Author's note:

Someone made a very good point in their review that dialogue taken straight from the show can get a little boring. So I need an opinion poll...should I paraphrase more of the dialogue? Replace it with my own? Keep it the same? Cut some scenes? Any ideas are appreciated! I'm intentionally not changing the arc of the story in this piece, but I am going to be adding memories and embellishments from Callie's POV. Really, this story is all about what Callie is thinking and feeling. I am going to be writing a new piece soon though, that takes place post-finale. with Callie and...a certain evil someone Any interest?

"Hey! Hey!" It comes out louder than I mean it to, but I keep running down the stairs until I catch him around the corner.

"Hi…what's your name?" I have to play this right. Boys want one thing, and I want another thing, and I have to play this right.

"Aiden," he replies, flashing a pearly white grin at me. The car boy has had braces.

"Aiden, right, it's nice to meet you." I smile and shake his hand.

"You new here?" He smiles back.

"Yeah. New girl." I can see my way in, and I go for it. My smile is stretched so wide I wonder if my lip is going to start bleeding again.

"Just moved here actually. I could really use someone to show me around…" I smile as attractively as I can. I do everything but bat my eyelashes at him, praying he's a sucker for a vulnerable, friendless new girl, even if I do have a broken face.

"That could be arranged," he's smiling really big now, and I'm turning cartwheels. I am so close.

"You have a car, right?" I ask him.

"Yep." He says it like he's clearly proud of it.

"Cool, um, well I was actually thinking about checking out San Ysidro this afternoon." I'm crossing my fingers so hard I think they might break.

"San Ysidro?" His expression changes. "Down by Tijuana?"

"Yeah! I hear it's cool there." I'm flirting so hard my self-esteem is shriveling like the Grinch's heart. I tell myself to stuff it.

"What are you, like, looking to party or something?" I can't read his voice now, and that makes me nervous. Have I actually just met the one boy who doesn't like a party girl? I have to do this carefully. I keep flirting but I try to backtrack a little.

"No," I say tentatively, "I just...I have someone I need to see there." I know the words are stupid the second they leave my mouth. I keep my smile big, but I could just kick myself. He thinks I'm using him to get to a boyfriend.

"Yeah…no thanks. Good luck." He turns away, and my heart falls as I watch my best chance at getting to Jude walk out the door.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I can only think of one thing left to do. Clearly if I'm going to get to Jude I have to throw my pride away with both hands. So I go outside and start to ask anybody I can find if there's a metro stop nearby. As I sit down at a picnic table two girls in cardigans take their trays and walk away before I can even finish the question.

Bitches.

I feel so defeated I want to just lean over and rest my forehead on the table, when Mariana plops down next to me.

"You going somewhere? Gotta meet your pimp?"

She is such a snot.

I narrow my eyes at her.

"What is your problem? Take too many of your brother's pills?"

That wipes the smile off her face. She looks at the ground.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna nark on you. I mean, your mom's a cop. That's gotta suck."

"I guess," she says noncommittally. "So, are you leaving?" That pulls me up. I didn't realize she'd overheard my question.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna nark on you," she says in a much kinder tone.

I relax a little.

"I just—I have some stuff I've got to take care of." It's the best explanation I can give her. "Sorry. It's better if you don't know. That way if your mom—moms start asking you questions…" She may be a snob, but I bet she's not entirely devoid of feelings or a conscience. She'd probably get her flowery panties in a bunch if she knew where I was going. And she'd definitely tell her moms.

To my surprise, she accepts that. The bell rings and I start to get up, but she stops me.

"If it were me?" she says knowingly, "I'd make sure to go out the back way. Lena's office looks out over the front entrance, and there's a bus stop three blocks from here." She smiles at me and walks away.

I stare after her in surprise. Why did she tell me that? I'm sure she's thrilled at the prospect of me going away and leaving her happy little family alone. But…could she genuinely be trying to help me? Have we developed some kind of bad-girl camaraderie?

I shove the thoughts aside. It doesn't matter. For whatever reason, she gave me what I needed.