“How do you think it went?” Sarah asked.

Rachel didn’t want to tell Sarah what had just happened in the locker room. Rachel knew that the girls on the team hated her and worried that it might affect her getting on the team.

“Not sure… OK, I guess,” Rachel answered.

“I’m going to hang here for a while, tell Mom I’ll be home later,” Sarah said.

Rachel dialed her mom who was already on her way over to pick her up.

“How’d it go Rach?” her mom asked when she picked up the phone.

“Fine, I think. Did you know Sarah was trying out, too?”

“Yes, she mentioned it to me yesterday. I hope both of you girls make the team. It would be so much fun to see you both cheering at the football games this season,” her Mom added.

“Okay, see you when you get here,” Rachel said as she hung up.

Rachel stood on the curb and waited for her mom to arrive. She overheard one of the cheerleaders tell another that “The List” would be posted on the bulletin board outside the girls’ locker room in the morning.

When Rachel got home, she ran upstairs to her room. She couldn’t wait to tell Dana about her day. She picked up her cell and dialed Dana, but she didn’t answer.

The voicemail picked up, “Hey, you’ve reached Dana, I’m out leave a message at the beep.”

“Hi Stranger,” Rachel said. “I have BIG news. Call me ASAP. I miss you, bye.”

Rachel waited all night for Dana to call back but she didn’t. She fell into a fitful sleep, wondering if maybe they weren’t as good of friends as Rachel had thought.

Chapter Six

Rachel and Sarah both ran into school the next morning, anxious to see the list outside the girls’ locker room. As Rachel headed towards the bulletin board, she saw swarms of girls huddled by it searching for their names.

When she reached the list she ran her pointer down the white piece of paper, scanning each name typed out in alphabetical order by last name. Rachel finally spotted “Wood,” slid her finger moved to the right of the page and it read, “Sarah.” She looked again but her name wasn’t on the list.

Rachel sank back away from the board, and she felt ill. All she wanted was to be part of the team, especially now that she was in competition with her sister. Why did Sarah always get everything that Rachel wanted? It wasn’t fair.

“I’m sorry, Rach,” said Sarah. “I won’t do it if you want.”

Rachel was surprised by what Sarah had just said. Would she really give up her spot on the team for her? Maybe Sarah wasn’t as awful as Rachel thought. Maybe they would actually become friends.

“No, it’s fine. It’s more your thing anyway. Thanks though,” Rachel said.

Rachel headed off to homeroom as she slowly let her desire to be part of the cheerleading team fade away. She guessed it was for the best; she didn’t really want to be on a team with those girls anyway, especially after what had happened yesterday.

When Rachel got into homeroom class, she went right over to Emily, who was waving at her.

“So, you make the team?” asked Emily.

“Nope.”

“Sorry,” Emily said, “you ok?”

“Yeah, you were right,” Rachel said. “I didn’t really want to be on a team with those girls anyway. They don’t seem so nice.”

“They’re terrible -- especially Arielle. Consider yourself lucky for not making the team,” Emily said.

Rachel laughed and smiled.

“So, you meeting people?” Emily asked.

“Some…not really though,” answered Rachel.

“Sit with me at lunch today. I’ll introduce you to my friends. I think you’ll like them,” said Emily.

“Cool, that’d be great,” Rachel said.

Mr. Allen started his lesson, cutting Rachel and Emily’s conversation short. Today’s topic was a continuation of women in history. Mr. Allen said he wanted to teach that first, because so often women get overlooked even though they have done some pretty incredible things to get our country where it is today. As he began talking about Susan B. Anthony and the 19th Century Women’s Movement, Rachel couldn’t help but to wonder if she’d be a powerful woman.

She envisioned herself changing the world when she grew up. She’d always dreamed of becoming a doctor or a scientist. She loved being in the laboratory and she loved helping people. She related deeply to the topic Mr. Allen was discussing and it gave her inner strength to think about her future as a powerful woman in America. Rachel was getting lost in her daydreams when the bell rang. She got up from her chair and headed to the door.

“I’ll see you at lunch, meet me by the entrance,” Emily said.

“Great!” she replied.

Rachel was doing an inner happy dance, she was finally making friends.

Day three and things were starting to look up, Rachel thought.

As lunchtime neared, Rachel watched the clock tick in her science class. Only a few more minutes until she would meet her new group of friends at AHS. She hoped they would like her, and she also hoped she would like them. Thinking back to her first day in the cafeteria, she saw each clique flash vividly through her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder which group she was going to sit with, and which group was going to be her clique. Rachel pictured herself eating, laughing, swapping phone numbers and making plans for the weekend with these girls. God how she wished these girls would like her.

As the bell finally rang, Rachel walked to meet Emily at the entrance of the cafeteria. A few minutes went by as she stood there alone, watching and waiting for Emily to appear. Thoughts of Emily not showing up flashed through her head. She couldn’t bear to stand there alone as kids flooded into the cafeteria. As she stood there, feeling her hopes deflate, she heard a voice.

“Sorry, got held up in class!” Emily said, as she appeared from the sea of kids.

“No prob, just got here myself,” Rachel replied, not wanting Emily to think she was waiting anxiously.

As the two headed into the cafeteria, they approached a table with Rocker and Punk types. Rachel approached them with an open-mind.

“Hey Em,” shouted a girl at the table wearing a thick black eye liner and red lipstick.

“Hi Jen,” Emily said as they arrived at the long lunch table. Emily pointed to Rachel and said, “Guys, this is Rachel, she just started here.”

The crew at the table smiled at Rachel, which made her feel warm inside.

Maybe this was it. Maybe these are my new friends.

Rachel sat down and opened up her brown paper bag and pulled out her PB&J and can of Arizona Iced Tea. She looked around the table as the kids each said their names -- Liv, Kate, Jen, Jessica (Jess for short) and Taryn. They were all curious about Rachel and asked her where she was from and why she moved to their school. The conversation flowed nicely as they all got to know each other. Rachel felt excited.

“So, what are you up to this weekend?” Taryn said.

“No plans yet.”

“We’re all going to the movies tonight -- if you wanna join.”

“Sounds fun,” Rachel said.

“Cool, we’ll pick you up around 7 o’clock. Where do you live?”

“42 Pine Road.”

“Great!” Taryn said and the other girls nodded and smiled in agreement.

Rachel couldn’t have asked for anything more. Meeting these new girls went just the way she had hoped in her head.

The thought of going out on a Friday night thrilled Rachel – especially on the first weekend of school. Rachel so desperately hoped that she could join them at the movies, but she knew she had to ask her parents first. He parents were usually cool about her going out with friends, but she was never allowed to drive with a friend who had just gotten their license. Her parents worried a lot, and were scared that she’d get into an accident with a young, inexperienced driver.

Did Rachel really just make plans for a FRIDAY NIGHT? She was elated as she walked out of the cafeteria with her new group of friends by her side. She felt good for the first time about this move. Maybe this was going to be better than Pennsylvania; maybe Emily and these girls would be more fun than Dana and her old crew.

“See you tonight, Rach!” Taryn and Jen said as they branched off to go to their 6th period class.

Rach, they were already calling her by her nickname. Rachel felt so cool.

As the day progressed, Rachel couldn’t think of anything else but her plans with her new friends that night. She couldn’t wait to be picked up.

During her eighth period class, Rachel stared out of the open door of her classroom as she daydreamed about her evening as she. All of a sudden, her thoughts stopped, as she saw Rob walk by and peek into her classroom. He smiled, and continued walking.

Was that a coincidence, or was he coming to see me? Rachel thought.

All of a sudden, she felt her body get up out of the chair and grab the bathroom pass as she headed into the hallway. She didn’t know what she was doing, but she was hoping that Rob would still be in the hallway, somewhere.

She walked towards the Girls’ room and didn’t see him anywhere. She pushed the door open and was about to step inside, when she heard his voice.

“Rachel, hey, I was hoping to see you this afternoon,” Rob said in an eager voice.

Rachel was so excited, her heart started beating faster and she could tell her face was flushing. Trying to gain composure, she started walking towards him.

“Hi, what’s up?” Rachel said, trying to sound cool.

“Did you hear about the party tomorrow? At Jordan’s house. His parents are away for the weekend and he’s throwing a party.”

“No, I didn’t. Who’s Jordan?”

“He’s on the team, cool kid,” replied Rob. “You should come, it’s going to be sick.”

“Yeah, sure,” Rachel said.

Rob took Rachel’s phone number and put it into his cell.

“I’ll text ya tomorrow.”