Chapter 2 - Love is in the Air
A/N: I changed the story to PG-13 because of a few indirect references—you know, teen stuff. The rating might be a little high, but I wanted to be safe.
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It was 11AM and the cul-de-sac containing the Rockets' house was quiet. It was, after all, a Saturday morning and many residents decided to take it easy and sleep in. However, one boy, had other plans. About two hours earlier, a rather tall, somewhat heavyset teenager crept quietly across the street and, making sure nobody was watching, approached the Rockets' mailbox. He slowly opened it and placed a small envelope inside. The envelope was addressed to "Reggie-my Juliet." Afterwards, he quietly slipped back to his house and closed the door. He thought his operation had been a success, but someone was about to tell him otherwise.
"Samuel L. Dullard, where have you been?" yelled a familiar feminine voice.
"Just getting the paper, Mom, like you asked me to," the boy replied.
"Well it didn't seem like it. That should have taken you 30 seconds and you were outside," she spoke as she checked her watch, "four minutes."
"I was, uh…" Sam hesitated until he thought of an excuse. "I was…helping Mr. Stimpleton assemble his holiday train set."
"Oh, OK. But you could have just told me," replied his still overprotective Mom.
"Phew. Close call" Sam thought. Little did he know though that someone else had also left a little surprise for Reggie back at the Shore Shack around the exact same time.
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"Bye Reg! We'll see you on Monday!" yelled a blond-haired teenage girl. She and her friend were stepping out of the Rockets' house after spending a wonderful night sleeping over with their best friend, Reggie Rocket. They had stayed up until the early morning singing karaoke, playing board games, and chatting about various "girl" topics including the ever-popular topic of boys.
They had all admitted that they had a crush on the New Zealand boy named Trent. After all, which girl in the town had not been mesmerized by his physical build, his unique accent, or his surfing moves that, at such a young age, would even make Kelly Slater jealous. Of course, they knew that Trent apparently had a thing for Reggie. He frequently invited her out for surf sessions and had even taken her out to dinner and to a movie. While they had not become "boyfriend and girlfriend" yet, taking that step would be very easy.
However, there were other boys also discussed at the slumber party. Among them were two boys very close to Reggie, both physically and emotionally. The Rockets' two young neighbors, Twister Rodriguez and Sam Dullard, followed Otto and Reggie on virtually every excursion, even their trips to Mt. Baldy and New Zealand. In fact, one could say that the Rockets had adopted Twister and Sam in to their own family.
They all agreed that their tall, Hispanic friend, although he could be clueless and naïve at times, was very cute. They also admitted that Sam was also cute, but did not go as far as the singer Shaffika had by thinking of him as a "troll doll." In the process, however, nobody admitted or denied that any one of these boys could end up being their date, especially for the upcoming Senior Prom in the spring.
Once Trish and Sherry had left, Reggie returned to her room and went to shower. In the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. She had definitely changed since those carefree pre-teen days that had brought her and the gang closer. She was still very thin at the hips, but it had seemed that her growth had hit in just the right places—all the places where the boys were sure to look. Her torso had also grown some curves which complemented her sleek and slim stature. However, her involvement on the school beach volleyball and street hockey teams placed her in the weight room quite frequently and all of her hard work showed whenever she was in a tank top or swimsuit. She had, consequently, earned the titles "hottie" and "babe" from many of the guys in school. Also, her physique showed so much when she was out surfing that not only would she turn many of the boys' heads, but also have some them running away as so to avoid embarrassment from their natural, and sometimes uncontrollable, reactions.
After putting on her usual red t-shirt, camouflage pants, and red tennis shoes, she slipped on a purple sweater as it was kind of cool that morning. Finally, she left the house as she had promised to meet her father at the Shore Shack around Noon to help decorate. On the way out, she decided to check the mail. After all, she had ordered some Christmas presents on the Internet and wanted to make sure Otto and Raymundo didn't get to them before she did. After sorting through the usual assortment of bills, credit card offers, and catalogs, something caught her eye. It was the envelope that had been carefully placed in there a few hours back.
After reading the outside of the envelope, the curious girl opened it up to eagerly discover its contents. Her eyes lit up as she read the note:
Dear Reggie,
Words cannot fully express how I feel for you. From the day our eyes met, I knew there was something special between us. I read every issue of your Zine and think your articles flow as smoothly as the poems of the greatest writers. Your voice is like music to my ears. I hope you enjoy what you find in here.
Love,
Your Romeo
Inside was a $15 gift card to American Eagle. She loved that store! How did he know that? What made Reggie's heart beat even faster was the thoughtful line from "Romeo and Juliet" that had been inserted:
But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.
...The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars
As daylight doth a lamp; her eye in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
"Wow!" Reggie thought. "Somebody must really love me. I can't wait to tell the guys about this."
With that thought, she grabbed her skateboard and headed down the hill towards the Pier, unaware of the surprise awaiting her there.
