What Kind of Friend Are You?

What Kind of Friend Are You? is the second book in the Rockett's World series. It was written by Lauren Day and released on August 28th, 1999 along with the previous book, Who Can You Trust?

Back Cover Synopsis

 * "Welcome to Whistling Pines Junior High School, where new girl Rockett Movado's figuring out who's who and what's what. She has to make some big decisions. Like who might be a friend for life and who's a full-time phony? And is it safe to trust everything she hears? Rockett's choices really count. She's learning who she is and where she fits in -- and any move she makes could change everything.


 * "Someone's been asking Rockett for a lot of help with homework, and now things have gone too far. Rockett knows she's done nothing wrong. But if she were a real friend would she tell on the person who's broken the rules?"

Author Acknowledgments

 * The author never has to wonder what kind of friends she has: totally, the best! Among them, and especially in Rockett's World are: Kate Egan, editor deluxe; Madalina Stefan, artist extraordinaire; Annie McDonnell, production princess; Maria Barbo, indispensable assistant to the stars; Craig Walker, the boss boss; and of course, Jean Feiwel, genius visionary. I am in debt to one and all.

Summary
The book begins two months after Rockett's first day at Whitling Pines Junior High and a few days after the events of Who Can You Trust?

Cleve asks Rockett if she has an answer to Nicole's invitation to run for a student office on their ticket, but she hasn't thought about it. Max urges her to hurry up and accept, since he's confident that they're going to win. While Nicole is running for President, Cleve is running for Treasurer, Stephanie is running for Secretary, and Max is the strategist for the group. While the previous book states that Whitney is running for Vice-President, Max tells Rockett that the position is open and will be hers if she accepts. Nicole has not told Whitney about her offer.

At their lockers, Whitney complains to Rockett about Shakespeare being assigned to them in Language Arts ("Why can't we ever have any books written in English?") and how her dad wouldn't let her go to the mall during the weekend because of her bad grades. Shortly after, Stephanie pulls her away for a meeting at Nicole's locker.

Rockett heads over to Jessie's locker, where she and Darnetta are talking about the roller-blading outing they went on with Rockett over the weekend. Jessie switches topics to tell them about an anonymous gift she received in the mail, and that they should talk about it over lunch, where the person who sent it is less likely to walk by.

In homeroom, Mr. Baldus outlines the basics of the upcoming class elections. The deadline for sign-ups are at the end of the week. Anyone with three or more detentions, has been caught cheating, or has less than a C grade average is excluded from running. Max shoots a rubberband at Arnold, which causes him to want to sign up. The CSGs arrive late, explaining that they had an important meeting in the art classroom. Rockett, feeling left out, decides to pass a note to Nakili asking her about it. As they walk to class, Darnetta tells her that the popular kids always win the elections. Rockett asks them if they've ever ran for an office. Darnetta has no interest in running, while Jessie has considered it, but no one has ever asked her to be on their ticket and she doesn't feel comfortable organizing her own campaign.

As Jessie and Darnetta peel off to head to their class, Whitney runs up to Rockett to ask her for a favor. She needs help with Language Arts again. Unfortunately, Whitney changed her schedule and isn't in Rockett's class anymore. Nervously, Whitney points out that her class is just starting to read The Taming of the Shrew, while Rockett's class has already finished it. She asks if Rockett could come over to her house after school to go over her reading assignment. She offers to have her dad drive them and let her stay for dinner. Rockett eagerly accepts.

In a Confession Session, Ruben reveals that a group has asked him to run for vice president on their ticket.

In Art, Nakili informs Rockett that the CSGs are running for office and asked Mr. Rarebit if they could use the period to work on their campaign materials. (He agreed to do so on the condition of giving the option to everyone in the class.) They grumble a bit about how some kids just use the elections as a popularity contest and some don't even bother voting. The girls plan to run on a platform of adding vegetarian options to the cafeteria, implementing better recycling practices, adding a compost heap and a rollerblade park next to the school, and lobbying for the class trip coming up in a month to be to Washington D.C. (The class gets to pick the destination.) Unfortunately, Dana has had too many detentions and can't run, leaving two spots open on their ticket, with Nakili as president and Miko as treasurer. They asked another person to be their vice president, but they haven't answered yet. They have a list of possible choices for their secretary, but all three of the CSGs have to agree on whoever they pick. While she doesn't say it outloud, Rockett agrees with their platform and wants to join their ticket.

After art class, as Rockett mentally beats herself up for not expressing interest in joining them due to her fear of Dana, Nicole ambushes her and scolds her for not giving her an answer about joining their ticket. Nicole assumes that it's because Rockett needs more information, which Rockett reluctantly agrees. (It's really because she doesn't trust her.) Nicole declares that Rockett will sit with The Ones at lunch and learn about their platform. She then leaves before Rockett has a chance to object.

At lunch, Rockett decides to sit with Jessie and Darnetta. Before the two show up, Mavis appears and hesitantly sits down near her. When Rockett asks her who's going to win the elections, Mavis tells her that you don't need psychic powers to know that The Ones are going to win. Jessie arrives shortly after, saying that Darnetta had to fix some audiovisual slides for a science class. Jessie tells Mavis she's glad she's there, since she might be able to help. She produces a Magic 8-Ball, which Mavis scoffs at until she reveals that it is the anonymous gift she spoke of earlier. When asked, Mavis reveals that Jessie's admirer will eventually reveal himself and that it isn't someone Jessie won't like. Mavis then turns to Rockett and tells her she thinks she's hiding a secret. Before she can elaborate, Nicole appears and coldly asks if she can talk to Rockett in private.

When Nicole angrily chews her out for bailing on her and not giving her an answer, Rockett brings up the fact that she hasn't told Whitney that she might not be on the ticket. Nicole insists that she'll tell Whitney later and that she will completely understand. When asked why she even offered Rockett the position, Nicole explains it's to make the ticket look less insular. She tells Rockett to meet them in the girls' room after school to hear their platform, but Rockett informs her that she already has after school plans with Whitney. Nicole immediately declares and promises that the whole thing is already handled. Whitney will be at the meeting and Rockett will have her blessing to be there.

Later, in the gym locker room, Rockett overhears Nicole and Stephanie telling Whitney about Rockett running for vice president in her place. Nicole sounds shrill, Stephanie tense, and Whitney devastated. Rockett thinks about making an appearance, but decides against it.

After school, in the bathroom, Rockett tries to explain to a completely broken-looking Whitney that she is only there to listen and hasn't agreed to join their ticket yet. Whitney flatly tells her she should accept the offer and goes to do her makeup.

The Ones' election platform includes removing the ban on flip-flops, letting students carry cell phones, more dances, less homework and fewer tests, better quality food in the cafeteria, and an overnight in Chicago as the class trip. The only part that appeals to Rockett is the trip destination (since she wants to go to the Art Institute), and she expresses doubt that the teachers will let them do any of the things they're promising. Nicole assures her that The Ones are "totally powerful" and will be able to enact their platform. Rockett claims that she still needs time to think about it. When she asks Whitney if they're still going to meet at her house, Whitney says that they are without looking at her.

Whitney continues to act distant and absantminded when she and Rockett arrive at her house. When pressed, Whitney insists that she's fine with Rockett taking her place; that there is no reason why Rockett shouldn't take the opportunity. After being interupted by a phone call from her mother, Whitney reveals that her parents are divorced and that her mother is in Austria caring for her sick grandmother. The arrangement is supposed to be temporary, but no one knows when she'll be back. Whitney's dad offered to pay for her to go to Austria if she maintains a 3.0 grade average for the entire semester. While Whitney did have good grades, she's lately become unfocused and angry with the fact that her grades are the only thing her father cares about. Despite being told that she was there to help with homework, Rockett internally becomes angry over being "used" by Whitney.

Regardless, Rockett spends the next two hours going over The Taming of the Shrew with Whitney. She suggests Whitney tell her dad how she feels, but Whitney insists that talking won't work. She then asks again if Whitney is really okay with her taking Nicole's offer, Whitney insists that she is. She agrees that it would be good for The Ones to have a balanced ticket, and not being on it won't affect her social status since everyone knows she's a One. Rockett points out that Nicole still could have talked to her first, but Whitney tells her that that's just how Nicole operates. When Rockett asks her why she's even friends with her, Whitney insists that she's known Nicole for a long time and that deep down, she is a good person. When mentioning that class elections shouldn't be about popularity, Whitney goes into her thoughts about it: that popularity shows that you're a good person that people want to emulate. She thinks Rockett fits that idea completely and being vice president will give her a chance to show everyone else that.

Rockett decides to call Nicole and tell her she's accepting the position when she gets home, but when she does, she learns that Nakili wants her to call back. The CSGs have chosen her to be their secretary. Ruben has also accepted their offer to be their vice president.

The next morning at school, Rockett tries to look for Jessie to get her advice on which offer to take, but runs into a stressed-out Whitney instead. She needs to review the Taming of the Shrew essay Rockett wrote for her class. Rockett is hesitant, but Whitney assures her that she's not going to just copy it and explains about how her dad gave her a lecture, complete with graphs, about how she's not on track to make a 3.0 GPA. Empathizing, Rockett hands the essay over, with the promise that she will have it back by lunch.

At that point, Jessie runs up to her, but can't talk due to Darnetta needing help in the A/V lab. After Rockett insists that she wants to talk to her alone, the two agree to meet up after school.

In homeroom, Rockett tries to ask Ruben about him running with the CSGs, but he anticipates her question before she can ask it. He does't seem like the type to be into junior high school politics to her, and she's right. But he is open to new experiences and thinks running might give him an opportunity to expose more people to his music. Plus, some of The Ones need to be "taken down a peg".

In art, Rockett catches a glimpse of a campaign poster the CSGs are working on, but Dana immediately gets on her case about not immediately taking their offer to join, hinting strongely that she knows about Nicole's offer. Rockett tells them about Nicole's offer, assuring them that it all happened so fast that she didn't have time to sort her thoughts out. While Nakili and Miko are both shocked at first, Nakili understands where she's coming from and agrees to give her time to think about their offer.

In math, Arnold, who sits next to Rockett, tells her that he's running under his own ticket, the "Spork Party". (His platform involves adding them to the utencil selection in the cafeteria.) Rockett immediately tells him not to invite her to run with him, but Arnold says he was merely going to ask for advice, which he doesn't want anymore. Later in the class, Whitney fumbles a math problem on the chalkboard.

In a Confession Session, Whitney admits that she did copy Rockett's essay.

At lunch, Whitney hands Rockett back her essay like she promised. Jessie, Darnetta, and Mavis question her on how smart it was to let Whitney have her homework. Jessie points out that the two of them have the same teacher, Mrs. Tinydahl, and Darnetta notes that The Ones have a reputation for being untrustworthy.

In social studies, Whitney passes Rockett a note asking, again, for study help in the class. After sending a response, Nicole passes her a note telling her that they're going to a pizza place after school to talk election strategy. Before she can give an answer to that note, Mr. Weaseldorf makes her get up in front of the class and recite her essay on Martha Washington. Afterwards, Nicole comes up to her desk asking if she'll be there. Rockett tells her she's made after school plans already. Assuming Rockett has a trust issue with her, Nicole insists that if she weren't sincere, she wouldn't have invited her to the strategy meeting to begin with.

Rockett decides to go to The Ones meeting instead of meeting up with Jessie. Jessie was ultimately fine with it and the two promise to meet up at Jessie's house later. After ordering, Nicole informs her that she heard about the CSGs' offer and wants a straight answer from Rockett about which she's picking. Rockett retorts that she should tell everyone why she was invited to the ticket in the first place while pointing out that they're not friends. Everyone tells her that she should stop being mad about the Ruben note, with Max noting that if she stayed mad at every person that dissed her, she wouldn't have any friends.

Nicole reiterates that Rockett is on the ticket to deversify it and bring in the "indie vote". Plus, they plan on putting flower arrangements in every classroom and need her artistic talent and they need a photographer. As they tell her their plans for a poster (a parody of the got milk? campaign), Rockett can't help but feel that something was wrong.

At Jessie's house, Rockett tells her about the two campaign offers. Jessie thinks she should go with The Ones since they're going to win and if she's vice president, she can change their platform. Plus, Jessie assures her that at least two of The Ones (Stephanie, who asked her to help out with an animal shelter fundraiser, and a nameless person) are okay. Not to mention that refusing them will make The Ones her enemy. She also urges her not to join the CSGs just because she has a crush on Ruben. Rockett points out that The Ones only win because everyone assumes they will and does nothing to stop them. Grinning, Jessie decides to see what the magic 8-ball will say. When Rockett asks it if The Ones will win the election, it gives her a "yes".

When she gets home, Whitney has left her a message whining about her reply to her note: that she's not great in every subject and that Whitney should ask Nicole or Stephanie. But Whitney insists that she can't because they don't know about her dad and the trip, and Nicole has her own issues to work out. Stephanie, meanwhile, is "no brain surgeon". Defeated, Rockett agrees to help her with social studies, math, and language arts.

The next day, Rockett decides to tell Nicole that she's accepted The Ones' offer after language arts. The class is covering Hamlet, and Mrs. Tinydahl decides to have a discussion on what the line "this above all, to thine own self be true" means to them. After everyone else in the class goes, Rockett replies that it means that you don't always have to be who others want you to be.

After class, Mrs. Tinydahl calls Rockett up to her desk and shows her Whitney's homework assignment on The Taming of the Shrew. It looks suspiciously similar to Rockett's. Struck speechless for a moment, Rockett tells her that she helped Whitney study and that the similarities are probably just a coincidence. Nethertheless, Mrs. Tinydahl has to report it to Principal Herrera. But nothing will go on Rockett's permanent record if it doesn't happen again.

At her locker, the CSGs have written a message to Rockett asking her to meet in the art room to give them her answer with magnetic letters. Rockett uses the letters to spell out an angry unsigned message to Whitney on her locker with the demand that she call her. She doesn't. And when Rockett tries, she gets either busy signals (later revealed to be Whitney calling people trying to figure out who wrote the message) or Mr. Weiss telling her that Whitney is banned from the phone for the night. He does mention that she can email her, but she won't read it until morning since she's also banned from her computer. That night, unable to sleep and thinking about the Hamlet quote, Rockett sends someone an email.

The next morning, Rockett goes to Whitney's house and confronts her about the essay. But Whitney insists that it was just a coincidence and that Tinydahl is bluffing about reporting it. When they get to school, Rockett reveals to Nicole, who meets the two outside of the school, and Whitney that she emailed Nakili to tell her that she is joining the CSGs' ticket. Nicole angrily tells her that she'll regret it.

While Nakili, Miko, and Ruben are excited about her decision, Jessie is upset over Rockett not telling her first and not taking her advice. Max also seems upset for reasons Rockett doesn't understand.

Mr. Baldus reveals that the tickets for the class elections are locked in and choices will be The Ones, The CSGs, and the Spork Party, which consists of Arnold and Bo. The groups have two weeks to campaign, after which will be a debate followed by voting.

At lunch, after Rockett attempts to make some awkward small talk with her, Whitney says that she will go to Mrs. Tinydahl and tell her that she (Rockett) did nothing wrong. She does exactly that and reveals that she was never really okay with Nicole making Rockett their vice president. But has gotten over it now that she is on the ticket proper and still considers Rockett her friend. Unfortunately, running for student government now gives her less time to study, and she also needs help in her science class. When Rockett starts to protest, Whitney starts to whine about not being able to see her mother. She suggests asking Arnold, but Whitney doesn't want him misinterpreting her request for help as her recuperating his old crush on her. Before Rockett can give an answer, Miko pulls her into a meeting.

The CSG Party spend the next two weeks campaigning, with Rockett convincing Ruben to let Jessie lend her flute-playing skills to his music. Meanwhile, Whitney continues to whine and give little effort during their study sessions, and Rockett's own studying takes a backseat. Both her and Whitney panic when Mr. Weaseldorf announces that because the class is doing so well on their American Revolution unit, he's moving the test up to the next day.

During their next strategy session, Miko puts together a chart showing who is voting for whom, with a column dedicated to undecided voters: Arrow, Viva, Ginger, Sharla, Wolf, and Mavis. Ruben says he'll try to convince everyone but Mavis, who is left to Rockett. She also offers to talk to Sharla, but Miko insists that Sharla is a waste of time and probably won't vote at all. During one of Ruben's impromptu jam sessions during lunch, she approaches Sharla, who is tapping her foot to the music. Sharla doesn't think that the CSGs are really capable of changing anything, and states that liking Ruben's music isn't enough to make her want to vote for them. But she decides to vote for them for the hell of it anyway. Mavis, claiming to know the outcome, doesn't see the point in voting. But Rockett insists that voting is important and the right thing to do. Darnetta and Jessie, who are right next to the two during their Phys. Ed. class, agree. (Though Darnetta notes that the "Founding Mothers" probably didn't have middle school elections in mind when they were fighting for suffrage.) Mavis agrees to vote for them, but notes that their entire campaign is a lost cause.

On the day of the test, Whitney claims that she can't see the chalkboard very well and asks to change seats, and then sits right next to Rockett. Rockett doesn't try to make any strong moves to either cover up or make her work visible; worried that Weaseldorf will notice either way. After class, she confronts Whitney in the hallway. At first, she tries to make the excuse that she needs to go help with election stuff, then angrily denies trying to copy Rockett's work. Nevertheless, the two are called up to Weaseldorf's desk the next day for copying each other's work. Whitney remains defensive, insisting that if he didn't see them working together, then they didn't cheat. Weaseldorf lets them off with a warning. Rockett remains silent until they leave the room. She blows up at Whitney for lying to her, but Whitney still insists that nothing happened.

Shortly after, Max is given detention for defacing posters and bribing known CSG voters with college basketball tickets. When he leaves Principal Herrera's office, however, Rockett notices a huge smile on his face. In a Confession Session, Nicole reveals that Max saw a note on Herrera's desk about Rockett being investigated for cheating.

On Debate Day, Nakili, Nicole, and Arnold give their party's opening statement without incident. Principal Herrera and Mr. Baldus then reads off anonymous student-submitted questions, each directed at a specific team, with the other two given the opportunity to rebut. A question about the CSG's recycling initiative comes up, with Rockett noting that it could eventually just become a school rule. This gives Nicole the opportunity to bring up the note about Rockett cheating and demands that the CSGs drop out of the race. Nakili demands to know when they heard about this, but they won't give an answer. Ruben tries to get Rockett to say that it's not true, but she can't get up the nerve to speak. The auditorium devolves into chaos, forcing Principal Herrera to cancel the debate and send everyone back to class. But a bunch of students rush the stage instead. The Ones, save Whitney and Max, gleefully thank her for not picking their team and sinking their reputations. Jessie, Dana, Nakili are all angry at Rockett and trying to get answers over the yelling.

Two people come to Rockett's defense: Ruben, who shouts that they're all jumping to conclusions and haven't given her a chance to defend herself; and Mavis, who declares after the yelling has died down that Rockett is innocent and that the real cheater is among The Ones. By this point, Whitney has left the stage.

The next morning, Rockett overhears Nicole screaming at Whitney in the girls' room. Nicole insists that Whitney betrayed her. But Whitney points out that if she had told her about Max seeing the note, this wouldn't be happening. She also admits that she did cheat on Rockett, accuses Nicole of not being her real friend, and sobs that she just wanted to see her mother. As she bursts into tears, Rockett decides to enter the bathroom.

As Rockett gives her a tissue, Whitney tells her that she went to Principal Herrera after the debate and confessed. Rockett had already heard from Nakili and Jessie because the news of Whitney's confession had spread overnight. Nicole angrily storms out of the bathroom with Stephanie in tow.

In homeroom, Mr. Baldus reveals that there was an emergency meeting about the elections. Whitney has stepped down and The Ones will have two days to find a replacement for her. Then they will have another brief debate, followed by voting. Nicole manages to find a replacement before the day is even over: Wolf. This rattles the CSGs a bit. While Wolf generally doesn't care about class elections, there are a lot of kids who like him and would vote for him. Nevertheless, Nakili declares that they will stay the course.

The mini debate is moved up due to the quick replacement and finish without any incidents. Rockett and Jessie go to vote together. The voting is being monitored to make sure no one votes twice. Rockett wonders if it has something to do with Max encouraging Ones' supporters to vote more than once. But Jessie sternly insists that Max wouldn't do that.

The school stays open until 8 pm, allowing anyone interested in the results to stick around and hear them. The CSGs decide to hang out in the art room. Ruben's bandmates, Olivia, Lar-Dog, and Ian; and Arrow, Viva, and Ginger show up and decided to all play together if they win. Jessie, Darnetta, Mavis, and Sharla also decided to hang out with them. Miko asks Mavis if they should even ask for her predicition. Mavis says they shouldn't, but assures them that the Sporks are not going to win. As Principal Herrera comes on the intercom, Rockett wonders who she should try to hug when they win.

She decides to hug Dana (to bury the hatchet) just as Herrera announces that The Ones have won. Dana returns it, upset that they have lost. Arnold bursts into the room, demanding a recount along with Dana. The rest of the room sinks into despair before Nakili calls them all to attention. She thanks them all for their support and assures everyone that they did the right thing and will continue to fight for the changes that they want. She then encourages them to party anyway, just as Nicole arrives to gloat about her victory. Max pulls her away while exchanging glances with someone in the room.

The next day, The Ones and their supporters hold an after school victory party on the soccer field. (The whole thing is catered by Wolf's family's restaurant.) Almost the entire school is there, including Rockett and the CSGs. During her victory speech, Nicole announces that the date and destination for the 8th grade class trip, Chicago, has been selected.

Ruben asks Rockett to go hit up the buffet with him, teasing her about getting a hot dog. She thanks him for standing up for her in the first debate. Ruben tells her he knows what it's like to be "bruised" for no reason. He doesn't elaborate when asked though. After pointing out how uncomfortable Wolf looks on stage, he reveals that Nicole got him to join by promising to bring more customers to his family's restaurant. (And not because he also has a crush on her, which Ruben can't comment on.)

Rockett follows him up to the deejay near the stage and approaches Whitney, who is all smiles. She asks Whitney how she managed to get back in Nicole's good graces so quickly. Whitney just shrugs and says that they always make up after a while. When Rockett points out that they used her, Whitney shrugs again and says that everyone uses each other sometimes. She also reveals that Wolf will probably step down and give Whitney his position after she's eligible again. She also confessed to her dad about the cheating and how stressed the trip made her feel. He was so proud of her honesty that he's letting go to Austria after all. She asks to make a pact for the two of them to remain friends, but Rockett spies Jessie in the crowd.

Rockett asks Jessie if she ever found out who her secret admirer was. She has, and shyly points to Max on the stage. Rockett is shocked and demands that Jessie tell her all of the details.

Continuity
In Spring 1998, a mock school election was held on the Purple Moon website where visitors could vote between the Ones (minus Wolf and Cleve), the CSGs (minus Rockett and Ruben), the "Party Party", and the Spork Party. The Ones won the poll with 134,247 votes.

Localizations
A Spanish translation of the book, (titled ¿Que Clase de Amiga Eres?) was released in April 2001 by Ediciones B.