SOLVED. "Just the Beginning" by Betty Miles! Looking for a 1980s YA coming of age book about a girl who gets suspended from school, possible Connecticut setting [s]

[Melinda]

Trying to recall a YA book from that 1980's that I loved, but don't remember the title!

- Main character is Kath or Cath, I believe she lives in Connecticut
-she and her two friends love the Miss America pageant
-gets suspended from school for two days after she and friends leave to go eat lunch off grounds and are caught by a teacher
-suspension is spent painting her dad's store and cleaning her house
- gets teased on the bus by a boy named George; he annoys her, but she is surprised at the depth of her grief when he is killed in a shooting accident
-has a male friend named Chris whose mother makes Kath a silver bracelet for her birthday
- doesn't get along with her older sister until near the end of the book

Thank you for any help you can give me!

[Tab]

Just the Beginning by Betty Miles

[Melinda]

Yes, this is the book! Thank you so so much! I am so happy!

[Tab]

You're welcome :)