Too Much Drama Read Free Page B

the last person I feel like talking to.” She paused, letting her words sink in. When she continued, her voice was lower like she wanted only me to hear what she was about to say.
    â€œI’m going to apologize to Billy for what happened. I don’t really think I did anything wrong, but I know he was upset.” She paused again. “I’m the kind of person who is willing to take responsibility when I do something that upsets someone else.”
    The implication was that I wasn’t. I didn’t even bother to defend myself.
    Brynn continued. “Billy just needed some time,” she said. “I’m sure we’re going to end up back together. I thought you should know.”
    It was my turn to say something, but what could I have said?
Good luck. I hope it works out. Keep me posted.
There was nothing I could say that she’d want to hear. I pressed my lips together in silence.
    Apparently, Brynn interpreted my silence as smugness.
    â€œYou know, just because you went out with Billy first doesn’t mean you know him better than I do.” She scrunched her face up as she talked, which made her eyes seem smaller but wider than usual. She looked like a garden snake. “I guess you’ve forgotten that the reason he broke up with you is because you cheated on him.” She practically spat the words at me. Then she turned and walked out of the bathroom.
    And the award for most unlikeable former best friend goes to . . . Brynn Stephens.
    9:42 p.m.
Text from Sophie
    Sophie: Do you have an elf hat?
    Me: Fresh out.
    Me: ???
    Sophie: It’s for the assembly.
    Me: Still fresh out.
    Sophie: I’ll have to make one.
    Me: Why don’t you ask Santa to bring you one?
    Sophie: No time. Need it tomorrow.
    Me: Wish I could help. Sorry!
    Me:
    Sophie: Gaga to the rescue. She has green felt.
    Sophie:
    Thursday, December 4, 1:17 p.m.
Study Hall
    Brynn is in the WORST MOOD.
    I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out why. I thought maybe it had something to do with the assembly this morning.
    SGA put on a skit to remind people to bring in toys for the holiday toy drive. Billy was Santa, Marcy Franklin was Mrs. Claus, and the rest of the student government reps were elves. Nothing happened in the skit that should have upset Brynn. I could see why she’d be mad if Sophie had been Billy’s fictional wife, but that role went to Marcy, who is not only a senior but has also been dating Jeff Ingraham, another senior and SGA president, for the last two years.
    I don’t know why Brynn’s so upset, but she’s sitting two rows in front of me, and I can literally sense her bad mood from where I’m sitting. She keeps grabbing notebooks out of her backpack and shoving them back in. She actually grunted at one point, got up, and threw a mechanical pencil in the trash. I guess she pushed so hard she broke it.
    The study hall monitor, Ms. Cunningham, asked if she was OK. Her response:
    â€œGreat, just great.”
    Which means she’s anything but.
    9:52 p.m.
Talked to Billy
    Now I know why Brynn was in such a foul mood, and for a change, it wasn’t because of anything I did. Billy told me that after the assembly, Brynn went up to him and asked if they could talk.
    He told me Brynn said she was really sorry about what happened and wanted to know if they could get back together.
    â€œWhat did you say?” I asked Billy.
    â€œI told her I couldn’t talk about it right then because I only had four minutes to change out of my Santa suit before my next class.”
    I knew there was nothing funny about the situation, but I couldn’t help smiling at the image of Brynn trying to have a serious conversation with Billy while he was wearing a red suit and fake beard.
    â€œWhat happened next?”
    â€œShe told me we didn’t need to talk about it and that it was a simple
yes
or
no.
I told her it wasn’t that simple, and she got mad.” He paused.