“We should try to make it through one class,” she whispered back, smiling.
Right as she was about to suggest she was more than happy to ditch second period, Brinley entered the room. Her cheeks were a little flushed and she had a glow about her like she’d gotten a facial before class. Knowing Brinley, that was a distinct possibility, especially since she had been complaining for days about how she couldn’t get an appointment with Kim-Yee.
Ellie waved her over and Brinley slipped into the seat beside her.
“If anyone asks, I slept at your place last night,” Brinley said, her voice breathy.
“O-kay,” Ellie said slowly, arching a questioning eyebrow. Brinley gave her a devilish smile in response. Before Ellie could get the juicy details, though, Mr. Walsh cleared his throat at the front of the room, signaling he was ready to begin class.
“Today we’ll start our unit on the Progressive Movement, beginning with President Teddy Roosevelt,” Mr. Walsh began before he was promptly interrupted.
Kevin Pike, whose mother was head of the RNC, shot his hand up. “I hope we’re going to discuss how it was the springboard for liberalism and everything that’s currently not working in our government.”
“Oh, please. Roosevelt started it and he was a Republican president,” Fiona Hutchison, whose grandfather was a prominent Democratic advisor, retorted.
Mr. Walsh was already fishing for the bottle of Excedrin in his desk.
“But Roosevelt completely ignored foreign affairs and look where that got us,” Shara Uzyel chimed in, not even bothering to raise her hand. “I mean, I know back when I was kidnapped—”
Brinley huffed loudly from behind Ellie. “For god’s sake, Rudy!” she exclaimed. “Do you seriously think anyone wants to hear—?”
Portia’s voice suddenly drowned out everyone else’s. “Oh my god! It’s happening! The president is doing a press conference announcing his V.P. choice!” she exclaimed, staring at her phone.
Ellie’s throat went dry as the blood rushed to her head. Everyone, including Mr. Walsh, was clamoring for their phones to see the outcome. But she couldn’t move. If the president announced her mother’s name, Ellie would be the new Second Daughter. And if he didn’t, her mother would be crushed beyond belief. Ellie looked up and caught eyes with Taryn across the room. Just like Ellie, she hadn’t grabbed for her phone either. They shared a smile like they were in a vacuum, the only two people in the world who understood what the other one was going through.
“Ellie,” she heard Gabe say, though the voice sounded distant.
She took a deep breath, then turned to him.
“She did it, Elle,” he said with a grin. “Your mom is going to be the next vice president of the United States.”
She closed her eyes for a split second, letting the news wash over her from head to toe. Just like that, her life would never be the same. There were so many times over the past few years she’d wished for a mother who wasn’t in the political spotlight, but in this moment, she realized she wouldn’t want it any other way.
A smile spread across her lips. When she opened her eyes, she found Gabe smiling back at her.
THE END
Acknowledgements
Besides thanking whoever invented Skype for allowing us to work everyday without having to get out of our pajamas, there are a ton of other people who made this book happen.
Holly Root at the Waxman Agency, our unbelievable book agent. You believed in this book from Day One and we are so appreciative. Thank you for sending us the gifs of frolicking puppies on the bad days.
Melanie Downing, our insightful editor, thank you for helping us transform this book into what it is today. Seriously. We couldn’t have done it without you. P.S., we love that you love these characters as much as we do.
Lisa and the team at Coliloquy, thank you for getting us and our vision...and for the continued support and enthusiasm throughout the process.
Shout-outs to Jon Cassir and Russell Hollander for getting the ball rolling, and to Patti Felker and Chris Abramson, attorneys extraordinaire.
Though all the characters and storylines are works for fiction, we would like to thank the following people for providing us with extra D.C. authentic flavor: Randy Wellington, Tom Wellington, Sandra Fox and Jessie Schneiderman.
Finally, we couldn’t have done this without our families who loved and cheered us on from both coasts (even when we were being bratty). Thank you.
On Jessica’s side: My Favorite Boys, Josh Etting, Oliver Etting and Sawyer Etting; my parents, Terry and Gentille Koosed; my siblings Mandy Koosed, Phil and Tamar Koosed; my other family, Linda and Gary Etting, Brian Etting, Spencer and Dina Torgan; and of course, the extended (and crazy) Nelson and Koosed clans.
On Alyssa’s side: My amazing husband, Dan Schwartz. My parents, David and Nancy Embree; my siblings, Brad and Alyssa Embree. My other family, The Schwartzes, Steve, Honey, Josh, Jill, Stella, Katie and Brad.
And thank you to Annie and Magoo, the original Ellie and Gabe.
About Coliloquy
Coliloquy is a digital publisher of active fiction, specializing in reader engagement and serial storytelling. We leverage advances in technology to create groundbreaking new forms of electronic books. Our titles are available on Kindle, Fire, NOOK, and other Android-based devices. Coliloquy is based in Palo Alto, CA with offices in San Francisco, CA.
About the Author
Jessica Koosed Etting and Alyssa Embree Schwartz met the first day of freshman year at the University of Southern California and instantly bonded over their obsessions with Brenda Walsh, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Babysitters Club books they read growing up. After spending a full year mourning the end of college, they began writing television and feature scripts together. They have set up pilots at ABC, NBC, Fox and CW, and sold films to The Weinstein Company, Happy Madison, Paramount, New Regency, MGM and Alloy Entertainment. They love writing female-centric stories, especially for teen and tween audiences, mainly because they still think they are the 18-year-old girls they were when they first met at USC.
Copyright
© 2013 by ALYSSA EMBREE SCHWARTZ AND JESSICA KOOSED ETTING
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Coliloquy, LLC
www.coliloquy.com
www.twitter.com/coliloquy
First eBook Edition: June 2013
The Coliloquy name and logo are trademarks of Coliloquy, LLC.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-937804-25-1
Georgetown Academy, Season One Page 60