((Author's Note: And here it is... the answers to all the questions you've been asking about this chapter!))


Mae stretched out on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Because of her behavior earlier in the day, her father had grounded her for a week, starting the very next day. Mae tried to figure out how to make use of the last bit of the day.

What can I do to utilize the last few hours of daylight? Mae thought. Bike ride? Basketball with Louie? She sighed. As if unbidden, the conversation from earlier in the day replayed itself in her mind:

“All this strain on your friendship is bad,” the redhead remarked, “and it’s all stemming from one source-- a dude who wants to be a chick.”

“Maybe if you just get everything out in the open,” the black-haired girl suggested. “I mean, you two are still friends. She’ll understand. She’ll know how it is to be in love.”


Mae made a face. “They’re right,” she muttered. "I might as well tell Ophelia everything. After all, no matter how she reacts, I’ll be safe at home, right? Which means that, aside from school, I won’t have to deal with her response for a good week or so. Gives me time to figure out what to do. Good idea, right? Fine. I’ll do it." Mae had a tendency to be illogical at times like these.

Mae bit her lip. This was going to be one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but still, it had to be done eventually. She eased herself off of her bed and walked over to her desk slowly, trying to delay the inevitable. She picked up her phone and slowly dialed the phone number. Please don’t pick up, she thought.

“Hello?” she heard Ophelia say, answering the phone. Damn, Mae thought.

“Uh… hey, Ophelia, it’s me. Mae.”

“Hey,” Ophelia said slowly. “What’s up?”

Mae took a deep breath. “Hey,” she said again. “Want to hang out?”

“Um… sure, I guess.”

“Cool. Meet me in my backyard.”

“Okay, fine,” Ophelia replied, but was that a hint of reluctance Mae detected? “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Cool. Okay, well, bye, then.”

Mae hung up the phone. This is not going to be fun, but it has to be done, she thought.




“Hey, kiddo,” Cy greeted Emily, hugging her tightly.

“Hey, Cy. Ophelia said you’d be coming.”

“Well, I had class work, along with my usual household duties. Let me tell you, much as I love Charise’s family, being their live-in housekeeper can be hard, at times. Her grandma was ill again, and I spent most of my day keeping an eye on her and making sure she had all the food and water she needed.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you worked for Charise’s family!” Emily remarked.


“Well, it’s the least I could do. They took me in, after my family disowned me for… uh… my choices,” Cy replied, gesturing vaguely at herself. Emily frowned and murmured, “But it’s so cruel to disown your own child, especially for something like that. They disowned you for who you were!”

“Yeah, but the Marlow family considers me to be as much a part of their family as if I’d been born to them. So, I may have lost one family, but I gained another.”

“That’s pretty nice, then. I guess that means you get to spend a lot of time with Ophelia, huh?” Emily asked.

“Yeah,” Cy agreed. “Ophelia and I became best friends almost from the get-go, when I moved into the neighborhood when I was younger.”

Emily thought for a moment. “But I thought Mae was Ophelia’s best friend.”

“They were, for the longest time, but after they had a big fight a few years ago, things have been really strained. The fight was really my fault,” Cy explained.

“How was their fight your fault?”







Ophelia stepped into the yard and shut the gate securely. Her eyes scanned the yard, seeking out Mae. She did not spot the girl anywhere. Her eyes rested on their old clubhouse. She must be in there, Ophelia thought. She made a face. Hard to believe we used to hang out in there. I mean, it was just an old storage shed her dad built. It didn’t even have a floor or windows! And we hung out in there for years!

Ophelia made her way over to the shed, her feet crunching slightly on the grass. She eased into their old clubhouse and found herself face to face with Mae.

“Hey,” Ophelia greeted her, smiling awkwardly. “So, what did you want to see me for?”

Mae smiled nervously. “Ophelia, why don’t you sit down?”

Ophelia raised an eyebrow, suspicious. She’d never seen Mae so nervous in all their time as friends. “I think I’ll stand,” she said slowly, leaning against the wall. She gazed up at the ceiling. There were many cracks in the ceiling, as well as nice-sized chunks missing. “Place got kind of rundown, eh?” she remarked, trying to make conversation.

“Yeah. Dad wants to tear it down and build a new one. Maybe get one of the pre-made models.”

“That sucks, I guess. I mean, there’s so many memories associated with this.”

“Yeah,” Mae said quickly. “You can’t just tear down something like this and expect no one to care.”


Ophelia sighed. She was hungry and getting impatient. What did she call me out here for? I just want to go home and eat, she thought. “Mae, just get down to business. What do you want? If this is about me slapping you earlier, you deserved it. No one talks bad about my friends and gets away with it. Not even you.”

Mae shook her head. “No, it’s not about that. Ophelia, do you remember that fight that we had a few years back? The one that caused us so many problems?”

“Yeah. You got mad that I decided to go to the dance with Cy. It’s because you were mad that I went after someone you were interested in.”

Mae bit her lip. She knew she had to say it, but how? She took a deep breath. The straight-forward way is best, she thought.

“Ophelia,” she said slowly, “yes, I did get mad, and yes, it was because Cy asked you to the dance. But…”

“But what?”

“Remember that time you asked me who I liked? I didn’t answer, and you immediately thought it was Cy?”

“Well, yeah,” Ophelia replied. Does this have a point? she thought. “Well, it had to have been Cy. I mean, who else could it have been?”

Mae shifted her gaze to the floor. “I got mad because Cy asked you… because I liked you.”

Ophelia’s eyes widened. “What?” she choked out.

“I had a crush on you. Still do, actually,” Mae replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Ophelia sighed. “Mae, you know I still do care about you, as a friend. But I don’t care about you that way. Besides, there’s someone who I’m interested in.”

Mae’s eyes narrowed. “Who?” she asked.

Ophelia met her gaze. “You already know,” she replied.


Mae’s eyes widened. She knew immediately. “You mean you didn’t do it just to tick me off? You didn't just do it because you thought I liked...”

“No. Because I was genuinely interested.” Ophelia turned away and began to walk away, to the exit.

“Damn it, Ophelia!” Mae growled. “If you’re going to go for a woman, go for one who was born that way and still is one, and not one who’s trying to become one now.”

“Your opinion is of no concern to me. You like who you want to, and I’ll like who I want to. Goodbye, Mae,” Ophelia responded calmly. She walked out of the yard and shut the gate behind her. Mae sank to the ground slowly.






“Their fight was my fault,” Cy said. “Back before I came along, Ophelia and Mae were best friends, as I said. Well, Mae had always had a thing for Ophelia, even back then. And when I showed up, I guess I ruined any chances she might have had. Ophelia told me, while we were at a dance, that Mae got mad because I asked Ophelia to the dance. She said that Mae liked me. But even then, I knew better. I mean, what normal friend is that possessive of her friends? Plus, Mae came to me, asking for advice.”

Emily’s eyes widened. “So… you’re telling me that Mae acts the way she does… because of Ophelia?”

“Kind of. Mae was always too scared to tell Ophelia her feelings, although she had no problems telling me about it. She felt bitter that Ophelia couldn’t figure it out. So, I guess… well…” Cy shrugged. “I guess she just kind of repressed the anger at herself for being too chicken and at Ophelia for being so unaware… and she’d blow up over the stupidest stuff, like you going out with Louie. I kept telling Mae to just let Ophelia know, that way, even if Ophelia didn’t feel the same way, she’d have it out in the open. But Mae is just so stubborn sometimes.”

Cy sighed. “I just hope that when she does decide to tell Ophelia, everything goes well. I can only imagine what would happen if Mae takes it badly.”




Mae weakly flopped onto her bed and, with a remote, turned on the CD player. The strains of the first song of an old pop song filled the room. She closed her eyes, trying to regain control of herself. Unbidden, an old memory played itself out.


“Hey, Mae?” Ophelia asked. She turned her head rapidly, and her hair slapped lightly against her cheek.

“Yeah?”

“Promise we’ll be best friends?”

“Always.”

“Forever and ever!” Ophelia agreed, laughing, tipping her face up to the sky.