Chapter One:
Sixteen-year-old Hay Lin sat on the edge of her bed, swinging her legs in time to the music that was blasting from her CD player. Even though the music was loud, she could still hear the clinking and the clanking from the restaurant downstairs. Sighing, she rolled onto her stomach and hugged her pillow close.
Her stomach growled and she was reminded how all she had eaten that day was some cereal. Groaning, she rolled on her back and stared at her ceiling… not that you could tell it was a ceiling. Posters and pictures covered the entire ceiling, not leaving even enough room for a stick of gum to be glued on. One picture caught her attention. It was picture of five girls, one of who was Hay Lin. The one closet to Hay Lin was named Irma Lair. Behind Irma was Cornelia Hale and next to her was Taranee Cook and next to her was Will Vandom. The inseparable five.
Hay Lin gazed at her four best friends. Will was waving awkwardly at the camera, her big brown eyes wide and her thatch of red hair moving in an invisible wind. Irma was winking and had cast a super model pose. Her layered chestnut hair was pulled back into two little ponytails with tons of glittery clips. Cornelia was standing with a sort of amused expression on her face, her sky blue eyes sparkling with swallowed laughter. Her long blonde hair was swaying slightly in the same wind as Will's. Taranee was grinning from ear to ear; her glasses perched on her nose cock-eyed. Her braid was swinging in the wind and she clutched her knitted bag.
Hay Lin gazed at herself. Her almond eyes were crinkled with laughter and her wide-open smile showed off her golf braces. Her long black ponytails swirled around her and her yellow goggles held back any stray hairs.
They had all been so happy that day. It was at their school carnival two years ago. Taranee's boyfriend Nigel had taken it. Matt had been there making goofy faces at them and Will had been blushing like crazy. The thought brought a smile to Hay Lin's face. Of course, Eric had been there too and that had been very cool in her mind.
She was still dating Eric and the very thought of his thick black hair and thoughtful brown eyes still made butterflies erupt in her stomach. She could feel her smile getting larger and she knew that she probably looked like a fool. Too bad that she was the only one of the five who was dating the same guy. Irma never really had one guy and was currently dating one of the baseball players for their school. Cornelia had never completely recovered from the rejection from Caleb but she had managed to get past most of the heartache.
Taranee and Nigel had had a huge argument that never let them get back together. The two were friends still but they had both decided that it was best for both of them to stay apart. Taranee had been seeing another boy but Hay Lin wasn't sure, she didn't talk to Taranee as much anymore. Will, well Will had moved back to Fadden Hills with her mom. Heatherfield hadn't ended up working for them after Will's dad had left so they had packed up their apartment and moved.
Cornelia still conversed with Hay Lin along with Irma. The three occasionally would go shopping together or go see a movie but there was never the same hanging out. Irma and Hay Lin hung out more but still not as much as before. In fact, Hay Lin, even though she was dating Eric, didn't hang with him 24/7. He was actually gone a lot studying astronomy at world famous camps for extremely gifted kids. The more she thought about it, Hay Lin realized how isolated she had become.
Worry taking over her mind, she got off the bed and slid on some black leather Mary-Jane shoes over her rainbow striped knee high socks. Her swishy purple skirt matched her wristbands on her wrists. Her white puffy vest covered up her long sleeve baby blue shirt. Tossing her glossy ponytails over her shoulders, she took in a deep breath.
She had no idea what she was going to do, but she had to do something. Leaving her room, she quietly made her way down the hall. She could hear her mom on the phone with her aunt in her parents' room. Tip toeing past, she sucked in a breath when she stepped on the squeaky step on the stairs. There was a minute of silence and then her mom went back to talking. Letting out a relieved sigh, Hay Lin scampered down the rest of the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, she paused.
The sounds of the restaurant were always comforting. The hum of voices and the smells floated over to Hay Lin and she grinned. It was like nothing had happened since those two years ago. Glancing over her shoulder to make sure her mom wasn't right behind her; Hay Lin hurried out the door in front of her.
The sight of about forty people laughing and talking while eating their Chinese food greeted her. Ducking past a waiter, Hay Lin weaved her way through the restaurant, making sure no one saw her. When she reached the front door, she heard someone call out her name. Not bothering to turn around to see who it was, she sprinted out the door as fast as she could.