Best Frenemies (11 page)

“Let's get beautiful. Or, I mean, more beautiful.” She grinned at Alice. Alice smiled back, but inside she was thinking,
How in the ever-living heck am I going to pull this off?

Homeroom was always abuzz right before the weekend, but the classroom was extrafidgety this Friday. Thanksgiving break wasn't too far off, but more important, both the school musical and the math meet were occurring that night. Most kids in class were involved with or had friends who were a part of one of the events, so students chattered about what time they were going, and what they were wearing, if they'd get dinner ahead of time, and whose parents would drive.

“What's on your mind, Kinney?” Aaron Woolsey asked Alice. She had been sitting with her chin in her hands as she contemplated her fate. After a whole week of thinking about it, she still hadn't figured out how to be in two places at the same time. At least both the math meet and the musical took place
in
Lakeside, but the big auditorium (for the musical) and the small auditorium (for the math meet) were at opposite ends
of the school. Surely she was going to get busted by either Nikki or Cassidy for not being there when she had said she would be. She couldn't think of an excuse for just staying home, the way she wanted to. Maybe she could fake her own death, or pretend she'd been kidnapped?

“Oh, nothing,” Alice said. “I'm, um, just nervous for the math meet.”

“But you're not even on the team!” He laughed. “Even though you'd totally be the star of the team, not that I am trying to pressure you to be on it, even though it would totally be fun, no pressure. Pressure, comma, none.”

Alice squinted at him. “No. I am not, nor will I ever be on the team, because I like to keep math in class, where it belongs. But I feel like I
am
on the team, after all the cramming I've been doing with Nikki!” Nikki grinned, but when Aaron turned away to talk to Todd, she lowered her head to whisper to Alice.

“Hey,” Nikki said. “You don't have to go tonight. It's okay.”

“What?” Alice said. “Of course I'll be there. I promised I would.”

“But what about the musical?” Nikki asked.

“The musical?” Alice said.

“Alice,” Nikki said, rolling her eyes. “You are so smart that you stink at playing dumb. Everyone has been talking about the musical for weeks. There are posters everywhere.
I
would go to it tonight if I weren't in the math meet. And I know that Cassidy's doing a solo in it. She won't stop talking about it during ballet.” She smiled wryly.

Alice smiled, exasperated. She couldn't put anything past Nikki. She was probably the smartest person in the Nerd Herd. She was definitely smarter than Alice, who should have taken the chance to get out of the math meet when Nikki gave it to her. But she just couldn't back out of a promise.

“I told you I'd go,” Alice said. “And so I will be there. Especially after all that work we put into it! I can't wait to see you rock it.”

“All right, people,” Ms. Garrity said in her warning voice, which was usually the first of three times she told the students to quiet down before she got really mad and did something drastic like turn off the lights or clap her hands, which were her two favorite ways of displaying that she was serious.

“Doesn't Cassidy want you at her thing?” Nikki asked, lowering her voice to a whisper.

“She'll have so much family there, she won't notice
if I'm gone,” Alice said, which was yet another lie. She had celebrated with Cassidy's family after every big performance she'd been a part of—she was practically
a member
of the family. But, as much as Alice hated lying, it almost seemed worth it, based on the big grin on Nikki's face.

“I'm so glad you'll be there,” Nikki admitted. “If I do well, it'll be because of you! And if I do badly, I can cry and use your shoulder as a Kleenex.” Alice smiled and almost felt embarrassed. Cassidy knew that Alice would be there because they'd
always
been there for each other. Meanwhile, Nikki just seemed so grateful even for the promise of Alice showing up. Alice couldn't let her down, even if Nikki had given her the chance to skip the meet.

All Nikki had needed was someone to listen to her and get to know her, and she came alive. Ever since she had opened up to Alice that morning in homeroom, she had started to speak up more in class. She joked around and even sat at the Nerd Herd table sometimes, when she wasn't cramming for the math meet. Nikki was a great girl and getting greater the more people had the chance to see it.

If only Cassidy could be one of those people. Alice wanted so badly to be a good friend to both girls—but
it was pretty hard, especially since there wouldn't be any good chances for Alice to get the two girls together until after the musical and math meet were over—both required its students to eat lunch and practice at the same time.
Afterwards,
Alice promised herself,
I can finally bring my two good friends together. And it'll be awesome . . . I hope!

“Great,” Nikki said, grinning hugely and putting her arm around Alice's shoulders for a spur-of-the-moment squeeze. “I'll see you tonight! Maybe we can go to Walker Bros. afterwards to celebrate!”

“But you haven't even won yet!” Alice laughed.

“Uh, isn't chocolate chip pancakes victory enough?” said Nikki.

Alice headed to the cafeteria to eat with . . . well, she'd find out. It seemed like all of her friends were either spending lunch break rehearsing for the musical or practicing for the math meet. In the hall, she did get the chance to catch Cass before she rushed out of class to the auditorium for one last dress rehearsal.

“You'll do great tonight!” Alice said, giving Cassidy a hug as well as the notebook. What she had really wanted to write in it was something along the lines of
I'm really stuck in a bind: I know two great girls and I
don't want to let either of them down. What advice do you have for your best friend?
But Alice wasn't ready to come clean, so instead she drew a rendition of what she imagined the musical would look like, with Cassidy in the spotlight onstage, lots of tiny backup dancers around her, and a stick-figure Alice in the audience cheering “YAY!”
I can't wait for your big moment!
Alice had written at the bottom.

“I hope so!” Cassidy said, both her eyes and grin wide as she shook some nerves out of her hands. “It's like with ballet. I'm always nervous until we get going.”

“And just like ballet, it'll be great,” Alice said. “I can't wait to watch you be awesome!”

“Remember where to sit, right?” Cassidy said.

“Row fifteen, seat A for Alice,” Alice recited. Cassidy had made sure the box office would save her a special seat.

“That's the one!” Cassidy said. “I'll see you tonight!” She gave Alice one last hug before she skipped off down the hall.

I sure hope I can pull this off,
thought Alice.

“Whoa there, boss,” Alice's dad said that evening, as Alice helped herself to her second huge helping of her mom's baked ziti. “Some of us like pasta too. What are you, carbo loading?”

“Sort of,” Alice said, with her mouth full.

“Come again?” he asked. “I thought you were going to some sort of math party.”

“Math
meet
,” Alice said. “And yes, I am going.”

“I thought you were going to Cassidy's musical.” Mrs. Kinney frowned as she served herself some salad.

“I'm going to that too,” Alice said. “I promised both of them I would be at their things, but they're at the same time.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Um,” Alice said. “I figured I'd go to Cassidy's musical for fifteen minutes, then run across the hall to Nikki's, see that, and then go back.” The second she
said it out loud, she knew it sounded ridiculous.

“Alice,” her mom said in her most Mom voice. “That sounds ridiculous.”

Alice ran her hand through her hair. “I know,” she said. “But it's the only way I can make things work.”

“Is it?” Mrs. Kinney said. “Think hard. Is it really?”

“Mom,” Alice said. “Nikki and Cassidy still don't get along. I know, I wish they would, and I will eventually let Cassidy know I'm friends with Nikki—”

“Wait, Nikki knows that you're friends with Cassidy, but Cassidy doesn't know you're friends with Nikki still?” her mom asked, her eyes wide.

“No,” Alice said.

“That sounds kind of sneaky, kid,” Mr. Kinney said.

“And not very nice to Nikki. Or Cassidy, for that matter,” said her mom.

“I thought best girlfriends tell each other everything,” said Mr. Kinney.

“What do best boyfriends do?” Mrs. Kinney asked her husband.

“Tell each other nothing,” he said. “Sit around and, you know, talk sports. Pump iron.”

Mrs. Kinney smiled and rolled her eyes. “Just tell Cassidy the truth, Alice,” she said. “No more deception.”

“But what if I make Cassidy mad and she doesn't
want to be my friend anymore?” Alice asked.

“If Cassidy's your true friend, she'll understand—even if she's mad at first,” Alice's mom said. “I think you're scared that she'll be upset to find out you have more than one good friend, but doesn't
she
have friends who are in the musical?” Alice frowned and stabbed her last noodle with a fork. It was true, but that didn't bug Alice. Much.

Whatever happened, Alice didn't want to ruin Nikki's or Cassidy's nights with a truth bomb. She'd finally come clean
after
the weekend, after things had died down.

What on earth did one wear to both a musical
and
a math meet, anyway? Alice debated in front of her closet for more minutes than she should have, just delaying the moment until she had to go down to school and run around like a chicken with her head cut off. She knew things would probably be fine, but still, they'd feel a lot finer if she could just sit in one place for the evening. Finally she opted for a sparkly black turtleneck sweater, a preppy blue plaid skirt, gray tights, and some black patent leather flats, so she could run the halls comfortably.

The ride to school with her dad was silent. He
whistled along to the classic-rock station, but she could sense that he wanted to say something (but maybe he could also sense that she didn't want him to).

“Good luck, double agent,” Mr. Kinney said, giving her a kiss. “I hope you have fun, whatever goes down.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, and scooted out of the car. Since he had dropped her off at the south exit, which was closer to the small auditorium, she figured she'd start off at the math meet. Plus, Nikki didn't have to hide backstage before the meet began, unlike Cassidy.

The gym, lined with chairs for spectators, was decently full for a Friday night math meet, but Alice was able to grab a seat on the aisle near the exit for a quick getaway. The math team milled around near the front of the staging area in their black-and-red team T-shirts, and Alice strained her neck to make eye contact with Nikki before they started. Nikki finally looked up and spotted her.

“Good luck!” Alice mouthed, and gave her friend a thumbs-up. Nikki grinned sheepishly, sticking out her tongue as she held her too-large T-shirt out in front of her, as if to say, “I can't believe I have to wear this!” But she looked thrilled to see Alice.

Good,
Alice thought, relieved.
She's seen me, and she knows I'm here.
Once the house lights went down
to start the competition, she slipped out—checking first with one of the students working the door to make sure she'd be able to get back in.

She dashed down the hall to the auditorium, which was packed with students and parents excited to see the show. Alice was impressed as spotlights swirled across the stage and the band played the show's opening notes. This was sort of a bigger deal than she had expected! No wonder Cassidy had been so excited to be a part of it.

A big group number kicked off the musical, but then when the scene ended, Evie and April entered the stage on either side of Cassidy, who looked amazing in a fun silver-and-black tutu, black leggings, and black crop top. Before Alice could cheer, a few other whoops went out in the audience—once again, Alice had to share her best friend with a lot of people, but that wasn't something new. It was just the size of the crowd that she was getting used to.

Alice instead put her fingers in her mouth and let out a loud
weeah-wee!
whistle. When Alice was little and would play over in Cassidy's backyard, Mr. Kinney would use that whistle to call Alice back home. Over time, he had shown them both how to whistle as loud and as clear as he did. Cassidy smiled from ear to ear
at the cheering. The girls recited their few lines before they were joined onstage by the seventh and eighth graders who were the main stars of the show.

Alice felt like it was safe to head back out to the math meet, since she knew that Cassidy's solo wasn't until close to the end of the performance. She ducked out of her seat and crouch-ran up the aisle to the back of the theater to try not to disturb the other people in the audience.

Once outside, Alice walked briskly down to the other end of the hall and nearly bumped—hard—into Cassidy's older brother, David, who was walking out of the boys' room.

“Hey, Dingus!” he said, smiling. “What are you doing out here?”

“Oh, just using the bathroom, same as you!” she said. “Obviously.”

“Obviously,” he said, smiling. “But isn't the bathroom right there?” He pointed to the girls' room, which was behind Alice.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “You know, I was just all excited from seeing Cassidy onstage.”

“I bet you're not as excited about Cassidy being onstage as Cassidy is,” he smiled, revealing one single adorable dimple on his cheek. “You're a good friend.”
Alice beamed. Cassidy would kill her if she ever said what she really thought about her big brother—which was that he was nice
and
cute.

“Well, see you after the show,” David said, and headed back to the auditorium. Alice realized that if he looked back, he'd either see her standing there awkwardly or scooting down to the small auditorium, so she had to follow through with using the girls' room.
Aargh, I'm wasting time!
Alice thought as she ran her hands under the water. Once she was sure David had gone back into the musical, she speed-walked down to the gym.

The second she put her hand on the door handle, though, she heard a burst of applause and cheers. Alice sneaked into her chair just in time to see Nikki walking back to her seat, a small, proud smile on her face.
Ack!
If it hadn't been for David, Alice would have seen Nikki score a point for the team. Alice waved, but she was sure Nikki couldn't see her place there in the seats.

The next two students got up to face each other, and Alice realized it'd be a little while again before Nikki was up, so again she left the room as quietly as she could and ran back to the auditorium. When she reached her seat, she pulled her collar away from her
neck to give herself some air. All this running around was making her hot!

After a few minutes, she realized that she was watching a seemingly never-ending dance number that Cassidy was not in (which was good; it involved Hula-Hoops and streamers and looked cheesier than anything Cassidy would have ever wanted to be involved with). Alice bounced her knee impatiently.

One scene, two scenes, three scenes. Alice waited and waited for Cassidy to appear onstage for her solo but was only rewarded with some more songs and awkward dialogue and the feeling that she was probably missing another one of Nikki's big moments. She finally ran back to the gym, only to hear the applause again, this time before she even reached the door. She rushed through the door to see Nikki sitting down again. “GO, NIKKI!” she yelled, just to be safe.

To Alice's horror, a few stern faces (including Nikki's parents, eek!) turned around to glare at her. Maybe yelling wasn't encouraged at the math meet until the end? Or maybe Nikki hadn't gotten the problem right? Alice was getting too flustered to even care. She'd worry about it later.

She dashed back to the auditorium, determined
not to miss another moment. Unfortunately for Alice, apparently the janitors had decided to wax the school's pistachio-green floors earlier in the evening, and she found herself sliding on her otherwise cute-and-comfortable flats at the halfway point. In a weird way, for a few seconds, it was almost fun, like she was scooting around on the Turners' hardwood floors in her socks. Until. . . . her ankle twisted out from under her painfully, and she crashed to the floor.

“Point: Nikki Wilcox. Team Lakeside wins!” Alice heard from the south side of the school, just as she heard Cassidy's voice singing out pure and clean—her solo. Applause burst out in stereo from both ends of the hall, echoing down to Alice, making her feel like everyone in the school was sarcastically clapping for her fall and the fact that she had ended up missing both of her friends' big moments. Ouch.