Secret Admirer
by Tonya Ramagos

CHAPTER ONE

Alexis Berkley stood in front of her bedroom mirror admiring her beauty. The glistening sun shining through a near by window cast a bright wave of yellow light on her already shimmering shoulder length blond hair. Raising a hand to her face, she gently stroked her cheek as she gazed at her reflection. The return image in the mirror exhibited her golden complexion, emphasizing her lustrous sea blue eyes. She stepped back from the mirror enabling herself to see the rest of her body, lowering her hands to her sides as she gazed at her hourglass figure.

“You are so glamorous,” she complimented herself, turning from side to side to see her body from all angles. “So, if your looks haven’t changed what could possibly be the problem?” she asked the reflection as if expecting it to answer. Self-confidence was one thing she had never lacked. She was beautiful, she knew it, and she was never afraid to admit it.

“And exactly what would be the problem you’re referring to?” a female voice questioned from the doorway of the room.

Startled, Alexis whirled around to see her best friends, Sherry Adams and Hillary Carter, entering the room. She felt the heat creep to her cheeks as an uncharacteristic blush spread across her deep tanned face. She must have looked like a complete nut talking to herself in the mirror.

“Are we interrupting something?” Hillary questioned with a sly grin as she plopped down on Alexis’s unmade bed. Two fluffy pillows covered in blue shell-pattered shams bounced around her.

“What’s wrong with me?” Alexis whined. She poked out her bottom lip in a pout and leaning against her dresser. She crossed her arms over her flat tummy. Her gaze danced from one friend to the other.

“Where would you like for us to start?” Hillary teased, obviously fighting to keep a straight face. She rolled onto her stomach, propped her chin on her fists and grinned up at Alexis.

Alexis narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. “Very funny.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You walked into it.”

“Something has to be wrong with me,” Alexis continued, ignoring her friend’s apology. She spun around and began peering at herself in the mirror again. “Personally, I can’t find one thing that’s different. I’m still just as beautiful, charming and irresistible as I’ve always been.”

“So, you just answered your own question,” Sherry shrugged, perching on the foot of the bed. “You know there’s nothing wrong with you so get over it. I swear, sometimes you make me sick. You’re one of the few lucky ones. You know, the ones who are born beautiful. Yet, you still aren’t satisfied! I wish you could live just one day in someone else’s shoes. Then you would see just how lucky you are.”

Alexis and Sherry had been best friends since grade school. Even then, Sherry had been envious of Alexis, although Alexis could never figure out why. Of Alexis, Sherry and Hillary, Sherry was the brain of the group. She always made the best grades, the right decisions and was voted ‘most likely to succeed’ every year in school. Guys were, for the most part, the farthest things from her mind, although she was an extremely attractive girl. Her waist length misty brown hair, sparkling green eyes, and flattering figure made her one of the most sought after girls at Rosemont High. Sherry was simply happier being without a boyfriend. The hassles of worrying if a guy was going to cheat on her or break her heart was something she had rather not deal with.

“Well, there has to be something wrong with me,” Alexis insisted, repeating herself for the third time as the frustration began to cloud her eyes. “Do you know I haven’t had a date since school started?” she exclaimed, spinning around to glare at her friends. “That was over a month ago! Not one person has asked me out. Did I suddenly turn into a ghost during summer vacation?”

“Give it time, Alexis,” Hillary consoled softly, pushing her auburn hair behind her ears.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Alexis shrieked. “You have Craig.”

 The mere mention of her boyfriend’s name brought a gleaming smile to Hillary’s face and a far away look to her hazel eyes. She had been dating Craig Houston almost since the day she moved to Rosemont three years before. Alexis and Sherry always referred to Hillary as the sensible one of the trio. She knew exactly what she wanted out of life and how to get it. One thing she knew for sure was that she always wanted to be with Craig and she was confident he would never leave her.

“Don’t give up hope, Alexis,” Sherry ordered, almost sounding as if she were teasing her friend. Sherry and Hillary were use to Alexis and her sudden life threatening problems that hardly ever lasted more than a few hours at most. “This week isn’t over yet.”

“But Paul Morrow’s party is only two days away!” Alexis shrieked. “I have never gone to a party without a date and I’m not going to start with the biggest party of our senior year.”

 Paul Morrow came from one of the richest families in Rosemont and when he threw a party it was sure to be one for the memory books.

“Did you ever think that going stag to a senior bash may not be such a bad thing?” Hillary wondered, propping her chin on her fist.

Alexis rolled her large blue eyes at Hillary. “How could being seen alone be a good thing?” she shrieked. “My reputation would be ruined!”

 “It would not,” Hillary insisted forcefully. “Just think of all the good looking seniors in our school. All of them couldn’t possibly have dates.”

“So if I were to go to this party alone I could have them all instead of being stuck with one in particular,” Alexis concluded. A mischievous smile spread across her cheeks as she sat down Indian style on the floor.

“Now you’re catching on,” Hillary chuckled, shaking her head. “It may take her a while sometimes but she catches up eventually,” she whispered to Sherry.

“Hey!” Alexis exclaimed, tossing a pillow at Hillary. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What is it they say about blondes—they’re naturally dingy and slow at understanding.” Hillary giggled, tossing the pillow back at Alexis. She loved to tease Alexis about being blond and brainless although she knew it wasn’t true.

“Contrary to popular belief, I do have a brain,” Alexis darted with a puppy dog expression. “I am very smart! You just don’t want to admit it. Ask me anything. I bet you I can answer it.”

Hillary rolled with laughter. “I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed person,” she said, holding her stomach.

“I give up,” Alexis surrendered, throwing her hands in the air. “What are you doing here anyway? I’m sure you came over for something other than to ridicule me about my brain power.”

“We’re supposed to do our homework together, remember? You insisted we come over,” Sherry reminded.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Alexis said, slapping her forehead.

“Some how that doesn’t surprise me,” Hillary teased.

“Alexis, you should really start paying more attention to your grades,” Sherry warned. “You’re barely passing now.”

“Hey, I’m acing Trigonometry,” Alexis defended herself.

“True, but good grades in Trig aren’t the only thing you’re going to need to get into a good college,” Sherry persisted.

“You’re starting to sound like my mother.” Alexis moaned. “Not everyone can be a nerd like you,” she joked.

“Maybe everyone should be,” Sherry said, not cracking a smile. “At least then we wouldn’t have so many people dropping out of school.”

 “This is a never ending subject.” Hillary sighed, beginning to dig though her backpack. “Neither one of us is going to graduate if we don’t get to work. It’s going to take us hours to complete all the homework we have tonight.”

“Hillary’s right,” Sherry agreed. “We better get started.”

“I hate homework,” Alexis groaned, snatching her Advanced Biology textbook out of her book bag. “Especially when it comes to Science. Who’s ever going to use this stuff any way?” She whined. She snatched open the cover of her book and was about to begin her work when she noticed a letter stuck to the first page. “Did one of you put a letter in my book?” she asked, holding up the folded piece of paper.

Hillary and Sherry glanced at one another. “No, why?” they answered in unison.

“This wasn’t here during class today,” Alexis replied, seeming stunned by the appearance of the note.

 “What does it say?” Hillary questioned over enthusiastically as she and Sherry leaned off the edge of the bed to peer over Alexis’s shoulder.

“My dear Alex,” Alexis read. “Your eyes are a blue as the sky, your hair as golden as the sun, and someday you will realize I am the one. Your secret admirer.”

“Oh my gosh!” Hillary shrieked. “Alexis, who could’ve wrote that?”

“I don’t know,” Alexis shrugged, her eyes wide with amazement. “What does it mean by ‘I am the one’?” she asked, puzzled.

“The one you’ve been looking for, you goof.” Hillary laughed.

“You mean like that special guy?” Alexis asked, still a bit confused.

“Exactly,” Hillary shook her head giggling.

 “But who could it be?” Sherry quizzed.

“Have you seen anyone staring at you lately?” Hillary probed. “Or has anyone asked you out and you turned them down?”

 “No, believe me I would remember if anyone had asked me out. Right now I would go out with just about anyone,” Alexis declared. “I’m getting desperate!” She exclaimed, sticking out her bottom lip.

 “Then it must be someone you don’t talk to very often or maybe someone you don’t even know,” Hillary said.

“But how did he get the letter in my book without me knowing?” Alexis wondered aloud.

“Alexis, you leave your locker open all the time,” Sherry proclaimed. “He could’ve put that letter there any time during the day.”

“True.” Alexis tilted her head. She could never remember her locker combination so she simply left the lock hanging open on the latch. It was much easier than fumbling for the combination every time she needed to get into her locker.

“Well, whoever it is, they sure have a job in front of them if they think they can make you settle down with one guy,” Sherry proclaimed, sitting back on the bed. “You haven’t had a steady boyfriend in your life!”

“There is only one guy I would ever think of dating exclusively and—” Alexis stopped in mid-sentence. “That’s it!” she suddenly exclaimed. “I know who it is.”

“But how? He didn’t give any clue to his identity.” Sherry shook her head. “He even typed the letter so you didn’t recognize his hand writing.”

“It’s Kip! It has to be him,” Alexis said. Her tan face glowed with happiness. “He finally realized he likes me but he couldn’t think of the best way to tell me so he wrote me a letter.”

Of all the guys at Rosemont High that were continuously falling at Alexis’s feet the one she really wanted seemed to be out of her reach. Alexis had dreamed of dating Kip O’Ryan since the day that she laid eyes on him. They had both been freshmen and ready to enjoy everything high school had to offer. Now they were both seniors and still Alexis drooled over the tall, dark and handsome boy. He was totally perfection personified! The type of guy every girl fantasized about.

 “I can’t imagine Kip being afraid to tell anyone anything,” Hillary declared, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling. “Or typing a letter for that matter.”

 “Maybe he’s trying to be romantic,” Alexis suggested. She was determined not to allow Hillary to shoot down her hopes that Kip had written the letter. With all her heart she wanted it to be from Kip. So much that she had already nearly convinced herself she was right.

“It could be anyone Alexis,” Sherry reminded. “Whoever wrote it must have thought you would recognize his hand writing. By typing the letter there’s no way you will figure out who he is before he wants you to.”

“Well, you may not think so but I know Kip wrote it,” Alexis insisted.

“There’s no point dwelling on it,” Hillary sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue with her friend. “Whoever it is will tell you sooner or later and if he doesn’t then he wasn’t worth worrying about to begin with. Now, let’s get back to our homework.”

 “I guess you’re right,” Alexis breathed a long sigh as she picked up her pencil. But her mind was far away from her homework. All she could think about was her ‘secret admirer’.