A Little Less than Famous by Sara E. Santana Page B

something?
     
    I typed quick response.  Look at the new US Weekly that came out today.
     
    I looked up. “What’s up girl?”
     
    Amanda didn’t look up, just shrugged. “Not much. Hiding from Luke.”
     
    I shook my head. “You know, it would not have killed you to help out while I was gone.”
     
    Amanda turned to look at me, no amusement on her face. “Sorry, not really in the mood to put on a smile and work on my day off.”
     
    I walked over and sat next to her on the couch. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
     
    She passed the open magazine. I kept my face as clear as I could, taking in the small article. There was only one more picture, an even blurrier picture of me getting into Jake’s car. “Who is she?” I asked, after a moment.
     
    “I have no idea,” Amanda said, making a face and taking back the magazine. “They don’t know who she is, the stupid bitch.”
     
    I looked at her, my eyebrow raised. “Wow, really, Amanda?” I glanced at my phone.
     
    Shit. At least they don’t know who you are. Does Amanda know?
     
    I sighed and tapped out a quick response.
     
    No. She saw the cover, didn’t recognize me.
     
    Amanda sniffled, rubbing her nose. “I know it’s stupid but…but I gave him my number! I had my chance right there! And he just rejected me and it feels terrible.”
     
    “Amanda, you need to stop caring about Jake Kennedy,” I said, firmly. I felt my phone vibrate in my lap and I made the decision to ignore it. “You are a beautiful girl and guys love you. What do you need Jake Kennedy for?”
     
    “I’m being silly, aren’t I?” she asked, offering me a watery smile.
     
    “No sillier than normal,” I said, smiling back at her. I took the magazine away from her and tossed it on the coffee table. “Let’s forget about all this, okay?”
     
    Amanda nodded, sniffling some more. “Do you have tissue?”
     
    “Yeah, in my room.”
     
    As soon as she left the room, I picked up the magazine and skimmed the article. Amanda was right in that they had no idea it was me-though I felt it was a near miracle that Amanda , my own best friend, didn’t know it was me. The article called me an “every day girl”, which felt like a kind of stab when they mentioned Andrea Tremaine as his ex. They did have the decency to call me pretty. I shook my head and put the magazine back on the table.
     
    “McKinley.”
     
    “What?” I turned around to see her holding a small white envelope. “What’s going on?”
     
    She looked calm but I could feel a chill emitting from her from across the room. “Why didn’t you tell me that Jake had sent you those flowers?”
     
    I felt my heart sink. “What are you talking about?”
     
    She threw the card in my lap, which I now recognized as the card from the flowers Jake had sent me. “I threw this away.”
     
    “Yeah, w ell I dug it out of the trash. I’m nosy and I wanted to see what Gabriel had said. I didn’t expect it to be Jake.”
     
    “Amanda…”
     
    She reached over and grabbed the magazine and stared at it for a moment. “I can’t believe that I didn’t notice that this was you. Its so obvious that its you.”
     
    My phone chose that exact moment to ring, belting out my favorite Ben Wright song. I glanced down though I already knew who it was.
     
    “Answer it,” Amanda said, in that hard calm that I knew so well. Amanda lost her temper but, unlike me, this did not spell trouble. You knew you were in trouble when her anger was calm and silent, to the point.
     
    “No,” I answered, just as calmly.
     
    “Answer it, McKinley.”
     
    “No, Amanda.”
     
    Before I could react, she had snatched my phone out of my lap. She stared at it for a moment and then threw it at me. I ducked just in time and my phone went straight into the wall, and broke into several pieces.
     
    “Jesus, Am anda,” I said, standing up. “Are you going to pay for completely destroying my phone?”
     
    I felt my temper flare up and