The sun was shining down, as Manny and Emma were sunbathing in the backyard of Emma’s house. There was only one more day until school began.

“So Emma, how do you think I look?” Manny asked, as she stood up, showing off her figure in her pink string bikini.

“Fine, why do you ask?” confused by the situation. Did she not know how great she looked; I mean most guys would die to date her.

“Well I want to look perfect for my audition tomorrow,” she said in a perky voice. It had become her dream since she did the movie this summer.

“Manny you’ll do fine,” she tried to reassure her. “You just have to stop obsessing over it.” She didn’t think that she had heard any thing but it for the last few weeks. She could barely get any other word in otherwise.

“I can’t help it, I really want this part. I mean since doing ‘Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!’, I’ve had the need act again. I don’t think I’ll be truly happy until I’m a big star,” she said plopping back down on the lawn chair.

“Well I think that you’ll be fine either way because you’re pretty great,” she smiled.

“It’s not good enough; I need to be the best,” she stated, before putting her shades back on and laying back to get some more rays. This year would be different; she wouldn’t let anything get her down. She would get everything she wanted, no matter what it took.

******

“How is your progress going Craig?” Ms Fleck asked, as they sat in their group session. They were all sitting around in a circle, talking about how each one of them were doing this week.

“I’m doing well, I’ve been much better since I went back home.” He glanced over at Ellie, who was sitting right across from him, “Ellie has been there supporting me through thick and thin. She has been my rock, when I needed someone to lean on.” He smiled at her, gazing into her eyes, “Thank you.”

Ellie just smiled back at him, glancing down at the ground before looking back at him. It felt good to see him smile. She had seen him through his rough year, especially the last few months. She only wished that Ashley hadn’t broken his heart.

She had really made him forget about Ashley, and all the troubles he had over the summer. He never thought that he and Ellie would ever really be too close of friends, especially after all the negative things she had said to him in the past. He thought she would never get over the fact that he broke her best friend’s heart by cheating on Ashley. However, once he joined her support group and she found out his secret she changed her views of him and they began to get to know each other, only to find that they actually had a lot in common.

******

“I can hardly believe that school has started up again, it feels like we just ended the year,” Emma announced as Manny and she climbed the stairs of Degrassi.

“I know…but a new year means new experiences,” and in her mind also meant new guys!!! She definitely thought this year she was going to find a guy, someone that was far different from the others she had dated.

“Yeah…if you say so,” Emma answered. She still wasn’t sure if she wanted to be here.

“I know so,” Manny smiled as she dragged her down the crowded hall. She stopped in her tracks. “Who’s that?” starring at the guy who stood before them.

“I don’t know,” Emma replied, barely able to look away. He was gorgeous!!! She didn’t know who it was, but she definitely wanted to find out.

He started walking towards them, smiling at them. “Hello…I couldn’t help but notice that you two were staring at me,” Peter said. He definitely was going to like this school if there were more beauties like them.

“Oh…sorry,” Emma replied, grinning. “I’ve never seen you before, are you new?”

“Yes, just moved here with my dad…I’m Peter Stone,” shaking both their hands. He didn’t want to tell them who his mother was in case they treated him differently.

Pointing to herself, “I’m Emma Nelson, and this is Manny Santos.”

“Nice to meet you two,” he waved, before walking away, up the stairs to the next floor.

******

Spinner walked into the school, he could feel the people glaring at him. They still hated him for what had happened last year. He had hoped that they had gotten over it by now; well at least enough to stop bothering him and yelling mean comments all the time.

He turned left to notice that Jimmy was coming his way; he had to try to talk to him. “Jimmy…”

Jimmy rudely cut him off, “Oh look who they let back into our school, I guess they let in just about anyone in this school these days,” Jimmy yelled out, as he wheeled by.

Spin tried not to look hurt, but he was. This guy had been his best friend since he could remember. He couldn’t see his life without his friends; friends who had been there through thick and thin.

******

“Hey man, how was your summer?” Marco asked as he walked over to Craig in the MI lab, before their homeroom class began.

“Great!” thinking about the many hours he spent with Ellie in the garage listening to their favorite music. Or when they watched movies, and when it got to a scary part how Ellie put her head on his chest, holding him close. To him that had been heaven. However, what did that mean; did he like her now? Would their relationship change if he did? “Yours?”

“Africa was great. I really enjoyed helping out the needy, but it was a little sad to see how little they really do have. It broke my heart to know that I’ve complained about some stuff that I don’t have when they have nothing.

“So when did you get back?” finding it a little weird that he hadn’t called him right away.

“A few days ago.”

“Why didn’t you call me, we could’ve hung out.”

“I did try…Joey said that you were out with Ellie,” happy that they had found each other after going through heartbreak. They both deserved to be happy. “Rumor has it that you’ve been hanging out since August.”

Craig tried not to blush, trying to keep his cool; he didn’t want him to think anything of it. “Yeah…but we would have loved to have you come along.” They both loved spending time with their friends, and since he had been away so long it would have been nice to have some time to catch up.

“So am I missing something?” trying to get Craig to confess to it all.

“What are you talking about?” Pretending to not understand the question, even though he knew what Marco thought.

“I mean are you and Ellie hooked up?” he asked, sitting at the edge of his seat, eager to know if his best friends were really dating.

“No…no,” he laughed. “We’re just friends,” not looking him the eye, trying to hide the fact that he could barely say the word friends, when to him at times he felt different.

“Well…do you like her?” The way he was acting, he had to at least feel something for her.

“Yes…No…I don’t know,” putting his face into his hands. He looked back at Marco, “It’s just that she’s been real great, helping me through what happened with Ashley,” leaving out the part about him being bipolar, he didn’t want him to know about that. “I felt like she was someone I could really trust; I don’t know what I would have done if she hadn’t been there.” He couldn’t get rid of the smile that was planted on his face. Whenever he thought of her, he couldn’t help but smile.

“Sounds to me like you like her.” That’s how Marco felt when he met Dylan and started hanging out with him. It still hurt a bit to think about back then, with him. He knew Dylan would always hold a piece of his heart because he was his first love.

“But I’m not supposed to fall for someone so fast after losing my love,” feeling that things seemed to be moving faster then they should; it had only been 2 ½ months since Ashley had left him.

“Well I’m sorry to say this, but the way that Ashley treated you wasn’t the way you should treat someone you say you love. She treated you as if you couldn’t take care of yourself, as if you were a baby. That’s not how you treat a boyfriend.” He thought it was despicable the way she treated him, but never said a thing because he seemed happy and he didn’t want to ruin that, but now he wouldn’t keep quiet any longer.

“I know,” he replied. Marco just didn’t know the reason why she was like that. He didn’t know that she was concerned about him going haywire because he may or may not be on his meds. No one knew why he had missed a few weeks of school last year, or even why he went off the deep end during summer break. He didn’t want people walking on eggshells wondering if any moment he could snap. “But she meant well.”

“I just think that you and Ellie are better fitted.” If he had to, he would set them up. Well maybe he should find out how she feels about him before he did that.

“Marco I don’t even know if I want to pursue this. I mean she was my ex’s best friend. I don’t even know if I could do that to her, it’s not fair.”

“I think you should go with what your heart says,” he said as he stood up, as he noticed Mr. Simpson walking in the classroom, and walked over to his assigned seat, in the seat across from Craig’s. “We’ll talk later, I'm not finished.

Craig couldn’t help but laugh. He glanced at his screen to notice that he had a message. He clicked on it to open it.

Hey Craig,

I never got to thank you last night. What you said about me meant a lot to me; more than you will ever know. I’m glad I was able to help you through this. You know you’ve helped me out just as much. If I didn’t have you this summer, I don’t know if I would have been able to be that strong, I might have cut. So thanks!

Ellie (your partner in crime)

Craig couldn’t help but grin as he read the email.

******

Manny walked into the audition room; she was a little nervous. This was her first real audition, her last role she didn’t have to try out to get it.

She took a deep breath, as she stood in front of the director. “Hi I’m Manny Santos; I’m trying out for the role of Liza.”

“Alright, you can start at anytime,” Diane Smith replied.

“What are you doing?  I’m sorry…but have you done this before?...Vital doesn’t do it that way,” Manny said in a snotty way, the way she thought the character would say it; even if she stumbled through it a little.

“Who ma’am?” Diane said, reading the other part.

“Vital Sassy.”

“Ah…Vidal Sassoon.”

“No Vital Sassy…who’s Vidal Sassoon? I don’t know why I’m putting up with this. You know what part I turned down for this role?”

“Thank you…you can go now.”

“But I haven’t even finished the page,” she exclaimed. She thought that she wasn’t doing too bad, maybe a little nervous. She really wanted this, more then anything else in the world. Acting meant the world to her; she would do anything to do it.

“I’m sorry, but I need to see the others,” she replied, sounding rather annoyed that this girl didn’t get the point.

“Won’t you please let me at least finish, I know you won’t regret it,” she replied, eager to change this woman’s mind.

“No…now please leave,” she said sternly.

Once outside, Manny started screaming…she was so mad. That woman hadn’t given her much of a chance. She knew she had what it took, otherwise why else would Kevin Smith have let her star along side him and Jason Mewes.

******

“Hey Jo,” Craig said as he plopped down beside him on the couch. He looked like he was ready to ask him something, but didn’t.

“Can I help you out with something?” Joey asked, he could tell something was up.

“Okay…there’s this girl that I find very interesting, and is fun to hang out with…”

“Ellie?” was pretty sure he was right after what he witnessed over the last month.

“How’d you know?”

“I’ve seen you with her; I just put two and two together.”

“Well I’m not sure if I like her or not…”

Once again interrupted, “Craig I’ve seen the way you look at her, the way you seem happier when she’s around, you definitely like her.”

“But I’m not sure if I should go for it. She is Ash’s best friend for one. How well would that look going from one friend to another?”

Putting his arm around him, “Craig who cares what others think, if this is someone you really care about, if she truly makes you happy then I think you need to go for it. Believe me otherwise in the future you may regret it.”

Standing up, “You’re right; to heck what others may think. I deserve to be happy after all that has happened this past year.”

“Good for you,” he smiled.

“Thanks,” Craig said, as he walked towards the stairs, “I hope you find the same thing.”

“Me too,” Joey muttered to himself, “me too.”