Disclaimer: I don't own Judy Blume's characters. I am writing this fan fiction for fun.
Chapter 1
It was a sunny Saturday morning and Stephanie Hirsch was waiting at the bus stop near the lodge at Palfrey's Pond. She was given the day off by her mother to go shopping with her best friends Rachel Robinson and Alison Monceau. Normally on a Saturday, Stephanie would help out with the filing at her mother's travel agency - Going Places. Today, her little brother Bruce would be helping out.
"I'm super excited about starting the 8th Grade!" Stephanie said.
"I hope we're in the same homeroom this year." Rachel said.
"We better be." Alison said.
"So how are things you with you and Dana now, Rachel?" Stephanie asked Rachel.
"I can't stand that pretentious snob!" Rachel said, pulling a disgusted face.
Dana Carpenter started dating Rachel's brother Charles a few months earlier. Dana's been all jealous ever since Rachel started dating Jeremy Dragon, who happens to be Dana's ex-boyfriend.
"I'm so glad she's going to high school!" Rachel said.
"Me too. Although, Jeremy won't be there." Stephanie said.
"Yeah. No more of him calling the three of us 'Macbeth' and no more drama between him, Dana and the slut Marcella." Alison said.
The bus arrived and Stephanie and her two best friends hopped on.
When they arrived at the mall, Stephanie and her friends went into Enchantment. Enchantment was a clothing store located near Going Places and Stephanie, Rachel and Alison often shopped there.
"What do you think of this?" Stephanie asked her friends as she held up a pink sweater with red and purple love hearts on it.
"Try it on and we'll tell you what we think." Alison replied.
Stephanie entered the dressing room and tried the sweater on. She looked at the floor to see what she looked like since Enchantment didn't have mirrors in their dressing rooms.
"What do you think, best friends?" Stephanie asked Rachel and Alison.
"Snazzy!" Alison beamed.
"That sweater makes you look sophisticated." Rachel said.
Stephanie ended up buying the sweater. After half-an-hour clothes shopping, Stephanie and her friends decided to have lunch in the food court. Once they sat down in the booth, they saw Miri Levine and Kara Klaff waiting in line at McDonalds.
"Oh, there's Miri and Kara." Stephanie said.
"Shall we go say hi?" Alison asked them.
"Alison, we're eating lunch now." Rachel told her.
"Doesn't mean we can't say hello to our friends." Stephanie reminded her.
Stephanie and Alison got up and approached Miri and Kara.
"Hey girls." Stephanie said.
Miri and Kara looked at them and smiled.
"Hey Steph. Hey Alison." Miri said, hugging both Stephanie and Alison.
"How are you girls?" Kara asked them as she too gave them a hug.
"We're good. Just shopping with Rachel at the moment." Alison replied.
Rachel waved at them from where she was sitting.
"I just hope that we're in the same classes when the new school year starts." Kara said.
"I feel like it's been ages since we've been to school." Stephanie said.
"I know right." Miri stated.
Once Miri and Kara ordered sundaes from McDonalds, they said their goodbyes to Stephanie and Alison before walking away.
"It was great seeing them." Stephanie said to Alison.
"It sure was." Alison agreed.
"Can we eat our lunch now?" Rachel asked them impatiently.
Stephanie, Rachel and Alison ate their lunch without any interruptions.
Later that afternoon, Stephanie arrived home to find her little brother Bruce watching TV.
"Hey Bruce." Stephanie said.
"Oh, hey Steph." Bruce replied, turning the TV off.
"You didn't have to turn the TV off because I came home." she said to him.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was finished." Bruce responded.
"Oh."
"So, how was shopping?" Bruce asked.
"It was good. I got some new clothes for the new school year. I also ran into Kara Klaff and Miri Levine." Stephanie replied.
"Still got the hots for Peter?" Bruce teased.
Stephanie blushed before saying, "Peter Klaff and I are just friends. Yes, we kissed at the winter dance but we decided to remain friends."
"Sure." Bruce said, not believing his sister.
"Where's Mom?" Stephanie asked him.
"Working at her computer."
Stephanie headed upstairs and entered her mother's bedroom.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hi, honey." Mrs Hirsch replied.
"How was work?" Stephanie asked.
"Busy. How was shopping with Rachel and Alison?"
"It was rather good. I got some new clothes for school." Stephanie said, showing her mother the clothes she bought at the mall.
"That's nice." Mrs Hirsch said.
"I'm going to my room now." Stephanie told her mother before leaving the room.
Stephanie enters her bedroom and pushes her clothes aside before laying on her bed and looking at her Richard Gere poster on the ceiling. She lay there wondering what the 8th Grade would have in store for her.