Mona of Dreamweaver (Book 1 of The Sisterhood Trilogy)

Chapter 18

That evening I sat on my bed thinking about what Laura said. I was getting lost in all of this. The studying was becoming the center of my life and my friends not even the secondary part but a side bar. It was wrong. It felt wrong. I decided that I would study during the week, and spend time with Laura on Sundays.

The following Sunday, I asked Stacy if we could invite Laura and her family over for dinner and she thought that it was a great idea. We started to think of the menu and instructed the cook. Laura was excited when I called her and I could hear her excitement through the phone as she told Sara about the invitation.

The whole family came, minus one. It was a pleasant meal. We chatted about everything and anything and it felt very nice. It kind of felt like we were all one big family.

Laura and I sat on one couch in the library talking about our girl things while Sara and Stacy sat across from us talking about their own thing. Then men I guessed went into Kyle’s game room to do whatever it was men did. As we talked, I suddenly heard my name being mentioned and my ears perked up.

“I’m so proud of Mona. She really grew up since the time she first came here. Her accomplishments are so great. I don’t know if I could feel any prouder if it was my biological child.”

“Yes, Mona, really did change. She became prettier and smarter. I think I was wrong about her. She is a smart kid. Has great potential.”

I smiled a little and asked Laura to go into the garden. The evening was cool. Being Spring, all the flowers were blooming and it was beautiful. The sky was getting dark and one of the maids turned on the garden lights that lit up the garden like thousands of fireflies.

“Are you really going to take that test next month?” Laura asked suddenly. The tone of her voice contained sadness yet hope that I would say no.

“I am. I want to see if I can do it.”

“And if you can? Are you going to go to college early?”

“It is a good opportunity to do so. But I probably won’t pass. It’s a hard test, and even some seniors don’t pass right away. What are the chances of a junior passing? From what I heard, none have done it yet.”

“There is always a first for everything.”

“Yeah, well…we’ll see. At any rate, you’re always gonna be my friend and I’ll love the same.”

We smiled and sat in silence listening to the sounds of the evening.

March came quickly, and the day of the exam crashed down like a ton. I was nervous. I could tell that everyone else was nervous too. Even Kristy. It made me wonder what she really had planned for her college life. After all, she did well in this class. The classroom was silent as the official passed out the test packets. We had the whole two hours to do them. When the start bell rang, you could hear the rustling of papers all over the room as we started to test.

All two hours, my heart thumped in my chest. Several times, I felt drops of sweat appear on my forehead and neck. The temperature changed many times from hot to cold. My seat felt uncomfortable and I kept changing positions, causing the official to give me dirty look. The time seemed to play tricks. At first it was very slow and then it was fast again. One by one, students got up and turned in their finished packets. Did they really finish or did they give up? How did they think they did? Did we all have the same test? I know that I should have concentrated more on the test instead of thinking about these useless questions. But finally, before I knew it, the two hours were up and the official came around to collect the remaining papers from the remaining students. When I left the classroom, I saw Laura leaning against the wall waiting for me. I smiled. I was about to wave at her when I felt someone arm tap my shoulder. Turning around I came face to face with Jacob.

“How do you think you did?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to hope too much. What about you?”

”Who knows.”

“Well, I  hope you do well.”

“You too.” We smiled awkwardly at each other. Thankfully Laura broke our awkward encounter.

“So? What just happened?”

“Nothing.”

“He totally wants to hook up with you.”

“Laura stop it, he just wished me luck and I did the same.”

“Whatever.”

When I got home, it was silent. I didn’t see anyone around and wondered where everyone was. I saw Stacy’s car by the door, and that meant she was home. Why was she here and not at the office? As I walked toward the library, I heard her talking on the phone in a hushed voice. I listened. Yes, I know eavesdropping isn’t good, but hey, I was curious.

“I really don’t know what to do Sara, Kyle is getting worse. He’s taking the pills more often now. The doctor’s are saying that he might need a heart transplant, but there hasn’t been a donor. I’m afraid that at this rate he might die.”

A shock ran through me. Kyle was sick? Why didn’t I know about it before? Why did they hide this from me?