YA+story

__ Chapter 1: Getting your lip pierced. __

“Ok, mom, we’ll be back before nine.” said Lucy as she was going to the mall with her friends Taylor and Ashley. “Bye, and no getting tattoos or anything.” said Lucy’s mom Sadie. Lucy, Taylor and Ashley were off to the mall. They lived right around the corner from the mall so they could walk. Lucy had black hair and hazel eyes. Taylor has red hair and brown eyes. Ashley had blonde hair with black streaks, and blue eyes. Lucy was a cheerleader, Taylor was singing in the choir, and Ashley was a volleyball player. While Lucy, Taylor and Ashley were at the mall, Ashley saw a kid from school getting his lip pierced. Ashley thought that getting her lip pierced would be pretty cool. Ashley picked up her cell phone and called her mom and asked her if she could get her lip pierced. “Hey, mom it’s Ashley, I wanted to ask you a question.” said Ashley. “Ok, but hurry up I have friend coming over in 5 minutes.” said Ashley’s mom Maria. “Lucy, Taylor and I are at the mall and we were walking around and….” “Get to the point honey.” suggested Maria “I want my lip pierced.” said Ashley. “Do you have money?” asked Maria. “Um…. I have 30 bucks in my purse.” stated Ashley. “How much does it cost?” “You’re a lucky girl usually $29.99 depending on the kind you get.” said Maria. “Ok.” said Ashley. “Well I have to go because my friend is here so call me when you get back to Sadie’s.” Maria told Ashley. “Ok, bye.” Ashley said. Ashley hung up the phone. “Do you guys mind getting me a drink I have to use the restroom.” Ashley asked Lucy and Taylor. “Yeah sure.” Taylor said. When Taylor and Lucy went to go and get Ashley a drink, Ashley didn’t go to the restroom, she went into Spencer’s to get her lip pierced. Ashley was nervous at first. But after she sat down in the chair, she felt calm about everything. Taylor and Lucy saw Ashley in Spencer’s after she got her lip pierced. When Ashley saw Taylor and Lucy looking for her in Spencer’s, Ashley put her hood over her head. “Here’s you drink.” Taylor told Ashley. “Thanks.” Ashley whispered. “Aren’t you hot with that hood over your face?” asked Lucy “Yeah. I have a surprise for you guys.” Ashley told them. Ashley uncovered her head. “Oh my gosh, Ashley!” yelled Lucy. “My mom told us that we can’t get and part of our body pierced.” “Well your mom is not the boss of me. My mom is.” Ashley told Lucy. “Did you ask your mom?” asked Taylor. “Yeah.” Ashley said. “Who do you think I was talking to on the phone” asked Ashley. “My mom is still going to be mad at you.” Lucy told Ashley. “I don’t even care. If your mom is mad at me. Let her be mad at me. I’ll tell her I asked my mom.” Ashley said as she started to get mad. “One more thing did you even go to the restroom?” Taylor asked. “Yeah. How long was the line for the drinks? I thought you guys would be able to see me get my lip pierced.” Ashley lied. “It wasn’t that long we were waiting for you.” said Lucy. “Ok, well we should go now, it’s getting kind of dark.” Taylor said. Lucy, Taylor and Ashley left the mall. When they got back to Lucy’s house, Sadie wasn’t there. “Hey Lucy, where’s your mom at?” asked Ashley “She’s out with Maryse.” Lucy said. “She gets on my nerves.” “Why?” asked Ashley. “She’s French and she doesn’t let me do anything when she’s here.” Lucy complained. “Oh.” Ashley said. Ashley picked up her phone to call her mom. Maria didn’t pick up the phone. It went straight to the voicemail. “Hey mom it’s Ashley, I’m at Sadie’s now so call me back when your friend leaves.” Ashley said as she left a voicemail on her mom’s phone. “Who’s her friend?” asked Taylor. “John” Ashley told her. “From work.” Ashley went to go and sit on the couch and Lucy’s cat Tiger was there. Tiger was nice and friendly cat. Tiger came up to Ashley and laid on her lap. Ashley tried to move but the n Tiger pied on her lap. “You stupid cat. You’re not friendly anymore.” Ashley yelled. Ashley got off the couch and opened the front door and left.

The next morning, Ashley woke up to go to school. She was wearing a black t-shirt with black skinny jeans. She wore nice boots, with glasses since it was sunny out. As Ashley was getting dressed her phone rang. “Hello” Ashley said. “Hey Ashley it’s Randy from school.” said the person on the phone. “Oh, hi. How did you get my number?” asked Ashley. “Taylor and Lucy gave my your number.” Randy said. “Oh.” Ashley said. “So what did you want to call me for?” “I wanted to ask you something.” Randy told her. “Do you think that you would have time to go out to dinner with me…..tonight?” “Yeah sure I would love to.” she said. “Ok, well see you at school.” Randy said. Ashley hung up the phone. When Ashley looked at the clock, it was 7:30 a.m. Ashley ran out the door and ran to school. Chapter 2: Sick

“Hey, my mom is taking me to the doctor today.” Lucy told Taylor and Ashley. “Why?” asked Taylor. “Because I’ve been acting really weird and my stomach’s been hurting really bad.” Lucy said. “She said that you two could come with me if you want to.” “I could.” Taylor said. “I can’t.” Ashley said feeling really bad. “Why?” Lucy asked. “Because my friends gave Randy my cell phone number and now I have a date with him tonight!” Ashley yelled. “Oh, right. Forgot about that.” said Lucy. The final bell rang. It was time for everybody to leave school. “Ok, well have a good time on your date tonight.” Lucy told Ashley. “Thanks and good luck at the doctor’s” Ashley said. Ashley, Taylor, and Lucy left school and were gone in less than a minute.

“Mom, are we going to the doctor’s now?!” Lucy yelled asking her mom. “Yeah.” Sadie said. Sadie drove Lucy and Taylor to the doctor’s. When they got there Lucy had to go to the restroom. When Lucy was done the nurse said that they could right in the doctor’s office. “Hi, I’m Doctor Novak. Could you tell me what’s going on?” asked Doctor Novak. “My stomach has been hurting really bad and I’ve been acting really weird.” Lucy told Doctor Novak. “Ok, we’re going to take some X-rays.” said Doctor Novak. Doctor Novak took Lucy back into where they take X-rays. It took about 5 minutes to take X-rays. Lucy came back into the room and waited. Finally, Doctor Novak came in the room with the X-rays. “Ok. I’ve got bad news.” Doctor Novak said. She showed Lucy the X-rays. As Lucy scanned the X-rays, she found a big lump in the stomach. “Is that lump in the stomach what I think it is?” Lucy asked. “I’m afraid so.” Doctor Novak told her. “Cancer?” Lucy asked again.

Chapter 3: How in the world did that happen? Ashley was having the time of her life with Randy. Ashley never wanted the night to end. Ashley had to use the restroom. When she was in one of the stalls, her cell phone rang. “Hello.” Ashley said. “Ashley, it’s Lucy. I have bad news.” Lucy said crying into the phone. “What? Why? What happened?” Ashley asked. “I went to Doctor Novak, and she said that I……” Lucy said crying some more. “You what?” Ashley asked. “I have cancer.” Lucy told her. “How?” “I don’t know. Doctor Novak said that I could be around to much germs or something like that.” Lucy said. “I have to go. I’ll think of something ok.” Ashley said. Ashley hung up phone. She started crying. She could never stop. She was crying like a dog has lost his/her home. Ashley walked out of the restroom still crying. “Ashley, What’s wrong?” Randy asked. “Lucy.” Ashley told him. “What about Lucy?” he asked again, “She has cancer.” Ashley said again. “Oh. Come here.” Randy told her. Randy held Ashley in his arms as she cried. Randy felt really bad for Ashley. “Do you want me to take you home?” Randy asked. “No, that’s ok.” Ashley said. “I want to spend this night with you.” Later that night, Randy took Ashley home. Ashley never wanted to leave the date with Randy. “Thanks for taking me out for dinner.” Ashley said. “ I had a really good time.” “Your welcome.” Randy told her. Ashley went inside. She ran up into her room. Once she was in her room, she started to cry again.

__Chapter 4: We have to do something.__ The next day at school, Lucy wasn’t there. Ashley and Taylor were looking for her all day. Later in the day, Taylor went to the restroom. When she was in there, she called Lucy to ask her where she was. “Lucy why aren’t you at school? Is this about that cancer thing?” Taylor asked “I’m not at school because I don’t want kids to make fun of me,” Lucy said. “Why would kids make fun of you? Cancer is a BAD thing Lucy, nobody is going to make fun of you,” Taylor yelled. “Yes they will! They made fun of Crazy Dave when he had the chicken pox.” Lucy yelled back. As soon as Lucy yelled, a teacher walked in the restroom. Taylor hung up the phone without saying goodbye to Lucy. “Hello Taylor. How is your day?” asked Mrs. Kokinda. “Bad,” Taylor told her. “Why is your day bad?” Mrs. Kokinda asked again. “Yesterday, I found out that my friend Lucy has cancer.” Taylor said. “Oh,” Mrs. Kokinda told her. “Well, see you last period.” Mrs. Kokinda was the best teacher in the school. She gave the kids extra credit if they got an F on their test. Taylor saw Ashley in the hall and told her why Lucy wasn’t at school. “I have an idea,” said Ashley. “What?” asked Taylor. “Ok we go to Mrs. Fortune the fortune teller, and we ask her what Lucy’s future will be with cancer,” Ashley said. “Awesome,” Taylor said.

“Hey, Mrs. Fortune,” Ashley said. “Hi there,” Mrs. Fortune said. “Can you look into the future to see if our friend Lucy gets rid of cancer? Ashley asked. “Of course. I was wondering why Lucy wasn’t with you today,” Mrs. Fortune told them. “You kids always come around looking to see if you get boys in the future,” “Actually, I got one last night,” Ashley told her. Mrs. Fortune didn’t answer them she was already looking into the magic ball. It took her almost two minutes to see what happened to Lucy. After she was done, Mrs. Fortune had a weird look on her face. “What is it?” Taylor asked. “I am very sorry about your friend, but she doesn’t make it,” Mrs. Fortune said. Taylor and Ashley looked at each other. They both started to cry. “When does she die?” asked Taylor. “In a few weeks. There is nothing you can do to stop this. I saw people come to me and ask if their friend makes it with cancer before, but this is a cancer that cannot be stopped.** But you could try this medicine to see if it would help,” Ashley and Taylor took the medicine and walked away.
 * Later, Ashley and Taylor went to Mrs. Fortune the fortune teller. Mrs. Fortune had blonde hair, she was tall, and hazel eyes.

Ashley and Taylor went home. Ashley called Lucy and told her that her and Taylor went to Mrs. Fortune. “Hey Lucy,” Ashley said. “Hey. Taylor told me that you went to see Mrs. Fortune,” Lucy told her. “Oh,” Ashley said sounding disappointed. “I never wanted my future to end up like this,” Lucy said starting to cry. “None of us did Lucy,” Ashley said starting to cry too. “I know. I wanted to get married though and have kids like you are going to when you grow up,” Lucy said crying. “I might not you never know that,” Ashley said. “YES YOU WILL! I WILL NEVER BECAUSE I’M GOING TO DIE IN A FEW WEEKS!” Lucy yelled. “Lucy, don’t say that. Nobody wants you to die. I wanted to be friends with you forever,” Ashley cried. “We will even be friends even when I die,” Lucy said. “Taylor and I had a plan to save you, but Mrs. Fortune said that this cancer can’t be stopped,” Ashley cried more. “I have to go, okay. I might see you tomorrow at school,” Lucy said. “Okay, bye,” Ashley cried. Ashley hung up the phone. Ashley cried more than she has ever before. She never thought that this was how her friendship with Lucy was going to be.

“Anything new Lucy?” Ashley asked as she answered the phone. “Yeah, I called you because I wanted to tell you that, I’m not going to school anymore,” Lucy told her. “What? Why?” Ashley asked. “Because my mom is taking me today to Doctor Novak, and she said thaqt my hair has to be gone,” Lucy told her again. “Oh,” said Ashley. “All of my dreams are gone. Just because of cancer,” Lucy said. “What kind of dreams did you have?” Ashley asked. “Uh, not having cancer, being a cheerleader, having children, getting a job,” Lucy answered. “My life sucks like…… I can’t even say it,” “Well I’ll talk to you after school I have to go,” Ashley said Ashley hung up the phone. Then, a few seconds later, Ashley dialed Taylor’s number. Come on Taylor, pick up the phone. Ashley thought. Finally, Taylor picked up the phone. “Hello,” Taylor said. “Taylor, did Lucy call you?” Ashley asked “Yeah,” Taylor answered. “About the hair?” Ashley asked again. “Yeah,” “She said that her life sucks,” Ashley told her. “And that all of her dreams are gone just because of cancer,” “She has to stop looking at the down side,” “Yeah, she said that she wasn’t going to grow up and have children,” “I have an idea,” “Hey, I’m the one who always comes up with ideas,” Ashley said. “Bet you didn’t think of this one,” “What?” “We take Lucy and have her live her whole life out in one day,” “You are right, I would never think of that and I like it,” “Ok, when do you want to start?” “Over the weekend?” “Perfect,” Ashley hung up the phone. She thought that it would be nice to have Lucy live her whole life in one day. Even though Lucy only had a couple of weeks left.**
 * The next morning, Ashley woke up to her phone ringing. It was Lucy, who was calling.

Days passed and it was the weekend. Ashley, Taylor, and Lucy were going to meet at the park. When Ashley got there Taylor and Lucy were waiting for her at the bench in the back. “You ready Lucy?” asked “Not really,” Lucy answered. “I don’t want to do this,” “Are you sure?” asked Taylor. “Yes,” Lucy answered again. No, we have to do this, you need to know what your life is going to be like when you get older,” Ashley told them. “That’s the whole point Ash, you don’t understand. I only have like 7 days left!” Lucy yelled. “I’m not going to get older, I’m not going to get married and have kids! And that’s why my life is ruined. And you aren’t making it any better,” “Lucy I want you to at least think of what //might// happen in the future,” Ashley told her. “Well, guess what now Ashley, you have just made my life harder because now I feel like I’m losing my friends because of cancer,” “Lucy I’m sorry,” Ashley said. “I guess you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” “Thanks,” Lucy said. “Maybe we could do something else like go to Disney world,” “No,” said Ashley. “Disney world is for kids, not teenagers like us,” “We have to do something like go shopping our go to amusement parks,” said Taylor. “But shopping is an every day thing. And amusement parks I can’t ride,” said Lucy. Right then, Ashley’s phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It was Randy calling. “Hello,” said Ashley. “Hey Ashley, do you want to come to the amusement park with me tomorrow?” asked Randy. “Sure, but could I bring some friends along?” asked Ashley. “Absolutely. Taylor and Lucy are their names, right?” “Yeah” “See you then,” Ashley hung up the phone. “Looks like we’re going to the amusement park,” said Ashley.

__Chapter 7: Fun day ruined.__ The next morning, Lucy didn’t call Ashley or Taylor. Ashley called Taylor to ask if Lucy ever called. Taylor said “no”. Ashley and Taylor were worried. Why didn’t Lucy call them? Ashley waited a couple of minutes. Lucy still hadn’t called. Ashley couldn’t take it no more. Ashley called the house phone. It rang and rang. No one answered. “MOM!” Ashley yelled as she ran down the stairs. “Has Sadie called you yet?” “No,” said Maria. “Lucy hasn’t called me and she won’t pick her cell or home phone” “What do you think happened?” asked Maria. “I don’t know,” “Do you want me to drive you over there and see if anything happened?” “Yes please,” Ashley ran up to her room to get dressed. Five minutes later, Ashley was down stairs again.

No not now! Ashley thought. As soon as the car stopped in front of the house, Ashley ran into the nice beautiful home. “Sadie, what happened?” Ashley asked. “Ashley, oh thank goodness you came, Lucy fainted and she wasn’t breathing,” “Is she ok?” “Yes, their just taking her in to make sure she’s ok,” “Is it ok if I come?” Ashley asked. “Of course,” “Thank you,” Ashley ran to the car to tell her mom that she was going with Sadie to the hospital. Ashley watched as her mom drove away and turned the corner. Ashley got into the ambulance with Sadie. They both sat next to Lucy in the back. “Lucy, can you hear me?” Ashley asked. “Hey Ash,” Lucy said. “How you feeling?” “Average,” “Oh,” “I guess we can’t go to the amusement park,” “You want me to call Taylor and tell her that you’re going to the hospital?” “Sure,” Ashley pulled out her phone. “Hey Taylor, Lucy fainted and their taking her in just to make sure that she’s ok,” said Ashley. “Ok, does she want me to come up there too?” asked Taylor. “Do you want her to come up too?” Ashley asked Lucy. Lucy nodded as she was taking a sip of her water. “She said yeah,” Ashley told Taylor. “Ok call me when you get there and tell me what room she’s in,” Taylor said. “Ok, bye,” Ashley hung up the phone. She started to doze off in the ambulance. She was tired. Last night before she went to bed, she had a monster energy drink and that made her really hyper. She was until 11 p.m.** =**Chapter 8: No more Lucy**= “Excuse me sir, do you know where the people that were in the back of this ambulance went?” Ashley asked. “Well, I remember you were one of them. You were sleeping.” He replied. “I hate to tell you this, but your friend stopped breathing in the ambulance about 5 minutes ago,” “What?” Ashley asked. “I’m very sorry,” He said. Then he walked away. Ashley ran inside to go find Taylor, Lucy and Sadie. “Excuse me,” Ashley asked a nurse. “Do you have Lucy Cooper and Sadie Cooper in one of the rooms?” “Let me check. And what’s your name?” The nurse asked. “Ashley Underwood,” Ashley replied. The nurse took a minute to see if Lucy was checked in a room. “Yes we do have her here,” The nurse replied. “She’s on the third floor in room 304,” Ashley ran to the elevator that was already opened. She never thanked the nurse for finding what room Lucy was in. Ashley was in the elevator pushing the button for the third floor. The doors closed and the elevator took Ashley to the third floor. As soon as the elevator opened, Ashley ran out and found room 304. Ashley saw Sadie next to Lucy’s bed crying. Taylor was doing the same. “Ashley,” Taylor whispered. “She’s gone,” Ashley eyes started to water. Tears fell down her cheeks. Then her phone started ringing. “Hello,” Ashley said sobbing. “Hola senorita,” Randy said in Spanish. “Randy, now is not a good time,” Ashley said still sobbing. “Ashley, what’s wrong baby?” Randy asked. “Lucy’s gone,” “Aw. I’m sorry. Are you still coming to the amusement park with me tonight?” “Randy I can’t, don’t you understand that Lucy’s gone?” “So you care about Lucy more than you care about me?” “Yes, because I just lost her. And now I lost you!” Ashley hung up the phone. She was mad at Randy. She couldn’t believe that Randy wanted her to go to the amusement park with him. What a jerk he was. “What did he want?” Taylor asked. “He wanted to see what time I wanted him to pick me up,” Ashley said. Taylor rolled her eyes. “He was a jerk anyway Ash,” Ashley nodded.
 * Maria drove Ashley to Lucy’s house. When they were a little closer, Ashley saw an ambulance there.
 * By the time Ashley knew, they were at the hospital. Lucy was already out of the ambulance, and Sadie was nowhere to be found. Ashley jumped out of the ambulance, and asked the ambulance driver if he knew where they went.

__Chapter 9:Seeing Lucy__ **

=

 * Days passed. Ashley was still crying about Lucy. Lucy was supposed to die in a couple of more weeks. That gave Ashley an idea. That medicine that was supposed to help Lucy, actually made her die faster. Mrs. Fortune even said that Lucy would go in a couple weeks. It’s only been 8 days. Ashley pulled out her phone and called Taylor.**======

**“Just get your stuff and let’s go,” Maria answered.**
Ashley did get her driver’s license. So after that she went to Mike Bass Ford to get a new Mustang. “Ashley what color car do you want?” Maria asked. “Black,” Ashley answered. Maria went to the salesperson to tell him that Ashley wanted a black Mustang. As Maria was gone, Ashley happened to look over and see a little girl running behind the building. Not a little girl, a teenager. She looked kind of like Lucy. Ashley ran to where she saw the little girl. When Ashley reached where the girl was she saw nobody there. Ashley started to wonder. Could that have been Lucy? “ASHLEY!” Maria yelled. Ashley turned around and saw that her mom had the keys to the mustang and the Mustang was behind her. Ashley walked slowly towards her mom, the Mustang, and the salesperson. “You better hurry Ashley or this Mustang will be rusty before you know it,” Maria and the salesperson laughed. Ashley finally reached where her mom and the Mustang were. Maria saw that Ashley was tearing up. “What’s wrong Ashley?” Maria asked. “I saw her mom. I saw Lucy,” Ashley replied. “What do you mean you saw her?” Maria asked again. “I saw a girl running behind the building and It looked like Lucy. So I went over there and there was nobody there,” Ashley answered. “Just try to get over it honey,” Maria told Ashley. “How mom? How can I get over that the fact that my best friend is dead? You’re still not over dad,” Ashley yelled back at her mother. “But you’ll learn to get over it,” “Sure I will. I’ll never get over it,” Ashley said as she took the keys out of her mom’s hands and got in the car and drove away. “ASHLEY!” yelled Maria. Ashley just kept driving paying n attention to her mom =Chapter 10: More information=

Ashley finally arrived at Taylor’s house. When she pulled in the driveway, Ashley saw Taylor waiting by the steps on the porch. Taylor walked to the car with her eyes in shock. “Oh my gosh Ashley, I can’t believe you actually got your license,” Taylor exclaimed. “Why? You think I can’t drive or something?” Ashley asked. “No, it’s just that, I don’t get my license until I’m 18,” Taylor told her. “Why not 16?” Ashley asked. “I don’t know,” Ashley backed up. “ASHLEY!” yelled Taylor as Ashley almost hit a fire hydrant that was on the side on the road. “Calm down, I know what I’m doing,” Ashley told Taylor.

“MRS. FORTUNE!” yelled Ashley and Taylor. “Just a minute,” Mrs. Fortune replied. Ashley and Taylor went into Mrs. Fortune’s tent. Was Mrs. Fortune a real fortuneteller? Or was she a fake? “What was in that medicine that you gave Lucy?” asked Ashley. “You know. Things to make her feel better,” Mrs. Fortune replied. “No, they weren’t things to make her feel better. She died like three days after you gave her the medicine,” “So you caught me. Well you’ll never catch me because the cops will never find me,” “They already did,” Ashley said as police officers came into the tent. “YOU SET ME UP!” yelled Mrs. Fortune. “You killed out best friend. We had to set you up,” The police officers escorted Mrs. Fortune out of the tent. Ashley and Taylor hugged each other and left.** =**Chapter 11: Biggest question goes to biggest idea**= Ashley ran down the stairs as fast as she could. “Hey, Sadie,” Ashley said. “Hello, Ashley,” Sadie replied. “How you’ve been?” “Good, but I wasn’t calling to see how you were doing. I called to see if you wanted to help with something,” “What?” Ashley asked. “Do you want to help plan Lucy’s funeral?” Sadie asked Ashley. Ashley was shocked. She never thought that Sadie would ask her to help. Ashley didn’t talk for a several seconds. “Ashley?” Sadie asked. “Oh, sorry, Sadie. I was shocked that you would ask me to help with the funeral,” “I asked Taylor to help too,” Sadie said. “What she say?” asked Ashley. “She said she’d love to. What about you?” “I’d love to,” “Fantastic,” “When do we start?” asked Ashley. “Today,” “Ok, what about Lucy’s dad, is he helping?” Ashley asked. “He doesn’t even know that she’s gone,” “Oh,” “Well, I better get off of here because I have to call her father and tell him about her,” “Ok, what time do we start today and where?” “3:00p.m. at the funeral home on Main Street,” “Ok thanks, bye.” Ashley said as she hung up the phone. Ashley ran up to her room to get dressed as fast as she could. She didn’t know what she was going to do for Lucy’s funeral. What did Lucy even like? What was her favorite song? If Lucy’s favorite band was Skillet, Ashley could write a note to them and have them write a song about Lucy. Ashley got out her paper and started writing. It took Ashley several minutes to write the letter. She finally finished. She had to look up the address to know where to send the letter.**
 * Ashley and Taylor arrived to see Mrs. Fortune. Mrs. Fortune was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she saw this coming. That Ashley and Taylor were coming to get her.
 * “ASHLEY, SADIE’S ON THE PHONE!” yelled Maria.

Days passed. Ashley was on her bed waiting to get mail from Skillet. “ASHLEY, YOU HAVE MAIL!” Maria yelled. Ashley got out of bed as fast as she could and ran down stairs. When Ashley got to the kitchen she took the mail out of her mom’s hands and ran back up stairs. When Ashley got to her room, she opened up the letter and it said:

Dear Ashley, We would love to write a song about your friend Lucy. We were thinking about a song but couldn’t think of what to make it about. Thanks, you made it easier for us. We’ll send the lyrics to you as soon as we finish the song. Yours truly, Skillet: John Cooper, Korey Cooper, Jen Ledger, and Ben Kasica.

Ashley was shocked that they actually wrote back. She wondered what the song was going to sound like. =Chapter 12: Apologizing= Ashley woke up the next morning and got dressed. She kept thinking about what the song was going to be like and what it called. If Lucy were alive, she would scream her head off if she knew that her favorite band was writing a song about her. When Ashley was driving to school, her phone rang. She looked at who was calling her and it was Randy. “What do you want Randy?” asked Ashley. “Look, I know I was being a jerk a few days ago but can we just put that behind us?” Randy asked. “What makes you think that I would forgive you for wanting me to ditch me best friend that just died?” Everything was silent for a moment. “That’s what I thought,” said Ashley as she closed her phone. Ashley wondered. Why would Randy want to be friends with her again? Or was it more than friends?

** Ashley finally arrived at school. When she pulled in the parking lot, Randy was waiting for her. Ashley parked her car on the opposite side of the parking lot. She got out of the car and walked fast into other building that way she didn’t have to talk to Randy. Randy was really getting on Ashley’s nerves. When Ashley was going to her locker, Randy stopped her in the hallway. “What the heck do you want?” asked Ashley. “I want to be friends. Actually, I want to be more than friends,” Randy said. “I don’t think so Randy,” Ashley replied. “But why?” Randy asked. “Because, I have too many things on my mind right now,” “Like what?” “Lucy and her funeral,” “When’s the funeral?” “Tomorrow,” “Can I come?” “If you want to,” Ashley said looking at the clock. “I have to go to my locker or I’ll be late for class,” “Let me know what you want to do because I want to be more than friends,” Randy said. When Randy walked away, Ashley started to cry. She never thought that Randy would come running back to her. She had so many things on her mind now; Lucy, Sadie, the funeral, and now Randy. =Chapter 13: Getting the Lyrics= When Ashley got home that day, she looked in the mailbox to see if she had gotten any mail from Skillet. She looked through the mail and didn’t see anything from them. As Ashley was going inside, the mailman pulled up on the side of the road. “Excuse me, I forgot to put this letter inside your mailbox,” said the mailman. “Thank you,” Ashley said. “I’m sorry,” “No problem,” Ashley ran inside. She looked at the letter that the mailman gave her. It was from Skillet. Ashley opened the letter. Ashley read the lyrics. They were the most beautiful lyrics that she ever heard. At the bottom of the letter it said: Dear Ashley, We saw your friend’s obituary in the newspaper and we thought that we would come over to the funeral tomorrow and perform the new song for you. I hope you like it. Yours truly, Skillet: John Cooper, Korey Cooper, Jen Ledger, and Ben Kasica

Ashley was happy that Skillet, Lucy’s favorite band would come to her funeral. Ashley was about to cry. She thought that this was never going to happen. Maria called Ashley down for dinner. Ashley ran down stairs, leaving the rest of her mail in her room. =Chapter 14: Funeral Day= When Ashley got up in the morning, she got dressed in the nicest clothes that she could find. Randy called her again. She was getting really frustrated. She knew that if she didn’t go out with Randy, he would never leave her alone. “What Randy?” Ashley asked. “It’s not Randy. It’s John Cooper from Skillet,” “Oh, hi,” Ashley replied. She might have been light headed when she looked at who was calling her. “Do you think that’s it’s a good idea to come to the funeral?” “Yes,” said Ashley. “Great, see you then,” Ashley hung up the phone. She was happy that Skillet was coming. Ashley finished getting dressed in her nice black dress. ****************** Ashley, her mother, and Taylor finally arrived at the funeral home. There hardly was anybody there. Ashley was wondering if Sadie told Lucy’s dad about her. When Ashley saw Sadie by her car, she walked over to her and asked her if she did. “Hey, Sadie, did you tell Lucy’s dad about her?” Ashley asked. “Yes I did. He should be here in a few minutes,” Sadie replied. “Do you mind if invited some friends here? Well, their no really friends,” Ashley asked. “Of course, who are they?” Sadie asked. “Lucy’s favorite band: Skillet,” “Oh my, how did you get them to come?” “I wrote a note to them and asked if they could write a song about Lucy. They said yes. Then when they sent me lyrics, they said they were going to come to the funeral,” “Where do they live?” “On the internet it says they live here in Miami. So they’ll be here soon,” “Thank you so much for this Ashley. You’re a great funeral planner,” “Thanks,” said Ashley starting to walk away. Then she turned back around. “They said they might sing the song too.” Sadie looked back at Ashley and smiled. Ashley knew that Sadie adored her. Ashley walked back to her car and got her purse out. Then she walked to the door of the funeral home. She heard a car horn behind her. She looked. She saw a limo pulling into the parking lot. She smiled and ran to the limo. “Hi, I’m Ashley. The one who sent you the letter about my friend Lucy,” “Hello. I’m Jen Ledger, the drummer of Skillet. It’s just Korey and I for now. John and Ben will be here soon, their helping load up the equipment,” “Okay, why don’t you come inside and have a coffee or something,” Ashley replied. “I see you have the rocker blood inside of you,” Korey blurted out. “Yeah, I listen to your music all the time,” “Do you think that this will be your favorite song of ours?” asked Jen. “Yes,” They walked to go and have some coffee. Ashley was nervous. She hoped that this song was the best song that she ever heard. =Chapter 15: Meeting John Cooper= Ashley was looking out the window. She was just thinking, what if Lucy were here? They would have the best time of their life. When Ashley was staring out the window, she saw a big truck pull in the parking lot. After the truck followed a limo. Ashley knew that it was John and Ben, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment. As Ashley was watching them unload the truck she heard a voice behind her. “Are you okay?” Jen asked. “I’m fine. Thanks for coming to this funeral. You didn’t have to,” Ashley told her. “Yeah we did,” said another voice as it came around the corner. “Hey John,” said Jen. “You must be Ashley,” he said. “Yeah,” “Well, I’m going to get ready,” Jen said. “See you on stage,” John said. “She’s an awesome drummer isn’t she?” “Yep,” Ashley said. After that it was quiet for a moment. “That was nice song you guys wrote,” “Thanks,” “Your welcome,” “What’s your favorite Skillet song?” asked John. “I would have to say either “Whispers in the Dark” or “Hero”,” “Those are my favorite too,” “Thank you so much for doing this John, you didn’t have to,” “I know, but we thought that it would be nice to perform at a funeral,” “Oh,” After Ashley said that, it was silent for a moment. “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” said John. “Why did you name the band Skillet?” “Well, when Korey, Ben, Lori and I were sitting down….” Ashley interrupted him. “I thought that Jen was the drummer,” “She is. Lori was our old drummer,” John continued on. “As I was saying, when we were sitting down, we couldn’t think of a name for the band. So when Korey was cooking one day, she yelled out “I got it, we name the band Skillet,”’ “Don’t people come up to you and say that Skillet is a dumb name for a band?” asked Ashley. “Yeah, I just tell them to shut up,” Ashley laughed. “I’m kidding,” Ashley kept laughing. =Chapter 16: Something went wrong= “What are you doing here?” asked a voice behind them. “Lori?” John said shocked. “Yeah, it’s me. What are you doing here?” Lori said. “I’m here for a performance,” John said. “What are you doing here?” “I saw that Skillet was coming to the funeral so I figured that I would come to congratulate Jen on her performance,” “Don’t you dare go near Jen,” John yelled. “Who’s your friend?” she asked. “Ashley, and don’t you dare go near her or Jen!” Korey came running into the room once she heard John’s screaming. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Nothing is going on. Best friend,” Lori said. Korey knew once she heard that voice that she was in trouble. She turned around. “What do you want Lori?” asked Korey. “She wanted to //congratulate// Jen, on her performance,” John replied. “Don’t go anywhere near Jen! And don’t go anywhere near Ashley!” Korey yelled. After Korey was yelling, Jen and Ben came into the room. “Well, look who it is, the pretty little princess,” Lori said. “Jen, get out of here,” John warned. “Why are you here?” asked Jen. “JEN!” yelled John warning her again. “I wanted to congratulate you on your performance,” Lori answered. “We didn’t even perform yet,” Jen added. “Well, let’s say that you better watch your back. Every single second of the day,” Lori warned. “Lori, she’s only 18,” John added. “Really?” Lori said. “Well, let’s just get this over with. You stole my career,” “WAIT!” Ashley yelled. “Who are you to start talking?” Lori asked. “The one who told invited them. And she didn’t steal your career, you quit,” Ashley said starting to walk up to Lori. “Ashley! What are you doing?” John asked. “By the way, if you ruin this funeral, and Skillet, you won’t have a tomorrow,” Ashley warned. “Oh my gosh, you’re right. I shouldn’t even be here,” Lori said. “And I will never be afraid of a 16,” Ashley couldn’t take it anymore. Before Lori finished talking, Ashley punched her in the face as hard as she could. “ASHLEY!” Jen yelled. Ashley turned around. “Nice,” Jen said as she walked up to Lori and said, “Don’t come anywhere near Skillet again, or that same thing will happen to you, but with Korey,” Lori walked away. Everyone looked out the window and watched Lori leave the funeral home. “Ashley what were you thinking?” John asked. “That I wanted this funeral to go well. And I didn’t want Skillet to be torn apart,” Ashley answered. =Chapter 17: The best moment in life= “Well, we better get on stage,” Jen added. “Let’s go,” Korey said. They left the room and went to the stage. Ashley walked onto the stage. “Hello everyone. My name is Ashley and I was one of Lucy’s best friends. Today we have a famous band performing a song that they wrote for her. You might have heard of them, here they are with Lucy, Skillet,” Ashley walked off the stage and sat in the front row next to Taylor and Sadie. When they began the song, Ashley saw the door open, she looked and saw that it was Randy. Randy started to walk towards her. “I made it,” Randy said. “How did you get Skillet to come,” “Long story,” Ashley said. “So did you think about it?” Randy asked. “Yes,” Ashley said. “What’s the answer?” Ashley didn’t answer. She leaned towards Randy and kissed him on the lips. After that, they started to dance to the song. Jen smiled when she saw her dancing with Randy. Ashley looked over to the door and saw Lori standing there. She gave her an evil look. Then Lori walked out of the funeral home. Ashley wondered why Lori came back. Maybe, it was because she wanted to hear the new song. Ashley took that off her mind. All she knew, is that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Randy. After a few minutes, the song ended. “Ashley,” Jen whispered. “Come and sing,” Ashley got on the stage and sang “Broken” by Lindsey Haun. She had the most beautiful voice. After the song was over, John and Jen came up to her. “Ashley, we have a question for you,” John said. “How would you like to go on tour with us?” “I would love to,” Ashley said. Randy walked over. “What?” he asked. “I’m going on tour with Skillet,” she screamed. Ashley knew this was the greatest moment of her life. =Chapter 18: Going on tour= A few months later, it was time to go on tour. Ashley was excited. She was going to sing “Hero”, “Whispers in the Dark”, and of course “Lucy”. “Let’s go Ashley,” Jen said. “I’ll be there in a minute,” she answered. “I’ll miss you,” Randy told Ashley. “I’ll miss you too,” “ASHLEY!” John yelled. “We have to go,” “Call me everyday,” Ashley told him. “I will,” Ashley gave him a kiss goodbye. Then Ashley ran to the tour bus. She looked around the bus inside. It was really big. “Where do I put my stuff?” Ashley asked. “Put it next to my bed,” said Jen. “We could be best friends,” Ashley knew that this was the best year of her life. Except, the fact that Lucy was gone. By the end of the tour, Ashley and Jen were best friends. And Ashley told Randy that she was pregnant with a baby girl. They were going to name her Lucy.

__THE END!!!!__

About the Author My name is Rebecca Bozsoki and I am 12 years old. I live with my brother and mom. My favorite thing to do is listening to music. My favorite band is Skillet. I recently just started listening to them and my mom already got me tickets to their concert. My mom does a lot for my brother and I. She is the best mom a girl could have. I used to have a dog but she just recently died because she had surgery. I wish that she was still alive that way that my brother and I could still play with her. I wrote this story because one of my favorite songs that Skillet wrote is called Lucy. It’s a sad song written about someone who dies. I hope you enjoyed my story.