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listened.
    “Are you ready for midterms?” I asked.
    Her head jerked around. She leaned over and dug into her backpack, which she took everywhere with her. Once she even took it to a water park with my family. We had to get a separate locker just for her.
    Without saying a word, she pulled out her notebook and set it on her lap. My comment about midterms had reminded her to study. That was good news because it meant she was actually responding to something I’d said, even if it wasn’t to say a word. But it was bad news because it meant she planned to study the whole way there.
    Studying? Really? The ride to Four Cedars was more than an hour. If she studied the whole way, I’d have no one to talk to. I needed someone to talk to even if she would never say a word back.
    I looked at Syd and Jess in front of me, their heads pressed together as they whispered and giggled. I wanted to be up there, laughing along with them. No, scratch that. I wanted to laugh and whisper with my BFF. I just had to find a way to get back to the great friendship we’d once had without gossiping.
    The idea came to me as I watched her do mathematical formulas in the left column of the page of her notebook. It wasn’t my first choice of things to talk about, but it would make her happy.
    “We could talk about your bedroom,” I tried. It was a sad attempt to get her to talk to me, I knew.
    Her hand completely paused. She’d heard me. She was listening. I continued.
    “This is the perfect chance to go over our plans,” I said. “You know. Your interior design project.”
    She started writing again. I took that as a sign she’d heard me.
    “Pssst.”
    The sound came from just behind me as I was in the middle of coming up with a way to get through to Vi. I was sure the noise wasn’t for me, but I couldn’t keep myself from turning around.
    I saw Kelsey O’Dell standing in the aisle, looking at me, Kelsey, the girl I’d been gossiping about with my friends before Vi banned me from gossiping.
    “Can you come back here?” Kelsey asked.
    Kelsey and I hadn’t spoken since third grade, although I’d certainly said plenty about her. So if she wanted me to move to the back of the bus, I could only assume I was in trouble for something.
    “Excuse me,” I said to Vi. She didn’t even look up, but I still felt like I should excuse myself. I would have felt really bad if she’d kept talking to me when my attention was onKelsey. She was drawing what her bedroom would look like with all her furniture rearranged, which meant she’d been listening to me.
    I got up and headed after Kelsey, moving as quickly as I could to avoid being caught moving around by the driver. I had a bad feeling about this, but what could I do?
    Kelsey wasn’t all the way at the back of the bus. Just seven rows behind us, actually. She motioned for me to sit down next to her as she slid onto the seat. I hoped this didn’t mean we were settling in for a long conversation.
    “What do you know about Sarah Dooley and Trevor Finn?” Kelsey asked.
    I don’t know why I was surprised. This should have been exactly what I expected her to say. If Sarah and Trevor were still a solid couple, she’d have nothing to worry about. If, however, they were having trouble, it might start a chain reaction that went all the way down to Kelsey. If Sarah was free, she might finally realize Aiden liked her and like him back, at which point Aiden’s whole thing about maybe liking Kelsey would be over. And Kelsey would have a good reason to be mad at Emma.
    Just like Vi would have a good reason to be mad at me if Travis ended up with someone else.
    So in this situation, Kelsey was Vi. I had to talk to herthe way I’d want someone to talk to Vi. I had to get her to be not mad at Emma. And I had to do it without gossiping.
    Yeah, that would be a challenge.
    I took a deep breath and plunged in. “Emma’s your best friend, right?” I asked.
    That wasn’t gossip. It was a fact. Plus, it was