Sunny walked down the hall way alone to her fourth period. She and Otto had their first fight the night before. Her mind was so muddled she couldn’t even remember what the fight was about. She coolly strutted into theater arts class, ignoring Otto as she walked past him without saying a word. She had no one to talk to, since she was giving Otto the cold shoulder. Isis wasn’t in theater. Sadly, the only hope was her improvisation partner, Francesca, but she was out of class today. There was no hope for Sunny unless she wanted to talk to Serena, who sat in front of her. No way was she ever talking to that preppie powder face.

"Today is a day of joy. Pop quiz, everyone!" said Ollie Tabooger happily as the class moaned. Yes, Ollie Tabooger, Mr. Tabooger, but he insisted everyone call him Ollie. He passed out the quiz papers, row by row. Surprisingly, Serena turned around to face Sunny. "Hey Savannah, have a spat with Rocket?" she said too sweetly. "How’s your business, Morris? Mine’s just fine without you butting in," Sunny shot her a glare she’d never forget. Serena ignored it. "Oh, I’m sorry. I guess little red head isn’t working out for you, huh?

Well, his crowd isn’t the best anyway. You should hang out with us," Serena suggested. Sunny looked at her as if to say, "What planet are you from?" Sunny shook her head, "I would rather fill my head with helium and float to Mars." Serena acted impressed, "Nice come back. We need someone like you to hang with us. It would really steam up Rocket, he seems like the jealous type." Sunny was getting furious. "I’m not joining your prep clan," she said then stopped. "Jealous," she said to herself and smiled. "When can I meet up with you?" she asked Serena. Serena smiled and got out a pen and some paper.

"112 Morris Dr. A white two story house with burgundy shutters," Sunny repeated what was on the paper written in pink gel pen. She turned her car onto Morris Drive. Why do I have a bad feeling about this, she thought. "108, 109, 110," she counted down the numbers on the houses, "111, ah, here it is, 112." She turned slowly into the driveway to a huge white, two story house with burgundy shutters. "Wow, nice place," she said to herself. She sat for a minute, thinking about the consequences of what she was about to get into. Maybe Serena’s just trying to be friendly, or maybe she is trying to get to Otto, so she can get to Reggie, then get to Hunter, and she’s just using me as bait, thought Sunny. She would have to find out for herself.

She walked up to the front porch and rang the doorbell. She heard footsteps across hardwood floor. A lady in a pink shirt and khaki capris opened the door. "Hello, you must be Savannah. Come in, come in! I’ve heard so much about you," she greeted her. "Yes, I’m Savannah, but you can just call me Sunny," Sunny introduced herself. She walked in and closed the door behind her.

"You must be Serena’s mom. Nice to meet you," Sunny said politely. Serena’s mom motioned toward the couch. She and Sunny sat down. "Yes, I’m Elizabeth. Please excuse me for a moment," she got up and walked to a box on the wall.

She pressed a button and talked into it. "Serena, your friend Sunny is waiting in the family room." "Coming," she heard Serena’s voice come from the box. "Please excuse me again, I have to tend to some cooking. Serena will be down in a second," she excused herself.

A moment later, Serena came walking down the stairs, dressed as if she were going to a bum convention. She had on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt. Sunny was shocked. Every time she had seen Serena, it was at school, and she was dressed in something preppie and in high cost. Serena’s make up looked worn down and faded from the long day at school. "I know," Serena said, as if she had read Sunny’s startled expression, "it doesn’t look like me. But it’s way more comfortable than a halter top and mini! Come on up."

Sunny got up and followed Serena up the stairs to her room. Her room was lined with pink faux fur and enough stuffed animals to start a farm. It looked like somewhere Cupid would live, with all the pink and white. "So, what do you think?" Serena waited for Sunny to flood her with compliments. I would be sick if I lived with so much pink everyday, Sunny thought truthfully. "It’s very," Sunny paused, "pink." Serena didn’t say anything. She smiled, teeth so white, it almost blinded her. How can someone so perfect be so sick and hated? Sunny thought. Serena sat down on her pink faux fur couch. "Come on, sit down, make yourself at home! Don’t act so tense," Serena told her. Sunny sat down on the pink inflatable chair in the corner of the room. "So, what did you want?" Sunny asked her. Serena tilted her head and twisted a piece of peroxide blonde hair around her finger. "You know," Serena said as if Sunny knew exactly what she wanted. "Uh, no, I don’t," Sunny replied with confusion.

"Just to talk, silly!" Serena giggled. Silly? Sunny thought. "About?" Sunny prodded on. "You know, girl stuff. So, what’s bothering you with Rocket, uh, Otto?" she asked. Sunny shook her head and looked at Serena. "Since when did you care about me and Otto?" Serena didn’t say anything. "Since I figured out what people really think of me," Serena said honestly. Sunny glanced at her with a bewildered look. "What are you talking about?" Serena looked up at her and said sadly,

"What I mean is me. Sunny, you’re so cool, and laid-back. You don’t care how you look and what people think of you." Sunny still didn’t get it. Serena evidently read her expression. "I’m a snob, aren’t I? That’s what people think of me," Serena confessed. She shook her head with despair. "All those years when you were downtrodden by me, I was actually jealous. I wanted to be just like you, and I still do. You’re so much nicer than me."

Sunny sat there, mouth agape. "So, what you’re saying is, you want to be like me? Why? Oh, because I’m nice? Serena, you can be nice on your own. Why me? Why not go to Hope or Harmony?" Sunny asked. "I can’t go to Harmony, she wouldn’t understand. Neither would Hope. Besides, Hope is just a wannabe anyway. She only hangs with us because she wants to be popular." Maybe, just maybe, Serena wasn’t so bad after all. Or it could be a trick. "Alright, Serena, what’s the catch?" Sunny asked accusingly. "There is no catch," Serena told her. "Okay, so what do I do? Where do you want me to start with these, ‘nice lessons?’" Serena looked at Sunny and smiled. There was something behind that smile, something with trickery.

Sunny walked in the school, Serena tagging along beside her. As they walked past Maybelle, who was dressed in pink plaid pants and a black shirt, Serena scrunched up her nose. "Oh my gosh, do you see what she has on..." Serena snorted, but stopped as Sunny gave her a fierce look. Serena bit her bottom lip and continued walking. Sunny spotted Otto at his locker, and glared. He suddenly looked up and his eyes darted away quickly to a poster on the wall.

"Wouldn’t you like to go out with someone like Jackson Smith, Sunny?" Serena asked. Sunny opened her locker and looked at Serena through her mirror with a dumbfounded look. "Are you crazy? I would never go with a prep like that! Besides, he’s your boyfriend." Serena shook her head, "Not anymore, we broke up. Hey, it would be a good way to make Otto jealous." Sunny put her chemistry book down and looked back at Serena. "You might just have a good idea, there, Serena," she said as she smiled deviously.

Sunny walked into Diablo Canyon High, arm locked onto Jackson Smith’s. "So, Savannah, wanna go to the coffee shop on Skye Spring street and grab some mocha lattees?" Jackson asked. "Sure," Sunny nodded. As the two walked past Otto’s locker, he looked at them sadly at first, then glared and slammed his locker door. Sunny chuckled with evil.

The day went on, and Sunny was supposed to meet Serena at her locker right after school. Right before she approached her locker, she saw Serena talking to Otto. "What?" Sunny murmured to herself. She could barely hear their words, but slowly made them out. "So, do you want to meet me at the coffee shop on Skye Spring?" Serena asked him. "Yeah, that would be great. I’ll meet you there at seven," Otto sounded excited. Sunny was about to explode. Otto walked off and Serena spotted Sunny. "Hey Sunny! Otto is really jealous, he just confronted me. He wanted to know what was going on," she lied. Sunny was going to be honest and ask her what was going on, but she had a better idea. "Good," was all Sunny could manage to get out.

So it was all a big trick, a trick so Serena could get to Otto. But why would she want Otto? Didn’t she like Hunter? Then it all became clear to Sunny. Serena was going to go out with Otto so she could get to Hunter. That was lower than low. Otto was being used! She had to tell him, but how? She had overheard he and Serena talking. They were going to meet at the coffee shop on Skye Spring street at seven. She and Jackson were meeting there at 6:45. It would work perfectly. But wasn’t she still mad at Otto? What was their fight all about anyway? One thing was clear, even if she was mad at him, she wasn’t going to let him get used that way.

Sunny walked down Skye Spring street and looked up at the cloud filled sky. The clouds were gray, and looked as if rain would pour from them at any given moment. The weather man hadn’t forecasted rain, but weather couldn’t always be predicted. Sunny pulled her gray over coat closer around her, for there was a chill out, and it had suddenly surrounded her. She stepped up her pace and finally reached the coffee shop.

She opened the door, the little bell dinging behind her. She quickly glanced around the room. Jackson was sitting at a booth with two mocha lattees. "Hey there, beautiful!" he said, and she knew he was lying. She greeted him, and kept glancing at the door for a sign of Serena or Otto. Finally, they walked in, hand in hand. The thought of what Serena was doing to Otto made her sick at heart. As soon as they had walked in, rain started pouring down. The streets and sidewalks became slick and shiny with the rain water.

"Jackson, I’m going to get another pack of sugar," Sunny lied as she excused herself from the table. She sauntered over to Otto and Serena’s table. "What do you think you’re doing, bitch?" she yelled at Serena. Everyone in the coffee shop stopped their conversations and stared at her. "S-Sunny, what do you mean?" Serena stuttered. Sunny grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her up. She pushed her hard against the wall. "You lied! You tricked me into this so you could get Otto to get to Hunter!" Serena was speechless. "Why you little second class butt wipe! How dare you even..." Serena couldn’t finish. "You were going to use Otto to get to Hunter! Do you even know how low that is?" The manager of the coffee shop pulled Sunny off of Serena and told her to calm down. Serena looked around, then ran outside to her car, and drove off. Jackson walked up to Sunny and walked out with out saying anything.

Sunny stood there for a moment. She ran out into the rain. Trickles of rain blended with her tears. She fell to the sidewalk on her knees, covering her face from the rain. She felt a hand softly touch her shoulder. She looked back and saw Otto standing above her. She stood up and ran about six feet, then stopped. Otto is the guy I love, she thought, he stood by me when no one else did. She turned around and looked at him from the distance, hair soaked from the rain.

She felt the same way about him then as when she did when she crashed into him when she was twelve years old. She suddenly started to run back to him, uncontrolled feet pounding on the concrete sidewalk. She was face to face with him now. "Why did we get in a fight?" she wanted to say, but she didn’t. He put his arms around her. She felt the same warmth then as when they kissed for the first time. They both wanted to speak, but there weren’t words for this moment. She put her arms around his neck and embraced him. They stood there, in the rain, and kissed. Finally, Otto’s words were, "How about we go and get a mocha lattee?" Sunny couldn’t have been happier.

Otto and Sunny sat there drinking their mocha lattees. "So Serena paid Jackson to go out with me?" Sunny asked as Otto nodded. "And Serena was using me to get to Hunter?" Otto asked. "Yep," Sunny answered. "How complicated," Otto mumbled, "We learned something important today; me and you, we’re made for each other, you know that?" And it all ended well. La dee dah, the end!