True Colors (21 page)

I made sure to put my bracelet on Monday morning, and Devon had hers on, too. She sat next to Peyton on the bus and I started to sit with India, but Devon gave me a look, so I sat by myself. Thalia asked me what was going on between Devon and India when I got to homeroom.

“It's just like Yasmin and Arianna. One minute they're best friends, but then they hate each other,” she said.

At lunch, Devon told me India said I thought I was so cool because Vladi had talked to me. India had also said I thought I was hot because I had been on TV and I was a model, but she thought there were way prettier girls in our class. I didn't know what to say, and Hana looked uncomfortable. It didn't help I was already feeling self-conscious about the fact I hadn't gotten any calls from the modeling agency. India waved to me when I walked into social studies. I had felt bad for her this morning, but now I didn't care what happened to her. She said Peyton had a dentist appointment and wasn't going to be in class.

Mrs. Hearst passed out maps, and we had to color the different countries. There weren't enough colored pencils, so I went over to Tori and Ericka's table. India followed me over. Ericka, Tori, and I joked around, but India didn't say much. India was taking up the colored pencils when Kyle bumped into her, and they went all over the floor. Everybody just walked around her, but I stopped to help her pick the pencils up.

“Thanks,” she said.

India sat by herself on the bus, and Devon gave her the silent treatment until Thursday. India told Devon she thought Doug was the world's biggest jerk, and they agreed they were both too good for him. They sat together on the bus and talked the whole way home from school.

However, Devon was mad at her again on Friday because she found out Doug had gotten India's e-mail address. India was whispering something to Peyton when I walked into social studies. You could see India was upset, and she stopped talking as soon as I sat down. Fabulous. I thought about sitting with Tori and Ericka, but then Peyton would think I was mad at her. So I sat with them and tried to ignore India. Peyton called me after school, and I asked if India and Devon were speaking to each other yet.

“I don't know. I'm so sick of it. Anyway, do you want to see a movie tonight?” she asked.

I started to answer when my other line beeped. I put her on hold, and it was Devon asking why I wasn't on the bus. I told her I got a ride from Ashanti's dad, and she asked if I wanted to come over. I pretended I got another call and clicked back over to Peyton.

“It's Devon and she wants me to come over,” I said.

“Tell her you're going to the movies. Wait, no. Then she'll want to come, and I need a break from her,” she said. “Say you can't, but don't tell her what you're doing.”

I went back to Devon and said I had to call her back, but I didn't think I could come over. I didn't want to lie, but I didn't want her to get mad at me either. Peyton was reading off movie times when she got another call.

“Now Devon wants
me
to come over,” she said.

I didn't even tell Devon I couldn't come over for sure and she had already invited somebody else over. Why did I have to lie just because I wanted to hang out with Peyton?

“Maybe we should just invite her to go with us,” I said.

“Do you want to?” she asked.

No, I wanted some time away from Devon's drama. I was just in a bad mood, period. I was mad at India for talking about me. Plus, I was sick of acting like nothing had ever happened between Ericka, Tori, and me. I wanted to tell them all where to go, but I couldn't because then everybody would get mad at me and I'd be alone again.

I needed a Devon-free night. The only reason Devon had wanted me to come over was because she was mad at India, and now I knew it didn't even have to be me. Anyone would do.

“I don't know what to do,” I said. I should have told Devon the truth from the start. Now I'd have to lie to get myself out of it.

“I guess we have to invite her now or we'll hear about it,” Peyton said. “And then India will get mad if we don't invite her.”

“And she'll hold it against you,” I said. “But they'll ignore each other if we invite them both…”

Mom came home and needed to use the phone. I told Peyton I'd call her back, and I asked Mom if she'd drop us off at the theater.

“Do you have money for a movie?” she asked. “Because I didn't get a chance to stop at the bank.”

All I had was five bucks. Crap, I couldn't even go to the movies, but mom said Peyton could come over to watch one.

“Can Devon come, too?” I asked.

“I suppose, but make sure it's after dinner because I don't feel like cooking and I have no cash for pizza.”

“Any chance I could ask Ashanti?”

“Fine, but no more. I need to finish up some work tonight so I don't want it too loud,” she said.

Peyton said her dad could drive her, and Ashanti was going to bring the movie. Devon still wanted me to come over, but she said she'd come. Ashanti brought over
The Hidden Sorority Diaries
, which we had both been dying to see, and Peyton brought some caramel corn her dad made with chocolate chips in it.

“
Terror at the Outlet Mall
is on channel seventy-eight tonight. We have to watch it,” Devon said as she walked in.

“Is it super scary? You know how easily I get upset,” I said. “I still can't look at the cemetery on Knapp after the movie we watched on my birthday.”

“You'll be fine,” she said. “It wasn't even scary.”

Ashanti raised her eyebrows at me, and I didn't know what to say. We put the movie on, and Devon curled up on the couch while the rest of us sat on the floor. Devon started choking on a piece of caramel corn so I got up to get everybody something to drink, and Ashanti followed me into the kitchen.

“I'm going to lose it. You better keep me away from sharp objects,” she said as she filled a glass with ice.

“I'll take the cube with the pointy edges then,” I said. I could hear Devon saying something about India in the living room. Peyton crossed her eyes at me when we came back with the sodas.

“Do you have any cherry cola?” Devon asked.

“It's not a restaurant,” Ashanti said. Devon raised her eyebrows at me. I shook my head, and she took the glass from me.

The movie was gory, and there was a scene where some dead guy was laying on the taco stand with the color drained out of his face. It reminded me of when my dad told me he had to work on cadavers in medical school. I didn't know what a cadaver was, and he said it was a dead person. I couldn't get the picture out of my mind, and I had to sleep in my parents' room. I remembered I kept poking my mom and dad when they were asleep so they would make a sound or move just so I'd know they were still alive. I just knew this stupid movie was going to give me nightmares.

Ashanti's parents came to pick her up. As soon as I shut the door, Devon started in on her.

“Have you ever noticed how Ashanti thinks she's better than everyone?”

“No she doesn't,” I said, and Devon gave me a look. Peyton calls it the “how dare you defy me” look.

“Maybe I should give her my bracelet so you two can be best friends since you like her better than me,” Devon said.

She was always hanging the stupid bracelet over me. It was more like a handcuff these days. Of course, I said it wasn't true, and she backed off after I kissed her rear enough. Devon called me the next day, but I didn't answer when I saw her dad's name pop up on the caller ID. I even took off my chat option on my social media page so she couldn't Instant Message me.

I froze my butt off at the bus stop on Monday. It had snowed the night before and the streets were covered, but we still had school. The bus was late, and it crawled up the street. We had to sit in front because our bus driver had picked up some kids from the public school since their bus was stuck in the snow. Ashanti was sitting behind us with some guy, and I had to sit on the end of the seat next to Devon and India. I slid off the seat every time the bus hit a bump. Devon started going through my bag for some gum when she spotted my journal.

“Hey, you finally brought it,” she said. I tried to grab it, but she pulled it away from me.

“Why don't you want me to see it? Did you write stuff about me in here?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

“No, I just… it's private.”

“We're best friends,” she said. “We're supposed to tell each other everything.”

She opened it and I tried to grab it, but India blocked my arm and it was two against one. Ashanti reached over and pulled it away from Devon.

“It's Landry's,” she said.

“What's your problem?” Devon said glaring at her. “It's none of your business.”

“It
is
my business.”

Just then one of the public school kids shot a huge wad of paper at the back of the bus driver's head.

“All right,” Mrs. Jackson said. “I want complete silence. Do you hear me? I don't want to see an arm or leg move into the aisle or else I will stop this bus and we will sit here all day if we have to.”

I had never heard Mrs. Jackson raise her voice, and I heard some kid swear at her. If anyone from Hillcrest ever said anything like that we'd get suspended. Ashanti and Devon didn't say another word.

We arrived at school, and the hallways were gray and slimy from the snow. Ms. Ashcroft kept yelling, “Wipe your feet, people. Haven't you kids ever heard of boots?”

Mom made me wear my stupid rubber duckies since my cute boots were still wet from the night before. I tugged my pant legs down hoping Mrs. Hearst wouldn't say what a little trouper I was to wear my boots, and everyone would think I was a giant loser. Kyle said, “Nice boots,” in math, and I couldn't tell if he was making fun of me so I pretended not to hear him.

Arianna glanced down at my feet and said she used to have a pair like mine. I was glad she didn't say, “Until I got a life and stopped letting my mommy dress me.”

We were going to have indoor lunch period because of the snowstorm. I thought it would be okay because I would be in the science room with Devon, Ericka, and Tori after lunch, but Mrs. Lacey said we had to come back up to her room after we ate. At least Ericka was in this class. Arianna started going on about how hard it would be being apart from Stuart, which was complete crap since they broke up every other day.

“This sucks. I hate having indoor lunch,” Devon said on the way to the cafeteria. I nodded, but I used to like hiding out in the library during lunch back when no one was talking to me. Plus, I didn't feel like freezing my butt off outside in the courtyard.

The cafeteria only had cold stuff for lunch, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, because the roads were icy. I took a sandwich, but when I unwrapped the foil, I found my sandwich had been made with the last two pieces in the loaf, so it was basically just peanut butter on end pieces with no jelly. I never ate the crust and now I was stuck with an all crust sandwich. Plus, the peanut butter was loose and runny because the cafeteria workers had added milk to it to make more sandwiches.

After lunch, I stopped in the bathroom where Peyton was putting her hair in a ponytail.

“Doesn't this suck? During my lunch hour, the boys tried to throw Thalia's books out the window when Mrs. Tamar wasn't looking,” she said. “Hey, what's the matter?”

I told her Devon tried to read my journal on the bus.

“She's PMS-ing so bad today,” she said. “What did you do?”

“Ashanti got it back, but Devon acted kinda weird at lunch.”

“Silent treatment?” she asked.

“No, but… I dunno. She was just different.”

“Did Mr. Hotness e-mail you yet?” she asked. I shook my head. “I'd stay, but Mrs. Tamar will get her panties in a knot if I don't get back to class,” she said.

I washed the peanut butter off my hands, and I saw a flash off silver when I went to turn on the hand dryer. My best friend bracelet had fallen off and gone into the vent. There was no way I could reach into the vent to get it. Ericka came into the bathroom and said I better get back to the room or Mrs. Lacey would get mad.

“My bracelet fell down the vent,” I said, and she came over to see.

“Go tell Mr. Ivanov. Maybe he can get it out for you,” she said. I started to head towards the janitor's closet, but she grabbed my arm. “We have to go back to the room. You can get it later.”

We went back to class, and Mrs. Lacey was grading papers. I don't think she noticed or cared whether or not I was in the room. Ericka probably said that because she didn't want to be in there by herself. Devon asked me what happened to my bracelet when I got to science class. I told her it fell into the vent, and she asked what I was going to do about it.

“I'll talk to Mr. Ivanov after school.”

“If it's still there,” she said.

Not unless the vent fairy took it. Mrs. Tamar handed back our science quizzes and I tried to slip mine under my book, but Devon made me tell her what I got. I showed her my C.

“Ha, beat you. C+.”

I would have thought she was kidding, but she acted like she thought she did a lot better on the quiz.

It was still snowing when I went to the bus line. Devon ran up and asked if I had gotten the bracelet back.

“I'll do it tomorrow,” I said. “I don't want to miss the bus.”

“You better get it today,” she said.

“But my mom will be mad if I have to call her for a ride,” I said.

She gave me an icy look, and I went to find Mr. Ivanov. I figured I might have enough time to tell him and still make it to the bus. I ended up having to run to the first and second grade hall to find him. He was finishing up a sandwich and wiped his hands on his overalls. I could hear the buses running outside, and I told him I had to catch the bus.