Tig seethed the rest of the morning. By algebra class, she was still ready to blow.
“Did you get written up for leaving the gym this morning?” Regan asked.
“No,” said Tig. “Coach found me and gave me a warning, though.”
“You’re lucky,” said Regan. “Hey, what’s with you getting all rebel all of a sudden?”
“It was either leave the gym without permission or commit homicide,” Tig said.
“Fight with your cousin?”
“You could say that, yes.”
“Can’t say I blame you,” Regan said. “I’ve never liked her.”
“Trust me, I know,” said Tig. “She’s been trying to get you to like her since elementary school.” Tig let out a short laugh, then got serious. “Why is it that you’ve never liked her? I mean, she has tried so hard. She’s done everything short of worship you.”
“That’s just it,” Regan said. “She’s a suck-up. She doesn’t like me. She just likes my status. She thinks that if she’s friends with me, she’ll be popular.”
“Isn’t that how it works?” asked Tig.
Regan smiled. “Yeah, I guess so. Popularity by association. But who wants friends like that?”
“You have worse friends than Kyra,” Tig said. “Haley’s about as annoying as they come.”
“No argument there,” said Regan. “Haley can be a brat sometimes, but Haley’s got something Kyra doesn’t. Loyalty. The way Kyra came to me and offered to turn on you so she could get in with our group? Haley would never do something like that. Neither would Sofia.”
Tig thought about this for a moment and decided Regan probably had a point. “She’s my cousin, you know? That makes it so much worse.”
“I’m sure,” said Regan. “So what’d she do this time?”
As Tig told Regan the whole story about the gig and the way Kyra had acted that morning, it occurred to Tig that she was confiding in Regan Hoffman, of all people. Regan Hoffman, her biggest enemy from seventh grade. What was she thinking? Regan could not—should not—be trusted. Ever. But talking to her now didn’t feel that way to Tig at all.
Will came in just before the bell rang. “Somebody I know’s got some business to handle,” he said. He grinned, making Tig’s heart ache.
“What do you know about it?” Tig asked. It wasn’t a smart comment but an actual question.
“Kyra’s already told Olivia about it and Olivia’s already told me,” Will said. “According to Kyra, you bit her head off for no reason.”
Typical, Tig thought.
Will continued. “Now Olivia’s worried the show is off, and she’s dying to play it. You’d think sixty bucks was a million dollars. It would be a shame to cancel, though. I like your set list—I looked up all the songs. The drum solo at the bridge of ‘For Your Love’ is pretty sweet. You’re going to nail it!” Then Will started singing the chorus, where the guy lists all the poetic and beautiful things he would give in exchange for the girl’s love. As he sang, his eyes locked onto Tig’s. She felt that electric shock that was by now so familiar, and forced herself to look away.
“It’s not my fault if the show is off,” Tig said abruptly.
Will stopped singing and shook his head. “Girls!”
“You know what you ought to do?” said Regan. “Just get her to play the one gig and then worry about whether you want to maintain the friendship. It sounds like this performance is pretty important to you and the other girls. Don’t let Kyra ruin it for you.”
“You’re forgetting one major roadblock,” said Tig. “Kyra’s holding the cards. She’s not going to agree to play even one song unless I kiss her rear end.”
“Sure she will,” said Regan.
“What makes you say so?”
“Because I’ll tell her to,” said Regan. “She’ll do anything I say.”
Tig’s mouth fell open. “You’d do that?”
“Of course,” Regan said. “What are friends for?”
Friends? Regan Hoffman and Tig Ripley were now friends?