"Hey, y'all! Are we ready for a great day?!" I proclaim, dancing up to the table. As new high schoolers, my friends and I quickly discovered that one of the circular tables in the commons is always vacant, and claimed it as our morning meeting place for the rest of the year.

"Aye aye, captain!" Jason and Eddie, another friend of mine from theater, answer. I give them both a high five, and wriggle my eyebrows at Skye. She only rolls her eyes, but still gives me a smile. The day is almost here. By the end of tomorrow, all of our weeks of planning will be done and set to action.

Today is a fine fall day. It hasn't started snowing yet, which is pretty good for November in Montana, and not too cold either. For the past several weeks, Skye, Jason, Eddie and I have been planning a surprise birthday party for Sierra. Tomorrow it will happen. We selected a Harry Potter theme, since I did eventually get her to read the books over the summer. She loved them. Friends have been invited, food has been ordered, games have been planned, and presents have been bought. (The four of us pitched in to buy her Luna Lovegood's wand) All that was left was to actually have the party. It will take a little effort to sneak everyone into Sierra's house without her knowing, but I asked Mrs. Winski to keep her a little after seventh period, so we could get a head start.

I glance over at Sierra now, hoping she will enjoy the party. I finally realize that she didn't look up at my grand entrance, and is still looking at her phone, a solemn expression plastered on her face. "What's going on?" I mouth to Skye, subtly nodding towards Sierra.

"She hasn't said much all morning. I didn't try too hard to get her to talk though, you know how she likes her self time on occasion. I just hope she's feeling okay," Skye murmurs to me.

"Me too. I guess I'll try." I go to sit in the empty seat next to her. "Hey, Si, how are you feeling?"

"Fine. Just tired. I didn't sleep well." She looks up and gives me a half-smile.

"You sure? You seem quieter than usual-"

"I said I'm fine! Go and have fun," she ends the conversation. It wasn't quite anger, but did contain a little snap.

"Ok... talk to you later?" She doesn't respond. My eyebrows are raised as I turn back to Skye. Skye just shrugs. "That didn't go as planned."

"You can say that again. Maybe she's just having a bad morning."

"Hopefully." Personally, I doubt it, but I don't say anything else. The bell rings for the start of the day. I walk to first period, hoping that everything is still okay for tomorrow.

***

"Ava! Skye! Wait up!" 

It's lunch time. Skye and I are walking into the cafeteria when someone calls our names. We look behind us to see Eddie speed walking down the hall. When he catches up to us and his breath, he asks, "Ok, whew, so remind me what house Sierra is sorted in? Was it Gryffindor or Ravenclaw? I need to make the posters."

"You haven't made the posters yet?!" I exclaim, stopping and whirling around to meet his eye. "Sierra's a Ravenclaw, I'm the Gryffindor! Those need to be done ASAP! The party is tomorrow!"

"Ok, sorry! I've got a lot of other projects going on. And Ravenclaw colors are blue and bronze, right?"

"Yes! Now please go and make those posters now!" I order, slightly exasperated.

"Calm down, Avalon, alright? I'm doing my best..." Eddie glares at me, shares a look with Skye, and darts off. I clench my jaw. How can someone organize a party when the people you ask for help can't do anything?

"And how are you feeling? You were pretty short tempered with Eddie," Skye remarks. She appears calm and collected, but I can tell that she didn't appreciate my tone. We restart walking towards the table.

I sigh, the anger drained out of me. "I dunno. I guess I'm just really tired and nervous and stressed about the party. Ever since this morning, I'm wondering if I did something wrong."

"The only thing wrong you did was introduce Sierra to that book series. Ever since, she hasn't shut up about being in the house of Luna Lovegood!"

I smile. Yes, that is true. I begin to think of all the fun we've had with those books, and release a chuckle. 

"What's so funny?" Skye asks.

"Just the gigantic niffler costume we made for Sierra's mom. It's going to be hard not to laugh every time I see it," I giggled. 

Skye cracks up, shaking her head. "Just you wait until she starts combing the guests for jewelry!" It's my turn to laugh.

We approach the lunch table, where Sierra is already sitting. Skye and I stop talking, trying to hide our smiles. Sierra had looked up at us as we approached, and now meets my eyes with red ones, brow furrowed. A look of dawning realization appears on her face and she gasps, ever so slightly. She gets up, mumbling about forgetting a fork, and hurries away. She doesn't go to the kitchen, though, but enters the bathroom. 

After this excitement, I look over to Skye, who follows Sierra with a worried gaze. "You might want to go check on her. I think we might have just added to her bad day." I'm not following Skye's train of thought, but she has always been more perceptive to emotion than the rest of us.

I set down my lunch box and backpack and take a couple bites of my sandwich before walking towards the bathroom. Two bits of drama have occurred, and it's barely even five minutes into lunch. 

When I push open the door, I spot Sierra with her hands on the edge of the sink, looking at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks are slightly wet and her eyes are redder than before. At the sound of the door opening, she jumps up and hugs her arms. When she sees me, she turns away. "Go back to lunch. I'm fine." Her hand brushes the tears from her eyes.

"No, you're not. What's going on?" I take a few steps toward her, but she only steps further away. I stop walking.

"It's just been a tough morning, ok? And then when Skye and you..." she falters.

The silence stretches for longer than I feel comfortable. "...When we what?"

"Well... I probably didn't hear right... cause I know you'd never... but... you weren't gossiping about me were you?" 

She finally turns back toward me. Her face contains so much worry and pain that all I want to do is hug her and tell her the truth. Yet, I hesitate. Wouldn't that ruin the party? The whole idea was that it should be a surprise. I should talk to the others before telling anything. So what do I say now?

The moment's pause is all Sierra needed as confirmation. "You were," she breathes.

"No! I promise, we weren't gossiping. We would never do that." I don't know what to say, but it seems like most anything could be better than nothing at all.

"Then what were you talking about?! You clearly said my name and laughed. I could hear you," she spits, voice breaking on "hear."

"We..." I can't say it. I can't say anything. Nothing will come out of my mouth.

"Go." She turns away again and sniffles. "Go now. I'll get my stuff later."

"I- I can tell you this: We weren't gossiping." I walk away.

Once back at the table, I sit down and quietly eat my lunch. I don't talk to Skye, and she doesn't try to talk to me. I appreciate her being there though. Before we head out, I pack up Sierra's lunch box for her. Maybe she'll take it as a peace offering.