Spain or Shine

Table of Contents

 

Elena was a little embarrassed to be hunting Miguel down at work, but also secretly excited. She could picture him looking gorgeous in his bellhop uniform, his tan skin set against the crisp white cotton. She would be poised, striding up to him with the grace of a dancer. “Hello.” He'd beam. “I didn't think I'd see you again so soon. What a wonderful surprise.”
Elena, you're hopeless,
she thought.

Elena followed Jenna through the canopied front entrance and into the gleaming lobby. They stood beneath a crystal chandelier, its light bouncing off the rosy marble floor. The windows stretched up tall and arcing to graze the ceiling. The molding at the top of the ceiling looked like cake frosting. When Elena glanced over her shoulder, she felt the eyes of the concierge burning into them. She suddenly felt out of place and antsy to leave.

Elena grabbed Jenna's hand and steered her back to the front of the lobby.

“He's obviously not here,” she whispered, turning her head to look at Jenna. “That guy behind the desk is giving me the creeps and—” Before she could finish her sentence she felt herself smack into someone. When she turned her head, she found herself staring directly into Miguel's eyes. They were inches from her own. For a split second she thought,
If this boy ever kissed me, this is what it would feel like the moment before our lips touched....

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Registered Offices: Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Published by Speak, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2005

Copyright © Michelle Jellen, 2005

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

 

Jellen, Michelle.

Spain or shine / by Michelle Jellen.
p. cm. - (S.A.S.S.: Students Across the Seven Seas)
Summary: Overshadowed at home by her over-achieving siblings, sixteen-year-old Elena
Holloway spends a semester in Spain, where she explores her talents in a theater class and tries
to attract the attention of a handsome boy.

eISBN : 978-1-101-17418-0

[1. Self-confidence-Fiction. 2. Foreign study—Fiction. 3. Theater—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction.
5. Spain—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Series.
PZ7.J392Spa 2005 [Fic]—dc22 2005043445

 

 

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

Name:
Elena Holloway

Age:
16

High School:
Mounitain Vista High School

Hometown:
San Jose, California

Preferred Study Abroad Destination:
San Sebastián, Spain

Answer:
I'm interested in further developing my Spanish-speaking skills and I hope that exploring my grandparents' birth country will give me a better understanding of my heritage, as well as an appreciation for Other cultures.

 

(Truth: Studying abroad is one of the only things the overachievers in my familly haven't already laid claim to This is my chance to do something exciting and different.)

Answer:
the insights I gather while living in a foreign country will enrich the quality of characters and themes in my playwriting.

(Truth: I might actually meet people who don't already know me as “that other Holloway girl.”)

Answer:
Staff writer for
Theater Beat
(my school paper), Social Service Club member, Junior Fimmakers Society member

 

(Truth: I spend most of my time either hanging out with my best friend Claire or daydraming about the boys I'm going to meet in Spain.)

Answer:
My passion for theater and Spanish culture make me an asset to the academic program. My desire to meet new people makes me an ideal S.A.S.S. program participant.

 

(Truth: I plan on spending every spare moment lounging on the beach and taking in the Spanish nightlife.)

“Maybe I shouldn't go,” Elena said, gawking at the clothes splayed out across her bed. She still hadn't decided what to pack, and she was leaving for Spain the next morning.

“Oh no, don't you dare chicken out now,” her best friend, Claire, said, plunking down on the only corner of the bed not covered in tank tops and skirts. “You're going to have a blast. At least one of us should have a good time this fall.”

“I still can't believe you're not coming.”

“And all because of a C in history,” Claire groaned. “How could I not qualify for the program? It's so embarrassing.”

“Stop beating yourself up about it. You'll have other chances to go to Europe.” Elena began rooting in the closet for her pink flip-flops. “Besides, you're not the one who's going to miss homecoming and all the good summer gossip.” She lobbed the flip-flops at the bed. One of them made it, but the other landed on her desk.

“I guess,” Claire sulked. “I was really excited about the play production class. Your sister's friend said the teacher devotes entire classes to real method acting techniques.”

“Claire, you've been in every school and community play for the last three years. Besides, you'll learn all those things in college.”

“Which is, like, a million years from now.” She threw her hands in the air. “Oh, don't listen to me. I'm just jealous that you're taking my ideal class without me. Acting, playwriting, and directing all in one class—it's perfect.” She shook her head slowly. “You could never get all that here.”

Elena wrapped an arm around her friend. “Someday when you're a famous actress and I'm a Tony-winning playwright, we'll laugh about all of this, okay?”

Elena waved at the mess on her bed. “Will you help me with this?” she asked as a way of distracting Claire. “You're better at putting outfits together than me.”

Claire started picking through the pile, embracing her new role as fashion consultant. “Definitely bring this. I've heard they wear a ton of black in Europe,” she said, handing Elena a black tank top.

As Elena tossed the shirt into her suitcase and tried to think of more ways to distract Claire, her sister, Gwen, walked into their shared bedroom.

“How's it going?” Gwen asked. She was wearing running shorts and a sweat-ringed T-shirt. Although her face was flushed and free of makeup, she still managed to look gorgeous, as always.

“It's going okay,” Elena answered.

“Want me to help you organize?” Gwen leaned over Elena's shoulder and peered down at the heap of clothes.

“That'd probably be a good idea.”

Gwen cleared out the pile inside the suitcase and began rolling shirts into tight tubes and lining the bottom of the suitcase with them.