Chapter One -Decisions-

Lorelei walked home from school, Wylie High in Abilene Texas with her friends. Maggie lived two houses down, and Jessica was just a block away. Whitney was the house behind Lorelei’s and Alexis was two or three streets down. But they were all close, and in walking distance. They had all known each other since 1st grade. But Jessica and Lorelei had been best friends ever since they were born.
Lorelei’s parents, Savannah and Mason, watched her walk home with her friends through the windows of their big Texas home.
“Should we tell them today?” Savannah questioned to her husband.
“Yes” Mason said, “We need to tell them today so they could spend a day with her friends.”
Savannah sighed “Okay” She paused “Are you going to tell them or do I have to?”
Mason quickly said “Good luck” And then exited the room.
Savannah sighed, again. The door opened.
Lorelei walked in with her over-the-shoulder brown backpack with little horses on it. Before closing the door she yelled out to her friends “Bye Maggie. Oh, Jessica, call me, ok bye!” Lorelei shut the door. Then to her mom she said, “Hey mom. What's for dinner?”
She stuttered “uh... I-I don’t know yet” Savannah started biting her fingernails nervously and walked quickly out of the room, trying to avoid what she had to tell her daughter.
Lorelei looked confused, “okay, hmm” then Lorelei went upstairs into her beautiful earth toned bedroom.
“Im glad I repainted my room last year” Lorelei thought out loud to herself. “I was so sick of those pink walls.” Now Lorelei’s room had a soft brown carpet with pale green walls. She had placed cinnamon candles on her desk and the room was filled with its sweet aroma.
Lorelei stretched out on her bed, shook her feet and her sandals plopped to the ground.
A few minutes later she heard a scratch on the door. Lorelei opened it and found her little Maltese puppy Bandit. She picked him up in her arms and started stoking him.
“Hey baby. You’re not coming to steal my shoes are you?”
Bandit had a tendency to take your shoes. The next day, you’d find them with bite marks or sometimes you’d find half the shoe, and you cant find where the other half of the shoe went.
Bandit started licking Lorelei’s face.
“Im guessing that's a no”
Through the giggling, Lorelei found her way back to her bed and sat, stroking her little puppy.
“Sweetheart, have you seen Mae?” Lorelei’s mother said as she walked into the bedroom without knocking.
“No, she’s probably still walking home. Or maybe she stopped at Bobby’s house. I can’t believe she has a crush on that boy. What does she see in him?”
Lorelei mumbled under her breath about all the flaws she could find about the 10-year old boy her sister liked.
“Lori, this is important. I need to talk to both of you. If you see her, let me know ok.”
“Yes mama. What is it that you need to talk to us about?”
“I really want to tell both of you at the same time.” Savannah said.
She left the room and Bandit jumped off the bed and hurried away before Lorelei could catch him and make him stay. She wondered what her mom was going to say. Lorelei looked out the window, and watched for her sister.
She was right, Mae was talking to Bobby. He lived across from Maggie. Mae was giggling and flirting.
“She’s only 10. Did I like boys when I was her age?” Lorelei thought, “No, I still thought they had cooties. Other girls liked boys though...” Lorelei rambled on about a boy named Westin, who always teased Lorelei and tugged on her hair. When Lorelei looked out the window again Mae was in the walkway about to come into the house.
Lorelei rushed down the stairs and sat on their comfortable sofa. Her mother sat in their rocking chair, looking very tense with her hands in her lap.
“mama’s nervous.” Lorelei thought, “She never puts her hands in her lap unless she is nervous.”
Mae came downstairs, Mom told her to put her things away because they needed to talk.
“So, what's going on? Mom, you look nervous. Are you nervous?” Mae said as she strolled into the room as if she owned it. “Bobby said,”
“I don't really want to hear what Bobby said right now” Savannah said with hostility in her voice. “We have to talk about something, something very important.”
“Oh boy,” Lorelei mumbled under her breath.
“It has to do with your daddy’s job.”
“Oh no” Lorelei thought. “Please no!” She knew what was coming. “This isn’t a joke anymore! Oh man...”
Mason, Lorelei’s father, stepped in, “I got offered a job coaching for the California Bears.”
Lorelei’s heart rushed. “California? A whole different state! No! My friends, Whitney, Lexi, Mags! Jess! I can’t leave them!” Lorelei thought.
“Dad, what are you trying to say? The Longhorns are so cool. Texas Longhorns. Not some bears.” Mae shouted.
“Sweetheart, let us finish” Their mother said. “Your father and I, found a house-”
“NO!!” Lorelei yelled. “I am not leaving!! Im not leaving my friends! I love Abilene!” Lorelei stood up “Have fun in California! ‘Cause I’m not coming with you!” Lorelei stormed upstairs and slammed her door then jumped on her bed. She started crying on her pillow.
Downstairs there was silence, then Mason spoke, “Mae, are you ok with this?”
Mae hesitated then said, “No, You know what Bobby said to me. He wanted me to be his girlfriend! And I know you would say I was too young but I was so happy earlier, and now it’s ruined! I wont ever see him again! Or my friends!”
Mae also ran upstairs.
Mason and Savannah sighed
“Well, that was fun” Mason said sarcastically. “What are we going to do now?”
Savannah stuttered and spoke. “Lets just let them cool down for now. In an half-hour or so, I’ll go talk to them and tell them we’re leaving. Period.”
Mason was always the laid back parent. Although he coached a football team, and was about to coach the California Bears, in his hometown, Mason let the kids do what they wanted. Savannah was the stern parent.
“OK, what for dinner?” Mason asked.
“Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup. The girls love that.”
~
Later at dinner, everything was quiet. It felt very awkward. Mae didn’t look up once. Neither did Mason. Mae was angry but Mason was scared to see the hostile faces around the table, so he sat quietly and sipped his soup.
Although Lorelei’s eyes were bloodshot from crying so hard, she glared at her mom and dad.
Lorelei’s mother tried to start a conversation many times. Like, “I wonder who made up the idea to grill bread and cheese together? What do you think Lorelei” And she’d simply say, “I don't know.” Another conversation starter was “Why does this dog always beg? He has food!” Then Lorelei would just simply look at her mom, roll her eyes, then continue staring blank at the wall.
After Mae was done eating she stood up without looking at anyone and walked out of the kitchen, up the stairs, and into her bedroom.
We heard a big slam.
When Mason finished he just slouched over some more and gazed around the room, but didn’t look at Lorelei.
Finally Lorelei spoke up, “When are we leaving?”
Savannah shot a look to Mason.
He sat up strait then said, “Well, we were hoping to leave Thursday night. Then we would get there sometime on Sunday and you could start school on next Monday.”
“Dad, today is Monday, and I have to tell my friends. Can we have some sort of goodbye party tomorrow?”
“Yes Lori.” Savannah said. “We’re going to say goodbye to friends and all that then pack all day Wednesday and Thursday.”
Lorelei sighed, “okay” and with that, she got up, placed her bowl in the sink and ran up to her bedroom.
Trying to force back the tears, Lorelei grabbed her cell phone out of her backpack, Dialed a number, and waited for the other end of the line to pick up.
Finally, a slow tear ran down Lorelei’s cheek.
The phone rang about four times, then finally someone answered.
“Hello?”
“Is this Jessica?”
“Ya, it’s me. Are you ok Lori?”
“Um no. Can you talk, I have bad news.”