Chapter 1

Less than a year ago:

Friday

Sara was attending her best friend's birthday party. Faith had just turned 14, a few months behind Sara. Even though Faith was younger than Sara, Sara often felt Faith was more experienced and acted older. There were a total of 8 girls, all 13 or 14 years old, at the party. They had started in the early afternoon, and had all been taken by Faith's mother to a salon, and gotten their hair and makeup done. The girls were having so much fun "playing adult". They were all back at Faith's large house, admiring one another's French manicures and coiffed hair, eating cake. Faith had destroyed her neatly wrapped presents during the cake and ice cream phase of the party and there was wrapping paper scattered everywhere. Brightly colored balloons filled with helium floated about the house.

Faith's mother suddenly appeared in the room. "I've got to run and get Jenny from work, her car won't start. You girls will be ok?" she asked. Jenny was Faith's 16-year-old sister.

"Of course we will mommy! Don't worry. We'll see you in a bit," assured Faith. Her mother smiled at Faith. "Happy birthday, honey!" she said. She turned and left. Moments later, her car slipped down the driveway.

Faith got up off the floor, and went into the kitchen. She came back out with a stack of plastic cups and an open bottle of red wine. The other girls' eyes widened at this and they began to look a little nervous. "Don't worry guys, my mom will be gone for at least an hour," she reassured them. She lined up the 8 cups and poured wine into them until the bottle was gone. She handed each girl a cup, and took one herself. She raised her red plastic cup, "a toast! To me!" She brought her cup to her red lipstick and drank deeply. The other girls looked at one another and one by one took a sip from their cups. The wine was sweet, a rose desert wine. Sara found that against her better judgment, she rather liked it. Faith took another deep swallow and put her now empty cup down. Sara hurriedly drank the rest of her cup as well. The other girls followed suit. Sara felt a heady rush in her stomach as well as a kind of warmth she rather liked. Faith stood, gathered the cups and empty bottle, and vanished into the kitchen to dispose of the evidence.

Faith's mother returned about an hour later with Jenny, who had been working as a hostess at a restaurant. The other 6 girls left slowly as their parents came to claim them. Sara was staying the weekend at Faith's.

Sara was still only 14 years old, but her body was ready to be 18. She had shoulder length natural blonde hair, milk white skin, and a pair of breasts that had appeared that summer and drew all eyes. She was about 5'5". Faith, in contrast was much taller, at 5'10". She was very slender with tanned skin over toned muscle. Her dark hair was cut short, making her look like a pixie or elf. Sara's family was essential middle class, while Faith's family was the true "new rich", her father having made a fortune with some wise, or lucky, investments in the technology sector in the last few years.