A Year in the Life of an American Teenager

Introduction

Seventeen-year-old Kendall Sanders was just finishing up brushing her brown wavy hair, when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Help I don't know what to wear," Shauna Conns said right off the bat, the sound of clothing hangers colliding with one another in the background.

Shauna and Kendall had been friends since the third grade--the year when Shauna moved to North Carolina and came to East Valley Elementary as the new kid. She was seated next to Kendall, and Kendall ended up being her first friend. They had been friends ever since.

Now it was the first day of their senior year at East Valley High School, and they had no idea what was in store for them this year. No one ever knew what was going to happen until it was right in front of them.

"Um," Kendall started, surprised. "You're still at home? We're supposed to be leaving for school in like five minutes, and you're not even dressed yet?"

"It's the first day of school. It's like the one day we need to at least try to look presentable," Shauna explained, her voice sounding more distant since she was probably trying on something.

Kendall rolled her eyes and exclaimed impatiently, "Shauna, I really don't care how you display yourself, as much as I care about getting to school on time! You know that you're my only ride there!"

Shauna sighed loudly through the phone and replied, "Fiiinnneeee. I'll be there in like two minutes. Stop stressing before you go into cardiac arrest," and she hung up before Kendall could respond with a snarky comment.

Kendall shook her head when she heard the monotonous sound of the dial tone and hung up. She slid her black converse on and smoothed down her hot pink tank top. Then she picked up her backpack and walked out of her room and to the front door. She quietly opened the door, since her brother and her parents were still sleeping, and she went out onto her front porch. Right when she walked outside, the heat hit her like she just ran into a brick wall. It was only 7:00 a.m., yet she could feel how dense the humidity was.

She sat down on her porch swing and leaned back, swinging lazily in the quiet morning. She listened to the chirping birds and the rustling leaves in the wind, feeling at peace. That peace was quickly interrupted by the horn of Shauna's car, which scared Kendall so much that she almost fell off the swing.

"Was the horn really necessary?" Kendall asked in a dry tone, closing the car door and sliding on her seat belt.

Shauna sipped her iced coffee, pretending to consider it, and then she said, "Not really, but your reaction was worth it."

"I hate you," Kendall said, suppressing a smile.

"I know," she replied, laughing. Then she asked, "Do I look alright? I had to rush after you freaked out, so I didn't get to double check."

To Kendall, Shauna always looked great. She had long auburn-colored hair that is naturally straight, and light hazel eyes that looked mostly green in the sunlight, which stood out from underneath her bangs. She was wearing a green tank top with frayed jean shorts, the green making her eyes stand out even more. She had three piercings on each ear and a tattoo on the right side of her torso that said in black scripted letters: 'Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim.' It was Latin, and it translated to: 'Be patient and tough, some day this pain will be useful to you.'

Overall, she had that "badass" look to her, even though she was actually pretty laid back.

"You look fine," Kendall said, now feeling compelled to check herself in the mirror one more time. She was starting to get butterflies as Shauna pulled into the school parking lot. And she knew why. Shauna did too because when she parked in a spot, she turned to Kendall.

"Are you okay?" she asked seriously.

Kendall inhaled a deep breath to calm her elevating heart rate and looked out the window, chewing her lip. She was not at all anywhere near "okay."

"Yes. I'm fine," she said aloud, more to herself than to Shauna.

"Because it's completely normal to still be angry about the whole...thing. Remember you didn't do anything wrong," Shauna continued, ignoring Kendall's answer.

Kendall nodded wordlessly, silently telling Shauna to stop talking about it. Shauna got the message, and they entered the school. As they walked down the familiar blue and white hallways, Kendall turned to Shauna and said, "You know what? This summer really sucked, but this year I'm going to make so many great memories to the point that I won't even remember--"

She stopped short, catching sight of a familiar figure, who was greeting his group of friends. Then with a defeated tone, she finished with, "--Ethan."