CHAPTER TWENTY- ONE
(chapter title – Start of Something New Part 4)

Sara Cohen-Spelling couldn't believe that she was entering her final year of high school – things had gone by so fast – she didn't even know where to begin.

Scott had gotten married to a girl named Nadia and had twin boys that they had named Thomas and Roger.

Joanne and Maureen had moved to Boston after Joanne had started her own law firm. They had adopted a four-year-old daughter named Heather in the fall of last year.

Mark and Jeffery had gotten committed after a year together. Sara loved having all the craziness in the house – Jeffery, Mark, Otis, Princess and of course, Sara's new brother, Adam. Actually, Jeffery made the difficult choice to put both Otis and Princess up for adoption because Mark had been allergic to pet dander.

Peter had moved to Michigan in the summer of junior year because his mom had found a better job there. Sara had cried for a whole week when she heard the news. She wasn't seeing anyone, just in case Peter came back.

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"Arg. Mr. Henson is so tough!" Sara complained to her friends – Tiffany Ingalls, Jennifer Daniels, Kristen Edwards, Carolyn Edwards and Kaitlin Daniels – Jennifer's freshman sister.

"Don't get me started on him – I have him for third period." Kaitlin piped up, pulling her strawberry blond hair into a ponytail. Jennifer smiled at her sister and gave her a quick hug before heading to French class. Sara, Carolyn and Tiffany headed to AP art while Kristen went to PE. The six of them had the same lunch and always managed to sit next to each other.

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School ended and Sara decided to stay afterwards to try out for the spring musical Fiddler on the Roof. She was trying out for Chava – the third youngest of Tevye's five daughters. Tiffany, Jennifer, Carolyn, Kristen and Kaitlin had all decided to try out, too.

A week later, the cast list was posted and everyone gathered around – eagerly waiting to see what part they had gotten.

Sara stepped up to the cast list and ran her finger down it – looking for her name. She found it and smiled to see what part she had gotten – Chava.

"Whoot! All of us are in the play this year!" Tiffany exclaimed, hugging Sara and Jennifer at the same time. The girls laughed and hugged Tiffany back.

"What part did you get, Tiff?" Jennifer asked.

"Yente – the matchmaker." Tiffany told her.

"I'm Golde." Jennifer announced.

"I'm Tzidle." Kaitlin told the group.

"I'm Hodel." Kristen squealed. All eyes turned to Sara.

"I'm Chava." Sara said. All the girls squealed and hugged her.

"This is so much better than when we put on Wicked." Tiffany said as the six of them headed out the door and to their separate cars – the six of them were going to change and go to the gym together – they hadn't been to the new gym that wasn't far from Sara's house.

"Tell me about it." Sara piped up, digging her keys out and unlocking her Dad's old car – he had left it for Sara in his will.

"You're still driving that thing?" Jennifer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with Angel!" Sara told her, getting in the car and turned on the ignition.

"Angel?" Kaitlin inquired.

"Yeah – after my favorite Aunt. I almost got into an accident last week and Angel saved me." Sara told her over the roar of the engine. The girls waved to her as she pulled out of the student parking lot and drove the five miles to the brownstone house where she lived with the three guys she loved the most.

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"Daddy! Papa! Adam! I'm home!" Sara called as she put her messenger bag in the other room and walked to the kitchen to make herself a snack.

"There's my favorite girl." Jeffery's voice sounded from the bathroom on the first floor.

"Hi Papa. What's up?" Sara inquired. She heard the toilet flush and the water in the sink run before Jeffery came out of the bathroom.

"Not much. Making yourself a snack?" Jeffery asked. Sara nodded and smiled as her two-year-old half brother, Adam came into the room.

"Sawa! Sawa! Up!" Adam toddled over to her and motioned he wanted to be picked up. Sara smiled, squatted and opened her arms for her brother. She picked him up and kissed him.

"Hey Adam." Sara cooed, kissing Adam on the cheek. She then turned her attention to Jeffery.

"Where's Daddy?" Sara asked.

"Work – still. I've told him to come home like five hundred times and he always says the same thing – 'I'll come home when I'm finished.'" Jeffery did a perfect impression of Mark, making Adam squeal with laughter.

"You think that's funny young man?" Jeffery asked, taking Adam from Sara and tickled him. Adam screamed with laughter as Jeffery continued to tickle him.

Sara finished her snack and went upstairs to change into a sports bra, a green T-shirt with a panda on it and black sweatpants. She gathered her shoulder-length blond hair into a ponytail and grabbed her iPod. She then headed back down the stairs and put on her tennis shoes.

"Where Sawa goin?" Adam asked.

"She's gonna go work out for a bit." Jeffery told him.

"Why she have that?" Adam pointed to Sara's iPod.

"She has music on that so she can listen to it." Jeffery said, picking Adam up and spun him around.

"Papa, don't get him sick – remember last time." Sara reminded Jeffery as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and her car keys from the table near the door.

"Okay, sweetie. Have fun working out." Jeffery kissed Sara's cheek as she headed out the door.

"Buh bye Sawa! Love you!" Adam called after her.

"Love you, too, Adam." Sara waved to him before climbing into her Dad's car. She was picking up Kaitlin and Carolyn. Jennifer, Kristen and Tiffany would be heading over later.

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Ten minutes later, the girls were outside Fitness Gym, ready for a workout.

"Hey girls!" Jennifer greeted Sara, Kaitlin and Carolyn.

"Hey Jenn! Hey Kris! Hey Tiff!" Sara, Kaitlin and Carolyn greeted the other three.

"Ready to work out?" Kristen asked. She was wearing bright orange tennis shorts, a bright orange tank top and tennis shoes. Her hair was pulled back with a bright orange hair scrunchie.

"Do you think you're bright enough?" Carolyn inquired to her twin.

"Yeah." Kristen answered, opening the door to the gym for the girls before heading in after them.

"I'm gonna go hit the treadmill then I'm off to do my regular workout. Ciao for now." Sara told the group, heading over to the treadmills in the corner. As she waited for an open treadmill, she heard two girls talking behind her.

"Oh, yeah. She is such a theatre bitch. She got the role of Chava in the spring musical." One was saying. Something about her voice sounded familiar.

"I bet she totally blew the audition." The other girl said, stifling laughter.

"Ugh. Yeah, I bet she did." The first girl snickered. Sara rolled her eyes and spotted an open treadmill near the window of the building. She set it to her regular speed and put her earphones in her ears. Just Here to The Left of Me came on first.

Hit back, it won't hurt you
Lean in, no inertia
Bold is the love that I fight to save
Head on, no collision
Confusion, indecision
I don't believe I'm too far to be saved

Someone tapped Sara's shoulder. Sara looked over her shoulder to see Kristen and Jennifer supporting Kaitlin. Sara took off her earphones, leaving the song blasting.

"What happened?" Sara asked, looking from Kristen to Jennifer to Kaitlin and back to Jennifer.

"She fell on her ankle while lifting weights." Jennifer explained as Kaitlin let out a yelp – one of the trainers was looking at her ankle. Carolyn and Tiffany came up to them just as Sara got off her treadmill and walked over to her friend. She forgot that she had her iPod and the others could hear the song.

"What song is that?" Carolyn asked, bobbing her head to the tune.

"It's called Here To the Left of Me." Sara told her.

"Who's it sung by?" Tiffany inquired, putting one of the earphones in her ear and rocked her body to the rhythm of the music.

"He's a new artist – Adam Pascal." Sara answered.

"Guys! I'm hurt here! Could you pay attention to me rather than Adam Pascal, please?" Kaitlin pleaded as the trainer – a blond haired girl named Becky, put Kaitlin on a chair and examined her ankle.

"Is she gonna be okay, Becky?" Jennifer asked the trainer.

"She should be – I put a temporary Ace bandage on it and she should get the ankle checked out as soon as possible." Becky told her. Jennifer nodded and with Kristen's help, slung Kaitlin's arms over their shoulders and walked out of the gym.

"You guys can go back to working out, it's okay." Jennifer called over her shoulder.

"It's okay – I've had enough. Plus, Anthony and I have a date tonight." Carolyn said, running a hand through her short brown hair.

"Didn't you and Anthony have a date yesterday?" Kristen asked her twin as she and Jennifer put Kaitlin in the backseat of Jennifer's car – a 2001 silver Toyoda.

"That wasn't a date – it was a get together." Carolyn informed her twin. Kristen smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm gonna take Kaitlin home. I'll probably stay with her the rest of the evening." Jennifer told the group. The girls nodded and said goodbye before loading into Sara's car and driving to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner.

"…Twist and turn me, bait and burn me
Smile and send me to oblivion
Breathe and bathe me, just be and save me
Know I'm just here to the left of you
And when there's only the dark
I can still see the light in your eyes

Dream on, fill me up now
I bet you know just how loud I can scream, don't you let me go
Feed on infatuation
Swallow, just one taste of all that I am, all I have to show

Twist and turn me, bait and burn me
Smile and send me to oblivion
Breathe and bathe me, just be and save me
Know I'm just here to the left of you
And when there's only he dark I can still see the light
When there's only the dark you are always the light

In my eyes
In my eyes." Sara, Tiffany, Carolyn and Kristen sang at the top of their lungs. They were headed to Georgio's for Mexican food.

"Ooh guys! Check them out!" Carolyn pointed to a group of boys in the next car over. The two cars were at a red light – a very long red light.

"Hey babe!" the driver of the other car – a redhead – called to Sara.

"Hey big boy." Sara flirted – batting her eyelashes and slightly pouted her lips.

"All y'all are fine looking ladies, if I do say myself." The passenger of the other car – a blond haired boy – told the girls. They all giggled as the light turned green and sped off.

"I think that redhead was flirting with you, Sar." Tiffany told her friend, smiling over at her.

"Ugh. You guys, I'm staying single until Peter comes back." Sara told her friends.

"What if he doesn't?" Carolyn asked.

"He will, Caro. I just gotta believe that he will come back to me someday." Sara told her, pulling into the parking lot of Georgio's and put the car in park. As she turned off the ignition, her cell phone rang. Deciding to ignore it, she linked arms with her friends and headed inside to Georgio's.

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Sara had just dropped off Tiffany and was heading home when her cell rang again. She couldn't reach it – it was in her purse in the backseat. Sighing, she decided to check her messages when she got home.

Entering the house, she saw it was dark – there was no noise or sound of activity anywhere. She checked the table near the door to find a note with Mark's handwriting:

Hey sweetie

Papa, Adam and I went to see a movie. We'll be back around nine or so.

Love from,

Daddy, Papa and Adam

PS – we all love you very much and hope you're having fun

Sara smiled at the last part of the note – it was from Jeffery. Putting on a CD, she walked to the phone to check messages.

"Hey Sara – it's Peter. I just wanted to let you know Mom and I are coming back to New York…" Sara screamed excidedly and put the phone down gently – Peter was coming home.

A/N - don't own the lyrics to Here To The Left Of Me. belongs to the wonderful Adam Pascal. 'nuff said.