Alex

I was finally able to get on the phone with Kathy and was so relieved to hear her voice. Every time I went a while without hearing her voice I had to convince myself that nothing was wrong. I feared the day when I would talk to her and things would be different, that she would be different.

“So, what happened to you today? You skipped all your classes?” I asked, not quite believing my ears. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Yeah, I know,” she answered, “I was just so frustrated with Josh this morning that I had to hit something and push myself until I didn’t have to deal with anything at school anymore. So, I went into the workout room and just stayed there all day.”

I whistled, knowing how frustrated she would have to be to blow off all her classes like that. “Do you know if any of your teachers found out?”

“Not that I know of, although I didn’t seem to notice since I wasn’t actually in any of my classes, so I wouldn’t know.”

I laughed, “True enough,” I hesitated, and then asked, “So you don’t actually know what happened in your history class from yesterday do you?”

A bitter edge crept into her voice, “No, although Josh is in my history class and he said nothing.”

I shook my head, not understanding why Kathy wasn’t telling anyone that she was from Prism. She was proud of being Prismian, but she wasn’t telling anyone that they’re wrong when they assume she is from Sombre City. I couldn’t figure out why. “Um,” I started, “Kathy, what did Josh do that made you so mad?”

She went quiet. The only sound to tell me she was still there was her breathing though the phone line.

“Kathy?” I asked again, “You don’t have to tell me.” Though I desperately wished she would so that I could stay a part of her life.

“No, I will,” She said and paused. “He wants me to go to the homecoming dance with him, and he can’t accept that I said no. He was so confident that I would say yes, that he wouldn’t get it through his head that I said no. He even told me to ask you if it was ok that I go with him. Can you believe him?” Her voice took on a hard edge, and I could tell she was really angry with him. She never did like people who were arrogant and thought they could get anything they wanted, and that sounded like Josh. “He was so sure I would say yes just because he is a senior and I’m a sophomore. He even got his friend to ask me for him yesterday. Can you believe he did that?” She screeched into the phone. “He is so stupid and arrogant and I really can’t stand him anymore.”

I made sure she was finished before saying, “You know, if you really wanted to go to the dance you can, even with another guy. Don’t let me stop you from having fun with your new friends.” I tried to keep my voice from sounding sad, but I’m not actually sure if I succeeded.

“Alex,” she breathed, “how can you say that? I couldn’t possibly have fun at a dance without you. And there is no way I would go with another guy.”

I chuckled a little, relief flooding through me. I never should have even thought about doubting Kathy, she is the most wonderful girl I know, “I just wanted to give you the option. But you don’t seem worried about anymore, how are you getting out of it?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” she said, suddenly sounding excited, instead of upset like she had been through the entire conversation, “I’m going to Carmine City University this weekend.”

I was stunned. I knew she was there for practices at CCU, but somewhere along the line I had completely forgotten. I seemed to be having problems wrapping my head around it. “You mean…” I said, letting my sentence hang in the air, making sure I knew what was going on.

“Yes!” She said, and I could imagine her brilliant smile lighting up her room. “It’s so exciting; I finally get to go back on the ice. And to think I had almost forgotten.”

Our conversation then turned to Kathy’s upcoming trip to CCU and I completely forgot all about dances and her history class.