Chapter 9

After Lizzie got ready for school she heard a knock on her door. She figured it was her parents orMatt and she really didn't want to deal with them. All they did when they were around just Lizzie was make fun Gordo. Lizzie always got offended and left the room as quickly as possible. She really didn't want to spend anymore time with them then necessary. "Come in." She sighed. Mrs. Gordon walked in, "Oh, Mrs. Gordon! I thought you were my parents or Matt."

"Nope. Just me." Mrs. Gordon closed the door and sat down on Lizzie's bed, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Lizzie's first reaction was surprise then she moved over to her computer chair and sat down in it, "Sure. About what?"

"About your parents and Matt." Lizzie sighed and rolled her eyes, "I know you haven't been getting along really well with them and I was wondering why." She already knew why but she wanted Lizzie to tell her.

"Well, Gordo told you bout us kissing . . . or did my mom call you? Anyway, after that my parents started to . . . well . . . put down Gordo. And I got mad at them and it all just turned into a big mess. Like a war between family."

"Did you tell your parents how you felt?"

"Well, no. Not exactly." Lizzie turned her head away.

Mrs. Gordon raised her eyebrows, "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

Lizzie crossed her arms and looked at the floor, "I dressed and acted the way they don't want me to and I guess they got the picture because things got worse after that."

"Do you know why your parents didn't want you David kissing?"

"Probably to have complete and total control over my life." Lizzie mumbled.

"No, they didn't want you two kissing because kissing leads to other things. I know you probably weren't thinking like that. You thought you could control yourself. You were some hormone crazed teen. But let me tell you, once it starts it's hard to stop."

"But I *can* control myself. I'm *not* a hormone crazed teen."

"Do you think that's what Miranda thought?"

"You know about Miranda?" Lizzie asked.

Mrs. Gordon smiled, "Yes. Do you think Miranda thought she wasn't a hormone crazed teen?"

"Well, yeah. But I guess she wasn't." Mrs. Gordon just looked at her, 'Okay, I see your point. But I'm *not* Miranda."

"I know. and Miranda's not like me. But it happened to both of us when we thought we could control ourselves." She stood to leave but added, "You know I got into a fight similar to this once. I'm sure David has told you about Chris," Lizzie smiled and nodded. She and Gordo apparently told each other everything, "Well, we had known each other since high school, we even dated then, and my parents hated him. When I told them I loved him, oi! They just flipped out at me. They forbade me from ever seeing Chris again."

"So what happened?" Lizzie asked somewhat intrigued..

"I had Chris some to the house honk the horn outside and I went to get in his car. I was dressed in a way my parents dissaproved of just like you did. When I came home that night they grounded me . . . we never forgave each other. Things between us are still exactly the same as they were then."

"So, why don't you talk to them? Just like you said I should with my parents."

After a moment Mrs. Gordon said, "I''ll tell you what. I will if you do."

Lizzie didn't want to at all. She didn't want to have to see her parents. But she knew things would most likely turn out the way they did for Mrs. Gordon and her parents if she didn't. Lizzie weighed out the pros and cons and said, "Okay. But only if you do too."

~*~

Lizzie went downstairs that morning to find Sam and Jo alone in the kitchen. She decided to talk to them, telling herself she couldn't get mad. They were sitting at the island sipping coffe and laughing. "probably at Gordo." Lizzie thought to herself. Then she thought, "No. Don't think like that. It'll mess things up." She realized she wanted to make up with her parents then. She grabbed a piece of toast and stood on the other side of the island, in front of her parents, "Um . . . mom? Dad? Can I talk to you?" Jo barely looked up from her newspaper and nodded. "Well, see . . . I just wanted to apologize for the way I've been acting towards you." That made them both look up but they stayed quiet. So Lizzie continued, "I understand why you wouldn't want me and Gordo to kiss all alone in my room with the door closed. Kissing could lead to other things. I get that."

Sam said to her, "What made you change your mind."

Oh no. Now she had to tell them about Miranda, "Well, M . . .Miranda's pregnant and I realized I don't want that to happen to me."

"Miranda's pregnant?!" Jo asked in her old motherly tone. Not the one she'd been using for the past few days. She stood up to get more coffee, "Lizzie, we don't want that to happen to you yet, either. And I want to apologize for the way your father and I have been acting towards you." Lizzie was surprised, "They're apologizing to me? Sweet. This never happens." Lizzie thought to herself.

"Yeah, we were wrong to make fun of Gordo and be so mean to you." Sam added.

"You're our daughter and we should never be mean to you." Jo put her arm around Lizzie.

Lizzie thought she'd take advantage of the situation, "So, me and Gordo can hang out again?"

Sam and Jo stared at each other. Talking with their eyes. Finally Sam said, "You're on probation."

"Thank you!" She hugged her mom and then her dad. She was still a little mad at them for what they called Gordo but she was getting over it.