Stony High - Freshman Edition

Kennedy Daniels was pacing along the quad in front of Stony high with the hot sun beaming down on her dewy skin. The temperature had already soared to an unbearable eighty degrees on the morning of her first day of high school and the meteorologist predicted the forecast could reach one hundred degrees before the day ended.

She reached inside her purse for a Kleenex, blotting away the tiny beads of sweat on her forehead and there wasn't a single ounce of shade for her to hide behind. She grabbed her school schedule, using it as a fan to avoid looking like a sweaty hot mess. "This is bull shit," she mumbled, knowing there was no way she would retouch her makeup in the middle of the quad, after she looked around to find people staring in her direction.

Great, there must be a stamp on my forehead that says, incoming freshman. Her clothes were starting to cling to her skin while her backpack felt like dead weight, resting upon her left shoulder. She wanted to kick herself for asking her parents to drop her off on their way to work, instead of sucking it up and walking the few blocks to school or catching a ride with the rest of her friends. Instead here she was again, being the eager beaver and overachiever as her friends often called her. She couldn't count the number of times she glanced at the time on her phone, wondering what was keeping her friends from such a monumental day in all their lives.

If that was bad enough, she couldn't get rid of the foul taste in her mouth from the black coffee she had before leaving the house, thinking it would give her the jolt she needed to make it through her first day of school. "What is taking them so long?" She said in a huff as she shuffled her body weight from her left foot to her right and just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, four girls pranced by her, dressed in tight mini-skirts paired with heels, giggling at her upon passing.

She inhaled deeply, ignoring the snickering she heard coming from their direction and glanced at her outfit she was very happy she chose. Her new skinny jeans showed off her curves without making her look trashy. "Seriously, this is ridiculous." She started walking towards the school until she heard her name being yelled. With a quick turn she spotted Courtney, Portia and Nikki waving goodbye to Portia's dad before they ran over to where she stood.

"Ken-Ken, how long have you been waiting for us?" Portia asked, giving her a hug.

"I've been here for about fifteen minutes. My mom had a conference call and my dad scheduled an early surgery so I just caught a ride with them," she replied, exhaling deeply and plastered a hallelujah smile on her face.

"Girls, can you believe we're freshman, now?" Nikki said, taking off her Chanel sunglasses, placing them on top of her head. She was still a little tired after climbing out of her bed at the crack of dawn to assemble her wardrobe that consisted of her new midnight blue jeans with a white tank top and a colorful scarf, draped around her slender neck.

"I'm still processing it all but I must say, we're older, cuter, and we're going to turn this school out," Courtney said, snapping her fingers. Her outfit of choice was a pair of black slacks with a black cardigan and a single strand of pearls, paired with her new Christian Siriano wedges. She was the type of girl who would never be caught dead with a pair of flats on unless she was required to wear them.

The girls were all smiles until, Jevon Hamilton, ran by causing them all to pause as they watched him catch the football one of his friends threw his way and they all lived in his neighborhood. He was easy on the eyes and on everyone's list as the ultimate catch. Kennedy's eyes were glued to his every move, knowing she had a great summer spending most of her free time with him, and they have been best friends for three years and counting.

"Girls, this day just got a whole lot better. I heard Sydney broke up with Jevon when she caught him at the movies with Paula last week." Portia said sizing him up. She reached inside her purse and took out her phone to snap a few pictures before school to upload onto her Instagram. "Okay everyone I need you to smile," she said, snapping away while they each struck a pose for the camera.

"I heard she dumped her soda over both their heads when she actually witnessed them being extra flirty and she threw popcorn with extra butter in Paula's face. Talk about a girl scorned, she was livid her so-called friend and her boyfriend were hooking up," Nikki said, grabbing the phone away from Portia and took a quick picture of them together. "This is so cute. Make sure you tag me in this photo."

"Let me get this right, Syd is still the captain of the cheerleading team after getting into it with Paula?" Courtney asked.

"Yes! For some reason as mean as she is the coach loves her." Kennedy replied.

"What about Paula? Did she get cut from the team because if Sydney is that hurt over this betrayal you already know she ran straight to the coach trying to get her kicked off?" Courtney asked laughing.

"Nope, from what I heard, Ms. Walters called them when one of the faculty advisers told her what happened since he was at the movies that night with his wife and she told them to squash it or else she would bench them for the first six games of the football season. The only reason I know this is because Paula told me a few days ago when I saw her at the mall. She acted all hurt Jevon told her it was over." Kennedy said, as she continued to look at Jevon until he turned and caught her staring. He smiled before he threw the ball back to his friend.

"Ken-Ken, what's up with you two? You have been friends with Jevon like, forever." Nikki said raising a brow.

The other girls looked over at her and started to wonder the same thing. Jevon wasn't just her next door neighbor and best friend but their parents were also best friends. She's always claimed she looked at him as just her play brother but if her friends knew she secretly was crushing on him, she'd die.

"Kennedy, did you hear me?" Nikki said again, snapping her finger in front of her face when she didn't reply. None of her friends were buying the just friends act.

"Yes I heard you. I was just thinking about something my mom said to me earlier, nothing important. Carry on." She said, waving her off with her hand.

"Any-way, I was so stoked to learn I would have Mr. Miller for Algebra. I remember I wanted to cry when he quit our middle school to come here. He really breaks down math in a way that even a slow person can understand. Mainly me, since I have trouble comprehending difficult numbers." Portia said smiling.

Kennedy started to chuckle. "No, what you should have said, you can't concentrate because you're always texting some zit-faced boy in class when you should have your head in your math book," she said sticking out her tongue.

Portia rolled her eyes. "Okay, you got me." She pushed Kennedy in the back and started walking towards the school with her friends trailing behind them. They stopped short of the school steps to continue their conversation and formed a huddle in order to hear each other speak.

"I didn't have him in middle school and from what I've been told, he's really tough but one of the best math teachers this school has ever had." Nikki said, glancing down at her class schedule. "I have him third period," she folded the paper in her hand, placing it back in inside her backpack.

"Looks like all of our schedules are different." Courtney added, poking out her bottom lip. "Well at least we have the same lunch period. It may not count for much but it gives us a break in the middle of the day to catch up," she said perking up.

Kennedy could only smile as she looked around at her friends who she considered to be her sisters ever since the six grade. She smiled at Courtney, who was well-known, as the spoiled prissy friend who based her entire life on being and having the best of everything and constantly felt the need to prove she could have anything she set her whining heart upon. The girls called her a label whore who didn't feel she fit in unless she had that designer tag, on every outfit and accessory she wore. Even her shoe game was out of control with nearly one hundred pairs of shoes and forty pairs of boots. She was Asian and the tallest of them all, standing at five-eight with tiny freckles sprinkled across her pierced nose. Everyone always wondered how she was able to afford all those designer clothes when it was clear her parents were hardly rich.

Next, there was, Nikki, who happens to be Kennedy's closest friend and confidant. She's a real mixed breed with her mother being white and her dad is African American. She stands five-four in height with an olive complexion, crystal clear blue eyes and an hourglass figure to match her larger than life personality.

Her parents parted ways when her dad decided he needed to move to New York to run his flagship shoe store, leaving her mother to raise her on her own and it didn't take long before she was opening up her own clothing boutique. Nikki had her mother to thank for giving her the natural born talent for being a creative designer when she started watching her mother create signature designs for several leading dignitaries around the city.

At the age of twelve she found herself sitting in her room, sketching her own designs with her colored pencils and her mother was so impressed by her talent that she made her a promise, if she kept up her grades and continued to produce high fashion sketches, she would have her design artist, Fernando, help make one of her images come to life and feature it in her store. When she turned thirteen, her mother made good on her promise and she has three original designs featured in the store for the fall collection.

Not to mention, she mostly wears every outfit she has designed for herself to create buzz that she is on the road to being a very promising fashion designer. While all her friends were outside enjoying summer, she was spending her allowance on fabric and taking lessons from her mother's seamstress.

And lastly, she smiled at her gorgeous Hispanic friend, Portia, who lives for being in love. She's known as the boy crazy, hopeless romantic that falls easily with any boy who smiles at her and she's a true gossip when it comes to everybody else's business, except her own.

Her friends avoid telling her any details they don't want shared with others, knowing she will turn around and tell anybody who takes the time to listen to her. Her parents like to keep a tight leash on her, making it hard for her to spend any alone time outside of school with any of the boys she considers boyfriend material, since they are only concerned with her making the high school track team.

Both of her parents competed in the summer Olympics, winning silver medals in track three years in a row when she was a toddler and they're expecting her to follow in their footsteps, by hiring a trainer to prepare her for tryouts this year. They don't have a clue she will not be trying out for track and she really will be trying out for a spot on the majorette team. It will only be a matter of time before they learn the truth and she definitely will need the support of her friends.

Portia took off her black headband, placed it in her bag and twisted her hair into a high ponytail. "I don't know about any of you guys but I'm ready to get this day started," she said winking at Kennedy. "I'm ready to see what this school has to offer and you already know my one-track mind will be scoping out the hotties.

"Of course your brain is on the boys but for me, I'm just ready for cheerleading tryouts and to get the whole process over," Kennedy said, fanning her face with her hand. She was ready to get inside the school and escape the heat. "Yes, and I'm trying out for the majorette team after school. I practiced a routine that Addie helped me with and you already know she's been on the team for two years now," Portia added.

Nikki nudged Courtney, who was staring at Kennedy. "I bet you can't wait, Ken-Ken. Especially since Jevon is on the football team and you get to see your BFF even more. I think we're all just a little bit curious why the two of you are not a couple yet?" Courtney asked. Kennedy started to roll her eyes. She didn't expect to be quizzed on the first day of school by her friends and she surely wasn't about to fess up. "I, I don't think that would be a good idea. Besides, he is like a big brother to me." Yeah right. She twirled the colorful bangles around her wrist and tried to ignore her friends staring at her.

"Well, I don't know about you but big brotha is fine with a capital F. If you don't want him, I'll gladly make a play for him," Portia said, trying to bait her friend but her tactics were not working.

Kennedy knew all her friends looked up to her because she was the one friend they all could turn to when they needed a shoulder to cry on. She was the shortest out of her friends, standing at exactly five-feet, on her perfect size eight frame and she was Black with long, wavy brown hair, along with some very haunting hazel eyes. Her parents were successful doctors at the local memorial hospital and they were well-known in the community. To this day, she couldn't understand why her friendship with Jevon would surprise them when they've known him longer than she has, except she lived next to him.

"Ken-Ken, he has the looks, he's a star athlete, goes to church every Sunday and he gets straight A's." Courtney took out her cell phone and pretended to dial his number. "If that isn't enough for you to make a play, I will do it without hesitation," she unzipped her Coach purse and took out her compact mirror. She was excited to be a freshman and ready for all the school had to offer, including more mature boys, school dances, and scholarships to good four-year colleges. What she wasn't looking forward to was telling her friends some news that would be a shock to them all.

Kennedy let out a heavy sigh, throwing up her arms in disbelief. "Hold up, did you forget the boy was busted for cheating on his girlfriend?" She folded her arms and looked into each of their stunned faces. "That's what I thought. Nobody is that perfect and he thought he was being slick. So as far as I'm concerned, end of discussion." The school bell rang and all the girls started to squeal. Kennedy stood at the top of the school entrance steps and looked at her giddy friends.

"Alright girls, let's go in here and turn this school out. Have a good first half and I will see you all at lunch," she turned and raced through the school doors. The girls turned to each other and burst out laughing. "Just friends," they all said, walking through the school doors together.

After running into the school, Kennedy headed towards her homeroom class when she spotted Jevon standing at the other end of the long hallway, talking to one of his friends. She started walking in his direction when out of nowhere, Paula, stepped in front of her.

"Hey, Ken-Ken, are you nervous for your first day?" She asked, looking around at all the boys staring at her. She pulled out a tube of MAC lip gloss and applied it to her plump lips while Kennedy sucked in a deep breath to keep from saying something she might regret.

She looked down at the outfit Paula was wearing and sighed. She had on a pair of too tight leggings that gave her camel toe and her top was three sizes too small for her enormous chest. She wanted to barf from just looking at her in all her fake glory.

"No, I'm not nervous. In fact, I'm very excited," she said, glancing over Paula's shoulder, noticing Jevon was no longer in the spot where she saw him and when she looked back at Paula, she was gawking at all twenty-two inches of her dysfunctional hairweave in her mirror.

"That's great. Well, I'm off to my homeroom, so if you need any help finding your way around here, I will be more than happy to help you out," she said, snapping her mirror shut and tossed it in her purse. She gave Kennedy a hug and sashayed down the hallway, leaving her to shutter at the thought of ever being BFF's with a girl who seemed to be comfortable being the sloppy seconds to any guy who looked her way.

When she went to turn around, she stumbled into Jevon, who was grinning down at her. "Hey little sis, what did that trick want with you?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek, causing several girls to stop and roll their eyes at them. She didn't pay them any mind instead she leaned in to give him a hug. She figured since she was new, she needed to show them who really got most of his attention.

"She was just asking me how it felt to be a freshman," she quickly moved away from him when she caught a whiff of his cologne. "I know you didn't just call your hookup a trick? You were busted with her or did you just conveniently forget that piece of vital tea?" She started to laugh before walking off to her homeroom.

"Come on Ken-Ken, she's a trick and everybody knows it," he hollered out after her. She didn't bother turning around when it became clear to her, he was showing off in front of his friends.

"Jevon, when did your young and tender neighbor turn into a hottie? She's gorgeous," Rico said, slapping him on the back. Jevon turned to his friend who was a starter on the football and basketball team. Rico was his Hispanic, best friend who was muscular with wavy hair, and grey eyes. There wasn't a girl in the entire school who didn't want to get there hooks into him and they couldn't get enough of his mean, bow-legged swagger.

"Man, quit playing, she's my little sister, I don't look at her like I look at these other girls and you shouldn't be looking at her like that either," he said, frowning at his friend.

"Well, baby is a knock-out and if she's single, she won't be for long up in this school. Are you sure you're not hitting that? She was giving you the look." Rico batted his eyes and pretended to flip his hair over his shoulder.

"Again, she's like a sister to me and no dude better look at her any type of way or they will have to deal with me," he walked away from his friend and stepped into his homeroom class.

For some reason, Rico's comments started to mess with his head and he never looked at her as anything but his little sister. Now he was questioning was something wrong with him for not seeing her any other way. I need to stop tripping.

"Hi, Jevon," Tennille and Danielle, said at the same time. They were identical twins and they had a reputation for latching on to the school jocks. Tennille grabbed Jevon's arm and snuggled close and Danielle planted a kiss on his cheek.

He looked around the classroom with every girl in the room eyeing him with a flirtatious smile and it made him feel even more like the man of the hour, for having two of the biggest freaks in class, next to him. "Hey, ladies, you two are looking gorgeous as usual. Now I know it's going to be a good school year," he said, walking them to their seats and waited for them to sit down.

"Thanks, Jevon." They said.

He walked to the back of the class while rolling his eyes the whole way and slapped his friend, Greg, on the back. He quickly took his seat behind him and leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Man, did you see those two freaks, jocking me? They have no shame." He leaned back in his chair and grabbed his backpack off the floor. Greg turned around in his chair. "I saw Kennedy outside this morning. Man, is it me or did she just get more fine?"

He quickly turned back around in his seat when the homeroom teacher entered the class. Jevon didn't say a word. This was the second time one of his friends made a comment on her looks. He shook his head and quickly took out his iPhone to send her a message.

Kennedy was just about to take a seat in her homeroom class when her iPhone went off and everyone looked in her direction. She took a seat in the second row, next to a girl who looked like she was terrified. Her hands were shaking and it was clear she never attended a public school before. She wore a long black skirt that came to her ankles and an old school top with ruffles around the collar.

Kennedy put her hand on top of hers. "It's just high school. It will be okay," she said, when the girl looked over at her and started to smile. She turned back to her desk and reached in her purse to take a peek at her text message.

Jevon: Did u find your homeroom class?

She smiled at the message and thought it was very sweet of him but then again, it was Jevon. He was always sweet to her. She typed him a quick message and hit the send button before putting her phone on vibrate. Just when she was about to put the phone in her purse, it vibrated in her hand. She quickly hit her messages to read his reply.

Jevon: Cool. I will be by your house tonight for dinner.

She didn't need to say anything further and simply put her phone away and smiled at the thought she would see him for dinner. She didn't have a clue why she was so excited when he came to her house for dinner at least three times a week and if he wasn't at her house for dinner, she ate at his.

They spent a lot of time together during the week but the weekends, he was hardly around. He was either with some girl of the week or his friends and sometimes both. After ten minutes of homeroom, the bell started to ring and she quickly gathered her things and headed out the door, into the crowded hallway where the noise level was deafening.

She rushed up the hall and walked up the stairs, for her first period class. When she made it to the top of the stairs, a few guys started chanting, "Fresh meat! Fresh meat!" She darted pass them and stopped a few feet away when she heard Jevon yell for them to leave her alone. This year is going to be real interesting. She continued down the hall to her class, confident that she had at least one person who would always have her back and his name was Jevon.

At lunch everyone was going to meet in front of the cafeteria entrance and when Kennedy spotted Portia, she also spotted a very pretty girl standing beside her who could pass for Leona Lewis twin sister. She walked up to Portia and placed her arm around her neck. "Hey, Portia, who's your friend?" The girl turned to Kennedy and extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Sabrina," she said smiling.

"It's nice to meet you, Sabrina," she said, looking at the pretty, voluptuous girl in front of her, who had amazing bone structure and curly long hair. "Portia where are the rest of the girls?" She asked, glancing inside the cafeteria to see if she could spot them.

"Courtney and Nikki went to grab us a table. Sabrina, why don't you join us?" Portia said grabbing her by the arm.

"Sure, I need to meet new people since I'm new to this area," she walked with Portia and nearly knocked Kennedy out of the way. Kennedy stood looking after them and even-though she didn't have anything against Sabrina, she couldn't help feeling slighted by her friend for bringing a newbie to sit with her group of friends.

She followed the girls to the table and started taking the contents out of her lunch tote. The girls made a pack to try to always bring lunch since typically all school lunches sucked.

Nikki and Courtney stared at Sabrina and wondered why she was sitting at their table and why Portia was being so nice to her. "Um, Portia, who's your friend?" Courtney said pointing in Sabrina's direction.

"I'm sorry guys, this is Sabrina who is new to Chicago and I thought you wouldn't mind if she joined us," she said, glaring at them.

"Sure, it's cool. Hi, I'm Nikki and this is Courtney." Nikki said, pulling the tab on her diet cola. She was trying to be the nice one but could tell from the look on Courtney's face, she was having a problem with Sabrina joining them.

"Hello everyone," Sabrina quickly took a seat and opened up her lunch bag. She tried not to make any eye contact with Courtney when she sensed she wasn't happy she joined them for lunch.

"I was super bored in my first period class. The teacher was a total geek and she could use a makeover. I had to raise my hand twice because she talked so low," Courtney said, taking a tiny bite out of her turkey sandwich before she opened her bag of baked chips.

"I must tell you that if you have Mr. Lewis for Social Studies next trimester be prepared to be bored out of your mind. I nodded off at least a dozen times and he was just on the third page of our text book," Nikki said laughing.

Everyone stopped laughing when they noticed Jevon approaching their table and when he put his hands on Kennedy's shoulders a pin could have dropped.

"What's up, Ken-Ken? Hello ladies," he said, looking at each of the girls at the table who smiled back at him.

"Hi Jevon," they all said.

"I don't think we have met before," he said to Sabrina and reached for her hand. He watched her turn a shade of pretty pink when she nervously reached for his hand. "I'm, um, Sabrina," she said smiling.

"It's nice to meet you, Sabrina." He let her hand go and looked down at Kennedy. "Little sis, you're still trying out for the cheerleading squad after school, right?" He asked, massaging the back of her neck. The girls at the table all exchanged glances and didn't utter a single word. They were too wrapped up in the conversation that was taking place in front of them.

Kennedy couldn't focus on a word he was saying to her and she couldn't believe he was rubbing her neck with her friends staring at her. "Yes-I'm still trying out," She took a quick sip of her orange juice to keep her mouth from going dry.

"Cool, I'll see you later for dinner. Bye, ladies," he said and turned to walk away. "Bye, Jevon." They all said.

"So girls, what else is going on?" Kennedy asked, opening up a zip lock bag and took out a chocolate chip cookie.

"Girl, please, what was that all about?" Nikki said, pointing in his direction. "Do all your male friends massage your neck like that? If they do, please send me a friend like him," she said leaning back in her chair laughing.

"Yeah, I don't know any friends like that, either." Courtney added, raising a brow. She couldn't help being jealous of Kennedy's relationship with Jevon but she couldn't waste another second without telling her friend some news she'd held in for too long.

She cleared her throat. "Kennedy, I guess I will see you at tryouts, too," she wiped her mouth with a napkin and looked around at her friends staring at her with blank faces.

"That's great. I am going to tryout, too. I was on the squad in junior-high," Sabrina said, looking at Courtney who turned to her and rolled her eyes. She still was not sure why Sabrina was at their table. "Courtney, you never mentioned this before and you certainly never seemed interested in being a cheerleader. What gives?" Kennedy asked before she folded her arms. She was highly upset, since she thought she would be the only one in their group who had any interest in being a cheerleader.

Courtney cracked a smile. "Well, let's just say, I want to try something different. I mean we're in high school now and it's not like there isn't room for both of us, unless you're afraid you won't make it if I try out?" She sucked in her teeth, ready for Kennedy to come unglued and if she thought she would bow out, she had another thing coming.

Portia and Nikki were shocked at Courtney's behavior and Sabrina was sensing some tension coming from both the girls.

Kennedy started to laugh. "What would make you think that I would be mad? You can do whatever you want. I'm just a little surprised, since you never mention it and you are not the most coordinated person," she said, picking up her trash and started walking towards the garbage can. She could hear a group of upperclassman girls whispering when she passed their table. "I don't see what Jevon could possibly see in her." One of the girls whispered.

"Please, she's just another groupie freshman who probably batted her hazel eyes at him and now she thinks he will be her man. There is not a chance in hell that will happen when Sydney finds out," Another girl said and rolled her eyes.

Kennedy ignored their comments, since it would only be a matter of time before they all found out just how much power she had when it came to him. She threw her trash away and walked back to her table.

"Ken-Ken, don't be like that. It will be fun if we both make the team," Courtney said, trying to smooth things over after Portia and Nikki told her she was acting like a complete bitch to her friend. "You'll see, I promise."

"Girl, girls, girls, check out the cutie, three tables in front of us. Look at the dimples on him with his fine self," Portia said smiling extra hard. All the girls looked over and quickly diverted their gazes when he started walking towards their table.

"Cousin, how's the first day of school going so far?" Tony asked, looking down at Sabrina. "It's going great," she said glancing up at him. "Ladies, this is my cousin, Tony, and he's a junior. Tony, this is Portia, Nikki, Kennedy, and Courtney," she said, trying not to laugh.

"Hi," they all said.

"Tony, I am going to the cheerleading tryouts after school until four. Can you stay after and wait for me or do you have to work?" She asked.

"I'm not working until Thursday. I'm just glad I was able to score a job over at Pizza Inn a few nights a week. Some of the fella's are going over there after school. Hit me up on my cell when you are ready to be picked up and I will come get you." He watched a girl walk pass him and smile before she walked towards the cafeteria exit. "Ladies, it was nice to meet you but I have to run," he said, running to catch up with the girl that caught his eye. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to his side.

"Damn, Sabrina, your cousin is fine and his deep voice is everything." Portia said shivering. She continued to stare at him while he was flirting with the girl who turned to him and put her arms around his waist.

"Is that his, girlfriend?" Kennedy said, looking over her shoulder.

"No way, as far as I know Tony likes to keep his options open and he's definitely not boyfriend material. My auntie Janet wants him to concentrate on graduating with good grades and cut down on his dance performances up at Angeles Hall where he competes with his dance squad." She took a sip from her water before adding, "Oh just so you all know I'm living with my aunt, since my dad is serving over in Iraq and my mother died, two years ago in a car accident," she glanced at the girls and took another sip from her water bottle.

"Wow, Sabrina, I'm so sorry to hear that." Kennedy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She couldn't image what Sabrina must have felt losing her mother and not having her dad around.

"I'm fine, knowing my mother is looking down and watching over me and my dad keeps in touch as much as he can when he's not off in the field but my auntie takes wonderful care of me and my little brother, Chris. We couldn't ask for a better person to call mom than my aunt," she said smiling when the lunch bell started to ring.

The girls were touched by Sabrina's openness and it even made Courtney soften up towards her. She offered her a warm smile. The girls cleaned up their trash, dumping it in the garbage before they made their way towards the exit doors. Nikki, Sabrina, and Portia walked downstairs to their next class and left Courtney and Kennedy alone. Courtney reached out and grabbed Kennedy's arm. "Hey wait up. Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about trying out but I really didn't think you would care," she said, pulling her books closer to her chest. The traffic in the hall was beginning to pick up and the girls quickly stepped to avoid being knocked over.

"I told you I wasn't mad. I just wish you had said something sooner. I mean it was just a little surprising and you had an entire summer to tell me," Kennedy didn't even try to hide the disappointment on her face. This was not the first time Courtney had pulled this kind of stunt. When Kennedy's dad bought her a Coach purse with the matching wallet for graduation, she showed it to all her friends. Two days later, Courtney, had the same purse and wallet. She claimed her mother had bought it for her and just forgot to give it to her but Kennedy didn't believe her.

"Well, I'm glad we cleared the air. I'll see you after school." Courtney gave her a hug before walking into her art class. She refused to let Kennedy's attitude bring her down and quite frankly, she was sick of everyone thinking she didn't have talent.

They all were about to see a new side of her and they would just have to get on board because the old Courtney was no longer. She strolled into her art class, found the only empty seat left at one of the group tables and pulled out her paper. Her teacher closed the door when the final bell stopped ringing.

"Settle down class," Ms. Thomas said, walking over to her desk and grabbed her attendance sheet. Courtney looked at her watch and silently prayed the next fifty minutes would go by fast since she was an amateur at art and she only requested the elective class with hopes it would be more like a free period where she didn't need to strain her brain cells.

Author question to readers: Do you feel Courtney was wrong for not approaching her friends over the summer about her interest in becoming a cheereleader?