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// __Blank__ // Elena plopped down beside me into our bus seat. “Oh my goodness, you will never believe what happened 5th period today!” The words leapt from her mouth so fast that I could barely understand her. “Whoa, what happened,” I almost shrieked. “Ah!!! Kyle asked me out!” “What did you say?” I was dizzy with anticipation. “Yes, of course! You know I’ve liked him forever!!” She gushed. I wrapped my arms around her, giving her a huge hug. As I looked up, I caught a glimpse of Kevin and Josh, looking at us and laughing. “Oh, that’s just fabulous,” I thought to myself. Kevin and Josh, the only other seventh graders who ride our bus are hilarious, don’t get me wrong! It’s just that they love to tease us. “Earth to Jen,” Elena called out, waving her hand in front of my face. I’d gotten a little carried away. I mean, they can’t have heard that much, right? “Yeah,” I asked. “Do you think Kevin and Josh are up to something? They’re laughing like crazy.” She shot a glance their way. Sure enough, they were still laughing. I got up and went to sit in the seat next to theirs. “Hey guys! What’s so funny?” I smiled. It was probably just some dumb joke Josh had heard at lunch or something. I waited for them to calm down. Finally, Josh managed to squeak out, “Elena. Elena and KYLE?!” So they had heard. Oh, well, it’s not like it’s a big deal. Elena didn’t think so. She was furious. I could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but seriously, that’s how mad she was. Before I could even try to reason with her, she grabbed a peanut butter sandwich out of her lunch box, and smeared it all over Kevin’s face. Then she took a juice box and squirted it at Josh. “What was that for?” Kevin asked. “I will do that every single day for the rest of the year,” she said, “if you tell ANYONE.” Whoa. She was really serious about this. They’d better not tell anyone, because if I know Elena, she would actually throw food at them until they began to regret it. Josh’s response to this was not smart on his part. He took out a moldy apple from the middle compartment of his backpack, chucked it at Elena, and started singing at the top of his lungs, “Elena and Kyle, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.” I had no choice but to join Elena’s team. I could not let her get pelted with food alone. See, I’m a better friend than that! So I reached into my lunchbox, waiting for just the right moment to launch a bag of carrots at Kevin. He turned away from us, thinking it was over. That’s when I threw it. Before we knew what was happening, everyone on the bus had picked a side and was playfully tossing food at each other. But for me, Elena, Josh and Kevin, this was war. Apparently all of the commotion distracted our bus driver, because we all felt a huge jolt, were turned upside down, and that’s when everything went blank, just blank. Now, everything turned out fine, of course! Otherwise I wouldn’t be here to tell you this story. No one on the bus was seriously injured, although I do feel a little guilty about the accident. The good news is, Kevin and Josh hit their heads pretty hard, and they don’t remember a thing that happened on the bus that day. I hope you’ve learned that fighting is NEVER the answer.