At lunch, Dolly and I were sitting together at an otherwise empty table. “I think we’re doing fairly well here. What about you?” I asked her.

“Mm hmm.” She mumbled through her potato salad.

“Band was the best, I think. Did you see that ‘Sam’ guy at the piano next to me? He was gorgeous!”

“Yes and no, he wasn’t. He’s probably just an average joe around here. You always go for the average ones, never Mr. Beautiful and Athletic.”

“I thought he was…” I mumbled through a bite of my sandwich, my pride bruised.

Tiffani strolled down the row of tables with two of her cronies trailing behind. She smiled, knowing she owned the place. Stopping at our table, she glanced back at her posse and looked straight at me. “Iris, isn’t it?” I blinked in disbelief. Tiffani Bordeaux knew my name? “I assume by your silence that it is. Listen, my friends and I want you to come sit with us.” She said, voice dripping with faux-sincerity. Of course, I didn’t know it was fake. No one would have unless they were in on the plot. Dolly and I looked at each other to assure ourselves that this wasn’t our imagination. We stood with our trays in hand. Tiffani and the Tiffanettes looked Dolly up and down in disgust. “Not you. Just Iris.” They returned their smiling faces to me. Dolly sat down slowly, waiting for my reaction. In all my excitement, though, I completely forgot my best friend. I grinned at the girls and strolled back to their table behind the Tiffanettes, like I was one of them.

Upon arrival to the 10-person table, I took the empty seat after the others sat. I looked around the table at Tiffani’s friends and their boy-toys. These could be my friends, I thought. I grinned to myself. Glancing back at the table I left, I saw Dolly looking back at me, not very happy. After my departure, three girls went to sit with her so she wouldn’t be lonely. They tried to talk with her, but she wasn’t saying anything, just staring… at me.