Familiarity. That was all it was. Gwen had just moved to Tulsa four months prior and now she was back in an airport, going back to her old town, old memories. She had wanted to go back at first but then Gwen thought about the pain there would be if she saw Don. Since he was graduating, she would probably see him anyway. Gwen had in no way gotten over him and now, since she was going back, she was determined to get back together with Don. “Last Call for Flight 173 to Chicago.” came over the speaker. Gwen got up and led Madisin onto the plane. Her parents had given her the responsibility of watching the boys and Madisin in Coach while Ron and Denise took first class. Another great babysitting job! Luckily, it was only a 2-hour flight. Right as the plane took off, Gwen pulled out her Discman. She put one of her Mariah Carey CDs into her player and soon fell asleep listening to the sweet vocals.
*****
“Finally, she’s asleep!” Jordan said, relieved. He hated the nagging of his older sister and he wanted to have fun on this plane ride. “Yes, Sir!” Zach added. He was happy, too. Zach and Jordan, known to all their friends as Zaaach and Porky, had been wreaking havoc on everyone and everything since they were born practically. Basically, they were loud, annoying, and immature. Their friends didn’t seem to mind, though. They were “terror twins” right from the start who loved to torment their sisters and the only one who seemed to keep them in line was John. Luckily, they were going back. As twelve-year-old boys in their prepubescent stages, they did what most boys their ages did. Got up early and watched cartoons on Saturdays. Devoted day and night to play Playstation and do tricks on their yo-yos. Had relationships with girls that lasted at most a week. Spend most of their time with friends and of course, torturing siblings.
“Let’s see what’s on this plane!” Jordan said. “Alright! I’ve always wondered what first class was like.” Zach added. “Yeah, lets go!” disappearing off through the curtains of first class.
*****
“Hi guys!” John yelled as the Williams family stepped out of the plane. He ran right up to Gwen and Madisin and gave them big bear hugs. Of course, he just gave the boys a slap on the back. He led the family to his car, a 1997 Jeep Cherokee. Gwen decided to get comfy, considering it would be another 1 ½ hour trip home. John asked about Ron’s new job, and Tulsa and the plane ride. Gwen, of course, ignored everyone since she was so mad at Jordan and Zach. “I can’t believe they snuck into first class!” she thought. She had woken up to find them missing just as the plane landed. When Gwen got off, she saw them with her parents and Ron flashed her the “We’ll talk about this later, Dear!” look. She had had it with Jordan and Zach, so she refused to talk to them or help them in any way during the 2 weeks spent in Forreston.
*****
“Why won’t she answer the phone!?” Gwen thought, trying to call Bridget. When someone finally answered the phone, it was Bridget’s mom saying she was with her boyfriend. “What boyfriend?” Gwen thought, forgetting she had been gone for 4 months. She tried calling Cassidy but her mom said that she was shopping. Figures. And Gwen didn’t try to call Amy because her parents were always on the phone or she was on the net. Giving up on the phone, Gwen just went over to Amy’s house to see if anyone was home. Walking along familiar streets, Gwen saw old faces and old houses. Feeling home again, she made her way up the long drive of the Whitman residence. She knocked on the door and Amy’s mother answered saying, “Go right into the family room Gwen.” Baffled by this, she walked in. Gwen came to the family room to find it dark. “Hello?” Gwen said. All of a sudden, the lights came on and about 40 teenagers yelled, “Surprise!”
Gwen jumped when she heard them and her eyes got really wide. She didn’t realize she had started to cry until Amy brought her a Kleenex. Amy, Bridget, and Cassidy all came up and hugged Gwen and said how much they missed her. When Gwen had calmed down, they all sat on a couch in the corner and started to talk. “Oh Gwen…We haven’t seen you in ages! How was Tulsa? How was the plane ride? How warm is it there? Is there any cute guys?…” Bridget started. “Hold on! I can only answer on at a time. Yes, I love Tulsa. The plane ride was okay, a little bit nauseating. It was 60 degrees when I got there in February and it was about 85 degrees when I left. Yes, there is cute guys just like any other town.” Gwen stated. “Well, did you meet a lot of people? Make new friends?” Cassidy asked. “Yeah. I met a whole group of kids from high school." ”"What are their names? What are they like?” Amy asked. “Well, there’s Ashley and Keren who are 16 and 15. Eric and Randi who are both 16 and Travis who is 17 and Ike who is eight…teen.” Gwen paused. “Oh no! Amy, where’s the phone!?” Gwen said suddenly. “It’s in the kitchen. Why?” Before she could get an answer, Gwen ran into the kitchen, grabbed the phone, and rapidly dialed the Hanson’s number. Oh please be there Ike, Gwen thought. How could she forget to call him? She hadn’t seen them for a month and a half. Gwen was upset to hear the answering machine. “Why aren’t they home? They were supposed to get back two days ago.” Very confused, Gwen stepped back into the family room. Amy looked at her, puzzled. “Who did you need to call so urgently?” Gwen quickly said, “Oh, I had to call my mom and tell her that I would be staying the night here.” Not wanting to reveal her friendship with the boys to them yet. (Considering how big of Hanson fans they are.) Bridget gave her a big smile and pulled Gwen out to the dance floor where they all danced to “When the Lights Go Out”. Gwen continued to dance and talk to people for the rest of the day. By the time everyone had left and only the four girls were left standing, it was 10 p.m.
Even though, Gwen and Cass continued to talk. “So, got a boyfriend down south that you haven’t told me about?” “Yeah right Cass! You would be the first to know.” Cassidy sighed. “Well, not to be mean, but since you left, all kinds of things happened.” “Like what?” Gwen asked. “Well, first of all, remember Megan Litmore?” “You mean my ex-rival who always thought she was better than me?” Gwen asked. “Yeah, well she took your place as Student Council President and your place on the cheerleading squad. I mean she became the captain and was so bossy! Bridget was always telling me how she wanted to quit because of her. She says it was better with you as the captain and everyone else on the squad thinks so, too.” “Oh great! Is that all?” “No, actually some good came. I guess all that kickboxing paid off because Amy asked the principal if she could play on the football team!” “No way!” Gwen replied, shocked. “Yeah, she rallied for weeks and she finally made it on the team. She’s really good, too. She was the star defensive end and she wished so much that you could see her play before the season was over.” “Is there anything else?” Gwen asked eagerly. “But of course! Well, as you probably heard, Bridget has a boyfriend named Brian, though I don’t think it will last. And I’ve given up on BSB and I’m a Hanson freak now!” Gwen gave her a high-five and was so happy. Now she could have them all meet Hanson. “Hey Cass, how does this sound? How ‘bout next year you three fly down to Tulsa and stay with me for the summer?” Cassidy’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that would be great! Let’s start planning now!” They were so excited that they talked about it until midnight and then Gwen and Cass joined Bridget and Amy in slumber, thinking about the great year to come.
I Will Remember You
Go to Chapter 6
