AN: Okay, I realize that I haven't updated in over a month and I am so sorry! Sophomore year is really hectic and tiring! Anyway, this chapter's a bit short, but I hope you think it was worth the wait. It took me a while to write this chapter because it's a bit of a transition chapter and it does have some important parts to the whole story. Anyways, thank you so much to the reviewers and to everyone who are still reading!

Chapter 5 - A Senior's Thoughts

Rachel woke up with beads of sweat rolling over her forehead. She took a deep breath as she had yet another dream of how her father's reaction would be if he ever finds out about his eldest daughter's failing grades. Rachel walked over to the corner of her bedroom where her portable air conditioner sat. She pressed the power button and turned the dial on mega cool. It was now April and the unusually hot weather sure didn't help her sweating.

Rachel's years at Lincoln High flew by extremely quick. It seemed like it was just yesterday when she just befriended the Gellers in her freshman year. Now, here she was, a high school senior along with her best friend, Monica.

Rachel went down the kitchen and gulped down a glass of iced water. She came back up the stairs and into her enormous bedroom decorated with pale green, white, pink and blue colors. She sat on her bed and sighed as she spotted a picture of her and Monica from about a month ago.

If she were to watch a split screen view of the Monica she knew three years ago and the Monica she knew now, Rachel probably won't have a clue that it was the same exact person.

For one thing, Monica didn't look the same. She lost about a hundred pounds after freshman year. Rachel had a feeling that the sudden motivation for weight loss was because of Chandler. "Please, I do not like Chandler!" she would say repeatedly whenever Rachel brought it up.

Rachel obviously knew better, but Monica would never admit it. Monica's crush on Chandler was just as obvious as Ross's love for dinosaurs. As years flew by, Monica became more and more fit. By the time she and Rachel were juniors, they were both fit to look like a supermodel. Of course, after Monica had lost all the weight, she also became a little less shy. Now, she actually socialized with a lot of people and made tons of new friends everyday. Boys were also pining for her, but she never liked any of them. According to her, she was waiting for someone else to ask her out. Rachel knew that someone else is a particular someone who lived next door, but Monica stuck with her denial. Other than that, Monica's personality stayed pretty much the same. She still loved to cook, she was still neurotic, she maintained good grades and she never gave in to peer pressure. Rachel, however, was the opposite.

Like Monica, Rachel became prettier and more mature over the years. Her hair was now straight and a soft caramel brown color, and her deviated septum was no longer deviated, to her extreme happiness. However, her willpower deteriorated along the way. She was still the same old bubbly Rachel, but academically, she started to become more like her conceited peers, especially after she was elected head cheerleader. Her grades were falling. She barely passed. She might as well wear a shirt that says "Straight D Student".

Why couldn't I be naturally smart like Monica or Chandler or even Ross?!

Chandler and Ross. Rachel hasn't really seen them since the two boys graduated high school last year. As far as Rachel knew, Ross and Chandler have become best friends since the day that they met three years ago. In a way, their relationship was a lot like her friendship with Monica.

Over the course of the years, Ross had become more and more quiet around Rachel. She assumed it was just because they don't know speak to each other much since Ross only really hung out with Chandler.

However, there were times when Rachel really couldn't understand Ross. About two years ago, when Chandler and Rachel were both over at the Gellers', she overheard the two upperclassmen having an argument about a subject that Rachel couldn't decipher.

"... and it's just weird!"

A younger Rachel froze outside Ross's bedroom door. She had always been a girl who couldn't pass up the chance to gossip. She listened intently to Chandler and Ross's voices.

"It is not!" Ross's voice yelped.

"Yes, it is!" Chandler insisted. "Ross, I've been best friends with you for a year, give me some credit!"

"Okay, fine, I'm giving you credit, but that doesn't mean you're right!"

"Oh please. You only act like that when you're around her. Dude, you're even drawing. "

"Whatever." Ross's voice seemed to falter as he replied.

Rachel squinted her eyes, trying to figure out the meaning of their words. Who in the world is "her"? Rachel listened more carefully as their voices greatly reduced its volumes.

"Look, just get over her, man."

"I wish I could, but ... I don't know how."

"Well then, take a chance and maybe Ra-"

Monica's voice boomed up the stairs and interrupted the guys' conversation. "GUYS! DINNER'S READY!"

Rachel panicked as she heard Ross and Chandler's footsteps approaching. She ran towards Monica's room and sat on the bed as she tried to act casual. Before she could even get her heartbeat to return to a normal rate, it gave another start as Ross walked in Monica's bedroom.

"Uh, Rachel, M-Monica said to come down for dinner." he said, stumbling over his words.

Rachel nodded as casually as she could and smiled at him. "Yeah, I'll be right down."

Ross cleared his throat and closed the door. Rachel exhaled and clutched her chest. She whistled, "That was close."

As she came back to reality, Rachel sighed yet again as she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. She almost did a double take when she realized how late it was. She plopped her head back on the pillow and struggled back to sleep, only to enter another excruciating dream of her father yelling at her about her plummeting grades.

AN: Well, I hope you enjoyed it even though it's short. Hopefully it was worth the wait. If not, I'm sorry. I'll try to update as soon as I can :) Thanks :)