Chosen by Sarah Swan Page B

mind.  That was the only time I had ever felt so at ease.  At the same time, it was the only time in recent memory I had felt so utterly discomfited.  It was a crazy contrast, and one that made me feel completely unsure of what had happened.  I couldn’t remember the last time I was this much in my own head.
    “Well, I’ve got to go catch my friends,” Rob said suddenly, standing up from the table and nearly dropping Liz in the process.  “Liz, it was good to see you.  Same for everyone else.  And it was very good to meet you , Tracy.” 
    I only looked up once I was sure he had left, but my estimate had been unfortunately off.  In fact, the moment I raised my eyes was exactly the time Rob had decided to take one last glance over his shoulder, back at… back at me.  As our eyes met again, he flashed me a knowing grin, and disappeared in the crowd.
    Instantly, I became aware of every girl’s eyes on me.  None of them looked happy.
    “What was that ?” Eve asked admonishingly.  Six pairs of eyes dug into me.  There was no doubting their intentions.  Anger.
    “What was what?” I defended meekly, but I knew I was outmatched.  Great.  In less than a minute, I had completely blown all my chances of being friends with a group of girls who seemed to be at the center of social life here.  At least, now I could make my own decisions about who to be friends with, I thought humorlessly.
    Liz stared at me in disbelief and opened her mouth to say something.  But then she stopped, took a deep breath, and visibly tried to compose herself.  It failed.  “Listen,” she said with unconditional vehemence.  “I know you’re new.  I know you don’t know us yet, or our friends.  That gives you one chance.  And, when I first met you, you seemed to be pretty cool.  That gives you a second chance.  And while I want to be friends with you – I think we all do – there has to be a mutual understanding between us.  And that understanding is this: If you ever do something like that again, we will all turn on you faster than you can believe.  Got it?  If you don’t watch your behavior in the future, all of us – all six of us – will work to make your entire stay at Oliver a living nightmare.  Understand?  So.  It’s up to you.  We can be either your best friends, or your absolute worst enemies.  And trust me, you don’t want any of us as your enemies.  Take this as your final warning: You will not—I repeat, not— ever speak to Rob by yourself again.  Do I make myself clear?”
    I nodded weakly.  It wasn’t fair.  It’s not like I even did anything!  But all these girls seemed to think I had.  I barely even said a word to the guy.  But, somehow, they had already decided I was a threat to Liz’s relationship with him!  Whatever that relationship was – I was sure they weren’t girlfriend-boyfriend at this point, based least of all on what Liz told me during the walk to breakfast.  She just seemed a ditzy, little girl, jumping all around him, trying to win his affections.  But, then again, I admitted grudgingly, it’s not like I would act any differently, given the chance.
    “So?” Eve asked provocatively.  “What’ll it be?”
    I looked at her, and forced a smile.  “I don’t want to interfere,” I said genuinely.  “And I do want to be friends with you guys.  I’m sorry for what just happened.  I’ll make sure it doesn’t occur again.”
    “Great!” Madison exclaimed, and the pressure seemed to disperse instantly.  “We want to be friends with you, too.”  All the other girls broke into smiles, nodding their heads and agreeing.  Even Liz, who looked most reluctant, cracked a smile.
    “See that it doesn’t,” she said, “and you’ll have a great time here.”
     
    I walked back to the dorm by myself.  All the other girls had decided to go hang out for a bit at the beach, and while they pressed me to come, I excused myself early.  I had some things to