BESS

I became best friends with Nancy Drew because I knew if I didn't I would hate her guts.

We met in kindergarten, first day. She was so cute. Her hair in two braids, already missing one of her front teeth. She had on a pale blue gingham dress, kinda like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (my favourite movie) but most of all she was thin.

Even then I was chubby and my first day of school was not good because of it. Before I even started class Marky Williams pushed me and I fell onto the cement tarmac and ripped my tights. Then he called me a piggy. George decked him and we all got sent to the office. Before class even started. Aunty Zoey got called about George, Marky's mom got called about him, and I was sent to the nurse's office.

Nurse Gaines was not what you would call the "nurturing" type and picked the gravel out of my knee without talking and with the ruthless efficiency of a drill sergeant, all while tears streamed down my face. In fact she said nothing to me until alcohol burned my knee and I whimpered. She stared down her sharp nose at me and said, "if you lost some weight the gravel wouldn't be stuck in so bad".

By the time Nurse "Pain-es" was done with me I was thoroughly miserable. I was also late for the start of class. Miss O'Gallagher, the pretty receptionist, walked me to class, tears still streaming down my face. When I walked in the whole class went silent and looked up at me. Then Marky pointed and yelled, "She has poop on her leg!" pointing at the iodine stain that showed around my bandage. Everyone laughed, I started to cry even harder.

Mr. Donnelly stood up, calmly staring at Marky and told Miss O'Gallagher to take him to the office to call his mother again. Then he turned to me and motioned towards the group, "You must be Bess Marvin, come sit down."

Slowly, head tucked close to my chin, I approached the group and sought out George but there was no room to sit near her. I turned around looking for someone to sit next too and as I did several of the boys pushed their noses up at me and snorted like pigs. Apparently, Marky had told his friends what had happened. My lips started to tremble when Mr. Donnelly put his hand on my shoulder and gently said, "Why don't you sit next to Nancy," pointing at the redhead.

Nancy smiled at me and jealousy snaked through my body. She looked like Dorothy. She was thin. And no one was making fun of her. As I sat down next to her I wiped my eyes with my sleeve, covertly (at least covertly in my mind) staring at her, hating her.

Mr. Donnelly returned to the front of the class and, clapping his hands, cheerfully babbled, "Okay everyone turn to the person right next to you and you are going to tell them your name, favourite colour, and favourite animal."

Since I was sitting of the outside of the circle I only had one companion, Nancy. Turning I looked at her and, voice still wavering from tears, croaked, "Hi I'm Bess!"

"Hi Bess! I'm Nancy! Is that Toto?"

I looked down at my pinafore at the present my mom had given me, a little enamel pin of Toto, Dorothy's dog.

"Yeah, it is. He's my favourite! My mom gave me it as a present this morning!"

"Cool!" exclaimed Nancy. "My daddy gave me this dress so I can be like Dorothy!"

"It is so pretty!" I babbled, already growing to like the girl I had hated moments before. "Mom and dad got me this," I motioned at the neon purple pinafore, "I like purple!"

Nancy smiled so big I could see her tongue poking through the gap in her teeth, "You look like Daphne!"

"Whose Daphne?" I queried.

"She is a friend of Scooby-Doo. She helps solve mysteries!"

"Maybe we can solve mysteries," I enthused, "I can be Daphne and you can be Scooby-Doo!"

Nancy laughed, "That would be fun!"

"You know it has been fifteen years and I am still playing Daphne to your Scooby-Doo?" I wheezed as we climbed up the steps to our dorm.

Flashlight in hand Nancy turned to face me, smiling. "You didn't have to come out tonight, Bess."

Squinting through the light I smiled back, "And leave you to explore that spooky old house by yourself, I don't think so."

"Man, I wish they would repair the lights in this staircase," Nancy mused, turning back up the stairs, her hand tightening on my wrist as we continued our ascent.

A bright white, plastic five glinted in the flashlight and I sighed in relief. Dorm sweet dorm. Pulling hard, Nancy opened the fifth floor door and we blinked, blinded by the working fluorescent lights. Still blinking, trying to get used to the light the we wandered down to the midpoint of the hall to our room. Nancy, George, and I shared a dorm room. Technically there was another girl who shared with us, Julieta, an exchange student from Argentina, but she found a boyfriend and was staying with him more often than us. As we rounded on the door a groan escaped Nancy's lips and she turned her back to the wall and slid down to the ground, head back and eyes closed.

"I know that groan," I moaned, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Let me guess, Izzie is over?"

Without opening her eyes Nancy pointed at the sock that was on the doorknob. "I thought they would get out of the horny-moon stage last year sometime." Nancy mused.

I offered her my hand and she accepted, pulling her to her feet. "Come on, lets hang out in the common area. Hopefully they are done soon."

We slouched over to the raggity couches at the end of the hallway. Monday was the last day for final exams and Nancy's criminology class had drawn the short straw so they were the last class to write. As such most of the dorm had already finished their exams and had gone home for the summer. Only one other person on floor five was still here and that was just because his folks couldn't pick him up until Sunday. Well actually later today, I mused looking at the clock hanging over the crooked television. It was already 4:00AM.

Her head level at her feet Nancy muffled, "They probably fell asleep with the sock still on the door."

I raised my eyebrows at her, "You wanna risk that after what happened last time?"

Nancy flushed. It was a cheap shot I knew. Sex was really the only thing that made Nancy blush. She felt no embarrassment asking deeply personal questions but PDAs and sex made her skin turn cherry red.

"You know I didn't mean to." She countered, obviously remembering catching George and Izzie together after missing the sock, which had fallen to the ground.

"Oh girl," I giggled, as she shifted around uncomfortably," you need to get laid and soon."

Nancy crossed her arms over her chest, "Yeah well Ned and I decided to wait until after the wedding," she muttered, staring at the thin gold band on her left hand, "so until September I definitely won't be getting any."

I tried not to react but I felt my face fall slightly, "Still can't believe you and Ned are getting married. I have a hard enough time believing that after Monday, we all are done with classes and will have diplomas."

"Only if we pass all the exams," Nancy winked.

"Yeah, well," I felt a flush rise up my face, "I haven't been in a relationship that has lasted more than, like, three weeks and you're getting married."

Nancy sat up and wrapped her arms around me. "Come on Bess. We are different people. You like dating around and having fun. Ned and I have been together for four years. You just need to find your Ned."

"A stupidly sexy guy who is supportive, listens, and only has eyes for me?" I snorted, "Yeah right. When they made him they broke the mould so too much perfection wouldn't leak into the world."

Laughing Nancy squeezed me in a tight hug, "You are stupid sexy, smart, supportive, and awesome. Maybe you're Ned and need to find your Nancy, a silly, flighty person who gets into way too much trouble."

I stuck my tongue out at her before breaking into laughter. Nancy leaned back.

"Whatever happened to Adam?"

I froze, arms hugging under my chest. Adam.

Nancy looked over, her smile fading. "Shit Bess, what happened?"

I smiled, way too big. I could feel it wasn't reaching my eyes. "Oh you know the usual. Once he slept with me he said he couldn't see my anymore because his friends were making fun of him for dating a fatty." Nancy's face had hardened to steel. "Then he told me he only did it because of a bet and that if I lost a 100 pounds he might think about dating me again because of what I can do with my mouth." I continued, with a bravado I didn't feel.

"Want me to kill him?" Nancy asked, "I know how to make it look like an accident."

I smiled weakly, "Thanks for the offer Nance, but what would you do if you got caught?"

Smiling Nancy pulled me into another hug, gentler, "For you it'd be worth it." I smiled again, tears leaking out. "You are way too good for him," she whispered, petting my hair.

"I know," I responded without really feeling it. This had been a real problem since coming to Boston. Back in River Heights, population 1500, people had liked me. Boys had had crushes on me. I was popular. I was hot. Here there were options and pig headed boys meaning my stock dropped from an 8 to a 4. Guys still thought I was hot, but only if I was willing to put out. I was a poisoned flower, not worth anything and dangerous, socially at least, to be around.

"You wanna talk?" Sniffling, I shook my head. "Wanna see what's on TV?"she asked fumbling for the remote on the table. I nodded. Nancy flicked on the TV. Infomercial. Infomercial. News. Reality TV. Infomercial. Cartoons.

What can I say, 4:30 in the morning is not prime time for good television.