“All right, Kev!” a boy yelled. Jill didn’t know him.
Kevin stood up and walked over to Cassidy, who stood up as he approached and lifted her face to his. They kissed lightly, and then Kevin returned to his seat with a grin as all the boys hooted and hollered.
Jill felt a little better. Cassidy was pretty, with her gorgeous long light brown hair, but she was completely flat-chested, and Kevin still seemed excited to kiss her. That was good. If they thought she was hot, hopefully they would think Jill was hot too.
When Kevin spun the bottle, it stopped on Landon.
“Oh, hell no!” Kevin cried, laughing.
“No, you guys have to kiss!” Brooke said. “It’s the rules!”
“No way am I kissing him!” Landon exclaimed with a good-natured laugh. “The rule is he spins again!”
“Okay, okay,” Brooke giggled, then gave a dramatic sigh and shrug of her shoulders.
Kevin spun again and got Brooke this time.
“All right, Brooke! See, aren’t you glad we changed the rules?” Kevin teased her as he walked over.
“Oh, soooo glad,” Brooke said, batting her eyelashes at him. Then she giggled again and jumped up, smacked him quickly on the lips, and sat back down again, folding her legs under her and reaching into the middle to spin the bottle. “Ooohh, Brady!” she said, grinning at him and crawling seductively toward him. She stayed on her hands and knees as she leaned in to kiss him, and they kissed for a few seconds. Everyone cheered and clapped.
Jill giggled. This was so much fun. She hoped she would get to kiss someone hot! She liked Landon the best of all the guys here.
Brooke finally backed off from Brady, and he reached into the center of the circle and spun the bottle. Jill was shocked when it landed on her. She immediately felt unsure of herself and embarrassed. She was afraid he wouldn’t want to kiss her, or the other guys would make fun of him for having to do so.
“Jill, right?” Brady asked with a charming grin as he stood up and walked over to her.
Jill nodded. She wasn’t sure whether she should stand up or let him lean down to her. Finally she stood up quickly as he neared her.
Brady touched her face lightly with his palm and bent down, brushing his lips softly against hers. His dark hair tumbled in front of his face and Jill inhaled sharply. He was probably the sexiest guy she’d ever seen. This was definitely the best kiss she’d ever had. As Brady drew away, he patted her on the arm in a friendly manner and then said, “Awesome, we have a freshman girl who’s a good kisser.”
All the guys laughed and cheered, and Hillary nudged Jill excitedly with her elbow as Jill sat back down.
Jill looked at Hillary and tried to suppress the giddy laughter bubbling up inside her. She was glad it was dark so no one could see how red her face was.
“Hey, you have to spin,” Hillary reminded her, and Jill quickly turned back to the center and grabbed the bottle. She spun it as hard as she could and watched it go around on the short grass. She could hardly believe her luck when it stopped on Landon.
“All right, Kessler!” Matt exclaimed, nodding his head at Landon and clapping a couple times.
Once again, Jill wasn’t sure what to do; she didn’t know if she should go over to Landon or wait for him to come to her. When she saw him standing up, she decided to meet him in the middle. She tried to walk nonchalantly over to him, as though she were completely confident. As they kissed, he touched his hand briefly to her arm and she did the same to his. It was a short kiss, but he had full lips like Brady, and Jill felt excited butterflies in her stomach. Now she didn’t know which one was her best kiss ever.
Hillary nudged her again as she sat back down and motioned slightly to Tiffany and Stacy. “Look, they’re so jealous,” she whispered with a huge grin.
Jill glanced over and saw them both glaring at her. She couldn’t resist a small, smug smile in their direction. When they rolled their eyes at her, it just made her even more excited. She couldn’t even believe how well this night was turning out.
***
“I can’t believe you got to kiss Landon!” Hilton gushed later as she joined Jill and Hillary on the stone wall with a Coke in her hand. She hopped up next to Jill with her back to the lake and took a sip of her drink. “You’re so lucky! He’s so hot; I’ve had a crush on him since, like, elementary school!”
“Haven’t you ever kissed him?” Jill asked, surprised.
“No,” Hilton said, wrinkling up her face. “He always just plays around with me, like a friend or something. I think he sees me as, like, a little sister.”
“I wish he flirted with me how he flirts with you!” Jill said. “He is sooo hot! I bet you could get him if you wanted him!”
“Oh, yeah, definitely,” Hillary agreed, nodding.
“I don’t know...” Hilton said, shaking her head doubtfully. “So, was he a good kisser?” She grinned expectantly at Jill.
Jill grinned back. “Oh, yeah!” she giggled. “Well, from what I could tell anyways; I mean, I really barely even kissed him.”
“Oh well, you can tell anyway,” Hilton said. “Did it make you wanna kiss him more?”
Jill just giggled, and Hilton and Hillary smiled knowingly.
“Here’s to spin the bottle!” Hilton said, lifting her Coke can for a toast.
Jill and Hillary raised their own cans to Hilton’s. The three of them grinned at each other, and Jill felt as though they possessed some delicious secret.
chapter 3) crushes and little white lies
Lorylyn thought she was in love. With Brady Cash. He was by far the hottest guy she’d seen at Landon’s party. As she lay in bed later, she couldn’t stop smiling when she thought of his eyes that were like deep pools of chocolate, or his cute curl that was always in front of them. And his smile....Lorylyn sighed contentedly to herself as she closed her eyes, picturing the way he flirted with Brooke and imagining what it would be like if she were the lucky girl he chose to flirt with...
High school was going to be so great. She couldn’t wait to see Brady again.
***
“So how was it?” Jill’s mom asked at brunch the next day. The Sherers always went to the Brinkley House for brunch after the 10:30 church service on Sundays.
“It was so fun!” Jill exclaimed, practically bouncing in her seat. “We went out on the pontoon, and everybody went swimming. Me and Hillary and Lorylyn and Sam didn’t even think to take swimsuits, duh! But we still went out on the boat, and it was so fun. Then we had burgers and hotdogs and stuff and just sat around up by the house and hung out.” Luckily Jill’s parents had been in bed when she’d come home last night, so they hadn’t seen her wet clothes. She didn’t think they’d approve of her jumping in the lake with her clothes on. Her outfit had been mostly dry by the time she got home, but she had hung it over the shower rod in her bathroom. She’d never been gladder she had her own bathroom.
“You just ‘hung out’ for that long?” her dad asked, looking suspicious. Jill had gotten home shortly after one in the morning.
“Well, yeah, they had a picnic table outside and we, like, played euchre and stuff,” Jill lied. “It was really cool. There were a lot of hot guys there.” She grinned.
“Well, I’m glad you had a good time,” her mom said with a smile. “Landon and his parents sound nice. Hopefully we’ll be able to meet them sometime.”
No! Jill thought. What a disaster! What if her parents said something about the parties and Landon’s parents told them the truth?! But the Kesslers would probably know to be cool about it; they probably would play along and not mention what really went on at the parties. After all, they could get in trouble for having kids partying on their property. And why would they want other parents pissed off at them? Still, Jill hoped her parents never met Landon’s parents.
***
On Monday two-a-day practices started for cheerleading, and Jill was glad because she got to spend more time with her new friends. Hilton, Cassidy,
Lindy, and Brooke made a point now of including Jill, Hillary, Lorylyn, and Sam in their group, and Jill felt popular and much more at ease during practice.
The next weekend Landon had another party, and Jill and Hillary and Sam all went skinny-dipping this time. Cassidy was right; it was no big deal because nobody even saw anything. Jill felt a secret thrill as she jumped into the water. She was finally doing something daring! Lorylyn was still too shy, but it almost seemed to Jill that her shyness made the boys like her more. She was becoming a favorite with the sophomore boys; they were always flirting with her, and she was good at flirting back with them. Jill wished she were good at flirting like Lorylyn and Hilton and Brooke and everyone.
They played spin the bottle again, and Hilton finally got to kiss Landon. It was a goofy, playful kiss that lasted a few seconds, and Jill hoped she could get to know the boys well enough that they would goof around with her like that. Hilton couldn’t stop talking about it the rest of the night to the girls, and there was a lot of giggling and excitement.
Hillary got drunk that night off two and a half beers, and she was acting a lot more outgoing than normal and dancing with all the guys when Landon turned on the stereo. Sam got drunk too and made out with a cute guy named Mike from the freshman football team whom she had kissed during spin the bottle.
Jill had a great time and really enjoyed the dancing. She still wasn’t sure she wanted to drink, but at the same time she envied the girls who did, because they weren’t afraid and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. She just wished something exciting would happen to her, like making out with a hot guy.
***
The weekend before school started, BCHS had its first varsity football game of the season. It was on Friday night in Logan, forty-five minutes away, and all the JV cheerleaders went because even though they didn’t cheer for the whole game, they got to cheer along with the varsity squad during halftime. Jill and Hillary agreed it was a total rush being out on the track and feeling like everyone was looking at them. Even sitting in the front row of the stands during the game made them feel cool. Jill hoped everyone was looking at her and thinking she looked cute. Since it was an away game, not a lot of students had come, and Jill figured most of the ones who were here were upperclassmen, because she didn’t know them. She hoped all the hot older boys saw her sitting with Lindy and Brooke and Hilton and thought she must be popular. Her favorite part of the whole night was when she got to tumble during halftime, because she nailed her back tuck and she knew everyone was watching. After they tumbled, Lindy ran over and gave Jill and Lorylyn high fives, and Jill grinned as they jogged back to the other cheerleaders. This year was going to be so much fun. She couldn’t wait to start school.
***
The game wasn’t so fun for Brooke. She was bored and kept scanning the stands, looking for Brady. She was extremely disappointed when he didn’t show, and she hoped to hell he wasn’t on a date with somebody. She and Brady had grown close last year in class, and over the summer she’d felt a new electricity between them. He flirted with her more than he ever had before, and she’d really started to like him. She hated that she was worrying about him being with another girl, and she decided right then and there that her goal was to make him hers...as soon as possible.
freshman year
1997-1998
she’s so lucky…she actually got the guy she likes
chapter 1) oh my gosh, he’s so hot
Jill’s first period class was biology. Just great. She hated science, so what a way to start high school. And of course none of her good friends were even in her class. She hung out with Hillary and Lorylyn by Lorylyn’s locker until the five-minute warning bell rang. The three of them stood close together and surveyed all the students in the hallway. Most were huddled in small groups like they were. Some couples were passing by holding hands or standing face-to-face outside classrooms. A lot of older kids were going by too, because even though all the lockers in this hallway belonged to freshmen, it was the foreign languages hallway, and freshmen couldn’t even take foreign languages yet. Jill had been hoping one of the other cheerleaders would pass by, or even better, one of the boys, like Landon. Just having someone like that say hi to her on the first day of school would’ve given her so much more confidence. But no such luck.
“Okay, guys, we better go,” Hillary said glumly when the five-minute bell rang. “Jill, you’re going to the 300 hallway, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll walk with you. I have art.”
Lorylyn moaned. “I have health. I have to go the other way.”
“Okay, good luck in class! See you in geometry, right?” Jill asked.
“Yeah...” Lorylyn gave the girls a piteous look. “Okay, I’m going! Bye!” She flashed a quick, nervous smile and then dashed off.
Jill was so glad she didn’t have to walk to class alone. They got to her classroom before Hillary’s. “Bye, Hill. See you at lunch, okay? Meet me outside the cafeteria so we can get a table together.”
“Okay, bye.” They flashed anxious smiles at each other.
As Hillary walked quickly down the nearly deserted hallway, Jill turned, took a deep breath, and stepped into the classroom. As she scanned it quickly, her heart sank. She didn’t see one person she knew. She wasn’t even sure if any of them were freshmen. And worst of all, there weren’t desks, but tables, so she would have to sit with people she didn’t know. She picked a table that only had one other person sitting at it so far and sat in the chair at the opposite corner. The guy didn’t even look up. He was staring at the table and listening to headphones. Great, Jill thought. She glanced around.
Oh, there’s Kara Darson! she thought, breathing a little sigh of relief at a familiar face, even though Kara was someone Jill had only talked to about five times all through junior high. Kara looked in her direction, and Jill offered a friendly smile. Kara gave a small smile back.
Just then the bell rang, and Mr. Moore came in from the hallway, laughing and saying goodbye to another teacher. Jill had never seen him before, and she was surprised and delighted by his appearance. He looked to be only about thirty, and his long blond hair was held back in a messy ponytail reaching more than halfway down his back. He had on cargo pants and an untucked polo shirt.
“Good morning, scholars!” he bellowed, throwing his hands in the air. “Aren’t you all excited to be starting biology today? A whole exciting year ahead of you!” He smiled warmly and looked around the room. “Well, I know you’ll probably all hate me, but I’m gonna assign lab groups right away so you can get seated at the right tables and I can start getting to know your names.”
He walked to his desk, which was off to the side of the room and cluttered with papers, folders, textbooks, and lots of random objects, including a tank with what looked like two hermit crabs inside. He sifted through a couple stacks of papers and folders before finally pulling out a piece of paper Jill assumed was the seating chart. Then he glanced at the hermit crabs. “Oh, I want to introduce you to our class pets, mascots, whatever you wanna call them.” He reached into the tank and pulled out the larger of the two. It had a green and white shell. “This is Bio.” He picked up the smaller one, with a blue shell, in his other hand. “And this is Logy. For my ecology classes, Bio’s name changes to Eco.”
Several students snickered, and Jill found herself smiling. Maybe biology wouldn’t be so bad after all.
***
When first period ended, Jill waited for a minute outside her classroom, hoping to see Hillary when she passed.
“Hey, Hill!” she called, hurrying up to walk beside her. “How was art?”
Hillary smiled excitedly. “There’s a totally hot guy in there!” She giggled. “Oh my gosh!”
Jill giggled too. “That’s good! Bio wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. You have Moore, right? You’ll like him.”
“That’s cool,” Hillary said. “I have to hurry, ‘cause I have to go all the way
to the 900 hall for geometry. I’ll see you at lunch!”
“Bye!” As Hillary hurried off, Jill walked more slowly in the other direction. She only had to go two hallways over to get to her English class. She was grateful for freshman orientation, when she, Hillary, Sam, and Lorylyn had spent almost an hour walking around to all their classrooms and learning their way around the huge school. One less thing to panic about today. But she was dreading this next class too. Five sections of advanced ninth-grade English and all her friends were in one together except her. Hillary, Lorylyn, Hilton. Sam wasn’t taking advanced. Jill didn’t think Cassidy was either.
When she walked into the room, it was only about half full. The desks were in diagonal rows facing the teacher’s desk in the left front corner of the room. In the right front corner, away from the teacher’s desk, was a group of guys Jill didn’t know. They were talking and laughing loudly. Jill always felt a little intimidated by groups of guys like that, so she sat on the other side of the room. She tried to look at the boys without them noticing. Two of them were really cute. One had short brown hair gelled and combed forward, and the other had longer hair that came down across his forehead at an angle and fell past his ears. It was a light brown shade, almost blond. He looked like some kind of California surfer boy, wild and tan. Jill thought he was the cutest one.
“Hey, Jill!” she heard as someone sat down behind her.
She quickly looked away from the boys and turned toward the voice. It was Kat, Hilton and Cassidy’s friend.
“Hey!” Jill exclaimed, relieved to see a familiar face. “I didn’t know you were in here!”
“I hope we don’t get a seating chart,” Kat said with a roll of her dark eyes. She pushed her long hair over her shoulder. “I heard this class is a joke,” she said more quietly, leaning toward Jill confidentially. “The teacher’s, like, an alchie or something. In his own little world. He like, sits at home reading and drinking all the time. He’s not married. The brooding literary type,” she finished with a grin. Her eyes sparkled with laughter.