Claire flopped down at her usual lunch table and waited for Emily. She yanked a soda and a sandwich out of the front pocket of her backpack and opened them, scanning the cafeteria. Matthew was in physics—he had the late lunch. But at least that gave her some time alone with Emily. It was sort of weird, how much less time they'd been spending together since school started. As long as they'd know each other, Emily had been the busy one. The one who constantly had a (constantly changing) boyfriend. The one who was always involved with some project in the art room or tied up with after-school activities. Claire wasn't used to being the one who had to schedule in her best friend.
She craned her neck, checking the soda machines. Emily usually fed her Diet Coke habit before showing up at the lunch table, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Claire pulled off the bean sprouts that Lisbeth had tried to hide underneath the cheese, and watched the lunchtime buzz while she waited.
Emily came racing in, winding her way through the tables. She came within millimeters of clipping one of the basketball players with her overloaded messenger bag, which she promptly tossed onto the floor next to Claire.
"Sorry I'm late!" She was breathless and panting, eyeing the line in front of the soda machines. "English was horrible, and then I was talking to Amy about the disaster in the parking lot yesterday. We were making plans for this weekend, and I just totally lost track of the time. Oh my God, I've got to go get a Diet Coke, or I will never evereverever survive Spanish this afternoon. Be right back!" Emily plunged her hand into her bag, pulled a handful of change out of the front pocket, and sprinted toward the soda machines, cutting in front of some poor freshman who was studying the drinks indecisively.
Amy. So that's who had stalled Emily. Claire was a little surprised to hear that Emily had rehashed the Ryan incident with Amy. She thought the two of them had already sorted it out.
Emily hustled back to the table clutching two Diet Cokes and slid into a chair across from Claire. "Okay. Sorry. God, what a week! I so cannot wait to go to Yolanda's on Friday. And no matter what, I will find a date for the dance there, so help me God. Even if I have to go with a monosyllabic football player or something. You and Matthew are coming, right?" She opened the first can of soda and drank about half of it in a single swallow.
"You're—you're going to Yolanda's?" Claire blinked in confusion. She hadn't known that. Yolanda's parties weren't usually Emily's thing.
"Yeah, I know. They're usually a little bit too jock-beer-fest for me, but Amy really wants to go, and so I thought, what the hell, you know? I need a date, and it's the perfect hunting ground. Plus, I know Matthew's usually more into that stuff, so I figured maybe I could actually spend a Friday night with you for once."
"That sounds great." Claire's sandwich suddenly tasted better. She didn't even mind the stray sprouts. Having Emily at the party would make her feel a lot better about abandoning her practice plans.
"Awesome!" Emily took another swig of her drink. "So, are we still on for coffee Saturday afternoon?" Her eyes were jumping around in a way that made Claire instantly suspicious.
"Yeah, we're still on. Why?" She kept her voice light.
Emily spun the soda can around in her hands. "So, um, the thing is, Amy heard us making plans last weekend, and I sort of ended up inviting her along. Is that okay? She's never been to The Cloister. Can you believe it? And since she heard us talking about it, she's dying to see what it's all about, so . . ."
"No, that's fine. Whatever you want. I'm sure she'll . . . She'll . . . I mean, I can't wait to hear what she thinks of Yolanda's famous parties." Claire bit her tongue to keep herself from saying anything else. She shifted in her seat, trying to shake off the irritation that spread through her like a thorn-covered vine, pricking her ribs as it grew. She knew Amy was Queen of the Nice Girls, but suddenly it seemed like she'd pushed herself into every corner of Claire's life. She couldn't exactly get mad at Emily for changing their plans, though, especially when it sounded like Amy was doing everything in her power to get Emily to bring her along. Claire had been unexpectedly changing plans on Emily for months.
"Thanks." Emily looked relieved. "I really think it'll be fun." The first bell rang, and she shotgunned the rest of her soda. "Caffeine for lunch. Yummmmm."
Claire laughed.
"Okay, I'm off to the torture that is Spanish class. I'll text you later, and we'll figure out what we're wearing to Yolanda's."
Claire faked a smile. She couldn't care less what she wore to the party. It would be clothes, not fur, and that was all that mattered.
"That sounds great." She stood up and grabbed her bag. "Talk to you later."