I was at the breakfast table, preparing for my first day of school. I wasn't sure what these kids wore to school, so I decided on something simple: a beige dress with a black jacket and leggings.
"Thank God, are you ready to go?" Seth asked as I entered the kitchen. I felt like I had missed something.
"First day, are you excited?" Sandy asked. His hair was wet. I think he had just finished. I shrugged as I grabbed a bagel. "Enough said."
"How do you convey everything with just a look?" Seth asked as I sat down at the table.
"How are you doing? Are you nervous?" Kirsten questioned as stopped drinking my orange juice.
"Why would I be nervous?" I asked her somewhat nervously.
"Because we're going to school where most of the guys are like Luke and most of the girls are like Holly with no redeeming social qualities." Seth answered. "So, that was a rhetorical question, wasn't it? But look on the bright side, you have a hot girlfriend and her sister might also like you, and their dad stole from half the county…actually that's probably another reason to be nervous. I think I am just going to stop talking for a while"
"Good call." I stated.
"You know maybe this year will different, you know better?" Kirsten suggested.
"That's what you say every year and every year some water polo player pees in my shoe." Seth stated. Sandy looked shocked. "I'm kidding. They pee in both of them. Sammie has Mr. Schmidt for Pre-Calc."
Sandy and Kirsten both grimaced.
"What's wrong with Mr. Schmidt?" I asked nervously.
"Well at least you two have each other." Sandy replied, not answering the question.
"That is very wise, Dad." Seth replied. I could tell we were doomed.
Seth was right about the water polo players. Apparently they were the football team of this school.
"This is nightmare." I commented. I needed to find Kaitlin, even though I wasn't sure how a sophomore hanging out with freshmen was seen. I didn't see her, but I did see Marissa and Summer.
"Hello, Summer. What does your schedule look like today?" Seth asked the brunette.
"Full." Summer answered.
"Hi." I greeted Marissa. "Do you know where Kaitlin is?"
"She was getting some coffee." Marissa declared.
"I got you some." Kaitlin said as she walked over with three cups of coffee. "I hope you don't mind it black."
"Does anyone feel like skipping?" I asked.
"We don't want Dr. Kim calling our mom." Marissa stated.
"What about after school?" I inquired.
"I'm chairing Kickoff Carnival Committee and Kaitlin is helping me." Marissa declared.
"She's making me do it." Kaitlin replied unenthusiastically. "I've been looking for an excuse to get out of it."
"I'm an excuse." I pointed out.
"Sure, we'll meet you out front." Marissa responded. I was surprised that she didn't mind being the third wheel to us.
"Coop, can we go please?" Summer asked.
"Well I need to get to class." Kaitlin replied before she gave me a peck and walked off. "I'll see you when the bell rings."
I did notice that Holly was continuing to not avoid Marissa. That girl is persistent, I will give her that. I decided to talk to her.
"Are you okay?" I asked Marissa.
"I just have to get used to it." She answered. "I'm looking forward to after school."
I heard the bell ring and Summer and Marissa ran off.
"See you, Summer." Seth called to her, which got no response. Her was pretty persistent as well. "Slowly I thaw her icy heart."
I felt pretty nervous in the hallways. People were talking about me like I was trash. I really wasn't that interested in getting that many people to like me. I didn't need to be popular. I noticed Seth was no longer stalking Summer. Instead he was with Anna from cotillion.
"You know I don't know if we ever got a chance to properly meet." Anna said to me. "You're basically Seth's sister, aren't you?
"That's definitely one way to put it." I replied. People probably would believe that because I looked enough like Kirsten to pass as her daughter.
"So what do you think of Seth's continued pursuit of Summer?" Anna asked me.
"I guess it's better than him staying inside all day." I commented.
"I'm nothing but available." Seth replied.
"Well's that your problem." Anna declared. "Straight girls like to be chased by guys that aren't into them."
I still wasn't completely sure Summer was straight.
"That sounds like a game to me." Seth told her. "I don't really like to play games."
"Except for the ones that involve ninjas." I quipped.
"I also like some Saturday night Jenga, and Yu-Gi-Oh. I love Yu-Gi-Oh." Seth replied cheekily.
"Maybe you don't know how to play." Anna surmised.
"Well are you willing to teach me?" Seth asked her.
"I don't understand the mind of chicks like Summer." Anna replied.
"I'll teach you how to play Jenga." Seth offered. I had a feeling that the two of them might end up dating.
"You really like her?" Anna sighed. He nodded. "Fine, but I make no promises."
"Trust me. I can't do any worse than I'm doing." He told her. That probably wasn't true. Summer could be physically abusing him every time that she saw him. Though strangely, some people see that as a sign of affection and also strangely, it turns out to be true.
Later in the day, I went to one of my classes and noticed that Holly was in it. Well that was super. Well just because we were in the same class didn't mean that we needed to acknowledge each other's presences. Also, why did these classrooms look libraries? I decided to see if I had any texts from Kaitlin. I really wished that I had one class with her. Holly wasn't saying anything, but that didn't mean that everyone else wasn't. They were using words I didn't like.
"Okay, enough of calling her that." Holly declared as she stood up. "That word is offensive and I won't stand for it."
"Sit down, slut." Someone said to her. I guess people didn't look too kindly on her either.
After school, I waited outside for Marissa and Kaitlin with a book that I didn't know that I was supposed to have read.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Seth asked me.
"You didn't tell me about summer reading." I remarked icily.
"So listen, Anna here has convinced me to join The Plank. It's a literary magazine." Seth explained.
"I needed an extracurricular activity." Anna stated. "And apparently you don't have to wear a sports bra to be on the Lit mag."
I think I liked this girl.
"She's appealing on many levels." Seth replied. You know she seemed like him with boobs. "Plus I few like I have a few limericks that are ready to be shared with the world."
"Have fun." I declared as I saw Kaitlin and Marissa.
"School might not suck this year." Seth told me.
"So I need to cancel." Marissa replied. "I have to plan this carnival thing after all. I'm so sorry."
"And I can only get out of it if I do something else." Kaitlin added.
"Can we reschedule?" Marissa asked.
"Just tell me when." I responded.
"You could come to the carnival?" She offered.
"So Sammie, do you want to find some other extracurricular that I can do. We can do it together." Kaitlin offered.
"I have a lot of reading to do." I told her, still holding my book, but she was already dragging me off.
We didn't end up finding anything on the first day. In the morning, I was at the table, trying desperately to finish the book that I spent most of the night on. Why couldn't it have been something that I had already read?
"Hey Kid." Sandy greeted me. "How'd school go for you?"
"Fine, I'm just behind." I answered lifelessly.
"That has to be a record." Sandy quipped as he poured himself some coffee. "I know it's brutal. You're brave to face those preppy little savages, and teachers."
"Well private school is definitely different." I said with a yawn. "Maybe it was a bad idea."
"You're one of the smartest kids that they've got." Sandy pointed out as he closed the refrigerator door.
"It's not the work. It's just that everyone has something." I explained. "Kaitlin helped me look for extracurriculars and I found nothing I liked."
"Wait, is Seth doing an extracurricular?" He asked in surprise.
"A girl talked him into it." I explained. "It wasn't Summer."
"You mean my son, Seth?" Sandy asked in disbelief. I nodded. "Okay…really? So maybe you should try a sport."
"Hello." Seth declared as he walked in.
"We're trying to find out an extracurricular activity for Sammie." Sandy remarked. "Harbor's got a great archery program."
"Maybe you could be the next Green Arrow." Seth piped in. "What century are you in, Dad. Open your mind. This isn't me we're talking about. Sammie has an athletic body. She can achieve all that you're Jewishness has prevented me from accomplishing."
"You know Sandy Koufax is Jewish." I pointed out.
"Maybe you can play soccer." Seth suggested.
"I played some soccer, but are you sure I'm tall enough?" I asked. I decided to text Kaitlin to see if she was interested in soccer.
I met up with her and Marissa at school.
"You want to play soccer?" Kaitlin asked me in disbelief. "That glorious game that the English call football? I'm in."
"How'd the carnival planning go?" I said to Marissa.
"It was very exciting." The blonde declared. "So if you two are going to tryouts, maybe we can all meet afterward. It gets out at 5:00 right?"
"Yes." I answered. "Maybe we can get dinner."
I saw that Seth was talking to Anna again. You know I couldn't help but wonder where she had been all summer. She kind of disappeared after cotillion. I'm sure that Seth would have been able to tell me. I kind of wished that I could be making out with Kaitlin right now. It wouldn't hurt either of our reps since she was a freshman and everyone knew about me.
When I got to class, I found out that the test on the book was pushed back until Friday. So basically, I got no sleep last night for nothing. I think the universe was messing with me. Didn't it have better things to do other than screw with me? It could be…actually I think it's usually just there.
After school, Kaitlin and I went to the field dressing in shorts and tees, long socks and shin guards.
"You two are Atwood and Cooper?" The coach asked us. We nodded. "What positions are you trying for?"
"Striker for me, wing for her." I answered.
"Well do you see that girl in the middle?" He asked as I looked at Holly, of all the luck. "That's Holly. She's our captain. Well let's go ladies. Hey, Fischer, you got some competition."
Needless to say, I was a bit out of practice, but I managed to adapt quickly. I ended up getting very sweaty doing it. I even managed to score on an assist from Kaitlin. I noticed that Holly was going into the locker room. When we went to find Marissa, they were talking. I sighed, wondering if we should wait.
"Do you feel like making a bet that they'll get back together?" Kaitlin asked me.
"No." I replied.
"Maybe we should just get out of here. We haven't ever had a chance to go on a real date." Kaitlin suggested.
"I really don't want to see Holly hurt her again." I remarked.
"I don't want to either, but Holly actually seems like she's affected by it." Kaitlin opined. "We should let them handle it."
I realized that she was right. Marissa's love life was none of my business. It was then that I realized something.
"She's the one with the car." I pointed out.
"I guess we're walking then." She told me. I think it was beginning to dawn on me. Even if I wanted to be with Marissa, which I'm not sure if I do, I can't. It seems like there will always be someone or something that's keeping us apart.
We ended up getting some pizza on the boardwalk. She didn't have a lot of money and I didn't want to spend from the credit card that Sandy and Kirsten had given me.
In the morning, I noticed that Seth was in the pool house after I had just come out of the shower. Luckily, I was dressed.
"What did I say about coming in without knocking?" I asked.
"What's up? How's life? I feel like we never get a chance to talk anymore." He remarked.
"We ate ice cream together last night." I pointed out.
"Fine, keep it all bottled up." He stated. "Are you still going out with Kaitlin?"
"Yes." I replied. "I'm a little concerned about Marissa though. I saw her talking to Holly again. I think it's a bad idea."
"Were they just talking or making out?" He asked. I threw a pillow at his head.
"They were both crying." I pointed out. "They might have been making up."
"That doesn't sound like anything." Seth declared.
"It doesn't sound like nothing." I countered.
"Did you actually hear what they said?" He inquired.
"No…" I admitted sheepishly.
"Why don't you just ask her about it?" He suggested as I packed my bag. "There's no better place to get info from than the source."
I decided that was nice advice and went to see her at school. She was at her locker.
"Hey." I greeted her. "So Kaitlin and I missed you yesterday."
"I waited for you two." She replied.
"We got hungry." I answered. "So what did you do?"
"Nothing." She lied to me. "My meeting went long."
I wasn't about to call her out on it.
"How did it go?" I asked.
"Good, I think it's going to be good." She replied.
"Did you do anything else?" I questioned suspiciously.
"I went home after I couldn't find you two." She answered. "Did you walk?"
"Yes." I replied.
"Maybe I'll stop by and watching you at soccer practice." She suggested.
"I should get to class." I told her. I couldn't believe that she was lying to me. I was glad that I wasn't in Biology. I heard that they were dissecting today and I hated that stuff.
"Did you know that your new dad's firm is suing your new mom's dad's company?" Kaitlin asked me as she showed me the paper.
"This could be a problem." I stated.
Later in the day, I noticed that Marissa did in fact come to the soccer field. I was currently playing and Holly was retying her cleats and some more words were exchanged between them. You know if I were the jealous type, or jealous at all, I might have tried to take her out. I knew that would send a bad message and it would definitely make me look jealous.
Dinner that night was intense. No one was speaking. I couldn't believe that things were so awkward. I don't know if I got to have an opinion on this. I had no idea who was right and maybe I should just stay out of so I'm forced to take a side. I'll pretend that I did not know about any of this.
That night, I was finishing the book in the pool house when Marissa walked in. Maybe I should start locking the door.
"Are you okay?" She asked me.
"Yeah." I replied without looking up.
"Why are you lying to me?" She questioned.
"Why are you lying to me?" I countered, still not looking at her.
"What are you talking about?" She stammered.
"We saw you talking to Luke and you lied to my face about it." I pointed out.
"I didn't know what to say." She declared.
"I just want to know if you're getting back together or not." I told her. "Holly is one of the reasons that you almost died."
"What happened was between Holly and I and it is none of your concern." She pointed out.
"Fine, I'm sorry for being a concerned friend!" I told her angrily. "Maybe we shouldn't keep being friends."
"Maybe we shouldn't." Marissa agreed. "Just so you know, I can date whoever I want."
The next morning, I noticed Sandy in the pool house.
"So I saw Marissa left here looking pretty angrily last night." He commented. "Do you wanna talk?"
"There's nothing to really about." I responded. "I really just want to go out with Kaitlin, but that seems really difficult since they're living together."
"You know that sometimes love is hard." He told me. "Have you been reading the paper lately?"
"Yes." I replied. "I don't know how you can do it."
"I don't know how I can either." He replied. "The last thing that I want is lose my marriage because of a case."
I wondered how things would go with my custody in that matter, not that I wanted it to happen for even a second.
"So you know I'd love to see you play some time. Seth was never really into sports." He told me.
I later went to school with Seth and then met up with Kaitlin.
"So I'm hearing rumors that you have a girlfriend, Seth." Kaitlin remarked. "She's got a cute blonde pixie cut."
"Anna and I are just friends." Seth stated.
"Well does Summer know that?" Kaitlin questioned. "If you were planning on making her jealous, it would probably work."
"That's exactly what they were planning." I explained. "So did you talk to Marissa last night? Things got heated between us."
"Please tell me that you mean that in a nonsexual way." Kaitlin stated.
"Yes, we fought." I told her. "I'm just wondering if I should apologize to her, even though I think I'm right."
"Well, since I am her sister and it would get a lot easier for us to date if you two didn't hate each other, I'm gonna say yes." She replied. "You can do it at the carnival. By the way, do you wanna be my date?"
"I would love to." I told her.
That night, I was wearing a black and white patterned dress. I was happy to be on a date, but I was nervous about apologizing to Marissa.
"So do you wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" Kaitlin asked me.
"I can't." I told her. "I get panic attacks around heights."
"Well I would be there to hold you close." She replied as we noticed Seth and Anna by the skeeball both. "Are you sure they're not dating?"
"Yes." I replied. "Do you wanna play? I could win you a stuffed animal. I didn't see any last time we were in the pool house."
Anna seemed to be pretty good at it. Seth was impressed.
"Anna, this is my girlfriend, Kaitlin." I introduced as they shook hands.
"Seth doesn't seem to understand the whole hard to get part." Anna explained.
"That's because he's not." I told her. "Why are you helping him with Summer?"
"Why not?" Anna challenged. I just raised an eyebrow. "Seth doesn't see me that way. When he looks at Summer, he sees lush lips and beautiful hair and a nice pair of boobs."
It sounded like she was attracted to Summer.
"When he looks at me, he sees a lab partner. We're friends." She continued.
"Half the school thinks that you two are dating." Kaitlin pointed out. "If you're into him, you need to go for it."
At that point, I saw Summer and Marissa.
"I'm gonna go talk to her." I said to Kaitlin. "I like the bear."
Before I could get to them, I was cut off by Holly.
"You know if you want to date Marissa again, I won't stop you." I told her. "But I will not let you hurt her again."
"You know people don't do it as much, but they talk about me too." She stated. "She may have almost killed herself, but I'm the slut who almost caused it to happen, plus my dad is jail for attacking Jimmy. I don't think Marissa wants me back."
I then went over to her and grabbed Summer's arm.
"Do you mind?" I asked her.
"Not getting involved." Summer declared as she walked away and I took a seat next to Marissa. I hoped I wouldn't freak out too much.
"What are you doing?" Marissa asked.
"I need to talk." I told her. I had to keep it together.
"Are you okay?" She asked me, noticing I was shaking.
"I'm kind of afraid of heights." I declared. "This is important and I said some things last night and…"
Suddenly the Ferris wheel stopped as we were at the top. Oh fuck, my nightmares are coming true.
"Why did this stop? I need to get down. I shouldn't have done this." I babbled. "I'm gonna die."
"Sammie, it's okay." Marissa told me. "You're strapped in and I've got you."
"Look, I'm sorry okay." I told her. "I do want to be friends with you and I shouldn't have said what I said. I'm really terrified right now."
"Maybe you need something to take your mind off of it." Marissa suggested as she leaned in to kiss me. I fidgeted.
"Cheating will only make me feel worse." I told her. "I said I want to be friends, but I'm with your sister. "
The wheel then started moving again. Thank God. As soon as we got to the bottom, I ran into Kaitlin's arms and she presented me with the bear that I wanted.
So Sammie and Marissa are friends and Anna may just be attracted to Summer. Also Holly and Marissa are not getting back together, so where does that leave Coop if Sammie stays with Kaitlin. Please don't forget to review.