Chapter 3

"Kellie doesn't want to do your songs," Greg told me later that evening. "I thought that one was just a good story. Is it about her, too?"

I shrugged.

"If Kellie doesn't want to do them, we won't do them," I said. "It was what I worried about from the very beginning. There are things I wrote that only I know about. But there are other things that others may recognize."

Greg looked at me.

"Did she really lie to you to go out with some other guy?" he wondered. "That doesn't sound like Kellie."

I shrugged again. If it works, stick with it. That's my motto.

"You know what the song is about," I said. "You saw how she reacted. I will let you draw your own conclusions."

"Damn," he said sadly. "How could you even be friends with her after that?"

"Why not?" I asked. "She made it clear that she didn't think of me in that way. I doubt she even looked at our plans as a date."

I laughed bitterly.

"If she only knew how much courage it took me to ask her," I said.

Greg nodded.

"So, what's Plan B?" I asked. "With the songs."

Greg was still looking at the table.

"Can you write something else?" he asked. "Something that, you know, won't piss Kellie off?"

"Can I or will I?" I replied. "They have two separate answers. Yes, I probably can sit down and write something else. But I am unwilling to expend that much time and energy because Kellie's feelings are hurt. I've already given up what passes as a social life for the past month. Now you want me to donate more time to a project that really isn't mine? Sorry, Greg. You know I would do about anything for you. I hope I've proven that in the past few weeks. But even if I write something, you'll have to take the time to compose the score. How long did that take you?"

Greg groaned.

"We were hoping you might be able to write something that goes with the scores I've already done," he said.

"We?" I wondered.

He sighed.

"No," he said with his head up. "She was wondering that."

"If it was as easy as she makes it sound, songwriters would not be paid for their work," I replied. "Not that I've been paid for my work. But, you get my point."

"I hope," I added.

He patted me on the arm and left my room. I returned to my Robert Ludlum novel.

Carrie was the next one to stop by.

"Tee, I had no idea," she said. "And I doubt Kellie did, either. Greg never said anything. I thought you were buds with her like you are with me."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Really?" I asked. "I mean, I tried not to fall all over myself. But, in all the time you've known me, has there ever been a time I didn't eventually relent to whatever Kellie wanted?"

Carrie looked pensive, as if she were searching her memories.

"No," she said. "I can't really think of anything."

"And have there been times I have refused to do something for you or Greg?" I asked.

She laughed out loud.

"Dozens," she said, "possibly bordering on hundreds. I guess I should have known. But why didn't you say anything to her?"

"What do you think that poem was about?" I asked her.

"Oh, shit," she said and covered her mouth. "You asked her to go out with you. She said yes and then went out with someone else."

Her eyes went wide as she replayed the lyrics in her head.

"She lied to you about it," she said incredulously. "She did, didn't she?"

"She told me she was grounded," I replied. "We were supposed to go to the carnival. Instead she canceled and went to the movies with another guy. So I guess the fact that she felt the need to lie to me disproves your theory about her never suspecting."

"I guess you're right," she agreed. Her eyes fell on mine again.

"And she only found out today that you knew all along she lied to you," she added. "On another topic, I can understand what Greg was saying about your poems. Even with Kellie singing it, I could feel the disappointment and then the betrayal. It was moving. Now that I know it is a true story, it's even more moving. Damn, how did you sit down and put what you were feeling into words?"

I was back to the shrug.

"What other choice did I have?" I said. "I didn't want to keep it bottled up. And I didn't want to put you and Greg in an awkward position by asking you to choose sides. So, I wrote about what I was feeling and moved on."

"Really?" Carrie asked.

"Really," I stated. "I got the hints Kellie was dropping about homecoming. And I knew she expected me to follow along like I always do. But I'm done going places with Kellie 'as friends.' Since the day I saw her and Dalton holding hands coming out of the movies, I have never gone anywhere alone with Kellie. I take that back, I am alone with her in the car for eight minutes a day on the way to and from school. I knew you and Greg wanted to go solo that night. So, I went with Marcy."

Carrie covered her mouth with her hands.

"I've got to quit being so self-involved," she said. "I had honestly never noticed. Christ. Now Kellie asking about all of us going together makes sense. I guess she must have suspected that you knew she lied to you."

"Probably not," I said. "I don't think she is any more interested in being alone with me than I am with her. She is my friend mostly because I am friends with Greg and, by extension, you. If you and Greg were to break up, I would make no effort to spend time with Kellie and she would make no effort to spend time with me. I think that much should be obvious."