Jenn breathed a sigh of relief. She checked the pamphlet just to make sure. Yep...blue was negative. She tossed the box and its contents into the trash. Deciding that it would be better not to tell Ike, since it was no big deal, she quickly exited the bathroom.
******************************************
"Alexandra?"
"Yeah?"
"Um...this is Amber..."
Alexandra was astonished to pick up the ringing phone and find herself talking to Amber. After all, she had forced a kiss on her boyfriend.
"Oh," Alex finally answered, then she mumbled, "hi Amber."
"Well, I was just wondering if you were still going out with Taylor...that's why I called," Amber chirped.
"Yes I am, I AM going out with Taylor and it's really none of your business!" Alexandra stated, overwhelmed at this girl's bluntness.
"You ARE?!" Amber sputtered, "no way!"
"Yes way, and you'd better leave us alone!"
"Oh...don't worry, I will..." Amber smiled to herself on the other end of the phone.
Alex hung up. That girl definitely has problems, she thought. Alexandra finished her homework that her math tutor had assigned her. She and Jenn were both above average students, but they were both home-schooled.
Alex was an only child, and her parents didn't actually teach her themselves. They hired private tutors to come to her house to teach her, since they didn't believe that the way schools taught "nowadays" was acceptable.
She barely saw her parents, who were both frequently busy with work. Jenn was the same way, and sometimes they tutored together. The only difference was that Jenn had an older sister that was a junior in college, who visited occasionally.
Alexandra longed to belong in a big, wholesome family like the Hansons. She wished her house was full of loud, cute brothers and sisters like Taylor's. And she adored his parents; so loving and just downright interested in their son's careers. She and Jenn had begun to think of Diana Hanson as not just a friend, but as a kind of second mother.
~*10 minutes after Amber's phone call*~
The phone in Alex's bedroom rang again. Alex tumbled off her bed, knocking her homework to the floor. She crawled over to her desk in hurry. "Hello?"
"Hello, is this Alexandra Cassel?"
"Yes," Alexandra answered, "who's this?"
"I'm Amber's mother," the voice said.
"Oh, may I ask why you're calling?" Alex asked politely.
"I believe we never finished our conversation the last time we spoke, you just sort of walked away."
"What are you talking about?" Alex swallowed hard.
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I asked you if you hurt your ankle climbing out of a window...?"
"You mean..." Alex bit her lip.
"Yes, I know what you and that Hanson boy were up to that night in my bedroom. You left so fast that you didn't even bother to clean up the "crime scene" before you fled. But apparently, my daughter has a bit of a crush on that Hanson kid...Tayleb," Mrs. McKenny said.
"You mean Taylor?" I asked.
"Yes, that's it...Taylor." Now I also understand that the press isn't really aware of your relationship with him."
"So?"
"So, my dear, Taylor is going to go out with my Amber or else..."
"Or else what?" Alexandra asked meekly.
"Or else I'll go public with what's happening with you and Taylor, and what happened the night of Amber's party will be common knowledge of the entire American population...maybe even the world's..."
"But--"
"But nothing. That was a very dirty thing to do for a young lady, and besides, I still have the proof."
Alex made a small gasping noise. "You witch..." she muttered, but it sounded like something that rhymes with that word.
"So what do you say?" Amber's mother asked, deciding to ignore Alexandra's comment, "will it be a humiliating and public display of your intimacy with Taylor, or will you protect his career by allowing Amber to date him? If you really loved him you'd know what was best for him..."
All The Way To Albertane
You Are My Hope
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