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Drama Queen candidates
Back-stabbing, ankle-biting sluts ... and the women who loved them

Contestant No. 1
Contestant No. 2
Contestant No. 3

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[ CONTESTANT No. 3 ]

FRIENDS FOREVER ... OR AT LEAST UNTIL I NEEDED HER
By Lizzie Tompkins
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You would think that an eight-week trip to Europe might be enough to seal a bond of friendship and loyalty for eternity, right? Well, I foolishly believed so, and as a result my trust was scorched quite thoroughly by none other than my traveling companion and friend, Karen.

Karen and I worked together at the same restaurant, along with Tom, a demigod whom I had a gargantuan crush on since college. After our return from Europe, Tom began pursuing me on a more passionate level than prior to my journey. We started dating and, of course, sleeping together, and all was well and good. Karen was one of my closest confidantes, so she was privy to all the juicy details of our little love affair -- including the inevitable and gut-wrenching breakup only two months later. Oh, I knew it was not meant to last, but I was still depressed and sick to my stomach and crying about it a lot. Nevertheless, I tried to take it like a woman, which we all know means dissecting every little thing that had occurred during our 60-day courtship.

Less than a month after the unceremonious end of our sordid little mating ritual, I realized that I was pregnant. I was calmer than I had ever expected I would be in a situation like this, and with girlfriends like Karen around, I had plenty of backup to support my decision to have an abortion. Tom, the man who had vowed that our friendship would survive sex, was not much help, but then again, he was just a guy. Karen and the rest of the gals would be there for me.

So I went through the ordeal of terminating my pregnancy. Although it was my "choice," it was nonetheless difficult, and to this day, I wish that I hadn't been so irresponsible in the first place. But what really irks is what I learned a few weeks later.

Somehow, Tom and Karen -- who had never really exchanged more than a few words with each other -- had gotten very close in a very short time. I sensed something but tried not to acknowledge it. One day, as Karen was leaving work for the evening and I was starting my shift, she decided that it was the right time to tell me that she and Tom were seeing each other -- seriously. I sat there, stunned, but not surprised. Like I said, I had a feeling that something was going on, but I couldn't believe that one of my favorite people in the world would betray my trust and confidence. Not only was that exactly what she did, but she sprung it on me minutes before I was about to serve burgers for five hours. This person I had shared everything with, including the pregnancy and abortion, blew me off like a speck of dust. After she told me about the two of them, she never attempted to discuss matters further: She had done her part by telling me, and now I had to get over it. It wasn't that I had been in love with Tom or that we were still dating and Karen slept with him behind my back. It was her lack of caring that made me feel like she had screwed me over as a friend. Being "in love" (whatever!) was enough to justify her actions.

They are still together, three years later, and I hear through mutual friends that they are planning to get married, so I suppose it was worth it for her. I never really see her anymore, and I have gotten over it, but there is still something I'd like to give her: a punch in the face. Karen, if you're out there, go to hell.
SALON | Feb. 25, 1998

Contestant No. 1 | Contestant No. 2 | Contestant No. 3 | Vote now!


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