Allie was really excited about going over to Joey's, later that night. She sat in front of the TV in the living room and watched the commercials that advertised all of the New Year's Eve celebrations coming on that night. As she watched TV, Allie's thoughts started to drift back to all of the things that she had gone through over the past year. For the first time, in a long time, she felt like she had finally reached a place in her life where she could truly handle everything that had been going on in her life. She also realized that maybe it was okay to lean on her friends, every once in awhile, for support.
"Speaking of friends," Allie thought to herself, "I haven't seen Kendra since before Christmas. I think I'll see what she's been up to."
Allie went and put on her coat, hats, and boots and left to go over to her friend's house. As she walked down the sidewalk, she thought about Kendra and how she and Toby had been through their ups and downs this past year. Even though Kendra had told her that she and Toby were just friends now, Allie wondered if it would stay that way?
"Toby can act really dumb," Allie thought to herself, "but he can also be a really good friend sometimes. Still, Kendra might have a point. People change and sometimes they grow apart, just like Emma and Sean. Then, you have some people that just seem like they're meant for each other, like Brandy and Jamal."
Allie continued to think about all of her friends' relationships as she walked in the cold, crisp air. Pretty soon, she had made it to Kendra's house. Allie went up to the door and rang the doorbell. She expected Kendra to answer it, but was kind of surprised when her older brother came to the door.
"Hi, Spinner. Is Kendra busy?"
"No, she's in the kitchen. She and Brandy are sitting in there, they just got back from playing basketball at the gym." Spinner said as he let Allie in. He then went back to watching TV in the family room.
Allie walked back to the kitchen and saw Brandy and Kendra sitting there, finishing their sports drinks and, apparently, talking about their game.
"I can't believe we lost by only two points." Kendra said.
"That other team got lucky, hitting a three at the end of the game." Brandy added, "Besides, at least we can be happy it was only a pick up game."
"Yeah, but it'll probably be my last game for awhile. I decided to go out for gymnastics and I'll probably be spending most of my free time practicing for that." Kendra told Brandy.
"Hey guys." Allie said as she entered the room.
"Hey, what's up Allie?" Brandy said as she greeted her.
"I just came by to see how Kendra was doing, but I'm glad you're still here Brandy." Allie replied.
"We just got back from the gym." Kendra said.
"Yeah, Spinner told me." Allie responded.
"So, Nadia said you came by her house the other day?" Kendra asked Allie.
"Yeah, she showed me her new necklace. Lee is so sweet to give her such a beautiful gift. Why can't all guys be romantic like that?" Allie replied.
"Probably because he's the exception to the rule." Brandy stated, "Jamal is a wonderful guy and he really tries, but like most guys, he doesn't get it most of the time."
"What do you mean?" Allie asked her.
"Well, before Christmas, I told him that I wanted to go see a movie with a nice love story in it, hinting I'd like him to take me to see a romantic movie." Brandy told them, "Guess what he does?"
"What?" Kendra asked.
"He rents Spider-man and brings it over to my house. When I tell him that's not what I meant, he asks why? He says it has a love story in it. I just couldn't believe he was that clueless." Brandy said, shaking her head.
"Well, it sounds romantic enough to me." Kendra said.
"For you, I'm sure it is. But your idea of a romantic movie is probably different from most girls." Brandy replied, "Plus after you threatened to beat Toby up last year, you definitely don't have to worry about him getting too affectionate with you."
"Toby deserved it." Kendra told them, "He should've come and talked to me before he and 'Beavis' decided to go and buy that truckload of condoms. He's lucky that all I did was just threaten him."
"And what would you have done if he had come and talked to you first?" Brandy asked her.
"I would have told him, in a nice way, that I was only twelve years old and that I wasn't ready for that yet." Kendra said in her most polite voice.
"I just bet you would've been that calm about it." Allie said.
"So, is 'Casanova' going to bring you to Jimmy's party tonight?" Kendra asked Brandy.
"Yeah, he said we were definitely going." Brandy answered, "Why don't you come with us Allie? Everybody's going to be there."
"I'd love to, but I can't. I've actually made other plans already." Allie answered.
"Really. And what would that be?" Kendra asked curiously.
"I'm going over to Craig's house tonight." Allie responded.
"Tell me that you're joking!" Kendra exclaimed.
"I'm going over to spend time with him and his family, so just calm down 'Miss Runaway Imagination'." Allie replied, understanding the reason Kendra reacted the way that she did.
"Craig's not going to Jimmy's party?" Brandy asked Allie.
"No, he said he doesn't feel like being around everyone from school, just yet." Allie answered.
"He shouldn't, especially after the way he treated Ashley." Kendra said, still angry at the way Craig hurt her friend.
"Craig's really sorry about what he did. He feels horrible about the way he hurt Ashley and Manny." Allie told them.
"Well, I'm sorry if I don't have much sympathy for him at the moment." Kendra responded.
"Listen to you two, you'd think Craig had cheated on the both of you." Brandy pointed out.
"Well, I don't think anybody's going to forget what he did anytime soon." Kendra replied
"Yeah, Craig is going to go down as a legend. Two girls, at the same time, unbelievable!" Spinner said as he entered the kitchen to get something to drink.
"I can't believe you're actually proud of what Craig did." Kendra said to her brother.
"What? I said he was going to be a legend, and he is. Look at the way you all are still talking about him." Spinner said, defending his position.
"So you think it's okay to cheat on your girlfriend?" Brandy asked him.
"Not in my case. But in Craig's case, he wasn't sure which girl was the right one, so he was trying them both on to see which one was a better fit." Spinner continued.
"In that case, he should've broken up with one of them, instead of leading them both on." Kendra said to him.
"But what if he made the wrong choice? He was just hedging his bet a little by not making a hasty decision." Spinner said.
"I don't believe you. You know what Spinner, you're acting like a total pig!" Kendra said to him.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but calling me farm animals will never hurt me." Spinner said as he smiled and walked back into the living room.
"You know everybody's angry at Craig, but Manny could've stopped seeing Craig at anytime." Allie said.
"I know, and I'm more disappointed in her than anything. I knew she had changed, but I didn't think she would do something like that." Kendra told them, " Looking back, I should've known something was up. Craig was always hanging around the skating rink when we were getting ready for the Ice Festival. But I gave Manny and Craig more credit than that."
"You know what they say about hindsight, it's 20/20." Allie said, thinking about Craig's, and her own, decisions during the past year.
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Next Chapter: Out with the Old, in with the New…
