It's hard to believe, but exactly one month has passed. It was now October. Alot of great things happened in October. The leaves begin to fall, Halloween comes and goes, and Monica turns 17. Alot of other things have happened also. Brian and Steffany have begun 'seeing each other'. Or at least, that is the way Steffany referred it as. Nick and Monica had become really close friends. One thing Nick had always wanted to do, but never had the time to do, was join a highschool basket ball team. He tried out for the Pleasent Valley team, and he was their first choice. Monica auditioned for the school play of Grease and she got the lead. Alot of good things were happening to all of them.
"Come on Nick, GO GO GO GO GO!" Monica cheered from the bleachers. Brian and Steffany were sitting next to Monica cheering him on also.
The game was 55-57. The away team was winning. It was a nail biter. Nick stole the ball, he dribbled it down to the three pointer line. From that point on everything moved in slow motion. He set up, sweat trickling down his face, his team mates cheering him on, he shoots, he..........SCORES!!!
"AHHH!!! WE WON!! WE WON!! Pleasent Valley hasn't won a division in three years!" Monica screamed.
You couldn't even see Nick on the court. All of his teammates had jumped on top of him, making a big pile of players. Everyone was screaming and yelling.
"God, Nick must feel so good! He has always wanted this." Brian said while taking Steffany's hand and leading her down the bleachers.
After everything died down, Monica waited on the bottom bleacher for Nick to come out of the locker room. Steffany and Brian were in the car waiting. Nick walked out carrying his NIKE bag, he didn't notice anyone was still in the gym.
"HEY CARTER!" Monica yelled. Nick immediatly turned around and smiled.
"Hey Mon, I didn't think you would wait." Nick said honestly.
"Not wait? Oh my goodness. And not have the opportunity to walk next to the MVP of the Pleasent Valley High School Basket ball team. NEVER!" Monica said while punching Nick in his arm playfully.
"I did do good...didn't I?" He said sarcastically.
"Good? Nick, you were excellent. I would just like you to know that I have been your support system on this team ever since you joined, and boy have you blossomed. I must be your good luck charm." Monica stated.
They both walked out to Brian's jeep. As soon as Monica and Nick hopped in Steffany and Brian began to cheer. Nick did his 'thank you's', and the 'your to kind', and the 'I was good....wasn't I?'
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Brian, Nick, and Steffany sat around the kitchen at Steffany's apartment. They were all discussing Monica's birthday and what they were going to do. However, Monica was still sleeping, so they kept their voices down.
"Guys, I want her 17th birthday to be special. Any ideas?" Steffany asked.
"How about we throw her a big bash?" Brian said.
It was a good idea. But Steffany knew that Monica wouldn't enjoy herself. The guys still didn't know about Monica's past and about her parents and her little sister being killed during a bank robbery. But she didn't want anyone to know. She hated bringing it up.
"No....Monica doesn't like big party's." Steffany simply stated.
"I know what we can do. I'll take her to the movies. We'll go see H20 since it is gonna be Halloween soon. You and Brian stay here and set up. We'll have a tiny gathering, just the four of us. It will very intimate, I think she would like that! We can do kind of a thing like that show 'This is you life.' When we come back, you and Brian hide in the closet of something. I'll have Monica sit in the livingroom, by the intercom. Then I'll leave, and join you guys. We'll buzz in on the intercom and she'll pick it up. We will all speak and give her clues as to who we are, but we'll use accents! Then we come running down the hallway! It'll be fun, and sweet." Nick said.
"Actually, that is a really good idea! Thanks alot you guys!" Steffany said.
"Yeah...and you can show old home videos, cuz she is getting older. We can see how she has grown! It will be so much fun!" Brian said.
So now they were ready. They all knew what their roles were going to be for Monica's party. Nick would take her out while Brian and Steffany prepaired at home. Nick really wanted to make her birthday really special and he knew that Steff and Brian did too.