A New Journey (Second Chance #3)

by Christina Escue

  “It’s more like neither of you want to be too far from each other.” Elliot said with a snicker as he walked into the room.

  “Yeah, there’s that too.” Karla said with a grin. “We may not choose the same school though. He wants to major in Biology or Pre-Med and I’m leaning toward Psychology and Sociology with a Criminal Justice minor.”

  “Criminal Justice?” Leslie asked in confusion.

  “I’m pretty sure I want to be an abuse counselor, but I want a little Criminal Justice knowledge so I can help explain to the children exactly what the adults who hurt them are facing. I want to help then like Trent, John and Bob helped me that first day.”

  “You are an incredible young woman.” Andrew said and hugged her close. “I am proud to call you my daughter.”

  “I am proud to be your daughter.” Karla answered. “Now, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and I think we all need sleep.”

  “I agree. We have a van to unload and an apartment to set up tomorrow.” Leslie said and they all headed for their rooms. Once their door was shut Leslie turned to Andrew. “I’m not ready for her to go to college.”

  “I’m not either, baby, but she was ready for college before we got her. She’s grown into a very mature and responsible young lady and we had a part in that. I’m very proud of her.”

  “Me too. I am thrilled she’s wanting to go to Vanderbilt, but what about Conner? Do you think he’ll stay around here?”

  “He’ll stay close enough to see Karla on a regular basis. He’s not going to leave her.” Andrew reassured Leslie. “Now, I think we need to get some sleep. We have a very busy day tomorrow. It’s a good thing we have several teenagers to help us.”

  “Yes it is. We are very blessed.” Leslie said as she climbed into bed beside Andrew and he wrapped his arms around her. “Goodnight, Andrew. I love you.”

  “I love you too, baby. Goodnight.” He whispered back and kissed the top of her head. She was right, they were very blessed.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The next month passed quickly. As Karla prepared for the ACT and SAT tests Elliot thrived in all of his classes. They were settled into the apartment and although it was smaller than they were used to it was a good temporary home.

  On the morning of the ACT test Karla was nervous, but Conner, Callie and Rylee were all taking it too so she knew she would have them there when it was over. Once they got to the school they were led into a classroom and they all took their seats.

  As the test administrator talked Karla took a deep breath and recalled everything she had read over the years. She was a whiz at taking tests, but this was one of the two most important tests she had ever taken in her life. When a booklet was laid on her desk she opened her eyes and smiled at the administrator. He smiled back kindly and moved past her to finish passing out the booklets.

  When he walked back to the front of the room he turned to face them. “You will have fifty minutes to complete each of the four sections of the test. After the first two sections we will take a fifteen minute break before the last two sections. The first section is reading comprehension and as soon as I start the clock you can unseal your booklets and begin.” He paused for a moment as he set a small timer on the desk. As he pushed the button on the top of the timer he said, “You may begin.”

  Karla broke the seal on her test and started reading. Once she finished the passage she answered the questions and continued on to the next passage. By the time the administrator announced that twenty-five minutes had passed she was almost finished. Once she read and answered the last set of questions she took a few minutes to go back through and check her answers. When the administrator announced that there was ten minutes left she was finished and sitting quietly with a book in her hands.

  “Time. Everyone close your booklets and turn them upside down on your desk. I will collect them before passing out the booklets for the math portion of the exam.” After he picked up the reading comprehension booklets and passed out the math ones he walked back to his desk and reset the timer. “You may begin.” He said as he pressed the button to start it. At the end of the math section he took up the booklets and answer sheets before letting everyone take a break.

  “How does everyone feel they’re doing so far?” Callie asked when they stepped into the hall.

  “I feel like I’m doing well.” Conner answered with a grin.

  “Me too.” Rylee answered with a little bounce. “Are we meeting Jake and Kiara for pizza when this is over?”

  When Conner nodded Rylee grinned. “Karla, how do you feel you’re doing?” He asked.

  “I don’t know. The reading was basic comprehension and the questions were a cake walk, but the math was harder.”

  “Are you seriously doubting that you are going to score higher than any of us?” A voice said from behind her.

  When she turned around she saw a girl she recognized from around school, but had never actually met. “Do I know you?”

  “Probably not because I’m not in your smart kids club, but everyone in the school knows you. My name is Candice.”

  “Well, Candice, since I don’t know you then I can bet you don’t know anything about me other than what you’ve heard around school. I don’t like people making assumptions about me.” Karla said and turned away from her.

  Before Candice could say anything else the administrator of the test stepped out of the classroom and called everyone back in. Once they were back in their seats he passed their answer sheets and the booklet for the next test out and started the timer.

  The next two hours flew by and as soon as the test was over Karla walked with her friends to Conner’s car. Before they reached his car Candice stepped in front of Karla. “I wasn’t finished talking to you earlier.”

  “I’m sorry, but I was finished talking to you.” When Karla moved to step around Candice she grabbed her arm.

  “You think you’re so much better than everyone because you’re so smart, but you aren’t better than anyone.”

  “Like I told you earlier, you don’t know anything about me other than I’m smart. I don’t think I’m better than anyone and I do have friends outside of the smart kids. If you knew anything about me at all then you would know that. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have places to be.”

  Karla tried to step around her again and this time when she reached out to grab Karla’s arm Karla slapped her hand away and looked her in the eyes. “You are the one who thinks I’m different than you, not me. I get up every morning and come to school just like every other high school student on the planet. The difference between us is that I actually enjoy being here. I love the entire learning process and that’s why it comes easy for me. Maybe if you enjoyed it a little more you wouldn’t find the idea of being here so repulsive. Now, if you will please step aside I do have places to be.”

  When Karla stepped around her this time Candice just stood there and looked at her. As Conner pulled out of the parking spot Candice was still standing there. “That was awesome. Way to put her in her place.” Rylee said with a chuckle.

  “What was her problem?” Callie asked.

  “It sounded like jealously to me.” Conner answered as he pulled into the pizza place where they were meeting Jake and Kiara.

  “Sounded like craziness to me.” Rylee said and got out of the car. “Now let’s eat so we can get this dress fitting over with.”

  They all cracked up as Conner opened the door to the restaurant. Once inside they spotted Jake and Kiara instantly. “What’s so funny?” Jake asked as they sat at the table.

  “During the break today Karla was approached by a girl named Candice. She said Karla thinks she’s better than everyone because she’s so smart. Karla put her in her place once the test was over. It was fun to watch Karla cut her down to size.” Callie explained with a smile.

  “I bet it was.” Jake said with a grin. “I’ve already ordered the pizzas, I hope I remembered what everyone liked.”

  “We’ve all
had pizza together enough that you should remember, even without Karla’s memory.” Conner said as he wrapped his arm around Karla’s waist.

  “What are you guys going to do while we’re at the dress shop?” Karla asked.

  “We are going to Manuel’s apartment and just hanging out there until you are finished. Then we’re all meeting for dinner at O’Charley’s.” Jake answered. “My lovely bride wants to talk about the wedding.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Conner said just as the pizza arrived and subsequently ended all conversation.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Oh my gosh, Kiara, it’s perfect.” Karla said when Kiara stepped out of the fitting room. “You look like a Caribbean princess.”

  “Caribbean Princess Barbie.” Callie said with a grin. “That’s what I’m going to call you from now on.”

  They all looked at her for a second before they burst out laughing. “Cal, you’re nuts.” Rylee said between fits of giggles. “Kiara, I agree with Karla. That dress is perfect.”

  “I love it and it’s in my budget.” Kiara said as she looked at the price tag. “Barely, but in my budget.”

  “Let me help you change and then we can look at dresses for the three of us.” Karla offered and followed Kiara into the fitting room. Once Kiara was out of the dress and slipping back into her jeans Karla zipped the wedding dress back up into the bag and took it to the counter for the sales clerk to hold.

  “Can you do me a favor?” Karla asked the clerk when she laid the dress on the counter.

  “Sure.” The clerk responded with a smile.

  “When my sister comes up here to pay for this can you tell her that it’s on sale? I have two hundred dollars to put toward her dress, but I know she’ll never let me give her the money. The only way I can think of giving it to her without her knowing is to pay for part of her dress and deceive her a little. She’ll forgive me once she finds out, but she would never take the money if I offered it to her.”

  The clerk smiled at Karla. “I think I can do that. You’re a sweet girl for wanting to help your sister like you do.”

  “She’d do the same for me.” Karla said. Then she handed the clerk two one hundred dollar bills.

  Two minutes later Kiara walked up to the counter and grinned. “I would like to go ahead and pay for that dress please. It needs a few alterations, but not many.”

  “We’ll get those taken care of. All alterations are free with purchase.” The clerk said with a smile. “Now let’s see what we have here.” When she started ringing up the sale Karla distracted Kiara by pointing out a tiara veil that would complete the Caribbean princess look and the clerk quickly totaled out the sale and took off the two hundred Karla had given her already. “Miss, your total is three hundred eighty-two dollars and eighty-four cents.”

  “That can’t be right. The dress was five hundred and twenty dollars.”

  “It seems we missed marking a sale, Miss.” The clerk said and told Kiara the total again.

  “Oh, wow. That means I can go ahead and get the veil today. Can you believe my luck, sis?”

  “It`s awesome. I am so happy you’re able to get both today.” Karla said with sincerity. She truly was thrilled that Kiara bought the missing sale sign story.

  Once Kiara paid for the dress and veil she left the dress with the clerk and walked over to where Callie and Rylee were browsing through the racks of bride’s maid dresses. “You two will not believe the incredible deal I just got. The dress was apparently two hundred dollars off, but it wasn’t marked. I was able to get this beautiful tiara veil and now I really will look like a Caribbean princess. Abuela will love it.”

  “That’s awesome, Kiara.” Callie and Rylee said together. They were both in on what Karla did, but they were not going to let Kiara know.

  “Did you two find anything?” Karla asked innocently.

  “We did. Kiara, we know you wanted yellow with blue trim, but look at these.” Callie said and held up a Caribbean blue silk dress. It was strapless and would hit all three girls slightly above the knee. It was cinched at the waist with a yellow ribbon that knotted on the left and flowed to the hem of the dress.

  “It’s perfect. Do they have all of your sizes?” Kiara asked as she softly touched the material.

  “That’s the problem. We all three wear the same size dress.” Rylee said with a small frown. “They have two in our size. I wonder if they could order a third.”

  “May I help you ladies?” The clerk who had rung up Kiara’s dress asked from behind them.

  “Yes. We need a third one of these dresses in this size.” Callie said and handed the dress to the clerk.

  “I may have one in the back, if not I can definitely order one.” The clerk said and walked away with the dress in hand. She returned a couple minutes later holding two identical dresses. “Here you go ladies.”

  Rylee squealed her excitement and darted into one of the curtained off fitting rooms. Karla and Callie walked behind the other two curtains and a couple minutes later all three walked out and the sales clerk gasped. “You three look stunning.”

  Kiara nodded her agreement as she handed a small silver tiara to each of them. “We’re all going to be princesses.”

  “So are you doing a Caribbean theme?” The clerk asked.

  “Kind of.” Kiara answered. “I am from Puerto Rico, but my fiancé is from here. We are going with blue and yellow as the colors, but we’re having the wedding in my sister’s back yard. It’s a big, beautiful yard with lots of flowers and trees.”

  “Sounds beautiful.” The clerk said and smiled at Karla.

  “Alright ladies, let’s get changed and pay for these dresses. The guys are probably starting to wonder if we took the money and ran away. I’m really surprised none of them have texted any of us.” Rylee said with a grin.

  “Jake has sent me about ten messages.” Kiara spoke up and Karla smiled at her.

  “Conner has him beat by two.” Karla said as she disappeared behind the curtain.

  “Manuel must not be worried because he hasn’t sent any.” Callie said with a note of sadness in her voice.

  “Crap.” Kiara said loudly. “I forgot to tell you. Manuel broke his phone this morning and can’t replace it until Monday because they didn’t have any in stock.”

  “Oh.” Callie said with a touch of relief in her voice. She and Manuel had been on several dates and he was around during a lot of group gatherings, but they weren’t officially a couple yet and she was worried she wouldn’t be enough for him.

  Ten minutes later, after paying for their dresses and tiaras, the girls were all in Kiara’s car and headed to meet the guys. Kiara called Jake while they were making their purchases so the guys were already at the restaurant waiting for them. When they pulled into the parking lot Callie spotted Manuel standing on the sidewalk with her brother and her throat went dry. He was wearing jeans, a sweater and a jacket, but he still looked amazing. She knew she needed to do whatever necessary to make them an official couple before someone else came along and claimed him for themselves.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Did you find the dresses?” Conner asked as he wrapped his arms around Karla.

  “We did and they’re beautiful.” Karla answered and brushed her lips across his.

  “I found my dress too.” Kiara announced and Jake’s face lit up. “Karla said I look like a Caribbean princess in it.”

  “That’s great, baby.” Jake said and hugged her close. “Why don’t we get a table and we can talk about everything?”

  “Sounds great to me.” Manuel said as he reached down and grabbed Callie’s hand. When she laced her fingers with his he smiled and pulled her close.

  “Do you feel as much like an interloper as I do?” Daniel asked Rylee as they walked into the restaurant behind the three couples.

  “Yep, but I’m happy they’re all happy.” Rylee answered with a soft smile at her friends.

  “I’m happy for all of them too, but I can’t he
lp the slight feeling of jealously I feel sometimes. I just keep holding on to the knowledge that the one I’m meant to be with is out there somewhere”

  “Me too.” Rylee said as they sat beside each other at the table.

  Once they all ordered their drinks Kiara started talking about her ideas for the wedding. She wanted yellow orchids and blue hibiscus flowers, the Caribbean blue dresses the girls found would be perfectly accented by them, and she wanted all the girls wearing yellow sandals with their toenails painted blue to match their dresses.

  “Caribbean Princess Barbie has it all thought out.” Callie said with a grin and the table erupted in laughter at her nickname for Kiara. “One question, what’s the order we’re walking in?”

  “That’s where it gets tricky.” Jake answered. “Karla is Kiara’s maid of honor and Daniel is my best man so they’ll be walking together. Conner, do you want to walk with Callie or let Manuel walk with her?”

  “Manuel can walk with her.” Conner answered and grinned at his sister. He knew she’d rather walk with Manuel.

  “Thank you.” Callie mouthed silently across the table.

  “So that leaves Rylee and Conner walking together. Does that work with everyone?” Kiara asked hopefully.

  “It works for me.” Daniel said with a wink in Karla’s direction. “Conner, are you okay with me walking Karla down the aisle?”

  “Daniel, you’re one of my best friends, of course I am. Plus I know Karla would kick your ass if you tried anything.” Conner said with a grin and kissed the top of Karla’s head.

  “You got that right.” Karla said with a wink at Daniel.

  Daniel laughed loudly as the waitress brought their drink order. “Hello, I’m Ava. Marcie had an emergency so I will be taking over for her.”

  Daniel looked up as the soft voice spoke and his laughter died in his throat. His eyes locked on a pair of deep chocolate eyes framed by the longest lashes he had ever seen. Her high cheekbones and deep red lips were the next things he noticed. His first thought was, Wow. His second thought was I wonder if she’s single.