Kaitlyn’s eyes opened suddenly, and 2 other eyes were staring back at her. She tried screaming, but it came muffled and then she realized it was just Posh trying to wake her up. The poor cat was hungry! Kaitlyn dragged herself out of bed and went over to the intercom. She clicked the button that was labeled “Inez.”
“Inez, why hasn’t Posh been fed? She so hungry she woke me up by jumping on my face!”


“Sorry dear, be right there,” Inez groggily replied.
Posh stalked away happily to the nook, which was also her sleeping/eating area. Kaitlyn went to change to some her “I’m-chilling-at-home” clothes (basically Juicy Couture sweats). She headed downstairs as Inez was coming up. It was a sunny saturday, with the August Summer feel to it. Today was also the annual “before school starts” sleepover, since the only day they had is today and tomorrow. After that...Kaitlyn couldn’t even think about. High School already! Summer had passed way too quickly. She poured herself some Lucky Charms as her Mother came down with Austin. He ran towards the buffet bar, and picked up the toast that was made for him and ran to the T.V., switched it on, and flipped to his channel in one swift move.


“Austin, switch it off right now! I never gave you permission,” Mom said as she went over to switch it off.


“There are only 2 more days till school starts! Cut me some slack,” shouted Austin.
“I’ll cut you some slack when you finish your math tutoring homework,” Mom replied back.
Austin groaned, scarfed down his breakfast and went up. As Kaitlyn was finishing her breakfast, her cell phone beeped (she keeps it with her at all times, as she believes that “emergencies” could happen at any time). She opened the text Ashlee had sent her, which read “Can’t wait for 2nite! U cumin over? #bored :),” and Kaitlyn quickly texted back (or as quick as she could on her lame but be-jeweled phone Motorola phone. Oh, how she wished for an Iphone!), “Sure. Coming over now. Want me to bring anything?” “Bring Posh, and some nail polish. Unless you want to get our nails done,” Ashlee replied back. Kaitlyn thought as she went up to decide what to wear. Yeah, she would definitely get her nails done (and probably leave Posh at home too). Kaitlyn speed-dialed Ashlee and with one ring, she picked up.
“Hullo?”
“Hey girl, it’s Kaitlyn. So I was thinking we should get our nails
done, so we look professional for school. Maybe something mature, like a french? Did you call Leah and Dylan?”
“Well, duh, Dylans not going to come, but I can try Leah,” Ashlee replied.
“Cool, and wanna get our hair done after? Or should we wait for tomorrow? I can call Ajax.”
Ajax was Kaitlyn’s ah-mazing hair-dresser, who could fix anyone’s bad hair day into their best hair day ever.
“Do it tomorrow, we can go after your house. Can’t wait to meet him again!” Ashlee exclaimed.
“K, I’ll bring Leah on the line,” Kaitlyn said into the speaker as she scrolled through her contacts.
After she picked up and they filled her in, Leah decided she would come to get manicures, but maybe not a hair-do.
“Ok, that’s fine with us, you’re just going to miss out. Should we ask Dylan?” Kaitlyn asked. No one replied, so she dialed anyways. Once Dylan was on the line, they asked her, and she said back,
“Ya know what, I think I’ll come. Always good to be fresh the first day!” Dylan said. Everyone cheered, and said their byes.
“Meet at my house in 10 minutes,” Kaitlyn declared.
They hung up and she went into her closet to pick an outfit. After she decided on jeans, an ah-mazing top from Aeropostale, and some chandelier earrings, she tied her hair in a high-side ponytail and layered lots of bracelets on. She glossed her lips and sat at her desk, randomly doodling, which was one of her favorite pass times. Once the bell rang, she took off down the stairs and opened the door. They were all there at exactly 11:00. Kaitlyn called out to her Mom,” Mooom, I’m going for manicures with the girls!” Her mother called back “Ok honey, come back by 2:00!” They went off, ate lunch in the mall, and then went to GLAMOUR nail salon, chatting away like the birds in the morning.

Being together the whole day, the girls were exhausted. Eating pizza for dinner while watching a movie was the only thing they could manage to do. After watching 5 movies until 3 AM, they finally headed upstairs to crash. In the morning, the sweet smells of bacon and eggs was wafting upstairs, and they raced down the stairs. They had to meet Ajax in an hour, and they zoomed through eating and quickly changed into town clothes. Leah had decided last night that she would join them, and she convinced her mother into letting her by using Dylan’s excuse again (the “I want to be fresh on the first day” one). Inez drove them there and as they were getting it done, Kaitlyn kept taking selfies.
“Why are you taking so many?” asked Ashlee, “It’s not like it’s anything special.”
“Of course it is! The first ones for high school! Duh,” Kaitlyn replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world
Everyone else nodded, and started doing the same thing. Kaitlyn also filled them in on the surprise she heard her parents talking about.
“Maybe it’s a puppy!” Leah exclaimed.
“Uh, no, not with Posh. It just won’t work,” Kaitlyn said back.
They continued to do this until their hair was done. Ajax slowly turned all of their automated-warming chairs around, and they gasped in sync.
“It’s amazing!” Kaitlyn cried, “Oh mah gawsh, you are awesome Ajax. Thank you!”
The others nodded in agreement, and looked in astonishment at their glossy, smooth, herbal-essences-commercial worthy hair. It had been shampooed and trimmed a little at the bottom, and all of their bangs had been blown out to fall gently on either their forehead or eyes, depending on which type of bangs they had. They all pulled out their credit cards, paid, and headed back to Inez. They chatted excitedly about the next day, and where to meet, what to wear, and how to become the most popular. The rest of the day went by in a breeze, right up to the point where they got their schedules and maps for where to go. Kaitlyn four-wayed all of them, and they all logged onto the Alder-Jack High School website.
“I got Kaylor for P.E, Green for math, Lonan for Language Arts and Social Studies, with lunch in between, and Tikalsky for science, with sixth and seventh period as my language and elective,” Dylan said, “YES! P.E. first period! Whoo-hoo!”
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes as she check hers.
“Lonan first and second period, then Tikalsky third, Green next, then lunch of course, and finally fifth and sixth as my language and elective and finally Kaylor for P.E. Anyone else?”
“Oh my god, Kaitlyn we have almost the same schedule! I have Lonan first and second, then Green, then Tikalsky, and finally fifth, sixth, and seventh with you!” Ashlee cried, as they both squealed together.
Leah and almost the same schedule as Dylan, but she had Tikalsky for second period instead of Green, and vice versa for fifth period. They cheered together.
“This is great but...we all have pairs. And there isn’t a single class where we’re all together! How dare they split us up?”
Kaitlyn demanded an answer. They’ve been together in all classes since the third grade, and now this happens? That’s just great.
Ashlee smirked, “Don’t worry Kat, they didn't put us together because we’re too much to handle, but if you want, we can give them a piece of our minds.”

Kaitlyn flung her eyes open. Posh was sleeping on her, but she still jumped out of bed and raced to her bathroom. As she took a shower with her Butterfly Meadows body wash, her thoughts were racing. She stepped out and got ready, carefully combing through her blow-out. She threw on her clothes and quickly swiped on gloss and mascara. Fixing any imperfections and making herself look model perfect, she went downstairs and ate her muffin as fast as she could without smudging anything.
“Slow down honey, you got time.” Mom said with a smile.
“I’m going to go early to pick up my friends so we can tour the school.” Kaitlyn replied back with her mouth stuffed.
“Oh, sounds like a smart idea, have fun then,” her mother said, “By the way, we have a surprise in the evening, don’t be late.”
Kaitlyn perked up immediately, picked up her Aeropostale backpack and called Inez through the intercom. They were on the road soon enough, heading to her friends huge houses to pick them up. Once they were all in the car, they babbled excitedly about what they heard about the teachers and rumors about the school, and Inez turned into a big loading zone, made for at least 40 cars at a time. They thanked Inez and rushed out, only to stop and gape at the school. There were 4 huge building (wings, as the school called them), one for science and math, one for language arts and social studies, one for their elective and language, and the last one for P.E. They all had lockers as well, but they could choose their lockers, which were located in each of the hallways connecting the 4 wings. They chose hallway 2, which they thought was in the middle of the school, in between the language arts and social studies building and the elective and language building. They found four lockers directly next to each other, and squealed in delight. As they emptied their stuff into their lockers and “prettified” them, a girl turned into the hallway, followed by the principal. The girl had a short blonde bob with bangs, and piercing green eyes. She wore a GAP sweatshirt and jeans, with Toms, and carried a Jansport backpack slung on one shoulder. The girls looked at her in disgust, but Kaitlyn just squinted at her. There was something about her eyes that she just couldn’t put her finger on...for starters, her eyes were the exact same color as Kaitlyn’s, and then she just looked...familiar. “Good morning girls,” exclaimed Mrs. Jean, the principal. The girls each said hi and turned back to their lockers, decorating them once more. They had decided to explore the school, after all, so they skipped along and found each of their classes within 10 minutes in between, which was the time of their passing period. 20 minute bell rang, and they hurried outside and sat on a bench under a tree. All of the kids started to flood into the front gates of school, and friends hugged and greeted each other. The four of them started pointing out people they knew, which ones looked interesting, which ones looked like competition, and so on. They laughed and talked on like this until the 10 minute bell rang, and everyone hurried to their lockers. They got their stuff to last until fourth period, grabbed their backpacks, and hurried along. “Bye guys, see you at lunch!” Kaitlyn called to Leah and Dylan. They waved back. Ashlee and Kaitlyn did their hair and makeup checks with each other and skipped to class. Half the class was already there, and they both recognized a few people from their middle school. They snagged two seats right next to each other and whispered quietly until Mrs. Lonan came in. She was a very young looking lady, and wore a lot of makeup, but she was the type that looked pretty even if she wasn’t wearing any. Her flowy skirt matched beautifully with her straight tank top, and her amber hair was curled and brushed to look like silk. Kaitlyn and Ashlee exchanged a glance, and smiled at her. Mrs. Lonan’s smile could light up the entire room, and she waited for the rest of the students to file in. Once everyone was seated, she called out “Good morning, class!” The class replied and waited for her to go on. They played all the average name games, Mrs. Lonan explained what they would do that year, and the materials needed for class. The rest of their classes went like this as well, and the teachers weren’t as great as Mrs. Lonan either. Tikalsky was an older woman, and wasn’t that kind either, but Mrs. Green was the type that was funny and strict at the same time. Their first four classes flew by, right until lunch. The girls met up at their locker and pulled out their sandwiches and left their bags. As they were walking, they saw that weird girl again.
“Hey she’s in one of our classes,” Dylan said looking at Leah, “I think her name is Rebecca or something. She’s new here and just moved from Colorado.”
“Wow you know all that?” chuckled Ashlee, “Anyways, there’s something about her...don’t you think?”
“Yeah I guess…” Kaitlyn said with thought, “Moving on, are you guys excited about the beginning of the year field trip? I can’t believe we’re going to the beach!”
“You’re just excited because you’re a champion swimmer and would want to show off,” Ashlee teased.
The others nodded in agreement. Kaitlyn took mock offense, but smiled to herself. She knew that was true. Kaitlyn has been swimming since she was 3 years old, and has won many awards and been in a lot of competitions. The swim team tryouts were coming up, and Kaitlyn couldn’t wait to sign up, since she knew she would be the best and the coach would love her. Competition? Ha ha, that’s so funny. The day passed quickly, right up until they were headed home. Ashlee was the closest to Kaitlyn’s house, and they dropped her off last. As soon as Kaitlyn was home, her mom greeted her with a bear-hug.
“Not to be rude or anything, but...WHAT’S MY SURPRISE?” Kaitlyn shouted.
She had been waiting forever and was finally getting it...whatever it was!
“Ok, but don’t freak out...you deserve this…” her mom said, as she pulled out a wrapped box.
Kaitlyn tore open the sparkly paper, and was speechless as she stared at a brand new pink Iphone.

Kaitlyn shivered excitedly in her bathing suit as she waited for the coach to appear. Now that they were 2 weeks into school, she knew a few people that were in her classes who were trying out for the swim team. She passed time on her new Iphone, proudly showing off the hot pink color and scrolling through Instagram. Mrs. Jenkins jogged over to the indoor pools.
“Sorry for the delay girls, we had a sign-up mishap. Let’s get right into it. First you will have to swim a warm-up 250 meter lap, or about ten laps. Make sure to pace yourself, this is not a race, it’s a warm-up. Those of you who cannot do this much, just stop whenever you want. Meet here after you are done,” Coach said.
She assigned the girls a pool (there were four in the building), and Kaitlyn noticed that Rebecca was there as well. Rebecca saw her and walked over.
“So I heard you’ve done a lot of swimming.”
“Oh? Where’d you hear that?” Kaitlyn asked in sincere wonder.
“It’s been around. How long have you been swimming? I have a little bit of experience myself,” Rebecca replied.
“I’ve been swimming since I was three. How about you?”
“Oh no way! Me too!” Rebecca said enthusiastically. Kaitlyn started getting a little suspicious.
Was she lying to bring Kaitlyn down? To get her paranoid about the “competition?” She’ll just have to wait and see until they started the second half of the try-out. They both got assigned to pool number 3, with 5 other girls. The coach yelled start, and the girls dove in and started swimming. Kaitlyn could tell some of the girls were going to get tired, because they were wasting their energy now. Kaitlyn took it slow and took time to organize her thoughts, and before she knew it she was done. There were some girls still doing it, and Rebecca came out exactly at the same time Kaitlyn did. Kaitlyn was starting to get annoyed. As they toweled off, she unwrapped an energy bar and strategized as she munched. The next part of the tryout was actually a race, that the coach organized with skill level. Kaitlyn would take it easy during the beginning, and then she would really fight during the lap back. She was obviously in the first group, and she lined up at the start. Calm, she thought, I can do this. Impress the coach. As soon as Mrs. Jenkins blew the whistle, she flew in with the most perfect dive she could manage. As she was underwater, she fluttered her feet lightly, and the view through her goggles was crystal clear. Coming up, Kaitlyn took a breath of air and started the freestyle. Her flip-turn was right-on, and it looked like she was in the lead. See, this is not too bad, she thought to herself, now just go for the gold. She picked up speed, and saw the wall getting closer and closer. As soon as she touched the cold tiles, the whistle blew. She did it! Kaitlyn proudly got out.
“Good job girls, that race was close! The winner was…,” Mrs. Jenkins paused dramatically, and Kaitlyn waited to hear her name. “It turns out that there was a TIE!,” Coach said enthusiastically.
“WHAT?” Kaitlyn practically screamed, “A tie? How can that be!”
“Sorry Kaitlyn, but it seems you tied with Rebecca! Good job overall. You both automatically made the team. Practice starts on Wednesday,” Coach replied.
Kaitlyn looked over to Rebecca in dismay. Rebecca just grinned back. Everyone crowded around them and congratulated both of them. Kaitlyn plastered on a fake smile. She was happy she made the team, but that was expected. What wasn’t expected was Rebecca.

“How could this be?!” Kaitlyn exclaimed, “She can’t do this! It’s not possible!”
She was at the library during lunch with Ashlee, Dylan, and Leah.
“She is not better than me. A millisecond behind? In our FIRST competition?” she continued on. They were discussing how Rebecca had beat Kaitlyn by a millisecond in their first swimming competition with Ronald High School.
“At least Alder-Jack won…” Leah started, but Kaitlyn glared at her.
“I have to think of a plan,” Kaitlyn continued, “Something to throw her off...anyone know any of her other interests?”
“She seems to like art a lot,” Dylan replied, “But I’m not sure how thats going to help with anything.”

They sat in silence, and Ashlee spoke up. “Does she have any charms?”
“Any whats?” Kaitlyn said.
“Charms as in good luck charms. It’s most people’s weakness. If you can just target her good luck charm, and destroy it somehow, you might be able to win.”
“Ashlee, that’s brilliant! Great thinking!”
Kaitlyn thought things could finally start to look up. The next competition was this weekend, and she had just enough time to get close to Rebecca and find out what her good luck charm was.
“I don’t know, Kat, that could be a little too...too...manipulative,” Leah said uncertainly
. “Oh my gawd, Leah, you are such a scaredy-cat! I hate this Rebecca girl. What would I care if her ‘feelings got hurt’?” Kaitlyn said. The bell rang, and they got up, said their bye’s, and headed to class.