Chapter One: Maria

"Alice?" I tapped my dozing friend on the shoulder. "Lunch is over. We have to get to class." She didn't budge. She'd been sleeping a lot more lately. I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "You know you can't afford another detention." Her eyes snapped open. They were teary. She stared into my eyes.

"Oh, what's the point Maria?" She asked. I sat there speechless for a moment. Alice had been depressed for so long. We all had been. Mickey was the one who was good with Alice's gloomy questions. She skipped lunch.

"Come on. It's not that bad," I tried to console. I lifted her by the arms and let her lean on my shoulders. "Don't let things get to you. Try to be happy." I was trying to live under that pretense, too.

Kendra had to move, didn't she? She had to leave. She finally came back, and for what? To get killed, that's what she did. The four of us were invincible. No one could beat us.

She wasn't exactly 'killed' at first. She came back, but she was different. She had different friends back in New York, and she was mean to us. We were so excited to hear she was coming back. I let out a sigh.

"Maria, it bothers you, too, doesn't it?" Alice asked. I stared down at Alice. She straightened her posture and let go of me. "I don't need to limp. I think I get it now." I stared at her questioningly. "She got what she deserved thanks to you."

"How could you say that?" I gaped at her. I was going to say something to defend Kendra, make her seem innocent, but I couldn't.

"It's true," Alice said. She didn't even turn to look at me. She just walked out of the room, and I was all alone. Alice made it to class. I was the one who was late. I never left the cafeteria.

"It was an accident," I repeated to myself in a hushed tone.