"How great for you, Leah!" Heather Granger pulled her housemate into a bear hug but felt Leah Summer's resistance and stepped back, dropping her arms to her sides. She eyed the blond beauty, who was using her fingers to fluff the sides of her golden curls. In the two weeks since Heather invited Leah to move into her newly acquired home, it was the first time Heather detected underlying anger. Leah had shown a tendency to be snippy, but Heather figured it was because Leah was always in a hurry. She never gave herself enough time to get anywhere. "You should be over the top, whooping it up," Heather continued, adjusting her auburn hair to flow around the shoulders of the emerald green blouse she wore. "Getting a call from one of the top modeling agencies in Chicago makes you a real star."

Leah shrugged and leaned into the full-length mirror she and Heather were sharing. Heather watched Leah press her lips together to get an enhanced red, stopping short of biting into them. When Leah ran her hands down the contour of her slim frame, she nudged Heather's arm aside.� "I'm not like you, Heather. You get calls from THE top modeling agency every day of the week. I have to work for my jobs."

"My mother knew Marcie from way back." She touched Leah's shoulder. "Just like we do." Leah ignored the comment and squinted at the overhead light.

"I'll get a bigger wattage bulb this weekend," Heather said. "Dear Grams was going blind. She didn't know it was so dark in here." She blocked out the image of her dear Gramma Franny's last days. She stopped adjusting the band at her waist and felt the tears form. The wonderful lady was gone. "But not forgotten," Heather said aloud.

One of Rebecca "Becky" Willlis' goals in teaching mathematics at Brunswick County

Early College High School is to make the lessons of math relevant.

Driving to work in the morning takes people longer because they must drive slower to accommodate other traffic, including school buses, she says. "Your average speed changes the faster you drive, but the distance remains the same That's inverse variation," she explains

Rock, pop and soul dominated the sound system, enticing smells stirred people to sniff the air while smiles, hugs and kisses tugged at emotions. A festive mood prevailed at Brunswick County's 15th annual Relay for Life.

About 1,000 people gathered to walk the track at West Brunswick High School on Friday and rejoice for those surviving cancer, support those receiving treatment and honor those who have passed on.

Former New Jersey residents didn't miss "Jersey Shore" gals Snooki or Sammi at the second annual New Jersey party in Calabash, N.C.

Few of the 180 who attended the dinner/dance at the Elks Sept. 10 knew who housewives Teresa, Jacqueline and Caroline are, and no one mentioned Tracy or Olivia of Jerseylicous."

"There is no one in New Jersey who is like that bunch," said Larry Tedesco, who lived in Fair Lawn, N.J., with his wife, Helen Tedesco, before they moved to Sunset Beach, N.C.