Oh my gosh, I haven't talked to you guys in FOREVER! I'm SO sorry. I completely forgot about you. I'm a little busy right now but I'll catch you up with life in Florida a little later.

Sorry again.

Alice <3

Oh my gosh. So you will so not believe what happened last night with Michael...

School is going awesomely. Michael is helping me catch up a lot in class. I know most of the stuff we are learning already, but I didn't learn some of the stuff that they already had. I learned that the hard way today when I took the test in Physics. They are practically going backward. Currently, they are larning the same stuff we did at the beginning of the year back home.

I can't talk much because I'm studying right now. I'm meeting up with Michael later tonight so that he can catch me up on everything. Gwen was going to come but then she got a last minute date with the track star so now it will just be me and Michael.

I'm kinda freaking out wondering what I should wear. It's really warm out today so should I wear that cute little mini skirt or would that seem too trashy? Why am I even asking this? It's just Michael. He won't care what I'm wearing. I just threw on some tan short shorts and a T and ran over to the library before I could worry about putting on makeup.

I'll let you know what happened tomorrow.

There is so much to tell you about school here.

For starters, it is almost exactally like back home. There are snotty kids everywhere and there are also really nice kids. I ran into the apparent princess of Franklin High yesterday in the hallway. I have a locker next to her. I was standing in her way so she slammed my locker door closed on my hand. Gwen was walking down the hallway right then and saw the whole thing. She immedietly cut her down and the mean chick was kicked out of their group. She was then shunned by everyone and barely any of even the losers would speak to her. Even Michael wouldn't speak to her once Gwen told him what had happened. He and Gwen seemed to stick by me quite diligently for the rest of the day. With Gwen by my side, no one would even consider coming near me and I quickly rose to popular status.

People were really nice to me after that. Everyone said hi to me and smiled. I made sure to return the favor to anyone that I could. I wanted to make as many friends as possible.

At lunch today, Gwen and the rest of the girls decided that they should throw a Welcome to Our Group party for me. They decided against this weekend because that's when Derek was having his party. As soon as someone said his name, he appeared, as if beckoned for.

"Did I hear my name ladies?" he asked flirtatiously.

Every girl gigled with a little smile. I learned quickly that he was a well sought after commodity in the Franklin boy market. Looks like I have a bit of compitition.

Apparently I didn't hear Gwen's alarm this morning. She decided to let me sleep in for a little bit but when Derek heard that I was still asleep, he came into our room, turned up his Ipod as loud as it would go, and put his big DJ headphones on my head. I woke up to the pounding bass of Avenged Sevenfold's Brompton Cocktail. I could tell that today would be a very good day.

Breakfast was cereal. Everyone sat down together to eat. It was creepy. It was like a little family pow wow. I must say, I was completely freaked out. And then they all had Cheerios! Well, everyone except Michael who reached up to a top cubboard in the kitchen and rummaged around. He called out, "gottcha!" and pulled a purple box down.

A smile lit across my face. Raisin Bran. My favorite cereal ever.

Mrs. Hayer tried to convince him to put it back and come eat Cheerios like a normal person but he just wouldn't have it. Derek called over to him, "Hey dude, you can have your gross little cereal, but only if you share with our lovely guest." He gave me his big award winning smile.

Michael poured me a bowl and sat down on the other side of me. He gave me a little smile like we were sharing a little secret. It was so sweet.

Derek volunteered to drive us to school this morning. Gwen was pretty pissed about that. Don't get me wrong, she hates the bus, but she also hates that Derek is only doing this because he "is trying to be nice to Alice so he can get her alone..." Apparently he never offers to give them rides. Ever.

Derek insisted that I get shotgun, but I figured that Gwen should probably get it, or else she'd bite my head off or perhaps ignore me during school and I needed her. So I had Gwen take my place. I sat in back with Michael. It was a kind of small car so the backseat was a little crowded. With me at my 6'0" and Michael at his 6'2" we were both pretty smashed. Or as one of my friends back home would say, we were smoosh. Smoosh is not a verb, it is a noun. You become a smoosh.

So as we were climbing into the backseat, Derek grabbed my arm and pulled me back closer to him. He leaned in close, his breath heavy. My heart was pounding like crazy.
He's going to kiss me.
He. is. going. to. kiss. me.
HE IS GOING TO KISS ME!!!
I closed my eyes and tilted my head up towards him.
"I got you a present, beautiful." he whispered in my ear.
I let out a deep sigh of regret completely ignoring the beautiful comment.
"What, you don't want it?" He asked playfully. Turns out, he is the biggest flirt ever. He's got girls all over him at school and he totally leads them all on.
He reached behind his back and pulled out a little black bag that looked suspiciously like the one that he got in the mall yesterday...
"Go on, take a look," he whispered to me, leaning in. I could feel his hot breath on my neck. I knew that if I ever wanted to think straight again, I'd have to get away from him, and the only way to accomplish that would be to do as he asks.
I reached inside the bag and pulled out a CD. I let out a huge squeal and jumped up and down. I couldn't believe it. He got me the Papa Roach CD I really wanted! As I was still hopping I grabbed ahold of him and hugged him tight.
"Thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou," I slurred.
"It's no problem, babe," he replied.

Yep, this was definately going to be one amazing day.

Saturday

Oh my gosh. Tonight is the night that all of Derek's hot friends are comming over! I can't wait. After meeting some of them at school and seeing them around, I can't wait.

Derek ditched us as soon as we got to the mall. He ran straight to the movie theater and said to call him when we were done.

Gwen, Michael and I went first to go get everything I needed for school. It took a little while to find a backpack that both Michael and Gwen approved of. Apparently girls in Florida can get pretty mean. Most of them are rich and the rest pretend to be. Both of the twins had strict instructions and directions for surviving their school. Gwen is one of the most popular there and knows what is expected of girls like her. She wants me to be just like her. Her second in command. Her wingman, as she calls it. Michael, on the other hand, wants me to keep my brains and flaunt them. He wants me to get to the top of this stupid social ladder and then show everyone that even pretty people can be smart. He also doesn't want me to end up like some of the girls he hangs out with. I told you how he's such a sweetie? He really is. He hangs out with and protects the girls that the popular and rich girls cut down everyday.

After we got everything I needed for school supplies, they decided that I needed a new wardrobe as well. Apparently sweatpants, old t-shirts and flannel aren't considered appropriate wear for school with the rich in Florida. We started at some of the richer stores but then decided that if I was going to get an entire wardrobe, then I'd need it at a cheeper price than $45 for a tanktop that barely covers anything. And I'd need a much larger variety so that way I was being original and not wearing everything the same all the time. Luckily, Michael knows a lot about fashion design so he knew just how to make an outfit gorgeous at a really cheep price.

I'm curious as to whether or not Michael is gay... When we went shopping today, he came with us girls rather than going to some scary movie at the movie theater there. Although he was quite a gentleman. He carried our bags for us and never complained that we were taking forever. He even helped critique us on clothes. He warned us when jeans were just a little too tight or when something made us look rather big. Once, I got kind of frustrated at him for telling me that two different outfits made me look large so I told him to see if he could find anything better and he did. He found these amazing jeans that made you look 3 sizes smaller and a top that flattered really well.

When I questioned Gwen about it in the dressing room she told me that she'd been wondering about it too. He's like a best friend to her so she doesn't ever ask him. "It doesn't matter to me," she said. "He can be whoever he wants to be and I'll still be proud of him. He's more like a little brother than a twin, really. I seem to look after him alot."

He seems like he is going to be really useful to have around. I had him pegged as a really big computer nerd when I first met him but he seems like a lot more than that now that I sort of know him.

I really needed to get new bras and Gwen said she did as well but we decided we'd do that later when the guys weren't around. Michael overheard us and said that it was ok, he'd wait outside on a bench with our stuff while we went shopping for them. I was quite surprised that he was still willing to do this for us. Seeing as he's a guy, I figured he would be completely exhausted of shopping by now.

When we girls were done with all our shopping for ourselves, we asked if Michael would like to shop anywhere specific. He decided he just needed food, so we called Derek and met him at the food court.

We got some food and when we were done, had to walk through the mall back to Derek's car. He's 16 but he's turning 17 next Saturday. He's planning on his parents getting him a black shiny expensive new car for his birthday.

As we walked past this emo looking store I paused momentarily staring longingly at the comforting homeliness of it all. I wanted to go in so badly, but I was afraid of the reaction I would get from Gwen so I turned to catch up to them. That's when I realized that Derek was standing right next to me.

"You wanna go in?" he asked me. I simply nodded my head. He took me by the hand and led me inside the store. I immedietly noticed the racks of uber-expensive Twilight crap that they were selling. I mean, they're good books but calm down people. Really.

I gazed up at the wall of t-shirts for bands and tv shows and other random things. It oddly reminded me of something but I couldn't quite place what it was.

When I walked over to their CD rack I was dissappointed at first. It was so small that they couldn't possibly have anything good there. That was where I was wrong. As I was flipping through, I noticed a familiar cover and pulled it out. I let out a little squeal and jumped up and down. It was the new Papa Roach CD that came out a little while ago. I'd been wanting it really badly but I could never get my hands on a copy. Now I had it right now. But Gwen had my wallet in her purse... :( I put it there because I never actually brought a purse. (She bought me a Coach one today) I put the CD back where I got it from and walked away sadly. I was really bummed.

When Derek asked me what was wrong, I tried explaining to him how badly I had been wanting that CD and waiting for its release and now I didn't have any money on me. He gave me that sly smile of his and told me that that was too bad but to go catch up with Gwen. He said he'd be there in a minute, he had to pick up a little present for this girl he really liked.

When he caught up with us he was carrying a little black bag that looked like it had a CD in it. When Michael asked what it was, Derek told him that it was a present for a girl he liked. That's all he would say about it. We drove home in silence. Well, as silent as you can be while playing Bullet For My Valentine.

He dissappeared into his room as soon as we got back home. Gwen and I decided to go to bed early tonight because it would be a big day tomorrow. School would be starting for me. I can't wait. Until then...