme.
Well, like the wonderful friend-who-likes-him I am, I totally forgot.
I actually didn't forget, though! I thought it was on the eighteenth, not the fifteenth! But in advisory, when he was groaning about the three assignments that were due today, he mumbled something about his birthday not going well so far, and after recovering from initial shock and embarassment, I wished him a happy birthday.
By the way, Silver's birthday was on Sunday, so that song's for her too!
Every day, at lunchtime, it has to be someone's birthday, so a group of tone-deaf students goes up to the microphone to sing Happy Birthday and give us all permanent ear damage. Today, I was crouching by Ann's table (visiting), when Basil, Apple, and some other guys started singing Happy Birthday to Leo. To be honest, they weren't half bad compared to other groups that have sung their dignities out up there. I didn't even notice, caught up in talking, until Ann started shoving me in the direction of Leo's table saying "Go give him a hug!" I sat cross-legged at planted my weight firmly on the ground, but after a few seconds I decided that maybe I should go over and say something. I never got the chance. A cluster of girls who normally don't give Leo a second glance ran over and started hugging him. One of them sat on his lap. I shakingly turned back around and threw myself back into the conversation with too much animation, too much gusto. I don't think I spoke to him for the rest of the day.
Oh wait, I did! At the end of the day, we went outside for some fresh air, and me and Leo exchanged some small talk on the way back in. That was all.
That was after the movies ended. I actually attempted to watch the first one, passing notes instead of talking, to try to focus on the movie without exploding of boredom. When I found out after lunch that we were watching a second movie about the Civil War, however, I gave up. I slept for nearly an hour of it, and then, upon waking, plopped myself down on the floor with all the other bored girls, because that area of the floor was hidden from the teacher's sight, perfect for talking.
In other news, the Strawberry-Lavender battle rages on. I am Team Strawberry all the way. Lavender is extremely annoying and shallow; her personality is made up of boys (although none of them like her) and her hair. At the lunch table, we have happy conversations with our friends, and she starts whining about how boring the table is because no one talks. We actually all talk, but none of us talk to her, because she's only capable of talking about the aforementioned two things. I would pity her if she weren't genuinely that shallow. Oh, and she does care about a third thing. She calls herself fat constantly, and forces other to insult her image. Not pretty.
Upcoming events:
*Last day of school-next Tuesday (mall, sleepover, then beach the next day with friends)
*Annie's special surprise that some of you know about-June 27

Oh firetruck.

So Violet told me that Leo had promised to ask me out by the end of the grad dance today. He told her tonight that he didn't remember ever promising. As you might have guessed, there was no asking out (between me and Leo anyway). We did get in some slow dancing in though! But... Oh, I don't know if I should even say this. Whenever Silver neared, we both took guilty steps away from each other. Why? Telepathy? Who knows. All I know is that he started it.
I got my hair cut AND CURLED! I have never gotten my hair curled before, and I think I look pretty darn spectacular. Leo seemed to like it too, from the stare rays I felt emanating from him when his mom was taking pictures of us together. Speaking of his mom, I think he told her that we were going to the dance together, because she insisted on us standing next to each other on the group picture, and taking some of only the two of us. She also stared at me a lot. Like mother like son?
I CANNOT BELIEVE that Leo didn't follow through on his promise. Violet told me that she was positive he promised. Apparently, this happened when I was pretending to be asleep on the bus ride back from Six Flags. How did I not hear this conversation??? I'm considering waiting for Leo to go on Facebook, and when I see him there, make my status this exact phrase.
"you DID promise. and i heard it because i wasn't sleeping. you know i'm talking to you."
I'm not a fan of capitalizing on Facebook, as you can see. Must be a blog thing.
Well, at least there was the slow dancing to make into a lasting memory! We had no idea how to do it at first, but we eventually got the knack of it. His hands around my waist, and mine around his neck. Awkwardly stepping in a circle small enough to fit on a salad plate. But it was nice.
... I'm sorry, Silver.

Today was DEFINITELY a great adventure! (yes, i know that's corny)

Today was the field trip for the 8th graders of all three middle schools to go to Six Flags Great Adventure. May I just say that it was freakin AMAZING!
First off, the Ferris Wheel Conversation.
So, we ate at about one o'clock. But with me being a slow eater and Jim being the last one to get his food, everyone was done before the two of us. "Everyone" is Leo, Silver, Strawberry, Violet, Bally (according to Strawberry, this is her codename, which sounds pretty ridiculous to me), and Zack. So, they all went off to the ferris wheel without me and Jim. Gee, THANKS. Oh, and Zack was there too, but I didn't even notice for a minute or two. Turns out he's scared of ferris wheels. He went on Kingda Ka. Go figure.
After we were done, the three of us went to wait by the ferris wheel to greet our group, and Violet ca,e close to me and whispered into my ear as we walked into Skull Mountain.
"Leo likes you."
My heart leapt. I didn't believe her.
"No he doesn't."
"Yes he does! He told me!"
My heart did a pirouette. I didn't believe her.
"What exactly did he say?"
Violet told me how he responded to a bunch of questions she'd asked him about the two of us, but none of it was much of a surprise until the last question.
"...So then I asked him if he liked you, and he said yes."
My heart did a triple backflip. I didn't believe her. I told her so. But she protested so vehemently, insisting that it was the truth, that I don't think there's any way to not believe her.
Anyway, we went on this runaway mine train rollercoaster thing about ten times. No, I'm not exaggerating when I say ten times. I'm pretty sure I sat next to Leo every time. Before today, I was so terrified of rollercoasters, but I seemed to have gotten over my fear, seeing as I went on several today. Anyway, on the last time or second to last time we went, there was a big group of fellow 8th graders from our school standing below us (out carts were stopped, waiting to exit), and they were all shouting their hellos. One of them must have said something about me sitting next to Leo, because I heard him shout "Well we ARE going to the dance together!" and I heard exclamations from below. You see, I didn't mention it to many people, that me and Leo are going to the dance together. I guess I was just a little bit embarassed? But now, everyone will know.
Oh my, I feel weightless right now, even though I got back over an hour ago. Was it the rollercoasters? Or maybe first love? I never understood the term "butterflies in my stomach" until now.
It was altogether fun, though! It seemed like Leo went out of his way to stand next to me, which made me happy, and I have a picture on my camera of the two of us standing in front of the lake with his arm around me. Oh my God, am I talking about him too much? I feel like I am.
Bally absolutely refused to go on any rollercoasters. Even the smallest one we could find, which we called "Bally-approved" was too scary for her.
On the bus ride there and back, Leo and I sat next to each other (I promise you I only have one more thing to say involving him!), and to be honest, it was really boring. We didn't talk much; we only played on our iPod Touches. But when we were all boarding the buses to leave, there was a lull where all the buses were just sitting in the parking lot, because there were apparently some late students. Violet sat across from me and Leo, and kept prodding Leo "Do it! Do it!" I pretended not to notice, except occasionally when I made a joke of her constant asking so that they would laugh and break the awkwardness I was feeling. I thought she was telling him to tell me that he likes me, but then she said "Ask her out!!!" and he put his head against the back of the seat in front of us and groaned. Out of pity, and curiosity, I pretended to fall asleep against the window. That's right, everyone who was on that bus. I was pretending. I was hoping that Violt would continue prodding him and he, thinking I was asleep, would say something that he would never want me to hear if I was awake. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, and I pretended for most of the ride. I actually had a dream, even though I was awake enough to hear everything around me. It must have been the motion of the bus, but I felt like I was on an endless rollercoaster, infinitely going up and down. The landscape below me continued to create itself from smoke. Tongues of gray smoke created trees and people and carnival booths.I decided to let Mr. Farkas "wake me up" when he announced that we would be arriving back at school in 10-15 minutes. Turns out, it took another half hour. My mom wasn't very happy.
One last thing, for Silver.
Things to do on photo-taking coasters:
-twiddle your thumbs
-look into the distance dreamily
-assume the position of The Thinker and contemplate
-wade in a kiddie pool
-dress up as priests and take a shower (don't forget the curtain!)
-build a campfire and make s'mores
-play chess...
-...or checkers
-recreate the Big Bang

I feel like the curious cat right now...

Curiosity killed the cat. Stupid cat.
So, apparently there's a stomach virus going around my school. I was sent home by the nurse before my last class, which was Language A (thank GOD, I didn't want to go to that class, because of my embarassing emo moment from yesterday). Normally, I wouldn't mind being sick if it weren't for the Six Flags field trip coming up. Coming up as in tomorrow. And it's not just the 8th grade of my middle school that's going, it's the 8th grade classes of all three middle schools in this town! Too bad elementary school was the worst period of my life, because I'll be seeing them all tomorrow, if I don't die of illness. Ugh, I'm completely sore. My head, stomach, and throat hurts. Chills are continuously running up and down my body. I feel weak.
But some good things did happen today! Leo is getting... I guess you could call it braver? More courageous? It's just the little things, though. Like in advisory, I was looking over the paper containing the secret plan for Anne's birthday spectacular (with a very, very special surprise at the end). Leo would normally sneak up behind me, but today he grabbed the paper from my hands, pried my nails off his shoulder, and ran across the room to read it. And in science, when I pulled a set over next to Kate (we were playing hangman, unlike classes after us), and Leo pulled a seat over next to me. And at lunch, he came to my table to talk to me and Jim. Should I be happy? Some strange feeling has been churning in my stomach, and it picks up whenever he speaks to me. Is it happiness? Because it sure doesn't feel like it. Or maybe stomach virus...
When I was dispatched by the nurse to go get my things and wait by the entrance. But first, since I hadn't been there yet, I went to the Language A room to see if I needed homework or papers. Leo and I have Science and French together, but our Humanities and Language A classes are opposite. When I have one, he has the other. So since I was supposed to be in the Humanities room at that time, Leo was there, in the Language A room. When I entered, Mrs. Halden was speaking to the class, with her back turned to me, so I waited patiently by the door.
Luna saw me, and she was sitting next to Leo (she's the one who told him to ask me to the dance a while ago, if you haven't read that entry). She nudged him and whispered something, and Leo turned to look at the door. Now, I have really bad vision and really bad contacts, but I could have sworn he blushed. Luna was still whispering, so I looked at her and mouth-screamed "WHAT?", but she just giggled, and Mrs. Halden finally decided to acknowledge me.
But, now I'm just focusing on tomorrow. "Confronting my past" seems like an overly dramatic way to put it, but I'm really, really afraid.

So sorry.

I promised myself to be more dedicated to this blog! But I've been really busy for days!
Yesterday I went to the King Of Prussia mall with Strawberry and Violet. This is at least our third expedition to find the perfect Farewell Dance dress for Strawberry, but she's absolutely hopeless. On the upside, I got some gorgeous white shoes to go with my Farewell Dance dress, as well as a funky, colorful ring.
On Saturday night, I went to see Legally Blonde the musical. It's a Broadway musical, but it's on a national tour and I went to see it at NJPAC (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). Before the show, me, Louis (my mom's boyfriend), and my mom went to eat at the theater bistro. That's only because there weren't that many restaurants in Newark we felt were close enough to safely walk to. Newark is a scary place. Even though the three of us only had entrees, not appetizers or desserts, and I had the cheapest entree, the total was one hundred dollars. We all only got entrees in pity of Louis' wallet.
For the show, we had really good seats, right by the orchestra. But we were between a wall and at least twenty girls that took up two rows, about ten, eleven years of age. They all had Coach bags and flouncy outfits and makeup to the extreme and one of them, the birthday girl I guess, had a freakin tiara. It was all glittery; I wouldn't be surprised if it was covered in diamonds. They giggled the whole time and really irritated me. When we had to leave, they wouldn't even let us go into the aisle to exit because they were standing in front of their seats chatting, and they finally moved when my mom and Louis literally yelled at them. But the show was funny!
Today, I failed. Completely and utterly failed. Being around Leo was awfully awkward, I couldn't help but somewhat ignore him!I'm not sure if we're going to the dance as friends or as a date. So, I told Anne to ask Jim (her boyfriend) to ask Leo. But Anne was supposed to pretend that she was the one who was curious. Jim finally agreed to ask tomorrow in school.
That's not the only reason I failed today. Today in Language A class, our sonnets were due. Mine was admittedly very depressing. It was called "The Crier" because the whole thing was a speech made by a town crier that his town was going to be killed, overrun by soldiers. It's extremely graphic and miserable, but I think it's pretty darn incredible.
Well, I went to class, expectingto blow everyone away, when all the presentations turned out tobe one of the three following categories: summer, the beach, or a hobby (i.e. gymnastics and World Of Warcraft). Then I had to read this insanely depressing poem. The applause at the end didn't come for several seconds, and it was pretty forced. I looked like this depressed, emo kid.
I'm helping someone formulate a plan that I really wanted to talk about here, but it's top-secret and I want it to be a surprise. So, bye for now!

OH MY GOD. OH MY HEAVENS. HOLY MOLY.

I AM SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY THAT IT'S ALL I CAN DO TO NOT BLURT OUT WHY IMMEDIATELY, BUT I THINK THIS REQUIRES A LITTLE EXPLANATION FIRST.
Today was the band/orchestra/chorus field trip to the Hershey Music Festival (called "Music In The Parks"), where we go on a 2-hour-long bus ride to Hershey High School, perform for some judges, play in Hershey Park for five hours or so with our friends, go to the awards ceremony, then go on a 2-hour-long bus ride back. My happy moment happened on the way back, but first, a couple of things that happened at the amusement park. I'm sorry to say that they're all Leo-related, but you'll see why.
1. I was forced onto a roller coaster by Leo, although I'm terrified of non-water rides, which everyone called boring, but it wasn't so bad for me because I got to hold Leo's sleeve and scream. 2. I found out that Leo actually had cared about my phone number (at the end of seventh grade, when we got our yearbooks, Leo asked me to put my phone number in his, and so I asked him to do the same in mine, but he never called or anything, so neither did I) because we got seperated and he called me, and when I asked him how he knew my number, he reminded me of the yearbook.
3. The two of us got cheeseburgers and sat together and ate them (on the same bench) while everyone else got pizza. Shut up. I know that one was stupid.
SO, THE PART Y'ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
On the bus, me and Anne sat in the back, surrounded by a bunch of guys, including her boyfriend and my friend, Jim, right in front of us. The only girls near us were Cat and Laura, sitting behind us, in the last row, but we didn't really speak to them the whole time because they spent the entire bus ride back absorbed in an iPod.
We started out playing "Would You Rather", which transformed from a simple game between me and Jim, with the question "Would you rather go out with Oregano or Leo?" which I never even got the chance to answer, because it turned into a perverted guy game with all the males within a eight foot radius of me, which was everyone within an eight foot radius of me except for Cat and Laura. The game then evolved into "Truth Or Dare", with no truth and twice the dare. You see, "truth" wasn't a choosable option, it was just "dare" or "double-dare". "Dare" was just a normal dare, but a "double-dare" allowed you to choose between two dares. Obviously, everyone chose "double-dare". After a couple of rounds, someone asked me. I don't even remember who, I just remember what occured afterwards. I chose "double-dare" and got the options of a) asking Leo to the graduation dance or b) i think that this option was to give Ryan a kiss, but I don't completely remember, I just remember that it had to do with Ryan.
I told everyone to shut the hell up and to let me think. After less than ten seconds of deep pondering, I turned to Leo, grinned, and casually asked "So Leo, wanna go to the dance with me?"
He. Said. Yes.
At first I didn't even notice, so sure that it couldn't be true, and turned my head back to the game. Then my brain subconciously confirmed that he had, indeed, just agreed to go to the dance with me. I whipped my head back toward him and asked if he meant that seriously, and he, being a gentleman and all, said "If that's okay with you." All I could do was nod like an idiot and smile sheepishly.
SO TO SUM IT UP FOR THE LAZY PEOPLE WHO WON'T BOTHER READING THE NON-CAPITALIZED PARTS OF THIS ENTRY, LEO AGREED TO GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME.
A few rounds later, my double-dare was to kiss Leo on the cheek or to give Gary a hug. Now let me just say, Gary is a creepy guy who stalks every girl in the school and is generally unliked by everybody, but acts like he's super-cool and fits in with other, normal guys. I chose option one, and then asked Leo if he would get mad if I kissed him on the cheek. He replied "Not too much," but he said it seriously, so I decided to hug Gary, who was all too eager. All I did was awkwardly sort of touch his shoulders and then sit hurriedly back down. So, that sort of dampened my spirits. Let me just say, I have no aversion whatsoever to cheek kissing. It's so harmless that I don't see how it could in any way make anyone nervous. But when Jim was dared (by me) to kiss Anne, his girlfriend, on the cheek, it took him about ten minutes to gather up the courage. In the spirit of the game, later on, I even let Ryan kiss me on the cheek, on account of a dare.
So much else happened today! But I'm so tired and I already took up a lot of space and bored you all enough with my lovey-dovey happiness. So, thank you and good night!
p.s. that last sentence is a favorite of my Language A teacher's.

Don't hurt me, Mister President!

So, I haven't blogged this weekend because 1.I was at my dad's and 2. I was really busy.
I went to New Jersey's highest waterfall (I really didn't want to go, but it was actually pretty amazing), Manhattan, and Valley Forge. Yup, Memorial Day weekend is an excuse for my dad to take us frolicking thoughout three states.
In Manhattan, we went to visit the memorial and tomb of President Grant. When I say "we" I mean me, my dad, stepmom (called Titi by me, which is supposed to mean "sister or something in her parents' home of Puerto Rico; pronounced somewhere between "didi" and "thithi"), my grandma visiting from Venezuela ("Abuela", leaving in a month or so), my stepbrother Danny (9 years old) and my stepsister (8 years old) Ari.
Danny is big on history. I've never been much of the history type; I prefer thinking ahead to wasting the present on thinking about what's already happened. In the car, he spouts random facts about famous people in history, andd now he seems to be obsessed with presidents in particular. So on Sunday, in Manhattan, we went to the Grant memorial, which was a beautiful little white building with columns and American flags on the front, and when you entered, there was an opening in the floor that showed the coffins of Grant and his wife, alone in a small circular room with bronze busts of other important men in little openings in the rounded walls. When we went down the stairs, my brother realized that the wooden boxes were coffins, and the dim, enclosed space must have made it too much for him. While rounding the room, I noticed him quite literally attempting to fling his body at the stairs that led back to the main level, while Titi firmly held his wrist. "Ghosts!" he cried. Even delicate little Ari was prancing about the room without a care for these ghosts. So much for my history-obsessed brother.
Me and Abuela crushed Dad and Danny in dominoes on Saturday and Sunday night, while having a barbecue and a fire on the backyard patio. What's funny is that Danny was the one supporting the male team, and he'd never played dominoes before.
My sister, who was so brave within feet of two coffins refused to go anywhere near the cabins where soldiers slept in Valley Forge. But she was eager to see the bathrooms used by soldiers.
Basil keeps telling me about this awesome thing he's going to do in Language A class, but he won't say exactly what it is. He was going to do it today, but he said that I'll have to wait a few days when I asked him about it in the middle of our performance.
Oh, the performance in Language A was of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream". I was Hermia, who was supposed to be in love with Lysander, who turned out to be none other than BASIL. I talk to him, but that doesn't change the fact that I loathe him and his conceitedness. Acting in love with him was pretty damn difficult, but it probably was for him too. Strawberry was Helena, hated by the man she loves, Demetrius, who was played by Basil's best friend Apple (remember, I use only nicknames on this blog). Basil's and Apple's roles really should have been switched.
Leo found it hilarious that Basil and I were "lovers". He started cracking up when I told him, after he asked me about my class' play. I guess that means we're (somewhat) friends again? But I'm not going to believe it, because he sometimes talks to me, causing me to think we're on a friendly basis, then ignores me afterwards.
Upcoming events:
-Spring Concert: tomorrow at 6 (I'm in 8th grade band and sax choir)
-Hershey Music Festival: Friday (then Hershey Park for 6 hours!)
-Graduation Dance: two Saturdays from today; Ryan's the only one who's asked me, but I said no because I think he was half joking, and I don't want to go with him anyway.
-Graduation itself: I don't know when!!!

"The Phantom Of The Opera is there... In your mind..."

A day or two ago, I got this incredible app for my iPod for $1.99 that gives me access to over 23,000 classic books. Right now, I'm obsessing over the Phantom Of The Opera. It's about this guy, the Vicomte de Chagny, named Raoul who's hopelessly in love with an opera singer named Christine Daae, who was his childhood friend. But Christine is under the influence of the feared Opera Ghost, Erik, who she believes is the Angel Of Music that her father told her about as a child, and this "Angel of Music" gives her lessons, but he's actually a really ugly, psychotic human. Who lives underground. And is super-ugly. And writes an endless, depressing song. And is incredibly ugly.
As for school, something... not so good happened. Luna and Genne know I like Leo (if you read yesterday's entry), and they kept begging me to ask him to the final 8th grade dance. I'm not the most traditional person, but I refuse to ask a guy. So they were pretty upset by that, and Luna asked if she could ask Leo if he was going to ask me, pretending I had no knowledge of her asking. I didn't see anything wrong with that plan, and I'd refused to ask him myself, so I agreed to that plan.
That was all yesterday. Today, our science class was in a lull and everyone crowded around our table to chat ('Cause we're cool like that. Woot.) and Leo was one of these people. Frenchy did this stupid joke where he says "High five!" but just before our palms met, he cupped his hand and sort of made it hop over mine, saying "Mexican!" This was supposed to be funny because Mexicans "hopped the border", but I thought it was really stupid. It's stupidity made us all laugh. Then, I started working on some Language Arts extra credit when, out of the corner of my eye, I registered Luna whispering something into Leo's ear.
I started to write more quickly, and Leo said "Maybe, but I might have something planned for that weekend," to Luna, so we can assume that the question asked was whether he was going to the dance. Then she leaned in to whisper into his ear again (huh, who knew that you could see so much of something without directly looking at it?) and they both looked at me. I continued to write furiously, and Leo finally responded "Maybe." After Ms.Sigman told everyone to go back to their seats, Genne told me what had passed between Luna and Leo. The first question guessed was correct, and the second question asked was whether he was taking me, and he had replied, as earlier mentioned, "Maybe." Normally, this response would be somewhat hopeful, if I hadn't heard him say it myself. It was a noncommital "maybe," he didn't mean it at all.
He ignored me for he rest of the day. Aw crap. In gym, we were outside playing flag tag. when a round was over and each team was walking back to their base (I was red, Leo was blue), I called his name as we passed each other and then said "Mexicoooooo!" while mimicking Frenchy's hand-hopping motion. He had laughed at it in class, but now he merely turned and kept walking. I stumbled mid-step, in shock, but Strawberry, who was walking right next to me, didn't even notice and instead asked me what the "Mexico" thing was about. Wah.
If I'd had a class with him in the afternoon, I might have gotten the chance to speak to him, but both of our classes together were in the morning, which never, EVER happens, so that was a piece of bad luck right there. *sigh* Stupid Memorial Day. Now I have to wait until Tuesday to get some answers!

Tackling the person sitting next to you. Please don't try it at home.

OKAY SO FIRST OFF.
I fixed the comment thingy, so people can actually comment now.
When I realized that I never got any comments, I asked Strawberry if it wasn't working or if no one was nice enough to comment. According to her, it was that second one.
Turns out, it actually wasn't working.
But it's fixed now. So comment. You know, if you want to.
ANYWAY.
Today, I tackled Frenchy.
It was in science class, at the end of the day. Me, Genne, and Luna were passing notes (well, not really "notes". more like a piece of paper torn from Luna's binder with writing all over it), and somehow a pleasnt conversation turned into them interrogating me about Leo. Basil came back from orchestra lessons when we were about 3/4 of the way through the paper, but just sat across from me, unusally silent. Maybe he was just tired, but it was still strange. Anyway, Frenchy snatched the paper from my hands, wondering what was so secretive about it, but since he had to use a lot of force to get it out of my hands, the momentum sent it fluttering to the floor to the right of his seat. I, however, sit to his left. My instinct was to get the paper before he did, and I reflexively lunged for it, but I ended up tackling him! Everyone in the class saw and started laughing, except for Leo, who was all immersed in a book.
Oh no. After a million gazillion attempts to have a sleepover here with Strawberry and Silver, my latest one has once again been ruined. By my mom's boyfriend, who's ruined every single one of my attempts.
Technically, it was already ruined, because he was once again coming over to stay for the weekend, meaning I couldn't have a sleepover here. I don't get it; he's never once invited my mom to set foot inside of his place, because it's "messy", but every single weekend he comes here and sleeps here and eats our food and I'm honestly sick of it!
Anyway, we'd planned it to be at Silver's house on Saturday night, which upset m,e because I'd really wanted them to come here, but it was better than nothing.
Well, too bad. Because nothing is what I just now got.
Every other weekend, I have to go stay at my dad's house (although he and my mom sometimes switch if I need to be somewhere for something important), and this weekend was my mom's weekend (obviously, since I planned to go to a sleepover this weekend) and two weekends from now was to be my dad's weekend. But the play's two weekends from now, meaning that I need to go to my dad's this weekend, meaning NO SLEEPOVER FOR MISTY.
I really hate the world right now. And I'm one of those people who see the silver linings of everything, so this is pretty tragic.

Basil the Jerk's Extreme Jerky Jerk-ness

I hate Basil. I really do. (if you're not sure who I'm talking about, please refer to the codename list somewhere on the side)
So, I sit at my science table with him, Frenchy, and Genne. Genne's usually really upbeat and loud, but sometimes she's in a really bad mood and doesn't want to talk to anyone, so she just puts her head in her arms and stays there for the entire science class and pretty much every other class I'm assuming.
Whenever she does this in science, Basil and Frenchy sing a song that goes "Genne. Is grumpy. She is very grumpy." and then they repeat that until she responds in some way.
So today, Basil went into his daily routine of mocking me about Leo, which annoys the hell out of me because Leo sits at the table next to us. But today he got a better idea. He started singing the 'Genne' song, but with different lyrics. Before I type out the lyrics, may I just say that until then I was staring at nothing but my vocab packet, which was due next class and which I hadn't finished.
It went like this: "Misty. Is in love. She is staring at Leo." And they repeated that over and over, loud enough for everyone to hear. Even Leo. I was so freaking mortified!
To get him to stop singing before I maimed him, I told him that I no longer liked Leo, that it ended last year. I swore. I never, ever swear anything unless it's completely true. So I just broke my unspoken golden rule right there. He didn't believe me, of course, since he doesn't know my code of honor. He asked his name, an I said he doesn't go to this school. You see, the first boy I thought of was Josh, from Violet's baseball game (if you've read any of my other entries). And it's true that he doesn't go to my school.
Basil asked for his name again, but both he and Josh are my friends on Facebook, and I didn't even want to think about what would happen if Basil figured that out, so I offered him the firstletter of his name instead, which was 'J'.
Unfortunately, Connor and Frenchy caught onto the song, and I was harassed with it in Language A (by Connor and Basil) and outside of French class (by the three of them).
Afterward, I completely avoided Leo, which was a little hard since his locker is right below mine. Whenever he was at his locker, I would go visit someone else's locker until he was gone. I know he heard the song, because he looked straight at me when it started, but I pretended that there was something extremely engrossing on the ceiling. Then in French, class ended ten minutes before dismissal, so we were all just chatting around the room, and I went to talk to Moo, and we started humming our parts from our band song, Wicked (yes, like the musical). Leo came up and started humming too, and when we got tired of harmonizing, Moo went away, and Leo and I ended up sitting, leaning against the wall, chatting and trying to stab each other with staples picked off the bulletin board.
So yeah, I think we're cool.

"I'll never be the same, if we ever meet again."

So, I'm in a really musicky mood right now. I actually always am on school band days, but today I found my mom's goldmine of old CDs, to download onto my iPod. I have a really old taste in music, for a modern-day teenager. Sitting in a pile in front of me are...
-Wings Greatest
-Sony Music-The Modern Era-1976-1999 (2-disc set)
-Great Classical Film Hits
-Foreigner Complete Greatest Hits
-Tom Petty-Full Moon Fever
-Pure 70s
-Aerosmith-Big Ones
-Santana-Supernatural
Unfortunately, the Aerosmith CD doesn't have "Dream On", which I really like. It was on Glee last night though, which I watched for the first time and absolutely loved, and I'll get the Glee version on iTunes. =]

They say talking to your pets means you're not mentally healthy, but what if you sell them something?

Today, I sold my dog an affordable vacation to Washington D.C., including hotel and airfare. Does this mean Misty's lost it? Maybe. But I did it beause I've just realized that I have no idea what I would like to be whn I grow up, so I've decided to act out different occupations. I got some old briefcases and papers of my mom's, and Tallie (my dog) as my client. I've already talked to her about her puppy's performance in the second grade at a dog-teacher conference. This time, I tried being a saleswoman, selling vacations. Organizing the hotel an airfare was somewhat fun, but I don't see much of a future for me in that. Tomorrow, I'm going to try being a lawyer. Tallie is the defendant, I her lawyer, and it is The Case Of The Missing Cheesy Puff. I need to set up evidence first, like a trail of cheese and such. This should be fun. In relation to the same case, the day after tomorrow I will be a forensic investigator, with my CSI chemical testing lab. I got it a couple of Christmases ago, but honestly, it looked too complicated to be bothered with "just for fun". Now, I actually have a reason to use it! I think I'll save "doctor" for Thursday or Friday.
And another thing I realized? Fourteen is an awful age to be. Well, fourteen and a couple of surrounding years. We're old enough to be interested in the opposite gender, but too young for our parents to be fine with us dating. So what the heck are we supposed to do now? Also, we're too young to be in most places without an adult, although we're old enough to have gained the independent teenager spirit. At this age, we try and try to think for ourselves, but we're restricted because this age is considered "too young". It hardly makes sense.
Hm. I would like to try something called...
A Moment In Time: 11:00-Art Room-School
I lean in closer to my drawing, my sunburned nose nearly touching my too-clean, too-white paper. It needs some color, some imagination. The assignment is to create the shop of your dreams, and mine contains a machine that can make books come to life, or rather, place humans inside of one, the words becoming reality. Then contact lenses that continuously change color, from blue to purple to red to-
I feel a soft tap on my shoulder, and know that it must be Moo (a nickname for one of Strawberry's very first crushes), because he is the only person I know of who is old-fashioned enough to tap on my shoulder instead of simply calling my name. Also, he sits right behind me. I turn my head half an inch to the right, giving a non-commital "Hmmm?"
"Wicked, measure 40"
In band, our favorite piece of music is a collection of songs from the Broadway musical Wicked, and it is especially a favorite of Moo's, who sits two seats from me in band. He repeats his request to Leo, who sits to his right and plays the trumpet (I play bass clarinet, Moo plays tenor saxophone) and right there, in the middle of art class, we begin humming our parts in unison, the different rhythms and notes blending into a complex, intense melody.
I don't know what it was, being in our own little bubble in art class, music and the arts, but that moment made me simply happy, like coming home after hiking through a blizzard to a roaring fireplace and hot cocoa. Home at school.
Oh, were you reading this, waiting for something exciting to happen? Sorry to have diappointed, but if you don't see the point to this, make your own three person band in the middle of art class and then my happiness will make sense. Go on. Nothing to lose.

So, yeah, I'm a Yankees fan. Don't hate me.

Where can you have popcorn flung at the back of your head by 8-year-olds, while kicking empty beer bottles back and forth under your feet, while standing up every couple of minutes to either cheer or get out of someone's way? Yankee Stadium, woot woot!
Today, for the first time, I went to the new Yankees stadium. I was wearing a Yankees bracelet, Yankees themed watch, Rodriguez t-shirt, Yankees/Nike jacket, and inaugural season Yankees baseball cap. Oh, and Nike sneakers to go with the brand new jacket. Call it overbearing, but I was so extremely proud of that outfit, which I am still wearing.
Yankees crushed the Minnesota Twins, 7-1. In the eighth inning, someone started a wave in the bleachers that went around the entire stadium 5 times. Pretty much everyone participated in it. Such good sports. Get it? Get it? Meh.
So, I haven't blogged in three days, but fear not! I have a valid excuse! I had a crapload of homework. I still do, actually, but it's the weekend, so whatever. I stayed up until 11 working both of those nights, and by the time I got in bed, it was about midnight, meaning I got less than 7 hours of sleep each night. This weekend, I have to do all of my reflections for the book 'Night', but that's my own fault because we were supposed to do each of them while reading the book. Apparently, I'm going to be less lazy when I get to high school, with all of my classes being honors and no lunch. People say I will die. I'm starting to think that I will.

She said WHAT NOW?

What the flapjack. Me and Sarah say "What the" and then a random noun beginning with F when we're upset. Yes, I'm upset.
Two of my closest friends are going out. I was the only person they told, and I took it very seriously. I was dying to tell someone, but that would make me an awful friend, and I really do value friendship.
Well, Nat found their names on my blog (I took them down already) and posted it on her blog! I didn't even use their real names, but she basically copied and pasted the sentence or two in which I spoke about it into one of her entries, not even saying that it was my info, and it was confidential. Then, she tells them that I was telling a bunch of people about them! "Them" being the two of my closest friends who are going out, who now dislike me. Um, wth Nat? Passing it off as your own gossip, then accusing me of telling everyone? I think you'll probably read this, and I'm not so mad as much as betrayed. Sorry if this makes you mad at me though, but it's the truth. Can you please leave the two of them alone, and not tell secrets that don't belong to you? Please?

Green's my favorite color; maybe it's because I get jealous so easily.

The world is conspiring against me. Within the past week, half of my best friends have started dating. Not just Violet and Zucker, but others who I'm not allowed to name. So where will that leave me? Lonely and senile, watching Hallmark romance-comedies and eating out of a tub of ice cream, that's where. I have to be careful about what I say now, though. Apparently, even trying to create a hidden blog doesn't stop my classmates from reading it. So, I've accepted that these entries may be read by people I know and will post accordingly. That translates to "I will post nothing to humiliate myself."
The dance has seemed to be an era away for these past few months, but I've just realized that it's way sooner than I realized. In a month or so, along with the Hershey Music Festival and the Six Flags field trip, and the graduation ceremony. Gah. So overwhelming. I don't and probably never will have a date to the dance, so I won't linger on that too much.
My dream last night: Me living in an old, dark house with a senile old lady who's afraid to leave home. For good reason. Every night at 8 p.m. a nearly headless ghost (I'm guessing he was based on Nearly-Headless Nick from Harry Potter) circles around the house over and over. Then, at 1 a.m., the headless horseman circles the house over and over.
Interpretation? I'm guessing that I'm the old lady, with no one to love. Didn't I picture myself being senile and alone? Stupid dance. What do the headless ghosts mean, though? I really have no idea how to interpret that. Please make suggestions.
Also, when I checked my horoscope this morning on my iPod Touch, it said that I was nervous about an upcoming social event. Not particularly about the event itself, but about the people that will be there. I swear, that thing reads my mind.
I think the universe is trying to send signs, and call me stupid, but I'm not getting the message.

P.S.

I'm trying to stick to no more than one post a day, but this one doesn't really count.
Strawberry sent me the most amazing comic, which is strange in itself since I'm not much of a comic fan.
But here it is; please read it if you get the chance.
http://www.lackadaisycats.com/index.php

Romance Is In The Air... (Part Deux)

Are all of my best friends simultaneously falling in love with each other? Really, first Violet and Zucker, and now...um...two other people? I just found out today; I had no idea when I began the "Romance Is In The Air" entry, honest. If anyone was told before I was, I swear I will...
Never mind, I'll just continue from where I left off yesterday. This is "part deux" after all. I was going to explain this in much more detail, but really, I'm not in the mood. Violet invited me to a Camden Riversharks baseball game, because she had won their bookmark design contest and got to throw the first pitch at a game, in addition to box seats and 25 extra tickets. I received one of the tickets to the game, which took place on Friday night. Turns out, she invited someone not from our school as well. Josh, from her summer camp. We became very good friends within the next four to five hours, and I have to admit, it was the most fun I've ever had with a boy. Apparently, Nat and Ani expected us to start making out at any moment (as I read later on Nat's blog). Ani took a video of us on her cellphone, which I was dying to see, but she didn't save it. I could have strangled her in advisory, right in front of our humanities teacher.
I'm going to tell Leo to ask Silver to the dance. Yes, I like him, but so does she, and honestly, she's probably the one he likes more. They've known each other since birth, literally. I feel like the "bad guy" in a romance story ruining the relationship that fate intended to occur. I was going to tell Leo to do it when we were at the water park, but I never got the chance. Love is screwed up, y'all know that?

Romance is in the air...

Maybe it's the warmer weather, but everything seems to be tinted with amore.
Today, me, Leo, Silver, Strawberry, Violet, and Zucker went to a water park together. Leo, Silver, and I were excited, because we knew that Zucker was going to ask Violet to the 8th grade Farewell Dance today. Leo and Silver only knew because I told them, and I ended up telling Strawberry about half an hour later, because I couldn't stand having her not know. She started jumping up and down and screaming, and Zucker shot me a death glare.
Later, we decided to go onto the huge water slide, the one that had tubes able to fit five people at a time. Unfortunately, there were six of us, so we didn't have any choice besides splitting into two groups. These are the groups I suggested: me, Leo, Silver, and Strawberry; then Zucker and Violet. I had to give him some sort of opportunity sooner or later, after all. Violet pretended to be upset at us for abandoning her, and I think she could tell something was going on, but she went along with it. My group went first, screaming the entire way, and at the bottom we stopped and waited for Violet and Zucker. To our disappointment, they came out looking totally bored.
This time I gave Zucker a death glare, because I had given him a chance to ask Violet, and he screwed it up. We were arguing about boredom on water rides (we can form an argument out of pretty much anything) when he whispered in my ear "But the good news is, now Violet's my date to the dance."
I had a Strawberry moment. I screamed in his ear and did a mini dance while hopping up and down. They spent most of the next three hours alone together. We lapped them in the lazy river, because they were so caught up in talking, and they continued to go on the water slides alone together. To be honest, it was bittersweet. More sweet than bitter though. I was happy that Zucker finally got the courage to do something about his year-long, if not longer, crush on Violet. And I'm also happy for Violet, who's one of my best friends and deserves to go to the dance with a nice guy. But, I'm just the teeniest bit jealous, because while they've spent the entire day completly absorbed in each other, I was reminded about how alone and boyless I am. No biggie, though. It's great that it happened at last. Seriously, it's about time.
What happened last night will also take a while to explain, so...
To be continued...

Let's try some new titles: 5/5/2010

The end is near. Not the end of the world, silly! The end of the school year, and also the end of middle school. In less than two months, I'll say goodbye to Rosa Middle, and I'll be forced to prepare for high school. If I have two or more classes with Leo, then I'll look forward to high school, but right now, since we haven't gotten our schedules yet, I'm absolutely dreading it.
Of course, there's a lot of events to look forward to before the year ends. There's the Hershey Music Festival for one thing, and speaking of which, 7th/8th grade band will dominate this year. Last year, we came in 2nd place by, get this, 0.75 points! After we perform, we get to spend six hours cavorting around Hershey Park, which will be tons of fun!
Then, there's the annual 8th grade field trip to Six Flags Great Adventure. Hopefully, we'll get to go to the water park because I'm terribly afraid of any roller coaster. Even the ones for five-year-olds. Don't laugh! However, I can go on the highest water slides in any water park and have tons of fun. I actually wrote an essay for school about my fear of roller coasters.
There's also the graduation dance, which will be heldon a Saturday several week from now. All the girls aren't really planning to go together, like they do before other dances, because they're all secretly hoping that a guy will ask them. Then again, I'm doing the exact same thing. My dress for the dance arrived in the mail about a week ago; the theme is nautical and cruiseshippy, so my dress as white with thin, dark blue stripes.
Then, there's the actual graduation ceremony, but I don't give a crap about that.