And speaking to my point, this might be the first day since we first met that I can't stomach the thought of seeing her. That talk with Jhene yesterday ate away at me all night, even as I tried to not let it after finding out that yes, I do in fact have mild insomnia. Even with finding that out and telling Mal, it didn't feel as bad as the soon-to-be news that I was out of the concert trip. I feel like a hypocrite in a way feeling so upset; here I am telling Jhene about how she isn't into UnDoSieTech deeply, but the entire reason I even started my journey with them was because of Mallory. 

-------------------------

It all started last year when the two of us went to the record store downtown after a museum trip. Mallory wanted to pick up a copy of Brandy's Never Say Never, so I tagged along with her despite needing to be home. Even before we walked in, though, there was a line formed outside the door, and for the particular store, it meant something. Now we were a month late into the NSN release, so we both ruled that out. What was going on, then?

Once the two of us were able to barely squeeze in the door, mind you 35 minutes after standing in line (should've been a sign to turn around and never look back, but I guess we'll never know), we saw (and heard) hoards of screaming fans gathered around the TV box in the store. An unfamiliar song played over the speakers, and the atmosphere screamed "NEW NEW! EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!". Once Mal picked up her album, we went to the register and were greeted by Larry, the owner of the shop, and Paul, his son (and the cashier), watching the chaos unfold with a glint of fear and "cha-ching!" in their eyes.

"What's going on?" Mal asked.

"Ah, you might be the only teenagers in the world who hasn't heard!" Paul jested. "You girls know NSYNC?"

We nod. "Backstreet Boys?"

We nod. "98 degrees?"

"Well, forget about 'em all!" Paul rubbed his hands. "There's a new lil' sensation in town ... uh ..." He snapped his fingers trying to remember. 

"It's UnDoSieTech!" a random girl turned around to help him out. 

"Ah, there we go! UnDoSieTech!" Paul flashed his hands. Mal and I exchanged looks.

Paul pulled out their debut album, World Alarm, and set it on the counter. "Boy, these guys have been selling like hotcakes, isn't that right, Pa?"

"I haven't felt so young in over 40 years," Larry smiled, either to the excitement or the revenue. I shook my head in disbelief; now, I wasn't one to rag on boy groups, but I truly didn't get the hype. Not on the white ones, anyway -- I couldn't deny their talent all the same as I couldn't deny their heavy influence, if not straight-up rip-offs, of Black music.  Bell Biv Devoe, Boyz II Men? The only other group that had my attention growing up was New Kids On The Block, and their break-up still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Needless to say, I hadn't been all that interested in the going ons of some new boy group. That was until I saw the look in Mal's eyes as she held the album to her face, admiring all the boys. 

"Tell me it doesn't just stir something up in ya," Paul talked down to Mal. 

"Seriously?" I scoffed. 

"How much?" Mal asked enthusiastically. 

"Mal?!" I turned my head quickly.

"I'm just asking how much!" Mal sighed. "Gosh, it's not like I'm going to actually buy it!"

"Well for you, my loyal customer?" Paul started, and I swear I couldn't have rolled my eyes any harder if I tried. "I'll do you a solid. This, and Miss Brandy's album, for $40."

"Forty?!" I glare. "Paul, come on --"

"Mallory!" I pull her aside. "Hello, bus money?!"

"Hey, she's not that bad!" Mal naively spoke. 

"But --" Mal holds up the album to me. "Look how cute!" Unbeknownst to her and I at the time, nothing in my heart absolutely jumped for horny joy over a bunch of guys. 

"Mal, forty dollars," I tell her sternly. 

"Oh, ladies!" Paul calls out to us. "Amid your conversation, I sold ten more copies! Hotcakes!"

Mal looked at me desperately. "Hotcakes, Zo!" And before I could get another word in, she hit me with The Puppy Eyes. They swelled fiercely, and every time I took a breath to speak, they got even bigger. 

Needless to say, that night Mal converted into a full-time Techie, and I fell for it along the way.

--------------------------

When I snap to, the clock reads 7:54. Damn it, I'm late! I rush up from my seat and head for the door until it hits me that I'm unusually cold in the legs. I look down and gasp in horror -- I'm still in my sleeping shorts! My God, all I've managed to do is eat some cereal! I zoom upstairs and hastily put myself together, but to no avail. By the time I look at the clock again, now reading 8:01, I hear the bus rumbling past my house at the same time. No, no, no! 

"Wait!" I yell from my window, somehow expecting the bus to magically stop for me. After almost tripping down the stairs, I bolt out the door and watch it sputter past the stop sign. I grab my knees, exhausted. Damn, damn, damn. As I pant in defeat, I hear the beep beep of Jhene's car across the street. God, we can't keep running into each other like this. 

"Jhene!" I call to her, running across the street and almost eating asphalt in the process. When I approach Jhene, she looks as if I've sprouted warts all over my body and grown an extra set of limbs. Once I catch my breath, I plead with her for a ride to school.

"You understand there's a reason I don't take the bus, don't you?" Jhene starts, holding her hand in a sassy "too-good-for-you" manner. 

"Because of your car..?" I answer.

"Please! You think it's fun to burn gas money daily to go to school of all things?" Jhene sneers. "For one, the bus is utterly grimy, and two, I would rather be caught dead than seen with you two."

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual," I mutter.

"What was that?"

"Nothing -- and look, it's just one morning. Can't you suck it up and do it this one time?"

"As if!" Jhene starts to unlock her car and hop in, but I stop her right before she can close the door.

"Look," I talk to her now straight in the eyes. "If you want me to keep my mouth shut about the concert, you'll give me a ride."

"Uh-uh," Jhene shakes her head. "See, that's how it starts; one moment I'm giving you a ride, the next minute I'm loaning you a thousand dollars."

"Mind you, this all started because of you!"

"And it'll end with me, sweetheart." She tries pulling the door back, but I pull harder. 

"It'll end with you, alright," I tell her. "It'll end with you having to own up for what you made me miss out on, and possibly tainting your relationship with Mallory for good."

"Meaning what, exactly?" Jhene glares me down. "What, you think because you're her best friend means you have some authority over her sister?"

"A sister who just said she wouldn't be caught dead with her?" I rebut. "Honestly, when's the last time you've acted like a sister towards her, huh? When you make fun of her weight in the halls? When you call her 'lazy ass'? Tell me. When?"

Jhene stares at me with the intensity of a thousand suns, but I don't back down. I think this is the most conversation we've had at any given time, but if this is what it's come down to, then so be it. But also, we really need to speed this up because the bell will ring any time soon.

"Get. In." Jhene seethes, unlocking the door for me. I let out a sigh of relief, then just as I'm about to hop in the front seat, I feel chills up and down my spine. As it were, I take the back seat instead. The ride over is long and deafly silent. As my watch ticks away and my leg bounces furiously, that sickening feeling still hasn't disappeared. Maybe missing the bus bought me more time, but when I see Mal today, I might retch. Again, things I've never said about her before and never wanted to! I just hate this idea of having to lie to her because sooner or later she's going to bring it up. When will the incessant uneasiness leave me be? 

Once we pull up to the school, or at least the stoplight right before it, Jhene pulls over and stops the car. 

"Get out."

"You're kidding?" 

"Like I said, wouldn't be caught dead," Jhene says, not even acknowledging me from the mirror. She unlocks the doors. "Now go."

I sigh and roll my eyes. Whatever, she gave me the ride as I needed, I'll spare her the dire social suicide. Besides, it buys me even more time to think. The chilly nearing October air envelops me as I wait on the next walk sign.