I ain't saying that it's something/I ain’t gonna play along/ I ain't wishing for a miracle.

Monday’s were insufferable. No matter how many people liked to point out how like his mother he was pertaining to academics, there was no way that he was going to like Monday just because it meant resuming his education. He could do that by himself, on the weekends, and probably learn more than he would at Chilton. But the last might have been stretching it a bit. No, the reason to like this Monday, if there were any at all, would be because it got him out of the DuGrey house and more importantly away from Lola. Not that they didn’t have classes together, but they did sit apart. Him with his friends and her with hers.

Even better. Him being an M, and her being a D meant that their lockers were rather far apart. That meant that his locker had been appointed his new safe haven.

“Hey Dallie,” said a soft female voice beside him.

Dallie turned his head to see Marilee Lewis standing beside her. Her dark brown hair pulled back in a braid. “Hey Mari.”

She put a hand on his arm. “Are you alright?”

“Fine,” he answered, but he found his tone rather harsh for his too sweet ex-girlfriend. “Er, and yourself?”

“I’m good,” She answered automatically. “I’m just asking because the past few days you’ve seemed a little…tense.”

To put it mildly. But then again Marilee always put things mildly, and nicely as possible. “It’s nothing. Just trying to wrap up the last edition of The Franklin.”

She nodded, understandingly. “I see.”

Dallie looked around, talking with Marilee always made him a bit awkward.

“Your article,” said a voice from behind him. It was Lola, of course.

“Couldn’t it have waited until the meeting Wednesday?” He asked.

“Hello Lola,” Marilee greeted her. Oh Jesus it was like he was standing in-between an angel and the antichrist. Okay, so maybe it was an exaggeration.

Lola nodded her head slightly to acknowledge Marilee’s presence but at the same time showing that she really didn’t care at all. “I didn’t want to give your panties time to bunch, with every second the meeting nears.”

Dallas took the paper from her hand, all the while glaring at her. “Thank you.”

She waved it off and then was gone.

With a pained expression he turned back to Marilee. “I’m sorry. Lola’s well Lola. It’s not that it has anything to do with you…”

Marilee shrugged. “You don’t have to apologize because people are the way they are.”

Or maybe it wasn’t an exaggeration at all.

North Street. Lola had a sudden urge to run over the sign. She didn’t really want to analyze the sudden violent urge, because she all ready had a good reason why she was having them. But if ignored long enough, they should go away rather quickly. Her passenger probably wouldn’t appreciate her doing so, since it might inadvertently kill him. Oh well, it was just another thing she could blame Dallas for.

“Do you want me to drive?” Dallie asked her, turning down the radio. “Because I think even I’ll do better than you are right now.” At least he wasn’t lecturing her on her alleged rudeness to the sainted ex-girlfriend.

“Dallie you probably don’t even know how to shift from first to second gear, let alone handle a clutch,” she replied, not taking her eyes of the road.

“You’re driving an automatic,” he pointed out. Sure he knows that right off the top his head, but somehow he seemed to forget that doors manually locked on the damned car.

If running over the street sign was not a good idea, then suddenly slamming your brakes to push passenger out to run over them probably wasn’t a good one either.

“I can’t wait to get to your father’s,” Dallie mumbled.

She couldn’t wait either.

“Why exactly can’t Paris and Jess come back with the Goddess of Poetry?”

He put his head in his hands. “I just don’t know, Lola.”

“Six more days.”

“Can’t wait.” Dallie said through clenched teeth.

The silence went on until she pulled into the driveway.

“I finished the damned article,” she informed him as she got out of the car and then pulled into the driveway.

That’s when Dallas noticed the extra car there, and he could tell when Lola noticed it too because the car came to an abrupt stop, and that spot was suddenly decided upon as her parking space. But he didn’t really care. That car could only symbolize one thing.

He was saved. Saved from living with Lola, hopefully, for the rest of his existence.