Summer's drawn to a close and it's time to head back to school! Only this time...Milo is DEFINITELY not himself! It's time for a new Milo to appear. It's time...for GRUNGE MILO! ROLL IT!
September 6, 2016. True, it was still summer; but for the students of Jefferson County Middle School, it was time to head back to school. For Zack, Melissa and Amanda - the worries about Milo only grew throughout the summer. Today, the jinx was nowhere to be found.
"Hey, either of you seen Milo?" Zack asked.
"Not me, Zack...which is odd because we always sit next to each other on the bus," Melissa told Zack.
"I haven't seen Milo either, Zack," Amanda added. Milo then appeared, only this time he wasn't in his signature sweater vest. This time, he was in a jacket similar to Melissa's, but in a dark green color over an orange shirt with black jeans and it appears he finally conquered laces as he was sporting black laced boots. He was also sporting...entrance music? The entrance music he had chosen was the theme song to a show that was out before he was born - MTV's 'Daria'. The song: 'You're Standing On My Neck' by Splendora.
This is my stop
Got to get off
I may go 'Pop!'
Excuse me...
Excuse me...
I've got to be direct (la, la, la)
If I'm wrong, please correct (la, la, la)
You're Standing On My Neck
After blowing a whistle at Bradley and Lydia, who were overtly flirting in front of his locker, Milo went straight to his locker and got what he needed for the day. He then shoved Amanda out of the way and pushed Zack into his locker. This behavior worried Melissa, who pulled Amanda and Zack away.
"Guys, we have a situation here," Melissa called out. "Milo is definitely not himself!"
"I know...he shoved me to the side!" Amanda said in a worried tone.
"And he pushed me into my locker!" Zack freaked. "I feel like this is my fault. I had no idea he had feelings for you, Melissa..."
"That's because he had kept them hidden. For how long, I have no idea. Mr. Flynn-Fletcher said that Milo is experiencing some sort of fear - fear of not having you around a lot, Melissa."
"Is that what's causing his downward spiral?"
"Seems like it. But what are we gonna do? He's gone total grunge and if this continues, there might be nothing that can stop him!"
No sooner than Amanda said that...water fountains malfunctioned, the lights went out, chalkboards collapsed, lockers destroyed...Murphy's law had been amplified due to Milo's change in behavior.
"Well, we better figure out a way to get Milo back to normal and fast! Murphy's law is destroying everything!" Melissa cowered. "We need some sort of plan - EMERGENCY MEETING, 4TH PERIOD, LIBRARY!"
Amanda and Zack nodded, running off to their classes. The quartet of Milo, Melissa, Zack and Amanda all had Ms. Camilichec for their homeroom this year, so at least they were all together. Whether that was good or bad...you be the judge. Come their free period - 4th period - Melissa, Amanda and Zack convened in the library to think up a plan to get Milo back to his normal chipper self and out of his grunge phase.
"What are we gonna do, guys?" Melissa asked. "This is not our Milo!"
"It's not, Melissa. This is 90s Milo...and none of us were around in the 90s!" Zack joked, earning him a punch on the shoulder from Melissa.
"This is serious, Zack! What are we gonna do?"
"Well, from what I gathered over the summer, Milo's gotten this way because he now feels betrayed by the both of you," Amanda assessed, looking to Zack and Melissa.
"Why are you looking at us, Amanda?" Melissa asked.
"Figure it out, geniuses..." Amanda snarkily replied. After thinking it over for a while, Melissa finally spoke up.
"Amanda...I think he feels betrayed because...his old grade school crush on me is resurfacing."
Amanda smiled. Melissa had figured it out. "Now you're catching on..."
"But how could Milo have gone to teasing me about getting kissed by you to a complete grunge jerk over the course of half a year?" Zack asked.
"I'm not sure..." Melissa said. "I guess on the outside, he wanted to get back at you for teasing him about Amanda, but on the inside..."
"...on the inside, he felt betrayed by the both of you. How he got so good at hiding emotions, I'll never know."
"He learned from me, Amanda," Melissa said to the Latina. "Now what's the plan?"
"Well...none of us can stand to see Milo like this," Amanda told her friends.
"Agreed, Amanda," Zack concurred before turning to Melissa. "We have to put Milo first...he'd do the same for us."
Melissa gave a nod before putting the plan into place. "No question about it. So I guess the plan is that Zack and I break up in front of everyone so that Milo sees it. Once he sees it, I bet it snaps him out of that grunge phase he's going through."
"What if it doesn't?" Amanda asked.
"If it doesn't...I don't know what will. First holiday break, we set the plan in motion."
"You said before, Melissa...Milo's tough. He can hang on a little while longer," Zack said to Melissa before the trio dispersed. Amanda was then left thinking 'I hope you're right, Zack.'
Little did the trio know that Milo was over behind the mystery section of the library...and he overheard the whole thing.
That night at the Murphy house, Sara came in before Milo could even get to write in his journal.
"Hey, Milo," Sara greeted. "Call came in today from Principal Milder. Everyone at school is worried about you, Milo. So am I. What's gotten into you recently?"
Milo took a deep breath and sighed before asking Sara to sit down next to him on his bed. "Sara, can you keep a secret?"
"Of course!"
"I...I think I'm in love with Melissa..."
"WHAT?! I always knew this day would come!" Sara squealed. "So why the new outfit and the grunge entrance music today at school?"
"Principal Milder told you about that?"
"She did."
"Well...I feel like I've been betrayed by the first two people to have ever looked past my curse and call me their friend. I feel like Zack and Melissa betrayed me by hooking up. I know I should be happy for them and at first, I was. But now...I'm not. It's like all these old feelings for Melissa just came rushing back to the surface and to top it all off, I'm with Amanda after over a year of crushing on her. What's she gonna think?"
Sara snuggled up to her brother and messed up his hair. "Milo, your the toughest and sweetest kid I know. If I were in your shoes, I'd just tell Amanda what's really going on. She's a very sweet girl and I'm sure she'll understand," the blonde fangirl told her jinx of a brother.
Milo smiled as he took to writing in his journal...
From the desk of Milo Murphy - September 6, 2016...
Dear Journal,
Today was my first day of 8th grade and let me tell you...it was total wonk. Zack and Melissa are still together and everyone noticed I had changed...I wasn't the chipper Milo that everyone was accustomed to. I was now what everyone called 'Grunge Milo'. I'm worrying everyone, even Principal Milder. I did overhear that Zack and Melissa were thinking about breaking up, though. They also said something about first major holiday break...which isn't until Thanksgiving in November. I don't know how much longer I can tough this out. But I know that with my sister supporting me, there's nothing I can't do. Thanks, Sara...I have no idea what I did to deserve a sister like you.
Write more later,
Milo
I just love writing for Milo and Sara! I think from here on out, Milo's gonna need his sister more than ever. We'll be getting to Halloween next, so stick around! Remember...IT'S MILO'S WORLD AND WE'RE ALL LIVING IN IT!