“I’m so happy for you, Gillian.” Lishia grinned. “Seriously, that’s the best news of the day.”
“Thanks . . . I mean for everything.”
Now Megan came over to join them, and Gillian said she couldn’t go for coffee, but Lishia explained why.
“That’s so cool,” Megan told Gillian. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks.” Gillian grinned.
“Make us proud,” Lishia said.
“Too bad we don’t have a good basketball team to cheer for,” Megan teased.
“Doesn’t matter.” Gillian looped the strap of her duffle bag over a shoulder. “I’m just happy to be cheering again.”
As they walked to the car, Megan asked Lishia if she was worried about Riley coming after her now. “I mean, she must be pretty furious.”
“I’m sure she’s mad at me, but I’m not too concerned.” Lishia shrugged, then smiled. “For starters, I have some pretty good friends helping to watch my back.”
“But besides that . . .” Lishia sighed. “I know God’s looking out for me.”
Megan nodded but still looked a little concerned.
“And I think that once Riley realizes it’s really over—you know, when it sinks in that she can’t control me or manipulate others—well, she’ll probably want to keep a low profile for a while. Don’t you think?”
“I hope so. And it’ll probably help that she’s suspended from school for a few days. That’ll give her a chance to cool off. But I don’t know, Lish, I wouldn’t put much of anything past that girl.”
“No, me neither. I guess I learned that lesson the hard way.” Lishia pulled on her coat. “And as weird as this might sound, I think I learned a lot about friendship from Riley too.”
Megan looked doubtful. “How is that possible?”
“I learned that instead of looking for someone to be my best friend, I need to learn how to become a best friend myself. Because if I can’t be a best friend, I probably don’t deserve one. You know?”
Megan gave a sheepish smile. “Hey, I’m willing to give you a try . . . I mean as a best friend.”
Lishia laughed. “I’d consider that an honor.” As they got into the car, Lishia realized that it really would be an honor. Even though she’d never felt like she’d had much in common with Megan in the past, she knew that Megan was truly a good person. And Megan had stood by Lishia during some pretty hard times too. So Lishia decided that she would do this wholeheartedly. She would do everything she could to become a really good best friend to Megan. And with God (aka her very Best Friend) showing her how, she knew it could happen!
Books by Melody Carlson
* * *
Just Another Girl
Anything but Normal
Never Been Kissed
Double Take
The Jerk Magnet
The Best Friend
Allison O’Brian on Her Own, vol. 1
Devotions for Real Life
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