Be Thankful Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Aly looked down her mother's old grocery list. Although the list contained contents more important than groceries. This list had a list of girls she had invited to her birthday. Her twelfth birthday. So far she was sure of four people she had invited. Those people were Stephanie, Angela, Celia and Hillary.

Aly's birthday was going to be a slumber party. It was going to be interesting to see her BFF, Stephanie mix in with Aly's new posse, Angela, Celia and Hillary. Her other friends would most likely be there too and they would have to get used to being around Angela Payton. Angela had always been the most fabulous girl in elementary school but not the nicest. She had dated Aly's big crush from fifth grade, Logan Camerons and that was enough competition for Aly. But Angela still liked him and Aly hadn't lost the vibes in entering sixth grade in September. Logan had mixed feelings for them both and Angela still was in the need to know.

"ALY!" yelled Nadia, Aly's younger sister. It was time for school. Aly swiped her lip gloss from her desk, grabbed her homework, her backpack and was out the door. Her mom was waiting in the silver Honda pilot. "Aly you take a while these days" she said. "I was planning my party" said Aly. "Oh. So who's coming this year?" Mom was paying atention now. They were backing out of the driveway. Aly listed all the girls she had invited until her school came into view.

Aly went to Monroe Middle School. Lots of bullies and snobs went there but Aly hadn't dealt with any of it yet. She was the most popular girl. Or runner up for most popular girl. She and Angela Payton were tyed for that place. But they were friends (kind of)

The Honda drove up in front of Monroe and Aly hopped out. "Aly remember to think about inviting Andy. Her mom's been giving me a hard time" Mom called out after her. Ugh thought Aly. Andy had brought popularity to Aly. All she had done was drive her insane so Aly said no.

She had been the first to do that. No way would Aly invite her to her slumber party. Mom knew that Aly hated Andy but Andy's mom, Mrs. Moore insisted that Andy needed to make friends. (No wonder)

"Hey" said Angela. "I'll be back but Celia wants to show me a sticker on her cousin's new Mercedes. Celia's mother had a Jaguar. The Martins were filthy rich. From where Aly stood she could see Hillary peering over Celia's shoulder to read her iPhone. On Aly's route to her locker, she said her "Yo" to Taryn and Taryn's friend Katrina, waved to Jenna, said hi to Sophie, yelled to Lauren down the hall and David and Max, (Celia and Hillary's crushes) said "Hi Aly". Everyone glanced at her.

While sorting through the weekend's homework, Logan approached Aly. "I was looking for you" he said. They hadn't talked since the Halloween dance. "Oh" said Aly. She didn't know what to say. "I won't take Angela out anymore" he said. "Really?" asked Aly. "Yeah" he said. "But don't tell her" "I won't" said Aly. They smiled.

Behind the Costume Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Carter went up with his friends and stood by Aly. Angela, Celia and Hillary were watching carefully. Logan, David and Max stood nearby. "So" said Angela. Aly tapped Carter's shoulder. "This is Carter" Angela's eyes bulged. Celia gasped and Hillary smiled. "Hi girls" said Carter. Aly

sighed with relief. All was going well.

"Hiiii" said Angela. "Hey" said Celia. "What's up?" asked Hillary and she extended her hand. Carter took it, shook it and asked Hillary about her liking of sports. The girls got drinks and the two minutes were over. Carter walked away.

"Oh my god, Aly!" hissed Angela. "That was an eighth grader! How in the world did you get him?" She was very impressed. Aly almost said to go thank Stephanie. Celia went on about how she would've dressed better if she knew and Hillary whined about not checking the news for the latest sports game. "Dudes" said Aly. "We're not boyfriend and girlfriend. It was just this dance" "Well it was actually a perfect idea. We are now the most popular girls in the sixth grade. We hold the Alpha title" Angela grinned. "Just wait until the eighth grade girls hear about you" Aly felt good. Everyone was happy now. Almost.

The DJ announced a couples dance. "Let's get our dates!" cried Celia. "Let's" said Angela. They ran off leaving Aly. This was bad. Dancing was not the plan. "I don't want to dance" said a boy's voice. Aly turned around.

That had been Logan speaking to Angela! Angela gasped along with Celia and Hillary. Aly hurried to find a seat in the back away from them all. Then she realized that Logan had followed her. Hopefully Angela didn't notice. Yikes!

"Aly I need to talk to you" said Logan. He sat down next to Aly. Aly's heart was beating really fast. "At Angela's party I was going to say that I think you've changed" he said. Aly looked into his blue eyes. "Whats that supposed to mean?" she asked. Logan sighed. "In fifth grade you were funny but now you look different and your personality seems different" Aly understood. She was different. Get on with it Logan!

The party was over realized Aly. She had a moment to spare before Stephanie's mom got here and Carter escorted her. "I have to go" she said to Logan. Aly began to run. But she tried to turn in the crowd. Logan was yelling something at her. "Angela called me. Otherwise I would've chose you!" it sounded like. Aly smiled to herself. Logan liked her after all. She had learned that not everyone was to be trusted and to pay close attention.

She realized she had work to do. Her birthday was very soon and a party needed to be planned. So much was in store for her and she couldn't wait to find out what the surprises would be. At home she opened up her Yahoo! Mail and sent a quick reply to Stephanie's plan.

To: Stephanie Wilson <sizzlinsw@yahoo.com>

From: Alyssa Ramsey <alykat1996@yahoo.com>

Subject: RE:Plan

TY sooooo much! It workd out well. I found dat Angela had called Logan and made him b her date. so he wouldve asked me. its almost time 4 my bday! any ideas?

xoxoxox

Aly

THE END

Behind the Costume Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Aly was ready for the dance. She had taken a shower using her favorite American Girl Strawberries n' Cream bodywash and then used the Mango lotion that Taryn had given to her last year. Then she had washed her face using the new Neutrogena Wave that Vanessa Hudgens had demonstrated in a TV ad. She was wearing her pink 60's dress again, this time with body glitter, side ponytail and a matching scarf around her neck.

"ALY!" called Nadia, Aly's little sister. "Your ride is here!" Aly bounded downstairs, reached for her student I.D and ran outside. Stephanie was right. It was exactly 6:50 PM. Carter was waiting in the car with all his friends. Stephanie was nowhere in sight. Aly thought maybe the disguise thing was a joke. Eventually Monroe came into sight along with lots of her costumed classmates. Including Angela, Hillary and Celia all sitting in Mrs.Martin's Jaguar. Aly felt her stomach turn to lead when she saw the boys come into view. Especially Logan.

The van doors opened and Aly picked up the ends of her dress and hopped out. The cold October air swirled around her and she shivered. Angela waved to her so Aly waved back. Then she saw Taryn wave and then Charlotte on the other side of the parking lot. No one noticed her beat up 1989 Toyota since this year's Jaguar was the main focus. Aly wanted to race to them but she had to be "escorted" in by Carter. This was very confusing.

Aly walked aside Carter into the dance room. Inside they were separated but Aly knew soon that Angela and her posse would get to meet him. Eventually Angela and Logan were standing next to her. "So where's the mystery boy?" asked Angela anxiously. Aly cocked her head. "Didnt you see him escort me in?" she asked. Angela shook her head. "Aww man" Aly pretended. "I let him go off with his friends so we could talk" Angela rolled her eyes.

Celia ran up with David panting at her side. Her model outfit was a lot of Victoria's Secret stuff with some fake Miss Universe pageant pins. She had her make-up done so she was very dazzling compared to Angela's Goth Superstar that everyone could tell was definetly Party City. "Oh my god Aly! Look over there! Those are my cousins from Florida!" Celia said jumping up and down. Her Floridan cousins were tanned and bright blonde dressed as cats. They looked very catty in Aly's opinion.

Then Hillary came over in a soccer uniform. She had done her hair and make-up so she still looked pretty. It made her gray eyes stand out and her tomato red hair looked a nice auburn. She complimented on Aly's costume.

The dancing started and Jenna and Sophie giggled with Aly about their costumes. Sophie was Tinkerbell and Jenna was Glinda the Good Witch. "Lauren's the Wicked Witch of the West" giggled Jenna. "I should've been Dorothy" said Sophie, frowning. "Or Toto" laughed Aly. They burst into loud fits of giggles.

Then Taryn came by with Katrina who chatted along pleasantly. Eventually Aly introduced Charlotte to all of them. Charlotte got along fine with all of them. Aly was comfortable now. All her friends were having a good time and she was a part of it. Her stomach dropped when Lauren came by. She was wearing green facepaint on her cheeks along with fake warts to be the Wicked Witch of the West. Aly thought she was a good one.

"So" said Lauren looking at Aly. "Where's your date?" Aly turned red. The fun was over. Jenna and Sophie went to get pizza, Taryn and Katrina sat down and Charlotte went to the restroom. Lauren was glaring at Aly still. "What a follower" said Lauren and she turned around. "I am nawt a follower" said Aly. Lauren turned back to Aly. Aly spoke first.

"I don't have a date" she said. "But I have an escort" Aly giggled. Then Lauren giggled. They had made up. But Angela broke the moment. "Come awn Aly!" she yelled. Uh oh thought Aly. It was time to introduce her "date".

Behind the Costume Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Holy crap!" cried Aly. "The Halloween dance is in two days and I have absolutely no idea of who my date is going to be" Aly and Stephanie were fumbling with their ballet things in the car. "Wow" said Stephanie. Aly's eyes widened. Stephanie wasn't going to help her?

"Aly, no need to freak" said Stephanie noticing Aly's face. "I will think of something. But first I need to ask a few questions" Aly turned to face Steph. But they were interupted by Stephanie's mom, Mrs.Wilson.

"The Halloween dance at Monroe?" she asked. "Yeah" chorused Aly and Steph. "Ohhhhh" she said. "You know about it?" asked Aly, surprised. "Yes, Carter's old Monroe friends invited him to go but it turns out that I will be taking them all" Carter was Stephanie's thirteen year old brother who would've been an eighth grader if he had stayed at Monroe instead of moving to St.Matthew's.

Stephanie's eyes lit up. "Aly, do any of your friends know the eighth graders well?" she asked. "No" said Aly. "I have an idea!" Stephanie was so happy so her idea must've been really great. "Holy crap Stephanie! You want me to go as Carter's date?!?" Aly was shocked. No way could she go with him. Carter was the one who picked on Steph and grossed them out with his guy friends.

"Aly you are crazy. No way would you ever be seen with my brother like that" Stephanie was disgusted. "My idea was for Carter to appear as your date. All he has to do is escort you in and out of the dance. Angela will be very impressed when she sees you with an eighth grader" Stephanie grinned. Aly grinned back.

"Wait" said Aly. "How will Carter know what to do and stuff? Most likely he will nawt be happy to go with me" Stephanie frowned. "I will ask my mom to pick you up so you can go together. Our parents won't get suspicious. I'll deal with my brother"

Mrs. Wilson dropped them off at ballet. It was a good class since Nicole Baxter had ended up moving away so she and Stephanie weren't friends anymore. They came out hot and sweaty. "So what's your answer?" asked Stephanie. "Do you agree to my plan?" Aly nodded. "I agree to your plan"

Stephanie made plans to send an e-mail to Aly with the information. They decided it would be better because IMs would be more visible to their parents. So Aly checked her e-mail every thirty minutes all afternoon waiting for Stephanie's message of successful planning. It finally came just befor Stephanie's bedtime.

To: Alyssa Ramsey <alykat1996@yahoo.com>

From: Stephanie Wilson <sizzlinsw@yahoo.com>

Subject: Plans

Dear A.

I am confirming our plans for Friday night. Mrs. Wilson will pick you up promptly at 5:50 PM. At exactly 6:00 PM, you will be dropped off at the main doors of Monroe Middle School. Mr. Carter Wilson will escort you to the dance. You will have exactly 2 minutes for your escort to socialize with your friends. At 7:58 PM, Mrs.Wilson will pick you up at the main doors and Mr.Carter Wilson will escort you out.

Sincerely,

S.

P.S. I will be there in case of an emergency. (Disguised)

Behind the Costume Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Aly was dressed in last year's Halloween costume, a pink 60's dress with a poodle on the skirt. It fit Angela's retro birthday theme. Angela was planning to show everyone the true Alpha.

"Hey!" said Angela, welcoming Aly inside. The party was at Celia's and Celia was showing off her enormous home which fit the whole sixth grade. Hillary was dressed as a baseball player insisting it was retro because back in the days the African Americans had their own team seperate from whites. Celia wore leggings and a long pink blouse which she tied off with a rhinestone belt around the waist. Her blonde hair was in a side ponytail and rainbow earrings finished the 80's look. Angela wore a tie dyed shirt with cuffed jeans along with rainbow glasses and long necklaces.

"What year does that outfit represent?" asked Aly. "Hippie years" giggled a voice behind them. Angela turned around abruptly and scowled at Jenna who was giggling with Sophie. "Here" said Sophie handing a present to Angela. Then they ran off with Aly.

"Didn't she look like a hippie?" giggled Jenna. Jenna was wearing a tie dyed tee which she wore over her soccer shorts. "What are you?" Aly asked Sophie. Her hair was plastered with hairspray and she wore a bright green plaid dress. "I'm Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray! It takes place in the 60's" Sophie loved all musicals.

Just then Lauren came and Jenna and Sophie were quiet, then left with Lauren. Aly was glad they weren't mad at her. She watched as they hurried to apelike, Amanda Barbodos but she was distracted when loud shouts of laughter were heard from the front of the house.

Bess Wilder was laughing loudest. "It's Charlotte O'Keith!" Aly hurried to the front. Charlotte's face turned bright red espicially when everyone glanced at the beat up 1989 Toyota. "I didn't think Toyotas were that old" said Max. Aly raced after crying Charlotte.

"It's so unfair" hiccupped Charlotte. "What cars do people here usually have?" she asked. Aly paused. "Hondas, Toyotas, Chevrolets, Fords, etc." "But that car was a Toyota" replied Charlotte, angrily. "They think your poor" Aly said honestly. "Oh" said Charlotte after a while. "Well we are, kind of. Our other family car was stolen. It was a 2005. My parents change jobs often and I am in a family of eight kids" Aly raised her eyebrows. "Don't worry about it" "Thanks so much" said Charlotte. "I never thought such a popular girl would ever help me out" Aly was shocked. Popular? Charlotte read Aly's mind. "You are really popular"

The two girls headed back to the party. It was all yummy food, games and then Angela opened presents. Aly gave her a gift card to use at any store at their local mall. Charlotte gave her a sketch pad which Angela raised eyebrows at and Celia gave her a necklace straight from Tiffany's. Everyone gasped at it.

Then the party was almost over when Aly found herself in a conversation with the boys. It started out with David's retro afro then Max's football tryouts and then Logan's cell phone. When it came to Logan's cell phone everyone started sharing their cell phones so it came to Logan glancing at Aly's.

"What kind of phone is it?" asked Logan. "It's Sprint's Sanyo Katana" answered Aly, coldly. Logan went aside with Aly. "Are you ok?" "Yes, why?" asked Aly trying to soften her tone and act innocent. "You seem....." Logan was looking for a word when David's mom honked at him to hurry up. Logan turned and ran away. "Logan, wait!" called Aly. But he was already gone.

Behind the Costume Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Aly's language arts class was providing partners for a new project so this would distract her from her confusing lie. Mrs.Kramer was calling out partners. "Alyssa Ramsey you will be with......." Mrs.Kramer looked down at her list and Aly crossed her fingers. "Alyssa Ramsey you will be with Charlotte O'Keith". Aly looked around the room for her partner. Who was Charlotte O'Keith? Looking around, Aly realized everyone knew who she was but since she had been so busy she hadn't even looked at her classmates from other elementary schools.

"Ew" said Bess Wilder (whom Aly recognized since Bess was a suck-up) "Did you see Charlotte's car? It's a 1989 beat up Toyota!" Bess giggled to the girl who was supposedly her best friend. Aly immediately felt bad for Charlotte for two reasons. One because her parents couldn't afford a car that was at least 2002 and two because Charlotte turned out to be a really nice girl.

Charlotte greeted Aly warmly and they giggled about TV shows they liked, like iCarly or American Idol while writing out their paperwork. Mrs.Kramer said they could keep the same partners for the follwing week and Aly chose to stay with Charlotte.

Later that night during Aly's IMing with Stephanie, Angela got online and brought back the lie.

AngelaAngel: Hiiiiiiiii

AlyKat1996: hey

AngelaAngel: i'm opening a chat with celia and hills

AlyKat1996: k

Aly was very upset over this whole muti-user chat. She was going to have to figure out something fast, so she sent an IM to Steph.

AlyKat1996: dude angela's online

SizzlinSW: ?

AlyKat1996: my lie!

SizzlinSW: im thinkin!

AlyKat1996: k

SizzlinSW: I know!

AlyKat1996: tell, tell!

SizzlinSW: tell em its a surprise who ur date is

AlyKat1996: crap! then i have to get a date fer sure!

SizzlinSW: duh! u said u had 1 so u will have 1......soon

Aly was in deep doo doo, no doubt. But now Angela's Yahoo! Messenger tab was ready. It was time to complete her lie.

AngelaAngel: Here they are!

TealCeal: like my Yahoo! name?

AlyKat1996: um yeah. but why teal ceal?

TealCeal: It's my stationery name

xoHillsxo: stationery?

TealCeal: why is that so wierd?

AngelaAngel: whos ur date Aly?

Aly paused to look at Stephanie's chat tab instead. All Steph did was encourage her but today it wasn't working. Aly slowly typed out her answer to Angela.

AlyKat1996: its a surprise

TealCeal: come awn!

xoHillsxo: puh lease, tell!

AngelaAngel: Aly....

AlyKat1996: i really want it 2 b a surprise

Geez they were so pushy. Aly stopped to IM Stephanie who was waiting for her response.

xoHillsxo: so whens ur partay, angel?

AngelaAngel: next sat. all planned out

TealCeal: the theme is?

AngelaAngel: a moment in time

xoHillsxo: ?

AngelaAngel: DRESS RETRO!

Behind the Costume Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next school day was very much the same as the day before. Amanda sat in Aly's place with Lauren, Jenna and Sophie. So of course Aly ate lunch with Angela's posse. (Otherwise she would end up with Andy, Janet or Bob)

"Yo man" said Taryn when they arrived to the cafeteria. "Yo dog" replied Aly glumly. "Yo dude" said a voice. Aly turned around surprised to see Katrina back from her long trip to Italy. "You're back?" asked Aly. "Yeah" said Katrina. "I got back last week"

Aly hadn't noticed. "So you hang out with Angela now?" Katrina pronounced it like a statement. Aly's insides churned remembering that she didn't like Katrina since she took her only time with Taryn. "Yes I hang out with Angela" said Aly proudly.

Katrina's response shocked Aly. "Well Angela passes on bad reps" Katrina obviously heard about her squabble with Lauren. Aly's inside was like a washing machine now. It was time to show Katrina an "Alpha" even though it was going to require bragging.

"You know I was invited to David's party two weeks ago" Aly bragged. "Yeah right" said Katrina. From what Aly saw so far Taryn wasn't going to defend her. But Angela saved Aly. "Oh hey Katrina. I never noticed you came here" Katrina opened her mouth but Angela cut her off. "So you heard about David's party, huh?" Katrina nodded. "Yeah well Aly and I had a great time flirting with all the boys. We brought back the life to that party" Angela smirked and grabbed Aly.

At their lunch table Angela dropped all dance topics so Aly survived the conversations while eating her sandwich but afterwards it came up. Hillary brought up their costumes. "What are you going as?" she asked. "I'm gonna be a model!" said Celia. "I might even bring my cousins up from Florida!" All the boys faced Celia. "How are you going to get Floridan girls?" asked Logan. "Yeah" said David. "They're not free ya know" "My dad can send them up in a private jet. They're nineteen" replied Celia casually.

Angela stole Celia's spotlight. Aly kept last night's IMs in mind. "I'm going as a Goth Superstar" bragged Angela. Aly thought of Stephanie's IMs again. "Is it a Party City costume?" asked Aly. Angela glared at Aly. Party City costumes were not high quality so of course Angela didn't want people to know she'd be getting it there. "No" she said quickly. "But do you have a date yet?" Angela caught the attention of everyone at the table.

Aly's face turned red. Oh gawd this was a deep doo doo situation. It was time for a lie that would have to come true somehow. "Yes I do have a date" she lied. Yet everyone believed it.