June:
When Diana Lynch was sixteen, her parents sent her to boarding school. She'd wept and raged for weeks. Most of all, she'd asked why. After all, she had not gotten into a lot of trouble, so it couldn't be a punishment. With cool dignity, her mother told her, "It's what you do at your age and social standing."
Diana couldn't believe the words out of her mother's mouth. "Mother," she said, because Mrs. Lynch had insisted on that title, "Honey will continue to go to Sleepyside Jr.-Sr. high, and Jim graduated from there. So why can't I stay?"
Mrs. Lynch sighed. "Honey is not as graceful or tactful as she used to be. I don't want you to change for the worse. And your attitude has been worse. You aren't just spending time with Honey and Trixie anymore. Besides, it will get you away from those Beldens. They really are beneath you, dear, as are the new ones."
Diana saw red. "I can't believe you just said that. It wasn't that long ago that we were poor, poorer than they've ever been."
Mrs. Lynch sniffed indignantly. "That was then, this is now, and I'll thank you not to bring that up. It's hard enough being of new money without the reminders. The school you'll be attending-"
"Living at," Diana interrupted.
"-will teach you how you should behave. It's called Rockport Hall Preparatory Academy," she went on as if Diana hadn't said a word. "You will have to be careful in the choosing of your friends, dear. You need to choose those that will better you, not drag you down."
Diana held her mother's gaze for a long moment before turning away, slowly and deliberately going up to her room. She paused at the door, but didn't turn. "Mother, you might be able to force me to do this, but you can't force me to like it."
Diana felt that it must be a horrible nightmare. The problem being that she was awake.
Diana sat in her room trying to figure out when her parents had made the decision to send her away. She hadn't gotten in trouble really. Well, there had been a bit at the end of the school year. Her mother hadn't liked her new friends, or her new attitude, but that was typical teenage stuff. Nothing to warrant a new school, much less a boarding school. Unless it was when Mart told her he didn't want a steady relationship. After an hour of solid thinking, she decided on a course of action. I'm going to make my parents come get me out of the school since I can't talk them out of sending me.
September:
Diana was being taken to the school that would become her prison for the next two years. It was Friday, and the school seemed to like giving the students the entire weekend to settle in. She had never heard of Rockport Hall Preparatory Academy, nor had she ever heard of the town of Rockport, so named after the school. The strange thing was that she wasn't nervous at all. In fact, she felt an overwhelming sense of calmness.
Once in the dorm room, she said a stoic good-bye and started unpacking. Although she had to wear a uniform for classes, evenings and weekends were free dress. When her roommate came in, Diana introduced herself calmly.
"I'm Lillianne Rhodes. Everyone calls me Lilli." As Lilli started unpacking, she told Diana that she'd been there since seventh grade. Diana listened passively, not interested in hearing the girl's life story.
"So, why did you get transferred?" Lilli asked, hoping to draw Diana into a conversation.
Diana shrugged. "My parents didn't think my friends at home were good enough for me. There was a whole group of us, but the other two girls were my best friends. Unfortunately for me, Trixie's family isn't rich. Honey is, but she's not graceful or tactful enough for my mother anymore. And my newer friends, well, forget it."
"That's harsh," Lilli commented. "My parents are the same way though. It must be a new money thing with mine."
Diana sighed. "We're new money too, so I guess it's a new money thing all around."
Lilli laughed. "At least we can whine and complain together."
Diana smiled. "I think I need a walk. Want to come with me?"
"Thanks, but no. I'm going to finish this and get organized for Monday."
Diana smiled, surprised when she found she liked Lilli. Well, I can't use her, she's too nice.
Diana was walking around the campus, admiring the landscaped beauty, when she felt herself being followed. She turned around and gasped. Standing behind her was the most gorgeous guy she'd ever seen. "Why were you following me?" she demanded, annoyed at being startled.
He grinned at her. "Thought I'd see if you were easily spooked." He turned and jogged away, leaving Diana with her mouth hanging open.
Diana caught herself and turned to walk back to her room. On her way, she was stopped by another guy, this one a bit nerdy.
"Hi," he said. "I'm Shawn Atkinson."
"Diana Lynch," she answered.
"I saw that Josh was talking to you. You might want to be careful with him."
"Who? You mean the guy that followed me?"
"Yeah. Josh Roarke. It's said that he enjoys teasing pretty girls."
"Teasing?" Diana was confused.
Shawn nodded seriously. "Teasing, but not a kind, fun way."
"I'm going back to my room now," Diana said, tired of Shawn's riddles. Teasing, but not in a fun way?
Once back in her room, she found Lilli getting ready for supper. As she changed, she asked Lilli about Shawn and Josh.
Lilli laughed. "They've never gotten along. Shawn's so serious and Josh isn't. He's a player-type, too."
I could work with that, Diana thought, glad that her friends back home played around.
Over the next few days, Diana slowly became friends with Lilli and Shawn. She knew Shawn had a crush on her, but Diana didn't encourage him, other than a few laughing remarks. She was, however, always on the lookout for Josh, who only talked to her when she was alone. After two weeks of the same behavior, she made a point of walking alone right before supper, thinking she could use Josh in some way to get in enough trouble that she was sure to be sent home. She smiled, wondering how Josh would find the new loosely teasing Diana.
The third day of her new habit, her walking paid off. Josh was walking towards her. Diana pretended not to notice him.
"Hi, Diana. How's my sweetie today?" he asked.
Diana turned. "Oh, hi," she answered. "I'm not your sweetie, Josh."
"Want to walk to supper together?"
"Well," Diana pretended to think it over. "I guess it would be okay."
On the way to the dining hall, Josh was true to form, teasing Diana. What surprised him most was that she teased back. He'd never encountered that before. "See you," he told Diana, leaving her with Lilli and Shawn.
Diana nodded towards Josh and rolled her eyes. "He's impossible."
"What now?" Shawn and Lilli asked in one voice.
Diana shook her head in exasperation. "He thinks he has me in the palm of his hand. It couldn't be farther from the truth."
"What do you mean?" demanded Lilli. She'd never heard of anyone resisting Josh before.
Diana smiled. "I am controlling the situation. I am found where I want to be found. And I tease him back. I don't think he's used to that." She laughed, joined by her friends.
A few days later, Diana was waiting for Josh to find her. She knew he would. He always did. A few minutes later, hidden from view, he found her.
"Hi, my sweet Diana."
Diana rolled her eyes. "I'm not yours, Josh."
"All right, then. If you're not mine, I'll be yours." He knelt in front of her. "I lay my heart at your feet."
She laughed. "I think you have more use for your heart than I do. Now get up."
"Only because you have allowed it," he said formally.
"You silly goose. Stop playing around."
He stood in front of her and looked into her eyes. "You're gorgeous, Diana." He whispered her name like a prayer.
Now she knew why so many had fallen under his spell, but not her. She refused to be a toy or to stand in line. Besides, she was just using him as a way out.
It's now or never. Diana put her hands on Josh's shoulders and leaned close. Josh's eyes narrowed. He did not like being unsettled, and Diana unsettled him more than anything.
His eyes widened as Diana leaned closer. He froze as he felt her lips touch his. As she deepened the kiss, he found himself relaxing into it. As he kissed her back, his hand crept to the front of her shirt. When Diana felt his hand against her stomach, she ended the kiss, leaned back, and licked her lips. "That was fun," she said, and then she turned and walked back to her room to have a good laugh over it with Lilli and maybe even Shawn.
Author's notes: The characters aren't mine. Well, Lilli, Josh, and Shawn are. Thanks to RH for not suing. Thanks to Andrea, Chelsea, and El for editing. Thanks to Lindsay for encouraging me, and finding an oops! This is the first story I wrote that my Mema wasn't able to read, so this was hard. But, I dedicated to her as my biggest supporter. I love you, Mema! And I still miss you every day.
