Phoebe and I sat at our usual lunch table discussing what club we should join together.
"Why don't we try out for softball?" I asked popping a French fry into my mouth.
"That ball isn't even close to being soft," Phoebe declared. "Try again!"
"How about environmental club, track, arts or crafts?" I asked, picking through my salad.
"No, no, and no!" Phoebe said straightening up.
"Hmm... this is so hard!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah but we have to choose something." she pointed out taking a sip out of her apple juice.
We sat there silently for a while, maybe about five minutes. I knew Phoebe didn't want to talk about it now. She gets sullen when she doesn't finish something on time. In this case, it's finishing her food! Suddenly, a light bulb flashed in my head.
"What are you smiling about?" Phoebe asked, her mouth was full of food. She seriously needs table manners.
"I just thought of a fantastic idea that'll leave your head spinning!" I said jubilantly. "We can join the drama club!"
I was expecting her to jump up and down, but instead she crawled under the table. I could tell she was trying to avoid this subject. It was either that or she was looking for a spork that she dropped, but I doubted that.
"Oh stop hiding from aliens and tell me what you think." I said irritated.
"I don't know Kristy, I mean you're not, well..." her voice trailed off while getting up.
I knew she meant that I couldn't act. But it wasn't my fault that Phoebe was a drama queen and the only time I could act was when my parents asked for my mark on tests and quizzes.
"I know I suck at acting, but we have to! How else can we hang out together?" her face went blank at my remark. She can't change her mind now.
"Kristy, trust me," she said softly. "You can't make it through theater." She then looked at her watch and gasped. She jumped up, threw her plastic tray (which still has tons of food on) into the trash bin. She finally ran toward the cafeteria door, leaving me sitting there, with my mouth wide open.
Something is really wrong with Phoebe, I thought. And I'm going to find out!
***
"If I were Phoebe where will I be?" I asked myself while peeking through every classroom window. It's after lunch (4th period to be exact) and Phoebe is no where in sight. We were supposed to have study hall in the library and she didn't even show up!
"Show me your pass, Kristen Marble!" Mrs. Windrob said sternly. Mrs. Windrob was always out to get students. She thought it was too good to be true that we roamed through the hallways with passes.
I showed the pass to her with a grin as I walked downstairs. Maybe Phoebe was in one of the club rooms. She did look uncomfortable about our conversation.
I dropped by every club at school. Math club, Computer club, Checkers club, I even checked the gym for any sport activities. I was about to give up but then I remembered that Phoebe got extremely nervous when I brought up the drama club idea. I smiled at my intelligence and walked to the theater doors. I stormed through the doors and hid behind the bleachers.
I peeked through the bleachers and my jaw dropped. Phoebe is an actress, and she'd shown that in theater!
She had rags on and was on her knees begging for something from a guy dressed in a suit. She looked ridiculous, but her acting was great.
Wait, what am I thinking? I thought. She didn't even tell me she was in the drama club. What is she trying to hide?
Then I realized that I shouldn't have been hiding. This was my best friend.
I backed away from the bleachers and got closer to the stage. The students on the stage were really into character, including Phoebe. She was saying a line when she noticed me. She was frozen and couldn't speak.
"Phoebe, if you have a problem with your line, pick up your script book. It's always near you." advised Mrs. Catewidle.
Phoebe shook her head back to reality and said, "No, I'm fine."
"Okay, if you say so." Mrs. Catewidle sighed and started to scribble on her clipboard.
"P-p-please!" said Phoebe head her hands tight into a ball high above her head. "Don't take me to jail!"
"I must do so." said the guy in the suit. "It's illegal to steal food from supermarkets"
"I'm a starving poor woman! Do you expect me to sit her dying with hunger?" said Phoebe standing up. She started to cry.
I had never seen Phoebe cry before. It was sort of embarrassing, because I knew her since the 5th grade and she never cried since. And here she is, crying in front of people.
"Okay everybody, that'll be enough for today. Now don't forget that we will perform in front of the school in two weeks, so study your lines." said Mrs. Catewidle, standing up, picking up her belongings.
This was my chance. I had to talk to Phoebe before she was gone before my eyes.
I ran to Phoebe, while she chatted with some other students on stage. As I walked closer, I could hear them telling her that she was great and how they couldn't wait until she performed.
"Hey Phoebe," I said putting my arm around her shoulder as the students walked away. "Been a while since I saw you, hasn't it?"
Her face had no expression, so I couldn't tell if she was shocked that I was talking to her or if she was happy I found her in the theater.
"Yeah, I guess so. Now I have to go, um do something" she said. She turned around and almost ran for it, but I caught her by the arm.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I said, getting to the chase.
"Tell you what?" she asked confused. She was making this really hard for me.
I rolled my eyes and said, "Phoebe why didn't you tell me that you were in the drama club?"
"I tried to tell you but you never listen to me!" said Phoebe, throwing her arms in the air.
"So ditching me at lunch was trying to tell me?" I said angrily.
She stared at her hands and twisted her foot onto the floor, making a small squeaky noise. "I don't blame you if you don't talk to me anymore. You have the right to hate me."
"Phoebe, don't think like that!" I said shocked. "I would never hate you. I'm a bit angry that you hidden this from me, but this doesn't have to effect our friendship!"
"I'm so sorry Kristy. I never wanted to hide this from you. I mean I got a bit annoyed that you wanted to do things together." said Phoebe sincerely. "I mean theater is my talent and not yours. Stick to writing poetry Kristy. That's your talent."
"I'm sorry too Phoebe! I just sometimes feel so lonely when I'm not with you. I promise I'll never get in the way." I said opening my arms into a hug.
"No more sneaking around!" Phoebe said laughing, holding onto my hand when we jumped off the stage together.
"Yeah," I said as we walked out of the theater. "No more sneaking around."
