Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 

     The rest of the week passed by uneventfully. Although it dragged by slowly for most students, to Francie and Stacey it was a breeze. Saturday soon came and it was time for Francie to leave The Sunshine State. Stacey had agreed to meet her at her house and say goodbye to her after she loaded all her belongings in the huge moving truck they had rented.

     Stacey was with Francie in her room, helping her carry the last of her things. "You sure you've got everything?" she asked Francie, taking a quick glance around the empty house.

     "Yep," Francie replied.

     There was a touch of awkwardness in the air. Both girls were sad to leave each other, and they both knew they were going to cry. They were now trying to fight back their tears to no avail.

     One tear escaped Stacey's dark brown eye as she threw a suitcase into the back of the semi. She quickly wiped it away but more soon came. She looked at Francie, embarrassed. However, Francie was crying now too.

     "Francie, c'mon, get in the truck or we're going to be late!" Francie's mom yelled from inside the huge car.

     As if on cue, the best friends both started sobbing. Francie pulled Stacey into a giant bear hug.

     "Promise me you won't forget me when you go to glorious California," Stacey sobbed, clinging tightly to Francie, afraid to let go.

     "I promise," was Francie's muffled response as she hid her face in Stacey's shoulder. The two embraced each other for several moments. The honk that came from the front of the semi told them that Francie had to get her butt in the truck that very second.

     Finally, Stacey and Francie let go of each other. Francie started running for the truck. She stopped, looked behind her, and waved. "I'll miss you!" she yelled. She hopped into the seat of the car next to her mother and rolled down the window.

     "I'll miss you more!!" Stacey screamed back as the truck started heading down the road. She waved and waved until the semi and Francie disappeared from view. She then sat on the curb, burying her face in her hands.

     "What will I do without you, Francie?" Stacey cried. "Now I have no friends. Oh, I hope you don't forget about me while you're enjoying California!"

 

 

     Francie was curled up into the shape of a ball in the front seat of the truck. She was crying more than she had ever cried in her whole life. Stacey was so close to her, they were almost like sisters. How could she make new friends in California? She hoped that Stacey wouldn't push her aside once Stacey made new friends.

     "Francie, shut up!" her mother scolded her. "No one is worth your tears! I don't need a distraction while I'm driving on Interstate 88! Do you know what would happen if we got in a car accident? It would be all your fault!"

     Francie was dumbfounded. Her mom had never talked to her like that before. "Mom, what is your problem? It's natural for human beings to cry once they lose someone close to them. And yelling at me won't help you drive any better on the highway!" she pointed out.

     Mrs. Peterson sighed, knowing her daughter was right. Today was just not a good day for these things.

     When she had been packing up things from her room, she came across a picture of herself, her husband, and Francie when Francie was only 4 years old. They had all looked so happy. They were happy, that is, until Drew's (her husband's) building where he worked caught on fire and it burned down the whole place while Drew was still in it. She had never recovered, and to this day she still cried herself to sleep every night.

     She knew she was a hypocrite for telling Francie that "no one is worth your tears", but yelling at someone always made her feel better. Until that "someone" happened to be her boss. She just couldn't control herself. She was fed up with her boss and screaming seemed to be the only obvious solution. The only thing it did, however, was get her fired and make her feel worse. Now she had had to separate Francie from her best friend just because she had criticized her boss. She knew that she would tell Francie about this some day, but that day was definitely not today. Maybe in a few years after Francie recovered.

     Francie glanced over at her mother, aware that she had been silent for several minutes. She laid a hand on her mom's shoulder. "Mom, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

     "I hope so, hon'," Mrs. Peterson replied, tucking a strand of  Francie's stray hair behind her ear.