They hear Joe and Angela in the next row of books talking. "Now, today you look cute," says Joe. They hear them kissing.
"Let's surprise them," Sara whispers.
"No, wait, let's listen for a minute," says David. "I want to get some dirt on them. We can use it later," he says, laughing quietly.
"Where were you last night when I called?" asks Joe.
"I was studying," says Angela. "My dad won't let me talk on the phone until I finish my homework."
"Why didn't you just tell him you were finished?" he asks.
"He checks it to make sure I'm done," she answers.
"How does he know what your assignment is?"
"Look," says Angela, becoming impatient, "I just had to finish my homework. You know he won't let me talk on the phone after ten."
Joe's voice gets tense. "I think you were avoiding me."
"I wasn't avoiding you," she says. "You know I would never do that. Why do you have to be so insecure? Why can't you trust me?"
"I'm insecure? Who are you to call me insecure? You don't even blink unless I tell you to."
"This isn't right," says Kayla. "Let's go talk to them."
"No way," says David. "This is between the two of them." They continue to listen.
"I don't know what to do with you anymore, Angela," says Joe. "You don't respect me. You don't listen to me. You hang around with your friends more than you do with me."
"I do not," Angela says. "I hardly ever see my friends anymore. We're always together."
"You say that like it's a drag for you," says Joe.
"No, no it's not," she says, trying to comfort him.
"You're such a liar. And you're a slut," he whispers.
"How can you say that? You know you're the only person I've been with."
"How do I know that?" he says. "You dress like one. You flirt with every guy you see."
On the other side of the bookshelf, Kayla says, "This isn't cool. I'm going over there."
"What are you going to say?" asks Sara. "That's just the way he is."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," they hear Angela say.
"Don't even touch me," Joe says sharply. "How do I know where those hands have been?"
They hear a loud crash as Joe shoves Angela into the bookcase. They all rush over to the other side and see Angela scrambling to get up, as Joe turns away in disgust.
"My God, are you okay?" asks Sara, as Ricky helps Angela up.
"What the hell's the matter with you?" David says, right in Joe's face.
"No, please, I'm fine," Angela says, fumbling to pull herself together. "It was my fault. I fell down."
"What's up with you, man?" says Ricky quietly to Joe. "You completely lose your cool over anything nowadays. You can't keep acting like this. You're going to get yourself in trouble. You know this isn't right."
"Oh, please," says Joe, laughing. "Lighten up! We got into an argument and Angela's a klutz. You know she's always walking into things, never looking where she's going."
"We heard the whole thing Joe," says Kayla. "Angela's our friend. And we're not going to let you treat her like this."
"Joe, let's get out of here. You need to cool down," says Ricky, as he takes Joe by the shoulder and leads him away.
"Thanks, thanks a lot you guys," Angela says tentatively, standing up and brushing herself off. She looks at her best friends as they gather around her.
"Thanks for sticking up for me." She starts to cry. "I can't believe it's gotten this bad. I don't know what to do."
"It's going to be okay," says Kayla, putting her arm around Angela's shoulder. "This is really scary. And I know how much you love him. But Joe needs help. And so do you right now."
Angela takes a deep breath and wipes her eyes. "Well, I don't know what to think about Joe, but I do know that I don't want to be treated like this anymore," she says. "Kayla, will you still come with me if I go to talk to a counselor?"
"Absolutely. You don't have to make any decisions right now. Let's just talk to someone who can help you figure out what you want to do next. We can take this one step at a time."
"Angela, I'll call you tonight to see how you are," says Sara. "You know you can talk to me about this anytime. I mean it—anytime."
David hands Angela her books. "Me too, Angela. I'll be around if you want to talk," he says. "No one should ever be treated like that."
"Thanks...really. Maybe we can get together this weekend," says Angela. "I haven't seen much of any of you lately. I miss you guys. And I'd really like to talk about this some more. But first, I want to go see that counselor. C'mon, Kayla." |
