“…. It never ceases to amaze me how not only are you the least athletic person I’ve ever met, but that you know absolutely nothing about sports.  The ‘quarterback pitched the ball for a basket to win the match’??  You just created some sort of weird new sport using the vocabulary from, like, four different sports.”  Bette said in amusement. 

“Shut it Bette.  I’m not a sports person.  And I’m definitely not a sports writer.  Besides, I have my own column to worry about.”

Bette let out a frustrated sigh.  “Look Al, you’re the best writer I have.  Just keep your mouth shut so I can get this out.”  Bette hurriedly added when the blonde smirked and opened her mouth to comment.  “You can also talk to just about anyone about anything.  Although I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that you just like to talk, it also means that you CAN write about sports.  We both know you’re smarter than you act so just suck it up and help me out here?  You’re my best friend and I’m really up shit creek with Tim moving to another school district like this.  Please??”  Bette finished in a somber, pleading tone.  She knew she had the blonde but wanted to avoid smirking in triumph in case Alice decided to refuse just to spite her.

“Jesus Christ on stilts Porter, you really piss me off sometimes.”  Alice grumbled in defeat.  “Fine!  I’ll cover ONE stupid sport a term.  But I’m going to write them my way!”

“Thanks Alice!!  I owe you one.”  Bette said in relief while pulling Alice into a quick hug

“Oh, I know.  Just don’t forget you said that when it’s time for you to pay up.”  Alice said wickedly.  Bette felt the color drain from her face as she tried not to imagine just what Alice-scheme she’d have to take part in to pay off her debt.  She’d known the blonde since preschool where Alice stood up to a boy for making fun of the fact that Bette’s dad is African-American while her mother is Caucasian.  Being Alice, she had bitten the boy in the leg until, in tears, he’d promised to never make fun of Bette again and never tell the teacher Alice had bit him.  Bette and Alice had been best friends ever since.  When Alice’s dad had died when they were ten, Alice had stayed with Bette for a month since  Lenore (Alice’s mom) had been too busy shooting her latest B movie to take more than a day off for the funeral before jetting back out.  Lenore barely acknowledged the fact that Alice had been devastated by her father’s death.  He had been the one to take care of her, shower her in love, laugh at her scheming ways, and simply be a parent to her.  Bette had taken care of Alice during that rough time.  Four years later when Bette’s mom had left and her dad had gone into a deep depression, completely ignoring Bette and her own pain, Alice had invited Bette over for an extended visit.  Once again, Lenore had been away and Melvin (Bette’s dad) hadn’t even noticed his daughter’s three week absence from the house.  Throughout junior high the pair had gained a rather popular reputation.  Upon entering high school their popularity had only risen.  Both were good students with Bette putting more effort into her schoolwork than Alice since she was always occupied in some new project.  Their sophomore year Alice had nearly single-handedly organized a school carnival complete with half a dozen rides, games, prizes, and lots of unhealthy food.  The turnout had been huge with the majority of the community coming out to participate in the weekend carnival.  It was on its way to becoming a yearly event until a school administrator had walked into a back room of the House of Mirrors and found Alice running her own make-shift casino.  While Alice had managed to talk herself out of any serious trouble, she earned a weeks worth of detention and the carnival had come to a close.  Of course, a week later Alice was back at it writing an article on her own theory of what the lunch-lady’s actually put in the meatloaf at school.  While her classmates had praised the article as one of her best, the school principal had been less excited by the article.  However, Alice again talked her way out of trouble and was back to creating controversy in the halls of Upper Darnell High.  That’s just the way it went for Alice.  While she spent many an afternoon in detention, as did Bette at times (always after being dragged along on an Alice adventure or scheme), in all honesty the pair should have been in a lot more trouble a number of times.  However, Alice Pieszecki just had a way about her that made people fall in love with her even in the midst of wanting to strangle the infuriating blonde.  That Pieszecki charm and Bette’s reputation as a good, honest, straight-A student and editor of the school newspaper tended to keep the pair out of any serious trouble.