My senior year of high school began well enough. On August 28th, I woke up to the annoying bleating of my alarm clock at 6 AM. Serena was picking me up so we could meet Rob and Dennis for coffee before heading off to school. I forcibly dragged myself out from under the pile of blankets on my bed and shut the clock off.

The house was dark and silent. Mom was pulling a twenty-four hour shift in the ER, leaving me to fend for myself. The only noise in the entire house was the muffled creak of the floor joists as I walked from my bedroom to my bathroom. I woke up more when I stepped into the shower, letting the jets of steamy hot water wake me up slowly.

I thought about what the new day would bring. The thought of no longer being a freshman was certainly appealing although there were many things I'd miss. Mr. Harvey would not be in the band office when I went there. David would be there instead. I'd miss having Mr. H around to talk to. I told him everything and he was always glad to hear it. Instead, I would be spending two periods of my eight period day with David, who—by all appearances—utterly despised me.

My guidance counselor had also manhandled me into taking chorus because I was a musician. Apparently, Mrs. Evans, the chorus teacher, begged him to get me into chorus since I could read music and carry a tune. Mr. Harvey had also agreed with the idea, saying that singing would improve my musicianship. Though I had my misgivings, I decided, in the end, that taking chorus was much better than the alternative: AP Statistics.

Fortunately for me, I had friends in most of my classes. Serena and I had English, Math, Biology, and Band in common. Rob was in History, Biology, Band, and Theory with me. I'd tried to convince him to join me in chorus but he reminded me that he couldn't carry a tune if it had handles. Dakota, however, had agreed to sign up for chorus with me, in addition to band and music theory so it was shaping up to be a good year so far.

At least as far as having friends in my classes went, anyway. Teacher-wise, things weren't looking so great.

I had two classes with David and another one where he was a team teacher. Working with him was potentially the hardest part of my schedule but some of my other teachers weren't exactly easy to work with either. My English teacher, Mr. Smith, was notoriously hard and was anal-retentive about proper MLA formatting on all papers. Miss Cleary, for AP Calculus BC, was apparently a very dry lecturer. At least Mrs. Evans and Mr. Cannon were apparently fairly nice but Mr. Lee was from England and taught British history like a dictator. At least studying the revolutionary war from the other side with him teaching would offer a unique perspective.

I got out of the shower and dried off quickly. My hair was growing fast but luckily did not require much styling. I padded across the hall back to my room and starting getting dressed. The night before, Serena had come over and invaded my closet, picking out my first day of school outfit. Serena had picked out a camo miniskirt, black tee shirt, and black sandals. Though I definitely had my doubts about the selection, I never underestimated Serena and her fashion sense. She was among the best dressed girls in school and she'd never led me astray when it came to clothing. Even when we were in middle school, she'd taken it upon herself to keeps me from dressing atrociously. Though I had desired to wear only tee-shirts from various musical events with jeans or sweatpants, she forced me into the occasional skirt and shirts that actually didn't look like muumuus.

Serena and I had been best friends since before either of us could remember. Our moms had been best friends in high school. They'd taken almost all the same classes, had played the same sports, been in the same organizations, and graduated with the same GPA. My mom had gone on to Columbia University for her Biology degree, where she met my dad who was studying horn at Julliard. Serena's mom, Laura, ended up at Sarah Lawrence, studying pre-law. They both ended up at Yale, mom struggling through med-school after marrying my dad and Serena's mom working on her law degree. It was my dad who introduced Serena's parents. That fact was once considered a good thing.

Mom and Laura graduated within a year of each other from Yale. Both wanted to move back to Blades to start their respective families and ended up buying houses across the street from each other. Though it was virtual career suicide for a musician like my dad, he just wanted mom to be happy so he agreed to move. His friend Andrew married Laura and they settled down. Andrew was a computer analyst and could make a good living just about anywhere so everyone was happy with the move, especially the ladies. Within a year of moving back to Blades, both Laura and my mom were pregnant. My mom miscarried, though, leaving both her and my father completely devastated. Laura, however, bore a beautiful baby girl named Serena. Almost immediately after her birth, my mom, who had not dared to hope that she could ever get pregnant again finally put two and two together and realized that all those missed periods meant something other than stress. Low and behold, six months to the day after Serena came into the world, I came in all of my screaming glory.

Unfortunately, it was six months to the day after the birth of his beautiful baby girl that Andrew received an offer he couldn't refuse from the people over in Silicon Valley. Some guy named Bill Gates thought he could be an asset to the company so on November 30, 1989, Andrew was busy packing his bags for California.

He was needed right away so he left his wife and his six month old daughter in Delaware to sell the house and get the affairs in order. Unfortunately, Andrew had his own affairs in California. Laura and baby Serena decided to surprise Andrew with a visit in California. However, the door to his apartment was opened by his blonde secretary wearing one of his shirts.

Serena and I formed a permanent bond over the months following that. Laura and baby Serena moved into our house while Laura and Andrew were battling it out in divorce court. Our moms would plunk us down in the playpen to amuse ourselves while they had their long discussions. Eventually, the divorce was settled and Laura and Serena moved out of our house and into a small house in a nearby neighborhood. The bond between Serena and myself never diminished though. We grew up together, riding bikes to each other's houses, sharing books, and having countless sleepovers. Our mothers, however, grew apart. Mom was a workaholic and after Dad died, she became even worse. Laura never forced the issue of spending time together, also throwing herself into a heavy caseload.

Andrew was the one who made out best in the whole situation. When Microsoft began its ascent, Bill Gates rewarded his employees richly, especially those like Andrew who had helped make Windows software what it was. With all the money he was still raking in, I wasn't all that surprised to see Serena drive up in a brand new Mustang convertible.

"What happened to the old car?" I asked when I climbed into the front seat of the car with her.

"Dad came for a visit," she said. "He's in town for all of a day, just long enough to drag me to the car dealership, ignore what I wanted in a car, and pick out the car he thinks I should be driving."

"What did you want?" I asked.

"I wanted a Toyota Prius, if I was going to get anything. He wouldn't even stop at that dealership," she said. "I tried to talk him into a Focus or an Edge but he wanted me in a fully loaded Mustang convertible."

"Ostentatious," I said. "Did he at least let you pick the color?"

"Oh, I had a choice between two since there were only two fully loaded GT convertibles," she said. "Black or fluorescent yellow."

I winced. "Glad you went with the black."

"Seriously," she said. "With the black top, the yellow would've looked like a bumble bee going down the road."

"What does your mom think about it?" I asked.

"She's disgusted, as well she should be," Serena replied. "When she complained, he offered her a Mercedes."

"Did she accept?"

"No. She told him to come back when he had a Bentley."

"And what did he do?"

"Went to the Bentley dealership and bought mom an Azure," she said wryly.

"You're kidding," I said. "He bought his ex-wife a Bentley?"

"Why not? The bimbo now has three cars: the Bentley, the Ferrari, and the 1964 Mustang convertible," Serena informed me. "By the way, I told him you're still my best friend so he gave me an envelope to give to you."

I laughed. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious, Fern. It's in my purse," she said. "Get it out."

I pulled a white envelope out of her purse. "Oh my God, Serena! This is a five year CD!"

"Typical of my father to give investments for gifts. How much is it for?" she asked.

"It'll mature to fifteen grand," I said.

"Not bad. He said to tell you that you'll be getting something nice for graduation. I'm thinking either cash or diamonds," she said. "I'm surprised he didn't give this to you himself. Dad doesn't just give you a gift; he gives you a gift."

"Oh yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "He gave me the car but he had to tell me all the features, how to take care of it, how much to insure it for, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!"

I was silent.

"Sorry," she said. "I know it's hard for you to hear about my dad."

I shook my head. "Hey, I had ten great years with my Dad. Those are worth way more than any car. Mom may be gone but I always had the memories of Dad."

She reached over and patted my hand. "Cheer up. It's the first day of school and we're meeting your boy toy for breakfast. Just think: wonderful coffee and your favorite muffins."

We pulled into the Starbucks parking lot and were immediately greeted by our boyfriends. Dennis opened Serena's door and helped her out of the car before wrapping her in his arms for a good morning kiss. Rob opened my door and I propelled myself into his embrace, not even waiting for a hello. When I felt his tongue move across my lips, Serena cleared her throat.

I blushed and pulled away from Rob. "Sorry Fern, I can't let you eat your boyfriend for breakfast. I promised you muffins."

A shot her a dirty look and she laughed.

"Come on guys," Serena said. "Let's get breakfast before we have to be at school."

We went up to the counter to place our orders. "Grande mocha, grande caramel macchiato, and two chocolate cream cheese muffins," Serena ordered. She turned her head. "Boys, what do you want?"

"Tall vanilla latte and a cranberry muffin for me," Rob said.

"I vill haf a grand late and a blubbery muffin," Dennis said.

"Got it all?" Serena asked the boy behind the counter.

"Uh… yeah," he said. He repeated the order back and Serena nodded sharply. "Sit," she told the boys. "We have to finish our girl talk."

The boys obediently made their way to a table with four chairs. Serena and I waited at the counter while the order was assembled. "Hey," Serena said. "You're okay right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's just days like these that I miss dad. He was always there for me and if he was still around, I'd be going to Peabody instead of Blades high school now."

"Oh that would be horrible!" Serena said. "I'd miss you too much if you went there."

I cracked a smile. "Oh please, with Dennis here, you'd never notice I was gone."

"No one can replace a best friend," she said. "Not even a boyfriend."

We joined the boys at the table, sipping our coffee and eating our muffins while we chatted about our schedules. Dennis and Serena were so cute together. He had his arm settled around her waist comfortably and she absently played with his hair. Rob and I were more disgusting then they were, sad as it was to say. The fourth chair at our table became unnecessary as I perched in his lap.

"So how is our senior year shaping up for you?" Serena asked me.

I cracked a smile. "It will be interesting," I said. "I mean, I've got a lot of difficult classes but I can handle it. I can never figure out why I'm so stressed out during school."

"Are you serious?" Serena said. "Come on. You take the hardest classes possible and you're always practicing all of your music."

"I've been telling her all summer that she can afford to lay off the practicing," Rob butted in. "She's so brilliant. I can hardly believe how good she is when I hear her."

"Rob, you know how much I'm supposed to practice each week," she said. "If I want to get any better and get into a good college program, much less make Mr. Spear happy, the two hours I practice a day barely cut it."

"You must practice this much?" Dennis asked.

I nodded. "It takes dedication to play an instrument well," I told him.

"Vell, Serena plays the flute most wonderful but she does not practice half so much," he said.

I smiled. "Oh Serena is great," I said.

"But Fern is on a professional level," Serena finished. "Seriously, this chick blows me away on a regular basis. I can't believe Julliard hasn't snapped her up."

I laughed. "Well, I certainly hope they snap me up for college. I'd love to go there."

"You're a shoo-in," Rob assured me. "But right now, we all need to concern ourselves with passing high school. If we don't leave now, we will probably be late."

All of us sprang from our seats like someone had lit a fire under us in effort to get to school on time. We made it in just as the first bell rang, giving us enough time to scurry to our classes. Serena and I dashed to the second floor to our English class with the ever strict Mr. Smith. We slid into our seats with just moments to spare before the bell blared its obnoxious call to learning.

As it did every other morning during the school year, the loud speaker crackled to life.

"Good morning Blades High School," Mr. Bunting's voice sounded into the class room. "Please rise for the pledge of allegiance."

We all rose to our feet and recited. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with justice for all." We stood in silence (well, relative quiet, anyway) for a few moments before taking our seats.

"To our freshmen: welcome to the best four years of your life. You will learn much in the coming months. Stay strong and work hard; it will all be fine. To our upperclassmen: welcome back to Blades High School. Please do well to remember the rules. Continue to work hard in your academic journeys. Make this the best school year ever a Blades High School and have a great first day everybody!"

The speaker crackled off leaving the room quiet. Mr. Smith took it as his cue to begin. "Good morning class and welcome to Senior honors English. Let's begin with the attendance."

He called off each name one by one. Ninety percent of the names were ones I recognized from previous years in school, plus a few others who had either transferred from other schools or other classes. We were the smart kids, the ones smart enough to be in honors.

"Alright class," Mr. Smith began. "We are all present and accounted for. Let's begin with passing out the plans for this year. You!" he said, pointing at Erin, a girl I knew from band. "Miss… Miss… um… Miss…"

"Blackwell," she said. "Miss Erin Blackwell."

"Take these and hand them out," he said, holding a stack of neatly collated and stapled syllabuses. She took them with a grimace. Everyone hated handing out papers and Erin, as part of the popular crowd, resented being chosen by a teacher to do a menial task deserving of a geek. She accomplished her task as quickly as possible, taking as little time as necessary to give each person the paperwork.

"Now class, you are beginning your last year of high school. Please learn from the mistakes you made from last year," Mr. Smith said. "You are no longer freshmen and I will not hold your hand and walk you through every basic step in this class. I expect you to work and I expect you to learn. Let's begin by going over the syllabus."

We explained in minute detail everything we were doing that year. It seemed… time consuming. There would be a five page essay due every two weeks on either a book we were reading or a subject given to us by Mr. Smith. Quarterly, we would be expected to turn in a larger research paper at least fifteen pages in length. My head was already spinning by the time the bell rang and Serena and I made our way down the hall toward AP calculus BC with Miss Cleary. Again, it was much of the same we'd done in our English class: typical first day procedures. We went over the class rules and syllabus. However, on top of that, we had to take a test to evaluate our math skills, particularly our trigonometry skills. I did not appreciate being tested my first day back at school however I took it like a man and sucked it up. Taking the test had to be better than what was coming: my teacher's aide period with one David Dempsey.

The bell rang and I began gathering my things slowly.

"Hey, see you soon," Serena said.

"Yeah, later," I said, realizing I couldn't drag things out any longer. I made my way downstairs and into the arts wing.

What would he say? He had to know I was his aide but he couldn't be happy about it. Would he bug me the entire time or ignore me? Would he try to apologize and be friends again or would he continue to hate me?

I stood outside the door to band room. I had never felt that much dread associated with going into that room, not even when I first started playing. It was now or never though, I couldn't put it off. Taking a deep breath, I put my hand on the knob and pushed the door open.

Yes, I am aware that it has been six months since I updated. Never fear, this story will never be abandoned. I've been working on this chapter for six months. It may not seem like it, but it was a hard one to write. I hope you enjoyed it. I make no guarantees on when the next update will be as I start college in ten days. Being a music major is not for the faint of heart.