by Coco Simon
“Don’t you dare yell at her, Tamiko,” Isa snapped. “She’s been busting her butt to get here every week and make you guys happy.”
Tamiko looked perplexed. Clearly she had not been expecting Isa to intervene. Neither had I.
I said, “It’s not about being—”
“What do you care, Isa?” Tamiko cut in. “You don’t even know what she did.”
“I know you’re not her boss,” Isa replied.
What was going on here? Why were my sister and one of my best friends fighting? And in front of the store! I looked through the windows anxiously, hoping Allie and her mother wouldn’t see this.
“Stop it, you guys,” I begged. “Please. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
“Yeah—I kept you out of trouble,” Tamiko said. She gestured at the envelope in my hands. “And there’s the thanks I get.”
“I had no idea, Tamiko,” I replied meekly. “I—”
“C’mon, Sierra. Let’s go,” Isa snapped. “We’re meeting Mom and Dad at Pino’s Pizza for dinner. We’re going to be late if we don’t leave now.”
“Just go,” said Tamiko. “There’s nothing for us to talk about anyway, Sierra. I can’t believe you. We’ve been friends forever! You and Allie are the two people I trust the most in the whole world. You’ve really let me down.”
I was so tired from my weeks of cramming in activities and trying to make everyone happy, and racing from here to there, that I just let myself be led down the sidewalk by Isa.
Could it have just been a coincidence that Isa had showed up exactly when I’d needed her? Or had it been our old twin-tuition?
I didn’t know what was going on with Isa and me. But somehow, in the midst of whatever she was going through, and my crazy, hectic schedule, we were finding a way to lean on each other again. Before Isa and I arrived at Pino’s to meet our parents, I tucked my Employee of the Month envelope into my pocket and vowed not to mention it. I knew I had to fix that situation, with both Mrs. Shear and Tamiko, and I wasn’t sure yet what would be the best way to do it. I knew that if I told my parents about it, they’d use it as an opportunity to have yet another conversation with me about my schedule and commitments, and that most likely they’d make me quit the band. And I didn’t want to quit anything! I wanted to continue to do all the things I loved, even if it meant that some nights I was staying up pretty late to get my homework done.
Isa was unusually chatty during dinner, particularly since she’d been so moody earlier in the day, so I let her carry the conversation. She seemed to like being the focus of Mom and Dad’s attention, which made me wonder if maybe we spent too much time as a family talking about me and my activities. Isa wasn’t involved in many things—she focused on soccer and spending time with her friends after school. And as long as her grades were good, our parents didn’t interfere.
“Sierra, are you feeling okay?” Mom asked me as we were paying the check and getting ready to leave.
“Yes, I’m fine, Mami,” I said. “Why?” I had been so careful all through dinner to smile and nod at the right times, to laugh when someone made a joke. Could she see what was going on in my mind?
My mother gestured at my plate, which had a single slice of pizza on it, and only a bite or two taken out of it. My salad was untouched. “You hardly ate! It’s not like you not to eat Pino’s Pizza.”
She tilted her head to study me and quickly put a hand on my forehead. I brushed her hand off gently, saying, “No, Mami, I’m not sick. Just tired. And I had some ice cream earlier at work. That’s all.”
Isa raised her eyebrows knowingly, since she’d witnessed some of the tension with Tamiko. But I was pretty sure she wouldn’t mention that to our parents. She wasn’t a snitch.
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Mom said. Then, “Is it your schedule that’s worrying you?”
I couldn’t help releasing a huge sigh. I was so tired of talking about this. “No, Mami, everything is fine. I just need to get home soon and start my homework.”
I glanced at Isa, and she rolled her eyes theatrically at me. I wasn’t sure if she was rolling them at our mother for worrying about me, or at me for not quite telling the truth.
Our parents paid the check, and the four of us left. The few bites of pizza I’d had sat in my stomach, heavy and greasy. The envelope in my pocket felt like it weighed ten pounds. I checked my phone constantly, hoping for a text from Allie or Tamiko, but nothing appeared.
I was miserable.
Immediately after we got home, I started my homework. I put the envelope on my dresser and sat on my bed and got to work. I started with English, trying to read some more My Ántonia, but the words kept going blurry, and then I would look over at my dresser and see the envelope sitting there. Why hadn’t I just handed it over to Tamiko right then and there, when Mrs. Shear gave it to me? What must Allie and Tamiko think of me? Were they texting each other about me right now?
One thing was for sure—they weren’t texting me. And that was very unusual for a Sunday night, when everyone was doing homework and getting ready for school the next day. Tamiko would often send us pictures of outfits she was thinking of wearing, and Allie would show us drafts of her upcoming Get the Scoop column for her school newspaper, where she reviewed books and recommended ice cream flavors to go with them.
I checked my phone for the ten thousandth time, but there was nothing.
Then, just as I was putting the phone down, it dinged that I’d gotten a new message. Breathless, I checked and saw that it was from Tessa.
Wildflowers—we need to have rehearsal at least one day this week! Our big performance is coming up! Can we all please find time for it?
She’d included lots of cute music emojis, but I knew that the text was directed at me, because I was the one who had sports practices all week. Everyone was counting on me, so I would have to find a way. I’d have to skip something, or miss half of it, or I didn’t know what. Because Tessa was right—we could not have our first gig and show up unprepared.
I texted back: No worries, Wildflowers! I’ll find a time and get back to you ASAP!
Then I picked up my schedule and started looking. There was no space, really. No time available. Not with all of my school projects and softball and soccer and student council. I supposed I could miss the second half of soccer practice on Monday and go then. Maybe my coach would understand, since we didn’t have a game this week.
I tossed my planner back onto my bed. I couldn’t focus on that—not yet. First I needed some advice.
I went straight to Isa’s door. I had my hand up to knock, but before my knuckles even touched the wood, Isa said, “Come in.”
I opened the door, my mouth agape. “How did you know I was standing there? I tiptoed and hadn’t even touched the door.”
Isa was lying on her bed, exactly as I had been, hunched over her math book. She shrugged mysteriously, keeping her face blank.
“Did you sense my presence?” I asked her, awed. “Was it our twin-tuition?”
“Must have been,” she said. Then her face broke into a grin. “You should see yourself right now, Sierra! You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Then she cracked up, as if at some secret joke.
“What is it? Tell me!” I insisted.
Isa nodded her head toward Cinnamon, who was curled around one of Isa’s feet. “You know how cats have better senses than we do? As soon as you were outside my door, Cinnamon turned to look at it and let me know someone was there.”
She cackled again, and I had to laugh too. I was prepared to think Isa’s and my brains were merging, and instead it was just her smart cat.
“So?” Isa said. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“You wouldn’t tell me what was wrong with you earlier,” I said.
Isa scowled. The dark, moody look that had been gone all through dinner came back. “That’s because it’s none of your business. But you came almost knocking on my door. So spill it, or let me get back to my homework.
”
“Okay,” I said. “I did something really awful today.”
“Oh?” she said, closing the textbook in front of her. “Well, now this is interesting. Go on. What’d you do? Lie? Cheat? Steal?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing like that,” I replied. “Although, actually, yes, I did participate in a lie, and then I didn’t speak up to correct it, so I guess I did lie twice. And maybe I did steal and cheat a little, because I got money for something I didn’t do. Oh no! This is worse than I thought!”
I plopped down onto her desk chair and buried my face in my hands.
“Oh, relax, Sisi. Whatever you did, I’m sure it can be fixed. Everything can’t always be happy and sunny in your world, you know. Occasionally you’ll have to deal with some unpleasantness.”
“This is more than unpleasant.”
Isa waited, drumming her fingers on the hard cover of her math book. “I’m waiting. I can’t help unless you’re more specific. Come on, talk.”
So I spilled the beans. I told Isa the whole story, from me being late several times, to the Coffee and Doughnuts lie, to receiving the bonus today. And how Allie and Tamiko had been so stunned that I hadn’t spoken up.
Isa looked at me thoughtfully. “I know how much you hate to get in trouble,” she said. “So I can understand why you clammed up with Allie’s mom. And you didn’t know you were going to get the bonus. It’s not like you planned to get it or anything.”
“Yeah, but it’s still wrong. And Tamiko is so angry!”
“Well, that’s the easy part,” Isa said. “You guys have been friends for years and years. You have nothing to worry about there. No matter what you did to Allie or Tamiko, you know that eventually they’ll forgive you. You might, however, lose your job if you tell Mrs. Shear. Because she’ll know you really don’t have time to be there, and you lied to her, and she’s the boss. So that’s the real problem.”
“They’re both problems,” I said.
“Yeah, but when you see Tamiko at school tomorrow, just explain that you were caught by surprise, and that you appreciate her covering for you, but you don’t want to lose your job by telling Mrs. Shear. And then try to make sure she wins the award next month. I’m sure Tamiko doesn’t want you to lose your job either. She’ll understand. Friends cover for friends.”
Isa sounded entirely confident in her plan, but for some reason it didn’t sound 100 percent right to me. Tamiko had been really mad.
“So you’re saying I just need to ride this out a bit, and it’ll be okay?”
“Yes, although it’s harder than it sounds,” Isa said. “You’re going to feel really uncomfortable for a few days. Tamiko might be snippy. But soon she’ll see that correcting the mistake would make things worse for both of you, because she lied to cover for you, right? So really you’re in this together. Allie, too, because she let you both lie to her mother. If you confess, you get all three of you in trouble.”
Hmm. I hadn’t thought of it like that.
“Knowing you, this whole thing will stress you out, because you like it when everyone loves you,” Isa went on. “You probably won’t sleep, or eat, or concentrate. . . . You’ll fail a quiz—”
“Good grief, Isa! Stop!” I said, laughing. “I’ve been stressed out before. That’s all I’ve been the past few weeks! I can handle a little more, I guess.”
“Or you can just decide to not care what everyone else thinks, which is a lot easier,” she said. “That’s what I do.”
I paused, thinking of her face earlier today. Whatever had happened, something or someone had hurt her. “Do you really not care what everyone thinks, Isa?” I asked her.
She drew her mouth into a tight line and frowned at me. “I really don’t. I’m just me. Like it or not. Now, if we’re done fixing your messy life, can you get out so I can do my math?”
CHAPTER TEN
WORST DAY EVER
Neither Allie nor Tamiko texted me Monday morning, either. So I repeated to myself over and over what Isa had said: This will blow over. They’ll get in trouble too if you tell Mrs. Shear. They’re just upset now, but they’ll get over it.
I focused on my schedule for the week and on making sure I could fit in a band rehearsal. I found my soccer coach before first period and got her permission to leave practice a little early after school, then texted the Wildflowers that I’d be able to meet them at Reagan’s around five. They all sent me happy faces and clapping hands. At least they still liked me.
Although, what if I hadn’t been able to work it out and rehearse? Then would they have been mad? Was there anyone who could deal with my crazy schedule other than me?
Later, as I was heading to my locker to grab my lunch, my phone dinged. I saw the name “Tamiko,” and my heart leapt to my throat. She’d texted both me and Allie in our Sprinkle Sundays sisters group chat.
Don’t sit with me and MacKenzie at lunch today, Miss Employee of the Month.
It took my breath away just to read it. I was used to Tamiko’s bluntness, and in fact it was one of my favorite things about her, because whenever there was an issue among the three of us, Tamiko would bring it out into the open so that we could all resolve it quickly. But it really hurt to have it directed at me, and in front of Allie too. I wondered why she’d included Allie, since she wasn’t at our school anymore and wouldn’t be at lunch anyway.
I didn’t know if I should text back. I started typing a few responses, but they were all pathetic, so I ended up not texting anything. Instead I had a brainstorm as I passed Claire Bright, the student council president, in the hallway.
“Hey, Claire,” I said. “I know you wanted to have a follow-up meeting about the spring fair. Any chance we can all meet at lunch today?”
Claire studied me for a second, hesitating about giving up her lunch period, I guess, but then she agreed. “Sure, Sierra. Great idea. I was hoping we wouldn’t have to wait until next month’s meeting to discuss it, because you know how long it takes to get volunteers signed up. . . .”
I let Claire keep talking and walked with her as we rounded up Vikram and Lee. Lee, predictably, was annoyed at us for taking up his lunchtime. But for me it was way better to be sitting with them having a meeting than to be sitting alone. If I had to do a little extra volunteering or student council work to make it up to Lee, I would. We found a table and got to work, me with a notepad taking the minutes since I was the secretary.
I glanced over at Tamiko and MacKenzie a couple of times. They had smooshed into the end of our usual table with some other girls. They were all laughing and joking.
At one point I got up to throw my trash out and turned around to see MacKenzie beside me, holding her trash as well.
“What’s going on?” she asked. “Why aren’t you sitting with us?”
I wasn’t sure if Tamiko had said anything, and I was much too embarrassed to tell her the truth. So I said, “Nothing’s going on. I just had a student council meeting.” And I smiled brightly as if everything were perfectly normal.
MacKenzie looked doubtful. “Tamiko said you weren’t sitting with us today. And she said it in a really weird way. Are you sure nothing’s going on? Maybe I can help?”
I wanted to hug MacKenzie right there for being so nice and kind. But I knew Tamiko was watching, so I just said, “It’ll all work out. I’ll see you in science, okay?”
“Okay,” MacKenzie said, walking away. She gave me one last look over her shoulder that let me know she still wasn’t convinced.
I returned to my council meeting just as Lee was saying, “We need to meet about the fair again so we can make some final decisions about the theme. Can everybody do Friday after school?”
“I can’t,” I said. “I have softball.” Lee looked annoyed, Claire sighed, and Vikram stabbed at his pasta angrily. For the first time, I couldn’t help feeling like even I was getting a little tired of my busy schedule.
The day got worse from there. During my last-period study hall, I decided I couldn’
t stand the silence from my friends anymore. And I couldn’t create impromptu student council meetings every lunch period either. I needed to stop waiting to be forgiven and use a different tactic. I would change the subject and try to get everyone to move on, just like Isa had said.
I texted both Allie and Tamiko and wrote: Hey, girls! Don’t forget the bday party this Saturday night. The address is 97 Oak Ridge Drive. My dad can drive us there!
I knew there was a chance it wouldn’t work, but I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
Allie wrote back a few minutes later with a thumbs-up, but then Tamiko immediately texted back: Seriously? You don’t think I’m still going with you, do you?
I wasn’t sure if she meant she wasn’t going at all, or just not going to the party with me. Maybe she’d go with Allie. I knew Allie wanted to go because a bunch of Vista Green kids would be there, as well as kids from MLK. So she’d get to see some old and new friends. Plus, Colin would probably be there.
My band is playing, Tamiko. I’d really like you to come, I wrote back.
She replied: And I’d like my honest, trustworthy friend Sierra back. If you find her, tell her to call me.
Allie stayed out of it. I didn’t blame her. I wanted out of it myself.
After school I went to soccer practice and played terribly. I completely missed the ball a bunch of times, and when I did connect with it, my aim was off. My teammates looked at me like I had five heads. And then when I had to leave early, I got more than a few dirty looks.
Apparently today was Everybody Hates Sierra Day.
It was a relief to get to Reagan’s house and start rehearsing. At least none of the girls in the band were mad at me. Yet.
Then I started flubbing all of our songs. I knew the words—I’d memorized them—but I was so upset about Tamiko that I just couldn’t remember anything. I would start to sing, and I’d get the first verse out, and then my mind would go blank.
After the fourth or fifth time it happened, Reagan put her drumsticks down. She exchanged a look with Tessa and Kasey and said, “Girls, let’s take five. Everyone, sit on the couch. Get some drinks, and we’ll chill.”