Lilly nodded.
“But, Lilly…why didn’t you just run, then?”
That’s when something totally unexpected happened. Lilly’s eyes, behind the lenses of her glasses, totally filled up with tears. Next thing I knew, she was having a crying jag of her very own.
“Because there’s no way I could ever win,” she said, with a sob. “Don’t you remember how I got crushed in last year’s election? Nobody likes me. Not the way they like you, Mia. I mean, you may be a baby-licker and all, but people seem to be able to relate to you, even with the whole princess thing. NOBODY can relate to me…maybe because I’m a genius, and that’s intimidating to people, or something. I don’t know why, really. I mean, you would think people would want the smartest leader they could find, but instead, they seem perfectly content to elect total MORONS.”
I tried not to take Lilly’s calling me a moron to heart. After all, she was in the middle of a full-blown personal crisis.
“Lilly,” I said, astonishedly. “I didn’t know you thought of yourself that way. You know. As not popular.”
Lilly looked up from the detention slips she was weeping into.
“Wh-Why w-would I ever consider myself popular?” she stammered, sorrowfully. “Y-You’re the only real friend I’ve got.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “You have lots of friends. Shameeka and Ling Su and Tina—”
; Lilly started to cry harder at the mention of Tina’s name. Too late, I remembered Boris, and his new hotness.
“Oh,” I said, patting Lilly on the shoulder. “Sorry. What I meant was…Well, whatever. People DO like you, Lilly. It’s just that sometimes…”
Lilly lifted her tear-stained face.
“Wh-What?” she asked.
“Well,” I said. “Sometimes you’re kind of mean to people. Like me. With the whole baby-licker thing.”
“But you ARE a baby-licker,” Lilly pointed out.
“Yes,” I said. “But, you know, you don’t need to SAY it all the time.”
Lilly rested her chin on her knees.
“I guess not,” she said with a sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
While I had her in a conciliatory mood, I added, “And I don’t like it when you call me POG or PIT, either.”
Lilly looked at me blankly.
“Then what am I supposed to call you?”
“How about just plain Mia?”
Lilly seemed to think about this.
“But…that’s so boring,” she said.
“But it’s my name,” I pointed out.
Lilly sighed again.
“Fine,” she said. “Whatever. You have no idea how good you have it, POG. I mean, Mia.”
“Good? ME? Please!” I practically burst out laughing. “My life is TERRIBLE right now. Did you SEE what Ms. Martinez gave me on my paper?”
Lilly wiped her eyes.