iving　up。　？Okay；　forget　it。　Next　pair。？

As　Elise　inched　herself　out　of　the　reject　ones；　Jenny　held　up　a　beautiful　pair　of　dark　rinse　flared

Seven　jeans　that　were　on　sale　and　would　be　a　major　score　if　they　fit。　She　noticed　Elise　was

wearing　light　blue　lacy　underwear　and　quickly　averted　her　eyes　so　Elise　wouldn？t　accuse　her　of

staring。

Elise　took　the　jeans；　slipped　her　feet　into　them　and　slid　them　up　around　her　hips。　？Oh　my　God。　I

can？t　believe　I　forgot　to　tell　you　this；？　she　said；　tugging　on　the　button…fly　waist。　？Before　creative

writing　I　heard　Kati　Farkas　and　Isabel　Coates　talking　about　Nate　Archibald　in　the　bathroom　at

school。　They　said　he　almost　had　to　go　tojail　because　he　was　caught　dealing　to　some

twelve…year…olds　in　the　park。　His　dad　had　to　go　down　to　the　police　station　and　bail　him　out；　but　he

still　has　to　go　torehab　。　Weren？t　you　guys　kind　oftogether　for　a　little　while？　Did　you　hear　about

this？　Isn？t　it　crazy？？

Jenny　hadn？t　heard；　and　she　wasn？t　quite　sure　how　she　felt　about　it。　Nate　had　pretty　much　blown

her　off　pletely　in　the　end；　brushing　her　away　like　a　pesky　fly；　so　she　guessed　he？d　gotten　what

he　deserved。　Besides；　Nate　seemed　like　the　type　of　guy　who　would　always　rise　to　the　top　again；

unscathed。　Why　should　she　waste　any　more　time　worrying　or　eventhinking　about　him？　She

watched　Elise　struggle　with　the　copper　buttons　on　her　jeans。　They　were　perfect　everywhere　else；

but　the　waist　was　so　tight　there　was　no　way　she？d　ever　be　able　to　sit　down　in　them。　？Why　don？t

you　just　try　the　next　size　up？？

Elise　squinted　her　hard　blue　eyes　stubbornly。　She　did　that　kind　of　a　lot；　causing　Jenny　to　wonder

if　she　needed　glasses。　？Because；