Yes, I know it's been a long, long, LONG time since my last update – I can't even keep my own diary, much less my character's. However, I am back – and I think I'll start putting dates on these. It has been brought to my attention that it was NineDays, and not Matchbox20, who sings "Story of a Girl". Stupid lying internet lies. I do not own Jo Dee Messina's awesome song "All right" – note again that the websites sometimes lie about these things. Note that any book/manga/website is, unless otherwise stated, a legit book/manga/website. However, I'm sorry to say, you won't find this Blood Feud anywhere but my head. Oh, and note that this is a work of fiction and any resemblance of characters to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental *hears Sunny snort in the background* YOU STAY OUT OF THIS! Without further ado –

Well it's been a long time glad to see your face
I knew we'd meet again another time another place
Can't believe it's been so many years
You'd better grab a chair and a couple of beers
Lookin' good in you three piece suit
You know, I always knew you'd take the business route
You were always the one to follow the light and you look like you're doing alright

Thursday, October 28

Yep – more than a week has passed. Where'd it go, you ask? Hell if I know – if I knew, don't you think I'd go out and get it?

I wake up again, but this time it's not peaceful and for some reason I can't stop thinking about that stupid series Lost Tapes – the ever-so-fake Animal Planet thing about cryptids and myths – so… I basically lay in bed with my face covered by blankets, willing Blair to play songs to take my mind off of it… ugh, stupid brain – STUPID, STUPID BRAIN…

Been singin' for my rent and singin' for my supper
I'm above the below and below the upper
I'm stuck in the middle where money gets tight
But I guess I'm doin' alright

I had drama practice tonight – that cheered me up. Drama practice was totally awesome. And on Friday, we'd be two weeks away from opening night – so on Saturday we were building set – MAY THE CITY COUNCIL PASS OUR MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR THEATRE CENTER WITH CHAIRS NOT BLEACHERS AND A STAGE AND EVERYTHING – and starting next week we'd be having full cast practice, and we'd be building more set on Friday, November 5th and Saturday, November 6th, even though we had those days off from school because of Parent-Teacher Meetings – at which I'd be working at the book-fair. I did it last year, too – and I love that job so much. It's a good excuse to sit and read. Anyway, as I was saying, I did love play practice. Um… since I'm filled with mortal terror and the house just creaked again… so… introductions?

I'm all, I'm all, I'm alright
It's a beautiful day not a cloud in sight so I guess I'm doin' alright
o - oh, o - oh, I'm alright
Got a good old friend here with me tonight and I guess I'm doin' alright

Charlie is in the Pride and Prejudice spoof with me – she plays Cecily Chichester, the star – but luckily for me, she's not the type to rub that junk in your face. She's also an attendant in our Shakespeare play. She's a very dramatic person… *feels glare burning head*

Katelyn (senior) is in every play but Cinderella (she's really good) – as the wife in 'Trapped', Lady Fanny Bottomly in P&P, and Delia in our Shakespearean epic, 'All's Well that Ends As You Like It'. She's really nice – like everyone's big sister at practice.

Nick (senior) – one of the best singers, trumpet players, and actors, our choir teacher will cry and where black to school when he graduates – plays in every play Katelyn's in. He plays Major Thompson in Trapped, Marcus De'Angelo in P&P, and Dronio in All's Well. He really holds us together as we get more and more distracted… and is trying to convince Charlie that he is 'not a creeper.'

Patty (senior) is… well, he's a character. He's really fun to hang around and was one of the main people to campaign for me getting a sword as tall as me for the battle scene in All's Well – it will be epic. He's an awesome actor, too. He plays Sir Thomas in P&P, and a soldier – with a giant mallet that he's always pantomiming hitting me with, saying he'll make me a couple inches shorter, which is awful since I was short enough already – in All's Well.

Mark B. (senior) isn't the guy I expected to be an actor. But an actor he is – and an awesome one to boot. He plays Reverend Henry in P&P (personally, I think his voice sounds like a preacher's) and the Duke Frederigo in All's Well. We call him Big Mark, because Mark N. (sophomore) is… not much taller than me.

Mark N. (sophomore) is a really… different person. He plays William Squires in P&P and the Course Actor in All's Well. I could tell you things… but they wouldn't do justice. He's just fun to be around.

Rebecca (sophomore – or was it junior? No, it was sophomore… hold on a minute… *Sunny! What grade's Erica in?* *Um, Rani… points to text* *Shoot, can I go to jail for that?* *Well, people can go to jail for just about anything these days* *Down with Big Brother!* *bitebitebitebitebite* *goddam you…*) is, again, when I first met her, not the person I expected. She's a great actress and really has fun with everyone. And she has an epic dinosaur tie. She plays Mrs. Squires in P&P and a soldier (but she doesn't fight, she gets to do… whatever the attendants are doing) in All's Well.

Steven Wye (junior) who, for some reason everyone calls by his full name is… well, a very nerdy type. He's about a foot and a half taller than me… and he's quick to rub it in my face, goddam him! Contrary to what one might believe, though he looks and talks like him, he doesn't run like Double D from "Ed, Edd n Eddy". And, in that perfectly non-creeperish way that I obsess over guys' hair, *hears Taylor and Winter snort* *YOU DIDN'T SEE IT! THE KID IN SALEM HAD A FREAKING RED AFRO! IT BOUNCED, I TELL YOU!* his hair, like, ripples in waves when he runs… so awesome… *Ahem, Rani?* *Yeah?* *Quit your fantasizing* *Oh, GET OUT OF HERE, SUNNY!* He's a great actor, speaker, writer (he writes poetry – I met him last year at the talent show, at which I did the world's stupidest magic show) etcetera, etcetera… He's really one of those people who take control when he has to. He plays the House Manager in P&P, a soldier in All's Well, and Prince Charming in Cinderella – he gets to wear fishnets, lol… can't wait til dress rehearsal… *Control your urges* *I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT OF MY WRITING AREA, SUNNY! NOW LEAVE BEFORE I KILL CHARLIE OFF IN SOME RANDOM EXPLOSION!* Ahem, he also has a really cheesy smile and *Raaaaaani liiiiiiiikes RRRRR-urk* *slaps hand over Sunny's mouth* *glares at her* *Don't. You. Dare. Say. That. On. The. Internet.* *Don't pretend you don't – it's painfully obvious* *JUST LEAVE BEFORE A TERRORIST BLOWS CHARLIE UP!* *watches Sunny leave* *locks door* Um… carrying on… to the next person…

Kolby (junior) is a sometimes creepy but totally epic, ninja, fun to be around emo-ish type… sort of… I really can't figure him out… anyway, he's a friggin acrobat – I met him at the talent show last year, too, he sceamoed the abc's and played jump rope with his leg… crazy… He's a great leader. He plays The Good Fairy Godmother in Cinderella… now that'll be something… Kolby in a fairy dress… *shivers* and the evil Duke Bronchio in All's Well. He's um… well, sometimes he creeps me out, but he's really funny and creative.

TK – yep, he does the announcements with me – but he is also Testiculo! *ahem* Oh, right, sorry… we changed that… Sillio! The clown in All's Well! Because he's about three feet taller than me, I get to fight him in the epic battle scene. And he gets to hit me with a pillow.

Tapaz got a part in Cinderella – the fun part, I might add – where all she has to do is get annoyed with people as the… STAGE PROMPT! She's really good at it, too… She's a great actress, if a little shy…

Andrew (sophomore) is really a character… Mark N.'s best friend… sits by Charlie in band… she says that he does some weird things… Like dinosaur hands… an avid zebra lover… and he's my Pokémon pal. He plays George in Trapped, Hernia (the ugly stepsister) in Cinderella and a soldier in All's Well.

Darren (junior) is an odd person – he's always around to get people to laugh, though. He's been a presence in my acting career since Missoula Children's Theater. He plays the Friar in All's Well.

Aaron (senior) is Kate's cousin – he's a very fun person to be around. He's in improv with me and… hold up… *checks above list* Kate, Rebecca, Kolby, Mark N. and Reggie. He's an awesome actor, singer – but he never has any expression when he sings… it's creepy, actually… He plays Buttons in Cinderella and the Nurse in All's Well.

That leaves – since I only feel like introducing All's Well for now, and Charlie and Tapaz, minus the attendants, since I'm not quite sure who they all are…

Reggie (sophomore) is a really fun person to be around. He's a great actor, and practically lives to laugh. He plays Sammy (the cat) in Cinderella and a soldier in All's Well.

Sam (senior) at first, I thought he was just a set guy… someone who built stuff (and he does) but he acts, too… and doesn't mind doing weird shit… and, boy, do we do a lot of weird shit… He's a soldier and Pan in All's Well.

Well, I made it through the night. I smiled a bit as I munch upon my muffin at school. I'm here super early, thanks to my brother's little boy-scouts thing called Explorers – they meet every Thursday morning at 7:30 am. So, here I was – 7:45, at school… oh, well, I like showing up this early.

Well we had a lot of dreams when we were younger
They thought we were crazy but we had the hunger
We kept a lot of friends, skipped a lot of class
Been on top of the world and knocked on our ass
We lost touch, we lost in love
We lost our minds when things got tough, but
Beatin' time is a losin' fight and I guess I'm doin' alright

I try to will the day to speed up, but it only goes slower… and slower… damness…

Eventually, I go to say the announcements, but I'm stopped by TK.

"We got it!"

"OK," so I turn and walk to the other end of the universe – study hall.

Study hall goes way to slow – and not even the internet is interesting.

I'm all, I'm all, I'm alright
It's a beautiful day not a cloud in sight so I guess I'm doin' alright
o - oh, o - oh, I'm alright
Got a good old friend here with me tonight and I guess I'm doin' alright
Well I guess I'm doin' alright

It's finally lunch! Oh, thank you God! Thank you! I rush through the halls to my locker, and then rush to the spaghetti line. And, since this is the Thursday before Halloween… Bonus! CAKE! I LOVE YOU, CAFETERIA STAFF!

So I get my stuff, go to the table; eat, yep, nothing new today. Science. Chorus. Language Arts. Math. And, finally, I meet up with Charlie and Sarah (junior) – one of so many Sarahs – and we go out to her car so she can drive us over the river to the west side of Bridgetown. Everything is ok, until…

"No, no, NO! TK! NO! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Maryanne (freshman), Sarah's sister, comes running towards the front passenger door, only to be bumped aside by TK.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR, TK!"

"I can't fit in the backseat. Deal with it."

"IT'S MY SISTER'S CAR!"

"And TK is sitting up front," Sarah said, ending it. Maryanne slumped and pouted.

And so we drove to the Community Center with Maryanne squished behind TK's seat – pushed all the way back to accommodate his grasshopper legs – to today's practice.

We arrived at the Community Center and ran around the gym until Robert – our assistant director – told us to go warm up in the smaller meeting room.

It was decided that after we all stretched we would play 'Honey, I love you.'

The rules: no physical contact. The person in the middle goes up to people around the circle and does whatever they can to make them smile while saying:

'Honey, I love you. Will you please, please smile?'

The other person then says (with a straight face):

'Honey, I love you, but I just can't smile.'

If you smile, you're in the middle.

So the game began.

Mark N. went around before claiming Andrew as the first victim. Andrew got Charlie, Charlie got me. I ended up going around for quite a while, but eventually managed to get Maryanne, who got TK, who got Reggie, who walked up to me and said…

"Oh, never mind, here," He grabbed my hair and pulled it in front of my face like drawing curtains, "Let me cover your face to hide your shame."

I was laughing, but, since that wasn't the right line, we decided that Reggie should go again. He got Charlie, who hadn't been having luck until she discovered that by saying 'please' three times, you can break anyone. In the background, Patty was chanting:

"Someone do Steven! Someone do Steven!"

"Yeah, no one's done Steven in a while," I said. Oh, shit! *facepalm*

Everyone was holding their sides, laughing hysterically.

"No one's done Steven ever!" Patty laughed.

And Steven just stood there with a confused look on his face.

Eventually, we all got settled down, and someone did Steven (bwahahahahaha… sorry, anyway…)

Steven came up to me, but I was prepared with thoughts of dead puppies and still-born babies. I was on the verge of crying at awful memories when he dropped dramatically to one knee and started the line in a crazy accent. Jaw-drop. *You wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face anyway* *HOW THE HELL'D YOU GET IN HERE, SUNNY!?* *Winter picked the lock for me* *GTFO!!!*

"What was that!?" I demanded, taking my place in the middle… goddam him…

"That was my Puerto Rican accent!" He said with his hand in the air, "Puerto Rico is the greatest country in the world!"

"Puerto Rico is an American territory – not a country." I told him, seeking my victim.

Then we were called out to our separate posts – All's Well (minus Steven, Aaron and Andrew) in the meeting room, All's Well attendants and Katelyn in the other meeting room and Cinderella in the gym.

"OK, today we are going to start the main set up for the fight scene," Robert said, sitting in the chair, "If my apprentice, Kolby, would go get your stuff… we're going to work this out as much as possible without Reggie (he fights Aaron) and Nick's opponents…" Nick – who fights both Andrew and Steven – shrugged and ate Katelyn's Gordettos – you know the pretzel mix stuff? "So… partner up, and we'll work on the choreography of your fights. Everyone remembers their partners? We just got them yesterday…"

I walked up and stood beside TK – which is uncomfortable, considering that he's nearly twice my size.

So we all worked out our fights (except Nick). And this is what the special minds of a bunch of high school guys and one girl came up with –

Kolby and Mark B. had an actual epic fight (almost every guy here was an expert with swords of some sort – and Sam was a master) with lots of swings and struggling and stuff.

Patty and Darren fought with their giant ax and staff – then it somehow got worked out that Darren should throw lightning bolts… don't ask…

Sam would die in a quick fight with Mark N., so he could get off and into his Pan costume.

I got up on my rock and swung at TK, who hit me with his bladder thing, and I swung at him again, and he hit me again, and I started swinging again…

Then paused and waved the dagger helplessly in front of me.

TK hit me with the bladder.

"Screw this!" And I ran 'off stage' with TK chasing me, before going back with my large sword (which was a long 2x4 today) and I chased him around the place, screaming like a banshee.

Everyone was applauded, and we couldn't wait to work out Nick and Reggie's fights.

Eventually, as all good things do, practice ended, and I had to go home. Boo-hoo.

Well I hate to see this evening end
God only knows when I'll see you again
Just send a fax or send me a letter or give me a call that would even be better
Give the kids a kiss for me and say hello to the family
And tell them all my future's lookin' bright
Well, I miss 'em but I'm doin' alright
I said I miss 'em but I'm doin' alright

At home, I ate and started my math before giving up. Screw math. Math is irrelevant.

And, eventually, 9:30 came around (that's right, BEACHES! I GOT MY BED-TIME MOVED BACK!) And I went to bed.

Another day… wow, they sure were going fast… dang, what the hell happened to my childhood? Why are all these people telling me not to watch cartoons and do my graphing? What the frick, man!?

That's me – I can't decide if I want to wake up and be 20 or wake up and be 5.

I'm all, I'm all, I'm alright
It's a beautiful day not a cloud in sight so I guess I'm doin' alright
o - oh, o - oh, I'm alright
Got a good old friend here with me tonight and I guess I'm doin' alright
Well I guess I'm doin' alright
I'm doin' alright

There. Now that I have this chapter up, I can start the next one… and maybe eventually catch up to the end of the play… STUPID COMPUTER, WHY CAN'T I JUST TRANSMIT MY IDEAS TELEPATHICALLY WITHOUT HAVING TO TYPE STUFF UP? I HATE TYPING IT TAKES TOO LONG AND HURTS MY HANDS. Any way, until next time, O faithful readers! NOW GO AND REVIEW. REVIEW OR I'LL CRY AND SAFIRE WILL JUMP OFF THE BRIDGETOWN BRIDGE!!!

Saf: No I won't. I hate heights.

Rani: Way to go, Saf. Now they can't be guilted into reviewing.

Saf: You are so pathetic.

Rani: Sunny! Stop making my own characters go against me!

Sunny: Fail.

Taylor: Hey! I wasn't mentioned at all in this!

Rani: *screams and runs away, leaving Saf, Sunny, and Taylor just standing there*

Saf: …

Sunny: …

Taylor: …