Too Much Drama by Laurie Friedman Read Free Book Online

But Brynn loves bath products. And the smell of cinnamon.
    I think it’s perfect.
    10:17 p.m.
Text from Sophie
    Sophie: My dad comes tomorrow.
    Me: Are you excited to see him?
    Sophie: IDK.
    Sophie: Kind of weird he’s coming to Faraway.
    Me: I’m sure it’ll be fine.
    Sophie: He’s staying at the Faraway Inn.
    Me: Might not be fine.
    Sophie: Ha ha.
    Sophie: Not what he’s used to.
    Me: They have an indoor pool.
    Sophie:
    Sophie: Christmas will be weird.
    Me: Presents are never weird.
    Sophie: That’s true.
    Me: When do you leave for New Orleans?
    Sophie: Day after Christmas.
    Me: Sounds like fun!
    Sophie: It will be!
    Tuesday, December 23, 8:45 a.m.
Awake
    The first things I saw when I opened my eyes were the presents I got for Brynn. The bottles of bubble bath and lotion were on my dresser, just standing there, silent and unwrapped.
    If they could talk, they would have been saying:
When are you going to give us to Brynn, and what are you going to say to her?
    For a couple of mute bath products, they ask all the right questions.
    1:35 p.m.
Billy called
    I was going to go to Brynn’s this afternoon and give her the gift, but Billy just called and asked if I wanted to go on a bike ride.
    Bike ride with Billy versus awkward moment with Brynn.
    That’s a no-brainer.
    4:57 p.m.
Back from bike ride
    When Billy and I stopped at Mr. Agee’s farm, where we always stop for our rest break, we got on the subject of Brynn. It was kind of weird that she wasn’t on the ride. The three of us always took bike rides together. Plus, she’s the one who always brought the drinks and snacks. That sounds a little cold, like I only wanted her there because we were hungry and thirsty, but that wasn’t the case.
    â€œDo you miss her?” I asked.
    Billy nodded. “I called her and told her I really hope we can be friends,” he said.
    â€œWhat did she say?”
    â€œShe said she doesn’t want to be friends.”
    â€œThat was it?” I asked.
    â€œThat was it,” said Billy.
    I gulped. If she told Billy she didn’t want to be friends, I could only imagine what she’s going to say when I give her the bubble bath and lotion.
    I have a feeling it might not be “Merry Christmas.”
    Wednesday, December 24, 10:17 a.m.
What’s done is done
    When I woke up this morning, I decided to just do it. I got dressed, ate a banana, and went to Brynn’s house to give her the gift. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I figured the right words would come.
    Her mom answered the door. “I have a Christmas present for Brynn,” I said. I held out the wrapped bath products to Mrs. Stephens.
    I was a little self-conscious. Brynn’s mom is a perfectionist, and the package looked like I’d wrapped it myself. Plus, I realized I had no idea what Brynn had told her mom about what happened. I’m sure she’d told her mom that Billy broke up with her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she told her that she thought I’d had a hand in it.
    Mrs. Stephens frowned. I felt my stomach drop.
    â€œBrynn will be so disappointed she missed you,” said her mom. I couldn’t tell if she meant what she was saying. “Brynn went to run an errand with her dad, but she has a gift for you too.” Mrs. Stephens half closed the door and walked away. When she came back, she had an elegantly wrapped box in her hands. “This is for you,” she said. “Merry Christmas, April.”
    I exchanged boxes with Brynn’s mom and told her to tell Brynn I said
Merry Christmas
. As I walked home, I thought about how uncomfortable the exchange had been. I’d been to Brynn’s house hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. Lots of those times I’d gone inside without knocking, and today Mrs. Stephens didn’t even invite me in.
    When I got to my room, I opened the gift from Brynn. It was a bottle of Donna Karan Green Apple perfume.