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�I hate the school board for making the 2-hall-passes-per-quarter rule!� Alyson complained as she and her friend headed to the second-floor restroom.
�Yeah, and by the time we get through the line there and the lunch line, lunch period is half over!� Tara agreed with her friend. Tara and Alyson had been best friends since Kindergarten, when Alyson had loaned Tara her yellow crayon after a bully had broken Tara�s in two. They were now high school freshmen and were just growing accustomed to their new BIG school.
�Hey, Madison!� Alyson called out cheerfully to a pretty brunette passing by them with a group of girls. Madison Winters was the only one who smiled and waved back. The two friends had known Madison�s crowd for a year, and Madison and Alyson were pretty friendly, but Tara felt small and insignificant next to Madison and her huge crowd of friends. Luckily Alyson knew that, so she didn�t insist on hanging out with Madison�s crowd. It had mostly been the two of them for the past nine years.
�Ooh, Tari, my mom says she talked to your mom. You can come Halloween night, right?� Alyson asked her friend, as they went into the restroom and stood in the ever-growing line of girls, most of whom were older and bigger then the two freshmen.
�Yep. Ally, I want my mom to trust me. I always have to ask permission first! I�ve known you nine years, for crying out loud!� Tara complained.
�I think it�s because you�re an only child, and she doesn�t want anything bad to happen to you.� Alyson said. Tara nodded and reached out to twirl her best friend�s long, silky auburn hair.
�I love your hair. Don�t ever cut it.� Tara said, touching her own dark blonde hair briefly, �I wish I had that hair and those sparkling green eyes. My hair�s ugly.� she frowned.
�Tara Louise, what did I tell you? You have beautiful hair! It goes with the rest of your beautiful self. Don�t think negative things about yourself, hun, it makes me sad when you do.� Alyson scolded her friend, and then smiled a little, �I�ll do it again when we get to the sink if you want me to.�
Tara smiled, �Okay.� Pretty soon, the girls got to the front of the line, but by the time they got out of the stalls, the bathroom was practically empty. Only one stall was still in use.
�Okay, let me quick do your hair, and then let�s get some food. I�m starved.� Alyson said, as Tara stood in front of her friend by the sink, and Alyson ran a brush through Tara�s straight hair.
�Are Alyssa, Arielle, and Peyton going to be at your house on Halloween?� Tara asked. Tara enjoyed being around Alyson�s little sisters and half brother, as she had no siblings of her own.
Alyson rolled her eyes, �Unfortunately, yes. Lissi and Ari are going trick-or-treating with my dad, but they want to meet us at the Haunted House after, and my mom and Leo want us to take Peyton out before dinner. I told mom a 3-year-old is too young to go out and get treats, but Peyton�s insisting on going.� she groaned. Alyson�s parents had gotten divorced when she was eight and her little sisters were six and three. Her mom had then remarried a man named Leo, and they had a little boy three years ago, Alyson and her sisters� little half brother, Peyton.
Tara smiled. She liked Alyson�s little siblings, even though her friend thought they were big pains, �I don�t mind.� she said.
�At least we don�t have to take Alyssa and Arielle. Lissi�s saying how she�s almost 13 and too old to go with her dad, but mom�s insisting she go. She and Ari each have a few giggling friends going with so there�ll be like four 7th graders and three 4th graders going. Poor dad.� Alyson chuckled softly.
Tara chuckled too, then frowned, �Do you hear something?� she asked.
Alyson listened too, �Is someone crying?� she asked, and went over to the one stall door that was still shut and knocked, �Are you okay in there?� she called.
�Go away!� a girl answered, tears in her voice.
�Why does that voice sound familiar?� Tara asked, hushed, as she came over, too.
�Hey, come on out. Tara and I are pretty good listeners.� Alyson encouraged the girl. There was a pause, and the door clicked open, and a short dark-haired girl stepped out. Her brown eyes were misty and her cheeks tear-streaked.
�Siobhan? Mrs. Leichner�s English 9?� Alyson asked her. She�d spoken to the girl several times during English, and she seemed nice. Shy but very nice.
Siobhan nodded, �I�m Siobhan Arintero.� she introduced herself.
�Hey, Siobhan. Do you have lunch now?� Alyson asked, and the girl nodded.
�Good, then we have time. Come on, let�s wash your face. Do you want to tell Tara and I what the matter is?� Alyson asked, leading the girl over to the sink and handing her a few paper towels.
Siobhan shook her head, but something in her eyes told Tara she wanted to say something. �What is it, Siobhan?� Tara asked. Alyson smiled at her friend. She always had the gift of telling what someone wasn�t saying.
�Are you guys best friends?� Siobhan asked with a shudder.
�Yeah. We have been since Kindergarten. A bully broke Tara�s yellow crayon, so I loaned her mine, and we�ve been best friends ever since.� Alyson smiled at the memory.
�Annie was my best friend. We knew each other since the second grade, and she was my world. We did absolutely everything together.� Siobhan explained, tears filling her eyes again.
�Did Annie move?� Tara asked.
Siobhan shook her head, �She...died.� she said in an incredibly soft voice.