Free On the Back Burner by Diane Muldrow

harsh that Molly and Natasha could barely hear her.
    Whoa, Amanda thought, startled. Maybe Natasha is right . Maybe I should be careful around Angie.
    In the dining room Angie made sure to sit next to Shawn. “Wasn’t cheering practice too hysterical yesterday?” Angie said, angling her chair toward Shawn.
    “It was,” Shawn agreed. She cleared her throat and tried to change the subject. “What did you all think of the school assembly yesterday?”
    “I liked the part about the rain forest,” Amanda said. “The tribal dances were cool.”
    “Oh, that assembly was idiotic! Soooo boring.” Angie dismissed the subject. Turning back to Shawn, she began talking about the cheerleading team once again.
    “This lamb stew is great,” Molly interjected in another attempt to talk about something they could all discuss. But Angie just ignored her. The rest of the dinner involved Molly, Amanda, and Natasha talking together, while Angie spoke only to Shawn on the other side of the table. Amanda could hardly concentrate on what her friends were saying. And she didn’t taste the food.
    “Shawn, that new movie with Shane West is at the Flatbush Theater. He is so cute! Want to go see it?” Angie asked in a loud voice.
    Shawn squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. “Would you guys like to go?” she asked, looking down at her plate.
    “No!” Amanda said. “Definitely not.”
    “Yeah, we should probably go home,” Molly agreed quickly.
    “I’ll go with you, too,” Natasha agreed, getting up.
    “Don’t you girls think you should thank Shawn?” Angie said. “After all, Shawn cooked this delicious meal for you. And she did an awesome job...Something wrong, Amanda?” Angie asked snidely.
    “I am out of here! Let’s go!” Amanda said to Molly and Natasha. She led the way toward the front door. Molly and Natasha rushed after her.
    “Wait a minute,” called Shawn. She got up to follow them to the door, but Angie grabbed her elbow.
    “They’re gone!” the girls heard Angie say as they pulled on their jackets by the front door. “That Amanda is such a baby! What a drama queen.”
    Amanda stopped in her tracks and tried to listen for Shawn’s reply. More than anything in the world, Amanda wanted to hear Shawn stick up for her. But all Shawn said was “What time is the movie?” in a low voice.
    Amanda slammed the front door as hard as she could, not caring if Mr. Jordan or the neighbors were disturbed. “Shawn has lost her mind!” she shouted as the girls headed down the street. “That’s the only explanation I can think of. How can she even stand to be in the same room with Angie?” Amanda felt hot even though it was really cold outside.
    “I don’t know,” Molly admitted. She decided to change the subject. “I wonder if there’s anything good on TV tonight. Hey, do you want to rent a movie?”
    “Maybe,” Amanda said shortly. That’s all she said until they dropped off Natasha, then went home. Amanda stomped into the den, slamming the door behind her.
    Yipes, Molly thought to herself. I’ll give her a few minutes to cool down. With a sigh, Molly trudged up the stairs to the twins room.
    Amanda logged on to the Internet and began typing rapidly.
    To: qtpie490
    From: mooretimes2
    Re: ANGIE THE WICKED WITCH!!!!!
    What’s the matter with you, Shawn? I’ve known you a long time and I never knew you had a terrible mean side. You must have one or else there is NO WAY you would be friends with such a nasty jerk like Angie. My idea of friendship is that friends are loyal to one another. You always just stand there and let Angie insult me without saying a word. She insults all of us. You don’t deserve to be our friend if you let Angie get away with being so rude to us. You have changed so much and you are turning out to be as big a creep as Angie, and it makes me really sad.But whatever, it’s your life, and if you want to treat your REAL friends this way, you don’t deserve to have us as