As the bus pulled up to Gordo's stop, he tiredly got on. Today was his first day as a freshman at Hillridge High School, and his first time to see Lizzie since they had gotten back from Rome. She had been grounded, and Gordo had been on vacation the rest of the time, and they had not talked at all.
He threw his backpack on the seat, and slumped down into the seat. It was 6:30 IN THE MORNING, and he still felt like he was asleep in his bed.
The bus rolled out of Gordo's neighborhood, and into the next one. Lizzie's. She was the only one at the first stop, and she looked as nervous as she did when she was about to go onstage at the IVMA's.
Lizzie came onto the bus and stopped right by Gordo's seat.
"Mind if I sit by you, Gordo?" she asked politely.
"Sure," Gordo replied, and he shoved his backpack on the floor.
Of course, Lizzie looked like she had spent hours on her appearance, when Gordo looked like he had just gotten out of bed. He stared at her for a second, and did not hear her question.
"Earth to Gordo! How was the rest of your summer?"
"Oh," Gordo said, awaking from his trance. "It was good. We went skiing. How was your's?"
"Grounded," she said with a grimace.
After some small talk between the two, the bus pulled up in front of the high school.
"Well, this is it," Lizzie said.
"The beginning of the rest of our lives."
The two pushed the double doors of Hillridge High School open at once.
"Lizzie, I want to ask you something," Gordo said, drawing in a big breath. Even though they had shared a kiss on the balcony of the hotel in Rome, neither of them had acted on their feelings, leaving a lot of awkwarness between them.
"What?"
Before Gordo could open his mouth, Miranda ran up behind Lizzie, and wrapped her into a huge hug.
"Elizabeth Brooke Mcguire. The first time you get some gumption about yourself, I am not even there to see it..."
The two best friends erupted in fast conversation. This was the first time they had seen each other since Miranda had left for Mexico.
Gordo drew into the background once again, neither of them noticing him. He went in search of his locker, and on the way there he heard a familiar voice from behind.
"So I see nothing changed in Rome?"
He whirled around to find Simon Alexander, one of his good friends. It would be their first time to be in the same school, since Simon had went to an exclusive private school. Gordo and he had been attending the same synagogue since they were babies, and their parents were best friends as well.
Simon was tall and good-looking, but he always casually brushed off every girl's attention, since he was, until the end of last year, in a long relationship. They had broken it off when Simon's parents decided to send him to public school.
His family was what most people would call "loaded", and they lived in a huge mansion on the outskirts of town. Simon was a hard-worker, like his parents, and he usually got straight A's.
"Well, she did kiss me...but no, nothing happened after that."
"She kissed you?"
"It was a 'thank you kiss', whatever that means," Gordo replied.
"Yeah, I heard what happened."
Gordo was confused, but he knew that Simon knew most of the gossip at Hillridge Junior High before Gordo even knew it. He was a likable person, and had many friends besides Gordo that had attended the public school.
"What are the chances of that happening?" Gordo asked hypothetically. "Your best friend is mistaken for a famous pop star in Rome, and gets to perform in the IVMA's."
"And you still don't get together."
"Right."
--------
"And then it turns out that Paolo was planning to set me up," Lizzie explained to her group of friends.
"What?" a close friend of their's, Allie Davidson said. "All of this happened, and I was at DANCE CAMP?"
Allie Davidson was a close member of their unofficial group. She had shoulder-length dark blonde hair (which was usually down and perfectly straightened), and big, blue eyes. Allie was extremely pretty, and usually not one part of her appearance was out of place. However, she was much too shy to even know that bunch of guys had crushes on her.
She had spent the first week of her summer at dance camp with the school dance team, and the rest of her summer at a summer dance intensive in New York.
"I know...it was awesome," Lizzie said excitedly. "And it turns out that Isabella and I are actually distant cousins."
"Weird," Madison Kellner, another member of their group remarked. "You two could be twins," she said after seeing the picture.
Madison Kellner probably was one of the strongest, most independent girls in their class. Her father had died in a car accident at the beginning of seventh grade, and she usually was always working to gain extra money for her mother, brother, and her. She was the only one with a real job in the group, bringing food out to tables at a family-owned diner. She technically was not old enough to be working, but the owners of the diner were close family friends. In addition to that, she also babysat almost every kid in Hillridge, leaving no jobs for anyone else.
On top of all of that, she was the lead singer of her own band, with her boyfriend Jay Roberts. They had actually been off and on since the fifth grade.
Madison had wanted to go to Rome, but her schedule simply would not allow. Plus, she did not have enough money to pay the airfare and boarding.
"I know. By the way, are you and Jay on or off?" Lizzie asked out of curiosity.
"Very on," Madison said with a smile.
With that, a car pulled up close to the door, and another one of their friends, Shana Williams, climbed out.
"Hi, guys," she said, greeting them.
"I am SO jealous that your sister has a parking pass, and you do not have to ride the bus," Miranda remarked.
"I know. But the WHOLE ride here, I thought that I would NEVER make it to school. Julia is a horrible driver," Shana said, and the others laughed. She was known for her flair for the drama, and was usually the star of all the school plays.
Shana had long, wavy, auburn hair, and mysterious green eyes. She was the middle of three sisters, and was usually on a rant or rave about it. Shana always tried to have the latest fashions, and she tried to dress like she lived in New York.
She was going to go to Rome, but at the last minute her mother had another nervous breakdown, and whisked the entire family off to "family counseling" at a spa in Colorado. Shana got her dramatic attitude from her mother, and her mother was famous for having crazy ideas and going with them. Last summer, she thought that nobody in the family had the right attitude, so she and the entire family spent the entire summer in a dude ranch. This summer, she thought that the family was falling apart.
"How was YOUR summer?" Allie asked Shana, laughing as Shana rolled her eyes. The two of them were best friends like Lizzie and Miranda, and they had known each other since birth.
"Family counseling sucked. There were no cute guys there AT ALL. The entire time Julia and I went to the nearby mall."
"Yeah well, thanks to you, I was going to have to room with Margaret Chan, and thanks to her I had to room with-"
As if almost on cue, Kate Sanders strolled over to the group.
"Hi Lizzie. How was the rest of your summer?" she asked politely, totally uncharacteristic of her. Everyone sat waiting for the insult to come, but it never did.
"I was grounded."
"That stinks. What do you have first hour?"
Lizzie pulled out her schedule.
"Ummmm...World Geography."
"Wow! So do I. See you there!"
Kate left to join her posse, leaving Miranda, Allie, Shana, and Madison standing there, with their mouths to the ground.
"You just had a friendly conversation with the devil," Shana said, holding her fingers in the sign of a cross in front of her.
"You guys, Kate actually isn't that bad. We were roomies, and she was actually nice for a change. Like she used to be."
When they were in Rome, Kate kept on telling Lizzie that once they got back, nothing would change. But she was wrong, and the two actually had rekindled their friendship. They were still trying to patch up some things, though.
"That was the first time she has been by me, and has not called me Ratty Maddie," Madison remarked.
"She didn't even call me Sha-na-na," Shana said.
"I think she misses us, maybe. Remember sixth grade? All of us were inseperable," Allie reminisced.
"Well, color me shocked," Miranda said, and everyone laughed.
Just then, another familiar face came up from behind.
"Howdy, y'all," a voice with a heavy Southern drawl said cheerfully. It was Brynn Matthews, the final member of their inseperable group of friends. She was very tan, as she had spent the entire summer in Destin, Florida.
Brynn was relatively new to the group. She had just moved from Dallas, Texas in sixth grade. Everyone loved her easy sense of humor, and the way she acted like she knew you her whole life, even if you had just met. She was also a part of the popular group, but was more close to Lizzie and her friends.
She looked like a stereotypical California girl, with her blonde hair, and tan body, which was weird because she grew up in Dallas. Brynn volunteered as a lifeguard at the pool, and was also the star of the swim team already as a freshman. She was easily the prettiest girl of their class, even beating out the popular girls. Brynn usually was dating someone, and right now she was in the middle of a relationship with a college freshman.
"How was your summer, Brynn?" the group asked.
"Wonderful. Me and Chris had the best time at the beach, and I learned how to surf."
Her parents were also very cool, probably the coolest parents of the group, and had let her bring her boyfriend with her. Everyone was extremely jealous of her, because her boyfriend was extremely sweet and caring, despite the age difference.
With that the bell rang, and everyone rushed off to their classes.
"I've got biology," Shana said, wrinkling her nose with disgust.
"English. Sorry, Shana," Allie said.
"Well, I've got World Geography," Lizzie said. "See you guys," she said, as she rushed to find it with Kate.
"Does anyone have geometry?" Miranda asked.
"I do, Miranda," both Madison and Brynn answered, and the three of them left for their class.
-----------
The bell rang, as Simon was talking to Gordo by their lockers, with some of their other friends.
"What do you have first hour, Simon?" Gordo asked.
"Biology," he answered. "What about you?"
"English. I guess we will see each other at lunch."
"Bye."
With the sound of the second bell, everybody rushed to their class to begin the first day of school.
He threw his backpack on the seat, and slumped down into the seat. It was 6:30 IN THE MORNING, and he still felt like he was asleep in his bed.
The bus rolled out of Gordo's neighborhood, and into the next one. Lizzie's. She was the only one at the first stop, and she looked as nervous as she did when she was about to go onstage at the IVMA's.
Lizzie came onto the bus and stopped right by Gordo's seat.
"Mind if I sit by you, Gordo?" she asked politely.
"Sure," Gordo replied, and he shoved his backpack on the floor.
Of course, Lizzie looked like she had spent hours on her appearance, when Gordo looked like he had just gotten out of bed. He stared at her for a second, and did not hear her question.
"Earth to Gordo! How was the rest of your summer?"
"Oh," Gordo said, awaking from his trance. "It was good. We went skiing. How was your's?"
"Grounded," she said with a grimace.
After some small talk between the two, the bus pulled up in front of the high school.
"Well, this is it," Lizzie said.
"The beginning of the rest of our lives."
The two pushed the double doors of Hillridge High School open at once.
"Lizzie, I want to ask you something," Gordo said, drawing in a big breath. Even though they had shared a kiss on the balcony of the hotel in Rome, neither of them had acted on their feelings, leaving a lot of awkwarness between them.
"What?"
Before Gordo could open his mouth, Miranda ran up behind Lizzie, and wrapped her into a huge hug.
"Elizabeth Brooke Mcguire. The first time you get some gumption about yourself, I am not even there to see it..."
The two best friends erupted in fast conversation. This was the first time they had seen each other since Miranda had left for Mexico.
Gordo drew into the background once again, neither of them noticing him. He went in search of his locker, and on the way there he heard a familiar voice from behind.
"So I see nothing changed in Rome?"
He whirled around to find Simon Alexander, one of his good friends. It would be their first time to be in the same school, since Simon had went to an exclusive private school. Gordo and he had been attending the same synagogue since they were babies, and their parents were best friends as well.
Simon was tall and good-looking, but he always casually brushed off every girl's attention, since he was, until the end of last year, in a long relationship. They had broken it off when Simon's parents decided to send him to public school.
His family was what most people would call "loaded", and they lived in a huge mansion on the outskirts of town. Simon was a hard-worker, like his parents, and he usually got straight A's.
"Well, she did kiss me...but no, nothing happened after that."
"She kissed you?"
"It was a 'thank you kiss', whatever that means," Gordo replied.
"Yeah, I heard what happened."
Gordo was confused, but he knew that Simon knew most of the gossip at Hillridge Junior High before Gordo even knew it. He was a likable person, and had many friends besides Gordo that had attended the public school.
"What are the chances of that happening?" Gordo asked hypothetically. "Your best friend is mistaken for a famous pop star in Rome, and gets to perform in the IVMA's."
"And you still don't get together."
"Right."
--------
"And then it turns out that Paolo was planning to set me up," Lizzie explained to her group of friends.
"What?" a close friend of their's, Allie Davidson said. "All of this happened, and I was at DANCE CAMP?"
Allie Davidson was a close member of their unofficial group. She had shoulder-length dark blonde hair (which was usually down and perfectly straightened), and big, blue eyes. Allie was extremely pretty, and usually not one part of her appearance was out of place. However, she was much too shy to even know that bunch of guys had crushes on her.
She had spent the first week of her summer at dance camp with the school dance team, and the rest of her summer at a summer dance intensive in New York.
"I know...it was awesome," Lizzie said excitedly. "And it turns out that Isabella and I are actually distant cousins."
"Weird," Madison Kellner, another member of their group remarked. "You two could be twins," she said after seeing the picture.
Madison Kellner probably was one of the strongest, most independent girls in their class. Her father had died in a car accident at the beginning of seventh grade, and she usually was always working to gain extra money for her mother, brother, and her. She was the only one with a real job in the group, bringing food out to tables at a family-owned diner. She technically was not old enough to be working, but the owners of the diner were close family friends. In addition to that, she also babysat almost every kid in Hillridge, leaving no jobs for anyone else.
On top of all of that, she was the lead singer of her own band, with her boyfriend Jay Roberts. They had actually been off and on since the fifth grade.
Madison had wanted to go to Rome, but her schedule simply would not allow. Plus, she did not have enough money to pay the airfare and boarding.
"I know. By the way, are you and Jay on or off?" Lizzie asked out of curiosity.
"Very on," Madison said with a smile.
With that, a car pulled up close to the door, and another one of their friends, Shana Williams, climbed out.
"Hi, guys," she said, greeting them.
"I am SO jealous that your sister has a parking pass, and you do not have to ride the bus," Miranda remarked.
"I know. But the WHOLE ride here, I thought that I would NEVER make it to school. Julia is a horrible driver," Shana said, and the others laughed. She was known for her flair for the drama, and was usually the star of all the school plays.
Shana had long, wavy, auburn hair, and mysterious green eyes. She was the middle of three sisters, and was usually on a rant or rave about it. Shana always tried to have the latest fashions, and she tried to dress like she lived in New York.
She was going to go to Rome, but at the last minute her mother had another nervous breakdown, and whisked the entire family off to "family counseling" at a spa in Colorado. Shana got her dramatic attitude from her mother, and her mother was famous for having crazy ideas and going with them. Last summer, she thought that nobody in the family had the right attitude, so she and the entire family spent the entire summer in a dude ranch. This summer, she thought that the family was falling apart.
"How was YOUR summer?" Allie asked Shana, laughing as Shana rolled her eyes. The two of them were best friends like Lizzie and Miranda, and they had known each other since birth.
"Family counseling sucked. There were no cute guys there AT ALL. The entire time Julia and I went to the nearby mall."
"Yeah well, thanks to you, I was going to have to room with Margaret Chan, and thanks to her I had to room with-"
As if almost on cue, Kate Sanders strolled over to the group.
"Hi Lizzie. How was the rest of your summer?" she asked politely, totally uncharacteristic of her. Everyone sat waiting for the insult to come, but it never did.
"I was grounded."
"That stinks. What do you have first hour?"
Lizzie pulled out her schedule.
"Ummmm...World Geography."
"Wow! So do I. See you there!"
Kate left to join her posse, leaving Miranda, Allie, Shana, and Madison standing there, with their mouths to the ground.
"You just had a friendly conversation with the devil," Shana said, holding her fingers in the sign of a cross in front of her.
"You guys, Kate actually isn't that bad. We were roomies, and she was actually nice for a change. Like she used to be."
When they were in Rome, Kate kept on telling Lizzie that once they got back, nothing would change. But she was wrong, and the two actually had rekindled their friendship. They were still trying to patch up some things, though.
"That was the first time she has been by me, and has not called me Ratty Maddie," Madison remarked.
"She didn't even call me Sha-na-na," Shana said.
"I think she misses us, maybe. Remember sixth grade? All of us were inseperable," Allie reminisced.
"Well, color me shocked," Miranda said, and everyone laughed.
Just then, another familiar face came up from behind.
"Howdy, y'all," a voice with a heavy Southern drawl said cheerfully. It was Brynn Matthews, the final member of their inseperable group of friends. She was very tan, as she had spent the entire summer in Destin, Florida.
Brynn was relatively new to the group. She had just moved from Dallas, Texas in sixth grade. Everyone loved her easy sense of humor, and the way she acted like she knew you her whole life, even if you had just met. She was also a part of the popular group, but was more close to Lizzie and her friends.
She looked like a stereotypical California girl, with her blonde hair, and tan body, which was weird because she grew up in Dallas. Brynn volunteered as a lifeguard at the pool, and was also the star of the swim team already as a freshman. She was easily the prettiest girl of their class, even beating out the popular girls. Brynn usually was dating someone, and right now she was in the middle of a relationship with a college freshman.
"How was your summer, Brynn?" the group asked.
"Wonderful. Me and Chris had the best time at the beach, and I learned how to surf."
Her parents were also very cool, probably the coolest parents of the group, and had let her bring her boyfriend with her. Everyone was extremely jealous of her, because her boyfriend was extremely sweet and caring, despite the age difference.
With that the bell rang, and everyone rushed off to their classes.
"I've got biology," Shana said, wrinkling her nose with disgust.
"English. Sorry, Shana," Allie said.
"Well, I've got World Geography," Lizzie said. "See you guys," she said, as she rushed to find it with Kate.
"Does anyone have geometry?" Miranda asked.
"I do, Miranda," both Madison and Brynn answered, and the three of them left for their class.
-----------
The bell rang, as Simon was talking to Gordo by their lockers, with some of their other friends.
"What do you have first hour, Simon?" Gordo asked.
"Biology," he answered. "What about you?"
"English. I guess we will see each other at lunch."
"Bye."
With the sound of the second bell, everybody rushed to their class to begin the first day of school.