Tiffany broke the ice. She saw a woman with big ears and said something like, ‘I thought this was the mall, not a zoo’. Ray and I could not help but laugh loud and hard. It was a lame joke, but better than awkward silence.

“You shouldn’t eat so much. Too much carbs are bad for you.” Ray pointed to my burger. “You should have had a salad instead.”

“Vegetables have carbs.” Tiffany stated matter-of-factly.

“But they are good carbs.” Ray explained.

“You just said carbs are bad. You didn’t distinguish between good and bad.”

“Well now I am.”

“Anyway, I’m eating the burger because it tastes good.” I took a huge bite out of my Big Mac.

“You’ll regret that a few years from now.” Ray frowned. She hated when we ignored her.

“Yeah, but right now…I’m lovin’ it.”

“You shouldn’t eat sweets, Tiff.” Ray started lecturing her as she began devouring her ice cream.

“It’s just one cone, Ray.”

“One cone has four hundred fifty calories. That’s an entire meal, Tiff. You-

“For God’s sake, would you shut up!”

Ray looked at me and sighed, “Fine.”

“What is with you and this health crap?” I asked her.

“I’m just looking out for ya’ll.” Ray cried defensively.

“Why? Why do you have to look out for us? Man, if she said it was so we could look good for boys…

“So you can be healthy. You know, feel healthy, and look healthy…” She began drifted off after catching the expression on my face.

“Are you saying I don’t look healthy?”

“You look fine.”

“Then shut-up.”

“Okay, Laura. I’m done.”

Conversations between the three of us usually went on like that. Ray or Tiffany would say something I disagreed with and I would let them know it. Usually, they would just let it go because I was a difficult person to argue with. Especially when I knew what I was talking about. It was hard for me to keep my opinions to myself and those two seemed to be the only ones who did not mind it.

“What are you eating Ray?” Tiffany pointed to the empty space on the table before her.

“I ate before I came here.”

“We came here two hours ago. So you’d rather not eat at all then?” I was concerned.

“No, I’m just real full. I’ll have some of your fries though.” She took two.

“Take more.”

“I don’t want more.”

“I’ll take some!” Tiffany snagged a handful.

“Excuse me, but I wasn’t talking to you.”

“Doesn’t matter. My stomach heard it anyway.” She ate the fries in under five seconds.

“Tiff!” I snatched her strawberry Fanta, spilling some in the process.

“Laura! Give me back my drink!”

“Give me back my fries.”

Tiffany slipped her finger in her mouth and pretended to be gagging. I burst out laughing. Tiff could be quite funny at times, but Ray did not seem to see anything funny about it. In fact, she appeared absolutely horrified.

“Sorry, doesn’t look like they’re coming up! Oh well, you can do without.”

“You owe me.” I handed her back her soda.

“Clean that up!” She motioned over the spilled soda.

“Do I look like I have anything to clean it up with?”

“Hold on, I’ve got some tissue.” Ray picked up her purse and began fishing for some tissue. That girl carried everything in that bag. “Here ya go.” She threw a wad of it down on the table, but there was something more in it.

I unraveled it, expecting to find some loose skittles or something like that. Instead it was a blue square package. Some round object was in it. I was unaware of what I was holding, until I turned the package around. Slowly I read the label, unable to comprehend what it meant at first. This was not candy.

“Lifestyles!” I yelled it a bit too loud. Half the food court was gawking at me. Apparently, I was not the only one who knew what Lifestyles were.

“Why do you have this?”

“Laura, calm down.” Tiffany reached out for my hand.

“No, I won’t calm down.” I jumped out of my seat, my eyes boring holes into the blue package. “Why do you have it, Ray?”

“Why do you think I would have it?” She sounded much too calm, as if she did not care about my reaction.

Why do I think she would have it? My mouth dropped open so wide; two Big Macs could have fit in it. What had she been thinking? She was only fifteen years old and we had promised each other we would tell each other if we had sex before marriage. I turned to Tiffany for support, but she was just staring at Ray blankly, reaching for her won purse.

“Did you know about this Tiff?”

“No.”

“We’re supposed to know this Ray!”

“Now you do.” She smirked at me.

They was she was so insulting and completely unapologetic. Her eyes never left mine and I could see that she was proud. It seemed that she was getting me back for all those times I shut her up. She was doing a pretty good job.

My gaze flashed to Tiffany again. She had fixed her gaze on her lap, like she was too ashamed to look at us. Her hands were folded tight in her lap. Something was cradled in her hands. When she realized I was looking at her, she lifted one hand up and dropped a blue package on the table exactly like Ray’s. My eyes leaped out of my head and I lost the ability to breathe. Had my friends really done this without saying anything to me?

“I haven’t had use for it yet, but I don’t think I’m going to wait until marriage.” She whispered an explanation.

I could not stand to hear anymore. My mind was too numb to think, but I found myself picking up my purse and shopping bags while glaring at those two packages, sitting in a pool of strawberry soda. Slowly, began to walk away from them- my best friends since fifth grade. One was unwilling to look anywhere but at the floor. The other seemed unusually proud of what she had done. That day my view on the world changed. I no longer saw teenaged girls as the sweet, respectful young ladies the world saw them as. They were drones, a bunch of robots, programmed to cater to the desires of boys. All girls except for me.

Authors Notes: Hey readers! I'm loving the positive response I'm getting from you guys, but sadly, I can't keep this up since this is the piece I'm using for a writing contest. I'll leave it until the end of June and then it has to go.This is the end of the line.It's a short story,but please read my poems instead!