Scarlett has a difficult life to say the least, possibly the toughest of any of her friends. But with the help of the Matthews' and the Hunters, she manages to work her way through. Not to mention, the reminders that come in the mail that a better l...
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Letty's over at Eric's house, and his younger brother's outside playing mini golf. "He's gonna say no." She tells Eric as they walk outside. Morgan runs past them, heading into the kitchen.
"Hey, Cor. Can I borrow some cash?" He asks his younger brother anyway.
"You're the one with the job. I'm Allowance Boy." Cory says as he walks over to them.
"Yeah, they cut our salaries five percent at the market." He tells Cory, and Letty sighs in annoyance. It's true, and her dad was furious. "Now, look, I could've gone to anybody for cash, but I came to you because we're family. I mean, we're like brothers. You're the closest person in the world to me, Cor."
Cory looks over at Letty then. "You already told him no, didn't you?"
"Oh, yeah." She nods.
"Alright, look. For five bucks and you never tell Mom, I'll throw the Goofy Golf tournament this year." Eric tells him.
"Hey, Dad and I don't need you guys to take a dive for us to win." Cory argues, and Eric looks over at his best friend.
"I'm staying out of this one." Letty tells him, and he turns back to his brother.
Eric then takes the golf club and gently hits the tiny, yellow ball. It rolls down the ramp and goes right where he wanted it to. "Yeah, you do." He says, and the two teenagers go back inside.
"Hey, can we watch tv?"
"If we get there before Morgan takes control over the remote." Eric tells her, and they look at each other before bolting for the living room.
The next day, the pair are studying in the kitchen, and Letty leans her head on the table. "I hate homework." The brunette starts fake crying.
"Yeah, yeah. Get off my math book." He pulls it out from under her elbow, but she doesn't move.
The back door opens behind her, and someone walks into the kitchen. "I just sank eighteen in a row." Cory says, talking about golf. "You and Mom are Goofy Golf has-beens."
"I think we'll just keep our trophy on the shelf. The tournament has been canceled." Eric tells his younger brother.
"What?"
"Remember that five percent pay cut at the market? Dad's pay got cut too. He says we can't afford to go away this year." He explains, and Letty sits up so she can look at her homework.
"Eric, what are you talking about? Dad's the boss. He can do whatever he wants." He argues, and the older boy just shrugs.
Cory leaves the kitchen then, yelling for his dad, and Eric looks at Letty. "What's with you?" He asks, and the brunette glances at him.
"Nothing. I'm just tired." She tells him and starts doing her homework again.
"You're not usually like this."
"What time is it?" She asks as she looks over at the clock. "Crap, I'm late. I have to go, I'll talk to you later." She tells him as she gets her stuff together.
"Where are you going?" He asks, but she doesn't answer him. "Letty!" He calls after her, but she leaves and heads to the store for her first shift.
The brunette's working at the store the next day, and Mr. Matthews walks over to her. "Scarlett, can I talk to you on your break please?" He asks, and she nods.
"Yeah, of course." She finishes restocking cans on the shelves and then goes outside to talk to him.
"Why are you taking extra shifts here at the market?" He asks as he looks down at her.
"Oh, uh... Well, my dad, Miller, and I need the money." She tells him. "And with the pay cut, I have to work more hours to make up for what I'm losing."
"This is what Eric was talking about before? The reason that you're so tired all the time?"
She nods. "Yeah, I guess. I still have to keep up on my homework to keep my grades up. So I sleep when I have time."
"A girl your age needs sleep. You shouldn't be worried about money." He says, and she shrugs as she looks away from him. "What does your dad do?"
"He doesn't have a steady job. He works when he can, and his jobs don't usually pay much." She tells him.
"So you bring home most of the money for you three?"
"Miller makes money too, but he's not really one for jobs like this." She tells him, leaving it at that. She doesn't think he'd like hearing about how they hustle pool or any of their other scams.
"How do you do it?" Mr. Matthews asks, and the brunette pauses for a moment.
"I guess the fear of sleeping on the streets is pretty good motivation." She tells him, and he sighs as he looks down at his son's best friend.
"I have to go do something."
"What?" She asks, confused.
"Talk to my boss about getting that five percent back." He says, and she smiles slightly.
"Really?"
"I can't promise anything, but I'll definitely try." He tells her, and she nods.
Letty goes back over to the Matthews' house that night to watch the Goofy Golf tournament that Mrs. Matthews and Morgan set up in the backyard. Cory was really upset about not being able to go to the Jersey Shore to play like they always do, so his parents wanted to make it up to him.
"Three!" Morgan yells as she walks outside with Letty.
"Uh, fore." Eric corrects, as he walks up just behind his best friend, resting his hand on her side so that he can gently nudge her forward a step.
"Whatever." His sister mutters, and the brunette chuckles as she looks down at her.
"Come on, little one." Letty says as she then walks over to the bench that's off to the side of the yard, and the blonde runs over to sit with her.
"Are you ready to pound these weenies into the ground for the seventh straight year?" Mrs. Matthews asks as she walks outside as well, holding her hand out toward her oldest kid.
"No mercy." Eric slaps his palm against hers, giving her a low five. "Unless you guys want to, uh...give up now."
"Do you wanna quit?" Cory asks his dad.
"Oh, that's never been my style." Mr. Matthews shakes his head. "How 'bout you?"
"I quit quitting."
"Go, Daddy!" Morgan cheers from her place on the bench beside her oldest brother's best friend.
"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side, you little weasel!" Eric looks at her with a furrowed brow.
"She told me to." The blonde points at Letty in her defense, and he raises his eyebrows as he turns his attention to the girl in question.
The brunette shrugs. "What? He signs my paycheck." She tells him, and Mr. Matthews laughs at his son's slack-jawed expression.
"Hey, Scarlett, are you coming to our play?" Cory asks, and the teenage girl nods.
"Heck, yeah! I'd never miss the opportunity to see Shawn in a fat-suit." She tells him, and he laughs as looks at his dad; Mr. and Mrs. Matthews are rather amused as well.
