In My Own Little World
Part 6

"Emily? Emily? Are you still there?" Emily's friend Jamie was frantically trying to get her to start to speak again on the phone. Finally, the shock wore off and Emily began to stutter. "Y-you mean, he...he invited....he invited ASHLEY to the party...b-but not...but not ME?!" The last part came out as a yell. Jamie had just been telling her about Shaun's party, which everyone except Emily had been invited to, when she happened to mention that Emily's worst enemy had been there. Emily couldn't believe it. Shaun could invite Ashley, but not Emily?! During the summer he'd PROMISED to invite her to his party!! But then he didn't even tell her it was his birthday! "Well.....you didn't miss much, just when I covered that Bit--er, that, er, female dog from head to toe in Silly string." "And I MISSED it!!!!!" wailed Emily.
     Emily knew that she'd missed much more than that. For the past week, everyone had been talking endlessly about the party that they'd all gone to. All except Emily, who Shaun hadn't invited. Now there were about fifty inside jokes that Emily didn't understand.
And is was just making her feel so depressed and lonely inside. "Jamie? I've got to go." "Ok. Um, Emily?" "Yeah?" "Are you sure you're all right? I mean, Shaun's not something you should get worked up over. But you seem kinda..." "Kinda what?" "Kinda worked up over it." "Oh. I'm fine. I just feel like going to see The Guys." Jamie knew what she meant. "Ok. Tell them I said hi, k?" "Yupp. Bye." "Bye."
     For a moment Emily just sat there, staring at the phone. Then she went over and lay down on the couch, where she closed her eyes and immediately opened them somewhere else......
   "Hey, Em! Want to go for a walk? Mia told us to go get Sage. He's off meditating and it's already time for supper!" Kento looked excited. "And you KNOW Kento wouldn't want to miss supper!" laughed Cye. "Well, I haven't eaten in two full hours, and I'm HUNGRY!" exclaimed Kento, rubbing his stomach. "Sure, I'll come along!" Emily's sad expression changed to a smile as she forgot Shaun and Ashley and the whole stupid party completely and skipped over the rocks to cross the stream. It was so nice to go somewhere where people INCLUDED her. "Hi Aquarius!" Emily smiled an even bigger smile when she saw the fish. "Are you and Hope having fun?" Hope was a fish that Cye had once brought back to life for Emily when she was sad, giving her hope, and therefore Emily named her that. Hope and Aquarius swam in circles around each rock as she stepped on it. For a moment, she stopped on her favorite reading spot, a big flat rock that lay in the middle of the wide stream. She loved to bring a book and skip out to the rock and then just stretch out and read for hours. The rock was high enough that she didn't get wet from the spray, but low  enough so that she could stop reading every now and then and just watch Aquarius and Hope play.play. It was so peaceful...
     "Emily?! Are you COMING?!" Emily grinned as she heard Kento interrupting her thoughts. She knew he was starving and couldn't
wait for dinner. THAT was nothing new. Mr.Bottomless-Pit stood on the other side of the stream, waiting impatiently with Cye for her to cross. Emily skipped over the last three rocks and landed on the other side of the stream. Then she raced ahead to a familiar circle of trees. In the middle of the circle, on a large rock, sat Sage, meditating.
     "So," Cye asked slyly when he and Kento had caught up, "How should we wake him up THIS time?" It was tradition for the three of them to find a new way to wake Sage up form him meditation every time it was their turn. "Well..." Emily was still trying to think of a good way when there was suddenly a yell and something swung out of the forest by a rope. Emily made her startled noise (which she had only made twice before in her entire life) and jumped a foot, but Kento just grabbed the figure around the waist as it went swinging by.
     "Rowen you jerk!" Emily walked over and hit him good-naturedly on the arm. "You scared the hell out of me!" "Well," Rowen laughed, "at least I came up with a good way to wake Sage up!" It was true. Sage WAS awake. "Supper time?" he looked at them questioningly. "Yeah," Kento echoed, "Supper time?" "Yupp!" grinned Rowen. "You guys took so long getting Sage that Mia got worried, and or course she needed her--" he put on a high-pitched voice, imitating Mia, "her brave, strong, Ryo," Rowen went back to his New-York accent, "And she sent ME out after you!" "I KNEW you spent too much time on that rock!" Kento yelled, and so as revenge, he picked her up and started to carry her back to Mia's for supper upside down.  But about halfway he noticed that she didn't look so good, and so he let her walk the rest of the way.
     Halfway there, Emily just plopped down on her reading rock and refused to go any farther. "You guys go on," she said. "I've got to go home, and anyways I don't feel so good after being carried upside down for half a mile," she gave Kento a fake looking glare. She knew he'd just been teasing. "Besides, can you IMAGINE what Mia would DO to you if I you walked in with me and I passed out?" At this, Kento agreed. She gave each Ronin a hug goodbye and watched them leave. But she didn't go back immediately. She lay down on her stomach and watched Aquarius swimming around the stream bottom. "Where's Hope?" she asked him, looking worried. Aquarius poked his little fish nose into a little clump of seaweed and out swam Hope. They both looked up at Emily for a moment before resuming their game of what seemed to be underwater tag. Emily knew what they were trying to tell her. Hope never leaves. There is always hope.

More to Come from Emi!!
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