The Hamblen family was moving into their new house just outside the outskirts of Norman, Oklahoma. Their family was wishing for a new start, with a new neighborhood, and a new community of people. They took the first chance they could when they learned Rebecca’s dad was offered a new job in Oklahoma.

School was about to start, and Rebecca was very nervous to start her junior year at Norman High School. She was disappointed when she learned her family was moving to Oklahoma. But she knew it was best for her younger brother since he was being bullied at their old school in Marshall, Minnesota.

Once the Hamblen family arrived at their new home, Rebecca’s siblings ran inside with fascinated expressions on their faces. Rebecca slowly followed them, while admiring the house. It was a lot bigger than the one they had owned in Marshall, and it was perfect for her family.

The family quickly started moving in boxes, so they would be ready for the first week of school that was starting the next day. Rebecca claimed her room and started unpacking all of her stuff before she had to go to bed. Her mom later interrupted her to check on how she was feeling.

“Hey, Mom, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re doing okay. I know this move is pretty hard on you.”

“I’m okay. I like the house and everything. I’m just nervous to be the new girl, at a different high school, with strangers.”

“I know, but you’ll make new friends and your cousin, Cathleen, will be going to the same high school as you. Then you two can get to know each other better.”

“Yeah that makes me feel better, knowing I’ll have a friend for the first day.”

“See! Everything will work out. Cathleen is coming in the morning to pick you up. She said she could give you a tour around the school and make sure you can find your classes.”

“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning, goodnight.”

“Goodnight Rebecca. I love you so much.”

The next morning, Rebecca quickly changed into her nicest, vintage, high waisted jeans and slipped on her new striped, yellow tank top. She didn’t like to wear makeup, but she applied some mascara to her long, full eyelashes to make a good first impression.

From the first floor, Rebecca’s mom yelled, “Cathleen is here!”

So Rebecca quickly finished getting ready and ran down the stairs to get into Cathleen’s car. She couldn’t help but notice how run down her vehicle was. The old, 1983 Station Wagon’s tan paint was starting to chip off and rust was forming at the bottom. Rebecca climbed inside and noticed how worn out and baggy Cathleen’s clothes looked. She never knew her relatives were poor. But Rebecca pushed her thoughts aside and starting catching up with Cathleen during their long drive to Norman High School. They realized they had multiple things in common, which relieved them both. Rebecca could tell they would become close friends.

They soon arrived to the overwhelming building that Cathleen called her high school.

“This place is enormous!” exclaimed Rebecca.

“I know, but it’s not so bad once you figure out where your classes are. Here, let me see your schedule. We could have some of the same classes.”

Rebecca pulled her schedule out of her backpack and handed it to Cathleen. Cathleen compared it to her schedule and her face lit up.

“We have four of the same classes! Oh shoot, but we don’t have lunch together,” Cathleen said.

“I’ll show you around the school before everyone arrives, and then we can go to first period together.”

Cathleen parked her noisy car close to the school, and they walked inside. Rebecca was amazed on how big the school was. She knew right away it was going to take her awhile to find her way around. The hallways became crowded, and first period was about to start. Cathleen and Rebecca walked to their first class together and planned to meet after lunch, before fifth period started.

Once Rebecca’s lunch period came, she got pretty nervous. She didn’t know who to sit by, so she headed for an open corner she spotted on the opposite side of the cafeteria. Before she reached it, a chatty group of pretty girls waved her over to sit by them.  

A tall blonde sitting in the middle of the group said, “Hey, come sit by us!”

She seemed super friendly, so Rebecca walked towards them. The group of girls made a spot for Rebecca to sit right in the middle, by the tall blonde.

“Hi, my name is Kate. And yours?” demanded the tall blonde.

“My name is Rebecca. Rebecca Hamblen. I just moved from Marshall, Minnesota for my dad’s work and…”.

“Where did you get your jeans?” interrupted Kate, who was really just interested in Rebecca’s outfit.

“Oh, um, I think my mom bought them for me when her and my dad visited Paris,” replied Rebecca.

All the girls started chatting to each other excitedly. Kate seemed impressed, making Rebecca somehow feel special.

“Well Rebecca, I think you should join me and my friends this weekend to a party we’re attending.”

Kate motioned to Jill, a beautiful brunette, who was twirling her hair and chopping noisily on her bubble gum.   

“Jill’s boyfriend is throwing a back-to-school party Saturday night,” said Kate.

Rebecca’s face lit up, “Yeah, that sounds really fun!”

Jill stepped in and added, “Of course it’s going to be fun. My boyfriend throws the best parties ever!”

The girls planned what they were going to wear for Saturday night and continued chatting excitedly about the party. After lunch was over, Rebecca met Cathleen at her locker and filled her in on her experience at lunch. Rebecca noticed Cathleen started to seem concerned and even angry with her.

“I don’t want you going to that party, Rebecca. Those girls may seem nice at first, but I know who they truly are. You’re only going to get hurt if you hang out with them.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is Cathleen. They were super friendly to me, and I want to make some friends here,” replied Rebecca.

“Well, if you decide to go to that party, I don’t think we can be close friends. I can’t see you get hurt. I know we might be cousins, but you’re making a big mistake.”

Rebecca started raising her voice. “Are you jealous or something? Is that what it is? You’re jealous I’m already making new friends!”

“Of course not! I know those girls. You don’t want to be friends with them.”

“Well, I’m going to that party whether you like it or not.”

“Fine, but don’t come crying back to me when they make a fool out of you.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t even need too!”

The two girls stomped off and headed to their fifth period class without acknowledging each other. The rest of the day the girls avoided each other, and Rebecca called her mom to pick her up so she wouldn’t have to talk to Cathleen.

Cathleen and Rebecca were so mad that they ignored each other for the rest of the week. Rebecca started getting rides to school from Jill, if she promised to do Jill’s chemistry assignments. Rebecca thought that was a pretty fair deal, especially since she really enjoyed chemistry class. Throughout the week, Kate and Jill filled Rebecca in on their daily get togethers and how there were certain rules she had to follow to be their friend. Rebecca was surprised they had so many rules for friendship, but she played along because she didn’t want to be left out.

Soon Saturday arrived and Rebecca was invited to Kate’s house to get ready for the party. Jill and Kate insisted on giving Rebecca a makeover, even though Rebecca didn’t like makeup or fancy outfits. Kate dressed Rebecca up in an expensive, Yumi Kim, designer dress. The dress was tightly fitted to show off Rebecca’s figure and had red velvet with a low sweetheart cut. Then Jill applied layers of makeup to Rebecca’s face, adding a smokey eye and thick line of eyeliner. Rebecca didn’t even recognize herself. She felt uncomfortable and wanted to speak up, but Jill and Kate were so pleased with themselves that Rebecca decided to act like she loved it.

After hours of preparation, the girls finally arrived to the party. The mansion that Jill’s boyfriend called a home was completely packed from inch to inch. Strobe lights flashed everywhere and music blasted through the walls. Rebecca felt out of place, but the girls reassured her they were going to have fun. Once they got inside, the three girls were each handed red solo cups. Jill and Kate started drinking their beverages and Rebecca realized the girls were drinking alcohol. They noticed Rebecca was staring at them so Kate said, “Come on Rebecca! It’s just a glass of vodka, it won’t hurt you!”

Rebecca was hesitant, but she slowly started drinking out of the solo cup. The strong, bitter taste burned Rebecca’s throat, while her friends started cheering her on. Jill started introducing Rebecca to more people at the party and kept handing her drink after drink. The party started getting out of hand and someone yelled out, “Cops!”

Rebecca didn’t know what to do. She knew she would get in trouble for being drunk, but there wasn’t anywhere to go. Out of nowhere, Jill and Kate grabbed Rebecca, and they sprinted for Jill’s car.

“Come on you guys! We can’t get caught!” yelled Jill.

Rebecca was hesitant, but she didn’t want to get in trouble so she got in the car, following Kate. Jill started the engine and floored it. The block was full of cars. Teenagers were running everywhere. But Jill still tried to escape from the cops. She sped down the block as the cops followed her. The traffic light turned red, but Jill didn’t slow down as she planned to drive through the busy intersection.

Rebecca’s eyes widened as she saw a girl walk in front of the car. “Look out!”

Jill slammed on her brakes, forcing their bodies to fly forward. The car slid through the intersection as a big, Dodge truck slammed into Jill’s side of the car. The side windows shattered, cutting the girls’ skin. Kate worryingly looked over at Jill’s unbuckled body that was lying over the steering wheel. Blood was flowing from her forehead, down her face. Jill’s door was crushed from the impact of the truck. Her arm layed like distorted flesh, hanging from its socket. Kate sat in her seat in shock; her eyes were wide as she stared at her unconscious friend in pain.

All Rebecca could think was, I have to go see if that girl is alright.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, and limped over to where Jill hit the girl who was crossing the street. The cop car’s bright lights flashed violently and pierced Rebecca’s eyes. She saw a limp body laying on the street that was covered in thick blood. As she got closer, she recognized the girl’s outfit. She was wearing old baggy clothes that were worn out. Her dirty blonde hair covered her light brown eyes and freckles that lightly dotted her nose.

Rebecca’s heart skipped a beat as she screamed, “Cathleen!”

Rebecca sprinted as fast as she could the rest of the way to her cousin’s limp body. She knelt next to her and brushed Cathleen’s hair off of her face so she could see her.

“Cathleen! Cathleen! Are you okay? Please Cathleen, wake up! Wake up!”

Cathleen’s body wouldn’t move, but Rebecca noticed she was still slowly breathing. Tears filled Rebecca’s eyes and started flowing down her cheeks.

Rebecca’s jaw started shaking. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I am so, so sorry, Cathleen.”

A cop helped lift Rebecca up from the ground as the paramedics started to put Cathleen’s body on a gurnee.

“What’s your name?” the cop asked.

Rebecca didn’t reply. All she could do was watch the paramedics lift Cathleen’s body into the ambulance.

“I need to know your name, sweetie, so we can call your family,” said the cop.

“Rebecca Hamblen,” mumbled Rebecca.

“Okay Rebecca. I’m going to take you to the hospital. You look like you injured your leg. I’ll have my partner call your parents, so they can meet us at the hospital.”

The cop led Rebecca into the police car. She sat in the back seat and looked out the window towards Jill’s totalled car. She saw the paramedics had Jill laying on a gurnee and put her in a different ambulance than Cathleen. While Kate had a doctor check her injuries that weren’t as serious.

Once Rebecca arrived to the hospital in the police car, a nurse came out and sat her on a wheelchair. They brought her up to the fourth floor, and wheeled her into a small hospital room. The two policemen waited with Rebecca along with the nurse until her parents arrived.

Rebecca’s mom appeared at the door with pink, swollen eyes from the tears that were still dripping down her face, along with her dad, too.

“Rebecca! Honey, we were so worried! Are you okay? What happened?” questioned Rebecca’s Mom, as her parents quickly ran over to hug her.

Rebecca burst into tears as her parents kept holding her tightly in their arms.

“I’m so scared. Cathleen, sh-she’s hurt. I don’t know if she’s going to be okay and it’s all my fault!” explained Rebecca.

“Slow down sweetie. It’s going to be alright; we’ll figure this out. Just breathe,” reassured Rebecca’s dad.

Rebecca started to calm down as her family comforted her. Rebecca explained everything that happened from the party to the accident. She also answered all the tough questions the policemen asked her. The doctors came back with results about her leg and told her it was broken and that she needed a cast. But no one would let her family know how Cathleen was doing. So her whole family impatiently waited in the waiting room: her parents, siblings, Cathleen’s parents, and her cousins too. After hours of waiting, a doctor finally came back with results about Cathleen and explained her condition.

“Cathleen did experience a major impact from the car that hit her. She broke three of her ribs, her leg, and her arm, and she has lost a lot of blood. But she is going to be okay. She is awake and stable, and ready for a few visitors,” explained the doctor.  

Cathleen’s parents, and Rebecca and her parents followed the doctor into Cathleen’s room. Cathleen looked exhausted. Bruises covered her face, along with a big scar that came down from her forehead. But that didn’t stop Cathleen from smiling when she saw her family walk into the room.

“My baby!” said Cathleen’s mom, as everyone gathered around her, gently hugged her, and shared some tears.

“Cathleen, I am so sorry. This is all my fault. I feel terrible!” said Rebecca.

“Shhh Rebecca, it’s oka-”

“No, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone to that party. You were right,” interrupted Rebecca.

“No, it’s not your fault; I don’t blame you. Just let me explain,” said Cathleen.

“Okay.”

“I was headed to the party to come talk to you. I felt bad for getting mad at you and I wanted to make sure you were all right. The block was completely packed with cars, so I had to park a block away, and walk the rest there. That’s why I was walking across the street. I wanted to apologize for acting the way I did.”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you about those girls. You know them better than me and I should've trusted you.”

“And I should've stuck by your side no matter what. I’m sorry, too, will you forgive me?”

“Only if you forgive me!” exclaimed Rebecca.

“Oh good! I love you so much!” said Cathleen.

“I love you, too! We’re never letting anyone get between us again!” said Rebecca.