A/N: This is the first part of 'How To Change a Life', a prequel fic to 'The Great And The Good'. This focusses on Ashley Winters, detailing some of his life at Swedesville High School, and the events that led to him attending Fielding and becoming friends with Tom Sloane.
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THE GREAT AND THE GOOD: HOW TO CHANGE A LIFE
Part 1
Ashley Winters was sat in the car, being driven to school by his mother, Rachel. It had been a hectic morning, with his father heading out the door early and Rachel having to give him a lift at the last minute. It had been a quiet ride, until Ashley decided to break the silence.
"Mom, why did Dad have to leave the house so early?" he asked.
Rachel checked her mirrors as she changed lanes. "He got called into an emergency meeting."
Ashley frowned. "Emergency? That sounds promising."
"Well, you know the firm your father works for has been having some financial issues lately. Times are tough, so I expect there's some bad news coming. No doubt he'll be expected to deliver it."
She pulled up outside the school. "Well, take care, honey. Have a nice day."
"I'll try, Mom," Ashley said as he got out of the car.
"Ashley..."
"I'm kidding. I'll be fine. See you later, Mom!"
Ashley waved as his mother pulled away. He checked his clothes, one of his favourite outfits. He had his black sneakers and black cargo pants on, with a black Stone Roses t-shirt and a red and black checked flannel shirt. His long, dark blonde hair was tied back in a pony tale. He adjusted his glasses and looked up at the school gates.
Just another wonderful day at Swedesville High, he thought to himself as he walked in. As he made his way to the front doors of the building, he heard a familiar voice from behind him.
"Hi Ashley!"
As he turned around, he came face to face with one of the prettiest sights he'd ever seen, Leanne Stevens. She wore a red, short sleeved shirt and black skirt with flat shoes and white socks. Her long, straight black hair was loose and her bright green eyes attracted his attention. She was a rarity in the school in that she was both intelligent and popular. She could pretty much have any boy in school she wanted.
Say something you idiot, he thought to himself, before uttering a quiet "Hey Leanne!"
"Hey, you know we're going on that trip to the art museum today. Are you excited?" she said, flashing him one of her cute smiles.
"Oh, yeah. I've never been to an art museum before."
"It's going to be great. Hey, you really need to bring in one of those sculptures into school to show me."
Ashley frowned. "Well, I would but, y'know, Craig and everything."
"Oh yeah," Leanne replied with a sad look on her face, "He should be nicer to people. By the way, how's your arm?"
Ashley rolled his arm around, still a little sore from when Craig Asher, one of the school bullies, trapped his arm in the door of a bathroom stall a few days ago.
"Eh, it's not too bad. I'll be back up to full sculpting power in a couple of days."
"That's great!" Leanne said, smiling once again, "We'd better get to class."
"Yeah," he said, as he followed her inside.
The museum trip has been an interesting experience for Ashley, and he really enjoyed it, apart from Craig tripping him up going upstairs. He sat on his own on the school bus home. He didn't really have any friends as such, except for Leanne, and he had a major crush on her which made talking to her hard at times. Nobody really spoke to the lanky, weird brainy kid. As he stared out of the window, he didn't initially notice that Leanne had come to sit next to him.
"Hey Ashley! Have fun?"
Ashley quickly spun round to face her. "Oh yeah. Yeah, it was great," he said, now looking ahead.
"I have a surprise for you," Leanne said as she took something out of her bag. Out of the corner of his eye, Ashley saw what looked like some mistletoe.
"It's nearly Christmas, so I got this," she said, holding it over his head.
Ashley looked at her briefly, then blushed slightly and turned to the side.
"Don't be shy, Ashley," she said smiling.
Come on, she wants you to kiss her, so just do it, he thought to himself, weighing it up in his mind. Before he could turn around to face her again, she kissed him on the cheek. He turned to face her and she smiled at him and got up.
"See you later, Ashley!" she said as she returned to her original seat. He sighed, then noticed that she put the mistletoe away and didn't use it on anyone else. He slumped down in his seat slightly and looked out of the window.
Way to blow it, he thought.