My dreams that night were filled with visions of what Monday play practice would be like. I imagined who the cast would be, the costumes I'd wear, and how long the script would be. of course, I dreamed that the cute boy I'd met at auditions would be there. Not just because he was really cute, but also because he was a really good actor. I thought that he would be fun to work with. Its rare to find a guy who is good at acting, and also enjoys it. I would have to wait until tonight to find out the rest of the cast though. I didn't think it would be too hard. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Monday was probably the worst day of my life. I thought people had believed the story I told them to counteract Sonia's rumor, but I was mistaken. The second I walked into school, people glared at me. The only person who said a word to me was Ann, and all she said was , "Jerk." I really wanted to know what else Sonia had said about me, but no one would even acknowledge me.

I plopped my stuff on my desk in my first class then slumped in my seat. My eyes searched the room for even a glimmer of friendliness. No luck. the only person who was smiling was the teacher, and I think they get fired if they don't. This day would ony get worse.

Class started, and the teacher rambled on about plant life. Normally, I' d be interested becuse science is my favorite subject, but today my mind was elsewhere. Nobody else was listening either. They kept whispering in a soft voice that I couldn't understand, and periodically they'd look over at me. Thats how I knew their whispers were about me. Whenever I returned their glances, they would tense up and quickly turn the other way. I nonchalantly inched my chair closer to hear what they were saying. I just had to know what lies Sonia had spread about me.

"Can you BELIEVE what Sarah did?"

"No! I mean how low can you get?

"Who does that sort of thing to their best friend?"

"I don't know, but I'm kind of scared of her now. If thats what she does to her friends, I don't want to know how she treats her enemies."

Well this was getting me nowhere fast. All I knew was the thing Sonia had told everyone I did was really mean. But here's the kicker: I hadn't done anything! At least, I didn't THINK I did anything. But what could I have done unknowingly that was this bad? I didn't think I was that oblivious.

What had I done to deserve this? I thought I had done nothing, but apparently, Sonia and everyone else diasgreed. Otherwise they wouldn't be going through all this to make me miserable.

And they were making me miserable. I hadn't felt this down since I almost killed myself. but I would never go there again.

I had to make this right. And it seemed that the only way to do that would be to talk to Sonia. The bell rang for the next class, which I didn't have with her, so I had time to plan what I would say, and where I would say it.

Math was a review lesson, which was a good thing because my mind was anywhere but math. Even while I did the homework, I was still thinking about how to talk to Sonia. Then, five seconds before the bell rang, it came to me. I had the perfect plan.

Then the bell sounded and I raced for the door. Only one more class until lunch. That's when I would do it. Sonia was always her happiest after she ate her lunch, becuase she was satisfied, happy, and least likely to tear me to shreads.

The next class, Language, was torture! I swear someone stopped the clock! Time felt as if it was moving as slow as a snail with a limp-in slow motion! After what felt like eternity, the class was down to the last five minutes. I hadn't blinked for most of the class. All my energy was focused on watching the clock.

Four minutes. Could it be possible that hte last five minutes would be longer than the rest of the class? It felt that way. My eyes were watering from concentrating so hard.

Three minutes. The excitement was bulilding up inside so badly, I thought I would explode. Just when I felt that I wouldn't be able to hold on to sanity, the teacher said we could go to lunch early.

"Go ahead," she said. "You guys ahve been so quiet and attentive, you've earned it."

I raced out the door and through the hallway at top speed. All the people I passed just stared at me. But I didn't care. I was on a mission!

I sprinted down the stairs, taking three at a time. In a matter of seconds, I had made it down two stries to the cafeteria.

I alomost forgot to grab my milk carton as I raced into the cafeteria. My eyes searched the room for a sign of Sonia, and I spotted her. I should have known. She was in her special corner, eating a PB&J sandwich, like always.

I took a deep breath to prepare myself, and slowly walked over to her. But right before I reached Sonia, a wall of people blocked my path. My face written with confusion and hurt, I asked them if I could get through to my friend.

"Your friend? Ha! Last time I checked, friends don't stab friends in the back!"

"Yeah, she doesn't need to hear from you anymore, Sarah! Just go away. You'll make everyone happier."

I was stunned. Had I really hurt Sonia? Why was everyone being so mean and cold? Why wouldn't anyone listen to me?

By now, the wall of people was getting physical with me, and had attracted the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. People just glared at me, looks of total hatred on the faces. I couldn't take it. I ran out of the cafeteria, tears falling down my cheeks. I didn't stop until I had locked myself in a bathroom stalll; the only place I felt safe.

I just sat the and cried. I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. I felt completely and entirely alone. No one wanted to be around me anymore. No one would listen to me. I had even caught some of the teachers giving me dirty looks.

I wanted to stay in the bathroom until school ended, but I knew my mom would have a cow if I cut class, so when I heard the bell ring, I reluctanly went to class.

The only thing that remotely cheered me up was that I had art class next, my favorite. But I doubted even painting and drawing would get me out of this funk.

I shuffled into the classroom, and I didn't even need to look up to know that everyone was staring/glaring at me. It was becoming customary.

I took my seat in the back of the room, next to Yvonnne, the extremely outspoken girl in our school. I expected her to take the empty seat at the next table, but she didn't. I was more than suprised. At first I thought she might not have heard the rumor (whatever it was) but I later found out that she just handled it differently than everyone else.

Instead of avoiding me, she wanted to know why I would do such a thing. She wanted to get into the meat of the situation.

I asked her what I did, and she raised an eyebrow and said,

"You honestly don't know? Jeez, you're even more heartless than I thought."

But I guess she eventually realized that I honestly had no idea, so she went on,

"You didn't tell Sonia about the callbacks. The directors called you because they couldn't read her phone number and asked you to tell her to come for the callbacks for Jo. But since you didn't tell her, you were the only one that showed up so you got the part."

I was speachless. How could anyone belive this crap? Sonia had some of the neatest handwriting in the world! How could the directors not have been able to read her phone number? I tried to explain to Yvonne the flaw in this plan, but she didn't get it. I gave up, and went to get more paint.

When I got back, it looked like she had thought about it, and believed me. Finally, I had a friend. we talked for the rest of art, and for the first time all day, I felt happy....sort of.

The rest of the day was more managable, because I knew I had someone looking out for me. I didn't notice the constant whispers about me as much. In fact, dare I say it, the rest of the day was...nice.