The Buzz: Pointing Fingers

By Terri Ivens

It is 1981 in Reno, Nevada, and Kassia Ella has been a freshman at Procter R. Hug High School for exactly four horrible days. With her closest friends from middle school zoned for another high school, Kassia reluctantly attempts to start all over again.

Even though she is captain of the freshman cheerleading squad and has dreams of one day finding true love, Kassia thinks isolation is her new best friend. But all of that changes during an assembly when her eyes fall upon number thirty-five on the freshman football team and Kassia suddenly believes in love at first sight. Now Kassia has but one goal: to meet her new crush. After she finally connects with Michael at a school dance and he begins to pursue her, Kassia must battle not only gossip, jealousy, and manipulation, but also her feelings of inadequacy, self-comparison, and fear of rejection. Now only time will tell if she will be successful and find the love she has always wanted.

In this first installment in a young adult series, a teenager plagued by a fear of the unknown, her new friends, and her uncertain feelings is about to discover that life never goes as expected.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Sep 12, 2014
• ISBN: 9781480810242

Terri Ivens

Terri Ivens has graced the television screen since she was a teenager. Most beloved for her portrayal of Simone Torres in ABC’s All My Children, Terri is now a host of her own talk show on UBN. She and her young daughter reside in Los Angeles, California, where Terri is hard at work on the next book in her series. LEARN MORE ABOUT TERRI www.imdb.me/terriivens FOLLOW TERRI ON TWITTER/INSTAGRAM @terriivens TO BOOK TERRI FOR MOTIVATIONAL SCHOOL SPEAKING/SIGNING CONTACT INFORMATION www.terriivens.com

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Copyright © 2014 Terri Ivens.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-1025-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-1023-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-1024-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014914100

Archway Publishing rev. date: 10/23/2014

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

INTRODUCTION

This is a story created by my imagination. The places and settings are real. Reno, Nevada really is the biggest little city in the world. I did attend Proctor R. Hug High School. Any wishful thinking that the characters in this book, their actions, words, or thoughts are of real life people would be misleading. This is by definition a work of fiction. It’s purpose …through hindsight one may learn what not to do again.

To Kiana

CHAPTER 1

A loud, vibrating hum echoed throughout the high-school cafeteria. Heads bobbed along the rows of tables filling each corner of the dining hall. A slim, dark-haired girl who looked to be barely a teenager stood just beyond the cashier, food tray in hand. The vast sea of faces, like crashing waves, knocked her back on the soles of her feet. With each step forward, she asked herself, Where do I sit ? A growing fear of people overwhelmed her. She circled the cafeteria, drinking in fragments of passing conversations. She sat near a wall sporting a giant hawk that appeared freshly painted. The loud mass of students carried on without notice of her.

Kassia Ella had been a freshman at Procter R. Hug High School for exactly four horrible days. Kassia’s friends from middle school were zoned for another high school. She had scarcely seen a familiar face. The rare familiar students in her classes looked as scared as she felt. She was alone—starting over, as her dad put it.

Kassia’s new surroundings intimidated her. Fear begot isolation. Like a swarm of busy bees, students hurried to and from classes, scurrying up and down the hillside campus. She stood lost in the chaos that erupted at the ringing of the tardy bell. Her high school was even bigger than it had looked from the outside. Kassia felt even smaller than she physically appeared.

Near the end of eighth grade, with her mother’s approval, Kassia had tried out for Hug High School’s freshmen cheerleading squad. Forty-four girls from the three zoned middle schools competed for the four-girl freshman squad. Kassia had heard it was the biggest freshman tryout the school had ever had. She thought being a cheerleader would give her instant new friends, and it did for the summer. Two of the girls on the freshman squad became her friends.

Julia had gorgeous, long, layered chocolate hair. It was her pride. She used her hair to camouflage her braces.

Loni was the tallest at five foot six, and she became the base for cheerleading lifts. Her bangs hung in her emerald-green eyes. Julia and Loni lived in the North Valley and came from O’Brien Middle School.

Then there was Ming Sue. Kassia lost Ming Sue’s respect when Kassia voted for herself and became team captain. Ming Sue called Kassia conceited and labeled her stuck up. Ming Sue had practical experience with the label, having attended Clayton Middle School. She possessed all the old-wealth stature during summer cheerleading camp.

On the first day of the school year, during first period, the freshman class was directed to the cafeteria for the freshman-orientation assembly. The spirit leaders of the freshman class were scheduled to perform their welcome cheer. With sharp arm movements and a unison finale spread-eagle jump, they introduced themselves.

I’m Kassia!

Julia!

Loni!

Sue!

We’d like to say hello to you, with an h-e-double l-o. The Hug Hawks say hello!

The sea of strangers pointed, whispered, and laughed, sitting cross-legged on the cafeteria floor. Kassia’s eyes darted to the green-and-white-checkered linoleum floor. The microphone whistled feedback through the speakers as she spoke. We competed at the University of California–Santa Barbara Spirit Camp among twenty other high schools. She could hear the tremble in her voice.

I’ll tell you what you can do with your two spirit sticks, a voice hollered.

A wave of laughter crashed upon the walls. Kassia lost her train of thought. She stood there looking at the checkered floor.

"They’re not laughing at you if you are laughing along." Kassia’s