The Trouble with Friendship

🎤 Twenty-Three: The Aunt Wants What It Wants

Keya cocked her head to the side. "What mistakes? I'm perfect."

Puh-lease. "Are you forgetting your performance in The Jungle Book? That note went so off-key I'm surprised windows didn't shatter. But seriously, what's going on?"

Keya hesitated. "How are things with you and Alex?"

Her face hardened under a veil of suspicion. "Fine. Why? You want to steal another best friend?"

"I didn't steal Cleo. People are not possessions."

"No, they're not, but you can't deny that whenever you're around my friends start to disappear from my life."

"Maybe they're tired of being under your thumb and want a REAL best friend."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"That just because you're the star of a play doesn't make you the star of life."

That was ridiculous. Alexx didn't think she anyone's star but her own. "You don't know what you're talking about." She shook her head. "Look, I don't want to get into a fight with you. I'm more than happy with you being in drama club and far away from Playhouse, but don't think for one second that Alex chose you over me. You might be working with her, but she's my best friend, and I'm hers."

Keya studied her for a beat, something working behind those brown eyes. She must have made up her mind about whatever was bothering her because she slowly released her breath as her shoulders sagged. "So you're not the one," she murmured.

Alexx wanted to grab Keya and shake her. Hard. "The one what? What's going on? And stop speaking in code."

Keya looked around and then leaned in. "Something weird is happening at drama club."

"Besides the fact that you don't have enough people to pull off the play?"

Keya jerked back as her jaw fell open.

Alexx nodded. "Yeah, I know all about it, and no, Alex didn't tell me. "You're not the only one that's been asking around. So, what's happening with your club?"

Keya played with the ends of her hair, curling them around her finger. "Someone's been sabotaging the costumes I store in Mrs. Piccola's classroom."

"Sabotage? How?"

"I checked on them the other day, and they were all cut up. All of Alex's work—gone."

"Are you serious? And she knows all of this?" Alexx exclaimed, a thread of hurt woven into her words. She hadn't said a word.

Keya vehemently shook her head. "She doesn't know. I didn't want her to worry. She already has an overflowing workload. I didn't want to make it worse."

That was dumb. "So what? You're just going to throw it on her at the last minute?" That was worse in Alexx's opinion. At least if Keya told her now, Alex would know how much work she actually had to do and plan accordingly. Although, knowing Alex, she'd just wing it like always. "That's not fair to her. You need to tell her."

Keya's shoulder slumped as her chin dropped to her chest. "I know, but..." She let out a low groan. "Alex has been picking up a lot of slack for me. I don't want to put more on her."

"What about Cleo? Why isn't she picking up the slack?" The Cleo she knew was no couch potato. She worked hard.

"She is!" Keya raked her hands through black locks. "She's doing more than her fair share. There's just so much—" She stopped, realizing who she was talking to. "Let's just say there's a lot to do."