The Price of Friendship Read online

the homework, it will prove you have some.”

  “Won’t using your algebra book make the homework really easy.”

  “No using the book.” She took the book off the table.

  Looking at the problems, Devin realized they were the most basic of Algebra problems. Out of the corner of his eye he realized the rest of the cafeteria was now just staring at them. “So, why is everyone staring over here?” he asked. “Do they really find you that interesting?”

  “Maybe they just find you that weird?”

  Even if she was being sarcastic, she could be right, he thought. If I do her homework, even if she is using me, people will see her letting me sit here for a while. That might help me make friends with other people. The math homework mostly consisted of easy problems like finding the answer for x in a basic adding fractions formula. She doesn’t have to know I was already in geometry at my last school, he thought.

  Devin went to work. Even though the problems were easy, the quantity of problems made the homework slow to complete. He said, “done,” just as the bell rang to end lunch. She collected her things and walked away.

  “I’ll get back to you,” she said while walking away. Devin looked back at Larry’s table and realized he didn’t eat his lunch.

  It was two classes before Devin saw her again. He walked into gym class and saw her standing on the sidelines of the basketball court with all the other students. She was facing away from him when he walked up. “So, whens my next challenge?” he asked.

  “Now.”

  “What?” he asked. He turned to see the gym teacher wheeling up a rack with rubber balls.

  “We always play dodge ball in gym. The teams are always even, but now that you’re in the class there are 15 people, so someone has to sit out. I told the teacher my leg hurts, so it’s going to be me. Your next challenge is bravery.”

  “And what exactly is my challenge?” he asked.

  “To play dodgeball.”

  “Why?”

  “You don’t have to be a star athlete, but I can’t be seen hanging out with the school wimp, who cowers in the corner during dodgeball.

  “Great,” he mutters to himself. The confidence Devin had from the previous challenge washed away at the thought of embarrassing himself during gym class.

  The thought that he didn’t have to be a star kept running through his mind. To prove his bravery, he stayed at the front of his teams half of the gym at all times. He found that if he moved side-to-side enough, people would miss or not throw at him at all. Dodge balls whizzed passed him as he sprinted from one end to the other.

  Larry was on his team. The only time he stopped his running was to talk to him. “What did you guys talk about at lunch?” Larry asked.”

  “How I could become friends with her.”

  “You’re going to become friends with her! How?” Larry and Devin continued to stand still in the front to have their conversation.

  “Apparently, by proving she will be the dominant one in the friendship.”

  “What?”

  “She wants me to complete three challenges.”

  “Oh, yeah. How’s it going?” A ball hit Larry in the chest, sending him to the ground.

  “Better than if you were doing the challenges,” quipped Devin.

  Devin left Larry to continue sprinting side to side. He realized he had used his strategy too long when the last of his teammates was knocked out by a ball to the chest. The other team still had four left. As the last remaining person, the coach called for the other team to move up. They could now go up to the free throw line to throw at Devin. He continued his strategy of running side to side until seeing her on the sideline watching him stopped him in his tracks.

  The word bravery flashed through his mind. He turned to face the other team. Each of the four had a ball in their hands. They all went to throw at the same time. Devin instinctively dropped to the floor and inadvertently dodged every ball they threw. Picking up two of the balls. He threw one at the legs of the boy on the left and got a hit. He threw another at the boy in the middle. It was almost caught, but the ball fell out of the boy’s hands to make him out.

  One of the two remaining picked up a ball and threw it, only to have it be caught by Devin. He immediately threw it at the last member of the opposing team as he bent down to pick up a ball. The boy was struck in the rear for a Devin victory. The sidelines erupted into cheers. Looking over at the sidelines, he saw she wasn’t smiling, but she did give a small golf clap. It didn’t last long. She made her way for the girl’s locker room before everyone else.

  Devin went to the boy’s locker room to change. He was surprised when he came out of the locker room and found her waiting for him. She cut him off before he could say anything. “Meet me at the animal shelter on Main Street after school.” She left before he could ask why.

  She was waiting for him in a chair when he entered the animal shelter. “So, what am I doing here?” he asked.

  “The third challenge, of course.”

  “So, what is it?”

  She got up from her chair. “My mom makes me volunteer here. For your third and final challenge, go around town, and collect stray animals and bring them back. Prove you have heart.” She began to wave her finger at him. “And you can’t just bring back one or two. You have to bring back enough strays to impress me. Only one or two and you fail.”

  “What about animal control?” he asked.

  “This is a small town. We don’t have animal control. Hence, third challenge.”

  Devin rushed out the door. He didn’t want this to take all night. His parents weren’t overly strict, but it wouldn’t be too long before they expected him home. Devin ran up and down the streets looking for animals. Not knowing the town well, he didn’t want to risk getting lost by wandering too far.

  His heart skipped a beat every time he saw a pet, but they always had an owner. He built up a sweat from running. He couldn’t find any strays. He had already spent two hours searching the areas around the animal shelter. Maybe if I ask someone at the shelter where they usually find strays, I can speed this up, he thought.

  Walking back into the shelter, he didn’t see her anywhere. An adult women sitting behind the counter seemed nice enough to ask. Her nametag said her name was Ruth. “Hi, Ruth. Where does the shelter usually get there strays from?” he asked.

  Ruth gave him a consolidating smile. “Oh, honey. There are never any strays around here. We get most of our animals from drop offs.”

  So she wanted me to fail this challenge, he thought. An idea immediately crossed his mind. “Is it true you put the pets down if you can’t find them a home?” he asked.

  “Yeah, honey, it’s policy.”

  “Do you have any animals that are—you know—that are due?”

  Her smile faded to a grin. “It’s been slow. People aren’t adopting right now. We have five pets that will probably be put down this week—three dogs and two cats.”

  Devin’s eyes widened to accompany his smile. “I was thinking—you know, my aunt Kathy loves pets. She adopts all the time. She has a huge backyard. I’ll give her a call.” He put his hands on the counter and leaned in close. “If she comes down here, could she have all five pets?

  Ruth’s smile returned. “Why, that would be great.” They both smiled at each other.

  The next day he didn’t see her at all in the morning. Walking into the lunchroom, he was less nervous than the day before. Looking around, he didn’t see her at her usual table. After getting his tray, he decided it would be best if he sat alone at his own table. He kept his head down as he started to eat. To his surprise, when he looked up, he saw her coming towards him with her own tray. He thought she would stop at her table, but she walked right by it. She had come over to his table and sat down.

  “I heard what you did at the shelter yesterday,” she said.

  “Does that mean I passed your challenges?” Devin asked.

  She pointed her spoon at
him. “Just because we’re friends now, don’t think that means we’re going to be good friends.”

  Devin started to smile. “So, we're friends now?”

  She put her spoon back on her tray. “Don’t rub it in.”

  Devin’s smile widened and he directed it at her. She started to blush, but she quickly tried to hide it by ducking down to pull out her reading book from her backpack. Devin turned around to look behind him. Larry had taken his seat at his table. “Hey, can my friend Larry sit with us?” he asked.

  She looked over his shoulder at Larry.

  “I guess,” she answered. “He can be cool by association. Besides, I could use someone to do my algebra homework now that we’re friends.

  Devin leaned in and folded his hands. “So, now that we’re friends.” He paused for affect. “What’s your name?

  “Molly,” she answered. It’s nice to be friends with you. She extended her right hand for a handshake. Devin shook it and smiled.

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