“I came by earlier and you weren’t here,” Skylar said, pouting. “The whole place was locked up.”
Meg waved her hand vaguely. “Oh, I just open it up when I need a shift,” she said airily. “It is winter, after all. Not a big demand for ice cream. Now, tell me what’s going on.”
“Everything was going so well,” Skylar choked out, trying to regain her composure.
“Yeah? They liked the raffle idea?” Meg put her skinny arm around Skylar’s waist and maneuvered her toward one of the shop’s uncomfortable wire chairs.
“Yes.” Skylar sniffed. “But—it doesn’t make any difference.”
“Why not? What do you mean?” Meg motioned for her to keep talking as she leaned over to grab some napkins so Skylar could blow her nose.
“Gabby will always be cooler than me,” Skylar burst out, “no matter what I do. And every guy will always pick her over me. Pierce will never like me back. Everyone in school was paying attention to me today. But he still chose her. He still went to Dunkin’ Donuts with her.” Skylar’s voice rose to a whine as she finished her sentence.
“Hold on, hold on.” Meg held up both hands. “That doesn’t necessarily mean he likes her, Sky. You know that. Maybe it was just a friendly coffee date . . . ?”
Skylar frowned. “It wasn’t friendly, just like it wasn’t friendly when he tried to kiss her at the pj party. He said he had to talk to me about the dance, and then he completely flaked!” She let out a moan. “I hate her.” She felt a twinge of guilt as soon as she pronounced the words. She didn’t hate Gabby. She loved her. Gabby was her only friend. Besides Meg, of course.
Meg brushed one of Skylar’s loose curls out of her face. “I can see how much you like Pierce,” Meg said sympathetically. “And believe me, I know how it feels when someone else has what you want. But Pierce will notice you, I know it. He just needs to see that you have things to offer that Gabby doesn’t.” Meg tilted her head in the way she did sometimes, like a bird looking down at her from above. “Want some ice cream?”
Ice cream was the last thing she wanted right now. Even thinking about it made her stomach turn. “No,” she said. “I want to know what I could possibly have that Gabby doesn’t. She’s pretty and perfect, and that’s why everyone loves her.”
“I’m sure she has some weak spots,” Meg said, her voice silky. “Everyone does. You just haven’t found them yet. You’ve barely looked. And neither has Pierce. . . .”
Skylar sighed. She could feel the lump in her throat slowly melting. “I guess . . .” She was still doubtful.
“I’m telling you, nobody’s perfect,” Meg replied firmly, leaning forward so her hair framed her face like a curtain. “You just have to be willing to really look for your opportunity.”
Skylar looked up. It almost sounded like Meg was talking about sabotage.
“Think about everything you’ve done to make this the best dance ever,” Meg continued, smiling sweetly, still tilting her head ever so slightly. “You’ve worked so hard. Are you really going to give up now?”
? ? ?
The next day Skylar was just locking a stall door in the science wing bathroom when she heard two familiar voices swing through the door.
It was Gabby and Em.
“It’s just that I feel bad for Skylar.” That was Em’s voice.
Skylar stepped up onto the toilet, praying they wouldn’t try her stall. They didn’t.
“I know, I know, me too,” Gabby answered. “But, like, I just have so many people to worry about right now. I told you how I finally broke down and emailed Zach, right? Well, he never emailed me back, so last night I decided to just call him. Just to do it, you know? But his phone is off.” There was a note of concern in her voice. “Like, off-off—like it’s been shut off.”
Both girls had exited their stalls by now and were washing their hands and primping in front of the mirror. Skylar could see them through the crack between her door and the wall.
“That’s bizarre,” Em answered, her voice sounding cagey.
“And I know I shouldn’t have tried to contact him in the first place,” Gabby went on, “but after everything I’ve been hearing, all this gruesome stuff about him not being able to play sports anymore . . . I just want to know what’s going on, you know?”
“I totally get it,” Em said. “I mean, he was a huge part of your life.”
“And so that’s why I think I’ve been reveling in the Pierce thing,” Gabby continued. Skylar’s breath caught in her lungs at the mention of Pierce. “It’s not like I want to date him—I really do want to be alone right now. But it’s nice to have some distraction.”
Skylar stayed perfectly still—if they hadn’t noticed they had company yet, maybe they wouldn’t.
“I mean, I think that’s fair. It’s just . . . What about Skylar?” That came from Em.