Chapter 1

A Chapter by L.A.

Chapter One

Stacey Stewart nervously paced back and forth in her bedroom. Francie Peterson was supposed to call her, but for some reason it was taking unusually long. Okay, okay, maybe ten minutes late wasn't that long. But it seemed like hours to Stacey. Francie was never this late when she had to call her best friend.

Finally, the phone rang. Stacey flipped her cell open and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, Stace. It's Francie."

"Oh, hey."

Francie took a deep breath. "Uh--well, I've got some news," she continued.

"Yes?" Stacey said expectantly.

"My mom told me today that she lost her job."

"Oh, wow, that sucks," Stacey sympathized.

"That's not the end of it, though," Francie said. "She went online to look for a job, and the nearest place is in California."

"CALIFORNIA?!" Stacey screeched. "That's, like, a million miles away! Are you saying that you have to move?"

"I'm afraid so," Francie replied, sighing.

Stacey tried to blink back tears, but it didn't help. They came streaming down like a waterfall. "France, we've been BFFs since forever! You can't do this to me!"

Francie's voice wavered. "I have no choice."

Stacey's became more determined. "I won't let you go! You can stay here and move in with me! And if you can't, then I'm going to California with you."

Francie was able to smile through her sadness. "Sorry, I tried that one already on Mom. She wouldn't go for it."

Stacey sombered down. "Well, I guess I have to face the truth, Francie. You're leaving and there's nothing I can do." She bit her lip.

"Don't cry, Stace." Even though Francie couldn't hear Stacey crying through the phone, she knew that was what her BFF was doing.

"I can't help it," Stacey sobbed. "What will I do without you? You've always been here for me, and now you're leaving. I won't have any friends."

"Don't be too sure," Francie said, trying to cheer Stacey up. "Maybe a new girl will come to school and you two can be best friends." A tear escaped from her hazel eye. It was hard to think that Stacey would move on and get a new BFF. Especially since that new BFF wasn't Francie.

"Maybe," Stacey agreed, but she sounded unsure.

"Look, we can talk more about it in school tomorrow, 'kay? I have go do my science homework. Mr. Howard assigned us a ton today."

"Okay," Stacey said reluctantly. She knew that she needed to do her science homework, too. "But one last question."

"Sure," Francie said.

"When are you leaving?" Stacey asked fearfully.

"This weekend," Francie replied. It was currently Tuesday.

"Wow, you have hardly any time to pack," Stacey noticed.

"Yeah, but Mom is a fast packer, so it should be done pretty quickly," Francie said. "Well, bye I guess, until tomorrow."

"Yeah, bye." Stacey hung up. She flopped on top of her bed and stared at the ceiling, trying to recall what just happened. Then again, she didn't need to remind herself. The image of Francie disappearing from view kept popping back into her brain.

Stacey sat up in bed, realizing that she was in no mood to do her homework. What she needed right now was to take a peaceful bike ride.

She wiped her brown eyes with the sleeve of her red sweater and fixed her straight bright blond hair that went six inches below her shoulders in the mirror. It had gotten messed up because she kept grabbing it and pulling it when she was on the phone with Francie.

Then, Stacey ran into the kitchen. "I'm going for a quick bike ride, Mom," she told her mother. Without waiting for a response, she dashed into the garage, got on her bike, and rode down Main Street towards the river.

When she got to the river, Stacey rode alongside it until she reached a small dock where people often went fishing. However, at the moment no one was there. She was all alone, and the quietness in the air was just what she needed most.

Stacey leaned over the edge and her tears dropped into the water. The small fish in the water swam away, which made her more lonely than ever. More tears began to flow. She looked up at the sky.

"God, why did you have to take my best friend away? Why?" Stacey asked, as if she expected an answer to magically appear.

Stacey got off her bike and sat down. Her feet dangled over the edge, but not near enough to the water to get wet. She sat there awhile, leaning her head against a wooden post to her right and feeling miserable.

Finally, after it felt like all her tears had been drained, Stacey got back onto her bike and started riding home. She knew that she had a long week ahead of her. She just hoped that she could treasure Francie's presence while it lasted.

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