Landry in Like by Krysten Lindsay Hager

soon as she saw me. She introduced me to her aunts and great-aunts. They were all looking through some old binders.
    â€œWe’re trying to find Grandma’s macaroni and cheese recipe,” Ashanti said. “We can’t figure out what made it taste so different from any other kind.”
    â€œMy mother never wrote a thing down,” her aunt Bette said. “I remember asking her how to season chicken soup and it was all, ‘Bette, you just eyeball it. A pinch here and there and you’ll know when you know.’”
    â€œDid your soup turn out okay?” I asked.
    â€œIt was so salty my husband told me he thought I dropped a horse’s salt lick in it,” she said laughing. “I never got the soup quite like hers. Hoping that recipe’s in here, too.”
    â€œOoh, her chocolate silk pie one is here,” Mrs. Russell said. “She used boxed pudding for it? I feel lied to. She always made it seem like everything needed to be homemade or it was cheating."
    â€œHere we go. Macaroni and cheese,” Aunt Bette said. “However, I don’t recognize some of these ingredients. What’s Waddell sauce?”
    All the women exchanged glances and shrugged.
    â€œDexter cheese? Anyone know what that is?” she asked.
    Ashanti reached over and took the piece of paper. “Maybe those things aren’t super important. We can still try to make it, right?”
    Her mother nodded. “Sure, we can see if we can recreate it.”
    â€œWell, I don’t see how since two of the ingredients are a mystery,” Aunt Bette said. She saw Ashanti’s face fall and she cleared her throat. “But we can always try.”
    Ashanti got her phone and tried searching for the two ingredients online, but came up with nothing for Waddell sauce. All we found out about the cheese was that they didn’t make it anymore.
    â€œI guess that’s a bust,” she said.
    â€œMaybe someone will be able to figure it out yet,” I said. I started to say we could ask her family members how they’d describe the taste when she jumped up and ran to the door.
    â€œYou guys, I’m sooo glad you came,” she said.
    Halle, Maggie, and Yasmin were standing there with three older girls wearing dark pink lipstick.
    â€œHey, we had to come. We’re all cheer sisters now, right? And cheer sisters stick together,” the one girl said.
    My heart sunk as they all shared a group hug and did this little cheer chant. I felt invisible.
    Ashanti started introducing the girls to her aunts, and I noticed her parents seemed to know the other girls already. Had they been over before?
    â€œOh, and this is Landry,” she said pointing to me.
    Just Landry. Not my best friend, just… Landry. The other girls barely noticed me and continued talking like I wasn’t there.
    â€œSo you guys have to come to practice tomorrow,” the tall one said. “We’re trying the new lift again.”
    They all started going on about cheerleading, and I realized I was just going to be standing there alone. My house wasn’t that far from Ashanti’s and I had walked the distance before, so I told her I had to get home.
    â€œOh, okay,” she said, sounding distracted. “Thank you so much for coming.”
    I went to hug her, but she had gone back to her new friends. Feeling dumb, I retreated and went to the front door.
    â€œThank you for coming over, Landry,” Mr. Russell said walking over. “Do you want me to drive you home?”
    I shook my head afraid if I opened my mouth, he’d hear my voice break. As I walked up the sidewalk to my house, the tears started. I was going to lose her to that group—I just knew it.

Chapter 13
    I got home and saw I had an email from Kendall. She asked if I wanted to come along to the movies with her and her friends. Vladi and Steve would be there, too. As excited as I was to be included with these high school