A/N : I'd like to say thanks to the girl who called me a dumbass because she just gave me an idea. Actually, Paul Prezzioso was meant to be Jenny's father and I didn't know his name was Nick (most of the BSC books I've read were in French, so I wouldn't know that). Nick Prezzioso will eventually appear. don't worry.

CHAPTER TWO: DIFFERENT WORLDS

School was over for the day. I could finally flee this building and walk the streets of Stoneybrook as I pleased. I had dreamed about that all day. I would go down on Burnt Hill Road and look at the very old farmhouses that were there. There was one that I'd particularly liked: it looked like it had been built at the end of the 18th century. My imagination just zoomed when I was around that house. It looked kind of creepy but I was just thinking of ways to put it back in shape.

I headed north of town, where those old houses were. I felt a little better than before: my little encounter with Richard Spier had made me feel a little less empty, as if helping him were the first step to get me out of a hole.

It was one of the last beautiful days of fall: the sky, which had been grey all morning, had cleared up and was a bright azure, with touches of white here and there; the breeze felt soft and warm, and the cracking sound of the leaves under my feet was making me smile. Nothing in the world could be as beautiful as fall in Stoneybrook. It looked even more beautiful when I left downtown and entered the residential area north of town. The old houses looked like pictures and even the smallest ones didn't look so bad (though I was glad I wasn't living in one of those).

I wasn't the only one enjoying the nice weather. As I continued heading to Burnt Hill Road, I saw kids playing outside and women walking dogs.. and Richard Spier.

He was sitting on the top stair of his porch (at least I assumed it was his), holding a book. He looked very concentrated. He had cleaned up his glasses, which were resting on his nose. Their black frame made him look strict and a little older. His white shirt looked stained - I wondered if it was Paul's fault. There was a hole in the left knee of his pants.

As concentrated as he looked, he raised his head as I was passing in front of his house. He smiled, put his glasses back in his shirt pocket and stood up.

Oh, no, I thought as I saw him walking over to me, don't tell me he's going to stick to me because I've been nice to him this morning! Needless to say, any guilty feeling had disappeared by now. I was just horrified by the thought of having Richard Spier follow me around school like a lost puppy.

"Hi!" he called.

"Hey!" I replied with a forced smile.

"Say, I wanted to thank you for you help back this morning. It was really nice of you, to stand up for me against those kids."

"No problem. I know how to deal with Paul."

We looked at each other and I had a quick smile, a real one. Richard smiled back, but he looked a little shy. I wasn't feeling very comfortable around him either. We were too different - people living in the same place, but coming from two opposite worlds.

I figured I had to say something to continue the conversation. After all, he had walked over to me to thank me. I couldn't just leave him there without making a little effort of acting like I cared.

"What are you reading?" I asked.

"It's a law book. It's very interesting."

"Sure."

I tried not to frown. Richard Spier had to be the most boring person in the whole world! He was reading a law book, on a Friday afternoon! It felt like he had no friends, no fun, no nothing. Was he even too poor to have a social life?

I felt bad for having these thoughts. I was being unfair; I had prejudices. Just because I had the chance to grow up in a rich family didn't mean I had to be so snob. I hated myself just then for being so mean. I smiled at Richard again, not wanting him to guess all the awful thoughts I just had. To my surprise, he started laughing. It was something that I had never heard.

"I know I must sound like the most boring person in the world", he said. "But I just enjoy this stuff. I'd like to be a lawyer, but I don't know if I can afford college."

"Why not?" I asked.

But then I thought about it: The hole in his pants, the torn vest, and the shabby looking house. Paul had been right. Richard was really poor.

"Never mind", I said quickly. "It's none of my business, anyway."

"It's okay. I don't mind. I'm used to it."

He shrugged and I felt admiration for him again. He just seemed so strong: not in a physical way, but in his way to refrain all the pain and sadness his situation was causing him. It wasn't like nothing seemed to hurt him; it was more like he knew exactly how to cope with things.

"Where were you going?"

"You know, there's this house on Burnt Hill Road that I just love! It looks very old and creepy, like a haunted house, you know, but there is so much character in this house! I'd love to redecorate it, to put it back in shape, but I wouldn't know how to do that."

"If you were an architect", Richard said, "you could do that. Or be an interior decorator."

I laughed a little.

"Forget it. My parents would never let me do that. They don't expect me to have a career. They want me to be a housewife."

"Well, I guess we are in the same situation, then."

We smiled at each other and sighed. That was right. Both of us had dreams for the future, but no hope to make them come true. Two different worlds, yes, but the same problems.

I was surprised by Richard. I had thought he was the typical nerd, only wanting to talk about geometry and grades, and thinking we, the common people, were only idiots. But he was fun to talk to: he was a human being, with dreams, hopes and problems.

When I left, after that little conversation, I found myself smiling. Richard Spier..