Just as Antonia was about to swing the club on the eighteenth fairway of a golf course, she heard a yell that interrupted her thoughts.
"Fore!"
"Ah, damnit!" she said hitting her club on the ground.
"Toni! Duck!" she heard her friend Candice say, but it was to late. She felt a searing pain in the back of her head, and she collapsed to the ground. She felt like passing out, but it wasn't that bad. She put her hand on the back of her head, and saw her friends Sherri and Candice and Gabriella run up to her.
"Toni, Toni, are you okay?" Gabriella said.
"Uh, yeah. Will you hand me my ice water?"
"Yeah." Gabriella handed her friend her ice water and she put it up against her head.
"What was that?" Antonia asked.
"That, my friend, was a golf ball, hit by a cute guy on the other fairway! And don't look now, but him and his three cute friends are coming over here!" Antonia turned her head to look. "I told you not to look!"
"Sorry!" She saw four guys walk up to them.
"Hey, are you okay?" said one and held his hand out.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said and took his hand. He helped her to her feet.
"Oh by the way, I'm Kevin."
"Nice to meet you, Kevin."
"This is Howie, Alex, and the one who hit you, Nick."
"Look, I'm sorry," Nick said rudely.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just glad that we're on the eighteenth. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Antonia, these are my friends Gabriella, Sherri and Candice." They all shook hands.
"Can we go now?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, let's go," said Howie. "It was nice to meet you all." With that, Nick picked up his golf ball and he, Kevin, Alex, and Howie walked off towards the seventeenth fairway, where all of their stuff was, and continued playing.
"You guys want to finish this round?" Candice asked.
"No, let's go back to the clubhouse," said Gabriella. "How about you two?"
"Yeah, let's go," Antonia and Sherri agreed. The four of them gathered their clubs and headed back for the clubhouse.
"I wonder where they're going," Kevin said on the tee of the eighteenth hole.
"Who cares?" Nick asked.
"Man, what's your problem today?" Kevin asked him.
"I don't have a problem today!" Nick said with an attitude.
"Yeah, just lay off of him, Kevin," Howie said.
"Whatever you guys. Just why don't all of you knock it off," Alex said.
"Alex is right," Howie said. "Let's just finish this hole, and go home."
"If you guys don't remember, we have a tournament next weekend, that none of us are at all ready for!" Nick said.
"Yes Nick, we remember! Brian is going in that tournament too, and you don't see him out here stressing about it!" said Kevin.
"Kev, let's not do this. We have to be partners next weekend in the tournment. Let's not kill each other now."
"I think that's a good idea."
"I'm sorry. I dunno what's wrong with me today. I guess I am just stressed out over this game!"
"Hey don't worry about it," said Kevin. "Don't make me slap you around!" They all laughed and continued to finish their game.
The four girls set their clubs down in front of the club house, and walked inside. They all went up to the counter and sat down on a stool.
"Hey ladies. The usual?"
"Yeah Jake," Gabriella said.
"They weren't very nice," Antonia said referring to the guys they just met.
"I think Alex, was very nice!" Gabriella said smiling.
"You would!" said Candice.
"Not like you weren't checking out Kevin!" Sherri said.
"Well-" Candice said smiling, but soon snapped out of it. "What about that Howie kid?"
"What about him?" Sherri said.
"You think he's cute."
"No I don't." Sherri paused. "I think he's hot!" They all laughed.
"Well I'm happy for all of you!" said Antonia. "I'm happy that you all fell head over heels for them. That Nick kid sure was a loser! How old was he? Seven?"
"Toni," started Gabriella, "for one, we don't know how old any of them were. Second, we don't expect you to be looking for hot guys since you do have a boyfriend, and all. You know, Nick kinda looked like Jason, in a funny sort of way."
"Nick looked nothing like Jason! Even thought they both have the same blonde hair, and style of haircut, and gorgeous build, and the same deep eyes-" Antonia bit her lip, then saw the looks on her friends faces, and snapped out of it. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I wonder how Jason's doing today anyway?"
"He's probably the same as he was when you saw him this morning!" said Sherri. "You probably screwed him this morning anyway-"
"Sherri!"
"What? Toni, you're eighteen years old, you're madly in love with this kid, he's madly in love with you, we've just graduated from high school, you've been after him since we were twelve-"
"Yeah, but we don't and we haven't yet, so just lay off of it."
"Or you could lay-"
"Don't finish that sentence! I've known you since kindergarten, and I know every line that you say, and they're always sick!" Sherri smirked. "You're probably right, though. But you guys know how I feel about our relationship. I'm very insecure about it. I was after him for five years and when I got him last year, I don't want anything to happen."
"Yes we know, and nothing will happen! Get over it!" said Gabriella.
"You're right."
Jake, the guy behind the counter who knew the girls very well, brought them all their sodas.
"Thanks Jake," Antonia said, and smiled at him.
"So, are you girls gonna kick butt at the tournament next weekend?" he asked them.
"You'd better believe it!" replied Antonia.
"Who's with who?"
"Well," started Gabriella, "I'm paired up with Toni, and Candi and Sherri are paired up."
"What about the rest of the group? You know Amy and Serena? And Toni, your brother?"
"No, I think they're gonna bail on us," said Antonia. "Besides, they don't even like golf. Serena's going to spend next weekend with her boyfriend and I couldn't get Amy to actually go in a tournament, so it's just the four of us! As for Nathan, maybe."
"Well good luck you guys! I gotta go," said Jake. "Tell Nathan I said hi." And he walked away.
"I can't wait until next weekend!" Antonia said.
"Chill Toni, it's only a tournament," said Gabriella.
"I know, Gabriella, but we are going to rule this course!" said Antonia. "In the girls division of course!"
"You guys, you are still playing against each other, you know. It isn't a team effort," said Candice.
"Oh let them have their fun!" said Sherri.
"Oh God," said Antonia looking out the window.
"What?" Gabriella asked.
"That group of guys are walking in here."
"Ooh! Where? Where's that Howie kid?" Sherri said.
"Oh give it up, Sherri!" Antonia said.
The four guys walked up to the counter. Nick sat down, and when he looked to his right, he saw the girl that he had hit earlier.
"Oh great," he thought to himself.
When Antonia saw someone sit down next to her, she looked at the person out of the corner of her eye. She saw that it was the rude, blonde kid from earlier.
"Oh, just wonderful," she thought to herself.
"Hey girls!" Kevin said to them walking up behind them.
"Oh hey!" they all said, trying to act like they hadn't seen them in the first place.
"Hey Kevin, let's go sit over there," Candice said to him pointing to a table with two chairs.
"All right!" he agreed and walked over there with her. Sherri, finding a new strength, said,
"Hey, Howie is it? Let's go sit over there," and she pointed to a different table. He nodded his head and they walked over to a table. Feeling left out, Gabriella saw the chance to talk to Alex.
"You want to go sit over there with me?" Alex asked her before she got the chance to say anything to him.
"Sure!" she replied trying to hide her excitement.
"Thanks you guys," Antonia thought to herself. "Thank you for leaving me!"
"Gee guys," Nick thought to himself, "can't hold your hormones very well can you?" When Nick and Antonia turned their heads at the same time, their eyes met. She smiled snobbishly, and he quickly mocked her smile. She turned her head and her chair away from him to watch her friends talk.
"Man, does he ever look like Jason," she thought. "Doesn't act like him at all, though."
"Geez, she sure does look like my girlfriend," he thought. "She doesn't act like her though." Antonia stood up, turned her chair around, and set her glass on the counter. She was about to walk away and tried to avoid saying anything to him, but when he wouldn't stop looking at her, she had to say something. She slammed her hand down on the counter.
"Do you have a problem?" she asked him.
"What are you talking about?" he said rudely.
"Stop looking at me!"
"Why would I be looking at you?"
"Well knock it off! I'm taken."
"Yeah, well so am I!"
"How does she ever put up with you?"
"Look, if you're still pissed about me accidently hitting you earlier today, then I'm sorry. How many times can I say it?"
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"It's just-it's nothing!" Antonia turned around and walked over to Sherri and Howie's table and sat down.
"What's wrong?" Sherri asked her.
"I just wanna go home," Antonia replied putting her head down on the table.
"Nick, huh?" Howie asked.
"How'd you know?" Antonia asked dryly.
"He's been in a bad mood today. Don't let him get to you. He's actually very charming once you get to know him."
"Yeah well I don't want to get to know him. How could he possibly have a girlfriend?"
"Oh he pulled the old, I'm taken thing did he?"
"What are you talking about?"
"He's been single for a month ever since his last girlfriend broke his heart. Actually, he's been in a weird mood ever since then. He's in total denial, and thinks that they are still together. You actually look a lot like her! Did you tell him that you were taken, first?"
"How'd you know-" Antonia stopped and looked over at Sherri who was biting her lip. "Yes, and he looks a lot like my boyfriend, too."
"Well then he was just using it to get back at you. Just don't think anything of him."
"Yeah, he's blonde," said Sherri. Her and Antonia both laughed remembering how much they loved making fun of blondes, eventhough they never meant anything by it.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Howie said to them. They continued to laugh.
"Oh nothing!" said Sherri. "It's just that we've made so much fun of Gabriella for being blonde that blonde jokes are just so funny!"
"Gee, thanks!" Howie said high pitched, and started to twirl his hair. Antonia and Sherri burst out laughing.
"So how old are you?" Antonia asked, knowing that Sherri was the one who really wanted to know.
"Oh I'm twenty three," Howie responded. "What about you two?"
"Oh, we're both eighteen," Sherri said.
"Oh, cool!" Howie said in his high pitched voice, and Antonia and Sherri burst out laughing again.
Nick looked over at Antonia. When he saw her laughing with her best friend, and his best friend, he went over to Kevin and Candice's table and slumped down in a chair.
"What's up man?" Kevin asked him.
"Nothin," he replied. "Do you mind if I chill here for a second?"
"No," said Candice. "So what happened between you and my friend over there?"
"She just started yelling at me, and getting this big attitude," Nick said to them. "I don't know what her problem is. Why am I still with her? She's always a pain to me and, whatever." He put his head down on the table, and started to mumble. "What happened to our perfect relationship? I loved her! I still do!" Candice looked over at Kevin, leaned over and whispered to him.
"What the heck is he talking about?"
"It's like this. His girlfriend totally broke his heart about a month ago, I mean, in a million tiny little itsy, bitsy pieces. I'm talking unglueable-"
"I get the point," Candice interrupted. Kevin smiled and continued.
"Anyway, he's in full-blown, total denial about it. And your friend, Antonia, looks an awful lot like his ex. Almost a carbon copy."
"So do you have a boyfriend?" Alex finally asked Gabriella.
"Actually, I do," she replied. "Why do you have a girlfriend?"
"Actually, no."
"Oh," Gabriella said embarrassed. She looked down at the table not knowing what to say. She started to play with her hair and Alex began to tear at his napkin.
"Hey Alex!" he heard Kevin say.
"Yeah?" he said back.
"We're gonna take off. Say good bye to your girlfriend, and come on!"
"Very funny Kevin!" Alex said. Him and Gabriella stood up. "It was nice to meet you. You are a very beautiful girl. Your boyfriend is very lucky." He took her hand and softly kissed the top of it. She could feel her heart melt, her boyfriend wasn't like this at all.
"Nice to meet you too. I hope to see you again." Alex only smiled and walked off to join Sherri and Antonia.
"Good bye, Sherri. Antonia," Howie said to them. Antonia only smiled.
"Bye," Sherri replied and watched him walk off. Gabriella approached the table smiling.
"Sherri, could you drool any more?" Gabriella asked her.
"I must agree with her on that one!" Antonia agreed. Sherri sat back down in her chair, and couldn't hold back a smile that spread across her entire face.
"Yes I could!" she said to them both. "I think I'm in love."
"You would be!" said Gabriella.
"Like you aren't! I saw how you looked at Alex!" said Sherri.
"Well-"
"Yeah, I know, Sherri," said Antonia. "Can we go home now? I just want to take a nap. We've been out here all day."
"Yeah, I agree with Toni," said Sherri. "Let's go home." Sherri, Antonia, and Gabriella joined up with Candice and the four of them walked out of the club house, grabbed their golf clubs and walked over to Candice's car.
"I wish I had my car," Antonia said as she climbed into the back seat. "I wish they would hurry up and fix it already."
"Then stop running over huge potholes!" Gabriella said.
"Well, Gab, you're nineteen and you don't have your licence," Antonia said.
"So?" said Gabriella in a tone that annoyed Antonia. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"So why don't you get it?"
"Shut up!" Candice yelled from the driver's seat. "Toni, what is your problem?"
"I don't know! Ever since that stupid, blonde prick, I just, I, uh, I dunno. Hey Candi, drop me off here."
"Oh you're-"
"Yeah." Candice stopped the car at the beginning of a street and let Antonia quickly crawl out. Antonia waved to them, and cautiously, Candice drove off.
"Where's she going?" Sherri asked.
"Der, Sherri. Jason's," Gabriella said.
"Oh."