AJ unlocked the door. “Come on in,” he said to his fellow Clique News Crash members.

“Are you sure your mom and dad won’t mind?” Tiffani asked.

“In a situation like this, I think they’ll be glad that you guys care this much about Em.”


AJ and Emily’s mother, a beautiful woman, walked into the room. “You’re finally home,” she said to AJ. “We were getting worried.” She shifted her gaze to the others. “And I see you’ve brought a bunch of your friends. I’ll get to making some snacks.”

“We’re here to cheer Emily up,” Ophelia said. “Kind of a ‘best wishes’ visit.”

“Well, that’s very sweet of you, honey. Her room’s at the top of the stairs and to the right. She has a guest in right now, but I think she’ll be very happy to see all of you.”


With that said, Mrs. Desjardin bustled into the kitchen to whip up some food. The group hurried up the stairs and into Emily’s room, where Louie Rivers was talking to Emily, who was stretched out on her bed. Her hair was in a high ponytail, spread out over her shoulders, and she wore a new pair of glasses.

“Hey, Emily,” Ophelia said softly. Emily smiled briefly at her friend. “Those are some pretty cool glasses. Where did you get them?”

“They’re an extra pair I had. My old pair got really bent up. You know, during…” She trailed off, and Louie squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“Yeah, we heard,” Ophelia murmured sympathetically. “We brought you some gifts. Ms. Gibson might be by later on, and Cy said that after work, she wants to come by and check on you.”

“Wow, that’s really nice,” Louie remarked. He smiled at Emily. “You’re lucky to have such good friends.”

“Yeah,” Emily said.


Ophelia handed Emily a large stack of reading material. “Let’s see… I got you the newest issue of Psychology Today and a bunch of the women’s studies books you were interested in reading,” she said. She saw Angela open her mouth, ready to say something that probably would just cause problems. “I know not everyone agrees with the viewpoints in the books,” Ophelia added quickly, “but I remember you mentioning that you wanted to read these books.”

“Thanks, Ophelia,” Emily said softly, giving her friend a brief squeeze. Louie placed the books on the side of the bed so as to avoid cluttering the bed top.

“And… uh… well, I wasn’t sure what to get you,” Tiffani said, “so AJ told me the kind of chocolates you like, and I picked up a box of them for you.”

“All my favorite flavors,” Emily remarked, peeking into the box. She gave Tiffani a kind smile. “Thank you.”

“And I got you these,” Angela said. She held out several books. “Gosh now, let’s see,” she murmured. “Fascinating Womanhood, The Surrendered Single, and The Surrendered Wife.” She smiled at Emily. “I saw these in the bookstore and, well, goodness, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Oh my, Emily’s life certainly could be improved if she read these.’”

Emily peered down at the books, and then glanced up at Ophelia, who seemed to be about ready to yell. “That’s… uh… very kind of you,” Emily finally said, handing them to Louie. “I’ll get to them as soon as I can.” Angela beamed, and Emily and Ophelia exchanged brief glances, as if to say, “But as for taking it seriously… that’s another thing entirely.”


Mrs. Desjardin knocked on the door and peeked in. “Hey, I have some food ready. Come and eat, if you want,” she said. She smiled in relief, seeing Emily’s happy expression. It reassured her to see that her daughter had friends who cared about her and made her feel good about herself. Tiffani, AJ, and Angela followed Mrs. Desjardin to the kitchen.

When they were well away, Emily took a deep breath and said to Ophelia, “Okay, tell me the truth about what’s going on at school. I know by now everyone’s talking about it.”

Ophelia bit her lip, uncertain as to whether or not to tell Emily that many people felt that she deserved it. Emily frowned, noting her friend’s expression. “Things are bad, aren’t they?” Emily asked.

Ophelia nodded and then replied, slowly, “Let’s just say some people are siding with LB.” Emily nodded and replied, “I thought so.”

“Don’t worry, Emily, we’ve already come up with a plan. In all of your classes, either AJ or me or Tiffani’s there.”

“Don’t forget about me,” Louie spoke up.

“Right. So, anyways, at all times, you’re going to have someone by you. We’ve already made arrangements with the teachers so that you’ll be sitting right beside at least one of us. And at least one of us will walk you to class,” Ophelia said. Louie nodded. “No one is going to lay a hand on you again, if we have anything to say about it. LB is in prison now--”


“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Louie interjected. “I always knew he’d end up in jail.”

“So he won’t be hurting you again. And Mae knows better-- well, she ought to know better-- than to try and mess with you. And you know Louie wouldn’t dream of hurting you. You’ve got lots of people who love you and want you to be safe. And listen-- if Tiffani is willing to take part in this protection plan, we can assume that she does care about you, even if she doesn’t want to say it. So, overall, you could be in a worse situation.”

Emily smiled weakly. “Thanks, Ophelia,” she said softly. Louie nodded. “Yeah, thanks,” he echoed. “Before you got here, Em was telling me about what happened, and she said, ‘If Ophelia had been there, the cops would have had to take her away instead-- she’d have murdered LB and hidden his body so well, no one would have ever found him.’ I wish I had friends like that.”

Ophelia grinned. “Louie, as far as I’m concerned, I’ve been hanging around with your sister ever since you were running around the house in training pants, which makes you and me practically family, not to mention that given the relationship between you and Emily, you’re a de facto friend, since you treat her well.”

Emily laughed and said to Ophelia and Louie, “Let’s go get some food before AJ eats it all. I swear, he’s like a human garbage disposal!”

Ophelia nodded. “And by the way,” she said, as they left the room, “about those books Angela gave you. Read them for what they are, read them as joke books, or burn them. Whatever you want to do, do it. When people try to force their opinions onto their friends, it causes a strain in the friendship.”