Pretenses by Pascal Francine

Author:Pascal, Francine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-26T16:00:00+00:00

Seven

"Hey, look!" Penny exclaimed, opening up the folder of final entries for The Oracle's humor feature. "Abbie's submitted her final version of the 'Jenny' cartoon strip!" She called Elizabeth over to take a look.

The strip had come out beautifully, each black-and-white sketch a perfect accompaniment to the text Abbie had written. There were four panels. In the first panel Jenny was listening to a long harangue about being more independent and assertive. A TV commentator was describing a course that could help someone become "your own person." In the second panel Jenny was thinking to herself that she could use such a course. "That's exactly what I ought to do! Everyone tells me I ought to be more independent." In the third panel she looked confused as she said, "But how am I going to get to the Assertiveness Training Center?" In the fourth panel Jenny was on the phone to Mel, her boyfriend, saying, "Mel, will you drive me to the Assertiveness Training Center so I won't have to rely on you so much anymore?"

"Abbie's great at this!" Penny said, giggling at the cartoon. "She's really done an excellent job. She has a good sense of humor, too. Don't you think so, Liz? This is really funny."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "But where's Amy's Miss Manners spin-off?" she asked. The entries were due that day at noon, and it was already ten minutes after the hour.

Penny frowned. "You're not going to believe this, but I actually saw Abbie helping Amy with the finishing touches last hour. Doesn't that seem a little above and beyond the call of duty? Why would Abbie want to help Amy when she's her competition?"

Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. "I think Abbie shares some of Jenny's problems," she remarked. "I don't know why she's so eager to help other people all the time, but sometimes she seems to get in her own way."

Just then the door to the Oracle office swung open, and Amy Sutton stuck her head inside. "Ooops," she said, staring at Elizabeth and Penny. "I guess I'm a teeny bit late with my entry. But you guys don't mind, do you?" She sneaked a manila envelope onto Penny's desk. "It's finally just the way I want it," she added breathlessly.

"Did Abbie really help you with it?" Elizabeth asked her directly.

Amy shrugged. "A little bit. But so what? The idea is all mine. And I think it's tons better than her stupid comic strip."

"That's a nice way to talk," Penny said, "after Abbie's knocked herself out helping you."

But Amy Sutton wasn't one to feel bad about anything. "Look," she said, fluffing up her blond hair, "I didn't force the girl to help me. She wanted to. When do you choose who wins the contest?" she asked breathlessly. "I can't wait to find out!"

"Well, Mr. Collins is making the final decision over the weekend. I guess we'll know on Monday," Penny said slowly. She and Elizabeth watched Amy bounce out the door, and they exchanged anxious glances.

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