Chapter 34

The Call

“ISABELLE!” I heard my mom shout.

“What?” I asked, casually taking out my earbuds, which were blasting While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

“Phone’s for you,” she said. “Although I have no idea why anyone would want to contact you.”

My heart started racing. It was probably Jessica from Calypso Coffee. She promised she would call me back about the donation.

“Okay, thanks Mom,” I said, taking the phone. “Hello?”

“Hello, is this Isabelle Prescott?”

“Yes,” I said.

“It’s Candace from math class.”

“Oh, okay.” I was a little disappointed but perplexed at the same time. Why would Candace call me?

“So I was wondering what the homework was for tonight.”

I paused for a moment. Wouldn’t Candace ask Mia something like this? “Chapter 6, Unit 4, questions 5-34,” I told her.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Should I ask Candace why she didn’t ask Mia?” I whispered to the Magic 8 Ball.

Yes.

“What did you say?” Candace asked.

“Nothing. I was just wondering why you didn’t ask Mia.”

“I already did. She said she didn’t know either.” Candace sighed. “Mia’s smart enough that she can get by without working too hard. I’m just scared I’m going to fail the class and if I fail, I’m going to get kicked off the softball team.”

“I know how you feel,” I said.

“No you don’t,” Candace argued. “You’re the smartest kid in the class.”

“I’m not, but that’s beside the point.”

“Yeah you are. Nobody else got a 100% on the Chapter 5 test.”

“How did you know about that?”

“Well, apparently your little sister is friends with Mia’s little sister and she told Mia and then Mia told me. Mia gets a lot of her gossip about you and Samina from Olivia.”

“Mia and Olivia certainly do have a lot in common,” I said.

“Mia says Olivia is really obnoxious though,” Candace stated.

“Still, Olivia really reminds me of Mia sometimes.”

“Mia can be annoying sometimes,” Candace confessed. “But she’s always there for you and that’s what counts, right?” I heard some yelling on the other end of the line. “Dang it. My dad’s trying to get me off the phone. See you later, Isabelle.” Candace hung up.

I was a little surprised by Candace’s call, but at the same time, I found it rather interesting. Candace was a lot nicer than she seemed. Maybe she was just a good person with the wrong friends. Maybe she was tearing down a wall too.