First things first, I suppose I should disclose who I am. My name is Carolina Adams. I grew up in a wonderful family. A mom and dad who loved me, two big brothers to pick on and protect me. Truly very wonderful. I suppose this is why I never expected anything bad to happen to me. I grew up in a town with a very low crime rate, where high school football ruled the world, and we had a drive your tractor to school day. I thought this was because I grew up in a friendly and wonderful area, and I did, but we didn't talk about the bad stuff. About how the boys were on steroids, everybody smoked marijuana and drank underage, and the football team got away with- everything.

My best friends name was Kelsey Pine. We had been friends since elementary school. She had a strong personality. She was a cheerleader, popular, pretty, all the boys wanted her, and she had a habit of hating you if you didn't follow her every rule, and she would turn her back on you faster than you could even imagine. I didn't learn this until senior year.

The first day of senior year everything was fine. No one said anything to me about what had happened over the summer with Jake. I breathed a sigh of relief. The second day, eight period, was the first time someone brought it up. A friend of mine, a football player, had asked me if it was true. Did I hook up with Jake? My heart dropped and I felt sick. Did I hook up with him? Does me being unconscious count? I didn't want to start anything. I wasn't very confrontational. So, I said yes, and laughed it off. That was my new plan of attack. So what, I "willingly" slept with one guy. Not a big deal, and I was bound to lose my virginity at some point, right? I mean I wanted to. I had thought about it. It didn't happen how I wanted, or who I wanted it to happen with, but maybe if I could be positive it wouldn't hurt as bad. It wasn't until the next day at lunch where things took a nasty turn. A girl who I went to church with sat by me at lunch. She asked if it was true. I said yes. She had slept with him too, willingly, and talked about how big he was and how skilled he was at what he did. I agreed. I didn't actually know if he was, but it sounded good. My friends gushed about how lucky I was to lose it to a guy who knew what he was doing. I certainly didn't feel lucky. Then she asked me, you know he has a girlfriend, right? My heart sunk again. No. I didn't know. I couldn't contain my surprise, and told her such. No, I had no clue! Why would he do that? Why would he cheat? Because that is what he did. I wasn't the first person he cheated on his girlfriend with, and I wasn't the last. However, I was the most publicized.

About a week went by, and every day I was anxious. I could feel something was about to happen, but I didn't know what. Kelsey, my best friend, got very distant with me. This wasn't the time I needed her to be distant, I needed her support! One by one, my other close friends (not the soccer ones) followed her lead, and didn't really talk to me. The soccer girls did, because they still thought it was amazing that I lost my virginity that way. How hilarious. By the end of that next week I knew why my friends were distant. It got to Jake's girlfriend that he slept with me. I was a whore. A slut. A homewrecker. My name was dragged through the mud. Everyday felt terrible. I didn't want to go to school. It was my senior year, I was supposed to be celebrating, but I couldn't stand to go. I hated it.

I hated it a lot more when I found out Kelsey was the one spreading the news that I slept with a guy who had a girlfriend. Turns out, Kelsey was dating one of Jake's girlfriend's family members. Which meant, I was to blame for everything. In hindsight, I suppose I was, but at the time I felt helpless and powerless. Everyone thought I was willing to do that, and acting like I knew he was dating someone, but that wasn't the truth. I was scared to say otherwise, so I kept my mouth shut and let the news spread. Jake tried to hook up again, and again. I said no every time. He didn't understand why. I did it once, which means I can do it again.

Luckily, another scandal happened. Someone on the football team got caught with pot in the parking lot. I was old news and forgotten about. Was I still popular? Yes. Did everybody still like me? Yes. Did Kelsey come back to being my friend after everything? Yes. Did I tell her off for being a terrible friend and stop talking to her? No. I was so happy that everything was blown over. My life could go back to normal. I had my friends back, my family never found out, and Jake stopped trying to talk to me. This was something I was going to consider a rough patch and move on with like it didn't even happen. The rest of senior year was great.

About a month before I graduated the next scandal happened. At least, it was a scandal in my friend group. Kelsey was dating a guy named Kyle. A guy who happened to be my brothers' best friend, and a guy I grew up with. A guy I cared for, in a completely platonic sense. Kelsey cheated on him, and didn't want anyone to tell me. They would talk about it behind my back, until finally one day I snapped and said that I wasn't an idiot, I'm aware she's hiding something, and whatever I was coming up with in my head was probably way worse than what actually happened. So, she told me and swore me to secrecy. I agreed.

For our senior trip, we went to an amusement park. Roller coasters, a water park, thrill rides, greasy food, you name it- they had it. I spent all day laughing with Kelsey. She told me about how much she loved me, and knew we'd continue being friends into college, and in each other's wedding, etc. Just because high school was over didn't mean anything would change. Except for the fact that it changed that night. On the ride home, my brother had sent me a message asking if I ever used Kelsey phone. I said no. End of story. I thought. Turns out, Kyle found pictures and messaged on Kelsey's phone between her and a friend of mine, Cody. Cody was who Kelsey was cheating on Kyle with. Kelsey told Kyle that it wasn't her sending those messages, that it was me. When I told my brother that wasn't true, without knowing the rest of the story, that meant I wanted to break Kelsey and Kyle up. Or so Kelsey told everyone. She yelled at me, told me I was the worst person in the world, told Kyle I was in love with him and that is why I lied and said that she was cheating, and then she continued the talk bad about me with the rest of my friends. They took her side. I graduated and celebrated with my parents, because my friends weren't talking to me. Kelsey and I never became friends again.

However, I did get an unexpected apology later that summer.