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and absentmindedly played with her wet hair. “I had a friend in high school, my best friend. Her parents were so strict. They were really religious and kind of took it overboard. She wasn’t allowed to go to parties and she had an early curfew. She couldn’t see R rated movies or date or go to the prom or do really any of the stuff the rest of us did. They didn’t even let her wear makeup. It wasn’t a big deal until the end of our sophomore year. That’s when she met a boy she liked and started to get really mad. Then she just went crazy. She was sneaking out and drinking, rebelling. She used me as a cover a lot, and I was too stupid to know I shouldn’t let it happen.”
    Cami paused and looked down at her hands. She sniffed a little. She didn’t look at me when she started talking again. “At the beginning of our junior year we went to this party. She was drunk and so was the guy she was dating, but I let them get in a car anyway.”
    My heart pounded and I leaned forward. Of course, I knew what was coming, but I was still on the edge of my seat. My insides twisted into tight knots that made me want to throw up the two glasses of beer I’d had at the bar.
    â€œThey were in an accident. He was killed on impact.” Cami stopped talking and stared at her hands.
    â€œWhat about your friend?” I whispered.
    â€œShe’s still in the hospital. Brain dead, but hooked up to machines. Her parents refuse to pull the plug.”
    All the air left my lungs. “I’m so sorry, Cami.” I was perfectly aware of how insignificant those words were, but there was nothing else I could say.
    Cami took a deep breath and shook her head before looking up at me. “That’s why I wanted to leave the bar. I totally get you wanting to go out there and experience new things, but you need to be careful about it. Okay?”
    â€œI don’t want to go crazy, Cami. I just want to experience the normal things teenagers experience. While I’m still a teenager. I’ll be nineteen next month, and I haven’t done anything! I have one year.”
    Cami nodded as a slow smile spread across her face. “Kind of like a bucket list for your teen years.”
    I grinned and my wet hair bounced around when I nodded emphatically. “Exactly!”
    Cami jumped to her feet and started pacing the room. “That I can help with! But we should start a list right now. Write it all down, so we can mark it off as we go.”
    My insides jumped and fired to life, and I got to my feet too. “That’s a great idea.”
    Cami grabbed a notebook and flipped it open, then grabbed a pink Sharpie. At the top of the paper she scribbled Annie’s Bucket List . “Okay, what’s first?”
    I chewed on my bottom lip and ran my hand through my damp hair. “Let’s start small. Buy makeup.”
    Cami nodded and jotted it down, then said, “And some new clothes and shoes. Girly stuff.”
    She wrote down, buy a dress and heels and I inwardly cringed. Wearing heels seemed a bit unrealistic, but I was determined to do this. Even if I fell out of my shoes and broke my arm in the process.
    â€œGet highlights,” I said.
    Cami giggled while she wrote. “With your hair, I’d get lowlights.”
    I nodded even though I had no idea what she was talking about. She’d know better than me.
    Cami looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Get your ears pierced?”
    â€œAnd something else too! Like my nose or my belly button!” I was getting really excited. Bouncing around like Cami. I’d always been intrigued by the way most girls these days glinted under the lights. It was rare, especially in California, to see girls in their teens without multiple piercings. I wanted to be one of those girls.
    Cami wrote it down before looking back at me. “A tattoo?”
    I hadn’t even considered that one. Something inside me jumped, but with