"Mama wants to know what you want on your pizza?" Melody Tatterson innocently asked.

Mabel shifted her eyes toward the sound of her half-sister's voice. The little girl stood beside the bed, her right hand resting on the patchwork quilt. A dimple appeared on her left cheek when she smiled.

"Don't you knock?" Mabel fiercely snapped.

"Mama told me to ask you..." the child began, hopefully.

"I told you to knock before coming in here. Privacy, remember?" Leaning forward, she jabbed her finger into Melody's forehead twice.

"Are you looking at him again?" Mel asked, indicating the picture Mabel held. "Does he like you yet?"

"Leave me alone!" Swiftly, Mabel leaped from the bed and pushed past Melody. Taking the stairs two at a time, she confronted her mother. "I don't want pizza," she abruptly stated.

"Then pick something else, your majesty," Janet Tatterson barked. "We'll have to have two food deliveries, again, I guess." Deflated, she handed her daughter her cell phone.

Sitting cross-legged on the couch, Mabel glanced through the selection of restaurant options. Finally, she picked a KFC bucket with mashed potatoes and coleslaw. Then, she jabbed the phone into her mother's hands.

"Look who's delivering," Janet exclaimed, handing the phone back. "You remember Horace Lambert? I wish you would have gone out with him. I spent a lot of time getting his mother to convince him to ask you."

Mabel moaned and turned away. Her luck, she thought, deflated. Horace Lambert! Her lips curled disgustingly at the thought of her formal classmate. They shared in common the blessing of having the two most unpopular names in the universe.

Horace Lambert graduated the previous year. Instead of going to college, he took a job delivering food. Closing her eyes, Mabel pictured herself opening the front door and discovering Hank holding up a KFC bag. Then, she dismissed the idea.

Hank Addams would never accept a nowhere job. In the future, he would have a position in his uncle's department and grocery store business. Hank belonged to the Sumner family—Sumner as in Sumner's Point. His mother, Laura, was the sister of Benjamin Sumner III. They were descendants of the town's founder.

Long ago, Mabel and Hank were best friends. Before his father drowned and hers ran off to the West Coast with a cheap barroom floozy. As children, they watched cartoons together and played video games. When they went to kindergarten, Hank and Mabel stuck close together. Then, in fifth grade, things changed.

On the day Mabel came to school wearing glasses for the first time, Adele Armitage called her four-eyes. Tiffany LeBell and Scarlett James joined in. Before long, the school corridor filled with the chant. She held her ground until she noticed Hank in the mass of yelling students. He tried to brush it off, but she realized he had joined the in-crowd. His popularity rose, and hers declined.

The wheel turned again when they entered high school. Hank grew into a handsome, muscular football player. Girls flocked to him and vied for his attention—Mabel amongst them. However, while Adele, Tiff, and Scar became beautiful teenage girls, Mabel remained drab and undeveloped. No one paid attention to her; she faded into the background and stayed there.

"Are you going to answer the door?" her mother interrupted her daydream. "It's your order. Horace awaits. Go talk to him."

Striding toward the entrance, Mabel flung open the door. Holding up the bag, Horace grinned. He wore his brown hair slicked back from his forehead. His two front teeth protruded when he smiled over thick, moist lips. On the tip of his nose, a zit perched. She grabbed her KFC and rudely slammed the door.

"Mabel!" her mother yelled in a reprimanding voice.

Pivoting, Mabel ran up the stairs and bolted into her bedroom. She banged her door closed and plunged onto the bed. Opening the bag, she arranged her dinner in front of her. The greasy fried chicken revolted her. Instantly, she hungered for pizza. Nevertheless, she grabbed a leg and tore it with her teeth.