Thousand Dollar Friend

Chapter 20 - Cupcake Time

I undo my ponytail and pull my frizzy orange curls into a tighter ponytail as I walk to the tree where Aurora waits for me. As I approach, I see her staring frozen at the ground.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Ant on my shoe!"

I crouch at her feet, take as deep a breath as I can manage, then blow hard on her shoe. The ant flies off into the grass.

I stand back up. "It's gone!"

She smiles in relief. "Thank you for getting rid of it for me."

"No problem," I say. I pause. "Aurora, did you tell anyone I'm scared of clowns?"

She shakes her head.

"Do you think Dawn could have told anybody?"

"You'd have to ask her, but I don't think so," Aurora says. "I wasn't sure if you wanted it to be secret?"

"I would like that," I say. "Just for the four of us and Adam to know."

She smiles. "Oh, good! I guessed right!" Aurora tilts her head. "Why are you asking about it?"

I briefly summarize what happened: the clown picture, how I panicked, Beverly laughing at me, and how Adam was there for me.

"Wow. That's so horrible!" Aurora says. "And a mean thing to do! Do you know who did it?"

I shake my head. "Not really. Anyway, I'd rather think about something else. What's up with you?"

Aurora pauses. She deflates. She presses her lips together and looks at her feet.

"Still a hard time with Dawn?" I ask.

"I..." Aurora sniffs.  Suddenly her breathing becomes jerky, her shoulders shaking with pent-up sobs. "I have no idea what I did wrong!" she wails.

I blink, startled.

"I think Dawn is mad, or sad!" Aurora cries. "I don't want to be a bad friend! But Dawn doesn't want to spend time with me anymore!"

"Come here." I usher her in for a hug and I wrap my arms around her. Sobs wrack her fragile body.

"I wanna be a good friend! Not a bad friend!" says Aurora.

"I'm here," I say. "Take deep breaths. I don't think you're a bad friend."

I start rubbing her back in a gentle, rhythmic pattern. Aurora makes lots of repetitive movements. Maybe they calm her. So if I rub her back in repetitive circles, maybe it'll help her relax.

"Aurora, I really don't think it's your fault Dawn is upset," I say. "I think it's something you can't control. I didn't see you do anything wrong at the sleepover."

"I didn't?" Aurora says.

"No, you didn't! You were fine." I keep rubbing her back repetitively, hoping that the predictable motion is helping. "Remember what we learned in Communication 2 today? Sometimes, things go wrong and it's not your fault. Sometimes it's just a bad situation. Dawn has a bad situation right now. So she wants to spend more time alone."

"O-okay." Aurora sniffles. "If she wants to be on her own, I can leave her on her own."

"Just ask! She'll tell you what she needs."

Aurora steps back. She's about to wipe her nose on her sleeve, but I give her some tissues from my backpack and she uses those instead.

"Thank you, Tara. You are such a good helper."

"I'm happy to help!" I take a moment to think. Maybe both of us could use a distraction. "I have an idea. Text your dad and tell him you're coming home late."