Linda was Tara's best friend before, but now things are different. Tara is a member of Purple Girls Club and they have some rules about who they can be friends with. Linda isn't very pretty and doesn't wear cool clothes. So she can't be in their club. Now Tara is making a name list for her party, and she decides not to invite Linda.
“Tara, come here,” her mother calls from the living room. Tara goes to her mother and sees the school report card in her hands.
“Tara, what's the matter with you? You have failed(不及格)math and English and you did badly in all of your other subjects. You were such a good student before!”
Tara sees the disappointment(失望) in her mom's eyes. She feels terrible. The activities of Purple Girls Club leave her very little time for studies. The girls get together almost daily for movies, shopping and surfing the Internet. She calls every friend in the club and asks them to help her. But they all refuse(拒绝) and say, “Who cares about studies now?” This makes Tara even sadder.
Later, Tara's mom takes her to Linda's house across the street. Tara says sorry and Linda is glad to have her friend back. She happily helps Tara with her studies.
Tara now has a new rule for friendship and it is that a friend that lends a helping hand is a true friend.
