Unfriended

Natasha feels “dumped” and blames Truly. She feels like Truly plotted against her. She compares Truly taking her seat at the cafeteria table to her “temporary stepfather” taking her father’s seat at the kitchen table. Truly was supportive during that “crap storm,” but now she’s a foe. Natasha feels like Truly’s taking everything from her, including Clay. Natasha mocks Truly’s “perfect flat chest,” and she reviles Truly’s house with its plentiful toilet paper, paper towels, and cereal. Natasha’s banishment makes her think of Marilicia, who got kicked out of the popular group last spring after refusing to dress like everyone else on a field trip. Marilicia also “dissed” Natasha.

Clay writes an email to his brother. He tells him about his dramatic relationship with Natasha and the recent conflict between Natasha and the other popular girls. Clay recently got a 62 on an algebra quiz. While eating with his family, Clay noticed a “chunky guy” ordering a waffle “loaded” with cheese, eggs, syrup, potatoes, and bacon.

Truly’s parents worry about her knee while Truly remains anxious and uninformed about Natasha’s exile. Brooke alludes to what Natasha said, but after Truly asks for details, Brooke changes the topic so she doesn’t upset Truly.

Lulu asks Truly if she likes Clay or Jack. Natasha told Truly that Clay was an aggressive kisser with bad breath, but Truly doesn’t like Clay or Jack. She’s not even sure how a crush would “feel.”

In the morning, the girls work on their History Day project at Evangeline’s house. When Evangeline goes to the bathroom, she leaves her computer unguarded, so Lulu makes a silly, scatological post. Evangeline sees the post and writes a witty comment under it. Instead of working on their project, the girls create a jokey dance for a song they’re singing in chorus. They take pictures, and Truly posts them on social media and notices an increase in likes.

Hazel writes Truly another letter that she won’t send. She meditates on a quote from the canonized 20th-century poet T. S. Eliot about humankind’s unceasing capacity for “exploration.” She tells Truly that she buried the ballet dancer box with Sweet Pea inside of it. She compares the death of Sweet Pea to their “murdered friendship.” Maybe she’ll write about the symbolism of the buried box for English. She might also write about her grandmother, who is spiteful but not unredeemable. The letter ends with Hazel bragging about posting a photo on Truly’s social media account.

Natasha believes Truly, not Hazel, posted the photo of the girls invited to her house tomorrow, which includes Natasha. From Truly’s account, Hazel then deletes that photo and posts another one without Natasha. Natasha notices that the captions contain numerous errors, which makes her suspicious, as Truly could be “AutoCorrect.” Hazel then takes down the second photo as Natasha unlikes every post she ever liked from Truly.

Natasha doesn’t know why people think she’s “mean.” Her father, Daddy, attributes it to her height and blond hair. He thinks Natasha’s friends are jealous of her looks. Natasha’s mother wishes she would “tone down” her style, but she also thinks Natasha’s father is “sexist.” Natasha remembers various photos with the popular group members. In some, her eyes looked haunted. She wonders how to manage her new situation when she has to see her “ex-friends” every day in school.

Clay’s chapter is a text exchange between him and Natasha. Clay doesn’t want to go out with anyone, and he wishes he and Natasha could return to talking about substantial issues, like his dreams of being a scientist or botanist. He thinks banishing her was mean, and so were the social media posts about who was coming over to Truly’s house. Ultimately, Clay doesn’t care. He wants to play video games and not think about algebra.

On the way to Truly’s house, the girls go by Big Pond. A few years ago, kids were playing on it and fell through the ice, leading to hospitalization. Now, no one can play or skate on it. Lulu mentions the social media posts about Natasha, and Brooke reminds Lulu that Truly took them down after they told her to.

Brooke thinks Truly’s house is “pretty normal.” For the project, there are markers, colored pencils, and M&M’s in a glass bowl. Natasha’s mother calls Truly’s mother, and Truly’s mother speaks to Truly privately. Natasha’s mother thinks the posts were “purposely cruel,” but Truly claims she didn’t post them. Brooke thinks Truly is lying and should “own” her mistakes the way that her parents “owned” the demise of their bookstore.

According to Natasha’s mother, Natasha is crying and won’t come out of her room. Truly suggests inviting Natasha, and Brooke agrees. Brooke doesn’t like the extra drama, and she wishes she was confident and independent like Hazel.

During a fifth-grade sleepover at Natasha’s house, Natasha’s mother told Truly that she loved Truly like a daughter. In the present, Truly calls Natasha’s house phone since Natasha didn’t answer her phone. Truly speaks to Natasha’s mother, who refuses to let Truly speak to Natasha.

Bewildered, Truly wonders how the photos got posted to her accounts. She thinks she might be “psychotic” and considers hiding her computer from herself. She dunks her head in a sink of cold water until she’s gasping for breath. In the mirror, she whispers, “Pull yourself together.”

In fifth grade, Jack was the “fat kid,” and due to his body size, Russell, his best friend, didn’t invite him to his birthday party. Jack was worried about his mother, and his mother was concerned about him, so she took him to a doctor, who told him to exercise and eat healthier. Jack and his family moved, and Jack’s “jiggly belly” vanished.

Jack acknowledges that he’s in the popular group, but he doesn’t think there’s an intense division between the popular kids and the nonpopular students. Jack doesn’t want anyone to feel left out.

Jack likes Truly, but he isn’t sure if she likes him. He buys Truly a bracelet for $16.99, and the salesperson puts it in a white box for free. However, Jack’s mother doesn’t think Jack should give her the present, so he hides the bracelet in his sock drawer.

During recess, Jack and Truly discuss their experiences with stitches. Jack had to get stitches because he fell out of his bed when he was four. Jack’s father gave him a lollipop, and Jack wishes he could give Truly a lollipop.

In math class, there’s a substitute teacher, Mrs. Gerstein, so Natasha and Lulu discuss Truly. Natasha calls Truly a “weasel,” but Lulu wonders if Truly’s posts were a misguided attempt at humor. Lulu thinks Truly can’t be that bad—otherwise, Natasha wouldn’t have invited her to the table. Natasha realizes most of the popular kids are probably on “Team Truly.”

Mrs. Gerstein continually hushes Lulu and Natasha, so they start passing notes. Natasha claims Truly never called her and apologized. Natasha warns Lulu: Truly might start searching for a new target. Natasha has another plan for Truly.

On tellmethetruth.com, Natasha asks why everyone hates her. The post receives comments that confirm her belief, and it gets comments that claim people don’t hate her. Lulu describes one spiteful comment as “cyberbullying.”