Joan and Betty were now sitting and talking to each other in Joan's living room, each with a cup of coffee on the table between them. Joan picked up her coffee and started to slowly sip it as Betty was speaking to her.
"So, this whole Caribbean thing, you think Julie will be okay with it?" asked Betty as Joan lowered her coffee. There was a knock on the door, and the two women turned.
"I think we're about to find out." Joan got up from her chair and walked to the door. As she opened it, she noticed Julie standing there in her sweat suit and pony tail. "Come in, Julie." Julie walked into the living room and sat down as Joan closed the door. She walked back and sat down in her seat.
"Where's Taryn?" said Julie.
"Oh, she couldn't make it. In fact, we were just going to talk to you. You see, about the event next week---" Joan began.
"I am so excited! I have this whole---"
"Julie, Taryn sort of planned it already," she said with a slightly nervous look on her face.
"She did?" Julie asked, shocked.
"Yeah. And I don't know, the idea is good. It's just Taryn sort of threw it at us. We don't really know where it came from. But it could work out very nicely," Betty said.
"What exactly does she have planned?" asked Julie curiously.
"Caribbean Night," said Betty. Julie's face flared with anger and frustration as she looked down at the floor.
"Is everything okay, Julie?" Joan said.
"You seem… upset," added Betty. Julie looked up at the two of them.
"I have to go. It was nice chatting with you, but I need to take care of something, if you don't mind."
"Oh, go right ahead."
"Thanks, girls. I'll speak to you soon." And with that, Julie left the house in a hurry. She couldn't believe what she just heard.
"Do you think she'll be okay?"
"I don't know, she looked devastated," said Betty.
"What do you think she's going to do?"
"Well, she's probably on her way to Taryn right now," she said.
"I don't know, but I think it's going to get ugly."
"Look, everything is great right now. We have no problems at all, Jeff. You're worrying too much," said Jimmy on the phone line.
"Are you sure?" asked the man. "Things just seem… too perfect."
"Well, is that a bad thing?"
"I guess not, Jimmy," he said. "All right, it's probably time I go. I'll speak to you, Jimmy."
"Bye Jeff." Jimmy hung up the phone and left his office, opening the closet near the front door of the house. He grabbed his jacket and put it on as Caitlin crept down three stairs and watched him leave. He closed the door, and Caitlin immediately got up and grabbed her cell phone from her jeans pocket. She dialed a ten digit number fervently and held it up against her ear, waiting for an answer.
"Alexandra? Hi, it's me. My dad just left. I just have to figure out this whole Caribbean Night thing. I don't know. I still don't even know if Marissa is going to be here that night. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. No, Alexandra, that's not it. I want to have this party. Okay, I'm going to talk to you later then. Bye." Caitlin hung up her phone and slipped it back into her pants pocket. She hurried down the stairs and walked into her parents' room, going to her mother's side of the room and prying through all of her stuff. After finally finding the Harbor calendar, she opened it to the September page, noticing that Caribbean Night was on the eighteenth of September. To her luck, Marissa would already be on Freshman Retreat that night. She would have the house all to herself.
Kirsten slammed the door to her Range Rover shut. She walked into a café, sitting down at the closest empty table she could find. A young waitress approached, and just as she was about to order, she noticed Jimmy walking into the restaurant.
"Excuse me for a moment. You can come back in just a minute," said Kirsten, the waitress smiling and walking to another table. Kirsten gave Jimmy a wave, and he walked over to the table and sat down.
"Hey Kirsten," he said.
"Hey. How is everything? Julie, Marissa, Caitlin?" Kirsten asked.
"We're all good, thanks. And yourself?" Jimmy replied.
"You know, we're all right. I've been hard at work lately, but other than that, we're great. So, are you going to order? You might as well join me."
"Yeah, thanks. I was just taking a little lunch break," he said.
"Same here." The waitress walked up to the two of them holding a notepad and a pen in her hand.
"May I help you two?"
"Yes, please. I'll have a caeser salad and a plain squagel."
"Would you like anything to drink with that?" the waitress offered.
"I'm okay, thanks."
"And you, sir?"
"I'll just take the house bread, please," said Jimmy.
"Anything to drink?"
"No thanks." With that, the waitress walked away. "Kirsten, did you just ask for a 'squagel'?" Jimmy asked, puzzled.
"Jimmy, this is Cosi. You have to blend in," she said.
"Yeah, well, I never really got the whole 'squagel' thing around here."
"The last time you tried one was in high school, back when we were dating," she said.
"Those were the days." Jimmy looked at Kirsten until her eyes met with is. Kirsten looked away after a moment in trying to get through the awkwardness. Finally, the waitress returned with their food. She handed Kirsten a plate with a square shaped bagel and Jimmy a plate with a big piece of bread.
"Thank you," Kirsten said as the waitress left, giving her a smile.
"Oh, wow," said Jimmy. "It's already a quarter to one. I just realized I have to be somewhere in half an hour, and I have to call Greg back."
"Well," she began. "If you ever want to have any fun in your life, Sandy and I will be right next door." She smiled at him. Jimmy put down a couple of dollar bills on the table. He got up and walked right out of the restaurant, holding the big piece of bread in his hand.
"Finally," said Marissa as the bell rang. "Lunch." She gathered her stuff and threw her backpack onto her shoulders, waiting for Holly and Summer to join her. The two of them came after a moment, and the three girls walked out of the classroom and slowly made their way to the cafeteria.
"Oh, Coop, Alyssa's calling you. Tell her to come," said Summer. Marissa waved her hand and signaled Alyssa to follow them. She walked to the three of them the best she could, through a roaring crowd of people blocking the way.
"Hey, guys," she said, panting. "Marissa, you need go to room fifteen after school for Social Chair tryouts."
"Thanks. I just wonder if I should." The three of them shot Marissa a look. "What? I mean, there's bound to be someone out there for the job other than me. I mean, there are probably other girls in Newport, just like me." Once again, the three of them shot Marissa a look.
"Marissa, you are every girl in Newport's role model. Even if anyone does show up at tryouts, they're going to leave the second they see you," said Holly.
"You really think so?"
"Hello? You're Marissa Cooper," Holly said. "So what else do you think you're going to try out for, Marissa?"
"I don't know. Dance, Tennis. You guys?"
"I'm also going for tennis," said Alyssa.
"Wait, what everyone is talking about?" asked Summer, confused. "We don't have dance and tennis class in this school."
"Hello! Extracurricular," said Alyssa.
"Again, what?"
"Sum, we mean after-school activities," said Marissa gently.
"You mean you guys actually stay after school for these things? Ew," said Summer, disgusted.
"Yeah, I never really got the whole after-school thing," Holly added.
"Here we are, the cafeteria," said Alyssa as the four of them stopped before a lunchroom full of kids. "Let's get a table." They walked far down into the cafeteria until they found a free table. Alyssa sat on the edge next to Summer, and on the opposite side, Holly sat opposite Alyssa, and next to her Marissa.
"So, how are we supposed to buy food," began Alyssa. "Through all that?" turned around and pointed to a large crowd of people jumping up and down for food.
"It's okay," volunteered Summer. "I'll go." She got up and walked over to the lunch line, cutting right through the crowd of hungry people. She found the nearest group of boys and started touching them, slowly flirting her way through until all the boys let her to the front of the line. She dropped a ten and grabbed a box of four slices of pizza and two boxes of chili fries, an O.C. favorite. "Keep the change," she said to the woman standing by the cash register. She carried the food back to her table and put it down in the middle. She sat down and everyone began to eat a slice.
"Thanks, Sum," said Holly.
"How did you do that so fast, Summer?" asked Alyssa curiously.
"Oh, believe me, she has her ways," Holly said, smiling at Summer. "Holly, these chili fries are amazing."
"That's just because last year's were disgusting."
"We had chili fries last year?" asked Alyssa.
"Lucky for you, you didn't try them. I was sick for like a week," said Summer. "But seriously, just try them."
"I'll try them," said Marissa, putting down her pizza after a big bite. She stuck her hand in the box of fries, trying to pick one out in the cleanest way possible. She took one out and popped it in her mouth. "These are good."
"Holly, I suggest you try them for yourself. You can't take the word of someone who doesn't even---"
"Sum! Don't say it," Marissa said.
"Marissa, take this from people who care. You are pretty… thin," noted Alyssa.
"I eat," she said. Summer nodded her head sarcastically and Holly shrugged it off. Alyssa gave Marissa an uncertain look. "Kind of an awkward silence."
"Yeah, it kind of is," said Summer.
"Then why doesn't someone strike a conversation?" asked Holly. But before anyone could strike a conversation, Jess Sanders, in her denim miniskirt and high heels, walked over to the table and sat down right next to Marissa. No one minded her company, except for Marissa.
"Hey people," she said.
"Hey Jess," Holly said.
"So that's who she is!" whispered Summer to Alyssa, laughing a little at the comment.
"This day has been so boring," said Jess. "I could use a party to get my spirits up."
"I couldn't agree with you more," Summer said.
"It hasn't been that bad," said Alyssa. "Has it?"
"Oh," Jess said, grabbing a chili fry from the box rudely. "It's been bad. Right Marissa?" she asked. Marissa gave a nervous look. Things with her and Jess had been so awkward since last year when she trashed Marissa's house. What made everything worse was that she still associated with Holly. "Oh, crap," she said, checking her watch. "I'm going to be late. I told Kyle I'd meet him out back."
"Why are you meeting him out back?" asked Holly.
"No reason," insisted Jess. The four of them looked at her uneasily. "Look, it's strictly business." Jess grabbed a couple of more fries and popped them all in her mouth. She walked out of the cafeteria like a Bratz doll, the full of herself walk and the slutty clothing. Finally, thought Marissa, she was gone.
Seth grabbed the homemade lunch that his mother had prepared for him and walked into the library, wearing his backpack on his shoulders. He went to the furthest table in the back and sat down, taking out his cream cheese sandwich on a bagel and can of soda. He took out the latest issue of Superman: Series IV and opened it up, starting to read it. As his eyes shifted across the comic panels, a kid walked by Seth, grabbing the comic book and throwing it away. Seth looked as the comic was thrown far away to another part of the cafeteria.
"What the hell?" he said automatically, not realizing the big mistake he had just made. The kid grabbed Seth by the collar and lifted him up.
"What did you just say, queer?" asked the kid toughly.
"I said, I was just reading about the demon… from hell," Seth lied uncomfortably. The kid threw Seth down against the edge of the table, and Seth closed his eyes and moaned as his back slammed against it. He then opened his eyes and lazily moved forward toward the comic book. As he picked it up slowly, his eyes drifted onto a small poster with the words COMIC BOOK CLUB written in all capitol letters on it. His mouth dropped open as his hands let go of the comic book and let it hit the floor. He was shocked to see any comic-related thing in the whole school. A comic book club was something else. He didn't know if it was the comics or the meeting new people that excited him, but it was most likely the comics. After all, no person would risk their spot on the food chain and associate with sailing, video game playing, comic book loving, emo geeks. But it didn't matter. Harbor had a comic club, to his surprise, and he was in. He picked up his comic book and put it down on the table next to his lunch as he started to eat.
"Mr. Cohen, I'm begging you," said a woman. "Help my son."
"Mrs. Morale, I'm sorry. I can't take this case. I've told you too many times. I am not the man for this job," he said.
"What are we supposed to do?"
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Morale. But you need to stop calling me and find someone who might want to represent your son. I can give you as many numbers as you need. But me? There's nothing I can do."
"They all told me to come to you," she said, crying.
"I'm already deep into another case, and I don't have time for this. It's just too much of a long shot," he insisted.
"He needs help, Mr. Cohen! You have to do something!"
"I'm sorry," he said, sighing. He hung up the phone and stared out of the window for a moment, torn. He really wanted to help this woman. She had been calling him for quite some time, and he kept on rejecting the case. It was not the kind of case Sandy could ever deal with. But the more he rejected the case, the harder the woman tried to convince him to take it, and the harder it hurt for him to say no.
Now in a deep state of thinking, Sandy was interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. He picked up his phone, holding it up against his ear, still a little distracted by his thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Hi," said Kirsten.
"Hi," he replied with a smile, in the tone of voice that would make his son Seth gag. "How is everything?"
"You know, busy," she answered.
"Same here. I think I've gotten about eight cases in the past two days. One of which I'm actually going to pick up on," he said.
"One? And you had eight to choose from? Sandy, I have to say I'm quite surprised. Everyone knows how you feel for these kids."
"Don't think I don't feel bad."
"Of course you do. That's the Sandy Cohen we all know and love," she said. "So, I've been thinking."
"Yes…" said Sandy.
"You know, work has been really crazy for both of us, and I thought maybe we could… you know… tonight."
"How can I resist an offer like that?" he said, smiling. Kirsten let out a small laugh.
"Okay then. See you tonight."