Dsiclaimer: Please take note that I have absolutely no idea what the education system in America looks like. In fact, I've never even been there before. Lol. You might notice a few screwed up ages and places here and there. So the education system here(in this story) is actually based on the british system where grade 5 is actually form 5 (age 17).

---

Chapter 1

Hi, my name’s Summer Hargroves and I’m currently studying in Miami High School. I am sixteen years old and love swimming and reading. I’m five-foot eight – a bit too tall for my taste. I have unruly curly sandy-colored hair and chestnut eyes. I know. I’m sooo ordinary no one’s even going to notice me. I am working a part-time job as a vet and I’m happy to say I enjoy my work. I like classic movies and songs, not the rock song teenagers are crazy about.

My mind is still back in the late twenties because I read medieval books and I’m sorry to say, I’m not the least bit modern. I have my own room at least and my dressing is atrocious. I wear mostly t-shirts and shorts for casual-wear and jeans for going out. I wear to dinners – please don’t laugh – dresses.

My parents are just that: normal, boring and everything else normal parents are. They adore my two little sisters and brother and ignore me – just like all the usual parents.

Lucky for me, I have three best friends: Avery Muriel, Elliot Charrot and Eva Martins.

Avery is easily the coolest, most popular and beautiful girl in Miami High. She’s fashionable, rich, has straight blonde hair, two gorgeous blue eyes with double eyelids, fine eyebrows, aristocratic cheekbones and a light, even tan. She’s not what I would call thin, but lean about sums it up – what else can u get working for over two hours in a gym per day? She has these awesome long legs like those that the models have and guys practically drool over .

Her hairdo is usually the latest trend and the same goes with her dressing. She doing a part-time job, as guess what? A fashion designer. Sigh, some people have all the luck.

Elliot – Ellie for short – on the other hand is completely the opposite of Avery. She has straight golden-auburn hair and eyes plus a dark complexion with lots of freckles. She’s also almost six-foot tall due to playing basketball and other sports. Her dressing: mostly in corduroy jeans, jerseys, baggy pants and t-shirts. Ellie has a tomboyish nature and usually has messy hair and rumpled clothes. She’s also in the hyperactive category that always seems to win all the sports medals. She just loves to upset Avery, who loves to lecture us on cleanliness, health, skin-care and hair-care. But, as stories go; we’re the best of friends.

Eva Martins is the smartest girl in school. She plays the piano and somehow magically manages to get straight A’s for all her exams, no matter what the circumstances – yup, the extra-brainy-smart-alec type. And she just loves to read, like me. To cut it short, she has straight black hair grey eyes and wonderful fair skin. Eva’s of medium height around the five-foot-five area and looks wonderful wearing a bikini.

She’s pretty boring as all she ever does study, study, study. She doesn’t care for guys, the latest songs, actors or role models. She talks to us on only on one subject: education. Well, at least we have a walking, talking encyclopedia.

Our favorite hangout places are the Carandia Mall, Leavels Gardens, the Miami Beach and Bonbay Street, a whole stretch of shops by the beach dedicated to selling things ranging from dancing dresses to tissue paper; it had everything we’d ever wanted.

Oh, school is starting in two weeks. Groan! I’d hate to hear Miss Leandra’s voice cracking across the room again after two blessed heavenly months without her.

Miss Leandra was our biology teacher in fourth grade. She looks pretty and soft. But there’s where it ends. She created the sentence ‘looks can be deceiving’. You should hear her voice. If you did, you’d be wondering if she was an opera singer somewhere in the past. Her voice can break glass. She sends you to detention on the slightest mistake – yup, a strict discipline teacher. Woe betide me if she becomes my teacher again this year.

I think that’s enough about my friends and me. Why don’t we take a look at the present: Eva, Ellie and me are planning to match make Avery with Collin Dandrew, the hottest, sexiest, coolest guy in Miami High. They make a pretty picture, don’t they?

Let me tell you more about him. Collin’s an athlete racer, a football player and a hockey player. He’s currently the baseball team’s captain and is winning trophies by the score. Here’s what he looks like: dark brown curly hair, green eyes, has an even tan, a lean, muscular body and long legs. Is he perfect, or what?

The two girls and I planned a conspiratorial meeting under a shady tree at Rotsburn Park.

“How are they going to meet?” Ellie asked. “I read a book entitled: Autumn Leaves where the couple in the story met by accidentally bumping into each other in a bookstore. How’s that?”

“Someone will have to push one of them. I was thinking along the lines of inviting Collin and Avery to someplace quiet. Say it’s a summer party or something,” I suggested.

“You and your unlimited imagination. Avery loves parties. She’ll never turn down an invitation to one. Neither will Collin because he loves parties too. I could kiss you. It’s the perfect solution.”

“I don’t see what’s the fuss. Collin’s handsome, so what?” Eva retorted. “I don’t know why the girls go bonkers over him. He doesn’t score good marks or listen to the teachers. For all I know, he doesn’t even study. Besides, all he ever does when he walks into a class is disrupt it because then, all the girls will do sigh!”

Ellie and I exchanged glances. “Nevermind. You won’t understand.”

So it was set. We sent beautifully prepared invitations to the couple-to-be saying there was going to be a Summer Festival in Rotsburn Park at two o’clock.

Avery called us to tell us she was going, which was good. I’m so sorry Avery, but we had to lie that we were going too to make it more believable. I’m sure you won’t be too angry with us, as you are the perfect couple in school today.

Anyway, when the day arrived, we – Ellie, Eva and me – hid behind some bushes and waited. We went early to see the rocks roll. Lots of guys had asked Avery out on a date before and girls had asked Collin, so the outcome of this meeting wasn’t very predictable. The only small problem we had there was: Who was going to do the asking? There was also no guarantee that the both of them would even get along. Of course they were good friends and don’t get me wrong when I say they know each other, it’s just that they had never asked one another on a date before.

As luck turned out, they both arrived at the same time.

“Looks like we’re early,” Collin drawled.

“There’s no décor or anything, do you think it’s a prank?”

Looks like Miss Miami wasn’t so dim-witted after all.

“If they aren’t here in – let’s say five minutes – we’re outta here.”

“Excuse me? We?”

“Yeah. I was gong to ask you out for lunch since I’m sure you hadn’t had it yet. You weren’t planning on refusing, were you?”

So much for asking her out.

“Are you always so confident?” Avery asked.

“Why, of course. No warm-blooded girl has turned me down before.”

“Then I’ll be the first. I always like to be the first: I’m not going out with you.”

Collin looked baffled.

Things weren’t looking too good.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

I’ll bet he had never asked a girl out, so we can make a little room for forgiveness here, as he’s not doing a very good job. You’d think that he was one of those pros that always got what they wanted.

“No.”

How could she be so stubborn? If this plan didn’t work I would have to think of another one. Why couldn’t she save my time and just say yes. I was sure they were going to be an item. Then, I could use my spare time to read more books. There’s this new book I saw the other day… Sorry, I guess I lost it a little back there.

Collin blinked. “No? Wasn’t that good enough for you?”

“See, I told you it wasn’t going to work,” Eva said smugly. “You should let mother nature do her work in this.”

Eva was very disagreeable with this plan. I forgot to mention it earlier.

“You’ll have to do better than that. You’re not the first person to ask me out. Try to keep that in mind the next time you try to ask me out,” Avery said. “And I’ll bet no one had every said no to you twice.”

Wait a second here – the next time? There wasn’t going to be a next time. This plan was falling apart on me. It couldn’t happen. I crossed my fingers.

“Okay…then will thee, my fair maiden consent to lunch with me on fear of breaking mine fragile heart with thine harsh words?”

Avery looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Lame.”

“Thine eyes shine with the light of the morning sun and thine beauty is blinding to mine eye. Thy scent is like roses in full bloom and all earthly beauty pales before thee.”

“You’re only making a fool of yourself,” she replied pointedly.

He shrugged, and then sighed. “I did try…” he said to no one in particular. “Can I have at least the wonderful pleasure to take a beautiful lady home?” There was a smile on Collins face.

Avery thought for a while. “Yes, you may.”

Ellie and me were crestfallen, of course. It didn’t work the way we thought it would.

As I took the bus home, I wondered what the smile on Collin’s face was for…