conversations. En Espanol, por favor' Senora Coles said to the class as she walked to her desk in the back of the room.
I turned around to face Todd, and found him staring at my wrist. I wore a long-sleeved sweater to cover up the bruise, but you could still see some of the brown and blue. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't think of what to say.
Todd, said something, but his voice was so low, I couldn't hear him.
'Que? I asked.
Todd, looked over at me. 'Lo siento, Margarita, Lo siento.'
He looked exhausted. Before I could say anything, the bell rang. I started to collect my books. When I walked out of the class Todd, was waiting for me.
'I really meant it, Penny. I'm sorry.' His face was red, and he was slouching up against the lockers right outside of class. 'thanks, Todd,'
He gave me a weak smile before he headed to his next class.
Todd, just didn't seem like Todd, unless he was making a joke or goofing around. I felt a little sad — how much else could possibly change? I could hardly keep up as it was.
By lunch the entire school knew that not only had Todd, gotten drunk on Saturday night, but his parents had caught him, and this morning they'd met with Principal Braddock, who'd had no choice but to suspend Todd, from the basketball team for three games.
Now I understood why Todd, was so upset. Even though it was his own fault, 'So. .' Jen said as Morgan sat down, 'Where did you and Tyson run off to after the party?'
Morgan blushed.
'Nice!' Jen laughed. 'I see it was a successful evening all around.'
'Oh, leave her alone,' Diane said.
'Actually, this is sort of what I wanted to talk about,' Tracy said.
Morgan looked horrified.
'No,' Tracy shook her head. 'I meant about the Club.' She started to hand everybody a sheet of paper.
My heart jumped when it got to me. I was a little hurt that this was the first I was seeing of it. I knew we talked about it, but still. .
The New and Improved Rules of. The Lonely Hearts Club Heretofore are thy official rules for members of 'the Lonely Hearts Club.' All members must agree to such terms or thy membership shall be struck from thy record.
Members are allowed to date, but must never, ever forget that their friends come first and foremost.
Members are not allowed to date jerks, tools, liars, scum of the earth, or basically anybody who doesn't treat them well.
Members are required to attend all Club meetings on Saturday nights. No member shall wuss out on attending due to a date with a boy. Exceptions are still for family emergencies and bad hair days only, Members will attend all couple events together as a group, including, but not limited to, Homecoming, Prom, parties, and other couply events. Members may choose to bring a boy with them, but said male attends event at his own risk.
Members must first and foremost be supportive of their friends, no matter what choices they make. What matters most is for us to stick together.
And most of all, under no circumstances, shall anybody take what is said in the Club and use it against someone, You all know what I'm referring to.
Violators of the rules are subject to membership disqualification, public humiliation, vicious rumors, and possible beheading.
As people started reading, there was a lot of head nodding and verbal support for the new rules. I looked over and saw that Tracy was waiting for a reaction from me. 'What do you say, boss lady?'
'Let's make this a group vote. All in favor of the new rules;' All the hands at the table shot up.
'Thank God!' Tracy exclaimed. 'Michelle, can you please start dating my brother again so he'll talk to me?'
Michelle started to blush.
'Here, invite him to the party.' Amy started passing out envelopes. 'There is one for each of you, but feel free to bring a guest. Even male ones.' She winked at Morgan.
Amy handed me mine, which had 'Penny Lane, Fearless Leader' written neatly on the front. She was throwing a big holiday party for the Club after our final exams.
We all started talking about the party, and I looked over at Tracy again. She hadn't mentioned a word to me about what she'd seen between me and Ryan. And I didn't feel like bringing any more drama into my life. I just needed to survive my finals.
'Hey, Teresa,' I yelled across the table. 'You took Spanish three last year, right?'
'Si,' Teresa responded.
A lightbulb went off in my head.
'Hey, guys.' I stood up and everybody stopped talking. 'Maybe we should use the next couple meetings to do study groups for finals.' I heard some groans. 'I know, I know, but think for a second. We can all help one another with our finals, especially members who have been in classes the year before.'
I wanted to get even better grades this semester, just to prove Principal Braddock wrong. And, of course, I wanted everybody in the Club to ace their exams. When Jen had gone to the office that morning to give Braddock the money, he'd just grunted while he counted the bills.
Could anything make that man happy?
IT WAS WEIRD, BECAUSE EVEN though I was a believer in Club secrecy, I wanted someone to let Ryan know the new rules.
And at the same time, I still wasn't sure I was ready to date again, to take the risk that it wouldn't work out. it was so unfair: the more I liked Ryan, the more I knew he could break my heart.
I decided a study session was a safe non-date. So I invited Ryan over to review World History, He seemed a little surprised by the invitation, but didn't hesitate to say yes.
'So exactly how do you know all this inside information?' Ryan asked me, as we went over notes in my basement, 'Oh, I've got my resources.' I took out a map of Nazioccupied Europe during World War it.
During Saturday's meeting, I'd found out that Ms. Barnes had asked a lot about World War it last year, I knew teachers didn't use the same exams, but it was good to get the scoop on what they had done before.
Plus, I didn't consider it cheating, as we weren't given any answers, just information on what happened the past year. I took anything I could get.
'Oh, hello, Ryan,' Mom said, coming downstairs. 'Do you want to stay for dinner?'
Ryan looked at me and I shrugged. 'That would be great. Thanks, Mrs. Bloom.'
Mom looked at both of us with a big smile on her face. It wasn't like we were up to anything — there were textbooks spread across the floor, and Ryan and I were at least a few feet apart. I kept looking at her, waiting for her to say something, but she was just staring at us.
'Mom..!' 'Oh, sorry!' She headed back upstairs.
Could that woman, for once in her life, just try, try to not embarrass me?
Although I was pretty impressed with myself, both Ryan and I had been able to be friends for nearly two weeks without any drama.
That seemed to be our agreement. I did sometimes think about him in non-appropriate friend ways, but I was only human.
'Any big plans during the break?' Ryan got up and stretched. I looked at the clock, surprised that we had been studying for two hours straight.
'Wedding dress shopping.' I unfolded my legs and tried to get feeling back in my left foot.
