SOPHIE
It was the day before Easter. Inside the principal's office, principal Hensley along with a few other school board members, were chatting amongst themselves.
Principal Hensley, who was seated behind his desk, paused in mid sentence and glanced over at me. "Sophie?"
He motioned me to come further as I slowly entered the room.
"What can I do for you?" He was wearing his usual smile.
"Well, I was wondering - with Easter being tomorrow and all - if we could have an Easter Egg Hunt? For the whole school, so we can all celebrate Easter together."
"An egg hunt?" he asked, then stared over at the board members as if they were having some sort of silent debate. "We never had one of those before," he thought aloud.
"I'll tell you what," he started, turning around and glaring at me as I gave him a hopeful look. "We can have an Easter Egg Hunt, if, and only if, you can get at least half of the school to agree to this."
"Thank you, Principal Hensley!" I smiled and nodded happily.
"You'll have until 12:00 noon tomorrow to get the school to not only agree with you, but have the hunt set up," said principal Hensley. "This is your idea, I take it that you should have no trouble with the preparation."
"Yes sir!" I agreed, running out of the room in search of my friends.
Four figures were seated at the picnic table outside of the cafeteria, chatting with each other.
"Hey girls," I greeted the four as I approached.
"Soph, where have you been?" Charlotte questioned.
"I just left from principal Hensley's office," the worried looks on the girls' faces didn't go unnoticed as I explained, "I'm not in trouble or anything. In fact, he said that if I could get at least half of the school to agree to an Easter Egg Hunt by noon tomorrow, we could have one." I finished, smiling.
"He did!?" Alicia exclaimed with excitement. "I never had one of those before!"
Emma nodded, "Me neither, but it sounds like a lot of fun."
"You'll love it," Chels told them. "When I was younger and before my mom passed, we always had an Easter egg hunt."
"I'm up for it," said Bri, then added, "Before I moved here, my family and I always celebrated Easter by going to mass with family. There'd be a big feast as well as an egg hunt afterwards."
"Great, but we're going to have to get more volunteers to agree with us if we're going to be able to do it."
"Do you think that, perhaps, we can invite Calley and her friends, Britney and Macy?" Charlotte asked.
"Calley, Britney and Macy?" repeated Emma. "I don't see why not."
"I'll take care of Calley. It's up to all of you to convince the rest of them. I'll meet you at 12 A.M. in the student lounge. Make sure to bring those who agree to the hunt with you. Good luck." Then, as the bell rang, the girls and I parted in the opposite direction.
I stepped into one of the school's many hallways, spotting the auburn haired girl, then ran up to her. "Hey Calley," I smiled, stopping in front of her.
"Sophie," Calley responded dryly as she closed her locker before locking it. "If you're here for small talk, I sorta don't have time."
"Actually, I've got some important news." I stated. "See, principal Hensley told me that if I could convince more than half of the school to agree to an Easter egg hunt, we could have one."
"And you want my help," Calley put two-to-two together as she leaned against her locker. "Sounds exciting..."
"Oh, c'mon Calley." I said, "Surely you have memories of hunting for eggs on Easter."
Calley's frown then fell. "We would get together with the neighborhood kids, and we'd have our parents hide the eggs we painted. Then we'd all go searching for them around town," she said, lost in thought, before returning from her trance.
Calley sighed. "Alright fine, you win Sophie. I guess I'll agree to your little egg hunt. Now if you'd excuse me, I have much more important things to deal with." Then she walked off.
"Thanks Calley," I smiled to myself before venturing into the busied crowd.
I stepped out when catching sight of the familiar figure that was exiting from the learning center.
"Brett!" I exclaimed, running toward him as he turned to face me.
"Blondey? What are you doing here?" he asked.
Ignoring the nickname, I asked, "Would you like to have an Easter egg hunt? If so, we're having a get together in the student lounge at 12."
Brett thought for a moment. "It could be some fun...Okay, sign me up. I'll meet you there later." Then walked off.
"One left," I smiled, continuing my mission.
After math class, I stayed behind to talk to Kieron. He was packing up his belongings, then tossed his book bag onto his shoulders when I walked over.
"Hey, Kieron?" I smiled when getting his attention.
Kieron looked up at me. "Yeah?"
"Would you like to be part of an Easter egg hunt?" I asked.
Knowing that I wasn't going to let him turn me down, Kieron let out a low sigh.
"I guess," he said. "Anything to get out of coach Baird's class."
"Great," I smiled. "It's almost 12 now, so we better get going to the student lounge to meet up with the others."
Kieron nodded, following me out into the hallway towards our destination.
CHARLOTTE
After Bri took on the job of collecting names for the petition, the rest of the girls and I were standing near the girl's bathroom that both Britney and Macy previously entered, planning what to do next. Right now, we were trying to figure out who was going to try to convince them to join our committee.
"You should do it," said Emma.
"What? Why me?" I asked.
"With Alicia's mouth and Britney's mood swings, there's bound to be only trouble," Emma explained. "Besides, the sound of Macy's wailing gives me a headache, so it definitely shouldn't be us."
"Fine, I'll ask her if Chels comes with me," I stated, looking at her.
"Do I have to come?" Chels pouted.
"Yes, you have to. Because if one of them decides to kill me, I'll need a witness."
"We'll also convince Reuben, Marty, and Cole, our classes aren't too far apart. You two go talk to Jose and Veronica. Then, we'll all meet up in the student lounge area with Sophie," said Emma.
We all agreed.
"Come on, Alic. Let's get back to class and then after we'll go find the others."
"Okay, fine," said Alicia, then wished both Chels and I luck before disappearing down the hall alongside Emma.
"Well, we better get started, Lotte." Chels said, holding open the door, which I stepped inside first as Chels followed close behind.
After walking further inside, we found the two girls no doubt ogling their appearance in the mirrors.
When Macy caught sight of our reflections, she turned and stared at us.
"Well?" Macy asked. "What do you two brats want?"
"Well," began Chels in the exact tone, "Sophie was talking to principal Hensley about Easter. And he told Soph that if she could convince at least half of the school to agree to an Easter egg hunt, we could have one."
"And we told Sophie that we'd help her out," I piped up.
"So, do you agree?" Chels questioned
"Wonderful..." muttered Britney. "I wish you all the best luck in doing that from my non-existent heart."
Macy zipped up her vanity bag, then turned to her friend. "It'd be nice to skip out on classes for the day. Anyway, when we were little we used to decorate the eggs for the Easter hunts together."
Britney looked at her, who wore a hopeful expression. She sighed, then said, "Well, it could be fun. Okay, fine. I agree with your plan."
"Really?" Macy and I asked, sharing the similar happy yet shock expressions as Chelsea.
"However," Britney stated, and the three of us turned back to her. "Don't expect me to help you all plan this. I may agree, but I never said I'll help." With that, she took a hold of her bag and walked off with Macy trailing after her.
"At least we got them to agree to the hunt," Chels encouraged.
"All right, now let's go find Jose and Veronica. If I have to guess, they're in the school's library," I said as we stepped back outside, heading in that direction.
Before long, we appeared in the school's library. Around us, rows of shelves containing books loomed.Tables and chairs were set up for reading and studying. Chelsea walked down one aisle of books, while I took the other.
A short way down, I spotted Veronica returning a book to its proper place on the shelf. Then, she brought down another one, and began to walk down the aisle.
"Roni," I whispered. She turned and looked at me. "I was wondering," I began, explaining the story. After hearing me out, Veronica nodded.
"I guess it sounds okay. As a child, I never got to celebrate Easter or have an Easter egg hunt...Maybe, it could be fun..." Then, we walked off towards the entrance when Chelsea soon approached with Jose.
"Good," I smiled. "Now that we're all here, let's head to the lounge to join the rest."
EMMA
Alicia and I made our way down the hallway to room 303. The detention room. I opened the door to the room for Alicia, then I stepped inside to witness Mr. Lucero, the detention room monitor, sleeping at his desk.
Alicia and I shared looks before glancing at Cole and Marty. The two were seated at their desks, facing each other as they talked and laughed while playing cards.
Suddenly Cole's eyes drifted to us.
"Hey kiddos," he grinned. "What are you two up to?"
"Don't tell me you girls are joining the club," joshed Marty with a teasing smirk fitted across his face.
"No way," Alicia started as we walked over. "We're here to offer you a proposal."
I explained the story of how if enough of us agreed to the plan, then we could have an Easter egg hunt.
"Sounds interesting," stated Cole. "I'm in."
"Same here," Marty agreed. "We'll meet you in the student lounge just as soon as our sentence ends."
Alicia and I giggled, nodding.
"See you there, kiddos." Then, the two boys returned to their game as Alicia and I vanished back out into the hall.
Arriving on the second floor, we appeared outside of the school's laboratory.
"Em, are you sure it's safe to go in there?" whispered Alicia, as a cloud of ominous smoke floated out the door.
I sighed. "Follow me, Alic." We walked inside the lab to behold a boy in a white lab coat with curly brown hair who was experimenting with a few beakers and chemicals. Upon hearing us enter, he turned around.
"Hello test subjects, I mean Alicia and Emma," Reuben greeted. "And how can I be of assistance today?"
"Hey Reuben," I greeted politely. "You see, we were thinking of having an Easter egg hunt tomorrow, and wondering if you would like to join."
"An Easter egg hunt..." Reuben considered. "Will there be anything to study?"
"Um..."
"You could study the eggs," suggested Alicia.
"Then I'll join in. Thanks. Now off with you both." We left as Reuben returned to his science.
"Nice save, Alicia." I smiled.
"Thanks. Let's go meet up with Sophie," she said, and together we walked off.
SOPHIE
Kieron and I were sitting in the student lounge at a rectangular table, waiting for the others to arrive. The entrance doors were swung open and out stepped Charlotte and Chelsea, followed by two others, Jose and Veronica. The four walked over and took their seats. Nearby, Emma and Alicia approached along with Brett. Then came Reuben, Calley, Britney, Macy, and Bri who soon were all seated.
"Britney?!" gasped Chels and Charlotte in surprise as Britney took her seat.
"But, I thought you weren't going to help?" questioned Charlotte.
"Perhaps I've had a change of heart..." Britney muttered.
"This is everybody, correct?" I addressed the assembled group.
"Well, I invited Cole and Marty, but they're serving time in detention. Though, they said they'd try to make it," Emma explained.
"Why am I not surprised..."
Suddenly, a loud commotion was heard as the two boys appeared.
"Sorry we're late," Marty smirked, walking over.
"We decided to ditch sleeping beauty," Cole said while plopping down on the free chair between Marty and Reuben.
The others stared at them in shock as the guys shared laughs and fist-bumps. I cleared my throat, regaining everyone's attention, then spoke up, "Now, for the last time, this is everyone?"
Everyone gathered nodded.
"Okay," I began. "Now, here's how I think we should set up the hunt. There will be more than enough eggs hidden around campus for each person to get one; so no one feels left out. The groups will be divided into pairs, two in a pair. If we're going to have this hunt ready by noon tomorrow, we need to work hard."
"We'll need someone to paint the eggs, someone to buy candy, someone to fill the eggs, and someone to hide the eggs." Bri explained, sitting beside me with her clipboard.
"Britney and I can paint the eggs," Macy volunteered. "The two of us used to do it back in our neighborhood."
"I can help, too. I'm a good artist." Alicia piped in, sitting beside Macy.
"Okay, it's settled." I said as Bri marked it off her list. "Macy, Britney and Alicia are on decorating egg duty. While you're waiting for us to return with the eggs, if you three can create a banner reading "Northvale High's First Annual Easter Egg Hunt," that'd be helpful as well. Charlotte, Brianna, Chelsea, and I will go out to buy chocolate while Reuben, Cole, and Marty get the eggs." Then asked, "Jose, Veronica, Calley, and Emma can you four fill the eggs?"
The four girls nodded.
"And lastly," I turned toward Kieron and Brett. "Do you two mind hiding the eggs?"
Brett grinned and Kieron nodded, "Sounds fine to us, but they're not going to be in easy hiding places."
I smiled. "Okay, I think we're all set. We can finish the preparations at my place, and arrive back here tomorrow early morning to set up. That way by noon everything will be good and ready to go."
Arriving at the grocery store, Charlotte, Bri, Chels, and I stepped out of the car, joining up with Marty, Cole, and Reuben before entering inside.
"Alright, boys... and girls. Here's the plan. We'll pick up the chocolate and plastic eggs while you guys go down to the dairy section and pick up the eggs. Okay?" The group nodded, and we hurried off down the aisles.
The girls and I wandered down the row of aisles, until reaching the candy section. We grabbed a shopping cart and filled it with chocolate: egg-shaped chocolate, carrot-shaped chocolate, chocolate shaped chocolate, and all other types of sweets until the cart was full. Then, we traveled to another aisle and grabbed a variety pack of different colored plastic eggs.
"I think this is good," Chels said, looking inside the cart full of chocolates and more goodies.
"Let's go find the others," Charlotte smiled, pushing the cart with the help of Bri.
Upon reaching the dairy section, we saw that the guys were busy examining eggs.
"How about these ones?" suggested Marty.
"No, Marty!" Reuben shouted, snatching the carton of eggs from him, then tossed them aside. "These eggs are no good! We need the perfect eggs."
"Are these eggs, okay?" Cole asked, holding up a dozen brown colored eggs.
"Cole, those eggs are brown colored. You can't decorate brown colored eggs. Besides, brown colored eggs are boring." Reuben explained. "You need eggs that are white, but not just any white. The perfect shape and shade of white! Like these eggs," he exclaimed, holding up an egg carton containing one dozen round, perfect white eggs. The two others clapped before retrieving a carton of the exact eggs from the shelftop.
Once we had everything that we needed, we checked out and made our way back to our rides. The boys rode with Austin while the girls and I piled into Mom's car, heading straight home.
MACY
Britney, Alicia, and I were in Sophie's backyard, sitting at a folding table debating an important matter while both Kieron and Brett chased the small child around the lawn.
"Pink!" screamed Alicia, grabbing a paintbrush and dipping it in the pink paint.
"Yellow!" argued Britney, also taking a paintbrush, but dipping it in the yellow paint.
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
Neither noticed that I had begun painting the words "Northvale High's" in the color green.
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
"Pink!"
Seeing the others still hadn't finished, I then painted the words "First Annual," in the color blue.
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
After finishing that, I drew "Easter" in the color yellow.
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
"Pink!"
I finished with " Egg Hunt" in pink. At that moment, the two girls turned around to see the finished banner. The two exchanged quizzical looks, and turned toward me as I smiled sheepishly.
"Well, since Alicia was too busy arguing over the colors," Britney stated, causing Alicia to protest. "I suggest we paint the background yellow."
"Pink!" Alicia screamed.
"Yellow!"
"Pink!"
I sighed, then grabbed another paint brush as the two began their argument once more.
SOPHIE
Returning home, the others and I entered the back of the house to witness Alicia and Britney fussing at each other.
"Pink!"
"Yellow!"
"Pink!" Alicia turned and saw that me and my group had returned. "Britney, look what you've done!" she complained.
"I did? It's your fault we never finished the banner."
The two glanced down to see a finished, decorated banner. "I mean, of course. Look what I have done. I have made the banner," said Britney as Macy shook her head.
"Anyways," Macy smiled. "Did you get the eggs for us to decorate?"
"Yeah, we have plenty," said Reuben as we walked over to join them. He reached into the bag and presented the perfect eggs to the girls.
"We also picked up some plastic eggs, to put the candy in."
"You could decorate them with Easter stickers," Chels rummaged in her bag, and pulled out a packet of Easter themed stickers.
"Well, let's decorate." The girls each grabbed a plastic egg and sticker, and began decorating. Each time an egg was decorated, the four girls - Veronica, Calley, Jose, and Emma - would take a handful of chocolate and fill the egg with it. Then, when the other eggs were boiled and cooled, everyone - including my family - pitched in. James and I sat on a picnic blanket with the rest of my friends, dipping and designing our eggs in different colored paint. Finally, all the eggs were decorated and piled neatly.
The next morning, Brett and Kieron, who were both wearing bunny ears and carrying Easter baskets, entered the room. The two began filling their baskets with the eggs, and left to go hide them. Everyone remaining was left in the student lounge either resting or talking.
About forty-five minutes later, I told the others, "Okay, guys, it's almost 11:45. I'll see you all in the courtyard. Alicia, Britney and Macy bring the banner." Then, disappeared out the double doors. The others followed after. It was finally time for the moment we'd all been waiting for, the school's first annual Easter Egg Hunt.
A banner depicting the words, "Northvale High's First Annual Easter Egg Hunt'' in an array of colors hung high between posts for all to see. Every student as well as teachers showed up for the big event, each one carrying a different colored Easter basket, talking and laughing with one another.
"The egg hunt is going to be starting shortly. We just have to wait for Brett and Kieron to return," I announced to the large crowd with the given microphone. At that moment, principal Hensley along with the board members, walked forward and was wearing a pair of bunny ears.
"Principal Hensley!" I waved as he made his way on the stage, walking up to me and the others. "I did it, I organized the Easter Egg Hunt!"
The other members glared at me.
"With help from my friends, of course..." I innocently smiled.
"Well, Sophie, since you have no doubt succeeded in organizing this hunt, I guess we have no choice but to follow through with it..." principal Hensley smiled, earning a loud cheer and applause from everyone.
"Attention Northvale High," Kieron announced to the large crowd, still wearing his pair of bunny ears. Brett stood nearby. "Brett and I have successfully hidden all the Easter eggs around campus. Now, please give us a moment to explain the rules. These eggs are hidden everywhere on school grounds. Everyone should be divided into groups of two. The pairs will search for the eggs together, and must not separate. Furthermore, you have one hour to complete your hunt. Lastly, and most importantly, there are enough eggs for each person to have two. So please, no more than two eggs per person. Thank you, that is all."
Once all the pairs had gathered, principal Hensley once more gained control.
"And there's one last thing. You see, to participate, each contestant must wear a pair of these..." He grinned, holding up a pair of bunny ears. Each member received their pairs and put them on. "And now, let the First Annual Easter Egg Hunt begin! May the odds be ever in your favor!"
"Well Soph, looks like it's going to be just like the old times." Charlotte smiled at me.
"I guess so, Lotte." I smiled back. "So, where should we begin searching?"
"The gardens?" Charlotte suggested. "Even though it's a good hiding place, it's fairly small and will be easy to search."
"Sounds good to me," I agreed. We made our way through the courtyard until we came upon the schoolyard's garden. Then, we entered the piece of land. It was dense, and plants grew in clusters, rising toward the sun and showing off their petals.
"I'll search over here," I stated. "You check over that way. Hopefully we'll find some Easter eggs around here." Charlotte nodded, and wandered off deeper into the plot.
After a short search, I caught a glimpse of pink hiding in the bushes, and upon investigation found a pink Easter egg. Nearby, a blue one peeked out from overhead on the tree branch. Reaching up, I grabbed it and added it and the pink one to my rainbow colored basket. Then, I went off to find Charlotte.
Charlotte was attempting to knock an orange colored egg out of a tree. Repeatedly, she shook the tree until the egg fell neatly into her purple basket. Crouching in a bush, she retrieved a yellow colored egg, and added it to the basket.
As we were leaving out of the gardens, we spotted Calley and Brianna up ahead.
"Calley, Bri," I called out, approaching the two girls. The two looked up at me and Charlotte.
"Yes, Sophie?" asked Calley.
"I was wondering if you'd like to team up with us. I mean, the rules never said that pairs couldn't team up. Besides, Charlotte and I already found our eggs. Maybe we could help you girls," I explained.
"Sounds alright to me," Bri smiled. "Cal?"
"Sure," Calley agreed. "Where do you girls want to explore?"
"How about we explore here, then we can move inside," Brianna suggested.
Me and the others nodded in agreement.
Searching the clearing, we discovered two more eggs which each Calley and Bri added to their own baskets.
"I found one!" Bri exclaimed, picking up a yellow egg from underneath a railing. She added it to her basket. Calley plucked a turquoise colored egg perched on a sign, and added it to her basket.
Now that we each had our eggs, we then walked back to the meeting spot.
Nearly all the pairs had returned to the courtyard. Many, if not all, were in their own little groups below the stage, talking and laughing while presenting their finds. Finally, the rest of our friends managed to return with their eggs, and ran up to join the girls and I on the platform as we gathered to meet them.
"Attention!" called Kieron through the microphone, and everyone turned. "I'd like to thank everyone for participating in the First Annual Easter Egg Hunt. In a moment, everyone will be allowed to go off and eat their eggs. We hope everyone has had a happy experience. Happy Easter! And now..." Brett and Kieron both held up egg cartons. "EGG FIGHT!" The other participants scattered and spotted the spare egg cartons laying by the stage's bottom. They grabbed the egg cartons, and grinned. Now it was time for the First Annual Egg Fight!
Soon the event ended, and many left to head back home. While others, like myself, were sitting on the school's benches, finishing off their chocolate eggs. The setting sun casted a reddish glow upon us. At that moment, another figure approached.
"Britney!" The two girls exclaimed happily, and Macy ran up and hugged her friend.
"I thought I'd find you two up here. Do you have room for another?" Britney smiled as the others, including Alicia, agreed. She then sat down in between Calley and Macy, and reached into her basket and pulled out one of her eggs. She opened it, and joined in the chocolate eating.
So there we all sat at the picnic table together, eating chocolate and watching the sunset on this Easter evening