Chapter 31: First Day of School
"First day of school, huh," Jay commented as I walked into the kitchen to grab some coffee.
"Yep, you'll have the whole house to yourself and Gloria," I raised my cup in a toast.
"Here, Jake, so you can go with full energy," Gloria handed me a big breakfast.
"Thank you, Mamá Gloria," I joked affectionately.
"What the hell are you wearing, Manny?" Jay asked, seeing Manny dressed in a poncho.
"It's a traditional colombian poncho. I want my new classmates to know I'm proud of my heritage," Manny replied, straightening his shoulders.
"You could sell drugs, Manny, instead of looking like an old Christmas tree," I commented sarcastically.
"Jaay, Jake!" Gloria warned, then turned to Manny. "You look handsome, mi niño"
I whispered to Jay, "Can you take care of this? He's going to get bullied if he shows up like that."
Manny isn't exactly the most normal of kids, and dressed like that, I wouldn't expect a warm reception.
Jay sighed, "It's his first day too, leave it to me."
I nodded. Worst case, I'd pay some kids to beat up the ones who bullied Manny.
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I parked the car and got out. Students started staring at me (for obvious reasons. Even in a school full of rich kids, a student driving a Ferrari was still very impressive)
"Wow, you're already on your way to the top of the popularity list," Haley laughed as she walked up.
"Hello, little Comet," I gave my cousin a side hug.
She slapped my hand away as I waved to Claire in the minivan.
"Stop embarrassing us," Haley whispered, "and you could've picked me up."
Maybe she was embarrassed about the minivan, or that her mom dropped her off in front. Probably both.
"Let's see which friends you'll introduce me to," I smirked.
Haley let out a squeal of delight, "If you pick me up in the Ferrari, I'll introduce you to the prettiest girls," she negotiated, "too bad we're not in the same classroom."
We walked into the school
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Inside the classroom, I sat in the last row.
"Huh, new guy?" a brunette murmured as she walked up.
"Jake Pritchett," I introduced myself.
"Summer Roberts," she shook my hand.
"So, Summer, tired of jokes about your name?" I teased
"A little," she smiled back, "but you can try some," she said flirtatiously
Before I could continue, another girl appeared smiling. "Summer!"
"Coop!" Summer hugged her.
"Marissa?" I raised an eyebrow, recognizing her - the girl I'd met at my grandma's house.
"Jake?" she looked at me with a surprised expression.
Summer pointed between us, "You two know each other?"
"I met him near my house," Marissa replied.
"I was visiting my grandma, she's Marissa's neighbor," I confirmed.
The bell rang, marking the beginning of the first class
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I learned to Summer, "Sunny girl, I'm bored."
She stifled a laugh, "It's only been ten minutes."
I started tossing paper balls at the girl in front.
Marissa turned slowly to me. "Stop it," she complained, but without any annoyance in her voice.
I stopped, but then started making a paper Trebuchet out of notebook sheets (Gloria had overbought: glue, clips, colorful pencils, everything).
Once it was ready, I started playing war with Marissa's hair. Since the paper balls were small, she didn't notice she was being attacked.
But soon I received a little note saying, 'she has a boyfriend.'
I turned to Summer and passed her another note: 'Jealous? We can go to the beach today, after class.'
She playfully rolled her eyes but smirked at me.
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We went to the cafeteria during the class break.
"Hey Dad, I need your house today." I called Charlie to confirm it wasn't a problem. "Of course there'll be girls. What kind of question is that?"
I think even he was wincing at his stupid question
After a short back-and-forth, I hung up and quickly texted Gloria that I'd be home late.
Turning to Summer, I leaned close. "Got the okay. It's the Malibu beach house."
Her lips curved into a slow smile. "Nice." She tilted toward Marissa. "Coop, beach after class?"
Marissa toyed with her straw before nodding. "Hmm, seems like a plan."
I bent to whisper again in Summer's ear. "Are you playing hard to get now?"
She let out a melodic laugh, tucking her hair behind her ear with her hand. "You need a little more work, big boy."
Before she could bask in her victory, I spotted a girl walking up. I rested my arm on her shoulder.
"My cute Haley… Malibu beach, after class? My dad's place."
"Sure thing," she said instantly, eyes bright.
Summer's smile faltered
"Haley, don't you have a boyfriend? Some senior from another school?" she said accusing, pointing a finger at Haley
Haley pressed a hand against my chest, grinning. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
As expected of my street-smart cousin. She caught the whole interaction immediately.
"Too bad," Summer cut in, sliding next to me and wrapping her arm around my waist. "This one's already taken."
I also placed my hand firmly on Summer's waist, "but you still can come, cousin." I said looking at Haley, emphasizing the last word.
Summer widened her eyes, "Wait, what?"
While Marissa, who had been quietly watching, laughed. "You got played, Summer!"
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Summer Roberts pic
Author's Note: As I mentioned in the auxiliary chapter, The O.C. will be the most AU (Alternative Universe) of all the shows. There's a lot of drama in the series (and some pretty ridiculous ones). I'll be cutting part of it.
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