"Jessica, what are you doing?" Lila said coming
up behind her.
"Ssshh!" Jessica hissed as she flattened herself up against the
side of the trophy case.
"Is Elizabeth on your back?"
"No," Jessica whispered. Suddenly Ken walked past and Lila
snickered.
"Are you hiding from Ken?"
"No," Jessica lied. "Alright fine…yes, I'm hiding from
Ken."
"Dare I ask why?" Lila said trying to hold back laughter.
"I think you may be right…about him liking me."
"What tipped you off?"
Jessica started walking down the hall towards her locker. "He called
me last night and sounded really weird. He kept asking me about
Jason and if I still liked him."
"I told you!" Lila said triumphant. "So, did he ask you
out?"
"I think he wanted to," Jessica said opening her locker. "He kept
hinting
that the new Ben Affleck movie was playing."
"So, you didn't pick up the hint until now?" Lila asked confused.
"No, I kind of said I had a French test to study for and quickly hung
up."
"What?" Lila screeched. "You never study for French!"
"I know," Jessica said running her fingers through her hair.
"Listen, I'm
just not sure I like Ken like that. I mean, he's a great guy and an
awesome friend. I'm just not sure I have…feelings for him. Plus, I don't
want to ruin our friendship."
"But you guys would make a great couple," Lila pointed out. "Can
you see
it, the football captain and the cheerleading co-captain. It's like a
match
made in a bad clichéd eighties movie!"
"I know," Jessica said smiling slightly. "He's a great guy and
he's really,
really cute. I just…I don't know."
"So you're going to hide from him from now on?"
"I've only been doing it for four days now!" Jessica said
defensively.
"That's three days too many," Lila said rolling her eyes.
"Alright, fine. I'll talk to him tomorrow. Maybe we can go to the Dari
Burger
or something platonic like that."
"Sounds good," Lila agreed. "Plus you need to make up for the
fact that
you've been dodging him all week. The guy's not stupid, if you've been
hiding like you did today all week, he's probably noticed."
"So, who are you going to choose?" Enid asked as
she took a bite of
her sandwich.
"I have no idea!" Elizabeth said picking at her salad. "I like
them both
so much."
"I think you should pick Todd," Enid said carefully. "You guys
have
something really special."
"I know," Elizabeth said pulling out her math book. "I love him
so much,
Enid. We've been through so much together and he's one of my best
friends." She opened her book a piece of paper fluttered out. Elizabeth
turned it over and read:
Liz,
You mean more to me than anyone else. I know you've been busy lately, but I
miss you. I will always be there for you and I consider myself the luckiest
guy in the world. I will always love you. –Todd
Elizabeth felt tears form in here eyes. How could Todd be
this sweet
when she was cheating on him? He didn't even have a clue that
something was wrong. "Enid, I have to go," Elizabeth said quickly
as she picked up her bag. "I'll talk to you later." She hurried over
to
where Todd was sitting with his friends and she grabbed his shoulder.
"Todd, I need to talk to you…alone."
"Okay," Todd said confused, but he allowed himself to be pulled
outside
into the deserted courtyard.
"I got your note, it was really sweet," she said looking into his
eyes.
Todd grinned. "I meant every word. I've really missed you, Liz." He
grabbed
her hand. "It seems like these past two weeks…it feels like you're
slipping
away from me, Liz. Maybe I'm just being paranoid…but it seems like
you're not really all here. And plus, I have no idea what's wrong. Last
week you were all depressed and I had no idea what to do."
"Things have been really…confusing lately," Elizabeth admitted.
"I'm
just all messed up."
"You know that you can always come to me," Todd said, sitting down on
the bench.
"I know, I just didn't think you would understand…I hardly understood
what
I was feeling."
"Is this why you started dressing and acting like Jessica?"
"Partly," Elizabeth admitted. "I was just so sick of being
boring,
dependable Liz."
"You're not boring," Todd said smiling at her softly. "And what
is wrong with
being dependable? That's one of your best qualities. Plus, the last thing
the world needs is another Jessica. One is enough! Also, why would
you want to be shallow and superficial…"
"Hey," Elizabeth said, poking him in the side. "That's my
sister you're
talking about."
"Was it fun…being like her?" Todd asked, looking deep into her eyes.
"Some parts," Elizabeth said carefully, thinking about Conner.
"But I think
I'm ready to be me again."
Todd gave her a hug and she felt tears roll down her cheeks. Suddenly,
she knew what she had to do.
"Do you want to go out on Friday?" Todd asked her.
"I'm sorry, there's something I have to do," Elizabeth said
apologetically.
Then she stood up and walked back into the cafeteria.
