Breaking All the Rules

Prologue

"TELL Dad I went to the grocery store!" I told Greg, avoiding his gaze. I tried not to feel guilty about leaving him all alone to clean up at JESS', Dad's Coffee Shop. Dad was so going to freak out when he found out that I flunked out on cleaning to supposedly grab groceries for Mum but I was willing to risk getting grounded.

"Okay. No problemo!" Greg said, fixing me his goofiest grin. I knew better than anyone else to think he was letting me off the hook this easy because I was the boss' daughter. Thing is; Greg has had this stupid, annoying crush on me ever since he started helping Dad out here. He didn't seem to mind that I wasn't even in his league, which was one way to put it since I passed out of High School two years ago and guy was even barely a 10th grader. Well, I'd be damned... crushes do come in handy!

"Thanks!" I managed to whisper before grabbing my backpack and literarily flying out of the shop.

Just as was planned, Jeff and Nicole were waiting for me outside in a convertible, which I guessed was Jeff's since he was seated behind the wheel.

Nicole's face lit up the moment she saw me and she quickly helped me get into the backseat. "Wo...ow, you made it!"

I smiled back at her, nodding a little to hastily. As the car revved forward under Jeff's unpracticed hands, I found myself staring back at JESS', half-expecting Dad's car to come into sight any minute now. I finally heaved a sigh of relief when our car started to speed in a steady, fluid motion across the streets of Detroit.

The fancy lights that shone from the skyscrapers told me that JESS' was way behind me. I felt the excitement bobbing up inside me, warming my insides and it was all I could do not to burst out laughing. I was the 24th century Rapunzel, on my way to see the world that had always been hidden from me, only not by a step-mother this time, but by my Dad.

"Yaaaaay..." Nicole screamed in glee, throwing her hands up in the air. Jeff echoed her scream, teasing her.

"Shut up, Jeff." She hit his arm playfully but I could tell she was pleased.

They both had on sunshades to protect their eyes from the breeze. I almost envied them; they had had all the time in the world to plan this moment, while I, the modern Rapunzel had been busy behind the counter, serving coffee and reading my books which were strictly Dad's rules. It was all for my own good, according to him. Because I had to be focused since my application had been accepted by the Wayne County Community College of Detroit and I was writing SAT this year... yaddah yaddah yaddah!

Pushing all thoughts of Dad and the punishment I would face later behind me, I let myself revel in the moment, in the breeze that tousled my blonde curls and blew it in wisps that danced around my face.

Now, back to the 'reason' I was escaping under the pretense of getting groceries for Mum? Well, you want to see your dreams come true? Jeff is officially your go-to guy. Luckily enough for us, he was crazy in love with Nic and would do anything to prove it.

So when Nicole had managed to drop him hints of how it had always been our dream to become movie stars, never mind how Jeff had managed to get it done, he had somehow managed to get us into the auditions for a Harry Reynolds movie.

"Jordan?" Nicole's voice snapped me out of my reverie. The look on her face had me wondering if she had actually been calling me for a long time.

"Yeah?" I asked, instinctively running my hand over my hair. Without checking, I already knew it was a huge mess.

"Your face is too bare... and your hair, tsk-tsk. We need to look the part, okay?" She said just as she dumped her vanity kit into my laps.

I sighed. I was not really a make-up person, besides there was way too much stuff in the kit, it was hard to tell what to do with which. In the end, I settled only for the mascara and one raspberry-flavored Victoria's Secret lip stain.