The Best Friend (6 page)

“It's not completely a lie,” he said. “I mean, it was originally going to be a surprise party. It was actually Tyler and Dayton's idea to throw this little gig in the first place. When they heard my folks were out of town, they decided to do it at my place. I went along with it.”

She nodded.

“And who knows, maybe the cops won't ask. Especially since I'm nowhere to be found.”

Lishia tried to appear in agreement, but some of the magic was wearing off. Not only that, but now she remembered that she was supposed to spend the night at Riley's house. But what if Riley was in jail now? Where would she stay? What would she tell her parents if she had to come home? She decided to try Riley's cell.

“Hey,” Riley said cheerfully, like nothing was wrong.

“Did you get busted?”

Riley laughed. “Nah. Dayton and I made our exit long before the cops arrived. Then I drove him over to my place. We've been hanging here while my parents are still at their movie. What about you? Are you in jail?”

“No, of course not.” Lishia shuddered to imagine how that would've felt—to be making a phone call from the police station. She didn't even want to think about it. Instead she explained how they'd gotten away and where she and Todd had landed, and the four agreed to meet up at Riley's, where Riley said they'd continue to party. Lishia wasn't too sure what she thought about that idea, but shortly after they arrived, Riley's parents got home, and it seemed a good time for the guys to call it a night.

“What a bizarre evening,” Lishia told Riley after they were back in her bedroom. “At first I was scared to death I was going to get taken to jail and my parents would kill me. But then it's like everything turned completely around and Todd and I ended up having a really great time.”

“Life's funny.” Riley was flipping through DVDs.

“But seriously, if Todd hadn't looked out the window just when he did . . . we'd have been toast.” She shook her head. “I can't even imagine how I would've explained it to my parents. Do you think other kids got arrested?”

“Probably.”

“Like Gillian?”

“I hope so.” Riley gave a mischievous smile. “Then I wouldn't even need to show Mrs. Glassman my evidence.”

“How did you and Dayton know to get away?”

Now Riley got a funny look, like there was something she was holding back . . . some information she was keeping.

“Did someone tip you off?” Lishia asked curiously.

“Not exactly.”

“How then?”

Riley narrowed her eyes. “Do you swear you'll never tell a soul?”

Lishia blinked. “Uh . . . okay.”

“I'm the one who called the police.”

“No way!”

Riley suppressed giggles. “Uh-huh.”

“How is that possible?”

Riley explained how she and Dayton left the party and drove into town, where she used a pay phone and tipped off the police anonymously.

“I can't believe you'd do that! What were you thinking?” Lishia demanded. “You knew I was still there! I could've gotten—”

“I knew you were with Todd, and I knew he'd get you out safely, Lishia. Lighten up, okay?”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Because he's Todd, and it's his house. Of course he'd have a backup plan. And I was right. He did. And you already told me you had the best time with him. So, really, instead of being mad, you should thank me.”

Lishia did not feel like thanking Riley. “You could've gotten me arrested.”

“But I didn't.” Riley made a pouty face. “I can't believe you're getting mad. Especially when I think of all I've done for you.”

“What?” Lishia folded her arms across her front.

“First I helped you and Todd get together, right?”

Lishia shrugged, then nodded.

“But even better, I've secured you a position on the cheerleading squad.”

Lishia looked skeptical.

“You know Gillian will get suspended if she's been arrested.”

“Maybe she got away too.”

“She was too wasted to get away.” Riley firmly shook her head. “No, I'm sure she's been arrested and booked down at city hall. And when they check her alcohol level, she'll be in serious trouble. But even if she didn't get arrested, I've got enough on my camcorder to cinch the whole thing. She is definitely history when it comes to cheerleading.”

“You're sure about that?”

She reapplied her lip gloss with a smug expression. “So instead of being so mad, you should thank me.”

Lishia didn't know what to say.

“Look, I'm sorry I had to put you in harm's way for a little bit,” Riley conceded. “But you weren't even drinking, Lishia. You didn't break the law, so you couldn't have gotten into trouble. Don't you get that?”

“I guess so.”

“I had to do this for your own good. And for the good of the cheerleading squad. Gillian was bringing us down. Now she'll be out. Can't you see this is something to celebrate?”

“I guess so.” But even as she said this, Lishia wasn't so sure. Something about the whole evening felt off to her. The old Lishia would've been appalled at what had transpired . . . the new Lishia was simply dazed and confused.

“Tomorrow we'll start going over the routines,” Riley told her. “We've got to get you into tip-top shape before the basketball games begin.” Riley stood up and started to teach her a yell, forcing Lishia to make an attempt to go through the motions until she finally blew it so badly that they both collapsed to the floor in giggles. It was hard to stay mad at Riley for long.

R
iley spent most of Sunday teaching Lishia routines and texting friends to see who'd gotten in trouble last night. “This is perfect!” she exclaimed as she held her phone in the air.

Lishia threw the pom-poms she'd been borrowing onto the floor, then turned down the music and collapsed onto the sofa. She was ready for a break. “What is it?”

“Gillian got arrested last night.”

“Uh-huh . . .” Lishia shrugged. “But that's what you expected would happen.”

“But listen to this.” Riley went over to check the basement stairs, making sure the door was closed. “Gillian was found by the police in one of the bedrooms, and she was stark naked!”

“Huh?” Lishia sat up straight. “You gotta be kidding.”

“Remember she'd been thrown in the pool?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“She must've been getting out of her wet clothes. Anyway, Vanessa says they checked her alcohol level, and it was probably high since Gillian was totally wasted. Any way you look at it, Gillian is in big trouble!” She gave Lishia a high five. “Now back to work!”

Lishia let out a groan. “I'm tired.”

“You need to be ready to take Gillian's place—and don't forget we have regionals right after Christmas. Last year we took fifth, and we're determined to do better this year, maybe even qualify for state.”

Lishia felt slightly sickened by this thought. It was one thing to replace Gillian, but the idea of competing at the state level was overwhelming. Was she really up to this?

Finally it was getting late in the afternoon, and Lishia knew she should go home. “I have homework,” she explained as she started to gather her things. “And you don't want me to ruin my grades before I even have a chance to replace Gillian.”

“Good point.” Riley patted her on the back. “But then you've always been more academic than me. We probably don't need to worry about your grades.”

“Except that I'm taking harder classes,” Lishia pointed out, “including some AP ones.”

“Maybe you should drop those, you know, just to protect your GPA.”

Lishia frowned as she shoved some clothes into her duffle bag. She didn't want to drop her classes.

“Anyway, think about it,” Riley said as they went to the car. “We need committed cheerleaders.”

Or cheerleaders who need to be committed
, Lishia thought wryly. Really, was she ready to obsess over this? Did she have a choice? However, she kept her thoughts to herself as Riley drove her home. “Thanks for everything,” she told Riley as she got out of the car.

“Thank you!” Riley grinned. “I can't wait to see Gillian's face tomorrow.”

Lishia nodded, but as she went into her house an image of Gillian's enraged face flashed through her imagination. The last time she'd seen her, Gillian had looked like she wanted to kill Lishia. Hopefully, she'd cool off by Monday.

“What on earth happened to you?” Mom demanded as Lishia came into the kitchen.

“Huh?” Lishia tried not to look guilty as she opened the fridge and foraged through the fruit drawer, finally removing an apple. What had Mom heard about last night?

“Look at me, Lishia,” Mom demanded.

Bracing herself, Lishia turned to face her mom. “What do you mean?”

Mom pointed at her head. “Your hair! Your beautiful auburn hair.”

Lishia touched her hair. “Oh, that.”

“Oh,
that
?” Mom's eyebrows shot up. “What on earth did you do to it?”

“It's just hair, Mom.” Lishia let exasperation seep into her voice. “It's not like I went out and got a tattoo.”

“But why would you do that? Your hair was gorgeous. Everyone said so, honey.” Mom frowned, then shook her head. “I don't understand.”

“I wanted a new look,” Lishia explained.

“But you don't look like yourself.”

“I'm still me, Mom.” Lishia took a big bite out of the apple and rolled her eyes.

“Did you and Riley go to church today?” Mom looked suspicious.

Now Lishia realized she needed to handle this more gently. “Riley isn't really into church anymore.”

“She doesn't go to church?” Mom frowned.

“Not since middle school.” Lishia sighed. “But I'm hoping I'll be a good influence on her. Maybe I can talk her into going to youth group or something.”

Mom looked brighter. “Yes, that's a wonderful idea. You can use your influence to get Riley to go back to church.”

“Uh-huh.” Lishia took another bite of the apple.

Mom looked slightly concerned now. “Just make sure Riley's not influencing you more than you're influencing her, Lishia.” She reached over and touched Lishia's hair, then frowned again. “Your hair was so pretty before. I don't understand why all you girls think you have to become blondes. Really, they're becoming a dime a dozen. In my opinion, they look cheap.”

“Thanks a lot, Mom.”

“Sorry, honey. Just speaking my mind. You're still a pretty girl.” She cocked her head to one side. “But come to think of it, I'm guessing it wasn't cheap. How on earth did you pay for it?”

“Riley paid.”

“What?”
Mom looked mad.

“I'm going to pay her back.” Lishia picked up her bag, trying to make her exit.

“Oh, Lishia!”

“I've got homework, Mom.” Lishia kept going, ignoring Mom's continued blabbing on about money and debt and how she expected more from Lishia—blah, blah, blah. Seriously, did Mom honestly think that her lectures worked? Or maybe she didn't care—it was simply a form of punishment in itself. Not for the first time, Lishia wished she wasn't an only child. If there were a few siblings around, her parents might be forced to share the “loving discipline” a bit more. As it was, Lishia usually got all of their parental attention lavished onto her.

News of the birthday party bust was all over the school on Monday. As far as Lishia could tell, the rumors about Gillian getting caught in the buff and arrested were true too. “How did you fare?” Lishia asked Todd when he caught up with her on her way into the cafeteria.

“I had to answer some questions on Sunday morning,” he quietly told her. “They stopped by my house just as the cleaners arrived.”

Lishia giggled. “How did you explain that?”

“I acted like I was really miffed, like I couldn't believe my friends would actually do this to me. I told them that I'd spent the night at Dayton's, which was true. They knew I wasn't home since they'd checked my house several times throughout the night.”

“Seriously?”

“That's what they said.”

“But didn't they still suspect you had something to do with it?”

“Sure. But I used your line.”

“My line?”

“About the
surprise
party.”

“Oh, dear.” She shook her head as she picked up a tray.

“They pushed me for names, but I played dumb. I mean, hey, it was a surprise party—how was I supposed to know who did what?”

“And they bought that?”

“Wasn't much else they could do.”

“You are one smooth operator, Todd.” She placed a salad on her tray.

“Don't look now, but you are being watched,” he whispered in her ear.

“Huh?”

His eyes darted to the left and back.

Following his gaze, she spotted Gillian glaring directly at her. “Uh-oh.” Lishia gave Todd a worried look.

“Don't worry, I'll protect you,” he teased.

“I'll take you up on that,” she said as she waited for him to get his cheeseburger. No way was she leaving his side now. They got in line for the cashier, and trying not to be obvious, she sneaked a couple of peeks at Gillian, who was now getting her own lunch. Maybe Lishia had imagined the dagger looks. Just the same, she stayed close to Todd as they joined Riley and Dayton and several others at what Lishia used to consider the “popular” table. Oh, she never would've used that term out loud—it would only classify her as lame. But in her mind, that's what it was. And to be welcome here today, to be sitting with Todd, well, it was almost too much to absorb.

“Hey, there's the birthday boy,” someone called from the end of the table. “Did you spend the night in jail too?”

“No way.” He laughed.

“But did you hear about Gillian?” Riley said, probably to deflect attention from the kids who escaped the police on Saturday. Everyone was all ears as Riley and a couple other girls relayed the whole incident of Gillian being wasted and naked and how there was a discipline meeting scheduled for after school.

“She's getting suspended from cheerleading,” Vanessa said.

“We don't know that for sure,” Amanda corrected. “Don't forget this is America and you're innocent until proven guilty.”

“Oh, she's guilty, all right,” Vanessa declared. “It's all on record down at city hall. I'm telling you, the girl is toast. I'm just thankful I got out of there before it was too late.”

“I'm glad I didn't go,” Amanda admitted.

“Gillian was a fool to get caught like that,” Vanessa said. “But now she's ruined it for our cheerleaders. Thanks to her, we won't have a chance at regionals this year.”

Lishia couldn't believe how quickly Vanessa had turned on her friend. Just days ago, those two were inseparable. Now Gillian was sitting by herself on the fringe of the cafeteria. Lishia wasn't sure if this was Gillian's choice—and she couldn't blame her—or if her friends were simply freezing her out. But it was strange to think that last week Riley had been the castoff, and now it was Gillian. What a fickle crowd. But then Lishia remembered her own so-called friends. Glancing toward their regular table, she realized that some of them were actually looking at her with curious expressions. Of course, they would wonder what turn of events had landed her here. She suppressed the urge to laugh, then turned back to the conversation at her table.

“So much for our dreams of getting to state too,” Riley said sadly—and believably too. “There's no way we can get it together now.”

“Don't give up yet,” Amanda told them. “We'll still have a few weeks to break someone in.”

“Only if Glassman deals with this quickly,” Vanessa said. “Don't forget that this week is Thanksgiving, which means no school for several days—maybe a whole week of lost practices.”

“That's right.” Amanda started counting the days on her fingers. “We need to push Mrs. Glassman to make her decision right away.” She looked at the other cheerleaders. “Now, I know some of you were at the party. Is there any chance anyone else can get suspended too? Be honest.”

“Thanks to Riley, I got out of there.” Krista smiled at Riley. “Thanks.”

“Then Krista texted me,” another girl said.

“So Gillian really is the only one going down.” Amanda's brow creased. “Well, maybe if we all petition Mrs. Glassman, she'll figure this mess out in a hurry. Because it's not fair to punish the whole team for one person.”

Lishia poked at her salad, trying to look disinterested in this conversation where she actually had so much at stake. She couldn't believe how coolly Riley handled it, never once alluding to having had anything to do with anything. It all made Lishia uncomfortable, and every bite of salad landed like stones in her stomach. She was so relieved when lunch was over.

“Wait for me in the girls' locker room after school,” Riley told Lishia as they were leaving the cafeteria. “I have that meeting with Glassman.”

Lishia agreed, then hurried on to her class. Her biggest fear today was running into Gillian—alone. She had no idea what Gillian would do, if anything, but the looks she'd been throwing Lishia's way were unnerving. By the end of the day, Lishia's imagination was running wild, so much so that she decided not to wait in the girls' locker room. She might run into Gillian in there. Instead, she texted Riley and hung out in the library.

“There you are,” Riley said when she found Lishia doing homework. “Didn't you get my messages?”

Lishia blinked. “No. This is a library—my phone's turned off.”

“Well, come with me.”

“Huh?”

“We need your testimony.”

“My testimony?” Lishia remembered giving her Christian testimony at a retreat once—surely Riley didn't mean that.

“About what Gillian said and did to you.”

“Huh?”

“I showed Glassman part of the video of Gillian at the party. Now Glassman wants to hear what you have to say.” Riley was tugging her down the hall, toward the gym. “You need to tell the truth, but make it sound innocent.”

“I am innocent,” Lishia said. At least she thought she was innocent . . . or sort of.

“Explain how Gillian took a dislike to you—probably because you're my friend. Tell Glassman about how Gillian picked on you Friday night. Remember the scene at the restaurant? Anyway, just tell her—in a nice, polite way—how Gillian raged at you at the party. Also be sure to mention you weren't drinking. We're all saying that we thought it was a regular birthday party, and when we realized alcohol was being served, we left. That's why none of us—besides Gillian—got in trouble. Okay?” She was opening the door to the locker room.