Chapter 2. Enjoy the angst.

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Miranda Sanchez stood at the Gordon's front door, sporting a ponytail, wearing blue jeans, holding her skateboard. "Hi, Mrs. G! Is David home?"

Mrs. Gordon rolled her eyes. "Yes, he is, dear, but he's moping. He says he doesn't want to see anyone today."

Miranda frowned. "Why not?"

"It appears he and Nicole had a bit of a falling out last night. He's made a conscious decision to wallow in self pity."

Miranda raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? And do you, as a psychiatrist, think it's healthy for him to wallow in self pity?"

"No, of course not, but…" Here Mrs. Gordon stopped and took a long, hard look at Miranda. Miranda had been Gordo's friend since first grade, and she was a girl who had a good head on her shoulders.

"Listen," Mrs. Gordon said conspiratorially. "Let's just say the front door was open, and you let yourself in through the screen door when no one answered. I didn't let you in."

Miranda nodded. "You didn't let me in," she agreed.

"You'll find him back in the den. Watching cartoons. In his pajamas," Mrs. Gordon sighed. "Please go talk to him, Miranda."

"I will," Miranda agreed.

Coming into the den, Miranda found everything exactly as Gordo's mother had described. He was eating cocoa puffs out of the box as he looked up at her and said, "I thought I left a message on your phone. No skateboard lesson today, Sanchez. I'm indisposed."

Miranda sat down on the couch next to Gordo. He pulled his legs up to his chest and frowned at her.

"I didn't get any message," Miranda said. "I've been down at the park, practicing my ollie. I want you to see. I've almost got it."

"Another time," Gordo said.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Miranda asked point blank.

"Why does anything have to be wrong? Maybe I just don't feel like going out today. Maybe I'm sick."

"Neither of which is true," Miranda said flatly. "You're wallowing in self pity."

"I'm----what?"

"I---oh, never mind."

"Did my mom let you in here?"

"No! She didn't!" Miranda objected.

Gordo sighed. "I told her…"

"Listen," Miranda said, getting right to the point. "This is not about your mom. This is about you, Dave. You and Nicole had a fight last night. What happened?"

Gordo grabbed the remote control and raised the volume on the TV. Bugs Bunny was in the middle of a loud "What's up, Doc?" when Miranda grabbed the remote from Gordo and shut the TV off altogether.

"Hey!" he objected.

"Dave, you're going to tell me what happened. I'm like your best friend, right? You don't keep things from your best friend."

"I'm not…keeping anything from you, Randa. It's just…I don't want to talk about it yet. It's just….It's…"

Gordo looked up over the top of the cereal box at Miranda staring pointedly at him. Her large brown eyes were gentle, yet demanding. Gordo knew he wasn't going to be able to get out of this one. And suddenly he didn't want to. He wanted to tell her. He just didn't want his voice to crack when he talked about it.

"Are you and Nicole…fighting?" Miranda asked quietly

Gordo took a deep breath. "Not exactly fighting. We're going through a tough time. Things aren't exactly going to be the same between us anymore."

This confused Miranda. Gordo and Nicole were as tight as could possibly be. There was no more devoted couple in the school. None of this made any sense. Yesterday afternoon he had been so excited about their date, yet now….

Miranda waited, and at last Gordo threw back his head and announced, "Oh, the hell with it. There isn't going to be any 'us' anymore."

"You're breaking up?" Miranda asked in shock.

"Yeah, well, it's kind of what happens when one of you has to move fifteen hundred miles away."

Miranda gasped. "Oh, Dave! Oh, no! How could---? You don't mean----? Oh, it's Mississippi, isn't it?"

"Minnesota," Gordo corrected.

"Whatever. It's where she went over the summer, where her family is from. And they're going there and…and never coming back?"

"Thanks, Miranda. I feel so much better already."

"Gordo…Gordo…Gordo…" Miranda said, slipping back into her childhood name for him as she leaned forward and hugged his knees, commiserating with him.

Gordo bit his lip and absently patted her hand on his knee. "I'm sorry, Randa. I have no right to be sarcastic with you. I know you only want the best for me. Only today, I think the best would be to…to let me be…alone…"

"No," Miranda insisted without a moment's hesitation. "I've seen you do this before, Gordon. You only sink deeper and deeper into the pit. I'm not going to let that happen. You're coming outside with me, in the fresh air and sunshine, we're going to the park, like we do every Saturday morning, and you're going to watch me do the ollie and tell me what I'm doing wrong. Like you do every Saturday morning. And along the way, if you want to talk about anything, I'm there. I'm always there for you, Gordo… David… Davey…"

Gordo gave her a sad smile. Yes, Miranda was always there for him. Until last year, Lizzie had been his oldest friend in the world. Now, despite a standing agreement that they were still friends, Lizzie was more often busy with new friends, and new boyfriends, on an almost constant basis. Gordo almost never saw Lizzie anymore. They only passed sometimes in the hall, and somehow, this year they did not even have any classes together.

But he and Miranda were both in AP History. And Miranda was his Saturday morning buddy, bound and determined to learn the ollie, despite Gordo's insistence that her…err…center of gravity no longer befitted that of a skateboarder. But Miranda was one determined girl and did not give up easily…not on skateboarding, and certainly not on him.

"Come on," she encouraged, pulling Gordo to his feet. "Upstairs with you. Put on some clothes, some real clothes, and let's go."

Gordo stretched, his long tee shirt falling almost to the knees of his flannel pants. Miranda sat back and looked at him. So skinny, she thought. And that hair…so messy. What did Nicole see in him, anyway?

Gordo looked at Miranda looking at him, and after a moment she felt like she was blushing. "Go!" she demanded. "Time's awastin'!"

"You know what," Gordo said as he left the room. "I feel sorry for whoever marries you, Randa. I feel sorry for your kids. Oh man, your poor kids! They're never going to be able to get away with anything, are they?"

"Go!" Miranda repeated, shooing him out of the room. She turned on the TV again, and flipped through the channels as she waited for Gordo to get ready for their Saturday morning outing. Gordo…she rolled her eyes, again thinking, what did Nicole see in him?

What did Parker see in him? Parker McKenzie! All at once Miranda realized Parker McKenzie was going to be all over Gordo the moment she heard Nicole was out of the picture. Miranda pulled herself up straight, laughed a little, and announced to no one in particular, "Oh no…that's not going to happen. Not if I can help it."

Then she sat back again, listening to her words bounce off the walls of the empty room. Why had she said that? To protect Gordo, of course. Yes, she was protective. Overly protective. He was right. Her poor kids.

But…but..

But was there something else going on here? Suddenly Miranda Sanchez felt extremely strange. What was she feeling? She wasn't going to let Parker McKenzie have Gordo because….because…

NO. It couldn't be. She didn't like Gordo.

Did she?