The place was nearly empty when she took a seat directly across from me late one afternoon.  My mouth dropped open in surprise as she set her tray down.  She merely chuckled, before asking,

“It’s Spencer, right?  Ashley’s roommate.”

“Um…yeah,” I replied, looking around the room nervously.  I couldn’t help but think she was seconds away from playing some kind of a joke on me.  She had barely spoken two words to me before this moment.

“You’re eating lunch kind of late, what gives?”

“Well, um, I was practicing a little late, so I got here late.”

“Yeah, I know how that is…so you go to King High, right?”

“Yeah…”  I answered, unsure of where she was going with this line of questioning.

“My sister used to go there.”

“Oh, I thought you were from New York?”

“I am now, but I used to live in Los Angeles when I was younger.  My family moved to New York about five years ago.”

“So is that how you know Ashley?” 

She looked unsure about whether to answer, before she finally responded,

“Yeah, we go way back, like, ‘in diapers’ way back.  We were best friends before I moved to New York.  We played basketball together even back then… though I didn’t think Ashley would keep it up,” she says, her voice trailing off at the end. 

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“She didn’t really like it, I don’t even think she likes it now.  Her mom just made her do it.  I think she just figured out that enrolling Ashley in a bunch of stuff would keep her out of the house.  I mean, you have after school programs, and of course the all-important, month-long summer camps.”

“Wow, what a loving mother,” I sarcastically observed.  “But if Ashley doesn’t like it so much why does she keep playing?”

“We all have our reasons, you know.  Some people do it because they love the game, others do it for the attention.”

“Yep, that sounds just like Ashley,” I mused, forgetting for a moment that I was talking to a girl who was supposed to be Ashley’s childhood friend.  Karen, however, didn’t forget and quickly came to her defense.