Getting Hooked (ON HOLD)

Chapter 1

Alec Carter.

Favorite color? Easy, that's blue. Favorite food, shrimp with marinara. Favorite band: AWOL nation. He likes Coke over Pepsi, but would rather drink Arizona, lemon cake, American Eagle boot leg jeans, no Adidas, only Nike. His whole family lives in this area, they share one large house and don't agree with electronics; I have this hunch that they are Amish. He wears black socks every day of the week except Sunday, for church. His mom and dad are worried that he can't handle school, even though he is a straight A student, and he fits in perfectly. And, they want to move soon, but their jobs can't afford it....

Since they work in the fishing industry...

And Lake Palourde is the best place around here for Bass, which everyone knows is the best!

A knock comes on my door and I climb off my bed and answer it.

"Zoey, are you done?" Asks Cara, my latest client. I invite her in and have her sit at my desk, where I bring over my notebook from off my bed.

"Well, I only figured out a bit more today, not much. Only the thing about his socks. Oh, and the marinara sauce! That's new too." I feel excited for my new discoveries. I've been watching Alec for almost three weeks now, and he is really (!) hard to find information about.

Cara smiles at me, "Well, maybe tomorrow at the class picnic it will be easier!"

I nod at her, and turn to my tack board to post the page up next to all my old notes. "But I also have to get more on Jared, I put him aside since Kathy was going up north to visit family, but she comes back in two days... " I study the sheet for Jared Schmidt, our schools top baseball player; maybe there are some things that I haven't written down. "Do you know anything I could add?" My head is turned over my shoulder so she can see my face. Cara gets off the chair and examines my Board of Facts.

"Well, he doesn't like coffee since it leaves an after taste; I heard when he was given a cup before his game." She blushes some, but not because she likes him, there's is a hot draft in my room that drags along with the evening breeze. My sheer pink curtains fall up along with the draft and knock over an empty water bottle off my dresser.

I take my designer pen from behind my ear to write down his coffee ordeal and nod at this achievement.

"Okay, well that's all I came to check on. I'll see you tomorrow at school," Cara smiles at me and leaves my room.

"'Kay, bye." I tap the end of my pen on my chin and look through my lists. Luke, Parrish, Garrett, and Mike.... I still need to finish them too... This month is really busy with Valentine's coming up and all that crap.

I hear pans fumble out of the cupboard downstairs onto the tile flooring. Dad...

I run out of my room and along our wooden rails down to the kitchen. The sun shines brightly through our large sliding glass door that shows the lake. But never mind that, I find dad crouched next to some fallen pans, trying to gather them all together.

"Dad, let me help you. What happened?" I squat beside him and begin to gather some handles in my fingers.

"I was trying to grab a pan and the rest that were on top fell too."

Dad is just getting old, there's nothing wrong with him. And I also just worry too much, so again, don't think he's mental or anything, just old.

We pick up most of the pans, and when I get them stacked in their spot, I have dad hand me the rest so I can put them in. We finish that and then I see a pot already on the stove.

"You needed another pot when you already have one on the stove?" A pan waves around in my hand.

Dad wraps his fingers around the handle of the pan to take it from me, and looks over the top rim of his glasses to make his joke, "Of course, it's not spaghetti if there is no sauce!"