Free 30 Days of No Gossip by Stephanie Faris

questions were unending, which was a good thing, since I wasn’t answering any of them. Everyone’s words were jumbled so closely together, there wouldn’t have been time for me to say anything even if I wanted to. I just kept walking, going faster as I headed toward my locker.
    “I need to get stuff for my next class,” I announced to no one in particular. That somehow helped me shake a couple of them, but Emma and Kimberly remained. And then, as I was turning my locker combination while wishing they’d all just vanish, I heard Jessica’s voice.
    “What’s up?” she asked.
    “You know that new woman who showed up at school today?” Kimberly asked. No, Jessica had no idea who they were talking about, I was pretty sure. But Kimberly continued anyway. “Maddie says she’s here to completely remodel the whole school.”
    “I didn’t say that,” I said, whirling around to face all of them. “I said no such thing.”
    Only Jessica’s eyes widened at that outburst. Everyone else just stared at me like they were waiting for me to say something else.
    “You said she was here to redo the school,” Emma pointed out. “I heard you.”
    “I’m lost,” Jessica said.
    “I met her in the principal’s office.” I sighed. “She’s really nice. She was talking about some improvements, that’s all I know. Now, I really need to get to class.”
    I wasn’t sure if I’d said the wrong thing or not, but that was all I could think to do to fix it. My next step was to run.
    •  •  •
    Jessica and Sydney were waiting for me after last period. Usually Vi and I caught up with them outside, in the area where the buses were, so I knew what this was about.
    “Spill it,” Sydney said.
    I clamped my lips together and shook my head. Most important, though, I kept walking.
    “Come on, you know stuff,” Jessica pleaded, rushing to keep up with me. “You have to tell us. We’re your besties.”
    That tugged at me, but I couldn’t say anything. Anysecond now we’d run into Vi and she’d overhear everything we were saying.
    “I didn’t say anything,” I said. “I was just trying to make them feel better. They were all worried we would be merging with Beechwood Middle.”
    Sydney gasped. “They’re sending us to Beechwood Middle?”
    “No.” This was just getting worse by the minute. I needed to stop talking. Maybe I should stay home for the rest of the thirty days.
    “Then why did you say they were?” Sydney asked.
    “I didn’t say that. I was telling you what the other people in class were guessing, but it isn’t true. I was correcting them on it.”
    I’d stopped walking and now was looking at both of them, trying to let them know that it was very important that they understand this. This wasn’t my gossip. It was other people’s gossip. It was starting to hit me, though, that Vi was blaming all of this gossip stuff on me when I wasn’t the only one who gossiped. Sure, I did my part, but even when I wasn’t trying to gossip, they were all filling in the blanks, making gossip out of things I didn’t say.
    “Vi!” Sydney called out. Vi. She was still speakingto Sydney and Jess and . . . well . . . everyone else who was gossiping their little mouths off. The only person she wasn’t speaking to was the one person who had stopped gossiping.
    I had to stop this. Whether Vi was speaking to me or not, I had to tell her what was going on before she heard it from someone else.
    “We have to talk,” I said to Vi. “Something’s happened.”
    “Vi! I’ve been looking for you.”
    Vi was still looking at me when Kathina Freeman pulled her attention away. Kathina was running up beside me, but her attention was focused on Vi. I held in a groan. If Kathina was talking to us, it had to be about Travis, and if it was about Travis, I might be in even more trouble. I hadn’t said anything to anyone about it since I’d promised not to gossip, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t still get into