Chapter 17

Last seen: Nicky Woods and Emma Graham in Blockbuster, stocking up on classics and trashy movies made especially for the teenagers. Next seen in Häagen Dazs, Baskin Robbins, Krispy Kreme, Dylan's Candy Bar, and then Godiva, where they stocked up on junk food. Amanda Peters and Elizabeth Patrick gathered goods at the grocery store, and then all four girls met up at Emma Graham's apartment.

Eww ... now the guys are going to think we're fat ... Emma whined, staring at the magazine. Three super skinny pictures were lined up above the caption. The first, her and Nicky, sweatpants on, long sleeve shirts and down vests on, hair in artfully messy buns, and sunglasses on. The next was Mandy and Liz, picking out the best marshmallows for ‗Smores, looking better than their most-popular-girls-at-Loyalton partners, but still pretty bad. The last was Emma's building, and all four girls standing outside, arms full. The other three girls also had Louis Vuitton, Cacharel, and Emma Spade overnight bags.

Fuck ‗em ... Nicky growled, and promptly stuffed a huge bite of one of the ‗Smores into her mouth.

She and Jake, and Emma and Luke, had just broken up. As if they weren't heading down this path for the last two weeks since Thanksgiving. What royally sucked was that all eight families were also going to St. Barts together (along with half of the families from Loyalton and Kingston). Meaning they could not escape Jake Andrews and Luke Brown. Fuck.

Emma agreed, and fished into the Blockbuster bag. How to Loose a Guy In 10 Days or Bring It On? she called, laughing at the number of stupid and sappy movies they had gotten.

Bring It On! Liz shouted from the kitchen. Stupid cheerleading sap first! I said burr, it's cold in here ... she started the chant doing a little dance, and they all laughed, and joined in.

Emma got it and set up while Liz brought out the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Indiana Popcorn, straight from the West Side, around 77th street and Broadway. It was very Cracker Jack meets chocolate, and then Cracker Jack meets Peanut Butter, with a little bit of chocolate over it.

Mandy dug into the bag, and plucked out a huge chunk that was held together by an enormous assortment of peanut butter and chocolate goodness.

Of course the girls didn't worry about looking good for St. Barts, which they were leaving for the next Thursday. They were going to throw up all that crap at the end of the night anyway. And they didn't have to worry about looking good for their college interviews ... their Yale ones were already taken care of! They were as good as in, in their, the Yale admissions board's, and their parents' opinions.

Across town, the guys all gathered at Dan's house to watch the game on television. Football. Typical.

Jake sat two six packs of Corona Light on the living room coffee table, and Chris came in with the popcorn. Luke soon followed with the chips and salsas. Dan turned on the television, and found the right channel and the guys settled onto the buttery leather coach, and popped open their beers as they stuffed tortilla chips heaping with salsa into their mouths.

So dude, what the fuck is with you and Emma? Dan turned to Luke during a commercial.

I think we broke up ... Luke took a swig of beer.

Ditto with me and Nicky ... Jake put in.

Dude, why? Chris asked, coming in with a tray of cookies the Woods' family cook had just made. God they smelled and looked divine.

Me and Emma did because of her...

They all knew who her was, they had all not said a word when they had a guys night out with the other girls they were friends with, and Luke had called and invited her to come.

What about you and Nicky? Chris jutted his chin towards Jake. He stuffed half a chocolate chip cookie into his mouth, and washed it down with some milk.

God only knows ... but hey, at least I'm free!

The guys all laughed, and then stopped the second the game returned.

And we're back at Raymond James Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Bucs are playing against the San Francisco 49ers ... the announcer boomed as the camera did a birds eye view of the stadium.

The guys whooped, and ate and drank some more as the plays continued, standing up every once in a while in a burst of dropped popcorn kernels and crumbs to cheer.