"It's too early..," I mumbled and rolled over, the pillow now over my head.

"Come on, Lainey, you promised you would go with me to meet our new neighbor."

"Alright, Alright, I'm up! But you owe me one!," I said and threw back the covers and crawled out of bed. I ambled over to the dresser, reached for my brush and watched Cory primping in the mirror next to me. She was carefully studying her complexion that was almost as fair as the porcelain doll I got for Christmas when I was ten.

I walked over to glance in the mirror at myself, frowning at my dishwater blond hair and green eyes. Cory was a lot prettier than I. She looked identical to her mother. Papa told me that I looked like my Mama, too, but I had to take his word for it. She died just after I was born and he didn’t have any pictures of her.

"What's your sudden interest in the neighbors?," I wondered.

"Well,I heard he was a drama teacher from some big high school in New York and also extremely cute!," she sighed. "He may be the one person who can help me get out of this dump and on the big screen!," she sighed dreamily.

Cory picked up a blanket, pretending it was a cloak and threw it about her shoulders and began twirling about the room.

"Just think, one day I'll be a star and none of you will ever have to worry about paying the light bill or the gas bill ever again...,"

I watched her spin out of the room and shook my head at her wild fantasies. Cory always was the dreamer. She'd be lucky if she got a job at the local bar as a waitress - not that she's not a good actress, she is, it's just that I don't think she realizes how hard it is out there...

I scrambled down the stairs to Cory's urging and followed her out the door to our mysterious new neighbor's domain.

"It's such a big, eerie house. I wonder what he ever saw in it..," Cory mused as we stood outside the front of the humongous, two-story white-gabled home. Legend had it that it had been the home of a one-time rich landowner and all the land surrounding it had been his property; his plantation. After the Civil War, the land was divided, the property dissolved and sold off. The house was just left standing and a city block sprang up around it. She was right, the house was very much out-of place and entirely too big.

"Look, there he is. They're right, he is cute!," she whispered excitedly and took a step forward.

The image she was referring to was too far away to be deemed cute yet, but his bronzed skin definitely made him stand out from the rest of his white background.

"Are you ladies looking for something?" his voice called out from deep within the confines of the front porch.

"Well, actually, " Cory tentatively began, " we live across the street and well, we just thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves and see how you were getting along," Cory finished, slipping into the role of the genteel Southern belle.

"Ah, so you are two of the Jones' kids. I've been warned about you...," he said, revealing a collection of sparkling white teeth.

"Do come in and have a look around, since I know that's what you are dying to do," he invited.

Cory instantly bounded forward and I slowly followed in her wake, curiously watching the stranger , musing over his words and his warm welcome. What did he mean he'd heard of us? He'd only been here for two days. How could he have possibly...

"Lainey, are you coming?" Cory yelled back, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm right behind you," I answered.

I stepped through the dark portal into the long entrance hall. Already on the once barren walls were framed posters of Broadway musicals, some famous, others I'd never heard of before. Glancing up, I saw Cory anxiously following the stranger and hanging on his every word of his explanations of his theatrical experiences.

"I just got a job teaching drama at Sherman High, is that where you girls happen to go?"

"Why, yes. I'm very involved in the drama program there, that is, I've starred in many of the recent productions," Cory proudly said.

"Ah, Corinne Halloway, I suppose? But I thought your name was Cory Jones..,"the stranger pondered.

"Well, it is that, too,"my sister rushed to explain," Cory is short for Corinne and Halloway is my middle name - my mother's maiden name. They let me use it when I perform. To me it just sounds so much better than plain old Cory Jones."

"Indeed it does." The man smiled again and looked in my direction curiously raising an eyebrow," And what, Cory would your sister's name be, since she seems to be rather tongue-tied at the moment?"

Cory nudged me and I spoke up, " It's Lainey, or Jessica-Elaine Walters Jones."

Well, that's quite a mouthful. Walters, you say,but I thought you two were sisters...,"

"We have the same father, not the same mother," I quickly interjected.

"And your name is?" I prompted. He flashed a charming smile," Matthew McDaniel, but please, call me Matt, all my friends do."

"Well, it's nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. McDaniel," I said defiantly.

He grinned. "Thank you, Lainey."

"Come on, Cory, we probably should be going now...,"

"Oh no, please stay. I'll finish the tour. I know Cory would like to see the rest of the house."

"Oh, yes, please!" she exclaimed.

"Very well, we shall continue," Matt said and bowed gallantly.

"Follow me ladies...," Cory immediately began walking behind him, but I stayed a dubious distance behind. This guy was too fake, I thought.

Something wasn't right. "Oh, I'm just being silly," I sighed and picked up my pace. But that small twinge of dread wouldn't stop growing in the pit of my stomach. Something told me that Cory and I had just gotten ourselves in over our heads.