I have never been the kind of person to rebel, never been that one kid who the whole town knew to stay away from, In fact I’m the kid who sits at the front of the class has pretty good grades and keeps there head down in the hallways at my school. Yet here I am jammed in the back of a police car. It’s a funny story actually, a classic tale of a Harvard bound girl arrested for possession of ..well possession of something.

ONE HOUR EARLIER

“Carly please I need your help, Carly”

She’s panicking I can hear it in her voice. I can’t help her, I can’t do it. Everything I have ever learned tells me to help her, she’s my friend she’s in trouble she needs my help and she’s clearly desperate. But here’s the thing, my whole life revolves around one moment. If I help her I might as well kiss my dreams goodbye. Everything I have worked for, every countless hour I have spent studying, working and doing god knows what else to build up my application will be washed away in a single moment. I can’t do it.

“Carly I’m begging you I’m 18 your still a minor they won’t be as hard on you”

I can’t risk it I can’t play this game with her, I can’t put my future on the line to save hers.

“It’s not that simple, I can’t just give up on my future Allie. Your my best friend, I can’t...”

I stop it’s time to consider why she would ask me this. She knows what Harvard means to me. She knows my dreams, she knows my story, she knows me, so why?

“Allie how bad is it this time”

She looks up at me, tears in her eyes. And I know, I know what I have to do, but I’m suddenly doubting my decision, she’s my best friend, but some things go beyond friendship.

But somethings not right. Allie doesn’t cry, not when her mom died, not when she found out she was pregnant at 16, not when she got arrested and put on probation. It’s hard to say what it is, maybe it’s the desperation and fear that’s pouring out of her, or the pain in her voice or maybe it’s just the fact that she’s crying but something inside me breaks a little and I’m stuck. Not knowing what to do.

“Carly.. they.. there going to take her away.. I can’t if I.. I can’t lose her” she’s balling at this point, tears streaming out of her eyes. Her arms clutched around her backpack. And that’s when I hear it-the sirens-and snap back to reality putting all my own needs behind me.

“Give me the backpack and run Allie I don’t know what’s in here and I don’t want to it’s better that way”

I take a deep breath it’s done there’s no going back now. God this better have been worth it.