May. I hated May. In my opinion it was the worst month of the entire year. Sure, it had its ups, like the Spring Formal and the weekend Boston trip. It had, however, more downs than any other month. Final exams, end of the year check-ups with Mrs. Morris, and Lab presentations were just some of the reasons you'd agree with me, but my main reason for hating May was because it was the month school ended. School ending meant three months with my father and Charlace. Most girls at London Academy, LA for short, a girl's boarding school in upstate New York, looked forward to summer. It meant three months away from the uptight faculty and as much time with the boys as we pleased. My seventh grade summer was great because I had spent it with Courtney's family in Los Angeles. Lying on the beach all day and going out on the town with her older sister was all we did; it was perfect. Summers at home in Tennessee weren't. They never had been and never would be as long as Charlace was around.

"I'm all packed," Morgan called from the closet. Morgan Hilton is one of my roommates. A petite, five-foot-two, with short brown hair and matching hazel eyes, Morgan is London's model student. She was involved in every activity on campus and still managed to get straight A's, leading to exemption from all her exams this semester.

"It's really unfair how you get out of finals," Courtney London said quietly from her lotus position. Stretching before and after exams is a ritual of Courtney's and we had just finished up our Chemistry exam that morning. Courtney is like Morgan, just as oil is to vinegar. They aren't. Courtney is five-foot-seven with long beach-blonde hair and a beautiful voice. Besides being a health-food nut, and the daughter of Bruce London, founder of LA, she is crazy about boys. Her longest relationship ever was her current one with Joseph Marzino, from the boy's boarding school fifteen miles from LA, and it has lasted almost five weeks.

"It's perfectly fair," Morgan reminded her, "Because instead of studying you chose to go out with Todd, and Bradley, and Joseph, and who knows who else this year."

Courtney slowly relaxed to the floor and curled her legs under her, "It's still not fair, right Liz?"

"I'd rather stay here than go home," I told them turning over on my back. I could see Morgan frown.

"You know you're always welcome to stay with my crazy family," she said climbing onto the bed with me. Courtney quickly joined us. "And daddy said you're welcome at our place too," Courtney reminded me. I smiled. My friends were great, but my dad had insisted that I come home after school let out. He had said he had some great news for me.

"How about we go get some ice cream before I have to catch my flight?" Morgan pulled me off the bed and towards the door. "I'm in the mood for a smoothie, myself," Courtney said grabbing her purse. I quickly agreed. This might be the last time I got to spend quality with the two of them before next fall. "Sure, lets go."

As we walked the two miles to the ice-cream parlor, I reminded myself that there was nothing that my father and evil-stepmother could tell me that would ruin my summer. I had already begun to make plans, and they weren't going to mess them up.

A week after Morgan got on a plane to meet her family in Greece for Vacation, Courtney and I found ourselves packing up for summer. Most of the bigger things were staying at LA for the summer. Mr. London had agreed to give us the same suite next year, so things like the T.V. and microwave were staying over the summer.

"I got them! I got them!" Courtney came bursting through the door of our suite. In her hands were two LA envelopes containing our annual report card.

"Well, hand mine over," I told her.

"Yes! I passed French," she sighed. French was her hardest subject. "And I got an A in Chemistry and Geometry."

"I got an A in English and History."

"What about Chemistry?" she asked.

"A B minus."

"That's great," she congratulated me. It really was. The first quarter I had gotten a solid B, but the second and third quarter I was barely earning a C.

"They must have sent Morgan's to Greece," she said, "because it wasn't in the box with ours."

"Well, we already know what it says." I pointed out. If you got all A's you could be exempt from final exams in your sophomore year. "Next year, we can be exempt too," I said. Only Juniors and Seniors could be exempt for individual classes. For Sophomores, it was an all or nothing deal.

"You'll get out of English and History," Courtney laughed, "And I won't have to take the Physics and Advanced Math exams."

"And Morgan won't have to take any," we said in unison.

I chuckled. I loved Morgan, but I had known Courtney longer. We had both attended St. Mary's for Middle School and met on the playground in fifth grade. We both hated a boy named Alan, who had teased us both, and had joined up together to embarrass him in front of everyone. We pulled his pants down in front of the girls one day. From then on it was known that Alan Skyler was tiny, despite what he bragged about. We'd had a great relationship from then on.

Morgan entered the picture in the middle of seventh grade. She had transferred from her school in Virginia and we met when Alan tried to kiss her at lunch her first day. Fortunately, Alan left us that year, but Courtney and I formed a friendship with Morgan right away. The three of us were inseparable and have been that way since then.

"Can you believe we are going to be Juniors next year?" Courtney asked. She was sitting on top of her packed trunk. Her flight was leaving at 4:25 p.m. and mine at 3:15 p.m. I shook my head.

"I mean, it seems like only yesterday we were chasing Alan Skyler around the playground," she continued, "and next year we are going to be looking at colleges and filling out early applications."

It did seem like yesterday, I agreed. "Do you remember when we sat by the pool and pretended to be princesses with beautiful thoroughbred horses?" I asked.

"And your mom made us tiaras with rhinestones," she reminisced. "That was a long time ago."

"I still have my tiara," I whispered.

"Me too."

"Charlace tried to throw it away once. But I threw such a fit that she finally gave up."

"I remember. You called me that night to tell me."

"It seems like Daddy doesn't even remember her," I cried softly. "It's like he's completely erased her from his memory. He doesn't look at me anymore because he says I look like her. He doesn't love me anymore. He loves Charlace."

Courtney pulled me close against her and hugged me tight. "I love you. And Morgan loves you. Heck, Joseph even thinks you're one of the coolest girls he knows. Forget about your dad and come spend the summer with me again." I pulled back and wiped off my face. "Daddy says he's got some important news. But keep the spare bed made, just in case I show up."

"Deal." I hugged Courtney again.

"What are you and Joseph going to do this summer?" I asked changing the subject.

"He's convinced his mom to let him stay with a friend this summer in Cali, so we'll be close by."

"Awesome," I said

"We're planning something special for our two month anniversary at the end of June," she continued. "Also, if we're still going strong in July, he wants to take me to meet his mother."

I could tell Courtney was pleased about all of this. She got this goofy grin on her face whenever she talked about something she was passionate about: Science, yoga, and Joseph were the top three.

"Maybe you'll get a boyfriend this summer," she teased, "and then you can spend all of your time with him and ditch Charlace."

"I wish. Who's going to go out with me?"

"You've had guys like you before," she said.

"Only because I had money and could take them to putt putt and pay for them to ride the go-karts a million times." Courtney laughed. I laughed too.

"You'll find love this summer," she said patting me on the back encouragingly.

"You think so?" I doubted.

"Of course," she smiled, "you are going to fall in love with your dad's car so you can escape as you please." That was Courtney for you. Always messing.