Is anybody familiar with the site, fanfiction.net? Well, this is the fic I'm writing for the Magic School Bus section.

Summary: 18 year old Phoebe Terese thought life couldn't get any better with her first boyfriend, Todd. Then, things start to take a turn for the worse when Todd turns abusive. Can she break away from this relationship?

Chapter 1: Phoebe

To think that only ten years ago, I was eight and transferring to a new school where I knew nobody. Now, I had seven of the best friends a girl could have. Tim, Carlos, and Ralphie unfortunately all went to different colleges than Arnold, Keesha, Wanda, and me, who all ended up going to Kent State together. Tim went to Ohio State; Ralphie got a baseball scholarship to University of Texas, and Carlos got a wrestling scholarship to Oklahoma State.
"All girls dorm," Keesha sighed as we moved our things into our room. We were living in Prentice, the all girls dorm. "This should beso much fun." She dropped her box at the foot of the bed.

"Is that sarcasm I sense in you, young Franklin?" I asked, grinning.

"Is that a crappy Obi-Wan Kenobi voice I sense in you, Terese?" she shot back. We both laughed, and we started to unpack. Keesha noted the number of polos I pulled from my bag. "Jeebs, Pheebs, what's with the preppy attire?"

I cocked an eyebrow and put my hands on my waist. "Did you just say 'Jeebs, Pheebs'?"

"Shut up."

There was a knock on the door, and we turned to find Wanda and Dorothy Ann standing there. Wanda had gone through sorority recruitment, and she was a non-initiated member, or pledge, of Gamma Delta Theta, or just Gamma Delt. She was wearing her Gamma Delt t-shirt, and Dorothy Ann had a biology book under her arm.

"Bio, D.A.?" Keesha asked with a smirk. "Class doesn't start until tomorrow!"

Dorothy Ann shrugged, her long blonde hair covering her shoulders. "I wanted to get ahead on the reading."

"Pfft," Wanda said rolling her eyes. "Who needs to study right away? I have a 9:30 tomorrow. History of the United States to 1864. Like I need to know that!"

Dorothy Ann sat down on one of the computer chairs. "What classes do you two have tomorrow morning?"

"Underwater basket weaving," Keesha said in a serious tone as she took her posters out.

Wanda's eyes went wide. "They i seriously /i have that class? I want to take it!"

Keesha looked at her. "Are...are you serious?"

There was a blank state between the two of them, and I broke the silence. "Well, I have Media and Society tomorrow at eight."

"Eight AM. Impressive," Wanda said. "Yeah, good luck with that"
I walked across campus to the journalism building the next morning, iPod headphones in my ears (listening to Death Cab For Cutie, no less), and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see my smiling, red-headed male friend of the past ten or so years. I turned my iPod off.

"Hello there, Arnold," I said.

"No matter the un-godly hour of the morning, you're still the bright and chipper Phoebe we all know and love," he said with a small smile. "Where're you heading?"

"Media and Society."

"Seriously?" When I nodded, he laughed and said, "As do I."

I cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you were going for geology, you rock geek."

Arnold laughed. "I'm geek-sheik. Get it right, Jules."

My middle name is Julian (yes, I am aware it's a boy's name), and Arnold is the only one who can call me "Jules". Not too many people know my middle name, and those that do know better than to call me "Jules". Like I said, only Arnold can.

I smiled. "Well, you i were /i geek-sheik in like junior high. You were just geek in elementary school."

"What kid wasn't?" he asked shrugging. "I seem to remember, Miss Terese, that you wore that atrocious red jumper."

I let off an indignant shriek. "It was i not /i atrocious! It was cute!"

He winked, his blue eyes smiling. "I was kidding. It was cute. Especially the knee highs."

Arnold and I have been friends since we were in third grade, but we became almost best friends during junior high and into high school. He's my strictly platonic guy friend, so I feel safe enough to say that he is probably one of the most adorable boys around. Girls like him, and every so often, I'll spot a girl blush and turn away when they saw him coming. I like to tease him about it, too. He (and Ralphie, Carlos, and Tim, actually) is the only boy I feel comfortable with to act myself and joke around with. Wanda has noted that I flirt openly with him, but I don't think that I do. He's also a fraternity pledge. Chi Tau fraternity is where he lives since the Chi Taus like their pledges living in house (Arnold laughed when I pronounced Chi like "chee" instead of "ky". Our joke is that its name is "Chee Tau")

"Are you off in The Land of Terese again?" he asked, tapping my shoulder.

I nodded. "Yeah, that tends to happen."

After class, Arnold and I had our two different classes in the same building, and after that, I felt my stomach growling. Arnold and I met outside the building, and he took my pinky in his.

"How was class, my lanky lady friend?" he asked.

"Hey, I may be a lady, and your friend, and..." I stopped. "Wait, I am lanky."

He laughed. "And freckly." I felt my cheeks blush. "Yes! I caused you to blush! Highlight of my day."

I smiled and bit my lip. "Well, you run along home now. I'm gonna go get a bite to eat."

"Nonsense." He pulled me along with him. "You have a fiver on you?"

"Yeah."

"Then come eat with me at the house. We're having hamburgers, but since you're not in the fraternity, for obvious reasons, you have to pay five dollars to eat with us."

"Arn, I don't eat red meat," I reminded him.

"I know. You can make a sandwich with the veggies and buns."
I walked with him to the large, almost gothic looking, Chi Tau house. The Greek letters "XT" were above the door, and he punched the numbers on the key pad lock to unlock the door. We walked in the foyer, old composite pictures of Chi Taus from the 70's staring back at us. He lead me to the dining room where a few other boys were eating. We went through the small buffet set out, and we sat down with two other boys.

"Will, Kyle, this is my friend Phoebe," Arnold said.

Will, also a red head, shook my hand. "Nice to meet you."

Kyle, a brunette, also shook my hand. "Well, Arn, I gotta say, you have nice taste."

At the same time, Arnold and I both said, "We're not dating." I felt my cheeks flush, and Arnold's ears turned red.

After we ate, Arnold and I stayed at the table with Will and Kyle, and two more boys, Michael and Stephen, joined us. I looked at my Fossil cuff watch. It was 1:43.

"I have a two o'clock class," I said getting up. "I better get going."

Arnold took my hand and squeezed it. "I'll see you later, then."

I smiled. "Definitely."

I slung my bag on, and I walked out of the dining room. A really tall boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes walked past me. We happened to catch each other's eyes and smiled.

It was the first time in a while a boy made my stomach flutter.

Chapter 2: Keesha

A/N: This is Keesha’s POV, the day before her classes.

I spent most of my day in the Student Center, trying to get over my initial homesickness. It was so hard leaving my mom and grandmother.(I’m an only child) I stayed in the TV Lounge area, watching TV, then around 5:30, I went to D.A’s dorm room. She stays in Wright Hall, a co-ed dormitory with 12 floors, a computer lab and a dining area. Wright hall was apart of 3 resident halls called Tri-Towers. I envied D.A. for staying in a really great, co-ed dorm. (Unless you count Centennial Courts, which have their own bathroom as opposed to the other dorms, where you have to share with floormates). Anyway, when I arrived at her dorm, I walked over to the elevator and pressed the UP button. When the elevator doors opened, I pressed the 7 button and went to the 7th floor. When I stepped out the elevator, I walked down the hall to D.A.’s room and knocked on the door. Her roommate and our high school buddy, Allie answered.

“Hi, is Dorothy Ann here?” I asked

“Sure, come on in” she said, opening the door.

I stepped in the room. D.A. was sitting at her desk. She had her reading glasses on and was still reading her bio book.

“Damn, Dorothy…you’ve been studying all day!” I cried as I walked towards her.

D.A. looked up from her book and gave me a look. She absolutely HATED when people called her Dorothy.

“She’s been doing that all day,” Allie said as she applied makeup on her face.

“I just want to be prepared for my first day of college! Is that not allowed?” D.A. said almost shouting.

I nearly jumped. Allie raised her eyebrows. D.A. rarely yells. (And if she does, it’s usually at Carlos)

“Gosh…sorry D.A.” Allie said She grabbed her purse. “You do what you want to…but I’m going to chill with my friends. I’ll be back later.” She walked towards the door

“See ya, Keesh” she said as she walked out the door.

“Bye!” I called. I then sat down on the colorful futon. I was starting to feel homesick again.

“So, what have you been doing all day?” D.A. asked as she continued to read.

I stifled a sniffle. “In the TV area of the Student Center”

D.A. looked over at me. “Are you crying?”

I quickly wiped a few stray tears. “No! No, of course not!”

D.A. walked over towards me. “Yes, you are.” She sat next to me. “Are you homesick?”

I sighed. “Yes.”

“Awww…don’t worry. We are not even an hour away from home! You can go home anytime you want. And don’t forget, you have me, Arnold, Phoebe and Wanda when she’s not being an egotistical bitch.”

I couldn’t help but to smile at D.A.’s comment about Wanda. Sure Wanda is one of my best friends, but sometimes, she can really get on my nerves. First of all, every comment out of her mouth is some sort of swear word and secondly, she constantly talks about sex! Like we actually care whom she did it with. She is especially annoying when she’s around Janet Perlstein, Arnold’s crazy cousin.

“Am I right?” D.A. continued

“Yes. I suppose you are,” I said.

“Good. Now, lets go get a bite to eat”

We went downstairs to the 24 hour restaurant called Rosie’s. We ordered our food and sat at the booth and just started conversing about different things. D.A.’s high school friends joined us an hour later and we ended up having a great time.
Around 9:30, I went back to my dorm. I felt a little better about things. When I entered my room, I found Phoebe sitting in her chair. She was watching her O.C. DVD set. She also had this dopey grin on her face.

“Hey, Pheebs” I said as I sat at my computer table

“Hi, Keesh” she said in a lovey-dovey voice.

I turned on my laptop, ignoring the tone in her voice. “So, Pheebs, what did you do today?”

“I mostly just hung out with Arnold all day. OOH MY GOD! When I was at Arn's, I laid eyes on this GORGEOUS guy. He was tall. Blonde hair and the cutest blue eyes I've ever seen

“He sounds cute,” I said as I logged into my Myspace account.

“He IS! I hope I can see him around sometime. He’s major hot….a major cutie” She sighed dreamily

“What would Arnold say?” I asked curiously

“Why would Arnold care?” Phoebe asked

“Because I know you like him” I said. I turned to face her. Her face was a deep shade of red.

“Keesha Jasmine Franklin, are you crazy! I don’t like Arnold... not like that anyway. He is strictly my guy friend. Nothing more!”

I shook my head. Ever since 3rd grade, Arnold and Phoebe have been best friends. He even escorted her to the junior prom and all the Senior dances. And at the senior ski trip, when Arnold twisted his knee snowboarding, she never left his side.

“You did so like him. Back in 3rd grade!”

“That was 3rd grade...this is college!” Phoebe snapped

I smiled and turned back to my laptop. “Sure, Phoebe…whatever you say”

“Our relationship is strictly platonic” she mumbled.
My first day as a college student wasn’t half-bad. My Intro into Mass Communications professor, Evonne Whitmore was already annoying me, and kept swallowing her saliva as she spoke! After class, I met up with Phoebe and we walked over to the Student Center for lunch. As we walked in, we saw a sign that read:

SPEED DATING

Come and join us for a speed dating party! This party is for lonely singles, looking for a chance at a relationship. If you want a chance at love, then this is the part for you!

WHERE: The Kent State Ballroom

TONIGHT: 8PM-Midnight

“Speed dating?” said Phoebe, confused as we walked in the center

“Yeah, its where you go and you have five minutes to talk to some and if you like someone, then you two exchange numbers and hang out or go on a date. And then you talk to another guy. I think we should try it,” I said.

“I’m not sure…me and parties don’t mix” Phoebe said. (Even now, Phoebe is still shy and quiet)

“It won’t be so bad. I’ll be there.” I said reassuringly.

“Well…”

“Didn’t you say you wanted a boyfriend?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“Then this is the perfect opportunity for you to get your first boyfriend!”

Phoebe thought for a moment and then sighed. “Okay. I’ll go”

I squealed. “Okay, great! And who knows….maybe Arnold will be there and you too can finally hook up.” I said in a kissy voice.

Phoebe walked ahead of me, going into the food court area, giving me the finger. I laughed and followed.

Chapter 3: Dorothy Ann

“Why did I sign up for Honors courses?” I mumbled on our very first morning of classes.

“Because you're a brainac,” said Allie as she put in her contacts.

It was 10:30 in the morning, and we were getting ready for class. I had three classes- bio, math, and English. Bio and math were my morning classes, and English was my late afternoon class. Bio and math are both hour long classes, and English was an hour and ten minutes. Oh, joy.

I sighed and stuffed my giant bio book into my one strap shoulder backpack. I was getting sick of being called a brainac. I was valedictorian of Walkerville High School (with a 5.0 GPA, thanks to 4 years of high school honors courses), plus I was president of our schools National Honor Society. When I applied here, my advisor suggested that I should take all honors courses, since I had the grades for it. I don’t know why I listened to her.

“Ugh, I’m going to have chronic back pains thanks to these books,” I moaned.

My roomie laughed as I struggled out the door. “Good luck, D.A.!” she called.

My first class, biology, which started at 10:50, was a tough one. We actually started off with a pop quiz. What kind of crap is that? We didn’t even need our books. I mumbled some choice words as I walked out and off to my next class, algebra. I literally sat there in awe, as my professor, Ryan Moltra, gave us the run down.

I couldn’t wait to get the dodge out of there.

When advanced algebra was over, I raced out of the hall and into the Student Union area. I went over to the Chinese food place and ordered sesame chicken and ham friend rice. Then I looked around for some familiar faces. I spotted Phoebe and Keesha sitting at a table by the giant window. I went over and joined then.

“Hey, guys, how was class?” I asked as I sat down.

“Class was good. I already can’t stand my professor,” Keesha said as she bit into her chicken salad.

“I love English. My professor says we’ll be doing three essays this year and I can’t wait!” Phoebe said excitedly.

Keesha and I exchanged looks. Hearing Phoebe talk about English made want to hurl. We continued talking, until we heard that all too familiar voice.

“What’s up, bitches?”

Keesha, Phoebe and I looked up. There stood Wanda in all her glory. And guess who stood next to her?

“JANET?” the three of us cried out

“The one and only!” she said.

“What are you doing here?” Phoebe asked.

“If you must know, I go to school here now. Wanda and I are in the same sorority!”

Oh, jeez. It’s just what we needed. Another Wanda clone. Somewhere between 3rd and 6th grade, Wanda and Janet became close friends. In high school, they were like a clique, never leaving each others sides. They even signed up for the same classes and even won for Favorite Best Friends in our senior year. Now, they were inseparable.

Wanda and Janet sat beside Phoebe, and I can already tell Phoebe was uneasy. Wanda and Phoebe got along just fine, but Janet and Phoebe were like chocolate ice cream and an onion. They just don’t mix!

“Ugh, I still see you’re eating those nasty veggie burgers again,” Janet said as she eyed Phoebe’s plate.

“I don’t eat red meat,” Phoebe said between her teeth.

“Too bad. You could use the extra weight”

I decided to change the subject. “So, what are everyone’s plans for tonight?”

“Phoebe and I are going to a speed dating party,” Keesha said.

Janet and Wanda nearly choked on their Cokes.

“Phoebe? Speed dating? Is this a joke?” laughed Janet.

“Phoebe’s never even made it to first base!” Wanda cried, nearly spitting out her drink. She and Janet high fived each other.

Phoebe smirked at Wanda. “Well, I’m not the one who got gonorrhea on their very first time”

Everybody tried to stifle their laughs, including Janet. Wanda rolled her eyes and looked out the window.

“Phoebe got you good, my sorority sis,” Janet said

“Ugh, whatever,” Wanda mumbled, still looking out the window.

It’s about time! I thought.

“So, about this speed dating…what is it?” I asked, getting back on point.

“Its like a party, where you talk to someone, and if you like them, you exchange contact information,” Phoebe said, nibbling on a French fry.

“Ooooh. Good luck.” I said. The idea of a speed dating party made me nervous

“Maybe we ought to go,” spoke up Wanda to Janet.

“Yeah…hopefully that cute frat guy Todd will be there. He is a major hunk,” Janet said.

“Yeah, and maybe Pheebs and Arnold could hook up,” Keesha said.

Janet laughed hard. “Yeah, my cousin with old mosquito chest. That’s a good couple.” She and Wanda laughed and high fived again.

“Well, at least my boobs aren’t bigger than my own head!” snapped Phoebe.

Keesha, Wanda and I burst out laughing. Janet folded her arms across her chest and scowled. Janet was what you’d call an “early developer”. At the age of 11; she was the only one in our grade with a full chest. And now, her boobs are rumored to be a triple D!

“Wow, two for two, Pheebs,” Keesha said.

Janet mumbled something incoherent under her breath. We all ate in complete silence for five minutes before Wanda asked, “What time is it?”

I looked down at my G Force watch my little sister Evan gave to me as a gift. “Five till 1.”

Phoebe jumped up. “I got to go. I have an orientation class at 1:05.” She gathered all her garbage and threw it out.

“Meet me in the dorm room at 6:30!” Keesha called as Phoebe ran out the café.

Janet and Wanda stood up as well. “I guess we’ll get going too. We promised a couple of sorority sisters we’d chill out with them,” Janet said.

“Yeah…it’s great to be in a sorority, huh?” Wanda said boastfully.

I glanced at Keesha. She just rolled her eyes. Nine more months of this, I thought. Wanda and Janet left their trash there, linked arms, and started to walk off

“See ya later, bitches!” they called out to us.

This time, I rolled my eyes.

“Come on,” Keesha said, as she threw her trash away. “Walk me to my class”

“Okay…which class is it?” I said.

“Ugh…honors English with Professor Rivera,” Keesha said, making a face.

I smiled, and we headed out.

After class, I walked back to my dorm when I heard someone calling behind me.

“Dorothy Ann! Hey, wait up!”

I turned around to see Arnold jogging up to me. “Hey, Arn. What class did you get out of?”

“Western Civ. It’s for my humanities.”

“Ouch.”

He laughed. “Like you should say anything. You’re taking all honors classes.”

“Shut up. You doing that speed dating thing tonight?”

He nodded. “My roommate Jared convinced me. I’m not sure if I want to.”

I winked. “Why? Because of Phoebe?”

He threw his arms up. “I don’t--! Why does everyone--? Ah!”

“I’m kidding.”

“So I’m to assume you’re going to be looking for love tonight?”

I shook my head. “No. Not my kind of thing. Besides, I have homework I need to finish up.”

He patted my shoulder. “That’s our D.A.”

I grinned. “So, you’re sure you’re not apprehensive on the speed dating because of Phoebe?”

He quickly turned towards the Greek houses. “I’m not in love with her!”

I smiled inwardly and said to myself, I never said you were!

Chapter Four: Phoebe

I rummaged through my closet for something to wear that night. I wanted to look nice, but not too dressy. Keesha was going with a cute top, skirt and flip-flops. She looked just right, but everything I had made me look even more awkward. I threw a pair of gouchos on my bed and growled in frustration.

"Look, Pheebs," Keesha said with a smile. "Go with that white Hollister top--"

I held both of my white Hollister shirts up. "Which one? The one that says 'So Cal' in pink under the logo, or the one with the sunset and seagulls behind the logo?"

"Definately the 'So Cal' one. Wear it with the brown gouchos, and for shoes, wear your Birks clogs."

"Which ones?" Most of my shoes were Birkenstock clogs.

"The white ones. See, because you're actually somewhat tanned, the brown and white will accent your skin and auburn hair. Not to mention those freckles of yours."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Since when have you been a fashion expert?"

"Junior high and high school homeroom with Wanda," she said simply.

We both laughed, and I grabbed my light brown, corduroy purse. Keesha locked the door, and we headed downstairs. I was remembering the comment Keesha had said earlier about Arnold being there.

I don't know how many times I had to explain to her, D.A., and Wanda that Arnold and I were just friends. Sure he was very, very cute; sure his family and mine always took summer vacations together ever since the seventh grade; sure his parents were like mine and vice versa; sure I always thought he smelled nice, but we were just friends!

I felt Keesha poking my shoulder blade. "Hey, Pheebs, I just noticed that your shoulder blades could kill."

"What?" I was definitely not paying attention to her.

"Hey, whores!"

We both turned around to the sound of Wanda's voice. She was wearing a cami and flowy skirt with cute boots, and her jewelry was large and chunky. I swear, once that girl had hit puberty, she managed to also get excellent fashion sense. Her hair was longer now, her bangs done messy on her forehead, and she had her hair in wavy layers.

"So, I take it you two are going to take a swing at luuurve as well?"

Keesha scoffed. "Wanda, since when have you actually been in love?"

Wanda thought about it and said, truthfully (I think), "The last five guys I dated...last month." She tapped us both on the shoulder. "Listen, there's gonna be a party after this with the Alpha Psi boys. You two should come if you don't get lucky here."

I shook my head. "Wanda, I remember what happened the last time I partied with you."

"Phoebe Julian Terese, I would never..." she pressed her hand on her heart and her other hand on my shoulder. "...never leave you in your undies outside of Ralphie's house when you're slightly drunk at two in the morning with me and the gals laughing at you from behind a bush...again."

I rolled my eyes, and the three of us went on to the Student Center. The place was packed with different kids, some I recognized from my classes and high school. Then that's when I saw him. I grabbed Keesha's arm and pulled her close.

"That's him!" I whispered.

"Who? Arnold?"

"No! The Chi Tau boy I told you about!"

I already felt my cheeks flush. It was like a reflex with me or something. Arnold has the same habit (dammit, dammit! Stop thinking about him, Terese!).

"Blonde, blue eyes over there?" she asked, looking right at him.

"Yes!"

Keesha whistled. "Wow, he is gorgeous."

I know I was glowing red when he looked over and saw me. I didn't see his reaction as I turned away. Wanda, Keesha, and I all got our date cards, and we each sat at separate tables with different boys. Eight dates, each lasting eight minutes. I was nervous enough around boys. I can't believe I let Keesha talk me into this!

The first boy I sat down with was wearing a Kappa Theta Omicron homecoming t-shirt, and he was also wearing a worn out baseball cap. He was cute, but I noticed my eyes were wandering around for the Chi Tau boy.

"Hey, I'm Dustin," he said, smirking. He started to flex his arms. "Play baseball. I'm in the best mother****in' fraternity on campus. KTO! You're pretty cute. What's your name?"

"Phoebe," I managed to say in a barely audible whisper.

"Jeannie?"

"Phoebe," I said a little louder.

"So, Jeannie, where're you from?" He had the look of smug arrogance, and I immediately did not like him.

"Dallas," I lied. Hey, he did, after all, think my name was Jeannie.

"Oh, a Texas girl." He grinned. "You like to ride cowboys?" he asked with a wink.

"All the time." When the buzzer indicated the time was up, I quickly switched to the next table.

This boy was short. I was five-nine, so he was probably five-three. He looked up at me as we sat down, and he didn't look happy.

"No offense, but I don't date tall beanpoles."

I didn't say anything. He didn't bother to talk to me or acknowledge me, so instead, he got his cell out and started texting people. I sat there, feeling like an awkward, out of place loser.

The next three boys were nice, but I didn't really click. I got to the fifth boy, and I looked up to see Blonde Blue Eyes. He was wearing jeans, a nice collared shirt, and worn out Vans. He was pretty, and he was tall, and I wanted to melt away right then.

He smiled, his perfect white teeth showing. "Hi, there." He extended his hand as we sat down, and I shook it. "I'm Todd. Todd Fraser."

I felt my cheeks grow hot (damn them!). "Phoebe Terese."

Todd nodded. "I like your name. It's...different. Very elegant and old fashioned." I didn't know what he meant by that, but I didn't care. He was cute and charming. "I noticed you were over at the Chi Tau house earlier. I assume you wouldn't have a boyfriend there, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

I smiled and looked shyly down. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach ready to spontaneously combust. "No, no, my best guy friend is in your house."

"Really? Who?"

"Um, Arnold Perlstein." I took a drink of water since my throat was getting dry from my nervousness.

"Oh, Perlstein. Nice kid. But let's not talk about him, let's talk about you."

I nearly choked on my water. "Me? Wh-why?"

"You seem pretty interesting," he said, flashing another smile. "I bet there's a lot to you."

I shook my head, relaxing a bit. "Not...not really. Just an ordinary, small town girl."

"Where from?"

I took another drink of water. "Walkerville."

He nodded. "Nice town. So, what year are you?"

"Freshman."

"Major?"

"News-ed."

Todd smiled again and chuckled. "Doesn't seem like I'm gonna get much from you, am I? It's okay. Everyone's a little nervous. What would you like to do with your news-editorial major, Miss Terese from Walkerville?"

"Travel to New York or London. Work for a magazine or something."

Todd ripped his napkin and scribbled something down. "Well, our time is almost up, so here." He handed me the napkin. "Cell number. I would love to hear from you sometime."

I scribbled mine down for him. "Not if I don't hear from you first."

I went through the last three dates, none of them like Todd. I met up with Keesha and Wanda afterwards, and Keesha noticed my grinning.

"Wow, so did you meet the Chi Tau boy?" she asked.

"Yes. And he gave me his number, and I gave him mine."

Wanda held her hands up. "Wait, wait, wait. You, Phoebe J. Terese, you, as in you standing right there, managed to get Todd Fraser's number? HOW? HOW THE ****ING HOW?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. We just hit it off."

Wanda leaned on my shoulder with her hand and pointed in a general direction. "Phoebe, Todd Fraser is like one of the most eligible junior fraternity boys around! He's like a football player, he's really hot, and...and he's a JUNIOR. Dammit!" She threw her arms up in air. "First Arnold, Arnold of all people, laughed when I tried to use my Li charm on him, and then Todd Fraser was not even paying attention when I told him about my Dooney and Burke handbag collection, and now you have Todd Fraser's number!"

"Who has Todd Fraser's number?" a boy asked behind me. I turned at the familiar voice of Arnold.

"I do," I said.

Arnold raised his eyebrows and swallowed. "Oh...oh, so...I guess you two hit it off then?"

Keesha nodded. "She's been, like, crushing on him all day."

Arnold stuck his hands in his jeans pockets. "Well, I guess it worked out for everyone, then." He turned around. "I'm, uh, gonna head back to the house. Bye, ladies."

We watched him walk off, and I noticed something. "He didn't even hug me goodbye. He always hugs me." Keesha and Wanda exchanged a look. "What?"

Keesha shook her head. "Nothing."

---

This what I got so far.