Standing in front of the girl’s bathroom, Keira quickly realized it was one thing to say she was going to do something; it was a whole other thing to actually do it. Her arm was raised and poised to open the door, but for some reason she couldn’t go through with it. Was fear holding her back? Was she afraid Megan would straight-out reject her apology? 

“This is just sad,” Jenny muttered from behind her.

Keira tensed. “You try and do this—”

But Keira didn’t have time to finish her sentence because Jenny placed her hands on her shoulder blades and gave her a giant push. Keira stumbled into the bathroom, tripping over her feet and nearly falling face first into the floor.

“Whoa there,” Anna yelled, grabbing Keira’s arm and steadying her.

“You’re welcome!” Jenny called from behind the door.

“You okay?” Anna whispered.

Keira nodded, but her attention was on Megan who was huddled in a corner. She looked absolutely miserable. Her eyes were puffy, her nose bright red, and mascara ran down her cheeks in odd little formations. A mound of tissues was piled in her lap and she held three more in her hand.

“G-Go a-away,” Megan ordered, looking anywhere else but Keira.

“Can we talk?”

She blew into a tissue. “N-No. I have n-nothing to say to y-you.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to speak. Just hear me out.”

Megan let out a brittle laugh that made Keira’s heart hurt. “No, t-thank you. I’ve heard enough. I-I really don’t want another lecture on how h-horrible of a friend I am. Once was more than enough.

Keira took a step toward her. “I get that, but I’m not here to—”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Megan interjected, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you. Leave. Me. Alone!” Her angry shout reverberated off the walls, making her declaration that much more potent.

Crestfallen, Keira allowed Anna to gently tug her back and guide her to the exit. “I wanted to apologize,” she whispered as they stood off to the side.

Anna rubbed her arm and said in a soothing voice, “I know, but she’s hurt and lashing out. I think you need to give her a little time to settle down. I’m going to go back in there and talk to her. Are you going to be okay out here by yourself?”

“Of course. Go, please,” she said and watched her big sister leave. What if Megan was never ready to talk? Was this the end of the road for them?

“Guess it didn’t go too well, huh?”

The question wrenched her out of her bleak thoughts. “You,” she accused, her eyes shooting darts at Jenny. “Why did you push me like that?”

“Because you weren’t going in.” Jenny clasped her hands and rocked back on her heels. “So, what happened? Tell me everything.”

“I’m not telling you. I don’t want this to end up as the next big story at school.”

“I won’t tell, I promise.” She pretended to zip her mouth shut.

Keira ignored her and marched toward the concession stand again. She had to do something about Megan. She couldn’t just stand aside and watch their friendship crumble.

The blonde employee turned wary when she stepped up to the counter. “What do you want?” he asked when she plopped her hands down and gave him a serious look.

“Can I have a pen and some paper?”

“A pen and some paper,” he repeated, confusion written all over his face. He tilted his head to the side and asked, “You want to buy them?”

She gnashed her molars together. “If I need to.”  

He saw her expression and quickly backed up. “I’ll get them for you right away.”

An idea had popped into her brain. She knew Megan didn’t want to see her, but what if there was a way to apologize without that happening?

The boy stumbled back with a stack of paper. “Here,” he said, carefully placing it onto the counter. “I didn’t know how much you wanted.”

What did he think she was doing? Penning a book? Mentally shaking her head, she took eleven sheets off the top and picked up the pen he pulled out of his back pocket. “Thanks,” she told him, dropping some money into the tip jar.

Ignoring the curious looks from those standing in line, she hauled her stash over to a bench and began making her apology. On each sheet she carefully wrote, “You’re my best friend because…” and then filled in the blank space with different reasons.

Some were funny, saying things like, “You’re my best friend because you don’t judge me for not shaving my legs for two weeks.” While others had a more serious undertone telling her, “You’re my best friend because you support my dreams and I know you’ll do anything to help me achieve them.”

The only problem was that she didn’t know how to get them to Megan. She rapped the pen against her leg as she thought of possible options. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jenny playing one of the arcade games. She bit her lip. Would she still do it even though Keira had been rude to her? Gathering her courage, she made her way to the gaming section.

“What do you want?” Jenny asked coldly.

Keira had the grace to look ashamed. “I’m sorry about before. I shouldn’t have walked away like that. It was rude.”

Jenny obviously hadn’t been expecting an apology. She stopped playing and turned. “Then why did you? I was only trying to help.”

Keira let out a sigh. “I know. I just don’t want to be the center of gossip. It’s bad enough everyone talks about our ‘love triangle,’” she put in air quotes and rolled her eyes, “I didn’t want add onto that.”

“I told you I wouldn’t tell. I know most people think I’m this huge blabbermouth but when I say I won’t do something, I won’t.” Sincerity radiated off of her. “I keep my promise. Always.”

“I believe you.”

Jenny studied her face for a minute and then she nodded. “Apology accepted.”

Keira looked down at her shoes and fidgeted. She prayed Jenny wouldn’t be offended by what she had to say next. “I was wondering if you could help me.”

Jenny cocked her head to the side. “Does this have something to do with the pile of paper you ran to get?”

She quickly explained her plan. To her surprise, Jenny was all for it. Minutes later, she handed the notes over. “Remember to give her this one,” she held up the eleventh note, “last.”

It read:

Will you be my best friend?

Yes

No

Maybe

 Jenny smiled as she read it and gave her a wink before strolling into the bathroom.  

Keira nervously paced as time ticked away. The longer she waited, the more anxious she became. Would Megan accept her offer or would she slap it away?

Just when she feared she’d lost her best friend, the bathroom door opened and Megan appeared. Keira tried to read her mood, but her face was blank.

“Hi,” Megan said in a small voice as she approached. Her hands were behind her back effectively hiding the eleventh note from view.

Keira shuffled her feet. “Hi.”

“I—”

“You—”

Both girls gave an awkward laugh.

“Here,” Megan said, holding out the paper. “Maybe it’s better to start off with this.”

Keira’s hand trembled as she took it. This was it. The moment of truth. She looked down and her heart plummeted.

A red fat check sign was next to the “no.”

She tried to say something, but her throat wasn’t working—probably because a huge sob was caught in it. She blinked rapidly, trying to bat away the tears. It seemed it was her turn to run into the bathroom and cry.

Megan reached over and pointed to an arrow Keira hadn’t noticed till now. Gently, she flipped the paper over. In bold, messy handwriting Megan had written:

No, because we’re already best friends.

“I’m so sorry, Keira,” Megan said, her expression solemn. “I shouldn’t have accused you of trying to take my things. I know that’s not how you are. You’re kind and sweet and the best friend a girl could have.” She grabbed Keira’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “And I’m sorry for what happened with Jared. I should never have agreed to go out with him.”

Keira shook her head. “I would have done the same thing. I liked him so much I would have jumped at the chance to go out with him and not even consider how it would make you feel. And I’m sorry for those horrible things I said. You’re not selfish.” When Megan started to protest, she said, “You’re not. I’m happy to do those things with you because it means you need me. You’ve always been the more independent one who likes to try new things. I like knowing that I’m important because it means you won’t leave me behind.”

“I would never do that,” Megan swore. “Without you, I wouldn’t have done half those things. I get so nervous, but when you’re by my side I know there’s nothing to worry about. Will you forgive me for all the horrible things I said and did?”

 “Only if you forgive me for the same thing.”

They smiled at each other and then hugged.

“Let’s promise to never let another boy get in between us,” Megan said, pulling back.

“Agreed. No boy is worth losing you.”

“Hear! Hear!” Megan cheered.

“I’m glad you guys are friends again,” Anna said, coming up next to them.

Jenny followed and added, “Me too, especially since it happened today.”

“Don’t tell me today’s your pick for the bet.”

Jenny gave her smug grin. “Did you really think it was a coincidence you two ended up in the same theater?”

“That was you?” Megan asked in disbelief. “I thought the mysterious text I got was from a secret admirer.”

“Nope. That was all me.”

“Well, since you just won a bunch of money off of us, I think you should take us out for some dessert,” Megan stated.

“Really? You want to hang out?” Jenny asked, surprised by the request.

“Yeah, let’s celebrate,” Keira chimed in.

“But don’t you two want to go and watch the movie together? I thought it was tradition.”

“We can start a new tradition,” Megan remarked.

Jenny frowned. “I’m actually supposed to meet up with some friends. I just came here to help you two.” She gave Keira and Megan a shy smile; hope lighting her eyes. “But I have invitations to a Single’s Awareness Party tomorrow night. Since everyone here is single maybe we could all go.”

Keira and Megan glanced at each other and then back to Jenny. “Count us in,” they answered in unison. As they laughed, Keira realized how lucky she was. Not only had she reconciled with Megan, but she also gained a new friend.

Turns out it wasn’t a horrible day after all.

In fact, it was quite sweet.