CHAPTER EIGHT: OPERATION F.R.I.E.N.D.S.H.I.P.

Sue Ellen spent her days entirely enthralled with her studies. They were reading Shakespeare in her English class, so she checked out a few of his plays from the library and began the laborious task of reading them without the help of a trusted teacher. She took avid notes, eagerly flipping through the semi-foreign text. She honestly did have no idea what was going on, especially in one of the histories she checked out, but it was better than focusing on Maria walking hand-in-hand with Arthur through every hallway.

Francine focused on her athleticism, spending her free time outside of soccer practice working out or following the sport online. She was sick of Maria the Show Off prancing around Elwood City High with Arthur too, and she was even more sick of Muffy giving her the cold shoulder around every corner. Her email hadn't gone over well, and Muffy was demanding an apology. In Francine's eyes, she owed nobody anything, so she stayed focused on her sports.

But both girls needed to talk to someone, and that weekend, they decided to meet up with each other at a new book store opening in the mall. They waited in line for the grand opening party, both of them hoping to get one of the cute grab bags they were giving away to the first one hundred customers, as well as one of the cool titles they were giving away inside the store.

As the line began to move, Francine noticed that Muffy, Maria, and Arthur were at the front of the line together. She huffed to herself, staring at the wall beside her. Sue Ellen noticed her demeanor changed and she looked up the line to see what was going on. By then, the three were inside the store, and Francine was growing restless.

"Hey, I think we're too far back to get anything good. Why don't we just go home? There's a game on. You can stay at my house to watch it with me," Francine offered.

"I don't know why you're so upset. There probably aren't even a hundred people here, and I don't see what got you so worked up," Sue Ellen whispered. As soon as she spoke, Maria manifested inside the store window, pulling Arthur around the display shelves inside the store. Sue Ellen swallowed, "Oh, I see. You know, maybe you're right. It's up to you though. I mean, I at least want to get one of those bags, but we can go home right after."

"That sounds good," Francine agreed, looking ill. Sue Ellen tried to comfort her, but she was feeling a mix of nervous and sick as well.

The line inched forward, and just Sue Ellen thought, they were well within the one hundred customer limit. She and Francine snatched up their bags and left the line without even going into the store.

Once at Francine's apartment, she flipped on the television. A soccer game was on, but the channel was only available in Spanish. The two snacked on chips and popcorn, sipping soda while they attempted to translate the commentary. Neither knew much Spanish, so they made up their own translations, making each other laugh.

After hours together, Sue Ellen realized she was wrong to push Francine away all these years. Yes, she was competitive, but she could be fun too. And since she understood Sue Ellen's love problems, they were almost like best friends at first sight.

As she walked home, she got a text from Francine. She'd had the same realization, and since they'd had such a fun Saturday together, she wondered if they could meet up on Sunday to study together.

So, as their outside choices dwindled, Sue Ellen and Francine realized the best thing for them was to unite and wait together for Arthur to be free again, all while their friends did as they pleased. Muffy spent more and more time with Maria and Jenna, and Fern was coming out of her shell more often as well. They looked like the perfect little Lakewood clique, especially when they joined up with Buster, Arthur, and Alex.

Francine and Sue Ellen would have to find their own group. The next week, Francine was paired with a girl named Holly in her science class for a project, and Holly was best friends with a girl named Becca. Both mixed well with Sue Ellen, so now they had two more friends.

Then Sue Ellen reconnected with Molly in the library. Molly was still good friends with Rattles, Binky, and Slink, who introduced the other girls to an awesome local arcade. This now larger group had quite a bit of fun together, and they studied well together too. So, they became fast friends, getting acclimated to this new high school war zone easier than they expected.