"After their fairy-tale meeting at the dance," Shelby Cummings intoned, taking pleasure in watching both Samantha Montgomery and Austin Ames squirm, "He discovered that the girl he had fallen for...was nothing more than a servant. Give a hand to our very own Diner Girl, Sam Montgomery!"

Austin looked around for Sam, and his heart wrenched as he spotted her. She was backing out of the crowd, trying to hide tears from the mocking crowd. He jumped up and ran after her, to Shelby's consternation.

"Sam!" Austin called after her. She didn't slow down, and he had to sprint to catch up with her.

"What?" she said, defensively.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, simply.

"Because I was afraid." she said, honestly. "I was afraid of everyone around me. I don't belong in your world, do I? I don't have the status, but I'm tired of hiding who I am. I can't change that. I thought I could pretend, but it's too hard."

"I don't care what any of them say."

"Are you going to stand up to your dad? Are you going to go to Princeton?"

"It's not that easy, Sam."

"What if it was? 'Dad, I'm going to Princeton.' Five words can change your future to what you want it to be."

"I can't say that to him." Austin exhaled slowly. "It would hurt him so much."

"It's hurting you that you can't be honest with him. Once you tell him, it will get easier."

"Austin?" Mr. Ames appeared, as if on cue, behind them.

"Dad." Austin took a deep breath. "This is Sam."

"Nice to meet you." Mr. Ames smiled briefly at Sam, but she saw that it was forced. "Austin, you can't just walk out on a pep rally in your honor."

"That wasn't in my honor, Dad!" Austin exclaimed. "If you hadn't noticed, it was designed by those cheerleaders to humiliate Sam."

"Oh." was all Mr. Ames could say.

"Sam, incidentally, is going to Princeton in the fall."

"Really? Congratulations, Sam. You must be a bright girl."

"Your son's not so shabby himself." Sam smiled, giving Austin ample opportunity.

"Dad, that's what I wanted to tell you." Austin faced his father. "I'm going to Princeton this fall."

"Funny, Austin." Mr. Ames laughed tightly. "You almost had me going there for a minute."

"I'm serious, Dad. I want to go to Princeton. I want to be studying for the next four years, not trying to balance that with sports."

"We'll talk about this when we get home." Mr. Ames said.

"Then you'll just avoid the topic." Austin shook his head. "Please, Dad. Listen to me. I'm going to Princeton. I'm not going to go to USC."

"Why?"

"It's not my dream."

Finally, Mr. Ames nodded. "I understand, Austin. Chase that dream to New Jersey, or wherever you go after that. Just make sure that it's what you want."

"It is. Thank you, Dad."