"Oh my god," Krystal shrieked, "Monica! Did I show you this god-awful snag in my dress? It's ruined, simply ruined."
Monica turned to glare at Krystal, replacing her foot on the accelerator. She took a deep breath, mentally counting to five before talking
"Krystal," she said, "I'm sorry about your dress . . . but, that tiny snag was absolutely no reason to screech like that. If I had slammed on the brakes, well, we could'a both been hurt."
"Tiny? Tiny? Well, Monica," she replied, "I'll have you know this dress is no good now. I can never wear it again, which is a real shame because I look so damn good in it. But that's not the point. The point is, I'm trying to share something important to me, with you, my best friend, and you act like my feelings don't mean anything. That hurts Monica, it really does." Krystal pursed her lips in a well-rehearsed pout, and remembered to add a tiny sniff for emphasis.
Monica sighed, relenting immediately. Well that was mean of me, she thought, hurting her feelings like that. All she wanted to do was tell me how upset she is.
"I'm sorry Krystal," Monica said, "and it is a real shame about your dress. But you know, the snag is really tiny. I bet you could use a needle and pull the threads back inside, and then the snag wouldn't be noticeable, at all."
"Oh, that's an idea," Krystal sarcastically replied, "as if! I can never wear it again, period. It's totally ruined. Get real, Monica."
Monica blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear the tears that threatened to flow. She didn't mean to sound so hurtful, she thought, chewing softly on her lower lip.
Krystal grabbed the rear view mirror, turning it towards herself, ignoring the hurt expression on Monica's face. She immediately traced her pinkie finger along her lip line, repairing flaws only she could see.
Monica's eyes darted from the position her rear view mirror was suppose to be in, towards Krystal. She glanced at her side view mirrors, then back to Krystal.
"Um, Krystal," she hesitantly said, "I really need to use that mirror." Hearing Krystal's loud sigh, she quickly finished, "That is, if you're finished with it."
"Take it! No, I insist," Krystal said, her tone sharp. "I'll just have to be satisfied with the repairs I completed." She arranged her lips once again, into her well-rehearsed pout. "I mean, after all, I wouldn't want to be accused of being selfish or anything, now, would I?"
Monica felt the tears well up again, as she carefully re-positioned her rear view mirror. She hated it when Krystal was disappointed in her. Oh, I know what'll help, she thought.
"Krystal," Monica brightly said, "why don't you look through my CD case and see if you can find something you want to hear? I have the latest Marilyn Manson and Savage Garden CD's."
"Ooo, cool deal," Krystal replied, snatching the CD case. She quickly thumbed through them, searching for a title to peak her interest. She rolled her eyes at the CD titles she didn't like.
Krystal inserted the Savage Garden CD into the player, and began pressing buttons.
"Where's that one song," she mumbled, "you know, the one about loving somebody before meeting them. Oh hell, what's the name . . . well shit, how do I work this thing, is it broken?"
"No, no," Monica quickly replied, switching the CD to the track Krystal wanted, "it's right here. The song is called 'I Knew I Loved You,' by the way." She turned the volume up, hoping the great sound system she had installed in her Mustang, would soothe her friend.
Monica was so busy trying to pacify her friend and taking care of the stereo system, that she didn't see the car pull out from a side street, following them.