. THE ZONE `

[MILAN JADE DE LUCA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] TAKE A DEEP BREATH, NO NEED TO PANIC. The Words: 487 The Outfit: HOT The Notes GAHHH BAD START Milan couldn't ask for a more beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and all the hottest people in the town were out and about. Sometimes, she forgot how amazing Manchester County was; it would have been the perfect day for cheerleading practice but she was thankful for a day off. Today was the day she planned to do absolutely nothing for a change. No homework, no writing, no cheering—Nothing. Well, that was the original plan but her dearest aunt and uncle thought otherwise. Instead of getting her nails done she took the dogs to the vet, instead of getting her hair done she had to take her little brother to and from soccer practice. All of that was perfectly fine though not only did she get gas money for her Jeep but she was still determined to do something fun which was why she was planning to pick her older brother Maverick up from practice—from there they’d go to the boardwalk and find something to do. Milan loved her aunt and uncle but she couldn’t fathom being around her cousin for too long, she just wasn’t used to being around another girl—it used to be just her, Mav, and their little brother and those were the golden days. Milan was on her way out again to pick up Mav but before she left her younger brother caught her. “Aunt Aleisha says Mav left this again.” Milan took the envelope and quickly scanned it as she headed out the door and to her car. It was just a letter…from Yale University. Milan noticed that the edges of the envelope looked a bit frayed and dingy which meant Maverick must have had the letter for a while. Milan sighed and put the letter in her purse and quickly drove off towards their school. It was only about a five minute drive but Milan had so much road rage. “Can you fucking go?” Milan yelled out of her window as she honked her horn. After driving a few more blocks Milan pulled out her phone to text her brother to tell him she was outside and waiting on him. She pulled out the letter and examined the letterhead. She was a little disheartened about the fact Maverick was scared to open the letter but she knew how much he wanted to go to Yale. Hell, she wanted to go to Yale as well but if neither one got in the life went on right? The sound of her car door opening startled her and she quickly stuffed the letter back into her purse. “Mavvy, hey… How are you?” The poor girl felt like she was going to have a heart-attack. The letter was only in her hands for ten minutes and it was making her lose her mind, she could only imagine what he was going through. “Umm, I was thinking the boardwalk…” created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[Maverick remington de luca]

s h o u ld i g i v e u p o r s h o u l d i

just keep chasing pavements even though it

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style,background-image: url('http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g79/Juliart/background_black.jpg');,true][cs=2] L E A D S T O N O W H E R E

[atrb=width,240] Double practice could wear on you. Mav had gotten up early that morning and was out the door at 6:30 for summer football practice. Not like he really minded that. He loved football. The thing that he wasn’t the most fond of was that it was a 12 hour day. Not 12 hours of football, but 12 hours of sports with only an hour break for lunch at 12:30. He was at football from 6:30 to 12:30. Then lunch. And then he had to quickly change and hustle over to the baseball diamond at 1:30. He was just thankful it was over. Although at the same time he wasn’t. He loved being on the field, whether it was practice or a game. It was just where he belonged. When he was younger, when he couldn’t go to Kota’s house it was his sanctuary. Now that he was a senior and had a good home life, it was his stress reliever. When he had had enough time studying in the library he always made his way to the baseball field. Just the crack of that ball against the bat was music to his ears. He could always feel his worries left him as he would watch the ball fly far into the distance. Mav was the last one in the locker room, which really wasn’t an unusual thing for him. Mav swung both pairs of his cleats over his shoulder and shoved his sports bag into his locker. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, smiling when he saw the text was from Mili. He loved his younger sister and he knew that today was some much needed sibling time. He looked down at what he was wearing as he walked out the car, neon colored flip flops, sweatpants with the left pant leg rolled up, and a wife beater. Ya she definitely was going to make fun of him for how he was dressed. He didn’t really care though. He was exhausted and this was all the effort he felt like putting in. He opened the car door and smiled at his sister. ‘Hey Mili. I’m good. Just exhausted. Twelve hours of practice really can take it out of you. How was your day?’ He leaned his head back against the head rest and closed his eyes, propping his feet up on the dash. Without looking he reached back and grabbed the seatbelt, messing with it for a while until he heard the click. He lazily turned his head towards her and opened his eyes. ‘As long as you buy me ice cream I’m down.’ He bought Mili enough stuff all the time that he didn’t feel bad asking her to buy him ice cream. Plus she was his baby sister, she couldn’t just deny her older brother who had practically raised her. ‘What was that you put in your purse Mili?’ Mav gulped not really wanting to know the answer. He had caught a small glimpse and to him it looked like his letter from Yale saying if was accepted for early submission or not yet. He already knew that as long as he got in he could get a baseball scholarship. He had talked to the scout at the end of the school year. It just now was getting in and the whole letter was setting him on edge. As much as he wanted to know, at the same time he just didn’t want to be disappointed.

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[MILAN JADE DE LUCA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] TAKE A DEEP BREATH, NO NEED TO PANIC. The Words: 605 The Outfit: HOT The Notes SURPRISE Milan was especially excited about her boardwalk date with her brother because with him being so busy and going into his senior year Milan was sure that she’d take a slight backseat to what was currently happening in his life. It wasn’t something that bothered her—she pretty much expected it because you can love your family with all your heart but you only get one senior year. Or maybe that was just how she saw things as she was a girl and wanted to perfect senior year. “My day…sucked. I had to do errands”, Milan said with a smile, mostly because she had a break now. In a way she was actually excited for him and his senior year because she’d get to plan all his outfits and pick out the right prom tux to go with him and his prom date’s theme. That was what Milan was mostly excited for. Today however, was an easy day between the siblings. The boardwalk wasn’t that far off from school and home and they’d have plenty of time to catch up on everything. “Why are you guys practicing so much? They scared you won’t go undefeated this year?” Milan asked somewhat laughing at that notion as she drove with ease. It wasn’t like they were going to mysteriously suck out of the blue, they had a good team. After driving a couple of minutes Milan saw the boardwalk in sight but decided to park a little ways from it. It was much easier because the place could get packed at night and Milan was terrible when it came to too much traffic. “Of course I’ll get you ice cream. It’s so hot out here and I don’t want you to die on me.” Milan said in a joking manner and grabbing his arm to drag him to the ice cream stand. He asked about the letter but Milan wanted to ignore that for now. “You’re so paranoid Mav…” Milan started with her charming but lying tone but when she saw that he wasn’t going to buy it she dropped it. “Okay here. It’s from the Yale people. Apparently you had it for a while.” She said taking the letter out of her purse and extending the envelope to her brother. She really wished that he would open it right then and there but he was usually private about these sorts of things and she didn’t want to push him. “Well, let’s try Pecan Praline. I heard it’s pretty good.” Milan said changing the subject long enough for her to order their ice cream. She was definitely planning to bring it up again. Milan lead them to a nice two-person picnic table, private enough for them to have a chat. She was enjoying the treat at least but she was mostly enjoying the pretty day outside. She could tell Maverick was a little uneasy about opening the letter but she wanted him to know that no matter what happened she would be there for him and still be proud of him nonetheless. Milan searched for the right words to say to coerce him into opening it. Her intentions weren’t entirely selfish as she wanted him to just get it over with. “Maverick Remington De Luca”, Milan started. She was in full on little sister pestering mode now. “Open the letter and see what these people have to say and where you stand. You’re smart and talented and they will be idiots to not choose you. So open the letter.” It was more of a gentle pushing in the right direction. “Please”, Milan added cutely with a pout. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[Maverick remington de luca]

s h o u ld i g i v e u p o r s h o u l d i

just keep chasing pavements even though it

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[atrb=width,240] Brother and sister time had really been cut back lately. It wasn’t like Mav wanted it that way, it just had happened. What with school about to start and summer practices. Plus all the parties he had been attending. Who could blame him for partying though? He was about to start his senior year so of course he was going to live like a rockstar, after he finished with whatever project or practice he had to do first. ‘Eh. At least you were in an air conditioned car.’ Mav smiled and shook his head. He wouldn’t change how his day went no matter what though. He loved practice even if it meant he was in the heat and the sun for the entire day and was up before the sun even was. ‘No. They think we will. We always practice this much or do you not remember it being exactly like this last summer. All the practice is why we go undefeated.’ Mav shut his eyes and leaned back. All of the practice and dedication from the team members was why they went undefeated. ‘And this is why you’re my favorite sister.’ Mav smirked a bit at this. It was kind of a running joke since she was his only sister and Markus was his only brother. He refused to pick favorites because he loved them both so much so Mili was his favorite sister while Mark was his favorite brother. Simple as that. Mav let himself be dragged to the ice cream stand, not really having much effort to fight her if he even wanted to. Mav looked down at the letter in her hands and his whole demeanor dropped. He had had this letter for almost a month now and still hadn’t opened it yet, nor had he even told people that he got it. ‘Where did you get this?’ He continued to stare at the letter not knowing whether to take it or not. Mav gulped and finally took the letter, folding it in half, but keeping it in his hands instead of shoving it in his pockets. All Mav could do was nod to her request. There were other things on his mind that trumped ice cream. Mav’s breathing was a little shallow as he followed Mili, trying not to think about the letter in his hand. He could feel his palms begin to sweat and he knew that would make the letter even more tattered than it already was, but he didn’t care. Mav sat down at the picnic table, slightly zoning out still. He wasn’t snapped back until he heard his sister say his full name. He turned his attention to her and sighed. He placed the letter on the table and stared at it. He sighed once more and glad he had good enough grades to apply early so that he was able to get this debacle out of the way sooner rather than later. ‘Fine’ Mav moved his finger under the seam of the letter, ripping it open. He gingerly took the letter out and unfolded it, squeezing his eyes closed before opening them to read the words under the letterhead. ‘Dear Mr. De Luca. Congratulations on your admission to Yale college class of 2017.’ Mav couldn’t continue reading. He was too ecstatic. ‘Mili I got in! I actually got in!’ Now there was just the thing of the baseball scholarship, but he was pretty sure he already had that one in the bag.

[atrb=width,100] words , 582 tagged , mili outfit , here notes , yay sibling date

TEMPLATE BY THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MIKEY @ CAUTION 2.0

[MILAN JADE DE LUCA]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] TAKE A DEEP BREATH, NO NEED TO PANIC. The Words: 604 The Outfit: HOT The Notes YAY!! Not only did Milan know Maverick wanted to go to Yale University, she knew how much she wanted to go to Yale as well. Her plan was to major in Public Relations and Journalism and eventually graduate to work in public relations or journalism in the fashion industry. For her, Yale was the best place because it was obviously the best school in the country. Every college ranking known to man has Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut on the very top of the list. Milan knew it was highly selective though, most of the time when it came to admissions in the area Milan and Maverick lived in they would select on student per year. Milan would know as she studied every statistic and practically stalked the admissions counselors at the university. Milan was dead-set on getting into the school and she could only hope that Maverick put as much time and energy into it. While Yale wasn’t known for its sports she knew that naturally they want to dominate in that area and what better weapon to use for athletic domination than her own big brother? She was beginning to put herself in the shoes of the admissions team and all signs for her brother pointed to yes. Basically, Maverick had nothing to worry about because if they were nearly as smart or strategic thought they were they’d accept Maverick in a heartbeat. Still, her opinion could very well be biased as he was her brother. “I get the whole practice aspect of it”, Milan said as she dipped her small spoon into her ice cream, “I just think that on hot days like this you guys should slow it down.” It was definitely the sister in her talking—people were dying of heatstroke and she didn’t want her brother being one of them. “Oh Mav, I’m your only sister—besides even if I wasn’t I’d still be the favorite.” She pointed her spoon at him and began to study his face. She could tell that he was contemplating on what the letter actually said and it took everything inside of her to not snatch the letter out of his hands to read it for him. The urging and the nagging would eventually work and she knew that, it was only a matter of how long it’ll take because she wanted to know right then. Milan’s heart jumped a little as she saw her brother fingering the edges of the letter—he was actually going to open it! Milan said a silent prayer in her head as she could have burned a hole in the letter or her brothers face from staring so intensely. All Milan heard was “congratulations” before she let out a celebratory scream. The cheerleader and sister in her bounced up and down in excitement and went all the way on the other side to hug him and kiss his cheek. “Oh my goodness, congratulations”, Milan said as she wiped a small tear from the corner of her eye. She didn’t think it was possible to be any happier than she was at that moment. The look in Maverick’s eye was permanently cemented in Milan’s memory—she’d remember this moment forever. “Oh my God, we have to have a party.” Milan could just see it in her head—a huge party possibly in all black. No, all white! Then her mind wandered to everyone having to wear Yale Blue. “We need to have a hugely epic party to celebrate this moment.” Maverick worked very hard to get into Yale and she believed that hard work should always be rewarded. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[Maverick remington de luca]

s h o u ld i g i v e u p o r s h o u l d i

just keep chasing pavements even though it

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style,background-image: url('http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g79/Juliart/background_black.jpg');,true][cs=2] L E A D S T O N O W H E R E

[atrb=width,240] ‘Ya well tell coach that. There is only a month left and it’s not like it’s too bad.’ Honestly Mav didn’t mind it. He was on the field and that really was all that mattered. He loved playing sports and he honestly didn’t matter what the weather was. There could be a hurricane going down and nothing could drag Mav away from the field. Especially if it was baseball. The crack of the bat against the ball, the thrill of running your heart out to the next base, the exhilaration of getting a home run. Ya he definitely loved that sport more than anything. If baseball was a girl he would have definitely had sex with her a million times and actually might even date this one. That really was the best way he could think of to describe his love for baseball. Even then he doubted anyone, even his baby sister who understood him more than anyone, could truly understand how much he loved the sport. Or just sports in general. Plus, baseball was his ticket to Yale. Ok being the student he was was the ticket in, but baseball was his ticket to pay for it. Just thinking about that got him all nervous again. Yale had been his goal since he decided years ago that he was going to get out and be better than what his family was. He just had to prove to himself that he wasn’t going to end up like either of his parents. ‘That’s what you think. I have three other sisters hidden throughout the country.’ Mav laughed a little. Of course he was joking, but he this was Mili and he knew she would get his weird sense of humor. ‘You sure about that one?’ Mav was sure she would be his favorite sister no matter what. Especially if he had Kenzi as a sister. He didn’t know what was up with that girl, but she just seemed to hate them all, which just made him glad that he didn’t have any more sisters. They might turn out evil like his cousin. Before Mav knew it, there was a scream in his ear and he was hug attacked by his sister. He hadn’t even finished the entire sentence. He laughed and hugged his sister back glad that she was happy for him. ‘A party?’ Mav wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to tell people until he knew if he could pay for it. ‘Why don’t we hold off on parties till I get my baseball scholarship.’ He didn’t want to tell everyone that he was going and then end up not being able to because his baseball scholarship fell through. No, he would just let his aunt and uncle know and probably Jer, but until it was set in stone that he was going he would keep this tidbit of information to himself.

[atrb=width,100] words , 489 tagged , mili outfit , here notes , yay sibling date

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