PART I
As I woke up early on Wednesday morning I could hear the sounds of birds and the rustle of the trees outside my window. No matter how good it sounded outside, I knew the day would be gray.
As my feet found their way into my cow print slippers, my father burst his way into my room. Light glared in my eyes as Daddy's silhouette stated,
Today will be an adventure and our lives will benefit from it. * sure dad, benefit a lot.... right*
Hi Dad! I exclaimed sarcastically. One, you know how I love your plaid boxers, but for crying out loud, put some pants on! And two, one of the most important words you taught me...SCHOOL! Does that ring a bell...well....I happen to have a major exam today, so whatever adventure you have in mind, please keep it short.
This will not be a quick adventure, it will be a journey! God I hate it when my dad talks like this... journey my ass.
Uh...huh. Can you stop speaking in parable phrases or whatever those weird things you say are? Pleeeeeease...?
Okay already. But the DuGreys called around six . Think of what we can escape from. Wouldn't you like an escape?!
Who called?
Oh you know, the parents of that nice boy we met at Martha's Vineyards last year.... Rebecca's mind drew a blank. There were so many nice boys she met during the summer.
Come on you remember, that boy....ummm....Tris.... something or other? The one you write to all the time...? Dad asked trying to purge me of the information.
Tristan! OMG! Yeah what about his parents?
Triscut! That's it! How could he get a food and Tristan mixed up? One was beautiful, and the other, well was just crunchy.
NO dad, it's TRISTAN! That's right I emphasized the Tristan part... just to get it through my dads thick skull.
Yeah... whatever... that's the kid. Any ways his father called this morning to say there might be a slot at Chilton for you and they put in a recommendation! Do you know what that means... an almost automatic slot at Harvard! Ahh my daughter could go to Harvard! I could hear him chuckling under his breath while listing the possibilities. So what do you think? Actually, forget I asked that cue I've already made arrangements. I picked out a home, got most of ur stuff packed, and the plane tickets are waiting for you at the airport! So hurry you got to get going! He squealed as he finished the last sentence.
Did you sneak into my room to pack my stuff? I accused.
Fairy toes is my middle name! dad said as he made an angelic face.
Well dad, what can I say, you have super powers! So I guess we'll be leaving for Hartford this morning... can you just pack up your business like that...I mean it's kinda difficult, right?
O I love the way you think. See your the one that is moving, I just can't manage to extend the company to the east coast right now, we're just finally getting settled here in San Francisco. And another correction... umm... I couldn't find a house in Hartford.... He paused waiting for my reaction. Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised, finding a home in Hartford is a full time search, which he didn't have the time for. He regained his composure and continued. ... so you'll be living in a house in Stars Hallow, a neighboring town. Its supposed to be real cute, and I know how you LOVE cute! My own father stood there staring at me for a response, I mean for gods sake, I hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. And he knew that was the best time to propose anything he wanted that needed to be run by me.
You do realize that I would put up with a fight, but I haven't had my coffee yet. You caught me at a very vulnerable time...
Timing is everything! He smiled knowing that he had gotten a positive response. All I could do is get out of bed and hustle my way to the airport.
PART II
Thursday morning I appeared at the principals office of Star Hallow High School with at letter from my father in my lap. In the letter it explained my situation. My stay at Stars Hallow High was temporary, only until Chilton had fully accepted me and all the interviews and visits had been completed. The large man behind the small oak desk agreed heartily and handed a class schedule to me. Although I was shaking, I managed to work my way out of his office and into the large hall that stood empty. Come to think of it, I was shivering. This was my first public school education. Are there gangs here... are there guns... shootings... drugs... all the dangers of public education raced through my head. I finally found the courage to take my first step down the hall. As I did, i looked at the schedule in my hand. It said English 2. Yes!
I let out a small squeal that echoed through the building. I love English!
As I followed my instincts down the hall I finally found the classroom labeled in bold letters. I took a deep breath, and knocked on the door gently. I heard a voice of a woman, approximately 30 years of age answer in a soft tone.
Come in? I opened and stepped through the door.
Hi, I'm Rebecca Greene. Um...I just moved here, I whispered to the teacher so the whole class would not hear.
Oh yes I got the memo this morning. How wonderful that we have a new student. Why don't you say a few words to the class to introduce yourself?
was my simple reply. I have always been a great public speaker, especially under pressure and unannounced. But I wasn't prepared for this. Sure I had seen new students introduce themselves to their new classmates before; but those were only in movies. I guess the cruel tradition really did exist. I decided that it would be okay whatever I said. Enchant them. But when I actually faced the class of 40 juniors, fear crept into my heart.
I swallowed hard, trying to find the right words. The teacher gave me a pat on the shoulder, seeing I was having difficulty. I'm Rebecca Greene, and I just moved here, yesterday to be exact. From San Francisco, I added. And as I slipped the SF comment in, it evoked a murmur in the classroom. But I decided to continue, as I was trained to do, under any circumstances, So what else do you want to know about me? Ummm... I guess I'll take questions. But nothing rude, and I get to choose to answer. The teacher was pleased that hopefully no disgusting questions would be asked and take up precious class time.
Hands flew up. Well this was a good sign I thought to myself. I scanned the room, I finally found a light haired boy sitting in the back row. I pointed to him.
Why are you here? he asked in a snotty way. What I wasn't good enough?
I am going to attend Chilton in Hartford, but cannot go directly since I just moved here. And of course for an escape from the big city, I slid in one of my dads' lines...escape...he would be proud. As I looked at the class they seemed to have some interest in my life story so I decided to continue calling upon students. But before I could, someone's eyes caught my attention. They belonged to a dark haired boy in the second row. I stood in front of the entire class speechless, just looking at him. They were widened and twinkling. He had a surprised look on his face that made me slightly anxious. My gaze was broken by the voice of my new teacher,
Okay, that's enough, we don't want to spend the whole class time probing our new classmate for information, do we? Now, Rebecca why don't you take that free seat next to Dean for the time being, she pointed to the seat next to the wide-eyed boy. I slowly made my way through the aisle of desks and slid myself into the seat. I could feel his eyes glance my way. I starred directly in front of me, not wanted to meet the eyes that were looking at me.
Finally he leaned across the aisle and whispered, Hi I'm Dean, he waited for a response that I didn't give, So you're applying to Chilton, huh? I didn't want to make a bad impression on my new teacher, but I figured the class was shot any ways, so I answered.
I replied uneasily. Gee what a sophisticated reply. Nice going, I thought.
So you know anybody in town? What was this guy doing, hitting on me? For Gods sake its my first day, give me a freakin break.
I shook my head, no.
Hey, tell you what, I'll show you around town after school and before work.
I looked at him questioningly, OOkay, I don't really know anything about anything around here. You'd be a Savior! A Savior, did I just use that word. God, it must be all those private catholic school years. Damn.
I turned back to Dean to see his reaction. A big smile formed on his face in seconds. A smile that I had seen only a few times in my life. A smile I could read, one that read straight through to his heart. He would be a true friend.