There is no sex, implied or otherwise, involving any characters under the age of eighteen in this story.
I began writing this story before I started "Little Differences", but due to the wacky way my inspiration sometimes works, I finished that story first, making this a sort of prequel. It introduces Avery and Anna English and might make their subsequent role in the later story clearer for some people.
While this story exists outside of the Brandt family series (His Daddy's Car, Change, Searching, and Elements), reading those stories first will help you navigate, comprehend, and fully understand much of what transpires in this one.
Chapter One
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
"We need to talk..."
Four words that seldom bespoke of anything positive likely to come from the pending conversation. The four words being spoken by the pretty redhead were a surprise. Avery had been partnered with her when they had arrived at the youth center as volunteer tutors for under-performing middle school students, but she had studiously ignored him. What did she have to talk to him about? They didn't even know each other.
Avery tried to smile as innocently as he could as he glanced over at her; she had been introduced as Anna. He said, "Sure. Do you want to chat here, or did you have someplace else in mind?"
It was a perfect early autumn afternoon in the mid-country of South Carolina. The temperature was in the mid-seventies and the humidity was low. The few puffy clouds in the sky posed no threat but offered a contrast to the brilliant blue background.
Anna maintained a neutral expression on her face when she said, "Here is fine."
"Do you want to at least sit down?" Avery asked, sliding over to make more room on the planter ledge where he had been sitting when Anna had approached him.
She didn't reply, but took a seat next to him, setting her overstuffed backpack on the ground at her feet.
"You are the Avery English who attends North High School, right?" she asked.
"As far as I know, I'm the only Avery English that attends any high school in this town."
Their hometown had a population of just under two hundred thousand people. There were five high schools around the city, serving a diverse social and economic citizenry. The original Central High School in downtown had become the district's continuation high school, or the dumping ground for students anywhere in the city who were either a disciplinary problem or required special education of some sort. South and East high schools attracted students from those respective areas of town, both of which were close to the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. Definitely on the wrong side of the tracks. West High School was firmly middle to upper-middle class, while North High School was attended by those wealthy kids whose parents felt should have a public education even though they could afford the best private schools.
'You don't remember me, do you?" Anna asked.
Avery stared at her for a few seconds, and said, "No, I'm sorry but I don't."
The fact was, Avery did his best not to notice any girls. They had proven to be a distraction as soon as he showed any interest in them. He was exclusively focused on his studies, his community service activities, and his martial arts training. He liked girls, and Anna had the looks of someone that he would really like, with her long red hair, slender yet shapely figure, clear, bright green eyes, and lips that reminded Avery of blossoming flowers.
"We've competed against each other twice in the district debate tournaments," Anna informed him.
Avery glanced at her again and asked, "Did you used to have braces and wear glasses?"
Anna blushed and said, "Yes. I forgot that we hadn't seen each other since I got my braces off and had Lasik done on my eyes."
"Okay," Avery said, "Now I remember you. You go to West, don't you?"
Anna nodded and said, "Yes, I am a Junior there, just like you are at North. That means that both of us are going to need to start studying to take the SATs this year. I plan to take the test in November"
"I'm already scheduled for the test in November too," Avery said. "What about it?"
Anna glanced at Avery's eyes, and then up at the sky for a second. She realized that they were the exact same shade of blue. "I paid attention when you were explaining the laws of algebra to that Nicholas kid. You have a way of explaining mathematic principles that make them easy for someone to understand. I've always gotten A's in all of my math classes, but it has never been easy for me. Listening to you explain things to Nicholas suddenly made everything I learned in my algebra classes meaningful to me."
Avery nodded and said, "I guess I see the logic in math that a lot of people miss."
"Well," Anna said, "The math portion of the SATs is one-third of the score. If you help me study for the math portion of the test, I'll help you study for the optional essay portion. No college worth anything will accept your SAT scores if they don't include the essay portion."
Avery studied Anna for a few seconds. He knew that she must be competitive based upon her being part of her school's debate team, but was she a competitor of his? They went to different schools, so she couldn't possibly challenge him there, but was there some other way that she could?
"What makes you think I need help studying for the essay portion of the SATs?" Avery asked.
She smiled and said, "Because I always cleaned your clock at the debate tournaments. Your research was phenomenal, but your organization of the facts doomed you every time."
Yep, she was definitely competitive. Laughing, Avery said, "Actually, it was the organizational skills of my debate partner that doomed us. You just had the good fortune of being matched up against him every time we debated. I, on the other hand, destroyed your partner if you remember correctly. You scored enough points off my partner each time to barely overcome the points I scored against yours. I'm pretty confident in my essay skills, thank you."
Anna silently studied Avery for a moment. She realized that he was right about their debate partners. She knew from the way that she had seen him handle himself in the debates that he was confident in his abilities. She also knew from the way her aunt, who taught Health classes at North High School, raved about Avery English, that he was likely her academic equal in most subjects. She had also heard rumors that Avery English had little interest in girls. That fact alone would make him the ideal study partner for her.
Avery watched her watching him, and said, "I've been through several SAT test preparation exercises, so if I can share some of what I've learned with you, I wouldn't mind. Where and when would you want to get together?"
Anna considered the question and said, "We only have forty minutes left here after this break. We could study at my house, or yours. You're doing me the favor, so I'll let you decide."
Avery asked, "Will anyone else be home at your house?"
"Yes, my mom will be there. Why?"
"Because no one will be home at my house and we would be there alone. I don't think it would be a good idea for people to think that we were alone and unsupervised. That's how rumors get started and reputations ruined. Let me text my mom to let her know that I won't be home for a couple of hours and then we can go to your house."
"Okay," Anna agreed. "I'll drive you over when the tutoring session ends."
"I have my own car. I'll just follow you," Avery said.
Forty minutes later, Avery and Anna walked out to the parking lot together. They each pointed out their respective cars, got in them, and headed away from the youth center with Avery close on Anna's tail. Traffic wasn't heavy, but he didn't want to risk losing her along the way.
He needn't have worried, because Anna was just as focused on not losing him, so she maintained a constant speed and used her turn signals well in advance so that Avery always had a chance to match her moves. When Anna pulled into the driveway of a beautiful Tutor-style house and waited for the automatic garage door on one of the three bays to open fully, Avery pulled along the curb in front.
Anna was yelling something to him, so he turned down his radio to enable him to hear her.
She was yelling, "You can't park on the street. Pull in the driveway behind my car."
Avery put his car in gear and waited for Anna to pull hers into the garage before parking on the driveway in the space just outside the bay where hers was parked. She came out of the garage to meet him as he exited and locked his car.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I should have told you before we headed out that street parking is banned in this neighborhood."
Giving her a sincere smile, he said, "It's no problem. I'm just glad that you remembered before I got a ticket, or worse, towed."
Anna laughed and said, "My mom would kill me if I ever let an invited guest's car get cited or towed for being parked in front of our house. Come on, follow me."
Avery followed Anna through a breezeway that connected the garage to the house. They walked through a spacious mudroom into the kitchen.
"Would you like something to drink?" Anna asked.
"No, I'm good," Avery said. "Are we going to use the kitchen table to study?"
Without waiting for an answer, he headed towards the table, which was in the breakfast nook, and set his backpack on a chair.
"I thought we could study in my room," Anna said. "It will be more private and a lot quieter once my mom starts preparing dinner in the kitchen."
