Unfortunately, I didn’t have any gum.
I had given my last piece to Chloe after gym class earlier today !
But lucky for me, I DID know where to FIND some gum in a middle school classroom !
And LOTS of it.
As my teacher marched toward me, I quickly reached under my desk and grabbed the biggest wad of gum I could find.
And YES! It was REALLY, REALLY gross.
But . . .
I was REALLY, REALLY, REALLY desperate NOT to LOSE my cell phone!
This is what happened. . . .
ME, GRABBING A HUGE, RANDOM, REALLY GROSS WAD OF GUM FROM UNDER MY DESK!
Then, with all eyes on me, I shoved that wad of gum into my mouth and started chewing away. . . .
ME, CHEWING A HUGE, RANDOM, REALLY GROSS WAD OF GUM FROM UNDER MY DESK!
My teacher gasped and stopped cold in her tracks! Then she looked like she was about to gag. Finally she regained her composure and just shook her head in disbelief. She walked to her desk, collapsed into her chair, and spent the rest of the hour trying in vain to figure out WHY she EVER chose to become a teacher.
I could hear the disgusted remarks of my classmates. But I didn’t care.
I STILL had my phone !!! WOO-HOO!
The MORAL of this story: If you text in class on a regular basis, ALWAYS follow the SGTCWGC. And most important, NEVER, EVER get caught without GUM! Because if you do, when your teacher comes to confiscate YOUR cell phone, you’ll be forced to either:
1. CHEW a wad of gum from that HUGE, but very NASTY, emergency supply conveniently stuck under your DESK !!
OR
2. LOSE your BELOVED cell phone !!
Hey, the choice is YOURS!
Anyway, it’s hard to believe our listening party is only two days away! I can hardly wait!
Even though I’m SUPERexcited about it, I still get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I think about the whole Brandon thing.
I’ll never forgive myself if it’s MY fault that he doesn’t get his entry in on time and loses out on that opportunity for scholarship money. Just great !!
Since I was feeling a little depressed, I decided to go to the studio to practice my vocals with the music tracks.
I really love my song “DORKS RULE!” And singing it always makes me feel better about my own very dorky, out-of-control life. Especially with all of the drama I’ve been having lately.
I was at the studio, totally lost in my song, when I got an unexpected visitor. . . .
ME, PRACTICING IN THE STUDIO WHEN AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR DROPS IN
It was BRANDON !!
I was shocked and surprised to see HIM, of all people. He smiled and waved.
As I sang he stared at me through the window. He seemed to be in a serious mood, even a little sad.
After I finished the song, he actually clapped for me and I playfully took a bow.
That’s when the most brilliant idea suddenly popped into my head.
“This is PERFECT timing, Brandon!” I said as he entered the booth. “I’m about done here. So let’s go across the street to Crazy Burger and work on your project! It’ll be MY treat!”
“Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m a little bummed right now about this whole scholarship thing. I guess I just need to vent,” Brandon said, shoving his hands into his pockets and staring at the floor.
“I don’t blame you. If I were you, I’d be mad at me too! But I can help you right now if—”
“Nikki, I’m NOT mad. Well, not at YOU, anyway. It took a lot of digging, but I was able to get all of your interview info by using material from your TV show and previous newspaper articles. I FINALLY got it done and submitted it to the scholarship committee yesterday.”
“Are you serious?! It’s DONE?!!” I shrieked in surprise. “That’s great news, Brandon!”
It felt like a ton of bricks had suddenly been lifted off my shoulders.
“Congratulations! I’m really happy for you!” I gushed.
“Well, don’t be. Unfortunately, I just got an e-mail two hours ago from the committee, saying my entry was rejected! Apparently, someone else had already submitted a project almost identical to mine!”
“NO WAY!!” I gasped in disbelief. “That’s impossible! Yours is about a WCD student working on a once-in-a-lifetime project with Trevor Chase! No one else is doing that but ME! There HAS to be some kind of mistake!”
Brandon shook his head in disgust. “They told me the person’s name. I’ll give you one guess!” The name came out of my mouth like a foul taste!
“MACKENZIE!!!” I groaned. “Why would she even be applying for a scholarship? Her family is loaded! And why would she steal YOUR topic?”
“Who knows? Maybe because I told her about it. Which I realize now was a stupid thing to do.”
I was speechless! And I felt totally responsible.
If Brandon hadn’t been wasting time waiting around for me to help him (while I was busy snoozing in the library or fighting with MacKenzie over choreography), he probably would have finished and submitted his entry weeks ago. I blinked back my tears.
BRANDON, TELLING ME THE VERY BAD NEWS THAT HIS SCHOLARSHIP ENTRY WAS REJECTED!!
“No, it’s not, Nikki! Just because I applied for the scholarship doesn’t mean I was actually going to get it. Besides, I can get a summer job at Crazy Burger or even Queasy Cheesy. I know it won’t even begin to cover my entire tuition. But every little bit will help! Right?!”
THAT made me feel even WORSE!
“But, Brandon, you spend your summers helping out at Fuzzy Friends! You LOVE that place!”
“I’ll just have to find some volunteers to replace me. It’s NOT the end of the world!”
I buried my face in my hands and tried to think. “I know! You can start working on a NEW project! Tonight! And I can help by—”
“Nikki, the deadline is this Saturday at midnight. That’s just two days! I’d never get it done in time. Plus, we have the listening party at Swanky Hill. After all your hard work, I wouldn’t miss that for the world!”
Suddenly I became angry. Not so much at Brandon, but at myself!
“Brandon, don’t be so immature! That scholarship is ten times more important than hanging out at some ski resort with your best buds. Besides, I really don’t WANT you at the listening party if it’s just a convenient excuse for you to give up like this! I don’t need that on MY conscience!”
Brandon looked stunned and hurt. I immediately wished I could take back my words. It had ALWAYS been about ME these past few weeks! I had turned into a self-centered, egotistical SNOB! Right before my very own eyes! But Brandon was way too nice to tell me that. Instead, he just shrugged and stared at me. “Whatever, Nikki. I’ll think about it, okay? See you later.”
I felt just . . . HORRIBLE! “Wait! Brandon, we—”
But that was all I managed to say before he grabbed his coat and walked out the door. WHY did I keep hurting my friend like this ?!
A wave of hopelessness washed over me, and my heart actually ached. I sighed deeply and turned on the track to “Dorks Rule!” again. Only, instead of singing my song . . .
I mostly cried through it. !!