Three's Company, Mallory!

by Laurie Friedman

  Mom smiles like she likes hearing that. She tells Chloe Jennifer that she’s the music teacher at Fern Falls Elementary and that she would love to hear Chloe Jennifer play the piano after dinner.

  Once everyone finishes eating, Chloe Jennifer takes her plate to the sink while Mom clears the table. “What a helpful guest,” Mom says to her. Then we all go to the living room and listen to Chloe Jennifer play her favorite piece on the piano.

  When she’s finished, everyone claps. “Bravo,” says Dad.

  “You’re quite a musician,” says Mom.

  When I learned to play the tuba, I don’t remember Mom saying that I was “quite a musician.”

  It’s like someone turned on the TV and we’re watching the Chloe Jennifer show and everyone likes what they’re seeing.

  Even Champ goes over to Chloe Jennifer and gives her a big, sloppy lick. Chloe Jennifer bends down and gives Champ a big hug around the neck. “I love dogs,” she says to everyone. “I’ve always wanted one, but I can’t get Mom and Dad to say yes.”

  Kate laughs. “We’re just waiting for the right moment,” she says.

  Chloe Jennifer sighs. I can tell she’s been waiting a long time for this “right moment” to happen.

  Chloe Jennifer’s dad clears his throat like it’s time to change the subject.

  “We can’t get over how much you two girls look alike,” he says, motioning to Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer.

  “No one is going to believe it when we go to school on Monday,” says Mary Ann.

  SCHOOL! I hadn’t even thought about what it will be like when Chloe Jennifer comes to school. It will be just like this dinner but worse. This dinner was just one night. That will be every day!

  Chloe Jennifer looks down at her boots. “I’m really scared to go to a new school.”

  “Don’t worry,” says Mary Ann. “Mallory and I walk to school together every day. You can walk with us. Once we get to school, we’ll introduce you to everybody. You can sit with us at lunch and hang out with us at recess. We’ll be a threesome.” She looks at me. “Right, Mallory?”

  I try to swallow, but I feel like there’s a cement truck stuck in my throat.

  I feel bad that Chloe Jennifer is scared to go to a new school. But I also don’t feel good about being a threesome with Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer. Mary Ann has always been my best friend, and the truth is that I don’t like the idea of someone else being best friends with us.

  Mary Ann clears her throat. “Right, Mallory?” she says again.

  “Right,” I say, because I know there’s really nothing else I can say. But if you ask me, this all feels wrong.

  I try not to frown as I cross the yard between my house and Mary Ann’s house. Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer are already standing outside and talking. Chloe Jennifer is laughing at whatever Mary Ann just said.

  “Hi, Mallory!” says Chloe Jennifer like she’s really happy to see me.

  “Hi!” I try to sound like I’m just as happy to see her, but the truth is, it feels weird to be walking to school with Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer. I usually just walk with Mary Ann. Joey used to walk with us, but lately he’s been going early to play soccer with some of the other boys.

  Mary Ann links one arm through mine and the other through Chloe Jennifer’s. “We’re off to Fern Falls Elementary!” says Mary Ann, like she’s Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and we’re the Scarecrow and the Tin Man.

  I adjust the strap on my backpack and try not to think about what Mary Ann said about us all being a “threesome.”

  “So what do I need to know for my first day?” Chloe Jennifer asks.

  Mary Ann tells Chloe Jennifer that our teacher, Mr. Knight, doesn’t like to be interrupted.

  She says that our PE teacher, Coach Kelly, makes us do push-ups and sit-ups.

  She says that Chloe Jennifer should NOT eat the meatloaf in the cafeteria. Mary Ann makes a face like just the thought of eating it makes her want to barf.

  Chloe Jennifer laughs. “You’re so funny,” she says to Mary Ann.

  Chloe Jennifer might be laughing, but I’m not. I can tell that Mary Ann is trying really hard to make Chloe Jennifer like her. And she wouldn’t do that unless she really liked Chloe Jennifer. I’m supposed to be Mary Ann’s best friend, but I’m starting to feel like Mary Ann wants more than one best friend.

  When we get to our classroom, Mr. Knight is expecting Chloe Jennifer. After the bell rings, he introduces her to everyone. Then he says it’s time to work on our science projects. “Please find your partners.”

  I smile when he says that. Mary Ann and I are science project partners. We’re almost done with our food chain report. Mary Ann and I push our desks together, and I pull out my folder with all of our notes.

  Then Chloe Jennifer raises her hand. “Mr. Knight, I don’t have a science project partner,” she says.

  Mr. Knight smacks his forehead like hes can’t believe he didn’t think of that. “Who would like to volunteer to let Chloe Jennifer be part of their project?” he asks.

  Lots of hands go up, but one hand is higher than all the others.

  “Thank you, Mary Ann,” says Mr. Knight. “Chloe Jennifer can work with you and Mallory.”

  Chloe Jennifer pulls her desk up to ours. I listen while Mary Ann starts explaining our project to Chloe Jennifer.

  “We’ll have to change it a little bit now that you’re working with us,” says Mary Ann. “But that won’t be too hard. And it’ll be more fun that way anyway.”

  I try not to look upset, but I think our report is fun enough the way it is. Mary Ann and I have already decided exactly how we’re going to do this project, and I liked our plan. Now Mary Ann starts crossing off a bunch of our ideas and writing down new ones that Chloe Jennifer can help us with. And she doesn’t even ask what I want to do.

  When the lunch bell rings, I race to the cafeteria. Lunch is one of the best parts of the day. But when I get to my table, lunch doesn’t start off any better than the morning did.

  All the girls in my class want to sit by Chloe Jennifer and talk to her. Arielle and Danielle slide over to make room for her, but Mary Ann grabs Chloe Jennifer’s arm like she’s the one in charge of her.

  “Chloe Jennifer is going to sit between Mallory and me,” she says. Then she tells me to scoot over so Chloe Jennifer can squeeze in between us.

  I scoot over, but not because I want to. When everyone sits down, the only thing anyone is talking about is how much Chloe Jennifer looks like Mary Ann.

  “It’s so weird!” says Grace.

  “You look like sisters,” says Emma.

  “Not just sisters—they look like twins!” says Dawn.

  I don’t say a word—because if I did, what I’d say is that I’m tired of hearing about how much Chloe Jennifer and Mary Ann look alike. I’m tired of talking about Chloe Jennifer—period. But no one else is.

  “Where are you from?” asks Pamela.

  “What do you like to do?” asks April.

  “I love your dress,” says Arielle.

  “Me too!” says Danielle.

  Chloe Jennifer tells everyone about her life back in Atlanta and how she loves to dance, play piano, and shop. “I also like peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. That’s what I have for lunch every day.”

  “That’s Mallory’s favorite sandwich too!” says Mary Ann. “Her mom always packs one for her.”

  Chloe Jennifer smiles at me. “We can be sandwich buddies,” she says. But when she opens her lunch bag, she stops smiling.

  “What’s the matter?” asks Mary Ann.

  Chloe Jennifer pulls a little note out of her lunch bag and starts reading.

  Chloe Jennifer takes out her sandwich and peeks between the bread slices.

  “What is it?” asks Zoe.

  “Bologna and cheese,” says Chloe Jennifer.

  “Ewww!” says Arielle. Lots of other girls start ewww-ing, including me. April puts her hands on her throat and sticks her tongue out like just the
thought of it makes her want to gag.

  “It’s so sad that you can’t have a sandwich you like on your first day at a new school,” says Brittany.

  “It’s no big deal,” says Chloe Jennifer. But it’s easy to see that she’s disappointed.

  Mary Ann shakes her head. “We have to do something about this,” she says. Then she snaps her fingers like she just came up with the perfect solution.

  “Mallory, you give Chloe Jennifer half of your sandwich, and you can take half of hers. Then you’ll both have something you like.”

  Mary Ann smiles at Chloe Jennifer. “Mallory and I always share sandwiches,” she says.

  “What a great idea!” says Arielle.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” asks Chloe Jennifer.

  “Of course she doesn’t mind,” says Mary Ann. She gives me a time-to-hand-over-half-your-sandwich look.

  I don’t want to hand over half my sandwich, but all the other girls are looking at me, and I can tell they expect me to share.

  I reach over and place half of my delicious-looking peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich in front of Chloe Jennifer.

  Chloe Jennifer smiles and puts half of her disgusting-looking bologna and cheese in front of me. “Thanks, Mallory,” she says. She takes a bite. “Mmm! This is great.”

  I nod like I’m happy she’s happy.

  But that’s not really the case.

  Even though I know this was just a sandwich switch-up, it feels more like a best friend switch-up. How could Mary Ann offer half of my sandwich to a girl she barely knows?

  It seems like Mary Ann cares more about how Chloe Jennifer feels than how I feel. How I feel right now is sick to my stomach.

  And I haven’t even had a bite of Chloe Jennifer’s sandwich.

  Mary Ann has gone crazy! Chloe-Jennifer-Jackson-Brown-crazy!

  Ever since the Jackson-Brown family moved to Wish Pond Road, Mary Ann has made Chloe Jennifer a part of everything we do. No matter what I try to do with Mary Ann, she includes Chloe Jennifer too. I feel like I barely have a best friend anymore.

  Last night, Grandma called and I tried to tell her what’s going on, but she wasn’t much help. All she had to say is that in her opinion, three’s company. But if you ask me, she got it all wrong! Three’s not company. Three’s a crowd, and I don’t like it!

  Stuff I didn’t like happened all week at school, and it happened this weekend too. If you don’t believe me, keep reading and you’ll see what I mean.

  TUESDAY

  Tuesday at recess, I got my friends to play Purple Dot Jinx. I love to play Purple Dot Jinx, and so does Mary Ann. We made up the game, and we’re really good at it.

  When you play, someone asks a question like, “What’s your favorite food?” If two people say the same answer, they scream “Purple dot jinx!” at the same time and they each get a point. Mary Ann and I know each other so well that we always answer the same, which means we always get lots of points.

  But this time, Mary Ann taught Chloe Jennifer how the game works, and when we played, Chloe Jennifer kept yelling a lot of the same answers that Mary Ann and I were yelling.

  When I saw what was happening, I said maybe we should play a different game, but Mary Ann said that I was the one who wanted to play this game, and then she said how much she loves that there’s another girl who has all the same answers we have.

  She might love it, but I don’t.

  WEDNESDAY

  On Wednesday morning, I called Mary Ann and said we should wear our new purple glittery sweaters that we bought last week. Mary Ann thought that was a great idea, so we both wore our purple glittery sweaters to school.

  But guess what? Chloe Jennifer was wearing the same sweater!

  Earlier in the week, Mary Ann had told her about our matching sweaters, and Chloe Jennifer’s mom had bought her one too!

  And to make things worse, no one talked about how Mary Ann and I looked in our matching sweaters. All anyone talked about was how much Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer looked alike in their matching sweaters.

  I’m not just talking about the kids in my class. I’m talking about everybody at school.

  During morning assembly, a group of third-graders asked if they were twins.

  When our principal, Mrs. Finney, came to our classroom to make an announcement, she made a comment about how much they look alike.

  During art, Mrs. Pearl said that seeing them had given her an idea for an art project. She told everyone that we were going to practice drawing two things that look the same.

  And at lunch, a bunch of fifth-grade girls came over to our table. One of them used her phone to take a picture of Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer. She said she was going to submit it to a look-alike contest.

  Arielle and Danielle thought it was cool that fifth-grade girls, who never come over to our lunch table, came over to our lunch table.

  I didn’t think anything about it was cool.

  THURSDAY

  On Thursday, we presented our science projects in class.

  Before Chloe Jennifer joined our group, Mary Ann and I had decided I would read the part of our report about plants, which are producers, and Mary Ann would read the part about animals, which are consumers.

  But when Chloe Jennifer joined our group, Mary Ann said that she and Chloe Jennifer could do the consumer part together, and that instead of just reading the parts, we should act them out.

  So that’s what we did. I acted like a plant, and Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer acted like animals that eat plants.

  When they pretended to eat me, everybody in my class was laughing.

  But they weren’t laughing because I was funny. They were laughing because Mary Ann and Chloe Jennifer were funny together. All I did was stand there and get eaten.

  To me, it wasn’t funny at all.

  FRIDAY

  Friday after school, I asked Mom if she would take Mary Ann and me to the mall.

  We love to go to the mall, and we love to eat cinnamon sugar pretzels there. I was already picturing us sitting on the bench in the food court, eating our pretzels.

  Mom said she would be happy to take us. So I called Mary Ann and invited her, and Mary Ann said she would call Chloe Jennifer and see if she wanted to go too.

  I tried to tell Mary Ann that Chloe Jennifer wouldn’t want to go the mall with us because we’re going to eat cinnamon sugar pretzels and not everybody likes cinnamon sugar pretzels.

  But Mary Ann said she would ask Chloe Jennifer if she likes them.

  Chloe Jennifer said that she likes cinnamon sugar pretzels but that she likes frozen yogurt with strawberries even more. Mary Ann said that sounded delicious and that we should try it.

  So, instead of going to the mall with Mary Ann and eating cinnamon sugar pretzels, I went to the mall with Mary Ann AND Chloe Jennifer and ate frozen yogurt with strawberries, which was NOT what I wanted to be doing!

  Even though the frozen yogurt with strawberries did taste pretty good.

  SATURDAY

  Saturday morning, I went over to watch Fashion Fran at Mary Ann’s house. But guess who was already there?

  If you guessed Chloe Jennifer, you guessed right.

  When Fashion Fran was over, I said, “Well, we’d all better be going home now.” I gave Mary Ann my best you-should-tell-Chloe-Jennifer-to-go-home-so-we-can-spend-the-rest-of-the-day-together-like-we-always-do look.

  I was sure Mary Ann would catch on and tell Chloe Jennifer to go home. But all Mary Ann said was, “Why don’t you and Chloe Jennifer stay for lunch? Then we can help Chloe Jennifer plan her birthday party.”

  Before I could say anything, Chloe Jennifer was jumping up and down and clapping. So Mary Ann and I spent the day Saturday helping Chloe Jennifer plan her party.

  Saturdays are supposed to be the day I spend with my best friend, NOT the day I spend with my best friend and a new girl.

  Now it’s Sunday night. I’m curled up on my bed with Cheeseburger and rubbing the fur behind her ears. I thi
nk about what it’s been like since Chloe Jennifer moved to Wish Pond Road.

  Mary Ann really likes her.

  It’s not that I don’t. I just don’t like that having her around makes everything with Mary Ann different. It’s like Mary Ann has forgotten that we’re supposed to be best friends.

  It’s never just the two of us anymore. It’s always the three of us. And it seems like Mary Ann likes it that way.

  I pretend I’m at the wish pond. I close my eyes and make a wish.

  I wish things could go back to being like they were with Mary Ann before Chloe Jennifer Jackson-Brown moved here.

  I open my eyes, but when I do, I know the wish I made is one that won’t come true. Things can’t go back to how they were.

  But there’s got to be a way to show Mary Ann that being a threesome doesn’t work. I’ve got to remind her how much fun we have when we do things together—just the two of us!

  I close my eyes again to try to think of something.

  When I do, an idea pops into my head. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.

  “I’m going to stop being part of this threesome. If I do that, Mary Ann will realize she misses being best friends with me and that she’d rather be my friend than Chloe Jennifer’s best friend,” I say to my cat.

  I look at Cheeseburger to see if she gets it.

  She purrs. I’m not sure if her purr means she gets it or not.

  But I am sure of one thing. Operation Three’s a Crowd begins first thing tomorrow morning.

  As soon as I leave for school, I put my plan into action.

  “Are you ready for the science test?” Chloe Jennifer asks Mary Ann and me as we walk to school. “Did you study? Do you think it will be hard?”

  Chloe Jennifer always asks Mary Ann and me lots of questions when we walk to school. Usually, I answer those questions. But today I don’t say anything.

  Mary Ann nods that she’s ready and looks at me. “Do you know the different types of clouds?” she asks.