I'm Trying ||m.z||

Chapter Ten

Mackenzie wasn’t necessarily the best actress in the word.

          But she wasn’t that bad either. She could easily act her way out of going to school or dance or practically anything for that matter. And no, it wasn’t because her mother was gullible or anything like that; it was just because Mackenzie-apparently-had skills.

          Sadly, today her acting just wasn’t enough.

          “Mom,” she had groaned when she first woke up “I really don’t feel well.”

          Instead of listening to her daughter, Melissa had pulled the comforter off of Mackenzie, “You’re fine, Kenz, get up.”

          “But, Mom…”

          “But, what, Mackenzie! You were fine at dance yesterday; you’re fine now.”

          “I think I’m sick.”

          Mackenzie’s mother let out a loud sigh, “One…Two…”

          Mackenzie jumped out of bed before her mother could get to three. Once Melissa started counting, well, you knew you were in trouble when that happened.

          Now, she was at school. Lunch was just starting, and yes, it was Tuesday. She’d have to endure seeing both Ava and Tyler, possibly acting lovey-dovey, which she knew she absolutely wouldn’t be able to stand.

          Grace placed a hand on Mackenzie’s shoulder, “We don’t have to sit with them.”

          Mackenzie let out a sigh, “No, I’ll have to see both of them sooner or later. Why not now.”

          “Okay,” Grace gave Mackenzie a reassuring smile. “You’ve got this, Kenz.”

          The two girls walked straight into the cafeteria, trying to look as if they were confident, which Mackenzie wasn’t really good at. Over the past few days, she had forgotten a solo, been given another one to go up against the Candy Apples with, and, of course, her crush had been asked to the dance by her former best friend…fun…

          “Grace! Mackenzie!”

          Someone was hollering at them from a table on the other side of the cafeteria. The girl, Ava, was waving them over to a table where she sat with Tyler, Ryan, and Isaac.

          “Um, hi,” Mackenzie said once she reached the table.

          “Hey, Kenz,” Tyler replied.

          He wasn’t using her full name, which made her kind of sad, but Mackenzie tried to ignore that. Ava was with Tyler not her. She had to get used to and over that.

          “Hello,” Grace muttered as she sat down at the table.

          Mackenzie glanced back at Grace, suddenly noticing that her friend’s hair was out of its usual ponytail, and she’d straightened it, too.

          Maybe she’s taking the “Be Like Maddie” challenge, too.

          Mackenzie couldn’t help but smirk at that one, though it wasn’t really funny.

          “Laughing because I’m so beautiful, aren’t you, Kenz?” Ryan said. Mackenzie noticed that one of his hands was under the table and so was Grace’s, and they were sitting right next to each other.

          “Holy noodles!” Mackenzie practically yelled. “You guys are together?!”

          Grace let out a laugh, “Holy noodles, Mackenzie?”

          “No, but seriously,” she glanced over at Ryan, who was shooting cheese puffs at Tyler, Isaac, and Ava. “How did this happen? When did this happen?”

          “We got together last week, and it happened because we both liked each other and just got together. Do you have a problem with that?” Grace raised an wiggle her eyebrows, a skill Mackenzie hoped to gain in the near future.

          Mackenzie shot Grace a strange look, “No, of course not…but I think I know why Ava did what…she did.”

          “What do you mean?”

          “C’mon,” Mackenzie slowly started to head towards the bathrooms. “We’ll be back in a minute,” she called to their friends.

          Once the two girls were in the bathroom, they shooed the two sixth-graders out, and Mackenzie began to talk.

          “So, you know how Ava liked Ryan, right?”

          Grace nodded.

          “Well, now that you’re with Ryan, well, I think you made Ava really upset, so she decided to take that out on me.”

          Grace nodded again, slowly this time as if she were calculating all of the information in the way she normally did.

          “So that’s why Ava did that.”

          “Okay,” Grace said quietly “Do you want me to break up with Ryan? Then, Ava will break up with Tyler, and everything will go back to normal. I can do that if you want me to.”

          Mackenzie shook her head. She wasn’t going to do that to Grace. She wasn’t going to sink that low to get what she wanted.

          “Maybe there’s another way.” Mackenzie said.

          “Do you want to talk to Ava first?”

          The girls, so wrapped up in their conversation, hadn’t heard the bathroom door open, and seen another girl step inside.

          “Talk to me about what?"

          The mystery girl-of course-was Ava.