Gem City

Chapter 1

“Back Home” – Andy Grammer

The churning ball of dread in Courtney"s stomach was finally gone. Finals were over, and she could actually inhale deeply. She took a few breaths just for good measure. She actually got up and put all of her clothes away willingly without waiting for her mom to call her on it. She felt like a bouncy ball in her excitement for her trip the next day.

gone“Hey, Court,” she could hear her mom down the hall, “please don"t forget, you need to call Vanessa to confirm your flight-” Her mom stood in her doorway, wide-eyed, breaking into a grin. “I can see the carpet!” she exclaimed. “Oh, my lovely Berber. I"ve missed you.” This statement was followed by some god-awful dance from the seventies.

“Okay, okay, okay, Mom, I get it. No need to break into a disco. It"s clean. Amazing what I can do when I"m not at school, practice, and work all day, huh?” Courtney asked simply.

“You"re right. You deserve this summer off. I can"t believe you"re going to be a senior. I"m going to have to start telling people I had you when I was fourteen,” she joked.

“Ha. Ha. Ha,” Courtney replied dryly.

“So what would the future Husky Cheer Captain like for breakfast this morning? Don"t get the wrong idea, I"m not going to cook, but anywhere you wanna go can be arranged. Far be it for me to deny the cheer queen her last breakfast before her departure.” Her mom"s eyes sparkled with all of the vicarious thrill she got out of her daughter"s cheerleading accomplishments.

“Oh my god, give it a rest, woman!” Courtney said in a half-serious tone. “I still can"t believe they voted for me. I keep thinking they"ll replace me while I"m on vacation or something.”

“You give it a rest. You"ve earned everything that you"ve gotten, so just relax already. Your dad and I are so proud of you. Let"s go eat something ridiculous and then you can pack for your trip.”

You“Well, when you put it that way, I guess I can"t say no.”

While sitting at breakfast, waiting for the coma-inducing pastry, Courtney"s phone rang. She saw the picture of her too-adorable best friend pop up on the screen.

“Mom, it"s Vanessa, I gotta take this.” She headed outside of the restaurant. “Girl! What are you doing?” she practically squealed as she picked up the phone.

“Only planning your party for tomorrow night, you know, nothing too exciting.” Vanessa was known for keeping a rather jam-packed social calendar in her small-town world of Gem City, Ohio.

“I"m sorry, my what now?” Courtney said.

what“Whatever. You have been stressed and negative and BLAH for too long. Time is up, girl, and we"re gonna get a little crazy. We are having a party, and I have invited everyone, well, everyone good, anyway. Some people you"ll remember from before you moved, but we"ve gotten some new lovelies in town lately. Plus, Luke is inviting a bunch of guys from the basketball team. There will be no shortage of selection,” Vanessa insisted. Courtney"s heart rate jumped which annoyed her. This was what she was hoping for- a summer to relax and be herself. It was so stupid that her stomach turned in knots thinking of all of those people showing up to see her. “Helloooooooo? Are you alive over there? I know you too well- quit with your "social anxiety" bullshit and get excited.”

herCourtney laughed, her stress easing. “Ah, you do know me. Okay,” she breathed, “I"m just going to be excited, you"re right. I look forward to the plethora of "pretties" that you speak of.”

“While we"re at it, stop speaking like Abe Lincoln, it"s bringing me down from my summer high. No SAT vocab allowed. We will talk like cavemen if we have to. Got it?” Vanessa demanded.

“Really? Abe Lincoln?” Courtney couldn"t help but grin when talking to her best friend. “Well, you"re the boss, so yes, ma"am. Or should I just grunt at you as a response from now on?”

“That"s better, thank you! Hey, Luke is calling me obsessively on the other line, so I"m gonna go, but text me your flight info again and I will see you tomorrow!” Vanessa practically sang into the phone.

“You got it, tell Luke I said "hi," and that I can"t wait to meet him.” Courtney had missed this. Vanessa was the one she could always count on to bring her out of her shell and really get her. She couldn"t believe she was going to spend an entire month in her old hometown. It had been several years since she"d been back- not since she"d gotten rid of the braces and learned how to -sort of- control her curly tresses. There was a cautious optimism in the air about the prospect of a summer adventure. She walked back into the restaurant and sat down in front of the largest cinnamon roll she had ever seen and laughed. She and her mom clinked their forks together. “Cheers!” they cried before devouring a week"s worth of calories.

getShe took advantage of the sugar high to pack her bags, snacks, and books for the plane and to pick out an outfit for the party being thrown in her honor. In my honor, she thought, like I"m the Queen of freaking England. At which point she curtseyed in the mirror and practiced her British accent. And you seriously have to wonder why the boys are not knocking down your door for a date? You. Are. A. Nerd.

In my honor,like I"m the Queen of freaking England.And you seriously have to wonder why the boys are not knocking down your door for a date? You. Are. A. Nerd.It took everything she had to get through dinner and make herself go to sleep. It was as though it were Christmas Eve and she was a five year old waiting for Santa. Vanessa would not be pleased to be likened to an old fat man. Finally, she nodded off with thoughts of going back to the one place that she could call home.

Vanessa would not be pleased to be likened to an old fat man.