Best Friends

Kevin and the Gang: In-Between Episode 4: Best Friends

Written by Rosey Collins

In the girls' changing room, Lucy and Ella were happily removing their PE T-shirts and putting on their regular tops, unmindful of the roomful of girls around them who were endeavouring to put on their blouses and T-shirts underneath their PE gear before they would take it off. As such, Lucy and Ella were the first to be ready to go.

'Will you put my lacrosse stuff in my locker for me, Luce?' asked Ella, as they walked out together. 'I really have to go to the bathroom.'

'Sure,' said Lucy, taking Ella's collapsible lacrosse stick and bag of PE kit from her.

Meanwhile, a few benches away, Stephanie was tying her shoelaces while Catherine was still squirming around inside her pink top. She had only just pulled her PE T-shirt out of the neck hole when the bell went.

'Come on, Cat – recess!' said Stephanie.

'All right, I'm coming!'

Catherine pulled on her shoes and darted out of the changing room behind Stephanie with her shoelaces undone. They passed Lucy chatting with Jandro and Kevin at the lockers, and made their way to the girls' bathroom, where Catherine crouched to do up her shoes and Stephanie began examining her forehead in the mirror with close scrutiny.

'Did you see the way Lucy and Ella were waving their boobs around in front of everyone in the locker room?' Stephanie said conversationally.

'Well,' said Catherine, 'I wouldn't go that far.' She stood up, undid her ponytail and produced a hairbrush from her satchel. 'I guess they just don't mind everyone seeing their underwear. I mean, that's why boys and girls have separate locker rooms, right?'

'Know what I heard?' said Stephanie. 'They make the boys take off everything and shower.'

Catherine's eyes widened. 'Oh my God! Who told you that?'

'Rosie Mees.'

'If they wanted us to get naked and shower together, I wouldn't do it!'

'You think Lucy would?'

'Stephie,' said Catherine, looking around uneasily before she began to do up her hair, 'maybe we shouldn't gossip about people like this.'

'We can talk about Lucy,' said Stephanie. 'We just saw her outside, so there's no danger of us getting caught up in that old cliché of talking about a girl in the bathroom when she's in the stall right behind you. I mean, I can understand Ella not minding everybody seeing – she's got something to show for it. But if I had raisins like Lucy's, I sure wouldn't take off everything down to my bra in the locker room!'

'Well, you don't anyway.'

'No, but she does.'

'I guess maybe she doesn't think it matters that her boobs are small,' said Catherine. 'And anyway, we're still growing.'

'She's not exactly gonna end up with melons, though, is she?' said Stephanie. 'I mean, if she was, they'd look like more than a pair of mosquito bites by now.'

She laughed unkindly, and Catherine looked uncomfortable. Then suddenly one of the cubicle doors burst open and out strode Ella with a face like thunder. She marched right over to Stephanie, grabbed her by the shoulders and thrust her against the nearest wall. Catherine squealed in terror.

'Let go of me, you crazy bitch!' yelled Stephanie.

'Who are you calling a bitch?' Ella spat back at her.

'Ella, let her go!' squeaked Catherine, dancing around and flapping her fingers in alarm. 'You don't want to get in trouble for fighting, do you? And anyway, Stephie can beat you! She'll kick your ass!'

'I don't think so,' said Ella, tightening her grip on Stephanie and raising her a little off the ground.

'Cut it out, Ella,' said Stephanie, giving Ella a slight push, and luckily she decided to back off. 'I get it – you're mad because I was talking about your friend's boobs. Well, I'm sorry, okay?'

'You are, huh?' said Ella, taking another step back. 'Well, why'd you do it, then? Y'know, I didn't think you had it in you, Stephanie Sloane!'

'Me neither, Steph,' said Catherine, who now had tears in her eyes. 'In fact I... I...'

Then suddenly she burst into floods and ran from the room. Stephanie stared after her in dismay, and Ella gave her the most poisonous look she could manage.

'What's she crying for?' Stephanie asked in bewilderment. 'I didn't say anything about her boobs!'

'Why were you talking about anyone's boobs?' said Ella.

'I... I... I don't know!' said Stephanie. 'The other day I heard Rosie and Georgia and all their friends gossiping about other girls, and I guess I just thought... I just thought...'

'What,' said Ella, 'that's what girls are supposed to do? You idiot.'

Having said this, Ella turned and stalked from the room. She went to join Kevin, Jandro and Lucy by the lockers, and saw that they were looking concerned.

'Why did Catherine just run out of here in floods?' asked Lucy.

'Stephanie upset her,' said Ella. 'She was bitching about... another girl.'

'Stephanie was bitching?' said Jandro. 'But I thought she was okay. I mean, not exactly someone I'd ever be bosom friends with, but not a bitch either.'

As he said this, Stephanie came out of the bathroom looking cowed, carrying Catherine's satchel as well as her own. Ella pointedly ignored her, but Lucy went over to her and said, 'Want me to help you find Catherine?'

Stephanie looked suspiciously at her. 'Why?'

'Well, Ella says it was you who upset her, so I thought it might be a good idea to take somebody else along.'

'But did Ella tell you what we were... what I was...?'

'No,' said Lucy. 'Come on, let's go. Since she just came out of the main girls' bathroom, she can't have run off to there, so maybe she went back to the locker room.'

She turned and led the way, Stephanie trailing behind her with a doubtful look on her face. Kevin and Jandro watched them go. Ella went on ignoring them.

'Are you upset with Stephanie too, Ella?' asked Kevin.

'Yes I am, actually,' said Ella, 'and so would Lucy be, if she knew the truth.'

'Well, I guess it's none of our business,' said Kevin.

'Yeah,' said Jandro. 'Just sounds like girls being stupid, anyway.'

'Oh yeah?' Ella gave him a look. 'And beating each other up for fun and putting pencil shavings in each other's hair isn't being stupid?'

'No,' said Jandro. 'That's just being friends.'

Ella snorted with derisive laughter.

'Better than all this bitching girls do, anyway,' Jandro went on. 'Do you know how many “best friends” my sister's had this semester alone?'

'Don't lump girls all into the same category!' said Ella. 'We aren't all like your sister.'

'Hey, wait a minute, you guys, knock it off,' said Kevin. 'I've always thought of us as a positive statement for mixed gender friendship groups. Don't you two spoil it!'

Ella frowned at Jandro. Jandro looked back at her for a moment, then grinned, held out his right hand and said, 'I'm sorry, Ella.'

'Apology accepted,' said Ella, smiling too and shaking his hand.

'Aren't you going to apologise too, Ella?' asked Kevin.

'For what,' said Ella, 'saying that putting pencil shavings in each other's hair is stupid? I don't think so!'

Lucy and Stephanie found Catherine in the locker room, sitting in the corner of a shower cubicle with her clothes on and the water off, sobbing bitterly.

'Cat...' said Stephanie.

'Leave me alone!' wailed Catherine.

'But I –'

'Go away! I hate you!'

'Catherine,' said Lucy, 'would you like to talk to me about it?'

Catherine sniffed, looked up with wide eyes and said, 'What are you doing here?'

'I don't know,' said Lucy. 'I just thought maybe I could help.'

'But don't you know...? Didn't Ella tell you...?'

'What is it that you're both worried about Ella telling me?' asked Lucy, looking from Catherine to Stephanie and back again.

Stephanie looked at Catherine. Catherine scowled back at Stephanie, and said, 'I'm not gonna tell her! I don't bitch and gossip about people!'

Stephanie sighed resignedly, and said, 'I made some unkind and uncalled-for comments about your boobs being on the small side, Lucy. I'm sorry.' She then put down Catherine's satchel and slunk away, leaving the other two girls to themselves.

Lucy raised her eyes to heaven, then went into the shower cubicle to sit beside Catherine, saying, 'I don't care what anybody says about my boobs, Catherine.'

'Yeah?' sniffled Catherine. 'Well, she shouldn't have said it anyway.'

'Why did she do it? I thought Stephanie was nice. Well, I don't really know her, but nice enough anyway.'

'Normally she is. That's why I'm so upset with her! Well... that's one reason...'

'You can tell me if you want to, Catherine,' said Lucy.

'Well... I...' said Catherine. 'I mean... you're really okay with not being, well, blessed in the chest department?'

'So “blessed” means having big ones, does it?' Lucy said wryly.

'Well... isn't that what most people think?'

'I don't know about that, Catherine. Whose perspective are we talking about here? Mine? Well, I'm fine with what I've got. Other people's perspective, maybe? Boys? Other girls? It doesn't matter what they think!'

'What, um... what do they think?'

'I don't know,' said Lucy. 'Different things, probably, but I'm sure most people aren't the least bit interested in how big girls' boobs are.'

'Are you sure? Once when my sister got on the bus, somebody shouted “no tits” at her.'

Lucy frowned. 'Some meat-head, you mean. Listen, Catherine, and I'll tell you this for nothing: anybody who's worth anything isn't staring at girls' chests and making judgements about how big they are.'

Catherine sighed, and said, 'I thought Stephanie was worth something.'

'She is worth something,' said Lucy. 'Anybody can see she's worth a lot to you, and vice-versa. I'm sure she didn't really mean to be bitchy.'

'Then why did she do it?'

'You'd have to ask her that.'

'There's something else,' said Catherine. 'I have a great secret, Lucy, and what Stephanie said made me feel really... oh, I don't even know! If I tell you, promise me you won't tell anyone.'

'Of course I won't,' said Lucy. 'I promise, Catherine.'

Catherine nodded, then reached down the neck of her T-shirt and pulled out a sock. Lucy stared at it for a moment, uncomprehending. Then light dawned on her face, and she said, 'You pad your bra!'

'Yes!' said Catherine, bursting into tears all over again. 'Oh, it's terrible, isn't it?'

'Well,' said Lucy, her mouth twitching as she tried not to laugh, 'I don't think it's that terrible.'

'Yes it is,' Catherine sniffled. 'I started doing it when I noticed that Stephanie was getting boobs and I wasn't. She'll probably have quite big ones, I thought. And then she wanted us to put pencils under them, and my pencil wouldn't stay, and... and...' She descended into sobs.

'Ella asked me to do that once,' said Lucy. 'I said there was no point because mine obviously wouldn't hold a pencil. That was almost exactly a year ago, come to think of it. They might just about manage it now – I don't know...' She looked down at herself and jiggled her torso experimentally.

'But if the pencil fell out,' said Catherine, 'you wouldn't care, right?'

'Of course not. Honestly, Catherine, I don't think people think about each other's boobs, or whatever they've got, half as much as some of us worry about our own.'

'I wish I could be more like you.'

Lucy looked perplexed. 'Like me?'

'You're so strong and confident,' said Catherine, 'and you're clever too. And you've got better friends than I have.'

'Catherine,' said Lucy, 'you and Stephanie are the bestest best friends anybody's ever seen! Look, maybe you'll feel like talking to her at lunch, after a couple of classes. It's almost time for history now – I think we should go.'

'Okay,' said Catherine, and she got to her feet. 'But there's something I need to do first.'

So saying, she reached into her bra and pulled out a few more socks and a collection of tissues. Lucy smiled.

'Good girl,' she said. 'Just remember – nobody is going to notice or care.'

'Oh yeah?' said Catherine, smiling weakly. 'Not even boys?'

'I'm sure all the boys have got better things to think about than boobs.'

'You could see the exact shape of Ella's boobs in that strappy thing she was wearing, couldn't you?' Jandro said to Kevin, as they came out of the boys' bathroom and made their way down the corridor. 'And she's really gotten a cleavage this year too, hasn't she?'

Kevin gave him a look. 'Why are you talking about Ella's boobs?'

'Because they're there,' Jandro said with a shrug.

'Yeah, well, so are lots of things,' said Kevin.

'Well, boobs are nice, aren't they?'

'I guess they're okay.'

'And Ella's getting a really nice rack, dude – you must have noticed.'

'Not really,' said Kevin, stopping outside a classroom door. 'Anyway, you'd better shut up about it before we get into class – you don't want Michael to hear you talking about Ella like that. Come on – we'd better go in.'

They went into the classroom and sat down. Seconds later, Lucy and Catherine entered the room and sat down next to each other. Stephanie, already seated, looked over at them with an anxious expression.

'Just in time, Lucy and Catherine,' said the history teacher, looking up from his desk. Then he stared for a moment. 'Are you all right, Catherine? Is there something different about you?'

Catherine blushed furiously.

'I don't think you should ask personal questions like that, Mr Wright,' said Lucy.

'No offence meant,' said Mr Wright, hastily lowering his eyes again. 'All right now, everybody settle down for roll call. Catherine Bartholomew...'

'Here, sir.'

'Lucy Chan...'

When Lucy wanted to go to the cafeteria at lunchtime, Catherine grabbed her arm and said, 'Aren't you going to help me talk to Stephanie?'

'Well, I don't know,' said Lucy. 'You guys bring your own lunch, don't you? So you might not realise that if I don't get to the cafeteria fast, all the good stuff will be gone.'

'Oh, all right,' said Catherine, clearly disappointed.

'But look,' said Lucy, 'you don't need me. You guys have been friends for years, right?'

'Yeah, since we're in kindergarten.'

'Well then...'

'Okay, I'll go find her. Thanks for your help today, Lucy.'

She sloped off, and Lucy made her way to the cafeteria. She was about to join the back of the queue when she saw Michael and Ella waving at her, so she looked around to make sure no teachers were watching, then ran and ducked into the queue between them. The first five people behind Ella groaned in protest.

'Tore yourself away from Catherine, then,' said Ella.

'You're not being silly and possessive, are you, Ella?' said Lucy. 'She was upset – you saw her.'

'Yeah, I did,' said Ella. 'Poor kid.'

'Stephanie confessed to me about what she'd been saying,' said Lucy, as she helped herself to a large spoonful of spaghetti.

'She did?' said Ella. 'What did you do to her?'

'Nothing,' said Lucy. 'I don't care what she said.'

'What did she say?' asked Michael.

'Nothing,' Lucy and Ella said together.

'The thing is,' Ella went on, as they reached the dessert station, 'Stephanie seemed to know it was stupid and wrong of her. She just seemed to think Catherine must expect it of her because she heard other girls doing it.'

'She did?' said Lucy. By this time their trays were full, and they followed Michael to a table with three empty seats. 'Wow. I hope she doesn't tell Catherine that, or all my good work will be undone.'

'What good work?' asked Ella. 'What did you say to her?'

Lucy glanced at Michael, who was still looking interested, and said, 'I'll tell you later.'

'Cool,' said Ella. 'Come by my place after school today if you want. My parents are out, so it'll just be my sister hanging around.'

'Okay,' said Lucy. 'Remind me to call my mom on the payphone and let her know.'

'What's going on?' asked Michael.

'It's private,' said Ella.

'I can still come over for dinner, right?' said Michael.

'Oh yeah, that,' said Ella. 'Well, of course you can. Will you stay for dinner too, Luce?'

'Oh, I don't think so,' said Lucy. 'I don't want to be a third wheel.'

'You won't be,' said Michael. 'Tara's the third wheel.'

Ella kicked him under the table. 'Mike! You mustn't be rude about Tara being there. Anyway, I thought you liked her.'

'I do,' said Michael. 'We get along fine. I was just saying Lucy doesn't need to worry about ruining our beans on toast.'

'It's okay, really,' said Lucy. 'I'll get my mom to pick me up at six.'

'So what are Catherine and Stephanie doing now?' asked Ella. 'Have they made up yet?'

'I don't know,' said Lucy, 'but when I last saw Catherine a few minutes ago, she was going to find Stephanie to talk to her.'

In an outside area not far from the cafeteria, Kevin and Jandro were eating sandwiches at a picnic table, watching Stephanie as she sat at another picnic table and picked at her own lunch.

'Is it weird that I feel sorry for her?' said Jandro. 'I mean, she and Catherine aren't exactly our friends. Just acquaintances.'

'Personally,' said Kevin, 'I'm finding this whole thing unnerving. Those two have hung out together whispering and giggling every single day since we started at this school.'

'I wonder what can possibly have gone wrong.'

'Oh, I don't know. What do girls fight about?'

'Oh, look,' said Jandro, 'here comes Catherine.'

'We'd better not look at them,' said Kevin. 'Let's talk about something else.'

The two boys looked at each other, and shrugged helplessly.

'So...' said Kevin. 'Oscar says the seventh grade have only just started that city planning project they made us do right after Christmas. How's your sister finding it?'

'She hasn't talked to me about it,' said Jandro.

'Oh,' said Kevin, and then fell silent. A few seconds later, they both turned to face Catherine and Stephanie.

'I'm so sorry, Kitty-Cat,' Stephanie was saying. 'I don't know why I thought you'd want to hear me bitching about other girls.'

'I don't know why you did either,' Catherine said admonishingly. 'It's not like I'm a bitch, right?'

'Of course not!' said Stephanie. 'It was just... I thought that's what girls did.'

'You did?' Catherine said uncomfortably, looking down at her chest.

'Yeah, well, I happen to know that some girls do,' said Stephanie.

'Well, why would you think I wanted you to be like them?'

'I don't know. I guess because we do girly stuff together, don't we? Paint each other's nails and do each other's hair and have sleepovers and... well, you know, everything. I just took it too far. I'm really sorry, Cat.'

'You already said sorry,' said Catherine, 'and I accept your apology, Stephie. I love you.'

They smiled at each other, and then they hugged.

'Oh, thank God!' said Kevin.

Jandro giggled, and said, 'They're touching boobs.'

Stephanie drew back from the hug, and said, 'Um, Cat... can I ask you something?'

'Of course you can, Stephie-Bean,' said Catherine.

'Why have your boobs shrunk?'

Catherine looked uncomfortable for a moment. Then she laughed. 'They haven't. From the day you held that pencil under yours, right up until recess today, I was padding my bra.'

Stephanie's eyes widened. 'Oh my God! And I said all those terrible things... You mustn't worry about not having very big ones, Cat. Nobody cares really, unless they're idiots.'

'That's pretty much what Lucy said,' said Catherine.

'Oh yeah, you talked to Lucy,' said Stephanie. 'You don't like her better than me now, do you?'

'Of course not, silly.'

'Good. I'd better find her and thank her for mopping you up, and really apologise for what I said about her. I never should've done it. If you really wanna know, I actually think she's got quite nice little boobies.'

'Well,' said Catherine, giggling, 'maybe don't tell her that.'

'I guess I won't,' grinned Stephanie. 'Y'know, this explains a lot. I never understood why you weren't shy about your bottom half but you were about your top.'

'Maybe we shouldn't discuss that here, Steph,' said Catherine, looking anxiously around. Kevin and Jandro suddenly turned to face each other and began a very loud conversation.

Later that day, in her own home, Ella emerged from the bathroom and went into her bedroom, where she found Lucy standing with her arms held stiffly at her sides and a huge grin on her face.

'Guess what, Ella!' she said.

'While I was in the bathroom, you found out how to satisfy yourself?' said Ella.

'Ella, oh my God!' said Lucy, giggling, and at once a pencil dropped from beneath her top and rolled a few inches on the floor.

Ella looked down at it. 'Wait. Were you holding that under your boob?'

'Yeah,' said Lucy. 'The left one. The right still can't quite get a handle on it.'

'And that makes you happy, does it?' Ella asked. 'I thought you were okay with what you've got.'

'Yeah, I am,' said Lucy, stooping to pick up the pencil. 'I was only telling Catherine that today – I mustn't go back on it now. Even so, I couldn't help feeling kind of pleased when the pencil stayed.'

'I'm pleased for you,' said Ella, clapping her on the shoulder. 'Give me the pencil and I'll try it.'

'What's the point of that?' said Lucy. 'You might as well say give me some oxygen and I'll try breathing. I'll bet you can hold much bigger stuff under there, like, um...' She looked around for inspiration, and settled on the large hairbrush lying on Ella's dresser. 'This!' She picked it up.

'No way – the bristles'll dig in!' said Ella.

'Hey,' said Lucy, 'no pain, no gain. I wanna see if it'll stay!'

They were giggling hysterically, and Lucy was trying to shove the hairbrush up Ella's top, when a polite cough from the doorway interrupted them. They looked round, and saw Ella's sister Tara standing there with Michael beside her.

'Michael's just arrived,' said Tara.

'So I see,' said Ella, manually removing Lucy's full hands from up her top, as she wasn't doing it herself. Michael looked on, grinning inanely with wide, glassy eyes.

'I guess I'll leave you guys to it,' said Tara, looking thoroughly perplexed as she sloped off.

'Um,' said Lucy. Then she went to replace the hairbrush on the dresser and looked at Ella's alarm clock. 'Look, it's almost six. I'd better go downstairs and wait for my mom. Oh, here – don't let me steal your pencil,' and the specified article changed hands.

'I'll go down with you, Luce,' said Ella, and Michael's eyes glazed over even further as the two flushed and tousled girls pushed past him in the doorway.