The Faded Friendships

Near the end, she kept bringing up a girl named Elise. Said they were inseparable once, shared everything: clothes, secrets, dreams of getting out of their small town. Then Elise got the part in the school play. The lead. And the attention of a boy they’d both liked. So she told Elise’s parents she’d seen her sneaking out at night. Drinking. Lying. Said she made it sound believable enough. Elise was pulled from the show, grounded for months. “She cried on my shoulder,” she said. “I told her people were just jealous.” She never found out it was me.