Brighter Than the Moon by David Valdes

Author:David Valdes [Valdes, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781547608706
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2022-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Ash loves that Christmas and New Year’s are exactly a week apart, because it forces schools to give kids at least that entire week off. Years that both days fall on a Thursday are the best, because no one sends kids back to school on January 2, so you get a bonus day. No luck this year with both occurring on a Monday, but it’s still great to wake up knowing the rest of the week is his to do with as he chooses. Today, he will do the insane thing of going to the mall, which will be full of a zillion other kids who A) are returning clothes because their parents think they have any idea what teenagers wear or B) are like Ash and have wise parents who gave them gifts cards instead.

Raj offered to drive, which Ash now sees was a ploy to trap him into a lecture. Currently, his dad is explaining how malls are the blackheads that show the toxicity beneath the pretty face of capitalism. Fortunately, Ash had asked Shani to come, so he isn’t enduring this speech alone. Ten minutes into Raj’s jeremiad about the tragedy of wage inequality, Shani texts Ash from the backseat.

Isn’t ur dad a millionaire?

Ash replies with a head-exploding emoji. Irony was never Raj’s strong suit.

It’s a relief when he deposits them by Nordstrom and says he’ll be back in a few hours. Ash, per usual ritual, makes a beeline straight for Ebar, the store’s café. He orders two Mexican mochas, knowing the way to Shani’s heart is through caffeine and chocolate. She hates Nordstrom—the prices and the aesthetic—but he needs to keep her mood elevated. He has competing tasks: make her feel good about ending things with Jackson and prepare her for the moment he reveals his own crush. Both will involve dropping hints about Jackson liking boys, but he’ll start with good best friend behavior, which means a big mocha and only a small amount of time in the Top-man section of Nordstrom.

“I’ll be quick,” he says. “And then you can drag me to Sephora or wherever.”

“Deal,” she says, looking too pleased.

“That was easy.”

“Wasn’t planning on Sephora, though. I’m gunning for PINK.”

Bra shopping? Doesn’t he deserve a get-out-of-jail-free card on this one?

When his expression curdles, Shani pokes him. “You’ll live.” She pushes him to toward the Topman racks. “Now hurry and buy some ugly-ass thing you saw in a magazine. If we stay too long, they’ll think I’m shoplifting.”

He hates it when she jokes like that, partly because it’s true. And because it doesn’t apply to him. No one has ever followed him around a store; it’s as if they just know his wallet is stocked. Even in ambiguity, his brown registers differently to racists than hers; his Indian features usually move him into a safe category. Not white exactly, but white-adjacent.

Trying not to linger, Ash discovers a red felt overcoat with hidden pockets secreted into the side seams. It would be perfect for Valentine’s, now only six weeks away.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.