CHAPTER SIX: OPERATION R.E.K.I.N.D.L.E.

Sue Ellen was two weeks into her relationship when he broke up with her. Sue Ellen was distant, her mind still on Arthur. She spent time with the boy—Jacob—and his friend circle. But they just didn't click. She didn't even mind being dumped.

Francine, on the other hand, was still single and still very much attached to Arthur. She didn't like knowing that he wanted nothing to do with them, that he didn't want to date like the other boys did. Even Buster had a girlfriend, even though their relationship didn't last either. Either way, if Buster could have a girlfriend, Arthur should have a girlfriend too.

One thing made this worse. Mere days after Sue Ellen's breakup, she decided to have lunch with Maria and Jenna again. Maria was on her cellphone, playing some online game that had come out in recent weeks. Sue Ellen eyed her screen carefully. She wasn't playing the game by herself. A few others were playing, one of which had a familiar-looking avatar.

"You see what she's into now, don't you?" Jenna grinned. Sue Ellen nodded as Maria rotated the phone around. She began to explain the game, but both Jenna and Sue Ellen weren't interested, and Maria quickly noticed this.

"Okay, so why are you so interested if you don't want to know how it works?" Maria asked coldly. Sue Ellen pointed to the avatars of the other players. Maria smiled, "Oh, you noticed those. Yeah, I'm playing with other people. This is Olivia from Italy. I think her parents are American because she speaks perfect English-"

"I want to know who that is," Sue Ellen said, pointing to one distinct avatar. Maria gave her a look. "What? I just want to know the answer, not start trouble."

"Fine," Maria sighed. "It's Arthur's avatar. He doesn't play often though so don't get your hopes up. He likes console games better," Maria grinned. Sue Ellen thought for a moment and remembered Maria's love for console-based video games. And if she knew Arthur's playing preferences, that meant-

"How long have you been playing with him?" Sue Ellen asked. Maria shrugged, "I guess since this summer. He was on all the time, even late at night sometimes. He didn't realize who I was until he got his headset fixed. We have a lot of fun on there," Maria smiled.

But Sue Ellen wasn't smiling. How come she got to be so close to Arthur? Sue Ellen couldn't even be in the same room with him without him squirming, running away, or avoiding her completely. Sue Ellen was jealous, and her feelings for Arthur that were semi-dormant during her short relationship with Jacob returned full-forced. And a quick text made Francine aware of the situation too.

Despite their differences, Francine and Sue Ellen met after school at Francine's apartment. Francine wanted to know directly from Sue Ellen the truth about Maria's relationship with Arthur. Sue Ellen didn't know much, but if they'd been playing together that long, then something could very well be going on.

"I can't believe this," Francine scoffed. "I mean, Maria, really? Can't he do better than her? We're both smarter than her, and you're at least prettier than her. What does she have that we don't?"

"A video game console apparently, but I don't know which one he plays on," Sue Ellen replied darkly. Francine looked stunned, "There are different consoles?" she asked. Sue Ellen nodded. Francine groaned loudly, "I can't believe this! We need to get one, or at least ask Muffy if she has one. We need to go on there and make sure he doesn't end up with her."

So, Sue Ellen followed Francine to Muffy's house. She greeted them in her mother's spa room, a masseuse rubbing away at Ed Crosswire's knotted shoulders. Muffy was sitting in a comfortable chair, her feet being worked on by a small Asian woman. When she saw Sue Ellen standing behind Francine, she immediately shooed the woman away.

"What are you two doing here together?" Muffy asked firmly. Francine explained with very few details that she wanted to play video games with Sue Ellen. Muffy nodded to them, but she didn't believe them, "So, you're going to try to play games with Arthur, huh?" she asked.

"Well-"

"Say no more, Sue Ellen," Muffy growled. "I want you both out. You both need to forget about him. Completely, one hundred percent. I never want to hear his name again!" Muffy exclaimed, forcing them out of the room. Bailey met them in the hallway and escorted them to the door.

Once outside, Francine sighed heavily, "I figured she'd know as soon as she saw you. I thought she'd be happy that we're working together on this. I mean, I still want him more than you do-"

"And I want him more than you do," Sue Ellen interrupted.

"But if we both keep other girls away from Arthur, we could have a chance again," Francine smiled, "and then we'll worry about who deserves him more."

"Agreed, but we don't even know if Maria and him will end up together. It's not like that have much in common other than video games, and she can be pretty annoying sometimes," Sue Ellen whispered, remembering when Maria got really into a punk rock band, practically shoving their pathetic music down her throat.

Francine sighed, "Well, we need to do something. I couldn't live with myself if I let her have him. We have to find a way to keep them apart, but you're the only one who knows her well enough. Do you think you can come up with something and get back to me?" Francine questioned. Sue Ellen agreed and began walking home on her own, but she had no idea what to do to keep Maria away from him. And Maria was a long-time friend. Should she really keep her from getting her first boyfriend?

'Well, yours wasn't much, and it didn't last long either,' Sue Ellen thought as she arrived at her house. She moved into her room, trying to think of answers while her desktop booted up. As she logged into her email to check her multiple online accounts, her pocket buzzed to life as her phone was flooded with messages.

But her inbox told her what she needed to know:

Maria and Arthur were now a couple.