Summer Vacation, Part 10

Summer Vacation
by Dromedary Jone
Part Ten

Claire and Sara met Tonya and Kayla in the lobby of the restaurant and they
immediately gave each other hugs. All four girls were nervous and not sure
what to expect. The last time the four of them had all been together things
had been much different.

The hostess recognized them and said, "Non-smoking, right?"

"No," said Claire, "smoking."

The hostess paused for a moment before leading the four girls to the smoking
section.

"Hey," said Kayla as the girls sat down, "did anyone bring their Bibles
tonight?"

The girls all laughed in unison before Claire said, "No, but I brought
these." Claire pulled out her pack of Newport 100's and quickly lit up. The
other three girls followed as the smoke above the table quickly became very
thick.

The girls talked about what had happened all summer before Claire finally
said, "Okay, we all know why we're here." Typically Rachel would be the
"leader" of the group when they were all together, but when she wasn't around
it was usually Claire who tended to steer the conversation and take charge.

"The Rachel thing," Tonya reminded everyone, taking a drag off her Marlboro
100.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Kayla, "she's going to not be our friend
when she finds out."

"You know what I say?" added Sara, "I say fuck Rachel!"

"Yeah," said Tonya, "the way she fuckin' thinks she's some sort of leader to
all of us just because her dad is the pastor of the church we all used to go
to."

"Yeah," added Kayla, "Besides, it's been me and Tonya and you two girls as
best friends for the longest time. Rachel's always been the odd man out. Fuck
her."

"Guys," said Claire, double pumping her Newport, "We've all been friends
since elementary school. Rachel hasn't done anything wrong. It's us who have
all changed. We need to be sensitive to that. Think about how you would react
if it had been you who was still the Christian and your four best friends had
all changed."

Tonya thought for a moment and then spoke up, "We'll give her a chance. I
still want to be her friend, but she has to understand that right now, I
don't want to change. Maybe I'll return to the church thing eventually, but
if I do, it will be my decision, not her nagging which will do it."

The girls all nodded in agreement. They would give Rachel a chance. The girls
sat for a few hours and lingered after the meal, chain smoking and talking
about how their lives had changed that summer.

"So, it appears you were the first one to turn to the `dark side' Claire,"
said Tonya.

"Yeah," said Claire, lighting her sixth Newport since entering the
restaurant.

"So who put that pack of Newport 100's under your car seat?" asked Sara.

Claire laughed. "I still haven't figured that out. When I first found out you
girls were smokers I thought maybe it was one of you, but I guess not. You
all started after me, and none of you smoke Newport's."

"Maybe it was Satan himself," said Kayla.

The girls all laughed as they finished their cigarettes. They did pray before
leaving - that their friend Rachel would understand. They all knew Rachel
though; it would be a surprise if she still wanted to be their friend...

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