Disclamer: I don't own it. Too bad.
I was Casey's friend. No, I wasn't Emily, and I wasn't Kendra either. I wasn't the star of the play -- I am Sandra. I had a bit part. I spent most of the time watching from a shadowed corner of the stage. I had lines, no doubt, since I dated Derek for awhile, but I spent most of the time listening and watching. And waiting. I noticed a lot. A lot more than people thought.
Like Emily.
She was a brilliant actress. So brilliant that, at times, I doubted my discoveries. At times, I found myself believing her charade. It took a little slip one day, a little flash in her eyes, a little hole in the huge wall she put up around her to convince me she was acting.
Ah, but I'm getting off track. I'll go back to the beginning again. It all started the night of Casey and Emily's sleepover.
Casey sat at the window, a book in her hand. But her eyes weren't on the book, they were on the sky. The words of Little Women were dancing in her head. Casey was a bit embarassed by that book -- her reading level was far beyond it, but something about its simplicity struck her fancy, and she took it out whenever she just needed reinforcement, something to busy her mind.
Now she was staring at the stars, shining through a thin layer of gray cloud. The prospect of a long night of giggling and movies was not far from reach in her mind, as she was waiting for Emily to come over. Casey was torn from her daydreams when she heard a sound on the driveway below. Emily was making her way up Casey's driveway, an overnight bag slung over her shoulder, curls bouncing. Casey dropped her book, took one last look at the clouded blue above, and closed the window that divided them before running downstairs to meet her best friend.
"Hey Casey!" Emily said with a grin as Casey opened the door. Emily stepped into the living room every bit as familiar as her own. Noticing it hadn't changed, she and Casey walked up the stairs toward the sounds of a lively household.
"Anything new?" Casey asked as Emily dropped her bag on the bed and Casey hurriedly ran to covere up the Little Women book with a quilt on the chair.
"Well...the dog is better," Emily said, referring to her lab that had been sick. Casey nodded, not at all interested in dogs.
"And...Dimi has been asking about Marti," she said with a grin. Casey laughed -- Marti was quite taken with the next door neighbor Dimi, Emily's brother.
"And, well, that's about it...oh, and I dumped Sheldon," Emily said with a yawn. Casey's eyes widened.
"But you two were so great together!" she exclaimed. Emily shrugged.
"I lost interest, I guess," Casey knew this was not at all like Emily -- she was too soft-hearted to dump someone because she "lost interest". Casey narrowed her eyebrows and thought of this as Emily searched for something in her bag.
The moment of shock soon passed, however, and the tension was broken as Marti ran into the room.
"Hi Emily!" she exclaimed, and looked around the room.
"No, honey, Dimi isn't here," Emily said with a wink at Casey. Marti sighed.
"Casey, guess what!" Marti said, turning to Casey. "Fio-a was on the phone!"
"Who?" Casey asked.
"Fio-a!" Marti said and laughed.
"Fiona, you mean Aunt Fiona," Casey said. "What could she want?"
"Let's find out!" Emily replied, and she and Casey went downstairs to figure out what was going on.
"Mom, what did Aunt Fiona want?" Casey asked.
"Victoria and her mother had a huge fight, and Victoria is refusing to stay at the house," Nora said. Casey sighed heavily and blew her bangs up in frustration.
"What's the matter, Casey?" Nora asked. "I thought you and Vicky came to terms last time she was here."
"We did, but..."
"But?"
"I kind of wanted to spend the weekend with Emily," Casey said, glancing at her friend, who hadn't said a word yet.
"Well, I don't see why Emily can't get to know Vicky," Nora said. Casey squealed and hugged her mom, and Emily laughed. The two then went on to the deck to gossip while they waited for Victoria to come.