In the peace and quiet of his room — relatively speaking — Chase picked up his binoculars, opened his cell phone and called Megan.
“Hey, guess what?” He asked as soon as she answered the phone and then rolled his eyes. God, he sounded just like Bailey.
“What?” Her voice was curious but cautious.
“I got in, Megan! I got a scholarship — twenty thousand a year!”
Her tone went up a few degrees in warmth. “Oh, my God, Chase, that’s incredible! Congratulations.”
He understood this would impress her because she understood its importance. Bailey never would.
“They want an answer right away, but I have to wait until Monday. I had to tell someone — I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m happy for you. Really happy.”
He believed her. And yet, something was still off. “What’s wrong, Megan.”
Her sigh spoke volumes even with the crappy reception of his out-dated cell phone’s speaker. “I had a nice long chat with Bailey’s Ryder.”
He grimaced. “Oh, God, what did you say to him?”
“Nothing. Relax. I only told him I wanted to make sure he wasn’t a pedophile and that I won’t let him hurt Bailey.”
“Jesus, Megan.” Chase blew out a loud breath. “You have to stop interfering. Bailey’s only gonna be pissed off.”
There was a long silence and then she said, “No. First, Bailey knows I’m only looking out for her. And second, she’s the one who gave him my number.”
Girls, Chase realized, are really confusing.“Really. Um. Okay, then. I have two question. First, how bad are you gonna hurt her and second, what do you think of him?”
She sighed loudly and ignored his first question. “I can’t tell. He says he’s for real, so why all the secrecy?”
“Good question.”
“So tell me more about Manhattan. Your parents really said yes?”
“Um. Well, not exactly. My mom was with me when I opened the envelope and she said okay and gave me this big wet hug.”
“Wet?”
“Yeah. She cried.”
“Oh. Right.”
“So, what are you gonna do? I mean, are you really going?”
“Oh, yeah. I can’t wait, Megan. My friends got a lead on an apartment we can rent right in the city. I’ll get a job, go to class, play Lacrosse.” Chase stopped talking and let it sink it. Heaven. He’d just described heaven.
“I am really happy for you, Chase. All your dreams are coming true.”
Almost, he thought when he ended the call. Almost.
YOU ARE READING
TMI-Deleted Scenes
Teen FictionWhen I wrote TMI, I alternated points of view among three central characters -- Megan Farrell, Bailey Grant, and Chase Gallagher. But I wanted the story to focus on the girls' friendship, so my editor and I decided to remove Chase's POV from the pub...
