half-filled suitcases. Hanging on the closet door were the blue caps and gowns they'd worn at the commencement ceremony the previous night along with the gold tassels that indicated they'd both graduated withhighest honors. In the closet, Lisa was putting sweaters into a box; beyond the open door of their room, the hall was filled with the unfamiliar sound of male conversation as fathers, brothers, and boyfriends of departing students carried suitcases and boxes downstairs. Meredith's father had spent the night at a local inn and was due in an hour, but Meredith had lost track of time. Overcome withnostalgia, she was flipping through a thick stack of photographs she'd taken from her desk, smiling at the memories each one evoked.
The years Lisa and she had spent in Vermont had been wonderful ones for both of them. Contrary to Lisa's original fear that she would be an outcast at Bensonhurst , she'd soon established herself as a trendsetter among the other girls, who regarded her as daring and unique. In their freshman year, it was Lisa who organized and led a successful raid on the boys at Litchfield Prep in retaliation for their attempted panty raid on Bensonhurst . In their sophomore year, Lisa designed a stage setting for Bensonhurst's annual school play that was so spectacular, pictures of it made the newspapers in several cities. In their junior year, it was Lisa who Bill Fletcher asked to Litchfield's spring dance. Besides being the captain of Litchfield's soccer team, Bill Fletcher was also fantastically good-looking and very smart. On the day before the dance, he scored twice on the field and once again in a nearby motel, where Lisa gave him her virginity. After that momentous event, Lisa returned to the room she shared with Meredith and cheerfully revealed the news to the four girls who had gathered there. Flopping onto her bed, she had grinned and announced, "I am no longer a virgin. You may feel completely free to ask me for advice and information from now on!"
The other girls obviously regarded that as yet another example of Lisa's intrepid independence and sophistication, because they laughed and cheered, but Meredith had been worried and even a little appalled. That night, when their friends left, Meredith and Lisa had their first real quarrel since coming to Bensonhurst . "I can't believe you did that!" Meredith had exploded. "What if you got pregnant? What if the other girls spread it around? What if your parents find out?"
Lisa had reacted with matching force. "You're not my keeper and you're not responsible for me, so stop acting like my mother! If you want to wait around for Parker Reynolds or some other mythical white knight to sweep you off your feet and into bed, then do it, but don't expect everyone else to be like you! I didn't buy all that purity crap the nuns fed us at St. Stephen's," Lisa continued, flinging her blazer into the closet. "If you were stupid enough to swallow it, then be the eternal virgin, but don't expect me to be one too! And I'm not careless enough to get pregnant—Bill used a condom. Furthermore, the other girls aren't going to say a word about what I did, because they'vealready done it! The only shocked little virgin in our room tonight was you!"
"That's enough," Meredith interrupted stonily, starting over to her desk. Despite the surface calm in her voice, she was squirming with guilt and embarrassment. She did feel responsible for Lisa because she was the one who'd brought her to Bensonhurst . Moreover, Meredith already knew she was morally archaic, and that she had no right to inflict restrictions on Lisa simply because they'd somehow been inflicted on herself. "I didn't mean to judge you, Lisa, I was worried about you, that's all."
After a moment of tense silence, Lisa turned to her and said, " Mer , I'm sorry."
"Forget it," Meredith replied. "You were right."
"No, I wasn't," she said, looking at Meredith with pleading and desperation. "It's just that I'm not like you,
The years Lisa and she had spent in Vermont had been wonderful ones for both of them. Contrary to Lisa's original fear that she would be an outcast at Bensonhurst , she'd soon established herself as a trendsetter among the other girls, who regarded her as daring and unique. In their freshman year, it was Lisa who organized and led a successful raid on the boys at Litchfield Prep in retaliation for their attempted panty raid on Bensonhurst . In their sophomore year, Lisa designed a stage setting for Bensonhurst's annual school play that was so spectacular, pictures of it made the newspapers in several cities. In their junior year, it was Lisa who Bill Fletcher asked to Litchfield's spring dance. Besides being the captain of Litchfield's soccer team, Bill Fletcher was also fantastically good-looking and very smart. On the day before the dance, he scored twice on the field and once again in a nearby motel, where Lisa gave him her virginity. After that momentous event, Lisa returned to the room she shared with Meredith and cheerfully revealed the news to the four girls who had gathered there. Flopping onto her bed, she had grinned and announced, "I am no longer a virgin. You may feel completely free to ask me for advice and information from now on!"
The other girls obviously regarded that as yet another example of Lisa's intrepid independence and sophistication, because they laughed and cheered, but Meredith had been worried and even a little appalled. That night, when their friends left, Meredith and Lisa had their first real quarrel since coming to Bensonhurst . "I can't believe you did that!" Meredith had exploded. "What if you got pregnant? What if the other girls spread it around? What if your parents find out?"
Lisa had reacted with matching force. "You're not my keeper and you're not responsible for me, so stop acting like my mother! If you want to wait around for Parker Reynolds or some other mythical white knight to sweep you off your feet and into bed, then do it, but don't expect everyone else to be like you! I didn't buy all that purity crap the nuns fed us at St. Stephen's," Lisa continued, flinging her blazer into the closet. "If you were stupid enough to swallow it, then be the eternal virgin, but don't expect me to be one too! And I'm not careless enough to get pregnant—Bill used a condom. Furthermore, the other girls aren't going to say a word about what I did, because they'vealready done it! The only shocked little virgin in our room tonight was you!"
"That's enough," Meredith interrupted stonily, starting over to her desk. Despite the surface calm in her voice, she was squirming with guilt and embarrassment. She did feel responsible for Lisa because she was the one who'd brought her to Bensonhurst . Moreover, Meredith already knew she was morally archaic, and that she had no right to inflict restrictions on Lisa simply because they'd somehow been inflicted on herself. "I didn't mean to judge you, Lisa, I was worried about you, that's all."
After a moment of tense silence, Lisa turned to her and said, " Mer , I'm sorry."
"Forget it," Meredith replied. "You were right."
"No, I wasn't," she said, looking at Meredith with pleading and desperation. "It's just that I'm not like you,
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