Stop the Presses!

by Rachel Wise

  “I’m sorry, Allie,” I said, and I was. “Some things have been bothering me lately, and I took it out on you. I do appreciate that you’re helping me. It’s been a rough week.”

  “Oh, is it the Hailey thing?” Allie asked.

  “How do you know about the Hailey thing?” I gasped. “Uh, I mean, what Hailey thing?”

  “Sam, just because you think I’m not paying attention doesn’t mean that I’m not actually paying attention,” Allie said. “Hailey’s usually the first person you talk to when you get home from school, if she’s not actually here.”

  “She’s just busy with school stuff,” I said. “It’s not a big deal.”

  “Okay, if you say so,” Allie said. “But believe it or not, I know what it’s like to have a fight with your best friend, and it really hurts. So if you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about.” I laughed, trying to look less upset than I actually was. “There’s no fight. Everything will be fine as soon as this Green Team stuff is done.”

  And when those words came out of my mouth, I really believed that they were sort of true. Hailey and I have been best friends for as long as I’ve known her. I didn’t think anything could ever change that. I had no idea how wrong I was, but I would find out soon enough.

  Chapter 4

  FRIENDSHIP GOES UP IN BLAZES, CASUALTIES ALL AROUND

  There are some things that you never really expect to happen. Like, you never expect your big sister to suddenly turn insightful and friendly and helpful after she’s spent most of your life either taunting you or ignoring you. And now, when I think about it, I realize that maybe there’s a price you have to pay when a remarkably positive turnaround like that happens. Maybe something equally as negative has to balance it out. It makes sense if I think about it enough. What doesn’t make sense is that the negative would be something as horrific as having your best friend turning against you.

  The concept is so horrific that it’s difficult for me to write about it, and writing is something that always comes incredibly easy to me. But every time I think about the fact that Hailey Jones, the person I have shared every secret with for as long as I can remember, would not just ignore me, but would do something that she knew would be hurtful to me, it makes a ball of sadness and anxiety and queasiness start to rise from my stomach and travel up my throat. I’ve cried a lot since the Green Team meeting earlier today, so much that I would think I didn’t have any tears left, but just typing her name makes me start to well up again.

  Anyway, I am a reporter, and it’s a reporter’s duty to report the facts in an unbiased manner, without letting emotions get in the way, so I will report what happened first. And I apologize in advance, because I’m pretty sure that an emotion or two is going to sneak in there anyway.

  Today, Wednesday, was just like Monday and Tuesday. I didn’t hear from Hailey, didn’t see her at the lockers in the morning, didn’t catch a glimpse of her in the hallways during school. I saw her in the cafeteria at lunch, but she was sitting with Anthony Wright—of course—and didn’t even look my way. Some of my friends from the newspaper asked me if I wanted to sit with them, but I couldn’t stand the thought of sitting there and watching Hailey ignore me, so I just went to the library and did my homework. I figured that would give me more time after school to work on the Green Team story.

  After last period, Michael met me by my locker and we walked into the auditorium. I know Hailey and Anthony had worked really hard at publicizing the event—there were Green Team posters hanging all over school—but when we entered the auditorium, you could still hear our footsteps echoing through the room. It was definitely a better turnout than usual. There might have even been fifty kids there. Still, I knew Hailey was hoping for the whole school, so I felt a little bad for her and Anthony and decided that I would try to make the Green Team sound really important in the article. Maybe if my article helped Hailey’s Green Team, she would have more time to spend with me.

  Anthony Wright went up to the podium and started to speak. Anthony is a great guy, and he has good ideas for improving the school, but his public speaking skills can still use a little work. If the idea of the Green Team wasn’t appealing to most students, hearing Anthony speak about it wasn’t going to convince them otherwise. He did a good job of outlining the mission of the team and explaining the work that he and Hailey had already done to get started, but if I weren’t a reporter intently taking notes on what he was saying, it might have just sounded like “Green Team, blah blah blah, environmental responsibility, blah blah blah, student activism, blah blah blah.”

  I’m sorry. That’s harsh and not particularly objective. Like I said, Anthony did a pretty good job giving an overview of the Green Team.

  Then Hailey stepped up to the microphone. She’s a lot more dynamic a speaker than Anthony is, and she seemed to be bursting with Green Team pride. I’m always proud of Hailey when she speaks at student government meetings, because even though the audience tends to be small, she does an amazing job at motivating them. I’m especially proud because I know how much Hailey’s dyslexia gets in the way of her schoolwork and how easy it would be for her to just chalk up school as a necessary evil on the road to future success as a Team USA soccer star, but Hailey really defines school spirit in these moments.

  She told the students that they were looking to start Green Team subcommittees. Each subcommittee would be responsible for researching and implementing an environmental reform in the school. Anthony was going to be heading up an “SOS.” The acronym stood for Styrofoam Out of Schools, and their first mission would be to get the Styrofoam trays taken out of our lunchroom and replaced with a more environmentally friendly option. It seemed like a worthy cause, and some of the other students agreed. At least ten kids raised their hands and signed on to help out.

  Hailey continued by saying that they would welcome ideas from anyone who wanted to start a Green Team subcommittee and that they would help them organize and sign up group members. She said that the next Green Team meeting would be in two weeks and at that meeting they would discuss subcommittee ideas. Finally, Hailey said that she would be closing the meeting by announcing her own subcommittee.

  As I was scribbling notes, my feelings toward Hailey started to change, and I felt a little guilty that I had been angry that she wasn’t around for me. Obviously, she had been really busy with this Green Team stuff. She’d put together a great presentation, and I think it was probably going to create a lot more interest in student government, too.

  Michael was obviously thinking the same thing, because he leaned over and said, “Wow, Hailey and Anthony’s work on Green Team is really impressive.”

  I nodded my head in agreement, eager to hear what Hailey was going to say next. I decided that I would probably sign up for her subcommittee. She could use the support, and even though I was busy, it would be a fun thing to do together.

  And then Hailey presented her idea.

  “My subcommittee is called GO GO,” she said. “It stands for ‘Get On Board, Go Online.’ ” I didn’t want to ruin Hailey’s moment, so I didn’t say that GO GO was wrong—“Get On Board, Go Online” means her acronym really should have been “GOB GO,” which wasn’t as cute or catchy.

  “Are you aware of how much paper is used by our school every time they print a new issue of the Cherry Valley Voice?” Hailey asked. “How much energy goes into making that paper? How many trees have been cut down to produce one single issue, which you probably throw into your trash can when you get home?”

  Wh-wh-what? There is no way I just heard Hailey say what she said. I looked at Michael, and he looked just as shocked. He shrugged his shoulders and mimed writing on paper to signal that I should just keep taking notes. Which was a little problematic, because I realized that I had been holding my pencil so tightly while listening to Hailey that it had snapped in half.

  I grabbed another pencil from my backpack and returned to taking notes, trying to reme
mber that once upon a time, Hailey had been my best friend.

  “There’s an easy solution to the problem,” Hailey continued. “Let’s take the Voice into the twenty-first century. Get on board the GO GO subcommittee, and we’ll help the Voice go online! We’ll save paper, we’ll save trees, and we’ll save money that the school can use for even more important things, like equipment for the sports teams.”

  That was a low blow. Hailey knew almost everyone in school cared more about the sports teams than they did about the newspaper.

  Hailey finished her speech by giving some statistics about carbon dioxide emissions and comparisons between printed papers and their digital equivalent. When she was done, at least twenty kids raised their hands to join GO GO. Unbelievable! My best friend was determined to destroy one of the most important things in the world to me, and she didn’t even seem to care.

  As everyone shuffled out of the auditorium, I just sat there, speechless. Michael looked at me and laughed nervously.

  “This should make for an interesting story, right, Pasty?” he asked.

  I didn’t even know how to answer, because just then I looked up and saw Hailey heading my way.

  “Hey, Sam. I’m sorry,” she said. “I was planning to fill you in on all of this, but I was so busy with Anthony getting ready for this meeting, I just never got a chance.”

  “Oh, yeah, of course,” I replied. “It had nothing to do with the fact that you’re destroying my hopes and dreams . . . my reason for living.”

  I think Hailey thought I was joking.

  “Funny, Sam.” Hailey laughed. “That’s hardly true. The Voice will still be published, just digitally. Everyone will be able to read it online whenever they want. It’s so convenient. No more lugging the paper around, crushing it into the bottom of your backpack, finding it three weeks later.”

  “I don’t crush the Voice,” I said, my face getting hot. “I read it. But I forgot. Of course you don’t understand the value of the printed word. You don’t even like to read, I guess because it’s so hard for you!”

  I could tell my verbal arrow hit the mark, because Hailey’s eyes immediately showed the hurt she felt. Even Michael gasped.

  “That was uncalled for, Sam,” Hailey said sadly. “I was worried that you might act like this. You are so self-involved sometimes. You can never see that anyone else might have a point of view that’s different from your own.”

  “Are you kidding me, Hailey? I’m so self-involved?” I gasped. “Miss Watch-Me-Run-Around-the-Soccer-Field-I’m-Such-a Gifted-Athlete-and-You’re-Such-a-Klutz.”

  Michael put his hand on my arm.

  “Sam, let’s go back to the newsroom and go over our notes,” he said. “We can compare our feelings about the proposal.”

  “Yeah, Pasty, that should make you happy,” Hailey hissed. “Spend a little time sharing feelings with your favorite crush . . . I mean . . . co-reporter.”

  My face had been hot before; now it was on fire. I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the auditorium. I didn’t stop until I reached my front door. I didn’t want Hailey, or Michael, to see me cry. Not only was I about to lose the Voice, but I had lost my best friend, too. Hailey and I have had our disagreements before, but this was much more than a disagreement. Hailey had declared war on the Cherry Valley Voice, and that means she had just declared war on me.

  I knew if Mom heard me come in crying she would want to talk, and I really wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened yet. I quietly entered the kitchen and mumbled, “Hey, Mom,” and she mumbled back to me. Luckily, Allie was in her room with her headphones on, probably listening to some motivational designer talk about transforming your life through the magic of the colors that surround you. Blech!

  I put my backpack on my chair, closed the door, and changed into pajamas. I knew it was only three thirty p.m., but I wasn’t planning on going anywhere. I figured I could always use the “I’m not feeling so hot” excuse if Mom asked, but considering how busy with work she was, she probably wouldn’t ask anyway. I had already done my homework, so I crawled under my comforter, rolled into a ball, and sobbed softly so Mom couldn’t hear me.

  I wished that Hailey had never been elected to student government. I wished that I had chosen someone else to be best friends with. I wished that I could go back to the newsroom and tell Mr. Trigg that I didn’t want to work on the Green Team story. But most of all, I wished that both Hailey and I could take back the things that we had said to each other, because I was worried that things would never be the same between us again.

  Chapter 5

  LIFE DOESN’T RETURN TO NORMAL AT CHERRY VALLEY

  I must have cried myself to sleep, because I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing and Allie shouting, “Sam!”

  I looked at my alarm clock and it said 7:00. Panic time! I had slept through the night without even realizing it, and I was going to be late for school! I threw on some leggings and a T-shirt, grabbed my backpack, and ran downstairs. As soon as I looked at the table and the sky outside the kitchen window, I could see my mistake. There was a box and three plates on the table. Two of the plates had pizza crust on them and a third was clean. The sun outside the window was setting in the sky, not rising. It was seven p.m.! I hadn’t slept the whole night. I had just taken a really long nap.

  I felt disoriented and fuzzy, and that feeling didn’t get better when Allie asked, “What are you doing, Sam?”

  “I’m just going to have some pizza,” I said, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. “I wasn’t feeling well before. I guess I fell asleep.”

  “Okay, that’s fine,” Allie said. “But what about the phone?”

  Allie waved the receiver around in the air. Right, the phone. It had rung, and Allie had called me. That must mean the phone call was for me. My brain cells were obviously not fully awake yet. Duh.

  Allie put her hand over the receiver and whispered loudly, “It’s Michael.”

  Great. I couldn’t get out of talking to him now. He had probably heard everything Allie and I said to each other before that. I grabbed the receiver and walked into the hall.

  “Hello?” I said, trying to not sound like I had just woken up.

  “Hey, Sam,” Michael said. “I just wanted to check and make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m okay,” I replied. “Why, is something wrong?”

  “Oh, well, you know, everything that happened today in the meeting,” he stammered. “And then I tried texting you, and I called your cell a couple of times, and I started to get worried when you didn’t answer.”

  I unzipped my backpack and took out my cell phone. Sure enough, I had missed texts and phone calls from Michael. It figured. It was that kind of a day.

  “Sorry. I just got busy and I forgot to take my phone out of my backpack,” I answered. “I’m fine, really.”

  “I don’t think Hailey was trying to hurt you with her idea,” Michael said. “It’s not like other newspapers haven’t gone digital.”

  “Thank you for saying that. I disagree, though,” I replied. “I think Hailey knew exactly what she was doing. It’s fine. I don’t really care anymore.”

  “Of course you care,” Michael said. “You’re best friends.”

  “Were best friends,” I corrected him. “Not are. I don’t even know if we’re friends at all anymore.”

  “That’s pretty drastic, don’t you think?” Michael asked.

  I never would have imagined that I would want a conversation with Michael to end, but this one needed to, badly. I was already on the verge of tears again, and I didn’t want Michael to be on the other end of my latest sob fest.

  “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t,” I said. “I don’t really want to talk about it. We have an article to write and a paper to save. Are you in or out?”

  “I’m in, Pasty.” Michael laughed. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure you were okay, and obviously you are.”

  “I am,” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye.”


  I hung up the phone and turned to find Allie looking at me suspiciously.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked.

  I know Allie was being nicer to me lately, but I didn’t want to cry in front of her, either. So I didn’t. I snapped.

  “WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP ASKING ME THAT?” I screamed. “I’LL BE FINE IF YOU ALL JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!”

  I grabbed my backpack and started to storm back up to my room. Then I turned around, grabbed two slices of pizza, plopped them on a plate, and stormed up to my room. All that sobbing can make a girl hungry.

  I heard Mom come out of her office and Allie whisper something like, “I don’t know, maybe puberty hormones.” I almost turned back around to throw my pizza at her, but decided it was better not to start another fight at the moment.

  I was annoyed, but I couldn’t help but laugh when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

  “Gee, Martone, that would have been awkward,” I said to myself as I realized that I had been planning to rush to school with uncombed hair, a pair of leggings that had a juice stain on the front of them, and a T-shirt that I had outgrown six months ago. Allie would have definitely disowned me if that had happened. Ugh, plus my eyes were red and puffy. I totally looked like I had been crying.

  I sat in front of the computer. I was definitely not emotionally ready to start on the Green Team story. I didn’t even want to think about what had happened today. I figured I could make a dent in the Dear Know-It-All column and put my mind on someone else’s problems. I almost wished that I could have written myself a letter about what happened with Hailey. But that would have been too obvious. Besides, I wouldn’t have a clue how to answer it.

  Mr. Trigg had forwarded me some Dear Know-It-All e-mails that he had reviewed, so I started to read through them. One of them was a topic I hadn’t gotten before.