Abigail

Chapter Six

     Throughout the next week, Millie sat with Michelle every day. She kept promising that she would be back soon, but every day she ate lunch with her new blonde friend. Kendra saw them there, still laughing and making fun of people. Millie, who used to not care about being popular, sure had changed. She started wearing name brand clothing and even got blonde highlights in her hair. Inspired by Michelle, of course. Millie even skipped movie night the past weekend to go to Michelle's birthday party. She had posted pictures all over her social media page.

     But Kendra didn't care about that. She started to hang out with Abigail every day during lunch. One time, Abigail showed Kendra a garage in the school filled with all sorts of neat things. They snuck in when the janitor wasn't looking. Another time, they went back to the woods and found a pond. They saw frogs and fish and even a water snake. The snake sent Kendra screaming, but Abigail quickly calmed her down.

     Abigail also showed Kendra a peach tree near the edge of the forest. Abigail had climbed to the top to get the peaches and tossed a few down for Kendra. She then started to throw some towards the school when people weren't looking. It was really funny because nobody could find out where the smashed peaches on the blacktop were coming from. Kendra was having a blast at lunch and hadn't even had time to think about Millie. Until the phone call.

     One Thursday morning, Kendra woke up to her cell phone ringing. Half awake, she slid the screen open and answered the call.

     "Hello?" she said, yawning.

     "Um, hi."

     Millie.

     Instead of answering, she waited to see if Millie would apologize for breaking her promises and making fun of Kendra behind her back. For a few seconds, there was an awkward silence, but Millie cleared her throat and continued.

     "Um, is it okay if I sit by Michelle from now on? Her friends are really fun. You're can sit with them too if you want. I don't think there's enough room on the bench outside, but when we eat lunch inside, there are sometimes a few empty chairs."

     So there really was no turning back for Millie. She was gone. Taken away by the populars. Kendra knew her so well that she could tell by her tone that she was just being polite and not sincere. Even her tone of voice was different. Millie was beginning to sound like the populars, like a robot. Even though she had decided she didn't care what Millie did, Kendra began to feel irritated.

     "That's fine," Kendra replied in a snarky tone. "I have other friends too, you know."

     Now it was Millie's turn to be stunned. "What?" she asked, still sounding like Michelle. "Are you mad at me or something?"

     "Oh no," Kendra said in her previously sarcastic tone. "It's perfectly fine to dump your best friends as soon as the popular kids notice you. It's not like old friends matter. Popularity is definitely the most important thing."

     Kendra wasn't sure where all this bravery was coming from. Two weeks ago, she would have just kept her mouth shut, said it was fine, and hid her emotions as best she could at school. But meeting Abigail had given her a brand new level of braveness and she was ready to use it.

     "Kendra, I..." Millie stopped and then said. "Why have you been acting so strange lately?"

     Now Kendra was really set off. "Me? Um, have you looked in the mirror lately? I believe it's you who is acting strange. Ever since Michelle noticed your stupid shoes, you've been going around thinking that you're better than everybody else. You're two-faced, Millie. You email me and act like everything's fine. But then as soon as we get to school, you make fun of me behind my back with your new friends. And you don't even talk to me at all school anymore."