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.”
“Cool,” Rachel said smoothly, as if she didn’t care.
Rachel walked into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her cheeks. Did that really just happen? Was she just asked out by Rob Greene.
Not only did she now have plans for Friday night with her new girlfriends, she had a DATE on Saturday!
This is the best day of my life. Who would have thought things could turn around this quickly. Does this mean I’m popular?
Rachel walked back to her classroom and sat there doodling in her notebook. “Rachel Greene” she wrote on the back pages of her notebook, then scribbled it out so nobody could read it. She looked at her watch and counted down the minutes until school ended for the week. She was eager to get picked up so she could ask her mom about tonight.
The bell rang and she flew out the front doors of the school and into her mom’s car.
When she shut the car door, she felt a rush of nervousness. She worried that if her mom said no, her social life would be over before it had even started.
“Hi Mom, guess what! I have the best news,” Rachel said with excitement.
“What Darling, what is it?”
“I met some new girls today, they’re very nice and they invited me to the movies.”
Skeptical, her mom asked, “What movie?”
“Not sure yet, but I really want to go.”
“Okay, what time should I drop you off then?”
“Well, actually this girl Taryn is going to pick me up. She’s been driving for a year now, she’s in 11th grade.”
Rachel’s mom gave her a look. Rachel knew what that “look” meant without her mom having to say a word. A big, fat NO.
This can’t be happening. She can’t NOT let me go. This is tragic.
“But Mom, please, you let Sarah drive with HER new friends.”
“They’re seniors, Sweetie. They’ve been driving for a few years now.”
“If I don’t go out with these girls tonight, my life is over. They will never ask me to hang out again. I will be the biggest loser ever.”