But Emma is fantastic, and I want you to know, Mari, that I hope you two will stay best friends forever. In reality, though, today is the second time Mom “forgot” to tell me that Emma had called. (The first time was the day we moved; I found out about it when Emma e-mailed me about a week later.) I wonder what’s behind Mom’s memory lapses: Does she think if I speak to Emma, Mrs. Hartley will snatch away the phone and say nasty things to me about My Crazy Mother? Or: Is Mom finally feeling guilty about the Two Beez incident, and trying to pretend that the whole thing never happened? Or: Is she “helping” me “adjust” to Life in Lawson by acting like, Emma who? Just make a new BFF right here! Or: Does she just “have a lot on her mind,” the way Kennie said? Of all the possible excuses, this one seems the lamest. I mean, Mom has a big brain crammed with miscellaneous stuff she’s memorized, like Hamlet and the U.S. Constitution. She’s hopeless about things like school calendars, but could she really “forget”
