The whole school day, we ran around ragged. Kristy had a special meeting she was attending for the SHS sports program at lunch, so she didn't get to tell me what she had heard then. But she was going to come over to my house for the afternoon to work on a history project with me, so I figured she'd tell me that afternoon. Still, I was in suspense.

As soon as we were out the door, Claudia walking with us, I said abruptly, "Okay Kristy, out with it. What was it that you heard?"

Claudia looked justifiably confused, and Kristy looked amused. "Whoa, who's the forceful one now?"

I rolled my eyes. 'C'mon Kristy."

She smiled. "Alright. Well, I heard that Logan was going to ask you to the dance."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "What?"

She shrugged. "It's just a rumor, after all. And you know how fast things spread and get out of hand in Stoneybrook."

Claudia nodded. "That's very true."

"I guess so. But why..." I stopped myself. Of course. Logan wanted me back. He'd been making it perfectly obvious the past few weeks.

"It's not like he can do anything now, though," Kristy reminded me. "He's too late."

"What are you talking about, Kristy?" Claudia asked.

"Ask Mary Anne," she said. "Or, shall I say, the future Mrs. Retlin?"

I rolled my eyes.

"WHAT?!" Claudia exclaimed. "You're going to the dance with Cary?!"

"Is that bad?" I asked nervously.

"No, no," she answered, smiling. "You can double-date with Alan and me."

Kristy snorted. Cary and Alan were not, to put it lightly, her favorite people.

"Oh, come on," Claudia said, putting her hand on Kristy's shoulder. "Lighten up!"

"Hey, if you want, you can invite someone and we could make it a triple," I joked. Kristy wouldn't spend more time with Cary and Alan than necessary, even if they were our dates.

Now it was Kristy's turn to roll her eyes. "Yeah, right. Anyway, I don't think that Logan will be so happy about your date, Mary Anne."

"Oh, who cares?" I said, more brusquely than I expected. "It's been over for a long time between us."

"So you don't care about him at all?" Kristy asked, searching my eyes for the truth.

I hesitated. "Well, I'll always care about him, a little. But I have no intention of ever dating him again."

"Well," Kristy said, pleased. "I think I have a Great Idea."

"Oh no!" Claudia cried out in mock horror as we arrived at her house. "Luckily, I get to escape. Stay strong, Mary Anne!"

"Bye!" I called. Turning to Kristy, I said, "What's your idea?"

"I know a way to get Logan off your back."

"It's not mean, is it?" I said nervously. I may not have wanted to date Logan, but he didn't deserve to be punished.

"Oh no," she said. "Nothing like that."