Chapter 1:
Phil DeVille was relaxing in the stands of Senior Sr. High. Life didn't get any better than this. Lil and Kimi were off somewhere doing girly things. Chuckie was warming up on the track below, and Tommy was multi-tasking. He was acting as Chuckie's trainer while conducting an experiment with shoe rubber. Everyone had something to do. But not Phil. Nope he was content to sit back and kick his feet up with a cold soda and a bag of gummy worms.
He closed his eyes and remembered the good old days as he chomped on his snack. Back then the worms wriggled and squirmed when you ate them. Sometimes when you were in a hurry and swallowed them whole, they'd continue to dance in your tummy.
"Hey, DeVille." A familiar yet foreign voice jerked him back to reality.
Phil almost choked on a worm. The voice belonged to Angelica, but it was coated with at least an entire jar of honey. Phil was immediately suspicious.
"What do you want, Angelica?"
"Can't a girl come over and say 'hi' to an old friend?" Angelica gave what she thought was an award winning look of innocence.
Phil wanted to blow her off, but his good nature kicked in. He gave Angelica a look of his own to remind her he wasn't as naïve as he used to be.
He sat up and tapped his sneaker on the lower bench. "I'm waiting for your 'hi', Angelica, so I can say 'bye'."
Angelica didn't even try for a retort. She simply made herself comfortable besides Phil. Now he was really suspicious. "Phil, that's not how you treat the bearer of good news." Phil hoped she wouldn't put her arms around his shoulders. That would be way to creepy.
"Good news for who?"
"For you, silly. Samantha wants to meet you."
"Samantha wants to meet, me?" Phil was sure now that Angelica had flipped. That or she had some scheme cooking.
"Yes. She saw the clothing ad you and Lil did. She was very impressed. Ducks are definitely in-style this season."
"Angelica, you said ducks were for dumb babies."
"That was last week. Work with me here. You need to stay up to date. Samantha can help you." Angelica shoved a scented note into Phil's hand.
"Don't be late, DeVille." With that she got up and sauntered away.
Phil opened the note. "Em's Café, 4:30, today, S.S. ~ Ps. Come alone."
Phil checked his watch. It was a little after four. If he left now he could walk over to the café by the meeting time. Shrugging off any last doubts Phil headed off. He was game for anything.
When he reached the bottom of the bleachers, Phil rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out a wad of gum. He stuck the slightly fuzzy blob to the railing and drew a smiley face. Satisfied with his gum mail, Phil put a smile on his own face. "Samantha Shane, here I come."
Phil DeVille was relaxing in the stands of Senior Sr. High. Life didn't get any better than this. Lil and Kimi were off somewhere doing girly things. Chuckie was warming up on the track below, and Tommy was multi-tasking. He was acting as Chuckie's trainer while conducting an experiment with shoe rubber. Everyone had something to do. But not Phil. Nope he was content to sit back and kick his feet up with a cold soda and a bag of gummy worms.
He closed his eyes and remembered the good old days as he chomped on his snack. Back then the worms wriggled and squirmed when you ate them. Sometimes when you were in a hurry and swallowed them whole, they'd continue to dance in your tummy.
"Hey, DeVille." A familiar yet foreign voice jerked him back to reality.
Phil almost choked on a worm. The voice belonged to Angelica, but it was coated with at least an entire jar of honey. Phil was immediately suspicious.
"What do you want, Angelica?"
"Can't a girl come over and say 'hi' to an old friend?" Angelica gave what she thought was an award winning look of innocence.
Phil wanted to blow her off, but his good nature kicked in. He gave Angelica a look of his own to remind her he wasn't as naïve as he used to be.
He sat up and tapped his sneaker on the lower bench. "I'm waiting for your 'hi', Angelica, so I can say 'bye'."
Angelica didn't even try for a retort. She simply made herself comfortable besides Phil. Now he was really suspicious. "Phil, that's not how you treat the bearer of good news." Phil hoped she wouldn't put her arms around his shoulders. That would be way to creepy.
"Good news for who?"
"For you, silly. Samantha wants to meet you."
"Samantha wants to meet, me?" Phil was sure now that Angelica had flipped. That or she had some scheme cooking.
"Yes. She saw the clothing ad you and Lil did. She was very impressed. Ducks are definitely in-style this season."
"Angelica, you said ducks were for dumb babies."
"That was last week. Work with me here. You need to stay up to date. Samantha can help you." Angelica shoved a scented note into Phil's hand.
"Don't be late, DeVille." With that she got up and sauntered away.
Phil opened the note. "Em's Café, 4:30, today, S.S. ~ Ps. Come alone."
Phil checked his watch. It was a little after four. If he left now he could walk over to the café by the meeting time. Shrugging off any last doubts Phil headed off. He was game for anything.
When he reached the bottom of the bleachers, Phil rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out a wad of gum. He stuck the slightly fuzzy blob to the railing and drew a smiley face. Satisfied with his gum mail, Phil put a smile on his own face. "Samantha Shane, here I come."