LIZZIE

I walked up to Kelsey the next day before school started. "I was at the Digital Bean last night," I said. "And you weren't."

"Don't talk to me," she said. Kelsey began to talk away.

I grabbed her arm. "Don't walk away from me when I am talking to you. Why weren't you there?"

"I didn't want to be. Do you have a problem with that?"

"I do when I'm waiting for you for an hour and a half!"

"Excuse me, but this is between me and Gordo. Go stick your pretty blond head somewhere else."

"I won't," I replied, angry now. "Because Gordo's my friend and I waited with him and you weren't there."

"What do you want from me?" she demanded.

"An apology!"

"Well you won't get it. You think I wasn't there on accident?"

I was so angry I wanted to slap her. She stood him up on purpose!

"You weren't worth the time," I said.

"Then why did you wait?" she asked smugly.

"Because friends are there for each other when they need it. I wouldn't expect a creature like you to understand that, though."

"Kelsey?"

I turned. Behind me stood Gordo.

"If this is a freak meeting, I really don't want to interrupt," she said harshly. Kelsey shook free of my grip and stomped away.

I turned and looked at Gordo. I felt so bad for him, he must have been crushed. He really liked Kelsey, and she turned out to be a monster.

"Gordo…"

He shook his head. "The whole thing was stupid. I never should have gotten so wrapped up in it. I never should have started dating her in the first place."

"Are you going to be OK?" I asked.

He smiled weakly. I could tell it was forced. "As long as I have friends like you I will. You didn't have to talk to her."

"How much did you hear?"

"I walked in where she asked you why you waited, and you told her that friends do that for friends. You didn't like her, but you waited with me and I appreciate it."

"Kelsey's a jerk. Forget about her."

"Well, now you tell me. I should have been able to tell, though. She sucked up to me an awful lot. She was trying too hard."

I hugged him. "I'm sorry. I really am."

"That's OK."

~*~

After school I wanted to confront her again. I wasn't satisfied with our previous meeting, and I really wanted to know why she dumped Gordo.

I saw her at her locker right after school and walked up to her. "Just tell me why," I said.

"Why what?" she asked.

"You know what. Don't play dumb with me. Why you stood him up. If you wanted to dump him, fine, but don't get guys' hopes up like that."

Kelsey chuckled. "Are you kidding me? That was the point. It isn't clear to you yet? This was all planned. All of it, from the first letter."

I felt like she'd just punched me in the stomach. This was all a big plot? Poor Gordo, I thought. He's going to be crushed.

"What kind of monster would think of something like that?"

She smiled. "My new friend Kate. She wanted one thing from me before I was welcomed into her circle of pretty, popular friends. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go."

I glared after her. Kate. Behind every bad story there's the same name: Kate Sanders.

I went back to Gordo's locker where he was talking with Miranda. "Kate thought of it," I said. They both turned to look at me.

"What?" Miranda asked.

"The whole thing was Kate's idea. She was always planning to dump you, Gordo. I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "In teenage relationships, every single one is guaranteed to come to an end. We aren't going to meet the person we marry until our 20s, most likely. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later."

"Are you sure you're going to be fine?" Miranda asked.

He nodded. "Like I told Lizzie, I'll be fine while I have friends like you guys."