Chapter Two: First Meeting
Lizzie could hardly wait to meet Topanga Lawrence, she decided as she bounced nervously in one of the uncomfortable airport chairs. She'd always wanted a sister, and now she'd get one, for an entire semester! She craned her neck to see if she could pick a fourteen year old girl out of the crowd.
"Oooh, that's him!!!" Miranda yelled. "No, wait, him! Yeah, that's gotta be him!! No..maybe him..."
"Miranda, just because he's a boy doesn't mean he's gonna be good looking." Gordo said.
"Don't burst my bubble, Gordo." Miranda replied flatly. "Oh that's GOTTA be him."
"Miranda that guy has a goatee." Lizzie said.
"So?"
"Guys, the flight hasn't even landed yet." Gordo said.
"How do you know, are you psychic all of a sudden or something?" Miranda asked.
Gordo rolled his eyes and pointed to the screen that held all updates, times and locations of every flight.
"Oh." Miranda said flatly.
"How much longer?" Lizzie asked.
"Five minutes." Gordo replied.
***
"That was the longest time I've ever had to sit still in my life." Topanga said as Cory handed her a bag from the overhead compartment.
"See, I bet you're glad you didn't get picked to go to Scotland now."
"No, I'd still rather be in Scotland."
"Just humor me would ya?" Cory replied. "Shaun, get up."
Shaun barely shook his head no, his hands gripping the armrests so hard his knuckles were white.
"Shaun, the plane's landed. We're not gonna crash now."
Shaun finally gathered his wits and stood up. "Coming back, I'm taking the bus."
"Shaun, that'll take three days..." Topanga started.
"Three days on the ground!" Shaun replied. "I'll take it."
"Here, take your bag, and get off before the plane explodes." Cory said.
Shaun glared at him before taking off down the aisle.
A few minutes later...
"I think that's our hosts." Cory pointed.
"How can you tell?" Shaun asked.
"See those signs they're holding up, Shaun?" Topanga asked.
"Yeah."
"See how they have our names on them?"
"So?"
"Nevermind." Topanga said, and went to go meet her host family.
***
"Ooh! I think that's her!" Lizzie said excitedly.
"Are you sure you guys wanna go through with this? There's no time like the present to send her back..." Matt told his parents. "Ow!" he cried as his father thumped him on the head.
"Hi, I'm Topanga Lawrence, you must be Elizabeth."
"Yeah." Lizzie smiled. "But everyone calls me Lizzie."
"Are these your friends?" Topanga asked. "Don't tell me your friends got my friends as their exchange students?"
"You guys are friends? That's great! That means we can all hang out." Lizzie said. "By the way, where are your friends?"
Topanga looked around the airport. "Oh, there they are." She pointed to the two boys approaching the group.
"Which is which?" Lizzie asked.
"The one with the curly hair is my boyfriend Cory, and the lady killer in the leather jacket is Shaun."
"THAT'S Shaun?" Lizzie asked incredulously. Lucky Miranda!
"Yep." Topanga replied.
"Well, your boyfriend should have a good time with Gordo. He's...interesting to say the least." Lizzie said. "Oh! This is my mom, my dad, and my brother Matt." she practically spat out the last part, glaring at her brother.
"Hi I'm McGuire Matt. I mean, Matt McGuire...you're really pretty." Matt told Topanga.
"Thank you." Topanga said.
Lizzie looked at her little brother peculiarly before going to check out Miranda and Shaun.
"So this must be where they keep all the beatiful girls. California." Shaun nodded.
Miranda blushed. "Well, I wouldn't go right to beautiful..."
"Oh, cmon, you know you are." Shaun said, giving her that killer Hunter smile.
"Hey Miranda, why don't you introduce me?" Lizzie asked.
"Oh, right! This is my best friend Lizzie." Miranda said.
"Hey Lizzie."
"Lizzie McGuire. Nice to meet you." she said, shaking his hand. 'Wow, he's even hotter than Ethan!', she thought to herself.
"So you're saying that Spiderman was a better movie than Lord of the Rings? I don't buy it." Gordo could be overheard saying to Cory.
"That's Gordo." Miranda told Shaun. "He's an interesting guy."
"Kind of like Cory. Guess they had a match there." Shaun replied.
"Is that him?" Edward Sanchez asked his wife.
"I believe so, Edward." Daniella replied.
"Can we send him back?" Edward replied.
"Edward! Of course not!" Daniella said.
"I don't want him in the same house as Miranda! Look at him! He's so sauve and debonaire! He's..."
"Exactly like you were when you were fourteen!" Daniella finished.
"That's what I'm worried about." Edward replied.
Later....
"Hey, Topanga, I just got off the phone with Miranda and Gordo, and they're all gonna meet us down at the Digital Bean." Lizzie said.
"What's the Digital Bean?" Topanga asked, still putting away some of her stuff.
"Oh it's a coffee shop everyone hangs out at."
"Oh, kind of like Chubby's." Topanga replied.
"What's Chubby's?" Lizzie asked, confused.
"A burger joint back in Philly everyone hangs out at." Topanga replied. "Let me grab a jacket and I'll be ready."
"Uh, Topanga, this is Southern California, you won't need a jacket." Lizzie replied.
"Right." Topanga said with a small laugh. "Okay then, let's go."
****
"So Lizzie, while you're stuck with a boring girl from Philadelphia, I got a hot French boy." Kate said. "Only drawback is he doesn't speak English, but, whatever. Conversation's overrated anyway. Well, Pierre and I are outtie. Later losers!" She sauntered past Lizzie and Topanga with the "French boy" in tow.
"What...was that?" Topanga asked.
"That was Kate Sanders. Basically the ruler of our school, and the most popular girl on the planet." Lizzie replied.
"Fascinating." Topanga said with a roll of her eyes. "There's Cory and Gordo." The girls walked over to where Cory and Gordo were sitting, looking extremely bored.
"Topanga!!! How ya been? Great to see you!" Cory jumped up and acted like he hadn't seen her in twenty years. "I gotta talk to you." He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the table.
"How's it living with Gordo?" Topanga asked.
"Great, fine. Good food, nice parents, lavishly decorated....the kid's a forty year old in a fourteen year old's body!" He said, exasperated.
"Cory! He's just mature for his age." Topanga replied, shaking her head.
"The guy probably eats prunes." Cory shot back.
"Well you're going to be living with him for an entire semester, so you might as well deal." Topanga said.
Meanwhile...
"Well you're going to be living with him for an entire semester, so you might as well deal." Lizzie replied.
"But Lizzie! He's such a..."
"Normal fourteen year old guy?" Lizzie finished.
"Exactly!" Gordo said. "I shoulda got a twenty year old!"
"Then you would've gotten a drunken fraternity brother that hits on your mom, and do you really want that in your house?" Lizzie replied.
"You're not making this any easier." Gordo replied.
"I'm not trying to. You're just gonna have to accept the fact that you have Cory Matthews, average guy, as your exchange student." Lizzie replied. "Oh! There's Miranda and Shaun!"
"Great, more average-ness." Gordo sighed. Lizzie glared at him,
"I'm not above slapping you, you do realize that, right?" she replied before getting up. "Hey guys, how's it going?"
"It's going okay, but my dad kept looking at Shaun funny and asking him if he was a baller." She fake shuddered. "My dad using slang. Scary."
"Shaun, how do you like California?" Lizzie asked.
"It's cool. The cops don't recognize me here, so...that's always a plus."
"Who is this???" a voice asked.
"Oh god." Miranda groaned. "Claire, this is my exchange student."
"Pity. He could actually be having FUN. I'm Claire Miller, and you are?" she asked, smiling at Shaun.
"Shaun Hunter. Nice to meet you Claire."
"So, how are you liking California?"
"It's great." Shaun said.
"Coolly. Well, if you ever need anyone to show you around, my dad's got a BMW." she replied. "I'll see you later Shaun."
"Bye." Shaun replied. He looked at Cory.
"Shaun, my boy! Reelin' em in!" Cory said.
"Like I always do, my friend. Like I always do." Shaun replied.
"OW!" Cory and Shaun both yelled as they were slapped upside the head by Topanga.
"Wow, two at once." Lizzie said.
"Major skill." Miranda added. "Ugh. Claire."
"Don't worry. With all that air she has in her head, she'll float away before anything happens." Lizzie replied.
Lizzie could hardly wait to meet Topanga Lawrence, she decided as she bounced nervously in one of the uncomfortable airport chairs. She'd always wanted a sister, and now she'd get one, for an entire semester! She craned her neck to see if she could pick a fourteen year old girl out of the crowd.
"Oooh, that's him!!!" Miranda yelled. "No, wait, him! Yeah, that's gotta be him!! No..maybe him..."
"Miranda, just because he's a boy doesn't mean he's gonna be good looking." Gordo said.
"Don't burst my bubble, Gordo." Miranda replied flatly. "Oh that's GOTTA be him."
"Miranda that guy has a goatee." Lizzie said.
"So?"
"Guys, the flight hasn't even landed yet." Gordo said.
"How do you know, are you psychic all of a sudden or something?" Miranda asked.
Gordo rolled his eyes and pointed to the screen that held all updates, times and locations of every flight.
"Oh." Miranda said flatly.
"How much longer?" Lizzie asked.
"Five minutes." Gordo replied.
***
"That was the longest time I've ever had to sit still in my life." Topanga said as Cory handed her a bag from the overhead compartment.
"See, I bet you're glad you didn't get picked to go to Scotland now."
"No, I'd still rather be in Scotland."
"Just humor me would ya?" Cory replied. "Shaun, get up."
Shaun barely shook his head no, his hands gripping the armrests so hard his knuckles were white.
"Shaun, the plane's landed. We're not gonna crash now."
Shaun finally gathered his wits and stood up. "Coming back, I'm taking the bus."
"Shaun, that'll take three days..." Topanga started.
"Three days on the ground!" Shaun replied. "I'll take it."
"Here, take your bag, and get off before the plane explodes." Cory said.
Shaun glared at him before taking off down the aisle.
A few minutes later...
"I think that's our hosts." Cory pointed.
"How can you tell?" Shaun asked.
"See those signs they're holding up, Shaun?" Topanga asked.
"Yeah."
"See how they have our names on them?"
"So?"
"Nevermind." Topanga said, and went to go meet her host family.
***
"Ooh! I think that's her!" Lizzie said excitedly.
"Are you sure you guys wanna go through with this? There's no time like the present to send her back..." Matt told his parents. "Ow!" he cried as his father thumped him on the head.
"Hi, I'm Topanga Lawrence, you must be Elizabeth."
"Yeah." Lizzie smiled. "But everyone calls me Lizzie."
"Are these your friends?" Topanga asked. "Don't tell me your friends got my friends as their exchange students?"
"You guys are friends? That's great! That means we can all hang out." Lizzie said. "By the way, where are your friends?"
Topanga looked around the airport. "Oh, there they are." She pointed to the two boys approaching the group.
"Which is which?" Lizzie asked.
"The one with the curly hair is my boyfriend Cory, and the lady killer in the leather jacket is Shaun."
"THAT'S Shaun?" Lizzie asked incredulously. Lucky Miranda!
"Yep." Topanga replied.
"Well, your boyfriend should have a good time with Gordo. He's...interesting to say the least." Lizzie said. "Oh! This is my mom, my dad, and my brother Matt." she practically spat out the last part, glaring at her brother.
"Hi I'm McGuire Matt. I mean, Matt McGuire...you're really pretty." Matt told Topanga.
"Thank you." Topanga said.
Lizzie looked at her little brother peculiarly before going to check out Miranda and Shaun.
"So this must be where they keep all the beatiful girls. California." Shaun nodded.
Miranda blushed. "Well, I wouldn't go right to beautiful..."
"Oh, cmon, you know you are." Shaun said, giving her that killer Hunter smile.
"Hey Miranda, why don't you introduce me?" Lizzie asked.
"Oh, right! This is my best friend Lizzie." Miranda said.
"Hey Lizzie."
"Lizzie McGuire. Nice to meet you." she said, shaking his hand. 'Wow, he's even hotter than Ethan!', she thought to herself.
"So you're saying that Spiderman was a better movie than Lord of the Rings? I don't buy it." Gordo could be overheard saying to Cory.
"That's Gordo." Miranda told Shaun. "He's an interesting guy."
"Kind of like Cory. Guess they had a match there." Shaun replied.
"Is that him?" Edward Sanchez asked his wife.
"I believe so, Edward." Daniella replied.
"Can we send him back?" Edward replied.
"Edward! Of course not!" Daniella said.
"I don't want him in the same house as Miranda! Look at him! He's so sauve and debonaire! He's..."
"Exactly like you were when you were fourteen!" Daniella finished.
"That's what I'm worried about." Edward replied.
Later....
"Hey, Topanga, I just got off the phone with Miranda and Gordo, and they're all gonna meet us down at the Digital Bean." Lizzie said.
"What's the Digital Bean?" Topanga asked, still putting away some of her stuff.
"Oh it's a coffee shop everyone hangs out at."
"Oh, kind of like Chubby's." Topanga replied.
"What's Chubby's?" Lizzie asked, confused.
"A burger joint back in Philly everyone hangs out at." Topanga replied. "Let me grab a jacket and I'll be ready."
"Uh, Topanga, this is Southern California, you won't need a jacket." Lizzie replied.
"Right." Topanga said with a small laugh. "Okay then, let's go."
****
"So Lizzie, while you're stuck with a boring girl from Philadelphia, I got a hot French boy." Kate said. "Only drawback is he doesn't speak English, but, whatever. Conversation's overrated anyway. Well, Pierre and I are outtie. Later losers!" She sauntered past Lizzie and Topanga with the "French boy" in tow.
"What...was that?" Topanga asked.
"That was Kate Sanders. Basically the ruler of our school, and the most popular girl on the planet." Lizzie replied.
"Fascinating." Topanga said with a roll of her eyes. "There's Cory and Gordo." The girls walked over to where Cory and Gordo were sitting, looking extremely bored.
"Topanga!!! How ya been? Great to see you!" Cory jumped up and acted like he hadn't seen her in twenty years. "I gotta talk to you." He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the table.
"How's it living with Gordo?" Topanga asked.
"Great, fine. Good food, nice parents, lavishly decorated....the kid's a forty year old in a fourteen year old's body!" He said, exasperated.
"Cory! He's just mature for his age." Topanga replied, shaking her head.
"The guy probably eats prunes." Cory shot back.
"Well you're going to be living with him for an entire semester, so you might as well deal." Topanga said.
Meanwhile...
"Well you're going to be living with him for an entire semester, so you might as well deal." Lizzie replied.
"But Lizzie! He's such a..."
"Normal fourteen year old guy?" Lizzie finished.
"Exactly!" Gordo said. "I shoulda got a twenty year old!"
"Then you would've gotten a drunken fraternity brother that hits on your mom, and do you really want that in your house?" Lizzie replied.
"You're not making this any easier." Gordo replied.
"I'm not trying to. You're just gonna have to accept the fact that you have Cory Matthews, average guy, as your exchange student." Lizzie replied. "Oh! There's Miranda and Shaun!"
"Great, more average-ness." Gordo sighed. Lizzie glared at him,
"I'm not above slapping you, you do realize that, right?" she replied before getting up. "Hey guys, how's it going?"
"It's going okay, but my dad kept looking at Shaun funny and asking him if he was a baller." She fake shuddered. "My dad using slang. Scary."
"Shaun, how do you like California?" Lizzie asked.
"It's cool. The cops don't recognize me here, so...that's always a plus."
"Who is this???" a voice asked.
"Oh god." Miranda groaned. "Claire, this is my exchange student."
"Pity. He could actually be having FUN. I'm Claire Miller, and you are?" she asked, smiling at Shaun.
"Shaun Hunter. Nice to meet you Claire."
"So, how are you liking California?"
"It's great." Shaun said.
"Coolly. Well, if you ever need anyone to show you around, my dad's got a BMW." she replied. "I'll see you later Shaun."
"Bye." Shaun replied. He looked at Cory.
"Shaun, my boy! Reelin' em in!" Cory said.
"Like I always do, my friend. Like I always do." Shaun replied.
"OW!" Cory and Shaun both yelled as they were slapped upside the head by Topanga.
"Wow, two at once." Lizzie said.
"Major skill." Miranda added. "Ugh. Claire."
"Don't worry. With all that air she has in her head, she'll float away before anything happens." Lizzie replied.