She immediately knew that something was wrong simply by the tone of her
best friend's voice. The joy in it was entirely too forced.
"Miranda... what's going on?"
Lizzie heard the sobs bursting out of Miranda's mouth, and the words that were forced out after them, "I'm moving... to... to... Australia!"
"WHAT?" Lizzie sat down on her bed so hard that she bounced up and down two or three times before coming to a rest. "Australia? What are you talking about?"
"My... my dad's company transferred him to the... the... the Australia division. We're leaving tomorrow morning at four am!" Miranda cried into the phone. "Lizzie, I don't want to leave! We're starting high school. I want to go to high school with you... and with Gordo. Lizzie! I'm never gonna see you again!"
Lizzie felt tears running down her face. She wiped them away angrily, "You can't leave Miranda! What am I gonna do without you?"
Miranda's voice lowered, as she whispered her goodbye. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm gonna do without you either. I have to go finish packing. I'm really gonna miss you Lizzie."
"I'm going to miss you too," Lizzie replied. She hung up the phone and stared at it in disbelief. Miranda was leaving, for good. To an entirely different continent. How was she going to survive high school without her best friend? As if she was not already worried about high school enough, now she would not even have her best friend to help her through everything.
'Whatever I'm going through must be, like, five hundred times worse for Miranda. She's moving to a new continent right before her freshman year of high school. No friends, no nothing.' Lizzie cried silently, her eyes looking at nothing while creating the tears. They finally landed on her friendship scrapbook; the one that she, Miranda and Gordo were working on together. It had pictures in it from when they were in first grade up until their junior high graduation this past spring. Right after graduation, Miranda had left for Mexico for the summer with her mother, leaving her father home alone. Now she was home for a day, only to be leaving for another new country the next day.
Getting up and crossing the room, Lizzie picked up her scrapbook and went to her window seat. She sat down and started flipping through the book, smiling at the memories that the three friends had created together over the years.
One page showed their seventh grade class pictures; Lizzie's, with her wearing the green-paint-splattered tank top and holding up the hideous pink unicorn sweater her Nana had knitted her; Gordo's, he with his "not a frown, not a smile" expression that Ethan Craft coaxed him into; Miranda's, perfect because Lizzie had jumped in front of her to save her outfit. Another showed a collage of all the times the threesome went to amusement parks. Still another had pictures from Gordo's music video. Lizzie smiled slightly, remembering how Miranda stopped eating because she thought she was too fat, and how she and Gordo helped her realize that she looked amazing. The final page had a copy of the picture that Riley had of the trio at their junior high graduation. Underneath it, in large block letters, Lizzie had written: "Gordo, Lizzie and Miranda: Best Friends for Life." Now she was not so sure about that.
As she flipped through the scrapbook, she realized something similar about Miranda and Riley. They both had to leave their whole life behind and move far away from everything they were familiar with. 'At least Miranda will have her family; Riley lost her parents and the rest of her life,' Lizzie mused. Realizing that she would never be able to figure this entire situation out without help, she reached for her phone, dialing a familiar number.
"Hello?" A deep voice resonated in Lizzie's ear.
"Gordo! The most horrible things are happening!"
"Miranda... what's going on?"
Lizzie heard the sobs bursting out of Miranda's mouth, and the words that were forced out after them, "I'm moving... to... to... Australia!"
"WHAT?" Lizzie sat down on her bed so hard that she bounced up and down two or three times before coming to a rest. "Australia? What are you talking about?"
"My... my dad's company transferred him to the... the... the Australia division. We're leaving tomorrow morning at four am!" Miranda cried into the phone. "Lizzie, I don't want to leave! We're starting high school. I want to go to high school with you... and with Gordo. Lizzie! I'm never gonna see you again!"
Lizzie felt tears running down her face. She wiped them away angrily, "You can't leave Miranda! What am I gonna do without you?"
Miranda's voice lowered, as she whispered her goodbye. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm gonna do without you either. I have to go finish packing. I'm really gonna miss you Lizzie."
"I'm going to miss you too," Lizzie replied. She hung up the phone and stared at it in disbelief. Miranda was leaving, for good. To an entirely different continent. How was she going to survive high school without her best friend? As if she was not already worried about high school enough, now she would not even have her best friend to help her through everything.
'Whatever I'm going through must be, like, five hundred times worse for Miranda. She's moving to a new continent right before her freshman year of high school. No friends, no nothing.' Lizzie cried silently, her eyes looking at nothing while creating the tears. They finally landed on her friendship scrapbook; the one that she, Miranda and Gordo were working on together. It had pictures in it from when they were in first grade up until their junior high graduation this past spring. Right after graduation, Miranda had left for Mexico for the summer with her mother, leaving her father home alone. Now she was home for a day, only to be leaving for another new country the next day.
Getting up and crossing the room, Lizzie picked up her scrapbook and went to her window seat. She sat down and started flipping through the book, smiling at the memories that the three friends had created together over the years.
One page showed their seventh grade class pictures; Lizzie's, with her wearing the green-paint-splattered tank top and holding up the hideous pink unicorn sweater her Nana had knitted her; Gordo's, he with his "not a frown, not a smile" expression that Ethan Craft coaxed him into; Miranda's, perfect because Lizzie had jumped in front of her to save her outfit. Another showed a collage of all the times the threesome went to amusement parks. Still another had pictures from Gordo's music video. Lizzie smiled slightly, remembering how Miranda stopped eating because she thought she was too fat, and how she and Gordo helped her realize that she looked amazing. The final page had a copy of the picture that Riley had of the trio at their junior high graduation. Underneath it, in large block letters, Lizzie had written: "Gordo, Lizzie and Miranda: Best Friends for Life." Now she was not so sure about that.
As she flipped through the scrapbook, she realized something similar about Miranda and Riley. They both had to leave their whole life behind and move far away from everything they were familiar with. 'At least Miranda will have her family; Riley lost her parents and the rest of her life,' Lizzie mused. Realizing that she would never be able to figure this entire situation out without help, she reached for her phone, dialing a familiar number.
"Hello?" A deep voice resonated in Lizzie's ear.
"Gordo! The most horrible things are happening!"