SUGAR RUSH

Chapter One: Welcome To My World

The Mall.

Sunday 3 p. m.

WHY?!

Why did I ever agree to drive them to the mall?

One would think that I know better by now, but apparently I don't since I found myself driving around the mall's parking lot trying to find a parking spot when I could have been, I don't know, watching TV!

Anyway, let me introduce myself, my name is Lizzette Rush, and I'm one of the five Rush Sisters. But don't worry, it's not like we sing country or anything of the sort, it's just that we are sisters and five of us at that… Yeah, I know, five kids… but what can I say? My parents weren't particularly fond of TV in their youth…

I'm the second child, in case you were wondering. My oldest sister is Jasmine. No, don't roll your eyes; she is actually a very sweet, carrying individual despite her name. Jas isn't even one of those pink-pink-girly-girls as her name suggests… well, not much anyway. Though she fully sees the best in people and refuses to see the bad, that's a plus/minus all wrapped up into one if you ask me, but you weren't so I'll shut up.

Anyway, the reason why I was driving, instead of Jas, is because Jas doesn't drive. She's a total nervous case. She tried to learn to drive once but it all ended in tears before she could even back from our driveway. She hasn't tried since. So, instead, that Sunday afternoon, she was seated next to me telling me to stop cursing as I tried to find a parking spot.

On the backseat of the blue VW bug (the new kind, not the old, tiny kind) were my three younger sisters: Marie, the nerdy; Kelly, the follower; and Lydia, the – not to put too much a fine point to it – slut. Not that I know for a fact that she is a slut, or that she has an active sex life for that matter, but I mean, she dresses totally slutty like and, though she is only 14, has have more dates than me and all my other sisters combined. And look that all of us started dating in the seventh grade… okay, okay, true, neither Marie nor I have had that many dates but still… Lids have been on the dating market for only two years and she is way ahead of me!

Talk about pathetic.

Okay, let's shall not.

Finally, after a COMPLETE HOUR I found a spot… Only that, as I made my move to get into it this other car came out of no where and we both had to hit the breaks. FAST.

"Gee, Liz, you don't have cows back here, you know?" Lids retorted.

"Shut up, shortie!" I yelled annoyed (Lids has a complex about her height, she wants to be a model you see, but so far she hasn't managed past the 5' 2), and then unfastened my seat belt as I saw the driver of the other car start to get down.

I threw a quick glance to Jas, just to check if she was alright, as I got out of the car. She was pale as a ghost. That only got me madder.

"Are you blind or something?!" This guy yelled at me not sooner had I stepped outside of the car. He wasn't that much older than me, Jas' age maybe, which made him about 17 or 18; and he was driving this convertible silver car – think it was a BMW. By his preppy looks I assumed he went to Cedars Prep, the elite prep school across town.

"Or something," I muttered under my breath, to him I said. "Me? Blind? You're the idiot who came out of no where!"

He was simmering, for a moment there it looked like he wanted to bite my head off and was just trying to figure out the best way to do it without getting my lowly brains into the front of his Abercrombie & Fitch shirt.

What a LOSER.

We stood there like two cats circling each other. I vaguely heard horns start beeping but I didn't stop staring at the guy until I heard Jas unlock her door and get out.

"Liz. c'mon. We are stopping the traffic over here."

At the same time I saw that someone else got out of the silver convertible and approached the Idiot- "Will, let's go. Let them have the spot, it's only the gentlemanly thing to do."

"Whatever." The Idiot said and got back into his car.

"Liz, please." Jas said again and I got into the car at once.

"Damn that Idiot, he only made me lose my time." I was muttering as I parked the car.

"Liz, you should be more careful, chances are that guy goes to Cedars and we are starting at Cedars tomorrow."

"Well, you might be starting at Cedars tomorrow, Jas, but I'm still waiting for my answer to my request of being sent to Adams "

Let me explain, in our town there are three good schools: John Adams Alternative School, the artsy school in town; Cedars Preparatory School, though it wasn't a private school most everyone who goes there is loaded, needless to say that it was in the pretty side of town; and finally you have Central High School, good public school, we were always competing against Cedars in academics and sports, sometimes we won, sometimes they did.

They were our bitterest rivals. They hated us and we hated them.

Everything was alright with the world.

But then Central High went up in flames a month ago. All students were being sent to either Adams or Cedars, the other two public schools. My sisters were going to start at Cedars; I had requested a change to the school board and was still hoping I would get it.

Though deep down I knew I wouldn't, they would have answered by now if they had taken my request seriously but denial is a powerful thing and I was going to cling to denial for as much as I could…. Which turned out to be only five seconds more.

"Oh, Liz, I forgot…" Whenever Kelly started a sentence like that I groaned, I couldn't help it, see, experience told me I usually got good reasons to groan. "You got your answer letter last Friday, I was supposed to give it to you but I think I put it in my jeans' pocket.

Kelly reached for her back pocket of her jeans and handled me a battled up letter. "Sorry it's a bit… wrinkled.

Wrinkled was an understatement of the grossest kind.

Never the less I opened my letter and read quickly.

"Dear Ms. L. Rush,

We are sorry to inform you that you don't have the proper curriculum to apply for a change to the John Adams Alternative School.

As such, this board has decided to stick to its previous decision and assign you to Cedars Preparatory School.

We are sure you will find your new school every bit as acceptable as Central High School.

Sincerely,

Robert Smith

Vice President of the School Board."

Jas, who had been reading over my shoulder, went: "Don't dare to say 'Damn', it's a bad example for the girls."

So I went: "Double damn."

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End of Chapter One