Free On the Back Burner by Diane Muldrow Page B

surprised that Shawn hadn’t called her on Sunday to apologize, but Amanda figured that Shawn just didn’t know what to say. But, to Amanda’s surprise, Shawn didn’t sit with the Chef Girls at lunch. She didn’t say anything to Amanda, and she didn’t even look at her. By the end of the day it was clear to everybody that Shawn wasn’t speaking to Amanda. She treated Amanda like she was invisible.
    This was not how Amanda had wanted things to go. In her mind, she thought Shawn would receive her e-mail and suddenly realize how terribly she’d been treating her other friends.
    “I can’t believe she’s not speaking to me,” Amanda said sadly on Tuesday afternoon as Molly checked their e-mail.
    “Well, she’s speaking now,” Molly said. “Writing, anyway.”
    She hurried to the chair and wriggled in beside her sister. “What does she say?”
    “Read it yourself,” Molly replied.
    To: mooretimes2
    From: qtpie490
    Re: your last message
    Amanda,
    You say Angie is insulting but she has NEVER sent me an e-mail like that! Saying those terrible things about me is not something a “real” friend would do. If I have to choose one friend over another, I would pick the one who doesn’t call me nasty names. I never knew you could be so mean, but I’m glad I do now.
    Shawn
    Amanda was stunned. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest, and a flush crept over her face. She was surprised when she realized what she was feeling-shame. That’s crazy, she thought. Why should I feel ashamed? Everything I wrote to Shawn was true. I can’t believe she is trying to twist this around and make me the bad guy! Amanda tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in her throat. Molly sighed.
    Mrs. Moore walked up behind them. “You two look pretty unhappy,” she noticed. “Bad news on the Internet?”
    “Kind of, yeah,” Amanda replied slowly. She explained to Mom what had been happening with Shawn. Mom will know how to fix this, she thought with some relief. “Here’s the message I sent her,” she said, clicking on Old Mail and bringing up the message.
    Mom read it. At first, she said nothing. “That’s some message,” she finally said. “I guess you were pretty mad.”
    “Mad is not the word,” Molly said. “Furious is more like it.”
    “There’s a rule about writing angry letters,” Mom said gently. “Wait three days before mailing them. You can write it and let off steam. But reread it again in three days to make sure you really want to send it, because once it’s gone, you can’t get it back.”
    Amanda exhaled sharply. “You know, she says I said terrible things about her, but I didn’t. I said terrible things about Angie, which are all true!” she cried.
    “You implied that she was just the same as Angie,” Mom pointed out.
    “What am I supposed to do?” Amanda asked. “I can’t just stand around and not say how I feel! It really hurts my feelings that Shawn doesn’t stop Angie from being so mean to me.”
    “There are constructive ways to express how you feel,” Mrs. Moore said, “and there are ways that are destructive. But if you stick to expressing only how you feel, it’s easier to make your point without making things worse.”
    Molly put her arm around Amanda to comfort her. She wanted to say something helpful, but she couldn’t think of anything. Ever since middle school began, she also felt terrible about what was happening with Shawn. For some reason, though, Amanda seemed even more upset by it.
    “I know you don’t want to hear this, Amanda.” Mom continued, “but I’m going to say it anyway. Sometimes people grow apart. This doesn’t just happen with kids, it happens to adults, too. It might be time to start pursuing other friendships.”
    Molly and Amanda looked at each other with surprised expressions. The idea seemed so extreme. Replace Shawn with other friends? Could Mom be serious?
    Amanda sighed deeply. “I hate this,” she said. “But I guess whatever is