by Holly

"Yay!" I shouted as I jumped onto my bed and landed on my already packed bag. "Aren't you just so excited to go home, Ashley? I can't wait to get back to California and see all my old friends. Really, this boarding school thing is cool, but I wish we got more time off for vacations."

Ashley Johnston looked up from the suitcase she was packing and smiled. "You know, since I live so close to you, maybe we could get together over summer break. Orangefield is only about half an hour out of Huntington, remember?"

"I can't wait, wait, wait, to get home again!" I said in a singsong voice. "Have I told you about my friend Natalie? Natalie is so fun to hang out with! She's always the life of the party. You know, you two would really get along."

"From what you've told me, she sounds just like my friend Alicia. We should both get all of our friends together and have a party or something."

"That is such a great idea!" I exclaimed. "I am so excited to meet my little sister's new boyfriend, Eric. She was telling me all about him, and he sounds really great. And, oh! I just know that as soon as our plane lands, my best friend in the whole wide world will be there waiting for us. You'll love her, Ashley. Elizabeth is the greatest friend in the world, except for you, of course."

"That's great," Ashley smiled. "What time does our plane leave again?"

I checked the tickets stitting on the dresser. "Um... 4:45. We'd better hurry if we want to get to the airport in time. Here, I'll help you pack your things." I settled down on the floor to help empty out Ashley's closet.

"I'm really going to miss being able to borrow your clothes all the time," I laughed.

Ashley giggled. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah... what am I going to do with you?"

"Um... take me shopping?" I asked with a sly grin.

Ashley and I both started laughing uncontrollably. I was really going to miss having a roommate. We'd been best friends since we met each other at the beginning of the them at Wilson Academy.

I checked the clock, and asked, "Are you ready yet, slow poke?"

Ashley looked at her three bulging suitcases. "Yep, but how will we carry all of our stuff? I can't fit through the door with my suitcases!"

I picked up some of her belongings, and mine as well, and we walked down the hall, laughing and talking about our plans for the summer. We waved to Mr. Davidson, the principal, as we walked out the front door of the school.

"Good-bye girls. Have a nice sumer, and don't forget--"

"Safety first!" Ashley and I finished.

Mr. Davidson laughed. "Have a good time, Miss Johnston and Miss Reeves."

Ashley and I took one last look at the front of Wilson Academy before we boarded the big bus that would take us to Hartford International Airport.

The trip to the airport seemed to take no time at all, and as the bus stopped in front of the check-in gate, Ashley and I yelled, "California, here we come!"

The driver smiled as he climbed off the bus to unload our luggage. We tipped him and stepped through the glass doors. I led Ashley up to the check-in counter and gave the woman behind it our tickets.

She handed us our boarding passes and said, "Have a lovely trip, and please fly Northern Air in the future!"

We thanked her and walked off toward gate B-12.

Ashley looked at me and grinned, "Can you believe we're going home? Wilson was so fun, but home... it'll be a nonstop party!"

"I am so excited! I can't wait to see all my friends and catch up on all the latest gossip.

Though we weren't a bit rushed, Ashley and I ran all the way to the gate.

"Boarding of flight 467, nonstop to Los Angeles, will now begin. Those passengers seated in rows twenty to thirty-six may now board the aircraft," a feminine voice said over the loud speaker.

Ashley looked at our tickets. "We're on row 28, so we should go. I love flying, don't you? I think it would be so fun to be a flight attendant and wear those cute little outfits."

I shook my head and laughed. "Let's go."

As Ashley and I waited for the rest of the passengers to get off of the plane, we began discussing our summer plans once again.

"I can't wait to see Jason..." I trailed off. "I miss him so much. He's the greatest guy ever. As soon as I see him, I'm going to run up and tackle him and kiss every inch of him."

Ashley giggled. "Sarah Reeves, I do believe that you are head over heels for that boy."

"Duh!" We both laughed and started to walk down the aisle of the plane.

As we walked out of the long, narrow jetway, Ashley saw her parents. I waved to Mr. and Mrs. Johnston and saw my own parents waving at me.

"Mom! Dad! I've missed you so much! How's Ben's soccer team? What about Hannah's ballet? And where is Elizabeth? I thought she'd ever be here. Oh, I bet she just went off for some ice cream. I swear, that girl is addicted. If she ever had the opportunity to be an ice cream taster, she'd jump at the chance."

My parents shrugged. "I don't know, we haven't heard from Elizabeth lately," my mother said.

"Oh..." I replied. "Oh, well, maybe she's just busy with school or something.. I'm sure she remembered that I was coming home today."

My parents helped me retrieve my luggage from the conveyor belt. I chatted absentmindedly about the last day of school, but I was worrying about Elizabeth.

Dad even let me drive all the way home in his Ford Explorer. Even though it was only a fifteen minute trip, I hadn't driven at all during the school year because of Wilson's excellent transportation system.

I ran into the house and yelled, "I'm home!"

My younger brother and sister ran into the living room and hugged me so hard I nearly fell down. I laughed as I chased them around the room.

"Listen, you guys, we'll have to play later. I've really got to call Jason... and Elizabeth... and Amy... and Natalie. I'll be on the phone for quite a while, I'm sure. Later, alligators." I bounded up the stairs to my room. I flopped on the bed and dialed Elizabeth's number.

"Hello?" her dad answered.

"Hi, this is Sarah Reeves. Is Elizabeth there?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's here, but she can't talk right now. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Just tell her that Sarah is home from Wilson, and would really like to talk to her as soon as possible." I said.

"Sure thing," Mr. Anthony replied and hung up.

Well, how stinky is that? I was really looking forward to talking to Lizzie. I quickly dialed Jason's number.

"Hi, this is Jason. I'm not here right now, so talk to my machine and I'll call you later," said Jason's voice on the answering machine.

"Guess who? You get three guesses and the first two don't count. Nope! No, wrong again. Yes! It's Sarah. I'm home from Wilson and I can't wait to see you. Call me as soon as you can. Love you!" I leaned back until I was lying down. This wasn't turning out to be very fun. I had been so excited to see all my friends, and none of them were home.

I called Amy and Natalie. Amy wasn't home either, but I left a message with her older brother. Natalie was home and said she'd love to get together with everyone else. We made plans to meet at the mall the next day.

Natalie and I sat at one of the tables in the food court, waiting on everyone else.

"I called Elizabeth and all the rest... I wonder where they are," she said. "Oh, look! There they are. Lizzie! Jason! Amy! Hurry up!"

Liz, Jason, Amy and Natalie all greeted each other and they looked at me. I noticed that Elizabeth and Jason were holding hands. I gasped, no... it couldn't be. I also saw that Amy looked different. Her usually long, straight hair had been layered and was curled all around her face, and the plaid skirt she was wearing was at least three inches shorter than the ones she used to wear. I looked closer... was that a tattoo on her left arm?

I couldn't believe my eyes. Amy had completely changed from her good girl look. My eyes darted back to Elizabeth and Jason. He hadn't even said hello to me, he was too busy talking to Liz. I looked at Natalie questioningly, and she nodded sadly.

"You mean.... it's true?" I whispered.

"Yes. I can't believe Liz didn't tell you. Come with me," she said and started walking to the other end of the food court. We sat down in a booth and she sighed. "I really can't believe she never told you about Jason. They've been together since January... since you went back to school."

"Oh, Natalie, this is terrible. I was so happy about coming home and seeing Lizzie, and being with Jason again, and now it's all ruined!" I looked over at Liz and Jason and began to cry. "This just isn't fair. I don't know what to do."

Natalie sat down beside me and hugged me. "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way, Sarah. I really thought you knew. Would you like for just the two of us to leave and hang out by ourselves?"

"Yes, but in a little bit. Do you know why Amy has turned into a.... a--"

"A tramp?" Natalie asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, why did she change? She used to be Little Miss Perfect, and now she's so different."

Natalie sighed. "Oh, you remember Derek Williamson from junior high? Well, he's from the wrong side of the tracks, if you ask me, but she and Derek got together in February, and they've been inseparable ever since. It's almost scary how quickly she changed. I liked the old Amy much better. She doesn't hang out with us anymore, though. I don't even know why she agreed to come today if she was going to ignore you like that. So much has changed since you left for Wilson. I don't know what's happening. I think I'm the only one of the old gang that's stayed the same. I really miss you, Sarah. When you left, everything just fell apart."

"I think we should leave now. Can we go to your house and just talk?" I asked.

"Sure," Natalie smiled. "I'd love for you to come over. Do you think you could spend the night? We've got a lot to talk about. I want you to tell me all about Ashley and Wilson Academy. Are there any cute guys there?"

"Tons of them," I laughed.

Natalie's face brightened. "Maybe I'll ask my parents if I can go there next year! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"It'd be a blast!" Natalie and I stood up from the table, and completely ignoring our old friends, walked out of the mall through the double glass doors and into the bright California sun. Maybe my summer at home wasn't ruined after all. Even though the rest of my friends had ditched Natalie and me, we still had each other, and that's all that mattered anyway.

--Holly

Added 04 November 1998

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