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"And I'm like, who is this new girl? When did she start hanging out with us? Honestly, I feel like I've been replaced. It's not fair. None of it is fair." Sarah sniffed and blew her nose in a tissue.

I sighed and blinked back a few tears. I can never stand to see people cry, once one person starts, I can't seem to stop it. It's like a domino reaction. But I guess it's just one of downsides of being a counselor at a middle school. Especially one like this one, private school girls can be really mean!

"It's going to be okay, Sarah. I'm sure your friends haven't forgotten you. They're just excited that Olivia is new. Trust me, in a few weeks it will all be just as it was." I told her.

"But I don't know what to do. Yesterday, I called Paige to see if she wanted to hang out and she said she was busy, but I could hear a playstaion in the background, and the only one in our group who has a playstation is Oliva-I know this because she wont shut up about how her daddy buys everything for her—shes such a spoiled little-."

"Okay, we are all out of time. But next tomorrow I want you to try to talk to Olivia, maybe you have more things I common than you think." I told her, shuffling her papers back into the file on my desk.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Milton. I'll try. I promise. I just don't want to loose my two best friends."

"You wont Sarah, I promise. Now, have a good weekend, and I will see you next week." I told her. She got up and grabbed her backpack from the hook.

"You too, Ms. Milton. Have fun in Thailand."

"Thanks!"

She closed the door softly and I sighed with relief. It was finally Friday. It's amazing how fast the week goes when I'm doing something I love though. These kids may have problems up the kazoo, but I loved each and every one of them.

A small knock on the door brought my attention back to reality.

"Come in!" I shouted

Phil Winnick, my carpool buddy and very close friend entered the office. After that one very memorable weekend in Las Vegas two years ago, Phil and I have been closer than ever. In fact, he was the one that helped me get this job; he worked here too as a 6th grade teacher. This last year was hell for Phil, most of his time was consumed with the nasty legal battle over his son, Eli. The entire trial had been unfair, particularly because Stephanie's lawyer had been my dear Aunt Melissa. Despite all this, Phil still remained happy and upbeat most of the time, as long as no one mentioned Stephanie, Eli, or Briar Ridge.

"Hey Kate, how's everything going?" he asked with a tired smile.

"Hey Phil. Just packing up. How was class?" I asked lightly

"It was the usual. Fridays are always crazy." He answered.

I checked my watch, "Oh my, we have like, 15 minutes to get to your dentist appointment. Come on." I said, grabbing my back.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes. It took me weeks to get this appointment. Stu's a busy man. "

Phil was terrified of the dentist. His fear probably stemmed from Briar Ridge—which he still refused to talk about even though both Stu and I wanted to press charges for malpractice- it was hard to do that when Phil wouldn't talk about it though, so it was put on hold until after Stu's wedding.

"It's just Stu, Phil. It's going to be fine, don't worry. Besides, I have an appointment right after you" I reassured him. Phil nodded, but seemed hesitant.

"Alright. Let's get it over with." He mumbled, opening the door for me.

The car ride over was silent-Phil had gotten a lot quieter since loosing Eli. I could always tell when he was thinking about him because he would play with his still present wedding band. He wore it even though he had been divorced for almost four years now.

"How's dancing going?" Phil asked after a few more silent minutes.

"It's going well. I'm training for the role of Odette right now—for Swan Lake. The performance isn't until December but, it's a lot of pointe work so I'm starting early."

"Swan Lake…isn't that the Black Swan play?" he asked

"Yeah. Yeah it is. But don't worry, I wont become a psychotic killer ballerina. I'm just playing good Odette."

"Im looking forward to that…and Im sure Alan is too. Do you still see him much?"

I had lived with Alan and his family for about 8 months after Doug and Tracy's wedding, until I had enough saved up for my own place. It was amazing how much money I saved when I wasn't give Melissa $200 a week for "rent". I now lived in a modern little townhouse not too far from where Phil's studio was.

"He still shows up at my studio once a week, we go get Vampire Penguin together. He's a weirdo, but he pays every time so I can't say no. Shaved ice is the best."

"That's cool. You haven't said anything about Stu's wedding, right?" Phil asked.

Stu had given us explicit directions to not tell Alan about the wedding being in Thailand.

"My lips are sealed. I do not want to get drugged at Stu's bachelor party."

"Haha. It sounds like something Alan would do."

"Lauren is amazing, isn't she? I am so happy that Stu found the right girl." I said

"Yeah, he did well. " Phil answered

"Why does it have to be all the way in Thailand though? It takes forever to get there. And besides, I'm sort of a nervous flyer" Phil said

"It'll be okay, I promise. We'll keep each other entertained," I told him as we pulled into Stu's dental office.

"Well, here we are. Divine Dentistry. The happiest place on earth." I said flatly, turning the car off.

"So who's going first?" Phil asked

"You are." I answered without missing a beat.

"What!?"

"I made the appointment, and I drove us here. Fair is fair."

"Damn it!" Phil swore.

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"You really need to floss more." Stu said seriously, leering over Phil with a tooth pick. I watched silently and eyed the dental tools. They did not look fun.

"Fuck that." Phil answered sarcastically.

"Everything else looks good. You have any questions?"

"Yeah, actually. Why is Thailand so far away? It takes like 3 weeks to get there." Phil answered, sitting up and taking the dentist bib off.

"Lauren's from there. It's like her homeland. And besides, it only takes 17 hours and it's beautiful when you get there."

"Still, it's a hassle."

"Oh stop your complaining. I can't get married without my best man!" Stu smiled, nudging Phil affectionately on the shoulder.

Stu then straightened up, becoming serious again.

"Oh yeah. Phil, I talked to my friend—the one whose the lawyer—and she gave me this form and wants me to have you to fill it out about what happened at Briar Ridge-."

I immediately saw Phil's spine stiffen.

Stu paused for a moment, but then continued. "if we want those people to get what they deserve for what they did, we have to state exactly what happened. "

Phil nodded and bit the inside of his cheek. Stu sighed and then placed the paper back on the desk.

"I know it's hard for you to think about…" he said in a soft voice, "but it's the only way we can make sure those bastards don't do this to anyone else. I'm going to make a statement too." He finished.

Phil nodded again, but didn't say anything.

I stepped forward, very aware of the tense silence between my two friends.

"It's going to be okay, Phil. I can help you, if you want. We don't have to worry about it until we get back, right?" I asked, looking from Phil to Stu.

Stu nodded, "Yeah. No rush at all. Anyways, Kate! You are up next!" Stu said, clapping his hands. This seemed to snap Phil out of his funk.

"Good luck, Kate. I hope you floss more than I do." He said with a smirk before getting up out of the chair.

I sat down nervously. "No offense Stu, but I hate the dentist. Try to be gentle, okay?" I asked, looking up at him.

Stu laughed manically and pulled out the largest dental drill on his tray.

"Don't worry, this wont hurt at all!" he chuckled.

I flinched out of the chair and took a few steps towards the door.

"WHAT?! You said it was only a check up!"

"Hey, how do I work this thing?"

"Phil. You don't. Kate, I'm kidding. Sit back down, its going to be fine. Jeez you guys are a bunch of babies. It's the dentist, not the room of torture." Stu grumbled, shaking his head.

"Aww just one hit!"

"Absolutely not."

The rest of the appointment went without a hitch—with the exception of Phil trying to steal Stu's prescription pad (he swore it was just a joke). As we were leaving, Stu handed me the yellow envelope.

"Make sure he does it, Kate. I think it'll be good for him, get him the closure he deserves. Oh, and on a completely different subject, my bachelor party is going to be tomorrow morning at the IHOP on 5th street. I know you are neither a man, nor a bachelor, but it wouldn't feel right without you." He said with a smile.

I nodded, " Sure thing. We'll see you then."

I kept the bajillion jabs about how lame an IHOP bachelor party was to myself and just smiled.

"Thanks Kate, you're the best."

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