Chapter 1

"WHOOSH!"

My eyes screeched open at the sound of my alarm clock. I nearly jumped out of bed at the sound, my heart racing. My clock was supposed to use nice, soothing sounds instead of the generic beeping noises to wake people up, like gentle rainfall and bird whistles, but unfortunately the sounds were none too soothing. The gentle rainfall, which was blaring out of my clock, sounded like more like a violent hurricane than a lazy drizzle.

I quickly turned off the alarm, and attempted to rub the sleep out of my eyes. The clock was given to me a few weeks ago, by my best friend Kristy Thomas for my sixteenth birthday. It was a very nice gift and all, but I'm not sure why of all things Kristy decided to get me an alarm clock for my birthday.

I yawned and walked over to my vanity, where I had laid out my clothes the night before; a navy blue pullover sweater, a brown corduroy skirt, with brown mary-janes, and a new pair of diamond earrings that my father had given me. As I stripped out of my pajamas and started to dress, I caught sight of myself in the full length mirror.

I was pretty flat chested; my breasts were perched somewhere between an A cup and a B. I hadn't grown anywhere since my last spurt the summer before ninth grade, when I shot up three inches and was able to throw away my training bra. I mean, I didn't look terribly young, but sometimes I still felt it.

I finished dressing and quickly preened in the mirror before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth. That's the nice thing about having short hair; I save so much time in the morning. While brushing, I pulled back the pink and orange flowery curtain (Sharon's doing, I thought they were disgusting) and looked out the window into the street below.

My father's car was already gone. He was spending more time at the office everyday it seemed. Sharon's Saab was still parked outside. She didn't go to work until nine, so she was most likely still sleeping.

I turned back to the sink to spit when I heard a car pull up outside and honk rather obnoxiously. Looking out the window, I saw Kristy's honda sloppily parked outside.

I looked at my watch. It was only 7:00; school didn't start until eight. Why was she so early? She honked again. I yanked the window open and thrust my head outside.

"Kristy," I warbled, my mouth still full of toothpaste spittle. "Stop honking, I'll be right down."

I could see her tap the steering wheel impatiently. I hastily rinsed my mouth out and ran downstairs, where I quickly filled Tigger's food and water dish and grabbed my backpack before running out the door.

Abby Stevenson was already sitting in the front seat, so I made a dash for the back. I had to smirk at the sight of Kristy's car. You could never tell she was a millionaire's kid. She had proudly bought the 86 Honda over the summer with her own money before she was even old enough to drive, calling it a "worthwhile investment". I'd call it a rattletrap that rivaled Charlie's old Junk Bucket. Besides the rust spots, and dent in the front passenger door, I noticed that one of the lens to the brake light was newly broken.

"What happened to your lens?" I said, climbing into the backseat.

"Don't say hello first," grumbled Kristy, jamming on the gas as soon as I closed the door.

Abby turned around and grinned, brushing thick dark curls out of her face.

"Let's just say that Kristy forgot backing up involved looking to make sure that no telephone poles, trees, or in this case cow shaped mailboxes were in the way," she laughed, punching Kristy in the shoulder.

I could see Kristy's face tighten in the mirror. She had only gotten her license two weeks ago, so she wasn't horrible for an inexperienced driver. But it wasn't in Kristy's nature to make mistakes, so driving could be a strained activity for her.

"Did you guys finish the History paper?" asked Kristy, eager to change the subject. She swerved around a rather sharp right turn and I clutched the door handle for dear life.

"Yeah, I did, but mine fucking sucks," said Abby, twisting her hair. "I totally stopped caring about half way through. Era of Good Feelings, my ass."

While Abby drabbled on about how she hated AP US History, I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Rummaging through my backpack, my dread was confirmed when I saw that my History binder was missing.

"Oh, crap," I yelled. Both Kristy and Abby looked up. "I forgot my paper at home!" I had left it on the kitchen table last night to quickly proofread in the morning, but in my rush I had forgotten it all together. "Kristy, can you please turn around?"

"No," she said bluntly. "We don't have time, Mary Anne." She looked at me unapologetically in the mirror.

"But we still have plenty of time to get to school," I practically whined. "It's just past seven, and it only takes a few minutes…"

"I have an officer's meeting for Student Government this morning at 7:15," Kristy said. "I told you that I was going to be early yesterday at lunch."

I blinked. I didn't remember that. But Kristy was being really unreasonable. Ever since she was elected president of the Student Government at the beginning of the year, nothing else has seemed important.

"Can you have Sharon bring it to you on her way to work?" offered Abby, trying to be helpful.

"I guess," I muttered, although I knew Sharon would be none too pleased about running this extra errand. I slumped back in my seat.

"I'm sorry, but I can't go back for it," said Kristy, sensing my anger. "But I have to be there. I'm the president and things won't get done without me."

I didn't respond and was silent the rest of the ride. I never remembered her being this much of tyrant during her presidency of the BSC. I understand that she had to be to school at a certain time, but it would have cost her only five minutes at the most to turn around.

Kristy pulled into the SHS student parking lot and grabbed a nice spot, as there were few cars there at 7:15 in the morning. Making my way to the building, I walked quietly behind Abby and Kristy, who was practically sprinting to get to her meeting on time. Once inside, Abby and Kristy and I parted ways; they headed towards the junior wing, and I in the opposite direction towards the main office to call Sharon.

"Bye, Mary Anne" called Abby, turning and walking backwards. "See you at lunch!" She gave an exaggerated and goofy wave over her head that made me laugh.

Seeing as there was no one else in the hallway, I waved back in the same way, giggling. Kristy ignored us both and continued to walk quickly, not even saying goodbye.

Some best friend.