Chapter Two
After talking for another while, Freddy and Zack went inside Zack's new home (they moved in two days ago, so it was already furnished).
"This house is great! You guys are pretty close to the pool," Freddy complimented his friend.
"Yeah well your house is the same distance away, man! So, I'm wondering, why Highfield Court? Why'd you leave that loft in Chelsea Park?" Zack asked.
"I'm not sure. Something just told me to. I guess it was a calling. I mean, I always used to talk about living in an actual house, and the opportunity came up, so why not? Sure, the girls had to move, but they're okay about it," Freddy explained.
"But you and Zoe never talked about it? You know, together?" Zack wondered aloud.
"I don't want anything to do with that woman," Freddy answered.
The neighborhood meeting was at 7:30 PM, and everyone was expected to be there. It was at the Courts (the tennis, pool, indoor activities, hang out area at the top of the block).
Katie and her 10 year-old daughter were walking to the Courts.
"Gracie, did you talk to any of the girls on the street today?" Katie asked.
"Mmhm! I talked to this one girl, Mischa, and her mommy's name is Eleni. I met another girl named Karissa, she has a brother like me, and her mom is Michelle and her dad is Zaaaack. And then there were these two really cool sisters, Rachel and Jane. I think they had a dad named, hmmm, Freddy! I know I've heard those names before!" Gracie nudged her mom. Katie gasped. She couldn't believe it! Were those her old friends from high school? No way. No way!
Katie turned around, and grabbed her husband's arm.
"LAWRENCE! Hurry up! I think our new neighbors may surprise you," she exclaimed cheerily, leading him to the Courts.
When her husband, her two kids, and Katie walked in, they saw several families walking up the stairs to the second story meeting room.
"Michelle? Zack? Noo!" Katie exclaimed, causing the two to turn around.
"You betcha!" Zack told his old friend. Boy had it been a long time.
The families walked up the stairway, leading them to a bunch of old friends.
Chad and Eleni with their four beautiful girls.
Pregnant Emma with her new husband, Frankie.
Freddy and the two girls.
Danny, Ashley, and their daughter, Stacey.
Mr. Finn... Dewey Finn.
Ned and Patty with their twins, now 17.
And then Summer and her- wealthy- husband, Max.
This is unbelievable! thought Freddy. Who knew all the gang could end up here, like this?
Summer got up from her place on the loveseat next to Max.
"Wow! Who knew, that in 13 years, we'd all see each other again?"
"Well, not everyone is here..." mumbled Freddy. Everyone heard.
Eleni gasped, "Zoe! Freddy, where's Zoe?"
Freddy explained everything. Everyone was in awe; they thought Freddy and Zoe would last forever!
Ashley wasn't too sure about Freddy's explanation, but whatever.
"So at 1 Highfield Court, we have Dewey Finn! Wow, nice to see ya Dewey! At 3, we have the Schneebly's, at 5 the Mooneyhams, 7 is still for sale, 9 is the Moore's, at 11 here's the Courts, 10 is, of course. me and my husband, 8 is the Huang's, 6 is the Jones', 4 is the Henderson's, and 2 is the Andrew's. How quaint is this little development?" Summer said. Yes, how quaint.
It was silent for about 10 minutes until Danny spoke up.
"I guess our meeting is over, so go on home everyone!" he exclaimed. As everyone left, people socialized with old friends, and the kids played night games outside.
Freddy was pretty tired; it had been a pretty long day. He didn't want to have to wait up an hour or so for the girls, so he decided it was time to ruin their fun.
"Rach, Jane, the fun is over. You can hang with your buds tomorrow," Freddy said as he yawned.
Rachel and Jane didn't argue, they were exhausted, too!
Everyone in the whole neighborhood got a good night sleep, unfortunately for Freddy, he wouldn't be so fortunate tomorrow.
Freddy woke up the next morning to hear Kelly Clarkson blasting from Rachel's room. And her voice was blasting, also. He groaned.
"Rach.. Rach! Rachel May Jones.. RACHEL!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
She turned down her music, "Yeah, dad?" Rachel asked sweetly.
"Thank you," he answered, and rolled back over. Rachel's voice came back up again, along with the music.
As Freddy sat up in his king-sized Marta-Stewart covered bed, Jane ran in.
"Daddy!" she cried, "Rachel said my voice sounds like a barking goat!"
"Jane, goats don't bark," Freddy told her.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed unhappily.
"Sing for me," he said pulling over a navy blue ratty Ralph Lauren shirt. Zoe would never let him wear THAT.
"Oookay... Oooh I wanna dance with someboday! I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Ooooh I wanna dance with so-" she started.
"Jane, Jane, you're good, you're good. You have a- uh- sweet tone, but your voice doesn't- um- work for Whitney's vibe," he told her. Jane just didn't get it.
"Oh, so do you want me to try some Britney? My loneliness, is killing me, and I, I must confess I still believe, an-" she tried. Nope.
"Umm, let's go get the mail," Freddy said, dragging her across the hall.
"But the mail shouldn't come until 2! You have.. umm.. you have 4 hours," Jane explained.
"Dad, we got a package this morning. From UPS... it looks big!" Rachel yelled, running down stairs catching up to her family.
"Where'd you pu-?" he started to ask, but then saw the big, brown box on the kitchen counter.
"Daddy, what is it?" asked Jane.
"Stop sucking up you big baby!" Rachel teased her younger sister.
"Daaad!" Jane moaned.
"Jane, I know, big sisters suck, but get used to her," he joked.
As he opened the box, he noticed an envelope taped to another box.
"Rach, open the envelope, babe," Freddy ordered his daughter.
"Mmkay... it's from.. uh Anna Jones? And it says-" Rachel started, but was interuppted by her dad grabbing it from her hand.
He read the letter: Hello family! How's life in the suburbs going? I can remember waking up to that neighboorhood smell on those warm, summer mornings. Much nicer than the NYC scent (haha). Enough about me, time for YOU, Frederick. I am inviting you to my engagement party! Ah, Shane is such a great guy, you'd be such fast friends, Frederick. Pleeeease come, I'd be overjoyed! The formal invite is on the back, hard to miss! Say hi to the girls for me, and I'd like to remind you that my birthday is coming up ;)! I sent invitations to the rest of our middle-high school clan, and I request that you tell them to RSVP a.s.a.p! Thanks, darling. -Anna Jones
Freddy couldn't believe his eyes; his contacts almost popped out. Anna was Zoe.
After talking for another while, Freddy and Zack went inside Zack's new home (they moved in two days ago, so it was already furnished).
"This house is great! You guys are pretty close to the pool," Freddy complimented his friend.
"Yeah well your house is the same distance away, man! So, I'm wondering, why Highfield Court? Why'd you leave that loft in Chelsea Park?" Zack asked.
"I'm not sure. Something just told me to. I guess it was a calling. I mean, I always used to talk about living in an actual house, and the opportunity came up, so why not? Sure, the girls had to move, but they're okay about it," Freddy explained.
"But you and Zoe never talked about it? You know, together?" Zack wondered aloud.
"I don't want anything to do with that woman," Freddy answered.
The neighborhood meeting was at 7:30 PM, and everyone was expected to be there. It was at the Courts (the tennis, pool, indoor activities, hang out area at the top of the block).
Katie and her 10 year-old daughter were walking to the Courts.
"Gracie, did you talk to any of the girls on the street today?" Katie asked.
"Mmhm! I talked to this one girl, Mischa, and her mommy's name is Eleni. I met another girl named Karissa, she has a brother like me, and her mom is Michelle and her dad is Zaaaack. And then there were these two really cool sisters, Rachel and Jane. I think they had a dad named, hmmm, Freddy! I know I've heard those names before!" Gracie nudged her mom. Katie gasped. She couldn't believe it! Were those her old friends from high school? No way. No way!
Katie turned around, and grabbed her husband's arm.
"LAWRENCE! Hurry up! I think our new neighbors may surprise you," she exclaimed cheerily, leading him to the Courts.
When her husband, her two kids, and Katie walked in, they saw several families walking up the stairs to the second story meeting room.
"Michelle? Zack? Noo!" Katie exclaimed, causing the two to turn around.
"You betcha!" Zack told his old friend. Boy had it been a long time.
The families walked up the stairway, leading them to a bunch of old friends.
Chad and Eleni with their four beautiful girls.
Pregnant Emma with her new husband, Frankie.
Freddy and the two girls.
Danny, Ashley, and their daughter, Stacey.
Mr. Finn... Dewey Finn.
Ned and Patty with their twins, now 17.
And then Summer and her- wealthy- husband, Max.
This is unbelievable! thought Freddy. Who knew all the gang could end up here, like this?
Summer got up from her place on the loveseat next to Max.
"Wow! Who knew, that in 13 years, we'd all see each other again?"
"Well, not everyone is here..." mumbled Freddy. Everyone heard.
Eleni gasped, "Zoe! Freddy, where's Zoe?"
Freddy explained everything. Everyone was in awe; they thought Freddy and Zoe would last forever!
Ashley wasn't too sure about Freddy's explanation, but whatever.
"So at 1 Highfield Court, we have Dewey Finn! Wow, nice to see ya Dewey! At 3, we have the Schneebly's, at 5 the Mooneyhams, 7 is still for sale, 9 is the Moore's, at 11 here's the Courts, 10 is, of course. me and my husband, 8 is the Huang's, 6 is the Jones', 4 is the Henderson's, and 2 is the Andrew's. How quaint is this little development?" Summer said. Yes, how quaint.
It was silent for about 10 minutes until Danny spoke up.
"I guess our meeting is over, so go on home everyone!" he exclaimed. As everyone left, people socialized with old friends, and the kids played night games outside.
Freddy was pretty tired; it had been a pretty long day. He didn't want to have to wait up an hour or so for the girls, so he decided it was time to ruin their fun.
"Rach, Jane, the fun is over. You can hang with your buds tomorrow," Freddy said as he yawned.
Rachel and Jane didn't argue, they were exhausted, too!
Everyone in the whole neighborhood got a good night sleep, unfortunately for Freddy, he wouldn't be so fortunate tomorrow.
Freddy woke up the next morning to hear Kelly Clarkson blasting from Rachel's room. And her voice was blasting, also. He groaned.
"Rach.. Rach! Rachel May Jones.. RACHEL!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
She turned down her music, "Yeah, dad?" Rachel asked sweetly.
"Thank you," he answered, and rolled back over. Rachel's voice came back up again, along with the music.
As Freddy sat up in his king-sized Marta-Stewart covered bed, Jane ran in.
"Daddy!" she cried, "Rachel said my voice sounds like a barking goat!"
"Jane, goats don't bark," Freddy told her.
"Exactly!" she exclaimed unhappily.
"Sing for me," he said pulling over a navy blue ratty Ralph Lauren shirt. Zoe would never let him wear THAT.
"Oookay... Oooh I wanna dance with someboday! I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Ooooh I wanna dance with so-" she started.
"Jane, Jane, you're good, you're good. You have a- uh- sweet tone, but your voice doesn't- um- work for Whitney's vibe," he told her. Jane just didn't get it.
"Oh, so do you want me to try some Britney? My loneliness, is killing me, and I, I must confess I still believe, an-" she tried. Nope.
"Umm, let's go get the mail," Freddy said, dragging her across the hall.
"But the mail shouldn't come until 2! You have.. umm.. you have 4 hours," Jane explained.
"Dad, we got a package this morning. From UPS... it looks big!" Rachel yelled, running down stairs catching up to her family.
"Where'd you pu-?" he started to ask, but then saw the big, brown box on the kitchen counter.
"Daddy, what is it?" asked Jane.
"Stop sucking up you big baby!" Rachel teased her younger sister.
"Daaad!" Jane moaned.
"Jane, I know, big sisters suck, but get used to her," he joked.
As he opened the box, he noticed an envelope taped to another box.
"Rach, open the envelope, babe," Freddy ordered his daughter.
"Mmkay... it's from.. uh Anna Jones? And it says-" Rachel started, but was interuppted by her dad grabbing it from her hand.
He read the letter: Hello family! How's life in the suburbs going? I can remember waking up to that neighboorhood smell on those warm, summer mornings. Much nicer than the NYC scent (haha). Enough about me, time for YOU, Frederick. I am inviting you to my engagement party! Ah, Shane is such a great guy, you'd be such fast friends, Frederick. Pleeeease come, I'd be overjoyed! The formal invite is on the back, hard to miss! Say hi to the girls for me, and I'd like to remind you that my birthday is coming up ;)! I sent invitations to the rest of our middle-high school clan, and I request that you tell them to RSVP a.s.a.p! Thanks, darling. -Anna Jones
Freddy couldn't believe his eyes; his contacts almost popped out. Anna was Zoe.