One Wish Chapter 6

Here is chapter six. Sorry for the long wait for it. Please read chapter five first, at Jennifer's blog. Then you can read this.

Chapter Six: Penelope

I ran to the bus the next morning, wanting to hear what Rachel had found out. I was so antsy and excited, I was barely myself. I generally hid this kind of behavior, but today I didn't care. I ran onto the bus when it pulled up and ran to the back, not sparing anyone a glance on either side. Everyone turned their attention to me. I ignored it.

"Hey Meg. Have you heard from Rachel?" I asked in a breath.

"No..." Megan said slowly. "Are you alright, Pen?" She looked concerned.

"I'm fine, why?" I asked, confused.

"Because you aren't dressed at all like normal, for one. You are wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. So uncool, as you would say. Secondly, you ran down the bus aisle, like nobody was looking at you, which was an understatement, everyone was staring at you. Thirdly, you're all flushed and antsy, not at all yourself. What's the matter with you?" Megan demanded. I looked at myself. All of that she had said was true. But I was spared answering because Rachel came walking towards us.

"Hi Rach!" I said quickly. "Did you manage to get anything out of Gregory yesterday?" I asked. Megan looked amazed, then annoyed, then curious, and then annoyed again.

"Yes, I did." Rachel said decidedly.

"Then tell!" I said impatiently.

"Not until Kate gets here." She replied firmly. And nothing I said or did would persuade her otherwise.

It seemed like forever until Kate finally got on the bus. When she did, she seemed down, not her usual self either.

"What's wrong, Kate?" Rachel asked her kindly. I cared for Kate, and took care of her along with the rest, but I didn't feel like putting up with it today, not when I was desperate to hear Rachel's news.

"Nothing." She said morosely. Then, with some obvious effort, she smiled. "So, do I get to hear about Mark?" She said perkily.

"Rachel was going to tell us when you got here." I said. And then I turned to Rachel. "Tell, please." I was almost out of patience.

"Well..." She began, a grin lighting up her face. We all waited with baited breath. "I'm not telling you right now. You'll find out at lunch." She grinned at us and opened her bag to look for a book. It took all my efforts to keep me from shaking her and making her tell. I scowled at her and turned away to look out the window. I wondered why she felt like keeping me in so much suspense. It was irritating.

*****

At lunch, I sat at my table with my friends. I was to antsy to eat. I grabbed Rachel's arm when she sat down.

"Come on, Rach, tell us!" I begged. She looked slightly surprised, but that
expression was soon covered by one of sympathy and regret. I wondered at that, but ignored it.

"Okay. You have to wait a bit though, I want to finish my lunch." She said firmly, and I let it at that. I didn't want to loose my friends. That was something I wouldn't do. I ate my lunch in silence. We all did. Rachel had a knowing smile on her face while the rest of us were antsy and agitated. Megan was annoyed because I wasn't being proper and cool. Kate was antsy and angry, though none of us knew why. I was antsy, agitated, and waiting for Rachel to finish her lunch already.

Megan picked up her burrito wrap, and took a bite. I was fidgeting so much, I almost dropped my Jello. She smirked at me. I didn't understand it. Why would she be smirking at me, and being so smug? Had Rachel told her already? Or was she just jealous, that I might have a boyfriend, when she didn't even like anyone. Although half the boys in our grade had a crush on her. Maybe it was just that. Or maybe not.

I was done with my lunch and waiting for Rachel to stop eating so slowly when I heard someone walking towards us. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I looked up.

It was Mark, looking down at me with a smile on his face.

I almost fainted.

"Hey, Penelope." He said softly. My friends had all looked up at me now. At us.

"Hi." I said quickly. I was wondering at this. What had happened? What was happening? What would happen now?

"I was wondering, would you like to sit with me, on the bus home?" He said fast, as if slightly scared, a bit excited, and a bit of something I couldn't recognize. He looked at me with hope in his eyes, hoping that I would say--

"Umm, sure." I said, my voice higher than usual. He smiled at me again, and I smiled back. He patted my shoulder and turned to go back to his table. I watched him go. Rachel tapped me on the shoulder.

"I did say I'd tell you at lunch." She said. It took me a second for that to sink in. Then I hugged Rachel.

"Thank you so much, Rach. I owe you millions." I said. And I meant it. "If you ever need me to do something for you, just ask."

"Sure, sure. I get it. Now let me finish my lunch." She grinned and punched me lightly on the shoulder.

Those two minutes at the lunch table made my day. I went through the rest of the day with a smile on my face. It felt like a glow of happiness floated around me, as if everyone could see how happy I was. I knew that wasn't true, but I was so happy, I didn't care.

*****

My last class of the day was music. This was my one class with Megan, who played the clarinet. She happened to be the best clarinet player in the whole class, something that I was envious of. But today I didn't care that she sat at the front of her section, and that I sat in the back of mine. I was happy.

I grabbed my flute out of the case, and the top piece fell out. Megan snorted as she walked by with her own clarinet. She didn't even bother to help out. I felt a small bit of irritation at that. Normally, she would have helped me. I wondered what was up with her. She wasn't acting as friendly as normal. In fact, she was almost ignoring me. It made me wonder.

Today we were combining the whole band. Every section. So I would see Mark. I took a deep breath and grasped my flute. I was nervous about seeing him, especially with what he had said at lunch. But I figured if I just smiled at him, everything would be fine.

When the trumpet players stepped onto the stage, I saw Mark near the front. He looked like he was looking for someone. Oh, right. Me. I smiled at him. He saw me and smiled back. I turned back to my music and lifted my flute to practice. A horrible squeak came out of my flute. I flinched, and put it down quickly, hoping Mark hadn't realized it was me who had squeaked so badly. I peeked out of the corner of my eye, hiding behind my music stand. I saw him grinning, laughing with Gregory. He probably had heard it.

*****

I got out of music quickly and ran to my locker. I dropped off my music and grabbed my math homework. Stuffing it in my bag, I shut the locker and ran to where the bus stopped. I sat down on the sidewalk, my bag in my lap. I waited.

A few minutes later, I heard the big rush of kids coming out of Emerald High School. I got up to avoid being trampled, but I still got smashed into. I fell over with the rush of oncoming kids. I rolled onto my back, struggling to get up.

"Need a hand?" I heard a voice say. It was Mark. He held out a hand and I took it, using it to pull myself up.

"Thanks." I said. He grinned. We began walking to avoid getting trampled again. We were at the bus stop before I realized we were still holding hands. I quickly let go. He noticed. I grinned sheepishly, and he understood. I held back a sigh of relief.

The bus pulled up to the stop, and I raced on, trying to keep up with Mark. We raced to the back of the bus and into a seat. He grabbed the window seat, so I perched on the edge. I grinned up at him, and he smiled back.

"I heard you playing your flute today." He said, grinning. "You sounded good."

"Yea, right. I sounded like there was an elephant in my flute." I said, grimacing. He had heard.

"That's okay, practice makes perfect. You didn't hear me squeak." He replied.

"You? Squeak?" I asked, not believing it.

"Yep. Louder than you, too, but at least it was during the piece. No wonder you didn't hear it." He said laughingly. "You were so absorbed in that piece, it looked like you were in love with it." He laughed. I laughed too, ignoring his jibe at my musicality. Our talk about music lead to other discussions, and I was sad when my stop arrived. I sighed and got up.

"Hey, don't look sad. I'll save you a seat on the bus tomorrow. And, do you want to sit with me at lunch?" He asked quickly.

"Sure!" I said cheerily. I got off the bus and walked to my house. I had a boyfriend! And it was none other than Mark Briant, the boy who I had a crush on. My wish was coming true!