The Best Friend's Lesson

I'm Izzie - Izadora, actually - but just Izzie. I'm 15 and in the 10th grade. In high school, everyone struggles to fit in. But where I'm from, girls will do anything to be an athlete's side piece, while his girlfriend has no clue. You don't sit at the wrong table or associate with the wrong crowd, or you'll get mistakenly claimed as one of them.

At school, it's easy to spot the fakes, but it's harder at home. My parents' divorce taught me that. Smiling faces can still lie to you, and people you trust can walk away like it's nothing. That's why I watch people closely now, especially Ginger. She's my best friend, but sometimes she has this way of knowing things she shouldn't and showing up where she doesn't belong. It's like she's always one step ahead, and not always in a good way.

Kissing by the lockers and exaggerated Valentine's Day gifts have never been my thing, but Ginger's experienced it all. She knows how to work people - boys, teachers, even me sometimes. I used to think she had it all, but now I'm starting to wonder if she just knows how to make it look that way.