These Hearts
Chapter 1
Waking up on that first day of summer, something in my gut told me that I'd never forget this one.
My name is Mallory Storm I'm a 17 year old with long black hair with a blue streak down the front. I have brown eyes, I'm average height and I play the saxophone.
After getting dressed I went downstairs to greet the family and grab something quick to eat before heading out.
"Good morning mom, morning dad." I said, smiling at my parents sitting at our wooden kitchen table doing their morning routine. Dad was reading the paper and mom was doing the weird thing she does with her fried eggs, she cuts off all of the white parts and puts the whole yolk in her mouth at once. It's gross.
"Good morning mal." Dad said he folded up his paper and started eating.
"Good morning sweetie," Mom said, "what do you have planned for today?" My parents are the creators of the electronic line "Storm" they make many different devices that perform different functions such as music players and video cameras. So to put it bluntly, we're pretty rich.
I walked over to the counter and grabbed a pear from the fruit bowl.
"I'll probably go swimming or hang out with the girls." I said as I pealed the sticker off of my fruit.
"Okay just remember your curfew, be home before 11." Mom reminds me for the millionth time, jeez woman I was 5 minutes late two months ago. Let it go already! I rolled my eyes and dad smiled at me.
"Hey Mallory, have you seen my screwdriver?" my little brother Jeremy shouted from upstairs.
"No Jeremy, sorry." I replied. Jeremy is 9, he loves making robots and fixing stuff around the house, right now he's fixing the electrical wiring in the hallway.
"Come give me a hug before I go Jeremy!" I shouted up to him. He sprints down the stairs and I squeeze him tight and kiss the top of his head, "have a good day kiddo." I whisper to him. "Okay, see you guys later." I said while walking out the door.
"Bye." they replied in unison.
The green hills of Yosemite Lakes Park always take my breath away. It's a small neighborhood but it's a good one. We have a mall, a pool, a grocery store and a few restaurants. If you wanted to do anything else you'd have to drive the thirty minutes to Fresno.
There is always a clear blue sky this time of year, so beautiful that no matter how bad of a mood I'm in it always cheers me up. Today it's so clear you can see almost all of the mansions within a 10 mile radius.
Sliding into my dark blue convertible I started the engine and pulled out of the drive way. Deciding to go to my friend Bianca's house I took a right at the end of the road. Soon after I began wishing that I'd taken the long way.
I got stopped at a red light and Zack Wayland, the jerk of the neighborhood, pulled up next to me in his brand new truck with that smug smile of his plastered on his face.
"Hey Mallory," he said, "what's happening?"
"Well I was trying to avoid you, looks like my plan failed." I replied.
"Does that mean you didn't have fun on our date last night?" he asked, cocky as always. I took a deep breath before answering.
"Oh I had a great time," I said icily, "getting felt up on the first date is every girls dream!"
"Well if it's me that's feeling you up then I totally agree," he laughed, "so how about another date?"
"In your dreams." I yelled and bolted through the now green light leaving him and his stunned face sitting at the intersection.
I arrived at Bianca's place and groaned out loud when I saw her huge smile that she always has when she's planning one of her outrageous parties.
Bianca Valdez, along with being one of my best friends was the queen of parties. When she's planning a party she's in her element, they always turn out wonderfully for everyone but me. Bianca is always trying to set me up with boys, she claims that because I don't have a steady boyfriend and haven't had one since 9th grade, I'm missing out on one of the most important things in life. So every party she trys to set me up with some guy, but I'm just not interested!
"Hey B, how's your latest party going?" I asked when I reached the front porch where she was sitting.
"Great! Wait how did you know I was planning another party?" she asked, confused.
"It's the smile. You know the one that screams, 'I'm having another party!'. So when is it?"
"Tonight and you just have to come!" she smiled, "I've got the perfect guy for you!"
"No no no! No way, no more setting me up."
"But he's really nice!" she insisted, partly pleading with me, "he and his friends just moved here, their dads are all partners in the same company or something like that. I know you will love him, he's super cute!"
"No Bianca, I told you at your last party, no more playing match-maker."
"Fine." she said, pouting. I sighed and decided to change the subject.
"Have you seen Corey today?" I asked.
"Ya, her mom is giving her a hard time because she died her hair from blonde to black. She's glad I'm having a party tonight," she said in a matter of fact tone, " I think she looks good with black hair but I wouldn't change from blonde if you paid me."
"Mallory!" Bianca's little brother Brice shouts from his balcony, "why didn't you bring Jeremy?" he asked, upset that his friend wasn't with me.
"He's busy fixing something in my room, aren't you glad to see me?" I asked, messing with him just a bit.
"Oh, well of course I am, I just wanted to show Jeremy my new robot. It plays hockey." he said smiling, obviously proud of himself.
"Cool, you'll have to come over and show me sometime." next to me Bianca rolls her eyes.
"Brice go back inside we're talking about big people things." she says, annoyed at the interruption. Brice sticks his tongue out at her and goes back into his room, closing the balcony door behind him.
"You shouldn't be so mean to him." I scolded her. She waves her hand at me dismissively.
"He'll get over it, so you're coming tonight right? It wont be a party without you there." She said.
"I'll think about it. What time?"
"Eight!" she said. I stood up from my spot next to her and she followed me to my car.
"I'm going to go see Corey and make sure she's okay. Talk to you later." I said while I got back in the car.
"Alright chick, pick out something hot for tonight." she said, already positive I would be there and backed away from the car. I laughed.
"See ya woman." I waved and drove off towards Corey's house.
When I arrived at Corey's house I could already hear her music blaring at top volume. That meant two things, 1 her parents Alec and Colet were gone, and two they had pissed her off and she was in her room with the stereo on so she can scream to get her anger out. Fun! I walked into the mansion, covering my ears so I wouldn't get a headache from the volume. I opened her door and saw her in mid-scream, she stopped when she saw me.
"What happened?" I asked after turning the music down.
"Mom hates my hair and the fact that I burned all the pink stuff she bought me and I haven't seen my dad in a week." She replied sourly.
"Where has he been?"
"Work, work, and more work. He's got a big project that he has got to finish by tomorrow."
"So you'll see him in a day, it'll be ok," I assured her, " plus who cares if Colet doesn't like your hair, I think you look great."
"Ya right he's always got something more important than spending time with me to do, like taking Evan to a golf tournament or mom out shopping." She said in a jealous tone. She was right though, he was always hanging out with her twin brother Evan, and Colet always needed some new shoes or a hat. I searched for a different subject to take her mind off of her cruddy family.
"Are you coming to Bianca's party tonight? It's going to be fun, Bianca is going to try to set me up with some guy that just moved here, he apparently has some cute friends." I said, trying to be persuasive.
"I have a boyfriend already remember?" she said, smiling slightly. Yes! Mission accomplished!
"Oh yes, Blake, doesn't mean you can't look."
"Fine, I'll be there, what time?" she asked, smiling widely now.
"Eight. I'm glad you're going to come, maybe that will save me from Bianca's match-making frenzy."
Corey and I laughed and spent a few hours picking out her outfit and accessories, it was one of those times you saw her truly happy.
"Well I'd better get going, have to get dressed and everything." I said while getting in my car.
"Ok I'll see you in a little while. Bye chick!"
"Bye woman!" I said, smiling.
An hour later I was dressed and ready to go, hoping that Bianca wouldn't try anything and we'd all just have a good time tonight, for Bianca and Corey's sakes. If anything happened at the party that Bianca hadn't planned she would lose it, and Corey would be stressed and just go back into the state I found her in earlier. I crossed my fingers and prayed for the best as I got into the car and drove.
