Swans Crossing: The Return
©1997 by Stephanie Blydenburgh
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Chapter Nineteen
Glory landed on the grass with a thump.
"Glory!" Mila cried, rushing over to her side. J.T. and the other cheerleaders followed. Glory looked up at them, squinting. "Are you okay?" Mila asked her.
"Yeah," she grunted, trying to sit up. "I just got really dizzy all of a sudden."
"Can you see okay now?" J.T. asked softly.
"Mm-hmm," she replied, realizing that J.T. was standing next to her for the first time since the night of the concert.
"I don't think you have a concussion or anything, but you better get home," he told her, his voice gentle and comforting.
"J.T.?" Mila said, coming up behind him.
"Yes?"
"Do you think you could help Glory home? I would, but we still have to practice for the Homecoming field show," Mila explained.
Glory sat on the ground fuming. Gee, they're making it seem like such a chore to help me home! "Don't worry about me, I think I'll be fine," she growled between clenched teeth. She stood up, but felt her knees shaking again. They threatened to give way underneath her, so she grabbed J.T.'s arm to help keep her balance.
"Oh no, you don't," he chided her tenderly. He wrapped his arm around her waist to balance her. Glory's heart began drumming at a ferocious beat. His arm felt so casual there, just like old times. His touch was full of warmth and care, and it sparked a flame inside her. "I'll take you home," J.T. offered, and slowly led her away from the field.
Jimmy’s father looked at him with wide eyes. "You want to go to Brazil?"
"Well, uh, yeah," Jimmy replied nervously.
Mr. Clayton gave him a confused look. "Do you realize how much a trip to Brazil is going to cost?"
Jimmy raised his eyebrows in thought. "But, um, you see, I thought I would go there and maybe learn a little about photo journalism. You know, see if I want to take after Johnny."
Mr. Clayton chuckled. "Bringing up careers. Nice tactic. Now why don't you tell me why you really want to go?"
"So, are you going to be okay?" J.T. asked as he helped Glory onto the porch swing at the Booth's house.
"Yeah," she said, surprised she could even find her voice. She was busy staring into his blue eyes, her skin still burning where he had touched her. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed him until he was near her. "J.T.?"
"Yeah?" he answered, his eyes shining with something that Glory interpreted as hope.
"Can you stay?" she whispered, her voice full of longing.
J.T. lowered his eyes, and a sad look crossed his face. "You know I would, but..."
She swallowed hard. "But what?"
He was silent for a moment. "I told Mila we could study after cheerleading practice."
Tears came to her eyes on cue, and she blinked them away, not wanting J.T. to notice. "Oh."
"Glory..." he started, but she turned away from his stare.
"Go," she told him hoarsely.
"But Glory-"
"Just go!" she snapped, not turning back to him. The tears were now steadily falling down her freckled cheeks. She waited until she heard his footsteps grow quieter and quieter, until he was gone.
Glory hiccupped, and angrily wiped at her wet cheeks.
"Glory?" a voice said.
Her head shot up, thinking maybe it was J.T., but instead she saw Garrett coming up the porch. "Hi Garrett," she mumbled.
"Can I talk to you a minute?" he asked.
"Sure, I've got all the time in the world," she replied bitterly.
"I just want to apologize for everything that happened. With J.T., and Mila, and the poems. I wish there was someway I could make it up to you, little sis," Garrett told her, giving her a hug.
Suddenly, Glory's face lit up. "Wait! There is!"
"What do you mean?"
Glory smiled. "Do you think that maybe you could get Mila and J.T. to break up?"
He thought about it for a minute. "I don't know, I mean, how would I do that?"
She gave him a pleading look. "Please, Garrett."
"I'll give it a shot," he promised.
Glory pecked her brother on the cheek. "Thanks!" She retreated into the house, leaving him in thought.
"I might not be able to break them up," Garrett said aloud slowly. "But I bet I know who could!"
Jimmy stared at his dad. "There are a lot of reasons I want to go," he began carefully.
"And I bet Johnny is only one of those reasons," Jimmy's father said.
Jimmy looked away. "Let's just say I need to be there. A lot is counting on this visit."
Mr. Clayton tapped a pencil against the side of his desk. "What about school?" he asked.
Jimmy tried to surpress his smile. Seems like he's caving! "Well, next week is Homecoming week, so there won't be a lot of work to do, and what I will miss I’ve already gotten from my teachers."
"You work fast," his father remarked with a laugh. "And speaking of Homecoming, what about the football game? Won't Coach Gromme be angry?"
Jimmy thought back to the way he had left things with Callie. "There are some things that are more important than football," he commented.
"Well, I guess it won't hurt that much if you go," Mr. Clayton said slowly. A smile spread across Jimmy's face. "But, you can only stay for ten days."
Jimmy nodded eagerly. "That's fine."
"And you have to find someone to take care of the Tool n' Die," he continued.
"No problem," Jimmy answered.
"And I want you to pay for half the plane ticket out of your salary from your job."
Jimmy reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a wad of cash. He set it on his father's desk. "Got it covered!"
"You always do," Mr. Clayton told his son.
"Thanks Dad! I'll see you at home!" Jimmy said enthusiastically. He took off from his father’s office to begin making arrangements for his trip to Brazil... and hopefully, to begin making things right with Callie.
Callie woke up after a fitful sleep in an unfamiliar room. She sat up, and groggily took in her surroundings. Then she remembered. She was in her new bedroom... in Brazil. She got out of bed, and crossed the room to the window. She had a beautiful view of the ocean, and the room itself, while sparsely decorated, reminded her a lot of Glory's: hardwood floors, window seat, pretty floral wallpaper. It could seem like home to her... if the room and she were back in Swans Crossing with all her friends.
"My first real bedroom," she commented out loud. She walked over to her desk, which was empty except for one thing. She opened up the drawer and took out the photo of her and Jimmy which was taken at the post-concert party. They were dancing very close to one another, and both seemed lost in each other’s eyes. I don't even look like the same person, Callie mused, studying her happy and romantic smile. There was something in Jimmy's expression, too. He looked so smitten.
Callie threw the photo back into the desk. "What a joke! If he had really cared, he would have come to my goodbye party," she muttered. She left her bedroom, and entered the living room. Her father was awake, and was hovering over one of the aquariums feeding the tropical fish.
"Good morning Callie! What do you think of your new home?" he asked, his voice sounding uncharacteristically cheery.
"It's okay," she replied, sitting down at the kitchen table. Out of habit, she grabbed a muffin off the table and chewed on it. It had no taste. "Hey, Dad?"
"Yes?" he said, joining her in the kitchen.
"You came around the Brazilian coast last summer when you left for two weeks and I stayed at the Booth's," she began.
Captain Walker smiled at his daughter. "Why yes, I did."
She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Did you know we were moving here?"
"Well, no," his voice faltered, and Callie stared at him in suspicion.
"Then it was just a coincidence that we end up moving to the same place you visited last summer?"
He rested his hand on her shoulder. "Nothing in life, my dear, is a coincidence," he told her. There was an awkward pause. "I have a proposition you might be interested in," Captain Walker said suddenly, quickly changing the subject, which Callie duly noted.
"What's that?" she asked, trying to conjure up some interest, which was quite a task.
"My colleague has a son and daughter your age. They're twins. I thought you might want to meet some new people here in Rio De Janerio, so I invited them over."
Callie shrugged. "Sure, why not?" she replied in an unenthusiastic voice, rising up from the table. "I'll go get ready." She pushed in her chair and headed over to her bedroom, while Captain Walker stared after her with concern.
Sydney looked out her window, and saw that the Fabian shade was pulled down. A few weeks ago, she would have winced at this sight, but now she was eagerly grabbing her white cardigan and racing out the door to No Man's Land.
She smiled widely when she saw Garrett standing on the other side of the wall.
"It's good to see you," she said in a low voice.
He smiled back at her. "You too, but there was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"What?" Sydney asked.
"Just a small favor," Garrett explained.
Her smile slowly faded. "How small?" she asked pointedly.
"Don't worry, you don't have to do this if you don't want to, but I was wondering if you could break up Mila and J.T."
Sydney lowered her eyes. It's always about Mila! she thought angrily. "Why?"
Garrett sensed that Sydney was feeling some jealousy. "It's for Glory. She feels pretty bad about J.T. and Mila hooking up, and I thought you might be able to do something about it."
Sydney tapped a manicured finger against her cheek. "Hmm..." Her mind wandered back to the conversation she and Mila had had right before Callie’s goodbye party.
Mila joined Sydney at the window seat, and noticed that Sydney was staring at the Booth house. "Why are you looking over there?" she asked, wrinkling her nose disdainfully.
When Sydney didn't respond, a familiar look crossed Mila's face.
"What are you looking at?" Sydney asked with a smirk.
"Who is that?" Mila questioned her, trying to sound casual. She was staring at Grant Booth.
"Well, I guess Grant's in town," she stated.
"Grant?" Mila repeated, still looking at the young man on the porch talking to Garrett.
Sydney nodded. "Grant is Garrett and Glory's older brother," Sydney gave Mila a knowing look. "Much older," she added.
"What are you talking about, Sydney?" she asked with mock innocence, and the two dissolved into fits of laughter.
"Perfect!" Sydney exclaimed, coming up with an idea.
"What? What is it?" Garrett asked.
"I can't say right now, but trust me, J.T. Adams and Mila Rosnovsky will be splitsville before Homecoming." Sydney beamed at him, and raised her eyebrows. "I guarantee it."
Mila and J.T. sat at the library together that evening. Mila was hunched over her science book, trying to make sense of the periodic table. J.T. was busily scribbling away in a notebook.
Mila shut the science book and opened another book on the table. "Hey J.T., listen to this." She cleared her throat and began reading from the book. "'How like winter hath my absence been, from thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year! What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen! What old December's bareness everywhere'!" Mila recited from her collection of Shakespearean sonnets.
"That's beautiful," J.T. commented, but his mind was elsewhere. The sonnet Mila had just read reminded him of Glory. The absence he felt between them was like a winter, and the days without her were dark.
He suddenly got an idea, and flipped the notebook to a clean page and started jotting something down.
"What are you writing?" Mila asked, looking up from the sonnets.
J.T.'s cheeks flushed. "Um, nothing," he said, quickly crumpling his paper up. "Nothing at all."
Callie entered the living room after she had showered and dressed, and noticed that two teenagers, a boy and a girl, were sitting on the couch. She groaned inwardly.
"Your, uh, father let us in," the girl explained, busily playing with the ends of her long, dark hair. "I'm Ana Tava," she introduced herself, extending her arm.
Callie shook the girl's hand. "Hi, I'm Callie Walker."
"And this," Ana said, motioning to the good-looking, dark-haired boy beside her, "is my brother Pedro."
Callie shook Pedro's hand as well. There was a long, awkward silence.
"So, uh, you're from the U.S.," Pedro stated.
"Yeah," Callie replied. "I mean, I've lived all over, but Swans Crossing, Maine is where I came from most recently." She then noticed that Ana and Pedro had slight American accents. "Have you guys ever been to the states?"
Ana nodded. "Oh yeah, a lot, actually. Our mother is from the West Coast. She met my father, who is a Brazilian, there when he was on vacation. They got married and moved here. Pedro and I were born here but we visit my mother's family in the U.S. a lot."
Callie nodded. "How interesting. It's nice that you get to experience both cultures."
"Yes, but I would hate to have to move a lot," Pedro told her sympathetically.
"Yeah, it's not the best of situations..." Callie's voice trailed off. She became lost in thought, and was having a hard time concentrating on what the two were saying. For some reason, thoughts of Jimmy kept drifting in and out of her mind, and she suddenly recalled a conversation she had had with him at the Tool n' Die one summer night:
"Have you ever missed someone you're close to?" Callie asked Jimmy.
An image of someone he cared about flashed in his mind. "Guess you don't know too much about me," he said.
"Well, you're not exactly volunteering any information," she remarked with a small laugh.
Jimmy suddenly grew uncomfortable, as he always did when he was forced to talk about his feelings. "Stay off that ankle, okay?" he told Callie, who had spained her ankle that afternoon.
"Right," she agreed as he lifted her up on the table so she could sit down. "So, who is it that you miss?" she asked, feeling curious.
Jimmy looked up at her slowly. "My older brother Johnny," he admitted.
"I've never heard you talk about him before," Callie said.
"Yeah, well, I think about him all the time," Jimmy told her.
"Are you guys close?"
"Yeah, he taught me how to pitch, play hockey, take apart a bike and put it back together with one hand tied behind my back."
"Where is he at now?"
"He's on assignment. He's a photo journalist, he's been gone for months," he explained.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Callie asked.
"Three months ago," Jimmy replied. "He was photographing the tamarinds of the Brazilian rainforests."
"Hey," Callie said to the Pedro and Ana, coming up with an idea. "You wouldn't happen to know of any American photo journalists here... do you?"
Pedro and Ana gave Callie an odd look. "No," Ana answered. "Why do you want to know?"
Callie's face fell, and she quickly pushed the thought of Jimmy and his older brother out of her mind. "No reason."
Nancy and her new friend Kevin were in the tack room at the stables. Nancy was grooming Spice while Kevin was doing his chores. She felt herself smiling inside. She couldn't believe how Kevin was listening to every word she was saying, and not ignoring her like the guys in her group.
"So, what time are you out of here?" she asked him, finding herself lost while looking into his hazel eyes.
"Um, actually, I have a thirty minute break coming up in five minutes. You want to go down to Swans Crossing and we can go to the soda shop you've been telling me about?" Kevin asked with a bright smile.
Nancy felt her stomach do somersaults. She couldn't believe he was actually asking her out! But before she answered, her mind wandered back to the conversation she, Sydney, and Mila, had had at lunch the other day.
Nancy smiled shyly. "Well, I think that I might have an idea," she told Sydney and Mila after they had asked her who she was taking to the Homecoming dance.
"Ah, the mystery man from the stables?" Sydney teased.
Mila grinned. "What mystery man?"
Nancy beamed, enjoying the attention she was getting. "Actually, he's not so much of a mystery anymore. I know his name now."
"Well, spill it!" Sydney urged.
"His name is Kevin Hall, and his family just moved here from Arizona," she stated.
"Does he go to SCH?" Mila asked casually.
"No," Nancy replied slowly.
"Where, then?" Sydney inquired. "Don't keep anything from us, Nancy dear."
"He, uh, goes to Newport," Nancy told them in a small voice.
Mila and Sydney looked at each other and started laughing. "Nancy! You can't be serious," Sydney remarked.
"Oh, and why not?" she asked testily.
"Because!" Sydney exclaimed between gasps. "Newport? We're playing Newport during Homecoming! Even you aren't that low!"
If Nancy walked into Swans Soda Shop with Kevin, and someone recognized him as a student at Newport High, she would be ruined. "Um, I would love to go out," she said in her most charming voice. "But I go to Swans all the time. Why don't we go get something to eat somewhere around here?"
Kevin smiled and nodded. "No problem." He took her arm. "Let's go!"
At school the following day, Glory walked through the halls sadly. Yesterday had been so confusing. She had wanted J.T., but had been so angry with him all at the same time. But maybe Garrett was going to be able to do something about it.
"Hi Glory!" a voice exclaimed. She looked up, and saw Neil standing beside her.
"Hey Neil," she replied.
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Gotta go to my first period algebra class."
Neil smiled at her. "That's on the second floor. I'm headed that way, I'll walk you."
Glory gave him a confused look, but didn't disagree. They walked up the stairs, and passed one of the brightly colored posters advertising the Homecoming dance.
"Ugh, not that time of year again," Neil muttered.
"What, you don't like Homecoming?" Glory asked him with a laugh.
"Oh please, does it sound like something I would enjoy? Having to go to some silly game, and then get all dressed up just to go to some dance with a girl?" He shook his head in distaste.
"I probably won't end up going this year either," Glory commented glumly.
"Why not?"
She rolled her eyes. "Neil," she began, crossing her arms in front of her. Then an idea struck her. "Unless..."
"Unless what?" he asked.
"Unless you want to go together."
Chapter Twenty
Neil was silent for a minute. Glory figured he wasn't going to accept her invitation to the Homecoming dance, so she quickly told him, "It will be strictly as friends, you know."
Neil surprised her by answering, "Sure Glory. As long as you don't feel weird about J.T. and everything."
Glory caught sight of J.T. holding Mila's books and walking her to class. She quickly turned away and smiled. "J.T. who?"
Sydney and Mila were sitting in their second period geometry class. Mr. Pahl had given them some free time, so the two were huddled together in the corner of the room. Garrett kept shooting glances in Sydney's direction, trying to see how her plan to break Mila and J.T. up was working.
"So, Mila, who do you think you're going to Homecoming with?" Sydney asked casually, doodling on her folder.
"Well, I mean, I guess J.T. and I will go. We've been... hanging out together lately," Mila said with a smile.
Sydney shook her head disapprovingly. "Mila, Mila, Mila. Whatever happened to 'Sisters Forever'?"
Mila gave Sydney a confused look. "What do you mean?"
"I mean at your slumber party last summer, we made an oath never to let any guy get in the way of our friendships. How do you think Glory feels about seeing you and J.T. together?" Sydney asked pointedly.
Mila squirmed in her seat. "I guess I never really thought of that."
Sydney smiled, and acted as if a wonderful idea had just hit her. "Mila! Why don't you ask Grant Halsey Booth the third?"
Sydney could see a slight blush creep across Mila's skin. "You think I should ask Grant?"
"Yes!" Sydney clapped her hands together. "It will be perfect!"
"But he's a college guy. And he's Garrett's brother," Mila argued.
"He's adopted. His parents weren't even married when he was born. They adopted him when he was about four or something. So he doesn't really have any Booth blood in him," Sydney told her.
"What's he like?" Mila questioned her, caving a little.
"Well, he's a nice guy. I never really knew him since he is usually away at school," Sydney explained. "But he seems to me that he's much more like his sister. Garrett says he's ‘perfect'."
Mila sighed. "But do you really think that he would go to a silly little school dance with a fifteen year old?"
Sydney smiled. "I'll figure out a way."
After third period, Jimmy ran into Garrett. "Hey!" he shouted in his direction.
"Jimmy, hi!" Garrett greeted him. "You sure seem to be in an okay mood. After Callie leaving and everything, I would have expected you to be in hiding for a few weeks. Where were you at her party?"
Jimmy's expression darkened. "It's a long story."
"I bet it is." Garrett laughed.
"Anyway," Jimmy said, quickly changing the subject. "I have a favor to ask you."
Garrett shrugged. "Sure, what is it?"
"I was wondering if maybe you could keep an eye on the Tool n' Die for me for a few days while I take a vacation," Jimmy explained.
"Vacation? Where are you going?" he asked.
Jimmy raised his eyebrows suggestively at his friend. "Brazil."
Garrett laughed, and gave him a high five. "All right! Yeah, I guess I can keep an eye on the shop for awhile, but I don't know much about machines."
Jimmy was already heading down the hallway. "It's okay, I'll get Saja to help you. Thanks!"
Garrett rolled his eyes. "Saja?"
It was early evening in Brazil, and Callie was in the garage of her house working on her motor bike. The events of the day kept replaying in her head. She was glad her father had introduced her to Pedro and Ana; at least it kept her mind off of Swans Crossing... and Jimmy.
"Hey, Callie," a male voice said. Callie sat up, and saw Pedro standing before her.
"Hi," she replied, quickly wiping some grease off of her cheek. Pedro was silent for a moment, and she saw a look on his face, one she had seen before. He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"I, uh, was wondering if maybe tomorrow you'd like to do something?" he sputtered out.
Callie opened her mouth to turn him down, thinking she would have to go to school the next day, but then she remembered that summer vacation was just beginning in Brazil. Pedro's eyes looked down at her hopefully.
Before Callie responded, her mind wandered back to a time in the middle of the summer. She and Jimmy had been goofing around at the Tool n' Die, and then he had given her a look, the same look Pedro was giving her now, and had asked her on their first date to the Swan Club dance. A small smile spread across her face as she remembered this moment.
Yeah, Callie, and then he ditched you to be with Sophia, she amended silently. And then he ditched you again and didn't go to your party, even after Saja called him.
Callie looked up at Pedro and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Sure, why not?"
Mayor Rutledge paced the halls of the Rutledge mansion, mumbling her campaign speech out loud.
"Mother?" Sydney called hesitantly, walking into the living room.
Mayor Rutledge looked up at her daughter, and gave her a strained smile. "Hello dear. I'm just practicing my speech. I can't believe the big day is tomorrow," she remarked, speaking of the mayoral election.
Sydney gave her mother a sympathetic look. "Will what happened last week affect the outcome of the election?" she asked, her voice wavering. It wasn't until now that it occurred to her the scandal might cost her mother the election. Something her mother had said to her after Mila was caught with Billy Gunn rang in her ears.
Scandal of any kind can ruin an election.
Mayor Rutledge tried to smile. "Well, this scandal affects both candidates, so I guess it depends on who handles it the best. And I plan to charm the votes out of everyone."
"That's the spirit!" Sydney exclaimed, trying her best to sound enthusiastic. "So do you want to read me some of your speech?"
"Actually, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to take the day off from school tomorrow and come with me to make my speech, and maybe even help out at the polls. It would do wonders for my image if you were helping the community vote."
Sydney smiled slowly. She gave her mother a hug. "Of course Mother, anything to help you win!"
Garrett scowled at his brother across the dining room table. "Why did you ask him to help out at the polls and not me?" he questioned Mr. Booth.
Garrett's father looked crossly at his youngest son. "I think you've done more than enough to help my campaign, young man."
Garrett now turned his angry look towards his sister. "And her?"
"Glory wanted to help out, so I said she could," Mr. Booth replied. Glory ate her dinner in silence.
"Grant, dear, maybe we ought to let Garrett come out and help," Mrs. Booth bargained. "I mean, after all, the whole family will be at the polls. Won't it look sort of strange if all the Booths are there and Garrett isn't?"
"Well, I guess that doesn't matter to Dad. He would be happy if I wasn't even part of the Booths." Garrett stood up from his chair and put his napkin on his plate. "If you will excuse me, I seem to have lost my appetite."
Sandy paced around the studio, carrying a stack of papers in her hands. "We get a thirty minute set," she explained to Owen, who was sitting at the drumset, and Mila, who was perched in a chair near the keyboard. "Now, we have to decide which songs we want to sing, and in what order. Should we do what we did at the concert, or put together something new?"
"Something new," Mila supplied. "There's a good chance that there will be some people who saw the concert at the club."
Sandy nodded, and made some notes on her pad of paper. "Well, you're right, that should work." She paused, and said happily, "Can you believe were actually going to be playing a real club? It's so exciting."
Owen smiled. "I heard our song twice on the radio this morning."
"And I heard it on the way home from school!" Mila added excitedly.
Just then, Saja came barreling through the door. "Hey guys!" he greeted the three.
"Great, our fearless manager," Owen muttered under his breath.
A smile spread across Sandy's face. "Saja! I'm so glad you're here! We were just discussing what we want to sing at the gig on Saturday."
Saja came over to her side and eyed her notes. "Great, well, it looks like you guys really have this under control."
"Right," Mila said, bending down and scooping up her school books. "And since it's all under control I probably have to get home and start this awful math homework." She laughed. "I don't know how I will ever get used to this!" She made her way to the door, and Owen jumped up from his seat.
"I'll come with you. Why don't we stop at Swans and get soda? We can study together there," Owen suggested.
Mila grinned. "It sounds great!" She linked arms with him. "Come on, let's go."
The two waved goodbye and headed up the stairs.
Sandy realized her situation now, and quickly busied herself with the stack of papers.
Saja cleared his throat. "Hey Sandy?"
"Yeah?" she said, looking up at him.
"I'm really glad you asked me to be your manager. This is really fun," he told her with a smile.
"Better than being a ninja warrior?" she teased.
Saja laughed, and shrugged. "Um, maybe a little. Hey, I was wondering, do you have a date to the Homecoming dance?"
Sandy tried not to show her surprise. "Uh... me? No, no I don't."
"Well, what do you say you and I go together?" he asked, switching his weight from one foot to the other.
Sandy was silent for a moment. Oh my gosh! He's asking me to the dance! a voice inside her head screamed. "Sure, that sounds pretty good. Great, really," she stuttered.
"Well, I just stopped by to ask you that. I gotta run for now, but we'll talk later," Saja said, hesitating for a moment.
On the other side of the room, Owen came back into the studio. He had forgotten his backpack, but when he saw Saja and Sandy talking closely he stayed in the doorway.
"Okay. I can't wait," Sandy said.
"Me neither." Saja hesitated again, and then leaned towards her. He lightly kissed her cheek, and then headed up the stairs. Owen quickly exited the studio again, in shock of what he had just seen.
Sandy flopped down in a chair and let out a sigh of happiness.
Nancy clutched her books to her chest and smiled. A few faces were missing amongst the crowd at school the next day, namely Sydney. Nancy was getting a little annoyed at the way Sydney was ragging on Kevin, and the fact that she was just the least bit interested in someone from Newport.
As Nancy walked to her locker, she noticed the colorful posters advertising the Homecoming dance. She let herself fantasize for just a minute about what it would be like to take Kevin. After the game Nancy would go home, or maybe get together with the girls, and get ready for the dance. She would wear a long, flowing dress, and have her hair up. Kevin would ring the door bell, wearing a tuxedo, and bearing flowers.
"Nancy?" Mila called, coming up behind her.
Nancy sighed. She didn't want her fantasy to be interrupted. "Hi Mila," she grumbled.
"Hi. So are you ready for our big math test?"
Nancy tore her eyes from the Homecoming poster and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."
They walked to their next class together, and Nancy continued with her daydreaming.
Sydney sat behind a table, organizing the voting registry as people came in to cast their ballots. Her mother had left her some time ago to go make some speeches and statements to the press. It had pained her to hear some of her mother’s speech, which was mainly damage control for everything she had done.
Sydney looked up, ready to hand out another "I voted" sticker, when she saw the Booth’s walk in. Mr. Booth was not with the rest of his family, so Sydney figured he was probably out trying to repair his campaign, just like her mother.
From across the room she could see the look in Garrett's eyes. He couldn't very well come over and talk to her since he was with his mother, Glory, and Grant, but he gave her a half-smile, and winked. Sydney grinned back.
Whatever the outcome of the election, she was happier than she had been in months.
Jimmy came running around the corner on his last day of school before going to Brazil, and ran right into Saja.
"Hey, where are you off to?" Saja asked, bending down to pick up the books and papers he spilled.
Jimmy grinned. "Brazil," he answered.
Saja's brown eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I mean, after the way Callie and I fought before she left, I have to do something," he explained.
"A wise idea, my friend," Saja agreed.
"So, I was uh, wondering. Do you think you could help Garrett run the Tool n' Die while I'm gone?"
Saja contemplated this for a moment. "Hmm, morphing into my next life. Bobby DeCastro, world renowned gearhead." Jimmy laughed, and Saja continued. "But then again, I have already agreed to be Bobby DeCastro, smooth talking music manager."
"Huh?" Jimmy asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Oh, I am now officially the manager of Sandy, Mila, and Owen's band," Saja told him.
Jimmy gave Saja a knowing smile. "That's really great." He paused, and then added suggestively, "Now if only I can make things right with Callie."
Saja raised his hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, I'll watch the shop for you. But I must warn you that I have no expertise in this field."
Once again, Jimmy was already off and running. "No problem. Thanks Saja!"
Callie stood in front of an exhibit, trying to conjure up some interest. Pedro and Ana had taken her to a museum to show her some of the history of Rio De Janeiro. It was just the kind of thing that would interest her, if her mind wasn't thousands of miles away.
For some reason, Callie couldn't just adapt to this new situation. She had spent her entire life moving from country to country, all over the world, and all she needed was a little excitement and her father to keep her company. But something had changed her when she lived in Swans Crossing. She had let herself open up to people. Sure, there are a lot of things they don't know about me, Callie thought to herself. But still, Swans Crossing had really felt like home. A lot of good it did me, she mused bitterly.
Interrupting her thoughts was Pedro, who, she just noticed, had gently taken her hand. Her first instinct was to quickly drop it. He wasn't her boyfriend, and they had only known each other a few days. But she didn't do anything. What did it matter? Things with Jimmy were over and done with whether she liked it or not, so why not let Pedro hold her hand?
Later that evening, Sydney and her mother stood at the side of the concert stage, eyeing each other nervously. On the other side of the stage were the Booth's, looking equally nervous. Sydney could see her mother's lips forming the words from her concession speech. Sydney did not find this to be a good sign.
"Mother? Do you really think you're going to lose?" Sydney asked incredulously.
Mayor Rutledge looked at her daughter anxiously. "I don't really know anymore. I just don't know."
The P.A. system screeched with feedback. This was it, they were about to announce who won the election!
Mayor Rutledge grasped Sydney's hand, and held her breath. Sydney felt guilty, but she couldn't help but look over at Garrett to see how he was taking this. She spotted his father making a silent prayer and hugging his family.
"And now, I would like to announce who the winner of Swans Crossing's 1992 mayoral election is..."