Chapter 1
"Is this rain ever going to stop?" Adrienne Russo shrilled as she sprinted into Max's Diner, the teen's favorite hang out located across from the West Haven High School, followed close at her heels by her best friend Blair Whiticar.
"You have to remember it hasn't rained in weeks," Blair reminded, shaking the loose water drops from her purple cotton T-shirt, blue jeans, and long sandy blond hair. "It's just making up for all the sunny days we've had lately."
Adrienne often felt blessed to live in the small town of West Haven where it seldom rained leaving nearly every day beautiful and sun shiny--perfect beach weather and the ideal opportunity to keep an immaculate tan. But when it did decide to rain in West Haven one could expect a torrential down pour.
Adrienne and Blair made their way across the diner to a booth on the far wall surrounded by their fellow classmates. Sliding into the seat, Adrienne immediately retrieved a compact from her handbag. "My hair is an absolute mess now," she whined, running her fingers through her shoulder length auburn hair. "And my makeup!" she shrieked. "I have colored streaks all over my face. I can't believe I didn't bring the rest of my makeup with me today. I knew something like this was going to happen."
"Now you know why I never wear makeup," Blair chuckled. The waiter stopped by the table and the girls ordered their usual diet sodas.
"Hey Adrienne, I have some eye shadow and blush here if it would help," Erica Stone offered, turning in her seat in the booth behind the girls.
"Erica, you're a lifesaver," Adrienne sighed with relief. For once you actually are good for something, she added silently, taking the make up from the girl.
Erica Stone was a very bright and beautiful girl but it was her mouth that made Adrienne chill to the bone. If only she wasn't the biggest gossip in the school she would be okay.
"I take it Serena and Gavin have practice this afternoon," Erica pried, tossing her long strawberry blond hair over her shoulder.
"You guessed it," Adrienne responded with a frown. "I get so tired of having to wait for one of them to give me a ride home every afternoon. Serena with her dance team practices and Gavin with his football practices, I swear, if my parents don't buy me my own car for my birthday I'm going to scream!"
"Sounds to me like you better get your vocal cords ready for a long scream," Blair giggled, propping her elbows on the table in front of her. "Didn't your father say the only way you and Serena would get your own cars is if you buy them yourselves?"
"Yeah," Adrienne sighed in defeat. "I don't know how he expects us to buy our own car with the money he gives us for an allowance. I would be drawing social security before I could save enough for a car. And there is no way Serena and I can both share a car with mom."
"Why don't you get a job?" a male voice suggested.
Adrienne whipped her head around to find Wally Princeton setting her diet soda on the table in front of her.
"That's why I got my job here," Wally continued. "It only took me a couple of months to save for my car. Of course it's not a Porsche or anything spectacular like that but it's my own set of wheels."
"Me, get a job!" Adrienne's perfectly plucked brows shot up in a mixture of astonishment and horror. "What kind of job is a girl my age going to get? Waiting tables? I don't think so."
"Just a suggestion," Wally shrugged, walking away from the table.
"You could always baby sit after school," Erica suggested with a tormenting twinkle in her aquamarine eyes.
"Oh yeah, I can just see that," Blair laughed uncontrollably. "Adrienne putting up with two or three little kids running around yelling and screaming every afternoon. Not only would she pull her hair out after the first half hour but she would be in jail for murder before she got her first pay check."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Adrienne rolled her hazel eyes at her best friend. "But I have to admit I can't see me working like that either. No, there's no way I'm going to get a job," she insisted in a determined tone, sipping her soda. "I'm not going to have to. Once I lay my sweet innocent act on my father he will give in and I will have a red sports car with a ribbon around it for my birthday."
"Can I make a suggestion?" Blair asked slowly, narrowing her blue-green eyes. "If you plan on laying this act of yours on your parents you may want to start buttering them up now. I know how your parents are and the way your grades have been lately that's going to be the first reason they will find for them not to buy you a car."
"You're right," Adrienne grimaced in defeat, getting a far away look in her round hazel eyes. "Although, if I were to bring all of my grades up then it would give them a reason to award me."
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