• Chapter One!

    Gabriela plopped herself down on the airport seat. She was about to take flight to America for an exchange trip. She flipped through the brochures and articles spread across the table. America the Great, Our Beautiful Nation, Publisher's Weekly, and The New York Times. This all sounded interesting to her and she couldn't wait to leave.
    After a couple articles read, Gabriela heard her plane get called out. She adjusted her grip on her luggage and left to the plane. As hours, or what it seemed like, went by, Gabriela flipped through her exchange program folder. She would be staying with Rebbecca and Devon Loughes, two students who attended Elswood High, the school Gabriela would be attending for the rest of the school year.
    When the plane landed, Gabriela stepped off to notice a man holding a sign that read "Gabriela Hughes!". Gabriela grabbed her luggage off of the conveyor belt and walked up to the man , who close up, looked worried.
    Gabriela began to speak, but the man brushed her off with seven simple words. "Do you know a girl named Gabriela?"
    Gabriela looked at the man as if her were blind. "Yes... I'm Gabriela." she said, solemnly.
    The man looked at Gabriela and smiled. "Oh. Well, now I feel dumb." he said, face-palming himself.He then extended one of his hands and let out a brief sigh. "I'm Devon. I'll be one of your hosts."
    Gabriela released one of her hands from her luggage and shook Devon's hand, shortly returning it back to her suitcases. "Nice to meet you, Devon.
    So, this is what he looks like... Gabriela thought to herself. Devon was a man who had ear-length blond hair, green eyes, a faint smile, and what seemed to be throw on clothes, which included a jersey. The Jaguars, Gabriela figured it was the school animal so she didn't bother asking.
    Soon enough, Devon and Gabriela were at the house, which was a basic two-story. When Gabriela walked inside, she noticed a man about her age sitting back on the couch, watching TV.
    She nudged Devon in the arm and pointed at the boy. "Who's the man watching the telly? I was told only your parents, Rebbecca, and yourself were to be here the day of my arrival." she said, in her all-natural accent, trying to be quiet so that the extra man didn't hear her.
    But, apparently he did. For he jumped off the couch and yelled, "The British are coming! The British are coming!" Which made Gabriela's face turn red with both embarrassment and anger. Anger because he was mocking her homeland.
    Devon turned to look at Gabriela, but frowned when he saw how red her face was. "Not cool, bro!" he yelled, punching the other man in the arm, who just laughed. Turning back to Gabriela, he replied to her question. "Gabriela, this is Kyle, my cousin. He has to stay with us while his parents are on vacation. Sadly,they couldn't take him and left him here with us." Gabriela laughed at this comment.
    "Hey!" Kyle snapped, making Gabriela stop laughing. He walked over to her and looked her dead in the eyes. "You're here five minutes and I already hate you. And isn't Gabriela a Spanish name? Not a British one. And what kind of word is 'telly'? Lastly, quit the accent, it makes me want to hurl." Kyle chuckled, turning and going back up the stairs.
    Gabriela frowned and felt like she was going to cry. She just kept quit when Devon spoke.
    "He thinks he's all that. Don't let him get to ya'. " Devon bent down and picked up Gabriela's luggage, carrying it to he guest room, Gabriela following behind. When they walked in, Gabriela saw Kyle lying down on one of the two beds, which made Gabriela look down at the ground.
    Kyle didn't say a word until Devon finished putting Gabriela's luggage in the room and left. Kyle turned his head from looking at the ceiling over to Gabriela, who was now sitting on the bed, playing with loose threads from her cut-off shorts.
    "You don't have to be afraid of me you know, G." Kyle mumbled, now throwing a ball in the air, then catching it. Gabriela remained quiet. Kyle sat up after a while of her being quiet. He frowned at her. "Oh, so now you're going to give me the silent treatment, eh? See if I care."
    Gabriela frowned at the ground, trying to block him out.


    Chapter Two!

    The next morning, Gabriela woke to a face full of sunshine. She glanced over her shoulder to the bed Kyle had been sleeping in. The bed was already empty. 'Must have gotten up early.' Gabriela thought to herself as she walked downstairs to the kitchen. As she walked down the stairs, she glanced at the clock, 9:45A.M. .
    When she walked into the kitchen, she saw an older man, a woman, a girl, Devon, and Kyle. The older man and woman must be Mr. and Mrs. Loughes, and the girl must be Rebbecca, Gabriela guessed.
    "Good morning, everybody." Gabriela said to everyone. Devon looked up from his book and smiled at her. "There's milk in the fridge, cereal on the counter, and a bowl in the cupboard. A king's feast!" he laughed.
    Kyle glanced at her as she went to the fridge. He got up, stood in front of the fridge door, blocking Gabriela's way.
    Gabriela looked at him confused, crossed her arms, and leaned on the counter.
    "I'm not moving until you talk to me, Gabriela." Kyle said, baring his fingers into the side of the fridge.
    Gabriela rolled her eyes at him and continued to lean on the counter. She looked back at Devon and smiled. "I never eat breakfast, I was only doing it to be polite." she said, putting her bowl away and putting the box of cereal on a shelf.
    Devon walked up to her and frowned. "Kyle expects the people he hates to fight back. Though, you are the only girl I've seen him go crazy about being too quiet."
    Gabriela laughed at this. "Oh, but you see, I am fighting back. I can tell the silent treatment is the best way to defeat Kyle." she said, glancing back at Kyle, who was still bared into the fridge, but now looking down at the ground as if he had been tortured and hung upon a wall. Gabriela patted Devon on the shoulder and smiled. "He'll have to try harder." She then turned and walked out to the patio.
    After a while of being alone on the patio, she heard the door slide open, and she glanced up to see the girl who appeared to be Rebbecca.
    The girl sat herself on the glass table that was across from Gabriela, her feet perked up over the railing. She glared at Gabriela, in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.
    "Do you like Kyle?" Rebbecca asked suddenly, her back-length hair falling over her shoulder.
    This question caught Gabriela by surprise. "Um, no. Not really. He's been nothing but a jerk to me since I arrived." she replied, faultily.
    Rebbecca sighed. "He likes you. Him being a jerk to a girl he just met is his way of saying he wants to be more than friends." Rebbecca continued to flip her golden hair from shoulder to shoulder as she spoke. "I could see it in his eyes at breakfast. He wanted to kiss you. If you couldn't see it, you must have felt something inside of you saying 'Kiss him! Kiss him!'." Rebbecca glared at Gabriela once more. "Well, did you?"
    Gabriela could feel her insides cringing. She did a brief sigh and stood up. "Yes, I did feel something tell me that." Gabriela moved up to Rebbecca and looked her in the eyes. "But I rather drop dead than date a lug-headed, too-good-for-himself, jerkwad, baboon!" Gabriela smirked, walking past Devon, who grabbed her on the arm to keep her from walking any farther.
    He looked down at her and she looked up at him. They were a good five inches different in height. He smiled down at her, and after a while he finally spoke. "It's tempting to kiss you in a position like this, but I want to show you something." Devon smirked and pulled Gabriela to the basement.