"Hi Maria. Where have you been?" Her mother was unloading the groceries for the week. Suddenly Maria felt a stab of pain in her heart. She didn't realize how much she would miss her mother until now.

"I was uh, over at Michael's."

"Oh. Will you help me put these away?" Her Mom looked at her and noticed her shaken face. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Oh, nothing. I just, um, have been feeling a little sick lately. It's not a big deal, really. I'll be fine."

"Ok then, but just remember to take it easy. I don't want you burning yourself out."

"I think I just want to lay down for a while. Is that ok?"

"Of course. I can do this myself." Amy went over to her daughter and hugged her. "You just get some rest. I'll check on you in a bit, hmm?"

"Yeah." Maria went to her bedroom, lied on her bed and let the tears fall as she fell asleep.

*************

Later that night, after Maria had woken up from her nap, she went over to Liz's house and tried to explain everything.

"Are you serious? You're actually going to go through with it?" Liz Parker sat across from Maria on her bed.

"Yes I am. Liz, I feel good about it. Not worried at all."

"You're lying. I can tell."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Come on Maria, we've been friends since forever, I can tell when you're not sure about something. You definitely have your doubts."

"Well, sure, but they're just last minute jittery type stuff. Nothing huge. Nothing that's going to stop me from going."

"Think about what you're leaving behind. Your mother. You're going to devastate her when she finds out you're. And Sean. Like it or not, it's going to hurt him. And me. I'm going to miss you."

"Liz, I'll miss you too, but...I don't know. I've made my decision. I'm going." Maria stood up and headed for the doorway. "I'm sorry."

Liz almost started to cry, but fought back tears at the last second. She ran over to Maria and hugged her tightly.

"You obviously know what you are going to do, so I'm with you one-hundred percent. Just don't forget about me."

It was Maria's turn to fight back tears. "Forget about you? Liz, you're my best friend in the entire world, I could never. I love you too much." They pulled apart and wiped their now tearstained faces.

"Take care of my Mom and Sean for me?" Maria asked.