She's the Worst by Lauren Spieller

Author:Lauren Spieller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

CHAPTER 16

JENN

The parking lot at In-N-Out smells amazing, like cheeseburgers and fries and the end of summer. It reminds me of all the times I’ve come here, first with my parents when I was too little to eat an entire hamburger on my own, then later with April, when we’d save up money and walk over on the weekends. Then a few years later, my friends and I would swing by after school, so Katie could have something to eat before her evening dance classes across town. I’m hit with a pang of homesickness, so sudden and thorough that it stops me in my tracks even though it doesn’t make any sense—I haven’t even left home yet, and it’s not like they don’t have In-N-Out in Northern California. But it sends me reeling just the same.

“You okay?” April asks.

“I’m fine,” I say, waving her off. “Just tired.”

“Hi!” Shruthi says when we step inside. She throws her arms around me, and I’m enveloped by the gentle scent of her peony perfume. It simultaneously makes me feel better and much, much worse.

“I cannot believe this is the last time we’re going to see you,” Shruthi says into my hair. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“It’s the last time we’re going to see her until Thanksgiving,” Katie corrects from a few feet away. “Don’t be dramatic.” But as soon as Shruthi steps back, Katie tosses her long blond ponytail over her shoulder and hugs me too.

“Hi, April,” Shruthi says after the hugs are over. “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” April says, not making eye contact with her. “Have you seen Nate?”

“Nope,” Shruthi says, her voice kind despite how rude April is being. “Do you want to wait for him, or should we get in line?”

“Let’s order,” April says. “I know what he likes anyway.”

Five minutes later, we grab our drinks and Katie leads us toward a booth in the corner. We take our seats—Katie and Shruthi on one side, April and I on the other.

“It’s really nice of you to organize an entire day for your sister,” Shruthi says when we’re settled. “My sister would never do that. She’s a total brat.”

“Your sister’s only six!” Katie says.

“Doesn’t mean she isn’t a brat.”

“Why did you do it?” Katie asks April. “Was it a going-away present?”

We all look at April, and for the second time today, I’m nervous about what she’s going to say. Will she remind them she couldn’t give me a going-away present because she hadn’t known I was going away in the first place? That she never would have organized today if she had? I doubt Katie and Shruthi would blame her. In fact, they’d probably be pissed at me, since I might have led them to believe I’d come clean weeks ago, just to keep them off my back.

But April doesn’t say any of these things. Instead, she slides out of the booth. “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna call Nate and find out if he’s coming.”

When she’s gone, Shruthi turns to me.

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