Quiz Queens

by K. L. Denman

  When I’m done, I read over what I’ve written. It’s a quiz especially for Kiara. A friendship quiz. It won’t pop up an answer for her, but I hope it provides an answer all the same. I want to give it to her right away. Since she blocked me, I can’t send it online. It would be awkward to go to her house. I decide to send it in a text message. Before I can second-guess myself, it’s done. The link is attached to a blank message, and boom. It’s sent.

  Now? Now I wait. I notice my heart is beating a little too fast. I stand up and prowl around the apartment. It feels like a cage. Maybe I should have printed the quiz and taken it to her? I return to the computer and press Print.

  But no, I can’t do that. Instead, I pick up a pen and answer the quiz myself. All it takes is a flurry of check marks. I stare at my completed quiz for a full minute. Then I take a picture of it and send that to Kiara too. I can’t expect her to answer it without doing it myself. If nothing else, at least it will show her how I feel.

  Friendship Quiz

  You and your friend have a disagreement. You: (Check all that apply)

  Tell her she’s an idiot.

  Argue with her until she gives in (even though she might resent you).

  Get someone else to take your side against her.

  Try to understand her point of view. ✓

  Your friend has changed. She isn’t the same person she used to be. You:

  Ditch her.

  Slowly drift away and become distant.

  Accept her changes. ✓

  Tell her to go back to how she was before.

  Which signs tell you to keep your friend?

  Your differences make the friendship interesting. ✓

  You love talking with her and figuring out the world. ✓

  She knows you’re not perfect. ✓

  You have fun and feel safe with her. ✓

  If you decide to make up with your friend, you:

  Forgive her and put the past behind you. ✓

  Hold out for a while to teach her a lesson.

  Think about what you need to say to her. ✓

  Call her right away. ✓

  My phone rings.

  Chapter Twelve

  I answer the call on the first ring. It’s Sherry. “Hey,” she says. “How’s it going?”

  I croak, “Fine.”

  “Don’t give me fine. Did you and Kiara make up?”

  I bite down on my lip. “Not yet.”

  Her sigh comes through the phone. “I’m sorry to hear that. I was calling to say I’ll be late coming home.”

  I won’t ask. I don’t want to hear about the latest loser. I want to crawl into bed and hide under the covers. I say, “Okay.”

  “Don’t you want to know why?” she asks.

  “Whatever.”

  There’s another sigh. “It’s not what you think. I’m going to swing by the college.”

  The college? “What?”

  She laughs. “I know. Weird, eh? It’s just to get some information. You know, a look-see.”

  “You’re going to scope out the professors?”

  “Jane. Please. I’m going to check out some courses.”

  My mind boggles. “You’re going back to school?”

  “I don’t know for sure. Maybe.”

  “Wow.”

  “I know.” She clears her throat. “I’m sort of nervous.”

  “That’s great,” I say.

  “It’s great that I’m nervous?”

  “No.” I laugh. “That you’re going to check it out.”

  “You think?” She pauses. “Then again, you’ve given me an idea.”

  “I have?”

  “Yeah,” she says. “If the courses don’t look possible, maybe the professors…”

  “Sherry. No. Be true to yourself.” I can’t believe I said that to her.

  Sherry laughs. “Now I’m confused. If I’m true to myself, the professors will be my focus.”

  “Not if you are true to the person you really are.”

  There’s a stretch of silence before she replies. “When did you get to be so smart?”

  “I was born this way.”

  “You were,” she says. “I’ve never been able to figure out how that happened.”

  “I got it from you. College mom.”

  “Aw. Thanks, Jane. See you later?”

  “Yeah.”

  We hang up, and I sit with the phone in my hand, thinking. People do change. They really do. And sometimes that’s a good thing. Other times…

  My phone rings again. It startles me so much, I drop it. Then I fumble to pick it up and answer. The display says it’s Kiara. My hands are instantly sweaty, and I accidentally disconnect the call. I immediately call her back. Her line is busy. I try again. Still busy. I leave her a voice message. “Hey. Sorry. Call me back.”

  Then my phone shows I have a message. I call in to my voice mail, and hear Kiara’s message: “You hung up on me?”

  Oh man. We’ve done this before. If I try calling her back again now, she could be calling me. It could go on forever. Or for at least ten minutes, like the other time we got tangled up in this loop. I can’t take it. I throw on my jacket and bolt.

  I run all the way to her house. By the time I get there, all of me is sweaty. And then I lose my nerve. I don’t know what she wanted to say. What if it isn’t what I hope to hear? I edge into the front yard. Then I duck behind a shrub to catch my breath. Also to hide.

  I decide to check my phone for further messages, and suddenly the shrub starts rustling. It’s really moving. I freeze and gawk at it for a second. But when I turn to flee, something grabs my ankle. And another something grabs my arm. I scream.

  And then I realize it’s only the twins. They release me and roll about on the grass, laughing like maniacs. In unison they crow, “We got you, Jane!”

  “Yeah,” I say sourly. “You did.”

  “You didn’t even see us playing spy. We got you good.”

  “Yeah yeah.” I glare at them, but it’s hard to keep the glare. “Little brats.” I’ve missed them. So much. I cross my arms over my stomach and turn to leave.

  “Hey! Where are you going?”

  “Yeah. You just got here. You can’t go yet.” They leap up and grab hold of my jacket. Then they start yelling, “Kiara! Kiara! Jane’s here. We’ve got her!”

  Could this get any more embarrassing? I try to shake them off, but they’re tough little fiends. I may have to give up my jacket and make a run for it. They’re not allowed past the stop sign on the corner, so if I can sprint that far…

  Instead, I trip and tumble to the grass. Things get rapidly worse. They sit on me. And keep yelling. “Kiara! Kiara!”

  She finds us like that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A decent friend would scold the boys and pull them off. Does Kiara do that? No. She slaps a hand to her mouth, but that does nothing to hide her laughter. Pretty soon she’s bent double and gasping. Finally, she collapses beside us. “Boys. Let go of Jane.”

  “Aw, do we have to?”

  “Is she going to leave?”

  Kiara looks at me directly. “I hope not.”

  My glasses were already crooked. Now the tears springing to my eyes make them fog up.

  Kiara tells the twins, “Mom has ice cream.” And they’re gone.

  I take a moment to sit up and brush myself off. To remove my glasses and clean them. To take a steadying breath before I say, “Thanks for rescuing me.”

  She grins. “Anytime.” Then her smile wavers. “So,” she says. “I got your quiz.”

  I nod. “And…did you like it?”

  She bends her head and starts plucking at the grass. I wait. Finally she says softly, “I’m sorry, Jane.”

  I blink. “You’re sorry? No, I’m sorry.” Then an awful thought occurs to me. “Unless—are you saying you didn’t like the quiz?”

  She swats my arm. “Of course I liked it! I loved it. Man, for someone so smart, you sure can be—”
/>
  “I know. Dense.”

  “Yeah. But I can be too. I was just so angry.” She shakes her head. “And hurt.”

  “I’m sorry,” I repeat. “I get it. Really.”

  Her lip starts trembling. “I felt like you betrayed me. And I couldn’t even tell anyone about it. Because then I’d have to tell them about the fake quiz. And it was all so…” She waves a hand in the air.

  “Wacky?” I suggest.

  “Exactly. And it was so us. No one else would get it.”

  This is true. “It was your idea.”

  “Yeah. But you went along with it. To a point.” She eyes me. “It was your idea to convince the other kids in fourth grade that we were witches.”

  “Because of that wart I had.”

  She wrinkles her nose. “That wart was freakin’ weird.”

  I shrug. “It worked. They stopped bugging me about it. But if we’re bringing up old scams, what about sixth grade? You photoshopped us into those African safari pictures.”

  “That was good, wasn’t it?” She grins. “Lexi still asks me about that trip. She really wants to go one day.”

  “I hope she does. She’ll just have to plan for it.” Plan. I like plans. But thinking about that reminds me about the flaws in mine. It reminds me of something else too. I look at Kiara carefully. “Kiara? I really am sorry. I shouldn’t have interfered with your plan. I can’t expect you to be like me.”

  “No,” she sighs, “you can’t. Although in some ways I wish I could be more like you.”

  This is surprising. “You do? Then why did you say…” I can’t say it.

  “What? What did I say?” And then she flushes pink and looks away. “Oh. That. I said I felt sorry for you.” She grabs the end of her ponytail and starts twisting it. “I didn’t really mean it.”

  “But there must be something to it. Is it because I’m such a nerd? Or because I’m almost poor? Or”—I hesitate—“because of Sherry?”

  She nods. “Because of Sherry.”

  “Actually, she’s thinking about going—” I begin.

  “Wait.” Kiara cuts in. “I should explain. It’s not because Sherry is such a flake. I mean, maybe she can’t help it. She just is one. And I get that that sucks for you. But the reason I felt sorry was more because you let her affect you too much.”

  I do? “What do you mean?”

  Kiara looks at me intently. “I know she’s not the ideal mom. But she cares about you. In her way. And I’m not saying it’s okay that she is how she is. It’s just I think you’d be happier if you could accept her for who she is.”

  “So you’re saying I shouldn’t try to fix her?”

  Kiara nods. “Yeah. You are so worried about her and about not being her that you don’t get to be you.”

  It’s possible that Kiara understands me better than I understand myself. “So…who am I?”

  She raises an eyebrow. “You’re asking me?”

  I grimace. “Not really. I know I need to figure it out for myself. And…stand up for myself.”

  “Yeah.” She sighs again. “You do. I get that. And I know I can be sort of bossy sometimes. I just wish you hadn’t decided to stand up for yourself when you did.” Before I can reply, she adds, “But then, if you hadn’t, I might never have known about Javier.”

  Her mom yells from the door. “Girls. Hurry up. Supper’s on the table. It’s getting cold.”

  Kiara rolls her eyes. “Talk about bossy. I think I inherited it.”

  I remember my weird reaction to body contact with Liam and shudder. “Please don’t tell me we’re all about heredity.”

  She grins. “I doubt it. So are you staying? You have to stay. My mom’s been after me all week to make up with you. And besides, I need to talk to you about Javier.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  I’m really glad some things don’t have to change. Chiles rellenos for one. Hanging out with my bestie for two. Sinking into the chair in Kiara’s room after supper feels like being tucked in. Like getting an A on an essay. Like finding red hair in the bathroom. Comfortable. Right.

  I tell Kiara about Sherry’s new school interest, and she’s delighted. I send Sherry a text to tell her where I am. She replies, Awesome! I knew you’d work it out. The college is huge. I got lost, and this really hot guy helped me out. Later!

  I show the text to Kiara. We laugh. And then she takes over. A week of missed conversation pours forth. Most of it centers on Javier.

  “His answers to our quiz were very cool.”

  “True.” They were.

  “And I did this new online quiz, right?”

  “Of course you did,” I reply.

  “It was about finding your soul connections.”

  Oh man.

  “But guess what?” Her eyes are round. “That’s not the same thing as a soul mate.”

  “Really?”

  She nods. “Soul connections can happen all over the place. With food, places, friends, animals…the list goes on. So here’s what I’m thinking. I don’t find Javier attractive.”

  “No?”

  She shakes her head. “No. He’s not my type.”

  “Your type is more like Liam?”

  She wrinkles her nose. “Not. He’s way too into himself. I have coyote spirit wisdom, right? I can’t be tricked by appearances.”

  How could I ever have thought about giving up this friendship?

  “So forget about him,” Kiara says. “But Javier. He’s interesting. And smart. Don’t you think?”

  I nod. I do.

  “So I’d like to get to know him better. And I was thinking I might…”

  “Give him another quiz?” I ask.

  She frowns. “I thought about it. But I decided I just want to talk to him. Maybe be his friend. In case he’s a soul connection.”

  I’m not ready to share Kiara with someone else yet. An uncomfortable jealousy rises up in me. I swallow it down. “Oh?”

  “Yeah. And I think you’d like him too. Or he’d like you.”

  “But—”

  She holds up a hand. “I know. Guys aren’t in the plan. I get it. But Jane, that is so racist.”

  I gape at her. “Racist? Ugh. Kiara…”

  “Ha. I knew that would get a reaction. I know it’s not racist, okay? I mean, obviously. But it’s sort of like that. You won’t associate with guys just because they’re guys.”

  Should I admit that I’ve already had doubts about that part of my plan? “Yes, but—”

  “No buts! All I’m saying is, who doesn’t want to be friends with someone who wants to invent a time machine? Or whose perfect day is go on safari and feast and sleep under the stars?”

  “Or whose future plans are to follow their curiosity?” I mutter. That boggles my mind. Because it doesn’t really sound like a plan. Except it is.

  “Yeah! I think that might be my plan too. So here’s what I want to do.”

  She tells me. I listen. And I decide I’m good with it. The next day at lunch, we ambush Javier in the hall. We walk up to him with a book we got from the library—The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. We ask him if he’s read it. We haven’t read it, but he has. And it’s like turning on a tap. Javier talks. And talks. About time travel. Where and when he’d like to go. About how changing one little thing can have ripple effects. About how hard it would be to be stuck in a place and time where you don’t know anyone. How unpredictable the future is.

  I’m fascinated. I could listen to him for hours. I love the way he waves his hands around to make a point. His curly hair vibrates, and I want to touch it. His eyes shine with delight. But when I glance at Kiara to share my wonder, I notice that her eyes have glazed over. I nudge her with my elbow, and she starts. She looks around like she’s searching for the exit and spots Lexi coming down the hall. Then she blurts, “So, Javier. What do you think about traveling to the African savanna?”

  His eyes widen. His head bobs. He starts talking about a goat-grazing project on the grasslands. Kiara look
s horrified.

  I’m amazed at how informed he is. I slip in a question. “So the goats actually improved the grasslands?”

  Javier turns to me. “Yes. But the grazing must be rotated.” He begins describing how the farmers manage this. I listen.

  It takes me a moment to notice Kiara has run away. I’m forced to make a decision. I hold up a hand. “Javier?”

  He stops.

  “Can we talk about this again sometime?”

  He nods. And smiles. He has a wonderful smile. I probably smile too—I’m not sure. And then I go after Kiara. When I catch up to her, she’s sulky.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “You were right. Guys are a waste of time.”

  “Not all of them,” I protest. “Javier’s incredibly smart.”

  “Yeah. Maybe too smart. And he talks too much.” She catches my eye and shakes her head. “Don’t even, Jane. I know, okay? I do it too. But obviously, there can only be one motormouth on the scene. Two together is a tragedy.”

  “You have a point. But maybe he’s lonely. Maybe he had a lot bottled up because no one ever talks to him. Or no one lets him talk.”

  Kiara considers this. “That would be awful.”

  “I know.”

  “So maybe…” She pauses and twists her ponytail. “Maybe I’ll have to share you.”

  I raise my brows. “Share me?”

  “Yeah. Like, when I’m at cheerleading? Or if I ever do find the one? You could hang out with Javier.”

  “Really?” I can’t keep the sarcasm from my tone. “You’d allow that?”

  She looks at me sideways. “It’s not like that.” She reads my eyes. “No? Okay. You’re right. I guess you need to do whatever you want.”

  I sigh. “I guess we both do. The thing is, Kiara…” I stop. Start again. “The thing is, you’re my bestie. Forever, I hope. But I have a feeling we’re going to keep changing. And there will be times when it can’t be just us. So I like your idea.”