Chapter 03 - The One World Youth Project

When Lizzy tried on the pretty blouse she had purchased at , she loved how it felt and how it fit her. She admired it in the mirror; the display of rainbow colors emanating from the threads was surreal! What a shame, since she knew she would never wear it because of all the painful reminders it came with. She bit her lower lip, and with a look of resignation, tossed it in the trash.

Charlotte found it the next day, rescued it, and stored it in her room, hiding it from her friend. She was sure that one day Lizzy was going to be able to look back and not feel so strongly about the whole situation. She needed to develop a thicker skin to continue her road to independence. One day, a very special day, Lizzy would proudly wear this top!

She was amazed at how ideal her friend's life had been up to that day. 'Poor Lizzy, you go thru life for 21 years and never hear a single negative remark uttered against you, and all of a sudden you get an onslaught of criticisms and insults from that pair of lowlifes! What a sheltered existence you've had, my dear friend. No wonder you wanted to escape. You wanted to experience life; but not like that. It's not fair. Oh, how I despise those two!'

The only positive aspect of this ordeal, even if it was painful at that moment, was that those people could be of great help to Lizzy. Their mutual interactions could assist in strengthening her character. She just had to make sure they wouldn't hurt her or she would have to find a way to cut all ties with them; although with Jane's budding romance, that could be a little difficult to accomplish.

Lizzy's father had called Charlotte worried about his daughter. He told her he was about to come, or even worse, send Robbie to deal with those scoundrels. Charlotte assured him that they were harmless, just a couple of snobs. He calmed down and agreed with her that this was a good opportunity for Lizzy to grow emotionally. He backed off, allowing Lizzy to handle the pair herself, and trusted Charlotte to protect her.

What Charlotte didn't know was that the whole party had already been thoroughly researched by Mr. Benes. Darcy was a rich, successful, and aristocratic gentleman from a fine family. Being a businessman himself, he couldn't help but admire the quick and notable turnaround Darcy had achieved in his father's business. He gave him credit for his accomplishments, but was disappointed to learn how he had allowed that success to transform him into the insensitive, arrogant blackguard he seemed to have become.

The Bingleys and the Hursts were respectable people as well. It seemed to be a good opportunity for Lizzy to interact with hostile characters in a relatively safe environment. The only damage they could do to her would be emotional.

He was worried, but he also acknowledged that his princess needed more opportunities like this to develop her personality and become more mature. Besides, isn't that what she desired when she asked to move away from her family? She was getting what she wanted. He would monitor closely in the background and allow Charlotte to keep him updated.

The following Saturday morning, Lizzy was working at Bell Multicultural High School. Bell Multicultural was a progressive public school in Northwest Washington DC, intended for low income minority students. Lizzy was a member of the One World Youth Project, OWYP.

The OWYP was a program sponsored by Georgetown University that prepared volunteer students to teach middle and high school children in the local community. Their aim was to promote learning about different cultures and create awareness of global challenges; they used local maps to help the children learn facts about their own community, and also combined classroom instruction with meaningful community service. In addition, they connected the local students with other OWYP students in other parts of the world.

As a Project Manager Fellow for OWYP, Lizzy was leading a team of Georgetown University students that were offering their teaching services in this school.

That Saturday, Lizzy and her staff had organized a career day. They had invited a number of Georgetown alumni to talk to the high school students about their jobs and how their own school and college choices helped improve their opportunities for employment in their chosen fields.

Jane accompanied Lizzy that morning as she was an alumna from Georgetown. Unbeknownst to Lizzy, Jane mentioned it to Charles and he told Darcy. Charles liked the idea. He saw it as a great opportunity to do some good for the community. Darcy reluctantly agreed. He was a philanthropist, but he preferred to donate money through his foundation and let others handle the personal interactions.

Darcy couldn't deny that he accepted mainly because he was a little curious to see Lizzy again. He wanted to prove to himself that despite the fact that she was a senior at Georgetown, she was still an immature airhead. The incident with the blouse proved it.

And she wasn't even that pretty; all he remembered was a pair of fine eyes and no other outstanding feature. He wasn't thinking straight that day; the mortification he was experiencing when he was examining her was enough to cloud his typically sharp discernment. Today he was prepared to assess her with impartiality.

The two friends arrived at the school gym and sat next to a lawyer friend. Lizzy was at the podium addressing the students and alumni.

"It is our purpose to help you learn about a variety of career possibilities available to you. We have separated our guests according to their profession; there are ten different careers represented here today. We want you to visit them all because even if you already have a preference, you never know what surprises may await you in other career areas. We want you to be exposed to all the vocations we have here."

Monica, Lizzy's favorite student blurted out. "But I want to stay with the lawyers the whole time!"

Lizzy rolled her eyes, smiled, and challenged her. "And why is that Monica? I didn't know you wanted to be a lawyer."

"Did you see how cute they are?"

Everyone laughed and Lizzy looked to where Monica was pointing. Charles waved and Lizzy smiled at him. She then locked eyes with Darcy, who was looking straight at her. She almost blushed, but quickly broke eye contact and composed herself.

"Monica, you know I want the best for you and I want you to be exposed to as many career options as possible. Besides, remember my favorite motto..."

All the students chanted in unison with Lizzy.

"Never judge a book by its cover!"

Lizzy smiled triumphantly and added. "I want you to start exploring, pick their brains, ask lots of questions, but only related to their careers. And more importantly, this is not a Career Fair, so please; don't ask them for a job. Our gracious Hoya alumni are here because they care about you. They want to share their experiences and give you valuable advice. Please don't make them uncomfortable. Do you promise?"

They all responded, "We promise Lizzy!"

"Great! One more detail before we begin. The students in our partner classroom in Asunción, Paraguay also have a career day today in their school. Next week we will share our experiences and the knowledge we've acquired today with them, and they will do the same with us. So, you now have the responsibility to learn as much as you can for yourselves and for your friends down south. Let's give all our friendly Hoyas a big round of applause!" Pumping her fist, she finished with ... "Let's get started!"

While Lizzy was talking, Darcy was fixated on her. He quickly realized that he had been absolutely wrong! He was very impressed with her communication skills, her excellent diction, her poise in front of the microphone, and the pleasant rapport she had established with the students. She also looked so captivating! A dark green sheath dress with contrast piping enhanced her slim waist, ending on her knees, showing her shapely legs. Her brown curls were properly constricted in the back of her head with a pretty flowery patterned hair tie. Every smile brought a rosy glow to her lovely face. And those dazzling eyes of her were shaking his interior! There was no doubt; she was absolutely, undeniably, gorgeous!

He couldn't believe this was the same airhead he thought he had seen the first time he had set eyes on her. She was perfection by definition! She only had one big flaw, but she couldn't help it.

As the event was taking place, Lizzy kept roaming among all the groups making sure everything was running smoothly. She avoided the group with the lawyers, asking a member of her staff to provide refreshments and other necessities to that group, so she wouldn't have to be involved herself. The career day was a success. At the conclusion, Lizzy again addressed the whole group to thank the alumni and coordinate the end of day activities.

When they were done, Jane came up to Lizzy with Charles and Darcy. Charles told her, "Lizzy, I want to congratulate you for a fine organization and for the success of this career day. I haven't had this much fun and as much satisfaction in a long time. The students behaved admirably; they kept their promise to you. This school must be very proud to have your mentoring services."

"Thank you Charles, you're too kind. Our students are great and I have an excellent team. I want to thank you all again for taking the time to talk to our students. They have learned a lot today and hopefully they will be inspired to achieve their dreams." With a grin, she added, "they also enjoyed not having to attend their regular classes."

Darcy was again staring at Lizzy with his serious, penetrating expression as if he was scrutinizing her. He made her feel very uncomfortable. Had she known the real reason for his stare, her feelings would have been completely different. He was hypnotized by her bewitching eyes while her dislike for him was growing.

Jane interrupted their contrasting thoughts. "Lizzy, the guys claim that they have worked very hard today and are very hungry. They are going to Hill Country Barbecue Market and want to invite us. I told them how much you love their barbecue ribs and their amazing banana pudding. What do you say? Shall we go with them?"

Lizzy's stomach grumbled at the mention of Hill Country. For a moment she considered it; but only for a very tiny moment. She couldn't be in such close proximity with that despicable man. It would almost be like being in a double date; that will never happen! Even if he was so handsome. 'What? Why did I think that! Forget it! He's a horrible man! He's not so handsome after all.'

She gave him credit for being gracious to come that day. Although, he probably allowed Charles to drag him there to gain some acknowledgment for himself or his company. The blatantly disapproving way he was looking at her was almost offensive. She had to get away.

"Thank you very much for the invitation but I already promised my staff that I would go to lunch with them after our activity. Goodbye." She moved away before Jane could call her on her lie, since they had previously planned to have lunch together that day. Jane knew that Lizzy was upset, so she didn't go after her. They left shortly after that. Lizzy remained at the school and when she was sure Jane was gone, she invited Monica to have lunch with her.

Monica Carter was an African American high school senior who, after a rocky start, had become like a sister to Lizzy, practically from the beginning of her association with OWYP at Bell Multicultural.

If it hadn't been for Lizzy's active involvement with her, Monica would probably have ended up as a pregnant teen, doing drugs, or even worse. Her mother was almost never around; she had to work two full-time jobs to support her three children. Monica and her two younger brothers were left pretty much to themselves with no respectable influences around.

Monica's father was a good man who loved his family very much. U.S. Army Captain, Joseph Carter, served two tours in Iraq. Ten years ago he was on his second tour. It was a very dangerous time for the coalition armies as the Iraqi insurgency was at its peak. Captain Carter was driving a Humvee while commanding a convoy mission to escort a dignitary along the streets of Fallujah. An Improvised Explosive Device had been placed in a stretch of the road; he couldn't avoid it. The IED immobilized the armored vehicle.

There were two conflicting versions of what happened next. According to a trooper from his unit who was on the scene, Captain Carter was escorting his men out when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded next to him ending his heroic life. A soldier from another unit who was also on the scene, claimed to have seen Captain Carter cowardly run and hide behind a building before the grenade exploded, killing three of his men. Everything happened so fast and the subsequent chaos added to the confusion of the troopers.

Captain Carter disappeared and no part of his body was ever recovered. The Army listed him as AWOL (Absent Without Leave). He was classified as a deserter. For that reason, his family couldn't receive a death gratuity or any type of surviving family pension.

Monica was seven years old at the time, her twin brothers were two. Captain Carter didn't leave much to support his family. Ten years later he was pretty much forgotten. The only reminders were a picture of him in his military uniform and an Army Medal of Honor, both displayed on the wall of their tiny apartment in Columbia Heights. He had earned the Medal of Honor in his first tour, in a military operation in Bagdad. Thanks to his extraordinary marksmanship, he saved his unit by taking down a pair of insurgent snipers hidden on a roof that were targeting his men, and then he lead them to safety.

When Monica told Lizzy the whole story of Captain Carter, she applied to her father. Mr. Benes hired a team of investigators to find out the true details about that fateful day in Iraq and to try to recover his remains. Three years later they were still investigating but hadn't been able to shed light on the mystery. After two long years battling in court with the US Government, the investigators were finally allowed to go to Iraq. At that moment they were in Fallujah trying to interview the locals, looking for more clues.

Lizzy had offered Mrs. Carter assistance with paying the expenses of the household so she wouldn't have to work so much. Lizzy even offered to buy them a house away from the projects, but Mrs. Carter was very proud; she would not accept charity. Besides, she wanted her children to grow up in the same neighborhood where she and her husband grew up.

If nothing else, at least Mrs. Thomas allowed Lizzy to assist her daughter. With Mr. Benes' help, Lizzy found Monica a part time job as a receptionist in a hotel and she also became her tutor and mentor. Monica displayed great intelligence and maturity. With the support from her "big" sister, Monica thrived and was on her way to university. Monica also taught Lizzy some street smarts that became invaluable to her.

"Lizzy, I got paid yesterday and have a few extra bucks. Lunch is on me, what do you feel like eating?"

'Barbecue Ribs and banana pudding!,' Lizzie immediately thought. "I feel like having a hearty sandwich. I know this little sandwich shop in a corner in Shaw, SUNdeVICH. They make the most delicious sandwiches!"

Monica liked the idea. "I can go for that! Let's eat!"

They got in Lizzy's car. On the way, Monica became a little playful and decided to tease her friend. "Lizzy, I think you have an admirer."

Lizzy smiled at her astute friend. "What are you saying child? Who is my admirer? Should I be flattered or disgraced?"

"You should be very proud my girl. He is the best looking guy I've ever seen, and he couldn't keep his eyes off of you all day! And he's a lawyer, how do you like that?"

The two friends were always teasing each other. But this time Lizzy wasn't in the mood for that. "I hope you are not talking about the robot that was accompanying Jane's boyfriend! You're very funny Monique!"

"No Lizzy, I'm not joking, he was goosin you! Sometimes he seemed to be spaced out and didn't take part in the discussions. He was hypnotized by your beauty!"

Lizzy immediately protested. "He wasn't goosin me at all! By the way, what does that mean?"

Monica laughed. "You know, he was sweatin you, staring at you as if he wanted to take you home and…"

Lizzy rolled her eyes and looked seriously at her younger friend for a brief moment before returning her eyes to the road. "You are mistaken my child, and I will tell you why. First of all, he was amazed that a dim-witted Puerto Rican girl could be in charge of such a splendid event. Second, he was finding more faults in me in his stuck-up mind; you should have heard the horrible way he insulted me the first time he saw me. And third, he came to the career fair to get some type of recognition for himself. He hated every minute he was there and was looking for a way to escape. That's why he was spaced out, he wanted to leave! There, are you satisfied?"

Monica sank in her seat and sighed, "I don't know Lizzy, I think those looks were pure and unadulterated admiration! I still believe he has the hots for you, my girl!"

Lizzy was feeling very uncomfortable and decided to stop the nonsense from her friend with her customary humor. "Pure and unadulterated! That's a redundancy Monica, and you know how I feel about redundancies! I don't like them and I hate them! Please, just stop talking about that man or I'll kick you out of my car! You know I will!"

"We both know you never would Lizzy! But I'll stop talking about your sexy hunk if it bothers you."

"Thank you meanie! Now let's talk about SUNdeVICH. Since you're paying, I'm ordering the most expensive and delicious sandwich they have; the Buenos Aires. Oh, I can taste that chimichurri sauce! And the sautéed onions! I'm also having a side of Russian salad, and a whoopie pie, and..."

When Lizzy returned to the apartment later that night, Jane was out again with Charles. She left some banana pudding for Lizzy but it remained untouched. Jane knew that Lizzy was upset with her for bringing Darcy to the school. Though it was Charles who had invited his friend, she preferred not to argue the point. After a couple of days they forgot about it and went on like always without mentioning the subject. Jane was very happy with her flourishing romance with Charles. She even liked Will; he was always attentive and polite. After a few interactions, she found Caroline to be agreeable and very friendly. Jane took very good care not to bring up anything about her new friends in front of Lizzy.