At school Christie was the center of the in-crowd, and they almost never mixed with the black kids. “Nothing, much. I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do.” Christie hesitated then looked at her hands as she said, “I sorta thought you were going to marry Richie.”
Did she want Richie? Was that it?
“No. I’m not getting married. I don’t think I’ll ever get married.”
Why did she say that? Becky didn’t want Miss Popular knowing she wasn’t wanted; even if she didn’t want any of the guys.
“Really? I… Me either. I mean, it’s such a dead end, you know?”
Christie started to relax. “I didn’t want that and it seems like everybody pushes you to do it, all the guys, my friends, my family… I just don’t want to. I think it’s great that you don’t want it either. It’s like a validation of what I’m feeling, y’know?”
“You don’t need validation from me!” Becky snapped. It made her angry, whatever little game Christie was playing was not something she wanted any part of. She looked around for the rest of Christie crowd, wondering when the laughter would start, wondering what the joke was.
“I know.” Christie nodded, “But I really like having it. You’re always so together, so self-contained. I really envy that. I’ve always felt like I had to perform for people, like I was always on. I can’t tell you how often I wanted to flip them all off. I used to notice the books you read and I’d go check them out of the library and, you know, they were almost always things I enjoyed. I usually wanted to be reading your books when I was supposed to be doing committee things. I..”