"Libby, this is stupid!" Cindy gave an annoyed huff as she flopped on her bed. The fluffy pink quilt ballooned around her like a strawberry-coloured cloud.
Libby had just gotten a brand-new mood ring. She claimed it was "32 accurate, 98 of the time", and Cindy refused to believe it. After all, it was just a silly piece of costume jewellery; it couldn't really tell how someone was feeling. Right?
"Oh, come on, Cindy!" Libby said with a wave of her ringed hand. "Can't ya at least try it? It really does work."
Cindy raised an eyebrow. "Fine," she reasoned. "I'll try it once, but we're going to do it my way."
"And your way would be?" Libby wasn't so sure about where this was going. The last time someone had volunteered to do something Cindy's way, they had ended up face first in a dumpster.
Cindy smiled. "I'll wear it and think of things, and we'll see how correct it is from that."
"Uh, Cindy, this is a mood ring," Libby reminded her. "Not a mind reader."
"I know. I was going to see if it changed colours when my mood changed while thinking of the different subjects," she clarified. Despite the fact she didn't think it would work, Cindy was pretty excited about the whole thing.
Libby shrugged and handed Cindy the ring. The light gleamed off the dully coloured stone in the centre. Cindy put the ring on.
"Think of somethin'," Libby encouraged. "Like the Math test that's comin' up."
Cindy concentrated on Ms. Fowl's upcoming Math test. The mood ring turned black like it had suddenly been doused with ink.
Libby grinned. "See? It means you're stressin' 'bout the test! Think o' somethin' else!"
Cindy rolled her eyes. "Just because it was right once, doesn't mean it worked." She thought for a minute. "Besides, what else is supposed to 'change my mood' or whatever?"
Libby thought for a second and then grinned wickedly. "What if you think of Jimmy?"
Cindy lit up a bright red as the mood ring turned deep purple.
"See! That means you like him!"
Furious, Cindy threw the mood ring off her finger. "The mood ring lies."
"Ya sure 'bout that, Cin?" asked Libby. "I mean, you just dented your wall trying to get rid of the evidence. If that doesn't scream 'I like him', then I don't know what does."
Cindy squinted her emerald eyes into two narrow lines. "I did not dent the wall!"
Libby sighed and walked over to where the mood ring had hit the wall. The stone was lodged perfectly in the wall. "I give you, exhibit A."
"Heh…it's not that noticeable."
Libby raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh." She sat back down on Cindy's window seat. "Girl, ya know there's gonna be a day when ya can't keep on denyin' ya like Jimmy. It'd be easier just to admit it now."
Cindy grabbed her pillow and twisted it. "I don't like him!" She threw the pillow on the floor and pushed the 'on' button for the radio.
Somewhere, deep down, Cindy knew she liked Jimmy. Somewhere… But she would have rather been dipped in barbeque sauce and thrown into a pit of hungry lions then confess it to herself. She looked out the window and saw Jimmy climbing into his Hovercar. She smiled slightly as he looked up at her and waved. She returned the wave and watched him as he left.
"Maybe the mood ring wasn't so far off."
