"We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance."

-Harrison Ford

I trudged through the snow, my mind spinning as I pulled the straps of my backpack tight against my shoulders. I wondered if I would see that boy again. I would be able to ask his name, ask who he was, and what he had been doing standing in my yard.

My hand wandered to the side of my head and I grabbed a strand of my own hair and began to twirl it around my index finger. It was an old habit of mine to do so when I was nervous, and I continued to do it despite my mother's warnings about eventually getting a bald spot in the side of my head. I cracked a smile and released my hair, pulling my winter hat over my ears to keep them from freezing completely. I was probably maybe a few more minutes away from the school, but I couldn't tell. I had never been there before…all I knew was I had to keep walking forward from where I was now. Only problem was I didn't know where "here" was.

I stood around for a second, trying to figure out whether to go left or straight, and then suddenly someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped back and turned around, alarmed. I hadn't heard anybody coming, but maybe I just hadn't been paying attention.

It took me a moment to realize who the person was, then I saw that it was the boy from yesterday. My shoulders relaxed and I laughed. "Oh, it's you." I said with a smile. I noticed how stiffly he was standing, clutching the handles of his bike with gloved hands. "Are you okay?" I asked. He shook his head a bit to clear it and smiled back at me.

"Uh, yeah…." He cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, then back up at me. "I'm Preston, by the way. And your name's…Taylor, right?" I laughed and shook my head no.

"Actually, it's Tawney. But at least you came close. I've been called Tommy before and you have no idea how annoying it is." He seemed to be at a lack of words, so I continued the conversation. "It's Irish." I explained. He smiled and nodded.

"That's cool…" he paused for a moment and stared awkwardly at the ground. "You look a bit lost. Are you on your way to school?" he asked. I nodded. "Lillian Middle School?" I nodded again and smiled.

"How'd you know?" I crossed my arms loosely in front of me and Preston shrugged.

"I didn't." he replied. "I just guessed since you were on the road I usually take…" I stared at his bike tires, covered in snow.

"Why are you riding your bike in the winter?"

"I dunno…" he sighed. I could see his breath, fog in the air. "I guess I was bored." He looked around as if he were checking to see if anyone else was around. "I could take you to the Middle School if you'd like." He offered kindly. I looked up at him and smiled.

"That would be great, thanks." I said with a genuine smile.

"Um…okay." He didn't really seem to have been expecting the reply I had given him, then he started to get on his bike but stopped. "I could walk with you. Follow me." He started walking up the sidewalk, holding his bike at his side and wheeling it up with him. I walked quickly to catch up with him, then slowed down.

"So, what class do you have first?" I asked. He took a deep breath.

"English with Mrs. Field." He said quietly. My expression brightened.

"Hey, me too!" I stared shyly at my sneakers, which were now covered with snow. "I've never been to the school before…I don't know…would you be willing to help me out when we get there?" I asked. He slowed his pace for a moment, and I stopped to let him catch up to me when I realized I was ahead.

"Uh…yeah." I smiled and laughed mentally, but not in a mean way…more in a sweet way. I just thought it was pretty adorable how he started almost all of his sentences with "um" or "uh," as if talking to me were awkward. I couldn't help but think, Does he like me? But I quickly dismissed the thought. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who got to hang around girls a lot, and I didn't know anything about him…maybe I was one of the first girls to talk to him…like I was to my friend Wesley from the middle school I had gone to in Carmel, Indiana.

Lunch wasn't half as enjoyable as I had made it out to be in my head, but it was fine, considering that I shared lunch period with Preston and his friends. Of course, he introduced me to them almost immediately, and he seemed less awkward around them.

"Hey guys, this is Tawney…the-"

"New girl?" a chubby boy asked, looking me over with narrowed eyes and a quizzical look. Something about him made me uncomfortable. It was like he was judging me…severely.

"Yeah." I replied, waving. "Moved in yesterday."

"She's a few houses down from your place, Joe." Preston said to one of the boys. Joe looked at me and smiled.

"Nice to meet you." He said. At least he's polite, I thought with a grin. The taller kid with dorky glasses wasn't looking at me, and it seemed like he was actually avoiding me.

"So…what are you doing with a girl, Preston?" the chubby boy wondered, still looking me over. I could feel my face reddening.

"Oh, uh, I've been showing her around…she doesn't have any friends yet so…I offered to let her sit with us, you know?" the chubby kid finally stopped staring at me, and instead turned his attention to Preston.

"Oh, so you guys aren't dating or anything?" Preston shook his head immediately, and I almost felt offended, but I realized I didn't know him at all, I was a stranger, and that I wasn't allowed to date until I was sixteen anyway, so it didn't matter if I was in a relationship, real or made up.

"Charles, I literally met her yesterday." Preston explained. Suddenly, a kid dropped his lunch tray in the middle of the table. He had braces and a crooked, cocky grin as he sat down. He didn't seem to notice me at all.

"So, what did I miss?" he asked, tucking what looked like a lighter into his pocket.

"Oh jeez, dude. What did you do now?" Charles asked with a frustrated look. The new boy laughed and looked around to make sure there weren't any teachers present.

"Set off a stink bomb in the library." He whispered smugly.

"God, Cary! You're going to get us all in trouble!" the tall boy exclaimed. Cary shrugged, then suddenly appeared to have noticed me.

"Wait, did Preston get a girlfriend?" he gaped at Preston then at me, and I laughed and shook my head.

"Nope. I'm just the new kid…I met him earlier today and he offered to show me around." Cary narrowed his eyes and nodded slowly.

"Oh, so he only likes you…" Preston stiffened and glared at Cary.

"Shut up, Cary. I was just trying to be polite!" Preston argued. Cary smiled and shrugged.

"Jeez, Math Club. Don't take everything so seriously." Preston's face reddened.

"Math Club?" I wondered aloud. What kind of a nickname was that? I guessed that it was a bad thing to Preston, since he seemed to be getting upset by it, and I wished I hadn't said anything.

"Oh yeah, this guy's a total nerd who spends his summer in Math Club." Cary snickered. "Maybe you want to go and find a manlier guy."

"Shut up…" Preston growled. Cary rolled his eyes and leaned forward to stare at the tall kid with glasses.

"Oh, and I guess you've already met Smartin?" the tall boy sat up straight.

"I told you not to call me that, Cary." He said darkly.

"Oh, and what're you gonna do about it, Smartin? Puke on me?" Cary laughed loudly for everyone to hear, and the boy – Martin, I guessed, was his name – exhaled impatiently and got up to throw away the remaining contents on his tray. I sighed and began to kick at the tile floor with the toe of my shoe. Then, Charles began to stare at me again.

"So…are you into movies?" he asked. His question caught me off guard and I looked up at him, confused.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I wondered.

"Well, you see, my friends and I are making a zombie movie for a film festival that's in a few months…and we're pretty short on cast." He stared at Cary then turned back to me. "You see, Cary here has been the only person we've been able to turn into a zombie for the entire movie…and now that we've got you…"

"Wait, so you want me to be in your zombie movie? As a zombie?" Charles nodded. "Well…I don't see why not. I mean, I've got nothing else to do until the moving truck gets to my house." Charles smiled and nodded.

"Perfect! I can get you a script by Monday." He announced. I grinned. This would be pretty fun…I mean, I'd never been in a movie, let alone one done by a fellow student.

"Sounds cool." I said calmly.

(One month later…)

"Heads up, Tawney!" Cary shouted. I turned my head to see several lit firecrackers flying towards me.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, ducking out of the way and running as far away from them as I could, covering my head with my hands as they exploded all around me. Cary doubled over, laughing, as I ran, and he could scarcely stand up straight. "Cary, you asshole!" I growled, but I couldn't help but smile. It probably was pretty funny from his angle, especially considering the weird face I had most likely made when I ducked away from the firecrackers. That only made Cary laugh harder, and I knew perfectly well why he had played that trick on me…again…the third time this week.

I could never stay mad at him. I sucked at holding grudges. And even when Cary did stupid things like that, I knew it was his version of a joke, and I would laugh along with him instead of storming off to be laughed at. If he did that to anyone else (which I always assumed he had), he'd probably get beat up or something.

One of the only times when I did get mad at him was when he did something stupid and hurt himself. And today, he had a bandage around his ankle from one of his failed attempts to escape a rogue firework.

"You are such an ass!" I shouted as he laughed at me.

"Oh, I know." He replied, leaning against a fence as he continued to crack up.

Martin, Joe, Preston, and Charles watched from a distance, preparing for a zombie death scene, which was why Cary was currently covered in fake blood and zombie makeup, curtesy of Joe along with some assistance on my behalf. Martin shook his head.

"How do you do that?" he asked me. Ever since the first day I had met him, he had talked to me more and more, until talking to me was like talking to family. It made me happy that he now thought of me like that, and not just that awkward new kid from last month.

"How do I do what?" I asked, turning away from Cary after debating whether or not to kick rocks at him. Martin sighed and pointed at Cary.

"How do you put up with him?" I laughed and glanced over my shoulder at Cary.

"Oh, it's wasn't easy at first, but then I remembered that he's really just a helpless, fragile little midget and I learned how to deal with his idiotic pranks." I smirked at Cary and Martin smiled a bit, pushing up his dorky glasses with his index finger.

"Oh, so I'm helpless now, am I?" Cary asked as if my statement had been a challenge.

"Of course not, Cary." I said almost mockingly. "You're incredibly tough and scary…especially dressed like a zombie in a suit." I gestured to his costume and laughed. He smirked and gnashed his fake-bloodstained teeth.

"Yeah? Well I can still turn you into the undead." He shot back, snarling like a zombie. I laughed and held up Martin's fake blank gun, one of the props I was in charge of until one of Martin's shooting scenes.

"One more step and your fake, undead blood will be spurting out your nose." I threatened, trying my hardest to keep a straight face.

"Tawney! Don't fire that! We're low on blanks and I don't want to spend more stolen money on those stupid things!" Charles called angrily. I rolled my eyes and put the gun back in my pocket.

"I wasn't really going to fire it, Charles!" I called back. He stomped back towards the set, kicking up snow in his wake.

I was surprised that Cary wasn't freezing at this point. There were at least four inches of snow on the lawn, and in the background, even Preston was shivering, and he was wearing an overcoat over his sweater. He rubbed his hands together and walked towards me, leaving deep footprints in the snow.

"Hey Tawney, didn't your mom say she'd make hot chocolate?" he asked, pointing at my house, which was only a few feet away. I began to wonder why we were all waiting for Charles and Joe to finish from outside.

"Preston, that was only a few minutes ago, and our stove is shit so it takes a while for it to heat up completely." Preston shook his head.

"You know, Tawney. You're not really like other girls I know…" he sighed. "You swear a lot more." I laughed.

"Yeah, that's probably 'cause I'm Irish. You should hear my dad and my uncle. My dad says it makes me sound tough…and my mom makes me pay her every time I swear." Preston half-smiled, then gazed at the house and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his overcoat. "You know, if you're that cold, you can go inside."

"Really? Your mom won't mind if we get snow on the floor?" Preston asked. I nodded.

"Oh, sure, she doesn't mind. I'm the one who cleans up anyway." I said reassuringly. I turned to look at Cary, who had gone on to bother Martin. "Cary! Martin!" they looked up at me from where they sat on the bench on the far side of the yard. "Preston and I are headed inside to warm up, want to join us?"

"Hell yeah!" Cary jumped to his feet and raced towards us, tripping a bit in the snow, and Martin nodded and followed close behind, holding onto his hat as the wind almost knocked it off of his head.

"Joe!" I called. Joe perked up and turned to face me. "You want to come inside or are you and Charles okay staying outside?" Joe glanced at the set, then at Charles, then at my house…then he rose to his feet, carrying a script in one hand and his dad's camera in the other.

"I think I'll actually come inside." He called, walking towards us.

"Hey! Where are you guys going! Don't abandon the scene!" Charles shouted scornfully, following me as I unlocked the back door with my house key and held it open for the others.

"Mom?" I called after I had shut and locked the door. I glanced at the wooden floor of the kitchen, which was now dripping wet, and I followed a trail of snow up to Cary, who was standing in the middle of the living room with his shoes still on. "Cary!" I exclaimed. "Take your shoes off! I don't want to have to mop up snow in the entire house!" Cary jumped a bit then bent over to remove his shoes. He chucked them into the kitchen and sat down on the couch as if he owned the place. He had been here before, of course, and after a few visits, he became comfortable enough to act like he lived there, too.

"Sorry, Tawney." He picked up the television remote and pressed a few buttons.

"Ha, nice try." I sneered. "My mom unplugged it a while ago to make me spend less time watching movies and more time outside." Cary groaned and again got to his feet, and I allowed them to hang out while I looked for my mom.

As I crossed the kitchen, I saw that the stove was lit, and a kettle of milk was bubbling and steaming. I raced over to it and switched it off, alarmed. "Mom?" she wasn't answering me, and I was beginning to worry that she had left or something. Then, I heard her gasp, and I ran towards her. "Mom? What's going on?" she was upstairs. I could hear her now. I figured she was on the phone, so I walked over to the nearest telephone and picked it up to eavesdrop on her conversation.

"Is…Is Joe at your house?" a male voice asked from the other end of the line. I figured it was Charles' dad. It sounded a lot like him.

"Um, yes…" my mother replied. Her voice was static and distorted through the phone line.

"Well…I'm afraid there's been an accident…at the steel mill…" My heart seemed to stop beating and caught in my throat. I coughed a little bit away from the mouthpiece but continued to listen. Joe's mother worked at the Steel Mill… I felt someone tap me lightly on the shoulder and I turned around to see Joe. Quickly, I hung up the phone and placed it back in its holder.

"Hey…Tawney, is everything okay? Where's your mom?" I trembled as he stared into my eyes. Something bad had happened to his mom…I couldn't tell him…I didn't want him to find out like that. My eyes wandered to the phone and I stepped between him and the counter. Joe eyed the phone suspiciously and reached around me for it.

"Joe…don't…" I muttered, my eyes brimming with tears. He picked up the phone and held it up to his ear, his eyes glued to me the whole time. I could barely hear what Charles' father said on the other line, but I could still make out what he had said.

"The boy's mother was killed…" Joe dropped the phone and it clattered to the floor, only to spring back up on the cord, and he stumbled back into the wall. Tears sprang into my eyes and I covered my mouth.

"I'm so sorry Joe…." I whispered, sitting next to him from where he was now sitting against the wall, staring off into space. "So sorry…"