Chapter One
Link and Tracy pulled apart from their kiss. They both stared at each other, mesmerized and in shock for a few seconds not hearing the commotion around them. Finally both Link and Tracy found themselves being pulled in opposite directions. Link being pulled with an agent and Tracy with another. She smiled to herself as she walked with confidence with the female agent. Every so often she would steal glances and blush at Link who talked animatedly with a male agent. When she and the agent finished talking they decided that they would meet after school on Monday and go over the contract. As the clock ticked later into the evening Tracy looked for Link, he was no where to be found. Tracy put a brave face for the rest of the long evening before leaving with her mother and father.
Amber
looked on as Tracy and Link kissed, totally oblivious of what was
going
on around her. All the cheering, all the smiles, all the
exchanging of congratulations, she was totally fixed on what she saw
before her.
It was over.
The moment Link danced and kissed Tracy, it was all over. She couldn't believe it; all that she worked for, gone.
Amber
felt a sharp tug on her arm. She quickly snapped out of her trance.
It
was her mother.
"Amber! Let's go! I'm done!" Her mother said as
she led her daughter
out of the studio.
Corny
Collins, stood on the sidelines while the last few minutes of
the
program were being broadcasted. He saw Amber's sadness, her
disbelief, her
heartbreak. He saw the whole thing, and because he
saw that he felt sorry for
her.
'Wait a
minute,' Corny thought to himself. 'She deserved it.
Didn't
she?'
"And…were off!"
Through all
the cheering of integration and success, Corny himself stood in
a
trance.
'She's a spitting image of her mother. Is it
really her fault? What would
she be like if her mother was away?'
Corny thought.
"CORNY!" He was quickly knocked out of his
trance by a trample of the
council girls.
"Whoa, whoa,
ladies. Don't wrinkle the suit." He said with his
trademark
smile.
The Council Girls giggled.
"Excuse me, Mr.
Collins?" A man came up with a press pass. "Can I get a
group
photo for the paper?"
"Absolutely…oh wait, Amber von Tussle isn't here." Corny said.
"Forget her!" Noreen
and Doreen said. The rest of the Council Girls
agreed.
"Now
ladies, she is a Council Girl." Corny said. "Can
wehis
tomorrow?"
"Uh, I guess so Mr. Collins. Tomorrow at 3?" The man asked.
"Deal." Corny said.
"All right ladies, that's a wrap!" Corny said with a smile.
Everyone exited to his or her dressing room.
Corny
went back to his office to change. He shut the door and reached for
his
clothes when he spotted a framed picture of the cast, Amber in
front with her
beautiful blonde hair, lips, and figure. Corny felt
his heart skip a beat.
"Gah! What am I thinking? I'm 22,
she's 17. Conrad Collins, your one
crazy fool." Corny said to
himself.
As he got done changing, Corny couldn't get his
eyes of the picture, so he
took it down and shut it away.
Amber and Velma entered the house.
"Amber, just go to your room…I
need a drink." Velma said rubbing her
temples.
"More like three." Amber mumbled.
Amber walked up to her room,
shut the door, sat down, and for once in her
life, she
cried.
This wasn't a frustrated pouty cry; this was a cry of
heartbreak and of
loneliness.
Amber moved to her mirror to
wipe away her tears when she saw an autographed
photo of Corny
Collins on her dresser.
It said, "To Amber, my #1 fan. Conrad Collins.
She took the photo and laid down on her bed looking at the photo.
"You're the only guy who could
really make me smile." She whispered to
the photo.
Amber
suddenly for the first time realized it. She was in love with
Corny
Collins, and she wasn't ashamed of it at all.
Tracy woke up smiling. It wasn't like most morning where she was just glad to wake up and face another day, no today was different today was the day after she and Link kissed, and on television no less! Tracy sat up in bed and glanced at her mirror. She smiled and blushed slightly, seeing the photos of Link placed about and thinking about the kiss made her smile even wider. She began to day dream when she was interrupted by a knock on her door.
"Tracy hon. Are you awake?"
Tracy began to get out of bed and put her slippers on as her mother opened the door.
"Morning Ma!"
Edna smiled at her daughter,
"Morning Tracy. You're happy this morning. Does this have anything to do with a certain Link Larkin?"
Tracy smiled,
"No, besides it was just the moment, nothing else Ma. Do you want some help today?"
Edna leaned against the door frame and smiled at her daughter,
"I'd like that. Come on down when you're ready."
Tracy smiled at her mother and began to get ready for the day.
Later in the day, Tracy sat at her vanity studying for a final exam. She took in a deep breath, and then exhaled thinking about the kiss that she and Link had shared the previous day.
'How was he going to act on Monday? How was she? Where they going to feel awkward? Was he going to regret it?'
Tracy shook her head and gazed at the pictures of Link that surrounded her mirror then spoke,
"What are you thinking? What is Monday going to be like for us?"
No sooner were the words out of her mouth that her mother walked by. Edna smiled a small smile at her daughter and shrugged,
'Young love. Tracy deserves not just any boy, but the best one.'
Tracy shook her head and continued to study; hoping that for once Monday was slow in arriving.