text: “Oh, Grow up!” “This is your fault!” Emma yelled. Her voice echoed in the bathroom. A sneer formed on Emma’s face; she stormed around the bathroom to see if anyone in the stalls was listening to our conversation. Thankfully there wasn’t anyone. Why would she do that? She thought. I was doing so well on my own, and she had to step in and ruin it. She always has to be the center of attention. “My fault? Why! I talked to people and made a little joke about you.” Olivia snapped back, raising her hands defensively. What did I do? Why is she so mad at me? “I was finally making some progress with some people. You know how hard it is for me to make friends and speak up. But, you stepped in!” Emma’s was getting even louder. Her nose flared as if she ran a marathon with as much intensity as a raging bull. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to let’s just put this behind us and not throw away 11 years of friendship.” Olivia pleaded. “It’s too late for that. You’ve done this too many times. We’re done. I don’t want to be friends with you anymore.” Said Emma as she stormed passed Olivia and out of the bathroom. This is alright. I have tons of friends. Olivia thought, but her lips quivered, and she felt her eyes well up. But they’re not as close as Emma and me. And with that Oliva felt hot tears stream down her face. She sulked to the bathroom stalls and sobbed. After a while, she came out of the bathroom, eyes still puffy. Waiting for her outside was one of her friends Zoe. And when Zoe saw how upset Olivia was, she wrapped her arm around Olivia and gave her a big hug. People navigated around them. “What happened?” She asked loudly so she could be heard over the constant talking of people around them which had the same volume as a busy amusement park. Olivia looked at Zoe. “Emma doesn’t want to be friends with me anymore.” Her voice cracked between deep breaths. Zoe sat her at the nearest fountain. The babbling water splashed her as she rubbed Olivia’s back. The sound of the streams of water going up and coming back down helped calm Oliva. “Come,, let's go to the food court, then we can go to my place and watch a movie. We can go shopping another time.” So they got up and did exactly that. After the movie, Olivia got up and dragged her feet back home and slept for the rest of the night. When Oliva got to school, the next day, Zoe was there waiting for her. “How are you feeling?” She asked. “A little bit better. But I still feel horrible from yesterday’s fight.” Olivia moped. “ I’m sorry,” Zoe said sincerely. “But, I have to tell you something.” She pulled Olivia closer and whispered in her ear. “There’s a rumour going around that you pushed Emma yesterday into the fountain at the mall and ruined a dress that her dead grandma gave her and laughed.” Olivia pulled back. She couldn’t believe it. “ I know that’s bad,” Zoe said, raising her hands, “but I have a lead that says it started with our friend group. Come follow me.” She turned around and started walking toward the school. “I saw a bunch of them over by the lockers.” She said over her shoulder. When they got to the lockers, a dozen of Olivia’s friends rushed toward her. All were speaking on top of each other. Zoe was yelling out, trying to do crowd control. “Quiet everyone!” She shouted. “Who knows who started the rumour about Olivia?” Everyone settled down and started to mutter amongst themselves. “Can someone please tell me?” Olivia begged. “I know a person who might know how the rumour got started. I can tell you if you can get me into the party?” One of the friends in the back chirped. “What about me?” Another voice came from the back. “You promised me that you were going to take me to a party also. And that set off all the friends yelling at Olivia, demanding things and reminding her about promises of going to parties. Zoe grabbed Olivia’s arm and tried to navigate through the friends trying to get to the back of the crowd. When they finally got to the back, Zoe grabbed the arm of the friend named Crystal, who spoke up and ran as fast as she could, trying to escape the crowd. Crystal yanked her arm free and ran ahead of Zoe. Zoe dropped Olivia’s arm and followed with Olivia not far behind. After a while, all three of them finally escaped the hoard of friends. “ Where is your friend that knows who started this?” Olivia puffed. “First, you have to promise me that you’ll take me to a party.” Crystal said between heavy breaths. Olivia clenched her jaw, her face going as red as a strawberry. “Can you stop thinking about the party?!” she snapped. Olivia stormed forward and jabbed a finger into Crystal’s shoulder. “My image is in jeopardy, and all you can think about is that damn party.” Crystal stepped backwards, raised her hands in defence, and backed up into one of the lockers. “Okay, I’ll tell you it’s Taylor. She knows who started the rumour. “Where is she?" Zoe snapped. “Last time I saw her was by the water fountains.” Olivia and Zoe stormed off to find Taylor. They finally found her near the classroom. Zoe marched straight up in Taylor’s face. “Who started the rumour!”? Zoe yelled. Startled, Taylor stepped back and bumped her head against the lockers. A grimace formed on Zoe’s face. “I’ll say this again,” She looked straight into Taylor’s eyes. Her voice took on a more profound and darker tone as if she was trying to control her rage. “Who started the rumour?" A smirk formed on Taylor’s face. “What’s in it for me.”? She asked. “What’s in it for you?” “She raised her hand above her head and was about to smack her. When Olivia stepped right between them, raising her hand to block the slap. “Look, just tell me, and I will help you get something. Name your price.” “Alright, I’ll tell you,” Taylor leaned in closer. “It’s Emma,” she whispered loudly, so both girls and no one else could hear her. Olivia’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “She started the rumour. I overheard her talk to another person about plans on how to ruin your life.” Zoe lowered her hand. “Now, what I want is a free lunch for two months.” “Alright, you’ll get those free lunches,” Olivia said as she stepped back. Taylor sneaked by and went into the classroom nearby. “I can’t believe she would do that,” she covered her face with both hands. “I know that we weren’t best friends anymore, but I didn’t expect her to hate me so much that she would try to ruin me like that.” Tears started to run down her face. Zoe put her hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “Hey, no matter how many leave you or betray you, I will always be there for you.” she hugged Olivia and walked off to their first class.