Friendship
"Everything here is backward," Melissa complains.
"Yeah," Zach agrees with a laugh.
My hackles rise. Was Melissa always this anal?
"Maybe it's you that's backward," I say. Melissa and several of the others turn and stare at me. Then their eyes glaze over as if I'm not here.
"Did you hear something?" Melissa says to the girl beside her.
The girl shrugs. "No, just a weird buzzing sound. Street noise, I guess."
They turn their backs on me—as if I care.
Sardines and wine gums do not go together. But I eat them all, and I drink the milk. Then I sit still for a bit until the sick feeling goes. When I tell Dad what I had for a snack, he will not let Miss Stella babysit me anymore.
I've never talked to Lacey because, clearly, it would be a waste of breath. I don't even know why people like her were born. What is she good for? Proof that evolution can go backward? Sure, she's pretty, but that's about it. Dolls are pretty too, and I got bored with them years ago. Meh. I hardly ever played with them even when I was little. Why would I bother with a brainless doll now?
Sadly these things can be forced on us.
