Chapter 1



Jolene Starr Radclyffe was the musical-type of 18-year-old girl you’d be likely to meet  at some Taylor Swift concert or in a rock and roll band. On the other hand,     Tyson Matthewson was the kind of 18-year-old boy you’d probably see at some kind of country style music band or locked in his room strumming the strings on his guitar, trying to write the perfect song. Now, Pamela Spring Harley Nathans is the one and only 16 year old you’d EVER find putting on five different kinds of lipstick and two lip glosses just to ‘lighten up’ her appearance. One day, as the last bell rang for summer break at school, all the kids raced outside, while Jolene was walking slowly, thinking she might not see all her friends for the summer. Well, Tyson was thinking how awesome it was to have 3 months vacation and time to spend with his friends. But, there was also something else on his mind. He was running like a maniac ‘till he got out the school door. Jolene was there waiting for him. “I’ve been waiting for fifteen whole seconds!” She fake-wailed as Tyson laughed. “Sorry, the teacher put us extra homework.” Now she laughed. They didn’t talk for a while as they walked towards the Air Café. They sat down, ordered milkshakes and chatted for quite a long time. Jolene started the conversation. “So, what are you planning to do for summer vacation?” “Well, I might go to Athens.” “Wow, I always wanted to go to Greece!” “Yeah. I wonder what type of foods they have there..” “Oh, the only thing you think about is food!” “No! That’s not true! I think about music and how it’s going to be in college, how I want to live my life, what will I do for a part time job.” “Ok, ok, I get it!” Jolene laughed. “Say, I used to live in Manhattan. I really loved it there. They had this park, where there was a slide that would turn and twist in any direction and you actually had to hold on to slide! That used to be my favorite place when I was younger.” “Yeah” was Tyson’s reply, looking thoughtful. “Hey, do you like music?” “I don’t just like it, I LOVE it! I listen to music for hours on my iPod in my room. If my mom punishes me, she’ll take away my iPod!” “Well, I play the guitar. I’ve been trying to find the right song, but…” he sighed. “I’ve failed my mission.” Jolene smiled and thought for a second. After a minute or two, she started to sing ‘Break Down The Walls’ and Tyson joined her. When they finished the song, they both laughed and Tyson fell out of his chair! Jolene, laughing really hard at this point, tried to help him up only to fall down herself. When they finally got up, Tyson said he had to go, so they said goodbye. But as Jolene started walking towards home, Tyson paused and ran up to her. He gave her two tickets. “If you want, you can come with me to Athens. One is to go and the other  for return.” With that said, he smiled and left. Jolene just stood there, clutching the tickets tightly in her hand.


 When she got home, her mother was making soup. “Hey ma.” Her mother looked up from the pot and smiled. “Why, hello there ‘Angelina Jolene’!” Jolene and her mother both giggled at this. “Hey, did the rooter come yet?” “Yes, it came in this morning a little after you left for school.” She ran up to her laptop and looked up what the tickets were worth. She saw the hotel ‘Sofitel’, was a 5 star hotel right outside the airport.  That’s the hotel we’re going to!  She thought with glee. But then she forgot to ask her mom to let her go. She ran downstairs and said with a smile across her face “Mom, look!” She showed her the tickets. “Tyson gave me these tickets for Athens! We’re going to go a hotel called Sofitel, its 5 star and its for 3 weeks! Can I please go?” She looked up at her mom with a puppy eyes expression. Her mom laughed. “Well… I supposed I could let you go... but I need to trust you. You’ll call every day, or at least every two days. So I know that you’re ok.” Jolene was so happy, you’d think she’d explode. She hugged her mom really tightly, saying “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!” Her mom laughed. “ Don’t mention it sweety.” She kissed her forehead and Jolene went to pack her stuff.  On Tuesday morning, five AM, Im going to go to the airport with Tyson!  She squealed as she packed her stuff. She checked her calendar. It was Friday. “I’m going to have to pack all my best clothes!” For if you ever saw her closet door or diary, you’d see Tyson’s photos with Jolene and her mentioning he was her BFF, but also she had a secret crush on him. She finished packing, making a list of things to do, finding a way to fit her portable piano and guitar in her bags. She also packed two microphones, just in case they sang together. By the time she did all that I was Sunday Evening. “Jolene, its Tyson! He’s at our door. Come down!” Jolene made her hair, put on a tiny bit of ip gloss and ran downstairs. “Oh hi Ty!” Tyson had his hands in his jean pockets and his red T-shirt was so cute on him, at least, that’s what Jolene here thought. “Hey Ty, what’s with your guitar strapped around your back?” He smiled and said “I thought you’d like to go to the Central Park fountain to sing a little.” She looked a little startled. “Oh um—sure!” She got out of the door, waved at her mom and walked with Tyson to the fountain. “Say.. what’s Pamela doing?” Jolene asked, for she knew Pamela has a crush on Tyson. “Oh.. erm.. I haven’t heard from her for a while. But I think I heard her friends say that she’s going to France. By the way, I’ll have a surprise for you on the 3^rd week, which will be the last week of our vacation.” Jolene  set her bangs aside on her head. She wanted to look pretty, just in case she saw Pamela. So, you’re probably wondering why she’s so sensitive with Pamela.
Pamela and Jolene used to be close friends, until they started to like Tyson. Pamela then started to act bossy, as If she owned Tyson. That hurt Jolene’s feelings, because she liked Tyson too, but Tyson actually stood up to Pamela saying that she’s annoying. That made Jolene feel better. But they’re still enemies. They reached the fountain and Jolene gasped. The park bench was filled with pink and white roses and there were yellow ribbons tied to the edges. “Wait, whaaaat?” Jolene laughed. “well, I uh..” Tyson scratched the back of his head. “I just made this so it’s comfortable and-I’m going to record a video and post it on the internet. Would you like to be in it?” Jolene sat down on the bench and fixed her hair a little with her hands. “Way ahead of you Ty!” They both laughed as Tyson sat down. He cleared his throat and adjusted the camera and recorder, put them on the floor and they started singing ‘Why Don’t You Love Me’, taking turns. They sang ‘Love Story’, ‘You Belong With Me’ and ‘Not A Love Song’. When they finished singing and the camera and recorder were off, he took some pictures of them, laughing and making faces. Jolene and Tyson turned around to see no other than Pamela Spring Harley Nathans. “What are you doing?!” Pamela squealed-more like screamed-when she saw Jolene and Tyson sitting on the park bench with Tyson’s arm around Jolene’s neck. Tyson spoke up first. “What, can’t I have some fun with friends?” Pamela smirked. “Sure, but why with her?” she looked at Jolene with a disgusted expression on her face. Tyson looked at Jolene, then back at Pamela. “Why not? She’s funny, unlike you. She’s happy, unlike you. She’s pretty---mostly unlike you.” Tyson thought those words for a while before he said them. Jolene smiled at him and then got up. She squealed a bit. “What IS it with you already??” Pamela said. “There’s a HUGE bug on your necklace!” Jolene said, looking scared. “WHAT!? Get it OFF ME!” Pamela started swatting her shirt until she finally fell into the fountain. When she got up, she looked really mad. “RUN!” Tyson yelled laughing. They ran, chased by Pamela. Thankfully, her shoes were hot pink stilettos. “These shoes weren’t made for running!” She wailed. She walked back home, mad, bruises on her feet and wet. Tyson and Jolene stopped under a tree to catch their breath, which was really hard ‘cause they were laughing like heck. “Wow, you actually had the guts to do that to Pamela!” Tyson gasped, trying to breathe. “Yeah, I better get home now though. I  Had a great time!” She smiled and waves at Tyson. She ran home fast.