Lily Moves on to High School

By D.M. Miller

It begins with Lily navigating boys who are striving for her attention. Lily, however, doesn't show them any interest because unlike some of the other ninth-grade girls, including her best friend, Hadley, Lily isn't allowed to date until she turns sixteen.
During her sophomore year, things get a little more complicated for Lily. She gets invited to the senior prom by J.R., her other best friend and football star. But she is fifteen and the dating rule still applies. How does Lily feel about accepting the invitation? Will the Patriarch of her close-knit family, allow her to attend?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667867267

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Lily Moves on to High School

© D.M. Miller

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Print ISBN 978-1-66786-725-0 | eBook ISBN 978-1-66786-726-7

Contents

Part 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Part II

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Part 1

Chapter 1

"Your education is a dress rehearsal

for a life that is yours to lead."

- Nora Ephron

Lily heard the voices before she reached the gate. She slowed a bit to gather her resolve before entering. Lily was now thinking that had she known that she wouldn’t meet up with Hadley, she would have accepted a ride from her Aunt Mildred. But too late for that now, she thought. She was here and had to make the most of it. Lily knew it wasn’t going to be easy because, for her, it wasn’t just the first day of school; it was the first day of high school, and that made all the difference. Everything had changed; teachers, friends, school hours, classes, distance, and responsibilities had all been altered. But now that she had arrived, she put those thoughts behind her and, in true Lily fashion, walked confidently onto the huge, crowded campus alone.

Oh, my goodness, how am I going to manage this? Lily thought as she entered the gate. She glanced around the campus, and kids were everywhere. On benches, leaning against walls, walking, and rushing from one place to the other. They were alone, together, in groups, and coupled off. "Oh, my goodness," Lily whispered again. She realized the one thing in her favor was that Grace, Lily’s mother had brought her to pick up her schedule last week, so she could go directly to her first-period class without having to stand in the long counseling line that was now forming near the front of the school. Lily shuddered and continued walking in the direction of her first-period class.

Boy, that girl is something else, Lily overheard one of the boys walking behind her say. I’m gone have to meet up with her. Lily wouldn’t have paid attention to the conversation, but she heard the other boy say her name.

Good luck with that. Do you even know who she is? the boy next to him asked. Lily kept walking and hoped that the two of them would soon veer off in another direction, but that didn’t happen, so she made the detour.

When Lily got to her first-period class, the door was still locked, so she waited just outside the door, and to her dismay, so did the two boys that had been walking behind her. Several other students were waiting to get into the classroom too. Then, Hadley, her good friend since second grade, walked up and apologized to Lily for being late. Hadley said she had run late because she had to finish some chores that she hadn’t done the night before. Before she could finish explaining her reason for being late, though, the two boys that Lily had attempted to avoid came over and started talking to Hadley, and she, in turn, introduced them to Lily.

I heard about you, the one introduced as Calvin said. "Word is, you got some pipes. Is church the only place you sing at?’

Pretty much, Lily said. Then Lily turned away from him as the teacher unlocked the door.

The bell rang, announcing five more minutes before class started, but as soon as the teacher walked in, Lily followed him in and sat in the front row, two seats over from the door. Hadley and the boys went to the back.

Sit back here with us, Willie, the shorter, aggressive boy, called out to Lily, using his left hand to summon her to the last row of seats.

Lily didn’t respond. She always sat in front of the class while Hadley liked to sit in the back. Admittedly, Hadley was a lot more social than Lily, especially with the boys, and did not take her grades as seriously as Lily would have liked for her to have taken them. When the time was right, Lily knew she would need to have a talk with Hadley about avoiding all the new high school distractions and focusing on her grades

Like J.R., Lily’s other close friend and neighbor, Hadley looked out for Lily. They both wanted to protect her from the vile incidents and harassment she had faced in elementary school when she had been harassed about her unruly hair and old-fashioned clothes. And because J.R. and Lily had attended different schools, it had been hard for J.R. to look out for Lily for the past two years. They were both elated that they were now in the same school again.

No, thank you, Lily said and turned her attention back to the front of the room after Willie’s second request for her to sit with them. Even though, she could still hear the comments from the back of the classroom.

I’m gone get her to talk to me. Watch. Lily sighed, as she hoped that this was the only period that Willie would be in any of her classes.

Chapter 2

Lily heard some of the same remarks in her second-period class as in her first-period class. She was both embarrassed and irritated by them. She reminded herself that she was not in middle school anymore and things would be quite different in high school. Lily couldn’t fathom kids in ninth grade wanting to date, especially since she had at least two more years before she could even think about dating. That was her grandparent’s