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Science was the last thing for the day and Amanda would always get drowsy.

"Put your things away and get ready for the bus," the teacher said.

Amanda snapped back to consciousness. They gathered their books and coats to line up at the door to go to the
buses. Amanda passed Cindy's bus and saw her sitting on the front seat. She was looking right at Amanda, and
out of reflex, she waved. Cindy waved back. This was the pivotal moment where Amanda made up her mind.
Tomorrow she was going to ask Cindy to be her friend. She didn't care what her other friends thought.

She spent the whole evening planning our entire life after they became friends. They'd eat lunch together
everyday and play together at recess. Amanda would teach her how to jump rope if she didn't know. They'd be
reading partners at quiet time and copy each other's math homework. Cindy would show her how to draw
animals but she'd color their eyes blue.

On the weekends, we'd have sleepovers at each other's house, do each other's hair, and stay up all night.

"Why are you so quiet tonight?" Amanda's mother asked.

"I'm going to make a new friend," Amanda said.

"Is there something wrong with your old friends?"

"Nope, I just want another one."

"Well, you can't have too many friends," she said. "Ask her to come over next weekend for a sleepover. Get her
telephone number and I'll call her mother."

After her mother left, Amanda put her favorite pajamas in the back of her drawer so they'd still be clean for
the sleepover. Amanda's bedtime was nine o'clock but she didn't get to sleep before midnight.

She was awake and dressed before her mother even came in to wake her. She ran downstairs and ate her
breakfast as fast as she could, despite everyone telling her to slow down. She arrived at the bus stop ten
minutes early and grew impatient because the bus wouldn't come.

The ride to school took an eternity but at last Amanda made it to the classroom. She stashed her books in the
bin underneath the seat, sat down, and watched the clock. It was two minutes till eight. Cindy would come
running in any second now. Amanda put on her best smile and prayed she wouldn't lose her nerve.

Eight o'clock came and went. The teacher took attendance and asked one of the boys in the front row to take it
to the office.

Amanda just stared at the empty desk. Where was she? She hadn't missed a day since she started school here a
month ago. She hoped Cindy wasn't sick.

Just as the teacher told the class which page to turn to in their math book, Cindy ran into the classroom. She
smiled at the teacher and walked down the aisle to her desk. Amanda worked up the courage to smile. She
smiled back right before she sat down.

"What page are we on?" Cindy whispered.

"Thirty-two," Amanda answered.

The teacher told them to work the problems, while she went to the office to change the attendance sheet.

It was Amanda's opportunity.

"Want to eat lunch with us today?" she asked.

Amanda smiled when she remembered the surprised look on Cindy's face before she nodded yes.

Amanda couldn't wait until lunchtime and couldn't concentrate on anything the teacher said. She tried to focus
on the teacher and the blackboard, but her eyes kept drifting back to the clock.

At last it was eleven-thirty and the teacher asked them to close our books and line up. Amanda grabbed Cindy's
hand and led her to the rest of the girls.

"Cindy's eating lunch with us today," Amanda announced, perhaps a little too loud. The girls looked at her
strange but didn't say anything.

"My friends call me Pepper," Cindy whispered in Amanda's ear as they walked to the lunchroom.

Lunch was a blast. Pepper told the funniest jokes and told the most intriguing stories. Amanda didn't know how
much of them were true but they sure were interesting.

"Why do you eat all that nasty stuff on your tray?" one of the girls asked.

"I like all kinds of food," Pepper explained. "I even like liver."

She laughed when Amanda and the other girls wrinkled their noses.

To everyone's surprise, Pepper could jump rope at least fifty times before she missed and knew all the rhymes.
She was fast runner but she wasn't a good hopscotch player. It was over too soon.