hey guys... hope you're enjoying this... please remember to review: all comments are appreciated. still don't own anything. xoxo, nikki

CHAPTER ONE

It was finally the last day of ninth grade, and me and Miranda decided to walk home instead of riding the bus like we usually did. The thought of three months of total freedom from snotty cheerleaders, nasty teachers, tests, and homework had us a little more hyper than usual. We decided that it would be a good way to get some of our energy out.

"I am so glad we are done with our first year of high school," I said as we walked, kicking a rock along the sidewalk. "Last year, I was so scared of going to a new school. Now I know it's no big deal."

"So. What's going to be our first act of summer vacation?" Miranda asked, kicking the rock back to me. "Sleepover party, the mall, or the Digital Bean?"

"I don't know... what about the movies?" I suggested. "There's supposed to be a new one with Hilary Duff coming out soon that looks really good."

"I don't think that comes out 'til July," Miranda replied. "I guess that's one good thing about Gordo being gone. We can go see as many chick flicks as we want without having to hear him complaining the whole time."

"I kind of miss it," I admitted. "Yeah, he complained, but he always went along with whatever we wanted to see. Not many guys will go see Legally Blonde three times in a row with two girls who say the lines along with the characters."

"You're right about that," Miranda agreed. "So how is he?"

I was the one person in Hillridge Gordo kept in constant contact with since he moved. He and Miranda only e-mailed once or twice a month, but me and Gordo e-mailed once or twice daily. I knew all about every detail of his new life, and he knew every detail about my old one. Despite the thousands of miles between us, we were still best friends and as close as we'd always been. Not quite as close as I wanted us to be, but that was another story.

"He's fine," I replied. "Today was his last day of school, too. He even told me he'd call me tonight."

Miranda's eyes grew wide. "He said he'd CALL you?" she asked, just to make sure she'd heard me right.

You wouldn't think that a best friend talking on the phone with her best friend would be such a big deal. But in my case, this would be the first time I'd heard Gordo's voice in almost a year. Before he moved, we were definite phone people, almost never e-mailing since we saw each other every day without fail. But now that things were different, e-mailing was all we ever did.

"That's what he said," I answered, nodding. "So I guess I better make sure I'm home in case he does. I'd probably kill myself for missing his call."

"I would kill you, too," Miranda said. "If he calls, I want to hear everything. Take notes if you have to."

We stopped in front of my house, right next door to the house that used to belong to Gordo. I looked up at it and sighed heavily, just like I did every day.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later, then," I said before turning to walk up my driveway. "Don't call me, I'll call you."

"Bye!" I heard her call as I opened my front door, letting myself in.

"I'm home!" I yelled, locking the door behind me and running upstairs to my bedroom. When I got there, I took great pleasure in stuffing my backpack into my closet for its summer of hibernation. Then, I turned on the radio and flopped down on my bed to read my new issue of Cosmogirl.

A little while later, while I was in the middle of finding out what the best bathing suit for my bust size (or lack thereof) was, my mom popped her head in the door.

"Hi, sweetie," she said with a smile. "How was your last day of school? Did you do well on all your finals?"

"I think so," I replied, not really paying much attention to what she was saying. At any rate, I had just figured out that I should stay away from tankinis altogether.

"That's good," Mom answered. "Well, listen. I'll be right back. I just have to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Matt's going straight to Lanny's after school, and your dad's still at work."

"Okay," I said as I turned the page. Oh, good. Embarrassing moments. Reading these always makes me feel really good about myself. Alone in my room, I went back to my mindless reading session.

Not too much later, I was interrupted again by the ringing of the phone. This time, I was quite absorbed in a story about a girl who had laughed so hard at a joke her biggest crush had cracked (which, she admitted, wasn't really even that funny) that she wet her pants. Now, I have done some pretty heinous things in my time, but none of them could measure up to that little incident.

I grabbed the cordless phone off of my nightstand and hit talk, not really remembering that Gordo was supposed to call. I just figured it was Mom, calling from the grocery store to ask me what kind of cereal I wanted or something. "Hello?"

"Hey."

It was HIM. As soon as I heard his voice, my heart stopped. He sounded exactly as he had a year ago-- the same old Gordo, my same old best friend who I knew absolutely everything about, who knew absolutely everything about me.

"Hey," I answered brightly, unable to help the fact that a huge smile was already on my face. "Oh my gosh. You have no idea how glad I am you called." Heck with Cosmogirl and the Betsy Wetsy chick-- I was on the phone with Gordo!

"Well, I didn't want a year to go by without talking to you again," he replied. "You sound exactly the same. Really happy."

"So do you!" I said with a little laugh. "I can't believe I'm actually talking to you! On the phone, I mean. It feels like it's been ages."

"It HAS been ages."

"So, how are you doing?" I asked. "How was your last day of school, and your finals?"

"Pretty good, actually," Gordo answered. "A lot better than I expected. What about yours?"

"Okay. I could have done worse. My world geography one was really hard, though. I'm pretty sure I failed."

"I'm sure you did fine," Gordo assured me. "You were never quite as smart as I was, but you're okay for a dumb blonde."

I laughed. "If you weren't a million miles away, I'd have to slap you."

"So how's Miranda?" he asked, ignoring my last little comment. "Is she going to be totally jealous that I called you and not her?"

"Not totally. Actually, she was next to astonished that you would be calling me at all. But she's fine."

There was somewhat of an awkward silence between us for a few seconds. But then, Gordo asked, "did I call at a good time? It's 7:30 here."

"Yeah, it's 4:30 here," I replied. "Actually, it's nice to have somebody to talk to. I'm home by myself, so... Hey, have you seen any good movies lately?"

That sparked the conversationalist in Gordo to come out of his shell. Never again during our phone call was there a lull in conversation. We talked about anything and everything, those three hours quicking becoming the three best hours I'd had in a long time.

At 7:30, my mom came in and asked me who I'd been talking to on the phone with that I hadn't heard her call me for dinner. That's when I knew it was time for me to get off the phone.

"Um, Gordo," I said reluctantly. "I gotta go. Do you wanna call me tomorrow or something?"

"Sure," he replied. "It was really good talking to you again."

"It was really good talking to you again, too," I was silent for a few second afterwards, and then, "hey, Gordo?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you."

I could practically hear Gordo smile. "Love you, too."

Then we hung up, and I felt light and so happy, just like I could up and fly away like Tinkerbell.