Well, here's the next part. Enjoy! Thanks for reviewing, detectivezelda!

The other kids saw the heartbreak and turned against Rhonda,too. On Monday, Curly was at the back of the bus, holding the T-shirt and breathing in the scent of it occasionally. I still sat next to him, saying what I thought of Rhonda. "You're better off without her. She's just a shallow princess who thinks we should all worship her."

I heard Rhonda's voice a few seats down at that moment. "Is this seat taken?" She was talking to the tall Southern-accented boy.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to find some other seat. I don't sit with no heartbreaking harpies."

"Oh, please." Rhonda said. "Now we're supposed to feel sorry for Curly?"

"Yes, Rhonda, it happens on occasion!" I called down. "See what I mean? You dumped him in front of the whole cafeteria! It's karma."

And the next day, Curly and Rhonda were back together for a short time. I would've turned to Lisa for all the updates, but as a matter of fact, I didn't need them. At recess, Rhonda suddenly ran into the girls' bathrooms where I happened to be, and without checking that there wasn't anyone in the cubicles, started talking loudly. "Why, why, why does it have to be me? Why couldn't someone else have borrowed their mother's mink jacket and be in this disgusting situation? I mean, could he be any grosser? But then again, if I don't go through with this, everyone will hate me because I broke the little freak's heart. Time to buck up, Rhonda. After all, aside from that one highly nauseating kiss, this really isn't going so badly. Perhaps, by the end of the day, you might even be back on top. All you gotta do is stick to the plan, then find a way to dump the little troll."

I spoke up. "Stop it, Rhonda. What happened this time? I assume he didn't blackmail you again." I came out of the cubicle to wash my hands, and I soon realized that Rhonda had been rinsing her mouth out, since she was now drying her face.

Rhonda narrowed her eyes at me. "Can't you tell if you were eavesdropping on me?"

"You weren't exactly being subtle about it." I pointed out. "You're only back together with Curly because dumping him hurt your social status, right? So obviously he thought it was real, hence that kiss you were talking about. Oh, and," I added, "So this was something to do with you borrowing a mink jacket?"

"It's none of your business." Rhonda said in a superior tone. "If you want to help me, ask Curly to dump me."

"I don't want to help you." I snapped back, brimming with sarcasm as I turned the tap off and started drying my hands. "Hello, wake up? You're Rhonda Wellington-Lloyd, you don't need nor want help from a lowlife like me. Isn't that what you said before? Besides, I'm not your friend, I'm Curly's. If I was going to suggest he dump you, it's because you're the one bringing him down and making him pine after you, not him making you miserable."

I finally finished drying and walked out, just as I saw a familiar boy turning, about to leave, probably because he hadn't wanted anyone to see him eavesdropping.

"It's just me!" I called. Curly turned and stopped, and I noticed for the first time that he was wearing a deep blue T-shirt that had "Rhonda's Hunk" printed on it. No wonder he'd taken her so seriously, she was doing the kind of stuff he had done to her. He'd obviously been listening through the door, and heard everything Rhonda said. That meant he'd also heard everything I'd said.

"Let's go somewhere else, shall we?" I said, walking down to where I knew there was a hallway without lockers. I assumed that most people wouldn't go down there. Curly followed me wordlessly. It actually scared me a little. He was always so exuberant that being silent was actually more frightening than when he was chuckling manically or trying to creep me out.

I sighed. "Curly, she's not worth any of this." I sighed. "You have to face up to that. You can't keep following her around like a little lost puppy. For one thing, you're better than that."

"You're right." Curly muttered. "She deserves to be free. And I deserve someone who likes me. I'll dump her in the cafeteria, so everyone can blame me. She doesn't need to go through that again, and it'll blow over anyway." Suddenly, his eyes were fixed on me for a moment. Well, I couldn't tell, but I thought they were, judging by the position of his face. "Stephanie, there was something I needed to ask. I could hear everything you said. What do you know about me and Rhonda?"

If I had been able to see his eyes, I swear, they probably would have been blazing.

I groaned. "I wasn't planning on telling anyone, but I made Rhonda tell me why she'd been so brutal when she dumped you last week. So yes, I know what you made her do, and no, I don't really care because you didn't hurt her or anything."

"I should've known she'd have to tell someone." Curly muttered. "I didn't tell her to keep it a secret...but if you don't care what happened..."

I sighed. "OK, stop it. Just stop acting all depressed. That isn't you. Just go dump Rhonda at lunch and then you can get over her in your own way."

Finally, Curly seemed to have stopped acting all depressed. He looked at me again, and then gave me a surprise hug.

"OK..." I said. "What was that for?"

"Because I wanted to." he said matter-of-factly. Then the bell rang, and we had to go back to class.

I had the satisfaction of seeing Rhonda's face that afternoon when Curly dumped her, giving her a speech about how he thought she was a useless girlfriend, then walking out, throwing the T-shirt of hers over his shoulder. The other fourth-graders were whispering together.

"He's sure got a heart of stone."

"Poor Rhonda."

"I can't imagine what she could've done to deserve that."

Rhonda herself looked shocked and almost disappointed.

I was a little disappointed when I saw Curly chasing Rhonda down the street later in the day, past our house. But I looked out and heard what he was yelling. "Come on, just one lock of your hair, just for sentimental reasons! So I can remember the first time I fell in love!"

"No way, that's just REALLY creepy!" Rhonda called back over her shoulder. "Leave me ALONE and STOP CHASING ME!"

"I'll leave you alone afterwards! Come on, please."

I watched a bit, being amused, but then I called out, "Hey, princess, if you really want him to leave you alone, just cut a lock off, go on! You're going to leave her alone for good, right?" I directed the last comment at Curly.

"Yes, I am." Curly said sincerely. "I'm not going to chase you any more, Rhonda. I just want a reminder of my first love, the first time my world lit up..."

"So you mean it?" Rhonda said, eyes wide. "You're not going to continue hitting on me?"

"Of course not. I had my chance last week, and I'm not sure why it didn't work out, but I've concluded you're just not the girl for me. I just want a reminder."

The glimmer of a smile appeared on Rhonda's face. I went back into my house, smiling. At least Curly could stop chasing Rhonda. That would be a lot better for both of them.

That's what she thinks. You'll see what happens. Please review!