Jane offered to drive me home after I told her I had to leave to take care of my brothers and sister. I said I would take the bus but she only laughed about it. Apparently public transport was laughable.
Hey, if she wanted to be my personal chauffeur, I wasn’t going to argue. She could be my butler too if she was really desperate. I could think of a million errands she could help me out with.
When we arrived at my apartment block, I didn’t invite Jane up. After seeing the luxurious mansion she lived in, she would think my shoebox was a hole. I didn’t feel ashamed of my place very often, but I would have been if Jane saw the apartment.
So I made up an excuse about my mom sleeping and thanked her in the car instead. Back to reality, I walked the stairs and used the time to plan what I was going to make for dinner. If felt like a macaroni and cheese kind of night. It was quick, cheap, and comforting.
I didn’t get to sketch any new designs that night as I looked after my siblings. It took ages to get them fed, bathed, and put to bed. By that time, I was exhausted. I went to bed straight after they did.
In the three days that passed, I only saw Jane in the hallway at school. I wanted to give her some space to make sure she wasn’t feeling pressured to make the dress in a hurry. I wanted her to take her time, do a great job like she did on the cushion. My entire future was at stake, I could summon up some patience.
On Friday she found me in the hallway just before lunch. She was waving her cell phone around in front of my face. “Have a look at what I’ve done,” she said happily.
I grabbed her wrist so I could stop her and actually look at what she was trying to show me. She had photos on her phone of the dress.
And it looked amazing. Even only half constructed, I could already see the design coming to life. It was just like my drawing. “Jane, this is amazing. You’ve done all this already? Seriously?”
She nodded excitedly. “Once I started, I kind of couldn’t stop. It was sort of fun.”
“Well, keep going, girl. Do you need help or anything?”
“Nope. Another few days and I should have the collar right, that’s the tricky part. I’ll keep you updated.”
I couldn’t believe it was actually happening. My dress was coming alive. We were going to win that competition, I could practically feel the trophy in my hands. I should start on my acceptance speech, it was never too early to be prepared.
Jane hurried away just as quickly as she had appeared. I shouldered my bag and headed for the cafeteria. My stomach was rumbling to be fed and I wasn’t going to deny it. Not when I was in such a good mood. Bring on the deep fried goodness.
I filled my tray and found my friends at our usual table. We were popular enough that nobody else dared to take it. We had a standing reservation and it never failed. I was the last one to arrive as I sat down.
“Truly, where were you yesterday?” Hayley asked. She made it sound like I had been missing for years.
“Sorry, I had to take my snotty sister to the doc. She was actually dripping. It was totally gross,” I replied, disgusted even with the memory of it. I hated it when one of my family members got sick. It usually meant everyone would catch whatever they had and I’d end up looking after a bunch of sick kids.
And they were the worst patients on the planet. Seriously. I hated it.
“Well, I tell you, you missed a great sale at Kramer’s,” Hayley continued. She wasn’t exactly rich, but she wasn’t exactly poor either. I normally only tagged along on their shopping trips to be part of the group. I never bought anything.
“Oh, sorry, that sounds like fun. Stupid sister.”
“Your mom totally needs a babysitter,” Sarah joined in. “Doesn’t she realize you need a social life?”
That would have been great, if we were actually able to afford it. “Yeah, that’s what I keep telling her. She doesn’t listen. You know what she’s like.” I had to keep up appearances.
“Totally. My mom is the same, she never listens to a word I say,” Sarah replied. Her mother was a lawyer in a fancy uptown firm. She probably didn’t have time to listen to her.
I caught a glimpse of Jane at the cashier with a tray of food. She looked around for somewhere to sit. I stood, waving her over. “Jane, over here.”
“What are you doing?” Hayley asked, like it was the craziest thing she had ever seen.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m calling her over to sit with us,” I replied. I really didn’t see how my actions could have been misinterpreted.
Jane looked over her shoulder, probably to make sure she was the only Jane around that I could be talking to. She was so oblivious sometimes. She pointed at herself, I nodded so she would finally get her butt over here.
Jane made her way over, the entire time my friends mumbled how ridiculous it was. I didn’t see anything wrong with it, it was a public table.
“Hey Jane, sit with us,” I said when she finally reached our table. She looked around nervously.
“Are you sure?” she asked. I rolled my eyes.
“I wouldn’t have wasted vital energy getting you over here if I didn’t mean it. Park your butt and eat.”
My friends’ way of dealing with a new person at our table was to ignore her totally. Sometimes I really questioned why I liked them so much.
“So who’s going to the Arrow sale?” Hayley started. “I hear they have some amazing coats for winter on special.”
“Arrow always has the nicest coats,” Kinsey replied. Not one of them said a word to Jane.
“Their headbands are to die for,” Sarah added.
“Do you shop at Arrow much, Jane?” I asked, pointedly including her in the conversation. Arrow was too expensive for me, but I could dream.
Jane looked like a startled bunny rabbit. She took a moment to answer. “I, uh, sometimes. I think they have nice… shirts there.” She was trying, it was kind of cute. Unless Arrow had beige shirts, she probably didn’t buy from there. She most likely had a personal shopper do all her shopping for her.
The conversation moved onto another store as I gave Jane an apologetic look. Perhaps it was a mistake on my part to invite her over. She clearly wasn’t comfortable around my friends.
Although… Jane didn’t seem that comfortable around people in general. She preferred books or calculators or something.
She suddenly stood up, taking her tray with her. “I just remembered I have something… somewhere to go. I’ll see you later. Thank you for having me.” She scurried off faster than a mouse from a sinking ship.
“Thank goodness she’s gone,” Kinsey sighed. “She was weird.”
“Totally weird,” Sarah replied.
I couldn’t listen to them. “She’s not weird, she’s just not like us. Not everyone in the world has to be like us to be cool.”
Hayley looked momentarily stunned. “You’re friends with her? What are you thinking, Truly? She’s not one of us. She had no right being at our table.”
It seemed like a turning point in my life in that split second. I was at serious risk of all my friends turning against me if I continued to defend Jane. But I didn’t want them to be mean to her either.
I was torn.
My popularity was at stake here. I used to think nothing else mattered except that. I still kind of did. I couldn’t lose my friends.
As much I was ashamed to admit it, I remained quiet. I let them think I agreed with them. It made me feel like scum inside but I did it anyway. I ate the rest of my lunch in silence.
CHAPTER 6