Act II: Bicycle

Prologue: The Unmentionable

Sadie sat in Jamba Juice, alone again. It seemed to be happening more and more often - being alone, that is. She sipped a Mango Twist and stared forlornly at the clock.

Katie was on a date with Keith, her on and off boyfriend since the seventh grade. She had promised to drive Sadie home and was now approximately twenty-six minutes and nineteen seconds late. But Katie had promised to be there and Sadie had already missed the bus home, so she was planning on waiting. Besides, Keith was cute and Katie was happy with him. That was the only reason Sadie wasn't mad that Katie had been ditching her more and more often recently.

A loud sucking noise announced the end of her Mango Twist. She contemplated ordering another, but realized that she wouldn't have enough for bus fare if she bought another. She spent a few minutes pondering the dilemma before deciding she would buy another and trust that Katie would come. She stood, ordered her drink at the counter, and was waiting for the man to finish blending it when Katie burst through the door.

"He is such a jerk!" she announced, storming towards her friend. She was breathing hard, as if she had run all the way from the movie theatre at the other end of the plaza to the Jamba Juice. In reality all she had done was stomp angrily the entire way, but she was mad enough to spit flames and being so angry was tiring. Everyone in the store stared at her for a moment and suddenly became entranced with their drinks or the people they were eating with.

"What did he do?" Sadie asked, biting back the words 'this time.'

Katie made a disgusted noise and rolled her eyes up towards the heavens. "I, like, don't even want to talk about it."

"One Mango Twist?" an employee asked, offering the drink to Sadie. Katie snatched it and began drinking resolutely. He blinked and decided not to protest after glimpsing the anger flashing in her brown eyes.

"Ohhh," Sadie cooed sadly, partially because she felt bad for her BFFFL and partially because she had really wanted that slushie. "Do you want to go home?"

"No," Katie muttered to the slushie. Sadie breathed a small sigh of relief. Katie wasn't the best driver under normal circumstances and Sadie definitely didn't want her driving when she was mad, especially in light of the recent Snack Shack debacle. "Let's go shopping," Katie said imperiously, already marching towards the door. Sadie followed, glad that Katie had chosen an activity that would probably be relatively low in its level of destruction. (The destruction of her bank account's savings didn't technically count.)

The Jamba Juice was conveniently located at the center of a huge shopping plaza, complete with several clothing chains and boutiques. Both Katie and Sadie turned to the left towards their favorite store, Vintage Ball, out of force of habit. They always started shopping sprees at Vintage Ball. The store was practically made for them. It sold clothes in styles primarily from the seventies and even had a little disco ball glittering in the window.

Margo, the owner, looked up after hearing the sound of the little bell on the door jingling. She was a plump woman with a sense of style that had gotten stuck in the seventies. Katie and Sadie swore that her ability to walk in platforms was inhuman. "Hello, girls," she said cheerfully, waving a pudgy hand bedecked with a multitude of rings at them.

"Hi, Margo," they chorused.

Margo stared at them intensely and then snapped her fingers loudly. "Sadie!" she called, hurrying from behind the counter. "I've got a new dress in your size."

"Cool!" Sadie cheered, clapping excitedly.

Margo disappeared into her back room, leaving the two girls to wait for the dress.

"I can't believe he'd say something so douchey," Katie said suddenly.

"Who?" Sadie asked distractedly, staring intensely at the curtain Margo had disappeared behind.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Keith, dummy."

"Oh yeah," Sadie said sheepishly, returning her focus to her friend. "Sorry."

"Well, now I don't have to, like, spend any more time with him," Katie said triumphantly.

"Yeah, now you can spend time with me," Sadie agreed enthusiastically.

Katie smiled at her friend, noticing how Sadie's eyes seemed to be glowing with happiness. Had it really been that long since the last time they had hung out? No, she'd spent the night at Sadie's house yesterday. But now that she thought about it, they'd been talking about Keith. Or rather, Katie had gushed about their latest date and Sadie had nodded supportively. Actually, all of their recent chats had been about Keith.

Thinking back, Sadie had definitely been supportive but she hadn't exactly been excited. Definitely not as excited as Katie was.

Why hadn't she noticed this before? Katie was normally the more sensitive out of the two girls. She blindly grabbed at a rack of clothes, not wanting to meet Sadie's gaze anymore. "Guess I kinda forgot about you recently, huh?"

Sadie thought back to the week before when Katie had forgotten to meet her at the beach. She too became suddenly interested in the clothes. "Maybe a little."

"Hey, let's never mention Keith again, okay?" Katie said.

That seemed unlikely to Sadie. She hummed noncommittally, flipping through the rack in front of her.

"I found it!" Margo sang, bursting through the curtain. "I accidentally put it at the bottom of my sorting pile!"

Sadie and Katie turned towards her with identical smiles of relief.