Monday, September 4th

Monday for the girls was tough especially for Maria who was trying to fight the fever she had realized she had yesterday night. The girls all woke up late on account of them getting home at nine and falling asleep after eleven. When you start middle school it's like starting school all over again getting new classes, classmates, seats, teachers that are crazier than the ones from last year etc. It wasn't so hard for Lily and Rachel to figure out Maria was sick. Her cheeks were pink and she seem way more sluggish for lack of a better word.

"I'll have a chicken soup" Maria said to the lunch lady. Her voice was weak and she could barely keep her head up long enough to stand in line. She was going to skip lunch, but her stomach seemed to have different ideas.

"You should really see the nurse and go home," Lily commented. The lunch lady sympathetically nodded, agreeing with her. Maria smiled weakly.

"You can't get rid of her that easily Lily." Rachel slid her tray next to Lily's, scanning the counter full of various food items. Lily shot her a look that said "This-is-not-the-time-to-be-joking". Rachel nodded and quietly turned back to her tray, choosing a sandwich with something that is supposedly turkey.

"I'll be fine it's just a slight fever. I'm not going to die"

"Yeah I guess but what if you get sicker from pushing yourself" Lily worried. She was going to be a nurse when she grew up.

"She's right. You should get some rest" Rachel agreeing with Lily right away was really rare. Maria looked at them and held up her soup.

"Guys, I don't need to go home or to the nurse's office. I got chicken soup to cover it. Besides, I don't think it's serious." Maria continued slurping her soup. Rachel and Lily exchanged a glance, then continued to eat their supposed "food". They both thought that Maria was being a little bipolar. It was like she hated them one day, then liked them the next. It was getting a bit weird.

After they finished their food and headed out to recess.

"Why did you suddenly get feverish?" Lily asked Maria.

Maria shrugged. "I don't know?" Maria's eyes suddenly grew to the size of saucers, "Guys! I started feeling iffy exactly 24 hours after I first flew! Do you know what this means?" Maria asked excitedly. She didn't wait for their answers before blurting it out. "My powers have side effects a day after they first start showing signs! That is totes cool! But not if they make me sick "

"Really Maria you said "totes". Now I really know you're really sick." Rachel and Lily continued telling Maria to go to the nurse throughout lunch while Maria sipped her soup.

"Let's go it's time for recess" Lily stood, then Rachel and Maria stood up and they all walked out of the cafeteria.

As they passed through the hallway that had the nurses, the nurse looked out towards the hallway. She heaved herself out of the chair and ran to the girls.

"Yoo hoo! Hello girls! Rachel, how's your mother?" She chirped.

Rachel put on a fake smile. Talking about her mother always put her in a sour mood. "Fine, Ms. Coma, she's just fine," Rachel whispered. Lily patted her back sympathetically. Maria looked away while this happened. Where was this sympathy when Rachel wouldn't carry her bag? She angrily wondered.

Lily knew that Rachel was going through a hard time. Her dad left when she was three, just two months after her birthday. Her mom was devastated when he left. She started working longer hours at the hospital. At first, it wasn't a problem since her brother, Sam, helped take care of her. Then, after Rachel turned ten, her brother went off to college. Her mom didn't work less hours. Instead, she did the opposite; she started working even more. She worked half hours on weekends, but that never guaranteed time with Rachel. During the weekends, she went to a book club with Ms. Coma. After the meetings, her mom would go into her office and read her book. If Rachel went inside her office to ask her something, she would respond, but her expression would make her seem distant and far away. She was drowning herself in work. Rachel constantly felt like she was being forgotten. Sam visited twice a year, but other than that, she was basically alone. Her friends became her family; closer than family actually. She never told anyone, except for Lily and Maria. They were the only ones that she trusted enough for Rachel to tell them her darkest secret.

"Sorry Ms. Coma we have to get to recess. Tell Carol hi for meat your next book club meeting!" Lily grabbed her best friends and ran outside.

Rachel popped her backpack down when she got into her house. It made an empty sound. A familiar sound for Rachel, as it always happened since she was ten. Her feet slapped the tile floor as she ran to the kitchen. The refrigerator's glow seemed warm on her face, despite the cold that lurked on the inside. She grabbed a container full of celery and slammed the door shut. The stalks of the delightful vegetable kept disappearing as she mulled over today's turn of events. Usually, her mom being at work didn't bother her; it was like a faded scar, but today was like rubbing salt in a wound; it opened the cut again. Did her mother actually care for her? She asked herself. Yes, she did, Rachel thought confidently, After all, she is my mother. Then why did she ignore you? She countered. Rachel groaned in frustration. There were two very good points. Her mother should love her, and she does, but why is she ignoring you?

The more Rachel thought, the more mixed up her thoughts became. Her questions were unanswered, as there was no one to answer them. She hadn't felt this feeling in a long time, but it was coming back to her. This was the reason she played hockey and football on the boys' team. This was the reason she took chorus instead of orchestra. This was the reason why she always went to Lily's house. She ignored the panging feeling inside her. A pang of annoyance, and regret. Annoyance because everyone ignored her and it was getting annoying; regret because she shouldn't have put so much trust on her family. She pushed away her emotions and continued chomping down on the power food. After she finished, she closed up the container and returned it back to the fridge, with only a few sticks left.

Lily flitted around in her new dress. It was green and made her look very mature, or so her mom told her. As a plus to the color, it was also really warm, which is nearly impossible considering that it was silk. Her mom bought it for her birthday from a new boutique downtown. Everything there was imported and really expensive. Lily's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she saw the price tag, and that was the sales price; so many zeros. Her mom always spoiled her on her birthday. Her previous birthday, she got a pair of designer boots from Milan. When she was three, she got a giant gold Barbie dream house, complete with a set of Barbies. Now, the 1,000 dollar beach house was somewhere in the back of her closet. Her Barbies were given to her younger sister, Elizabeth who didn't want the house for some reason.

As her dress billowed behind her, she skipped to the kitchen. She used the landline to call Rachel. The phone rang twice before a bland voice answered the phone. Stupid voicemail.

"Sorry, you have reached the Carol ,Rachel, and Sam (sometimes). We're not available, but we'll call you back... if Rachel doesn't hog the phone," in the background, you could hear Rachel pushing Sam out of the way, "So leave a message!" Lily heard a small beeping sound, but not before she heard Rachel and Sam arguing. Even though he was in college, and she was just starting middle school, they play fought a lot. She began her message.

"Hey Rach, this is Lil..."she got cut off as Rachel picked up the phone

"Hi Lily sorry I didn't pick up the phone I didn't hear it until it started the recording," Rachel explained. Lily nodded, knowing that Rachel could feel her nodding without her even seeing.

"That's alright. Listen, I wanted to talk about what happened today," Lily said.

Rachel's voice suddenly went monotone. "There's nothing to talk about. Ms. Coma just asked me a question and I answered it,"

Lily frowned. "Rachel, you can't hide from your problems, you have to face them," Lily said gently. Getting Rachel to talk about her problems was like approaching an alligator; you had to do it slowly and gently.

"Well, I don't have problems. Maybe you do, but I don't. There is nothing to talk about," Rachel recited flatly.

Lily mentally groaned. Rachel was stubborn like that. She was getting a little fed up with Rachel. It was time to use force. "Rachel, you have problems. We all know you do. Why can't you just admit it!"

"Well, Doctor Zedonk didn't say I had to!" Rachel pouted. Lily could hear the hint of hurt in her voice.

Lily rolled her eyes. Rachel was being unreasonable, especially since she brought up Doctor Zedonk. He was this talk show host that they always made fun of. "Rachel-" She began, until Rachel interrupted her.

"Sorry Lily! Sam's calling. Call you later! Bye!" Rachel squealed. She sounded genuinely excited. Sam rarely called, but them when he did, Rachel would drop whatever she was doing just to talk to him. Lily sighed. She knew that Rachel wouldn't be calling her back; she was stubborn and refused to do anything she didn't want to do. Sometimes she felt that her words were useless. She put the phone down and walked away. Her dad was calling her for dinner. He was a businessman but he could cook decently if you didn't like fancy food. She pulled out the silk upholstered chair and sat down. While she ate her spaghetti, she was careful to keep her elbows off of the table.

Lily sometimes hated her house. Everything was so prim and proper. Strict rules to be enforced. She loved to go to Maria's house. It was so carefree there, especially when Jonas was house was like a military base. No splashing in the tub. No jumping upstairs. No this, no that. It was like the rule "No fun allowed" had been made. Sometimes, she wished that life wasn't so complicated.

Maria was being a 'dutiful' daughter as she finished her Language Arts paragraph of someone they admire even though it was due at the end of the week. She had found a way to hide her rebelliousness. Maria was feeling considerably better after not having to listen to her friends nagging her about staying home. It may have also been from the herbal ice tea she had when she got home too.

"Maria?" her brother Jonas peeked through her door with a packet of paper in his hand. Jonas was her 'twin' brother but the only resemblance they had was the same black brown hair and dark green eyes that seemed look into your soul.

"What do you need help with Jonas?" Maria asked as she opened her door and let her brother in. Ever since they started to get homework Jonas would ask for her help most of the time.

"I don't actually have any homework I wanted to know if you could help me get mom to let me outside."

"I'll come with you!" After seeing his face she added "I meant tell her I'm coming with you and I'll try not to embarrass you...much" she smiled. Her brother was always embarrassed to have her around him and his friend mostly because there weren't any girls that he was friends with. Jonas's friends were also always asking her questions about her and her brother.

"That's a great idea" he didn't sound very enthusiastic though. Jonas walked out of her room, she grabbed her phone and followed him downstairs to where they're mom was.

Of course her mom said yes, she was one of those moms who wanted their kids to 'bond'. That and Maria was always right when it came to peoples' opinions and answers.

"I actually am going downtown to meet some people from my team" Jonas played soccer and had made a lot of friends on his new team. The nice thing about where they lived was that if they took the short cut across a few lawns and over an old bridge they'd get to downtown within 7 or 8 minutes.

"I'm meeting them at the art museum, there's a new sport gallery opening there today" her brother was very thoughtful not only were they going to something he would like but she would love too.

"Thanks Jonas."

"Huh? Why are you...oh" he tried to pretend that he forgot Maria loved art.

A little less than two hours and a lot of talking, painting's, and snacks later Maria and Jonas said goodbye to everyone and headed home. They were right on the edge of their 5:30 curfew. Just as they were cutting across Mrs. Halibram's yard Maria took out her cell and texted Lily and Rachel. The message said:

r u guys sure we cant tell any1?

When she put her phone back in her pocket they were at their front door and the sun was setting.

A.N: Hope you liked this chapter! Review! Sorry if this is like nagging, and it makes you not want to read the story, but we want reviews to improve our writing. Not a single review yet, but we're going to continue. Happy 2013 everybody!

- Cassidy and Layla