I looked away.
“I’m just thinking of you,” she whined.
Yeah, right, I thought. You just want something to jazz up your boring life.
Was there really such a thing as a best friend, or was that just another of life’s illusions? I was surely an expert on why best friends could be better than relatives, but the real reason for why best friends did things was often not easy to understand. Maybe we should say “the best possible friend” instead of “best friend.”
“I went to my sister’s hotel, and I left her a message,” I said after a long pause.
“You did? When?”
“About a month ago. I went in just as she was getting into the elevator.”
“Did she see you? Speak to you?” she quickly asked.
“No, but I went directly to the desk clerk and told him I had just seen her, so there was no point in his denying her existence.”
“Wow.”
“So, you see, there is no reason for you to go there anymore, Chastity. In fact, you’d be embarrassing my mother and me if you ever did speak to her, understand? It would be like begging her to give us her time.”
“You left her a letter?”
“It was more than a letter. She once gave me a charm bracelet, and I put it in the envelope. I told the desk clerk I was her sister, too. I hoped to stir up some feelings in her.”
“And she hasn’t responded, called or anything?”
“No. Nothing.”
“That’s horrible,” she said, tucking in her lips and widening her eyes. “I know what you should do now.”
“Really, what?”
“You should leave her another message. ‘Go to hell.’ ”
“And what good would that do?”
“Self-satisfaction. You would know that she knew she didn’t get away with it.”
“Get away with it? I’m not out for revenge. This isn’t some sort of childish game. She’s my sister, my mother’s daughter.” I shook my head. “I’m really sorry I ever told you about her.”
“That’s not fair,” Chastity whined. “You should always tell me your secrets. I tell you everything.”
I stared at her. At this moment, I felt as if I had left her so far behind on the maturity road that she was less than a dot. Why was I wasting any more time with her?
I looked at the notes for our upcoming test and then flung them across the room.
Chastity jumped in her seat. “Why did you do that?”
“I don’t care about this test. Just go home to study yourself. You don’t have to fail because of me. Go on!” I shouted at her.
She was too stunned to move.
“Get out!” I screamed, and she rose.
“All right, all right. You are so weird now. I know I should be sympathetic, but I can take just so much, too, you know,” she said, tears making her eyes glisten. “I have feelings just like you.”
I turned my back on her.