*NOTE: This is the seventh chapter of my saga "A New Life". If you haven't read my first saga you may not know where these characters are coming from. So you might want to read it, or at least "Meant to Be Parts 5-9". This story takes place 4 years before the end of "Meant To Be".
*Anyway, I hope you like this! Please leave reviews!
A New Life
-Chapter 7: Hope and Anticipation–
Previously (Chapter 1):
Jimmy Oken tasted blood between his teeth as the second blow from a fist made contact with his cheek and his gums split open. It had taken all of his self control to keep his fist off of Andy Corelli's jaw. But that was no longer an option. Jimmy unleashed his anger with a right hook that sent Andy dazedly into a trash can that fell over from the impact. Jimmy wasn't the thinnest person around, he was slightly chubby. Andy on the other hand was very much overweight. He was at least forty pounds heavier than Jimmy. But thing that made him a little less imposing and slightly larger in appearance was the fact that he was a good two inches shorter than Jimmy. As soon as he turned his back to walk off Andy lunged at him and grabbed him from behind and tried to wrestle him down. During the struggle Andy would not let go of Jimmy's midsection at all. At one point Jimmy's shirt pulled up a little exposing his slightly flabby stomach.
Now:
Jimmy was walking into the school building to get cleaned up. He had just finished a long and intensive track practice. He was by far the fastest runner on the team. And he owed it slightly to the person who now stood before him, barring his path to the gym and the locker rooms. He had after all created the motivation within Jimmy that caused him to exercise obsessively in that he ran all the time and worked out almost as much. The massive figure of Andy Corelli loomed before him. Andy was still several inches shorter than Jimmy. And even though Jimmy weighed more than he had a year ago due to greater height and newfound muscular strength, Andy nowadays weighed close to one hundred pounds more than Jimmy. Suffice it to say Andy was massively overweight, and his ego was massively oversized too. But his common sense was greatly lacking.
"What do you want Andy?" Jimmy grumbled apprehensively. He really hoped Andy wasn't in a bad mood because he didn't have time to deal with it. He just wanted to get home and finish studying for all tests he had coming up. It was bordering on the end of his eight grade year. In a couple of months he would be on summer vacation and getting set for high school. He wanted to go into it all with a good record. This meant he needed to keep his grades at the exceptionally high level they were consistently at by keeping up his studying. For this reason he did not want to have to butt horns with Andy Corelli and rage issues. He didn't see why Andy was coming to him. Andy usually preyed on more helpless kids, not that Jimmy approved of it. Jimmy had easily overpowered him on a number of occasions and imagined Andy knew better than to try going another round with him. And at any rate Jimmy had, almost a year back, made up his mind not to stoop to physical violence. He had decided to dispose of any internal anger through athleticism.
He was hoping that Andy didn't have that same mindless fury coursing through him that so often drove him to terrorize other students.
"Oken, you got four bucks? I wanna get some chocolate from the vending machine." Andy blurted out.
"No Andy. I don't have any money on me right now. See… no pockets." Jimmy replied sarcastically, pointing at his track uniform.
"Fine. So Alice Greenwood's your girlfriend, huh?" Andy spouted dimly.
"Andy I don't know where you get these things. She and I are just good friends. Kinda like you and the vending machines." Jimmy teased, immediately realizing his mistake.
"What did you say Oken!" Andy slurred through chubby cheeks, a little spit spewing from his mouth.
"My bad Andy. I didn't mean it." Jimmy answered, trying to diffuse the situation.
"Hey, Oken, rumor has it you and Alice are tongue wrestling on a regular basis." Andy snickered, trying to anger Jimmy. This was an exaggeration on Andy's part. Jimmy and Alice had become quite interested in each other over the past year. They had been known to share a kiss or two fairly regularly. But it was pretty normal at their age to do that. And it wasn't as if they where kissing as intensely as Andy had just described. They only kissed casually on the lips.
"Andy, you're an idiot. Why don't you go find somebody else that has money for the vending machines?"
"Can't, I'm having too much fun here."
"Well I'm not. So let me through and you can go have your fun with somebody else, okay?"
"Uh-uh. You're more fun than the other nerds. You ain't got sticks for arms."
"Well since we're talking about rumors, Andy. Rumor has it, you had to start sitting in the back of the classroom cause you kept getting stuck in your desk."
"That only happened once!" Andy bellowed angrily. In point of fact it had happened three times. Andy had become so enormous he no longer fit in an ordinary sized desk, so now he had to sit at a table in the back of his classrooms.
"Okay Andy, whatever you say." Jimmy laughed quietly, hoping he could get on with things.
"You not so smart Oken! I know things." Andy sputtered, looking stupid with more saliva dripping down his double chin.
"If you're so smart then why did I hear some of your friends say you might get held back a year?" Jimmy probed, with a matter-of-fact look on his face. Jimmy had been getting straight A's since first grade. And it wasn't too terribly difficult for him. He was naturally very gifted.
"Well… it's cause… they don't… I should be…" Andy sputtered, trying to come up with something, like a car that was out of gas.
"That's what I thought, see ya big A." Jimmy quipped as he strode past Andy.
Just as he began to move around him Andy swung a punch at Jimmy's jaw. The blow resonated inside Jimmy's head. He had no choice. Jimmy turned around and just as he did, he managed to duck under another ham-like fist. Jimmy slammed his knuckles into Andy's jaw. Andy and all of his girth was forced off of his feet and landed on a table of sign-up sheets. The table was flattened under him. Andy pulled himself up by a water fountain and shook himself off.
"You've gotten really strong since last time Oken. But it won't matter." Andy insisted with great arrogance.
"We'll see. I don't wanna knock you over again. You're so heavy and you know we're on a fault line. Wouldn't wanna cause an earthquake."
Andy looked at him, confused. Andy had failed most of his classes. There was no reason to believe he knew anything about what a fault line was. Andy landed another blow in the center of Jimmy's chest. Jimmy heaved and coughed for breath. But he kept moving because he knew Andy wouldn't wait for him to recover. Jimmy kicked his foot into the back of Andy's leg causing him to lose his balance and fall on his back. Jimmy didn't know what was happening, he was simply overcome with rage. He drew back his fist and with all his might slammed it into the side of Andy's head.
For a minute Andy just lay there dazed and unable to move. But Jimmy didn't leave. He knew if he did leave and someone found Andy like that, he would be in more trouble than he'd ever been in. For some reason he now felt obligated to help Andy. But soon enough Andy pulled himself up. He clearly didn't need Jimmy's help.
"Okay, had enough Andy?" Jimmy asked, not waiting for an answer. He turned around and headed for the door. He would just have to shower at home and get his regular clothes out of his gym locker the next day.
But Andy had other ideas; he wasn't smart enough to walk away like Jimmy was. Andy used his signature move that he had used twice in their past fights. He ran up behind Jimmy and grabbed him around the midsection, intending to throw him to the floor. But just as before, Jimmy attempted to break Andy's hold on him. Andy would not let go of him, and during the struggle the top piece of Jimmy's track uniform was forced upward, exposing his newly toned stomach, as opposed to the fleshy flab that had shown last time.
"Wow Oken, you've gotten really skinny. I feel sorry for you." Andy said in a muffled voice. His chin was pressing against Jimmy's shoulder. Seeing as Jimmy was taller it was a little difficult for Andy to attack from behind.
"That's muscle, you bonehead!" Jimmy sputtered. He broke Andy's hold and grabbed onto Andy's arms. Jimmy heaved Andy into the lockers behind him, which taxed even his new muscular strength. He ran up to him and punched him upside the head with as much force as he could muster, which was substantial compared with the last fight. Andy looked stunned for a moment. Then he slid down the front of the lockers and slumped onto the floor. He was out for the count.
"Oken, come here!" Principal Kunkle commanded him from behind. Jimmy did as he was told. He knew he was about to be kicked out of school. And he was not looking forward to it. He had not meant for this fight to happen. He had wanted to enter high school with a fresh record and a good reputation. But it had all just been thrown away by his inability to leave this fight and deal with it maturely. He felt so stupid, so little and so broken at this moment.
"Oken I saw what happened." Kunkle stated with no emotion. Apparently she had been watching them fight the entire time, taking some perverse pleasure in seeing two boys beat each other to a pulp.
"I want to talk to you. But first Corelli needs to be in the nurse's office. And seeing as you knocked him out cold, he will need to be carried there."
"What? How? You want me to carry him? He's like two-hundred twenty pounds!"
"You made the mess. You clean it up, Oken."
Grudgingly Jimmy walked over to where Andy was still lying, bent down, back facing Andy and lifted Andy's arms over his shoulders. And to his surprise when he attempted to stand up with Andy on his back, he was indeed able to lift him, although he was sure his back would have its revenge later.
He hobbled all the way down to the nurse's office with Andy on his back. When he got there, the nurse told him to set Andy on a bed. Jimmy obeyed without a word. Then Principal Kunkle told him to follow her. They walked down the hall and sat on a bench.
"Oken, while I don't approve of what just happened, I can't blame you. Corelli has been consistently picking fights since the last one you had with him. You are not in any trouble…as much as it pains me to say." Principal Kunkle said, the last part through gritted teeth.
"Thank you so much, Principal Kunkle." A huge weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. Not the weight of Andy Corelli, but the weight of the consequences he had been dreading.
"Don't interrupt me Oken!" Kunkle snapped.
"Sorry."
"I have to admit, I'm impressed at what I saw from you. I know you should have walked away from him. But you handled yourself very well. He didn't even stand a chance. You just put him down. He's unconscious and bleeding. And you'll probably just walk away with a bruise on your chest. Probably not even that. I wish I knew what it felt like…I mean wow!"
"But I should have walked away. I feel really stupid for letting this happen again."
"What did I just say about interrupting me Oken?" Kunkle sneered.
"Sorry."
"You're right you shouldn't have responded to him. You're a whole lot smarter than he is and you shouldn't have lowered yourself to his level. You have some anger issues, which I am pleased to see you have dealt with…for the most part."
"Yeah, I don't know what happened. I just snapped. I just had to hit him."
"Oken! For the last time, don't interrupt me." Kunkle snarled.
Jimmy fell silent as commanded.
"Now, I know I've always said I couldn't stand you and that you were so much like you father it made me sick. But the truth is I've always liked you Jimmy. You've always been one of my favorites." Kunkle began. This was the first time she had ever addressed him by his first name. "I've always admired you for how you were smart but tough at the same time. How you can be cool and confident and just glide through things like they're no big deal. I know on the inside it is all a big deal to you. But you're always able to stay calm and composed. You know, except on those rare occasions when you just let it out. But who wouldn't with all that you have going on. You dealt with it by trimming down and muscling up. Good job with that by the way. Makes you seem less like your father all the time. No offense to him. I know I've taken too many shots at him since I met you. But you seem like a much improved version of him. Again, no offense to him. You've always been great from an academic standpoint. And for the most part your behavior has been exemplary. I'm gonna miss you Oken. But I guess I still have your sister. She's different than you. But she's another one of my favorites. Don't tell her that or I will put this fight on your record! And I guess in a couple of years there's your brother. What can you tell me about him? You know I have to torture him the same as you."
"Well he looks a little like me, and a little like my Uncle Owen." Jimmy said. "Oh yeah, I remember Owen." Kunkle recollected. Jimmy gave her a 'don't interrupt me' look.
"He's pretty smart, I guess. He's just as confident as I am. He won't get into fights like me. He just doesn't operate like that. And neither do I… mostly. Oh, and you'll love this. He's more like my dad… but in a good way!" Jimmy grinned. They both laughed hysterically.
"You can… you can go home now Oken… get … get changed and you can go…" Kunkle said through laughter. He did just that. After having changed out of his track clothes he headed for home. But before getting home he decided to make a stop at the beach. Not to run. He had just done that for the past two hours during track practice. He went to the beach to relax and calm his nerves.
He lay down on the sand. He pulled off his shirt and let the cool breeze blow over his skin. It was so relaxing that he lost track of time. He had been lying there for almost an hour and a half.
"I thought I might find you here." Came a sweet and friendly voice that was pleasing to Jimmy's ears. He turned his head abruptly. He saw Alice standing there smiling which made his face turn a little red. He yanked his shirt over his head and pulled it down over his body.
"Okay fine. But at least tell me why you're out here." Alice asked, she wrapped her arms around his right arm and rested her head on his shoulder. They both stared out over the water at the setting sun.
"I got into another fight with Andy earlier. I swear it was the last one! I came out here cause I needed to be alone so I could calm down."
"Fine then, I'll leave." Alice said, un-wrapping her arms from his.
"No don't go, I'd rather you stay. You being here doesn't add to my stress or anything."
"Okay, if that's how you feel." She sat back down and leaned against him like before. They sat like that for a little while. Then they decided to walk home.
"So you think I should tell my parents? Kunkle said I'm not in any trouble." Jimmy asked Alice.
"It's up to you. I think you know the right thing to do."
"Why does she always have to be right? Why does she have to know me so well? She's so wonderful." Jimmy thought to himself. He smiled at the thoughts. Alice leaned up and kissed him lightly on his smiling lips, which only caused him to smile more. When they got to Alice's house they said 'goodbye'.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you." Alice responded as she went inside. Jimmy decided he knew what Alice meant; he did know what he should do. He decided he would tell his parents what had happened.
When Jimmy told them what had happened they only grounded him for the next week because they understood that what had happened was not entirely his fault. This time Jimmy had the good sense not to sneak out of the house while he was grounded, no matter how much he wanted to. He really did want to get out just to run down the beach and as well as seeing Alice. But he waited patiently. He did the responsible thing and used to time to work out and study even more for his end of the year tests.
The moment he was done being grounded Jimmy burst out the front door. He had to catch up on his running. His track team had its final meet in less than a week and he wanted to be ready. He ran long and hard for the next five days. And when he got to the stadium he felt he was ready. Indeed he was right. In the last seconds of his final race he pulled ahead of his opponent and finished in first. He had won his other two races as well. As he bent down and touched his knees, his heart pounding in his chest and all the veins in his arm muscles rippled, his family along with Alice came to congratulate him.
Michael jogged up to him. His legs had now fully healed and he had the full use of them.
"Way to go Jimmy!" Michael exclaimed. Jimmy grabbed his brother and gave him a one armed hug, and a high five.
"Proud of you, big bro!" Rose said, smiling at him.
"You never disappoint me big guy!" Oliver told his son. His mother came up and gave him a two armed hug. Then it was Alice's turn.
"You did great. I knew that last guy didn't really have you at the end." Alice leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. Everyone else pretended not to notice. They knew how much it would embarrass Jimmy if they said anything. But alas Oliver fell in step with Jimmy as they walked off the track.
"Way to go Jimmy! Looks like you got yourself a great girlfriend." Jimmy's face turned bright red.
"She's not my girlfriend dad. Not yet." Jimmy whispered to his father from the side of his mouth. He was hoping Alice would at some point agree to be his girlfriend. But he wasn't sure how to go about asking her.
Over the next three months Jimmy worked hard. He studied for his end of the year finals until his head hurt. And that took a lot because he was very smart. He also decided not to neglect his passion for running because he wanted to be on his high school track team in the spring next school year. So he ran down the beach as much as he could. This was also to prevent that inner anger, which he had thought he'd destroyed, from ever getting the better of him again. He wasn't afraid of much of anything. But what he was afraid of was letting that small amount of fire inside him get out and control him. He was a person who was very much in control of his actions. So when he lost control and got into a fight with Andy Corelli he decided he needed to fortify that self control. He did it in the only manner that he knew how to. By getting physical exercise, which definitely relieved the stress he experienced. And as a very fortunate side effect it also strengthened his physically. He happened to enjoy working out very much. Over the same three months he gained ten pounds in pure muscle. He would be fourteen at the end of the summer, which was a little over three months away, so he wasn't afraid that his weight had gotten too high. He was only one hundred and thirty pounds, which was about average weight for a fourteen year old boy. So he wasn't quite fourteen yet, at least he wasn't flabby anymore, he thought.
The day of Jimmy's eight grade graduation came before he knew it. It seemed like just yesterday, he had been awkwardly experimenting with kissing Alice. He still didn't know how to ask her to be his girlfriend. He was usually very well spoken. But this one thing was proving to be very complicated. He had other things on his mind that may have been adding to the pressure. He had to make a speech at the graduation ceremony. He was the class valedictorian (ranked first for grades in his class) and he had to address the rest of the students in his grade as part of the ceremony. He already knew what he was going to say. He was just a little nervous. He wasn't particularly nervous because he was an excellent public speaker. But there was that funny feeling of anticipation in his stomach.
He changed out of his pajamas he had been walking around in them all morning. He was too jittery to change into regular clothes. So now, only an hour before he needed to be in the school auditorium he changed into his formal clothes. He buttoned up his long sleeved white shirt and pulled his pants over the end of the shirt, fastening the belt. And then he tied the tie. He was ready. He walked down the stairs were he saw his family waiting for him. There they had his purple cap and gown waiting for him. "Hurry up Jimmy, put your stuff on. We wanna get good seats!" Oliver complained.
"Don't rush him!" Lilly said, thumping Oliver on the shoulder. Jimmy slipped his arms into the arms of the gown, which were much bigger than sleeves, more like long flaps with arm holes. Then he zipped it up in the front and grabbed up the square mortarboard cap.
"Okay, let's go." Oliver told everyone.
They all got into the car and rode down to Sea View middle school. When they got there Jimmy joined the line of other students. He stood there in the midst of people patting him on the back for two things, winning the track title, and becoming valedictorian. He was looking around for Alice and after ten minutes he spotted her. She was standing about one hundred feet away wearing a white graduation gown just like all of the other girls. Jimmy's was purple just like all of the other boys' gowns. Jimmy forced his way through the crowd to her.
"So you ready for this?" He asked her. She grabbed his right hand with both of her hands and shook it with excitement.
"Of course I am!" She exclaimed, her voice was a little nervous.
In the next half an hour they stood there together and talked. They talked about how much independence they were going to have in high school. They talked about how much harder they would have to work. They would both be continuing with advanced placement classes. They talked about how much both of them had changed over the last couple of years.
"When I was twelve these pants would barely have fit me!" Jimmy said with a smile. Alice patted him on the gown in the place where his stomach was.
"Well I'm just glad we don't have to be embarrassed about liking each other anymore."
"Yeah, that is a relief. I was always afraid, at least for the first couple of months, that the guys would give me a hard time. Speaking of guys, where's Sam?" Jimmy asked, neglecting to ask the one question he had really wanted to ask.
"I see him over there. Let's go over there with him." Alice answered, craning her neck. They headed over to their best guy friend, Sam, who was looking around for them.
"Oh, there you guys are. I've been looking all over for you. So are you pumped or what? No more middle school! No more Kunkle! No more Andy Corelli!" Sam exclaimed.
"Oh that's right, they held him back in the eighth grade. Now you don't have to worry about him anymore Jimmy!" Alice patted him on the shoulder.
"Who's worried?" Jimmy joked.
"Well I'll see you guys inside! They're about to call us in!" Sam said, excited. Alice came closer to him and hugged him. Then she turned and kissed Jimmy on the cheek quickly. They trailed in with all of the other students. Most of the kids filed into the seats on the auditorium floor in front of their families. But Jimmy and Alice had to sit on the stage behind Principal Kunkle, the band, and the school board members. It was because Jimmy was valedictorian and Alice was salutatorian (second in the class for grades). Sam was ranked sixth in their graduating class. Jimmy and Alice sat there, silent, for a solid hour while Principal Kunkle and each of the board members individually gave a speech. Near the end Jimmy leaned over to Alice.
"Alice?" he whispered.
"Yeah." She responded.
"I've been thinking."
"And?"
"Well we both really like each other…"
"True."
"Well… you wanna be my girlfriend?... And you know I'll be your boyfriend? You know that sort of thing?..." He asked her, still whispering.
"I thought we kind of already where… you know. But yeah, alright. I will definitely be your girlfriend."
"Oh, great. That's great. You don't know how much that means to…" He trailed off. All of a sudden they looked forward, out towards the crowd of people. They had all gone silent. All the people on the stage had finished speaking. And everyone was staring at them. No one knew what they were saying but they knew they had been talking because they all could see them on the big jumbo screen above the stage which showed a blown up camera view of them. It was focused on them because Jimmy was supposed to be giving his speech.
"I'll try this one more time. Our valedictorian will now address his graduating class. May I present to you James Oliver Oken!" Principal Kunkle said in a slightly steamed voice. Jimmy jumped up and approached the podium. He had been nervous, but not anymore. He had more confidence than he knew what to do with. He now had a girlfriend. And it wasn't just anybody either. It was Alice, the most special girl in his world, except for maybe his mother and sister. But nonetheless she was the most special girl to him. Jimmy got up to the podium and spoke with confidence.
"I am here today to address this year's graduating class of Sea View Middle School." He began. Some people, including students let out whoops.
"Yeah, man, Jimmy!" some of the guys shouted. And some people whistled. Jimmy grinned and let out a chuckle.
"Heh… yeah, thanks guys!" He said. "I know all of you are as glad as I am that this day is here… I couldn't have gotten to where I am right now without the help of my family. My parents: Lilly and Oliver Oken… My little sister Rose...My little brother Michael, who's been strong over the last year and supported me even though he's been recovering from a difficult injury. I'd also like to thank my two best friends Sam and Alice…" Some people in the crowd let out cheers and whistles. "And of course all of the rest of you were there for me and there for each other. So thank you all. Everything we've done was better because we have each other's backs. Without further delay I'd like to turn it over to the class salutatorian Alison Emily Greenwood!" Jimmy said with a big smile. He turned and passed Alice as she walked towards the podium. They both had the looks of joy they wanted to give each other, but they couldn't risk it. He walked past Principal Kunkle and accepted his diploma. He had really wanted to announce Alice as his girlfriend, and not just by her class rank. He wanted to shout it at the top of his lungs, he was so excited, but he showed maturity and restraint.
When she was done with her speech Alice turned and walked back, accepting her diploma from Principal Kunkle. She sat down next to Jimmy once again. Due to their long-armed robes they were able to hide the fact that they were sitting there holding each others' hands throughout the rest of the ceremony. They waited patiently while the rest of their classmates came up across the stage to receive their diplomas. The fourth person to come across the stage was Sam. He shot them a huge smile. They waved and smiled back at them. Then he comically took a bow towards the crowd, which was going against their etiquette instructions. Principal Kunkle gave him a dirty look. He just smiled unerringly on his way off of the stage with his diploma.
After the ceremony concluded they all filed out the front of the school, in order of where they had been seated. Jimmy and Alice met their parents and family outside of the school. They both shared hugs with all of their family members. And just as an afterthought they both turned the tassels on the top of their caps to face the other way, as was tradition at a graduation after they had graduated. Everyone told them how proud they were of Jimmy and Alice.
"I'm so proud of you! Come here boy!" Oliver said to Jimmy through tears, giving him a bear hug.
"We're all so proud you! We knew you… both of you could do it!" Lilly exclaimed. She hugged Jimmy, and then she moved over and gave Alice a hug too. Alice then moved to her older brother Simon, who beat her to the hug by meeting her halfway.
"Okay. People are starting to leave. I guess we can all see each other later. Maybe we can go out to dinner to celebrate." Mr. Greenwood said.
"Sounds like a good plan." Lilly agreed. Then they walked towards their cars. They were only parked a few rows apart. So they headed in the same direction. When the two families were out of ear shot of each other Rose turned to Jimmy and asked the obvious question.
"Jimmy what was that all about up on stage? You were just sitting there talking and everybody was just waiting for you to give your speech. What was that?"
"Alice and I are…" Jimmy began to answer. But he was cut off. Alice came up to him and kissed him full on the lips, right in front of both families.
"See ya later Jimmy." She said smiling. She walked off and rode away with her family. Jimmy got into the car with the rest of the Okens.
"Okay Jimmy. What was that all about? Why did she just kiss you? And we've been meaning to ask you. You two have been hanging out a lot lately. And smiling at each other more than normal. And I think I saw you holding hands once or twice. And now you hold everyone up cause you were in the middle of some conversation. And just now you two kissed right in front of everyone. What is going on Jimmy?" Lilly demanded of him. Rose and Michael smiled deviously at him.
"She's my girlfriend. That's what we were talking about. I was asking her to be my girlfriend. And she said 'Yes'. I thought Mrs. Kunkle would be talking a little longer." Jimmy replied, with a contented smile on his face.
"Ohh… I'm glad. She's such a nice girl. I'm proud of you. Good job." Lilly stammered, a little taken off guard.
"I agree with your mom. Way to go big guy!" Oliver proclaimed. And just then, they couldn't hold it back any longer, they both unleashed at the same time.
"Way to go Jimmy!" Rose and Michael said at the same time. Rose, who was sitting next to him, hugged Jimmy from the side. He smiled brightly.
"Thanks you guys!"
Later that evening, after dinner, they had changed back into casual clothes. As it got a little dark Alice and Jimmy headed down to the beach, alone.
"So how does it feel? We're boyfriend and girlfriend now." Alice asked.
"It feels great! I've wanted to ask you for months. I don't know why, but that just seemed like the moment to do it."
"Well I think it was the perfect moment. I would have said 'yes' months ago. But this was perfect!"
They stopped walking and kissed each other happily. Then they turned, hand in hand, and walked off into the sunset. Their minds were filled with feelings for each other, thoughts of what they would do as far as dating, and overall happiness and content. They could not ask for a better life than the one they had at this very moment. Or at least that's what they thought.
Notes to the readers:
*Reviews are much appreciated!
**I hope you enjoyed this seventh chapter of my saga "A New Life".
***Again, it might help understanding where the main characters came from if you have read "Meant to Be parts 5-9 or 8-9" or something. Although they are pretty much their own characters, so it might not be that hard to read without knowing where they came from.
****Lilly and Oliver, and Miley and Jackson are in their thirties. Jimmy is 13, going on 14. Rose is 11. Michael and Susan (Miley's daughter), and Robbie Rod (Jackson's son) are all 9.
*****If you want to find my other stories (My first saga) click on my screen name on the top of this page, and you can find my stories on my profile. If you want to stay updated as to when I post new chapters, please subscribe to my username!