Legacy: In the Making

Chapter 1: E-L-E-D Ohhhh
Everything in my life is perfect. NOT. I guess I should explain. My name's Elizabeth Turner and my family constantly moves. You think that I would be used to it by now, but I'm not. Being an only child, I didn't really have friends growing up because I was constantly switching schools. The reason for our constant moving is simple. My dad is being stalked by his psychotic ex-wife. I've never really met her, but from what I've heard, my dad met her in a bar. She had just passed out from taking Rohypnol and my dad saved her. Being the psychotic maniac that she is, she became attached to him. She was always around him, so he had no choice but to love her. My dad's in charge of this countrywide law firm, so he's always had assistants and secretaries. That's where my mom comes in. She came in to get his lunch order one afternoon and he told her exactly what he wanted. Her. My dad divorced her a week after his affair with my mom and they got married. Anyways, I'm now currently situated in San Francisco, California. I moved from West Virginia because the psychotic lady found us. We decided to switch coasts and pick a busy city. We moved into a house close to my school. Which brings us to the point in my life right now. I stood outside of my new private school, Diamond Academy, where everyone shines. Oh please. How lame could they possibly get? I took a deep breath, counted to 10, and walked into the school. Like all the other private schools, the hallways were full of people clad in uniforms. Girls wearing a pleated black skirt, white top of any kind, and black shoes. Guys wearing the same thing, except pants instead of skirts. I walked past a group of girls who looked angelic, they obviously weren't the best looking girls, but even the school beauties envied them. Each girl had a guy next to them. There were four of them, all juniors, like me. They had this energy that you were drawn to, even if you didn't want to be. I got to my locker and opened it with ease. I could sense someone hovering next to me as I exchanged my books. "Hi, I'm Cathy. You must be new," she said with a perfect smile. She was wearing what looked to be like a Ralph Lauren button down shirt, a chunky black necklace, regulation black skirt, and Christian Louboutins. "Uh, yeah, I am. My name's Elizabeth, I just moved here." I extended my hand and she shook it. "Who do you have for first?" Cathy asked. I took out my schedule. "Uhm, Castro, APUSH." "Oh, my class is right next to that! C'mon, I'll walk you there." She grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway. "Wait, I have a question. Who are those four girls?" I asked. "Figures you'd ask that question," Cathy said. "Those four are Legacy. At least, that's what they call themselves. They're the closest thing to perfect. Elaine, Ellie, Eloise, and their leader, Ella." "Huh, interesting…" I said. "Well, this is me and your class is right next to it. See you after class." Cathy walked into her classroom and I walked into mine. The classroom was practically empty, seeing that it was the first day. There were a few people in their seats, including a really cute guy. He looked to be 5'6" and Japanese. His black hair was spiked and he seemed to be busy sketching something in a black sketchbook. He looked like a young Christopher Gorham, but with different hair. He was sitting in the left back corner. I took the seat at the opposite corner and pretended to be interested in the Student Handbook, but I was looking at the mystery guy out of the corner of my eye. The bell rang and a flood of people came in, including one of the members of Legacy and her boyfriend. She was wearing a simple Yves Saint Laurent t-shirt, an Anne Klein skirt, black ballet flats, and stockings. She took a seat next to me and her boyfriend took the seat next to her. Her short, brunette hair was held with a white headband and it sparkled. "Hi, I'm Eloise," she said with a warm smile. "Welcome to Diamond Academy. I noticed you walking in the halls. You're Elizabeth, right?" "Yes. I just moved here from West Virginia," I answered. "Interesting," she said, tapping her pen against her chin. "This is my boyfriend, Eddie." Eddie leaned forward in his seat. "Nice to meet you." "Same here, Eddie." I smiled. "Hey, since you're new and all, come have lunch with me," Eloise said. I knew that this was a command, not an offer. "Okay. Sounds fun." What the hell?! 'That sounds fun'?! How big of an idiot could I be Eloise laughed. "Cool, what's your 4th period?" I glanced at my schedule. "Christian, English." "Sweet. My friend, Elaine, has that class. She'll lead you to our table," Eloise said. "Talk to you later, time to learn!"Mrs. Castro had us turn in our summer assignments and we got in partners to start talking about the Declaration of Independence. I was partnered with the mystery guy. We put two desks together and introduced ourselves. "Hi, I'm Elizabeth Turner," I smiled sweetly. "Edward Nuzumi," he answered. He was just wearing black Levis and a plain white t-shirt. The only hint of fashion were his black converse. "So, I have no clue what were supposed to discuss," I admitted sheepishly. "Neither do I," he smirked. "But I could think of a couple things we could do that aren't related to this." I blushed furiously. Was he talking about what I thought he was? "Uh, like what?" He leaned in and I leaned too. Our faces were inches apart when he spoke. "Drawing." "I'm a horrible artist," I said. "Maybe I could give you a lesson sometime," he offered as he leaned back. I smiled. "I think I'd like that."We talked about the Declaration of Independence until the bell rang. His voice made me melt. He always had a smirk on his face, as if he knew a joke where he was the only one who knew the punchline. I smiled at Edward as I walked in one direction and he walked in the other. Trig/Math Analysis with Mr. McCorn was boring as hell. I could hardly stay awake. He gave us a pop quiz on some nonsense that we supposedly learned last year. I totally failed it, but whatever. Third period P.E. was gruesome. We had to run three miles and I was so out of shape. It took me almost the whole period to run three miles. I felt so pathetic, but whatever. I changed back into my Marc by Marc Jacobs black skirt and tossed my white cami back on. I slipped my feet into my black suede and leather Manolo Blahnik slingbacks. My white nylons completed my outfit. I wore no accessories and neither did Ella, who was next to me in the locker room. All through P.E. she was watching me. She wore a simple white ruffle shirt, a black plaid miniskirt, and black leather peep toed Jimmy Choos. "So, how do you like our humble school?" Ella asked me suddenly. I was brushing the knots out of my straight hair and shrugged. "Teachers aren't that entertaining and it seems like everyone is trying to be a perfect student." Ella let out a hearty laugh. "Oh Elizabeth, they're not being perfect for that reason. It's because they're being watched. High school is a dog eat dog world and I just happen to be a top dog, along with my three best friends, Eloise, Ellie, and Elaine." "Yeah. I heard. Legacy, right?" I asked. "That's us. Always and forever." She grinned and slung her Balenciaga bag over her shoulder. "See you at lunch. Ciao, bella." Ella sauntered off toward her next class and I went to mine. The members of Legacy were being awfully nice to me. Was it because they were messing with me or were they really being sincere? I walked into English and sat down in the back of the class like this morning. "Hi Elizabeth. How's your day been?" Edward asked. I smiled when I saw him take the seat in front of me. "Pretty good. How're you?" "I'm fine," he smiled. "Hey, you want to study after school today? I mean, since Mrs. Castro is being such a bitch about APUSH." "Sure. I mean, education first, right?" I said coyly. "Exactly," he said. "Meet me by the only electric blue car in the parking lot. It's a Mazda RX-8, you can't miss it." "Okay," I answered. Edward smiled at me one more time and turned around in his desk as the bell rang. I looked across the room and saw Elaine smile at me and give me a thumbs up. "What was THAT all about?" I thought. Our teacher droned on and on about some grammar concept, but I didn't pay attention. I knew this stuff already. I took out my phone and started texting my best friend from West Virginia. I knew that this friendship wasn't going to last because that's how all of my friendships are once I move. They tell me that they miss me and it feels like they do, but after a week the texts become less frequent and the phone calls dwindle. After two weeks, they are complete strangers to me. Oh well, I'm used to it. The bell rang and Elaine and her boyfriend, Edson, came up to me as I was putting my binder in my Jansport backpack. I could feel them hovering over me as I slung it over my shoulder. I looked up and, sure enough, they were smiling at me. "Hi." "Come," Elaine ordered. She and Edson walked out of the room hand-in-hand and I followed. They walked down the hall and heads turned. Girls whispered, covering their mouths with their hands, about how I was following a member of the Legacy. I followed them into the indoor cafeteria and we walked over to the far corner table. At the table were the other three members of Legacy and their boyfriends. Elaine and Edson took their seats and the eight of them looked up at me. I was standing there uncomfortably, biting my bottom lip. I shifted my weight to my right foot and stayed silent. "Well, are you just going to stand there all day or are you actually going to sit down?" Ella smirked. The table laughed heartily, whereas I laughed uneasily. I sat down, removed my backpack, and folded my hands under the table. "So…?" I started. "I bet you're wondering why you're sitting at the Legacy table on your first day," Ellie said. She flipped her flame red hair over her shoulder as she spoke. "Yeah, I guess," I shrugged. "Well, we thought you would like a couple of friends. Seeing that you're new and all," Elaine said. "Yeah. I really appreciate this, but like, people have been telling me that you guys are this really big deal. This one girl, Cathy, said that you're the closest thing to perfect. I just don't get why you picked me," I admitted. "We’ve done our research on you. You move around constantly. Your mom was "the other woman" in your dad's first marriage. You're an only child so you've never had stable friends due to your moving. Yet, you still keep your head held high. You look fabulous, your confidence is through the roof, and you're nothing like the perfectionists here. You didn't oogle us the moment you walked in. You just glanced in our direction and continued on with your day. THAT'S why," Ella answered. "Just, don't let us down and break down crying this week." "Well, I guess being friends with you eight wouldn't be a hassle," I smiled. "That's the answer we were hoping we'd get from you," Eloise beamed. "Now, about Edward." "W-w-w-what about Edward?" I stuttered. "Oh my god. Do NOT try to pull one over on us. We're Legacy. We know all and see all," Ellie smirked. I blushed. "I GUESS I have a thing for Edward Nuzumi…" "Elizabeth, even I know that you've fallen. Hard." Eddie interjected. "Okay fine. I like Edward. Happy now?" I stated. "Admitting you have a problem is the first step," Elaine said sarcastically. The table burst into laughter. "But seriously Elizabeth, Edward is probably the only decent E-D guy left in this school." "Wait, what?" I asked, stunned. "Haven't you noticed? Our names all start with E-L and our boyfriend's names start with E-D. Don't tell me you didn't know that," Ellie said cautiously. "Oh…yeah. Of course. I think that's kinda disturbing though…" I trailed off. "Disturbing? It's what sets us apart. I don't know if you've noticed , but we're not exactly the prettiest, bustiest, or smartest girls in the bunch. BUT, we do know how to present ourselves. Presentation is the most important thing, hence the reason why we're extending an invitation to you to join Legacy," Ella smiled brightly. "Yes. Absolutely yes," I answered. "Before you're officially a Legacy girl, you need a boyfriend," Eloise informed me. "That's it? Just a boyfriend?" I knitted y eyebrows. "Of course. What did you think we were going to make you do? Some stupid tasks?" Ella scoffed. "Oh please, we're not a cult." "Okay, that's good to know." I breathed a sigh of relief and finally relaxed. The bell rang and I got up to go to French III H, but Elaine pulled my arm. "Wait, we have something for you." Elaine handed me a little black leather notebook with my name and 'Legacy' inscribed on the spine. "This has all the contact information of every student in this school, plus one dirty secret about them." My face paled. My throat closed up. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead. The current Legacy members started laughing. "We're kidding! Jeez, calm down, Elizabeth." I let out a nervous laugh. "Heh, yeah. Okay, well, I've got French next so, see you tomorrow."I walked to Madame Curie's classroom and took the seat next to the window for today. Since it was the first day back, Madame Curie had us tell each other about our summer vacation in French. I turned to face the person to my right and it happened to be Edward. "Oh, hey! I didn't see you walk in," Edward said. "Of course not," I laughed. "You were intently sketching something." "Yeah, I'm a car designer. I like to design coupes and sedans," he said. "En Français!" Madame Curie shouted at us. "Comment agréable," I said. How pleasant. "Comment votre été était-il?" Edward asked. How was your summer? "Je me suis déplacé," I sighed. I moved. "Et vous?" And you? "Je suis allé en France," he grinned. I went to France. "Incroyable!" I gasped. Incredible. "Vous vous êtes amusé en France?" Have fun in France? "Oui. Les gens étaient très impolis bien que," he scrunched up his nose. Yes. People were rude though. "Cela est assez. La classe est finie," Madame Curie said sternly. That's enough. Class is finished.I smiled at Edward once more and walked out of the room. My French was kinda rusty, but whatever. "Elizabeth, hold on!" Edward called. I turned around and saw him run to me. "Hey, I'll walk you to your next class," he offered. "What is it?" "Alecson, Physics," I answered. "Me too! C'mon, it's this way," he said, pointing in the opposite direction.I let him lead me to the classroom and we sat at the same lab table. He took his sketchbook out and talked to me simultaneously. The bell rang and Ellie and Edgar walked in and took the two empty seats at our table. "Hey Elizabeth, hi Edward," she smiled brightly. "How've you been Edward?" He shrugged. "Not bad. Oh, tell your dad that my dad wants to invite him to go golfing Saturday." "Sure, no prob. How was France?" she asked. "Fine. Dad's branch over there is really starting to take off," he said. "Wait, what branch?" I asked. "Edward's dad owns a car dealership. He's like the most famous car person there is. He's a multi-BILLIONAIRE," Edgar said. "He didn't mention it?" I saw Edward's face go a little red. "No, not really." "Figures. Edward here isn't really the bragging type," Ellie made air quotes around "bragging type". "I guess not. Edward, don't be so modest," I giggled. "Tell me everything." He shrugged. "Sure. I'll tell you in the car." "Ooooh, the car? What're you two up to so early in the year?" Ellie smiled. "APUSH stuff," I said. "No big deal." Ellie gave me a look that said 'You are such a liar'. "Okay. Well, have fun."The physics teacher droned on and on about his expectations, his rules, and a review of the periodic table. When he was talking about Boron, I heard my phone lightly vibrate in my backpack. I pulled it out and saw that I received a new text message from an unsaved number. 7075552848: Hey, it's Ella. Elizabeth: Hi…what's up? 7075552848: Ellie told me that you're going somewhere with Edward after school Elizabeth: Yeah. We’re studying for apush. 7075552848: Have him take you home first. Elizabeth: Why? 7075552848: CHANGE! Elizabeth: But I'm comfortable in this… 7075552848: Legacy never goes out in public wearing this hideous uniform, no matter how cute you look. Elizabeth: Whatever. Fine. 7075552848: It's for the best. Btw, I love your Manolos. Where'd you get them? Elizabeth: Some place on fifth. Called "Heaven". 7075552848: I thought so. Cute.The bell rang and I practically jumped out of my seat. I was startled and got myself together. I put my blank notebook in my backpack and stood up. "Ready to go?" Edward asked. "Yeah, but could we stop by my house first? I want to get out of this uniform." "Sure."Being in the car with Edward was peaceful. I think I actually might like it here….




Chapter 2: Shocker
Edward parked in my driveway and we both got out. "I'll only be like, five minutes, promise!" I yelled as I opened the door to my house. "Make yourself at home. Help yourself to anything."I rushed up the stairs and tore my clothes off. I opened my closet and pulled out Rock and Republic straight jeans and a blue Samantha cami from Pac Sun. I slipped on the same Manolo Blahniks that I wore to school and ran back downstairs. I found Edward just sitting there, sketching something. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go," I said, a little out of breath. "Hold on. Let me finish this one little detail on this. I just got this idea and I want to get it on paper." While Edward was busily sketching some car part, I went into the kitchen and bit into a granny smith apple. I leaned back on the counter and noticed a note on the refrigerator: Have to work late. Meeting with some executives. Be back around 12. Love, Mom & DadOh great. Mom and dad are working late again. That meant that I'd have to try and cook something. For the record, I have the most horrible cooking skills in the history of Earth. I burnt SOUP for chrissakes! I shuffled back into the living room and saw that Edward was putting his sketchbook back in his backpack. "Ready now?" He nodded. "Yup. Let's go."We walked back outside and into his car. He made a u-turn when he got out of the driveway and turned right at the light. He drove a block or two in silence. It was kind of difficult to talk because he had the radio blasting. After three blocks of driving, he finally turned left into a really rich looking neighborhood. It was a gate community where all of the houses look the same. He parked in the driveway, opened my door for me, and led me inside. The instant he opened the door, a Yorkshire terrier came running up to him. "Hey buddy!" Edward greeted his dog. "This is Riku. I've had him for about three years." "Wow…you named your dog after a Kingdom Hearts character?" I teased. "Shut up." He playfully pushed me and picked up Riku. "Hey, come meet my sister. She should be in her room right now. I'll bet you anything she's talking on the phone right now."He led me upstairs and to the farthest room on the right. Sure enough, there was a petite girl sitting on her bed, talking on the phone. "I told you so," he smirked. "Hey Elsie, meet Elizabeth. She just moved here from West Virginia. Elsie covered the mouth piece of her phone. "Hi Elizabeth! Hold on." Edward rolled his eyes. "It's like the phone is permanently attached to her ear. She's always on the phone talking to her friend, Emily." Elsie closed her phone and set it by her side. "Sorry about that. So, what's up?" "I just came over to study some APUSH stuff with your brother and he wanted me to meet you," I said. "Oh. Okay. Well, hi," she smiled politely. "Uhm, Elsie, what grade are you in?" I asked. "Oh. I'm a sixth grader. You're a junior, right?" she asked. "Yeah, I am. Why?" Elsie tucked her hair behind her ear. "You must know who Legacy are, right? I mean, everyone at my school talks about them." "Actually, I'm part of Legacy," I said nervously. "No shit?!" Elsie said. "You must be pretty incredible for them to like you." "I guess." I blushed. "Well, I guess we should go study now. Bye Elsie," Edward said. Edward led me to his room, which was right next to Elsie's, and we sat down on the floor. I took out my APUSH book and turned to chapter five. "Whoa whoa whoa! Slow down. Homework first, missy," Edward laughed. "What do I get if I do my homework?" I asked playfully. "What do you want?" "A cookie." I smiled. He brought my face to his and made me look at him. "Deal."I did my homework in a hurry. All I had to do was some worksheet for APUSH, a page in our workbook for French, and 15 problems for math. Edward had the same assignment as I did. We finished homework around 5 and I beat him. "I did my homework. I want my prize now," I said once he closed his math book. He went down stairs and brought me back a cookie. "Congratulations." I bit into it and smiled. "Thank you." "Elizabeth, would you like to have dinner with me?" he asked suddenly. "I'm glad you asked. My parents are getting home late and I have no clue how to cook," I admitted. "Edward to the rescue, I suppose," he laughed. "C'mon. Let's go to Ascona's." "Who's Ascona?" I asked quizzically. He laughed genuinely. "No silly. Ascona's is this amazing pizza place. My best friend, Eric, told me about it. The most amazing pizza crust you'll ever eat. I promise. My treat." "OHHH!!! Okay, sure."We said bye to Elsie and left for Ascona's. Edward drove for about fifteen minutes and pulled into a parking lot that was in front of the pizza place. We walked in and the bell above the door chimed. "Hey Ernie! Pulled the dinner shift again, huh buddy?" Edward shouted once we were inside.A middle aged man with a tiny beer belly came out from the kitchen. He had a full head of hair, a white t-shirt, and black pants. He had an apron around his waist and a smile on his face. "Edward! My boy! How was your first day of school?" Ernie grabbed Edward in a huge bear hug and lifted him off the ground. "I've missed you around here, son! It's been what, two weeks?" "My old man's been making me take SAT Prep classes. It's a total waste, but hey, it's his money," he grinned. I cleared my throat, hoping to get someone's attention. "Aw man. Jeez, how rude of me." Edward hit his palm to his head. "Ernie, meet my friend, Elizabeth. She just moved here from West Virginia." "Nice to meet you, Elizabeth." Ernie extended a hand. I shook it. "Same here. Edward says that this place has the best pizza I'll ever taste." "Damn straight!" Ernie exclaimed. "The usual, Edward?" "As always." Edward answered.He led me to a two-person table in the corner and waited for our food and drinks. Outside, what was left of the trees was blowing in the wind, there were joggers trying to squeeze in a run before dinner, and cars zooming by, racing to get home to their families. San Francisco was so peaceful, whereas West Virginia was full of loud drunks in the street and hardcore shows or whatever. A little taste of sanity once in a while didn't hurt. "Elizabeth? Hellooo???" Edward said, trying to get my attention. I snapped out of my daydream. "Sorry about that. I totally blanked out." "What were you thinking about? It must've been important. I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes," Edward huffed. "I was just admiring the scenery. It's a big change for me. I'm just trying to adjust. " I put on a smile just to convince him that I'm okay and our order came. Apparently, 'the usual' was meant to feed more than just two. "BBQ chicken pizza, curly fries, chicken wings with ranch, and two sprites," Ernie recited as he placed each item on the table. He smiled politely, told us to enjoy our meal, and walked to the register. "THIS is what you usually order?!" I said, sounding shocked. Edward chuckled. "Yeah. I order this every time I come here. It's what my family and I eat." "Well, it looks delicious," I grinned. "Bon appétit!"Edward snatched up a slice of pizza while I went for the chicken. We talked about my life in West Virginia while we ate. I told him about how different San Francisco and West Virginia are. He seemed very intrigued by what I was saying, asking questions like, was there any wildlife near my house. I couldn't tell if he was really interested in my life or if he was just pretending to be interested so that I would like him more. Surprisingly, Edward and I were able to polish off all of the food and two sprites and one water each. I walked out of there, holding my stomach. "Edward, I hate you." I moaned. "What? Why?" he asked, surprised. "You fed me too much. I'm going to be fat now and I won't make the soccer team. It's all your fault," I complained as I got into his car. "Elizabeth, you are nowhere near fat. Stop worrying about it. You're really thin, and Legacy gets what they want," Edward said matter of factly as he gunned the engine. I moaned again. "Shut up. I feel like I'm in a food coma. I won't be able to eat tomorrow." Edward laughed at me. "You overexaggerate too much, Elizabeth." "I do not!" I shouted. "Shut up and drive, Edward."Edward got out of the parking lot and brought me home. It was only 6:30 P.M. and my parents weren't coming home for another six hours or so. "Thanks for dinner, Edward. I'm stuffed and fat, but it was good," I chuckled as I got out of the car. "No problem, anytime." He came around to the other side and hugged me. "See you tomorrow." I walked through my door with a smile on my face. I set my backpack down near the coat stand and flopped on our couch and smiled up at the ceiling. Edward was amazing. All of the other guys that I've been with have all been physical attractions. It was probably because I knew that I had a limited amount of time with each of them, so why not make the most of it? But with Edward, I felt something so much more. It didn't matter to me that I had only a certain amount of time with him, I just wanted to be with him. Not that I wasn't attracted to him physically, he was by far the cutest single guy in San Francisco, but it was something more. Something that I couldn't possibly explain without sounding like I was speaking alien. Hopefully, he'd ask me to be his girlfriend in a matter of weeks once we got to know each other. I know that I move a lot, but why rush things? I was deep in thought when my phone started chirping. I took my phone out of my pocket and sat up straight. "Hello?" I answered. "Hey Elizabeth! It's Cathy. How did you like your first day?" she chirped cheerfully. "School never changes. Boring material and even more boring teachers. Same thing in every state," I sighed. "Well, school couldn't have been THAT boring could it? Especially since you are like a shoe in to be the newest member of Legacy," Cathy said. "Don't even try to play dumb. Everyone with eyes saw you sitting with them, but only a handful of people saw them give you the black notebook." I laughed silently to myself. "But that doesn't really mean that I'm in it." "Well it's inevitable. They don't just hand out black notebooks for fun! Nobody out of Legacy knows what's in them," she said. She sounded like some handbook on Legacy. "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," I said in a monotone voice. "No shit?" she asked, surprised. I started laughing. "No, but if they don't want it released to the public, I guess it'll have to stay a secret." "Sure. Okay. I totally understand," she said. "Anyways, I called because I wanted to ask you something, not talk about Legacy." "Shoot." "Well, I was wondering, are you with Edward? Like, did you guys hook up before school or something?" she asked. "Whoa whoa whoa. I just moved from West Virginia a week or two ago. No, I didn't hook up with him before school, but I think he might be into me" I informed her. "Let me fill you in. Edward Nuzumi doesn't date. He flirts, but he never goes further than that. All he does is draw and hang out with his guy friends. He's really social and really cute, but he's never had a girlfriend. At least, he hasn't had one in high school. We really don't know what his lifestyle was before high school because he moved to San Francisco from Japan. Surprisingly, he speaks perfect Japanese AND French. Basically, Edward was never attracted to anyone in San Francisco until you," Cathy explained. "Maybe you'll be his first high school relationship." "Wow…um, that's a lot to take in. Can you excuse me? I'll talk to you tomorrow." I pressed 'end' and threw my phone at the other end of the couch.How could Legacy not tell me that I was dealing with a guy without any knowledgeable relationship experience? But to be fair, nobody knew about my past either. The only thing about my life that I dreaded was the fact that my father was being harassed by a psychotic maniac. I wasn't really ashamed of my father. He wanted what he wanted, it wasn't his fault that his ex-wife didn't understand that. What I was ashamed of was the psychotic lady. Why wouldn't she just give it a rest? We've been dodging her for the past sixteen years, and she still tries. Somehow, she always finds out where we were. It was like she had a tracking device attached to our family. My dad gave her $500,000, so why was she still chasing him? That was more than enough money. What surprised me when I first found out was that my mom hadn't once thought about leaving my father. Now that was loyalty. My parents must be really in love with each other to be able to stick together even though the psychotic lady was always chasing us. It was only 7 P.M. and I had absolutely nothing to do. I walked upstairs and changed into black Sofee shorts and a plain white t-shirt. I slipped on my Gel Kayano 14 Asics, grabbed my iPod, and tied my hair into a high pony tail. I decided to run through the park across the street to see how badly out of shape I was. I locked the door and sighed. The air in San Francisco was a lot thicker than in West Virginia. I started running with Rihanna's "Disturbia" was blasting in my ears. My strides were perfect and my breathing was fine. I ran past a couple holding hands, just walking around the park for the scenery. I wasn't really a fan of major PDA so it kind of sickened me when I saw the guy devour the girl's face right out in the open. I rolled my eyes and rounded the corner, disappearing into the trees. Running helped me clear my head when I wanted to think. If I ever needed to think something over, you could see my dirty blonde ponytail moving in the wind. The song changed into Enrique Iglesias' "Can You Hear Me?". After about half an hour, I was out of breath. I stopped at a bench and stretched. I guess I shouldn't have started off at a fast pace. I was going to have to learn how to pace myself again. "Damn, I'm out of shape," I said to myself, out of breath. "I like your shape," a voice said.I turned around and saw a sort of tall guy standing behind me, grinning like an idiot. He sort of looked like Justin Chatwin. "Excuse me?" I asked, appalled at his assertiveness. "I said, that I like your shape. Very impressive." He came over to the bench where I was sitting on, still grinning. "Who are you?" I asked, trying not to sound impolite. "Trevor Collins, and you are a vision of beauty," he said, still smiling. "Thank you," I blushed. "I'm Elizabeth Turner, I just moved here two weeks ago. What school do you go to?" "Blake T. Martin Academy, junior," he replied. "I'm a junior too, but I go to Diamond Academy," I told him. "'Where everyone shines'," he joked. "Well, Elizabeth, think I could call you sometime?" "In order to do that, you need my number," I pointed out flirtatiously. He took his LG Venus out of his pocket and gave it to me. "Put your number in here, if you don't mind." I typed in my number and in turn handed him my LG Shine and told him to do the same. "You're lucky you're cute, otherwise, I wouldn't be talking to you." "That goes for both of us," he said, flashing me a swoon-worthy smile. "Hey, would you like to run with me? I'm going to run a couple more laps." "Maybe next time, Trevor," I sweetly declined. "But right now, I'm pretty out of shape." "Like I said, I like your shape. C'mon," he urged. "Two laps, please?" I sighed. "Fine, but go easy on me."We started running and it turns out that running with someone was more fun than running by yourself, who knew? We finished running at around 7:45 and we were out of breath. We reconvened on the same bench where we met and tried to catch our breath. As soon as I was cooled down, I felt the cold air hit me and I shivered. "Hey, want to go get some ice cream or something?" he asked once he got his breath back. "Uhm, sure. Where should we go?" I asked. "There's a Baskin Robbins across the street, "he suggested, "and I INSIST that it's on me."We walked across the street and we shared a banana split. We situated ourselves at a table in the corner and we talked about ourselves. He told me that he does cross country, soccer, and volleyball. He has a little sister, Alexa, and she was just born two months ago. "How precious!" I cooed when he showed me Alexa's picture. "She is going to be fighting off boys by the time school starts." "What about your family?" he asked. "Well, my dad owns this country wide law firm and my mom's the secretary. It's the reason why we always move around, he has to make sure every firm is fine," I lied. "I'm an only child, sadly." "Well, maybe you could help me baby-sit Alexa sometime. My parents both work until 6, they're doctors, so maybe you could swing by tomorrow." I tapped my chin. "I'll think about it. It depends." "It depends on Ella, doesn't it?" he sighed. "I knew it." "How do you know Ella?" I asked. "Oh please. Ella, Ellie, Eloise, and Elaine are the most popular girls in San Francisco. Legacy, right? I knew Ella already went after you," he mumbled. "What's wrong with Ella?" I was completely confused right now. "Let's just say that we're close, but far apart," he explained. "Uh…okay?" I said. "Sure. So, thanks for the ice cream. I think I'm going to head home. Bye Trevor and I will DEFINITELY see you tomorrow."I ran all the way home and tried to think about what Trevor meant by they were close, but far apart. I decided to text Ellie about it, maybe she would know. I got home and opened the black notebook and searched for Ellie's number. I inserted all of Legacy's phone numbers into my phone and texted Ellie. Elizabeth: Hey, you busy? Ellie: Nah, I've got time. Wat's up? Elizabeth: Do you know anything about Trevor Collins? Ellie: Ugh. If I were u, I wouldn't mention his name around Ella Elizabeth: Why, what happened? Ellie: I'll explain 2morrow. I gtg, Edgar's taking me out 2 a movie.Huh. Maybe I would have more luck with Elaine. After all, she seemed really nice. Elizabeth: Hey Elaine Elaine: Hola. Elizabeth: Listen, I was wondering if you could tell me about Trevor Collins Elaine: Can't. Ellie said she'd tell you 2morrow. Jst got the txt, srry. Elizabeth: Very well. Have a nice evening. Elaine: Same to you. Bye. I wonder what the relationship between Ella and Trevor was. Whatever it was, it seemed like Trevor was over it and on to the next best thing. And to think, just two hours ago I thought that Edward Nuzumi was going to be the love of my life. I guess that's hormones for ya. Baby-sitting his baby sister seemed like tons of fun, I loved babies. They were just so cute and innocent. Plus, it would give me time to really get to know Trevor. Legacy did have an influential factor on that though. I knew that they wanted me with Edward because of the E-d and E-l thing, but, frankly, I thought that I should make my own decisions. Maybe I'd be the first Legacy girl to ever have a boyfriend whose name didn't start with E-d, assuming that Trevor was into me. Only time will tell… The next morning I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock. I groaned and saw that it was 6 A.M., one hour and forty-five minutes until school started. I padded over to my closet and threw on a no-name black pencil skirt with a pleated bottom that hit just above my knee and a white Banana Republic top with a black satin ribbon in the middle. I slipped my feet into the black flats, grabbed my Dooney & Bourke tote bag, and walked downstairs. "Good morning honey. We're sorry that we came in late, but how was your first day?" my mom said. "School was boring, as always. Mom, please don't patronize me," I whined as I sat down. "I'm sorry, honey. So, what'd you do for dinner yesterday?" she asked me. "This guy from school, Edward Nuzumi, and I went to Ascona's for pizza. Then after that, I went running in the park and went out for ice cream with a guy I met running. His name's Trevor Collins and he goes to Blake T. Martin Academy," I informed her. "Go easy on them, Elizabeth," my father warned as he walked into the room with the newspaper tucked under his arm. "You're just like your mother, a natural born heartbreaker." "Oh stop it!" My mom swatted his arm playfully and kissed him. "Ew, gross. You know how I feel about you two kissing in front of me," I groaned. My father rolled his eyes. "It's our 17th anniversary, lighten up, would ya?"My dad got married to the psychotic lady at age 19, and then turned around and married my mother at age 21. My mom was just a young intern at the age of 17 and they got married the day after she turned 18 and officially became an adult. My mom was now 35 and my father was 38, pushing 39 this year. My mom had me a year after they got married and the psychotic lady has been trailing us ever since. San Francisco would be the 35th city that I've lived in. "Whatever. Have fun today. I'm taking the BMW to school, later." I walked to the garage and rolled up the door. I got into the BMW and drove to school. I got there around 7:20 A.M. I parked my car near the entrance and looked at my hair. I straightened it this morning and held it in place with a white headband. I walked into school and passed by Legacy. They smiled at me and continued on with their conversation. I got to my locker and got my math book out. I was about to walk over to Edward when Legacy, minus Ella and Edwin, came out of nowhere. "He was Ella's ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-boyfriend, or, first boyfriend. He dumped her because she was obsessed with Legacy, which really isn't a bad thing. Now, she was only in like, 7th grade so she wasn't in, but she wanted to be. I guess is just got on his nerves that she talked about Legacy all the time. They were together for like, two years and he just dumps her. She was an emotional wreck, but we helped her out. Long story short, Trevor dumped her because she wanted to be in Legacy," Ellie said. "Oh, wow. That's pretty harsh," I winced. "Yeah, she even loved him and stuff," Eloise added. "They were totally a perfect couple. That's when we decided that when we were Legacy, we would only date guys that started with E-d," Elaine explained. "Okay…well, I need to go ask Edward something, so, see you in APUSH, Eloise." I walked towards Edward, who was leaning against his locker, his eyes locked on me. "Hey," I greeted brightly. "Enchante, Elizabeth," he kissed my hand. "May I walk you to class?" I giggled. "Yes you may."We walked to APUSH and we sat together in the back. He took his sketchbook and started drawing. "Uhm, could you not?" I asked. "Oh, sorry. It's just a habit. I'm not really used to anyone talking to me if they don't have to." He put his book back in backpack and folded his hands on the desk. "You don't like talking to other people, huh?" I asked. "Of course I do. I have friends, but they come at the last minute. I come early because I have to drop Elise and Emily off at school, so I have no time to draw. I make up for that time before class," he said. "Oh, how nice of you. Most older siblings wouldn't do that," I pointed out. He shrugged. "I guess, but I'm a pretty social and outgoing person, I just don't like talking in class, I'd rather think about new car designs," he smiled boyishly. "You're pretty dedicated," I said. "Can I see?" He shook his head. "Nope. It's a secret. At private school like this, it's pretty cut throat." I laughed. "Sounds dangerous. I guess we shouldn't even study together, for all you know, I could be using you to get good grades." He fake gasped and put his hand over his heart. "Elizabeth! How COULD you?" "I'm so sorry! I just saw an opportunity and I took it without thinking," I fake apologized. He started laughing hysterically. "I have a feeling that your life is never boring." "That's correct," I beamed.Class started and Castro was surprisingly more lenient today. We had to split up into groups and do all of the section reviews in chapter six. If we didn't finish during the class time, we would have to finish it for homework. I was in a group with Eloise, Eddie, and Edward. We decided that each of us would do a section review and then switch papers with each other at lunch or afterschool. Math class was more boring than ever. We had to do something with a bunch of numbers, but it was a little fuzzy to me. Right when the bell rang I hauled my body to P.E.. P.E. wasn't so bad. Now that I was friends with Ella, well, kinda friends with her at least, I at least had someone to talk to. Our P.E. teacher told us about the girls' soccer team tryouts and then had us go run around the track for the whole period. I ran about 20 laps in around 45 minutes alone while Ella trailed behind me with 18 laps completed. We walked into the locker room together so worn out. I opened my P.E. locker and took out a small, monogrammed hand towel with my name on it and wiped my perspiration off. "Ms. Taylor is a bitch," I complained to Ella as I changed my bra. "Totally. She's a fucking slave driver! If she loves making us run so much, why doesn't SHE run?" Ella bitched as she brushed the knots out of her hair. I scoffed. "God knows she needs it. She's as big as a fucking hot air balloon!" "I know!" Ella exclaimed. "She should be the one running, NOT us."Ella and I changed out of our P.E. uniforms and walked into the halls to meet up with everyone else for break. We gathered around Ella's locker. All of Legacy was there with their boyfriends and I was just standing there awkwardly biting my lip and watching everyone hug their boyfriend and grab their hand. "Hi," I heard someone say from behind me. I turned around and smiled brightly. Behind me was Edward Nuzumi. "Hi Edward." He came up and hugged me. "Hey Elizabeth, could I talk to you for a sec? In private?" Legacy gave me encouraging looks and I shrugged. "Sure thing." He led me a couple of yards away from Legacy and took a deep breath. "I've been thinking, would you like to go out on a date with me?" "I'd like that," I replied. "When?" "How about tomorrow? I'll pick you up around 6:30?" he asked. "Uhm, sure. How should I dress?" I asked him. He pondered this then spoke. "Wear something comfortable." "Cool. So, I'll see you in English class." I sauntered away from him and back to Legacy and their boyfriends. "So...what'd he want?" Ellie asked eagerly. "Calm down, Ellie," Ella didn't really say, but commanded. "So?" "He asked me out for tomorrow night," I answered. The four of them squealed with delight. "What time?" Eloise pried. "6:30 at my house," I answered them. "That means we'll be by your house around 2," Ella said. "Eloise, Sephora. Ellie, Rubio's. Elaine, Alexandre's. I'll go to Ralph." "Huh?" I asked, confused. "We're going to help your get ready for your date with Edward, silly!" Eloise exclaimed. "It'll be super super fun!" I winced a little bit. "Fine. My mom and dad will be leaving for a flight to London tonight for some meeting with some international business. I'll have the house to myself all day tomorrow." "Wonderful!" Elaine smiled. "2 o'clock it is!"

Chapter 3: Confusion
Right when the bell rang, I got a call from Trevor Collins. I looked around me and didn't see any Legacy members or Edward, so I answered the phone. "Hey," I answered. "Hi, so, you out of school?" he asked. "Walking to my car as we speak," I told him. "Sweet. So, you still up for baby sitting with me?" he asked hopefully. I opened my car door and started the engine. "Totally. Come pick me up in 15."I gave him my address and he promised to see me soon. I got home and my parents already had left for their random vacation. I left my bag near my desk and stared at my closet. What would someone normally wear when baby sitting with a hot guy? I knew that I shouldn't wear anything valuable because baby Alexa might ruin it, so I put on jean Bermuda shorts and a yellow t-shirt. I heard a car door slam so I slipped on some white flip flops and grabbed my phone and wallet out of my bag. I picked up a black jacket I found on the floor and rushed downstairs. I checked my hair in the hallway mirror and jumped when he rang the doorbell. I smoothed my shirt, cleared my throat, and opened the door. "Hey Trevor!" I beamed. "'Sup?" he greeted me. "Ready to go?" "Yeah, sure." I closed the door behind me and got into his black Infiniti G35. The new car smell hit me right when I opened the door. The inside of his car was spick and span, which was pretty unusual for a teenage boy. Even Edward had a stray gum wrapper or two, but not Trevor. "New car?" I asked mockingly. He shrugged. "Maybe. Does it matter?" I shook my head. "No, not really."He drove half a mile away from my house and pulled into the driveway of a quaint two story house. He led me into his house and I heard a little coo. "Looks like Alexa just woke up. C'mon, let's go." Trevor led me to a room that was all pink. Everything in sight was pink. I rolled my eyes and groaned. Trevor walked over to a pale pink crib and picked up a tiny little thing. She was wearing a pink onesie and a tiny smile on her face. "Alexa, meet Elizabeth. I met her when I went out running yesterday," he said too her as he bounced up and down. He handed her to me and I willingly took her. "Alex, you're a cute wittle baby. Yes you are!" I cooed. "Aren't you precious?" Trevor stifled a laugh. "Yeah, she's like a little angel, isn't she?" I nodded. "She has a hungry look in her eyes." "Well, give her to me. I'll go get my mom." "Oh, your mom's home? I thought you were baby-sitting?" I said. "Yeah, I baby-sit for my mom because she works from home. She has to stay home until she weans Alexa off breast feeding," he explained as he walked back out into the hall. We walk down the hall to his mom's home office. "Mom, Alexa's hungry," Trevor told his mom. She looked up from her paperwork and her bangs fell in front of her face. "Hi Precious! Trevor, who's your friend?" "This is Elizabeth. I met her when I went running yesterday," he said cooly. "Oh, I see. Well, let me feed your sister. Nice to meet you, Elizabeth," she smiled. "Nice to meet you to Mrs. Collins." Trevor and I walked out of the door and into a room across the hall, which he called his. We sat down on his bed and there was an awkward silence "Sooo…." I trailed off. "What's new at school?" He shrugged. "Nothing, really." "Okay." Silence again. "So, it was nice of Ella to allow you to come over," he laughed. I knitted my eyebrows. "What are you talking about? I don't need her permission." He chuckled. "You may think that now, but in a couple of weeks, your answer will be different." I was starting to get angry. "What's THAT supposed to mean?" "It MEANS that Ella has the power to control anyone or anything. You should watch out for her, Elizabeth. She's not as great as she thinks she is," Trevor warned me. "Thanks but no thanks your insight. You're just a jealous ex boyfriend. You have no right to criticize Ella," I snapped back at him. "Take me home." "What? Why?" he asked, confused. "You cannot insult my friend without offending me. Take me home," I demanded. "No, I'm not letting you leave until this is resolved," he insisted. "Just tell me, do you really believe Ella has you in her best interest? Let me guess, she told you all about me." I crossed my arms. "She told me some stuff, yeah." He laughed incredulously. "And what did she say?" I shrugged. "Just that you two broke up and that you broke her heart over Legacy. All of them warned me to stay away from you." "Typical," he grumbled. "Ella and I broke up because I caught her cheating on me with Edwin. She told me that she had to do a project, but my best friend caught her at the movies macking with him." "Wait, what?" I asked, confused as ever. "I dumped Ella because she cheated on me. She lied to you because she wants to seem like the victim. She claims that I broke her heart when she demolished mine," he said softly. I blinked. "Oh, okay. Well…never mind about taking me home. Let's go play with Alexa." Trevor smiled his amazing smile again. "Sure thing."Trevor and I entertained little Alexa until their dad came home. I said good-bye to his family and Trevor drove me home. It was around 6:15 P.M. when I got home and my parents had arrived before me.I walked inside and dropped my stuff near the door. "Elizabeth, is that you?" my mom called from the kitchen. "Yeah mom." I walked into the kitchen to find my mom over the stove and my dad cutting some sort of green vegetable up. "Hello sweetie. Where have you been?" my mom asked sweetly. "Remember that we're leaving for London at 11. We'll be coming back in a week." "I was helping a friend baby-sit," I told her. "and yes Mom, I know." "While we're gone, I don't want any alcohol or drugs in my house, you understand young lady?" my father asked. I rolled my eyes. "Yes Daddy, I know. I've been alone multiple times, calm down." "We trust you honey, we just want to refresh your memory," my mom said as she turned off the stove. "Dinner's ready."We sat down at the counter and ate chicken, soup, rice, and spinach. My parents told me all of the standard rules that I must have heard a million times before. No drugs or alcohol, if I have a party don't let the cops get involved, in case of emergency I should call them or a friend, and no matter what, if the psychotic lady comes around, hide. After dinner, my mom and dad disappeared upstairs to do some last minute packing. I washed the dishes and got my phone out of my bag. 10 new text messages and 4 missed calls. I scrolled through my missed alerts and saw that Edward had called me and texted me once, Ella called twice and texted once, Ellie and Eloise each called once, and the rest of the text messages were from my West Virginia friend. I decided to call Edward back first. "Hello?" a voice answered on the other end. "Hey, sorry I missed your call," I apologized. "Oh, it's cool," Edward responded. "So, why'd you call?" I asked. "I was just calling to let you know that if you needed a dinner partner again, I'd be happy to take you out," he replied sheepishly. "Awww, that's so sweet, but no thank you. I just finished eating with my parents but how about for the rest of this week? You could teach me how to cook," I offered. He laughed. "Sure thing. See you tomorrow 6:30, sharp."I called Ella next. "Girl, where have you been?" she answered.Caller I.D. was a wonderful thing. Not. "I was helping a friend baby-sit," I said. "So, what do you need?" "Well, Legacy thought of this great idea. You should have a sleepover!" Ella squealed excitedly. "A sleepover? Wait, why?" I asked. Ella sighed. "So we can dish about boys and help you prepare for your date with Edward, duh." "My parents aren't leaving until like, 11 though," I responded. "Who cares? We're coming over in 15." Ella said before she hung up on me.I closed my phone and sighed. Legacy was going to be coming over soon to talk about Edward. Not that talking about Edward was bad, he was one of my most favorite subjects, but there was also Trevor. There was one guy at my school but another at a school. Dating both of them at the same time would never work because somehow they always find out. Trevor Collins was a major hottie, but the boyfriend who supposedly broke Ella's heart. Edward Nuzumi was amazing, but he's never dated anyone in high school and was kinda shy. I don't know why, but I've always been attracted to guys who were hard to obtain. I walked up the stairs and plopped down on my bed. My mom had done my laundry and it was in a basket at the foot of my bed. I got back up and started putting everything away, counting down the minutes until Legacy arrived. I knew from the beginning that my relationship with Legacy would be a love/hate relationship, but getting into Legacy was the hardest thing to do. It's not like I was going to stay long in San Francisco anyways, so why not have some fun? Exactly 15 minutes after my call with Ella ended all four current members of Legacy were standing on my doorstep. "Hi Elizabeth!" Eloise greeted cheerfully. In her hands were grocery bags filled with junk foods and sweets. It looked like a cavity waiting to happen. "Hey," I responded with a smile. "Come in. My parents are upstairs doing some last minute packing."Ella, Eloise, Elaine and Ellie came in, each carrying something different. They scurried into the living room and laid out everything on the coffee table. Junk food, sweets, Avon make-up, hair products, curling irons of different sizes, straighteners, clothes, and a massive amount of magazines. "Okay, so, this is everything that we're going to need for your date with Edward Nuzumi. Now, it's important that you make his mouth water," Ella said as she sat down on our couch and crossed her tan legs. "Why do I need to do that?" I asked. Eloise scoffed. "Because you need him as your boyfriend, duh." "Well, not necessarily 'need'. I mean, with your looks, you could get any guy you want, but we prefer Edward Nuzumi," Ellie explained. "Yeah, exactly. So, here's the deal," Ella started, "we'll spend tonight looking through these magazines to find the perfect outfit for you." "Do you know where he's taking you?" Eloise asked me as she sat down on my carpeted floor with a magazine in her lap. I shook my head. "Nope. All he said was to dress comfortably, whatever that means." Ellie pondered. "Well, I guess that means casual." "Okay ladies, start looking through the magazines and rip out a page with something that Elizabeth could wear," Ella ordered. Ellie, Eloise, Ella, and Elaine were busily flipping through Vogue, Seventeen, and Cosmo! Girl while Elizabeth sifted through the pages that they had ripped out and put them into 'yes', 'no', and 'maybe' piles. After about half an hour, Elizabeth had chosen black short shorts, a red v-neck, and black and white checkered Vans. After much discussion, the current Legacy members decided to let me wear the black shorts, but convinced me to wear a lavender tank and black sandals. "Okay, we have your outfit, now show us your closet," Ella commanded. "Now." I sighed and made my way to the stairs. I opened my bedroom door and showed them the closet."Here it is."The girls, obviously trying to hide the fact that they adored my room, lazily walked over to my closet and opened it. I heard a tiny gasp and smiled to myself as I sat down on my fluffy duvet. They obviously weren't expecting my closet to be so extravagant. They entered my walk in closet and I examined my cuticles nonchalantly checking out their reactions. Ella was scouring my closet for the items they had picked out, Ellie was perusing my shoe rack, Eloise was examining my handbags for knock-offs, and Elaine was drooling over accessories. "Impressed?" I asked coyly. Ella sniffed. "Not bad Elizabeth, not bad at all." "Can I borrow this?" Eloise asked, clutching my new graphite colored Kooba Natasha tote that I got as a gift from my parents. Every time we move, I get a new bag no matter what the cost, hence the multitude of purses in my closet. "I was planning on using it tomorrow," I said apologetically. "But help yourself to anything else, really."With that, Eloise scampered back into my closet gleefully while Ella oh so discreetly rolled her eyes. "Anyways," Ella sighed. "Wear this with your new Kooba bag."She placed the outfit on a hanger and put it back in the closet. She aggressively yanked Eloise away from the bags. Eloise hastily grabbed MARC by Marc Jacobs Dr. Q Groove satchel and followed Ella out of the closet. "So, what now?" I asked. I instantly regretted asking that question. It was such a stupid question. I admonished myself silently and sighed. "Downstairs," Ella directed.We all trailed behind Ella and went back to the living room. She pulled out her black book, which seemed to be a lot thicker than my black book. "Oooohhh, I love this part!" Ellie exclaimed happily as she plopped down on the couch. "What part?" I asked, confused. Ella flipped through her black book and then smiled to herself. "You'll see."Ella found the page she was looking for and showed it to me. On it was the name Alec Covington and what appeared to be his number, email address, and address. "What am I supposed to do with this?" I questioned. "Call him and tell him you're not interested," Ella instructed. I knitted my eyebrows. "Interested in what? I don't get it." Ella threw her hands in the air with frustration. "Eloise, explain it to her. "It's simple. Each girl has to call a guy who likes her and tell them she's not interested. It's pretty fun," she said. "That's so mean," I complained. "Not if you think about it," Elaine shrugged. I let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, whatever."I grabbed my phone off the table, punched in Alec's number, and waited for him to pick up. I told him who I was and said that I heard that he likes me and that I wasn't interested. The four girls giggled behind their hands as they heard Alec's response. He said that he didn't know who the hell I was and to get a life. I abruptly ended the call and whacked Ella on the head. "What the hell?!"The four girls erupted with laughter. They were clutching their stomachs and doubled over on the floor. "I can't believe you just did that!" Ella said, laughing so hard. "Poor Alec! We'll have to call and apologize to him," Ellie sighed. Elaine couldn't say anything because she was laughing too hard. "That was hilarious!" Eloise exclaimed. "What's going on NOW?" I asked, still ticked that I did that. "You just made a complete fool of yourself with some random guy, I hope you realize that," Ella said before continuing on with her laughing fit. "Yeah, I realize that," I said harshly as I crossed my arms over my chest. "What I don't know is why you made me do that." Elaine shrugged. "We were bored. We needed some entertainment."What the hell? I was not going to let them treat me like some trained monkey who's purpose was to amuse them whenever they were bored. "Uh, whatever," I said as I rolled their eyes. I wasn't going to let them have the satisfaction of humiliating me. I've dealt with these kinds of girls before at my other schools. There was always one group of girls who were totally adored in public but trash talked in private. But something about this particular group of girls seemed different. No matter what, you couldn't really hate them. They were just easily likeable. They looked and acted like they could do no wrong. Ella sat down next to me and put her arm around me. "We're so so so sorry. It's just, we needed to make sure you knew how to follow orders." "Uh, why?" I asked defensively. "Because once you're part of Legacy, you can't screw up. If one person screws up, then everyone screws up. Yeah, everyone has flaws, but that doesn't mean we have to flaunt them, y'know?" Ellie said, trying to reason with me. I sighed in defeat. The girl did have a point. "Well, I guess you're right. But please no more tests tonight." Ella patted me on the back. "Sure thing babe."We spent the rest of the night watching movies, painting each others' nails outrageous colors, played Truth or Dare, and all of the typical stuff girls did at slumber parties. Ella was the life of the party. She was always doing something weird or goofy to entertain us. At school, she was so poised and perfect but behind closed doors she was just like any other girl with a massive crush on Matt Damon. I had the most fun in my life with Legacy. They treated each other like sisters, showing me what real friendship was like. Hopefully, I wouldn't screw this up. As long as the psychotic lady didn't come around, my life would be fantastic.



Chapter 4: Consequences
I woke up the next morning with a headache. I don't know where it came from, but it was killing me. I propped myself up on my elbows and examined my living room floor. All four girls were sprawled on the plush carpet silently sleeping. I got up and tiptoed to the kitchen in search of some aspirin. I opened the wooden cabinets and swallowed two pills. I walked to the bathroom, being as careful as I could be, and looked at my hair. It was in a tangled mess, as per usual, and I looked hideous. I brushed my hair and washed my face to wake myself up. I trudged upstairs and into my bedroom to get dressed. I put on the outfit Legacy chose last night and looked at the clock. It was 10:30 A.M. My jaw instantly dropped. I had never slept past 9 in my whole life, including jet-lag. I was pretty stunned. I kept my shoes off and went back downstairs. I found Legacy exactly as I left them. I decided that since they played a trick on me, I thought that it would be nice to prank them. I hurried upstairs, pulled out my Crayola washable markers and proceeded to draw on their faces. I made Ella an ugly troll, Ellie a pimple-induced nerd, Eloise was covered in flowers, and Elaine had random dots on her face. After I finished creating my masterpieces, I grabbed my camera off of my desk and took close up shots of each and every one of them. I dug the black book out of my backpack and emailed the pictures to their boyfriends, hoping they would get a laugh out of it. After I finished emailing the pictures to them, I splashed ice cold water on all of them.
"What the hell?!" Ella sputtered as she shot up. "AHHHHH!!!!' screeched Ellie. "That's fucking cold!" Elaine complained. Eloise was seething. "Jesus fucking Christ!"Meanwhile, I was doubled over in laughter, my eyes brimming with tears. I just couldn't stop laughing. They glared at me with their arms crossed and matted hair, shivering. "I'm so sorry." I apologized once I regained my composure. "It was just so tempting." Ella wiped her damp bangs out of her face. "Well, you got us good I suppose." Ellie scoffed. "More like she got us wet." "Oh stop complaining, Ellie. You know she got us good, just admit it," Elaine said as she playfully hit Ellie's shoulder. "Whatever. I'm still as wet a dog," she whined. "Where's your bathroom?"I pointed it out and the four Legacy girls went into two different bathrooms. I got all of their blankets and pillow covers and put them outside to dry. I then checked my phone and made sure that it was fully charged after last night. I had two new text messages and one new voicemail. I called my voicemail and I heard a guy's voice: "Hi Faith, it's me. I mean, it's Trevor. Hahaha, yeah, sorry. So, um, yeah, like, thanks for watching Alexa with me. I, um, was wondering if you would like to, um, go out sometime? Uh, yeah. So, um, oh wow…this is awkward hahaha. Sorry, but, just, like, yeah. Want to? Um, call me whenever. Laters."I saved the message and smiled to myself. Trevor seemed so confident the night that I met him in the park just a couple days ago; he was nothing like the nervous guy who left me that voicemail. I opened my inbox and saw that Edward had sent me a text message and so did Cathy for some odd reason. Edward sent me a text, reminding me that our date was at 2 and Cathy's text said that I needed to tell her what happens with Edward ASAP. I laughed at Cathy's message and tucked my phone away in my pocket. Just then, Legacy emerged, sort of dry. "So, what now?" I asked them. "Make-up and hair, stat," Ella ordered.Ellie and Elaine were attacking my hair and Eloise was applying foundation to my face. Ella was standing in front of me, barking orders and approving or disapproving what they were doing to me. "Ladies, we have an hour before Edward Nuzumi comes to pick Elizabeth up, hurry up!" Ella barked at Ellie, Elaine, and Eloise.The three grumbled something under their breath and kept on working. "Am I really that ugly that you need to spend this much time on my face?" I questioned them as Eloise came at me with a mascara wand. "No, you silly girl, we're just adding a couple of things to ensure that Edward will fall for you," Ellie smiled. "He already DOES like me, he told me so. He even offered to teach me how to cook and feed me while my parents are gone," I protested as I tried to keep the tweezer in Eloise's hand away from my face. Ella clicked her tongue to make a tsk sound. "Don't you get it, Elizabeth? Beauty requires pain. Natural beauty is great and all, but it isn't always enough to have the most desired bachelor in all of San Francisco commit to you and only you." "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked a little too harshly. "It means that Edward doesn't settle down. Haven't you noticed? Girls are always staring at him. I'm surprised you haven't heard anything in the halls or in the locker room. Sweetie, the boy's a true man whore," Elaine informed me as she spritzed something with a fruity smell in my hair. "Well then why are you trying to get us together?" I questioned them. Eloise sighed. "Because. Legacy girls need guys worthy of us. Edward is definitely worthy of us. He was my first pick, but he turned me down. He said that he didn't want to commit so young." "Yeah, and he turned me down, too. He told me that same thing," Elaine confessed. "Wait, what makes you think that he won't do the same to me?" I stammered. "He acts differently when you're around. If you were here last year, he always had a girl on his arm and a couple of girls trailing him to his classroom. This year, since he met you, he's walking you to class and waiting for you after school. He's never waited for anyone or anything. But he waits for you and everyone is talking about it. Everybody is so astounded and shocked that Edward's not being the usual player that we're used to. It's like you've tamed him or something," Ella said matter-of-factly as she tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Oh…" I said softly. "Yeah, it shocked us, too. He's one of the reasons that we want you. If Edward Nuzumi is changing himself just for a chance to get with you, then we DEFINITELY know you're Legacy material. So, that's why you need to look extra hot. Edward's seen with so many girls, some were even in college. You need to show him that you're hotter and worth his time," Elaine told me as she stuck a couple of bobby pins in my hair. "We totally know you're hotter and worth his time, but we need him to believe that you are," Ella added. "So don't give into him. Don't do anymore than kiss him, no macking. If you do this right, maybe you'll get to meet the legendary Ernie." "You mean the guy who works at Ascona's? I've met him already. He's a nice guy. He has a bit of a beer belly though," I shrugged. "Hold up, you met Ernie?" Eloise asked me with wide eyes. "Yeah, we went to Ascona's like two days ago after we did homework at his house. His sister's a sweetie and his dog is so adorable," I gushed. "Ernie, his sister, AND his dog all in the same day?! What the fuck?!" Elaine screeched. "What, is there a problem?" I asked, confused. Ella shook her head. She was beaming. "Nope, no problem at all. In fact, this is wonderful. He's already fallen for you, you don't need to do this anymore if you don't want to." "Huh? How do you know?" I asked Ella who was still smiling. "Ernie's a really good friend of his. Edward looks up to him and Ernie doesn't know he's a man whore. Edward only introduces girls to Ernie if he's thinking about getting serious with them," Eloise stated excitedly. "Edward's totally into you!" I started smiling. "Really? Wait, how do you know this?" "I've met Ernie," Ella said simply.Ella met Ernie? That meant that Edward thought about getting serious with Ella at one point. My head started spinning. Why was it that ever guy that Ella had fallen for, I had to, too. I didn't want her to think that I was copying her because I wasn't. Also, why was it that every guy that fell for Ella, fell for me? I mean, we're completely different and look nothing alike, except for our blonde hair and hazel eyes. She was always confident and I was a little nervous at times. "Oh. When?" I asked casually, trying not to let my voice squeak. "Oh, in 7th grade. His brother and my brother were like, best friends. One day, they took the both of us to Ascona's and Edward's brother told him not to bring a girl to meet Ernie unless he was serious about her. Edward promised him and whatever his brother tells him to do, he does," Ella informed me. "So, you were never with him?" I asked for confirmation. Eloise shook her head. "Nope, they were never together and they never will be. Edward is all yours." "Well, I hope I don't disappoint you guys," I said as I got up.They handed me a mirror and I looked, well, amazing. My skin was glowing, my eyes popped, and my hair was shinier that ever. My somewhat wavy hair was pinned back in some complicated style. It looked like there was glitter in my hair and it was elaborately styled. "Holy…thank you!" I gasped when I realized how amazing I looked.Legacy gathered all of their stuff and left my house. I had less than fifteen minutes to get myself together without them around. I thought about everything they told me and knew that if I screwed this up, they wouldn't let me hear the end of it. According to them, I had to date someone with a name that started with 'Ed' otherwise I was no longer Legacy worthy. I still didn't get why it had to be those two letters, but still, I didn't want to disappoint them. I don't think that my life in San Francisco would be that pleasurable if I was a Legacy reject. Nobody would talk to me because I would be seen as a failure for getting so close to being Legacy but I couldn't land a guy. Sure, the guy I was aiming for was the biggest man whore in the whole city, but nobody would take that into consideration. Everybody would just see me as an epic failure and social outcast. I sat down on the couch, reading a magazine that Legacy left behind; waiting for Edward Nuzumi to come and pick me up for our afternoon date. I was reading the words, but not really comprehending them. I was way too concentrated on not messing my date up. I have never been this nervous before a date in my whole life. I didn't want to end up the social outcast of Diamond Academy. Just then, the doorbell rang and I jumped out of my seat excitedly. It was exactly two and my stomach was empty. I had forgotten to eat and now I was regretting it. I took a couple of deep, soothing breaths and opened the door. "Hi Edward," I smiled happily. He was wearing black straight jeans from Anchor Blue and a maroon colored shirt. His was wearing black éS shoes and contacts instead of his glasses. "Hello Elizabeth, how was your day so far?" he asked politely. "It was okay," I answered. "Do you want to come in?" He shook his head politely. "No, but thank you for offering. We should get going."He opened the passenger door of his car for me and I got in. He put on a blindfold over my eyes and told me that where he was taking me was a surprise. "Can you at least give me a hint?" I begged as I felt the car turn. "Nope," he said. I detected a hint of laughter behind his voice. "Why not?" I pouted. He laughed. "Silly girl, don't you know what the definition of surprise is? Just be patient, you'll see." "I know you don't know this, but I'm a very impatient person," I told him. "I see that now," he chuckled. "Just be patient for a little while. It'll all be worth it, trust me." I sighed. "Fine, I give up. Just hurry up please!" "As you wish," Edward smirked.Pretty soon the car started going faster and faster. I had to grab the bottom of my seat to brace myself from jolting forward once we arrived. "Jesus Christ Edward! I didn't mean it literally!" I exclaimed as he unbuckled my seat belt for me. Edward laughed. "I know."He led me out of the car and steered me in different directions. I heard a bunch of cars whizzing past us and I had no clue what was going on. He then told me to lift my foot carefully and step up. I kept asking him where we were and he just kept telling me to be patient. We finally arrived where he wanted us to and told me to take my blindfold off. I untied the knot behind my head and gasped. We were standing right at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so huge and luminous right before my eyes. I turned around to face Edward who was smiling at my surprise. "Wow!" I said, amazed. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Edward asked me even though he knew my answer. "Absolutely!" I gushed. "How did you know I wanted to come here?" He shrugged. "I didn't. I just thought that since you're new to San Francisco, you probably would want to see the Bridge. I guess I was right." "Yeah, you were," I smiled up at him.He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and I gazed up at the massive masterpiece before my eyes. I had never been that astounded in my life. I used to live in Washington D.C. and I visited all of the monuments, but they didn't compare to this. The Golden Gate Bridge with Edward topped all of those stupid monuments put together. I closed my eyes and took everything in. The light wind. The smell of the ocean. The mist hitting my face. Edward's strong arms around me, keeping me in place. The smell of his Axe wafting up my nose. I was in complete bliss standing there. I wished that I could capture this moment forever. "Elizabeth?" Edward whispered in my ear. "Yes?" I answered him, my eyes still closed. "Be my girlfriend," he said warmly. I turned myself around in his arms to face him. "Okay."Edward smiled down at me and hugged me tightly. His Axe scent wrapped around me and Trevor's face popped up in my mind. Images of Trevor filled my mind. Running around the park. Eating ice cream opposite of me. Cuddling his little sister. I tried to push those images out of my brain, but I couldn't. I wanted nothing more than to be with Edward. I had to be with Edward. I had to be Legacy. I had to prove to everyone that I wasn't some lowly country girl who moved to the city. I was not that person. I attempted to push the images out of my mind once more and succeed. "You have to do this, Elizabeth. You picked Edward. You picked Legacy. Do this for Legacy," I told myself.I then scolded myself for ruining such a beautiful moment with thoughts of Trevor and letting down Legacy. Trevor was right. Legacy was starting to take over my body, day by day. I had completed my task. I landed the most unattainable boy in all of San Francisco. I would be accepted into Legacy and live the life of high school royalty. All of San Francisco was at my disposal. When I walked through the halls Monday morning as a member of Legacy, everything would change. No more Trevor. No more quiet moments alone. I would have to be around Legacy 24/7. There would be rumors, I knew that. Rumors of how Edward and I got together. Rumors I wasn't so sure that I could handle. They would talk about me in the bathrooms and every time I walked by. I didn't want that life, but I picked it the second I agreed to be Edward's girlfriend. I wanted to be Edward's girlfriend, but I didn't want all the drama that came with it. I couldn't do anything now. I had to deal with the consequences of diving head first into a new life.