Chapter 2

"Bye Mom!" I called over my shoulder. It was Wednesday morning and I was heading for another day at school.

​          I expected to see Lisa run out the door soon after I came out of mine, but she didn't. Despite all of the stuff she does to her hair and makeup, she's usually here on time. It was possible she could be sick. Being the courteous person I am, I walked up to the door and rang the bell. Ms. Brown answered, she seemed surprised to see me there.

​          "Oh, hi Cassie!" she greeted me. "What brings you here?"

          ​"Um, well, Lisa didn't come out. So is she, um, okay?" I stuttered.

          ​"Oh, oh my!" Ms. Brown cried turned around towards the stairs. "Lisa you're going to be late!"

​          I stared at her. Lisa would never be late. Ms. Brown should know that. But, then again, Ms. Brown was a very busy person.

Lisa came running down the stairs.

​          "Sorry, Mom I slept in," Lisa explained. "I had trouble sleeping last night." I looked Lisa up and down. She seemed completely normal, so I let out my breath.

          ​"Come on let's go!" I urged her.

​          "Huh? Oh yeah, school," Lisa replied looking confused for a second. She looked around discreetly, then grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. She headed towards the door and gestured for me to go first. I spun around and started running the four blocks to school. Lisa ran behind me. It was weird since she usually runs faster than me. I didn't dwell on it, though, since we were heading towards being late. When we reached the school, I went straight to my homeroom.

          ​"Mrs. Conway, I'm here!" I cried just as the bell rang. Mrs. Conway nodded. Panting, I headed back to my locker. I watched Lisa down the hallway. She was opening her locker and putting her books inside of it while examining a paper. I just shrugged it off and got my books for the day.

 

​Lunchtime...

​          I sat down at Lisa’s and my normal table. Each table in the cafeteria could sit twelve. They were long rectangles with stools connected to them to sit on. Lisa and her other friends sit on one side and me and my other friends sit on the other side. The weird thing about my other friends is that for some reason they all have blonde hair, except for Melody, who has dirty blonde hair, like I do. The thing with Lisa's friends is that my friends don't get along with them too well, so it's pretty much as if we're sitting at two different tables.  

​          "Earth to Cassie!" Wendy called. Wendy gave me a weird look.

​          "Yeah, since when are you interested in the other side," Pat said it as if it were possessed.

​          "Guys, we all know she's been best friends with Lisa since kindergarten. Give her a break," Annaleese admonished flipping her long blonde hair behind her shoulder. I smiled at her gratefully. Annaleese smiled back; she knew what it was like to have a close friend in another crowd.

​          "Yeah, but it's not as if Lisa's friends have any interest in you. And, you've never been interested in them," Melody looked at me with her big blue eyes. "Right?"

​          "I'm not," I insisted. "I was just thinking."

​          "Yeah, that's what they all say," Sandy stared at her lunch and slowly shook her head. I narrowed my eyes at her. She looked up at me and raised her eyebrows. I sighed. Sometimes my friends were too much. I looked towards Lisa who was sitting diagonal from me. She was watching me curiously. I raised my eyebrows as if to say, "It's a work in progress." An unidentified expression flickered across her face, then she smiled. I looked back to my friends. They were talking about how terrible the groupings for the social studies project were.

​          "I mean seriously!" Pat was saying. "I have to work with Kelly Berkman, Lyssa Freedman and Dayna Sparks."

          ​"Lyssa's nice," Sandy objected.

          ​"Yeah but she never does anything on her own, and Kelly and Dayna �" her best friends - are really mean," Pat said.

​          "Your being over dramatic, Pat," Melody replied rolling her eyes. "At least you get something nice. The Galapagos are awesome. But, I have to study the Sahara Desert with Tom Cunnings, Lexi Wayne, and Richard Hughes. They're are some of the most popular kids in the whole entire grade."

​          "So, what's wrong with popular kids?" I asked defending Lisa, who was pretty high on the popularity scale herself. I saw Wendy's gaze shift to the other side of the table. Lisa's friends were talking about clothes, as usual. Then, she looked back at me as if I were crazy.

​          "I told you so," Sandy said simply looking at all the other girls on our side of the table. I pursed my lips together. I always stand up for Lisa. Why were they making such a big deal about it now? Then, I realized why they possibly could be making a big deal. "If this is about the party, you need to let it go. Lisa always throws sleepovers on Friday."

          ​"Yeah, but this time it wasn't just you and Lisa, was it?" Wendy accused. Okay, maybe my friends were a little mad that I turned down a movie to go to Lisa's. And, maybe it wasn't her typical Friday sleepover with just her and me.

​          "Guys," Annaleese warned with a mature tone. We sometimes joke that Annaleese was the mother of our group. Annaleese nudged me in the rib and we shared a Look. Sometimes my friends can be so dense!

 

After school...

          ​"Bye guys! See you tomorrow!" I shouted to my friends. Annaleese waved at me while the others gave me half smiles. I sighed and watched them leave. They all got into one car and I knew they were hanging out. I felt that even Annaleese was a bit hurt, because she would have asked them to take me too if she wasn't. I sat down on a bench and waited for Lisa. I waited and waited.

​          Finally, I looked at my watch. It was 4:00. My mom would be worried. Yet again, so would Lisa's if she didn't come home with me. I looked back at the school doors. Should I go in and look for her? Should I go home? I didn't know. I would call my mom, but I don't have a cell phone yet. I took one more glance at the school doors. Then, I walked across the vacant schoolyard and sullenly went home.

​          That night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Lisa and I always walk home together. How could she forget? She stood me up. I was waiting there for two hours! Not only was I completely humiliated, but I was mad; very mad. We've been walking to and from school together everyday since 3rd grade. I bet she ditched me to go someplace with her friends. Well, she doesn't want to be friends with me, I won't be friends with her.