Brooke was awakened by loud and persistent knocking at the door. Still a tad disoriented, she climbed out of bed to answer it.

"It's about time", Lucas joked. "You call and wake me up before the sun rises and I get here a little before noon and suddenly you're too sleepy to answer? I was about to turn around and go back!"

"Not a chance", Brooke laughed as she kissed him.

They climbed in bed where they lay talking and just holding each other for hours. Eventually they settled into a light nap before getting up for a late, late lunch.

"What do you want to do now?" he asked, wiping the remaining crumbs from his mouth.

"We got a few hours before I have to be at the show. Whatever you want to do, I don't care."

A light bulb went off in Luke's head.

"You sure about that?"

"As long as it doesn't involve a star map and staking out John Travolta's place, I'd say I'm game. What's up?"

"Follow me", he said, grabbing Brooke's hand before he had the chance to answer.

Before she knew it, they were on the campus of UCLA. The Comparative Literature Department was holding a tea open to the public where the members were holding an open forum to discuss favorite authors and their writings.

"Are you sure we're allowed to be in here?" Brooke whispered.

"It's cool", he said, pretty much in awe as he looked around. "In my classes at Wake, I heard about this. The club meets once a month."

He opened his backpack and pulled out a copy of Call Of The Wild.

"You ever read this?" he asked her.

Brooke wrinkled her nose without even looking at it.

"Uh…no. If it doesn't have pictures, then I'm really not into it. I read but I'm more of a magazine kind of girl. I enjoy the fine literature of In Style, Elle, Glamour and my personal favorite, the women's Bible, Cosmo."

"Well, you should check this out. I've been dying to read this again. I read it a long time ago and even did a paper on it once. My dad has had this copy since he was in high school. He let me borrow it. London is a hell of an author. A man's author as my dad likes to say. Kill or be killed, that's the way of the world."

"Oh", Brooke managed.

What else did she have to say? Brooke had no idea what he was talking about and she couldn't remember the last book she had picked up on her own. Her poetic and literary senses had only been peaked when she and Lucas had first began corresponding.

"I can't believe you've never read this before."

Now Brooke was beginning to feel stupid. So she wasn't much on reading. Did that make her a bad person? But she really liked Lucas and wanted him to think…well, that she wasn't stupid. She took a seat beside him, sipping tea and nibbling cookies as the discussion began on various books. In the corner a cute little blonde with glasses seemed to command the conversation. Brooke rolled her eyes. What an obnoxious little know it all. Then she saw the look in Luke's eyes as he watched the girl talk. Sure she was a nerdy brainiac but she was still pretty and seemed to know a lot about books. Certainly ones without pictures. She was probably the exact kind of girl Lucas would normally go for. Frowning, Brooke put a piece of Bubble Yum in her mouth and sank back into the uncomfortable little folding chair. The discussion went on and on and on. Jesus, didn't these geeks ever shut up? Brooke knew she had turned over a new leaf and was working on being a nicer, better person but everyone had their limits and that tea and cracker snooze fest had just about pushed her to hers.

"…I know a similar book with a similar theme", Miss Smarty Pants continued. "A man losing his integrity and giving into temptation…"

"Steinbeck's The Winter Of Our Discontent."

Brooke looked up. It had been Lucas who had made that last comment.

"Exactly", the blonde smiled. "I guess great minds think alike."

Brooke pouted and blew a bubble. Great! Now her boyfriend was making a literature connection with the Book Queen. Pretty soon, the discussion tapered off and the crowd looked on as the blonde and Lucas carried on a one on one conversation. Brooke felt like a third wheel and Brooke Davis played second fiddle to no one! She refused to be left out or overshadowed. She had to prove to Lucas that she could be smart and also remind him why he liked her.

"Um, actually, that brings me to my favorite book, if you guys wouldn't mind discussing it. Call Of The Wild", Brooke chimed in.

"I…I thought you said you never read that", Lucas whispered.

"Of course I have", Brooke exaggerated. "I was just kidding around."

"What would you like to add to this discussion…"

"Brooke."

"Okay Brooke", the blonde smiled. "I'm Jennifer. Go ahead. The floor is yours."

Brooke cleared her throat.

"Well, this is a really cool book that I read a long time ago. It's Call Of The Wild and I really liked this book because…because it really is a classic. It has an important lesson too. Like when the main character is sent to bed without dinner, then he dreams that he is in the land of wild things and he's king. Even though he's in charge, deep down he really misses home, so he sails back and finds dinner waiting for him. Now not only is the tale entertaining but there is a moral as well and I think that is especially important for the younger readers."

Brooke stood, using her hands for emphasis when she talked, smiling broadly, eyeing her audience confidently. She was proud of herself. She had showed Lucas and a room full of others that she was more than just a pretty face. She was just as capable as the next person of conducting an intelligent conversation. For her efforts she was expecting applause or at least some kind of verbal affirmation. Brooke was not prepared for the giggling that ensued as well as the odd stares. She almost felt like they were making fun of her and that was confirmed when Jennifer chimed in.

"Um, Brooke, I think you're mistaken. Call Of The Wild is about a beloved dog named Buck who is stolen and sold by his master's servant. It is the story of how he adapts to life as a sled dog and also how he once again rises to a level of supremacy over the pack. While being savagely beaten, Buck is rescued by a man named John Thornton. Man and beast bond and work together to form this sort of inseparable team. When John is killed, it's like the last bit of civilization is stripped from Buck and he becomes a wild animal. Now the author, Jack London, led a life crammed with violence and adventure, both of which were transferred into his writings. He had virtually no childhood, starting work at age ten. At 15 he became a hobo and at 16, an oyster pirate and longshoreman. Joining the Alaskan gold rush at nineteen, London hiked across the United States and Canada to the Klondike. He found no gold, but later used some of his Northland experiences to draft Call of the Wild"

"It's true that London wrote from his own experiences but in Buck, he endows all of the cunning and savagery that London himself feels lurks not only in animals, but in human beings as well", Lucas added. "Buck's transformation into a ferocious animal is London's attempt to argue his 'survival of the fittest' philosophy…the potential primitive beast he feels lies within each individual. However, London's great love for animals and nature inspired him to also write of the loyalty, affection, and excitement experienced by Buck."

"Exactly. The novel is both adventuresome and emotion packed. It seems to capture all of the qualities you mentioned in a powerful way."

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name…"

"Lucas. Lucas Scott."

"Do you attend UCLA, Lucas? I've never seen you around."

"No. I'm just visiting. I actually go to Wake Forest University in North Carolina."

Brooke felt her cheeks burn. That little ho bag wasn't fooling anyone with her glasses and sweet words. Brooke could see right past it. Anyone could. Anyone except her boyfriend who seemed to be lapping up Jennifer's every breath.

"Too bad. We could use more intellectual and creative minds like yours around here", Jennifer winked. "Oh and Brooke, I'm sorry. The book you were talking about, I believe is Where The Wild Things Are, not Call Of The Wild."

There were a few more chuckles and Brooke felt like she literally wanted to die.

"Oh. My mistake. I knew it was 'wild' something or another", she gracefully smiled as she tried to "act" her way out of an embarrassing situation. "But thank you so much Jennifer for pointing that out…in front of everyone."

Sitting back down but too ashamed to face Lucas, Brooke breathed a huge sigh of relief when the stupid gathering was dismissed. She couldn't wait to get out of there as she grabbed her purse.

"Brooke, wait up."

"Sorry, Lucas. I have to get going. The show starts soon."

"I know but uh…sorry about what happened back in there."

"It's no big deal", she lied with a shrug.

"It's cool. It was just an honest mistake. Call Of The Wild is considered a children's book too so it's easy to see why you got confused and…"

"Lucas, just stop it, okay? Look, I had no idea what I was talking about in there. I looked like a complete fool."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? You know it's true. I didn't know anything about what was going on or being said in there."

"So why did you initiate a conversation?" he asked carefully.

"Because…because I wanted to connect with you, Lucas. I wanted you to think I was smart. Look, a lot of the quotes and book passages and stuff you e-mailed me were pretty cool and I did like them but for the most part, all the books and authors and history you're into…well, I'm not."

"And I never asked you to be. Brooke, it's cool. We do connect on a lot of things but you don't have to be interested in every little thing that I am. I enjoy the fact that we're different in a lot of ways."

"You really mean that?"

"Of course I do", he said, hugging her. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know. I guess because a lot of guys wouldn't."

"Well, I'm not 'a lot of guys', now am I?"

"So you're not mad that I embarrassed you back there?"

"You didn't. Brooke, I would never be embarrassed of you."

She smiled and kissed his lips.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. You're not like 'a lot of guys'."

"I sure hope not", he winked. "Now come on. We have to get back to the hotel and get you ready. You have an award to accept."