Chapter 1
Linda was distracted. Staring out the window at nothing, her mind was on her best friend Desiree, who hadn't responded to any of the texts or phone messages she had left for her in the past three days and Linda was getting worried. As she sat there, distracted, her reverie was shattered by the sound of a yardstick smacking her desk, inches from her fingers and she jumped, looking up into the face of Sister Margaret, frowning down at her. She quickly found her place in her history book and went back to work on the assignment she had been working on before thoughts of Desiree had distracted her. Seeing her working again, Sister Margaret moved on down the row of desks and a spate of suppressed giggles was briefly heard from a few of the girls in the class.
After what seemed an unendurably long time, the last bell of the day rang and Linda stood up, collected her books and was on her way out the door and into the hall, when she almost bowled over Sister Catherine.
"Pardon me, Sister Catherine," Linda stammered.
"Quite alright my dear," Sister Catherine responded, "I was looking for you anyways. Won't you please come with me to my office?"
Curious as to why, Linda replied, "Yes, Sister," and followed the short, plump woman down the hallway to the administrative areas where the Sister had her office. Sister Catherine was the counselor of the senior class and Linda liked her. She always had a kind word and a smile on her face and was a good listener if you came to her with a problem. Arriving at her office, Linda followed her inside and took a seat at a gesture from the Sister.
"Linda, you are good friends with Desiree, aren't you," inquired Sister Catherine?
"Yes, Sister, she is probably my best friend. Is she in trouble," Linda asked?
"Not yet dear, but she has missed a lot of school lately and if she doesn't stay caught up, she might not graduate with you and the rest of her class," Sister Catherine stated. After a moment, she continued, "Linda, I asked you here for two reasons. The first is to ask if you know why she has not been in school lately and the second is to ask if you would take some of the work she's missed to her home."
Linda was relieved that Desiree wasn't in trouble and breathed a sigh of relief, then answered Sister Catherine, saying, "I haven't heard from her Sister, so I don't know why she hasn't been here, and I was getting a little worried, so I would be glad to take her work to her."
Smiling, Sister Catherine responded, "Thank you, dear. That would be a great help and hopefully we can put both of our minds at rest about the reasons for her absence," and turning to a folder on her desk, she handed it to Linda, who placed it in her book bag.
Linda was glad to have an excuse to go to Desiree's house so she wouldn't just seem nosy, showing up at her house without an invitation. Thinking back, she realized that she was rarely invited to Desiree's house, but thought little of it. Looking up again after putting the folder away, she asked, "Was there anything else, Sister?"
"No, dear, that's all. Thanks for agreeing to help out and please let me know if you find out the reason for her absence," she replied.
Linda stood, collected her book bag and with a wave to the sister, she left the office and made her way to her locker. She grabbed her purse and her gym clothes and stuffing them into her backpack with the rest of her things, she made her way outside and headed towards the bus stop that would take her to Desiree's house. It would be good to finally find out what was going on and as the bus arrived, she felt relaxed for the first time that day.
Part of the reason she wanted so desperately to talk with Desiree was to discuss her boyfriend, or more precisely, her soon to be ex-boyfriend, Kevin. He was starting to only talk to her when he wanted sex and although she had chosen him to be the one to lose her virginity to, his clumsy groping and lack of stamina left her unsatisfied and frustrated. She had hoped that after the first time, that she might enjoy it more, but she had to admit that Kevin just wasn't very good. She was getting tired of him not trying to satisfy her and not caring for her as anything but a booty call.