Bridge Jumping

Chapter One

I couldn't believe my luck. Nathalie Gordan had just invited me over to her house. She was the most popular girl in the sixth grade – the first girl in our class to wear a bra – and an invitation to her house was an opportunity to make it into the popular crowd. As I sat at my desk and finished my lunch, I couldn't stop smiling.

My best friend, Hannah, leaned over from her desk, a curious expression on her face. "What did she say to you, Jaime?" she asked

I shrugged and popped a cookie into my mouth to buy myself some time. I didn't know how Hannah would react to the news, especially since I was invited and she wasn't. I didn't want to hurt her feelings, but I wasn't going to lie to her. You don't lie to your best friend.

I swallowed the lump of cookie and washed it down with a gulp of milk. "She asked me to come over after school tomorrow. I think she wants help with her book report."

Hannah didn't say anything as she concentrated on unwrapping her fruit-roll-up. "What about Jess' house?" she asked after a moment. "We're supposed to make chocolate chip cookies tomorrow – from scratch."

I sighed and looked away. I'd forgotten about the cookies, but I didn't want to blow it with Nathalie. I could feel Hannah staring at me.

"I'm sorry, Hannah," I said. "Do you think that we could do it Thursday, instead?"

She didn't answer, and I could tell she was mad. I hated when my friends were upset with me. Before I could say anything, she replied.

"I'll ask Jess." She didn't look at me as she spoke. "We can probably do it Thursday."

I was grateful she'd made it easy for me and I promised myself I would make it up to her. I got up to throw my trash away and as I passed by Nathalie's desk, I gave her a brilliant smile, which she acknowledged with a quick wave. She was talking to her friend Deana and I almost felt like part of their group – almost.

The next morning, I woke up at six thirty. I stood at my closet and studied my clothes - I had to look just right. Nathalie had the best clothes and I didn't want to look like a total disaster. I also didn't want to look like I was trying too hard. I finally decided on a pair of black leggings, a long sleeve blue top with the word cutie on the front and my black converse high-tops.

Downstairs, my mom was putting our lunches together. My little sister was eating Honey Nut Cheerios at the table. She was in the first grade and was missing her two top, front teeth. She liked to slurp milk through the space.

"Ughh," I said. "That's so gross, Ava."

She squirted a stream of milk toward me. A half-chewed cheerio plopped onto her chin and she didn't even bother to wipe it off.

"Mom," I complained. "Ava is being disgusting."

My mom turned around to survey the situation. By then, my sister was looking adorable again, smiling her gap-toothed smile.

"Leave her alone, Jaime," my mom warned. "Let her eat."

I poured myself a bowl of cereal and ate a few bites. "I'm going over to Nathalie's house, today," I reminded my mom. She nodded.

"Make sure to text me when you get there," she advised.

I almost groaned out loud, but caught myself. I always had to call my parents to tell them where I was. None of my friends ever had to call home, but I didn't dare bring that particular fact up to my mom again. We'd had this argument many times. So far, I've never won. My mother always said she didn't care what my friends had to do – she only cared about what I did. It was so embarrassing – Nathalie would probably think I was a baby. I rolled my eyes at her back.