The Gossip File by Anna Staniszewski

advice, sounds defeated makes me feel even worse.
    â€œI wish you could have come down here with me,” I say. “This vacation would have been a ton better with you around.”
    â€œBut then you’d be working all the time and I’d be lounging by the pool all day. I’d be so bored.”
    â€œOh yeah,” I say with a snort. “That sounds horrible. Poor you.”
    She laughs. “Anyway, if talking to your dad didn’t work, maybe you should try talking to Ellie.”
    â€œThat won’t be awkward. ‘Hey, Ellie. Can you get your claws out of my dad so I can hang out with him?’”
    â€œIt’s either that or things stay the same,” she says.
    Ugh. She’s right. I guess I’ll have to swallow my mortification and give it a try.
    â€¢â€¢â€¢
    When I get to Ellie’s office in the morning, I’m about to knock on the half-open door. Then I hear her voice inside, sounding surprisingly angry, and I freeze.
    â€œBut what about Caleb?” she says. “What am I supposed to tell him?” She’s quiet for a minute like she’s on the phone, and then she says, “He doesn’t want to be here. He wants to be with you. And now I’m supposed to tell him that his father would rather take on a new project than spend time with him?”
    Another long pause and finally she sighs and says, “All right. I’ll think of something to tell him. But I hope you realize what you’re doing. That boy idolizes you, and you’re just throwing him away the way you threw away our relationship.” Then she slams down the phone.
    I stand there like a statue for a minute, digesting what I heard. Caleb seems convinced that his father is an amazing guy, but maybe Ellie is the one who’s really on his side.
    As I’m trying to decide if I should run away or knock and do what I came here to do, I hear Ellie get out of her chair and cross the room. If she takes one more step toward me, she’ll see me standing here. So I quickly pound on the door, like I can’t wait to talk to her.
    â€œOh, Rachel!” she says in surprise as she appears in the doorway. “Come in. Sit down.” She shows me into her office, which is tiny and littered with empty iced-coffee cups. Not exactly the neat and perfect workspace I was expecting.
    â€œWhat an interesting necklace!” Ellie says when I’m slumped into the chair opposite hers. The anger in her voice is gone, like it was never there.
    â€œUm, thanks.” I finger the horrible horse necklace that’s somehow even heavier and more terrifying than it was yesterday. I really didn’t want to put it on this morning, but I was afraid Taylor would be offended if I didn’t.
    â€œSo what can I do for you?” she asks.
    Just be Ava, I tell myself. No, I haven’t developed multiple personalities, but Ava is a whole lot better at talking to people than I am. I could use her boost of confidence right now.
    â€œI wanted to talk to you,” I squeak. I go to spout the words I rehearsed in the shower this morning, but instead I find myself saying, “It’s about me working so much.” Wait. Where did that come from?
    â€œAh.” She leans back in her chair. “I was afraid this might happen. You know, when I first started working here, I had a hard time fitting in too. But eventually, I made some friends and it all started to come together. Just be yourself and people will realize how lovely you really are.”
    I stare at her. “Actually,” I say, “the people here like me just fine. In fact, I think this is the most popular I’ve ever been.” I realize as I say it how snotty that sounds, but come on. Why did Ellie have to assume that the other girls think I’m a loser?
    â€œOh,” she says. “So what’s the problem?”
    â€œI wanted to make sure you’re looking for someone to take my job. You