One Wish Chapter 8

Well, Jennifer accidentally posted chapter 7 as well, so here comes chapter 8. Be sure to read the chapters in order please.

Chapter Eight: Penelope

"Penelope, all you do lately is hang out with Mark! You don't even sit on the bus with us anymore! What's gotten into you?" Megan exclaimed.

"Pen, I know you like him, but you're spending all your time with him. And all you talk about is, guess what, him. You should think about getting a life." Kate said matter of factly.

"Gosh, Sparrow, you don't have to go on and on about your stupid boyfriend, we all know. You don't have to tell us again."

This was what I heard almost all the time now. My life was stuck between a living hell and a living heaven. Mark hadn't kissed me yet, but I kept thinking it would be soon. My life was perfect with him, but when I was on my own, I couldn't stop talking about him. And then that was what I heard. One day Mark was sick, so he wasn't at school. That was the first time in a very long time I sat with Megan, Kate and Rachel. Rachel seemed calm, and Kate had a cold, so she wasn't talking much. But Megan had been very clear about what she had thought. It disturbed me a bit. But when I was with Mark, I didn't care.

"I know, but, well, you'd understand if you had a boyfriend," was my lame excuse almost every time. Kate rarely talked to me on AIM anymore, and I suspected Megan had blocked me. But Rachel just seemed, well, watchful, it looked like. It looked like she was just waiting for me to slip up, so she could help pick up the pieces. It bothered me, because I didn't think I would fall apart. And besides, how could I slip up? Mark liked me just as much as I liked him.

So I didn't realize when someone began to spread rumors about me. I wasn't listening, that was it. But slowly, people began to avoid me, as if I had a contagious disease. Megan seemed smugger than usual, but I never thought something was up. One day, though, it seemed like Megan had had enough.

"Hey, Pen." She said to me. We were getting on the bus. Mark was playing with my hair, and I was giggling.

"Hi, Meg." I said back. Mark said a quick hi to Megan.

"I was wondering, can you sit with me on the bus today? I need to talk to you for a bit." She said, biting her lower lip. I wondered what was up. Mark looked down at me questioningly.

"Okay." I said slowly. Mark frowned, then nodded, walking over to Gregory. I twirled a piece of my hair nervously. I hadn't worn any jewelry today to fuss with, what I normally did when I was nervous. I sat down with Megan in the way back, where we had sat when we all sat together. Kate and Rachel sat in the opposite seats. Rachel looked out the window, while Kate leaned in.

"I have some gossip to dish, and you need to hear it." Megan said firmly. I nodded. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could get back to Mark.

"Okay. Tell." I said.

"Well, it's about..." She said, stalling. I frowned at her.

"You never stall. Tell." I said. "I don't care who it's about."

"Oh yes you do. It's about you." She said quickly. My frown deepened. There was always gossip about me. "No, not the normal gossip." She said, as if she read my mind. "It's different." She paused again.

"Dish." I said.

"Well, I don't know who said it," she began. Her face turned into a grimace when she said that, so I knew something was up. She always knew. "But I've heard that people heard that you--, that Mark is going out with someone else, and you didn't care." she sort of finished.

"What?" I said, and then realized what she had just said. I had been thinking about other things. "OH. No way! Where did you hear that? That is so wrong!" I growled. "Who said it, Megan. I don't care who, I want to make sure they never say it again."

"I don't know!" She said, annoyed. I thought there was something behind that, but I ignored it. "I'll try to find out, promise." She said without an ounce of fervor in her voice that there usually was surrounding gossip. I frowned, then turned to look out the window. It was my stop.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." I said, as I picked up my bag and got off the bus, blowing Mark a kiss as I ran off. The whole bus filled with kissy noises, but I ignored them.

*****

The next day, I ran over to Megan at lunch.

"Did you find out who said it?" I said quickly.

"No, sorry. But I heard something else..." She said. She seemed very excited to tell this piece of gossip, like her normal self. But she had never seemed so excited about it when it was about me. It made me wonder who exactly was making this gossip.

"Spill." I said, plopping down on the bench besides her.

"Well, they're saying that first thing. But they're also saying that you're going out with someone else behind Mark's back, that you're a double cheater." She said. She looked mischievous. I growled, she grinned. That made no sense. Why would she grin at some bad gossip about me? Unless she knew who was making it. Then something clicked in my brain.

"Megan! Why you dirty little b****! Double cheater, am I? What can you say to that?!" I shouted. The whole area turned to look. Mark, his mouth half full, looked over with concern in his eyes.

"Why would you spread that about me!? Your best friend!" I screamed.

"Best friend? I've been better friends with a turtle!" She screamed back at me. "You spend all your time with your stupid boyfriend, and we're supposed to understand? 'If you had a boyfriend, you'd understand,' you say. Well, I don't think so! Especially since you're not the only person with a boyfriend around here and they don't spend every waking moment with them!" Megan shouted. She was on her feet now, and so was I. We were both red in the face, and furious. Rachel was half out of her seat, looking like she was trying to keep peace, but not sure where to begin.

"Oh, so I spend every waking moment with Mark, do I?" I screamed, past caring that half the cafeteria was listening in. "What about you, spreading rumors about me behind my back? Rumors that are not even close to true! I think that is worse!"

"Yea, right." Megan snorted. "You don't care, as long as you're with Mark. You don't give a damn."

"You think that, don't you. Well, it's not true! It's not--" I began, but then I broke off. I realized that I was wrong. I had spent all my time with Mark, not even caring about my friends.

"See?" Megan saw my moment of hesitation. "You don't care. Why should you? You have Mark." She turned and walked away. Slowly, everyone turned their attention back to each other, talking in whispers. I ran out after Megan.

"Meg! Megan!" I shouted. I looked for her, but didn't find her. I slumped on the side of the hallway.

"Penny?" It was Mark, walking down the hall.

"Hi, Mark." I said, but not with my normal enthusiasm. He noticed, and sat down next to me, putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Penny, you don't care about those rumors, do you? I mean, we both know they're not true." He said softly. I turned away.

"I care. I care that they aren't true, and they were spread by my best friend. That's not right." I said. He pulled my face up, so he could see it. I blinked back tears.

"You don't need to. Ignore her. You deserve better friends than her." He said firmly.

"But that's not the same." I turned my head back away. "I love you, but some times I just wish you didn't love me." I said softly, holding his hands. Then the strangest thing happened. My heart seemed to split in two. Mark frowned, and stood up. Gently, he took my head, and he kissed my forehead. Then he walked away. Half of my heart went with him.

"Mark!" I said, starting to stand up. But he didn't even hear me. He just walked away. It was as if my only wish was coming undone at the seams, just when it had been sewed together. I stopped walking and looked down sadly.

"I should have known that was coming." A perk voice said. I turned. It was Megan. She grinned maliciously. "I guess now you'll be wanting to hang out with us again, right? Well, you're wrong. Because we wont hang out with you." She walked away from me. I took one step towards her, and then I ran. I ran into the bathroom. I didn't make it any further. I fell, slumped on the floor, and started to cry.