Never Again

I can’t wait for auditions! Carmen O’Connell thought as she sped over the grassy hill daintily dotted with the majestic colors of the autumn leaves fallen to the ground. It was the first day of her Senior year and her skin practically crackled with excitement.

Every year, since the 3rd grade, she had auditioned for the school play and each time she got one of the major roles. Only the people playing the parts that required the actor/actress to be older then she was were able to get a better part then her. This was because it was well known that she was not only the best actress in practically in the entire high school, but that she was also Ty’s (the drama teacher) favorite.

“HEY! CARY!!!”

A familiar voice sounded off like an unexpected trumpet cry behind her. Dang, she thought. It was her neighbor, Anthony Jackson Stiles, also the most popular boy in Hartford, Connecticut. Back in elementary they used to be best friends but then…Carmen wasn’t sure what had happened all she knew was the last day of summer, right before 6th grade, they were laughing at his family’s barbeque then the second day of school he stopped her giving the slightest recognition at school. The only times they talked was when none of his friends were around. This might have been also because Carmen had always called Anthony AJ and AJ had always called Carmen Cary. Anthony liked to keep both nicknames quiet especially because Carmen called him AJ because his middle name was Jackson, which nobody outside their two families knew, and because everyone else called him Tony or Anthony.

“CARY, WAIT UP!!!” Anthony shouted at the top of his lungs as he appeared in the corner of her eye, riding in the grass next to her back wheel. And soon, there he was riding beside her, his bright, crystal blue eyes were twinkling with laughter, the wind ruffling his short, cropped blonde hair as he was still panting in his effort to keep up with her.

Carmen sighed and slowed down the slightest bit.

“Hey, how come you didn’t wait? We’ve always gone to school together.” Anthony panted, as if nothing had happened since the 6th grade.

“You mean we used to always go to school together,” Carmen snapped.

“Whoa,” Anthony held up his hands in mock surrender, “what’s wrong with you?”

“Oh, nothing except maybe that you ditched going to school with me in the mornings since the second day of 6th grade, AJ!” Carmen replied irritably. “ Since when have we ‘always gone to school together’ since then?”

“Ok, fine, what if I wanted to start up the tradition again?” Anthony replied coolly.

Tradition?!?!? Carmen snorted.

“What?”

“That sounds a lot like part of the—“ Carmen started.

“The play? Yeah, that’s where I got it. I saw it and I thought Hey, I should catch up with Cary on the way to school.” Anthony said as if this was still elementary and they were still best friends and he was still looking for a way to crack her up.

“ So you’re trying out this year?” Carmen answered after stifling a laugh.

They were nearing the school and Anthony was looking a little worried as he checked to see if anyone was seeing them biking together. Ignoring her question he turned to her.

“ Hey, Cary? I gotta go, see ya later,” Anthony sped off to be soon joined by an army of adoring high school girls as he put his bike in one of the stands.

Carmen rolled her eyes, she couldn’t believe she actually thought he might actually acknowledge her as a friend in public this year after all he had done to make her so unpopular the past years of middle school and then for freshman year. He had humiliated her in front of everyone just so he could look cool and then he wanted to bike to school with her and talk to her expecting her to fall for him like every other girl in the school, in the city even. If that was true then, well, sorry to disappoint you, AJ, but she was not falling for his act.

Carmen got off her bike, shoved it angrily into an empty space in the bike stand and stormed off to her locker, passing Anthony on the way. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn away from the herd of his variety pack of girls to watch her, with a shocked expression and an open mouth, storm past him. She felt a surge of pleasure in surprising him with her anger after he had spent so much time with her that if she were one of his followers she would’ve fainted but she wasn’t and he was just going to have to get over that.

“CARLY!”

As Carmen shut her locker she was attacked by a tackle hug from her best friend, Madison. Madison was one of Carmen’s closer friends when they were in elementary and when Carmen’s best friend was AJ but once AJ ditched her for popularity, Madison was the first to sympathize and comfort, thus making her Carmen’s best friend ever since.

“Hey, Maddy!” Carmen returned the hug and tried to smile but, as usual, Madison saw right through her act.

“What’s wrong? Was he at it again?” Madison sounded like a mother hen. There had been one time when AJ had been nice to her so he could humiliate her again during school and Madison had been infuriated for Carmen’s sake. “I swear it’s getting harder to tell you’re acting…you’re getting better, Carly.” She added in an attempt to cheer Carly up and of course it worked.

Carly smiled and Madison laughed along with her. Soon everyone in the hallway was watching them giggle like fourth graders—including AJ—but they didn’t care, they didn’t mind whether or not they got attention, they were actresses they had to live with it.

The bell rang, sending everyone scrambling to their classes. Carly glanced at her schedule and headed off for English.

As soon she got there Carly groaned. There, in the front row was Anthony Stiles, laughing and talking loudly with his jock friends behind him. Scanning the class she decided it was best to take a seat somewhere near the front but far enough from AJ so if they started whispering during class—as they had been known to do—she wouldn’t be caught up in it and get in trouble too. So she chose a seat one row back and six seats over from where AJ sat. The second bell rang and a woman walked to the front of the room. At first Carly was surprised, then she realized that the woman had been in the back putting up posters and waiting until everyone was in the room. The woman was pretty; she was young with shining brown eyes and curly black hair. She looked full of energy and Carly could tell she was going to enjoy this class…for the most part.

“Hi everybody, welcome back to school most of you and welcome to the new kids! I’m Ms. Roberta and welcome to my English class!” She smiled as she looked around at everyone but when her gaze fell on AJ her smile widened.

Typical, Carly thought to herself as she rolled her eyes.

“I can’t wait to get to know you all to the very best of my ability but for now we’re just going to have to start with names. I want to go around the classroom and everyone say their name and a favorite word. Questions? Anyone want to start?” Ms. Roberta made the game seem funny and new instead of the usual names and summer report.

The boy next to Carmen raised his hand. Ms. Roberta nodded at him.

“Does ‘dude’ count as a favorite word?” He asked, receiving many headshakes and laughs.

All their past English teachers would have scolded him and told him that ‘dude’ did not actually count as a word. But, and this just made everyone like her more, Ms. Roberta smiled at his suggestion.
“That is a brilliant question! How ‘bout this year we change it? I’ve always done the favorite word but none of my students have ever asked if ‘dude’ counted. This year everyone can say any word they like in English and we will debate whether or not that word should be allowed to be used in this year’s writing and as part of our vocabulary. Throughout the year we will make a list of words with arguments on why or why not you should be allowed to use in English, at the end of the year we will present it to the principal and the other English teachers. Does everyone like that idea?”

Of course proving their old English teachers wrong on which words are “proper words” or not agreed with EVERYBODY.

“Ok good, then every Monday we will start a debate on a new word, our first debate is next Monday and the word is: dude. I want everyone to think about why or why not it is a good word to use and choose a side: for using it or against. You can free read until the end of the period.”

When the bell rang half an hour later everyone got up reluctantly and called out various good byes to Ms. Roberta as they left for their next classes.

Carmen gathered her pencil case and her book bag and headed for the door, AJ was right in front of her and as soon as he stepped outside the class he was swarmed by other jocks and girls wanting to talk to him. AJ was on every sport team there was and he was the captain of each one, too. This only made his popularity more abundant. Carmen sighed and pushed her way through crowd and headed to her next class, Geometry.

Carmen was relieved to see that she had geometry without him, as well as the class afterwards, science. After that she had Spanish and then she met up with Madison for lunch. They snagged their usual table and both started on their salads. No more then five minutes into lunch they heard a commotion coming from behind them, turning, Carmen saw that it was a crowd of girls gathering at the table behind them. She could see a mop of blonde hair in the center, right between a guy with red and a guy with brown.

“Anthony?” Madison guessed, annoyed.

“Yup,” Carmen replied, just as annoyed. “You’d think that HIGH SCHOOL girls would get over popular guys like him by now!” She said popular as if it were the worst insult she could think of.

“Yea, I know.” Madison said as they both turned their backs on the crowd and finished their lunches. “Well, come on. We wouldn’t want our….” She checked their schedules, as they both had their next class together, “…PE teacher to have a hissy fit!”

They both laughed and picked up their trash and book bags and walked away. As they tossed the trash Carmen felt the same excitement as that morning build up inside her as she thought about the auditions for the school play that Friday. The play this year was going to be Fiddler on the Roof, one of her favorites because it showed the Jews fight for freedom and how traditions changed whether or not people wanted them to. As well as how the daughters of Tevye got the freedom to choose who they married instead of their father arranging it for them.

“Carly!”

Carmen was snapped out of her trance when she felt a sharp tug on her arm and walked straight into AJ. She could feel his six-pack through his shirt before she had the time to realize what had happened. Luckily AJ had none of his followers with him.