“So you got away with it?” Oliver Oaken repeated, sounding and looking surprised. “Wow!”

“Yeah, I did,” Riley grinned, as she walked with one of her sister’s friends. “I still can’t believe it myself.”

“That’s so cool, Kylie!” Oliver exclaimed, as they reached their lockers which happened to be near one another. “I wish I could get away with something like that, but I always seem to get caught.”

“You need brains to pull off what Kylie did,” Miley piped up, as her and Lily joined them.

Riley tried not to sigh as she heard her sister call her by the name chosen to keep her true identity hidden. She was starting to hate the name Kylie, because it was what had been chosen for her, since it was easily remembered as it rhymed with Riley – and Miley. Kylie Cyrus was her name, when in public or around anyone that wasn’t family. She also had to wear a short, bright red wig when in public, so she wouldn’t resemble her twin so much. The wig was her favourite shade of red, which was nice, but it sure itched like crazy sometimes!

“Who needs brains, when you’re Smokin’ Oaken?” Oliver replied, nodding his head at girls who passed by them just then. “I’ll see you ladies later.”

The girls giggled, and scurried off, as they thought he was a doofus – most the girls in the high school thought that of him, so he was most definitely still single. Besides, his pick-up lines were the lamest of the lame!

“Nice, just keep scaring them off Oliver,” Miley laughed, shaking her head at him.

“They’ll be back – you’ll see,” Oliver stated confidently.

“Yeah, just keep telling yourself that and maybe it’ll work,” Lily paused a moment, then spoke again. “In your dreams! Haha!”

“Oh, you are all so cruel to me!” Oliver exclaimed overdramatically, causing the three girls to roll their eyes.

“You wouldn’t stay friends with us if you didn’t like it,” Riley pointed out. “So quit the melodramatic act, you ham.”

“Ham?!?! Where’s there ham?” Oliver demanded, looking around hungrily.

“She meant you’re the ham!” Miley stressed, shaking her head. “How this boy makes it through school, I’ll never know.”

“Same with Jackson,” Riley snickered. “We’ll never know how any of these boys make it through school.”

“Hey! I resent that!” Oliver cried. “We’re not as dumb as you make us out to be!”

“I think he means, resemble,” Lily laughed.

Oliver scowled. “Excuse me ladies, I have a class I need to get too.”

“Hey! Wait for me!” Riley called after him. “I’ve the same class as you!”

“You know what would be funny?” Miley began, as she watched her sister run after their friend. “If Kylie has a crush on Oliver.”

“Haha, yeah, like that would happen!” Lily giggled.

Miley thought a moment. “You don’t think she does, do you?”

“What? Miley, are you listening to yourself?” Lily asked. “Kylie like Oliver? Hello! It’s Oliver, for crying out loud! What girl in their right mind would be crushing on him?”

“You know, you have a point,” Miley stated. “It’s just Oliver. Kylie would never crush on him. I mean, Eew!”

The two laughed as they headed on off to the class they had next.

“So, did you do the homework for this class?” Oliver asked his friend. “I mean, English is your favourite class after all here!”

“Yes, I did my homework for this class,” Riley replied, grinning at him. “And I might’ve done the homework for drama class too.”

Oliver laughed. “Only doing the homework for the fave classes now, Kyles?”

“You better believe it!” Riley chirped happily, glad the teacher wasn’t there yet to hear their conversation.

Oliver shook his head at his friend. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“Darn tootin’!” Riley smirked, as they took their seats.

Oliver raised his eyebrows at her. “Darn tootin’?”

“Yup,” Riley nodded. “It’s what we country folks say back home.”

“I’ve been around you country folk for years now, and I still don’t quite understand you,” Oliver commented.

“Maybe you’re just not meant to?” Riley remarked, wriggling her eyebrows slightly to make him laugh – which it did.

“Okay class, settle down,” the teacher stated, as she entered the classroom just as the last bell rang, signaling class was now in session. “Today, we are going to be learning more about punctuation.”

Riley groaned. “I thought we learned all about that stuff back in, like, grade one.”

“I guess not enough?” Oliver shrugged.

“What more is there to know about punctuation, than when to stick periods and commas and the other stuff in its proper places?” Riley whispered. “I mean, c’mon! Could this class get anymore boring? Punctuation is just too easy!”

“Well, though punctuation should be easy Kylie, someone of your classmates are still getting it wrong,” the teacher remarked, as she came to stand between their desks. “And if there’s anymore whispering from either of you, I’m moving you up front Kylie, so I can keep an eye on you.”

“Me? Why me?” Kylie demanded. “We’re not the only ones talking, Ms. Hersh!”

“Because I said so,” Ms. Hersh answered. “And if you keep it up, you can go stand out in the hall.”

“For what? I only asked you a valid question!” Riley exclaimed.

“Kyles,” Oliver warned. “Don’t.”

“Don’t do what?” Riley said, exasperated. “Is it a crime to ask questions now?”

“When they’re interrupting my classroom, yes,” Ms. Hersh answered.

“How can they be interrupting the class, when you haven’t even started the class, other than to announce a punctuation lesson?” Riley spat slightly. “You’re the one interrupting the class, by coming back here to harass me!”

“Okay, I’ve had enough, you can go straight to the Principal’s office, Kylie,” Ms. Hersh stated. “Just let me write him a note, which you had best deliver to him.”

“I didn’t even do anything but ask valid questions!” Riley protested.

“Questions that had nothing to do with today’s lesson,” Ms. Hersh responded. “And I will not tolerate insubordination!”

“Insubordination my…..” Riley trailed off, grumbling under her breath as she stood up with her things and made her way to the teacher’s desk to fetch the note that was currently being written.

“Here, now get going,” Ms. Hersh ordered, handing her the note.

Riley took the note from the teacher, then turned to the class. “Enjoy learning something we already know,” she told them. “It seems some people think we’re all too stupid to remember previous lessons on punctuations, just because some of us get mixed up sometimes and have off days.”

“OUT! GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM!” Ms. Hersh yelled angrily. “And don’t you come back, until you can show me some respect!”

Riley rolled her eyes, winked at Oliver, then left the classroom. Well, so much for English being one of her favourite subjects. She’d done nothing wrong until the very end, and she only did wrong, because she figured she might as well since she was going to be in trouble anyway. As she walked along the deserted hallways, she eyed the note in her hand curiously.

“I wonder what she wrote,” she pondered aloud. She glanced around, then ducked into the girl’s washroom and opened the note to read.

Mr. Diprofio,

Riley has been very disrespectful by interrupting the class. Seems she feels she’s too good to learn about punctuation, though hers needs the most improving. I do not want her back in my classroom until she can learn to respect me and my lessons. She has wasted precious learning time for her fellow classmates, and I don’t think that to be right. Please deal with this trouble-maker accordingly. Thank-you.

Ms. Hersh

“My punctuation is horrible?” Riley spat angrily. “How can mine be needing so much improvement, when I aced that lesson in my Creative Writing class? God, what a witch!”

Riley shook her head in disgust, as she began to rip the note to shreds, tossing it into the one garbage can.

“You know what? I’ve had enough of this for today,” she spoke aloud, to no one but herself. “I’m out of here!”

With that being said, she turned to the one bathroom window and managed to pry it open just enough for her to squeeze out. Once standing on the ground outside, she ran until she was a good enough distance away. She then turned and glared at the high school angrily.

“Later suckers!” She shouted at the building that seemed to cause her nothing but grief lately. And it wasn’t all her fault it caused her so much grief either. She did the best she could, but no one ever seemed to be satisfied with her best – so why should she even bother trying in the first place? She shook her head, then ran off for the beach her, her sister, and their friends liked to hang out at. Soon as she arrived, she tugged at her wig, groaning when she realized she’d need her sister’s help in getting all the stupid pins holding it on, out.

“Dagnabit!” Riley exclaimed, kicking the sand angrily. “I can’t even be myself when I’m alone!”