The next day Alicia was still in depressed spirits, even though she had gotten a lot off her chest the night previous. Just thinking about the way life used to be for her was really depressing. She never wanted it to be like that again. But for today, she was trying to be elusive and not to talk to people, like she did back in Ackensburg.
And the news of something that was spreading around didn�t help the cause either.
In between French and History, Megan and Dani came dashing up to her. �Hey guys, I really don�t feel like talking today� Alicia told them.
�It�s something you really need to know. There�s a nasty rumor going on about you� Dani said.
�What is it?�
�That�s you�re a slut and slept with 15 different guys at your old school�
�That�s not even CLOSE to the truth. I�ve never had a boyfriend, or even been kissed. Sara is behind it, I know it� Alicia said, sighing. �Great, now Nick probably won�t want to be my friend�
�I wouldn�t be surprised. She�s trying to ruin your reputation, make herself look good and have Nick go running back into her arms� Megan rolled her eyes �I really don�t even know why in hell he was with that whore. She�s probably fucked that many guys�
�It�s going to backfire majorly.� Dani said. �It always does when she tries to ruin someone else�s life. Every time she even feels the slightest bit threatened, she spreads rumors. Most people don�t take what she says seriously.�
�Only her little band of goons� Megan added, rolling her eyes.
� So, Leesh, I really wouldn�t be worried if I were you� Dani finished.
�Thanks for the info. Come on Dani, we need to get to French Class�
�Yeah, we do�
As class started, Madame Drake told them to get out of their seats, because they were getting new ones. And they could sit wherever they pleased, as long as it wasn�t major disruption during class time.
So Alicia chose a seat in the middle of the class and Nick sat behind her. She was surprised, but also glad that Nick had chosen to sit near her. Then Dani sat across from Alicia, and Jeff across from Nick. Now they had their own little group.
Then Madame Drake gave them an assignment that a duo could work on for the rest of class. So Alicia turned her desk around to face Nick�s. They worked on task for awhile until it was finished.
�Dang, Alicia, you�re smart� Nick said. �How do you learn this stuff so fast?�
Alicia gave a light chuckle. �Well, it�s partially because of the learner I am and also partially because I have had straight As all my life because I have had nothing better to do. Everyone learns differently. If you ever need help on it, I�ll be glad to help you�
�Ok, thanks.�
�You�re welcome. So you�ve probably heard about the rumors Sara has been spreading haven�t you?�
Nick nodded �Oh yeah. Ignore them Alicia, not many people here listen to them anymore because she has been doing that ever since she came her and before I dated her. Only her select �friends� listen to them really. She�s tried to earn high status here all her years but it really hasn�t worked to well for her.�
�She�s trying to get you back I would assume�
Nick nodded �Oui, Mademoiselle. But I would never go back to her, she put me through too much and I should have broken it off long before I actually did� There was a sadness about the way he said that she wished she could take it all away from him. And the way he was looking at her, it almost seemed different to her for some reason. Like he liked her more than friends or something. �Never in this lifetime, Carter, keep dreaming� But she couldn�t help herself. She was falling in love with him.
I just can�t help myself
I�m falling in love with you
It doesn�t matter what you say or what you do
(No matter what you say, no matter what you do)
So give me a chance
And I know I�ll make you understand
I just can�t help myself
I�m falling in love with you
(Lyrics from Nobody�s Angel�s �I Can�t Help Myself�)
French Class had put her in a good mood. It usually did not matter what the circumstance. But today it had especially done so, and she almost forgot when she had been in a bad mood that morning.
The next night at practice, Ms. Collins asked that only the main characters and their friends and enemies be present. But even they weren�t there too long; she excused them at 5:30 because she wanted to work with just Nick and Alicia. Alicia got a little nervous. It was just she and Nick acting and she would probably fumble� big time.
They started on a scene that after Kassandra had sung her big song and was still depressed on the fact that she couldn�t have him.
Alicia sat down on the floor were their tables was supposed to be. They really didn�t want to pull out the set today since it was such a small practice.
Ms. Collins had Nick work on his entrance a couple of times because she didn�t like it for one reason or another. But finally they got to the actual scene.
Nick walked in �What�s wrong Kassandra?�
Alicia looked at him, with sad eyes �Oh, hi Jamie�
�What�s wrong, you look like something�s bothering you�
Alicia shook her head. �Not really. Well, there�s something that�s been kind of bugging me, but it�s not bad.�
�And what�s that?�
�Well, it�s just that I�.� Alicia stopped in mid sentence; this was not her line �Oh never mind. It�s nothing�
�Are you sure?� Nick asked.
�Yeah, I�m sure� Alicia told him.
They went on with the scene as it was planned.
�Alicia, I liked how you did that.� Ms. Collins said.
�I stopped because I knew those weren�t my lines.� Alicia told her.
�But I love it. It makes you think Kassandra is finally going to tell Jamie what she feels for him, but then falls short because she�s not ready. It�ll really bring the audience in, I think�
�I like it too� Nick said �I say we change the scene a bit and put those lines in there�
�I agree. I want you kids to have your input in this play, and if you don�t like something, we�ll see if we can change it! I don�t want to be one of those directors that is like, �We are going to do what I think will work and that�s it! I want it to have a little bit of you all as well�
�Have you written plays before, Ms. Collins?�
Ms. Collins nodded �But none were good enough to show anyone or try on any cast. But I love how you all are doing this play. It�s better than I ever imagined it would be. You all are probably the best cast I have seen in awhile. And I mean it.�
They changed the scene slightly to accommodate the lines, and then worked a little bit longer.
After practice, Nick and Alicia were gathering their stuff to get ready to go home.
�Ali, can I ask you something?�
�Sure� Alicia said. �What?�
�Do you have any plans this weekend?�
She shook her head �No, why?�
�Would you like to go on a date with me this weekend?�