CHAPTER 8:

Monday reached , ritha woke up , she wasn't feeling any good , she felt lazy and couldn't get out of bed , she glanced up and looked at her cloth rack , she had hanged bill's coat on the rack the previous night , she smiled and remembered the time she had with bill , she got out of her bed and had a shower , she got dressed and went to the dining table and had breakfast . " ritha your dad is waiting you are going to be late" , " I'm coming mom" ,ritha said as she took her bag and went down stairs , she went out and got in her dad's car and he dove her to school .She reached at school , she entered the gates and went into her class , the teacher hadn't arrived , she decided to listen to her music , Jennifer came and sat next to her , she called ritha but ritha couldn't hear a word , and she had closed her eyes , deep in the music mood , Jennifer had to do nothing else but disconnect her headphone from the mp3 player , " hey I was listening to that" , she finally woke from her thoughts , " seriously ritha , you were hearing me the whole time" , " oh sorry , I was lost in my thoughts ,is everything okay?" , " yes I just wanted to check on you" , " Jennifer , I wouldn't tell this to anyone one but I trust you" , " okay what is it" , " Jennifer you won't believe what just happen last night" , " okay you are making me feel eagered to hear it , just say it" , " bill and I are now in a relationship , he's no longer an ordinary friend but he's my boyfriend now" , "oh my god ,are you serious he finally said it , I am very shocked ritha and happy as well , but can I tell pete cause this is so hot" , " Jennifer I would like to but , I don't think it would be a nice Idea ," , " ritha I am so proud of you it is just insane" , Jennifer said and hugged her , carlos then came to his seat ," hey carlos , I think I'll be going ritha we'll talk right" ,Jennifer said as she moved to her place . The teacher came in and started teaching , ritha was doodling in her book she was lost in her thoughts again , and she wasn't attentive the whole day until the end of class session . After class she prepared to go home , " ritha wait up" , " Jennifer what's the matter" , " we're having practice this afternoon and I need a band to help me rehearse my song" , " okay I'll call the others" ritha said and she took her phone , she called pete , lanna and tom , she told at the to meet at the music department . They all arrived pete helped with the piano and tom with the guitar , they started singing . They were done with the first song , then alexa and her crew came in, they sat in the audience's seat but Jennifer and her friends didn't notice . Jennifer and her friend finished rehearsing , then alexa showed up , " bravo , marvelous my dear but you know what , I expected more from the girl who wants to challenge alexa , Jennifer if I were you I would quit because you are not good enough to be the new school prom queen , because I am more than you have ever seen" , " alexa I don't think that's polite you cant just butt in something not of your concern and act like that" , " so what are you going to do about it Jennifer , cry , so sorry because I'm unstoppable" alexa said , she then held the microphone , " students of merry hill alexa speaking , I would like every one to gather up in the music department because there is more than a show" she spoke . Every student outside gathered in the music department , alexa's crew put off the lights and went upstage , the crowd cheered up for alexa's crew and clapped their hands .Alexa approached Jennifer , " so Jennifer you want to compete , everyone likes me , you have no chance to challenge me" , alexa said , but Jennifer didn't care about any of her words , she stood up and spoke back to her " alexa , nice try , but they say that empty vessels make the most noise , so alexa step aside , I am not afraid of you and none of my friends is , so stop boasting around , I might be better than you think" , Jennifer said and everyone in the house mumbled they were impressed by Jennifer's speech , alexa was out of words because the whole crowd was shouting Jennifer's name aloud , " so Jennifer bring on what you've got" , alexa said . " Guys I don't know what I will do the crowd is shouting and I'm not ready yet I don't think we'll out compete her" , " Jennifer hear the crowd they are shouting out your name , tom and pete are by your side this is all you need , go there and make things right" , ritha said to her and she went up with tom and pete . Jennifer took the took the microphone , tom then took the guitar and started playing it , pete played the piano and the crowd clapped hands in the rhythm , Jennifer then came in with the song . Jennifer's song cheered u the crowd more than alexa could do , they shouted out jennifer's name , " silence" alexa shouted on the microphone and clapped her hands " amazing performance Jennifer but ,come on guys we are more than this , we are the best" , " alexa , how about we make a deal" , Jennifer said and the crowd cheered up " deal ,deal , deal" , " alexa stop torturing yourself , the best is the one to impress the audience on the main day" , " okay deal , if you say so , Jennifer" , " merry hill make some noise for , Jennifer" pete said and alexa got pissed she went out with her crew , after a while the audience were so loud that it reached the principal's office , she entered the room and took the microphone , " silence" she shouted , alexa was with her , " Jennifer , ritha , you are the ones causing all this noise , I am so disappointed in you I want you in my office right now" , she said as they went out , " guys I think this didn't end up so well , I'm sorry" Jennifer said to the crowd and then went out with her friends to the principal's office . "So explain yourselves" , " Mrs. Meyers ..." , " call me principal" she said furiously, " okay principal , a few moments ago we went to the music department to rehearse for the prom pat on Friday ,and then alexa and her crew came in and wanted to challenge us , we won the challenge , the audience cheered up , unfortunately alexa got pissed and went out then you suddenly got in" . " Alexa I can't believe you lied to me , how could you betray your friends " , " but Mrs. Meyers I told the truth" , " nothing else , alexa shame on you , Jennifer my apologies , alexa just told me that you were causing a disorder in the school then I rushed to see what it was" , " no problem Mrs. Meyers I mean principal" , " alexa I am so disappointed in you , so you better behave yourself , out of my office" she said and she all went out near the basketball court . "Jennifer and your friends I am sorry for the interruption you can go back" , " thanks principal" Jennifer said as they then went out , they went in search of alexa . They searched the whole school but they wouldn't find her , " where could she be we searched everywhere but we couldn't find her" , " I think there's only one place we've not searched ,the basketball court " " then what are we waiting for let's check it Jennifer" pete said as they went to search at the basketball court . They saw her , " guys I'll handle this my own" Jennifer said as she approached her , she was crying , " alexa is everything alright" but she kept quiet and said no word , " come on alexa we can settle things easily" , " go away I don't need your help nor your lousy friends" , " but that's not polite I can help you" , " Jennifer I said I don't need you leave alone" alexa took her bag and went , Jennifer went back to her friends , " I wonder why her acting was mediocre" Jennifer said , " guys she couldn't listen to any of my words , they went on and then parted and headed home . Ritha reached her home she went and entered the gate and went and hugged her mom he went upstairs to her room , she lied on her bed , and took her phone , a text popped , it was bill , ritha smiled and clicked it to read it , " ritha notify me if you are not at school I want to talk to you urgently" she read and she answered her " you are lucky one I am free at home now , call me anytime" she sent it . The phone rang after a while , " hello" , " hey ritha how was your day" , " mostly good though some bad events but not so serious" , " oh good , you know what I found myself stuck to you I couldn't let this day end without talking to you" , " bill I kind of missed you too , though it was only one day" , they all laughed , " oh almost forgot to tell you , my dad just came to your school , and he requested that I could continue my studies there , I asked him but I never knew he would be serious to make it a reality" , " seriously bill" , " yeah of course aren't you happy about it" , " yeah , of course I am it may be more than amazing if we studied at the same school" ritha said , " I'm not there with you but I think something isn't right" , " no bill it's just that I was dealing with something" , ritha said trying to hide the reason why she pretended to like bill's idea , but in fact she was worried , worried about something she couldn't tell bill , she continued pretending until the end of bill's call . After dinner ritha and her parents went for a family prayer and then after she went to bed . The next day was supposed to be a day of serious training in the afternoon . Ritha arrived at school and headed to her class , she was never attentive in class , like that day , she surprised carlos by the way she was never like before , and so was Jennifer , finally it was time for break , ritha followed Jennifer outside . "Jennifer wait up" , she came calling Jennifer , Jennifer then looked behind , " Jennifer I've got some strange news to tell you" , " what is it" , " bill called me last night and he said he is coming to study here by next week", " ritha isn't that amazing you should be happy about it" , " I know but you know ,who's not" , " oh I get it you mean tom" , " yes Jennifer and you know how it could get even worse" , " we'll have to deal with it the way it is" , the bell rang and they went back to class . After school , Jennifer had to go on with her practice , she had to do better than the previous day , Jennifer and he friends tied as hard as they could to make Jennifer more perfect to be able to win the competition , it was time to go home . They packed all their stuff and prepared to go home , bill called ritha but she didn't answer it , " why won't she pick it up" , bill said to himself , he had no idea why ritha couldn't pick up , ritha then headed home , bill called again , as ritha entered the gate , ritha didn't pick it up too , bill became upset , but ritha seemed to be worried about bill , she then got rid of her phone the whole evening to avoid anymore calls . Ritha took her phone after dinner , and bill had called five more times , " bill I really have no other choice" , she said to herself , she then shut down her phone and dosed off . The following day , practice was the priority in the afternoon , ritha seemed to be worried , she wasn't alert as she used to be , practice came to an end , Jennifer came closer to ritha , " hey" , " hey Jennifer" ritha answered , " is everything alright" , " yeah why" , " ritha you were not quite in the mood this afternoon , this may have been the worst practice session since we started" , " Jennifer I'm sorry to have messed up your Practice , but I was pretending to be okay , but in reality I am not okay" , " then what's the matter ritha ?" , " I have not been answering any of bill's calls from yesterday" , " for what , he's your boyfriend ritha" , " Jennifer I know I kind of miss him too , but I didn't want to talk to him , I think about tom's attitude on me whenever I see bill and I am worried that things will get worse if he discovers what tom intends to do , so I decided not to answer his call , though it won't solve anything , Jennifer I need your help" , " ritha I think the only thing to do is to talk to him and tell him everything as someone you trust maybe when tom tries to do what he always does bill will be okay with it" , " do you think that is a nice idea Jennifer" , " yes ritha trust me , I think it is getting dark let's go home" , Jennifer said as they went out of the hall . Alexa was there outside with her crew , " oh she's finally here" , alexa said as she saw them , " listen Jennifer , whatever you thought you did there, it was nothing , don't come in my way , and here's another thing , you are nothing compared to me , so better back off you looser" , she said and went with her friends , " I wonder why she acts like that I am just trying to be a better person" , " let's just let her say what she wants , the best one will win and I trust you Jennifer" , ritha said and they continued home , ritha parted Jennifer as she went to the subway station and ritha headed home . Ritha dialed bill's number as soon as she reached home , " hello" , " bill , it's ritha" , " hey ritha how are you doing" , " I am good" , " glad to hear that ritha , thank god you called , I was worried , yesterday I called you several times but you didn't pick it up" , " bill , don't know how to tell say it , but I had a problem" , " what was it" , " bill , have to tell you I have been hiding this since you told me that you'll be coming to merry hill , tom has been showing me some weird behavior these days , and I've figured it out , bill wants to break up with lanna , and make me his girlfriend" , " what a coward !!" , " bill I'm telling you this to not run into a fight with tom , please don't fight him if he shows his intention" , " ritha I am so pissed with tom's behavior" , " yeah I know but let's not talk much about it , now that I'm available , let's meet and talk freely I kind of miss you" ," okay let's meet tonight" , bill said and hanged off , ritha lied to her bed , she breathed heavily and she smiled to herself . The evening reached , ritha was ready to meet bill , she dressed and told her mom she won't be there for diner , she then went to the subway station . Ritha dropped by the mariachi and waited for bill , he finally arrived , " what took you so long bill" , " the road was so busy it made me late" , " okay no problem , so how are you after the long time without meeting" , " I am fine though I quite missed to see your smile , and voice" , " come on bill you see my pictures many times and we had talked on the phone earlier" , " yes I know , but I miss to see you live" bill said ad they all laughed , they talked the rest of the evening . " Ritha I think it is too late now we had good times together , and I think I forgot it was night time" , " yes bill this sure is unforgettable to me , I think I don't have to hide anything from you" , " okay I'll hide nothing from you too , so let's get going or your dad will be upset" , " come on he promised he won't do it again" , " okay my bad" bill said as they stood up and bill drove ritha home . Ritha had more than a blast that night and so did bill , ritha's heart was relieved and she slept happy that night . The following day ritha and her friends had to train Jennifer because days were running fast , they had to work hard for the rest of the days until the school prom party .