Introduction

     Amanda Hyde's Broken Dreams carries a powerful message that is certain to resonate in a very meaningful way with a whole generation.
     It seems most young people are routinely catapulted out of childhood and into the murky world of the near-adult.
     They still live at home. They still have parents and teachers to obey and rules to follow. But mixed in with these vestiges of childhood are adult responsibilities. It's a time for learning to master and control potentially lethal automobiles. It's a time for learning to respect the ability of alcohol to impair physical response and mental judgement. And it's a time to learn of, and avoid, the deadly combination of drinking and driving.
     Unfortunately for some, the lesson that drinking and driving don't mix is learned too late. Youthful exuberance and poor, impaired judgement can lead to a lifetime of regret.
     That painful lesson is driven home in a very personalized and effective manner by writer Amanda Hyde. Without resorting to becoming preachy, Hyde examines the heavy toll exacted by a fictitious drunk driving incident that results in serious injuries and forever drives a wedge between once close friends.
     The reader is given a glimpse into an intimate relationship ruined by the thoughtless and tragic combination of drinking and driving.
     Hyde's skilful employment of engaging dialogue and descriptive passages effectively breathes life into the characters populating Broken Dreams.
Readers will rapidly relate to, and come to care for, Jody, Andy, Rob, Reuben, Jon, Ruth and the other young friends who come to life in the pages of Hyde's first novel.
     You'll feel is if you know all of the novel's characters - making the exiting and dramatic conclusion all the more effective.
This is an intriguing and compelling story with a memorable and important moral.
     And it's a terrific first novel from a promising young writer.

Chapter 1

"Bobby," the slender, blonde, teenaged girl called out. "Don't kick the ball so close to the road!"
"Okay, Jody!"
The five-year-old boy was kicking his soccer ball around the front yard. The closer he got to the curb, the less comfortable Jody felt.
She really didn't want to take on this babysitting job but needed the money. Now she had her hands full keeping this active youngster away from the busy suburban Burlington, Ontario street.
     She was about to yell to him again when she heard her own name being called.
     "Hey, Jody!"
     She glanced down the driveway and saw two of her classmates heading towards her. They were both in Jody's grade twelve homeroom class at Montgomery High School.
     "Hey, Brandi. Hi, Alan." Jody watched them uneasily as they approached. They seemed to holding each other up as they walked.
     Brandi was small with wild, curly, black hair. At that moment, she was wearing patched jeans and a bright, tie-dyed shirt. She was known around school for her bright, colorful clothing, which seemed to look good only on her.
     Alan was well . . . Alan. At school, he always wore expensive clothes and brand name jeans. Everyone knew his family was wealthy. Outside of school, though, was another story.
     As Alan approached, Jody noticed he was wearing ripped jeans, which seemed too big for him, and a wrinkled T-shirt with the sleeves torn off.
     As they stumbled up to the front step, where Jody was sitting, Brandi was laughing at some remark Alan had made.
     "Hey, guys!" Jody greeted them again.
     "You look like you're having a blast, Miss Cregan," Alan slurred.
Brandi giggled. "Yeah, a real explosion!" At that, they both doubled over with laughter.
     "Are you guys all right?" Jody asked slowly.
"Sure we are," Brandi said loudly. "Aren't we, Al?"
Alan laughed again, then hiccupped.
     It was at that moment Jody knew something was definitely wrong. "Have you guys been drinking or something?" She forced a laugh.
     Brandi winked at Alan. "Should we tell her?"
     Alan shrugged. "Why not?" He reached back and pulled a bottle from his knapsack. It was nearly empty. Jody recognized it as some type of vodka.
     "He swiped it from his parents' liquor cabinet," Brandi confided in a loud whisper. "It was the bestest vodka I've ever drunk!"
     Alan chuckled. "Bestest! Is that a word?"
     Jody stared at them. "You guys are drunk, aren't you?"
     Alan fell to the ground, pulling Brandi with him. "She's smart, ain't she?"
     "Oh, yeah!" Brandi nodded. "She's as sharp as a whip!"
For some reason, that threw the two of them into hysterics again.
     Jody began to get anxious. Bobby's parents would be home soon and she knew they wouldn't appreciate having drunk teenagers sitting on their front lawn.
     "Look, you guys," she said firmly, "you have to leave. Bobby's parents will be back any minute!" Alan got to his feet and pulled Brandi up as well. "Come on, Brandi. We're not wanted." Brandi pouted a moment, then stumbled down the driveway after Alan.
     Bobby had been watching them and, as the two drunk teenagers staggered away, he picked up his ball and trotted up to Jody. "They're weird," he commented, "and they smelled bad."
     Jody smiled tightly. "Yeah, they did, didn't they? Come on, let's go inside and wash up. It's almost suppertime."

     Sunday morning. Jody slept in until eleven. Her family was up and they were all eating breakfast when she walked into the kitchen. Her older brother, Rob, smoothed brown hair from his eyes and patted the chair next to him.
     "Morning, Runt!" he yawned, reclining his tall, muscular frame against his chair.
     Jody stuck her tongue out at him. Two years ago, Runt had made sense. She had been a short little nerd. Now, she was almost as tall as he was. It definitely didn't apply anymore.
     "In case you haven't realized, that comment is getting pretty ancient," she commented, sliding into the seat next to him and stealing a piece of his bacon. "I'd ask you to think up some new insults that actually make sense, but I know how hard thinking is for you!"
     Her brother ruffled her blonde hair affectionately. "You'll always be a runt to me."
     Rachel Cregan smiled across the table at her children. "Hungry, Jody? There's some bacon and eggs for you in the frying pan. Don't steal your brother's food. He's liable to bite your hand off!" she teased him.
     "Hey," Rob protested, a scowl on his handsome face, "you're my mother. You're supposed to be on my side! Besides, I'm a growing boy! I need food."
     "Rob! One meal to you is equal to a week's worth of food for me!" Jody taunted him.
     Before she could head to the stove to get her breakfast, the phone rang. Rob practically shoved her out of her chair. "Go get it! It's always for you anyway!"
     Jody stubbed her toe as she entered the living room. Hobbling to the phone, she picked up the receiver. "Hello?" she groaned.
"What's the matter?" Ruth demanded.
     Jody smiled. Her friend never bothered saying hello.
     Ruth Marnis was Jody's best friend. Originally from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Ruth was a very opinionated, pretty and sassy brunette who wasn't afraid to speak her mind.
     "I hit my foot," Jody explained, limping back into the kitchen to get her breakfast. Rob made a face at her as she walked by and Jody gave him a good kick.
     "Is that Ruth?" he asked, as Jody passed him. "Tell her I miss her face! Big time!"
     Jody rolled her eyes. "My brother is such a dork!" she whispered into the phone, loud enough for Rob to hear. She scooped her breakfast onto a plate and headed for the den, smiling sweetly at Rob as she passed him again.
     The den was Jody's favorite room of the whole house, next to her bedroom. It was huge and shelves and shelves of books covered two of its four walls. Everything, from the black leather couch and armchair to the black and burgundy color scheme, was dark and soothing. Sunshine permeated the darkness through the room's two tall windows which were half covered by heavy drapery.
     Jody plopped down on the couch and picked up her fork, cradling the receiver between her ear and shoulder. "So, what did you do last night?" she asked. She knew Ruth had gone to her grandmothers for supper because Ruth had tried to get out of it by saying that she was sleeping over at Jody's. Twice before that excuse had worked but this time, Ruth's mother had put her foot down and told her that she was going to visit her grandmother whether she wanted to or not.
     Ruth sighed. "I entertained my grandma."
Jody laughed at her lack of enthusiasm. "It couldn't have been that bad."
     "Believe me, it was worse. Don't get me wrong, Jo. Grandma's great and everything but her place is so boring! I spent the whole night sitting in an uncomfortable chair that was probably older than me and listening to her life story, which I've heard a hundred times already!"
     "Too bad you weren't allowed to sleep over last night."
     "To add to that," Ruth continued, "Uncle Terry and Aunt Susan showed up after supper and gave Grandma the great idea to look at pictures. They fawned over pictures of me and my naked butt for hours!" Jody giggled. "I take it back! I guess it was that bad."
     "I just want to forget about it. I was calling to see it you want to go to a movie this afternoon." "Yeah, sure. I made twenty bucks babysitting last night. Do you want me to pick you up? I can probably borrow the car for the afternoon."
     "Thanks but Mom said she has to go out anyway and she can drop me off. How about I meet you in front of the Plaza at one o'clock?"
"All right. Later."
     "Ruth wants to go see a movie this afternoon," Jody announced, strolling back into the kitchen with her empty plate. "Can I borrow the car?"
     As his father nodded his assent, Rob jumped to his feet. "Oh! Can I come?"
     "Do you have any money?"
     Rob smiled sweetly. "Not at the moment."
     Jody laughed. "Too bad, then. I only have twenty bucks. That's not enough to buy your food much less a ticket to get in!"
     "Fine!" Rob frowned. Throwing his arms over his parent's shoulders, he smiled again, "I'll just have to spend this afternoon with my favorite parents!"
     Mr. Cregan mockingly rolled his eyes. "Great."
"Hey, that hurts," Rob retorted.
     Jody raised her eyebrows. "Rob, you are so bizarre!"
     He grinned. "I try!"

     The Burlington Mall parking lot was deserted when Jody parked near the mall's main entrance. She turned off the engine and turned on the radio. She was a little early anyway. A minute later, Ruth's boyfriend, Jon King, pulled up in his beat up brown Volkswagen. Jody wasn't surprised. Ruth didn't normally do anything without Jon.
     She rolled down her window. "Aw, man! Ruth didn't tell me you were invited!" she teased him. "She must have forgotten to ask your permission again! I'll have to talk to her about that."
     Jody grinned. "Yeah, you do that." She was about to ask what movie he wanted to see when she noticed someone in the passenger seat. It looked like Tim Dawson, their school's class clown, a tall, skinny, gangly youth. With his super long arms and big ears, Tim may not have been the cutest boy in school but he was fun to hang out with and everyone like him.
     Jody leaned forward in her seat. "Hey, Dawson! I see your mother let you loose for the afternoon!" The boy turned to her with a grin. "If you tell me I look like Dawson, I'll be scarred for life!" It was Andy Harkin, not Dawson. Jody was so surprised that her hand slipped off the steering wheel and her elbow hit the cars horn, which echoed loudly throughout the parking lot. She felt her cheeks turn bright red.
     "What movie are we going to see?" Andy asked, now grinning from ear to ear.
     Jody couldn't believe she'd mistaken him for Dawson. Andy was one of the cutest guys she'd ever seen, with slightly shaggy black hair and a great smile. But it wasn't just that which had caught her attention. He was nice. He was on the basketball team and, unlike the rest of the players, was confident about himself without having a big ego.
     Although he was a friend of Jon's, Jody had never really talked with him before.
     Instead, she spent her English class staring at the back of his head. Not that she would have been able to speak to him anyway. Every time Andy was near, it seemed Jody became totally tongue-tied. This time was no different. Instead of answering, Jody was panicking.
     What is he doing here? Ruth didn't tell me he was coming! Since when does he look like Tim Dawson? Andy and Jon were staring at her.
     "Um . . . I'm not sure," she stumbled over her words. "Ruth should be here soon. We can decide then." Jon agreed and turned up the volume on his radio. "Sounds good."
     As he and Andy started talking, Jody sat back in her seat and told herself how stupid she had just sounded. God, why can't you talk to him normally? You're so pathetic!
     It wasn't long before Ruth was dropped off. She stopped to talk to Jon for a second, seemed to do a double take at the sight of Andy, and then jumped into the passenger seat beside Jody.
     "We're going to meet them at the theatre," Ruth said. "Okay?"
Jody nodded silently, starting up her car and turning down the first of several leafy suburban streets on the way to the movie theatre on the main drag on Brant Street.
     "Did you see who was with Jon?" Ruth grinned. "This should be interesting."
     "Did you know he was coming?"
     Ruth shook her head and innocently put up her hands. "No way! Had I known, I would've told you. I swear!" She was the only person who knew about the crush Jody had on Andy.
     Just as they turned onto Brant, Jody pulled over to the curb and slammed on her brakes. "This is going to be a disaster! I can't do this! I should just go home."
     Ruth rolled her eyes. "Of course you can! Nice guy, remember? You guys will get along great!"
     "That's what you think." Jody told her friend about her initial shock and her leaning into the horn. "To top it all off, I mistook him for Tim Dawson!"
     "How could you mistake him for-..." Ruth giggled. "I'm sure it wasn't as bad as you're making it out to be!"
"Yes, it was- . . ."
     "Okay, Jo. Let me put it another way. If you back out and go home, I'll tell Andy that you like him." Jody stared at her. "You wouldn't."
     "What do you think?" Ruth was grinning mischievously.
     Jody knew her friend well enough to know that she was telling the truth. Ruth would have no problem telling Andy everything. Jody slumped in her seat, defeated. "Okay, I'm coming. But I know I'm going to have an awful time."
"Quit worrying and drive."
     As the girls neared the theatre, Jody's thoughts shifted to Alan and Brandi again. "Guess who showed up last night while I was babysitting."
     Ruth shrugged.
     "Alan and Brandi. As if the two of them together isn't bad enough, they were drunk. So drunk, they could barely walk!" Jody stole a glance at her friend to judge her reaction. Ruth didn't seem surprised. "Alan had stolen a bottle of vodka from his parents," she continued, "and it was empty when they showed it to me. They know how I feel about drinking!"
     Three years before, a drunk driver had killed one of Jody's cousins. The family had been devastated by the accident and Jody's parents had drilled the no-drinking-and-driving rule into their children's minds. Ever since then, Rob was very careful around alcohol and Jody didn't touch it. She couldn't help but get angry when kids at her school went somewhere to get drunk as though it were nothing. They knew what could happen, yet they'd go and drink anyway.
     "You don't seem surprised," she added, looking at Ruth again....