Friendship Over (The Top-Secret Diary of Celie Valentine) Read online

  I think the egg yolk stain might be starting to stink.

  I don’t care. I’ll just put that part down by my feet.

  Tuesday, November 16

  I finally got to talk to Dad this morning. After we’d eaten breakfast and Jo had gotten in the shower. But that conversation did not go well!

  Dad sat in my room with me. I told him the whole story of my phone call with Mom. I told him how Mom had said that Granny’s test results were going to be bad, and that Granny had forgotten what to do with trash, and that Granny might move in with us.

  Then I asked him, “What else is Granny going to forget? I don’t understand. And can she please move in with us?”

  I’d thought Dad would explain everything, very patiently. And probably make me laugh a little.

  Instead, he didn’t say anything at all for a second.

  And I could tell from his face—something had made him mad.

  “What?” I asked him. “Why are you looking that way? What did I do?”

  He shook his head and smiled a little. It was not a convincing smile.

  “You did not do anything,” he said. “And I promise we will figure everything out. As soon as we have Granny’s test results.”

  Then he stood up and started walking toward my door. Which made me mad. Because he hadn’t explained anything at all!

  And then he startled me! Just as I was about to tell him how frustrating he was being, he reached out and punched my punching bag. Very hard. And then he walked out of my room.

  I think I have to get Dad a journal. So he can work out his feelings that way. Because I do not like seeing him punch when he is mad.

  A tiny bit later

  Dad just took the phone into his room and shut the door. I knew he was going to call Mom. To talk about what I’d just told him.

  So I sat in the hallway, right outside that door, and tried to listen in. Even though both of us should’ve been getting dressed. Because we were running out of time before school.

  I could only hear parts of sentences. But those parts were bad enough.

  I heard:

  “. . . realize you’re worried and exhausted, but . . .”

  and

  “. . . not right to burden Celie until . . .”

  and

  “. . . make decisions together first before telling her . . .”

  and

  “. . . You’re mischaracterizing what I said!”

  His voice got LOUD at the end. But I couldn’t stay and write more down. Because I heard his footsteps, heading right toward me. So I rushed away from there. Now I have to hurry and get dressed. Bye.

  Later, After School

  I had such bad thoughts this morning. I was supposed to be learning how to tell time in Spanish. But I couldn’t focus on that, not even for a second. Because I kept thinking about Mom and Dad.

  These were the thoughts that kept spinning through my head: Dad is so mad at Mom now. And she must be mad at him, too. They were definitely yelling at each other at the end of that call. I hate that they’re fighting. I hate that it’s my fault. I should never have told Dad what Mom said to me. Why couldn’t I just be quiet? How long will they stay mad?

  Eventually, during all that thinking, I ended up looking at Lula. Because she sits right in front of me in Spanish.

  I thought then: I wonder if Lula feels this yucky a lot, worrying about her parents yelling at each other. And I wonder if she ever feels like their fighting is her fault.

  Then I made a decision.

  I got a piece of paper and a pen out of my desk, and I wrote Lula a note. Then I folded it really tight and leaned far forward and dropped it quickly on her desk.

  After I sat back up again, I got very nervous! Because I hadn’t written to Lula or talked to her in so long. What if she didn’t write back?

  But she did write back. Which was good. Only, what she said made me upset!

  We went back and forth.

  Lula —

  I’m sorry that your parents fight. And also, I hope they aren’t fighting anymore.

  Celie

  Celie—

  Why did you tell Nora about the fighting? You promised you wouldn’t!

  From,

  Lula

  I NEVER told Nora! EVER! Why would you think that?

  You passed that note to her, that morning. You looked right at me when you were writing it. And Nora looked like she was going to cry when she read it. And after she read it, she was very, very nice to me. Just like she knew.

  WHAT MORNING?! I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT! AND I DON’T KNOW WHY NORA WAS BEING VERY NICE! She’s a nice person! I write notes to her all the time, but I never wrote to her about your parents! NEVER EVER! You can ask Nora!

  Oh.

  Sorry.

  But you did stop wanting to come to my house. After that fight you saw. Every single time I asked you over after that, you said, “Can we go to my house instead?” So I knew you didn’t like being at my house, with my parents, anymore.

  I had to stop writing after that last note. Because she was right. I had stopped wanting to go to her house.

  That must have made her feel so bad. That’s how I’d feel, if she stopped coming to my house because of my parents. Or because of Granny.

  I didn’t write her back. Instead I turned and waited until she looked over at me. Then, as clearly as I could, I mouthed the words, “I’m very sorry.”

  She nodded.

  And that was the end of our talking for the whole day. Because after that Lula never passed me another note or came up and said something to me. She just talked to Violet and walked from class to class with Violet and went to the bathroom with Violet. As usual.

  I thought about passing Lula another note. But I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  A Little Later

  Cousin Carla just did a ridiculous thing! She pointed at the boots Jo’s wearing and said, “I love those! Want to let me borrow them? They look about my size. And they’re adorable!”

  That woman is FORTY! Why does she want to wear a SIXTH GRADER’S shoes??

  Jo didn’t know what to do. She looked from her boots to Cousin Carla and said, “Uh . . .”

  I came to the rescue! I said, “Mom doesn’t let us share shoes. Because of foot fungus. Which is very contagious.”

  Cousin Carla made a funny face, like she didn’t enjoy thinking about foot fungus. “Maybe I’ll just buy some,” she said.

  “Good idea,” I said.

  Jo told me later that she doesn’t want Cousin Carla showing up in our school lobby wearing matching boots. And probably telling the whole world, “Look! Don’t we both have great taste!”

  That would be embarrassing. But at least Jo’s boots are safe.

  Cousin Carla

  Still Tuesday (After Another Chicken Strips Dinner)

  I was just punching my punching bag, trying to figure out what to do about Lula. I kept hoping and hoping she’d call me and say, “Want to come over sometime?” So I could say, “Yes! I definitely do! We can always hang out over there, if you want.”

  And then our phone rang! So I yanked off my gloves and ran to Mom’s office and picked up the phone. All for nothing. Because it was just stupid Trina, calling for Jo.

  Jo came and took the phone. I wanted to stop punching and thinking about Lula. So I sat in the hall instead and listened to Jo talking.

  I did not like what I heard!

  Jo said:

  “Sure, I remember that list—we just made it a couple of days ago. Why?”

  and

  “I don’t know. No, actually, I don’t think so. That doesn’t seem right.”

  and

  “Because of the invisibility cloak thing. That seems so mean, and I don’t want to be mean.”

  and

  “Let’s talk about it when we see each other, in person. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

  and

  “No, you can’t just do it without me. My name�
��s on there, too.”

  and

  “Fine. Bye.”

  It sounded like Jo threw the phone on the desk then.

  I tried to hurry out of the hall, so Jo wouldn’t know I’d listened. But I didn’t have time to do anything except start crawling. I must’ve looked very guilty. But it didn’t matter. Jo paid no attention to me. She just rushed to our room and slammed the door.

  Very Close To Bedtime Now

  I’m still thinking about that call.

  Trina must’ve been talking about their stupid Fashion Advisory. But what mean thing does she want to do with it? Can Jo stop her? Is Jo going to give in?

  I told her not to be friends with Foxy Red.

  I don’t like this.

  I still wish it had been Lula who’d called, instead of evil Trina.

  Black is the color of my mood.

  Wednesday, November 17

  Mrs. McElhaney asked us to pick partners in Literature Circle this morning. I thought about asking Lula. I got a little nervous, thinking, I could ask her. I’ll just ask her.

  But she was sitting next to Violet. And the second Mrs. McElhaney told us to choose someone, Violet picked Lula.

  So I wasn’t partners with Lula.

  She was nice to me in Science, though. When she passed my desk on her way to the bathroom. She looked right at me and smiled. I liked that a lot.

  And then, when Lula came back, she stopped at my desk and whispered something! She whispered, “Something weird’s happening with Jo and Trina by the sixth-grade lockers.”

  So I told Mrs. McElhaney I had to go to the bathroom. And I ran to the sixth-grade lockers.

  Jo and Trina were still there. Jo was holding a sheet of paper high above her head and trying to keep it from Trina, who was on her tiptoes, grabbing at it.

  Then Trina stepped back for a second.

  “Why do you even care?” she said to Jo in a very nasty voice. “Is Dee your new best friend?”

  “No, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to put this list on her locker!” Jo said.

  “You shouldn’t have helped me make it, then,” Trina said.

  “I wish I hadn’t,” Jo said. She started ripping that list up.

  I was so proud of Jo for doing that! But then Trina said, “I can always write it up again, you big lame-o.”

  She paused for a second. Then she said, “Speaking of lame, Nick totally knows you have a crush on him. He thinks it’s pathetic.”

  Then she turned and walked away.

  I ran to Jo.

  “You’re not one bit pathetic,” I told her. “You just stood up to a terrible person.”

  Jo smiled a little.

  “Thanks,” she said. “But she’ll probably just make the list again. I wish I could stand here and guard Dee’s locker forever and ever, but I can’t.”

  “At least you stopped Trina for now,” I said.

  She shook her head.

  I hated seeing her sad because of nasty evil Trina.

  “You’re a hero, not a lame-o,” I told her. She laughed a little. Then we both had to go back to class.

  I couldn’t think about science at all, though. I could only think, How are we going to keep Trina from posting the list again?

  But then I forgot about that for a while. Because Lula and I started passing notes! I collected them all. I had to sneak the ones that I’d passed to Lula out of the trashcan after everyone else had left the room. (I saw her drop them in there, super-slyly, on her way out.) It was yucky and scary, picking through that trash, looking all around me, worrying that someone would come back in. But I did it.

  Here’s our whole conversation:

  C—

  Is everything okay with Jo?

  Lula

  Sort of.

  Thanks for telling me they were

  out there.

  Sure. I wanted to tell you something else, too. You don’t have to come to my house anymore. I know my parents mess everything up.

  No! I want to come to your house! We can ignore your parents! I ignore mine all the time.

  No, you don’t! Your parents are so great.

  Yes, I do! I did it just the other night, at dinner. My dad said to stop talking about cracks in boobs and butts, and I ignored him.

  WHY WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT CRACKS IN BOOBS AND BUTTS AT DINNER?????

  It’s a long story! Can I tell you at recess? And about Jo and Trina, too?

  Yes!!! I need to know!!

  Just the idea of talking to Lula at recess again. Just that idea, by itself. It made me so happy.

  Later

  I just had a nice conversation with Mom on the phone. I miss her. I want her to come home. I listened very carefully to her voice at first. To see if she sounded upset because she’d been fighting with Dad. Or mad at me because I caused the fighting with Dad. But she just sounded happy to talk to me.

  I told her about recess and how Lula and I sat on the swings together and talked.

  “So the two of you have worked it out!” she said, sounding so relieved.

  “I hope so,” I said.

  I told her about keeping Cousin Carla from wearing Jo’s boots, too. But I didn’t tell her about the epic battle between Jo and Trina. Because Jo might get in trouble if Mom and Dad find out that she helped make that invisibility cloak list in the first place.

  Plus, I have an idea for making sure Trina doesn’t post the list again. But I know Mom would hate my idea. So I decided to stay away from that whole topic.

  Thursday, November 18

  Dad asked me and Jo to come sit with him in the living room this morning, before breakfast. “I have some news,” he said.

  Of course I knew it had to be about Granny. So I said, very quickly, “Good news or bad news?”

  I expected him to say, “Bad news.” Because his face looked serious.

  Instead, he said, “Complicated news.”

  Then he explained that the Louisiana doctors still weren’t positive what was wrong with Granny. “I’d hoped there might be an easy solution,” he said. “Like a vitamin deficiency in her diet.” He smiled a little. “I’d hoped she just needed to eat more bananas.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about. Why would bananas help? But before I could ask, he kept going.

  “Unfortunately there’s no easy solution or easy diagnosis,” he said. “It’s going to take a long time to figure out exactly what’s wrong with Granny and how we can best help her. That’s the bad part of the news.”

  “What’s the good part?” Jo asked.

  “The good part is that Granny is going to come stay with us now,” Dad said. “At least for a while. There are many excellent doctors here, and this way we can be with her and watch over her.”

  “She can sleep in my bed!” I said. “I’ll use an air mattress. Only, Jo has to stop leaving her underwear and dirty socks on that bed. Once it’s Granny’s.”

  “I would never do that to Granny!” Jo said.

  “You do it to me!” I said. “Why is okay to do it to me?”

  “Girls!” Dad said. “There’s absolutely no need to fight. We’re going to convert Mom’s office into a bedroom for Granny. I do not believe Jo has ever left her underwear strewn around Mom’s office. But, just so we’re perfectly clear—Jo, will you solemnly swear that you will never strew your underwear around Granny’s new bedroom?”

  “Yes,” Jo said. “I solemnly swear.”

  “What about on my pillow?” I said. “Are you still going to strew your underwear there?”

  “You make everything about you,” Jo said.

  “The natives are getting restless!” Dad said. “This meeting is adjourned.”

  Then he stood up and walked over to me and kissed my cheek and said, “Thank you for offering your bed.”

  Then he kissed Jo’s cheek and said, “Thank you for your underwear oath.”

  Then he stepped back a little and looked at the two of us.

  And he said, “I’m so proud of you b
oth.”

  Later

  Lots happened this afternoon! First, in the lobby after school ended, Lula asked if I could come over. Which made me very happy, but only for a second. Because Crazy EMBARRASSING Cousin Carla heard, and clapped her hands together, and said, “Are you two best friends again? How nice!”

  I couldn’t even look at Lula then! Because I still don’t know what kind of friends we are. It’s too soon to know that. We just started talking again! WHY DID COUSIN CARLA HAVE TO ASK?

  I glared at Crazy Cousin Carla. Then I said, “Would you please just tell me if I can go?”

  “Of course you can go!” she said.

  So I went home with Lula and her mom. Her dad wasn’t there, which was a very big relief. Because I’m not sure how I should act if her parents start fighting. I just know not to write a note to anyone about anything the next day.

  I liked seeing Lula’s room again. I had missed it, without even realizing. I like the tall windows. And I like sitting with Lula on the floor between her twin beds, cross-legged. The carpet is so soft.

  I told her my idea for making sure Trina doesn’t post the list again. She loved it, and she helped me plan it. Here is a copy of what we’re going to slip into Trina’s locker:

  TRINA!

  RIP UP YOUR STUPID LIST!

  IF YOU DO NOT, WE WILL POST

  THIS PICTURE ALL OVER THE PLACE.

  This is Trina. She thinks she is foxy. She is in love with skinny jeans. She wants to marry them.

  Even Later

  I just did a weird thing while Jo was taking a shower.

  I tried on her deodorant.

  Deodorant is cold and wet! And a little sticky. I had to hold my arms out from my sides and flap them up and down. To get that stuff to dry.

  I do not understand how people wear it every day. I definitely do not.