“Zoey, hurry up!”             

“Coming,” Zoey called back. She grabbed her digital camera and traipsed out of her bedroom.             

Katie was sitting on Zoey’s kitchen counter, clicking her fingernails on the cold tile impatiently. Her long golden hair was pulled back into a tight bun, with loose strands falling in her face. She had on a simple navy tee shirt and blue jeans, but Katie could always turn something ordinary into something extraordinary.               

Beside Katie, leaning against the kitchen counter with an annoyed look on her face, was Bethany. Bethany was in all of Katie’s classes at Monroe Middle School and none of Zoey’s. Katie had only just met her when sixth grade had started off two weeks ago, but already Bethany was all she could talk about. Her phone conversations with Zoey were now spent telling her best friend all about Bethany. What Bethany had done. What Bethany had wore. What Bethany had eaten. What stall Bethany used in the restroom. And Zoey was plain sick of Bethany.             

Zoey gazed at Bethany, camera in hand. Bethany was pretty, with shoulder-length brown hair and tanned skin. She wore a lime green sweater and a jean skirt. Her legs were outfitted with brown leggings and on her feet were white ballet flats. Bethany had a great smile, but right then the look on her face was one of pure disgust.             “Um,” said Bethany in an insulting tone. “Hate to break it to you, Zoey, but redheads cannot wear pink.” She gestured to Zoey’s light pink shirt and then to her orange pigtails.             

Katie laughed a loud fake laugh to cover up the awkward silence. She touched Zoey’s shoulder. “Isn’t she funny,” she said loudly to Zoey.             

Zoey gripped her camera tightly. She almost felt like snapping back, but she wasn’t that kind of person. So she just smiled, gritting her teeth.             

“Um, Katie, can we, like, go?” asked Bethany impatiently. “It’s like, getting dark.”             

“Yeah, let’s go,” agreed Katie, jumping off the counter.             

Bethany grabbed Katie’s hand and pulled her towards the door and the two girls ran down the sidewalk, laughing. “Hey guys, wait up!” called Zoey, panting, almost half a block behind.             

Bethany turned around and smirked. “Hurry,” she said fake-sweetly. She whispered something to Katie and the two girls cracked up.             

Zoey half-ran, half-skipped down the block to join Katie and Bethany. “Can you guys stop for a second?” she asked, bending down and breathing deeply. “I need to catch my breath.”             

“Um,” Katie said uncertainly. She glanced at Bethany, who rolled her eyes. “Look, Zoey, it’s getting dark and we really want to get to the beach before sunset so we can take pictures,” she continued.             

“Yeah, and you’ve, like, got the camera,” said Bethany, raising her eyebrows.             

“Okay,” said Zoey, straightening up. But her insides were rolling over. Was that all she was? The person with the camera? Was she worth nothing else? Not to Bethany, necessarily, but to Katie?             

Three blocks later, they had reached the beach. The chilly waters of the Atlantic Ocean nipped the soft yellow sand and a cool breeze whooshed by, blowing Bethany’s hair back. The whole area was nearly deserted, and the three girls took off their shoes and walked along the water in their bare feet. Bethany was chattering rapidly to Katie about something that had happened in one of their classes and Katie was nodding and shooting apologetic looks in Zoey’s direction. Suddenly, Bethany stopped and turned towards Zoey.             

“Like, omigosh,” she breathed. “This is perfect. The sun is setting and everything. You’ve got to get a picture.” Zoey shrugged. “Okay,” she agreed, turning her camera on. She held it up in the direction of the ocean and Bethany burst out laughing.             

“No, stupid,” she said. “Don’t take a picture of the ocean.Take a picture of us.” She threw her arm around Katie and rolled her eyes dramatically. “Duh.”             

Zoey  blushed and readjusted the focus of her camera. Katie smiled a little, looking very uncomfortable.             “One, two, three,” Zoey said, trying to make her voice sound excited. “Say cheese!”             

“Cheese!” exclaimed Katie and then trailed off as Bethany laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh.            

 “Say cheese,” Bethany imitated Zoey. “Omigosh, that’s like, so dorky.” She laughed again and Katie joined in, staring at the ground. Zoey forced herself to giggle.             

“I was just playing around,” she announced.             

Bethany stared at her. “Huh?” she said. Then, “Okay, take a few more.”             

Zoey stood, clicking away, as Bethany and Katie posed, a different one for each photo. Several times Katie glanced at Zoey and seemed about to say something to Bethany, but never did. Finally Zoey spoke up.             

“Um, Bethany, could you take a picture of me and Katie now?” she asked timidly.             

Bethany stared. And stared. She let out a small laugh and rolled her eyes as if she was sure Zoey was kidding. “I’m not a good photographer,” she told Zoey in a way that plainly meant, no way. “Besides, it’s getting pretty dark. We should, like, go.”             

Zoey turned to Katie anxiously. Katie let out a tiny nod. “We should,” she said quietly.             

Zoey shrugged. “’Kay,” she muttered and pocketed her camera.            

 The three walked in silence for a while and then Bethany turned to Katie. “Omigosh,” she squealed. “You should, like, sleep over!”             

“Uh,” Katie said nervously, shooting a look at Zoey. Zoey could see in her eyes that she was bursting with excitement.
“I have homework,” Zoey said quickly, fingering one of her pigtails. Katie nodded. She turned back to Bethany eagerly. Now that Zoey had dismissed the possibility of being left out, Katie could show her excitement.             The two girls chatted excitedly as they walked down the darkening beach. Zoey twirled her hair through her fingers and the bracelet on her left arm jingled. Katie had given it to her when they were in third grade. There were four small letters engraved on the silver heart. B, E, S, and T. Best. Katie had the other half, which said Friends.             

Zoey glanced over at Bethany and Katie who were laughing about something together. She thought about all the great things Katie had told her about Bethany. Was this really the same Bethany? Why did she have it out to get Zoey? And more importantly, why wasn’t Katie, her best friend, standing up for her?                         

Later that evening, Zoey was sprawled on her bed, reading a Nancy Drew novel. Her unfinished science homework sat on her desk. Zoey loved mysteries, especially Nancy Drew. She wanted to be a private investigator when she got older. She could almost always solve the mystery in Nancy Drew before Nancy did.             

Zoey turned the page and realized she had reached a new chapter. She put her book down, then picked it back up. She had promised herself that when she got to the next chapter she’d stop and do her science homework. But it was just so good!             

You’ll regret it tomorrow, Zoey thought to herself. She carefully marked her page and went to her desk. She tried to do her science homework but classifying rocks was just too boring. The same thought kept running through her mind. How did Nancy, Bess, and George, a threesome, get along so well? Wasn’t one of them always feeling left out? Zoey was open to Bethany’s friendship with Katie, really, but why was Bethany so certain to make sure Zoey felt left out? And why was Katie letting Bethany walk all over Zoey? Why was Zoey?             

“Zoey, it’s getting late,” said Zoey’s mother, poking her head into Zoey’s room. “You should get to sleep.”             “Okay,” Zoey agreed. “Let me just finish this worksheet quickly.”             

“Sure, Zo,” said Zoey’s mother. “Good night, sweetheart.”             

‘’Night, Mom,” Zoey said, turning back to her homework. She pushed all thoughts of Bethany and Katie out of her mind and concentrating on identifying all the Igneous rocks on the worksheet. Then she switched off her desk light, grabbed her book, and crawled into bed. But before she could finish another chapter, she was sound asleep.             The next morning was Thursday. Zoey had band practice every Tuesday and Thursday before school started. She fumbled through her closet groggily for an outfit, putting on the first suitable she found: a green tank top and her favorite jeans. She slipped her feet into her sneakers and pulled her hair into a long red braid before going over to the kitchen to eat breakfast.             

“Here, Zo,” said her father as she gulped down her Frosted Flakes. he  slid her flute case across the table towards her. “It was in the trunk of my car. Wouldn’t want to forget it, would you?”             

Zoey giggled. “Whoops,” she said. “Thanks Daddy.”             

“No problem, pumpkin,” he said, checking his watch. “You’d better get going. Katie’ll be here any minute.”  “Okay,” Zoey mumbled with her mouth full. She set her empty cereal bowl in the sink and picked up her pink backpack.             

“Bye Daddy,” she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Say bye to Mom for me.”             

“Bye Zo,” said Zoey’s father. He handed her her flute case. “Have fun.”             

“I will,” said Zoey as she skipped towards the door.             

Katie, who lived a block away, was walking towards Zoey’s house.             

“Hi,” she said when she reached Zoey.             

“Hey Katie,” Zoey said back. The girls walked in an unnatural silence until they reached the stop sign at the end of the block and Katie suddenly turned to Zoey.             

“Zoey, look,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry about, you know, how Bethany was acting before. I don’t know why she was doing that. She not usually like that.”             

Zoey shrugged. “It’s okay,” she said.             

Katie’s face slowly spread into a grin. “Good,” she said cheerfully. “I knew you’d understand, Zo.”             

“Yeah,” Zoey muttered, scuffing the sole of her sneaker on the sidewalk.             

They had reached Monroe Middle School, and the two girls climbed the stairs to the band room, where groups of kids were getting ready for practice to start. Katie and Zoey sat at their usual seats in the corner and began putting together their instruments. Then Katie set down her clarinet and looked over at Zoey nervously.             

“Zoey,” she said. “I really would like it if you could give Bethany another chance. She’s really cool. Really.”  

“Sure, Katie,” Zoey said automatically. She couldn’t stand to see her best friend so upset. And besides, if Katie thought Bethany was so great, she must be. Maybe she’d just been having a bad day the day before. But all through practice Zoey couldn’t help but think that Bethany hadn’t been being mean to Zoey without realizing–she’d been doing it on purpose. But why, was what Zoey didn’t understand.               

“Omigosh, Zo, we’re  way overdue for back to school shopping,” Katie squealed, back to her old self, as she and Zoey left the band room an hour later, arm in arm.             

“Yeah,” said Zoey, smiling. “How about today after schoo-”             

“Kay-teee!” shrieked a voice from behind them. Katie and Zoey whirled around to see Bethany standing there, decked out in a black leotard, a glittering pink miniskirt, and cowboy boots. Her hair was French-braided, with little sparkly pink barrettes holding it together.             

“Omigosh girl, last night was sooo fun,” Bethany chattered, embracing Katie. “It’s too bad you had to leave early and-” She stopped short, noticing Zoey, and sneered. “Oh,” she said coldly. “It’s you.”             

Zoey swallowed and before she knew it, she was speaking. “Um, my name is Zoey.”             

Bethany stared at her blankly. “Good for you,” she said finally, with a smirk on her powdered face. “Anyway Katie, we should totally, like, go shopping after school. It would be sooo much fun, like…”             

Zoey tuned Bethany out, watching Katie. The girl looked nervous and her eyes kept darting between Bethany and Zoey. Zoey bore her eyes into Katie, willing her to say something–to tell Bethany that she and Zoey already had shopping plans; to look away and continue her conversation with Zoey; to tell Bethany to please stop being mean to Zoey because Zoey was her friend. But apparently Zoey wasn’t important enough to Katie, because Katie just shot an apologetic look at Zoey as Bethany dragged her away, turning back once to grin at Zoey. It wasn’t a friendly grin.                        

 Zoey sat in science class two hours later, doodling in her notebook. First she sketched two happy girls, one with pigtails and the other with long hair. Then she sketched a second drawing next to it. This one showed the same two girls and a third one with dark hair. The third girl was pulling the girl with long hair out of the pigtailed girl’s grasp and sticking her tongue out at her. The pigtailed girl stood alone, pulling on her pigtails and crying.             “Zoey,” said a voice. Zoey looked up. Her science teacher, Mr. Matheson, was frowning at her. “Did you hear me?” “Um,” said Zoey, biting her lip. “No?” The class cracked up.             

Mr. Matheson sighed. “Zoey, Zoey, Zoey,” he said, shaking his head.             

“Mr. M, Mr. M, Mr. M,” said Zoey, shaking hers. The class exploded with laughter.             

“Ahem,” said Mr. Matheson quietly. The class was silent.             

“Alex, could you tell Zoey what we’re doing?” asked Mr. Matheson.             

“But Mr. Matheson, can’t you just tell me?” Zoey asked, completely serious. Everyone laughed. Zoey smiled. She liked being funny. Making everyone laugh. Everyone liked her in class. It helped her forget about certain people who positively didn’t like her and how much it hurt.             

Mr. Matheson smiled. He never got fed up with Zoey, like some teachers did. He just went along with her. “I guess,” he said. “Zoey you need to go to the principal’s office immediately. You’ve been expelled.”             

Zoey gaped at him. But then he grinned and she laughed. “Okay,” she grumbled. “Alex, you tell me.”      

Alex laughed. “We’re separating into groups,” he said. “Mr. M was about to tell us what groups we’re in.”             “Oh,” said Zoey cheerfully. Then, because she couldn’t think of anything funny to say, all she added was, “okay.” Mr. Matheson waited a few seconds, expecting her to say something more. When she didn’t, he spoke. “All right. When you hear what group you’re in, please go sit with those people,” he said. “I have Jennifer, Jason, and Kelly. Michael, Jacob, and Regina. Michelle O., Michelle T., and Anita. Bryce, Hunter, and Zoey. Tyler, Ryan, and Ben…” Zoey looked across the room to where Bryce and Hunter were sitting together. Bryce had gone to her elementary school, but Hunter hadn’t. The two knew each other, though, and were good friends. Bryce was tall, with floppy blondish hair and blue eyes. He wore a black tee shirt and jean shorts. Hunter, on the other hand, was short, with frizzy hair, bright green eyes and a load of freckles. She wore a tee shirt that read, I’d Rather Be Dancing and a huge smile on her face.            

 “Hi, Zoey,” Hunter chirped when Zoey had scooted her chair over to them. “So how fun is this gonna be? Creating a diorama on rocks! Omigosh, I can hardly, like, breathe, I’m so ecstatic.” She rolled her eyes and snorted. Zoey giggled. Hunter had the same sense of humor as her.            

 Bryce raised his eyebrows. “Ignore her,” he told Zoey. “She’s got some-” he lowered his voice “-issues.”             “Do not!” exclaimed Hunter, whacking his shoulder.             

“So,” said Zoey, pulling out a piece of paper so Mr. Matheson would think they were working. “How do you guys know each other?”             

“Our moms are best friends,” Hunter informed her. “But why my mom would be friends with someone who could produce a creature like Bryce, I still haven’t figured out.” She stuck out her tongue. Zoey laughed. Bryce pouted.     “Um, Hunter, I think we should probably start,” he said. “Mr. M is giving us the evil eye.”             

“Oh-kaay,” Hunter agreed. “So how are we going to make rocks interesting?” She turned to Zoey, scrunching up her face in mock confusion. “Can you think of a way that’s humanly possible?” she asked. “I can’t.”             

“Hmmm,” Zoey said, scratching her chin. “I know. We could paint faces on them. We could turn them into characters from Dora the Explorer.” She chuckled.             

Bryce snorted. “Dora the Explorer?” he asked.             

“Don’t listen to him, Zoey,” said Hunter. “Bryce goes home everyday and watches that show like there’s no tomorrow.”             

“I can totally see that,” Zoey agreed. “C’mon, vamonos, everybody, let’s go,” she sang.             

Hunter joined in. She turned to Bryce. “Ring a bell,” she giggled.             

“Whatever,” Bryce muttered, trying not to smile.             

“Zoey,” rang out Mr. Matheson’s voice. “Is you’re group working on a rock diorama or a comedy skit?”             “We’re trying to think of ways to make rocks interesting,” Zoey informed him. “We haven’t thought of anything yet. I don’t think we’ll be able to. I mean, they’re rocks.”            

 Mr. Matheson shook his head sadly. “Better men that you have tried,” he told them.             

Hunter and Zoey tried to look offended. “Men?” asked Zoey.             

“I bet the first person to figure out how to make rocks interesting will be a woman,” Hunter chimed in.             Zoey nodded. “We’ve got it all up here,” she said, pointing to her head. She and Hunter slapped five.             “Hey,” said Bryce slowly. “Mr. M is right. We should do a comedy skit.”             

Hunter and Zoey turned slowly towards him. “Huh?” Hunter said finally. Zoey and Bryce laughed.             

“Well, like we could use the rocks a make up a funny skit explaining about the different types and stuff. Iggie Nyus for Igneous, she could be like a nosy neighbor or something, and Met and Amor Fasis could be like the new people moving in next door and so on…” he trailed off.            

 “Hey, that’s cool,” Zoey said, grinning.             

“I swear he’s a woman at heart,” Hunter told her. “How else could he have come up with a genius idea like that?” Zoey and Bryce laughed. Bryce picked up his pen. “Well, let’s get to work,” he said. “We’ve only got fifteen minutes left.”             

Seventeen minutes later, Bryce put the beginning plot of their skit into his binder and picked up his backpack.  “Hey, do you guys want to meet after school to work on this?” asked Hunter.             

“I’ve got plan-” Zoey started, and then stopped. She was pretty peeved at Katie. Her best friend had just let Bethany walk all over her and was ditching their plans for Bethany. Let Katie get a taste of her own medicine. Zoey vowed to ignore Katie for the next few days until she apologized and lived up to her apology. “Sure,” she told Hunter and Bryce. “Do you want to meet at my house?”             

“Okay,” agreed Bryce. He turned to Hunter.  “Sure,” she said. “We’ll meet you at the flag pole after school.”   When the last bell rang later that day, Zoey, who was in gym, stuffed her gym clothes into her locker and slammed it shut. Her hair was messed up, but who cared? She had to meet Hunter and Bryce. Suddenly, from deep inside her backpack, Zoey’s cell phone rang.             

“Hello?” she said, pulling it out and flipping it open.             

“Zo?” said the voice on the other end. It was Katie. “Look, I’m really sorry but we can’t go shopping today. I have this thing with Bethany,” she stopped suddenly, and her voice lowered. “You don’t mind, do you? You understand, right?”             

“Sure, Katie,” Zoey said coldly. It was fine for Katie to have other friends, but blowing her off for Bethany was just not cool. Well, two could play this game. “And you won’t see me around much,” Zoey continued. “I’ll probably be hanging out with Bryce and Hunter. We’ve got this huge project.” She stopped, then sweetly asked, “You know them, right?”             

“Yeah, that’s cool,” replied Katie. She sounded a tiny bit relieved, but mostly hurt. “Bye, Zoey.”             

“Bye,” said Zoey, pressing the END button.             

She winced, remembering the tone of Katie’s voice. She knew that Katie hadn’t ever purposely meant to hurt her, even as much as she had. And she had purposely hurt Katie. Zoey’s heart pounded when she realized she’d been acting, well, like Bethany. She promised herself that she’d call Katie that night and have a long talk with her. A real talk, like they used to have. But right then she had to meet Hunter and Bryce. She pushed all thoughts of Katie and Bethany out of her mind and headed for the flag pole.               

“Okay, so what’s Amor gonna say now,” asked Bryce. He was sitting across from Zoey at her kitchen table, scribbling into a tattered notebook. Hunter sat next to him, doodling on her fingernails with a purple felt-tipped pen and looking thoughtful.             

“I don’t know,” Zoey said, biting her lip. “I think all the funny has been washed out of me.”             

“Well, lucky for you, I’m here,” Hunter announced. Zoey gigged. Hunter was a big ball of energy, just exploding all over the place. She could never stop talking. Bryce was quiet and more thoughtful, but Hunter did enough talking for the two of them. Seeing how they fed off each other reminded Zoey of herself and Katie. But she wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Katie.             

“…and they’re the ones who will fall in the volcano>?” Bryce was asking.             

“Exactly,” Hunter replied. She turned to Zoey. “Is that good?”             

Zoey nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “I think this is going to turn out great.”             

“Fully,” Bryce added.             

Zoey stared at him. “Fully?”             

“Ignore his surfer-speak,” Hunter said, rolling her eyes. “He’s just weird like that. You’ll get used to it.”             “Sure,” Zoey said slowly, but her mind was elsewhere. You’ll get used to it. Hunter had said it like Zoey was going to be hanging out with them in the future. As in, after the science project. She hoped so. Hanging out with Bryce and Hunter was so much fun. It reminded her of the awesome times she used to have with Katie. Before Bethany Katie. B.B. Katie. But now, with Bethany in the picture, Zoey’s face no longer lit up at the thought of Katie. When her friend’s smiling face passed through Zoey’s mind, she just gave a sort of sad smile. That was the expression Zoey had on her face right then.             

Hunter was staring at Zoey curiously. “What’s up?” she asked, concerned. “You’ve got this weird look on your face. Like…like you’ve just lost your best friend or something…” she stopped suddenly. “Zoey, are you okay?”             Silent tears were streaming down Zoey’s face. She bent her head, immersing her face in a curtain of orange hair. She didn’t want Hunter and Bryce to see her crying.             

“I-I think you-you’d better go now,” Zoey mumbled, wiping her eyes. She clumsily cleared up the table and managed to smile. “See you tomorrow, guys,” she told Hunter and Bryce, who were looking very concerned. “Bye.” Hunter frowned. She looked as if she was about to say something to Zoey, but Bryce nudged her and she closed her mouth.             

“Bye, Zoey,” Bryce said, pushing Hunter out the door.             

“Bye,” Hunter added.             

“Jeez, Hunter,” Zoey heard Bryce say. “Can’t you keep your big mouth shut for once. Look what you did!”             “I didn’t do anything,” Hunter retorted. “I don’t know what happened, Bryce. I’m sorry, okay.”             

Zoey picked up an empty bag of Fritos from the table and threw it in the trash. She ran down the hall to her room and jumped on her bed where she lay for an hour, crying into her pillow.  She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, the front door creaked and Zoey heard the sounds of her mother getting home from work. There was a knock on her door.             

“Zoey?” said Zoey’s mother. “Can I come in?”             

“Okay,” Zoey mumbled. Zoey’s mother opened the door and came over and sat on the edge of Zoey’s bed.             “Zoey? Are you okay?” she asked. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”             

“I’m fine,” Zoey muttered, burying her face in her pillow.             

“Now Zo,” said Zoey’s mother, stroking Zoey’s hair. “Something’s up. Do you want to talk about it?”             

Zoey shook her head vigorously, but then the whole story poured out; about Bethany, about Katie, about Bethany and Katie, and about Bryce and Hunter too.
“I just really want the friendship between Bethany, Katie, and me to work out,” Zoey blubbered. “Three-way friendships work in Nancy Drew, but I guess that it’s really just in books that it does.”             

“That’s not true, Zo,” Zoey’s mother said softly. “These two kids you’re doing a science project with–Hunter and Bryce–they seem like really good friends.. And from what you’ve told me, it seems like you’ve got a good thing going with them. Three friends. And you guys are all getting on great, huh?”             

“It’s just for a science project,” Zoey muttered. “They have to be nice to me.”             

“It can be ‘just for a science project’,” Zoey’s mother told her. “Or you can make it more. But you have to work at it. Friendships don’t develop by themselves. You have to put effort into them.”             

Zoey sighed. “But Bethany doesn’t want to be friends,” she said. “She just wants to make sure I have none, especially Katie.”             

“I think you should give this girl a chance,” said Zoey’s mother. “Be the bigger person. If she’s mean to you, you have to stand up for yourself. Don’t rely on Katie to do it for you. I’m sure Katie’s feeling very tangled up right now.”            

 “Why?” asked Zoey.             

“Because she really likes Bethany, even if you can’t see why, and you too, of course. I think she’s afraid that if she spends too much time with you she’ll lose Bethany, and vice versa. So she tried having all three of you hang out together, but that didn’t work either.”             

Zoey nodded slowly. Maybe she’d been too hard on Katie. “So you’re saying I should confront both of them and tell them how I feel, right?” she asked.             

“I think that would be a good idea,” Zoey’s mother confirmed. “And, good gracious, it’s six already. I’ve got to go cook dinner, Zo.” She kissed Zoey’s forehead. “Finish your homework, sweetheart, okay?”                        

 “Okay,” Zoey agreed. She sat down at her desk and looked up at her bulletin board, focusing on a picture of herself and Katie at the beach a few months ago. Their arms were around each other, their eyes were crossed, and their smiles were huge. Zoey rested her head on her desk and sighed. Her mom had told her she should tell Bethany and Katie exactly how she felt. But how did she feel?               

The next day was Friday. Zoey woke up late so her mother told her that she’d drive Zoey to school. Zoey texted Katie that her mom was driving her and she wouldn’t be walking. Zoey was glad that she wouldn’t have to face Katie until later. She still wasn’t sure what she was going to say to her.             

Zoey was sitting in the auditorium reading a Nancy Drew novel called The Hidden Staircase when someone plopped down in the seat across from her.             

“Hi, can I sit here,” the person said. Zoey almost didn’t hear her because it was so loud in the auditorium. She looked up. There, with here hair tied in a messy ponytail and a shy smile on her face, was Katie. “Unless you’re sitting with Hunter and Bryce,” she continued in a rush. “I can, you know, move somewhere else if you want and-” “Katie,” Zoey said, keeping her voice level. “Katie, it’s fine.”             

“Oh, okay,” said Katie, blushing. “Okay. I’ll just read now.” She pulled out a bright pink book and flipped it open to a random page. Zoey tried to concentrate on Nancy Drew, but she could feel Katie’s eyes watching her.             Five minutes before the bell rang, Bethany, wearing calf-length light pink converse, knee-length dark pink socks, white short shorts, and a bright pink long sleeved tee, marched over to the table where Zoey and Katie sat. Zoey closed her eyes and braced herself, anticipating the next five minutes filled with insults and ridicule. That’s when she decided it was time to face Bethany and Katie.             

Bethany stood behind Katie, narrowing her eyes at Zoey. “Hey Katie,” she squealed. “Luuuv you pony. Sooo cute.” She squinted at Zoey. “Um, do you, like, ever wear anything besides pigtails? They’re, like, so first grade.” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Come on, Katie, lets, like, go sit somewhere else. I’ve got to show you this new lip gloss set I got.” She tugged on Katie’s arm. Katie stood up, but didn’t move.             

Zoey stood up, then sat back down. She took a deep breath and looked Bethany in the eye. “No.”             

Bethany blinked. “Like, excuse me?”             

“No.” Zoey said it again, clear as anything. Bethany turned to Katie.             

“Like, what’s up with her?” she asked. Katie had a stricken look in her eyes. She whimpered, and then looked at Zoey and shook her head. Zoey nodded.             

“Look, Bethany, I’ve had enough of you,” Zoey said, hardly believing what she was saying. “I’ve had enough of you being mean to me. Katie is a great friend, but you can’t have her all to yourself. She’s my friend too. And it’s fine with me if you don’t want to be friends with me, but please don’t be mean to me. It hurts a lot, and in case you didn’t notice, it makes Katie super uncomfortable.” Katie was squirming. “Maybe we don’t have much in common, but we do have one thing in common–we both think Katie’s a great friend. Am I right?”             

Bethany nodded, looking paralyzed.             

“And Katie, you’ve been my best friend forever, and friends stand up for each other,” Zoey continued, looking at Katie. “It hurt when Bethany teased me, but it hurt more when you didn’t stand up for me. Because that’s what friends do.”             

Katie nodded. A single tear trickled down her cheek. “I-I’m sorry, Zo,” she said in a voice that was barely audible.  Zoey pressed her lips into a small smile. “I understand, Katie,” she said quietly. “I do.” She squeezed Katie’s hand sympathetically. Then she turned back to Bethany.             

“Sit down, Bethany,” Zoey said. “I’d like to try and start over again. I think I know where you’re coming from. I’m not going to steal Katie, okay? I just want to be friends. With her, and with you, too. If Katie thinks you’re great enough to be friends with her, then I want to be your friend, too.”             

Bethany narrowed her eyes. She stared at the ground. “Whatever,” she muttered storming away.             

“No, Bethany, wait!” cried Katie. Bethany looked back and sneered at Katie. Another tear tricked down Katie’s cheek.             

Zoey jumped up. “Bethany, wait!” she exclaimed, speed-walking towards Bethany. She grabbed the girl by her shoulder to stop her.             

“What?” Bethany snapped, turning around.             

“Look,” said Zoey. “if you don’t want to try and be friends, fine. But you should still be friends with Katie. She really likes you.”             

“Yeah right,” Bethany retorted. “She like you way better than me. You guys are best friends.”             

“A person can have more than one friend,” Zoey told Bethany. “One friendship doesn’t take away from the other. They just feed each other. It’s like love. You can love one person and you have more love for a different person but it doesn’t take away from your love for the first person. And besides, you should see Katie. She talks about you nonstop.”             

Bethany lips twitched, like she was about to smile, and then her eyes narrowed. “Okay,” she said quietly. “I really like Katie.”             

“Go over and sit with her,” said Zoey. “I’m sure she itching to see your lip gloss. I don’t care about that kind of stuff. And I just saw my friend Hunter over there.” She gave Bethany a nudge and Bethany scurried back to the table where Katie was sitting alone.             

Zoey gave her a thumbs up, and Katie grinned. Zoey glanced at Hunter and then back to Katie. Katie made a ‘go on’ gesture with her hands and, with one final grin at Katie, Zoey skipped over to Hunter with a smile on her face.