Chapter Two

The silver convertible BMW came to a halt directly in front of the pool hall/café, located to the left of the actual school building. Harbor High was one of the best schools in the area and only the best attended the best. Being one of the major wealthy families in Newport Marissa was automatically a shoe-in to get accepted to in to Harbor, as were others. Marissa stepped out of the car and was awakened to the fresh ocean breeze misting the air. The first day of school was always the best when it was unpredictable. Almost everyone was gathered in the café, the guys starting their usual 'welcome back' pool game and the girls on the couches talking about their summer adventures and which fashion shows they had been to recently. Holly and Summer sat on the chocolate brown couch in front of the counter waiting for Marissa with her latte.

"My goodness Coop, what took ya so long?" Summer greeted her, handing her a steamy latte.

" Sorry, my mom had to drop Caitlyn off at my grandma's and my dad was on a trip so he couldn't take me," She replied, taking a refreshing sip of the beverage.

"Luke had water-polo practice this morning, so he should be here any minute," Holly added peering around the room. Marissa nodded acknowledging the fact that she heard her.

"So did you hear?" Holly asked, continuing before Marissa could answer, "There's a new kid coming in…from Chino, of all places. Apparently he got into a lot of trouble now he's staying with that kid who lives next to you. What's his name?"

"Seth Coh-" She started to say until Summer interrupted.

"Well whatever his name is…this kid better be hott or there will be no use for him here," she said sarcastically, laughing along with Holly.

"Summer!" Marissa giggled.

As the glass doors re-opened the water-polo team entered with Luke in the front. His bright blue eyes could be seen even under the mess of his blonde hair. Holly looked him over before reaching into her purse and grabbing her lip-gloss, applying a touch up before Luke came over.

"Hey Marissa," he greeted with a soft kiss, before turning to Holly and Summer. "Hey guys," he said with a nod.

The girls dazed at him, completely envious of Marissa. Not only was she gorgeous and popular, but she just happened to have the perfect boyfriend, a hot athlete who happened to be popular as well. Luke was on the lacrosse team, soccer team, played water polo and a ton of other sports, so of course he had the best body a girl had ever seen.

"So have you three seen the new kid, yet?" he asked breaking their train of thought.

They all shook their head in disappointment. Marissa sat quietly, while Holly told all of them of the crazy party she was throwing that weekend for a welcome back. She could see in the background, the principal walking with a student around the school grounds. That must be the kid from Chino, Marissa thought. Summer looked at Marissa

while she gave Luke directions to Holly's beach house.

"Coop….are you okay?" she asked looking through the glass doors to see what happened to be so amusing.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Hey I'll meet you guys a little later I just remembered something," Marissa replied before picking up her bag and proceeding out the door.

The three shrugged their shoulders and went back to talking about the party, Holly moving a little closer to Luke now that Marissa had left. Of course Luke didn't seem to mind.

Marissa followed closely behind the principal and the kid from chino before they abruptly turned around, facing her. The principal smiled before greeting her.

"Oh hello Marissa, just the person I wanted to see. You had a nice summer I take it."

"Yes I did, thank you," she greeted back, flashing her one of those innocent smiles she did so well.

"This is Ryan Atwood, he's new to this side of the state. I would appreciate it very much if you could maybe show im around the school and town. Since I'm sure you've heard he will be living near you now," she continued to Marissa.

Ryan turned around; Marissa's jaw almost dropped at the sight, but figured she may seem a bit weird if that was her first impression. His blonde hair covered his breath-taking blue eyes slightly and he had a tan that covered his muscular body. Marissa had never seen anyone so gorgeous in her life, and for a moment she forgot all about Luke. Ryan did a half-smile, the kind people did when they first met someone and has nothing really to say.

"So you're staying with the Cohen's?" Marissa asked trying to start a conversation as the principal walked away.

"Yeah, I'm staying in the pool house. I take it your Julie Cooper's daughter?" Ryan asked proceeding to walk more towards the school building, hoping Marissa would follow.

"Yeah, so you can see what I have to live with everyday. And may I ask…how do you know her exactly?" she questioned.

"She came over last night to talk to Kirsten about something. And may I add she's quite a character," he answered.

"Maybe I should ask if the Cohen's will let me stay with them too," Marissa giggled, as they entered the giant glass double doors that led to the long school hallway. They both looked around amazed at how a school could look so good. The glass walls at the end of the hallway let you have a glimpse of the shore and garden.

"I forgot how much I liked it here," Marissa said in a whisper like voice that made Ryan feel calm.

"This is a school?" he asked amazed by the sight. Marissa nodded before walking further towards the window. In the distance you could see a fountain on someone's backyard, reflecting the sun along with it. Marissa turned to Ryan, her crystal eyes sparkling.

"Hey, would you maybe want to hang out tonight or this weekend? I could show you around," she asked, hoping he would agree.

"Umm yeah…sure. I just have to ask Sandy," he replied. Marissa smiled at him and reached into her purse grabbing pen and a tear of paper. She scribbled her cell phone number just as the bell rang. Ryan smiled at her and waved goodbye before he turned around to find his class.

Hmmmmm…what will happen here?…Review and tell me what you think. Keeping reading please…-

Until next time.