After ringing the door, she heard a voice from inside say "I'll get it!" and the door was opened to reveal a girl that Elena mistook for Bethany at first- the older Bethany that is. Rachel looked a great deal like her sister- tall, athletic, tan, with long legs, sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes (not to mention a nice pair of C-cup breasts!), and Elena's wish had apparently made her 17 again and a Senior in High School.
"Elena?" Rachel blinked. "What brings you here?"
"Well, I saw Bethany's accident, and I wanted to see if she was alright."
Rachel gave Elena an odd look. "No offense, but last I checked, you two weren't exactly friends."
Elena nodded. "I know, but..."
"Well my stupid kid sister is fine, save for a few bruises. My car, on the other hand, needs some front end work. So she's not going to be getting any visitors anytime soon." Rachel shook her head. "Honestly, I have no idea what got into her."
"Well there was one other thing...I was going to see if your parents would be willing to hire a tutor. I know Bethany's grades aren't great."
Rachel practically pulled her inside and closed the door. "Ok, out with it. Is this some kind of plan to get revenge? I know Bethany is a brat and deserves it, but she doesn't need help getting in trouble."
Elena shook her head. "I mean it. I wasn't planning on charging much, but I could use a little money."
"Seems sus, Elena. Don't you and Chris get good money from Sahar's Dad for her room and board?"
"Chris does, yes. But I can't get a job yet, and I want to start saving. It would be nice to have a car once I can get my permit."
Rachel seemed to consider this. "Ok, I'm sorry I gave you the third degree. I'm sure Mom and Dad would be happy to get her some help. It just took me off guard."
Elena noted that Rachel was a lot nicer than Bethany had been at her age. She regretted not knowing her before now. "Yeah, well, she might still scream bloody murder when she sees me. But I never had anything against Bethany, and I thought maybe this would be a good chance to bury the hatchet as well."
"I wish you luck with that!" Rachel chuckled. "Come on, Mom is in the kitchen."
Elena was surprised that Mrs. Wyatt actually cooked meals for her family. She'd figured, with as much money as they had, she would hire someone for the task.
"Hey Mom, you won't guess who just showed up." Rachel said.
Mrs. Wyatt turned and smiled. "Why, Elena Bishop, this is a surprise!" Elena noted that the woman looked a bit younger than the last time she'd seen her- another side effect of her wish, she supposed. She also resembled her daughters, save her hair was blonde. "What brings you by?"
Elena explained her offer and Mrs. Wyatt considered it. "You know, it's not a bad idea. I know what a great student you are. Though I thought you and Bethany didn't like each other."
"That's what I said!" Rachel chimed in.
"Well, to be honest, no, we haven't. But I really hope we can put that behind us, I don't have any real problems with Bethany as a person, so I'm not sure how all this started. Maybe I did something without meaning to."
"I rather doubt that, you've always struck me as a well-mannered young lady. Well let's talk money. How does 20 dollars an hour sound? Plus you can eat dinner with us if you want, I never mind an extra guest at the dinner table."
"That would be fine, Mrs. Wyatt- at least, if Bethany agrees."
"Oh please, call me Carol. I know I'm not getting any younger, but 'Mrs. Wyatt' sounds like an old lady." Carol smiled.
"Plus she'd better agree if she knows what's good for her. I still want to put her over my knee and spank her for taking my car out for a joyride." Rachel grumbled.
"Yes, your Father feels much the same. Maybe we've been too easy on her. I want to chalk it up to teenaged hormones- I remember what you were like at her age, Rachel."
"Oh come on, I never stole a car!" Rachel protested.
"No, but what about that slumber party back when you were in the 8th grade?" Carol smiled slyly.
"Uh..." Rachel blushed. "We don't have to talk about that now. Come on, Elena, I'll show you to Sis's room." She quickly dragged Elena away.
"Slumber party?" She asked, when they were out of the kitchen.
"Ugh, so embarrassing. Fine, I'll tell you, but not a word of this to anyone, or I'll drown you in the river." Rachel glared at Elena.
Elena held up her hands. "I won't, I swear."
"You better not. Well, I decided it would be a good idea for me and my friends to try alcohol, so I swiped some of Dad's rum, and made rum and cokes. We got wasted, and, uh, someone had the bright idea to have a kissing contest."
"Oh!" Elena's eyes widened.
"Yeah, I don't remember much, but when Mom checked on me in the morning, I was naked in bed spooning with Katrina Franklin! I wanted to die, let me tell you." Rachel shook her head. "Stay away from alcohol, Elena, it's bad news."
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad, I mean, Katrina is a sweet girl."
"Not the point!" Rachel snapped. then sighed. "Sorry, didn't mean to snap on you. Her Mom hit the roof, saying I was trying to turn her daughter into a lesbian or something. You know how Mrs. Franklin is."
"Oh yeah, super religious." Elena shook her head.
"Besides, at the time, I was worried about what other people would think. Seems silly now, but you know how the rumor mill is at school."
"Yeah, I get a lot of shit because I don't have a boyfriend."
"I know, but hey, fuck them, right? We're going to be graduating next year, you know? And I'm sure you'll get a scholarship, as smart as you are. So it's time to stop worrying about kid stuff." Rachel gave Elena a soft smile.
"Yeah, you're right. Do you ever wonder...you know...if things were different?"
"You mean me and Kat hooking up? High school lesbians?" Rachel looked both ways. "Just between us, yes. I mean, I don't know if she'd feel the same way, what with her family, but...eh. What, are you surprised?"
"A little, I mean you have a boyfriend."
"Oh Jake? Yeah but...it's not going to last. It's totally physical between us. The sex is good...but...I want more from a relationship than he can give. Oh but listen to me, you're still a virgin, right?"
Elena felt like she was blushing down to her toes, and didn't answer.
"Hey. There's nothing wrong with that." Rachel put her hand on Elena's shoulder. "You got stuck in a rough spot. Too smart and mature for the kids your age, and too young for anyone at school. But when the time comes, feel free to come talk to me. I wish I'd had someone who wasn't an adult to go to when I was your age."
"Thanks, Rachel." She smiled, and Rachel smiled back. Then she lead Elena upstairs and knocked on a door. "Yo, Bethie! Warden says you can have a visitor!"
The door opened. Bethany looked like she'd been crying, and her hair was mussed. "Who is it, Ray...oh." Her eyes got wide when she saw Elena.
"Hello Bethany. Could we talk for a minute?" Elena asked.
"I...uh...sure, ok." Bethany stepped back from the door.
"Don't have too much fun, kids. Dinner will be in an hour!" Rachel waved and walked off. Elena had to force herself not to follow the sway of the older girl's behind (she was wearing very short shorts, which she filled out quite nicely).
Once inside Bethany's room, the other girl closed the door. "Why are you here?" She asked.
"Well I saw your accident, and I wanted to check if you were ok."
"I...yeah. Bruises mostly. I'm probably grounded until I'm 18 though."
"Look, Bethany, I know we haven't gotten along before. I don't know how it got started, but I'd really like it to stop. I know I'm weird and smart, and not popular, so it's not like I expect to hang out or anything- but I'm hoping we can at least be friendly, if not friends." Elena started.
Bethany gave her a strange look before going to sit on her bed. She gestured to her computer chair. "Have a seat."
"I know it has to be hard to believe. But it's true. And more than that, I know you have trouble with school, so I'd like to tutor you, if that's ok." She ventured a small smile.
"I..." Bethany paused. "I'd like that. But I thought you hated me."
"Can you tell me why you think that? If I'm screwing up, I want to get better. I'm tired of being an outcast."
"Well. Do you remember when we first met? I tried to talk to you, and you just blew me off." Bethany started.
'Is that what happened? Shit...what did happen..?' Elena thought hard. "They'd bumped me to the 7th grade, and you were in the 6th...you were there with Mandy Carter, Jennifer Drew, and...oh God, Courtney Lemont."
"Yeah, I said hi to you, and you just ignored me."
"It wasn't you. It was the girls you were with." Elena sighed. "Courtney was always bullying me, and I thought you were just another one of her Cronies."
"Oh God, they did call us that. Courtney's Cronies! I'd forgotten."
"Yeah. And she had such a bad attitude, we called her Courtney Lemon. So...I guess it was my fault for assuming you were like them."
"Well...I guess I deserved it. Because Courtney told me you were a stuck up bitch, and...when she bullied you, I joined in. Because I wanted to fit in. Rachel always made friends super easy, but I always felt she was smarter and prettier than I was."
Elena gave her a look. "Maybe smarter, but prettier? You look like her clone!"
Bethany giggled. "Yeah, I know, but everyone would always praise her. Oh Rachel, you're so pretty! Oh Rachel, I love your hair! Oh Rachel, where did you get that jacket?"
"I guess it's normal to be jealous of your siblings. I mean, I love Chris with all my heart, but I always wanted to be tall like her."
"Oh my God, Chris is gorgeous! If she ever wore a dress or makeup, we'd all look like hags!" Bethany gushed.
"Even with all those muscles?" Elena grinned.
"Are you kidding? She has lady abs! Who wouldn't want those? I'm always struggling to keep the pounds off." Bethany frowned.
"Really? You look healthy to me."
"Trust me, it's hard work. I don't know how Sis makes it look so easy. I look at a pizza and I gain five pounds."
"That's rough. I've always been skinny. Dad was always trying to feed me." She felt sad, remembering her Father.
"You miss him, huh?"
"Very much." Elena nodded.
"I'm sorry. For everything. Can we start over, do you think?"
"I'd like that, Bethany. A lot."
Bethany smiled then, and Elena wondered if she'd ever seen Bethany's real smile before. Sure, she'd seen Bethany smile, but it was usually fake, with malicious intent. 'Holy shit, she's cute!', Elena thought.
"Did you say something?"
"Uh...did I say the quiet part out loud?" Elena blushed.
"I'm not sure, you mumbled something." Bethany gave her a suspicious look.
Not sure what else to say, Elena came out and told her the truth. "I just realized how cute you are when you smile."
That brought the smile back full force. "You think I'm cute?"
"Of course you're cute! Rachel may be smart and sexy, but she's nowhere near as cute as you." Elena smiled back.
"...thank you." Now Bethany was blushing, her voice soft.
"You're quite welcome. Well we have some time, what are you having problems with?" She leaned forward.
"Oh um..." Bethany's brain almost audibly changed gears, and she started talking about school.
Then...