My phone buzzed by my leg and I picked it up. Willow and I had been exchanging angry texts that included phrases likeHow stupid! What a punk! Maybe there are two horns up there after all!for the last hour or so.
Miss me yet?Willow had texted.
Yes, I do. Why is Death Valley called Death Valley?
You’re stopping in Death Valley? Didn’t anyone tell you it’s hot there? Deathly hot! Not as hot as Skyler, but close.
We agreed he wasn’t hot.
Yeah, I’m going back and forth on that.
Negative jerk points are in play here.
Fine. But take a couple sneaky pics so I can remember more clearly. Also, who would win in a fight? That little elf guy from Zelda or that green spinning guy from that fighting game?
Link or Blanka?
Yes, sure. I was going with a green theme. It’s an unexpected question for you to practice. Answer it fast.
“What’s so funny?” Paisley asked, and I realized I had a huge grin on my face.
“Oh nothing, my friend Willow. She makes me laugh.”
“Is she the pretty Black girl who was at your house today?” She set the notebook onto the bed beside her.
“Yes.”
“Is she your best friend?”
“She is.”
“For how long?”
“Like three years or so. Middle of eighth grade.”
She pulled the ponytail holder out of her hair and ran her fingers through it. “I just finished eighth. I’m going to be a freshman.”
“Nice,” I said.
“Skyler says high school is better than middle school.”
The summer before eighth grade was when Skyler had leftand it felt like my entire life left with him. I had no other good friends. I hadn’t invested very much energy in extracurricular activities, and I had felt adrift. A scene from PE that year played through my mind, unwelcome.
It had been a rainy day, so the scheduled outdoor activities were canceled, leaving all the classes crammed in the gym.
A teacher had gotten up and asked, “Any suggestions on what we can play?”
I’d yelled out, “The floor is lava!”
A roar of laughter filled the gym. It was one of the first times after Skyler left that I realized I might think differently than a lot of the kids my age. I’d learned to filter myself after that, which helped.
My cheeks warmed with the remembered embarrassment and I shook my head at Paisley. “It’s definitely better than junior high.”
“I hope so. I failed a class last year.” She nodded to a backpack she had brought that was now sitting on the bench alongside the table. “My mom negotiated a special extra-credit assignment to earn a passing grade.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Wildlife on the road,” she said, and Skyler let out a snorting laugh.