The Friendship Matchmaker by Randa Abdel-Fattah

my breathing as we rushed to the line.
    I couldn’t let myself think about theconsequences of my hysterical outburst. If Nora and Juanita blabbed to the rest of the school, my reputation as the Friendship Matchmaker who
never
takes sides, who listens to
all
parties involved, would be flushed down the toilet.
    My head hurt. It had been an emotionally exhausting start to the year.
    By the time we arrived at the lunch line Lucy was paying for her food. We hovered off to the side and, when she turned around with her tray in her hand, I pounced, pushing Tanya ahead of me.
    Except I pushed a little too hard.
    Tanya collided with Lucy, sending Lucy’s chicken potpie flying down Lucy’s shirt to land in a splattered, messy heap on the ground.
    Lucy, with sauce and meat dripping down her top, looked slightly dazed and confused.
    Tanya looked like she was going to burst into tears. “I’m … so sorry, Lucy,” she whispered.
    “It’s not your fault, Tanya,” I said. “
I
pushed you.
I’m
the clumsy one. How about you go with Lucy to the bathroom and helpher clean up? Lucy, I’ll get you another chicken potpie.”
    “Um … okay …”
    “You’re going …?” Tanya whispered, her eyes wide with panic.
    She was frozen to the spot. How was I going to have a chance at finding her a best friend if she couldn’t even handle a situation where
I
was the one who looked like the idiot?
    But I wasn’t giving up.
    “You’ll be fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “You are a
great person
. Keep telling yourself that.”
    Lucy was too busy flicking bits of meat off her top with a napkin to notice our whispering.
    I pushed them away in the direction of the bathroom and joined the lunch line.
    I wondered if Emily was having as much trouble as I was. Maybe it had been a mistake to choose one of my top five Total Loners for the challenge. There was so much at stake, and here was Tanya practically hyperventilating at the thought of talking to Lucy without me as a buffer.
    To be honest I just wanted to lie down in the nurse’s office until the bell rang for us to go home.
    But you don’t earn Potts County Middle School’s official Friendship Matchmaker title by being a quitter.

    I waited outside the girls’ bathroom with a new chicken potpie for Lucy. I also got some red licorice, as it turns out Tanya and I both love it.
    I was hoping to hear Lucy and Tanya in a flurry of conversation. If Tanya was really thinking, she could have started it all off by talking about how clumsy I was. They could have had a laugh at my expense; I wouldn’t have minded at all. They could have used me as a point of unity. Lots of friendships start out that way. They were lucky I had such an understanding, compassionate heart and that I wouldn’t have been upset by it. These are the sacrifices I am willing to make in my quest to help others.
    But all I heard was a deafening silence.
    I didn’t want to go inside with food, so I called out, “Tanya? Lucy? Are you there?”
    Nothing.
    I tried again.
    “They’re not here,” said a voice. And out stepped Emily.
    I almost dropped the potpie.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked, which I admit was a stupid question because you don’t have to be a genius to figure out why somebody would need the bathroom.
    The same thought must have crossed Emily’s mind because she ignored my question. “Lucy’s gone to the basketball courts, and I saw Tanya walk off alone toward the playground.”
    I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to me that she emphasized the word “alone.”
    “Tanya seemed pretty upset. Almost crying. Is everything okay?”
    “Everything is perfectly fine, thank you very much! I don’t need you snooping around just so you can find out how I’m doing with Tanya. I don’t see Bethany paired up with anybody yet. She’s still a To—”
    I stopped myself just in time. Nobody, least of all Emily, needed to know about my Total Loner list.
    “I don’t know why you’re acting so