Jen saw Kayla shook her head and got a better idea. "Hey Kayla, I need to go do something. Do you mind coming with me?"

At first Kayla was confused. Then she understood. Jumping to her feet, she said, "Oh, of course. Not a problem. See ya later, guys." She waved to her friends and Miranda and headed off with Jen before Miranda could say a word.

The two of them walked away, passing teh room Peter was in. Jen turned around and loked in the window real quick, then went over to Kayla. She whispered, "I think he's crying."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miranda sneered at Nicole. "Did you just see that? Those two are to chicken to admit Peter hurt them before he became a Christian or that all he cares about is his hair, yet they can't tell me they are going off to comfort him!"

"Look, Jen said she needed to go do something," Nicole said dully. Even to her ears, it sounded lame. She didn't care. She was sick of Peter fussing about his precious hair.

Kayla bit her lip and put an arm around Jen. "I'm sure he'll be all right in a few minutes. Just wait and see."

Miranda saw the look of doubt on Nicole's face and laughed. "See, you are agreeing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter wiped his eyes and took a couple deep breaths, only to have fresher tears run down his face. The bell was about to ring soon, and he did not want anyone to see him like this. He felt an urge to call one of his cousins to come and pick him up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jen was glad fro teh comfort of a friend. "Thanks for beliving Peter and me, Kay."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miley asked, "Think Amanda or Diane have a dress they woudl want to loan you, if we don't find any?"

"That's a good idea," Chrissa said. "But I'm a bit taller than Diane, so her dresses might not fit me."

"Agreeing? You don't know what you're talking about," Nicole shot out snappishly, sitting up straight in her chair. "I'm just tired of Peter trying to protect his silly little hair, that's all. And Peter constantly flirting with Jen. They're way too young to be a couple," she snorted.

Kayla hugged Jen. What a kind, loyal friend Jen was. "Oh, you're welcome. You guys will always be my friends."

Miranda laughed, then walked away, to her class. WHen she got there, she noticed John. "Hey. I think we almost have Nicole a lone now."
~~~~~~~~
Peter wiped his eyes again, asking God for strength. He took a couple deep breaths, then walked out of the room.

Jen noticed Peter walk out the room and sure enough he looked like he had been crying. His eyes were red and his face was blotchy. He turned to Jen. "Still want to go to the game?"

Jen bit her lip. "Yeah. Hey, Ryan has a game why don't we go to that one?"

Peter smiled, "Might as well. He is our friend and we will be in that school next year."

Jen squealed and gave him a hug. "I love you, you know that?"
Peter smiled, "I love you too." He turned to Kayla. "What all did she say out there?"

"Of course you're innocent," replied Sue, handing Justin a business card. "Until you're proven guilty," she continued, smiling at him. "I'd be happy to defend you in court."

------

"It's a shame she asked for at," shrugged Ally, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. She fist-bumpd Stacey. "I'll take care of it in class." Ally Graham winked at her friend. "Trust me." She frowned. "Why they even let Miranda be on newspaper staff? It's not like she even writes real well."

She wrinkled up the newspaper and chucked it into the trash. "Come on."

------

"We know what they look like," explained Meghan to the policeman. Poor squad. Always being harassed by EG'S characters. "At least... a couple of them."

"Stay inside for the next three days," he finally instructed, leaning back. "You and your brother aren't in immediate danger," he assured her, "but it would be best if you didn't hang around bus stops, or go outside."

Stacey smiled. If Miranda wanted a war, she and Ally were more than willing to battle her, even if it meant catering to Peter and his friends , she was more than willing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Justin breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks." He ran a hand through his hair, when is the trial?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jen sighed. "Nicole looked pretty mad. I think Zach and Nate looked fine. I don't think they are against you, that I know of."

Peter took a deep breath. "What if they are? I mean you know Miranda and the other bullies. They are pretty influential."

Jen shrugged. She and Peter rushed into their history class, when the bell rang.

"And so I'm going to show you a clip of a humpback whale swimming," said the teacher, as she turned on the TV and stuck in a videotape.

Ally kept a perfectly straight face and glanced at her notebook. Stacey was watching her from the corner of her eye, so she winked at her friend.

"Wait...!" the teacher cried.

Perfecto. Ally had switched to tapes to one of Miranda swimming at Trickle Lake, and the class's reaction couldn't have been better.

Peter noticed Zach got to the classroom before he and Jen got there. He walked over to Zach, hoping Zach would still want to be his friend. "Do you agree with what Miranda said about me and Jen?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jen noticed Nate trudging into the classroom. "Hey, you don't believe a word Miranda said, do you?" Actually, Jen used a few explict words to describe Miranda. That girl made her so mad, she could just punch her face.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Stacey laughed at their master plan and gave Ally a low five. THe teacher turned beat red at the sight of Miranda swimming at the lake. The look on Miranda's face was even more priceless. Her face went pale and cheeks went rose red. Stacey wished Peter and his friends coudl see how dismayed she looked. They would love that!

Nicole marched over to Peter and yanked on his arm. She pulled him away. "Were you crying in that classroom?" she asked in a low voice. She didn't know why she was doing this to him - after all he and Jen were both close friends of hers - but she was mad at him and Jen, really mad, and she wasn't sure why.

"Why? What'd she say?" said Zach, reaching out and stealing a copy of the school newspaper from someone's desk. "Oh..." he stammered. "Wow, that's... something.... else."

-----

As Jen sputtered "explicit words" the room became deathly quiet. The teacher looked up from her papers. "Miss Pole?"

-----

Hey, you know how Justin's nightmares came back to haunt him? I think ours are coming to capture us. Meghan drove home wondering how to explain this situation to her brother, shaking her head because the Hey, Will, just when you thought no one hates us more than Tess does didn't sound like a good alternative either.

-------

Ally fist-bumped Stacey in victory and hid her smile back behind her science book. Phase 1 was completed. Phase 2: coming up.

And for the first time in her life, Ally almost felt sorry for Miranda.

Peter expected the angry look on Nicole's face, as she tugged his arm. He did not want to admit it, but he had to. He whispered, "Yes."

Jen felt her cheeks grow red. Most of the eyes were on her, except Zach, Peter and Nicole. "Sorry."

Nicole hadn't noticed a word Jen had said. Her lips were drawn in a straight line. "I wish you'd stop crying over every little thing. It's a bit childish, don't you think?" she added sharply, still keeping her voice quiet so no one would hear their conversation.

Kayla's eyes went round as soccer balls, and her mouth formed an O. She stared at Jen.