NO legit author's notes today, sorry. I'm supppossed to be doing homework.


Zora's POV

I rang the doorbell to the Cooper house and Chad answered it.

"Hey, Zora," he greeted me, givnig me an awkward hug. "Come on in." To be honest, it was a little weird not being rivals with Chad, but I was getting used to it. I stepped into the front hall and Chad took my coat.

"You're the first one here," he tole me. "But Tawni's in the living room watching a movie, so you can join her if you want."

"Okay," I said. I went into the living room and sat down on the couch beside Tawni.

"Hey," I greeted her. "What's up?"

"Oh, hey Zor," she said, looking over at me. "Nothing much." Something about the look in her eyes told me she was lying.

"You sure?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Yes, I'm s-OW!" Tawni winced and grabbed her abdomen

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said. "It's just these contractions seem to be getting worse."

"Well, do you want to go to the hospital?" I asked. "Because I don't mind taking over her. I know how to carve a turkey."

"I'm fine," she insisted.

"Tawni..."I began, giving her a stern look.

"Really," she said. "It's nothing." Five minutes later, more guests started arriving. First came Chad's parents, then Sonny and Ellie, and then Grady. I waited anxiously for my family to arrive. Apparantly, I know had a 9-year-old brother named Troy and I couldn't wait to meet him. Of course, my parents were the last to arrive. Typical.

"Muffin!" My mom exclaimed when she saw me. Normally, I would have cringed at the nickname, but as soon as I saw her, tears started forming in my eyes and I ran into her arms.

"I missed you, mom," I told her.

"I did too," she said. "You need to call more often."

"I will," I promised. "I'm sorry." I let go of my mom and grabbed onto my dad.

"Hi, Daddy," I greeted him. He chuckled.

"You haven't called me daddy since you were thirteen," he said.

"Zora! Zora!" a short, blond boy exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Look at my new game!" He showed me the screen of a high-tech hand-held game console and made a tiny alien on the screen do a back flip.

"That's awesome," I said, ruffling his hair and giving him a hug. I'd only known my brother for a few minutes, but I loved him already. It sort of made me sad to think I'd missed out on 9 years with him.

"Dinner's ready!" Chad called from the kitchen. "Everybody in the dining room." Troy and Ellie bolted into the dining room and sat down at the head and foot of the table. I sat down beside Troy and Grady sat beside me. I took his hand in mine and my parents exchanged a look.

"Wait, are you two...together?" my dad asked.

"Mhmm," I answered, nodding.

"But what about Justin?" My mom inquired.

"We broke up," I told her. My parents exchanged another look and then breathed sighs of relief.

"Oh, thank God," My dad said. "No offense, but he's kind of a pain."

"We've always thought the two of you would make a cute couple," my mom piped up. "Since you were about 18, Zora. We just didn't want to say anything and embarass you guys." Huh. How about that? I didn't believe in destiny like Chad did, but maybe, just maybe some things were meant to be. And I think Grady and I might've been one of them.


And the drama begins tomorrow! Tune in next time to see the story start to get REALLY interesting...

peace out suckahs!