As an exchange student from Scotland, a whole new world opens up to Darren Green when he moves to the United States. He'll live with a host family, start at a new school, and he'll have to make new friends. However, what won't be a part of this new...
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IT WAS LUNCHTIME, AND DARREN sat at a table with Nova and Jillian, a girl whom they'd just had biology with.
"Did you hear University of Florida has already sent out their acceptance letters?" Jillian asked. She turned to Nova, and the hair in her ponytail swept up when she did with much enthusiasm.
"They did?" Nova's eyes widened. "Did you get in?" she asked, knowing Jillian had applied for early admission.
Jillian smiled an all-telling smile, and it must have been contagious, because Nova became ecstatic too.
"That's great!" she said. She turned to Darren. "Don't you think?"
Darren managed to put up a smile too. "It is." But he kept his gaze fixed on his plate and poked his food with his fork, not having eaten a bite of it yet.
"I'm still hoping I'll get into Florida State or Miami, though," Jillian said, her expression not faltering at the lack of enthusiasm from Darren.
"Did you hear back from them yet?" Nova asked.
Jillian nodded. "From Florida State, but I didn't get in." She shrugged.
"You didn't?" Nova frowned, and it was clear she thought something of it.
"But I can still get in through regular admission," Jillian said, as a way to lift her spirits up. It helped: the slight sadness that had slipped into her features disappeared. "And I really like University of Florida too. It's a great back-up in case I wouldn't get into the others after all." She turned to Nova and Darren. "What about you? Did you hear back from Yale or Princeton or any other university yet?" She turned from Nova to Darren and back, but Darren didn't even acknowledge her question, so Nova decided to answer.
"No, but it'll happen soon, probably." She sent a worried look Darren's way, but he didn't respond to it. "I'm really hoping I'll get in," she continued to Jillian. "I don't know what I'd do if I wouldn't."
"You deserve to get in," Jillian assured her. "You've been working so hard on this. For as long as I've known you, you've been talking about Yale."
Suddenly, someone smacked the lunch table they were sitting at with a flat hand and interrupted their conversation. Jillian and Nova turned around to see who it was, and Darren woke up from his daydream too. When he looked up, he was faced with a raging Dakota.
"Did you give her my name?" Her usual pale skin had turned red with anger, and she leaned in close to Darren while screaming the words at him so everyone in the lunch hall could hear.
Darren didn't need an explanation as to who the "her" Dakota was referring to was. It could only be Rebecca. He stammered, but couldn't get an audible word to leave his mouth.
"Did you tell her where to find me?" Dakota clarified, the strength of her voice not weakening. He never knew a small girl like her, who'd always seemed so fragile because of that overall lightness about her, was capable of producing volumes as loud as this.
