Winter Ball (7th Heaven(TM)) - Softcover
7th Heaven fans will fall in love with this original novel, featuring favorite characters from the highest-rated show on the WB network! Lucy Camden is going to her first college dance—a Valentine’s Day charity ball. She’s got the dress, she’s got the date, but she’s also got a problem. She wants to be as popular at college as she was in high school, and she’s on her way. She’s even been appointed to the ball’s planning committee. Unfortunately, the plans being made may break the law. If Lucy objects, the whole ball could be ruined, as well as her social life. Now Lucy’s got a choice to make—accept the party line or wreck everyone’s party time.
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:
ONE
Lucy woke up in a college dormitory for the first time in her life. Her suitcase sat in the middle of the floor, overflowing with clothes and collegiate books. She yawned, her eyes still closed to the morning sun.
Suddenly they opened.
I'm not at home anymore, am I?
Lucy sat upright in bed. She looked around the dorm room, which belonged to her friend Bethany, who was in Europe for the month on a study-abroad program. Last week at church when Lucy had told her she was considering living on campus next semester, Bethany had said, "Take my place while I'm away. Try it out, see if you like it."
A week later, everything had been cleared with the college, and now here she was, alone, in the dormitories--where everyone else had spent the previous semester making dorm friends. Lucy hated to admit it, but she already felt out of place and lonely.
Chin up, Lucy, this is supposed to be exciting!
She rolled out of bed and felt a rumble in her stomach. She was starving. Last night when all the other girls in the hall were cooking in the kitchen, Lucy had realized she hadn't brought anything to eat but a granola bar--and all the on-campus eateries had been closed. She needed to get to the cafeteria as quickly as possible.
She looked in the mirror and her face soured. How could she possibly cross campus looking this way? She grabbed a ponytail holder and pulled her hair back.
You look fine the way you are, she counseled herself. Now go get some food from the cafeteria.
Lucy pushed open her door and started off down the hallway, where posters, bumper stickers, and pictures were plastered across all the doors. The door across from her had posters of cool bands, and the door to the left was covered with pictures of modern dancers. And then there was the room at the end of the hall. Its door was covered with black-and-white photography, taken by the two talented roommates who lived inside.
Why did she suddenly feel so boring? How had she been so popular in high school but had become utterly invisible in college? All the confidence and security she used to have was gone. She felt like a little seventh grader all over again. Like Mary Camden's dorky younger sister.
As Lucy reached for the exit door, she heard a stampede behind her. She turned around and saw a whole gang of girls running down the stairs, racing each other.
One girl yelled, "Loser buys breakfast!" The others burst out laughing as they ran right past Lucy. They busted through the door without even noticing her.
She caught the door before it closed again, watching the girls continue their marathon through the quad. She sighed and walked out onto the grassy lawn. She looked up at the clouds, certain that it was about to rain.
Halfway to the cafeteria, a large drop of water landed smack-dab on the tip of Lucy's nose. And then another on her forehead. Lucy walked faster. She looked down at the sidewalk, which was quickly darkening with round gray spots.
"I don't even have a jacket," Lucy moaned out loud. "And I'm wearing white!"
She heard a bicycle as it whirred behind her. Seconds later, a cute upperclassman raced by. Lucy had noticed him before at a rally, and she felt her heart rate quicken.
"Nice stripes!" he yelled.
Lucy paled and looked down. She was wearing her red-striped underwear and it was showing through her wet pants. Could this morning get any worse?
The boy looked back and smiled, then raced off. Lucy's face turned bright red.
Great, now my face and my underwear match.
Lucy ducked into the nearest building and realized it was the science hall. She was grateful for one thing as she took refuge in the warm lobby: only science geeks would see her in her candy-cane clothing.
She picked up a science journal from the nearest table and held it across her backside as she inspected postings on the lobby corkboard.
Science fairs. Star Trek conventions, lectures on laser technologies, blah, blah, blah . . .
But then a poster caught her eye. A poster of a young man in a tuxedo dancing with a young woman in a beautiful red gown. It was a poster for the Winter Ball, the biggest formal event of the year. Lucy felt her sadness fade as romantic thoughts consumed her.
Imagine having a dress and a date like that!
Just then, Lucy felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself standing face to face with a freckle-faced, redheaded girl. A girl wearing glasses so thick Lucy could barely make out the color of her eyes. It was Tanya, a girl on her hall with whom Lucy shared a class.
"Think we'll ever find a date to the dance?" Tanya squeaked, her voice so soft Lucy had to lean in to hear her.
"What?" Lucy asked.
Tanya stood up straighter, as though preparing to deliver a monologue from a stage. "The dance!" Tanya projected loudly. "Think we'll find dates?"
Lucy shook her head and laughed. Tanya was undoubtedly a quirky girl. "Not at the rate I'm going. It's only two weeks away."
But then something else caught Lucy's eye. She moved closer to read the fine print on the poster.
Tanya peered over Lucy's shoulder, as though she had happened upon a conspiracy. "What's wrong?" Tanya whispered.
Lucy smiled, explaining as she read. "The Winter Ball is a fund-raiser for charities."
Tanya's brow furrowed in confusion. "And . . . ?"
Lucy turned to Tanya. "The student council is looking for volunteers to help organize the dance."
Tanya still wasn't sure why this news had perked Lucy up so visibly. "So you're excited because you want some extra work? I can give you some computer code to write if you're that bored."
Lucy shook her head, still grinning. "If we get involved, we'll be helping raise money for charity and meeting people. People who may not have dates."
Suddenly Tanya's confusion turned to clarity. She nodded, and Lucy noticed that her smile was vibrant and her teeth were as straight and white as an actor's in a toothpaste commercial. She wasn't an unattractive girl underneath those Coke-bottle glasses.
"And even if we don't find dates, we can still have fun," Lucy said, masking her real fear with nonchalance. What if she really couldn't find a date?
She shrugged off the insecurity and continued her thought. "Fund-raisers are great. I even know the perfect charity."
Tanya linked her arm in Lucy's. "Okay, but we're finding dates."
Lucy laughed as she looked outside. The rain was still pouring down. And Lucy was still hungry. Tanya seemed to read Lucy's thoughts.
"Who cares about your pants? Let's eat."
Tanya opened the door and pulled Lucy out into the rain. In seconds, they were squealing and running for the cafeteria.
But now they were armed with a plan. . . .
The front door of the Camden house was thrown open with the force of a tornado. The doorknob hit the wall with a thud and then bounced back against the fifth-grade girl who now stood in the doorway. But Ruthie Camden paid the door no mind.
She looked into the living room.
"Hey," she said to an empty room.
Where was her mother? Her brother Simon? Anyone to hear her good news?
Ruthie ran into the kitchen, her chunky heels clopping across the tile. In the last year, she'd sprouted a full four inches and was determined to catch up with her big sister Lucy in another year. Until then, the chunky shoes would have to do the trick.
"Hey!" she shouted again.
The twins, Sam and David, looked up from their kiddie chairs at the table.
"Where's Mom?"
The two boys threw diced-up sandwich pieces at one another and laughed.
"Lot of good you three-year-olds are!"
Ruthie spun around and ran up the stairs, banging the wall like a drum as she took the steps two at a time. She reached the landing and stopped.
"Mom! Simon! Anyone!"
Her mother, Mrs. Camden, rushed out of the twins' bedroom with two clean T-shirts in her hand. She rushed right past Ruthie, patting her head as she went.
"The twins!" she exclaimed, as though that explained everything. She started to rush downstairs when a loud screech forced her to stop.
"Waaaaiiiiiittttttt!"
Mrs. Camden turned around and stared wide-eyed at her daughter, who was not the screeching type. Ruthie's frustration spilled into a wide smile when she saw the shocked response her screech had elicited.
"May I help you?" Mrs. Camden asked calmly.
"Mom!"
"Yes . . . ?"
"You're so not gonna believe this!"
Mrs. Camden nodded. "You do realize that you don't need the word so to give your exclamation emphasis, don't you?"
"Yes--"
"And you do know that it's grammatically incorrect to place this word before any word that's not an adjective or an adverb, right?"
"Mom!"
Mrs. Camden calmly nodded. "I'm listening."
But a new idea occurred to Ruthie and she held out her hand like a traffic director demanding that a car stop moving. "Wait."
Then she screeched again. "Simon!"
Mrs. Camden put her hands over her ears. "What is with that screech, Ruthie?"
Simon's annoyed head appeared from the bathroom doorway. "Who's screeching?"
Ruthie put her hands on her hips and smiled. "I am."
"Why?" her older brother asked.
"Because Justin Taylor invited me to the movies!"
Silence greeted Ruthie.
Ruthie greeted the silence with a scoff. How dare they not respond to such earth-shattering news?
Finally, Simon shrugged. "Who's Justin Taylor?"
Ruthie rolled her eye...
Lucy woke up in a college dormitory for the first time in her life. Her suitcase sat in the middle of the floor, overflowing with clothes and collegiate books. She yawned, her eyes still closed to the morning sun.
Suddenly they opened.
I'm not at home anymore, am I?
Lucy sat upright in bed. She looked around the dorm room, which belonged to her friend Bethany, who was in Europe for the month on a study-abroad program. Last week at church when Lucy had told her she was considering living on campus next semester, Bethany had said, "Take my place while I'm away. Try it out, see if you like it."
A week later, everything had been cleared with the college, and now here she was, alone, in the dormitories--where everyone else had spent the previous semester making dorm friends. Lucy hated to admit it, but she already felt out of place and lonely.
Chin up, Lucy, this is supposed to be exciting!
She rolled out of bed and felt a rumble in her stomach. She was starving. Last night when all the other girls in the hall were cooking in the kitchen, Lucy had realized she hadn't brought anything to eat but a granola bar--and all the on-campus eateries had been closed. She needed to get to the cafeteria as quickly as possible.
She looked in the mirror and her face soured. How could she possibly cross campus looking this way? She grabbed a ponytail holder and pulled her hair back.
You look fine the way you are, she counseled herself. Now go get some food from the cafeteria.
Lucy pushed open her door and started off down the hallway, where posters, bumper stickers, and pictures were plastered across all the doors. The door across from her had posters of cool bands, and the door to the left was covered with pictures of modern dancers. And then there was the room at the end of the hall. Its door was covered with black-and-white photography, taken by the two talented roommates who lived inside.
Why did she suddenly feel so boring? How had she been so popular in high school but had become utterly invisible in college? All the confidence and security she used to have was gone. She felt like a little seventh grader all over again. Like Mary Camden's dorky younger sister.
As Lucy reached for the exit door, she heard a stampede behind her. She turned around and saw a whole gang of girls running down the stairs, racing each other.
One girl yelled, "Loser buys breakfast!" The others burst out laughing as they ran right past Lucy. They busted through the door without even noticing her.
She caught the door before it closed again, watching the girls continue their marathon through the quad. She sighed and walked out onto the grassy lawn. She looked up at the clouds, certain that it was about to rain.
Halfway to the cafeteria, a large drop of water landed smack-dab on the tip of Lucy's nose. And then another on her forehead. Lucy walked faster. She looked down at the sidewalk, which was quickly darkening with round gray spots.
"I don't even have a jacket," Lucy moaned out loud. "And I'm wearing white!"
She heard a bicycle as it whirred behind her. Seconds later, a cute upperclassman raced by. Lucy had noticed him before at a rally, and she felt her heart rate quicken.
"Nice stripes!" he yelled.
Lucy paled and looked down. She was wearing her red-striped underwear and it was showing through her wet pants. Could this morning get any worse?
The boy looked back and smiled, then raced off. Lucy's face turned bright red.
Great, now my face and my underwear match.
Lucy ducked into the nearest building and realized it was the science hall. She was grateful for one thing as she took refuge in the warm lobby: only science geeks would see her in her candy-cane clothing.
She picked up a science journal from the nearest table and held it across her backside as she inspected postings on the lobby corkboard.
Science fairs. Star Trek conventions, lectures on laser technologies, blah, blah, blah . . .
But then a poster caught her eye. A poster of a young man in a tuxedo dancing with a young woman in a beautiful red gown. It was a poster for the Winter Ball, the biggest formal event of the year. Lucy felt her sadness fade as romantic thoughts consumed her.
Imagine having a dress and a date like that!
Just then, Lucy felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself standing face to face with a freckle-faced, redheaded girl. A girl wearing glasses so thick Lucy could barely make out the color of her eyes. It was Tanya, a girl on her hall with whom Lucy shared a class.
"Think we'll ever find a date to the dance?" Tanya squeaked, her voice so soft Lucy had to lean in to hear her.
"What?" Lucy asked.
Tanya stood up straighter, as though preparing to deliver a monologue from a stage. "The dance!" Tanya projected loudly. "Think we'll find dates?"
Lucy shook her head and laughed. Tanya was undoubtedly a quirky girl. "Not at the rate I'm going. It's only two weeks away."
But then something else caught Lucy's eye. She moved closer to read the fine print on the poster.
Tanya peered over Lucy's shoulder, as though she had happened upon a conspiracy. "What's wrong?" Tanya whispered.
Lucy smiled, explaining as she read. "The Winter Ball is a fund-raiser for charities."
Tanya's brow furrowed in confusion. "And . . . ?"
Lucy turned to Tanya. "The student council is looking for volunteers to help organize the dance."
Tanya still wasn't sure why this news had perked Lucy up so visibly. "So you're excited because you want some extra work? I can give you some computer code to write if you're that bored."
Lucy shook her head, still grinning. "If we get involved, we'll be helping raise money for charity and meeting people. People who may not have dates."
Suddenly Tanya's confusion turned to clarity. She nodded, and Lucy noticed that her smile was vibrant and her teeth were as straight and white as an actor's in a toothpaste commercial. She wasn't an unattractive girl underneath those Coke-bottle glasses.
"And even if we don't find dates, we can still have fun," Lucy said, masking her real fear with nonchalance. What if she really couldn't find a date?
She shrugged off the insecurity and continued her thought. "Fund-raisers are great. I even know the perfect charity."
Tanya linked her arm in Lucy's. "Okay, but we're finding dates."
Lucy laughed as she looked outside. The rain was still pouring down. And Lucy was still hungry. Tanya seemed to read Lucy's thoughts.
"Who cares about your pants? Let's eat."
Tanya opened the door and pulled Lucy out into the rain. In seconds, they were squealing and running for the cafeteria.
But now they were armed with a plan. . . .
The front door of the Camden house was thrown open with the force of a tornado. The doorknob hit the wall with a thud and then bounced back against the fifth-grade girl who now stood in the doorway. But Ruthie Camden paid the door no mind.
She looked into the living room.
"Hey," she said to an empty room.
Where was her mother? Her brother Simon? Anyone to hear her good news?
Ruthie ran into the kitchen, her chunky heels clopping across the tile. In the last year, she'd sprouted a full four inches and was determined to catch up with her big sister Lucy in another year. Until then, the chunky shoes would have to do the trick.
"Hey!" she shouted again.
The twins, Sam and David, looked up from their kiddie chairs at the table.
"Where's Mom?"
The two boys threw diced-up sandwich pieces at one another and laughed.
"Lot of good you three-year-olds are!"
Ruthie spun around and ran up the stairs, banging the wall like a drum as she took the steps two at a time. She reached the landing and stopped.
"Mom! Simon! Anyone!"
Her mother, Mrs. Camden, rushed out of the twins' bedroom with two clean T-shirts in her hand. She rushed right past Ruthie, patting her head as she went.
"The twins!" she exclaimed, as though that explained everything. She started to rush downstairs when a loud screech forced her to stop.
"Waaaaiiiiiittttttt!"
Mrs. Camden turned around and stared wide-eyed at her daughter, who was not the screeching type. Ruthie's frustration spilled into a wide smile when she saw the shocked response her screech had elicited.
"May I help you?" Mrs. Camden asked calmly.
"Mom!"
"Yes . . . ?"
"You're so not gonna believe this!"
Mrs. Camden nodded. "You do realize that you don't need the word so to give your exclamation emphasis, don't you?"
"Yes--"
"And you do know that it's grammatically incorrect to place this word before any word that's not an adjective or an adverb, right?"
"Mom!"
Mrs. Camden calmly nodded. "I'm listening."
But a new idea occurred to Ruthie and she held out her hand like a traffic director demanding that a car stop moving. "Wait."
Then she screeched again. "Simon!"
Mrs. Camden put her hands over her ears. "What is with that screech, Ruthie?"
Simon's annoyed head appeared from the bathroom doorway. "Who's screeching?"
Ruthie put her hands on her hips and smiled. "I am."
"Why?" her older brother asked.
"Because Justin Taylor invited me to the movies!"
Silence greeted Ruthie.
Ruthie greeted the silence with a scoff. How dare they not respond to such earth-shattering news?
Finally, Simon shrugged. "Who's Justin Taylor?"
Ruthie rolled her eye...
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- PublisherRandom House Books for Young Readers
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0375814302
- ISBN 13 9780375814303
- BindingMass Market Paperback
- Number of pages192
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