Riley was sitting at her desk working on the teacher’s math problems when she heard a whisper from the corner of the room.

“Hey, Peter,” Dylan whispered, “tell Riley that you’ll let her hold your hand if she eats a tide pod.” Riley’s cheeks burned in humiliation. It had been bad enough that her crush was only one-sided and that Peter had turned her down, but Dylan’s words stung, ripping the scab off her newly-mended heart. Gritting her teeth, she tried to focus on math again, but Dylan’s words repeated themselves in her brain. She didn’t hear Peter’s response, and she didn’t want to know it either.

At lunch, Riley met up with her friend Kat. “Hey, Riles.”

“Hey.”

Kat frowned, “Why the long face? Did something happen?” After glancing around to make sure neither of the boys were within earshot, Riley repeated what she had overheard in class that day. “WHAT?! He said THAT?! How dare he!”

“Kat, please, we don’t need to make a fuss about—“

“Yes we do! I’m going over there to give Dylan a piece of my mind!”

“No-“ Riley tried to protest, but it was too late. Kat was already marching over to the table where Dylan and Peter were sitting. Riley slumped in her chair and hid her burning face in her hands. Could this day get any worse?