"Is it true?"
"Angela, how could you?"
"I don't want to see you ever again!!!"
What had started out as the first day of school- a day of new beginnings, new adventures, and new fashion statements- had quickly turned into the Scandal of Junior Year.
It began three days before school started with a sneaky little lie. Strictly speaking, it started with a truth that ended in a promise, a promise that ended in a lie, and a lie that ended with betrayal. Lies, as our three heroines will soon learn, have a sneaky way of hurting people.
Angela, Rebecca, and Audrianna had been best friends since they met in 5th grade. Often called "The Three Musketeers" by their classmates, they did everything together, from homework to shopping to dancing in the rain. They were always together during school, and summer had always been a time of fun and friendship.
As the girls grew older, they bonded even more, but continued to develop their own interests. The summer before Junior Year, each girl had gone their separate ways for different reasons. In June, Rebecca had flown to Europe with her family for seventeen days, Angela had gone to see her uncle in New York for three weeks, and Audrianna had been at a legislative seminar in the capital for two. When they all came back, their friendship was stronger than ever.
The last weekend before school started, they went to the local shopping mall for back-to-school clothes, haircuts, and manicures. It had become a tradition over the years. Labor day weekend was the girls' last chance for summer fun before the new school year.
After lunch, Ange and Audri were waiting for Becky to come out of the bathroom. Ange was flipping through a TEEN magazine, oblivious to Audri nervously biting her thumb nervously.
"I was thinking about doing my hair like that on Tuesday," Ange said, pointing to a picture of a teen pop star. "What do you think?"
"Can I tell you something?" Audri blurted.
"Sure," Ange said with a shrug as she flipped the page.
"You remember Chad, right?"
"Chad Bradick? Sure, he's that cure guy that works at Smoothie Surf, right?"
"Right. And you remember how Becky told us how she really, really likes him?"
Angela nodded. "Yes..."
Audri winced as if she was in pain and blurted, "He asked me out last night."
Ange's head snapped up, the spell finally broken. "Chad Bradick asked you OUT?!"
"Ssshhh!" Audri hissed. "Yes, he asked me out. Last night."
"Like, on a date?" Angela whispered. "Like, boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Yes!" Audri snapped, exasperated.
"Oh, Audri, this is great! This is fantastic!"
Audri grabbed Ange's shoulders and shook. "No! NOT great! NOT fantastic! If Becky finds out that the guy of her dreams fell for one of her best friends, she's going to be heartbroken! It'll crush her! It'll destroy our friendship and she'll hate me forever and it'll be a disaster!"
Hesitantly, Ange muttered, "No more Three Musketeers?"
"No more Three Musketeers! No more shopping on weekends! No more study buddies! No more nothing!" Angela looked hurt, but Audrianna plowed on. "You have to promise me that you won't tell Becky about any of this, okay?"
"But we're best friends. We tell each other everything..."
"I know, but we can't tell her this thing. Promise?"
"I promise."
"Swear you won't tell."
Ange glared at her. Then- "I swear."
"Swear what?" a voice said a few feet away. Ange and Audri both looked up, startled. Becky was just walking out of the bathroom, hands still wet. She smiled kindly at her friends. Her best friends who had just made a secret promise... without her.
Without missing a beat, Ange smiled sheepishly. "I had to swear that I wouldn't dye my hair blonde when we go to get our haircuts."
Becky linked arms with them, Ange on her left and Audri on her right. "Blonde?! Do you have any idea what you'd look like with blonde hair? You would look like that bubblegum pop star, what's-her-name..."
As Becky blabbered on about pop starts and haircuts and common sense, Audri leaned back and mouthed "Thank you" to Angela, behind Rebecca's back.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Did you know that Rachel LOVES NCIS?!
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