"Tess?" Her dad said as she opened the car door.

"Yeah dad?" She replied.

"Joel will be here at 3:30 to pick you up." He reminded.

"For the thirty second time... ok." She replied getting out.

"Hey, that was only the thirty first." He said giving her a cheesy grin.

She rolled her eyes, "Bye dad."

"Bye, be good." He smiled.

She closed the door and walked away from the car. She stopped briefly to adjust her backpack that was slung over her shoulder and then kept walking,

She heard the car behind her pull away but she never turned to look. She just kept walking.

"Hey Tessa." Someone nodded walking past her as she stepped inside the school.

"What up Tessa?" Someone else questioned as she walked by.

Brintessa wasn't really that popular. She was just known by a lot of kids at her school for the simple reason that her dad was the youth pastor for the largest youth group in the area. They ran an average of 120 teens each Sunday night.

"Hey Rachel." She said reaching her locker.

"Hey girl." The skinnier girl replied as she appeared from behind her locker door.

"Long time no see." Tessa smiled.

"What are you talking about? You saw me at church last night." Her best friend replied.

"It was a joke." She laughed a little.

"Oh, I knew that." Rachel blushed some.

"You're so blond." She teased.

"Have you taken a look in the mirror?" Rachel asked looking back inside her locker.

Brintessa only laughed as another girl neared them and opened her locker.

"Hey Tessa, Joel ask me to tell you..."

"That he'll be here at 3:30." She cut her off. "Dad reminded me thirty one times on the way here." She rolled her eyes.

"You counted?" Rachel asked dumb founded.

"No, I was exaggerating." She admitted.

"Well, anyway I was just doing what he asked." The other girl said.

"Yeah, sorry Aunt Katie. I didn't mean to snap." Brintessa told her.

"It's cool. No worries. I'll catcha later." She said and walked away.

"OK so, I know I've known you since we were both eight but that still sounds so strange to me." Rachel confessed as she closed her locker.

"What does?" Tessa gave her an odd look doing the same.

"Aunt Katie. I mean she's only a year an a half older then you." Rachel explained as they began to walk toward their class.

"Yeah, I know. Not my fault though."

Brintessa's dad was only 16 when she came along. Her mother died when she was only a few weeks old. This left Her dad to care for her alone.

Her dad's name was Jake. Jake had an older brother named Mathew who was now almost 40. A younger brother named Joel who recently turned twenty and a little sister Kathrine or Katie for short.

It wasn't easy being a single father so young but his parents helped out a lot. Jake graduated with honors and went onto bible college where he received a degree.

College is where Jake met Brintessa's now step-mother, Kristen. Kristen was very pretty but Brintessa hated her. Okay so Brintessa wasn't supposed to hate anyone but she defiantly dis-liked her.

If someone where to ask Tessa why she hated Kristen so much it would be hard for her to come up with very many reasons. Honestly Brintessa had no idea why she didn't like Kristen. She just ken that she didn't... at all.

Brintessa and Rachel had now made it to their first class. They stepped inside and the door closed behind them just as the bell rang.

"Miss Scott; Miss Talen; how nice of you to join us." Mr. Maxwell said standing up.

Mr. Maxwell was one of the least liked teachers in the entire school. In his class you where considered late if you were not in your seat when the bell rang. He had no problems reminding you in front of everyone either.

"I apologizes." Rachel told him.

"Sorry Sir." Tessa added.

"Rachel take your seat." He said pointing toward the class. "As for you Miss Scott... I see no reason why I shouldn't give you a tardy slip. This is the third time this week."

A few kids in the class laughed.

"But Mr. Maxwell..." She began but was cut off.

"Yes yes I know; Your father would be very upset with you."

Again a few kids laughed.

"Consider this your final warning." He told her turning away.

"Yes sir." She nodded.

"Miss Chrinko please exchange seats with Miss Scott. I don't know if I can trust her and Miss Talen to pay attention if they are seating so close."

"Of course Mr. Maxwell." She said and moved.

"You may sit down now." He pointed to the now empty chair toward the back of the room away from her friend.

"Yes Sir." She said and went to sit down.

"Are you trying to get detention?" Eric asked as she walked past.

Eric was the son of the senior pastor at their church. Brintessa had always liked him but growing up so close he always tended to see her as more of a little sister.

"Is he always like that?" An unfamiliar voice asked from behind her as she sat down.

"Pretty much." She replied.

Meanwhile Jake sat in his office at work reading a few new e-mails.

"Hey Jake." Eddie said popping his head in the door. Eddie was the Jr. High youth pastor.

"Hey Eddie. How's it going?" Jake asked.

"Not bad. I just have a question." He said stepping into the room.

"What's that?"

"Well, Autumn is wanting to get Grace off the pacifier and we where just wondering if you had any experience there."

"Yeah, mom and I clipped a little off the end of it once a week. It got too short for her to hang on to and she stopped wanting it." Jake replied.

"Awesome." He nodded.

"Yeah, Tessa had that thing till she was a little over a year. Dentist don't say to take them away until their about two and a half. Gracie isn't even 10 months so you guys have lots of time." Jake told him.

"Yeah, how is Tessa... and Kristen... and that whole thing?" Eddie asked sitting down.

Jake sighed and shook his head, "Man, I met Kristen when Tess was five. I introduced them when she was six. Everything was fine until two years back when I proposed to her. Now suddenly Tessa seams to hate her. It's been a little over a year man. Kristen keeps talking about having a baby and it's stressing me out cause I almost can't handle Tessa let alone her and a baby. If she got along with Kristen better I could see it but... not right now. Not with the way things currently are." He almost rambled.

"Why does Tessa hate her so much?" Eddie asked.

"I don't know. She wont talk to me about it. Kristen keeps trying to get her to do stuff with her hoping it will help but all it ever does is push Tess even father away." Jake explained.

"Interesting."

"Yeah, I mean I've counseled so many teens but I can't figure out my own for the life of me."

"I guess I should be thankful mine's still so little." Eddie stood.

"Totally. I can either control this high school department or control Tessa. I can't do both." Jake stood also.

"You'll figure it out Jake. Keep your head up." Eddie moved toward the door.

"Thanks, we still on for tonight?"

"Yeah, Autumn was so excited about the double date that she had a sitter planned in less then an hour." He laughed.

Jake did also.

"I guess I'll catcha tonight then." He walked out the door.

"Yeah, we'll meet you guys at the restaurant at four."

"Then a movie." Eddie said.

"Then walking down town at the canal."

"Sounds great. See ya." Eddie smiled and walked away.

Elsewhere Joel had just clocked in at work.

"Hey Joel, Abby is sick so can you take over the register?" The store manager asked.

"Of course." Her told her.

"Any way I could get you to stay an hour later to help me cover until Nick comes in?"

"Sorry, I gotta pick up Tessa from School today." He said.

"Not to be noisy but why can't your brother pick up his own kid?" She asked.

"He and Kristen are going on a double date tonight. They asked me to pick her up and stay with her till they get home like... two weeks ago. I don't mind." He explained.

"Isn't she like, sixteen?"

"Not yet." He replied walking behind the register.

"Ok fifteen, why does that require a babysitter?" She asked.

"Jake is really protective of her."

"She's gonna resent him when she turns eighteen if he don't watch it." She warned.

"You aint tellin be nothing I don't know." He replied.