On the way to school with Jane and Brenda Monday morning, they told me their little dog was sick on the weekend, and their mother was taking him to the vet’s to look after him. They were really sad, and I felt bad for them. They really love their little mutt. Like, I would feel real unhappy if anything ever happened to Munchkin and Grumpkin, even if Mom does think I’m getting too old for them.
We met up with Jennifer T before we got to the school and we went the rest of the way together. She told us what fun she had at her cousin’s house sleeping over there, and all that, like what they did, and all. It must be really nice to have a cousin and she’s your age and you can stay over with her, and stuff like that. We don’t have anyone like that. I wish we did. And anyway, we live too far away from our relatives, and Mom says, that's just the way it is.
Me and Jennifer went to home room and I asked her, didn’t she hear from anyone else about Sally’s party or anything? She said no, and that’s all. It was early, and only some of the kids were there, but there were Diane and Donna sitting together, with their heads close, and they didn’t look like they had a good weekend, either.
“Did you have a good time at Sally’s party?” Donna asked us, funny-like.
“Hey, no. We didn’t go!” Jennifer said, and she looked at me like as if to say, oh-oh.
“You didn’t get invited either?” Diane said. She looked like she was going to cry at first, but then she looked better when Jennifer said no.
“Maybe she didn’t have the party, after all”, Donna said. “ I wondered why she didn’t say anything to us! Probably, she decided to have it next week instead. I’ll still get to wear my new dress, then.”
“Uh, I wouldn’t count on it. I’m sure the party was held when it was supposed to be”, Jennifer said to them slowly. I think she felt bad that she was telling them that. “It just doesn’t look like she meant to invite any of us. It’s not terribly surprising, I guess. After all, she said she was going to invite boys and none of us goes out with boys or anything, right?”
“But we’re her friends!” Diane almost yelled. “Who would she invite if not her friends?”
“I dunno”, Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. “Other friends, I guess.”
“What’re we supposed to do with the stuff we got? I mean, like the presents and stuff? What about that? She told us about the party,and she talked to us about it all the time. What were we supposed to think?”
“Don’t feel so bad”, I told them. “I was disappointed too,. I couldn’t believe we weren’t going to be invited, but we weren’t. Actually, I thought she was going to invite you two for sure. Just us two weren’t going to be invited, I thought. Looks like none of us were going to be invited. I wonder what about Laura? Anyway, we don’t even know for certain-sure that she had the party. Why not just wait and see?
Later, during tutorial, we were all together in the library for study, but Sally didn’t sit with us, for a change. She sat with another bunch of kids. It seemed awfully strange.
“Laura”, Donna asked, “How about that party of Sally’s? How come she didn’t have it, and didn’t tell us about it?”
“She had the party”, Laura told Donna. And she looked at all of us, and she didn’t look too happy.
“You mean she had the party and didn’t invite any of us? Oh, you mean you were invited, and you went?”
“Yes. I was there.”
“Laura, how could you? We’re all friends! How could you go and you knew we weren’t invited?” Diane said, and she sounded really mad. I had never seen her like that before.
“First of all, don’t get mad at ME. It wasn’t my party and I didn’t do the inviting or anything, okay? Now, what makes you think I knew you weren’t going to be invited? It wasn’t my party, remember?”
“You must’ve had some idea, didn’t you?”
“No, don’t be stupid. I just took it for granted you’d all be invited. Well, I did think it was kind of funny you were saying she hadn’t said anything to you by Friday, but she was always talking to all of us about it, wasn’t she? How was I supposed to know she wouldn’t be inviting you?”
“Well, who did she invite?” I asked Laura, and by now I was feeling really mad at her. Some friend!
“Over there”, Laura said, jerking her head in the direction of the other table across the room, where Sally was sitting. “Those kids and some of the guys at the next table.”
“Jeez, they’re not even your friends!” Donna said, intelligently. “and Sally didn’t even fool around with them much, before. It’s just us she’s always with, isn't it?”
“The times they are a-changing”, Laura said, and she laughed kind of nervously. “I don’t think she’ll be spending very much time with all of us in future.”
“Good riddance!” I said and I really meant it. "But what was it like for you at the party, Laura? I mean, those aren’t exactly your friends, and if they were the only ones there besides you... like... were you having fun or anything like that?”
“Who, me?” she said, and she laughed. “Fun? Oh sure. There were games, different ones than we had at your party. And we played records and danced. Well, almost everyone danced. And there was lots of food. And that’s what I did. I helped Sally’s mother serve the food.”
“Oh, that’s too bad, Laura. You mean you didn’t have a very good time?” Jennifer asked.
“No, not really, if it makes you feel any better. Ididn’t. I felt out of place and very uncomfortable. Remember, I didn’t know it was going to be like that, either.”
“Well, that really is TOO bad”, Jennifer said, and she smirked at Laura and so did I. I’m sure we both wanted to feel sorry for Laura, but somehow, we couldn’t make ourselves.
“That’s really lousy!” Diane said, out loud. I saw Mrs. Barker over at the desk lift her head and look over at us, and I thought she was going to come over and tell us to get back to our home room area, but she didn’t. I told them to cool it, or we’d get in trouble.
“What’re Donna and me supposed to do with the gifts we got for her? Give them to her and thank her for a lovely time?” Diane hissed, really boiling mad. I sure don’t blame her.
“Why ask me? I’m no happier about it than you are. Go and ask her about it. I’m not responsible for what she does.”
“And I even got a new dress”, Donna moaned. “What kind of food did you have?" Thinking about her stomach as usual.
“Oh, what’s the difference!” Laura said, and it looked like she’d love to forget about the whole thing, but Donna insisted on hearing all about it. “She had stuff sent in from MacDonald’s and there were pizzas and a cake and ice cream. All that junk. Who cares, anyway?”
“I do”, Donna said belligerently. “I care. I was looking forward to it, and I made all kinds of preparations. You should see how nicely I wrapped that perfume! Now I’ll have to give it to my mother, or something.”
“What kinds of presents did she get from everyone?” Jennifer asked Laura.
“What kind of presents”? Laura repeated, and she laughed. “She got a very nice dresser set of brush and mirror.”
“And?” Diane prompted.
“And? Nothing else."
“Hey, what do you mean?”
“Well, when she first planned the party she did tell us it was a birthday party, but when she decided to invite those other kids she didn’t say anything about a birthday, or anything. She just said, I guess, come to my party, like.”
“Oh, what a rat she is!” Donna raged,and her voice started going kind of high again.
We heard lots of laughing going on at the table where Sally was sitting and when we looked over, it was easy to see she was having a good time with her new friends. I guess she doesn’t need us any more, and we sure don’t need her. Poor Laura, she kind of left us in a way for Sally, and now Sally has left her high and dry. I feel kind of sorry for Laura, but then I think that she was once my best friend and she decided to leave me to be Sally’s best friend, and then I don’t feel sorry for her at all, much.
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