The next day at school, I find Izzie at her locker. "I've been looking for you. I flicked a freshman in the ear, thinking it was you." I tell her as I laugh. She doesn't respond. "Are you okay?" I ask. She completely ignores me. "Did you break up with Nate?" Maybe she's just sad about that. "No." Is all she says. What? He kissed me and she's still with him? "No?" I ask, confused. "That's what I said." She replies, and she starts to walk away. "Izzie, what's up?" She turns to face me. "I asked Nate about what happened. He said you kissed him." "What?" I immediately ask. "That is not true." I tell her. "I don't know who to believe." Izzie says. "Believe me." "I've known him longer." She replies. "He's my boyfriend. And I've seen you guys flirt, I just thought you liked the attention." What is she talking about? I have never once thought about Nate like that. "Izzie, I didn't do anything. I swear." "That's not what he said. So just back off, Casey." She replies. "Casey? What happened to Newton?" Nate shows up, and they immediately wrap their arms around each other and walk away. It makes me want to throw up. How could she believe I would do that to her? I can't believe this.
I have another sleepless night. All I think about is Izzie. How can she possibly believe Nate's bullshit lies? I don't want to lose her because of this. I can't. At school in the morning, Izzie is nowhere to be found. I grab my gym shoes from my locker, and I see the words "Slut" and "Hoe" Written on them in white ink. Oh my god. How could she? I hide my shoes on the way to the bathroom, where I try to wash the words off. Tears threaten to fall. I use soap and water, but nothing happens. I scrub and scrub, but the words stay there. I keep trying, but nothing changes. I start to cry. I can't believe Izzie would do this to me. I thought she was my friend. I thought she was maybe even more than that.
I run home without going to track practice. I don't want to see her. It's the weekend, so I have a couple days without seeing her. On Saturday, I find a new pair of shoes on my bed, in a Nike box. I feel Elsa standing behind me. "Mom?" "I was gonna write screw you bitches on the toes, but I was afraid there wouldn't be enough room." I smile. "I hope they fit." She says. "Thank you." She smiles, and walks away. I try them on, and they fit perfectly.