Chapter 7- The Pity Party

On the bright side, being grounded meant I couldn't go to parties I didn't want to go to.

"Sure you can!" Zara and Layla kept insisting. "Just sneak out!"

"I can't!" They didn't understand that was next to impossible in a small town like Radiator Springs where not only everyone knows everyone, but everyone knows everyone's business. There was no way I could sneak out without getting caught by someone. Besides, my family hadn't exactly been happy with me lately because I went out racing against their wishes and then got my ears pierced without permission. I didn't want to upset them any more than I already had.

Apart from pressuring me to sneak out to come with them to parties, Zara and Layla were nice to me for the next few months.

"Hey, Fudge!" they greeted me with warm smiles. "How's it going?"

"Good", I answered.

"Been to any good parties lately?"

At first, my answer had been an annoyed, "No. I'm grounded, remember?" Then when that was over (by which point, I'd removed my earrings and wasn't putting them back in, no matter how much Zara and Layla begged), I'd either tell them, "Yeah. A few", or, "No. Not really."

"You look very nice today... Is that a new T-shirt?"

"Thanks... And no. I wore this T-shirt last week."

I would be polite to them, but I was cautious too. I didn't want them pushing me into any more dumb decisions. If we were still going to be friends, it was just going to have to be on my terms now.

We continued to hang out (when they seemed to have a lot of days off school for teachers' meetings). That would often be at the mall. If I'm being honest, I would get pretty bored while they shopped for clothes and shoes for Layla, stylish rims or decals for Zara and makeup. That just wasn't me. Still, Zara and Layla were my friends and I was just gonna have to grin and bear it.

"Maybe we can go to Typo now", I suggested as we left our fifth clothing store for the afternoon.

They stared at me as if I were crazy.

"Typo?" Zara repeated. "The stationery store?"

"Yeah!" I answered. "They have really cool stuff!"

They looked at each other.

"Remember why we're doing this", Zara whispered to Layla.

"This better be worth it", Layla muttered back. Then, louder, she added. "Sure. Come on. Let's go to Typo."

At least, I think that's how their conversation went. It was hard to tell when they were muttering.

"You like to write, do you?" Layla asked me.

"Yeah", I repeated. "I thought I told you that... Haven't you ever seen me write?" Sometimes, I would bring my journal or the exercise book where I wrote stories to youth group.

Layla shrugged. "I guess. I just assumed it was homework."

"I don't know anyone who reads or writes for fun", Zara added. "It's too much work."

That didn't surprise me. I was sure their idea of studying was figuring out how they would look with this particular makeup on. There's something that bothers me about people who say they don't like to read as well. Sometimes, I feel like it shows a lack of intelligence. Still, I decided to just shrug it off.

"So, what do you write about?" Layla asked me.

I told them as we walked towards Typo, but I don't think either one was really listening.

As I browsed through the collection of exercise books (I have way more than I need, but Typo's are so nice, I can't help myself!), I remembered something.

"I almost forgot!" I exclaimed abruptly. "Lightning and I got invited to the launch of Tyre Trackz's new album." Tyre Trackz was an up-and-coming DJ, who sounded very cool. He'd invited a lot of famous singers, actors and athletes to the launch of his new album in an attempt to draw as much of a crowd as possible. "There's gonna be a huge party in LA. And I get to invite two guests... Do you guys wanna come?"

Zara and Layla's faces lit up. "Yes! When is it?"

I gave them all of the details about when and how we were getting there.

They nodded. "Okay! Can't wait!"

I couldn't wait either.

Unfortunately, I was going to regret that decision big time.

The party was taking place in Tyre Trackz's mansion in Beverly Hills, which had been decorated to look more glamourous than usual for the party. The ballroom had been set up for dancing and for dining. There was a large pool where people were already splashing and shrieking (I'd been told to bring my bathing suit and was excited to get in the pool). Loud music was pulsing through several speakers. Tyre Trackz's album was going to come on later. The noise and the crowds made me feel nervous and overwhelmed, but I was definitely excited too.

"This place is amazing!" I exclaimed as I saw the place.

I turned to look at Zara and Layla to see what they thought. They seemed to be marvelling over everything like I was. Then it wasn't the scenery that held their interest, but the celebrities.

"Oh, my God!" Zara screeched like a pterodactyl. "Look at that! No way! Oh, my f**king God! Is that Ed Gearan?!"

I nodded. "Yeah, it is."

Squealing all the way, the two raced off to get selfies with him.

Lightning cringed. "Only dogs can hear them now!" he groaned.

I didn't like how Zara and Layla had just forgotten about me, but I chalked it up to excitement. I guess I couldn't blame them for that.

"Hey, McQueen!" a familiar voice called out.

"Cal!" Lightning shouted. "Come on, Fudge!" He led me to greet Cal Weathers, who was chattering away with The King, Tex and Bobby Swift.

I didn't really see Zara and Layla much that night. I went around, talking to celebrities and I'd always see them on the opposite side of the room to me, squealing and getting selfies with everyone. Even though I knew they were probably just excited, I couldn't help feeling a little hurt that they didn't want anything to do with me anymore. If they were grateful for my invitation to them, not once did they say so.

"Hey, Fudge!" an orange and white plane greeted me. "McQueen said you'd be here! I've been looking for you!"

"Hi, Dusty!" I'd met Dusty Crophopper once before on the set of The Brent Mustangburger Show where Lightning and I were being interviewed after my accident and Dusty was being interviewed after winning the Wings Around the Globe Rally.

"How are you doing? You look a lot better than the last time I saw you!"

I could walk a little bit then, but not very well yet. "Yeah. I can walk properly now. I mean, I still can't race and I miss it, but I'm happy with where I am... So, how's your racing going?"

"Great!" Dusty replied. "I'm really starting to feel like an equal in the racing world. Even if I am a crop duster."

"Glad to hear it!"

I talked to Dusty a little while longer before sitting down. I was exhausted from moving around too much and wanted to get my energy back up before going for a swim. As I gazed down at the other end of the room, guess who I saw talking to Dusty Crophopper! That's right! Zara and Layla!

Lightning approached me. "You all right, Fudge?"

I let out a sigh. "Yeah."

"Something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm fine", I insisted, not wanting to talk about it.

"That was a pretty big sigh for someone who's fine", he informed me with a little chuckle. He looked around. "Where are Zara and Layla?"

"Over there." I pointed.

"Oh... Come on. I gotta go and say hi to Francesco. Why don't you come with me?" my brother suggested.

"Francesco's here?!" This was news to me; I couldn't believe how many celebrities Tyre Trackz had managed to get.

"Yeah, he's here", Lightning confirmed. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, though. Come with me. He'll want to see you."

"Okay", I agreed, getting up.

Catching up with Francesco was fun. He was his usual cocky self, chatting to Lightning about how much he wanted to beat him in a race. He was also concerned about how I was going with my recovery, but I assured him everything was fine. Talking to him helped me forget my issues with Zara and Layla for a while.

The only time I really saw them that night was when I got in the pool and Tyre Trackz had put on his new album. Mater, Lightning and I were three of the many people splashing in the pool as we listened. Zara and Layla were two of the many people dancing poolside as they listened to the album. A volleyball game had been set up in the pool too and Mater was really into it. He was sending really wild serves and that was unfortunate for Layla.

"Heads up!" I hollered as the tow truck's serve sailed over the opposing team's heads/roofs.

The ball smacked down at the other end of the pool as water shot up into the air and showered people at the front of the crowd. Two of those people were Zara and Layla and the latter was horrified to find her professionally done hair and makeup and her short black dress absolutely drenched. She burst into tears. Then she sent some choice words Mater's way, leaving him utterly speechless.

"I'm sorry!" the tow truck managed finally. "I didn't mean to-"

"Forget it! You're so dim-witted you probably don't understand what I'm saying anyways! Look at you! How horrible you are with all that rust! You don't know how hard it is to look this beautiful!"

There was a moment of shocked silence.

"Out of my way!" the blonde teen ordered, shoving everyone aside. "I need to see if my outfit can be salvaged!"

Everyone watched her storm off with Zara following. Then we all just shrugged it off and went back to the party.

To be honest, I don't know how Layla was feeling later on because I seemed to be getting mixed signals from her on the way home. On one hand, she seemed excited because the fact that she was in tears had drawn more celebrities to her. She and Zara were comparing notes and selfies from the nights with great delight. On the other hand, though, she still seemed upset by what happened, especially since her hair and makeup looked less than perfect in her selfies. She and Zara wouldn't talk to me, though. Were they mad at me for what Mater did? Maybe. Or just excited about all the celebrities? Could be. I had a suspicion it was both. We couldn't drop them off fast enough.

Four days later, it was Tuesday, which meant another day at the youth group. For once, I was late due to a minor car accident on the freeway, causing traffic. That meant for the first time, Zara and Layla were there before I was. (They were always late.)

"Hi, guys!" I greeted them as I approached the two girls with their faces in their phones.

Even though I had a suspicion they might still be mad at me, I was still expecting some kind of response, even if it was just to talk about all of the famous people they met at the party. However, neither one of them could drag their eyeballs away from their phones.

"Is this about what Mater did at the party?" I questioned, taking the seat next to them. "I-"

Before I could finish, they moved to different seats. I wasn't about to follow them. They'd probably move again. Then Katie and Rachel would just scold all three of us, reminding us, "This isn't musical chairs." I would just have to do my assignments on my own.

The rest of the day went downhill from there. Later on that day, we played a game of soccer with Zara and Layla as captains. Normally, I'd be the first one picked for teams (knowing Lightning McQueen had made me very popular amongst all the kids), but neither Zara nor Layla picked me at all. Layla just got stuck with me at the end, when all the other kids had lined up with their respective captain. Zara and Layla didn't cheer for me, even when anybody else did. I'd tried to approach them after the game during snack time. That earned me an outfit covered in hummus and a, "F**k off!" I didn't like this one bit.

That wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was what I heard when I was in the bathroom at the end of the session.

"Did you see the look on Fudge's face when I picked Aaron first?" Zara laughed. "Like, I'm not gonna pick you first every time, Fudge."

"I know!" Layla chimed in. "And we won't do it again! Oh, my God! She was so f**king weird! Every time we hung out with her was like f**king torture."

"Sometimes, like, I wasn't even sure if it was worth it", Zara went on. "I don't think I would've enjoyed that party without my f**king sanity! You're right! She was weird and she's fugly too!"

Fugly?! They thought I was f**king ugly!

"It sucks! I'd wanna go to another party like that again, but I don't think I can do it! Another day with that freak!"

"Oh, well", Zara tried to console her. "At least that made the one time special."

As they went on insulting me and my family from Radiator Springs (except for Lightning, of course), I felt tears sting my eyes. I simply couldn't believe it. Zara and Layla had used me! They didn't care about me and they never did! All they cared about was getting to races and fancy parties. As soon as they were gone, I burst into tears. Of course, I was hurt and angry at them, but I was also mad at myself. Zara and Layla were just the latest in a large collection of so-called friends, who had just screwed me over. Why did I fall for it every time? How could I be so naïve? What was wrong with me?!

Didn't I deserve friends?

A week later, after Lightning had told them off for what they did to me, Zara and Layla never came back to the youth group. That was absolutely fine with me. Great, even. I never wanted to see them ever again (and three years later, I still haven't).

That was when I really began to develop trust issues. I wanted to promise myself that I would never be fooled by that kind of behaviour again. With Zara and Layla out of the picture, everyone at the youth group wanted to be my friend.

"Fudge! How was you weekend?!"

"You must've done a good job as the crew chief at the last race! Lightning's win was incredible!"

"Fudge! Sit with us!"

I felt bad for ignoring them all, but I had to. They don't care about me, I reminded myself. They just want to get to know Lightning McQueen! And any other celebrities! I plonked myself at a table by myself. Some kids came over to sit with me, but I made no acknowledgement.

"What's her problem?" I heard a blue Toyota Corolla named Laura ask the others.

Her friend, Melanie, a purple Mini Cooper, made a face. "She probably just thinks she's too good for us!"

"Yeah!" their other friend, a four-eyed pink forklift called Brooke, added. "Now that the cool girls stopped paying attention to her, she doesn't think we're worthy of talking to."

"Yeah, she only talks to Lightning McQueen now!" Jordan, a yellow Mustang GT, chimed in with a smug grin.

Henry, a human boy with brown hair, snorted rudely. "Yeah! Just 'cause we're not famous race cars like Lightning McQueen, that doesn't mean we don't have feelings!"

That just made me feel worse. I felt like shouting at them that they had it all wrong and that I really did want to make friends, but I couldn't do that. The whole idea was that I didn't talk to them and didn't make friends with them. That especially made me feel bad when I thought of Lightning and that was how he had acted when Carl and Oliver had betrayed him.

"I told myself I couldn't count on anyone", Lightning had explained. "Everyone wanted to be my friend. But I just backed away. After what happened with Carl and Oliver, I wasn't about to make friends with anyone."

How did that work out for Lightning? He had nobody. He was all alone. At least, until he showed up in Radiator Springs. I didn't want to end up like that.

I tried to convince myself that it wasn't the same thing, though. I remembered what else Lightning had told us.

"Yes. There are Carls and Olivers out there in the world, but there are Maters and Fudges and Sarges and Fillmores too. And Docs and Sallys. People I can count on."

See? It was different. I had people I could count on: my family in Radiator Springs. Still, it would be nice to have a friend of my own that I could count on.

However, after many failed attempts, I knew that I just didn't deserve that.