Chapter 3 : I know her

"Thay, are you okay? You seem kinda quiet."

"I'm fine...but you're not," Thayet replied.

"What do you mean?" Sandy asked.

Thayet sighed. "You have to promise not to be mad at me--I'm just trying to help."

"Okay. Are you going to tell me what it is?"

Thayet looked down at her hands and sat for a moment in silence. "People overheard Chloe-Lynn today at lunch. Apparantly she's playing some kind of trick on you--she invited you to her party on Friday so that you'd miss the Welcome Back dance and then you'd get kicked off the dance committee and then Chloe's friend Lindsey could be chairperson," Thayet burst out.

Sandy didn't say a word. She reached Thayet's house and then killed the engine. "You didn't dig up this information?"

"No, I swear I didn't."

"Then who told you?"

"Sandy, please. It was a reliable source."

"Was it Christine?"

"She only said the first little bit...I got the rest when I asked people on my own," Thayet said defensively.

"So you lied to me. You did dig it up. And if Christine told you, well how many times has she gotten things messed up in the past?" Sandy asked.

"Sandy, other people said so too--"

"Yeah, when you snooped around. Thayet, I can't believe you're doing this to me. You've been my best friend forever, and now that I'm making new friends you just have to get in the way. I didn't want to end our friendship when I made new friends, but maybe I should."

"No--Sandy, you don't mean that!"

"Just take a break Thayet. Just let me sort things out. I will find out for myself if this thing with Chloe is true. And I need a break from you to do that. It's that simple. Now would you just please leave my car?" Sandy asked calmly.

"If that's what you want, I guess I'll have to give it to you." Thayet climbed out of the car, and walked inside her house.

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Andrew woke up in his new house. It was weird, being back here. He'd kept in touch with all his old friends, but he hadn't realised how much things had changed. It was scary, like jumping into a pool when it was dark and you couldn't see the water. He smiled--Thayet hadn't changed. She was still everybody's best friend, smiling non-stop.

But Chloe...she had changed. She was no longer the little kid with red hair in pigtails. He remembered talking to her at the DQ. She was so sarcastic and witty, on another girl it would have turned him off, but on Chloe it just turned him on.

He rolled over on the bed and stared at his alarm clock. It was supposed to go off, but he'd forgotten to set it the night before. Maybe he should get up...but he'd much prefer to stay in bed and think about Chloe...and that kiss. Wow. That was the only word that could describe the kiss. Wow. Then again, the quicker he got up, the quicker he'd see her again. That was reason enough to get up.

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Matt woke up in his bed, completely dressed, and with a full hangover. Then he remembered the night before. Well, sort of remembered. It was very blurry and hazy, but he recalled doing something that he had definitely never done before. Damn it, he'd slept with some girl whose name he didn't even know! He groaned and rolled over.

"Matt! Are you up yet?" his mother opened the door and turned on the light.

"Mom, please! Turn off the light. I'll be up in a second."

"You were drinking last night Matthew. The word hangover is written clearly all over your face," Mrs. Bangsund replied accusingly.

"Can we discuss this later?" Matt asked.

His mother sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into you. We will talk about this later, but just so you know, you are grounded for the next 2 weeks. Now hurry up or you'll be late for school." His mother left the room.

"School? No way! Come on, Mom, I can barely get up. Don't even ask me to get up and get dressed," Matt cried weakly.

Mrs. Bangsund sighed. "We'll see about that. Get up now, Matt, and--" she cut herself off as he got up and ran to the bathroom. She heard him throw up. So this is what having a teenage son is all about, she said to herself. She walked over to the bathroom and saw him sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. She felt a twinge of sympathy and remembered the first time she'd ever gotten drunk--her mother (Matt's grandmother) had practically disowned her. "Get to your room and I'll make you a cup of coffee. Don't worry, I'm not going to make you go to school, even if it is the second day of school." She walked out of the room.

What? he thought. My mom actually sounded...sympathetic! That can't be my mom--can it?

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Charlene got off the phone with Lorraine Soroka. Oh my gosh, she thought. Matt and Simone? Last night? When Chris hears she will die! Charlene grabbed the phone and rang Christine.

"Christine? I need to talk to you!" Charlene cried.

"Well, I'm not talking to you Char, not after yesterday," Christine replied.

"No, please don't hang up! Just listen, okay?"

"Fine," Chris replied coldly.

"Lorraine just called me to tell me that Simone just called her and told her that Matt slept with her last night! Can you believe it? Supposedly they were both drunk and then they just sort of did it." Charlene cried.

"What? Wait a sec. He slept with who? Lorraine or Simone? I can't believe this. How could he be drunk? Matt doesn't drink! I mean, to think that I was going to go back to him today...he certainly got over me quick enough! Oh my God. What do I do? Everyone's going to be laughing at me...three years together and this is what it comes to." Chris trailed off, and sounded like she was going to burst into tears.

"I thought you'd prefer to hear it from me rather than anyone else. By the way it was Simone that he slept with. Look, what time are you leaving for school? If you wait 10 minutes, I'll drive over and pick you up," Charlene offered.

"Thanks. I just can't believe it...you're such a good friend to me, Char. I don't know what I'd do without you!" Christine cried.

"No prob. That's what I'm here for. Best friends forever, right?" Charlene smiled.

"Forever, Char. I'll see you in ten!" Christine said.

"Later."

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Chloe-Lynn ran into school looking for someone to talk to. She had hot gossip! Matt Bangsund and Simone Murray...just wait until Christine heard. There were bound to be fireworks for sure. Plus she had to see Andrew and check that their date was still on. To think that only yesterday she was bored! She saw Andrew down the hall.

"Andrew, hi!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Chloe. How's it going?" he asked, smiling.

"Pretty good. But not so good for Matt Bangsund. Did you hear about last night?"

"Yup, James just told me. I want to know one thing, though. Who's Simone? I don't remember her..."

"She moved here in, let's see, tenth grade. About two or three years ago." she replied.

"Oh right. Poor Christine, when she hears about this she's going to get mad! She's not the type to keep quiet."

"I know. There's going to be some huge fireworks. Oh, hi, Sandrilene," Chloe said.

"Hi Chloe," Sandy replied. "Hey Andrew. Chloe, I can't make it to your party--I have to go to the Welcome Back dance, as chairperson it's kinda my responsibility."

"What? It's only the biggest bash this year! Everyone's going to be there--it's just a lame dance at school. Why don't you just say you're sick or something?" Chloe suggested.

Andrew laughed. "Anything to have a good time, right?"

"Exactly," Chloe agreed. "So are you in, Sandy?"

"Really, I can't. I'm sorry." Sandy turned and walked away.

"Is she a loser! Who wouldn't skip some lame school dance for the ultimate party (this time it'll be planned unlike last night) at my place?" Chloe sighed and looked down the hall to Sandy.

"Give the girl a break, Chloe. She's got a responsibility--good for her to keep it up," Andrew looked at her and gave her a quick kiss.

"Sure. I'll give her a break all right." Chloe muttered and grabbed his hand.

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Thayet walked into her first period class, and ran into Christine. She'd heard about the whole Matt thing, but now she needed to know one thing. "Hey Chris!"

"Hi Thayet, how're you doing?" she asked.

"Maybe I should be asking you that. Are you okay? I mean, it's been a hell of a way to start off a new school year...but if you ever need anything, just say the word, okay?" Thayet offered.

"Thanks, Thayet. You're really the best, but Charlene's been great and all. I just need some...space, all right?"

"No prob. Maybe you could tell me one thing, though. It's kinda a mean question, but I really need to know. Who was the girl that Matt, um, was with last night?" Thayet asked, hoping that Christine wouldn't spaz on her.

"Oh! Charlene said it was Simone somebody," Christine replied with difficulty. "Do you mind me asking why?"

"No reason. I'm just glad to hear that it's not really anyone that we're friends with or anything like that," Thayet replied, smiling. Thayet sat down in her desk. I knew it! she thought. I knew it would be the same girl that Jon slept with--the girl that we broke up over. There's something about her...why do I get the feeling that she's not done with Matt yet?

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Stephen Teresty walked into the lunchroom. Now where am I going to sit today? He knew better than to sit with Matt again! Maybe he could give Chris some company, she would be feeling pretty bad. And, of course, Charlene would be there. There was no way that Char would abandon her best friend at a time like this. As he walked through the line he saw Andrew sitting with Chloe. His arm was around her, and it was obvious that they were incredibly tight--it didn't take long for them to get together. He smiled. A guy like Andrew was exactly what a girl like Chloe needed. Maybe now the school could settle down a bit--he'd heard about Chloe's plan to get Sandrilene. Hopefully Andrew could 'tame her down' a bit.

He paid for lunch and sat down with Chris and Charlene. "Hey Christine! How's it going? I can't believe that Mrs. Rose already gave us an assignment in Math!"

Chris laughed. "No kidding. The nerve of these teachers. Giving us homework, indeed." She looked relieved.

Stephen looked at Charlene and realised that she wasn't eating anything. "Aren't you hungry, Charlene?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm hungry, but I have a meeting of the drama club in about two seconds so I have to go. I ate an apple, though. Speaking of which, I have to go. Later!"

"See you, Charlene," Stephen replied, slightly unhappily.

"I'll catch up with you later, Char, okay?" Christine asked.

"Sure." She walked off.

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Matt got out of his mothers car, his head aching. He'd had about 5 cups of coffee but it didn't seem to help. Yeah, his mother had been nice--for about five seconds. She somehow convinced him to go to school in the afternoon. Why the heck had he felt the need to show off the fact that he could walk without wincing or go a full hour without throwing up? And to top things off, his mom had decided to give him a ride so that he didn't have to drive--but that meant arriving at the beginning of the lunch hour. What was he going to do during lunch?

He decided to go to his locker...but something was off. And it wasn't the fact that he still had a headache. It was everyone else. They were all staring at him. As he opened his locker, he saw a couple of sophomore girls look at him and giggle. What was wrong? Did he have something on his face? Deciding that it must be something else, he walked into the lunchroom. And almost ran out again.

Conversation stopped. Eyebrows raised. And some girls whistled. What the hell is going on? He was sure his face was red--he wasn't used to having a lunchroom full of people staring right at him. Looking around for somewhere to sit, he only saw...nowhere. Stephen was with Charlene and Chris, which was definitely out of the question. Andrew was with Chloe, who was not one of his friends...then he saw Thayet with Sandrilene. Thayet was cool, she was really nice and easy to talk to. Whatever the problem was, Thayet would clue him in. Happy that he now had a destination, he walked over to their table.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked tentatively.

"Go ahead," Thayet replied. He smiled, almost feeling as if he was in heaven. Most people were staring at him, but Thayet was totally avoiding his face, which was a very welcome change.

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Linda Ryan walked into the cafeteria after a meeting of the debate society. She usually spent her lunchtime in the library, but she didn't have any work to do, so what was the point? Grabbing a sandwich and drink, she made her way to Christine and Stephen's table. Linda was a "workaholic" and didn't have any very close friends, so Chris was as good as a friend that she had.

"Hello, Christine and Stephen," she said. "Do you mind if I eat lunch with you?"

"Of course not! Sit down," Christine replied.

"Where's Matt? I thought you two always had lunch together," Linda casually commented. Stephen made an audible sound and then looked at Chris. She was pale.

"Chris, can you get me another orange juice? I'm done mine," Stephen said.

"Sure," she croaked out.

"Thanks, here's the money," he handed her a couple of coins and she walked off.

"Linda, Matt and Chris broke up yesterday," he explained.

"Oh my gosh! I had no idea. I wouldn't have brought it up if I knew," Linda cried.

"No problem. Just don't mention it anymore, please," Stephen asked.

"I won't! I feel awful."

"Don't worry. Just--shh! She's coming back," he whispered.

"Here you go, Stephen," Chris said, handing him the juice carton.

"Thanks."

Linda opened her mouth, "you know, Christine, I know it's a tough thing to think about, but if you've broken up with Matt..." Stephen groaned and put his head in his hands. "Well, maybe you should start thinking about other stuff--like school. I mean, it's our senior year, time for scholarships and stuff, maybe you should just concentrate more on that kind of thing. That's what I do. It creates a nice distraction for your thoughts, plus you end up with something valuable--like good grades," Linda stopped to take a breath after her speech.

"I've never thought about that...maybe I'll try it, but I'm not promising anything!" Christine answered, laughing. But inside it was a different story. Grades? Ha! This is my senior year. If Matt can get over our break-up that easily, and can still have fun, why shouldn't I?

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Thayet was almost finished having lunch with Sandy and Matt. Matt was unusually silent, and Thayet & Sandrilene both knew why. And they weren't going to bring it up either.

"So how's your Accounting class going? I hear it's the hardest elective!" Thayet asked Sandy.

"It's actually quite good. There are some unexpected people in it--Linda Ryan's in it (but that was expected, she's such a nerd) and Stephen and let's see...Chloe-Lynn and I think Andrew mentioned going in. There's also Lorraine Soroka, which was really unexpected--she failed grade 10 math twice and now she's taking Accounting! Plus there's a couple geeks like Mark Smith and Elisa Barry. All in all it's a small class, only about ten people and that's going to be including Andrew if he takes it." Sandy explained.

"Wow. My Computer Science class if much less interesting. For one thing, we have a normal sized class, plus there are about two or three classes. But it is soooooo boring! Right now we're going over bits and bytes--we did that in grade ten for God's sake!" Thayet exploded.

"Well, Accounting's doing the same. We're going over the same stuff that we learned before--the steps of the cycle starting from Source Documents. It's so boring, but once we get into Journalising things will be good. I love Journalising." Sandy enthusiastically said.

"Sure. I have no clue what Journalising is, but if you like it, that's good enough!" Thayet said.

"I have no clue what bits or bytes are--wait. I do know, I took Computer Science in grade ten, but that's about all I know!" Sandy laughed.

"I have to go to the bathroom, Sandy. I'll catch up with you later, okay?" Thayet stood up.

"Cool. Later!" Sandy waved.

Thayet got up and walked out of the cafeteria. She walked into the bathroom and heard the familiar sound of someone throwing up. She kept quiet so that the person couldn't hear her. She waited like that for a couple of seconds, her heart beating furiously. Then the cubicle's door opened, and a person stepped out. Oh my God, I know her! It's--Charlene!

Chapter Four~~It Can Be Your Best Friend