Free 30 Days of No Gossip by Stephanie Faris Page A

trouble somehow, as I was finding out.
    “Guess who was asking about you?” Kathina said. She had one of those looks on her face that I knew all too well. It was a look that said she knew something nobody else knew and she couldn’t wait to tell someone.
    I missed that feeling.
    “Who?” Vi asked. Her level of excitement didn’t even come close to Kathina’s. In fact, Vi sounded kind of bored.
    “Travis Fisher,” Kathina answered. Her smile had widened so much, I thought it might fall off her face. “He asked me how well I knew you.”
    I looked over at Vi. She had a puzzled look on her face. I wouldn’t have expected her to frown over news like this.
    “Exactly what did he say?” Vi asked.
    “He asked how well I knew that Vivienne Lakewood girl,” Kathina said. “I told him we go all the way back to first grade. He wanted to know what you were like.”
    This time I was the one to ask, “What did you say?”
    This should be interesting, since Kathina and Vi didn’t go all the way back to first grade. Sure, we’d all gone to school together, but Kathina and Vi had maybe had four conversations in all that time. One of those conversations was the one where Vi had found out I told Travis she liked him.
    “I said you were really sweet,” Kathina told her. “Kind of quiet, but very classy. Like an old-timey movie star. I think he might like you. Whoops, that’s my ride. See ya.”
    We’d stepped through the school entrance onto the overcrowded walkway in front of the school. In front of us, kids were climbing into the school buses lined up, ready to leave in just a few minutes. Instead of heading toward our bus, though, Vi stopped to stare after Kathina.
    “What did she mean by that?” Vi asked.
    Vi was speaking to me. Well, she’d said the words to the air in front of her, so it sounded almost like she was talking to herself, but if there was a small chance she might speak to me, I had to go with it.
    “Let’s get on the bus and talk about it,” I rushed to say before she could realize she was kind-of-sort-of talking to me. We had more to talk about than Kathina. I wanted to warn her about everything that had happened at school that day.
    “Old-timey movie star?” Vi asked, unfazed by me trying to urge her toward the bus. “What does that mean? That makes me sound boring.”
    “No, it doesn’t. You’re classy. Like Audrey Hepburn or Julia Roberts. You know, an old-timey movie star.”
    That didn’t seem to help. She still wasn’t moving.
    “And she said I was quiet,” Vi said. “I’m not quiet. I’m very talkative. He’s going to think I’m one of those people who never talk.”
    “I don’t think he’ll think that, but we’re going to miss our bus.”
    I started walking and, thank goodness, Vi followed. I guess it was either that or stand there talking to herself. She was still trying to put it all together as we walked, though.
    “I don’t think I’m old-timey,” Vi was saying. “I do allthis interior design stuff. Why couldn’t she talk about that?”
    “She probably doesn’t know,” I replied. “Did you hear the part where she said he might like you?”
    That was the important part, I figured. It was huge news, but she couldn’t see past worrying about the other stuff. To me, that seemed more negative than all my gossip, but who was I to say?
    Besides, if Travis liked her, that meant telling him hadn’t been such a bad thing. And since I was on the verge of being busted for starting rumors, any help I could have would be good.
    “Come over?” Vi asked. I could tell from the pleading look in her eyes she wasn’t just asking. She didn’t want to be alone. I could see that. I didn’t want to be alone at my house, either.
    There was no way I’d say no. I missed my best friend. I didn’t even realize how much until she spoke to me again. I felt this giant wave of relief wash over me as we both got onto the bus and started toward Vi’s house.
    I didn’t even have to