Stacey's Last Call

Prologue

Monday, September 29th, 2008

"Mom, come on we're gonna be late!" Stacey called.

I stood there silently, wishing that somehow I could get out of this.

"Stac, I don't even wanna go to this stupid thing." I sighed. "Well, just come on, it's our first meeting of the drama club, and next week we’ll be having the auditions." she encouraged, smiling that optimistic smile of hers.

"Fine." I mumbled.

Stacey and I have been best friends our entire lives. Stacey was the pretty, talented, creative one. I was the quiet one; the shy one; the nobody. It was crazy how alike we were sometimes though. We could have been sisters.  I never even realized how life could have been taken away from you. I remember one night, after our 8th grade graduation party....

"Ah! Oh my Gosh, Stacey!" I screamed, jumping back so that I didn't fall off the cliff.

"Come on Reg!" she yelled, from the water below.

The sun was setting, and we were still in our formal dresses. Her heels were beside of me on the ground.

"It's scarier when you’re up there than down here!" she tempted me.

Cliff diving. This was so like Stacey.

I slid off my flats. Stacey had tried to make me wear heels, because she said that girls our age would be wearing them. She ended up taking them off half way through the night, along with most of the female part of the dance.

This was the do or die moment. So, I closed my eyes, and backed up a few feet. I screamed, running forward as fast as I could, and jumping off. The air hit me like a ton of bricks, and suddenly, I was floating. I felt as if life had finally caught up with me. My heart was beating faster than it ever had before, and I felt the wind tickling the roots of my hair. For the first time; I was alive.

"Gina...Gina! Earth to Gina!"

Stacey snapped her fingers in front of my face.

I sat up.

"Hey, I was just thinking...." I grinned.

She rolled her eyes.

"Sure. About who? Joshie?" she teased.

"No!" I blushed. I really wasn't, but it was still embarrassing having her talk about my crush.

"Come on girls!" her mother said, opening the front door and putting on her coat.

It was raining. I smiled at her mother. There was no Mr. Martin. That’s how her mother and my mother met; at a singles party. They became best friends, and neither Ms. Martin, or my Mother ever got married.

"Coming." I told Ms. Martin. Stacey and I put on out coats and ran to the car, putting on our seatbelts. We were on the road.

"Oh gosh, I'm so excited!" Stacey smiled.

Ms. Martin looked back at us in the rear view mirror.

I faked a smile. "Yeah, me too." I mumbled.

Stacey nudged me with a smile.

"Come on Reg, live in the mo-"

But then  Ms. Martin screamed, swerving.

I saw a truck coming towards us, and then it all went black.

                                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                  

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I heard something annoying beeping.

"Regina?" An old man was leaning over me. "She's waking up." he said.

I saw my Mom to the left of him.

Mom..?

I tried to talk, but I couldn't get my lips to move.

"Mmmm!"  Is what I heard.  

Is that me?

I looked around, and then tried to sit up. I got less than an inch up, and then fell back down.

"Easy... Easy... " the old man said. "Regina.... You've been in a car accident. Can you tell me your full name?"

The images hit me all at once: Stacey; Ms. Martin; the car; the blood.

My eyes finally opened.

"Where's Stacey?" I asked.

My voice sounded weak, and it cracked a lot. Stacey wasn't in the bed next to mine.

The man looked at my mother, then back at me.

"First, what is your full name?" he asked again.

"Regina Mae Star."

"What year is it?"

"2008."

"When is your birthday?"

"January 12th."

The old man, I now presume to be my doctor, looked at my Mother again.

"Her memory seems fine, which means that there isn't brain damage." he said.

"Thank God." My mom said, touching my hand.

"Mom... Where's Stacey... and Ms.Martin?" I asked, for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Honey.... Jean and Stacey didn't make it." she said, tears coming down her cheeks. She hugged me, and my eyes widened. How could Stacey be dead?

No ... This isn't real.

I could still see her face in my head. I could still hear us talking about her dreams of being a famous actor, and mine of being a chef.

"No! We're gonna be late for our drama club meeting!" I told my Mother.

She looked at me again. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"Regina, Stacey and her Mother are dead," she said more firmly. "And I almost lost you..." she continued.

Tears came up in my eyes.

Why didn't I die too?

"Oh honey!" My Mom squeaked, hugging me again.

I could feel her petting my hair.

When I was little and I had nightmares, she would pet my hair back soothingly until a fell asleep. It always made me feel better.

Not this time.