Ashley's "This is Totally Going to Work" Plan

Friday Morning, February 7th (One Week Earlier)

"You don't have any plans for Valentine's Day? That's not right!" Ashley Woodsen nearly shrieked before she caught herself. The eighteen-year-old cheerleader had just put her stuff down on her desk in her first-period class when she heard the news.

"It's not a big deal, Ashley. Perhaps spending my first Valentine's Day alone since the divorce is for the best," Harmony Griffin replied.

"That's all the more reason to have plans!" Ashley responded, rapidly moving from her seat in the back corner to the front of the room, where Mrs. Griffin's desk sat. A kind, caring girl, Ashley had a reputation around Azure Rocks as a matchmaker, and her mind reeled over the discovery that her Calculus teacher didn't have a date for the ultimate romantic day. She turned to face the short, petite brunette who had been discussing the lover's holiday with her teacher as part of a story for The Busy Bear. "Back me up on this, Alice."

"I, uh, well, I think whatever Mrs. Griffin wants to do is fine," Alice Phillips, school reporter, hedged. All she wanted was a few quick lines from teachers about their favorite Valentine's Day, and what they planned this year. Already she could see that her question might send Ashley onto one of her matchmaking quests. An article about Ashley's matchmaking hi-jinks might make for a great article, but not in the way that she'd like.

"That's hogwash!" Ashley remarked, censoring her language in front of her teacher. "People--certainly people recently divorced--shouldn't be alone on Valentine's. You need to do something!"

"I'll find something to do, Ashley. Maybe I'll read a steamy romance novel. Or perhaps I'll kill a carton of ice cream while crying my eyes out to a sappy movie," Mrs. Griffin attempted to joke. Laughing off Ashley's concern might be the fastest way to end the increasingly uncomfortable conversation. With students streaming into her classroom, the last thing that Harmony wanted was for them to hear about her lack of a love life. Unfortunately for the teacher, Ashley took her joke attempt as the truth.

"What?! That is not an appropriate plan for your Valentine's Day, Mrs. Griffin," hissed the perky blonde. Glancing around for additional help, Ashley spotted her good friend, Heather Ravers, entering the classroom. She swiftly explained the situation to the gorgeous, pale-skinned buxom brunette.

"Ash, maybe you should let Mrs. Grifffin do whatever she's most comfortable doing," Heather suggested, after quickly sizing up the situation. Notorious for her short-lived relationship with college guys, the brunette wasn't as concerned about the romantic elements of the holiday. She viewed the night as an excuse to have an especially good time.

"Thank you, Heather. Now, if you'll excuse me, Miss Woodsen, we need to get prepared for class," Mrs. Griffin informed her, ending the conversation.

Sulking, Ashley headed to her seat. She absentmindedly organized her items for class, while continuing to moan in her head about how wrong and sad it was that Mrs. Griffin didn't have even a chance at finding romance on the holiday next week. Mrs. Griffin is so sweet and patient. This isn't right! An average student, Ashley had immediately regretted letting her father talk her into taking Calculus when school had started in the fall. The class kicked her ass for the first couple of months. Her first-semester grade had only been a C+, and she knew that was entirely due to Mrs. Griffin. Her patient and repeated explanations had proven the difference. Any other teacher and the bubbly cheerleader would likely be struggling to pass the class.

As the bell rang, Ashley studied her classmates. Jake, Alice's boyfriend, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before they took their seats. Meagan Volland sneakily squeezed the butt of her latest female lover as the girl passed her seat. Billy Clawfoot smiled across the room to Delilah O'Dell before mouthing the word "tonight" to the girl he had a date scheduled. A note was passed around several rows from Heidi to her boyfriend, Troy. Look at all the people who've found love.

Zoning out of Mrs. Griffin's lecture, Ashley found her eyes watching her classmates who didn't have anyone special in their life right now. Grace Smith consumed with schoolwork rather than anything else, rapidly jotted down notes from the lecture. Her short-lived--and only known boyfriend--Gavin Westher did the same. Rylee Kittle appeared to be trying hard to hide in case Mrs. Griffin asked a student to demonstrate their work on the chalkboard. Nearby, Chloe McRose, thinking she was sly, shot distinct looks of longing at Clark Bishop. Clark's cousin, Zack, seated behind him, looked embarrassed and confused at his best friend's behavior. Seated behind Chloe, Max Moxey, Brandon's close friend, kept on losing himself in the beauty of his years-long crush, Heather.

Look at all these people who need romance in their lives. Some like Grace and Gavin are too awkward to take the first step. Others like Chloe, Rylee, and Zack are too frightened to tell a person they like them. Fearing rejection is not healthy for life. And then there are poor people like Max. Despite Heather repeatedly shooting him down over the years--often in mean ways--he's like a puppy dog still clinging to hope. Heather really should give him a chance. He's a good guy, who would be better than some of those college jerks that she flies through. If only I could find a way to help them.

"Planning to meddle in people's lives again, Woodsen?" whispered the voice of the person seated behind her. The owner of the voice had an uncanny knack of knowing what Ashley thought.

Noticing a lull in the class as Mrs. Griffin worked to show Jasmine Fadel what she did wrong in her answer, Ashley turned around to face the girl who wanted to be her rival.

"What's your problem, Zuccaro?" Ashley whispered back. The captain of the Honeybears, Bianca Zuccaro, felt she and Ashley were bitter rivals. This came from the normal rivalry between the cheerleader squad and the dance squad, but also from an age-old rivalry between their two families. Going back generations on their mothers' sides, the women of the families often competed for popularity and boys. Ashley, like her mother and unlike her sister, Hannah, didn't necessarily care about the feud, but Bianca did.

"I heard what you said to Mrs. Griffin. Planning another spectacular matchmaking meltdown?" Bianca smirked her question.

"Why? Are you looking to replace your vibrator?" Ashley hissed, surprising even herself with her line. Today is not the day to deal with Bianca's crap. I have romance to help blossom!

"Nah, Little Brandon is working just fine for me until I steal Big Brandon from you," Bianca spat back.

"You might want to hit the sex shop as Brandon had another growth spurt."

"Oh, I know, Woodsen, I know," Bianca winked. "I merely wanted to know if you planned another matchmaking party so I could duck and cover. Halloween was awesome."

"That's wasn't my fault! Hannah screw--"

"Is there ANOTHER problem back there, ladies?" Mrs. Griffin inquired.

"No, Mrs. Griffin," both girls replied.

---

"It's so sad. Nobody should be alone on Valentine's Day," Ashley declared to her lunch table full of friends. Several girls like Amber Evans and Victoria Walker nodded in agreement. Heather and Sharon Miller shrugged at the idea. They both wanted fun not romance on the holiday. Currently, in one of her routine breakups with her college boyfriend, Tanya Jones vigorously shook her head. Ashley took Tanya's anger in stride as the girl's manhating would vanish once she inevitably made up with her boyfriend.

"I know. Ms. Moreau is also dateless for Valentine's Day," Victoria informed Ashley, causing her close friend to gasp in shock.

"B-but she's so beautiful!

"Ugh! Let it go, Ash," Heather told her. "Just enjoy your time with Brandon, and stop worrying about everyone else."

"Let it go? Let it go?! I'm most certainly not letting it go!" Ashley stated loudly, earning curious looks from other tables. "People should not be lonely on Valentine's Day."

"Maybe some people deserve to be when they break your heart!" Tanya screeched, before tearing up. Amber quickly patted her friend on the back in sympathy. Used to Tanya's breakups and makeups, most of the table ignored her antics.

"I should do something. Maybe organize a party or event," Ashley thought out loud, causing a wave of reactions.

Sharon choked on her salad. Heather threw her head up and cursed. Tanya started to bawl. Amber looked frightened. Further down the table, a junior cheerleader coughed fruit juice out of her nose.

"Eww! What the hell, Gretta? That's disgusting," Sharon scolded her cheerleader inferior. Cheerleaders do not behave in that manner."

"Ash, think about what happened at your Halloween matchmaking party," Heather reminded her friend of the disaster.

"I'm not having a party for us, but for older singles," Ashley declared. Sighs of relief could be heard not just at her table, but from the table in front and behind her. "And Halloween wasn't my fault! If Hannah hadn't--"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Heather cut her off. "Please--no matter what you do, please think this over first. Don't go rushing off into anything."

"I'm not going to go rush off half-ass," Ashley responded indignantly. "That's why I need help from all of you. I could use help planning and running it."

Groans and moans filled the area around Ashley. Amber even squeaked in fright. Silent conversations quickly commenced around the table.

"I'm totally making up by then," blurted Tanya.

Several of the junior cheerleaders attempted to scoot further down the bench away from the seniors but halted under Sharon's glare.

"Ash, you know I would love to help, but I got my own..." Heather hesitated.

"Shindig," Sharon supplied.

"Yeah, I have my own Valentine's shindig to plan. It's hard work making sure that Andrew brings down the right number and kind of college guys for us girls to check out. So, in some ways, I'm already organizing a matchmaking event," Heather explained.

"But you're all not going, are you?" Ashley almost pleaded her question.

Amber eagerly nodded. The dateless juniors and even a few sophomores took her lead and nodded too.

"Hey, I said you sophomores can't come," Heather angrily reminded them.

"My parents won't let me attend any parties, Ashley. I'm sorry," one sophomore clearly lied.

"Well, I guess it's just Vicky and me. Right, Vick?" the perky matchmaker queried. "You don't have a date so you can run the event!"

Recalling what happened at the Halloween party, Victoria's eyes darted around the table. Seeing Sharon's smug face, Vicky blurted out the first excuse she could think of. "I'm going to Heather's shindig too!"

"What?!" several voices exclaimed.

"Vicky, you know what college guys expect from high school girls," Ashley warned her mostly innocent friend.

"Oh, it's not going to be like that, Vick. Don't listen to Ash," Heather soothed the blonde reporter.

"Thanks a lot, guys. Now, who am I going to get to help me?" Ashley whined.

---

"Uh, Coach Thorne, can I go to the library? I need to do research for a paper," Ashley lied to her study hall teacher.

"What?" Rex Thorne asked, looking up from his newspaper. "Oh, sure, Woodsen." He quickly scribbled a hall pass to his quarterback's girlfriend.

Please with herself, Ashley practically skipped down the hall to the library. Study hall was her final class of the day, and she'd worked up an idea ever since lunch. Now, she needed to find an accomplice to help organize her party.

Entering the library, Ashley paused when she saw Ms. Moreau and a class of sophomores holding a discussion over romance literature. Smiling and give a small wave to a couple of cheerleaders, she studied the teacher. There's no reason a woman that pretty shouldn't have a shot at love on Valentine's.

Wandering around the rows and stacks of books, the matchmaker searched for a badly needed item. Finally, she found it near a cart--or more accurately, pushing the cart full of books.

"Psst! Miss Graff! Psst!" Ashley whispered and motioned to the school librarian.

Short and slim with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, green eyes, medium breasts, and a toned ass, Fawn Graff had quickly risen up the ranks of teachers-that-students-fantasized-about since she arrived a couple of years prior. A former student at Azure Rocks High, she had turned offers from larger school districts to return home. Peering up from where she kneeled to replace a book on the shelf, Fawn saw Ashley frantically motioning to her over the top of her 1960s style cat eyes eyeglasses.

"Ashley Woodsen, what's got your panties in a bunch," she smiled at one of her favorite students. The girl might not share her love of reading, but she did share her interest in gossip and matchmaking.

"Did you know that Mrs. Griffin and Ms. Moreau are dateless for Valentine's?"

Nodding, Fawn immediately motioned for the teenager to follow her to one of the soundproof reading rooms. Once the door was safely shut behind them, Ashley launched into her spiel. Fawn nodded at times, shook her head at others, and seemed excited by the end.

"It's not just Harmony and Mary that are dateless. Wanda--Nurse Zee--also broke up with her on-and-off boyfriend. I know several others, including men, that might need this event," Miss Graff informed her.

"So, you're willing to help?" Ashley eagerly hoped.

"Absolutely!"

"Will you run the party?"

"Ashley, do I look like the kind of girl that doesn't have a Valentine's date lined up?" Fawn questioned, arching an eyebrow above her glasses.

"Yeah, I should've figured," moped the teen.

"Finding someone shouldn't be an issue if we expand this outside of the school. What age range are you thinking of?" Fawn inquired.

"I think thirty should be the limit. I want these lonely people to find romance, not a one-night stand with a younger person," the younger blonde declared.

"If you insist, but I think a few people around the school could use a quick fu--fling. Whatever. We'll say this is a thirty and over party," Fawn said, before pondering all the details that needed to be decided. "We have a week, and that's going to push it."

"We need to find a location, promote it, lock into a minimum number of people, and think of activities," moaned Ashley, only now realizing how much work would be necessary.

"You let me handle the school side, okay. I'll make sure we get a good number of teachers and staff to show up. Maybe your parents have friends or know other singles we can invite," Fawn suggested.

"That's a great idea! I'll talk to them tonight."

"I'm supposed to go on a date tonight, but I don't really like this guy. I'll cancel, and we can work on the plans." Seeing Ashley's horrified face, she quickly added, "It's not the same guy that I'm going out with for Valentine's."

"Oh, okay. I'm supposed to do something with Brandon, but whatever."

The two blondes worked over their plans up until the bell rang.

---

"Damon, you better get in here. Hun?" Sarah Woodsen called down the hall.

"Hold on, I just walked in the door," Damon Woodsen responded. After taking off his coat, the district attorney of Azure Rocks walked down to the kitchen to see what his wife wanted. Entering, he saw his youngest daughter sitting on a stool at the kitchen island, while Sarah paced. "Hiya, cupcake, how was school?"

"Alright. Say, Dad, I got--"

"Ashley wants to hold a matchmaking party for Valentine's," Sarah informed her husband.

"Oh," Damon uttered in response, a chill running up his spine. "Didn't you learn your lesson from last time?"

"Dad, that wasn't my fault!" whined Ashley. "If Hannah hadn't butted in--"

"Yes, yes, we know what your sister did," Sarah interrupted again. "And she had a stern talking to about it."

"She should've been ground for a month too," grumbled Ashley, folding her arms.

"You know we couldn't ground your sister at college. How would that even work?" Damon replied.

"Taylor could've enforced it."

"No, she couldn't have," Sarah repeated, a point she'd made several times since Halloween. "And it wouldn't have been fair to Taylor."

"So, what's this plan you have for your friends?" Damon asked, deciding to get this over with right away. He moved to accept the bottle of beer his wife handed him.

"It's not for my friends, but for my teachers," Ashley responded. A solid ten minutes rattled by as Ashley laid her reason for the event and her plans. Several times the conversation veered off track, only to return to her parents' doubts.

"So, Miss Graff is going to help you run this?" Sarah wanted to make sure of the detail.

"The planning? Yes. But not the actual running of it. I'll need to find someone to do that," Ashley explained. "You know anybody?"

"I'm proud that you care for these people, Ashley, I really am. But, with your record--

"It was only one time, Mom!"

"Yes, but it was an epic disaster. I'm going to be hearing about this from other parents for years," Sarah reminded. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"You know, it might be a good idea," Damon said, surprising his wife and daughter. "Now, hear me out. There are a lot of people we know that are either still single or divorced, and haven't got the time to meet other singles."

"Hun," Sarah warned, seeing Ashley's excitement rising.

"Just the other day, I tried to convince Regina to get a life outside the office, but she said she didn't have the time," Damon revealed, referring to his top assistant district attorney. "And I stopped at the firm this morning to see Desmond, and Hayden looked like crap. He could use a rebound to get over what his wife did to him."

"You see mom; Dad thinks it's an awesome idea!"

"I didn't say that, cupcake, but I can see the merit in your idea." Sensing the glare his wife sent him, Damon added, "I'm sure you know teachers at your school that could use a life outside the classroom?"

"Some could use a break from the little rugrats," Sarah admitted cautiously. "I did catch Kiki and Macy holding a tea party in the kindergarten room the other week. They both need grownups to talk to."

"So, I can throw it?" Ashley begged, bounced up and down on her stool in happiness.

"I guess," Sarah agreed, meeting Damon's eyes. "But there will be some ground rules. First, I want to have Miss Graff come over so we can discuss this with her."

"Okay!" Ashley agreed, hopping off the stool to grab her phone.

"Wait!" Sarah called. "Get back here!"

"What?"

"Is said several ground rules," her mother reminded her. "Second, I'm going to call a few friends. Any decisions will be made as a committee; you got that?"

"Fine," groaned the teen.

"And finally, you're not to go near the party."

"What?! I have to stop at least and check in on things once, or twice..."

"No, you will not go near this party. We'll find a responsible adult to handle things," Sarah stated.

"You can't pick someone boring! It will kill the mood," whined Ashley.

"We'll find someone fun. Now, you can go."

Damon waited until their daughter left the room before speaking. "Look, this might turn out alright. As long as we keep on eyes on things, it won't turn into another debacle. Who are you planning on calling?"

"Monica, Cassie, and Olivia. And you better make some calls."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You're the one that supported the idea," Sarah reminded him. "You better call Robert. We'll need help find a venue this late."

"Uh, are we canceling our plans to Mountain Falls?" Damon hesitantly asked.

"And tell Gabby why? I don't frigging think so. She'll want to drive down here and watch the party go up in flames. No, we'll do everything we can to make sure this party goes off without a hitch, and enjoy our Valentine's weekend at the snow lodge," Sarah declared, sounding far more confident than she felt.

Upstairs in her bedroom, Ashley finished her call to Miss Graff. Deciding her next move was better by phone call rather than a text message, she waited for her boyfriend to pick up.

"Bran? I have to cancel our plans for tonight. Why? I have romance to save!"