"There she is."
It was all Ginger was hearing. It was Monday morning and her first day at her temporary high school Zac had found for her. It'd gotten out that she was living with the hometown celebrities and now everywhere she went she was getting interrogated. She heard them all. "Why are you living with them? Are you related? Are you dating one of them? Do you really know the Hansons? Hey, can I be your friend? Wow, nice hair�hey, could you have Taylor call me?" It was getting old and first period hadn't even started yet.
She was lost. The school was huge compared to her one back home and she was having a hard time finding out where her classes were. Orientation had taken place that previous Friday but it did not help her at all. She was stuck alone in a huge school with thousands of kids that all had a thing for country music. She never thought she'd hear Tim McGraw blasting from a car the way the kids did rap music back home, but it happened and she nearly fainted she was so overwhelmed. Mostly it was culture shock. She came from a half-Hispanic town where she was the minority but walking around she only saw white people. Most of them lived out in the farmland and did a lot of work on their own farms, but there were a few kids that didn't do farm work, like her. She'd never even been on a farm, much less know about who lived there. Some of them had thick southern accents and it scared her. She was from Florida, which was technically a southern state, but where she came from she spoke more northern than anybody at the school.
"Do you need help?" someone asked. Ginger turned around and smiled. It was a girl. Just from the way she was standing Ginger could tell she wasn't in it for the one of the Hanson brothers.
"Um�yeah."
"Let me see your schedule." Ginger handed it over and the girl looked at it. "Oh, you have first period with me. Here, it's this way." Ginger followed the girl down a seemingly endless hallway. She wasn't like the rest of them. Her skin was a bit darker (although it still would be considered white), she had brown hair and brown eyes.
"What's your name?" Ginger asked. The girl stopped and turned around. Ginger nearly ran into her.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't introduce myself. I'm Roni. Roni Davis."
"Ginger."
"Yeah�Ike's told me about you."
"You know Ike?" Ginger asked. She'd never met him but what she'd heard about him, she was sure she'd like him.
"Yeah. I'm his girlfriend. But shh," Roni said, looking around. "I don't tell people because they'll terrorize me like they do to you. I don't know how it got out that you're living with them. Usually things are very quiet around here."
"I don't know either. I didn't mention it to anybody. Some teacher must have leaked or something." Ginger paused. "Wait a minute. I know you! You're the chick that drops Ave and Jess home after dance!"
"Yeah, I'm their instructor."
"Aren't you a little young�?"
"I'm nineteen."
"Oh."
"Don't 'oh' me, I'm not stupid. I had to wait to go to kindergarten. I didn't speak English." Ginger looked at her. "Italian. I moved from Italy when I was five and didn't speak a word of English. They wouldn�t let me start school until I had a basic understanding of the language."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm a bit touchy."
"I noticed."
"Come on, class is this way." Ginger followed Roni into a room. She was recognized immediately and took a seat in the far corner. She immediately put her head down and Roni sat down next to her. "They'll get used to you."
"Yeah, as soon as I leave," Ginger said into her arms.
"How long are you staying?"
"I don't know."
"Where are you from anyway?"
"Florida." Roni made a face but Ginger couldn't see it.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Ginger sat up.
"It's better than being from Oklahoma."
"Hey," Roni said, putting her hands up in defense. "I'm from Italy."
"Are you coming in or are you leaving me to face them alone?" Ginger asked Roni after school. She took Ginger back home but looked like she was going to leave right away.
"Why? Are you afraid of them?" Ginger slouched.
"They don't like me, Roni. Diana�"
"Diana hates everyone that takes her sons from her. She still hates me and I've been dating Isaac for almost a year. I wouldn't judge the rest of the family from the way she acts. Are they really all that bad?"
"Well I've never met Ike, so I have no idea what he thinks of me. The littler kids are all right, I mean, I'm still wearing all of Jess's clothes. Zo� likes me but that's just because she thinks I have pretty hair and I like to color with her. I don't even think I've met Walker yet."
"What about Taylor?" Roni asked. Ginger paused to think about it, a broad smile on her face.
"Taylor�Taylor's okay."
"Honey�" Roni didn't finish her sentence.
"What?"
"Don't get mixed up with Taylor, all right? I know he's a cutie and I know he's incredibly charming, but he's not someone you want to risk another relationship for."
"What do you mean? I just said he was okay!"
"I can see it all over you. He's pulling you in already. Don't give in, all right?"
"Whatever, Roni."
"I'll see you tomorrow." Roni turned around and walked back to her car. Ginger unlocked the front door and went inside. Zac could see her from the dining room where he was doing some kind of work.
"Hey, you," he said, looking up and smiling. "How was school?"
"Finish your work!" Diana appeared and biffed Zac on the back of the head. He gave her a look but continued to work. Diana gave a look to Ginger, who turned and went up the stairs. She went into Zo�'s room and kicked a few things out of the way so she could put her borrowed backpack down on the floor near the wall.
"How was school?" She turned around. Taylor was leaning up against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. She smiled. He'd been nothing but a best friend since she'd gotten there. Zac tried but he couldn't quite fit those shoes. Without Kris around, Ginger was getting lonely very quickly and Taylor was always around.
"It was all right. Someone told that I was living here and I got bugged all day. 'Are you dating Taylor? He's so hot, could you do this? Could you do that? Can I be your friend? I want to meet Taylor�' "
"Was it really all about me?" Taylor asked, a smirk on his face.
"Well I figured I'd save all of the Zac and Isaac praise for them so they can get their egos inflated as well. It wasn't all about you."
"But most of it was."
"Oh, of course," she said, grinning. "But I think I'll be a lot happier once all of this blows over and I get to go home. It's not exactly my school, you know? The people here are different and I'm just�I'm just not ready for it."
"Well I hope you can go home soon. I know you're not exactly happy here."
"Yeah�"
Zac walked to the room and Taylor looked over. "Hey Zac."
"Hi Taylor."
"Just keeping her company."
"Yeah, you seem to be good at that." Taylor left without another word and Zac walked into the room. "Hey, Ging, how was school?"
"Oh�it was all right."
"Just all right? Nothing out of the ordinary, just�all right?" She nodded. "How boring. Do you like school?"
"Not this school."
"Well, I mean, do you like school in general? Do you like getting up in the morning, going down the block to a normal school and sitting through set periods everyday?" he asked. She nodded, sitting down on Zo�'s bed that she'd been sleeping in over the past week she'd been in Tulsa.
"Yeah, I guess. I don't know anything else, though. I don't have anything to compare it to. I'm forced to go." He nodded.
"Does Taylor talk to you often?"
"Only when you're not around," Ginger said. He looked suspicious. "Only because when you're around you talk to me. He's just a friend, Zac."
"I know, I know." He put his arms around her waist, pulling the lower half of her body up against his. "I missed you today."
"I was only gone a few hours, Zac! What are you going to do when I'm really gone?"
"I'm just not going to let you go, that's all. You're going to stay here with me forever." She grinned.
"As lovely as that may seem, Zac," she said, pushing herself out of his embrace, "Your family hates me."
"My family doesn't hate you, Ginger�"
"Your mother hates me."
"Mom hates a lot of things."
"So you're not denying it, are you?" Zac didn't say anything. "See? She hates me! I've never had a person hate me in my entire life until I met your family. I don't belong here, Zac, and that woman is making it very obvious. I need to go home."
"You're not safe there."
"Well I'm not welcome here."
"Of course you're welcome here!"
"No I'm not, Zac. I'm walking around in your sister's clothes, sleeping in your other sister's bed, and every time I fricken walk around here I'm getting death looks because nobody knows me but I'm living here! I'm a stranger! Besides you the only person nice to me is Taylor and you don't want me talking to him because you're the jealous type�"
"Jealous type?" Zac interrupted, his voice raising. "I'm not the jealous type! I just know that every single person I've gone out with in the past two years has ended up with him. I didn't mind it so much with the other ones but with you I don't want that to happen! I'm in love with you!"
"What?"
"Nothing." Zac turned away, kicking away some of Zo�'s toys on the floor next to him.
"Zac, how long have we known each other?"
"Two weeks?" he guessed. "A couple of days either way?"
"And you're in love with me?"
"I didn't say that."
"Yes you did!"
"Well I didn't mean to say that."
"It's okay, Zac."
"I'm going downstairs."
"If it makes any difference I'm in love with you too." Zac paused. "But that doesn't change anything, Zac. I still need to go home."
"But where would you go?" he asked.
"I don't know. I'll find something�maybe I'll stay with Kris. I'm not sure. I'll tell her to call Mrs. Kindle, my SS lady, and tell her everything that's been going on at home. Maybe�maybe if Kris asks to take me in I can stay there until I'm eighteen."
"Or you could stay here."
"But Zac I'm not welcome here! Nobody wants me here but you!"
"Ginger�" She paused, waiting for him to continue. "I don't know. I don't know! I want to know you're all right."
"I'll be all right at Kristina's place. They've been taking care of me all of my life."
"Well will you at least stay another couple of days? I don't know when I'll be in Florida again�" She sighed. "Come on, just a few more days. It'll take you that long to get everything settled anyway."
"Fine."
"Come on, let's do something."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Do you honestly think your mother is going to allow us out alone together? She doesn't trust me!" Zac rolled his eyes. "I'm serious!"
"You're just being paranoid."
"No I'm just being right."
"Let's go anyway." Ginger still looked skeptical. "Come on, let's go. She doesn't matter."
"All right." He took her hand and led her out of Zo�'s room. They went down the stairs and to the front door. Once he found his keys and opened the door, they were caught. Ginger hid a bit behind Zac as Diana came into the room.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Out," Zac said.
"You have homework to do and I'm sure she does too."
"We'll do it when we get back," Zac said, rolling his eyes. "It's not like we're going to be gone forever, Mom."
"I�"
"Bye Mom," Zac said, pushing Ginger out the door and closing it behind him after he stepped out. "I'm sorry."
"Whatever, Zac."