"Miss Pelifent's
School
for Young Ladies
Headmistress: Miriam Pelifent
Dear Miss Rometa,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at the prestigious and world-renowned Miss Pelifent's School for Young Ladies. Please find the enclosed list of books and supplies you will need for the term.
Term begins August 25. We await your letter by no later than July 25.
Yours Sincerely,
Lauren Denilly
Lauren Denilly
Deputy Headmistress"
L.A. looked up at her mom with fire in her eyes.
"Miss--Pelifent's--School--for--Young--Ladies??" L.A.'s voice cracked on the last word. "Mom how could you?"
"Well...I don't like those girls you're hanging out with and the time difference would only be three hours and I think Miss Pelifent's would be perfect for--" Mrs.. Her daughter cut off Mrs. Rometa
"Whoa, wait a second, back UP! THREE HOURS!! Where is it," L.A. asked.
"It's in... um...It's in...well...Maine?" Mrs. Rometa said sheepishly.
"WHAT?? MOM THAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUNTRY!!" screamed L.A. Mrs. Rometa finally dropped the calm front.
"Now wait one minute Lily Anne Rometa! I am your mother and I can choose where you go to school. I choose Miss Pelifent's School for Young Ladies. And I will NOT be screamed at by my fifteen-year-old daughter!" yelled Mrs. Rometa. Suddenly, the sound of tiny voices crying out to their mother filled the room. Mrs. Rometa looked up at the ceiling. "Good job! You woke up Jake and Ian. Go get them their bottles while I change their diaper!" And that was the end of their conversation.
That night at dinner, there was complete and utter silence. The kind of silence that you could here a pin drop...pins drop on the other side of the house. Finally, Mrs. Rometa broke the silence. "Listen, sweetie, once you get there you'll realize you love it. And you'll get a new start with good friends and--"
"What is wrong with the friends I have now?" asked L.A.
"Your friend Rachel--"
"RITCHIE!"
"Whatever! Your friend's father is in prison on DEATH ROW! Her mother is a drug addict, for God's sake!" exclaimed Mrs. Rometa.
"So? That doesn't mean that Ritchie's gonna be like them!"
"And your boyfriend--" Mrs. Rometa was cut off
"What in the WORLD is wrong with Eric??" asked L.A.
"Well his hair--", Mrs. Rometa was cut off again.
"You're critizing his HAIR??" exclaimed L.A.,"You know what? It doesn't even matter! Because I am not going!"
"You're going and that is final!"
"NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!! NNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!" screamed L.A. like a three-year-old throwing a temper tantrum. Ian started to cry. Jake just laughed and clapped his hands. L.A. and her mother just glared at each other. "You are going...and you are grounded for...two...weeks!" Mrs. Rometa said in an icy tone.
"What?" whined L.A.
"Would you like to add another two to that?" said her mother in the same tone.
"I can't believe you!" yelled L.A. as she stomped up the stairs to her bedroom. When she slammed the door, it rattled the whole house. " DON'T SLAM!" yelled her mother.
That night, after L.A. had finished crying, she called Ritchie and told her the news. Ritchie took it worse the L.A. had. Most people were scared of Ritchie because of her parents and L.A. was her only true friend. After many promises to keep in touch, L.A. decided it was time to break the news to her boyfriend. "Oh, okay. Have fun with that. Good luck! Make sure to call me when you land! You can even call collect!" Ritchie said.
"Ritchie! I'm not leaving until the end of the summer. That's 3 MONTHS away. My mom even found time to ground me for two weeks."
"Yeah...well...I was just reminding you. I totally new you weren't leaving yet."
"Yeah...sure. Okay. Well, better call Eric before I get grounded for a month for wasting minutes on the family plan or something stupid like that...bye!"
"Bye B-baller!" said Ritchie. "B-baller," was the name Ritchie had given her years ago because she couldn't think of anything else. The name was pretty stupid but it stuck.
"Bye Fancy pants!" said L.A. Then she hung up the phone. L.A. sat on her bed for what seemed like forever thinking about what she was going to say. L.A. and Eric had been going out since she was 13 and he was 14. They really cared for and liked each other. This was sure to be a blow on Eric's part. L.A. dialed the number and waited. Unfortunately she got the answering machine. She hated his message. It started out, "Hello? (pause) Hey! (pause) You've reaches Eric..." and so on. It tricks her every time because that is exactly how he answers the phone. She left a message telling her to call her back immediately after he got this message, that she had some bad news that he needed to know. After that she hung up the phone and fed her fish on her dresser. L.A. looked at the fish a long time a felt almost jealous. They didn't have to leave their boyfriend fish or their best friend fish. There mother fish didn't tell them what to do. And they didn't have annoying baby brother fish. She lay down in bed and closed her eyes. L.A. tried to not think about the end of summer and what was waiting for her. She failed miserably. If only she could have known the adventure that she would go on that will change her world and her life forever.