Swans Crossing: The Return
©1997 by Stephanie Blydenburgh
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Chapter Eleven
"Good evening, Swans Crossing," Sydney announced to the crowd, smiling widely. Down below where the audience was seated, Garrett was staring up at Sydney strangely, as if he was nearly mesmerized by her.
"Booth, what are you doing?" Jimmy whispered.
Garrett gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
Jimmy had noticed the way Garrett was watching Sydney on the stage. "You're staring at Sydney Rutledge!" he replied after the applause had ceased.
"Shh!" Garrett hissed, blushing. "I am not!" He still watched her intently, though. Throughout the past two weeks he had been through so much with Sydney. From their impulsive kisses to the discovery of their lineage, his emotions for Sydney Rutledge were jumbled and confused.
"I want to welcome you all to the first-ever concert on this brand new stage!" Sydney told the crowd. Everyone cheered. "This stage was built with the friendship and teamwork of the highly motivated teenagers in our community. As chair person, I would like to thank my concert stage committee: Mila Rosnovsky, Glory Booth, Callie Walker, Nancy Robbins, and Sandy Swan. None of this would have been possible without your help," Sydney said, pausing for the audience to clap for the girls. "And I'd especially like to thank Callie Walker and Jimmy Clayton, who worked incredibly hard to design and build a revolving concert stage."
Jimmy turned to Callie. "We did it," he whispered to her.
She leaned against his shoulder, smiling brightly.
"Now, before the music starts, I want to talk to you about the upcoming mayoral election. I was instructed by my mother, Mayor Rutledge, to say something favorable for her campaign."
Mayor Rutledge lowered her head in embarrassment. "That wasn't what I had in mind," she muttered through her teeth to Jerry, her campaign manager.
"Well, a week ago I wouldn't have even dreamed of it. I was so afraid of what would have been said about me that I couldn't tell anyone what I am about to say tonight.... that I was being blackmailed by none other than Grant Booth's son, Garrett Booth."
The crowd gasped, and began to talk loudly.
"I don't even believe this!" Garrett growled, pounding his fists together. "I'm going to kill her!"
"He had me doing everything for him; I was his slave. Until I discovered that it was all a joke, and that he was just getting back at me," Sydney said, her voice dripping with venom.
"This is unbelievable!" Nancy exclaimed, watching the scene play out with a devilish look on her face.
"He told me that I was switched at birth with Sandy Swan. He wanted me to know what it would be like to live as a Swan, but he let the power go to his head," Sydney continued.
Sandy was standing backstage, her face burning. "What's this all about?!" she shrieked at Mila and Owen, who were standing next to her, listening to Sydney’s speech wide-eyed.
"So Mother, here is what I have to say in favor of your campaign. Citizens of Swans Crossing, do you really want to elect someone who has been so negligent in raising his son?" Sydney smiled vindictively, able to see the horrified look on Garrett's face. "I think not."
The crowd was silent, and blown away. The confession of the scandal was the last thing that they had expected to hear. There was an awkward, drawn-out pause, and then Sydney continued to speak.
"Now, without further adieu, here is the newest rock sensation to hit Swans Crossing, Inspiration!"
The crowd recovered from the serious speech, and began to cheer wildly when Sandy, Owen, and Mila ran out onto the stage.
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"I don't believe this!" Garrett exclaimed, excusing himself from the crowd. "How could she do this to me?" He felt dizzy as her speech continued to ring in his head:
"I was being blackmailed by none other than Grant Booth's son, Garrett Booth."
"Citizens of Swans Crossing, do you really want to elect someone who has been so negligent in raising his son?"
Garrett took off, searching for some fresh air. The crowd was so stifling, and everyone was staring at him. What is my dad going to say to me now? Well, at least she didn't say anything about me being her brother!
Garrett headed over to the parking lot and sat down beside a car. He buried his head in his hands regretfully.
"Why did I ever play this stupid joke?" he asked himself out loud.
"That's a very good question," Grant Booth remarked, crossing his arms in front of him.
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Sandy stared out into the crowd, where there were thousands of people looking up at the stage, cheering for her.
"This is it," she whispered to herself. She cleared her throat. "This first song is called 'Make it Light'. It was inspired by someone special," she told the audience shyly.
Owen began playing a slow, eerie tune.
"'You fill my life with joy, whenever you are near, I love to be with you, you make my future clear'," Sandy began in her beautiful voice. "'A lonesome night we found, on a night so dark and drear, what had always been around, the sentence uttered I still hear’...."
The music picked up a bit when she began the chorus, Mila dancing and singing backup.
"'Now we are together, then we were alone, the future stretches out before us, on our long journey home, the moonlight is no match, for the darkness of the night, be with me and escape the wrath, walk me home and make it light’...."
Callie turned to Jimmy, a smile on her face. "This has been entertaining so far," she commented, slowly rocking her head to the music.
"That was some speech from Sydney," he agreed.
Callie laughed. "You know, I was really convinced that Swans Crossing was going to be such a boring place to live, but I was really, really wrong."
"I guess I can't argue with that. First there was the disaster at the docks," Jimmy recalled.
"And then Mila's surprise party, where the cake ruined everything. And of course, there was Garrett being taken in by the police at the slumber party, Glory being kidnapped, and who could forget everything that happened with Barek and J.T. and Neil," Callie supplied.
"And now Sydney pulling one over on Garrett at the concert," Jimmy concluded.
"I was really scared about Barek and all that’s happened these past few weeks, but now it seems as if everything is back to normal," Callie remarked.
Jimmy thought back to what had just happened during Sydney's speech. "As normal as it gets in Swans Crossing," he commented with a smile.
Callie laughed. "Right."
"Callie?" Jimmy asked in a more serious tone.
"Yeah?"
"Are you happy that you moved here now?"
Callie turned to him and smiled confidently, looking much more like her old self now that the trial was over.
Sandy's beautiful ballad lilted over the crowd. "'The moonlight is no match, for the darkness of the night, be with me and escape the wrath, walk me home and make it light’...."
Callie titled her head towards Jimmy. "I couldn't be happier," she told him as they went in for a kiss.
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The slow song ended, and then the lights began to flash more rapidly. Sandy started to sing her next song.
"'I look around and I see all the desperate faces, some people finding it hard trying to deal with life’s changes’," Sandy sang. "'We all need someone to lean on, someone who understands, I'll be right here when you need me, baby come and take my hand’..."
"'I'll hold you up when you're feeling down, I'll hold you up, yeah I'll be around’," Sandy, Owen, and Mila sang together.
"Wow," said Dave Nascarella, the talent scout from Clark Records. "These guys are really great! I have to talk to them after the show," he told Billy Gunn.
"I knew Sydney wouldn't let us down," Billy replied with a smile.
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"Dad, I uh.." Garrett began, jumping up from his spot on the pavement.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Booth demanded firmly.
"Well, I..."
"This is an outrage! What did you think you were doing by blackmailing Sydney Rutledge? Did you expect her not to keep quiet about it? For God's sake Garrett, she's a Rutledge!"
Garrett studied his shoes. "I never meant..."
"You never meant what?" Mr. Booth shouted. "You never meant to ruin my campaign? You never meant to lie to the whole town of Swans Crossing all summer?"
Garrett suddenly became infuriated. "Lie?" he yelled at his father. "You want to talk about lying? Why don't you explain your affair with Mayor Rutledge?!"
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"And now I'd like to introduce Mila Rosnovsky, who will be singing her song, 'My Love'," Sandy announced when the group’s set was over.
People applauded as Mila walked up the stage and took the microphone from Sandy.
"'My love is like a rose, red like a heart that beats steady and true’," she sang, her voice not as beautiful as Sandy's, but still pleasant in its own sense.
J.T.'s eyes widened as each word came out of Mila's mouth. "What?! Why is Mila singing my poem?"
"'There are thorns to remind you that mistakes can be a part of love, too’," Mila continued.
J.T. turned to Glory, his eyes flashing accusingly. "I don't know!" Glory exclaimed, her mouth wide open.
I can't believe Garrett gave her those poems and she turned them into a song! Glory thought to herself, looking from Mila to J.T. nervously.
J.T. watched in horror as the private poem he had written to Glory was being sung to the entire town. His mind was racing, and drifted back to a conversation he had had with Mila, Garrett, and Glory at Sydney's pool party. J.T. and Mila had been sitting beside the pool, talking about Shakespeare...
"That was beautiful. You know it by heart?" Mila said in admiration after J.T. had recited a Shakespearean sonnet.
"I know all of Shakespeare's sonnets by heart," he told her shyly.
"Really?"
"Just the published ones. He wrote most of them to a mysterious, dark haired woman."
"Who do you think the dark lady in the sonnets was?" Mila asked.
"I don't know," J.T. replied. The two stood up when they saw Garrett and Glory enter the club.
"Garrett!" Mila exclaimed. "I'm so glad you finally got here!"
"I can see you missed me," he said sarcastically.
"Oh I did!" she answered, not noticing his sarcasm. I was so miserable until J.T. and I started talking."
Garrett rolled his eyes. "Great."
"We were discussing poetry," she explained.
"Yeah, Mila really knows her iambic pentameter," J.T. said, obviously impressed.
Mila turned to Garrett and smiled. "Well, I've had a great teacher."
J.T.'s adrenaline began rushing through his body. He angrily balled his hands into fists. "Garrett," he muttered under his breath.
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Sydney leaned against a tree away from the crowd, breathing heavily. "I did it!" she said out loud. "I finally got him! After all he’s put me through, I got him in the end!" She laughed triumphantly. "What goes around comes around, Booth!" she shouted, not caring who heard her. She was nearly drunk off of her own power.
"Sydney?" Callie called, hesitantly approaching her.
Sydney beamed up at her friend. "I got him, Callie!" She threw her arms around her. "I put him in his place!"
Callie pulled out of her friends embrace. "You're as bad as Garrett!" she remarked disgustedly.
Sydney's smile faded. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, when I saved you on the docks that one morning, you seemed like a different person. I saw another side of Sydney Rutledge, one that wasn't hung up on getting her revenge. And now you're parading around here acting just like the person you despise!" Callie said, raising her voice. She just couldn’t understand why Sydney and Garrett played such petty, vindictive games with each other.
Sydney giggled. "Well, when you put it that way..."
Callie opened her mouth to respond, but didn't know how to explain it to her. Instead, she turned away on her heels and flounced off.
Sydney smiled, thinking of the way the crowd had gasped when they found out what Garrett had done to her. "Ooh, I love myself!" she exclaimed, stealing Garrett's catch phrase, and dissolving into laughter.
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Mr. Booth stared at his son for what seemed like an eternity.
"'Crossing over this road for the first time, feeling the world could be mine’," Inspiration sang, the peppy music a striking contrast to the hostility that hung in the air between Garrett and his father.
"What?" Mr. Booth managed to sputter out. "My... what?"
Garrett narrowed his blue eyes. "You know. The affair that you had with Mayor Rutledge, fifteen years ago, right before Sydney was born. A few months after I was." His tone was very matter-of-fact, and cold.
"Where did you hear this nonsense?" Mr. Booth asked, faltering.
"Nonsense, huh?" Garrett said sarcastically.
"Don't talk to your father that way," he warned.
"Why not? What, am I supposed to have respect for you? After you cheated on Mom..."
"Stop it, Garrett!" he shouted, interrupting his son. "Do you want the whole town to hear this?"
Garrett was silent in reply.
"Look, do you want to know the whole story?" Mr. Booth asked, lowering his voice.
Garrett folded his arms in front of him. "Yes, tell me the whole story."
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"J.T., where are you going?" Glory asked. He was fighting his way through the crowd.
J.T. didn't answer, he just stalked out of the crowd, towards the parking lot.
"J.T.! Wait a minute!" Glory called after him, running to catch up.
He whipped his head around, and glared at her. "How could you humiliate me like this? Those poems were private!"
"I didn't do this!" she insisted, her voice breaking. "J.T., please!"
J.T. caught sight of Garrett arguing with his father across the parking lot. Glory noticed what he was looking at, and felt the need to defend herself and her brother.
"Look, I had nothing to do with this! When I found out that Garrett had taken my poems, I made him promise never to do it again, and to make Mila keep quiet about them."
J.T. became even more furious. "Oh, so that makes it better!" he hollered. "You lie to me about it, and I'm supposed to say, 'Oh, since Garrett was told never to do it again, it's okay'?"
Glory took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "I- I didn't know what to do. If I made him confess to Mila that had he stolen the poems, she would have broken up with him. He's my brother, I just couldn't do that to him," she explained in a tearful voice.
J.T. looked at her, trying to convince himself that everything was okay. He was hurt that she had lied to him, and was infuriated that Garrett had stolen something he had written and passed it off as his own. He had to figure out a way to pay Garrett back.
The music from the concert stage was so loud it could be heard far out into the parking lot. Mila was singing her somewhat silly song, "Vision in Polka-dot Pink".
J.T. listened to her voice for a minute. "’You're a vision I think, in polka-dot pink’..." He then smiled in spite of himself. Suddenly, he knew just the way to get back at Garrett.
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Sandy and her band were singing their sixth song, "Over You", and the crowd was listening to the slow, pretty ballad. Sydney was still on the outskirts of the crowd, leaning against a tree, wearing a smug look.
"Sydney!" Mayor Rutledge called, rushing over to her daughter.
"Mother," Sydney started.
"Oh, Sydney, I feel so horrible that you had to go through that awful ordeal with Garrett Booth." She embraced her. "I always knew he was like his father. Are you going to be okay, Dear?"
"Yes Mother, I'm fine," Sydney answered. The mayor didn't look convinced. "Really," she insisted.
"I am so proud of you for putting Garrett where he belongs," Mayor Rutledge told her with a smile.
Sydney smiled back, but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but rehash what Callie had said to her earlier: "You're as bad as Garrett!"
She quickly pushed the thought away. I could never be like Garrett Booth.
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"And now for our final song!" Sandy said into the microphone, smiling confidently. As soon as she had stepped onto the revolving stage at the concert, all of her insecurities had vanished.
Sandy motioned for Owen to begin, and he started the music to "Gotta Grow Up".
"'Don't know where I'm going, my head is feeling strange, my heart is beating overtime, my body’s going through a radical change, I'm feeling new emotions, I can't turn back now, standing at the crossroads, I'll get through somehow, guess I gotta grow up’," she sang, dancing self-assuredly.
"That girl has stage presence," Dave told Billy as they continued to watch the performance.
"Yes, I agree."
"And the band is really great too!" Dave exclaimed. "There’s one thing I don't understand, though. The video we got at Clark Records was of the back-up singer doing the lead."
Billy scowled. "Mila."
Dave shrugged. "Oh well, they're great anyway."
"'Letting go of childhood dreams, can sometimes make you sad, like hanging out all day and playing pretend, giving up all my toys hasn't been so bad, 'cause the boy next door has become much more than just a friend’," Sandy continued.
Dave and Billy rose up from their seats. "Well, we really need to go talk to them," Dave said.
"’Gotta grow up sometime, yeah yeah yeah, I gotta grow up’!" Sandy ended, and the crowd went wild.
"Thanks! You've been a great audience!" Sandy shouted out to the crowd. She beamed as the applause rang in her ears. She stepped off the rotating stage and she, Owen, and Mila exited.
"Excuse me?" Dave called out to her.
Sandy turned around and smiled. "Hi! Can I help you with something?"
He stuck out his hand, and Sandy shook it. "I'm Dave Nascarella, a talent scout from Clark Records," he introduced himself.
Sandy was awestruck. "Um, I'm, uh, Sandy Swan," she managed to say.
He smiled. "I know. You guys were terrific."
"You really think so?!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Dave nodded. "I know talent when I see it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and a business card. "Here's my number," he said, scribbling on the card. "Call me when you get the chance. I would love to hear you at your studio and maybe work out some kind of deal."
Sandy's eyes widened. "Great! Thank you so much Mr. Nascarella! I'll call right away!"
"No problem! I hope to hear from you soon!" he told her, and walked away.
Sandy looked at the card in awe. She jumped up and down. "Owen!" she called, skipping off.
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As soon as the concert was over, most of the teens headed over to Swans Soda Shop for the "Post-Concert Bash". Within minutes, the diner was hopping with excitement.
"Encore, encore!" Saja yelled gleefully when Sandy, Owen, and Mila walked into the soda shop.
"Yeah, come on guys, one more time!" J.T. added.
Sandy blushed, and headed up to the platform in the shop where the jukebox was, and Owen set his keyboard on one of the tables. "All right!" she agreed. "After all, we might as well celebrate our possible record deal!" she announced.
"Oh, wow!" Glory exclaimed, hugging her friend. "That is so great!" Everyone else took turns congratulating them, and then Sandy started to sing the song she had been inspired to write by Saja.
"'You fill my life with joy, whenever you are near, I love to be with you, you make my future clear, a lonesome night we found, on a night so dark and drear, what had always been around, the sentence uttered I still hear’...."
"Would you like to dance?" Jimmy asked Callie.
Callie smiled. "I'd love to."
He took her into his arms, and they began to sway to the music.
"Today has been really fun," she said, pressing her cheek against his. "For one of the first times since we've been together, life is normal."
"Maybe now we can be your average teenage couple," he suggested.
"Like J.T. and Glory?" Callie asked. Jimmy dipped her back and she laughed.
"No way, they have their own set of problems. We're Jimmy Clayton and Callie Walker."
Callie shook her head with a teasing grin. She spun him around. "Callie Walker and Jimmy Clayton," she corrected.
"You got it, Walker woman," he agreed and continued to dance with her in an exaggerated fashion, spinning her and dipping her while they cracked up.
"'Now we are together, then we were alone, the future stretches out before us, on our long journey home, the moonlight is no match, for the darkness of the night, be with me and escape the wrath, walk me home and make it light’," Sandy sang.
"Saja, this new song of Sandy's is really pretty," Callie commented as Jimmy twirled her by him.
Saja was grinning from ear to ear. "It really is," he replied, staring at Sandy in admiration. She is really pretty, he thought to himself as he watched her singing up on the platform.
"I know that look, Saja," Jimmy teased as he and Callie danced by him again.
"What look?" he asked, not tearing his eyes away from Sandy.
Jimmy pulled Callie closer to him. "This look," he responded, staring at Callie romantically.
Callie felt on top of the world as he spun her around the soda shop, holding her close.
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"So, you see Garrett, the mayor has just invented this harebrained story about me being the father of Sydney," Mr. Booth explained, trying to keep his confession light so that the people exiting the concert would not hear them.
"Why would she do that?" Garrett challenged.
"Because she wanted something to hold over my head." He glanced at Garrett pointedly. "Like you did with Sydney."
Garrett thought about what his father had said for a few moments. "So, are you saying that you and the mayor did have a thing at one time?"
Mr. Booth cleared his throat nervously. "Well, I uh, at one time, but it was just a little fling... why am I telling you this?" he suddenly asked. "You're fifteen years old, you don't need to know this!"
"I think I deserve the truth," Garrett deadpanned.
Mr. Booth turned away. "Maybe when you're older," he muttered. Then he turned back around. "You, um, aren't going to say anything about this to your mother or your sister... are you?"
Garrett smiled arrogantly. "I don't know, what's it worth to you?"
Mr. Booth's jaw dropped. "You're trying to blackmail me, too?!" he cried in disbelief.
"Look Dad, just guarantee that I can stay in Swans Crossing, and no one will ever know about this," he bargained.
Mr. Booth sighed and turned to walk away. "Something needs to be done about that boy," he grumbled to himself.
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"Are you sure you aren't mad at me?" Glory asked as she and J.T. were dancing to Sandy's song .
J.T. smiled to reassure her. He looked over his shoulder at Mila, who was next to Sandy, singing backup. "Positive."
The doors of the soda shop opened, and a man carrying a bouquet of sunflowers entered. "I have a delivery for a Jazz," he announced.
Jazz looked up, a bit confused. "For me?" she asked. She crossed the room and took the flowers from the man. "Thank you." She pulled the card off of the cellophane.
"Who are they from?" Callie asked, who had come over to Jazz's side.
Jazz read the card silently
Jazz,
You were a wonderful person. Sorry it turned out this way, but I will never forget.
Jazz looked up at Callie, smiling through tears. "Just someone passing through," she replied with a bittersweet sigh.
"Glory," J.T. said when Sandy finished her song, and someone played a rock tune on the jukebox. "Will you excuse me for a second?"
"Sure," she agreed, and watched him head over to where Mila was standing. She saw them talking, and then laughing. A knot formed in her stomach when she saw Mila flirtatiously place a hand on J.T.'s shoulder.
"Glory?" Callie spoke up from behind her.
A wide-eyed Glory turned to her friend. "Do you think they're flirting?" she asked.
"Who?"
"Mila and J.T."
Callie looked up at the pair, who were laughing at something together. "Nah, they're just talking."
"But I had sort of a fight with J.T. today," she said in a worried voice. "And now I'm afraid of losing him."
Callie smiled. "Look, a little fight is nothing. You and J.T. have something really special, and one little fight isn't going to change anything."
Glory managed a small smile. "I guess so."
"Hey, guys! Want to come up here and sing with us?" Sandy asked. Callie looked at Glory expectantly.
"Come on, it'll be fun, and you can get your mind off Mila for awhile," Callie whispered to her, grabbing Glory by the arm.
"All right, all right," she agreed, and the two joined Sandy.
"’Talking sweet as honey, boy you ain't gonna get too far’," Sandy, Mila, Callie, and Glory sang together, laughing and dancing in the shop. "'Talking sweet as honey, better come back with your heart...’"
As Glory was singing with her friends, she noticed that J.T. was staring at the girls, but his eyes appeared to be glued to Mila. She felt her heart sink, and wondered to herself if this was the end of J.T. Adams and Glory Booth.
Amidst all of the music, Sydney walked slowly into Swans, feeling a bit out of place. She saw most of her friends singing and dancing with Sandy, but Nancy was sitting by herself in a corner.
Good old Nancy, she thought to herself, and walked over to where her friend was sitting. "Hi," she said.
"Sydney!" Nancy looked up at her, wearing a look of absolute respect and admiration. "I simply cannot believe what you did to Garrett, it was genius!" she gushed.
Sydney sat down on the stool and sighed. "Just something I came up with spur of the moment," she said softly.
"Well, it was the most entertaining thing I have seen in years. And what a fool Garrett was to think you would fall for a scheme to make you believe that you and Sandy Swan, of all people, were switched at birth," Nancy carried on. She then looked up to the platform where J.T., Jimmy, Saja, Neil, and Owen had just joined Sandy, Glory, Mila, and Callie in their singing. The group was dancing and laughing cheerfully, Sandy in the middle of it all. "But then again, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad."
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"Guys, I really better get going," Callie told the group when the song was over.
"Aw, come on Callie, one more song?" Sandy pleaded with a grin.
"I'm really sorry, but I have to meet my dad. He has something important to tell me," she explained, wishing she could stay a little later.
"All right, well, we'll see you later then!" Saja said.
"Yeah, bye Callie!" the rest of them chorused.
Jimmy said good-bye to his friends as well, and he and Callie stepped outside. "I can walk you over to the hotel, right?" he asked her.
Callie looked up at the dark night sky, and nodded. "I would like that. 'Make a dark night lighter'," she quoted Sandy's song with a grin.
Jimmy took her hand in his, and they began walking down the dimly lit streets. "So, did you have fun tonight?"
"A lot!" she replied. "You know, I really feel like I fit in here."
"What do you mean?"
Callie shrugged, still wearing a smile. "I don't know, I mean, I grew up in a submarine. I was never really able to get," she paused. "close to anyone before."
Jimmy lowered his eyes timidly. "And you are now?"
She nodded. "I finally know what it's like," she admitted.
"You know, I feel that way too," he said.
"Really?"
"Well, before I met you, all of the relationships I had were superficial, like with Nancy and Sophia," Jimmy told her.
"But now..." she prompted.
"I've never really known anyone the way I know you," he concluded.
The two stopped outside of the Swans Crossing Inn where Captain Walker was staying. "Well, here we are," Callie said.
"I had such a good time tonight," Jimmy mentioned again. "I guess I’ll see you tomorrow at the Tool n' Die?"
Callie nodded. "Bright and early," she replied.
"Well, good night," he said, staring into her eyes which were shining in the moonlight.
"Good night." Jimmy and Callie leaned towards each other, and their lips met in a long kiss that sent an electric current down both of their spines. When their lips parted, Callie was breathless. She had never been kissed so sweetly before. They smiled at each other, and then Callie waved good-bye to Jimmy and entered the building. She went up to the front desk, and got her father's room number. She hopped into the elevator giddily, and rode up to Captain Walker's room, smiling and still able to feel Jimmy's kiss on her lips.
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The post-concert bash was still going strong at Swans. Sandy had stopped singing, and now she and Saja were dancing to a fast song on the jukebox.
"You know Sandy, your new song was incredible," he told her, smiling timidly.
"Well, it wouldn't have been possible without you," Sandy replied.
Saja bowed his head humbly. "I am honored to be in the presence of such a talented star. I'm so happy that you are going to get a record deal!" He touched her arm, and both could sense the sparks flying between them.
Mila was sitting at the counter, idly stirring her drink with her straw over and over.
"Hey Mila, why so glum?" J.T. asked, perching himself on the stool next to hers.
"I'm just so mad at Garrett! I can't believe what he did to Sydney!" she wailed.
J.T. looked up and saw the double doors of Swans swinging open. "Well, speak of the devil," he remarked.
Garrett stepped into the shop, and everyone looked up. The diner went quiet, and all eyes were on him as he walked across the room.
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Callie knocked on her father's door, and the Captain appeared in the doorway immediately.
"Callie! I'm so glad to see you, come in!" he greeted her pleasantly, wearing a smile.
"Me too, Dad," she told him. She entered the room and sat down in one of the chairs.
"So, how was the concert?" he asked.
Callie thought of how much fun she had and grinned. "It was incredible."
Captain Walker's expression became a bit anxious.
"So, what's the big news, Dad?" she asked.
"Well Callie, I have been offered a job! A great job researching in a lab at a university," he announced, smiling proudly.
Callie got up from the chair and hugged her father. "Dad, that's great! So, when do you start at Swans Crossing University?" she asked.
Captain Walker cleared his throat, and his eyes nervously darted across the room.
"Well, it's not at SCU," he said, staring at the floor.
"What? Well, where is it?" Callie prompted, trying to read her father's face.
"The university is in... Brazil."
And many special thanks to: Alicia "The Rhyming Diva" Lazaraus for writing the song "Make it Light". Miss Swan, whose storyline "Moving to Brazil" is introduced in this chapter.br/> Note: All the songs in this chapter excluding "Make it Light" are taken directly from Swans Crossing.
Chapter Twelve
"Brazil?" Callie repeated in disbelief, standing up. She began pacing the hotel room, her mouth dry, her hands shaking. "You have a job offer in Brazil?"
Captain Walker came over to her side, smiling. "Yes my dear, it is a wonderful opportunity for us. I would work an average nine to five job at the University of Rio de Janeiro, doing research in the bio lab. It would be similar to the work I did on the sub, studying lamprey eels, and of course the Nudibranchs, although there are different species in the southern hemisphere. The pay is really good, and they've offered to set us up in a house and everything. Can you imagine? The Walkers living in a house!" He chuckled at this idea.
Callie took a deep breath, trying her hardest to stay in control. "So, you're going to take it?"
"Well, after everything that has happened with the sub, there isn't really anything left for us here in Swans Crossing," he explained.
Callie thought back to the wonderful night she had had, laughing with her friends, dancing with Jimmy. "Speak for yourself," she muttered.
"What was that?" Captain Walker asked.
Callie lowered her eyes. "Nothing, Dad," she looked up at her father. He was smiling, and looked positively giddy. It was such a change from the last time she had been with him at the docks when he had been so cold, that there wasn't any way she could break his good mood by protesting. "So when are we leaving?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"We're leaving in four days," Captain Walker told her.
Callie's eyes widened. "Four days?"
---------
"Well, look who it is!" J.T. exclaimed as Garrett walked into Swans.
"J.T.," Glory began warningly. All eyes were on Garrett as he crossed the soda shop. The loud, festive music had stopped, and everyone who was dancing, laughing, and partying all looked up to see Garrett.
"Sydney," he said, coming over to her side. "I need to talk to you."
Sydney looked up at him, a smug look playing upon her face.
"I don't think so, Garrett," she replied, loud enough for everyone in the diner to hear her. "I don't want to talk to you, and I don't think anyone else wants you here, either. Face it, after what you did to me you are all washed up in Swans Crossing," Sydney explained in a harsh voice. Garrett looked around him, at all of the faces staring at him. He had never felt so alienated in his life.
"I'm glad Sydney is finally standing up to Garrett," Mila said, coming over to J.T. and Glory, turning her back so she wouldn't have to look at Garrett.
Glory sighed. "I'm going to go get something to drink," she mumbled, and wandered over to the counter. She wasn't about to witness another flirt-fest from the her boyfriend and Mila.
"I thought you and Garrett were the dynamic duo," J.T. remarked. "What happened?"
Mila sighed. "Well, after what he did to Sydney, I don't think I could ever be with him again."
"Yeah, and she's not the only one he's double crossed tonight," J.T. said glumly.
"What do you mean?" Mila asked, furrowing her eyebrows in curiosity.
J.T. smiled to himself. "Well, you know the poem that you sang tonight at the concert?"
Mila rolled her eyes. "Yeah, the one Garrett wrote for me this summer."
J.T. shook his head. "He might have read it to you but he didn't write it."
Her eyes widened. "What do you mean? Who wrote it?" she asked him.
J.T. smiled shyly. "I did."
From across the room, Glory watched J.T. and Mila talking. She felt a lump rising in her throat as she watched him comfort her.
"Sickening, isn't it?" Neil spoke up from behind her. He sat down on the stool next to Glory’s.
"You mean Mila and J.T.?" she asked, not tearing her eyes away from the two.
Neil nodded. "Good old J.T., always trying to play the good Samaritan."
"Right," Glory answered in a choked voice.
Neil picked up on it right away. "Glory, are you all right?" he asked with concern.
She shrugged. "I suppose. After what happened with Garrett and J.T. tonight, I don't think things will ever be the same," she said sadly.
"Oh, come on. Look, J.T. and I are best friends. He could never see anything in Mila. You two are the perfect match," he admitted.
Glory wasn't convinced. "But she's already in love with his soul!"
Neil looked confused. "What do you mean? What about your brother?"
"Garrett gave Mila poems that J.T. had written to me. That was the only way he could get Mila to go out with him again. And now J.T. knows, and I'm sure he's over there telling Mila..." he voice trailed off.
"Try not to think about it. J.T. has a lot on his mind, and well, these things have a way of working themselves out," Neil said comfortingly.
"Thanks, Neil," Glory replied. But from the way she could see J.T. looking up at Mila, she knew that it wasn't going to 'work itself out'.
---------
"Brazil," Captain Walker's words echoed in Callie's head.
"A wonderful opportunity for us."
"University of Rio de Janerio."
"Four days."
"Brazil," Callie mumured to herself. She sat down on the porch swing at the Booth's house, and she vaguely wondered how she had gotten there. She couldn't remember saying goodbye to her dad, and she didn't remember walking back to Glory's. All she remembered were the strange words her father had said.
"We're moving to Brazil," Callie repeated out loud. "Brazil." The more she said it, the stranger it seemed.
"How could it be?" she asked herself. "Just when things were beginning to work out for me, now we're going to have to move.... It’s not like it’s anything new though," she added bitterly. This was the story of Callie's life. Every time she seemed to get used to a place, Captain Walker announced that they were leaving. And it used to be okay with Callie. In all of the other places she had lived, she never bothered to make any real friends. It was never worth it. But her father had made it seem like Swans Crossing was going to be a permanent homestead.
Maybe it would have been if I hadn't ruined the sub, she thought to herself. However, in the back of her mind she knew that the incident with the submarine was not her fault. But maybe it is my fault for letting myself get too close to the people here, she mused. After all, I should have known this wouldn’t last forever.
Callie closed her eyes. She wanted to kick, scream, cry, do anything she could to end this nightmare and forget her father’s awful announcement. I can't believe I only have four more days in Swans Crossing, she thought sadly. Then another, more urgent thought occurred to her. How am I going to tell Jimmy?
---------
"Please Sydney," Garrett pleaded, trying to keep his voice down. "There is something I really need to discuss with you."
Sydney arched an eyebrow. "What?"
"I think you know, and it isn't something that you'd want to have broadcasted all over town," he explained. "Can we go outside?" Garrett motioned towards the door.
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Fine," she agreed, and stormed out of the shop. As soon as the red trimmed doors of Swans swung closed, Sydney began tapping her foot impatiently. "All right, Garrett, let's make this quick. What do you have to talk to me about?"
"It's about the little accusation you have made about my father being your father," he began.
Sydney’s eyes darted around her, making sure no one could overhear them. "It's not an accusation. I've seen the proof with my own eyes. The letter, the engagement announcement-"
"Both fake," Garrett cut her off. "I talked to my dad about it tonight."
"What!?" she exclaimed. "You told your dad?"
He nodded. "I had to know the truth, and I knew I wasn't going to get it from you."
"Oh," she replied sarcastically. "And just what pray tell did your father say is the truth?"
"Your mother made this whole thing up. She accused him of being the father of her child just so she would have something on him."
"You mean the same reason that you invented the ‘switched at birth’ story?" Sydney asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Something like that," Garrett answered shortly. "And thanks a lot for telling that to the entire town!"
"Oh, you're quite welcome," she deadpanned. "You deserved it, and you know it. First you tell the biggest lie in history, that I was switched at birth with Sandy Swan, and then you accuse me and my mother of being liars. You really have a lot of nerve, Garrett Booth."
"That's right, and don't you forget it," he said, smiling arrogantly.
Sydney turned away from him, and stared into the lit street lamp outside the building. "We need to do something about this."
Garrett walked in front of her to face her. "What do you mean, we?"
"For once Garrett, I think we are going to have to team up," she admitted, having a hard time getting those words out.
"Why?" he asked distastefully.
"We need to find out the truth about what happened between our parents, and the only way we can do that is by-"
"Garrett!" Mila called, interrupting him and Sydney. Realizing they couldn't talk about it anymore, Sydney retreated back into the soda shop.
"Mila, hi!" Garrett said, reaching to put his arm around her. She backed away from him. "What's wrong?" he asked in confusion.
"I don't think we should see each other anymore," she told him coldly.
"What?!"
"After what you did to Sydney..." Mila’s voice trailed off.
Garrett rolled his eyes. "That's between me and Sydney, it has nothing to do with you."
"Oh yeah, well the fact that you stole J.T.'s poems and gave them to me has something to do with me," she snapped, putting her hands on her hips.
Garrett’s eyes widened. "W-what? Who told you that?" he stuttered, completely taken aback.
"The poet himself," she said with a scowl.
"J.T.," he growled under his breath.
"That's right, and J.T. is more of a man than you will ever be." Mila reached into her pocket, and pulled out the awful poem he had given her earlier that day. She tossed it at him, and turned on her heels. "Good-bye!"
Mila stormed back into Swans leaving Garrett behind, and immediately walked over to J.T.
"What happened?" J.T. asked when he saw her face was flushed.
"I broke up with Garrett!" she wailed, tears beginning to fall down her face.
"Good for you," J.T. said encouragingly. "I never understood why all the girls always wanted to go out with Garrett."
Mila sniffed in reply. "I don't know either," she admitted.
"Especially you," he continued shyly. "I mean, you're such a bright girl. You deserve better."
Mila looked up at J.T., and their eyes locked. She was surprised at the intensity of his stare. J.T. had never looked at her like that before. It wasn't just a friendly look, it was one of those looks. "Thanks," Mila sputtered, still looking into his eyes.
"Would you like to get out of here?" J.T. asked, seeing as she was still crying a little bit.
She nodded. "Okay."
"I'll walk you home." J.T. and Mila walked out of Swans together, while Glory watched on helplessly.
She stood up. "I've got to get out of here," she muttered, and headed out the door.
---------
Callie let herself into the Booth house. Grant and Cornelia were already asleep, so she tiptoed into the living room and sat down on the couch. She didn't even bother to turn on a light, although she was afraid of the dark. She felt completely numb as she buried her face in her hands. Life couldn't get any worse. Suddenly, the front door creaked open, and her head shot up.
"We really need to talk Garrett," Glory told her brother in a harsh voice. The two came into the living room, and Callie ducked behind the couch so they wouldn't see her. She could tell there was a fight brewing between the Booth siblings, and she didn't want to get in the middle of it.
"What is it now?" Garrett asked in a weary voice. He had already been chewed out by his dad, Sydney, and Mila, he didn't need anything from Glory, too.
Garrett quickly began walking up the stairs, but Glory was at his heels. "You're not going to get out of this so fast!" she exclaimed. The two entered Glory's room, and she closed the door. "How could you do this to me?" she wailed.
"What? What did I do?" Garrett looked confused.
dGlory picked up her picture of J.T. that sat proudly on her desk. As soon as she looked at the photo, her eyes flooded with tears. "You stole J.T.'s poem, and Mila sang it tonight at the concert. J.T. found out about it," she explained in a low voice. She looked up, her blue eyes flashing with anger. "I can't believe you did this to me! He left with Mila!" she shouted.
"Um," Garrett stuttered. He had never seen Glory so angry before.
"I hate you!" she screamed. "You've ruined my life!" she took the picture of J.T. and flung it at Garrett. It missed, and smashed against the wall, shattering and falling to the floor in broken glass shards.
The siblings stared at each other for a few intense moments. "I’ve got to get out of here," Garrett mumbled, leaving his sister behind, staring at the broken picture.
---------
"Thanks for walking me home, J.T.," Mila said when they arrived in the front of her house. They were standing near the door in the glow of the porch light. "I just couldn't be alone tonight."
"I understand," J.T. replied. "But come on, tonight wasn't all wasted."
"No, it wasn't," she admitted. "I got to sing in front of all these people. And they liked us, they even liked me."
He smiled. "Well that isn't a big surprise,"
Then she frowned. "I am just so mad at Garrett!"
"Forget about it! It's his loss, and you know it."
Mila shrugged. "I guess. Well, you know, I should tell you what I have been telling Garrett all this time about the poem."
"What's that?" J.T. asked.
"It's beautiful," she told him shyly.
"Yeah?"
Mila nodded. "It gives me chills."
Right after she said that, J.T.’s mind wandered back. Where had he heard those words before? He thought for a moment, then remembered. That's what Glory always said when she liked one of my poems! Man, I was such a jerk to her tonight! he recalled. He realized he had been trying to flirt with Mila to get back at Garrett, and in the process had really messed things up with Glory. "Mila, I really have to be going," J.T. quickly excused himself, said good night, and bounded off in the direction of the Booth's.
---------
After Garrett had left, Glory crossed the room. She spotted her book of poems sitting at her window seat. She picked it up, and carefully began to leaf through it. "I can't believe you J.T. Adams. You just go off with Mila tonight like what we had was nothing," she said out loud. She sat down at the window, and slowly ripped one of the pages out. She tossed it out the window, and let it slowly flutter to the ground. It made her feel better, like he couldn't hurt her. So she ripped another one out, and tossed it outside as well. Next thing she knew, she was holding an empty book in her hands. She had thrown all of J.T.’s poems out the window in some sort of a trance.
"Glory?" Callie spoke up cautiously, coming into the room. Glory looked up from the slew of papers on the ground outside the window.
"Hi Callie," she greeted her in a low, monotonous voice.
Callie looked at Glory's desk where a stack of Polaroids where sitting. "Are these from the party?" she asked, picking them up.
"Yeah," Glory replied. Callie leafed through the stack, until she came to a photo of her and Jimmy smiling at each other while they were dancing. She studied it a moment and then looked up briefly.
"Can I keep this?" she asked, still staring at the picture.
"Sure," Glory shrugged.
Then Callie noticed that she was standing amongst broken glass and pieces of frame and Glory’s photo of J.T. was lying on the ground. "What happened?" she asked her friend with concern.
"I threw it at Garrett," Glory explained. Callie could tell by the stains on Glory's face that she had been crying.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Callie asked softly. Glory turned away.
"Not really."
Outside, J.T. approached the Booth's house. He was carrying the ladder he used to climb up Glory's window and see her sometimes. I have to apologize, he thought to himself. I have been such a jerk tonight!
"As far as I am concerned, J.T. and I are through!" J.T. heard Glory say from inside her bedroom. He felt his heart sink. He looked down at his feet, and realized he was standing on a bunch of pieces of paper. He knelt down and picked it up. "’Accidental flares of love burst through the atmosphere’," it read. It was one of his poems. He dropped it back onto the soil, and looked up at Glory's window.
"I guess we are," J.T. said, and stepped away in defeat.
Special thanks to Miss Swan and to Maxiom for some of the story ideas in this chapter.
Chapter Thirteen
Glory woke up Saturday morning to swollen eyes. She sat up in bed, and as always, looked to her desk where J.T.'s photo normally sat.
"Nope," she sighed when she saw the picture was gone. "It wasn't a nightmare." J.T. really had left her last night, to comfort Mila. And it was all Garrett's fault! If he hadn't stolen J.T.'s poems in the first place... she ended that thought right there. She had to take some responsibility. After all, she was naive enough not to notice what was going on between Mila and J.T. I should have seen it coming, she thought, remembering how the two had been discussing poetry endlessly for the past few weeks.
She glanced into the trash can and saw the shards of broken glass. She and Callie had cleaned it up at about midnight, while Callie tearfully told her about moving to Brazil. Of course, that made Glory cry, too. No wonder my eyes hurt so much, she thought wryly.
Glory crossed the room to her full length mirror and stared into it, studying her disheveled reflection. "So begins the brand new life of Gloria Booth," she said out loud. She tried to smile, only making things worse. She looked over at Callie who was still asleep in the guest bed, and then over at the window seat, where Callie's suede motorcycle jacket sat. She slowly picked it up, and slipped it on over her pajamas. She scowled at her reflection, trying to look tough.
"Glory, what are you doing?" Callie asked with a sleepy laugh.
Glory whipped around and froze like a deer caught in headlights. "Umm..."
"It's okay," Callie said, laughing again.
Glory took the jacket off. "I was just trying it on," she explained. "I figure maybe it's time for a change."
Callie sensed what that meant, and she crossed her arms in front of her. "Glory," she said warningly, "you are a wonderful person and if J.T. doesn't see it it's his problem."
"Right," Glory agreed monotonously, sounding anything but convinced. "So, what are you doing today?"
Callie's smile immediately faded. "I guess I have to go tell everyone about moving."
"Namely Jimmy," Glory concluded knowingly.
Callie nodded. "Right. I don't know how he's going to take it."
Concern crossed Glory's face. "Look, I've known Jimmy nearly all my life, and I've never seen him like this. You know," she smiled, "head over heels."
"Really?" Callie asked with a grin. Then she frowned. "This isn't going to be easy."
"Are you going to stay together?" she asked carefully.
Callie sat silently for a moment, pondering the question. "I want to," she began. "But I don't know. It would be so hard being that far away... First I think I have to tell him about moving, and then I'll think about all of this."
Glory nodded in agreement. Callie gathered her things to go into the shower. "Good luck!" Glory told her.
Callie nodded glumly and crossed her fingers. "Expect the worst, hope for the best," she muttered.
---------
Sydney sat at her vanity table, mindlessly brushing her hair. Last night was so weird. She had really given it to Garrett, but Callie made her feel so guilty. And then Garrett had been angry about what she had done, but nowhere near as mad as she had imagined he would be.
"I had to do it," she reasoned with herself. "I mean, he didn't believe a word I said about our parents, and I had to let him know he can't push me around like that. And if it gets him into a little trouble," she paused and smiled widely. "well that's just a shame isn't it?" She laughed heartily. But then she remembered asking him to team up with her. Of course he didn't get to answer her proposition because Mila had interrupted them.
She glanced out the window, and the Fabian shade pulled down in Glory's room caught her eye. "Well, Garrett, it's time to discover the truth," she declared, standing up and leaving the room. "Whether we like it or not."
---------
"Mila? Mila, darling?" Countess Rosnovsky called, stepping off the elevator and entering Mila's bedroom.
Mila, who was standing out on her balcony came into the room. "Yes, Mama?"
The countess instructed Mila to sit down. "Dear, I heard all about getting a shot at a record deal after the concert last night," she began.
"Uh huh," Mila replied distractedly. She couldn't make herself seem happy when she was so depressed.
"And I also know you have a very good chance at being a cheerleader this year," Countess Rosnovsky continued.
"Maybe." Mila shrugged.
"Don't you think you have a little too much on your plate?" she asked gently.
"What do you mean?" Mila said, confused.
Countess Rosnovsky stood up, and turned away from her daughter. "Well, I got a call from your science teacher, Mr. Callahan."
Mila got up and faced her mother. "Really?"
"Yes, he says you haven't been concentrating much in class," she explained.
"Oh," Mila responded. "Well, I mean, chemistry is really confusing and-"
"I know you're not used to the routine of the public school system, but if you would just put as much effort into your studies as your other activities I would be very proud of you, my Angel."
Mila smiled. "I'll try harder, Mama," she agreed. After the hectic and confusing night she had had, she was in no mood to argue.
Countess Rosnovsky hugged her. "You're such a wonderful young lady."
"Thanks," Mila replied, grabbing her pink book bag off the floor. "I guess I'll go study in the library," she told her mother, heading into the elevator.
"Okay! Have fun!" The countess called after her as the elevator door closed.
---------
Neil and J.T. burst out of the courtroom, as their trial had just ended.
"Can you believe this? I mean, is this exciting or what?" Neil blubbered. He continued before J.T. could answer him. "I knew as soon as they saw our discovery we'd be free."
J.T. gave Neil a look. "You did not! You were the one who was convinced we were going to go to jail."
Neil laughed good naturedly. "All right, Bucky Ball," he agreed. Then he continued to excitedly rehash what the court had decided. "Six hours of community service!" he exclaimed. "I mean, how easy is that? But the best part is we don't have to put UB2B to rest!"
"Right. We have 'the privilege of working with a team of physicists at the University of Maine in Orono'," J.T. quoted the judge, imitating his voice.
"I know, isn't it great?"
J.T. scoffed. "Sharing our project with a bunch of grownies is great?"
Neil ignored him. They stepped outside and he gulped in a breath of fresh air. "Ah, smell that O-2! Isn't it wonderful to be alive?"
"Yeah, wonderful," J.T. responded sarcastically.
"Is something wrong?" Neil asked.
"Oh, just about everything. Glory hates me know," he explained, profoundly aware of the emptiness he was feeling inside.
"Well, look on the bright side. Now you can use all that extra hard drive space to concentrate on UB2B," Neil quipped. J.T. was not amused. "So, you wanna come with me?"
"Where are you going?" he asked distractedly.
"Hello? Anyone home?" Neil teased him. "I'm going to Orono. To the U to work on UB2B."
"Now?"
"Well, of course now! It's been at least a week since we've worked on it. The hormones in my body are going through withdrawal."
An image of Glory flashed in J.T.'s mind. "Yeah. Me, too."
"So are you coming?"
J.T. shook his head. "Nah, I-I've got some studying to do."
"Studying?"
"Studying, thinking, moping. It's all the same," he remarked glumly.
"Well, I am off," Neil told him, hopping on his mini bike. "Page me if you need me!" He high fived J.T. happily, and started his engine. As Neil sped off, J.T. sighed. He walked away from the courthouse, not at all aware of where he was going.
---------
I guess we need to talk, don't we?" Sydney said, peering through the hole in the wall at Garrett.
"Yes, we do. We need to discuss your proposition to team up," he told her.
She could tell from the tone of his voice that he thought she was just dying to work with him. "Look Garrett, I don't like this anymore than you do-"
"I agree," he replied shortly.
"Agree to what?" Sydney asked carefully.
"Your plan. I mean, we both know our parents aren't going to tell us the truth-"
"You're right about that," she interrupted.
Garrett scowled at her. "So," he continued. "Where do we begin?"
"First we have to promise not to tell a soul we might be brother and sister." Sydney held her hand out on his side of the wall.
Garrett shook it. "Agreed."
"And I mean no one," she emphasized.
"Okay, okay!"
The two began to talk strategy, while a woman in the bushes let out a silent sigh of awe. "What a story!" she breathed as she began to make notes on her pad.
---------
Callie cut her engine and coasted up to the Tool n' Die. She needed to prep herself before she told Jimmy that she was moving away. She got off her mini-bike and leaned against the wall, trying to come up with a way to break the news to him, when she heard voices from inside the shop. Female voices. Feeling curious, she peered in through the door which was opened a crack.
Inside the Tool n’ Die, Callie could see a petite blond girl in a short skirt, and an equally stylish brunette. They were hovering near the counter where Jimmy was filling out a work order.
"So, we hear you're the manager of this place," the blond said.
Jimmy looked up from his notepad and smiled politely. The blond ran the tips of her fingers up his lower arm, and Jimmy lightly pushed her hand away, trying to remain cordial. He didn't want to give the girls any wrong ideas. In the back of his mind, he was wondering where Callie was this morning. "Yep, I'm the manager."
"That must be so exciting," the brunette breathed.
He nodded. "I guess so," he replied shortly, ripping a receipt off the pad and handing it to her. "You can pick up your dad's bike on Monday."
"That soon?" the blond girl gushed. "Why, you're such a dear Jimmy!" she exclaimed flirtatously.
"If there are any problems, don't hesitate to call," the brown haired girl told him seductively.
"Will do," Jimmy responded. Callie heard the shuffling of feet inside, and quickly hid around the corner of the shop. She listened to the girls giggle as they walked away. She took a few deep breaths, trying to interpret what she had just witnessed.
They were flirting with him! Callie thought to herself. Then she came to a startling realization. When I go away this will keep happening, and they'll be here in the flesh while I'll just be a voice on the telephone. Jimmy's going to lose interest, and I don't want to trap him into a commitment when he's not interested anymore. Not to mention the fact that it would kill me if he stopped caring about me while I still care about him... a lot. Tears sprung to her eyes. I have to break up with him.
---------
Mila sat at a desk in the library, tapping her pencil against her notebook. It was far too quiet. She checked the clock, which read noon. She still had two hours before she had to meet Sandy and Owen in the studio.
She lowered her head and tried to make sense of the atomic formulas swimming on the paper.
"It's no use!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper, ripping out a page in her notebook and crumpling it up.
"Hey!" spoke up a surprised voice after she threw the paper ball across the table.
Mila looked up, and saw J.T. grinning at her. "J.T., hi," she greeted him, sounding casual, but was surprised that her heart rate was going up.
"Hi Mila." He picked up the wad of paper. "Fighting with your homework?"
She laughed shyly. "Sort of. I just don't get it."
J.T. unfolded the piece of paper, examining her precise handwriting. "Chemistry?" Mila nodded. "Well, that's a piece of cake."
Her eyes lit up. "Really? You'll help me?"
He had already begun highlighting her notes. "Sure, no problem."
Without thinking, Mila impulsively threw her arms around J.T. and thanked him with a big hug. As soon as she realized what she was doing she immediately let go, and blushed furiously.
J.T. face reddened as well and he continued to work, afraid to meet her eyes.
---------
Garrett held the door open for Sydney. The two entered the library.
"I can't believe it's Saturday afternoon and I'm spending it with you in the library," Sydney complained.
"The feeling's mutual Sydney, my dear," he responded with false sweetness.
The two headed up to the counter. Mr. Han, the librarian, wasn't behind the desk. Sydney pressed her palm against the bell sitting on the counter. "Hello? What does it take to get some service around here?" she asked loudly.
"Shh!" Garrett exclaimed, removing her hand from the bell. "This is a library!"
Mr. Han came out of the backroom, and smiled at the teens. "Can I help you?"
"I need microfiche from the Swans Crossing Gazzette for the years 1977 and 1978," Sydney demanded tersely.
"Okay, do you know how to use the machine?" Mr. Han asked.
Garrett opened his mouth to speak, but Sydney quickly answered, "Of course" for both of them.
Mr. Han returned to the backroom to retrieve the microfiche.
"What did you do that for?" Garrett hissed.
Sydney rolled her eyes. "Do you want the librarian to be reading over our shoulder?"
Garrett was silent in reply. She was right. Mr. Han handed them the rolls of micro film and led them to a small room where the machine was kept.
Garrett flicked on the lights while Sydney began to try and load the film into the machine. Garrett looked out the window at the others in the library. His jaw dropped.
"What's the matter, Garrett? See your reflection in the glass?" she teased.
"Look at this," he growled. Sydney joined him at the window.
Her eyebrows raised. She saw J.T. sitting at a table with Mila, their heads bent together over a pile of paper and science books. Every now and again, they would laugh at something, as if they were sharing a private joke.
"They look cozy," Sydney commented off handedly. She saw anger flash in Garrett's eyes. "But I'm sure they're not. I mean, Mila's with you and J.T. and Glory are together."
Garrett shook his head. "Not after last night. J.T. dumped Glory and Mila..." his voice trailed off. He had far too much pride to admit to Sydney he had been dumped as well.
"Wow," Sydney remarked. "I really have been out of the loop."
As Garrett turned away from the window, she could see real hurt in his eyes. He sat down, moving like he had been defeated. "Garrett-" Sydney began quietly.
He quickly cut her off. "Let's just figure out how this thing works."
---------
Callie leaned up against the wall of the Tool n’ Die, trying to figure out what to do about telling Jimmy her big news.
I can't lay this all on him at once, she told herself. I have to start by telling him I'm moving, and then break up with him. She wiped the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and entered the Tool n' Die.
Jimmy heard her, and looked up from the motorcycle the two girls had dropped off. He immediately felt excited just seeing her face. Their relationship still had that "new" feeling to him. "Hey, Walker Woman," he greeted her warmly, an involuntary smile spreading across his face.
Callie suddenly felt dizzy, and quickly found her way to a chair.
"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
She shook her head. "We have to talk," she murmured, wishing the room would stop spinning.
"Oh, okay," he said slowly, sensing that what she had to say was bad news.
Callie drew in a deep breath. She didn’t want to step around what she needed to tell him, so she decided to just give him the news, straight. "Jimmy... I'm moving."
---------
Garrett ran his hands through his hair anxiously as he hovered over Sydney.
"I told you I saw this!" Sydney said, pointing out the announce- ment of their parents’ engagement.
"'August, 1977'," Garrett read. "How many months is that before you were born?"
"Well, I was born March 13, 1978." She counted off on her fingers. "That's 10 months after this announcement!" she exclaimed.
His eyes widened. "So there is definitely a chance that you could be my sister."
"Don't say that!" Sydney demanded.
"Well, this was a bust. You proved to me our parents were engaged. But it doesn't prove anything else." Garrett sighed. "There must be something your mother's not telling you."
Suddenly, Sydney looked up, a dazed expression on her face. Her mind flashed back to a conversation she had had with her mother a few weeks earlier.
Sydney and Ralph had been asked to help sort through the Rutledges' messy living room to find a keepsake box of the Mayor. It held a small, crystal swan. But when Mayor Rutledge returned home after work, it was still no where to be found.
Sydney asked her mother why she was so intent on finding the box.
"Mother, this isn't like you to fixate on objects," Sydney said quietly. "I remember when you lost Aunt Peneirsha's heirloom bracelet. You didn't dwell on it, not for a minute."
"Well there are," she paused. "There are some things you don't know."
"Like what?"
Mayor Rutledge sighed. "Just see me through this election campaign successfully, all right?"
"Of course," she reassured her mother.
"Then I'll tell you all about it."
Sydney twirled a strand of her brown hair around her finger. There was something so strange and mysterious about the way her mother placed such importance on finding the crystal swan. Maybe it held some answers to their questions...
"Sydney?" Garrett asked, looking strangely at her dazed expression.
"The swan!" she cried suddenly.
"What?"
"My mother had a crystal swan in a box. I have a feeling it might have something to do with all of this!" She flipped off the microfilm machine and grabbed Garrett’s arm.
"Where are we going?"
Sydney gave him a determined smile. "Come on Garrett, we're going to my house!"
---------
Jimmy stared blankly at Callie. At first, he thought she might've just been joking, but the sullen expression on her face told him she was dead serious. Jimmy felt like he had been punched in the stomach. All morning he had watched the door to the Tool n’ Die, waiting for Callie to walk through it, and now, when she did, she had news like this?
"You're moving?" he repeated, although his head was ringing so loudly, he could barely hear his own voice.
"Yes," she answered softly. "My dad told me last night. We're moving to Brazil."
Jimmy blinked a few times, in hopes that maybe he would awaken from this strange nightmare. "Brazil?" he managed to choke out. He couldn't believe that last night things had been so perfect between them, and now, just when everything was working out, she was leaving him. "When?"
Callie didn't answer right away. She stood up, and crossed the shop to stand next to him. She placed her hand over his in an effort to comfort him. "In four days."
Four days! he thought, unable to believe his ears. A feeling of shock and dismay instantly gripped him. He quickly pulled his hand out from under Callie's and hurriedly gathered his jacket and motorcycle helmet. Callie stared at him, hurt gleaming in her eyes.
"Jimmy," she called after him. "Where are you going?"
"Riding," he mumbled. He tore away from the garage, desperately trying to leave his problems behind.
---------
"We're never going to find it!" Garrett said, his voice muffled because his head was stuck in a box.
"Just keep looking," Sydney commanded. The doorbell rang, and since it was Ralph's day off, she rose to answer it. "Stay here," she told Garrett. "If it's one of Mother's friends, be prepared to go out the window."
Garrett cocked an eyebrow in surprise.
Sydney walked into the foyer and pulled the heavy oak door open.
As soon as she had answered the door, a woman shoved a microphone in her face. "Miss Rutledge, what do you have to say about the rumor that your mother and her opponent, Grant Booth, had romantic relations?"
Sydney grasped the doorway, trying to balance herself. "What?"
"Are you and Garrett Booth really brother and sister?"
"How did you hear about this?" she asked shrilly.
The reporter ignored her. "Answer the question please."
"No comment!" Sydney yelled, and slammed the door in the woman's face.
"Who was it?" Garrett asked, meeting her in the hall.
Sydney squeezed her eyes shut, trying to dam the river of tears threatening to spill over. "I think we have a problem."