Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I never realized how hard it was to keep writing! I am so horrible and finishing stories, but I'm going to really try with this one. Anyways, this was a chapter that kind of had to be written to introduce more characters. I know everyone is probably dying to meet Darcy and Knightley and all them and I promise they are coming up soon, just not in this chapter. Well, I hope you like it.
Emma leaned against her locker and flipped open her cell phone. 4:00. She had been waiting there for over 10 minutes now. Where could Lizzy possibly be? Maybe she had heard wrong. Maybe Lizzy had meant they were going to visit her friend tomorrow. No, Emma was pretty sure she had said today after school.
Emma was starting to get anxious and was about to leave, when a voice hailed her from across the hall. She looked up to see a very frazzled looking Lizzy hurrying over to her.
"Sorry!" Lizzy exclaimed. "I had to finish a lab in biology." Emma felt a wave of relief wash over her, and assured Lizzy that it was ok.
Lizzy fumbled with the zipper on her coat and lead Emma over to where her car was parked. "Did you drive to school?" she asked.
Emma shook her head. "No, Papa didn't want to take my car with us to Virginia. He promised he'd get me a new one, we just haven't had time yet."
Lizzy nodded and pointed over to her red, 1965 Buick Skylark. "Okay, I'll drive. We just have to drop Jane off at home and then we'll be on our way."
Jane was waiting at the car, jumping up and down. "Lizzy! Hurry up and unlock the doors, I'm freezing!" she cried. Her face was rosy with windburn and her hair was flying all over the place. Lizzy laughed and pulled her keys out of her purse.
"Shot gun!" Emma cried as the doors unlocked.
"Darn." Jane muttered as she crawled into the back seat.
It took about five seconds for the three girls to scramble into the car. "Jesus H. Christ!" Lizzy cried. "It's freaking cold!" Lizzy turned the heat on full blast and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Yeah, well at least you weren't standing out there for 10 minutes!" Jane exclaimed. Lizzy just stuck her tongue out at her and put her ipod on shuffle.
Emma was still shuddering. "And I thought winter was cold in L.A. How do you guys stand it here?"
"Eh, you get used to it. Plus winter clothes are really cute." Lizzy replied.
Jane rolled her eyes at her sister and turned to talk to Emma. "Yeah, Virginia must be a big shock for you. How do you like it so far?"
"Well, it's definitely different than L.A., a lot smaller. But it's really pretty here, and everyone's been really nice." She smiled at her two new friends. Thank God she had run into Lizzy in the bathroom. She didn't know what she would've done without her.
Lizzy pulled up to a stoplight and turned to look at Jane. "I'm assuming you aren't coming with us?" she asked.
Jane sighed. "I wish I could, but I have so much homework."
Lizzy shrugged her shoulders and turned left into their neighborhood. "That's what you get for taking 5 A.P.s".
Jane sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. She had certainly taken on a load this year. She didn't want to admit it, but she may have taken more than she could handle. She bent down and began to gather up her books as Lizzy pulled into their driveway. "Well, have fun," she said as she got out of the car.
"Bye!" Emma called after her. Jane waved and was about to open the door when it flew open.
"Shit!" Lizzy cried. She pulled out of the driveway as fast as she could, but it was too late. Her mother had already seen her and was running down the driveway after her. Lizzy groaned and put the car into park.
Mrs. Bennett had been an attractive woman, about twenty years ago. Unfortunately, she still felt the need to dress like she was 18 and was constantly trying to "be hip". Lizzy sighed. At least it was winter and she couldn't wear anything too horrible. She changed her mind as she saw the enormous pair of hairy, green ugg boots she had on her feet. Mrs. Bennett bustled over to the car knocked on the window. Lizzy rolled down the window, dreading the lecture she knew was coming.
"Lizzy! Please tell me you aren't going to hang out with Carla again. I mean, she's a nice girl, but I really don't think she's the best influence on you. She didn't even go to college! And," Mrs. Bennett paused as she caught sight of Emma. "Oh hello."
Emma smiled and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Emma Woodhouse. I just moved here from Beverly Hills. Lizzy was just going to show me around if that's ok."
Mrs. Bennett beamed down at her and shook her hand vigorously. "Of course! Did you say Beverly Hills? Yes, there are only the classiest people there," she replied. Lizzy cringed. Of course her mom loved Emma. She was pretty, social, and dressed like a prep. She just hoped that she wouldn't scare her away.
Lizzy tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, directing her mother's attention to herself. Mrs. Bennett frowned at Lizzy. "Lizzy! Why didn't you tell me you had a friend with you?" she scolded. Lizzy opened her mouth to respond, but Mrs. Bennett had already turned back to Emma. "It's so nice to see Lizzy hanging out with people her own age. I mean she has friends at school, but she rarely brings anyone over, although I don't know why. She spends half her time at that coffee shop and the other half doing God knows what."
Lizzy rolled her eyes. She knew her mom could go on forever so she cut in. "Sorry Mom but, we have to get going so…"
Mrs. Bennett nodded and smiled at Emma again. "Oh yes, don't let me keep you girls. Have fun!" Lizzy waved and sped off down the street.
"I am so sorry about her. She's just, ugh!" biting her lip she turned to see Emma's reaction. There was a reason she never invited friends over, and her mom had been her usual embarrassing self.
Emma was grinning, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "No, she seems really sweet," she replied. Lizzy relaxed a little bit and nodded. They drove in silence for a few minutes listening to the music playing. "Loved the boots," Emma finally said, trying desperately to keep a straight face. Lizzy groaned and Emma burst out laughing.
A few minutes later they pulled up to the coffee shop. It was an older building, not as high tech as lets say Starbucks, but it had a homey feel and some really good coffee. Lizzy spent half of her weekdays sitting in the huge puffy chairs and chatting with her friend.
Carla had been a senior when Lizzy was a freshman and they had really hit if off while doing the winter play together. After that they were friends for life. Carla graduated that year and decided not to go to college. Her Aunt Jo owned the local coffee shop and had given Carla the job of assistant manager, which suited Carla's free spirited living just fine. Carla was never a very ambitious person but she respected Lizzy's work ethic and would often times help her study for upcoming tests. Lizzy was always a little sad when she thought about what Carla had done with her life. She was so smart, but had never wanted to put forth the effort to become more than what she was. Oh well, if Carla was happy than Lizzy wasn't going to judge.
The bell on the door tinkled as they entered the shop. The glorious smell of fresh coffee washed over Lizzy as she looked around for Carla. Carla was busy with a customer, but she smiled and waved when she saw Lizzy.
"Aww, this place is so cute!" Emma exclaimed.
"Yeah, I come here all the time after school to study and stuff," Lizzy replied. She spotted an empty table and lead Emma over to it. They were joined half a minute later by Carla.
"Hey Lizzy," she said smiling. "The usual?"
Lizzy grinned and nodded. "What else would I get?" Carla scribbled on her notepad and turned to look at Emma. "Oh! This is my new friend Emma. She just moved here." Lizzy added.
Carla smiled. "Nice to meet you, Emma. Welcome to Cup of Jo, what can I get for you?" she asked. Emma looked up at the menu hanging on the wall.
"Ummm, I'm not much of a coffee drinker, so I guess I'll try one of your strawberry smoothies," she replied after a moment. Carla nodded and scribbled it down onto her notepad.
"Okay great, I'll be right back with your orders," she said as she walked away. Emma watched her thoughtfully for a second. She wasn't exactly a beauty, but she was cute. She was extremely tall and thin; and had jet black hair and light brown eyes. She was wearing a black t shirt and jeans that were covered in paint and holes.
"Is she an artist?" Emma asked.
Lizzy laughed and shrugged. "She was last week. She kind of gets these random urges to try stuff. Like last month she decided she was going to start a band. She gave that up pretty quick when she discovered that she couldn't play and instrument."
Emma laughed. "Wow, I wish I could do that."
Lizzy shrugged. "Well, she doesn't really care about money and that kind of stuff, so I guess she has the freedom to do whatever she wants."
A few minutes later Carla returned with their orders. She handed them their drinks and sank down into an empty chair. "I think Steve can handle things for a moment. What's up?"
Lizzy sipped her coffee for a second. "Eh, not much. Play tryouts are tomorrow, so I'm a little nervous."
Carla rolled her eyes. "Please! Lizzy, you have gotten big parts in every play you've ever tried out for. You have nothing to worry about."
Lizzy shrugged. "Well, you never know. There are a lot of really good people trying out this year."
"What's the play going to be?" Emma asked in a desperate attempt to get into the conversation. She felt really out of place here. She knew nothing about theater and Lizzy and Carla were obviously drama buffs.
"Guys and Dolls," Lizzy replied smiling over at Emma. Emma nodded and pretended to know what that was.
"So Emma, where are you from?" Carla asked, taking a sip out of Lizzy's cup.
"Beverly Hills," Emma replied.
"Wow. Are people there really as stuck up as they seem on tv?" Carla asked.
Emma looked confused for a second. "No, I thought everyone was really nice." Carla raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "Well, I mean, yes, some people were stuck up, but there are stuck up people everywhere. I'd say there was the same amount there as anywhere else."
"Cool," she said. Emma looked down at her drink and stirred her straw around. She could feel Carla's eyes on her and suddenly wished she wasn't wearing her pink polo.
"Where's the restroom?" she asked. Lizzy pointed over at the door and Emma walked there as quickly as possible. She had always hated people like Carla. She felt like they were constantly judging her and she wanted to get away for a moment to collect herself.
As soon as Emma walked through the door Carla turned to look at Lizzy. "Are you serious?" she asked. Lizzy sighed. She had hoped this wouldn't happen. Carla was a fun girl, but she could be so damn judgmental.
"Aww come on, she's not that bad. I mean yeah sure, she's not exactly like who I normally hang out with, but she's really sweet," she said hopefully.
Carla laughed. "Yeah, she seems like a real sweetheart. I dunno, I mean you know I don't judge, she just seems like such a….prep."
Lizzy sighed. "I know. I just….like her. I don't know why, but there's just something about her that I just….like," she finished lamely.
Carla threw up her hands. "Hey, if you like her, I like her."
Lizzy smiled and squeezed her arm. "Thanks Carla," she said. Carla blushed, stood up, and began picking up the dirty cups on the table.
Emma returned a few minutes later. "Hey, sorry I took so long," she said as she watched Carla wipe down the table.
"Oh no problem," Carla replied, smiling at her. "I just have to get back to work. You guys can hang out or whatever, but I have stuff to do."
Lizzy nodded and stood up. "Actually, we should probably get going. Mr. Burns gave us a ton of homework, as usual."
Emma reached down for her purse and waved goodbye to Carla. "It was really nice to meet you, Carla."
Carla grinned, "You too. Come by any time." Emma nodded and Lizzy smiled to herself. Carla might judge quickly, but she was also quick to change her opinion.
As soon as they got back to the car, Emma grabbed Lizzy's ipod and began looking through the songs. "Hmmm, what shall we listen to?" Lizzy cringed. She hated when people messed with her ipod. "Carla seems really nice," Emma continued. Lizzy nodded and turned to look at the girl sitting next to her.
Emma was definitely not like the girls she usually hung out with. Her hair had obviously been curled that morning and her eyes were covered in makeup. Well, not exactly covered. They weren't as bad as most of the girls' at schools were at any rate. She was wearing a polo and pearls and her nails were freshly manicured. Lizzy wondered why she ever even talked to this girl. Emma looked exactly like the type of girl she was supposed to hate. No wonder Carla was confused.
Lizzy watched as Emma finally decided on a song. The Veronicas' "Forever" blasted out of the stereo. Lizzy laughed. Oh well, at least they liked the same music.