"Okay, class!" Mr. Phillips said. "Put down your pencils, because you would want to listen to what I am going to be saying." 

I immediately put away my pencil and notebook and directed my attention to the teacher. 

Mr. Phillips gave a little time for everyone to put their things away, and then said,

"Okay, class."  Mr. Phillips said. "This project would be to write a novel that is around 100-150 pages."

'Ooh!' I thought. 'That sounds kinda fun! And even though it will take a lot of effort and time.'

"I will teach you all some techniques for drafting, and all of the important factors of making a good story." Mr. Phillips said. "The assignment will start the next class, so you don't need to start on it today. But you can work on the storyline if you want to." 

And then the lunch bell rang, and we were dismissed. 

I then waited for Jake outside of the classroom. And when he came out, I said, 

"Hi," I said. "Just to make sure, were you the one who passed me the note in class?" 

"Yes, I was," Jake said. "There was no other way that I could tell you besides passing a note."

"Pretty good move," I said. "But I would not suggest it, someone could notice." 

"Okay," Jake said. "Let's go to lunch. I think that there might be an assembly after the last class." 

"Yeah," I said as we walked to the cafeteria. "Three classes in the morning is kinda smushed. This is going to be an interesting schedule." 

"I know," Jake said as we turned a corner. "I think that they might just have different time slots for different days." 

"True," I said as we got to the cafeteria. "Or there might just be something that I do not remember in the afternoon." 

We then went to the lunch line to order our lunch food. Once I had picked out my lunch, I typed in the code that I and Malissa shared, and then waited for Jake, and found a place to sit down. 

Once we sat down and started to eat, Malissa came over, and she said, 

"Wow, Maddy," Malissa said as she sat down next to Jake. "You must have come up with some crazy lie to get a boyfriend." 

I was boiling with rage. 'How could Malissa say something like this?' I thought. 

"She just told me that she was alone," Jake said. "And that you and her only friend that she had had since childhood are against her."

"That is not true!" Malissa said with a tone that told that it was obvious that she was not telling the truth. Malissa is such a bad liar. 

"Malissa," I said, "You say that I am a loser, so I think that it would be smart to not spend your time on me." 

I could tell that she was boiling with rage, and I could tell that Jake was still on my side. 

"It must be hard to make any friends with her around," Jake said. "I would never know what it would be like."

"I know," I said. "But I guess living with her has made me stronger."