Rivky tries to change the topic at first but soon finds that it is not only useless but somewhat self-defeating. The discussions about their teacher serve as the best way of connecting and it’s the only topic Rivky can relate to. She faces away from her mother whenever she’s in sight and digs into a part of her she hadn’t even known existed a part that can harp on ill-fitting sweaters and old lady shoes and a sheitel that’s always askew. 

She ignores the small persistent voice inside her head that whines what if they were talking about you? and responds with a silent shouting but they aren’t! And the voice continues this time with a little less force if I do stop hanging around with them maybe that’s exactly who they’ll start talking about...

“What does your mom say?” Aliza asks one day as the girls all put their salads in the middle of the table. Rivky Shmorg they affectionately call it and Rivky gamely eats from each salad even though she doesn’t particularly like vegetables.

“I haven’t spoken to her yet” Rivky says which isn’t entirely true. Just the other night Rivky had tried to bring it up had said something about Parshah class being a waste of time but her mother had shut it down before she could even get into details.

“Rivky don’t abuse my position ” she said and that was the end of that.

The table gets quiet in a concerning way and Rivky senses a ticking time bomb buried somewhere within this nascent friendship. If she does not deliver her side of the bargain things could fall apart and become even worse than they were before. Once again feeling lonely after having not been lonely — this is something Rivky can’t bear to imagine. And there is another fear eating at her inside a concern of what making an enemy of Aliza could do. She thinks back to Leah’s warning her insistence that these girls were trouble and despite herself wonders what happened in the past that convinced Leah of this. Could it be more than just jealousy?

“It’s hard ” Rivky explains. “My mom isn’t very receptive to talking about teachers. She doesn’t want to hear it.”

Aliza snorts. “She’s the principal ” she says icily. “It’s her job.”

Rivky looks down at her plate where a medley of vegetables remains uneaten. “You’re right ” she says miserably. “But...”

The girls sit silently waiting for Aliza’s next move. After a few moments Aliza smiles her trademark smile and the girls all relax.

“Well maybe it’s better this way ” she says. “Let’s not involve her. I have a better idea.”

Aliza’s idea alarms Rivky but it also eases her mind. The friendship is not over her mother will not need to be dragged in. As Aliza puts it change is best sought within whatever that means. When Rivky asks for details Aliza simply says “We’ll intimidate her. She’ll eventually leave on her own.”