Sophie, Alex, Meagan, and Brienna were best friends. Their friendship wasn't abnormal-four teenage girls going to high school together in Beachwood, California. They weren't all in the same grade (Alex was a junior, Megan was a sophomore, and Sophie and Brienna were freshmen) but they were just as close as any friends could be.
Most people couldn't see what had brought them together. After all, Alex was a bit of a prankster, though she did well in school and took her grades seriously. Meagan was called unique by nice people, and a freak by mean ones. Sophie was smart and creative, if scatterbrained, and Brienna was always finding the newest books for all of them to read. Sometimes the girls themselves wondered what exactly it was that made them friends. But whatever it was, they thought, it was a bond nothing and nobody could break.
They weren't normal girls. And today..well, today didn't happen to be a normal day.
Sophie knew that she and Brienna were closer than their other friends. Not in an exclusionary way, of course. But they had grown up together, so close they were practically sisters. They'd hung out almost every day in elementary school and at least once a week in junior high. Now that they were in high school and had met Alex and Meagan, the four hung out together all the time, but Sophie still hung out with Bri-just the two of them-a lot. Sure, they'd had their fights, but it always turned out fine. And they seemed to just fit with their other two friends perfectly, while also having their own special friendship.
Like now, for instance. Sophie and Bri sat at the lunch table with Meagan and Alex, and they all chatted like old friends without feeling any tension about the fact that some of them knew each other longer than others. Right now, they were discussing their book reports and how if only they could choose books that weren't on the list to read.
"I'm sure my work would be so much better if I could pick out something that I like to read," Alex reasoned. "City of Bones, for instance. There are so many things in that book that I could relate to real life. It would make for a fascinating report. And..." she smiled, and Sophie could tell Alex was about to find a way to make her imaginary report even more fun, "I could have visual aid."
The girls burst out laughing. "I could be Clary," Bri giggled.
"I could dress as Simon," Sophie smirked.
"I could be Jace!" Meagan howled, and all four clutched their stomachs as they imagined what a scene they would make at the front of the class, dressed up as demon hunters, boys, and vampires.
"Or Harry Potter," Sophie said when they had all stopped laughing. "That would be a fun one. J.K. Rowling used Latin to create her spells."
"The Fault in Our Stars. That's what I would do," Brienna mused. "John Green is amazing!"
Meagan sighed. "You guys took all the good ones! I suppose I would do The Hunger Games. That's a good book."
The bell rang, and the four friends gathered their things for fifth period. Sophie watched as Alex headed for AP English, Meagan for science, then followed Bri to history. As they settled into class, she couldn't help but feel something terrible was about to happen. She shook her head slightly. There was nothing to be afraid of. It was just history class! What could possibly go wrong?