Tara Heart, has been praying for a dream that she hopes would one day come true. Tara dreams of marrying Clay Edison who is the second runner up on a show called Soul Seeker. Ever since she had seen him on TV she developed a strong devotion for him, but when her parents are killed in a tragic car accident she loses faith in everything.

Life for some is so irresistible, but for a girl in the twelfth grade, it can seem like forever just to have something great happen to you. What is it about us that makes us believe that we have to fall in love and get married to the man of our dreams instead of going to college or having a really great job when we get older? Who thinks like that anymore? I would never have believed that my life would go so wrong until I had everything I’d ever wanted standing right before me, but too bad he was already taken

His name was Steven, and until this moment, I never thought I would say that, especially out loud. Yes, that’s right, I said it in front of a crowd of people, but who could blame me? Christie was making a move on him; I had to say something. By the way, Christie was his girlfriend, and I was the crazy girl who blurted out I liked him to everyone in the hallway including, by the way, Steven. He probably thought I was some kind of freak to say that out loud, but if I was lucky, maybe he’d think I was joking.

My best friend was Lindsey; she was tall with short brown hair to her shoulders and green eyes. She was very slim and wore such beautiful clothes, which was probably why we got along so well. My name is Tara. My mom must have been crazy to pick a name like that, or maybe she wasn’t, and Dad picked it out. My parents, by the way, were split up, but I was the only one out of my siblings that seemed to even care. I had two sisters. My older one was Sarah, and the other was my twin sister, Terran. I know what you’re going to ask, Why were our names so similar? Well, it was because my mother was crazy when she picked them out, or maybe it was my father.

Terran and I were practically best friends, but she was away right then in Mexico for a school project. We looked identical; we had light brown hair, blue eyes, and were very tall and thin.

Our dream was to marry Clay Edison, but I’d settle for Steven if I didn’t get to meet him. I knew it was probably unlikely that I’d ever be with Clay, but you never know, right? One of these days, I planned to meet him and get married and live in a big house and have lots of children. My older sister thought I was crazy to want to be with him, but I could dream, couldn’t I? But maybe I shouldn’t.

         &nb sp;  The beginning of my adventure started here, and the end was only another beginning that I chose not to speak of. Before my life turned into a roller coaster, it had been a regular school day, and my mom had been trying to get me up as usual. “Tara, get up for school and come grab some breakfast before you leave.” I got up grumpy not wanting to go to school, because if I did I would have to face Steven and all the people that had heard me say I liked him in the hallway yesterday. I slowly climbed out of bed and had a shower then got dressed in the outfit I had laid out the night before. After I had dressed, I ran downstairs and had breakfast which consisted of a celery stick, a slice of whole wheat bread, and a vitamin. “Tara, aren’t you going to have some pancakes?” my mother questioned me, as if what I was eating wasn’t good enough.

         &nb sp;  “Mom, do you know how much fat is in those? Think of the syrup. I can’t believe you asked me that.”

         &nb sp;  “Sorry I asked.” My mom giggled thinking I was overreacting about eating the breakfast she went out of her way preparing for me.

After I had finished breakfast, I got my books together and put them into my school bag about to leave. I then sat down on the white bench beside the front door beginning to tie my shoes when I heard my mother call me. I finished tying my shoes and put on my jacket and placed my purse over my shoulders, holding my book bag in my other hand. My mom stood at the top of the stairs and stared down at me. “Tara, don’t forget to call your father; he’s coming to pick you up after school.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll see you on Monday.” I left my house knowing I was one step closer to having to face Steven and all the people that heard me say I had liked him out loud. I walked towards the corner where Lindsey and I always met up before school since she lived up the street from us. When I saw Lindsey, she was with some girl, but as I got closer, I realized that she had been waiting with Jennifer. Jennifer was the one I used to be friends with, but she stole my song that my sister and I had written. I walked over to Lindsey and hugged her then moved her out of the way glaring at Jennifer.

         &nb sp;  “Where’s your pack of know-it-alls, or did they leave you and find another cat to lead the pack?”

         &nb sp;  “They’re waiting at the bus stop. So where’s your other half?”

         &nb sp;  “That’s none of your business, is it?”

         &nb sp;  Jennifer stood in front of me trying to act as if she was better than I was. I turned facing Lindsey and pulled her away from Jennifer and whispered quietly as Jennifer watched us. “Why are you hanging out with Jennifer? You know she’s bad news. She stole my song, remember? Plus, she put a move on your boyfriend at the homecoming game. She can’t even be trusted with a secret. Remember she blurted out to everyone that Stephanie had a pimple on her ass, and everyone teased her and told her to pop it.”