There are things in this world that shape a high school experience. For some it can be the atmosphere, the teachers, the kids, the learning. For Alyssa Morgan it was her friends. Friends made or broke the life in high school, made school tolerable and without them, Alyssa would have surely lost her sanity. It was a commonly known fact that friends were needed to survive the events of high school. Friends were needed to study with, eat lunch with, gossip with, or to just provide support when the rest of the school turned against you. In short, friends were absolutely essential.
She had known a few friends since junior high: Lynn Michaels, Julie Holland, and Sam Wilson. She had just met her boyfriend, Ryan Brennon, a mere six months ago. It was like some fairytale and her life had become a whirlwind of Ryan related stuff ever since. Ryan was suddenly her whole world. He was all she talked about, all she thought about. Alyssa ate, drank, and breathed Ryan Brennon. That’s how she knew something was wrong. It was all happening way too fast. Too many emotions, too many feelings, all things that Alyssa had not been able to handle. The quick way he became her whole life made Alyssa realize that she had been moving way too fast with Ryan.
Before she had met Ryan, Alyssa had been immature. She wasn’t afraid to admit it. She was a typical teenage girl, without any cares or worries other than whether she was popular in school or not. She didn’t think about romance or what the future was going to hold. Ryan had been way too mature for his age, and in turn he had aged Alyssa as well. He had taken the immature Alyssa and aged her. Alyssa was seventeen going on forty. As a result of this new maturing process, Alyssa started to think way too much about things that shouldn’t have even mattered.
Things were so rushed. They had only known each other for months, and they hadn’t even been friends before they started to date. That wasn’t the way that things were supposed to work. Friends, then lovers. Not lovers, then friends. Friendship was the natural foundation for any lasting relationship. And as much as she hated to admit it, the elation that she felt in the beginning of the relationship with Ryan was suddenly...gone. It was this sudden cessation of the elation she felt that made Alyssa realize that she wasn’t in love with Ryan. What she felt for him was lust. And she wasn’t happy with the way things were going.
To add insult to injury, Alyssa had an enormous crush on a boy named Brian Klein. Not so bad, right? Wrong. This would have all been peachy keen if a) Alyssa wasn’t in a relationship, b) she and Brian Klein actually talked, and c) if she and Brian were friends. Sadly, neither a nor b were applicable in the situation. And Alyssa felt horrible for even thinking about Brian Klein when she was dating Ryan. With the way she was feeling about her relationship with Ryan, Alyssa did not need these sorts of thoughts. Needless to say, Alyssa’s current way of thinking was very screwed up.
"I can't believe it's going to be our senior year!" Seventeen year old Julie Holland exclaimed. For the life of her, Alyssa could not return her friend’s enthusiasm. There were just too many things going on in her mind.
“I can’t wait,” Alyssa replied, distraction coloring her voice.
There was exactly one month left until the beginning of her senior year of high school. Senior. Alyssa was almost done with high school. While she didn’t hate going to school, it was not Alyssa’s favorite place. The best part about school was her English classes and hanging out with friends. All the blood, sweat and tears that she had poured into making through the four hellish years of high school were going to pay off at the end of the next school year.
It’s not that she wasn’t looking forward to her senior year. Alyssa was more than excited at the idea of her senior year of high school. She just had many other things troubling her mind at the moment. Even though it was the most important year of her life, senior year wasn’t exactly at the top of her list of mental activities right then.
"Earth to Lyss! Anybody home?" Julie waved a manicured hand in front of Alyssa's face, attempting to lure her friend back to the current topic. Alyssa seemed to have her head somewhere else these days. She was always distracted, not able to stay on topic as of late and it was worrying her friends.
“Sorry. What was the question?”
“I was saying that you don’t seem very excited about senior year.” Alyssa sighed, not entirely sure that she wanted to broach the subject of what was going on inside of her extremely screwed up head. Yes, she was screwed up. Everything about the way that Alyssa thought was extremely screwed up.
“Sorry, Jules. I just have a lot of things on my mind.” Julie rolled her eyes in that dramatic way that she had. Julie was dramatic; there wasn’t a doubt about that. She didn’t roll her eyes because she was dramatic. She rolled her eyes because the excuse, and yes it was an excuse, was just typical Alyssa behavior.
“Obviously. What I was wondering was if you wanted to elaborate.” Alyssa shook her head, in her typical way of not wanting to talk about problems. That had become a big thing with Alyssa. She kept her feelings inside, not wanting to voice what was bothering her. It made for problems with friends, problems in her relationship, because Alyssa made big things out of little problems.
“It’s nothing, Julie. I was just wondering about whether or not I have enough credits to graduate early. And if that’s what I want to do.”
“It’s more than that, Lyss. I can tell.” Julie cocked her head to the side. “Credits wouldn’t have you so zoned out. You’re a good student, so you don’t have worry about that. What’s really going on?”
“I would talk about it,” Alyssa started. “But even I don’t really understand what’s going on inside of my head right now. And if I don’t know what’s going on, then I’m not going to be able to describe it to you. I just—I need to figure some things out.”
“Okay,” Julie said, deciding it was easier to just let it go instead of trying to pull it out of her. She could probably get more out a wall than out of Alyssa when she was in one of her moods. “Whenever you decide to let me in on it, I’ll be here.” Alyssa gave her a strained smile.
“Thanks, Jules.” She started to flip through a course description booklet that had all the classes that they could take their senior year. “So you were talking about senior year?”
“I was just saying how awesome it’s going to be for all of us to finally be seniors.” She grinned. “Think about it, Alyssa. We made it. We’re finally at the top of the school. All that hard work, all those long hours. We’re finally at the top.”
“I know!” Alyssa exclaimed, Julie’s enthusiasm catching. It was hard to be in a bad mood when Julie was around. “It took a lot to get here, but it’s gonna be so much fun.”
“And homecoming is in September. We should all go out and look for dresses together. You gonna take Ryan?”
“Of course,” Alyssa replied. Who else would she take? Ryan had been her date to her junior prom, and would probably be her date for the school dances and her senior prom. “I saw the perfect dress in Dillard’s the other day. It was long, lavender colored and had a flower pattern on it with glitter. You guys will have to come with me to get it.”
“Sounds perfect for you,” Julie said. Purple, lavender even, was a good color for Alyssa. With long brown hair and deep, coffee colored eyes, Alyssa had the simple kind of beauty that definitely made guys look twice. Too bad she didn’t believe that she was beautiful. “You and Ryan are going to look so hot together.”
Ryan was the perfect contrast to Alyssa. He was pushing six feet, to Alyssa five feet five inches. With blond hair and deep blue eyes, Ryan was the light to Alyssa’s dark. They were a beautiful couple and many people thought they were perfect. It was obvious that he adored Alyssa and in the beginning of their relationship, anyone could see the admiration that Alyssa had felt for Ryan.
They had met through their mutual friend, Lynn Michaels, who introduced them at a gathering that she had at her house. There was an immediate attraction on Ryan’s part, as he had been impressed by Alyssa’s simple beauty. She had been wearing a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt with quarter sleeves. It had been awkward, at first, but after hugging her before leaving, Ryan knew that he had to be with her.
Little did he know, Alyssa was smitten with him as well. She could remember jumping on Lynn’s trampoline and screaming “I’m in love!” He was gorgeous, all tall and lanky, muscular in the right places. She was ready to bounce off the walls with excitement at meeting this hot guy. Oh yeah. Alyssa had fallen hard.
It was only a week later when Ryan asked her out and only a few days after that that he told her that he loved her. Their friends were amazed at how fast they were moving, how quickly Ryan had seemed to fall. He had been in love before, knew the intense emotions that could come from it. Ryan was a Pagan, into reading Stones and various other things like that. He strongly claimed that he had felt Alyssa’s presence before he met her. Sure enough, Ryan had fallen head over heels in love with Alyssa Morgan.
Alyssa, who had never had a serious boyfriend before, didn’t know what to expect from this new boy in her life. She didn’t understand the feelings she felt, why she felt an unexpected jolt of terror when Ryan talked of the future. She was in love with him, this she knew, but Ryan talked of marrying her one day.
Marriage? Alyssa was a junior in high school, more interested in going to the movies, shopping, making out, and being a teenager. There were thoughts of college, but that was as far as thoughts of the future went. Alyssa hadn’t thought at all about marrying Ryan and it scared her to think that it could get that far one day.
They went out to the movies, to dinner and hung out at each other’s houses. It was hard to believe that a gorgeous guy like Ryan would want someone like her. Things were great in the beginning and you could tell that they were in love. Then something happened. There was a slight shift in the way Alyssa was looking at Ryan. Sure, she still looked at him like she was in love. But there was a shadow of doubt in her eyes now, the one that said that she doubted her relationship.
Both Julie and Alyssa were lost in their thoughts. Julie was mulling over how Alyssa’s feelings could be changing and Alyssa was contemplating just how screwed up she had to be in order to be questioning a relationship with someone like Ryan. He was an attentive boyfriend, opening doors, holding her hand, always hugging and kissing her. In the beginning, Alyssa welcomed the affection and loved nothing more than to lie in his arms or hold hands. But the multiple phone calls, the way she couldn’t go two hours without hearing from Ryan was starting to grate on her nerves.
Julie didn’t understand what Alyssa’s attraction to Brian Klein was. He wasn’t cute, he was a total ass, and he really didn’t seem to have an attraction at all to Alyssa. She knew that Alyssa had been friends with Brian at one point, but he wasn’t interested in anything else. Why she kept on liking him, why it was impacting her relationship with Ryan was really beyond Julie. She also knew that liking Brian was making Alyssa feel extremely guilty, and it was starting to show when she was around Ryan. It was a shining example of how Alyssa could take a little crush and turn it into a big problem.
The two friends were silent, the excited mood ruined by unpleasant thoughts. Something was going to go down, with Alyssa having to decide what she was going to do in regards to her lack of enthusiasm toward Ryan lately.
One couldn’t know what would happen then.
*******************
The sound of crashing waves drifted through the door of the beach house where sixteen year old Trista Morgan was staying. She was spending the remaining part of the summer in the Florida Keys before returning home to Orlando and starting her senior year of high school. Trista was a year younger than her older sister, Alyssa, but had skipped first grade and was a senior along with her. Her parents, John and Jane Morgan, had actually been lenient for once and let her spend a few weeks with her friends in the Keys.
She was finishing breakfast in her bedroom upstairs while trying to figure out what to wear for her day out. Trista was practically jumping with joy; she couldn’t wait to get home and introduce her nineteen year old boyfriend Michael Slater to her parents. She couldn’t wait to see her parent’s reactions to him. He wasn’t your typical guy, more on the skater/rocker side of the dress and style.
Michael had spiky blond hair, with dyed blue tips. To add to his bad boy image, he had multiple piercings. His chin, eyebrow, and tongue were pierced and Trista loved it all. Her conservative mother was going to freak, especially if she found out that Michael had convinced Trista to pierce her tongue and her bellybutton. Good girl Trista was starting to rebel and nothing felt better.
She ate the rest of her banana nut muffin and went about rooting around her clothes to find something to wear. Trista had dozens of bathing suits with her, to match her eyes, offset her blond hair. Thank goodness for Clairol, or Trista would have been stuck with brown hair. She regarded each one carefully before deciding on a blue string bikini that would look striking against her tanned, waxed, and taut body. On a whim, and to add some decency, she grabbed the matching cover up and tied it around her waist.
“Trista?” A voice called out from downstairs.
“Coming!” Trista yelled back. She tromped down the stairs and saw Michael standing in the kitchen wearing a pair of board shorts and nothing else. He, too, had a great tan from their time in the Keys and had the washboard abs to go along with it.
Their friends had left days before, leaving Trista alone in the condo with Michael. It felt so wrong, knowing that she was going against her parent’s wishes and staying alone with a boy. They had been having a great time and Trista could feel their relationship moving toward a more serious level.
She had met Michael when she first arrived in the Florida Keys, at a club that she and her friend Rain liked to go to often. Michael was DJing one night, and Trista had noticed him checking her out while she danced. She could feel an attraction, without having even met him personally.
Trista stayed late one night and caught up with him. They had talked, kissed, and decided to go out on a date. After that, they were hooked and were dating exclusively. They made a great couple; hot, young, good looking. Trista had to admit that things were definitely going her way.
Michael whistled as she tripped into the kitchen in her black flip flops, bikini and cover up. Trista, confident by nature, still blushed. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into a kiss.
A hot kiss.
They spent a few minutes making out, before Trista pulled away. She knew that if they kept going the way they were going, they weren’t going to be going to the beach. They would end up getting horizontal.
As they walked out of the condo and out to the beach, Trista couldn’t stop smiling. They were playing in the waves, laughing and playing around. It was the tone of the whole summer: fun in the sun. Trista wanted to stay that way for the rest of her life.
The rest of the summer, and her senior year, were starting to look pretty darn good.
******************
“I’m not going to go!” Seventeen year old Lynn Michaels yelled, even though her mother was standing right next to her. Her mother shot her a deathly glare as Lynn ran a hand through her dark brown hair and sighed.
The point of the argument, what had Lynn yelling at her mother (though this was nothing out of the ordinary), was the fact that Lynn had just been informed that her father had just gotten a new job and the family was moving to Arizona.
“I don’t care what you want, Lynn,” Patricia Michaels said. “I know you don’t want to, and I know we’re going to suffer your teenage wrath, but we’re moving and that’s final.”
“But it’s my senior year!” Lynn protested. “Why do we have to leave before my senior year?”
“I’m sorry, Lynn, but your father can’t turn down this job. We need the money and it’s a good opportunity for him to advance further down the road. I’m sorry it has to be right before your senior year. We’re leaving in two weeks.”
She trudged up to her room and slammed the door as hard as she could. Sometimes, she really hated her parents. They had no qualms about just up and moving the family when it suited them. That’s the kind of parents they were.
Lynn threw herself onto her bed, sighing loudly. What was she supposed to do? She had gone to school with Alyssa Morgan, Julie Holland, Sam Wilson and Trista Morgan since junior high. What was she going to do when she didn’t have them to turn to? Her friends were her constant source of comfort, the ones she could turn to for anything.
Alyssa was her best friend, and spent so many nights over at Lynn’s house that she would have been a part of the family if Lynn’s family wasn’t so fucked up. They talked about everything from boys to school to life. Alyssa did her best to help Lynn in school, when Lynn didn’t care much about it.
Lynn sometimes felt inferior to Alyssa, with her amazing beauty. She wasn’t pretty in an overpowering way and that was sometimes the strongest form of beauty. Lynn was shorter, coming out at about five feet, with hazel eyes and dark hair. Alyssa and Lynn were the best of friends.
Sam. What was she going to do about her boyfriend? Lynn and Sam went together like Alyssa and Ryan. Sam was everything to her, even when they were fighting, which they seemed to do a lot. Sam had the tendency to act like a real ass sometimes. But when they weren’t fighting, they were good together.
Lynn had been the one to introduce Alyssa to Ryan. He had been a good friend of hers and Sam had thought it would be good idea to get the two of them together and see what would happen. Alyssa met Ryan over at Lynn’s house and the two of them hit it off. It made Lynn happy to see Alyssa finally be happy.
But now she wasn’t.
As Alyssa’s best friend, Lynn knew when she was happy and when she wasn’t. And right now, Alyssa wasn’t happy. For what reason, Lynn didn’t know. God. What was she going to do when she couldn’t see and talk to Alyssa? What about Julie?
When time for school came around, her friends would be shopping for school supplies and clothes without her. They would be matriculating at Orlando High School, laughing in the halls, eating lunch and studying together without her. They would go to parties, hang out, and do things without her.
Lynn was going to be leaving in two weeks. She was going to be leaving her friends, her home and entire life behind. Everything she knew was in Orlando. It was her world, the only place she could see herself living. What would there be in Arizona? She’d have to make new friends, ones that she would have to leave when she graduated in May. Why should she have to make new friends so far into her high school career? Lynn knew one thing for sure. Her entire world was in Orlando.
And she was leaving it all behind.
********************
Julie loved to throw pool parties. The Holland’s had an amazing kidney shaped pool in the backyard and enough lawn furniture to have an entire army sit in the backyard. There had been so many pool parties at the Holland house, where the friends had gathered, laughing and swimming and having a great time. Julie thought it was about time that she threw another awesome party.
Alyssa was helping Julie set out some food, a vegetable platter, some chips and some sodas. She was listless and distracted, but grabbed a slice of cucumber and dipped it in some ranch dressing.
“So I called Lynn and told her to meet us here,” Julie told Alyssa. “Along with Ryan, Josh, and Sam.” Alyssa’s head snapped up at the mention of her boyfriend. She didn’t know why she was so freaked at Julie inviting Ryan. It was a normal thing to do. Plus, she should want to hang out with her boyfriend.
“Ryan’s coming?” Julie looked at her, confused. It was weird that Alyssa was squicky about Ryan coming over. But at the same time, Julie knew it probably had something to do with her feelings for Brian Klein.
“Of course Ryan’s coming? Why wouldn’t he?” Alyssa sighed.
“I know. It’s just…” Alyssa paused, not sure if she wanted to let Julie know exactly what she was thinking. She grabbed another cucumber before mumbling, “I’m thinking about breaking up with him.” Julie’s jaw practically dropped to the ground. Had she just heard what she thought she heard?
“What?! Why?” Julie’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “I mean, we all thought things were going so well. You guys seemed happy and looked like you were having a great time. Is he a jerk? Did he cheat on you? Did you cheat on him?” Alyssa sighed again, hating Julie’s enthusiasm and rapid fire questions.
“No, he’s not a jerk. He didn’t cheat on me, I didn’t cheat on him.” She looked out into the distance. “I have feelings for Brian Klein who, might I add, doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me. I think we rushed things and I feel like I just need space. We need to be friends before we can really have a relationship.”
“You’ve been going out for six months and you just now realized that you rushed things? Or has this been a long time thing? How long have you felt like that?”
“It started in June. I mean, things that he did just started to annoy me. The fact that he calls me at least five times a day wasn’t endearing, it was annoying. Always holding hands, making me claustrophobic. All kinds of things that I shouldn’t be feeling. I should be happy, I should love these things. But I don’t. And I don’t know what to do.” Julie nodded.
“I—” Julie was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Alyssa turned away, confident that her friend couldn’t help her anyway. Julie went to go answer it and came back with their friends in tow. Lynn Michaels, Ryan Brennon, Josh Ridgely and Sam Wilson were carrying towels and wearing bathing suits. Alyssa felt a pang when she saw her boyfriend. They rushed past Julie toward the pool. Josh and Sam jumped in. Ryan ran over to Alyssa, scooped her up and ran toward the pool.
“Ryan! Put me down! Don’t even--” Alyssa’s protests were cut short when Ryan dumped her into the pool. Alyssa came up spluttering and saw the flash from the camera go off. “I can’t believe you did that!”
She laughed as Ryan helped her pull herself out of the pool. Ryan’s blue eyes were dancing with laughter and he gazed at her with love, admiration and humor. In the midst of his devotion, she was flooded with guilt. The happy moment was spoiled. If Ryan sensed the change in her mood, he didn’t show it. But her friends did. Instead of gazing adoringly at each other, Alyssa avoided any contact with his crystal blue eyes.
The friends were laughing, splashing and playing volleyball. Julie watched as Ryan tried to put his arms around Alyssa’s waist. She pulled slightly away, but eventually let him do it. The look on her face betrayed her unhappiness and guilt.
Later, the friends were sitting around the pool, eating the food Alyssa and Julie had put out. Lynn had been unusually quiet and her friends regarded her with mild curiosity. Sam had his arms around her and Lynn was ready to cry.
“I have some news,” Lynn said softly as her friends waited anxiously. “My dad got a new job and we’re moving to Arizona.”
“What?!” Josh exclaimed. Even Sam, Lynn’s boyfriend, had to pull away in shock. The news came so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that the friends had no response. “When are you leaving?”
“Two weeks,” Lynn said. “My dad absolutely has to take this job. He’s going to be making twice the money he’s making now and we’ll have ‘a much better life.’” Lynn shook her head. “They’re destroying my life.”
“Right before senior year too,” Ryan said, looking down at the ground. “I mean, what do they expect you to do? You’ll have to start over and make new friends.”
“It’s so unfair,” Julie complained. Sam, the one who would have been protesting the unfair move, was uncharacteristically silent. “Parents just don’t understand.”
“Everything’s unfair,” Alyssa said, bitterly. “What’s going to happen to our group?” Julie looked at her.
“I don’t think anything is going to happen to the group,” Julie said. Ryan tightened his arms around Alyssa’s waist. “I mean, yeah, it sucks, but we should be fine.”
“The group isn’t the same without Lynn,” Alyssa protested. “I just know that we’re going to fall apart.”
“You’ll be okay, Alyssa,” Lynn said. “And I’ll make sure to keep in touch.”
“It won’t be okay!” Alyssa said angrily. “Your parents…suck! And our group is gonna suck too!” Her friends watched as she stalked off.
When she was gone, they couldn’t help but wonder…was she right?
Ryan found Alyssa on Julie’s front porch, arms around her knees. He sat down beside her, noticed the tears that reflected the moonlight and pulled her into his arms. When she started to cry, he rocked her back and forth, murmuring words of comfort in her ear. Alyssa’s face was buried in his neck, her tears making his neck damp.
“What am I going to do without my best friend?” Alyssa said in a broken voice. “Who am I going to talk to about boys, girl stuff, and shopping? Who am I going to go shopping with?” Ryan gave her a small smile and tucked a strand of her long hair behind her ear.
“You’re gonna be just fine, Lyss.” Ryan sighed. “It does suck, a lot, but Lynn is going to be fine. You’re going to be fine.” He paused. “Our group is going to be fine.”
“But it isn’t the group with Lynn,” Alyssa said. “That’s the thing. Without Lynn, we aren’t the group.”
“That’s true,” Ryan conceded. “But we’re still a group. Lynn will keep in touch. It’s not like your friendship with her is going to end. We’ll just be a different group, with one less person. It may suck now, but it’s not the end of the world.” Alyssa gazed at him.
“Thank you,” Alyssa said, snuggling into his arms, not feeling claustrophobic for once. “I don’t know what I would do without you.” Ryan smiled and pulled her closer.
Then the claustrophobia hit her and she abruptly pulled away.
He looked at her, eyebrows knitted in confusion, but was silent as they made their way back to their friends. Lynn was drying her eyes. When Ryan and Alyssa sat down next to their friends, no one could say a word. No one had to.
There was nothing that could be said.
**********************
Ryan Brennon
Something is wrong with my girlfriend. I know Alyssa a lot better than she thinks I do. And when she suddenly stops gazing into my eyes, I know that something is up. And lately, she’s been in these moods. Sometimes, it’s like my touch repulses or annoys her. I know she likes Brian Klein. I can see it in the way she looks at him. But that doesn’t change the way she feels about me and it doesn’t change the way I feel about her. I’m confident in the fact that she loves me and that I’m the one she wants to be with. So I’m not going to say anything. If she has a problem, then she needs to come to me with it.
Alyssa Morgan
Feelings are hard to understand. One minute, the fact that Ryan loves to be touchy feely makes me feel claustrophobic, and the next minute, I’m craving it. I was fine when I was crying. I wanted him to hold me. But, despite his keen sense of perception, he didn’t say anything to let me know if he noticed my change in mood. And it’s getting harder and harder to keep up this act, this “I’m fine and happy with my relationship” part that I’m playing. I want to talk to Ryan about Brian, and the fact that I like him, but I can’t. This isn’t right. Ryan should be with someone who isn’t fantasizing about another guy. I feel like a horrible girlfriend.
Lynn Michaels
I can’t believe this is happening to me. This is one of those times that I really hate my parents. Oh wait, that’s every day. I can’t believe they’re doing this to me. It doesn’t matter that I have to leave my friends, my life and my whole world behind. None of this matters to my parents. And I feel bad for my friends, especially Alyssa. I know something is going wrong with Ryan and I’m not going to be here to help her. Who is going to keep her in line, let her know when she’s crossing a line? Who is going to give her a swift kick in the ass when she’s doing something stupid? No one. And that sucks.
Sam Wilson
How can she be moving? Lynn is my world. I love her. And that means a lot, coming from me. Because usually, I’m more of a bed ‘em and leave ‘em kind of thing. I usually just see who I can sleep with. Lynn wasn’t like that. Lynn was a step above what I usually go for. Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs and sometimes I can be a real asshole, but we love each other. And I know that I can’t do the whole long term relationship with her. I know we’re going to break up. It wouldn’t be fair for her to not be able to date guys while she’s in Arizona. So, as much as I love her, I’m going to have to let her go. When you love somebody, let them go. If they come back, they’re yours. If not? They were never yours in the first place.
Julie Holland
Lynn is my best friend. One of them. We’ve been through everything together, and I can’t imagine what I’m going to do without her. I wonder what’s going to happen to Alyssa. I love Alyssa to death, but I know that Lynn leaving is going to be hell on her. And as much as I hate to admit it, Alyssa had a point that night. Our group won’t be our group anymore. It’s not a group without Lynn. So are we going to fall apart? What’s going to become of our group?