"Man, I wish we could watch 'Hyde Park On Hudson'," Jamie muttered.

"'Cheerful Weather For the Wedding' is all right," Staci replied.

"It sucks to be fifteen," Jamie complained. "We can't get in to see the really cool movies, but we have to pay full price for the kiddie ones."

Staci laughed. "I wouldn't exactly call 'Cheerful Wedding' a kiddie movie."

"It's not as cool as 'Hyde Park on Hudson'."

The girls bought their tickets, then went to the snack bar for popcorn and soft drinks and entered the theater. The movie had barely begun when Staci left to go to the restroom. "There's no usher outside the entrance to 'Hyde Park'," she whispered to Jamie when she returned. Giggling, the two girls sneaked out of one theater and dashed to another before anyone could see them.

Mesmerized by the movie she was legally forbidden to see, Jamie was startled when the credits began to roll. She and Staci left the building and walked to Staci's mother's car. "So, how did the movie go?" asked Staci's mother, Lori.

"Great!" Staci replied.

"Ad how did you like it, Jamie?" Lori continued.

"It was all right." Jamie did her best to sound nonchalant. All the way home, she hoped her mother wouldn't ask her anything specific about the movie. She knew Jo would probably be upset if she knew what movie she'd really watched.

"Thanks for the ride," she said when Lori dropped her off.

"Sure, any time," Lori replied.

"See you in school Monday," Staci added.

"See ya." Doug and Jo were watching television together when Jamie entered the house.

"Taylor called," Jo told her daughter as Jamie headed for her bedroom.

"OK." Jamie had no intention of returning her former friend's call, as she was still bitter at Taylor because of the incident with Hunter.

The following Wednesday, Jamie was on her way to the cafeteria for lunch with the rest of her class when Staci approached her with a couple of older girls, Delaney and Brianna. "Come on," Staci told Jamie. "Delaney has coupons for McDonald's."

Jamie knew that it was against the rules to leave the campus during school hours without being checked out by an adult, but McDonald's sounded so much better than typical cafeteria food that Jamie needed no further persuasion. Delaney sped to McDonald's, and soon the four girls were sitting in a booth, enjoying their meals. "You're all coming to the party Saturday night, right?" Delaney asked the others as they were eating.

"What party?" asked Jamie.

"I'm having a party at my house this coming Saturday night," Delaney explained. "My folks are gonna be out of town, so things are probably gonna get pretty wild!"

"Are there gonna be guys there?" asked Staci.

"You bet!"

"Count me in, then!" Staci turned to Jamie. "How about you, Jamie? Just tell your folks you're spending the night with me. Brianna can pick us up after your Mom drops you off at my place."

"Sure!" Jamie wasn't about to let the other three girls see her apprehension.

After their hurried meal, the four girls returned to Delaney's car. They were about five minutes away from the school when the driver of the car in front of them slammed on brakes and Delaney smashed right into it, the front of her own car crumpling like a piece of paper. "Oh, shit!" Delaney screamed. "My Dad's gonna kill me!"

The middle-aged woman who'd slammed on brakes in front of them got out of her own car and walked toward them. Delaney opened her own door. "I'm so very sorry, ma'am," she said in her most penitent-sounding voice.

"Are any of you hurt?" The woman looked from one girl to another. They all shook their heads, then walked around to look at the damage and were amazed to see that the woman's car didn't seem to have a scratch.

"Well, if you're OK and your car's OK, I guess we may as well just go our ways," Delaney remarked.

"We'll do nothing of the sort." The woman's lips formed a tight line of determination. "None of us are going anywhere until the police get here."

"But I'm gonna be late for my next class!" Brianna whined.

"That doesn't matter."

The policeman arrived and took down the information from both the woman and Delaney, wrote Delaney a ticket for careless driving, and then left. "Now he's really gonna kill me!" she groaned.

"Let's just see if this thing still drives so we can get back to class," said Brianna.

Luckily it did, so Delaney drove back to the school, where Jamie discovered that she was thirty minutes late for her first class after lunch. She decided that, rather than going to class late, she'd hide in the restroom until the bell rang for her next class.

The remainder of the day passed uneventfully, and Jamie rode the bus home like she would any other day. Jo was working at the computer when her daughter entered the house. She looked up. "Hi, Jamie."

"Hi, Mom." Jamie sat her backpack down. "Can I spend the night with Staci this coming Saturday night?"

Jo frowned. "You've been spending an awful lot of time with her lately. When was the last time you did something with Taylor?"

"Aw, she's too busy with Hunter now." Jamie scowled. "Can I please go to Staci's?"

Jo sighed. "I suppose you can, if it's that important to you."

"Thanks, Mom!" Even if her parents aren't gonna be there, it'll still be OK, Jamie told herself as she continued on her way to her room. After all, what could happen?