Chapter 1

"Did you get an invitation?" Heidi asked Emily excitedly.

"Uh huh. Did you?" A broad smile flashed across her face as she looked up at her friend.

"Yes. What do you think? Are we going to do this?"

"Well, they are the absolutely coolest girls in the school, and they all seem to hang with the hottest guys too."

"I know, but is your mom even going to let you go out on dates this year? I mean, you know how she is always throwing in that stuff about having to wait until you're older."

"We had a big argument last week and she finally gave in. I know she isn't happy about it and I sort of promised that we would go out as a group..."

"You didn't!" Heidi paused. "Why in the world did you do that? What if you go out with some hot guy and he wants to make out? Are you going to do that with me in the back seat?"

Emily didn't answer immediately, the smile from her face quickly disappearing as a look of extreme concern replaced it. As the pretty fourteen year old pondered a question of earth shaking proportions, she threw her hands into the air and replied, "I never thought about that. It was the only way I could get her to agree. Now what are we going to do?"

"Well, we don't even have dates yet, so I don't think we need to worry about this right now. The bigger question is if we want to join this club."

"It sounds almost mysterious, doesn't it?"

"Well, yes, it is a secret organization," Heidi responded in an exasperated voice. "Did you take dummy pills this morning or what? I think it might be a lot like a sorority in college, except it's just for the girls in our school."

"Yeah, I know. I don't think we know all of the girls in it, but we do know some of them, and they all seem to be pretty nice."

Both girls responded favorably to their invitations and were welcomed by the other members to the first meeting of the school year, held that very next week in the basement of the home of the sorority president, Leah Williams. "Welcome to our first meeting of the school year. We are all happy that you have decided to at least consider joining our organization. I 'd like to take this time to explain just a little more about what we do, as a group, for the school and for our community, and a little later, Samantha will talk about some of the things we can do to help you make the most of your years at McFadden High."

Leah went on to explain some of the many community service projects that the sorority historically involved itself, and droned on for another hour or so about this, that and the other before finally concluding her "We do good stuff" speech and introducing Samantha.

"I'm Samantha Edgerton and I will be the person responsible for what is called your 'Social Development and Acclimation'. I realize that almost sounds scary and dry, but believe me, it will be anything but. My role is to act as a big sister, to give you hints about dating, guys in general, the social scene at school, the dances and parties that we have, and all kinds of fun stuff like that. I will also be the person that you can come to for honest, heartfelt answers about anything and everything you may encounter in your next year in high school. Let me give you an example of just one thing that you may not have considered yet."

Samantha looked at the five new girls sitting around the room. "You are among the prettiest girls in your class and certainly among the top students as well. I would like to see a show of raised hands of those among you who would like to have a baby before you go on to college."

Among the five invitees, the faces showed surprise and confusion. No one raised a hand, but each girl looked at the others as if to ask what that is all about.

Samantha continued, "Well it's good to see that no one is too interested in becoming a mother anytime soon, but how many of you have done anything to make sure that you don't? How many of you are currently using some form of birth control?"

Once again, no one raised a hand. "Okay, then for your own good, tomorrow after school we will go as a group to one of the local physician's office and get this resolved. You see, girls, now, when you are calm, cool and collected, you can think logically about such an issue, but when you are in the arms of some really handsome guy and he is pushing to get into your underwear, it will be much too late to start thinking about motherhood. This is just one of the little things that our organization will do to help you stay at the head of your class."

After Samantha finished her introductory speech, each girl told the others about themselves, their families and their interests.

On their walk home, Emily asked her friend what she thought about the meeting.

"I think it will be fun," Heidi replied. "They sure are involved in a bunch of stuff."

"What do you think about the stuff about birth control? Are you going to do that?" There was obvious surprise in her voice.