Stories about Melissa Series, books 1: 4

Stories about Melissa

Books 1 - 4

Bethany

Contents

Untitled

Ta Ta for Now!

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

xoxoxo

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Untitled

Entry 1

About the Author

Also by Bethany

Ciao

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

Untitled

1. Entry 1

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Bethany

TTYL

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Untitled

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Bethany

About the Author

Also by Bethany

Stories about Melissa

Copyright 2014 Bethany Lopez

ISBN: 978-1502704559

Cover Photograph by K Keeton Designs

Cover Design by Makeready Designs

Edited by Kristina Circelli

Ebook Formatting by Bethany Lopez

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please don’t participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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For my family and friends

who always believe in me.

I love you!

Chapter 1

First Journal Entry:

I always hear people say that they wish they had lots of brothers and sisters. I guess they’re lonely because they’re only children or their siblings are older, but they can’t possibly understand the magnitude of what they’re saying. If they knew what it was like to be the oldest of four kids, they’d thank their lucky stars, shut their mouths, and be grateful for the peace and quiet.

My name is Melissa (don’t call me Missy), and I’m fourteen years old. I live in Dearborn, Michigan, with my mother and father and my brother and sisters. Yes, my parents are still together and have been married for sixteen years. I know, it is weird, but they seem to be happy. Of course, they have me to help with all of the things that they don’t want to do (Did I mention that I’m the oldest?). Not to sound ungrateful, I love my parents (and occasionally my siblings), but sometimes I just want to go into my room and be left alone for twenty-four hours. Just one day, that’s all I’m asking; it doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request!

So, my sister Megan, who’s twelve, gave me this journal for my birthday. She said that maybe if I write down my thoughts, I won’t talk so much (She is the queen of the backhanded compliment). I never had a journal before, and I like the idea of having somewhere to express my thoughts and feelings. I don’t know how much I should say, though, because I would hate for someone in my family to find it and read it. Anyway, as I was saying, my birthday was yesterday and tomorrow is my first day of high school. I’m nervous, but so glad that it’s finally here; I feel like I 've been waiting to be out of middle school forever!

It’s been a fun summer, and I’ve enjoyed working on my tan, but my best friend went away to visit her dad for the summer, and I can’t wait to see her again. I’m ready to get back to school and show everyone how much I have grown over the summer! My hair is longer, I think I have grown at least an inch, and I (finally!!!) have started to develop in the way that only girls do. Did I mention I have a fantastic tan? It seems like it has taken forever, but I am finally starting to like the way I look! With a little makeup and the right outfit, I plan to knock Brian Jackson’s socks off. I vow to make him notice me this year!

I’m getting ahead of myself. I wanted to start off explaining how my crazy family functions, not jump right into my plan to make Brian Jackson mine!

So, I told you about my unconventionally normal parents, Craig and Linda. He works at Detroit Diesel, and she is a teacher at Dearborn High (Yes that is the school that I start tomorrow, the one dark spot on my sunny day!). They were high school sweethearts, went to Central Michigan University together, got married, and started having enough children to start a basketball team. Their proudest moment was, of course, the day I was born. I don’t know why they didn’t stop there and realize that I was all they would ever need, but they didn’t, and next came Megan.

Megan is alright. She will be in seventh grade this year and is a total tomboy. I mean, the girl does not know the meaning of good hygiene. She is always running around playing some sport, and doesn’t care if she leaves the house without brushing her hair, let alone taking a shower. She can be embarrassing sometimes, but for the most part she is tolerable.

So, they had two girls, you would think that would be enough... not for Craig and Linda; they had to keep having kids, and along came number three, Mikey, who is a nine-year-old pain in the neck. He always gets what he wants because he is the son, and gets away with murder! He is the only boy in the family and therefore runs around like he owns the place. He is always breaking stuff and blaming it on the rest of us. He makes faces behind our parents’ backs, and is just an all-around brat.

Finally, my parents had the accident that they call Monica (Yes, they have a weird obsession with the letter M). Don’t get me wrong, Monica is cute. She doesn’t get in my way, and she doesn’t break my stuff, which is pretty good for a five-year-old. I just don’t understand why my parents felt the need to keep having kids.

Was I not enough for them? I am cute, funny, and a lot of fun to be around. We could have had a great time together without all of the fighting and craziness that comes with having four kids! I can’t see the upside of that many kids in one house! Think of the amount of laundry (I know because I have to do it), and how much they could save on groceries if they had stopped after me! Oh well, there is nothing that can be done about it now; although, I often fantasize about them dropping Mikey off at a fire station. But it just doesn’t look like that is ever going to happen!

Okay, enough about them, I think you get the idea! Now, let’s get to the important stuff like what to wear on my first day of school!

Mom picked me up a couple of cute tops and jeans, but I don’t know if I want to wear jeans or a dress, or maybe a skirt. I want to look killer and make a good impression. To do that I need to wear something that makes me feel good. Maybe I will wear something blue. I have noticed that Brian wears blue a lot; maybe that is his favorite color. Let me tell you a little about Brian... he is tall, with dark hair and blue eyes. He is on the swim team and the football team. He is so totally dreamy and seems like a really nice guy. I had him in my P.E. class last year, but I didn’t get to talk to him much because he was always participating in sports and games, and I was always doing my best not to participate in sports and games. I watched him though, and he always seemed like someone that I would get along with really well. His eyes are so beautiful; it is like looking into crystal blue water! And his smile, Oh My God! His teeth are perfect and white (he must have had braces), and his smile just lights up the whole room. Did I mention he is totally hot? I cannot wait to see him tomorrow!

I think that is enough for my first entry. I need make sure I have everything in my book bag and get my clothes situation figured out for tomorrow! I will write tomorrow and let you know how my day goes!

Chapter 2

First Day of School:

WORST DAY EVER! First, my outfit did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I felt uncomfortable and awkward all day. Second, Brian wasn’t even at school. I looked for him everywhere and then Jimmy Rogers said that Brian has been sick for a week and didn’t come to school today. To make matters worse, my best friend, Jess, apparently became a super goth chick over the summer, and now I am not cool enough to be her friend. She spent all of lunch in the courtyard with her new friends, smoking and eating fries with ketchup. I tried talking with her on my way to English Lit, and she acted like I wasn’t even there. She said something to the chick with black-and-white makeup about me being an annoying cheerleader type that kept trying to talk to her.

Hello!!! I was there for her during her zit face phase, and when Jimmy Rogers told all of third grade that she smelled like pee, and now she is pretending that she doesn’t even know me? I am really upset about this. How does someone who played Barbie barber shop and ran through Mrs. Thomas’s sprinklers with me suddenly have a case of amnesia? I can’t believe that my best friend in the world would just turn on me like that! She did spend the summer at her dad’s house, but he lives in Nebraska for God’s sake! What is goth about that?

Then, just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I totally fell on the way to the bus, IN FRONT OF EVERYONE! I was walking out to the bus, and the heel of my shoe got caught in the crack of the sidewalk, and I totally fell forward and landed face first on my backpack. I got up as quickly as I could and tried to play it off, but that darn Jimmy Rogers was there, and he started laughing and pointing, and we all know how Jimmy Rogers loves to spread gossip. He can be really funny when you aren’t the target of his gossip, but today I just thought he was a big jerk.

To top it all off, when I got home Megan and Mikey were fighting over who gets to sit at the desk in the den to do their homework, and I had to break it up before they rolled right into the big screen. I just do not have time for their crap today! I had to run in here and get this all out before my head exploded! Now, I have to run and do my homework and start dinner before my mom gets home, or my day will get much, much worse!

Okay, I’m Back:

Okay, I am feeling a little better now. I finished my homework, which was mostly just filling out paperwork and signing the teachers’ rules for their classrooms. Although I did have to write a short paragraph for English Lit detailing what we would change about our lives if we could; of course, I wrote about how much happier I would be as an only child.

I felt a little guilty about that when mom came home with Monica, who was so happy to see me and tell me about her first day of kindergarten. She said that she sits next to a boy who smells, and she had her first taste of paste. She was really cute and excited, and I guess I did miss seeing her today. She was all decked out in her favorite purple and pink dress with her black patent-leather shoes on and her hair in pigtails. She is like me when it comes to looking cute and being put together. Then I looked over at Megan. Her hair looked like it had been in a wind tunnel, and she was wearing a shirt with ketchup and mustard stains on it. Does she not realize that I went to her school and that the teachers and some of the students there know that she is my sister? So embarrassing! She could at least put a little effort into the way she looks. I mean, even if she doesn’t care that she looks like a ferret that got into a fight with a hot dog, she could at least think about my reputation! Jeez!

Since mom was home, she and I made dinner together. I would never say it to her, but this is my favorite part of the day. Just her and I together... working in the kitchen and talking about whatever comes to mind. It was such a nice time that I didn’t want to ruin it by talking about my horrible day; however, she is a teacher at the same darn school, so of course she knows about some of it already!

It turns out that Jess is taking my mom’s Home Economics class, and of course Mom noticed the changes in her appearance. When she mentioned it, I just brushed it off and changed the subject. I didn’t really feel like putting a damper on the moment, so we talked about her first day as I cut vegetables for the fajitas and salsa.

The nicest part of cooking with my mom is that the rest of the kids avoid the kitchen like it is a toxic waste dump. They are so afraid of being put to work that whenever we are making dinner, they stay as far away as possible. It is the most peaceful part of my day. Of course, once we are done the chaos of dinner begins, and everyone fights for their portion of food and talks over each other.

My dad usually gets home right as we are setting the food on the table. He walks in and says, Where is my beautiful family? and we all say, Here we are. I know, it is corny, but it is a family tradition now, and I guess it is a nice way to greet my dad when he gets home. He has been working at Detroit Diesel for sixteen years now. He leaves for work really early in the morning, so that he can come home for dinner at night and spend time with the family. My dad is a good guy; he just gets a little crazy when it comes to boys and getting good grades. I guess most dads are like that though. It was easier to talk to him when I was younger. I still love him and everything; he just never seems to get what I am going through.

After dinner, we all pitch in and help clean up the dining room and kitchen (my mom goes crazy over a dirty house), and then we usually watch TV in the den or go to our rooms or something. Tonight, Mikey and Dad went outside to shoot hoops in the driveway, Mom and Monica went to the den to watch TV, Megan ran across the street to play with Scott, her best friend, and I came in here to be alone and make this journal entry. Pretty soon it will be time for showers and to get everything ready for tomorrow. I will go in to read a story to Monica before she goes to bed and try to convince Megan to let me help her pick out some decent clothes to wear to school tomorrow. Then I will try to figure out what to do about Jess.

The one bright part of my day was seeing my friend, Layla. I have not known her as long as Jess, and we haven’t hung out that much, but we are always good for a laugh and usually hang out with the same people. She was in a couple of my classes before and is in my English Lit class this semester. She is shorter than me with blonde hair and green eyes. She’s totally cute and always has the best clothes. She can be a little too intense sometimes and guys are always looking at her, but she is nice and fun to hang with. We had lunch together and sat next to each other in Lit. She rides the same bus as me too, and made me feel a little better after I totally embarrassed myself after school.

I have to try and think positively, or I will just be totally depressed about this day, so I will focus on tomorrow. Hopefully, Brian is feeling better and comes to school. Hopefully, Jess was having a fashion nightmare and shows up tomorrow her normal, happy, bright-clothes-wearing self. Hopefully, tomorrow I am more graceful and do not trip over my own shoes. Hopefully, tomorrow Jimmy Rogers walks around all day with a big green booger sticking out of his nose and doesn’t realize it until he gets home from school!

Chapter 3

Brian’s First Day of School:

What a difference a day makes! I am going to pretend that today was the first day of school and yesterday was a just a bad dream! This is how my high school career really begins! My teachers still haven’t assigned real work, since it is only the second (first) day. So, we pretty much get to socialize in class, which is my favorite subject anyway! So, I was catching up with my friends and acquaintances in class, when who should happen to walk into my, oh so not my subject, Algebra class? BRIAN JACKSON!!! He looked fantastic! He walked in wearing T-shirt and cargo shorts (did I mention the shirt was blue? Am I good or what?) and had that cute smile of his flashing for all of the class to see. He looked like he grew taller over the summer and his skin was perfectly bronzed. He looked really fantastic, not like he had been sick at all! He walked in and spoke with the teacher and then walked to an empty seat toward the back.

On his way he passed me and said, Hey, Missy! (Maybe Missy isn’t sooo bad after all!)

I said hey back and flashed him my Brian smile, the one I have been practicing in the mirror, and then tried to pretend that I was not that interested and turned back to my conversation.

In reality, I was smiling like a crazy person and glowing from the inside out! Not only did he talk to me, but he initiated the conversation. Okay, maybe you can’t call it a conversation, but he did speak to me first! The rest of the class was pretty uneventful, but it was still a great way to start my second (first) day of high school!

The rest of the day was pretty boring. I went to class, ate lunch with Layla, and had to spend five minutes hiding in the bathroom when I saw my mom walking down the hall. I love my mom, but does she really have to teach at the school that I attend? How am I supposed to have a social life with my mom around? Plus, she teaches my friends. What if she listens in on their conversations and hears things that I don’t want her to know? It’s hard to make yourself socially acceptable, and I don’t need my mom screwing up my status. Anyway, after I got out of the bathroom and the coast was clear, I was heading to Lit when I saw Jess. This time she was walking alone and had her head down, so I hurried to catch up with her.

I said, Jess, what is going on? Why are you not talking to me? What happened?

She looked up at me and her eyes looked really sad for a minute. Then she got this mean look on her face and told me to leave her alone. She said, I outgrew you over the summer. I am interested in things that are beyond your little imagination. Just go away and find someone who thinks fashion and boys are the most important things in the world.

Then she turned and walked in the other direction. What is going on? I don’t understand why she changed so much and why she seems to hate me all of a sudden. We have been friends for like our whole lives and have helped each other through everything.

When I got to Lit, Layla asked me what was wrong. I told her what had happened with Jess and she said, Don’t worry about what that freak says! She is going to have a lonely and miserable year, and we are going to be totally popular and hang with everyone who matters. This is going to be an epic year, and she is not going to fit in with us now anyway. Just focus on getting to know Brian! Hey, I am going to get a big group together to go to the football game on Friday night, do you want to go?

I said I would talk to my parents to see if I could go. Of course I want to, but I didn’t like the way she talked about Jess. I didn’t say that last part out loud, but I thought it. I still love Jess. She has always been my best friend, and I am not just going to forget that and give up on her. I guess I just need to give her some time, and try to figure out what happened!

So, it was a great start to the day, with the bad part in the middle, but ended up being a good day overall and I didn’t trip and fall on my face! No, Jimmy Rogers didn’t walk around with a booger on his face all day, which would have been such a highlight to my day, but he didn’t say anything about my embarrassing incident either.

When I was headed to the bus, I saw Brian getting on to one of the other buses, and I caught his eye. I tried my best to be flirty from a distance, and he gave me that head nod that boys do, where they look at you and thrust their head up. I don’t get why they do it, I mean why not just wave or smile, but I have to admit it made him look even sexier - if that is even possible!.

When I got home, Mikey had obviously won today’s episode of Who Gets to Sit at the Desk because he was there doing his homework and Megan was at the kitchen table doing hers.

I went over to ask Mikey about his day, and he said something about soccer at recess and basketball during P.E... He is such a typical boy! Megan looked disheveled as usual. I mean, who wears green and yellow plaid shorts with a pink shirt? Is she color blind? Plus, it looks like she slept in the clothes last night and then wore them to school today. Megan could be a really pretty girl if she just put forth a little effort! Her hair is as long as mine (to the middle of my back), and is dark brown; whereas, mine is sandier. I keep mine soft and wavy and take a lot of pride in it. Megan’s looks like a rat holed up in it and made a nest for its litter (Do you call a rat’s babies a litter? Who cares!).

I just don’t know how she can walk around looking like that. I asked her that same question, and she replied, Get over yourself, Missy! You think you are so hot, when really you look like every other brainless preppy fashionbot. Maybe if you spent more time studying and less time brushing your hair, you would actually get grades that will get you into college and not cosmetology school! I just walked away... My day was too good to get into a verbal war with the Pig Pen look-alike! The rest of the night went just like every other: made dinner, Mom and Monica came home, Dad said, Where is my beautiful family? and we said, Here we are!... Blah, blah, blah. I went to my room after dinner and picked out what to wear tomorrow. I am thinking of wearing my gray and pink tank top with this cute white skirt I have and white sandals. I will curl my hair tonight, and then tomorrow it will be wavy, so I can throw it back into a loose pony-tail. With my silver hoop earrings and just light pretty makeup, I think it will look totally fantastic and maybe will turn the head of a certain football player. I need to talk to Layla about going to the football game on Thursday too! I know everyone will go to Friday’s game, but I really want to go to the JV game on Thursday to see Brian play.

Hopefully, he will see me there, and it will show him what a sweet and supportive girl I am. I mean, is there any better trait in a girlfriend than one who is supportive of the things that her boyfriend likes to do? This is all a part of my master plan to make Brian see how great we would be together as a couple!

I shot Layla a text asking if she would be able to go to both games, but she hasn’t gotten back to me yet. Her parents are like mine when it comes to cell phones. We cannot use them during dinner or homework and only until 9 o’clock on school nights. It almost seems like our parents got together and dreamed up ways that they could make us miserable! I mean, who goes to bed at 9 o’clock? It just seems a little extreme to me!

Anyway, it was a good day, and I am excited to go back to school tomorrow and see what happens! I plan to look totally hot and lure Brian into an actual conversation. I need to make plans with Layla to get our social season started and cement my reputation as a person that everyone should know! I plan to own my freshman year and have the best time!

Chapter 4

After the JV Football Game:

I know, I know, I did not write yesterday, but I actually did have homework. By the time we finished dinner, cleaned up, and I finished all of my homework, I had to shower and get everything ready for school today. Then I ended up talking with Megan for a while, and I was exhausted, so I just went to sleep.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. I went to school and we actually started doing work, and not as much socializing. BORING! I did get to see Brian in Algebra, and he looked as cute as ever! Had lunch with Layla, where we finalized our plans to go to the JV and Varsity Football games. Took the bus home, yada, yada, yada…

So, like I said, last night I ended up hanging with Megan and talking a bit. I think she is starting to see her best friend Scott as more than just a friend. But, since she is obviously awkward and oblivious when it comes to boys, I thought I would help her out a bit. I told her that the first step would be to get him to stop looking at her like one of the boys. Not to stop playing sports or hanging out with him because that would just make him think there was something wrong, but to start making him see her as a girl. She didn’t want to listen at first, but I am the expert when it comes to boys, so she finally came around and saw it my way.

I helped her pick out what to wear to school today (We had to go into my closet, because she had nothing suitable), and we worked on her hair and makeup. I told her that she needs to still act like herself because he already likes her, but she needs to focus on looking more like a girl, so Scott will start to notice that she is one.

It was actually a nice talk, and I went to bed feeling like I really helped Megan do something to improve herself. Of course, when I came home from school today, Megan was sitting at the table looking like a family of birds had built their home in her hair. AAAHHHH! At least she didn’t ruin my clothes, although I did have her take them off right away, just in case!

She said at first Scott just looked at her like she was crazy, but when he realized that her personality hadn’t changed, just the way she looked, he acted just like he always did. I think if she keeps it up, Scott will fall in love with her before he realizes what hit him!

Enough about Megan, let’s talk about my wonderful evening!!! BRIAN ASKED ME OUT!!! I should have probably started from the beginning, but I am too excited not to shout it to the world!!! So, Layla and I got dropped off at the JV Football game by my wonderful mother... We met up with some people from school: Kasey, Joshua, Ellie, Judi, Kristi, and Joe. We all grabbed the top row of the bleachers and sat down to gossip and occasionally watch the game (just being honest).

We cheered for the Pioneers (Brian even started) and made fun of the cheerleaders. Don’t get me wrong, some of them are my friends, and the outfits are cute, but I can’t see getting out there in front of everyone and being so loud and spirited! Plus, that is just too much commitment! I mean all of the time they have to spend training and practicing, then traveling to competitions and attending every game. That is just too much time that I could be spending making myself as fabulous as possible and hanging with my friends. So, while we were chatting and watching Brian catch passes and run with the ball, Jimmy Rogers came over to share the latest gossip. I try not to listen to a lot of what Jimmy says because he can be pretty mean, but my ears perked up when he looked right at me and said that he heard Brian liked me. What?! Can you say that again, Jimmy?

He said that he heard from Brian’s friend, Mo, that Brian thinks I am pretty, and he would like to get to know me better. My face almost cracked, I was smiling so wide! So, needless to say, I was pretty excited for the rest of the game and hearing this bit of news from Jimmy gave me the courage I needed to talk to Brian after the game. Luckily, Layla’s mom was picking us up and said she was running late, so I had time to put my plan into action.

When the game ended and the football players finished doing whatever it is they were doing on the field, I made my way down the bleachers and tried to put myself in Brian’s eyesight. Brian was walking toward the fence with Mo, talking and laughing about their win, when he looked up and noticed me standing there. He smiled, gave me the head nod, and said something to Mo as he walked toward me.

Hey, Missy, he said as he got closer. I didn’t know you were coming to the game, did you have fun?

I smiled up at him and spoke as breathlessly as possible, Yes, Brian, you guys were great! I cheered so loud when you scored that touchdown!

Yeah, he grinned, I was pretty stoked that our first game went so well!