Jack let out a low whistle as he drove up the Pulitzer's driveway in his
Honda Civic – nothing comparable to the collection of cars that Joe
Pulitzer kept in his 'other' garage but it was reasonable and fairly nice,
for a person of his income. He parked next to Chance's teal blue Mercedes,
got out and walked to the front door.
"Hi." He said, to the elderly lady that answered the door. "Chance and I are supposed to work on a project together." She nodded.
"Just go on up to her room. Third door on your right." The maid said. He nodded and started up the grand staircase to the second floor. "She'll be up in a minute. She's drying off by the pool."
"Third door on the left." He whispered, as he entered her room. He wanted to let out another whistle. The size of her room was about the size of his house. There was a little alcove overlooking the beach where there was a sofa, desk and television. Her bed and dresser were next to a huge window, overlooking the pool. There were stairs leading down to the pool. Her room was decorated in pinks, oranges, blues and greens. The little room overlooking the beach had a sort of cabana feel to it.
He noticed her computer and sat down to check his email while he was waiting. He noticed some letters, lying open on her desk, checked to see that she wasn't coming up the stairs, and skimmed through them. He was stunned – they were all acceptance letters from schools he would love to go to – Stanford, Georgetown, Berkeley, Claremont McKenna, NYU, Boston College, Dartmouth, U of Penn and Brown. He sat, amazed. He thought she was not that intelligent. He had only applied to one school – UCLA – which was about an hour away, and got in. He couldn't imagine having to decide between all of these schools.
"Hey." Chance said, opening her bedroom door. "I brought us some snacks." She set some Girl Scout cookies and pretzels down on her desk. "If you want something to drink, there's a fridge with Cokes and stuff next to the television. I'm just going to change."
"Alright." Part of him wished she wouldn't change. She had on a blue bikini that was pretty revealing. "Stop it, Jack Sullivan. You're not a horny seventh grader anymore."
"I know you have a soccer game at seven. Can I come over with you and then Brad can just drive me home?" She asked, through her walk-in closet door.
"That's fine." Jack said, looking at his watch. This should be fun, two hours with little miss rich girl. She came out of her closet, in a floral knee length skirt and a pink tee shirt.
"Do you want a Coke?" She asked.
"Sure." "Alright. Now what should we do?" She asked, biting her lip.
"You suggested something from the French Wars of Religion and I thought maybe we could do the monk that killed Henry?" Jack suggested. She nodded slowly.
"That's good!" She exclaimed. "Let's start looking." She typed in a few words on her computer.
"You have an amazing house." Jack said abruptly.
"Thanks. Its gets a bit lonely though – just me, Daddy, and Grandma Ellen."
"Grandma Ellen?"
"Our cook/maid/whatever else." Chance replied. "That's right, you've never been here. We moved here after my mom we...died. So we never really had our play dates together. How's your mom doing?"
"She's good. She got remarried four years ago." Jack said. "She still talks about the Lamaze classes she took with your mother and a pity it was she passed away."
Chance just shrugged. "What can you do?"
"I never told you this, but I truly was sorry about your mother. It's a pity she died in France and then they held everything over there – nothing here for her."
"Yeah. I don't think my father wanted to deal with all the grief a second time." Chance said. "How's Chelsea?" She asked, referring to his little sister.
"She's great, adjusting to high school and everything but doing well. I actually think she has sort of a boyfriend." Jack said, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Who's the lucky man?" Chance asked.
"I don't know. She won't tell me. But there's this guy who calls her every night at seven. She grabs the phone from whoever answers it and runs into her room." Chance laughed.
"It does sound like she has a boyfriend. You'll be the protective older brother – that's so cute." She said.
"Yeah right. Its not like I can really say anything to her about anything. I'd be the biggest hypocrite, considering me and Jess, if I said anything to her." She laughed again.
"What college are you going to?" She asked, after some time was spent looking things up on the internet.
"UCLA, which where pretty much everyone from Emerald Bay goes. How about you? I noticed all of the acceptance letters – that's pretty impressive."
"Daddy really wants me to go to Stanford – his alma mater and close to home. But I don't know. I'll probably end up going there. But I'd really like to go to the Sorbonnes in Paris. I'm still waiting for that letter, hopefully one of acceptance."
"You have family in France, don't you?" She nodded.
"My mom comes from some of the old money there. They have a summer home in the Loire Valley and a house right outside of Paris for the rest of the year. I go visit them when they have their vacation in August." Chance said.
"What do you want to do?" He asked her. She thought a while.
"I'd love to work for the government, in foreign relations. But realistically, I'll probably continue my modeling career throughout college and see if anyone will hire me afterwards. And I'll marry a wealthy man, and stay home and do volunteer work."
Two thoughts came to Jack's head. "You model?" He asked.
"I'm surprised your friends haven't talked to you about it. That's probably one reason they hate me so much. You've heard of Lucky?" She asked. "My uncle owns that and I'm their poster girl. I've also done stuff for American Eagle, Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie, teenage stores, ya know."
"Why would you settle for something like a housewife?" He asked. "That would be such a waste of your intelligence." She shrugged.
"I don't know. That's just the way its done. The man makes enough money so that the wife can stay home and do volunteer work and get addicted to soaps."
"You should go for what you want." Jack said quietly.
"I know. But sometimes, what you want is unrealistic. So you settle for the next best thing." Chance said. "Oh my god." She said, looking at her clock. "Its almost 6:45. We've got to go. You can change in my bathroom." She said, noticing his soccer things on the floor. He went to change while she brought the food downstairs.
"Ready?" He asked. She nodded. "Chance, what's your full name?"
"Chance Jacqueline Marie Pulitzer." She answered and looked at him curiously. "Why?"
"Its just unusual. What's the story behind it?" She let out a little laugh.
"It's a bit embarrassing. My mom had tried for a while to get pregnant and by chance she did. So that's what she called me. I'm named after my conception." She said.
"I can only agree with you on the embarrassing part." Jack said, pulling into the stadium parking lot. Jack laughed a little.
"I see your boyfriend isn't too happy that I drove you here." She followed his gaze and saw Brad glowering as his soccer buddies talked to him.
"Don't worry about him. Sometimes he gets a bit too overprotective and jealous." She said.
"If I get beat up, I'm holding you responsible." Jack warned.
"Alright." She said as they went their separate ways. She sat down in the bleachers and waited for her friends to show up. She thought about what Jack had said earlier, about settling for what you dream of and nothing less.
"Hey!" A hostile voice said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hello Jessica." Chance answered calmly.
"Stay away from Jack." Jessica said.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, stay away from my boyfriend."
"Jessica Lynch, do you really expect me to go after Jack, when I already have the hottest guy in the school?" She asked, pointing at Brad, warming up with some of his teammates. "We, Brad and I, have been together since 8th grade. We were voted Homecoming king and queen as juniors! And we'll probably be voted again this year. I love Brad...why would I want Jack?"
"I'm just warning you, Pulitzer." She said, venom in her words. Chance shrugged it off, and relaxed. If only Riley and Michelle would get here. The other member of the Five, Mark Conlon, was getting back tomorrow from his trip to Hawaii. She sat, watching the soccer team warm-up. She tried to focus on Brad, but she noticed how her eyes kept drifting back to Jack.
"Hi." He said, to the elderly lady that answered the door. "Chance and I are supposed to work on a project together." She nodded.
"Just go on up to her room. Third door on your right." The maid said. He nodded and started up the grand staircase to the second floor. "She'll be up in a minute. She's drying off by the pool."
"Third door on the left." He whispered, as he entered her room. He wanted to let out another whistle. The size of her room was about the size of his house. There was a little alcove overlooking the beach where there was a sofa, desk and television. Her bed and dresser were next to a huge window, overlooking the pool. There were stairs leading down to the pool. Her room was decorated in pinks, oranges, blues and greens. The little room overlooking the beach had a sort of cabana feel to it.
He noticed her computer and sat down to check his email while he was waiting. He noticed some letters, lying open on her desk, checked to see that she wasn't coming up the stairs, and skimmed through them. He was stunned – they were all acceptance letters from schools he would love to go to – Stanford, Georgetown, Berkeley, Claremont McKenna, NYU, Boston College, Dartmouth, U of Penn and Brown. He sat, amazed. He thought she was not that intelligent. He had only applied to one school – UCLA – which was about an hour away, and got in. He couldn't imagine having to decide between all of these schools.
"Hey." Chance said, opening her bedroom door. "I brought us some snacks." She set some Girl Scout cookies and pretzels down on her desk. "If you want something to drink, there's a fridge with Cokes and stuff next to the television. I'm just going to change."
"Alright." Part of him wished she wouldn't change. She had on a blue bikini that was pretty revealing. "Stop it, Jack Sullivan. You're not a horny seventh grader anymore."
"I know you have a soccer game at seven. Can I come over with you and then Brad can just drive me home?" She asked, through her walk-in closet door.
"That's fine." Jack said, looking at his watch. This should be fun, two hours with little miss rich girl. She came out of her closet, in a floral knee length skirt and a pink tee shirt.
"Do you want a Coke?" She asked.
"Sure." "Alright. Now what should we do?" She asked, biting her lip.
"You suggested something from the French Wars of Religion and I thought maybe we could do the monk that killed Henry?" Jack suggested. She nodded slowly.
"That's good!" She exclaimed. "Let's start looking." She typed in a few words on her computer.
"You have an amazing house." Jack said abruptly.
"Thanks. Its gets a bit lonely though – just me, Daddy, and Grandma Ellen."
"Grandma Ellen?"
"Our cook/maid/whatever else." Chance replied. "That's right, you've never been here. We moved here after my mom we...died. So we never really had our play dates together. How's your mom doing?"
"She's good. She got remarried four years ago." Jack said. "She still talks about the Lamaze classes she took with your mother and a pity it was she passed away."
Chance just shrugged. "What can you do?"
"I never told you this, but I truly was sorry about your mother. It's a pity she died in France and then they held everything over there – nothing here for her."
"Yeah. I don't think my father wanted to deal with all the grief a second time." Chance said. "How's Chelsea?" She asked, referring to his little sister.
"She's great, adjusting to high school and everything but doing well. I actually think she has sort of a boyfriend." Jack said, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Who's the lucky man?" Chance asked.
"I don't know. She won't tell me. But there's this guy who calls her every night at seven. She grabs the phone from whoever answers it and runs into her room." Chance laughed.
"It does sound like she has a boyfriend. You'll be the protective older brother – that's so cute." She said.
"Yeah right. Its not like I can really say anything to her about anything. I'd be the biggest hypocrite, considering me and Jess, if I said anything to her." She laughed again.
"What college are you going to?" She asked, after some time was spent looking things up on the internet.
"UCLA, which where pretty much everyone from Emerald Bay goes. How about you? I noticed all of the acceptance letters – that's pretty impressive."
"Daddy really wants me to go to Stanford – his alma mater and close to home. But I don't know. I'll probably end up going there. But I'd really like to go to the Sorbonnes in Paris. I'm still waiting for that letter, hopefully one of acceptance."
"You have family in France, don't you?" She nodded.
"My mom comes from some of the old money there. They have a summer home in the Loire Valley and a house right outside of Paris for the rest of the year. I go visit them when they have their vacation in August." Chance said.
"What do you want to do?" He asked her. She thought a while.
"I'd love to work for the government, in foreign relations. But realistically, I'll probably continue my modeling career throughout college and see if anyone will hire me afterwards. And I'll marry a wealthy man, and stay home and do volunteer work."
Two thoughts came to Jack's head. "You model?" He asked.
"I'm surprised your friends haven't talked to you about it. That's probably one reason they hate me so much. You've heard of Lucky?" She asked. "My uncle owns that and I'm their poster girl. I've also done stuff for American Eagle, Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie, teenage stores, ya know."
"Why would you settle for something like a housewife?" He asked. "That would be such a waste of your intelligence." She shrugged.
"I don't know. That's just the way its done. The man makes enough money so that the wife can stay home and do volunteer work and get addicted to soaps."
"You should go for what you want." Jack said quietly.
"I know. But sometimes, what you want is unrealistic. So you settle for the next best thing." Chance said. "Oh my god." She said, looking at her clock. "Its almost 6:45. We've got to go. You can change in my bathroom." She said, noticing his soccer things on the floor. He went to change while she brought the food downstairs.
"Ready?" He asked. She nodded. "Chance, what's your full name?"
"Chance Jacqueline Marie Pulitzer." She answered and looked at him curiously. "Why?"
"Its just unusual. What's the story behind it?" She let out a little laugh.
"It's a bit embarrassing. My mom had tried for a while to get pregnant and by chance she did. So that's what she called me. I'm named after my conception." She said.
"I can only agree with you on the embarrassing part." Jack said, pulling into the stadium parking lot. Jack laughed a little.
"I see your boyfriend isn't too happy that I drove you here." She followed his gaze and saw Brad glowering as his soccer buddies talked to him.
"Don't worry about him. Sometimes he gets a bit too overprotective and jealous." She said.
"If I get beat up, I'm holding you responsible." Jack warned.
"Alright." She said as they went their separate ways. She sat down in the bleachers and waited for her friends to show up. She thought about what Jack had said earlier, about settling for what you dream of and nothing less.
"Hey!" A hostile voice said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Hello Jessica." Chance answered calmly.
"Stay away from Jack." Jessica said.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, stay away from my boyfriend."
"Jessica Lynch, do you really expect me to go after Jack, when I already have the hottest guy in the school?" She asked, pointing at Brad, warming up with some of his teammates. "We, Brad and I, have been together since 8th grade. We were voted Homecoming king and queen as juniors! And we'll probably be voted again this year. I love Brad...why would I want Jack?"
"I'm just warning you, Pulitzer." She said, venom in her words. Chance shrugged it off, and relaxed. If only Riley and Michelle would get here. The other member of the Five, Mark Conlon, was getting back tomorrow from his trip to Hawaii. She sat, watching the soccer team warm-up. She tried to focus on Brad, but she noticed how her eyes kept drifting back to Jack.