T here is no doubt in my mind that I have the strangest parents in the world. They wear only all-natural fibers and actually like the taste of tofu tacos. They’ve dragged me to all kinds of weird self-exploration workshops where I learned to meditate, chant, rub crystals, and burn sage stalks to smudge the evil spirits from my life. I’m pretty sure both of them think they have been through previous lives. They’re weird, but they love me. They love who I am, not what or who they wanted me to be or thought I could be. They want me to be happy. I knew without a doubt that if the situation had been reversed, if I were in Lauren’s shoes, they would want to know the truth and they would stay with me until we figured it out together.
It was possible that the worst thing in the world wasn’t being betrayed by your so-called best friend; maybe the worst thing was being betrayed by your family.
Lauren wasn’t in school the next day and there wasn’t a soul in all of Lincoln High who didn’t know why. A couple of geeky juniors who had been on the receiving end of some of Lauren’s cruel comments over the years spit on her locker as they walked past, and someone else had written bitch on it in marker. It was clear that while Lauren might have been popular, that wasn’t the same thing as being well liked.
Bailey, Kyla, and the rest of the cheerleading squad were warming up for a lunchtime practice. Apparently there was some big cheerleading derby or something coming up that called for extra practices. Bailey had asked me to come for moral support, so I sat on the slick gym floor watching and picking at my sandwich.
“Hey, can you give a message to Lauren for me?” One of the guys from the football team said as he jogged past.
Kyla gave a curt nod.
“Tell her if she’s looking for blow, she don’t need to do drugs. She can have this.” He grabbed his crotch and gave it a shake. The rest of the guys burst out laughing.
“That was disgusting,” Bailey said, looking away and pulling her leg effortlessly up above her head in a stretch. “I still can’t believe the whole thing.”
“It’s not like it’s the first time she did something without thinking,” Kyla pointed out.
“True, but I don’t think she did it,” I said. “I think someone stuck that stuff in her bag for LaPoint to find.”
“That’s terrible. Who would do that to Lauren?” Bailey asked.
“That’s what we need to figure out,” I said.
“Now we’re going to be Nancy Drew?” Kyla asked with a laugh. I had a sudden flash of Lauren cutting her palm so we would be in trouble together after our Nancy Drew adventure had gone bad.
“Yeah, now we play Nancy Drew. We figure out a way to clear Lauren’s name.”
“I feel terrible about what happened, but I don’t want to get messed up in the situation.” Kyla bent over, bouncing as she touched her toes. She looked back at me. “What? I’ve got my cheerleading slot to think about. Anyone mixed up in drugs is an auto off the squad. Who knows what happened? Maybe she was holding them for someone. Maybe they are hers. At the party last week she took a toke off someone’s joint. She’s no angel.”
“Smoking that stuff is wrong.” Bailey’s mouth pressed into a thin line. Clearly Mary Poppins did not approve of recreational weed. “You start with marijuana and then it leads to heavier stuff. She could have ruined her life.”
Kyla rolled her eyes. “Don’t freak out, Miss Just Say No. She got caught with two joints. It isn’t like she was shooting heroin. The whole thing is no big deal. Her cheerleading days are over, but Daddy’s lawyer will keep her out of any real trouble.”
I looked over at Bailey and she looked away, pulling at her pleated skirt.
“It isn’t that I don’t want to help Lauren. It’s just, my parents told me I’m not allowed to hang out with her anymore. They’re like superstrict and stuff,” Bailey said.
The cheerleading coach blew her whistle and motioned that she wanted everyone to join her in the center of the gym floor. I stood up and chucked the rest of my sandwich into the trash.
“I don’t know why you want to help Lauren so bad. You know she totally talks shit about you,” Kyla said. “You might think she’s your friend, but she’s not. Lauren hates competition, and as far as she’s concerned, you never knew your place.”
“She never said anything that bad,” Bailey said, clearly feeling awkward. “Lauren just gets sort of short sometimes. She hates change.”
“Whatever,” Kyla muttered, doing a few last twists at the waist. “I wouldn’t worry about her. Things have a way of working out for Lauren.” Kyla ran off with her skirt flipping up.
“It’ll be okay. I think it’s super nice you want to help her out, but maybe she needed to get caught to keep herself from getting into even deeper trouble. It might have been the best thing that could have happened to her.” Bailey gave my arm a soft rub.
Oh no. She didn’t.
“Bailey, did you turn in Lauren?”
She pulled back. I could read her like an open book. She was thinking of lying, but she didn’t have the slightest idea how to do it. Dishonesty wasn’t something that came easy to her.
“It isn’t that I wanted her to get in trouble.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Real friends do what’s right, even when it feels wrong.”
I sank down to the floor. Lauren was taken down by Mary Poppins. Bailey kneeled in front of me on the floor. “What happened?” I asked.
“I went in her purse to get a mint and I found the drugs.” Bailey twisted her hands together. “Lauren was never into that stuff before, but she’s been all weird and tense lately. I’ve been worried about her. I think she’s getting on the wrong track.”
“So you turned her in to LaPoint?” I glanced around to see if anyone else was paying attention to our discussion.
“I prayed about it first. I wanted to do the right thing. Now she can get the help she needs.” Bailey’s lower lip was shaking. “Are you going to tell her it was me?”
My mind was whizzing around like a salad spinner. “No. I won’t tell her.”
“I really did do it because I care about her.”
“I know you did.” The coach blew her whistle again. “You better go.” Bailey squeezed my hand and then ran over to join the rest of the squad. I clamored up to my feet, brushing off my jeans.
I wasn’t sure how she did it, but Lauren had found herself a true friend. I wanted another option, but I couldn’t think of one. It wasn’t about doing it to help Lauren; it was about doing it because the person I wanted to be would do the right thing. If I was going to get a life, it should be one worth having.