Cindy could feel her anger bubbling up as Rose egged her on. Seriously, why was Shirley acting so distant lately? And what was Claire's deal, trying to get close to Shirley? What were they up to? Still, Cindy wasn't the type to lose her head. She forced herself to chill out.
"I know you all mean well,” she said quietly, "but I can't exactly stop them from hanging out. They've known each other way longer than I have, anyway."
Rose's eyes sparkled with mischief. "But weren't they always at each other's throats before? What if they're teaming up to get at you now?"
She flipped her hair behind her shoulder. "Let's go see what they're up to. We won't lose anything by just popping in, right?" She grinned. "You show up, they'll be the ones who feel awkward."
Another friend chimed in. "They don't care about your feelings, so why should you make things easy for them? If you keep acting so nice, people will start thinking you're a pushover."
By now, Cindy felt so backed into a corner it almost seemed silly not to go. Reluctantly, she agreed to tag along with Rose.
In the other room, the three girls finished their karaoke song and collapsed on the couch. Claire helped herself to some fruit and nibbled idly on duck wings, lost in thought. Suddenly, the door swung open.
Rose strode in as if she owned the place. It had been a while since Claire had seen her, and the girl's talent for jumping to whichever side benefited her most hadn't faded one bit.
"I thought I heard Shirley singing. Looks like you're all doing karaoke too!" Rose's voice rang out as she propped the door open. She waved her arm. "Cindy, come over here. Shirley and Claire are both here."
She cocked her head, smiling just a little too widely. “Why didn't you guys invite Cindy to hang out with you?"
That question seemed to hang in the air, making things tense for everyone, not just Claire and Shirley. Cindy must have felt out of place too. The truth was, they hadn't invited Cindy, and now she'd just shown up anyway. It was hard not to feel awkward.
Claire tried not to show any reaction, but she couldn't help wondering what on earth had made Cindy come along after all.
"If we'd invited her, you wouldn't have had the chance to hang out with her, would you?" Claire raised her eyebrows at Rose, that familiar fake smile playing on her lips.
Back in the day, Rose had always claimed to be Claire's best friend, but everyone knew it was just for show. Even when Claire wanted nothing to do with her, Rose latched on, acting like they were inseparable. People on the outside totally bought the act.
He
"We could've all hung out together," Rose shot back, as if it were the
most natural thing in the world. She clearly thought Claire was the one being unreasonable now. Was Claire trying to shut people out or something?
"Oh, but I just don't like hanging out with you. Aren't you already used to that by now?" Claire replied, totally straightforward. Her honesty made Shirley snort with laughter.
Rose's expression flickered. She definitely hadn't expected Claire to say it so directly.
"So you've always hated me, huh? I guess I was just clueless, always bothering you." Rose sighed, acting like she was the injured party.
The girls behind her shifted, ready to leap to her defense. Rose glanced at Cindy, clearly hoping she'd back her up and make things even more dramatic.
Right on cue, Cindy stepped forward. "Claire, how can you say that to Rose? She must be devastated, hearing how much you dislike her." Cindy stared at Claire like she'd done something truly awful.
But Claire was not having any of it. She looked completely blank. "And hearing you say that breaks my heart too," she replied without
missing a beat. "Am I not allowed to
like and dislike whoever I want?"
Cindy was completely thrown off-she hadn't expected Claire to respond like that.
Now, she had no idea what to say next.