Lucy Ziggle Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

"Try to enjoy yourself, Lucy," my father says.
I smile halfheartedly, step out of the battered white pick-up and turn to face my sophomore year at Mountain Valley High School. With weak knees, I climb the stone steps and push through the looming entrance doors to the Student Hall. It feels like unpacking an old trunk from the attic. Stiff, musty air creeps up my nostrils as I catch a faint whiff of mothballs. With each step, my shoes squeak as if in protest against the sticky linoleum floor. I find a place to stand and wait, away from the flow of students. A few upper classmen breeze past while the freshmen huddle nervously in the entryway. They look as helpless as a litter of kittens mewing in darkness before learning to open their eyes. Although the first day of school always makes me nervous, I'm relieved to be done with freshmen year. I look forward to coasting- nothing exciting, no surprises.
Of course, the moment I begin to relax even slightly, I catch sight of Tommy Parker, with his mega-watt smile, standing with a group of guys across the hall. He is fresh off summer, with a golden tan and sun-kissed hair. He's as gorgeous as ever. My heart plunges into my stomach and I duck nervously out of his line of sight. I have a sudden urge to bolt, but I can't go anywhere. I promised Rose I'd wait. The minutes inch by and pretty soon I find myself squirming under Tommy's gaze. I stare intently at the entrance doors and pretend not to feel his eyes burning up my skin. I'm humiliated, but I can bear it for a few more minutes so long as I don't make eye contact. Rose should be here by now. I hear a laugh and although I don't look over, I know it came from Tommy's group. Regret stabs through my chest. I mentally add "no boys" to my sophomore year plan.
With mere seconds until the bell rings, the other kids begin filing down the hallways and into classrooms. Pretty soon I'm standing alone in the large, empty Student Hall feeling very small. But I can't go without Rose, she's my best friend. A few teachers pass by and give me warning glances telling me to hurry up and get to class. Tommy has finally gone, but I'm still anxious. It's not like Rose to be late. As panic begins to scratch at my insides, I hear someone call my name.
"Lucy!" Rose shouts as she bursts through the entrance doors. She's frantic, books and papers bulging from her arms. Bright, red-framed glasses sit slightly crooked on her button nose. Her spine bows under the weight of a purple monogrammed backpack swollen with textbooks and her blond, wavy hair is especially frizzy today.
"Sorry I'm late! Car trouble," she pants, setting a frantic pace to our first period classroom. I'm afraid she's going to fly right out of her Birkenstocks.
"Don't worry about it." I force a breezy response as I race to keep up with her.
Along the way, I begin to envision my life once I get a driver's license. If nothing else, I'll be able to wait in the car rather than across the room from heartbreakers like Tommy Parker.
"Anything eventful happen while you were waiting?" Rose asks.
"I saw Tommy," I grumble.
"Sorry, Luce," she offers, "but I told you the girl should never make the first move."
"Trust me, I wish I had a do over."
Elan, my other best friend, is waiting causally outside the classroom door. Her black lace-up boots are contrasted against a hem that dances at the top of her slender thighs.
Rose looks her up and down. "I see your stint at Jesus Camp didn't have much affect."
Elan chuckles. "Jesus wasn't invited."
She takes one look at my face, "What's wrong with you?"
"I saw Tommy." I answer flatly.
"Is that still a thing?" She furrows her brow. "It was one little note and it was months ago, Lucy."
Despite the summer separation, I'm still irritated that Elan convinced me to make a move on Tommy Parker and then got shipped off to camp when things went awry. Although Rose tries to be helpful, boys are more Elan's area of expertise.
"Trust me, I've been trying to put it behind me."
"There's nothing wrong with telling a guy he's hot. I do it all the time." She flips her dark hair over her shoulder.
"Yeah, but when you do it, guys don't ignore you much less laugh at you," I point out.
"Screw him," Elan says, "He's not that hot anyway."
"Why aren't you in class yet?" Rose demands.
"Why aren't you?" Elan answers.
Rose rolls her eyes and yanks open the classroom door with a huff. We take our seats in time for the bell.

"What are you getting into tonight?" Elan whispers as the teacher calls the roll. "I heard some of the seniors are having a party."
"Geez, Elan. It's only first period!" Rose hisses.
"Rose Bruce!" The teacher calls out.
"Here!" Rose responds brightly.
Elan begins gnawing on a pencil and turns to survey the other students in our class.
I notice the familiar scent of whiskey and perfume, but before I can question her, the teacher calls, "Elan Frank!"
But Elan, paying no attention, waives to a very attractive guy across the room.
"He's cute!" she blurts through the silence of the classroom. "Is he new?"
The students erupt in giggles. The cute guy dips his head bashfully and then looks up with a grin that says "thank you."
Elan winks at him as if to say, "you're welcome."
"You see?" Elan turns to me. "It's a compliment."
The teacher strikes Elan's name off the list and continues, unphased.
"It's easy, Lucy. Now you try." Elan nudges me.
"Lucy Ziggle!" The teacher calls.
"No thanks," I answer. "I'm done with boys this year."

After first period, Elan instructs us to meet up with her in the Student Hall after school. Though I dread the thought of running into Tommy Parker again, I find myself pushing through the suffocating, melee of students in search of my friends. It feels like the entire student body is crammed into the back of a station wagon and I'm somewhere at the bottom of the pile, with the heel of someone's boot on my lungs. Rose waves excitedly from across the lobby and I head over. It's the usual crowd, Rose, Elan, Matty, Trevor, and Deb. We're all on the crew team together except Matty who plays soccer and Elan who's perpetually grounded.
"What're you doing after school today?" Rose asks.
I shrug. Team workouts don't start for another week, which means I have a lot of time on my hands.
"Let's take out one of the boats!" Rose claps her hands together excitedly.
The crew team boathouse holds dozens of creaky, old rowboats that we can use whenever we want.
         "Good, it's all settled," Elan says coolly as she peers over my shoulder at something. She scrunches her face and looks back at me, then away again.
         "What is it?" I ask, anxiously. My face begins to boil. I can almost feel Tommy Parker standing behind me with a copy of the regrettably humiliating love note I penned to him last year. He's probably dangling it over my head and Elan is resisting the urge to punch him in the face.
         "That guy." She nods to a spot across the Student Hall.
         "What guy?" I bite my lip in dreadful anticipation of hearing Tommy's name.
"The one who's staring at you." She grabs me by the shoulders and spins me around.
When I see him my stomach somersaults and I quickly turn away to hide my face. My cheeks erupt and my heart begins to race. It's not Tommy Parker.
"Did you see him?" Elan asks.
I can't answer because I'm suddenly out of breath.
"He's still staring!" she practically squeals.
As soon as I look back, I'm hit with a force that feels like being slammed against a brick wall. His eyes are powerful, liquid hazel and completely bewitching. This time, I can't look away. I'm pinned, held by his gaze. I struggle to breathe through the suffocating weight smashing my chest and back. My brain becomes watery, but his eyes lift me to the surface like a buoy. I swallow him in gulps- a flash of brown hair, light skin, pink lips parted and moist with the corners turned up. Our eyes burn together. There are no words, but someone's yelling in my ear.
         "Lucy, are you listening?" Rose shakes my arm and, reluctantly, I drop his gaze.
         "He's gorgeous. Who is he?" Elan asks with intrigue.
         "I don't know," I mutter quickly and turn back for another look. But the eyes are gone, distracted by a group of guys who laugh and exchange high fives.
         "He must be older, maybe a senior?" Elan's voice teeters between pride and bewilderment. Admittedly, in that moment, I am pretty surprised with myself, but I don't let on. Instead, I swallow my swelling heart and remind myself that I'm not interested in boys this year.          
"What's going on ladies?" Matty breezes in playfully with a dimpled smile.
         "Nothing!" I practically shout, my face still smoldering.
"That guy over there was staring at Lucy." Rose signals in the direction of the eyes.
         Matty's smile quickly melts away. "Oh, yeah that's Jonah James. He's a senior."
         Rose, Elan, and I stare back at him in disbelief.
"How do you know?" Elan asks, skeptically, her tone implying that Matty is nothing more than a lowly sophomore.
         "Ah, but you forget I'm on the soccer team. Jonah's on the team too." Then Matty adds this little gem as if warning me not to get my hopes up. "And I think he has a girlfriend."
I look back to see a bouncy blond affixed to Jonah's side like a leech clinging to a blood source. I stifle a groan. Jonah doesn't look at me again.