was what Vi tried to tell me. I think I was finally getting it, but could I change? That was the real question.
• • •
Chelsea was waiting for me in the locker room.
Not waiting , exactly. She was standing in front of one of the lockers, changing into her shorts and T-shirt, but the second I walked in, she stopped everything and looked at me.
“Here she is,” Chelsea said loudly. Everyone turned to look at me. An entire row of girls I played volleyball and basketball and soccer with every day in this class. Most of the time they paid no attention to me at all, but today I was the star.
“Chelsea said you know that TV producer,” Wynona Jennings said. “How do we get on the show?”
“Look.” I held up my hand to stop any more questions. Then I saw them all looking at me and froze.
This was where I was supposed to tell them this had all gotten way, way out of hand. I’d say that I knew nothing about any TV show and that they should just wait until they heard something and stop talking about things they knew nothing about. I could even imitate Vi’s mature way of saying things like that.
But what would probably happen? I could see it now. I’d give my little speech and everyone’s expressions would harden. They’d turn back to their lockers and not speak to me as we all got dressed with tension in the air between us. They’d then head out to the gym floor, leaving me in here all alone. By the time I joined them, nobody would be speaking to me. Nobody would speak to me ever again.
“It’s supposed to be top secret,” I said.
“We won’t tell anyone,” Chelsea said. They all moved in closer. Lockers clicked closed and everything in the locker room got very, very quiet.
And this is what made it so hard to stop gossiping. That was the best feeling ever. Everyone was hanging on my every word, anxious to hear what I’d say next. They couldn’t wait to hear it. I was important. People liked me.
“Okay.” I lowered my voice to barely above a whisper.“Her name is Ashley Golden and she’s a producer for 24-Hour Makeover . She’s here to do a show on the school. I showed her around and she asked about the language arts wing and the cafeteria. She wants to create a break area for us.”
“A break area?” Amie Mondale asked. “Like, with TV screens and video games?”
“No, silly.” Chelsea shot a glare in her direction. “A place with vending machines and seats, I’m sure.”
“And somewhere to talk on our cell phones if we have to call our parents,” I said. “Maybe even with chargers so we can keep our batteries going all day.”
“That would be so cool,” Dawes Adams said, her eyes wide. “I wonder if they’d let us bring our laptops in.”
“I’m sure they would, as long as we only used them on break,” Wynona added. “Plus, there will be chargers, so it’s perfect.”
As they all started discussing all the things they could do with their laptops during our fifteen-minute break, I was having major second thoughts. I changed into my shorts and headed out to the gym, letting them talk it out. It wasn’t like telling them had suddenly made me the most popular person ever. It had just given them all something to talk about without me.
Now that I thought about it, this was how it had always been. I handed out gossip while everyone stared at me, eating up every word I said. As long as the information kept coming, I was the gossip queen. But the second I ran out of information, people went on to something else and I was no more interesting than anyone else in school.
I sat down on the front row of bleachers and looked out across the empty gym. Had I just totally destroyed my friendship with Vi for thirty seconds of popularity?
Chapter Eleven
EVERYTHING WAS OKAY. FOR NOW , at least. VI seemed to have no idea what was going on, and Jessica and Sydney weren’t talking about it, just as I’d requested.
“Vi and I are going shopping Saturday,” Sarah told me when I
• • •
Chelsea was waiting for me in the locker room.
Not waiting , exactly. She was standing in front of one of the lockers, changing into her shorts and T-shirt, but the second I walked in, she stopped everything and looked at me.
“Here she is,” Chelsea said loudly. Everyone turned to look at me. An entire row of girls I played volleyball and basketball and soccer with every day in this class. Most of the time they paid no attention to me at all, but today I was the star.
“Chelsea said you know that TV producer,” Wynona Jennings said. “How do we get on the show?”
“Look.” I held up my hand to stop any more questions. Then I saw them all looking at me and froze.
This was where I was supposed to tell them this had all gotten way, way out of hand. I’d say that I knew nothing about any TV show and that they should just wait until they heard something and stop talking about things they knew nothing about. I could even imitate Vi’s mature way of saying things like that.
But what would probably happen? I could see it now. I’d give my little speech and everyone’s expressions would harden. They’d turn back to their lockers and not speak to me as we all got dressed with tension in the air between us. They’d then head out to the gym floor, leaving me in here all alone. By the time I joined them, nobody would be speaking to me. Nobody would speak to me ever again.
“It’s supposed to be top secret,” I said.
“We won’t tell anyone,” Chelsea said. They all moved in closer. Lockers clicked closed and everything in the locker room got very, very quiet.
And this is what made it so hard to stop gossiping. That was the best feeling ever. Everyone was hanging on my every word, anxious to hear what I’d say next. They couldn’t wait to hear it. I was important. People liked me.
“Okay.” I lowered my voice to barely above a whisper.“Her name is Ashley Golden and she’s a producer for 24-Hour Makeover . She’s here to do a show on the school. I showed her around and she asked about the language arts wing and the cafeteria. She wants to create a break area for us.”
“A break area?” Amie Mondale asked. “Like, with TV screens and video games?”
“No, silly.” Chelsea shot a glare in her direction. “A place with vending machines and seats, I’m sure.”
“And somewhere to talk on our cell phones if we have to call our parents,” I said. “Maybe even with chargers so we can keep our batteries going all day.”
“That would be so cool,” Dawes Adams said, her eyes wide. “I wonder if they’d let us bring our laptops in.”
“I’m sure they would, as long as we only used them on break,” Wynona added. “Plus, there will be chargers, so it’s perfect.”
As they all started discussing all the things they could do with their laptops during our fifteen-minute break, I was having major second thoughts. I changed into my shorts and headed out to the gym, letting them talk it out. It wasn’t like telling them had suddenly made me the most popular person ever. It had just given them all something to talk about without me.
Now that I thought about it, this was how it had always been. I handed out gossip while everyone stared at me, eating up every word I said. As long as the information kept coming, I was the gossip queen. But the second I ran out of information, people went on to something else and I was no more interesting than anyone else in school.
I sat down on the front row of bleachers and looked out across the empty gym. Had I just totally destroyed my friendship with Vi for thirty seconds of popularity?
Chapter Eleven
EVERYTHING WAS OKAY. FOR NOW , at least. VI seemed to have no idea what was going on, and Jessica and Sydney weren’t talking about it, just as I’d requested.
“Vi and I are going shopping Saturday,” Sarah told me when I
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