The other girls were beside themselves wanting to know what had gone down between Tig and Regan at lunch. Kyra kept pestering Tig about whether the two of them were finally “in” with the Bots, and Robbie kept asking Tig if she’d lost her mind and why she would even consider sitting at the Bots table for any length of time. Tig promised both of them, and Olivia and Claire, a full explanation after school. But of course, Tig didn’t trust Kyra with a full explanation of anything anymore, so she simply told her that she and Regan had buried the hatchet.
Kyra, who had hoped that Tig would be moving up the social ladder—and taking her along—was disappointed that the two of them wouldn’t be sitting with the Bots at lunch. But she wasn’t as disappointed as Tig had anticipated. Instead she recovered pretty quickly and wanted only to talk more about Milo. Same when Tig texted the relevant details about the conversation to Olivia, who quickly turned the conversation to Will. And, of course, his lack of crazy over her. Did Tig have any idea whom he might like? The answer to that increasingly tiresome question was still no.
Next, when talking to Robbie, Tig left out some of the details, such as Regan’s asking to play rhythm guitar for Pandora’s Box. No reason to get Robbie up in arms, Tig decided. Instead she told her about how Regan had pointed out Tig’s tendency to worry too much. Robbie agreed that Regan had made a good point, but she still advised Tig to watch her back. If Regan hoped to win Robbie over, it would take a while.
Only Claire got the full lowdown about Regan and Tig’s argument and resolution—well, minus the part about Regan’s not telling Will that Tig secretly liked him. Everything else, though, Tig confided in Claire. Even the part about Regan’s asking to play rhythm guitar.
“I figured it’s best not to tell Robbie about that,” Tig explained. “It would only upset her, and honestly, I don’t think there’s really any reason to be upset about it. Regan was cool when I told her no. No threats, nothing. She took it well.”
“I understand,” Claire said. “There’s a difference between keeping secrets and not telling somebody something they probably don’t need to know.”
“And you know what?” Tig said. “I’m not going to worry about it. Regan was so right about all that. I worry way too much!”
“My mum says it gives you gray hair and wrinkles,” Claire said. “That would be ever so attractive on a teenager!”
“Yeah, that’s just what I need,” said Tig. “Claire, do you think I’m doing the right thing by trusting Regan? Robbie still thinks I’ve lost it.”
“Of course there’s a chance Robbie is right,” Claire said. “But hey, if she betrays you, she betrays you. You might as well be happy in the meantime. And who knows? Maybe the betrayal won’t happen.”
“I would never admit this to Robbie,” Tig said, “but I actually kind of like Regan. More and more all the time.”
“So did I, last year,” Claire said. “You know, up until she forbade me to sing with the band. But she’s apologized for that, and now that she’s being so nice to you, too, I’m willing to give her another chance. She really can be a lot of fun.”
“It’s weird how different things are this year than last year,” Tig said. “Things change so much every year. At the beginning of sixth grade, Kyra was my best friend. Had been since we were born. I used to tell her everything. Now everything’s changed.”
“Well, a lot has happened,” Claire said. She didn’t have to say any more. Tig knew she was talking about how Kyra had betrayed her secret about not liking Paris.
“It sure has,” Tig said. “But it’s not just Kyra and me. Robbie and I aren’t as close as we used to be—not that anything’s wrong; it’s just that she spends most of her free time with Paris now And I guess that’s cool. I mean, Paris is awesome. It’s just different, that’s all.”
“On the upside,” Claire said, “you and I barely knew each other last year, and look at us now. We can talk about anything.”
“Yeah,” Tig said. “You’re right.” There was a benefit to change after all. She remembered how much she liked Claire from the get-go last year, and how sad she’d been when Regan had tried to prevent them from being friends. And now here she was, confiding everything to Claire with full confidence that Claire would understand . . . and that she could be trusted. “And weirdest of all, who would’ve ever thought that I’d get to be friends with Regan Hoffman?”
Claire laughed. “Life is funny, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But I’m not going to think too much about it. I’m just going to enjoy it, like you said. Hey, do you realize we have only one more week before the reunion gig?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can hardly wait!” Claire said.
“You’ve got a little star quality happening, did you know that?” Tig said. “I think you’re actually starting to like being up on stage.”
“Like you said,” Claire replied, “why worry when you can enjoy?”
Tig agreed. She was looking forward to the gig too—and she was determined not to worry about what could go wrong.