Free What a Doll! by P.J. Night Page A

terrible thing I did, she thought. Make that things I did. Did I really have to be so evil this morning? The sleepover and the hair were bad enough.
    The second was relief. Lizzy’s not popular anymore. Lizzy and I can be best friends again. As the morning went on and she sat in her classes, Emmy imagined her reunion with Lizzy. She’d go to her table at lunch and sit with her—no one else would be sitting with her, she was sure of that.
    At lunch, Emmy took a deep breath, carried her tray over to Lizzy’s table, and sat across from her.
    â€œHey,” she said, not looking at Lizzy.
    â€œHey,” Lizzy said softly. She kept her eyes on the table. Her voice seemed hoarse. Maybe from crying.
    â€œHow are you?” Emmy asked. She didn’t know what else to say.
    â€œAre you serious?” Lizzy asked. But she didn’t sound angry. She looked up and they finally made eye contact. “I’m kind of a mess, if you haven’t noticed.”
    â€œI guess I did. A little,” Emmy said. They sat in silence for a minute.
    â€œI’m sorry everything is so awful right now,” Emmy said. She really didn’t know what else to say. But she did mean it—pretty much, anyway. Lizzy looked up.
    â€œI’m really sorry about everything,” Lizzy said softly, not looking at Emmy.
    Emmy swallowed hard and stayed silent. She wanted to make up, but part of her had to admit it felt good having the upper hand like this. She was basically rescuing Lizzy from a friendless existence, after all.
    â€œWhat do you mean, ‘everything’?” she pressed.
    â€œI mean, I’m sorry for being such a bad friend,” Lizzy said. “I’m sorry I’ve been kind of ditching you this year.”
    â€œWhat else are you sorry for?” Emmy had to hear her say it.
    â€œI’m sorry for cutting your hair short. Now I know how you felt. It wasn’t right of me to do something you didn’t want. But at least yours is longer than mine,” she added.
    â€œThanks,” Emmy said. “I’m sorry you’re having such a hard time.”
    Lizzy smiled sheepishly.
    Emmy realized there was one thing she really wanted to ask Lizzy. It was something she truly did not know the answer to. “Can I ask you a question?” she said.
    â€œSure,” Lizzy said. “Ask me anything. I couldn’t be more embarrassed than I already am.”
    â€œWhat were you thinking, cutting your hair in that way and putting on all this makeup?” Emmy asked. “Like, how did this happen?”
    Lizzy sighed. “I don’t know,” she muttered. “Both times, I just got into a really weird mood. Like, I wasn’t in control of myself. Both the haircut and the makeup seemed like perfectly good ideas at the time. But both times, when I was finished, I wondered what had come over me. And now I’m afraid I’m going crazy,” Lizzy whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
    â€œYou’re not going crazy,” Emmy assured her. “You just got into a weird mood. Everyone gets into weird moods sometimes.”
    â€œI wish I could just wash this makeup off,” Lizzy moaned. “But I’ve scrubbed and scrubbed and hardly any has come off.”
    Emmy made a mental note to wash the doll’s face the first chance she got. It was time to end this, and she had another great idea for how to do that. “I know what you need to make you feel better,” she said to Lizzy. “A sleepover at my house this weekend. What do you think?”
    Lizzy looked grateful. “I’d like that,” she said, and wiped away her tears with a napkin. She smiled.
    And just like that, they were back in the friendship nest. Just the two of them. Just two best friends planning a sleepover.

CHAPTER 10
    After school Emmy raced straight to Zim Zam. She had to get rid of that doll right away. She didn’t want to do any more damage. She had