Almost Identical #1 by Lin Oliver

him sitting on a curb half a block away. Bernard was frightened in PE because he didn’t want to change his clothes in front of everyone. Etta was frightened on her first day of eighth grade because she didn’t know if people would make fun of her hair. A seventh-grader named Keisha said she was frightened the first time she kissed a boy for real, because she didn’t know if she was doing it right.
    By the time they had gone around the circle, I felt like we were all old friends. The hour had whizzed by, and as we left the room, everyone was laughing and talking.
    I asked Alicia if she wanted to walk home together. I just assumed she was walking to the Sporty Forty so her dad could drive her home, but she said that she usually took the bus after school. She lived about an hour away. She went to Beachside because her mom and dad worked in the district and got her a special permit.
    We walked to the bus stop on Third Street and Arizona Avenue, right in front of the Third Street Promenade. I told Alicia that I was pretty sure I was going to join Truth Tellers. She was glad and told me about these performances that they sometimes did for the community. The last one was at the Laugh Box, a comedy club. Over one hundred people came, and they weren’t all just parents, either.
    â€œI can’t imagine standing up in front of grown-ups and telling them for real about my life,” I said.
    â€œOnce you do it, it’s really fun. At our last performance, this woman told me she hadn’t really thought about how it feels to be twelve, and what I said helped her to understand her daughter. That was cool.”
    We were so busy talking that I hadn’t noticed that we had reached the bus stop in front of the mall—specifically, in front of Starbucks. And, of course, who should see us but Charlie and Lauren and the other SF2s who were sitting around an outside table. I was supposed to be at the dentist getting my fang pulled, and it was clear to everyone that I wasn’t. I think we can all agree that the situation was totally, completely, horribly awkward.
    â€œHey, Sammie. What are you doing here?” Lauren called out. I could see Charlie burying her face in her hands.
    â€œShe doesn’t look like a dentist,” the General shouted, pointing to Alicia. “But if she were, I’d go more often.”
    â€œThat guy thinks he’s such hot stuff,” Alicia whispered. “And why does he think I’m a dentist?”
    I was really embarrassed to have to confess to Alicia that I hid the fact that I was going to Truth Tellers. I was tempted to tell her something different, but then I realized that if I was going to be a Truth Teller, I was going to have to start telling the truth. That was the deal.
    â€œI’ll be right over, guys!” I hollered to the kids at the table. Then I took a deep breath and turned to Alicia.
    â€œI didn’t tell them I was going to Truth Tellers,” I said. “I told them I had a dentist appointment.”
    â€œWhy?” she asked. She seemed really confused.
    â€œMy sister asked me not to tell them about Truth Tellers. She didn’t want them to think I was a geek. We’re just getting to know them, and she wants to make a good impression.”
    I watched Alicia’s face carefully. I could see her shaking her head sadly, fighting back tears. At last she spoke.
    â€œSo your sister is embarrassed that you’re friends with me?”
    â€œNo. She’s not like that. It’s just that she wants to be friends with those kids, and . . .”
    â€œMy friends and I are not as good as they are,” Alicia finished my sentence for me.
    It sounded so ugly when she said it.
    â€œAlicia, I think you’re great. And I bet Charlie does, too. We always agree on friends . . . or, at least, we used to. Just let me talk to her . . .”
    Before I could finish, the bus pulled up and its doors