"It feels so weird being back at school after months of not going. I missed all of eighth grade and now I'm in high school- wow." I said to myself on the car ride to school.

"Don't worry, baby, it'll be okay. You'll get to see your girlfriends again, right?" Dana said, not taking her eyes off the road. 

"Yeah, but they come over at least once a week. I'm just worried that people are gonna like, y'know, judge me for being gone so long. I wonder how many people know what happened to me." I said.

"It's gonna be okay, Penney, don't worry. I'm sure your classmates are gonna be over the moon that you're back." Dana said as she pulled into the school parking lot. 

"Alright." I said. "Well, I'll see you at 3, right?" 

Dana nodded and handed me my lunchbox. "I'll see you then, baby, have a good day! Good luck!"

"Thanks, Mom." I said softly, getting my stuff and taking a couple of deep breaths to calm my nerves.

___________

School went good so far. A couple of my eighth grade teachers recognized me (as sick as I looked) and asked how things were going, I made a couple of new friends, and I had pretty good teachers and classes this year for the most part. I still will always hate math, though.

I was walking down the hall to my next class when I noticed a girl with curly red hair standing at the end of the hallway, almost like she was waiting for someone. Something about her looked familiar, but I couldn't put the name to the face.

"Hey, are you Penney?" the girl said.

"Yeah." I said awkwardly. "Who are you?"

The girl giggled and smiled softly. "I'm Josie. That girl you-"

I gasped and gave Josie the biggest hug ever, starting to cry happy tears. 

"I know. Thank you so much. For everything."

Josie hugged me tighter and started giggling again. "I'm so glad I finally got to meet you in person. Y'know, when you texted and told me you were in remission, I started counting down the days until the first day of school when I could see you."

"You know you could've just asked to come over! My mom would love you!"

"I know, but I was worried about...complications." Josie said softly. "Anyway, do you want to come over to my house tonight and meet my family? We always have a family dinner after the first day of school, it's sort of a tradition, and we would love to have you join us if you're up for it."

I smiled and pulled out my phone to text Dana. "I would love that."

_________

"Mama?" Josie asked, stepping into her apartment. "Mama, I brought that friend over I was telling you about."

A woman with dark hair stepped out of the kitchen, gave Josie a hug and a kiss on the forehead, and then turned towards me. "You must be Penney. I'm Stephanie."

"Hi, ma'am." I said. "Yeah, I'm Penney. Your daughter is...amazing. She made that awful cancer crap more bearable to deal with, she kept me company and was there if I needed to vent to her after a rough day. Granted, we just met in person for the first time today, but yeah." 

Josie smiled widely and giggled, and I swore I could see her blush.

"I remember when Josie first found out about you." Stephanie said softly. "I remember how determined she was to help you."

________

Josie's POV
Seven Months Earlier

"Mama?" I said, coming into my apartment, not looking up from my phone. "Mama, there's something I need to tell you."

Mama ran in from the kitchen, giving me a quick hug and then sitting down on the couch. "You can tell me anything, Trina, what's up?"

"I- I just found out that new girl in my grade, Penney, the one I was saying I wanted to be friends with? Yeah, um...some girl named Asia, I think she's Penney's girlfriend, told me she got diagnosed with cancer the other day, that's why she wasn't in school. I'm trying to find her email so I can get in touch with her, but it's tough because this school is so damn big that there's 3 other Penneys in the database and I can't exactly recall what her last name was." 

Mama looked over my shoulder and said, "Did you know that there's a Penney who's also adopted by a Broadway star too? She's your age, I think she might be the Penney you're talking about."

"What?" I said. "How many of us are there?"

"More than you think, little Trina. Anyway, do you know who Dana Steingold is?" Mama asked. 

"She's in Beetlejuice, right?" I asked, and Mama nodded.

"Yes, she adopted a girl named Penney a couple of months ago, and if I remember correctly, she mentioned that Penney was in the hospital but didn't say why. This could explain it."

So that's why Penney's last name sounded so familiar...

"I think I found it. Penney Steingold." I said. "Thanks Mama. I'm gonna text her, I'll let you know if I get a response. I also need to text Penney's girlfriend, the girl that told me."

"Why?"

"I got an idea. It's gonna take a lot of time, and I'm gonna need your help, but I think this could really help her."

___________

Penney's POV
Present Day

"Oh my God." I said, giving Josie a hug. "I- I can't believe you wanted to go out of your way to help me."

"Of course, Penney, my entire family and friend group were determined to help you. I made those girlfriends of yours swear not to tell you until...the time was right."

"They did a really good job keeping the secret, that's for sure." I said, laughing. Josie giggled and my phone started to buzz.

"Hey, I gotta go, my mom's coming to pick me up. It was great meeting you both, and Josie, I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for everything, both of you."

"Anytime, Penney."