Sorry, Bestie

Copyright © 2020 Felicity T. Abbott.

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue

in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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Illustrations by Karen Gardiner Armstrong

Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982

by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1252-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1251-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1253-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020922675

WestBow Press rev. date: 12/07/2020

Contents

Note to Jade

Note to Jade #2

Letter to Lacy

Scientific Questions

Bibliography

About the Author

Bam! Bam! Bam! At six in the morning, the alarm clock sounded like a jackhammer in my head.

Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Lacy! Happy birthday to you! Time to get up and get ready for school. You don’t want to be late, especially on the first day.

Thanks, Mom, I thought. Just what I wanted—to be reminded that I have to go to school on my birthday.

Couldn’t school have waited just one more day? One more day to rest peacefully on my fluffy pillows that felt like soft, wispy clouds. One more day to stay in bed as long as I wanted. One more day to hang around in my pajamas until I felt like pulling on my bathing suit to cool off in the lake. One more day. Just one more day! Was it really that much to ask?

Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory. Rise and shine, children of the Lord.

Oh, no. My mom was singing at me again as she came in and raised the blinds, letting the sunlight stream into my room.

Come on, Lacy. You can’t stay in bed any longer. Get up and get ready for school. We want to start the year off right.

How can she be so cheery in the morning? How can anyone be happy in the morning? I just wanted to bury my head under the pillows and scream at the top of my lungs. I was not looking forward to the rest of the day.

I lay there thinking about last year. Last year, I had friends. Last year, Grace, Marie, and Jade were all there. Grace and Marie were new to the school, but Jade wasn’t. She was my best friend. In fact, we had been best friends since we were four years old. We always had so much fun together, making jewelry or swimming or, you know, just hanging out. I could always rely on Jade. We would sit together at lunch, race for the swings at break, and sing. We sang all the time. Oh, the good old days!

Your breakfast is ready! Mom yelled from the kitchen.

Oh no! Is it already six thirty? I thought as I hurried to the bathroom to shower.

No time for breakfast! I yelled as I shut the door to the bathroom.

It’s seven thirty! Mom shouted. Your lunch is packed. I’ll start the car. Let’s go!

I grabbed my sweater and ran down the stairs to the kitchen. There was Sticky, our toy poodle, looking up at me.

Oh, Sticky, you’re just so fluffy! Give me a hug! Like a bolt of lightning, she streaked past me and out of my reach. I chased her around the table until I heard the beeping. You win this time, but I will get a hug when I get home, I vowed.

Sticky, quite pleased with herself, sat panting under the table with what I supposed was a smirk on her face.

Mom was glaring at me as I got in the car. Lacy, you really have to be faster in the morning. You’re in high school now. You’re not a baby anymore. You have to be more responsible.

I nodded in agreement but felt that she didn’t understand. I had to shower, brush my teeth, fix my hair, and put on that awful acne cream.

Did you remember everything you need for today? This is a gym day. You do have your gym uniform, right?

What? You’re not serious! Gym on the first day of school? Of course I don’t have it! I whined. This was not going to be a terrific birthday.

We pulled into the school parking lot at 7:57 a.m. I had three minutes to grab my stuff, throw it all into my locker, and run to homeroom.

As I opened the main door, I noticed that the hallways were already empty. Panicked, I ran as fast as I could to my locker, put my jacket away, turned around, and bumped right into Kyle—sweet, sensitive Kyle. I’d only been crushing on him for two years.

He looked down at me, his bright blue eyes sparkling. Oh, I didn’t see you there. Are you okay?

F-f-f-f-ine, I stammered and hurried to homeroom, sure that my face was as red as my uniform shirt, which must have looked fantastic with the explosion of zits I saw on my forehead that morning.

I slid into my seat at exactly eight, just as Pastor Dave began the announcements over the intercom.

Good morning and welcome, students and staff, he said. We are all looking forward to a great year filled with opportunities to learn. Every day is a gift from God, given to us to reach for our potential. Please use each day to learn and grow and to learn and grow in the Lord. Please remember the following events. This afternoon is tryouts for the girls’ volleyball team and boys’ soccer team. Ladies in middle and high school are encouraged to be at the gym right after school. Boys will meet on the field directly after school.

I cringed inwardly while Pastor Dave gave the morning announcements. All the girls in my class would be trying out for the volleyball team. It was practically expected that we would all play and want to be on the team. Personally, I hated sports. Why in the world would people want a ball hurtling toward their face? I might not have been a supermodel, but I wanted to keep my face intact! I was lucky to make it through gym class. Why would I voluntarily sign up for torture? The bell rang, and everyone started toward their first class.

I had heard rumors over the summer that there would be a new kid in our class—a boy. I had been so excited. Someone new! There had been new kids the past two years, but they had been girls, and besides, they didn’t stay at the school. Having a boy in class would be great!

There weren’t any boys in class last year, and there had only been two boys the years before that. Jake and Michael had made class interesting, always asking funny questions. Unfortunately for Michael, Jake preferred to hang out with the girls, so Michael had to make friends with the boys in seventh grade.

Yup, Jake definitely liked the girls. At the beginning of the year, he had a crush on Alyssa. Then he was always with Amanda. By Christmas, he was pulling Kate’s braids and teasing her, and finally in June, Jake was hanging with Rachel. I never did understand why he was always with them. I mean, I guess they’re pretty, but they’re so mean, and all they do is complain. Anyway, Jake and Michael both left for other schools, so there was only Alyssa’s group and us: Jade, Marie, Grace, and me.

I got to my first class and looked around. No boy. Of course Alyssa and Rachel were there, laughing as I walked in. Amanda, Kate, Aimee, and Laura were already in their seats. No boy in sight! I was so disappointed. I truly would be stuck with just them.

Good morning, ladies. Nice to see you back, said Mrs. Hart cheerily. As you know, this is ninth-grade English. I’ll get you your books in a moment, but since we all already know one another, let’s start by sharing a little bit of our summer vacations. What did everyone do?

Rachel was the first to answer. Oh, it was great! Alyssa has a beach house. I slept over, and we had an awesome time!

Yeah, said Kate. I was there last week, and it was the best!

Me too, chimed in Rachel and Aimee.

Rachel added, It was so much fun riding the waves.

Then Laura said, Yeah, her beach house rocked! Then she showed off her tan.

Mrs. Hart smiled and said, Sounds like you all had fun. What about you, Amanda?

Amanda pretended to pout. My tan is gone! I visited Alyssa at the beginning of the month. Then we had to leave to drive my brother to college.

Lacy, you haven’t said anything yet. What did you do all summer? Mrs. Hart asked sweetly.

Suddenly, all eyes were on me. I wanted to run away. I hadn’t done anything exciting. Besides, I didn’t even know that Alyssa had gone to the beach, never mind had a beach house! I was so embarrassed and humiliated. Everyone else had been invited; why wasn’t I? I’d gone to school with Alyssa since kindergarten. It wasn’t fair!

We drove my sister to college too, I answered in a hoarse whisper, my eyes fighting back tears.

Mrs. Hart moved closer. I’m sorry. Could you repeat what you said, Lacy? No one could hear you.

We drove to South Carolina to take Dakota to college, I said as I wiped away a tear, hoping that no one noticed.

Oh, replied Mrs. Hart, the smile fading from her face.

Well, we have a lot to do, so I’ll pass out your books now, said Mrs. Hart as she moved to the bookshelf.

Oh? All she had said was Oh? I suppose I should have been grateful that she even remembered I was there. After all, no one else had.

Finally, the bell rang, and we moved to the next class—history with Mrs. White.

This year, she announced, you will be doing a lot of projects. We will be studying the American colonies first, so your first project will be to create a map of the colonies that does the following: (1) gives its geographic location; (2) shows what natural resources were available; and (3) indicates whether the colonists there were Tories or Revolutionaries. Pick a partner to work with, and I’ll hand out the rubric and your books. Then we can get started with chapter 1.

Pick a partner. She had said it so casually, but my heart started thumping wildly as I frantically looked around the room for a friend. A friend… Who was I kidding? I had no friends! Marie hadn’t come back that year, and Jade had left too. My best friend had ditched me! I was alone. I had no one.

I glanced around the room. Of course Alyssa and Rachel had paired up. Kate was moving toward Amanda. Laura waved to Aimee to come over. I sat there by myself.

Mrs. White started passing out the books. Oh, she said, there’s seven of you. That’s okay. There can be a group of three.

All the girls turned to stare at me. Alyssa was laughing as usual. Rachel had a look on her face that said, No way are you working with us.

Kate and Amanda looked away and started chatting.

Lacy can work with you girls, right, Laura? said Mrs. White helpfully.

Uh-huh, replied Laura as she looked over at Aimee, rolling her eyes.

No, it’s okay, I said quietly. I can do it by myself.

Well, it’s really supposed to be a team effort, responded Mrs. White, but since there is an uneven number in the class, it will be fine this time. However, you all will have to choose a different partner for each project as the year progresses.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I could do the project myself.

Science class was next with Mrs. Strickland. I liked Mrs. Strickland. She was our homeroom, science, and Bible teacher the year before. She tried to make science fun by having us do experiments in class. The best ones were when she brought in food. Also, she brought us on cool field trips. My favorite was the llama farm. I hoped science would be like last year. Sure enough, Mrs. Strickland had a list of possible field trips written on the board.

Ooh! I squealed. A whale watch!

Why would we want to do that? said Rachel, who acted like she was too cool for something so boring.

Yeah, said Amanda. You’d probably get seasick!

Everybody giggled.

Mrs. Strickland just shook her head and said, These are some of the trips we might go on. Since this is a small class, we’ll be able to do a lot. Please give me any ideas you have for a trip.

Then she handed us a packet. As soon as I looked at it, I groaned inwardly. At the very top of the first page, in big bold letters, were the words Science Fair Project.

Then I heard Mrs. Strickland trying to reassure us. No worries. The science fair is in March. We have all year to work on this, and I will go through it with you step by step. The main thing will be that you understand the scientific method.

Alyssa raised her hand. Mrs. Strickland, she said sweetly, can we work with a partner?

No! I thought. No! No! No! Say No! I prayed, Please, God, let her say no partners.

Mrs. Strickland looked up from her desk. I haven’t decided yet. I’ll think about it.

Alyssa smiled at Rachel, who smiled and nodded back at her.

Lunchtime! I couldn’t believe how hungry I was. I hurried to my locker to get my lunch bag and then headed into the cafeteria/gym. All the high schoolers had lunch at the same time. The rule was you sat with your grade to eat lunch. Then you were allowed to play ball or hang out with whomever you wanted until the bell rang.

I sat at one of the ninth-grade tables as everyone made their way in with their friends.

Kate and Amanda sat at the table in front of the one I was sitting at.

The tenth graders came in and sat at the table behind me.

Then I heard the eleventh graders laughing and joking and turned to see Brett clowning around as usual. He was pretending to be so thirsty that he was dying. Everyone was laughing as he crawled over to the water fountain, yelling "Agua! I need agua!" Oh, Brett!

Alyssa and Rachel bought some chips and went to sit with Kate and Amanda.

Laura and Aimee sauntered in from the restroom with their hair freshly brushed and plunked themselves down with the rest of the group of ninth-grade girls.

I watched from my table as they chatted and took turns braiding each other’s hair. I slowly ate my lunch, and even though I was hungry, I didn’t touch the fruit or the cookies my mom had packed. I couldn’t. My stomach was in knots. If this was the year before, I would have been sitting with Marie and Jade. I always sat next to Jade. I remember once when Marie and I argued over it. I had to sit next to Jade. No one else could. After all, she was my best friend. I wondered who she was sitting with now.

I got up to use the restroom. On the way there, I had to pass the teachers’ lunch table. That’s when I heard it: Poor Lacy. She’s not herself today. She started to cry in class when she told us about Dakota leaving for college.

The poor dear, agreed Mrs. Strickland. She must miss her sister. They have a close relationship.

I didn’t want to hear anymore. I edged my way to the restroom through a blur a tears, getting there just in time before I threw up.

Note to Jade

Hi, Jade!

Just sitting here in study hall. I don’t have any real homework yet, so I have time to write you a note.

You know how we heard that there was going to be a new boy here this year? Well, it turns out that he’s in tenth grade, not ninth.

I pretty much have all the same teachers as last year. Mrs. Strickland is still teaching science, but Mrs. Hart and Mrs. White have switched. Mrs. Hart is teaching English this year, and Mrs. White is teaching history.

Do you have pre-algebra? I was supposed to, but things got changed, and it isn’t being offered. We all have just plain old math with Mr. Grimes.

Oh yeah, Mrs. Strickland is teaching Bible too.

There is a choice of a cooking or a sewing class. If you were here, I know we’d have a blast sewing outfits for our dolls. I don’t know. I’ll probably choose cooking. Sewing won’t be much fun without you.

We also will have French class three times a week with Madame Rêve. (When she wrote her name on the board, she put that funny little hat over the e. She said it was some type of accent mark.) Do you remember how much we wanted French class? Oh, how I wish you were here!

Not much has changed here. All the same girls are in the class, except you and Marie.

Alyssa had a beach house over the summer. It seems like everybody from class was invited. Did you go?

Mrs. Strickland put a list of field trips on the board. The most interesting one is a whale watch. You would love that! Remember when we went to the llama farm and Brett chased the llamas until he slipped and fell in the poop? LOL!

Oh, you know how I like Kyle, right? I almost ran right into him, literally. He’s still as cute as ever!

Well, I gotta go. I hope we can get together soon. Maybe you can come over this weekend?

Your twin and bestie,

Lacy

Hi, honey! I hope you had a great day! Mom said, smiling as she swung the car door open for me to get in.

Uh huh, I answered.

How were your classes? Did you meet the new student? she asked with a lilt in her voice.

Silence.

She tried again. How many kids are in your class? Were the teachers nice?

Again, I didn’t answer. I simply did not want to talk about it, any of it, especially to Mom.

She really wanted me to be happy and to love school. She and Dad chose this school so I could have nice Christian friends and get a good education. They thought a small school was better because there would be fewer distractions (whatever that is), and the teachers would have more time for each student.

Anyway, if I started talking about what happened that day, I knew I’d cry. It was such a lousy day. I don’t know how long I had been sulking, but suddenly we were pulling into the driveway. As we walked into the house, Mom asked me one more question: "Who wished you a