One of Thirty.

Sunday finally came. Sunday, the day of pie. Ooh, Cherish didn't even know what was coming to her. And she didn't even know what efforts we were going to to make her this pie. I had gotten my sister to read me the recipe for cherry pie over the phone. And then me and Ryan went to a real grocery store to get the cherries for it... (We split the cherries in half. I paid for two cans, and Ryan paid for two cans. The cashier looked at us funny. Finally, he asked me, gesturing to Ryan, "Why'd you split it up? Why didn't you make him pay for all of it?" I laughed. "Because we're both making the pie, and we're both equally poor!" Hm. This happens to us a little too often. Cashiers get upset that Ryan isn't paying for me all the time when we're just doing friend stuff. Yeesh. I don't know what their problem is...)

After church, Ryan had to go do his home teaching, so I had time to go to my hall meeting before we made the pie. In the middle of our hall picture, Clifton and Alex walked by... Clifton yelled out, "Hey, Jenna! Is your door open?" I blinked. "Yes?" "Okay!" And with that, the two of them disappeared into my hall, presumably to take over my apartment. As soon as the picture was done, I dashed up to my apartment, and straight into the kitchen.

The sight made me sick. Stuff alllll over the place. I had just cleaned this place last night when Ryan was here before we went and got cherries! "WHAT are you doing?"

"Making you dinner! Out!" And with that Alex tried to push me out and shut the door on me.

Nuh-uh. NOT in Jenna's kitchen, you don't. Particularly when I had plans for this kitchen. I think I must have been trembling with a strange mixture of emotions. Shock at the upheaval my kitchen was in, gratitude that my dear guy friends would think to make us dinner, annoyance at their using MY kitchen to do it, and stress from the realization that there was now a conflict between pie-making and dinner with friends. Gaaah. I just spluttered weakly, "My... my kitchen is dirty. It can't be dirty. No..."

Oh, I was tense. Alex looked at me sternly. "Jenna. CALM down. Calm down. You... are REALLY REALLY tense. Calm down. Everything is okay!"

"My kitchen... I... I... I'm making pie? I'm making pie. Except you're using my kitchen. My kitchen. I was going to make pie..."

Oh man. I must have been ridiculously stressed before this, because now I was a nervous wreck. I shivered, and then grabbed my broom, and started sweeping. Then it occurred to me. "Hey! Do you guys have shortening?" We had had shortening yesterday, but then it had been used up in the night and now there wasn't any to make pie pastry with. Alex looked up from preparing his meal. "I do." "Can... can I use it?"

Alex considered, all the while staring at me. "Only if you promise to stop stressing and calm down." Ooh. This is going to be tough. But... I need the shortening. So... it's worth a try at least.

"Okay! I'm calm, I'm calm..." I muttered breathlessly. Well, I wasn't calm and Alex saw.

"No. I don't mean you just say you're calm. I want you to BE calm." Oh man. Alex is a toughie. I was going to have to actually calm down... for real!

I took a deep breath, and it rattled angrily. So I took another deep breath, looking up at the ceiling. I realized suddenly that my fists were clenched. I let them go. And my whole back was as stiff as a board. I forced in into a more comfortable position and held it there until Alex decided I had improved enough. Then he left to go get the shortening. And then I tensed up again and continued sweeping.

Ryan showed up to make pie. I... think I got even more stressed, because right at that time Clifton declared dinner ready. I finished sweeping.

"Dinner time!"

"Wait, right now?" I said, despairing.

"Yes. Right now."

"But. But. I was going to make pie..." After muttering that, I set off to set the table. Clifton made Ryan stay and eat with us. I busily set the table, and then Alex scolded me. "Jenna. Remember your promise."

"What? Oh... yeah, promise. Shortening. Promise." And I took another long breath. But that rattled too. WHY was I so incredibly stressed? I knew why, but I wouldn't let myself think about it. "Not stressed not stressed!" I said. Ryan looked at me with that weird amused look he had sometimes. At least someone wasn't upset with me. I looked behind me to see Clifton standing there making a twirly motion with his finger. I blinked at it. "What?" Then I realized he wanted me to turn around. "Ohhh!" I said, and I obediently turned around, not sure why he would want me to do something like that.

Well, I didn't have to wonder for long. "Come 'ere, sis." Clifton put his arms around me and hugged me. I closed my eyes, but not all the way. What I saw almost made me laugh. Poor Ryan couldn't handle it. He was very pointedly not looking at me or Clifton, and looking down, up, behind him, everywhere except right in front of him where I was being hugged.

I've told you all how Clifton is basically my little brother, and that pretty much sums up everything. He teases us all the time, is really annoying most of the time like a little brother, but every once in a while he'll do something really nice. This hug was one of them. I wonder if he got hug-lessons from one of his parents, because it was just like that... like a family member was hugging you and comforting you. So, naturally, I calmed down quickly. My heart beat slowed down finally, and so did my breathing. I relaxed. When he finally let me go, I felt like a rag doll.

I sat down at the table (next to Ryan, who still wouldn't look at me... haha) and then we said a family-plus-Ryan prayer. After that, Clifton and Alex left, and then Ryan and I set off to make pie.

Well, the dough was interesting. We just couldn't get it right. It just wouldn't hold together. And the attempts to get the pastry into the pan were failures for the first few tries. Finally, we got the bottom in the pan. Ryan prepared the filling while I tried to manage the top crust. I looked over at Ryan filling the pastry. And then I looked away, and then looked back. The pie... had overflowed. "Oh no," he said. "I think I ruined it."

I laughed. Oh, it was SUCH a mess. Some weird cherry-sugar-liquid concoction spread all over the table, and down onto the floor. Perhaps I should have supervised Ryan more closely. Oh well. Whatever he did wrong, he won't do it again. I made him go get the paper towels, and I shoveled cherry stuff into a bowl. I poured the liquid out of the bottom pie crust. And then I put the actual cherries back into the pie.

And then we set to work trying to assemble the top. We did eventually, with the help of Rachelle. Somehow, as we talked the subject turned to... dirt. Like, the information sort of dirt. Rachelle wanted to exchange such dirt with Ryan. Dirt. Like gossip. Ryan wanted to know what the girls have been talking about in their secret girl talk sessions. Rachelle, of course, wanted to know all about what the guys were saying about the girls. I also wanted that, but I hadn't any bartering dirt. Besides, Ryan tells me everything anyway.

Oh dear. Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. He's begged me multiple times to let him in on the girl dirt. And every time, I swear another oath that I never will. Not even when he's eighty. This frustrates him... majorly. He is far too curious for his own good. He'll get himself in trouble. It ended up that Ryan and Rachelle worked out until the deal was, "Okay, if you give me your dirt, I'll give you mine." At this point, I backed out. I looked at Ryan. "I haven't got any dirt. Maybe Rachelle does, but I don't. Nobody gossips with me, because I won't gossip with them."

Rachelle promised she had some juicy dirt. Ryan looked tempted. I knew what Ryan's dirt was, so I warned, "Don't do it, Ryan. She's probably pulling your leg... her dirt's not worth it!" But Ryan wanted dirt, and then happened one of those rare instances where he got frustrated with me. "Jenna!" he exclaimed in exasperation, "Will you just... step outside or something?" I laughed at him. And then Ryan couldn't take it any more. He caved. All right, Ryan, go to your doom if you like. And then, he gave Rachelle his dirt. Unfortunately, this dirt is still gossip I just don't tell people without the subject's permission, so I can't tell you what it was. I know, you're curious. But you'll just have to settle with not knowing.

Rachelle listened intently as Ryan confessed his dirt. Rachelle looked over at me, and then at Ryan. When Ryan was done, he said, "All right. Your dirt. Give it." Rachelle looked up at the ceiling. "Actually... I don't have any dirt. I didn't think you'd actually tell me your dirt..."

Ryan looked stunned. Poor man, I even tried to warn him. And then he was a little upset. "RACHHEEELLLE! You'd better give me ALL the dirt you've got!" Well, she didn't have a single granule of dirt. As we put the pie in the oven, Ryan then turned on me. Looking at me, he said, "Jenna. I KNOW you've got dirt. Give it."

"Dirt? No, I don't..."

"Yes, you do. Remember you said there were some girls talking about me at the beginning of the year?"

"Oh, yeah." I had forgotten about that.

"That's good dirt. I want that. Who was it?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ryan! I told you. I'm never ever going to tell you."

"But... but it's the end of the year! I'll never see them again! It doesn't matter, just tell me!"

"You're right. It doesn't matter. So you just don't need to know. I don't tell secrets, okay!"

Ryan was very frustrated. He rounded on Rachelle again. "You CAN'T tell your roommates."

Rachelle swore she wouldn't. When the pie was done, we carried it over to 128 with Hillary (where Rachelle, Liz, Claire, Patrice, Cherish, and Kerstin all live) and presented it to Cherish, who was delighted. It wasn't the most beautiful masterpiece of a pie, but for a first pie, it was pretty darn good, I think. We sat and talked. And I watched Liz and she practiced her signature. Finally, I said, "Liz. You have beautiful cursive E's... Show me how to do them, just in case I marry someone whose last name starts with one!"

And I think, with that, the conversation turned into girl talk. Ryan listened intently. He even took notes. And then he's ask questions, clarifying what he had heard...

"Wait, so you guys all think Brooks is cute?"

We concurred.

... "Why is he so cute? Is it how he does his hair?"

We couldn't agree on anything like that, except that Brooks was undeniably good looking.

..."Why do you guys like Roy? Is it something he does... Is it something I can do?"

Ryan stayed as long as he could, and then he had to leave so that he didn't break the honor code. As soon as he was gone, though... Rachelle piped up, "Jenna! Can I tell Ryan's dirt?"

I blinked. All eyes were on me. Oh no. I grimaced. "It's not my dirt to give..."

But it was Rachelle's dirt now. Ryan had given it to her, as dirt. When Ryan told me, it wasn't dirt, it was a conversation between friends. But Rachelle had it as dirt. So she told.

And then everyone looked at me for verification once she told. This disconcerted me. Everyone would look at me whenever they need verification about dirt concerning Ryan, because I'd know if no one else did. "Uh..." I said. But my face gave an obvious yes, it's true expression. I watched as their faces changed from skeptical about the dirt to trusting. Gaah! I have such a revealing facial expression when I'm trying to keep something secret. I exploded. "Yes. Really. Quite."

I didn't feel good about that at all. That night I went home and it took me longer than usual to sleep.