For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for October 13, 2017

Except for Dawn Enjo (that is Michael’s friend Brian’s sister’s name, right?), I guess Elizabeth doesn’t have very many friends, does she?

Meet Brandy. She does not start off well with Elizabeth.

SPOILER the rest of this:

Brandy will fill the spot of Elizabeth’s occasional extra friend, who will show up whenever Elizabeth has a party or a group activity, just as Darryl Smythe does for Michael Patterson.

Rebecca never appears again. Say good-bye to Rebecca.

Glad she is learning early that not everyone is nice.

Cliques start early in school, and there’s always someone who gets picked on or shut out once and it sticks. I should know.

And there’s a girl in this harbor town, And she works layin’ whiskey down. They say, Brandy, fetch another round. She serves them whiskey and wine.

People are horrible, you know?

Friendship is fungible. Enemies, on the other hand, are forever!

Brandy reminds me of a girl I knew in 6th grade named Annette. Through that school year Annette had no less than 6 girls, one at a time, who were her best friend. I was not chosen to be one of them, and I always wondered why she dumped one for another and why the new one accepted being Annette’s friend when it would only be for a short time before she was dumped.

I like that April fights back — verbally, of course. If Brandy ever does want to be friends again, she should answer, “Not today.”

Brandy looks like a younger, shorter-haired version of Martha. Except Martha’s hair should be brown. They still haven’t corrected the colouring.

Won’t it be nice to someday be grown up and no longer have to put up with that?