Accidental by Alex Richards

Author:Alex Richards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

22

“Do you think I’m going to be the last virgin on Earth?”

“Leah, of course not,” I say, but then raise an eyebrow. “How do you classify losing it, if you’re bi?”

A frenzied blush sweeps across her cheeks. “I guess I meant in the traditional, hetero sense.”

“Wait, what? Are you not a lesbian-virgin?” I gasp. “Did you do it and not tell me? Shut up!”

“Keep your voice down.”

Not that we really need to worry about eavesdroppers. French class ended ten minutes early, so we’ve got the hallway to ourselves.

“I told you about Robyn from Santa Fe High,” she says with a grin.

My jaw hits the floor. “You said you did some ‘stuff,’ but I didn’t know it was, like, all-the-way stuff. Holy shit, Leah!”

She can’t respond; she’s too busy bumping into walls, laughing, covering her burning cheeks with both hands while I cheer for her.

I get distracted as we pass the door to Gabby’s AP Econ classroom. She’s in the front row, face scrunched as she takes notes more copiously than any other student. I feel this little pang of guilt flicker inside me. Mostly because of Gabby, but also because I am probably the only junior at Chavez who isn’t in ultra high gear right now, obsessing over college prep. I’m sorry, but how can I, when—

“Any word from Robert?” Leah asks a minute later.

She’s way too good at sensing angst.

“He’s really busy,” I say quickly. “We text, but he’s got all this work stuff going on.”

She runs her fingers along the wall as we walk. “Hey, so, my parents want to have you over for dinner. Mom’s desperate to smother you in hugs. She even lit a candle for you in her shrine.”

“Wow.” I whistle. “I made the famous Gilda Fromowitz shrine. I’m an even bigger lost cause than I thought.”

“Stop it!” she says. “You know that shrine means a lot to her. Remember when my aunt Karen got breast cancer? A candle burned in that shrine every single day until she went into remission. It’s an honor, I’m serious.”

“I know you are.” I nod solemnly and put an arm around her shoulder. “So, how long does your mom have to light candles before I can un-kill my mother?”

My bad joke drains all the blood from Leah’s face.

“Sorry. I was trying—”

But I stop. It isn’t the joke that has her face the color of vanilla yogurt. We’re out of the language lab, stepping onto the quad, and immediately we spot Annette Martinez hovering around my locker, taping something up.

A picture.

The picture.

“What the hell are you doing?!” I shout, shoving her aside to rip the photoshopped monstrosity down. My heart hammers as I glance at it, one thumb covering the fake blood exiting my mother’s head. “You’re the one who posted this bullshit online?”

Annette flinches. “Of course not.”

She snatches the paper from me, using it to gesture toward the hundred or so lockers surrounding us. “They were plastered on practically every single one. I’ve been tearing them down since my study hall ended.

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