Q - Dear Annabelle, At the beginning of the school year I became good friends with this really cool girl! I thought that she was my friend and that we could talk about anything! Then one day, out of the blue, she decided she would go off and start hanging out with other people. She hasn't talked to me since except in the background when she made one of her friends call me and asked me all these questions. It made me really mad because I don't know why she can't talk to me about this. I don't know what to do! She's turning all of the people who I use to hang around against me and now she's telling people that I talk about people behind there backs and I don't. Will you please give me some advice???? A - Dear Stephanie, Youâre thirteen.......and, at this age, things can change so fast that it can make your head spin. You've learned a valuable lesson, (whether you know it or not), ......and the lesson is....people gossip. Now, the only defense you have against gossip, other than to NEVER engage in it, is to, simply always be your best Îselfâ. That means being cheerful, sunny, interesting, always reliable and friendly. Then, if anyone ever says anything about you, anyone who knows you will have to acknowledge to themselves that whatever has been said is, in their experience, untrue. From what youâve told me it sounds as if Îthat girlâ befriended you with the explicit purpose of eliciting information about you that she could then use to move in on your friends. There are actually human predators in this world and among them, teenage girls are some of the most vicious. That may or may not be the case here. Other than getting on with your life and standing against the onslaught as best you can, there's not a good way of dealing with this kind of person. That they have troubled inner selves isnât of much interest to you when you find yourself the object of their attentions. You can, one by one, talk with each of your friends saying only, Îyou know that I would not talk about you in your absence....now, what say we go get some pizza?â - Annabelle Q - Dear Annabelle, Hi!! Thanks so much for replying!! By now, the two of us and some others that were involved have talked it over and we have become somewhat of friends again! I still don't feel right hanging around them all the time but it's a start!! the pizza sounds great! Well Bye! A - Dear Stephanie, You're welcome......you've a good head on your shoulders...don't let b----y girls throw you for a loop. If you are consistent, anyone who speaks against you will look like what they are....jealous. - Annabelle