The Fifth Wheel

Chapter 1

“Fitzy!”

Immediately, my dear brother gave me a powerful scowl.

“Don’t call me Fitzy,” he growled. His fingers lifted a bit but then fell back down. Old habits die hard.

I blinked innocently at him. “But Fitzy is such a cute name!” Smirking evilly, I added, “It rhymes with ditzy.”

His scowl darkened. Fitzwilliam Shawn hates his name just as much as he hates starvation around the world (which is heaps of loathing in case it wasn’t obvious). I mean, who would love it? Even Lizzie must have disliked it!

Lizzie? I’m only talking about Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My brother is named after the ever famous Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Me?

“And your name rhymes with banana, Georgiana.”

I gave Will a weird look. Is that the best he can come up with?

Pathetic.

Giving him a serene look, I informed him, “I like bananas.”

Will’s scowl turned to a glare – not that there was much difference.

“Why did Darcy’s sister have to be named a somewhat normal name?” Will muttered under his breath as he moved around the kitchen. “Stupid Georgiana. Why did mom have to love Pride and Prejudice…”

Georgiana Shawn. Of course, most people call me “George”. Only my dad, my uncle and my brother call me Georgiana and for the last of the three, that’s only when he’s annoyed with me… such as now.

I’m the only girl in our humble home. That’s because my mother died just when I was a year old. I don’t really remember her – how could I? – but like any typical girl, I miss her. My dad told me that to her, I was always Georgiana. He was the one who started calling me George – a habit Will and everyone else picked up – so after she died, Dad stopped calling me George and reverted to my full name. He’s the only one who regularly calls me by my full name – besides my uncle.

Will is two years older than me. That made him three years old when our mother died. He always takes care of me. Even when he became almost completely deaf, he would think of me before himself. He became mute while he wasn’t deaf – not because he couldn’t speak but because he didn’t want to. But he talked to me anyway if I needed him to. I love him for it! Of course, he’ll never hear that from me.

But Will is better now. His hearing is as good as mine thanks to a new hearing aid invention. But as I said before, habits die hard and he would still do sign language sometimes. He is slowly losing that habit though.

Finally, our temporary house member is my uncle, Martin Shawn. He is the COOLEST uncle ever! He’s currently staying with us due to one of his many business assignments. Not only is h cool at kicking as in business, but also in a physical sense! Uncle Martin has the most awesome moves that could leave any thug in a sobbing heap…

…And he’s already 48 years old!

Not bad, huh?

“Why are you so hyper today anyway?” Will asked, glancing at me. “You can’t even stay still on the seat.”

He was right. So I stood up and began waling around the kitchen.

“There’s something about today,” I said slowly, thoughtfully. “I think it’s going to be a good day.”

Ignoring my older brother’s mutterings, I didn’t know at that time how wrong I was.

Silly, silly Georgie.

“I’ll see you later?” Will made it sound like a question but it wasn’t. We always left school together in his Toyota.

“Yup!” I yelled back since he was already getting swept away into the hallways.

Will is eighteen and ready to graduate. I, on the other hand, have one year to go. Bu isn’t Will older than me by two years?

I entered school early and hate it. I would’ve excelled if I fell back one year but oh well. At least I get by…

Cough4thcough

Not that I’m bragging or anything. I’m nothing compared to my cousin Cedric. I mean, the guy doesn’t NEED to study!

But I do want to get closer to the top than just 4th. The top three are all guys! A girl has to be up there somewhere and I would very much like it if it were me.

Who wouldn’t?

But could I really be bothered to put an extra 10? Not really. I’m doing 90 at the most and I am holding back. But come one! I’m young only once! I can’t be too much of a nerd.

Besides, it’s not as though the three guys at the top are easy to beat.

Who are they anyway?

Hot, Hotter and Hottest.

Huh?

The three most popular guys in school. It’s almost sickening how they’re both good-looking and smart. And in one other’s case, athletic. I mean, who am I to compete? I’m far from athletic and I don’t even want to talk about my looks.

Fine, fine. I’m pretty. No, I’m not bragging – it’s a fact. I’m happy with how I look. I don’t have horrible acne scars or a crooked nose and lopsided eyes or anything. I’m also not the ultimately gorgeous person who gets stalkers and gets stuck in love triangles. Sheesh! I don’ want that hassle and complication in my life! I just want to… be…

So who are these three just too perfect people?

First of all, the one ranking third, Kristopher Rome. Where do I even start? The guy is an athlete, a player (I’m not talking about the sporty kind) and the third smartest guy in the grade (who could be second or maybe even first if he thought more of studying than girls)! Who the hell does that?! Well, he obviously does. No matter how much I hate it, he’s the one who’s always just 1, 2 or 5 marks ahead of me, thereby taking the third spot. It’s people like him I can’t stand! Or maybe the reason is because I’m just envious he has everything.

The second? The all too infamous Gareth Moran. Gareth. Pft! The guy sits there, hating the world and he ranks second without even trying! He could probably even beat the first if he tried even for just a bit but he just obviously couldn’t be bothered to. I hate that even more than I hate Kristopher’s absolute perfection!

Drum roll for Frederick Evans for getting the top spot. Frederick, I do not mind at all. He’s first and works to be there. How do I know? I see him at the library sometimes, studying. Well, he puts effort in the written stuff but he doesn’t bother with recitation. I’m not one to recite voluntarily anyway so who am I to point fingers? But out of the three, if I had to get stuck on some project with one of the three, I’d choose him.

“George!” a shriek. “Juice!”

I let out an “oomph!” when a body slammed into mine.

“Jammy!” I groaned out at my best friend. “How many times do I have to tell you not to jump me?!”

But Jammy ignored what I said completely as said best friend went on.

“You won’t believe it! You’d be blown out of your mind!”

“What is it?” I asked, rolling my eyes heavenwards as we stepped into our homeroom.

“It’s Melissa Hart,” Jammy whispered excitedly.

I sighed. What did I care about Melissa Hart? Sure, she’s every freshman’s idol… Heck, every schoolgirl’s idol. She’s beautiful, smart and kind. She’s loved by everyone but more importantly, by Kristopher, Gareth and Frederick. Who wouldn’t want to be her? Even some part of me does.

“What about Melissa Hart?” I asked because it was what Jammy wanted.

Jammy cupped a hand over my ear to soften the words.

“She’s lesbian!”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again. There have been countless of rumours of Melissa Hart being gay. I don’t know how that started but I highly doubted it. Jammy must’ve read the thoughts on my face ‘cause the talking continued.

“Well, bisexual,” Jammy corrected. “But apparently, she likes a girl at the moment!”

I shrugged before turning towards my seat. “Who cares?”

Jammy exploded.

“What’s wrong with you?! This is Melissa Hart! Melissa Hart! How could you just push this away like it wasn’t important-“

“James!”

“-You should care about what’s happening at the social scene if you ever want a date for-“

“James!”

Jammy spun around and roared, “WHAT?!”

The guy immediately cowered. My best friend James might be gay but he is NO push-over who tolerates being yelled at…

…Even if he deserves it.

James Fletcher. Gay but brutal. He is seriously the most sadistic person I know. Not in a physical way (eww!) but he’s sly and insane enough to do the most outrageous things to get people he doesn’t like in trouble as he watches at the sidelines, laughing his head off. How awful is that? But he’s my best friend and a couple of times, he became evil just for me. You gotta love that.

“You have to see Ms. Trenton,” the guy, Flynn Bart, said meekly. “She went here earlier looking for you but you weren’t here so she asked me to tell-“

“Yeah, yeah,” Jammy cut him off, waving a hand dismissively before turning back to me. “Anyway, we have to talk about this later.”

Blowing me a kiss, he left.

I watched Flynn as he approached me.

“He’s scary,” he commented before grinning widely. I gave him a mocking “tsk, tsk” sound.

“Down, Flynn, down,” I said with a smirk.

Flynn Bart has the biggest crush on Jammy. My oblivious best friend has no idea though. It’s sad but I like Flynn. He has the boy-next-door look with soft brown hair and equally soft hazel eyes. He’s a really nice guy and I know since I had to spend time with him due to a combined science research assignment.

He also knew that I knew that he liked my best friend. He made me promise not to tell Jammy. No one knows that Flynn is actually gay and it’s his business if he doesn’t want anyone to know yet.

“How are you, George?” he asked as I sat leaned on my desk. “We haven’t talked in a while.”

I nodded in agreement. “I know. Well, I’m good. How ‘bout you?”

“Good,” he replied. Then leaning in, he asked in a murmur, “Does James have his eye on anyone?”

He always asked. But then again, if I like a person, I would probably ask a lot too.

I shook my head. “Well, no one besides the Top Three.”

Yup. Jammy adored the Top Three (which I call them) like a hormonal, adolescent school-girl… only, he’s a guy. He wants the three people I envied because of their grades. He knew this too and his thoughts?

“Ha! You probably want the three of them to do naughty things to you too!”

Me? Sorry but over my dead body. I told him so too.

Of course, he didn’t believe me. Jammy only sees what he wants to see.

I reached up and gave Flynn a hug.

“If I had to choose anyone for him, I’d choose you,” I told him warmly. He hugged me back.

“Thanks George,” he whispered.

Pulling away slightly, I added, looking serious, “Heck, if I had to choose anyone for me, I’d choose you too. To hell with Jammy.”

He grinned and a dimple on the left side of his face appeared. “I always knew you wanted me, Georgiana.”

We both burst out laughing. We once joked about pretending to go out and seeing if Jammy would get jealous. But as soon as the idea was voiced out, we concluded that Jammy would probably be more jealous of Flynn spending more time with me than of me going out with Flynn.

The classroom suddenly became quiet before the noise started again. That could only mean one thing…

Either one of the Top Three entered or Melissa Hart did.

I looked over Flynn’s shoulder to see that it was Melissa and Frederick.

Melissa is definitely stunning, no arguments. A guy wrote poetry to her once and described her as shining and that was true enough. Her hair was the colour of the sun and her eyes the blue summer sky. Her skin was also a golden colour. I wasn’t sure if it was natural or if she spent time sun bathing. Tall with model-legs and a smile that would break a thousand hearts, she was a walking perfection. She was also the type to ruin the image of being pristine by picking up someone’s pencil from the mud but it just made her even more perfect.

She greeted everyone who greeted her with his/her names. The fact that she bothered to remember that many names…

Well, it was just really flattering and humbling.

“Hi, George, Flynn,” she greeted as she walked past us to get to her seat, which was next to mine. Frederick Evans gave each of us a nod, quiet and wordless as usual, before taking a seat at Melissa’s other side.

I stared at her, remembering Jammy’s words. She currently liked a girl at the moment… I don’t know whether I should congratulate that girl or feel sorry for her for having the Top Three as rivals as I’m sure they wouldn’t just let her take their precious Melissa.

Melissa suddenly turned to me, catching me looking at her. She smiled and I smiled back before Jammy stormed into the room, catching my attention.

“Damn woman!” he growled as he stomped towards Flynn and me. Glaring pointedly at Flynn, he barked, “Scat!”

I frowned at Jammy as Flynn quickly slipped away after muttering a “bye” at me. Why did he always have to be so mean to Flynn? Flynn was a nice guy!

“You should be nicer to Flynn,” I told him as he sat down. But Jammy merely rolled his eyes.

“It’s his fault for being such a wimp,” he replied flippantly. “I don’t like people who have no balls-“ I gave him a pointed look and he huffed in annoyance. “-unless they’re female of course. But he’s such a push-over.”

I was silent. Flynn was only a push over when it came to Jammy.

Ah, love… What a cruel, cruel mistress.

Er, master.

But now, Jammy was whining about a certain religion teacher.

“Make me normal and cure me! Hah! What does she think homosexuality is? A disease?! That woman is one big fucking homopho-”

I slammed my hand against his mouth as aforementioned “one big fucking homophobic’s” brother, our homeroom teacher, entered our classroom.

Jammy glared at me for hitting him but settled down. I quickly took my hand away before he decided to bite me and give me James-rabies.

During the homeroom period, I was drifting in and out of it. I did notice that Frederick Evans was being more talkative than usual. But then again, he was always “talkative” around Melissa Hart. He even gives her his small smiles, which are very rare!

“Time for first period, people!” Mr. Trenton announced as the bell rang. People shuffled out of the classroom.

“I’ll see you later at lunch, okay Georgie?” Jammy called as he went off. I noticed that Flynn hesitantly followed him. They had first period together for today though I doubted that Jammy even noticed. Flynn obviously did.

“Can I walk with you, George?” Melissa asked after she and Frederick said good-bye to each other. I just nodded. We often walked together to this class anyway – it was our only class together – if it wasn’t one of the Top Three walking with her.

Melissa Hart is our top five in the form by the way. She’s only a couple of steps behind me but I think she has a good chance of overtaking me.

“How was your weekend?” she asked in a conversational tone. Her voice was husky when she spoke softly but musical when she spoke louder. Overall, it was a very nice voice to listen to – very soothing.

“It was good,” I replied evenly. “And you?”

She gave me a story of how her family visited their grandparents. By the time, she finished, we were already standing outside the classroom. We were almost the same height – she was taller than me by about two to three inches but that was it. I’m not short either.

But as soon as the two of us went in, a sheet of paper got shoved into our hands.

“Lucky pair number 7: Melissa and Georgiana!”

I stared blankly at our history teacher. “Pair?” I echoed.

Mr. Pierce just nodded cheerfully as he patted our shoulders. “You will be stuck with each other for two months working on a project. How does that sound?”

I wouldn’t mind at all since I knew Melissa wouldn’t slack off a project but…

I looked up at the classroom and saw piercing electric blue eyes staring dead straight at me.

Kristopher Rome was not happy.

A/N: Thanks to my readers for this story! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I certainly enjoyed writing it!

By the way… Who expected George to be female? BUWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! LOL!

Playingwithfire – This chapter is dedicated to you! I hope you liked it! Were things what you expected? Well, I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Thanks!

JustWriter – Ahem… LOL! Well, George doesn’t have a sister – only an older brother. So what do you think? Thanks for reviewing!

Sorceress – Well, this chapter is longer… coz it’s the first chapter! As for Piper… I just have to get around to doing it. But don’t worry, I already had the whole plot planned out… It’s just starting chapters, you know? Thanks for reviewing!