Part Two:

Well, Miranda couldn't help being freaked out. I can't like Brenda! she thought.

Brenda's a girl! That's so...

But then, Miranda remembered a time when she was 10. She was sleeping over at

Lizzie's house, and they were in her room changing into their pajamas. Lizzie

had taken off her shirt, and Miranda just looked at her chest. Lizzie hadn't noticed,

but Miranda couldn't stop thinking about it. Luckily, Lizzie turned around to change

into her pajama bottoms, so Miranda didn't see anything eles.

So I stared at Lizzie's chest when I was ten! Miranda thought. That's doesn't make me,

um, a lesbian or something, does it?

But the more Miranda thought about it, the more she couldn't help thinking: maybe I am

a lesbian.

When class was over, Miranda quickly went over to her blue-haired friend, leaving Lizzie

behind. "Hey, Brenda!" she said.

Brenda smiled. She has a great smile, Miranda thought. "Hey, Mira." She calls me Mira!

I love that! "So," she said, as they headed into the hall, are you gonna eat lunch

with me today?"

Wouldn't miss it for the world, Miranda thought. She said, "Yeah." But then she remembered

Lizzie. "Um...do you mind if Lizzie sits with us? Gordo isn't here today, and..."

"Oh," Brenda said. Is she disapointed? Miranda thought. But Brenda cheered up. "Hey, the

more the merrier, right? Same table as before?"

"You bet." And the girls parted ways.

"Miranda!" Lizzie called, impatient. Miranda cringed. Oops, forgot her...just like she's

been forgetting me.

"Sorry, Lizzie. Hey, you wanna eat lunch with me and Brenda today?"

"The blue-haired girl?" Lizzie seeemed wary.

"I've been eating lunch with her a lot lately." You just haven't noticed because you

are Gordo are too lovey-dovey. "She's really nice, Lizzie. You should meet her."

"Okay," Lizzie said. She hid her disapointment. She still felt guilty about shutting

Miranda out lately, and had wanted to eat lunch with just her that day. Maybe Brenda

is her new best friend now, Lizzie thought. Serves me right.

They met Brenda at her table at lunch. "Hey, Mira!" Lizzie thought, Mira? Whose Mira?

"Hi, Lizzie."

"Hi," Lizzie said, ever the nice one. But that was all she got to say to Brenda all

during lunch. She and Miranda immediatly launched into some conversation about a Canadian

TV show that Lizzie had never heard of. She felt so left out.

"Did you see the episode where Marco comes out of the closet?" Brenda said. "I love that

one."

"I missed it," Miranda said. She was interested.

"Yeah, it's a good one. I think it'll be on on Friday," Brenda said, biting into her

granola bar. Brenda was a health freak. "I totally respect people who are brave enough

to come out."

"Seriously?" Miranda started to hope, Does she feel the same way I do?

"Yeah," Brenda said. "I mean, why hide your feelings, you know?"

"I know," Miranda said. And they shared a very meaningful look. Miranda wasn't sure how

to take it. Does that mean she...

Lizzie didn't notice the girls' connection. She was too busy munching her fries and

staring off into space, thinking about Gordo. Sigh.

After school, Lizzie went home quickly and called Gordo. He sounded hoarse. "Please tell

me you're coming to school tomorrow!"

"I dunno," Gordo said. "I still don't feel too good..."

"Oh, man!" Lizzie said. "I don't know if I can take it anymore! I ate lunch with

Miranda and that new girl, Brenda, today. And they totally ignored me!"

Gordo got real quiet before saying, "Now I guess you know who Miranda must've felt."

"Yeah," Lizzie said. "I didn't realize how rude I'd been until today. Miranda looked totally

upset, and I had no idea why because...I've been a horrible friend."

"Lizzie..." Gordo didn't like to hear his girlfriend so upset. "It's not all your fault.

It's mine, too. We should make it up to her."

Lizzie felt tears fill her eyes. "It might be too late. Brenda is her new best friend."

When Lizzie got off the phone, she was so depressed.

Meanwhile, Miranda was happy. It was like she and Lizzie had switched emotions that day.

After school, she went to Brenda's house to study for a math test. They both sucked at the

subject, but they figured they could help each other.

But instead of studying, they listened to music in Brenda's room. She was into oldies,

music that was made around the same time a lot of her shirts were. Right then, they

were listening to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" album. Brenda liked record players

better then CD players. "You get the real sound," she'd once said when Miranda first came

over.

The record player, and a lot of Brenda's CD's, had belonged to her dad. He'd left them to

her when he'd died the year before. That's why she and her Mom and older brother Jude had

moved.

Brenda stood in front of her full-length mirror. Urg, she thought. I'm so fucking fat.

She didn't say this out loud: she didn't want Miranda to launch into a big, "You are so

not fat you're a fucking stick" speech that all her old friends used to say.

Mira is so cool, Brenda thought. She looked above her reflection to see Miranda, sitting on

the bed, reading a magazine. Brenda had been wondering lately if she was attracted to

Miranda as more then a friend. It wouldn't have been her first girl crush: she'd had

a crush on a girl at her old school, too. This girl had found out, and been disgusted. "Yuck,

I can't believe a dike likes me!" she'd yelled out when a friend told her.

Luckily, it was one of the last days of school, and Brenda's family had moved that summer.

I can't let Mira find out how I feel about her, Brenda thought. I don't want to lose

her as a friend. She decided that she'd rather keep her feelings hidden and get to

hang out with Miranda then to tell her and have Miranda hate her.

"So," Brenda said, "I think I might get my tongue pierced," Brenda said. Miranda looked up.

"Really? That'd be cool. But...would your mom let you?"

Brenda smiled sadly and sat down on the bed. "The only good thing about having a parent die

is that the other parent bends over backwords to please you." Miranda felt so bad for her:

it must be so hard to lose a parent, she thought.

"Besides," Brenda said, recovering. "My birthday is coming up. My mom will let me do

it as a present."

"Oh, are you going to have a party?"

"I haven't made very many friends here so far," Brenda said. "I wonder why that is?" She was

always joking that everyone was intimidated by her style. "But maybe I'll have a small little

thing. I could invite you, of course. And your friends, Lizzie and Gordo," she added.

"You don't have to..." Miranda said. She knew that Brenda and Lizzie hadn't really clicked.

Brenda seemed to read her mind.

"I haven't gotten to know Lizzie yet, but Gordo is cool. I think I'll invite Parker-"

"EW!" Miranda exclaimed.

"What? Parker's not that bad."

"If you say so."

If Mira doesn't want me to invite Parker, then I won't, Brenda decided. Then an idea

came to her.

"I'm actually not in much of a party mood," she said. "And I don't know if my

mom would be up for it. But maybe we could do something...just the two of us."

Miranda felt like her dreams had come true. Just the two of us... "Sure, whatever you

want to do is cool with me."

Brenda smiled. "Well, I'll think about it later. We better get back to math now."

The girls tried to study, but the thought of the coming event made them both

very distracted.

In a good way.

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