I pretty much own everyone in this chapter. Snyder and Medda and Irven Hall aren't mine however. And if you know Snyder's first name I would be most obliged if you could tell me. Thanks! Oh and I've never been to Georgia so If anything I say about Georgia is wrong, sorry. Well I passed through there once, but I was five at the time.

Fresh Picked Georgia Peach

"Alright class, for homework you have to write a half page summary about the weather for each day this weekend and then we'll try to figure out as a class why the weather was like it was. Have a Good Weekend!" Miss Angela said as the bell rang that signalled the end of the school day. Her class rushed out as usual and few stopped to say anything to her at all. The only person who stopped was Stacey Kincaid. She was a straight-A student who's father died when she was little and her mother moved to Berrien County, Georgia. Stacey was ready to graduate this year, all she had to do was pass one more test and she was sure to graduate top of her class.
"Have a good Weekend Miss Angela, see you on Monday." She said smiling.
"You too Stacey, don't forget to watch the stars. You'll learn a lot more from them then they ever will from you."
"I know, so I shouldn't bother trying to impress them. I should just learn from them." Stacey said smiling. Miss Angela had been telling her the same thing since she was seven and now that she knew what it meant she enjoyed hearing it.
"Goodbye Stacey" Miss Angela said and Stacey walked out of the class. "I'm gonna miss that girl when she graduates." She muttered.

Stacey left the school house and ran right into Erik Dormin. He was the ladies man of the school. He was 3 years older then Stacey because he failed quite a few times because his father had gotten sick.
He was about to Apologize when he noticed who it was, then he just glared at her and knocked her books out of her hand. "Oops."
Stacey glared at him then kneeled down to get her books. "You don't have to be such a jerk all the time you know."
"But it's just so much fun" He said in a fake whine before smirking.
"One day you're going to be incredible sorry that you were so mean to me." Stacey said turning up her nose and walking passed him.
"Yeah, and pigs will fly and play golf." He muttered before walking in the opposite direction.
"He is so mean, well I won't let him spoil such a beautiful day" She muttered to herself as she walked towards home with her books secure in her grasp.

She walked along the path towards home. It really was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and it was her birthday, though nobody in town knew that. It was something special her mother and her shared.
"Mommy, I'm home!" She yelled as she ran in to the Kitchen. It was childish but she was always really close to her mother, it was just the two of them since forever and she always fell back on that greeting for her birthday.
Today however, there wasn't any reply. There was always a reply because her mother was always home at this time of the day, always.
Stacey dropped her books and ran out of the kitchen into the living room, up the stairs and started looking in the Bedrooms. There her mother was, lying passed out on the floor. "MOMMY!!"
Her mom lifted her head a bit and looked at Stacey. "I'm sorry about your birthday" she said weakly.
"That doesn't matter, what happened to you?" Stacey said as she put her mothers head in her lap.
"Someone broke in, I tried to stop them but I...." She couldn't finish her sentence.
"It's alright, I'll go get the doctor and you'll be fine." Stacey said soothingly.
"No! Don't leave.....There's a box on my dresser. It has a letter for you, in case I died....When I'm gone I need you to open it. It has 'Secrets' engraved on the lid."
"Mommy, don't talk like that." Stacey said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I love you Baby, I'll always love you." She whispered. "Never forget me..." Then she died. She just stopped working, like a doll who needed it's key turned. Suddenly all the life had left her eyes and Stacey's Mother died. Stacey held her mother's hand and cried.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU AREN'T EVEN GOING TO LOOK FOR THEM?!" Stacey yelled at the police officer.
"I mean we don't have a shred of clues to work with. The place doesn't even look like it got broken into. The only reason we have to believe that there was a break in was that statement that you 'say' your mother made." The Officer answered.
"What about the fact that my mother is DEAD?!" Stacey yelled.
"She could have easily fainted from fatigue and hit her head on a dresser corner." He answered. "Now I know you've had a terrible loss but we can't just follow up every lead, we wouldn't know where to begin to look. Why don't you go home until someone finds some family you can stay with." He said kindly.
"I have no family, she was my only family." Stacey said bitterly before leaving the building. In the past week she'd done a lot of things, including graduating from school early at the age of 14 and with the help of Miss Angela, Stacey settled her mother's debts. The only thing she had yet to do was read her mother's letter in the box, she hadn't even opened it.
She walked home and picked the box off the dresser. It looked like a normal jewellery box except it wouldn't open. No matter how hard she pulled on the lid it wouldn't open. She did something she had seen her mother do on many occasions almost out of instinct. She hit the bottom as hard as she could and the lid opened. Her mother always said it was a secret way to keep things safe.
Stacey opened the box and found quite a few things in it. Her birth certificate, some money, a letter, a wooden heart with the letters NY on it and a picture of her mother with the father she never knew.
She opened the letter and started reading.

Dear Stacey,
I pray that you'll never had to read this letter but I wrote it in case of my death. I've always told you that you had no family but that's not entirely true. My father is still alive. I personally don't like him all that much but he is your only living relative. I never told you this but I grew up in New York. My father is still there but I never even told him you existed. Now you have a choice, you could go to New York and find my father or you could go to New York and find an old Friend of mine. She was my best friend for a very long time and I'm sure she would be delighted to see you. Her name is Medda Larksen and as far as I know she works in an establishment named Irven Hall. There is money in the Secret box for you to buy a ticket to New York and it should be enough for you to find lodging for a week or so, by then I'm sure you'll either have found my father or Medda. As I said before I pray that you never have to read this but if you are I just want you to know that I will always love you, no matter what. Also, no matter what my father tells you, your father loved us both a lot and he would be proud of you, as I am.

Yours always,

Isabel Melanie Snyder Kincaid or as you would call me, Mommy.

PS Your GrandFather works at a place called the House of Refuge or something to that extent. It's fairly well known in New York.

Stacey folded up the letter and for the first time since her mother died, she cried.
"Miss Angela, I need your help...." Stacey said when Miss Angela opened the door. Stacey had to go to Miss Angela's house to see her because school had ended for the summer.
"What is it Stacey?" She asked as she ushered the girl into her house. "Would you like some tea?"
"Um, yes please." She sat at the table and took a sip of the tea that was placed in front of her. "I need to get to New York and I was wondering if Maybe you could take care of things here. I don't want to have to come back. Not that I don't love it here, I grew up here but there are things I need to do and I need to be in New York to do them...." She said in a rush.
"Alright, I promise to take care of things. I assume you want your house sold and furniture and everything?" Miss Angela said in a questioning tone.
"Yes, I'll send you a letter with an address to send the money after you take care of it." She said quietly. She didn't like the idea of selling her house.
"Alright and how exactly are you getting to New York?" Miss Angela asked.
"Mommy left me money for a train trip." She said.
"I've got a perfect idea. Since I don't believe anyone should travel alone, why don't you go with one of your classmates who is going to New York in about a week?"
"Alright, that sounds good. When is she leaving?" Stacey said almost happily, not quite though.
"He actually and next Tuesday."
"Alright, who is it?"
Miss Angela almost seemed embarrassed at that point "Erik Dormin"
"No, I refuse to go with HIM" She yelled as she jumped up ready to storm out of the room.
"You have to go with someone and he'll take care of you on the trip." She said hopefully.
"If, and I sincerely mean IF you can get him to agree then I'll go, otherwise I'll go alone." Stacey declared before storming out of the room.
"Sometimes I hate those two." Miss Angela muttered as she left to go see Erik. Erik lived on a farm only four houses away in their small town so it wasn't really a bother to go. She knocked on the door and was met with Erik's mother. "Hello Mrs. Dormin, how are you this evening?"
"Well, and yourself?" She answered while ushering Miss Angela into the house.
"I'm quite well. I hear your son is heading to New York to find work."
"Oh yes, he doesn't want to be a farmer he says. Wants to see the big city. I told him he shouldn't go but he's being terribly insistent." She said as she offered tea. (A/N: I know everyone here offers tea and that's probably not true in the setting of the story however I'm keeping it like that because everyone where I live offers tea when you show up at their door.)
Miss Angela declined the tea but sat down and took a biscuit. "I know of a young Lady who is planning on going to New York soon and I was wondering if your son would be willing to accompany her."
"I'm sure it'll be fine. My boy is such a gentleman." She said proudly.
Miss Angela raised an eyebrow at this but quickly regained her calm, composed teacher face. "Is your son around so I can ask him?"
"Yes, he's just out in the barn, I'll go get him." She said as she moved to stand.
"Don't worry about it, the barn is on my way so I can stop in and talked to him there." Miss Angela said because she knew there would be an argument and she didn't want it to erupt in front of this nice woman.
"Alright, please tell him to come in for Dinner when you're done." She said nicely before turning showing Miss Angela out.
She went to the barn and started looking around for the black haired boy. Every time she referred to him as a boy his emerald eyes sparked dangerously and he insisted that he was a man not some child. "Erik!" She yelled.
"WHAT?" He yelled from the hay loft, he looked down and saw Miss Angela. "Oh, Hi Miss Angela, what are you doing here?"
"Remember how I tutored you for the whole year and you said you owed me?" She asked hesitantly.
Erik started getting nervous at that point. "Yeah I remember."
"Well, now I need a favour."
"And what might that be?" He asked cautiously.
"You're going to New York and someone else I know is going to New York and I would rather she not travel alone so I was hoping you could escort her." She answered.
"Oh, is that all? Sure I'll do it." He said, then he grabbed the rope and swung out of the hayloft into a huge pile of hay on the other side of the barn.
"Oh good, I'll go tell her right away." She said, almost running out the door.
"Who is it anyway?" Erik asked almost nervously. 'This is too easy' he thought.
"Um....Stacey Kincaid." She said and then winced at his response.
"THAT RED-HAIRED, GREEN EYED, SNOB??!!?" He exclaimed.
"No, that nice girl who just lost her mother and who needs to go to New York to find her only living family who doesn't even know about her existence. This trip will be very hard on her and I don't want you making it any worse. She is hurting right now so I ask that you at least try to be half the gentleman your mother believes you to be." Miss Angela answered in her always calm teacher tone.
"That was too bad about her mother...." He said almost sympathetically.
"Exactly. You wouldn't want her to travel alone in such a distraught state, would you?" She asked. She had already won him over, this was just to ice the cake.
"Alright I'll do it. Now if you don't mind, Miss Angela, I have to get back to work." He said as he was about to start feeding the horses.
"Actually, you don't. Your mother wants you to go in for supper now." She said, smiling at him one last time before leaving.
"She better be on time because I'm not missing my train to wait for her!" He yelled before walking towards home.

Tuesday arrived very quickly and before anyone could blink, Stacey was standing on the platform with a bag of clothes, her secret box, some books and her ticket. Miss Angela had come to see her off while Erik was saying goodbye to his parents and brothers.
"Take care in New York, and be careful it's a dangerous city." Miss Angela said while organizing the books that Stacey was bringing with her.
"I will." Stacey answered quietly.
"And don't neglect your studies, even if you can't continue your education in an institute of sorts that doesn't mean you aren't intelligent and that can't learn from other sources such as books and people." Miss Angela continued.
"I know." Stacey answered in the same sad tone.
"And remember that no matter what, you were top of your class. Don't let anyone say you can't do something because you're a girl. You beat all the boys who were two years older then you."
"I know."
"Don't forget to watch the stars, you'll learn a lot more from them then they will from you" Miss Angela finished with tears in her eyes.
Stacey couldn't help it anymore. She cried and hugged Miss Angela tightly. "I know, so don't bother trying to impress them, just learn from them."
They both stood there and cried until they heard "ALL ABOARD!"
"That's your cue to get on the train." Miss Angela muttered sadly.
"I'll miss you!"
"I'll miss you too, write me!" Miss Angela yelled as Stacey started boarding the train.
"I will, you write back."
"I will, I promise."
Erik was about to board behind Stacey when Miss Angela stopped him and hugged him too. "Take care of yourself and take care of her. You'll need all the true friends you can find in New York and she is a true friend." Miss Angela whispered to him.
"I will, I promise." He answered.
"I'll write to you too if you write to me first with an Address and I'll miss you as well. You were always one of my favourites." Miss Angela told him before handing him a copy of Le Count of Monte Cristo. "Remember that knowledge is power." With that Miss Angela stepped away from the platform as the train rolled away. "Good Luck" She muttered when they disappeared from sight.

Author's Note: I don't know if I should romantically involve Erik and Stacey so if you could review with your oppinion on the subject it would be great. Thanks!