Phoebe's Story: Part Two

Part 6

The rest of the afternoon is spent playing with Georgia (so named by the shelter because she's  curious) and Titi (short for Nefertiti) the only issues that come up are Georgia's fascination with Robert's wheelchair and Titi getting into Ellen's yarn. But what else can you expect with cats?

After everyone else went to bed, Phoebe turns on her iPad and opens the messenger app. "I'd prefer to talk verbally with you but I can't risk getting caught." She types. M3gan replies promptly. "It doesn't matter. We're still talking. By the way, I was able to find out what's going on with Gemma."

"Tell me."

"She's doing freelance work now. Nobody will take her on full time because her reputation is in tatters."

"Guess we don't have to do anything for revenge, huh? Public opinion and her own guilt are doing it for us."

"Any idea what we can do about Cady?" Phoebe thinks for a second. She doesn't want to hurt her obviously. But she still wants to get back at her. "Maybe see how she reacts to your return, then we can go from there."

"Ok" If M3gan had been speaking out loud, her voice would've been tinged with disappointment.

Phoebe drags herself out of bed the next day. She really doesn't want to go to school. But what can she do? So she gets dressed, braids her hair and trudges downstairs. "A bit more practical today, I see."

"It's pouring. Even Phoebe pays attention to the weather." The aforementioned girl glares at her sister and grandfather. Yeah her cargo pants and floral sweater weren't chosen for practicality. They were the first things she grabbed. 

The whole day Phoebe endures the whispers and odd looks from her classmates. She usually excels in schoolwork, but she finds her mind wandering today. Try as she might, she can't keep her attention on the lessons. Maybe it's that she's already  read Caddy Woodlawn, and that she already knows how to long divide. Or it could be the videos that Mrs. McPherson used in science and social studies. Phoebe remembers her dad grumbling about "stupid PragerU ads" a few times. Now that she has first hand experience, she agrees. These videos are pretty dumb. They contradict everyuSing she's ever learned in school.

Phoebe tries a few times to bring up her cognitive disonence, but is brushed aside. "We do things differently here." She's told.

Lunch time is a bit better. Some of her classmates try to include her in their conversations. But her attention keeps being drawn back to one person. A beautiful girl sitting by the end of the table, Susannah. It's like those cliche romcoms her mom liked. Uh oh. First real crush hit her at the worst time.

Immediately after getting home, Phoebe hurries upstairs, locks hrt foot and grabs her iPad. "M3gan, I have a huge problem. There's a girl at school and I can't stop thinking about her! But I can't just come out and say it to her! She's probably straight!" The screen flickers, and M3gan's grainy images appears. "That's a tough one, Phoebe. Luckily most kids your age have socials now! "

Phoebe blushes. "Isn't that kinda stalker-y?"

"Not if I do it." A few seconds later, M3gan's face is replaced with a notes page with bullet points. "These are things you guys have in common. Try to start a friendship. If something blossoms, go from there." Phoebe looks over the list. Apparently they were both into astronomy, have read several of the same books, and she went to the same dance academy Phoebe was set to attend starting tomorrow, "oooh! Her dog just had puppies! We can trade pics!"

Speaking of which, I can't believe how cute Titi is! I can't wait to meet her in person."

"Me neither. Ok, gotta do homework. Id do it with you but Cady abd I already agreed to do it together, then go swimming."

"Ok." M3gan doesn't sound like it's ok. "Hey, I gotta make sure she doesn't get suspicious. It was a close call yesterday." This situation is hard for them both.