And I'm back!
I hope you all liked my one-shot, Over Five Years.
Sorry it took so long to update this, but I've been busy.
This was requested by a Guest, and it's a wonderful idea. So thank you!
Enjoy!
-Estelle
Cassidy's P.O.V. (Reading Dear Pen Pal, pg 324-330_ )
"And the book we are going to read is...!" Mr. Wong pauses dramatically.
"Dad!" Megan whines, at the same time Mrs. Wong says, "Jerry, quick!"
We laugh, but soon fall silent as Megan's dad cleared his throat.
"Dear Pen Pal, book THREE!"
There is some silence as we all process this.
"Eighth grade." Jess finally says, "My first year at Colonial."
"And when I came to live with you all." Gigi adds.
"And my first actual year in book club." Becca says.
"And." My stomach gives an unpleasant lurch, "And when you were expecting Chloe, Mom."
I really don't want to go back to my thoughts on that.
"It won't be that bad." Tristan says consolingly.
I scowl at him. He doesn't flinch. That is one of the many things I like about Tristan. He never backs down just because I give him one fierce look.
My mom and Stanley exchange a glance at this prospect.
The Wongs look nervous as well.
Emma lets out a breath, "Mom? Pages?"
"Yes, yes..." Mrs. Hawthorne fumbles with her book. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
She runs her fingernail along the thickness of the pages, closing her eyes. Then, she randomly pulls it open to what is towards the end of the book. Not the very end, but not the middle, either.
"Hmmm. Who has Dear Pen Pal?" Emma's mom asks.
"Me." Darcy replies, passing it to my mom, "Now Mrs. Sloane-Kinkaid."
"Okay, then, Clementine." Mrs. Hawthorne shows her the page number, "Page 328."
My mom opens the purple book that has Megan on the cover.
"Oh, this page is smack dab in the middle of this chapter. Not only that, but its like one of those pages that bridges together two plots in one chapter." My mom frowns in concentration.
The other moms peer over her shoulder. Identical mischievous smiles form on their faces.
"Uh-oh." I mutter to Becca, who nods fervently.
"We haven't crossed much out from this chapter." Mrs. Delaney informs us. She shields the book from the rest of us, "Phoebe? Here to.." she flips through a few pages, "Here?"
"Sounds good." Mrs. Hawthorne agrees, "Are you ready for a bit of humor, girls?"
"No." I snap.
"Cassidy!" my mother warns.
I heave a dramatic sigh, "Sorry, Mrs. H."
Mrs. Hawthorne laughs, "No harm done, Cassidy. Who would like to read?"
"Oooh, can I?" Mrs. Wong asks.
"Here you go, Lily." Jess's mom passes her the book.
"What are the pages again?" Mrs. Chadwick asks, her pen and clipboard in place.
Mrs. Wong checks the book, "Um, from the second paragraph in page 324 to the last paragraph in page 330."
"Right." Mrs. Chadwick notes it down, "And whose point of view?"
Not mine, not mine, not mine. I silently plead.
"Emma!" Mrs. Wong announces.
Emma looks horrified.
"Chill, it's not that bad." Megan soothes, "It'll be OK."
Emma shrugs, still looking unconvinced.
"It happens to the best of us." Jess assures her, "Mine wasn't too awful, was it? And what about Megan's? It just talked about Cassidy and Fashionista Jane."
"It depends on what the pages hold." Mr. Hawthorne says, making another note in his pocket book, "This reading session is going to be the reason for my next novel. I'm getting a lot of good phrases from here."
"Start, start, start, start!" the twins chant.
"Boys!" Mrs. Delaney scolds.
"Ok, so..." Courtney looks around, "This is the last chapter before break, right?"
"Of course." Mrs. Chadwick barks, "You can't expect us to keep reading, you know."
"Um, right. Sorry." My sister says.
"Alright, Mrs. Wong." Simon nods, "Shall we get started?"
"Don't forget the quote!" Becca's mother reminds.
I snort as Stewart and Becca go red.
Mrs. Wong opens to the page with the quote and opens her mouth to begin reading.
'Emma:
'This summer I'm going to write and write and write and begin to be a great author.'
-Daddy Long Legs
"That sums up Emma, all right." Jess grins at her best friend.
Emma laughs, "I hope so. Except I like to write all the time, not just in summer."
"Girls, we need to start the actual reading!" Mrs. Chadwick says sternly.
Of course, Mrs. Wong dutifully turns to page 324. Her eyes search for the starting passage. She finds it and clears her throat to begin reading again.
'I gaze down at the stone bench, tracing my finger over its surface. The cool smoothness of the marble is pocked by decades, maybe centuries of raindrops.
"You have really poetic thoughts, Em." Darcy says.
Emma shrugs.
The wind whispers again in the willow branches.
"Perfect!" Mr. Hawthorne exclaims, making a note in his little notepad.
'Um, what?" Becca peers over the top of the notebook.
Mr. Hawthorne shrugs, still looking extremely excited.
There's absolutely nobody around.
"What were you doing at the Cemetery alone, Emma?" I ask her.
She stares at the book for a couple of minutes, then at the position of the pages in the book, "Eight grade?"
Megan nods.
"Um...I don't think I was alone...?" she says it more like a question.
This is it, I think, my heart beating faster as I realize that Stewart planned this.
Stewart groans, looking one hundred percent doomed.
"Ooooh, what did you plan, Chadwick?" Theo asks teasingly.
"I completely goofed up here." Stewart says before anyone else can join in.
"Don't you always?" Tristan asks brightly, and I suppress my laughter.
"Hey!" Emma says indignantly, "He does not always goof up!"
"Yeah, it's just once in a while!" Stewart adds defensively. Simon snorts, then hurriedly turns it into a cough.
"Hey, you said it, man, not us." Darcy grins.
That's why he sounded nervous when he brought me here. I take my glasses of and tuck them in my pocket so I'm ready.
"OOOHHHH!" the twins chorus loudly.
"Dylan and Ryan Delaney!" Mrs. Delaney snaps.
"Sorry, mom."
Stewart leans towards me slightly. He smells good, like toothpaste and aftershave, or maybe it's his deodorant because I'm not sure he shaves much yet. I lean towards him, too, and then he puts his arms around me and I'm nervous and embarrassed but thrilled that it's finally happening, that he's finally going to kiss me.
"Did he?" Becca asks in surprise, "I didn't know you had it in you when you were in, what, tenth grade?"
"He said he goofed up." I remind Becca with a grin.
"Oh, yeah." Becca doesn't sound too surprised anymore.
I close my eyes and lift my face towards his, and the next thing I know, I feel his lips
"Alright, Chadwick!" Theo crows, "Score!"
"Not bad, mate." Tristan sounds slightly impressed, but mostly incredulous.
I tilt my head up to gauge his expression. He grins at me lightly, and resumes the twirling of my hair on his fingers.
I have to stop myself from sighing in contentment because my mom and sister and Gigi are watching me and it would be completely humiliating and I'd never live it down. Ever.
"Impressive." Simon agrees, "See? You didn't completely mess up."
"Wait and watch." Emma says laughingly.
- on my forehead.
The bravado in the air quickly fades away. I swear, even I'm gaping at the book.
Sure, Tristan was a bit nervous when he kissed me at Chawton, but he did it. And well, too.
He did not back out and peck my forehead.
There is obviously some sort of printing mistake.
My forehead?
"There's no printing mistake." Megan says faintly.
All eyes turn towards Stewart. He turns a bright, bright red.
"Cut me some slack! I was nervous!" Stewart snapped.
"We were all nervous before we kissed the girl, dude, but we did not back out and kiss her forehead instead." Theo says.
"That is somewhat rude." Simon adds earnestly, "You clearly got her hopes up. She's just kind enough to not have slugged you."
We all laugh at that.
"I was going to do it!' Stewart whines.
"But you didn't." Tristan says, sounding as though Christmas's come early or something.
"And that is the point." Darcy finishes with a flourish.
Becca pats Emma's back consolingly, "He's mostly hopeless, Em.'
Emma swats her away, but she's smiling, "Shut up, Becca. He's not completely hopeless." she thinks it over, "Most of the time."
"Hey!" Stewart cries.
Emma leans her head on his shoulder, "Just kidding."
"Good." he glares at Tristan and Darcy, "You were nervous, too. Admit it."
"Admitted." they chorus cheerfully.
"I'm going to miss you this summer, Emma." he whispers.
"Me too." I whisper back, trying not to sound disappointed. A forehead kiss is almost a real kiss; it almost counts.
"Hardly, Em." Jess says.
"Shut up!" Emma replies.
"But my dear girlfriend is right." Darcy says, trying his best to sound Ruper Loomis-ish.
I rest my cheek on his shoulder.
We stay that way for a bit and then he clears his throat again. "I guess you'd better get going, huh?"
The guys groan again.
"What now?" Stewart asks despondently.
"You're supposed to wait for my sister to say 'Stewart, I'd better go now.'." Darcy says, shaking his head.
"Yeah."
Stewart walks me back to where we left our bicycles. "I hope you have fun at your party," he tells me. "And I guess I'll see you Tuesday afternoon."
"Uh-huh."
Tuesday is our last editorial meeting of the year- the last one for me forever at the Walden Woodsman. Next year we'll both be working on the Alcott High paper.
"Next to next year." Megan corrects.
I give her a look.
She shrugs.
Stewart gives me another quick hug, then pedals off toward the gate to Sleepy Hollow. I follow him out onto Bedford Street and back down toward Monument Square. He gives me one final wave as he turns down Lowell Road, and I wave back and cut across the square toward downtown, and Cassidy's house.
"Yay, our house!" Courtney cheers
As I ride along, I go over the last few minutes under the willow tree in my mind, wondering if I should have done something differently.
"Nah, you were okay." Becca assures her.
Should I always wait for Stewart to make the first move, or should I just grab him and kiss him? Are there rules written down somewhere about this stuff? Probably.
"They're not." Jess, Megan, Becca and I chorused.
"Gee, thanks for the enlightenment." Emma rolls her eyes, "But we managed, didn't we, Stewart?"
"Yup, we did." he squeezes her hand.
Maybe I should ask my mom. Or maybe not.
"Why?" Mrs. Hawthorne asks, sounding a bit hurt.
"I bet it'll say." Emma gestures to the book.
Last time I asked her about private girl things, I wound up with a whole stack of books on my bed with embarrassing titles like You're a Young Woman Now and Understanding Your Changing Body.
Emma goes beet red.
"Didn't they help?" her mom asks, concerned.
"I never actually read them." Emma admits.
Darcy got a hold of them and had a field day until Dad told him to cut it out.
"Why, Darcy Hawthorne!" Mrs. Hawthorne exclaims.
"Sorry." Darcy shrugs.
Bailey Jacobs and I have discussed this in our letters, too, but she's as clueless as I am. Maybe even more so, since she's never had a boyfriend and I suppose that technically, Stewart is my boyfriend,
"Yup." Stewart says, "You're stuck with me."
"And happy about it." Emma tells him.
kiss or no kiss. She says that with just twenty-seven kids at her school and only a handful of boys her age, there's not a whole lot to choose from. She's hoping that next year, when she goes to high school in Laramie, things will change.
"It did." Emma grins. I heard that Bailey's going out with Owen Parker now.
I bet Zoey Winchester's fit to be tied.
"Why can't we call over the Wyoming girls?" Courtney asks, "To read with us, I mean."
"It's one thing to call a family from England and a boy from Minnesota, and then it's one thing to fly over an entire book club from Wyoming." Mrs. Hawthorne says.
"England is farther away from Concord than Wyoming." I point out.
"Yes, but the Berkeleys were planning to make the trip anyway, I just got them to increase the number of weeks they were staying for. July and August, instead of just July. So it was only a matter of flying out Theo, which was no problem."
"Oh, well." Megan shrugs, "I'm totally writing all about this in my next letter."
"Me too." Jess and Becca and Emma and I chorus.
For now, I guess I'll just have to continue to be patient. It's not like Stewart doesn't want to kiss me, after all. I can tell that he does- just as much as I want to kiss him. It's just that, silly as it seems, neither of us is quite brave enough yet to make the first move.
A forehead kiss may not be the real thing, but it's a step of progress at least.
"True." Megan says, "Even though most guys tend to skip the step."
"I did." Simon says, "Skip it, I mean."
"Me, too." says Theo.
"Me as well." Tristan adds.
"And me." Grant tells us.
"Same here." Darcy says.
They all look at Stewart.
"Practice makes perfect." Stewart insists stubbornly,
Consoled by this thought, I pedal as fast as I can down Main Street. As I turn down Walden, I almost run into Savannah Sinclair, who's crossing the street to the post office with her arms full of packages and shopping bags.
"What about Savannah and her parents?" Jess asks.
"What about them?" her mother replies.
"I mean, they're only 3 people, right here in Concord. Why not call them over to read with us?"
"Now, that's a doable idea." my mother says, "Maybe for now we should keep it just us, but it would be fun to call them eventually."
"Emma!" she yells, as I swerve past her.
Reluctantly, I brake and pull over to the sidewalk, figuring she's going to bawl me out or something.
"Hey." she says.
"Hey."
"I heard that Clementine had her baby."
I nod, wondering what she wants. She doesn't seem to be angry or anything.
"What did she want?" Darcy asks.
"You'll see." Emma answers.
"Uh, do you have time to talk?"
"I guess." I reply cautiously.
"It's about Jess."
I raise an eyebrow.
"The thing is, I had no idea she liked your brother. Before I asked him to the dance, I mean."
"Oh, this is all about me?" Darcy groans.
"Basically." Jess says.
"Yeah, right." I mutter
"It's the truth." she replies, "How was I supposed to know?"
"So why didn't you uninvite him when she asked you to?"
Savannah lifts a shoulder. Her eyes slide to the ground, "I don't know. I was embarrassed, I guess. I'd already, uh, uninvited the guy I was originally supposed to go with."
"The blind date Peyton set up for you?"
She nods.
I shake my head, "Gosh, that is so lame."
"Right?" Megan agrees.
"Thirteen years old is such a young age to be discussing things like this!" Mrs. Chadwick exclaims.
"Agreed." Mrs. Wong nods, "Blind dates, uninvitations, date stealing? Girls, you're in eight grade, not eleventh."
"Technically, now, we've just finished twelfth." I say.
Mrs. Wong and Mrs. Chadwick blush.
"That's lame." I tell her scornfully.
Savannah sighs, "Look, I know! What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry I messed things up for her. It's just- she won't talk to me and- oh, I don't know, forget it. She wouldn't believe me anyway." She takes one of her shopping bags and thrusts it at me, "Here. I got this for Pip. I hope he's okay."
"That was nice of her though." Becca says.
Jess nods in agreement, "Yup. She's come a long way since her days of being Julia, right?"
"Yeah, just like Becca's come a long way since being Queen Bee." I say.
"And Megan's come a long way since being in the Fab Four." Emma adds
"You girls have all come a long way." Mrs. Delaney says proudly.
She turns and strides away, her long chestnut hair bouncing against her back. I watch her go, then hop back on my bike and pedal thoughtfully the last few blocks to Cassidy's house. Leaning my bike against the front porch, I sprint up the steps and ring the doorbell. Courtney answers it and smiles when she sees me.
"Hi, Emma." she says, "Come on in. Cassidy will be home for baseball practice any second. Your friends are all up in her room."
I hear laughter down the hall in the kitchen. Our moms are all here, and the house smells good. We decided to have a potluck for our surprise welcome home party, and Mrs. Delaney made lasagna.
My stomach growls. Mrs. Delaney's lasagna rocks.
Eva Bergson must be here already, too, because Pip comes scampering out of the kitchen.
"Where is Pip, by the way?" Mr. Wong looks around, as if the dog would jump through the doorway any moment.
"He's at the farm with Josh Bates." Mr. Delany replies
"Hey, boy!" I cry, squatting down and holding out my arms. Pip flings himself at me, his little body wriggling with excitement. He's always excited to see me, because usually it means he gets to go for a walk.
"Sorry, Pip, not right now," I tell him, burying my face in his fur, "Maybe after the party, okay?"
He laps at my face in response, and I laugh. At least Pip isn't shy about kissing me.
"You're comparing me to a puppy?" Stewart exclaims in mock horror.
"Um, no?" Emma says.
Stewart sighs and resumes rubbing her back. It's probably instinctive, because I don't think he knows that he's doing it.
Emma and Stewart have been dating the longest out of all of us. They're super close. They know what to do or say to make each other feel better instinctively. They're just that used to it.
He follows me upstairs to Cassidy's room. Jess and Megan and Becca are sprawled around Cassidy's room.
"You'll never guess who I ran into- almost literally- downtown." I say, picking up Pip and plopping him onto the bed.
My friends look over at me and shrug.
"Savannah," I tell them. I hold out the shopping bag, "She gave me this to give to you." I tell Jess, "It's for Pip."
"Really?" Jess looks puzzled, but she opens the bag, "Hey, this is really cute."
It's a pale blue collar and matching leash, with a black pawprint design running up and down the webbed material.
"So what went wring between you two, anyway?" asks Becca.
"Well, now you know." Jess tells her.
Jess gives me a wary glance, "Uh, I don't know." she replies, "She just couldn't help being- well, Savannah. You know."
"Maybe this is a peace offering." says Megan, "She seemed pretty nice that weekend at your house."
"She's still nice now." Jess says.
Jess lifts a shoulder, "Maybe. It's kind of too late for that, though. School finishes tomorrow."
The other thing about private schools? They get out a whole lot earlier than public schools. We still have two full weeks of school left at Walden.
"Yeah, that totally sucks." I agree.
"It's so unfair. You close before us and open after us and have twice the amount of holidays during the school year." Emma scowls.
Jess lifts a shoulder, "Not my fault."
Before we can discuss this any further we hear the front door slam, followed by feet pounding up the stairs. Cassidy bursts into the room, her face a thundercloud.
"Hold on a sec." I frown at the book.
Why was my face a thundercloud?
"We were gathered there to bring Chloe home from the hospital." Megan is clearly thinking the same thing as me. So is everyone else.
And then I remember.
Uh oh.
"What's wrong?" Stewart asks me. I guess my expression looks pretty panicked.
"Nothing." I snap.
"I hate Zach Norton!" she cries, flinging her baseball mitt to the floor.
There is a brief silence, and then all four of my friends burst out laughing.
"It's not funny!" I say heatedly.
"Yes, it is." Jess hiccups.
Emma reaches out, still laughing, to pat my shoulder, but I twist away and squeeze myself on the sofa next to Tristan, where Emma can't reach me.
The sofa is kind of weird. It's too big for one person, but too small for two people. So we're kind of squished. But neither of us mind.
"I don't get it." Courtney says, "What's so funny?"
"It's not funny." I insist.
"What are you talking about?" I tell her, "Since when?"
"Since two minutes ago," snarls Cassidy, "He's a world-class creep!"
She bends down to untie her sneakers, then rips them off and hurls them at her closet door.
We all look at her, stunned.
"What on earth happened?" I ask her.
I sigh, "I had to actually tell you, didn't I?"
Cassidy starts to pace, "We were riding our bikes home from practice, right?" she says, "We always ride home together.
"Why?" Tristan asks curiously.
"Because he's my friend." I put emphasis on the word 'friend'.
But today, instead of him going on down Stow to his house, he turns up Hubbard with me.
Tristan scowls again, "Isn't he the one you dated in tenth grade? Your tenth grade, I mean?"
I don't reply. He knows. It's basically a rhetorical question.
I figure he wants to race, so I really kick it into high gear. He chases after me and follows me into our driveway. So then I get off my bike and we're talking like normal, and then all of a sudden he's right in m face. It was like he was stealing second or something, he just dove at me! I thought maybe I had a wasp in my hair but then he goes and grabs me and kisses me!"
The silence descends on the room again.
My friends are trying really hard not to laugh at Tristan's expression.
Eventually, though, they can't help it. And everyone else quickly joins in.
"He kissed you? That's why you were so angry?" Courtney questions in shock.
"Um, yeah. I swear, Courtney, he's a really, really, really bad kisser." I ramble.
"Yeah?" Tristan raises an eyebrow.
My cheeks heat up, "Yes."
We all stare at her as she wipes her sleeve vigorously across her lips.
"It was just so gross!" she finishes angrily.
"It was!" I insist, "It's just really.." I decide against the word slobbery, instead finishing lamely, "..uh, gross."
"Did that ever change?" Theo asks 'innocently'.
I think this over, "Nope."
"He's still a really bad kisser?"
"I'm not sure about now, but as of tenth grade...yes."
Nobody says anything. Nobody knows what to say. Zach Norton kissed Cassidy?
"Apparently." Tristan scowls at the book.
"Get over it, man." Darcy swats him.
Tristan dodges and turns his glare on Darcy instead.
And then I start to laugh. I can't help it- the irony is just so completely perfect. Of all the Mother-Daughter Book Club members to get their first kiss, Cassidy Sloane is the absolute last one I would have expected.
"Join the club." I tell her.
Jess and Megan and Becca start to laugh, too, but Megan and Becca's laughter sounds a little strained. Probably because they both like Zach and would probably be on cloud nine right now if he'd tried to kiss them.
"That's what you think." I say.
"Was it really that bad?" Becca asks wondrously
"Yes."
"Not that kiss. His kisses in general."
"Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit." I admit, "They're not horrible. They're not good, either. So I'm settling for saying...yeah, they are bad."
Tristan makes a noise at the back of his throat.
"I didn't know Zach liked you!" says Jess.
"Of course he does," Cassidy scoffs, "We're teammates."
"Yeah, but you know what I mean."
Cassidy turns as red as her hair,
Tristan smirks.
He never ever, ever turns red. Or even, like, light pink.
"Why did he have to go and ruin a perfectly good friendship?" she yells, "He knows how much I hate all that gooshy stuff! How am I supposed to play baseball with him anymore?I'm never going to be able to face him again."
"But you did." Simon says, "And you kissed him again, too."
"Yup." I reply, "I did."
Tristan does not look supremely pleased.
I lean toward him and whisper quietly, "If it helps, Tristan, you're a way better kisser than he is."
Much to my surprise, he blushes. Not red, but a kind of dark pink.
I pull away, smiling.
Then, as Grant makes a funny remark that gets everyone laughing, Tristan leans towards me.
"That's nice to hear." he says softly, "I was thinking about practicing on you later."
Cue the bright red blush that takes over my entire face.
Fortunately, nobody notices except Courtney, who raises an eyebrow.
I scowl in her direction, an she looks away, grinning.
Tristan smirks again.
"So what did you tell him?" I ask.
Cassidy snorts, "I didn't tell him anything- I just threw my baseball mitt at him."
Everyone laughs.
"That left a black eye for sure." I recall the memory.
"And that's it." Mrs. Wong finishes.
"It was kind of sudden, don't you think?" Jess says.
"But you all understood what was going on, right?" Becca's dad asks.
"Duh." Theo grins, "Best chapter yet. Right, Stewart? Tristan?"
Stewart and Tristan scowl.
"Alright, alright." Mrs. Hawthorne intervenes before they can retort, "Time for a break."
"Good idea." Mrs. Chadwick says readily.
I grin at Emma and Jess. They smother their giggles.
The group disbands to various parts of the Wongs' enormous house.
My friends and I exchange a quick glance.
We lived through all of this stuff, so there's not much we need to talk about. I can tell Emma wants to talk to Stewart, though, and Megan probably wants to explain about her crush on Zach to Simon.
I'm pretty sure Becca needs to enlighten Theo on how she used to act in middle school, too.
I definitely need to talk to Tristan.
And Jess and Darcy can obviously use each other's company.
So we decide to meet in the kitchen with everyone else in half an hour, tops.
"It might be your point of view next, Cass." Megan tells me.
"Or Becca's." I say.
"If they choose one of the last two books." Megan reminds.
"It could be one of you guys again."
"Megan!" Simon calls. He's already halfway down the hall.
"Coming!" she calls back, dashing after him.
Tristan and I wonder into the Guest Service Area downstairs. There's nobody downstairs, because everyone's either in the kitchen or in one of the room the floor above that.
Plus, it's kind of private, since it's like the Guest Quarters or something.
I make sure the intercom is switched off, then turn to look at Tristan.
He checks his watch. I wonder what everyone else is talking about.
We all have only half an hour.
He looks back at me and I can sense that he's going to start talking.