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of girls in matching cheerleading uniforms. How many of these girls were there?
    Hoping Whitney wouldn’t spot me, I turned to Chelsea, who was yammering on about how hot it’d been all summer.
    “Hey,” I said, interrupting her. “Want to go sit over there?” I pointed to a spot on the other side of the gym.
    She shrugged. “Sure.”
    I dropped onto the floor next to her and pulled my knees up to my chin while she continued on about spending the summer babysitting. I was only half listening to her while my thoughts returned to Zander and his Challenger. I wondered how he would react if I showed up in his garage one afternoon and offered to help him with his car. Would he dismiss me as a strange girl or would he welcome the help? I’d met Tyler when he started working part-time at my dad’s shop. Although our relationship made me wonder if I had any sense at all when it came to guys.
    “What about you?” Chelsea asked.
    “Huh?” I glanced over at her, and immediately felt guilty when she frowned, looking hurt. “I’m sorry. I was a million miles away thinking about my best friend back home.” It wasn’t a complete lie; I’d been missing Megan all day. And, actually, at one point I had considered Tyler my best friend. That is, until he dumped me.
    She smiled. “It’s okay. I miss Eileen too.” She touched my leg. “I’m just glad I have you to talk to.”
    And at that moment I knew she was genuine, and I was glad she’d chosen me.
    The coach called the class to order and spent the nextforty-five minutes lecturing about the intricacies of badminton. Who knew it was such a complicated sport?
    When the bell rang, the crowd of students murmured while heading toward the double doors.
    “I guess I’ll see you later,” I said, following Chelsea to the door.
    “Yeah.” Chelsea pulled out a piece of paper and studied it. “I’ve got to head clear to the other side of campus, so I better run. Have a good one.”
    “You too.” I moved through the door and fished my schedule from my pocket. Turning the corner, I came face-to-face with Whitney.
    “Hey,” she said. “I looked for you in gym.”
    “Oh, I was sitting in the back with a friend,” I said. “I didn’t see you.”
    Whitney eyed me with suspicion. “Oh. So, how’s your day going?”
    “Fine.” I hiked my bag strap further up on my shoulder. “How’s yours?”
    “Great.” She smiled. Someone called her name, and she turned and waved. “Sorry, I gotta go. See you later.”
    “See ya.” I watched her run off toward another group of girls and wondered if she’d ever lamented, “So many friends, so little time.”
    After Spanish, I headed toward the cafeteria. Choosing a table in the back corner, I emptied my turkey sandwich, apple, and bottle of water from my lunch bag and, needing something to do, fetched my journal from my bag. Taking a bite of my sandwich, I began to write.
    Tuesday, August 23
    Dear Mom,
    First day of school has been pretty uneventful. While the high school population is about half the size of my old one, the people seem to be the same. I made a friend in English class, a girl named Chelsea. She seems really nice. Her best friend moved away last year, so I think she may be a kindred spirit. But she’s not Megan.
    I keep wishing I could talk to you and tell you how scared I am to be alone. I used to feel so sure of myself because I knew I could always go to you and get your advice. Now I’m flying solo, and I can’t stop thinking about how much I miss our old garage. When I was out there working on a project, I felt like I could solve all of the problems in the world. Sometimes I would pray out loud, and I could almost feel God answering me, and
    “Hey,” someone said. “Is this seat taken?”
    My heart leapt into my throat at the sound of the voice. My first reaction was to slam my journal shut. Glancing up, I found Chelsea grinning at me while holding a bright-orange lunch tray balancing a burger, fries