DETAILS
Synopsis
|
Just go breaking her
heart.... * KALEB I have one job, Well two. I need to get into MIIT, And I've got one class standing in my
way. So I need her help. After all, she's brilliant. But in the meantime, I'm supposed to break her heart. But how can I hurt the sweetest,
smartest, girl I've ever known? Her mom may be controlling, But can I let that woman control me
too? * GINNY I have one job, Well two. I need to get as far away from here as
possible, And figure out a way to force my mom to
let me go. But, I'm going to need his help. After all, he saved me once, It's up to me to return the favor. But in the meantime, I have to ensure that I don't fall for
him. But how can I resist the best-looking
and most daring guy I've ever known? I guess it's a chance I'll have to
take. |
Chapters In Total
|
Prologue |
: |
- |
|
Chapters |
: |
33 |
|
Epilogue |
: |
01 |
|
Pages |
: |
- |
Note(s)
|
· Standalone |
Destination
|
1.
Texas 2.
California 3.
Nashville 4.
South Carolina 5.
Houston |
Song(s)/Band(s)
|
1.
Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me 2.
John Mayer - Slow Dancing in a Burning
Room |
Main Character(s)
|
Male |
: |
Kaleb Quinn |
|
Female |
: |
Imogene Gray |
Other Character(s)
|
Kaleb Quinn |
: |
Future architectural engineer |
|
Imogene Gray |
: |
Senior Captain of the volleyball team |
|
Shelby Quinn |
: |
Lawyer Kaleb’s father |
|
Norma Gray |
: |
Principal Imogene’s mother |
|
Veronica Mars |
: |
“Ronnie” Cheerleader co-captain Imogene’s best friend A year younger than Ginny |
|
Jolene Jones |
: |
Dixie’s mother |
|
Dixie Jones |
: |
Junior Cheer squad flyers |
|
Mandy French |
: |
Dixie’s brother’s girlfriend |
|
Mrs. Yates |
: |
Shakespeare Studies teacher |
|
Oliver Reeves |
: |
The librarian Norma’s friend |
|
Chris Johnson |
: |
Kaleb’s friend |
|
Williams |
: |
Recruiter from Gilroy University |
|
Mrs. Preston |
: |
Economics class teacher |
|
Mrs. Ludendorff |
: |
Home Economics teacher |
|
May Wong |
: |
Imogene’s classmate |
|
Sarah Wong |
: |
Imogene’s classmate |
Quote(s)
|
1.
My mom—the principal—would k-i-double-l
kill me. My life is mapped out. The path marked like it’s MapQuested and the
coordinates set in stone so solid it’s got rebar in it. 2.
It’s felt weird since senior year
started three weeks ago. I know it’s my last year. I know college is on the
horizon. Things are changing, and while I’m excited, I’m also scared. My mom has controlled me
for so long that I wonder what life will be like without her
twenty-four-seven influence-slash-surveillance. What will it be like to make
my own choices? What will it be like to live my own life? What will freedom
feel like? Not that my mom is
horrible. She’s not. As a single mom, she’s worked hard for everything she
has…we have. Starting when I was just a baby, she worked to get her degree
and fought for every step of success. I know she just doesn’t want me to
struggle as she did. Not that my mom is
horrible. She’s not. As a single mom, she’s worked hard for everything she
has…we have. Starting when I was just a baby, she worked to get her degree
and fought for every step of success. I know she just doesn’t want me to struggle
as she did. 3.
I turned eighteen four weeks ago, and
that magical number changes things. Arrests, warrants, jail time—all those
things add up now. If I really want to be an architectural engineer, I need
to keep my nose clean and my eyes on the prize. 4.
At no point in my life did I want to be
a lawyer. The only reason I’ve made it my mission to get into trouble is to
make it impossible for me to get my license. Maybe that way my dad will get
off my back. It’s a fine line that I balance. Keeping myself out of enough
trouble to really hold me back and getting into enough that my dad’s
law-school dreams are crushed. 5.
Before my mom left, I loved the beach.
Now it’s only a reminder that just because things look nice doesn’t mean they
are. 6.
Only, with every footstep, I’m even
more frustrated. Why should Ginny need to hide the fact that she’s tutoring
me? Wouldn’t that be a plus for me? Wouldn’t her mom, a principal, be
thrilled that a student was taking interest in their future and trying to do
better? Wouldn’t turning a problem child into a star pupil be great for her
resume? I mean, I’ve gone from barely passing to acing all my classes but
this one. 7.
Scared. Carrying a weight no one would
understand. I’ve seen it in his eyes. People expect him to be a certain way,
and once you’re pounded into that round hole, there’s no getting free. I’m
more than a little familiar with that feeling. 8.
She’s so afraid of me making the same
mistakes as she did that she hasn’t taken a moment to think maybe her
mistakes are what made her so great. Tough. Independent. Strong. Reliable.
She’s everything a role model should be, and it’s all because…she made mistakes.
How can I ever learn to be all those things when all I’m ever allowed to be
is perfect? 9.
Broken home or not, he’s in control of
his choices. 10.
Yeah, my mom is awesome. She made great
decisions, but not everyone can be Ms. Norma Gray: perfect student, parent,
and principal. People do make bad choices. At least, I think so. Not because
they’re bad people, but because they’re…flawed. 11.
“Ginny is hot. I’d never go near
her, but the guy who does…” He shrugs. “Nothing great ever came easy. I bet
she’d be the girl. Like, the girl. The kind you get with and paint white
fences and have kids with.” 12.
Volleyball used to be fun. I loved
practicing, playing, all of it. Now it’s a chore, and I think taking out the
trash would be more fun. Closing my eyes, I wish I knew how to love it again.
I think the worst part is knowing that it doesn’t end with high school. If I
get a scholarship, I’ll have to play in college too. Maybe it’ll be better if
my mom isn’t around and I don’t feel smothered. Like all I can do is
volleyball and school and nothing else. 13.
“It’s one thing to hear something
and another to witness it. You’re pretty amazing.” 14.
“I don’t like you. I don’t like that
Ginny has taken an interest in you, and I especially don’t like her hanging
around you. But I know her. Until she realizes that you’re not worth her
time, she’ll give you everything she’s got. I just hope she’s not too
disappointed when you inevitably mess up. Because you will. We both know it.” 15.
Sagging, I catch the principal’s gaze,
hold it, and say, “Principal Gray, I want to be an architectural engineer. I
want it so bad it hurts. I’m a screwup. I know it, but…life can’t be over at
eighteen, can it?” 16.
I’m a little speechless. “You’d
really be okay seeing her hurt?” I’ve heard of parents doing
crazy things, but this is…certifiable. And cruel. As great as the letter
sounds, I’m not sure I can stomach hurting someone. Not on purpose. As I
start to shake my head, Ginny’s mom leans in. 17.
I’m trying to focus on the movie, but
the conversation my mom had with Kaleb is playing in my head just as clear as
the movie in front of my face. I didn’t play my hand at the time because I
was in shock. My mom made a deal with
someone to break my heart. And not just any someone, a guy she hates. Not
only that, but she’s willing to give him a letter of recommendation and get
him a meeting with a friend who works at MIT. I don’t know what hurts
worse. That she’d make the offer or that Kaleb would take it. I think part of
the reason I haven’t said anything is that I want to see if Kaleb will tell
me. It’s easy to see from his perspective that it’s a sweet deal. Putting myself
in his shoes, I’m not sure how I’d handle it. 18.
For the rest of the movie, I allow
myself to be engrossed. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, and it’s easy
to remember why I loved it. Connections brought people back to life. Humans
are social, and technology can only offer so much. It can’t caress your arms,
kiss you, or love you. Technology is a tool, but it can’t replace the
emotional connections that people need. A beating heart needs
another beating heart to find its rhythm. When those two hearts sync, it’s
music. I’m not saying its good music all the time, but when we find that
person that complements our beat, it makes life easier. 19.
“Actually,” he says, his gaze catching
mine. “You’re the kind of girl a guy dates with forever in mind. You’re
smart, kind, and gorgeous.” 20.
I know I’m doing better in Mrs. Yates’s
class, but there’s always that lingering doubt that maybe I didn’t do as well
as I thought I did. 21.
“That’s all we need sometimes. Just a
little help.” 22.
I’m supposed to be faking all of
this, but there’s nothing fake about my feelings. Ginny and I are friends,
and this is what friends do, right? Holding the other up when the world is
crushing them? Or is this how it feels to hold the right someone…the someone
who futures are planned around? 23.
There’s so much I want to say, but all
it will lead to is going in circles with her. Instead of fighting it, I
shrug. “Okay.” 24.
“Good. Get your grades up, get Ginny’s
hopes up, then let her down. It will be an important lesson for her.” The car
rolls forward a bit and stops again. “I love her. That’s why I’m doing this.
This way I’ll be here for her to help her through it.” She taps the gas, and
I’m left standing on the side of the road staring after her. 25.
At this point, I’m not even surprised
she’s willing to lie anymore. It seems the only thing she’s able to do. For a
second, I feel sorry for her. I could see in her eyes when she stopped me
near the beach that she absolutely believes she’s doing the right thing. I
just wonder when she’ll find the line she’s crossed—what the consequences
will be and if she’s thought about it at all. 26.
Groaning, I lean my head back against
the headboard of my bed. Can’t she just back off for once? I don’t want to
talk. About Gilroy. About Kaleb. About…life. I just want some space to think.
It’s like she’s afraid if I have a moment where she isn’t dictating my every
footstep, she might realize that I can, in fact, stand on my own and not
fail. 27.
Geez. Mom’s now speaking about choosing
a college like it’s a dating scenario. I don’t want the dashing, cavalier
university. I want the university that’s a good kisser. One that holds my
hand and not my throat. 28.
Kaleb laughs. “Seems the three of us
have the same problem. Parents living vicariously through us and us working
to make sure that doesn’t happen.” 29.
We sit like that until the sun is cut
in half by the horizon. Just me and her and the sounds of the waves. It’s
peaceful. Beyond peaceful. I feel contentment. I’m exactly where I’m supposed
to be, holding the girl I’m supposed to hold, and I can see into the
future…doing this exact thing until I’m too old to walk to the beach without
a cane. 30.
“I don’t want to pretend to date.
I want to date. No faking it.” I meet her gaze with mine. “I just…I want to
see where this can go.” 31.
I don’t know how long it’s been since I
felt hope, but standing on the beach, knowing how I feel, that’s what’s
filling me. Happiness, hope, and love. I might be too young to understand it
as deep as I should, but I understand it enough that I want to hold on to it
with both hands. It’s a good feeling and one I’m fighting to keep. 32.
“Really?” He asks the question
like he’s shocked that I want her to meet him. I guess I shouldn’t be
surprised. Isn’t the first step of a serious relationship introducing the
person to the parents? 33.
I’ve learned dwelling on it doesn’t
change the past; it just makes the present miserable. 34.
“Uh, sorry.” I cast a glance toward my
mom, and she’s either lost in the newspaper or actively trying to seem like
she’s not eavesdropping. Maybe there is hope that we’ll end this trip with
all our cards on the table. 35.
As I close the door to the bathroom,
I’m suddenly filled with giddy joy. There’s the real prospect that maybe my
mom is seeing me, hearing me. That maybe our relationship can go back to what
it was, and that I can confide in her my real feelings about Kaleb. Not
before she tells me about the deal, but since the moment this all started,
I’m thinking she will. That she’s had a genuine change of heart. 36.
A lump forms in my throat. This pen
isn’t just a gift, it’s an investment in me. It means she has faith not only
that I’ll get a degree but that I’ll succeed at something I thought I loved
most on this earth. Until her. “You’re going to do it. I
know you will. And now, every time you pick that pen up, you’ll be reminded
that even when you might be doubting yourself, someone out there believes in
you. Just because the stars are hard to reach doesn’t mean you stop trying to
catch one. You’re not limited at all, Kaleb.” 37.
I pull up the text, and my lungs
deflate. There’s no air in the room. Slowly, I lower myself into my desk
chair, staring at my girlfriend and best friend locked in an embrace at
school. In the next photo, her face is angled toward his…and then a third is
them making kissy faces. The last two look like they’re taken in a grocery
store. 38.
“Part of me wants to, but
Principal Gray loves Ginny and—” My dad starts to protest, and I stop him.
“I’ve seen the look in her eyes when she talks about Ginny. She honestly
believed she was protecting her.” It was totally twisted, but if Shakespeare
has taught me anything, it’s that sometimes people do dumb things. 39.
I’m full-on weeping now. The ugly,
runny nose, hiccupping kind of crying. I’ve been betrayed all over again, and
by the one person who has always sworn to love me. How can she even whisper
the word when I’m looking at something so heinous that the word love can’t
possibly apply. 40.
I take a step and stop. I know the next
words out of my mouth are going to be daggers, but my mom has lied,
controlled, and manipulated me for years. At this point, I don’t care if I
ever speak to her again. “You know, if you were this controlling with Dad,
it’s no wonder he didn’t stick around. He probably got out as soon as he
could. Just like I am.” With that, I leave the room
without so much as a look back. I don’t care if she’s hurt. When I said I was
done, I meant it. If she’d have shown just even a little bit of remorse,
maybe it would have changed how I feel. There was nothing, though. Nothing. So, why should I even care? 41.
Mrs. Yates takes a deep breath. “Oh, to
be young and in love.” “Past tense.” “I don’t think so, Kaleb.
The line between love and hate is microscopic. If she didn’t have feelings
for you, there wouldn’t be so much animosity.” My emotions are all
jumbled. “I don’t know, Mrs. Yates. You saw her today, right? She’s so…” “Heartbroken and
desperately trying not to be.” Mrs. Yates smiles. Her head tilts a fraction.
I’ve seen that look in her eyes before. Her sleeve is ten miles long, and
she’s about to pull something out of it. “I have an idea.” 42.
Her hand comes to rest on my forearm.
“Kaleb, you haven’t made the best choices, but you’ve never been a bad kid.
You were hurting. All I did was try to decipher what you were saying.” If I speak, I’m not sure
I’ll keep it together, so I just nod. My teacher has no idea what she’s done
for me this year, and there will never be a way to put it into words. She
gave me more than a chance to reach for my dreams. She’s given me a chance to
reach for the one person I want to share those dreams with. I just hope I
can. 43.
“Ginny, what I did was a crime. I have
no business leading this school when I can’t even use clear judgment.” |
BOOK JOURNEY
Thoughts
|
(14) Honestly, this is not the kind of
things that a Principal should tell a student. Especially when the student is
going to graduate soon! Why involved in school when you have no empathy at
all? —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (16) You’ve crossed the line, Principal. —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (17) You knew! I’m glad! I do hope Kaleb
confesses soon though. —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (24) You’re over compensating. I’m not sure
you’re doing it right. —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (25) My thought as well. —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (30) Finally! (Not me kicking my feet in the
air!) —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (34) I mean, I don’t want to think evil of
your mom, but… maybe she’s trying to drag you to the University herself? —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (35) All of a sudden? Don’t get your hopes
high. Something fishy is going on. —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (37) You’re a principal. Why are you doing
things to hurt both your daughter and your student? You’re way over the line! —————— ฅ՞• •՞ฅ ——————— (43) Glad that you know what you did was
wrong. |
Reading Experience
|
The author is very good with words. I
feel… hopeful after reading the story. I loved that! The story between Kaleb
and Ginny is so sweet and supportive. I love couples that support each other.
Who doesn’t want to get themselves a partner like that? |
Question(s)
|
1. - |
Three Most Important
Concepts in This Book
|
1.
Love is by supporting each other. 2.
Love is doing what’s best for them by
supporting their decisions. 3.
Communication is one of the key’s to
successful relationship. |
Suitable For People Who
|
1. Please
refer to “Tags” |
Read Dates
|
Started |
: |
23.09.2024 |
|
Finished |
: |
23.09.2024 |
Reading Progress (In
Chapter)
|
23.09.2024 |
: |
01 |
à |
Epilogue |
Tags
|
Fiction; Contemporary; Romance; High
School; Dual-POV |
Pace
|
· Medium |
Spiciness
|
· None |
Rating
|
|
Social Media
No comments:
Post a Comment