Abigail

Chapter One

     Millie lowered her voice to a deep whisper that sounded like wind blowing through a forest after a rain storm. "And just when the vampire was about to bite her neck, the power went out in Kendra's house and the television turned to static!"

     Trinity and Rachel squealed with excitement and trepidation.

     "I really wish I could have come," Trinity said. "But I had to stay home and watch my baby brother." She rolled her eyes. "That was totally not fun."

     "And my parents wouldn't let me go because they found out that I am failing English. I had to stay up all night trying to write this five page essay." Rachel rubbed her eyes and yawned. "But I'm glad you guys still had fun."

     Millie grinned. "We definitely need to have another movie night next weekend, girls."

     Kendra smiled back. "Of course." It had been her and Millie's tradition for years to have movie nights at each other's houses on the weekends. Kendra Blair had known Millie Anderson the longest out of all of her friends. They first met back in second grade when everybody thought they were twins. Millie and Kendra both had dark brown hair, round faces, and were the exact same height. The only main difference were their eyes: Millie had brown while Kendra had grey. But it was still fun to be thought of as sisters. And the two friends were so close, they thought of each other as sisters, too.

     They did everything together. In second grade it was ballet. Millie loved the pointy little shoes and tutus so much, she tried for weeks to get Kendra to join ballet. Kendra wasn't a big fan of dancing, but she eventually knew how much it would mean to Millie if she joined with her. And it turned out that Kendra loved ballet even more than her friend.

     In third grade, Kendra and Millie took art classes and learned how to make pottery. Kendra still had her clay bowl on top of her bookshelf along with her old ballet slippers. It was the place where she kept all of her things that reminded her of her best friend. Beside the clay bowl were a collection of friendship bracelets that she and Millie made in fourth grade when they were really into jewelry. Next to that was a spiral bound notebook from fifth grade that they used to send notes to each other when they had different teachers. Even though they hadn't been in the same class, they still found a way to talk to each other.

     Kendra and Millie met Trinity Malone and Rachel Wilcox last year in sixth grade. Trinity was the classic prep with her fashionable clothes and short blonde hair. Kendra had never seen her in a bad mood. Trinity was always so optimistic and caring, even when Kendra's parents got divorced. Trinity told Kendra that she would always be there for her if she needed to talk.

     And then there was Rachel, the athlete of the group. She ran six days a week and loved playing sports. She was the one who talked Kendra into joining track with her. Kendra wasn't very good at running, but Rachel's words of encouragement kept her going. Her style was very punk and most of her wardrobe was black. She owned just about every band t-shirt on the face of the planet.

     The four of them were very different- Kendra, the smart one who always tried her best. Trinity, the caring one who always tried to help others be happy. Rachel, the athlete, who inspired others to never give up. And Millie, the outgoing one who always spoke her mind. Yes, we are all different, Kendra thought. But we are friends. And that will never change.

     The warning bell rang out, signaling that there was only five more minutes left of lunch. Millie stood up. "I have to go guys. I have French next and it's on the other side of the school."

     "Bye Millie!" Trinity called out. "I should probably get going too."

     Kendra nodded in agreement and stood up to return her tray to the lunchroom. She and Rachel had English class together next period, so she waited for her friend before walking ahead. "Ready to go bring up your grade?" asked Kendra playfully.

     Rachel shrugged half-heartedly. "Let's hope there will be enough extra credit for me to make up for that last test."

     The two friends hurried along to their class.

     Kendra glanced around the hallway looking for Millie. They always met up at Kendra's locker at the end of the day so they could walk home together and catch up on the events of the afternoon, but Millie was nowhere in sight. This was so unlike her. She was never late.

     At last, Millie turned around the corner and joined her best friend. "Hey Kendra."

     "Hi Mill. Why are you so late today?"

     Millie waved her hand dismissively. "I was talking to Michelle Green and we lost track of time."

     Kendra stopped in her tracks. "Michelle Green?" Michelle was the most popular girl in the seventh grade. What could she possibly be talking about with Millie?

     Millie shrugged. "She was actually being nice for a change. She wanted to know where I got my shoes." Millie gestured towards her fashionable grey wedges. "She said that they looked cool."

     "That's so strange," Kendra muttered.

     Millie looked up. "What?"

     "Nothing," Kendra said quickly, carefully avoiding a meaningless fight. "Let's go." The two of them walked through the empty hallways and out the door. Most of the busses were gone already, but two still remained as more kids were entering. Kendra followed Millie down the narrow sidewalk around the school until they came to the open road where they could walk side by side.

     "So how was the rest of your day?" asked Kendra

     "Great," Millie replied enthusiastically. "I got to present my science project today and I'm pretty sure I got an A."

     "Awesome," Kendra said. Unlike herself, Millie loved talking in front of people and was very comfortable making speeches and presentations. Kendra was already dreading the next day when she would have to present her project.

     Millie continued, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Trinity told me to tell you that she thinks that she can do a movie night at her house this weekend. She still has to ask her mom to make sure it's okay, but Trinity's mom is usually cool with anything."

     "Hopefully Rachel can get her English grade up so she can go too," Kendra added. "It's not the same without her."

     "I'm sure she will be fine," Millie said confidently. "So how was the rest of your day?"

     Kendra shrugged. "The usual. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happens to me."

     "That may be a good thing," Millie said, giggling. "Did I tell you what happened in French class today?"

     For the rest of the walk home, Millie went into great detail of her story while Kendra listened. They made a great team for best friends. Millie loved to talk and Kendra loved to listen, so it worked out perfectly for both of them. They arrived at Kendra's house first, so she told Millie goodbye and walked up her driveway.

     Since she was an only child and her mom worked late nights, Kendra was often the first one home after school. Just like any other day, she first went to her room to start up her laptop. While it was turning on, she went to the kitchen to get a snack. Today her mom left her an apple. Kendra headed back to her room to check her email. Since she did not have any important emails to read, she decided to read another chapter in one of her books.

     Today was not very exciting, but like Millie said, maybe that's a good thing.