Pride and Prejudice, the High School Version.

Chapter 19

He didn't accompany Matt to their apartment the next day to say goodbye, and Liz was glad for it. She did not think she would have had the courage to look him in the eye and be reminded of the hateful words she had said to him the previous day.

Matt said his goodbyes and he promised to call her once he was back in the UK, and Liz promised to also keep in touch. She liked Matt, and hoped they will meet again and have fun like they had done that Christmas.

Liz left LA with mixed emotions, she was happy to go back home, but she felt a bit sad that it will always be the place she had rejected him.

When she arrived home, Jane too was also back from DC, and her sisters were bursting with news. The foreign exchange students were to leave that Saturday, and Liz was happy that they only had one day left in Spring Valley.

"Their school has invited us too for an exchange program, for a whole semester, but dad says he won't let any of us go," Lydia complained, "It's so sad since Mrs Forster wants me to go so much. She says I am the best student in the whole freshman class."

"Dad is right. You are too young to go spent three months in a foreign country alone,"Liz said.

"But I am almost fourteen."

"You turned thirteen in August. You are closer to thirteen than to fourteen."

Lydia huffed and walked away, leaving Liz and Jane smiling behind her.

Her aunt Melanie was having a farewell party for the exchange students the next day and the girls were invited. Liz didn't want to go and meet George, but she couldn't find a good enough excuse to get herself out of it, so in spite of her reservations, she dressed up and went.

When George saw her, he gave her a huge smile like he had never ignored her in favor of Bess King. Liz suspected it was because Bess had been whisked away to another private school in Virginia, Lydia had texted her the whole drama.

"Liz," he said smiling as he hugged her, "aren't you a sight for sore eyes? How was your Christmas?"

"Amazing."

"I heard you met Bill's aunt Katherine? How did you like her?"

"Not very much , I am afraid."

"Like nephew like aunt, huh?"

"I wouldn't say so. Bill was there, I rather liked the version of him that I saw there."

"Really? He has tried to change a great deal I suppose. He likes to keep a squeaky clean image for the sake of his company."

"I do not mean he has changed. I think he remains the same. I only meant to say that I got to know him a bit better."

George gave him a look of disbelief, "You mean to tell me you think he is a good person after all he has done?"

Liz laughed and looked him straight in the eye, "I am a firm believer of human flaws and I don't believe anyone is entirely good, and those who pose as such must be lying about something."

He did not talk to Liz again for the rest of the night.

With the exchange students gone, the rumors about Liz and George subsided a great deal. Most rumors now focused on George and Bill and how evil he had been. Liz further confirmed the authenticity of Bill's letter when she realized that George had told a lot of people about his denied 'college fund' when he had pretended to be concerned about the image of the company.

Jane was no longer crying all night, but Liz could tell that her sister was still sad. Liz shared with her the second part of Bill's later about George, but she couldn't share the first part, for fear that she would hate Bill for it. Liz understood that now why he had done it.

School and homework took up most of her time that January came to an end without very fast for her. She occasionally spared a few minutes a day to look up Bill online and wonder how it could have been had she accepted to go out with him.

February brought the foreign exchange trip that the school had been waiting for, and it came as no surprise to Liz when Lydia was selected for the freshman year. Lydia was book smart and social at the same time, she could be a teacher's pet and a popular girl at once. What surprised Liz was her dad signing the consent forms after only a little persuasion from Lydia and her mom.

"Is that wise?" Liz cautioned when Lydia had left with the signed forms.

"I am not known for my wisdom Liz."

"Dad! Be serious. Lydia is not a very responsible or obedient thirteen year old."

"She is going to be placed with a family and Mrs Forster would be there for the entire three month. Between me and you, I really could do with a Lydia free house."

"Mrs Forster may not be the best person to put in charge of Lydia, she behaves more like a cooler older sister than a parent."

"If I don't let her go, she is going to drive me crazy with the complaints."

"Lydia is spoiled. If you were a bit firmer, she wouldn't drive you crazy."

He sighed and patted her head, "If I were firmer, you wouldn't be getting first edition copies of classics as Christmas gifts from mysterious boys, would you?"

Liz felt herself turn red, "Dad!"

"Wanna tell me about it?"

"No. Definitely not."

"Okay. Let Lydia go and have her fun. Nothing bad is going to happen to her. I believe that parents are translators of the world to their children, not dictators. If she makes mistake, it's as well that she makes it at thirteen than at thirty."

From the sad look in his eyes, Liz had a feeling that he was talking about himself and his marriage rather than Lydia. Having done her part in warning him, Liz resolved not to worry about that particular issue anymore.