“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said. “But that’s just what your name is when it’s short. Oh, and monkeys and apes are two different things. People always mix them up.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s the difference?”
“Monkeys are the little guys that hop around in the branches. Apes are like…chimps and gorillas. Oh! And people. Well, we were apes once.”
I loved listening to her go on about all the stuff she was interested in.
“Anyway,” she said. “I’ll think about it. I know you said when you come up with a nickname you just know it, but I want to come up with something really good for you.”
“OK, it’s a homework assignment.”
“No way!” she said. “Homework’s boring. This’ll be fun.”
She took my hand again, the two of us drawing closer to the house.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you something.”
“What’s that?”
“I texted my dad earlier asking if we could get a treat on the way home from school and he said ‘yes.’”
“Is that right?”
“Yep!” She reached into her bag and took out her phone before I had a chance to say anything. Then she held up the screen. Sure enough, it was a conversation between her and Jason, Willa asking for an after-school treat and Jason giving her permission, as long as it was something small so dinner wouldn’t get spoiled. It was pretty funny to see her emoji-laden words contrast with Jason’s formal writing style.
“OK, then,” I said. “If he says it’s all right, then it’s all right with me. What do you want?”
“Cookies!” She stopped in her tracks and pointed across the street. Sure enough, there was a cookie shop on the other side, the windows packed with rows of baked goods.
“Hmm, that sounds good. But just one, OK?”
“Fine,” she said with a smile as we crossed the street. “First one there gets to pick!”
Willa broke off into a sprint. The girl ran fast—I had to give her that.
“Hey, Will!”
I kept up after her, making sure she never left my sight as she moved through the crowds of people on the sidewalk. For a moment I lost her, my heart skipping a beat as I struggled to see where she was. But the crowd parted enough for me to lay eyes on her waving to me in front of the bakery.
“Made it!” she said as I approached. “That means I get to pick, remember?”
“OK, you can pick. But don’t ever run off like that again, OK? I’m serious! City’s full of all sorts of crazy people, and it’s my job to look after you.”
“Fine, fine,” she said, her eyes already on the baked goods in the window. “Come on!”
She hurried into the store and, to my surprise, it was packed. The space was bigger than I would’ve guessed from the outside, and there had to be dozens of people in there all clustered in front of the glass counters. The smell of freshly-baked cookies and cakes was thick in the air, and the clerks behind the register worked at a fevered pace to hand over treats and take payment. It was loud in there too, everyone calling out their orders at the same time. I could barely hear myself think.
“OK!” said Willa beside me, her high voice rising above the noise. “I want…peanut butter and chocolate chip. Do you see them?”
I scanned the racks but didn’t spot that kind. “Nope, but they’re probably somewhere around here.”
“I’ll find them. Wait here!”
Willa vanished into the crowd, disappearing among the customers.
“Shit,” I hissed. “Will! I just told you not to run off!”
But my words didn’t do me any good—she was gone.