Miss Live-for-the-Moment, shook her head. “You’re crazy. Chances like this don’t come along every day.”
“Neither do full-ride scholarships.” Lizzie countered Anna’s logic with some of her own.
“You only think college is so important because you’re a geek.” Anna didn’t even look at Lizzie while delivering that insult. She was too busy scanning the field of guys.
Lizzie frowned. “I am not.”
“Uh, yeah you are.” Finally, Anna turned to face her. “You got into your first choice with an academic scholarship.”
Lizzie had worked hard to make that happen, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a life too. Though studying every night instead of going out and taking on a heavy course load of college prep classes did impinge upon her social life. Anna was right. She was a geek, but Lizzie would rather eat dirt from the pitcher’s mound than admit that to Anna.
Anna continued, undaunted. “The rest of us normal people don’t think that going to college is everything in the world, but whatever. So, what do you want to do for your birthday tonight?”
It was pretty mind-boggling how Anna could go directly from being rude to her to making plans to celebrate Lizzie’s birthday. Which brought up what Lizzie had been thinking about a lot lately. What to do for her birthday?
The drive-in theater was about the only entertainment around Pigeon Hollow besides the bowling alley. Although, given the choice between being the third wheel at the drive-in with Anna and her current boyfriend while they made out or going bowling, she probably should choose bowling. Neither seemed good enough to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Her parents were throwing her a family party the next day, but for tonight, she kind of wanted to do something memorable.
Anna jumped in and interrupted Lizzie’s dilemma. “You know what we can do? I almost forgot about it in all the excitement over Cole’s news, but I heard there’s a party in the woods. Some of guys home from college got a beer keg and everything.”
“The sheriff always catches kids partying there.” Lizzie frowned. She wasn’t much of a beer drinker, but then again, Cole might be there if other college kids were.
“Yeah, I know. I’m so not in the mood to be lectured by the sheriff again. I can’t wait for your brother to officially become a deputy so we’ll be exempt.”
“Exempt?” Lizzie laughed. “Yeah, right. He’ll only be twice as hard on me as he is on everyone else in town.”
Anna nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that. But anyway, the party is going to be way off in the woods so the sheriff won’t find it.”
Lizzie thought that was doubtful, but since it was a better idea than any of the other options, she agreed. “All right. What time you wanna go?”
Enjoying the wind in his hair, Cole Ryan steered the convertible probably too fast around a sharp curve. Even though it was a few years old and used, the car was new to him, a gift from his father for getting picked up by a minor league team.
Cole might be starting out in the minors, but he could feel it in his gut he’d be playing in the big leagues soon. Then he’d be buying his parents brand-new cars as gifts, instead of them driving the used ones they bought broken and fixed up at the service station. Maybe he could even talk his father into selling the business and retiring.
The stars shone brightly in the dark sky as Cole edged closer to the woods that bordered the river on his way to some keg party. The deal was that everyone attending this secret gathering—that every kid in town seemed to know about—was to park far away and walk in. That was so the sheriff wouldn’t find them. Cole hated to leave his car like that, but he had no choice. He reluctantly parked on a dirt road beneath a tree and put up the roof.
Cole locked the door and pocketed his keys. He heard sounds of a party all the way from where he was parked. Yeah, this plan to avoid the
“Neither do full-ride scholarships.” Lizzie countered Anna’s logic with some of her own.
“You only think college is so important because you’re a geek.” Anna didn’t even look at Lizzie while delivering that insult. She was too busy scanning the field of guys.
Lizzie frowned. “I am not.”
“Uh, yeah you are.” Finally, Anna turned to face her. “You got into your first choice with an academic scholarship.”
Lizzie had worked hard to make that happen, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a life too. Though studying every night instead of going out and taking on a heavy course load of college prep classes did impinge upon her social life. Anna was right. She was a geek, but Lizzie would rather eat dirt from the pitcher’s mound than admit that to Anna.
Anna continued, undaunted. “The rest of us normal people don’t think that going to college is everything in the world, but whatever. So, what do you want to do for your birthday tonight?”
It was pretty mind-boggling how Anna could go directly from being rude to her to making plans to celebrate Lizzie’s birthday. Which brought up what Lizzie had been thinking about a lot lately. What to do for her birthday?
The drive-in theater was about the only entertainment around Pigeon Hollow besides the bowling alley. Although, given the choice between being the third wheel at the drive-in with Anna and her current boyfriend while they made out or going bowling, she probably should choose bowling. Neither seemed good enough to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Her parents were throwing her a family party the next day, but for tonight, she kind of wanted to do something memorable.
Anna jumped in and interrupted Lizzie’s dilemma. “You know what we can do? I almost forgot about it in all the excitement over Cole’s news, but I heard there’s a party in the woods. Some of guys home from college got a beer keg and everything.”
“The sheriff always catches kids partying there.” Lizzie frowned. She wasn’t much of a beer drinker, but then again, Cole might be there if other college kids were.
“Yeah, I know. I’m so not in the mood to be lectured by the sheriff again. I can’t wait for your brother to officially become a deputy so we’ll be exempt.”
“Exempt?” Lizzie laughed. “Yeah, right. He’ll only be twice as hard on me as he is on everyone else in town.”
Anna nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that. But anyway, the party is going to be way off in the woods so the sheriff won’t find it.”
Lizzie thought that was doubtful, but since it was a better idea than any of the other options, she agreed. “All right. What time you wanna go?”
Enjoying the wind in his hair, Cole Ryan steered the convertible probably too fast around a sharp curve. Even though it was a few years old and used, the car was new to him, a gift from his father for getting picked up by a minor league team.
Cole might be starting out in the minors, but he could feel it in his gut he’d be playing in the big leagues soon. Then he’d be buying his parents brand-new cars as gifts, instead of them driving the used ones they bought broken and fixed up at the service station. Maybe he could even talk his father into selling the business and retiring.
The stars shone brightly in the dark sky as Cole edged closer to the woods that bordered the river on his way to some keg party. The deal was that everyone attending this secret gathering—that every kid in town seemed to know about—was to park far away and walk in. That was so the sheriff wouldn’t find them. Cole hated to leave his car like that, but he had no choice. He reluctantly parked on a dirt road beneath a tree and put up the roof.
Cole locked the door and pocketed his keys. He heard sounds of a party all the way from where he was parked. Yeah, this plan to avoid the
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