The Comedienne's Guide to Pride by Hayli Thomson

Author:Hayli Thomson [Thomson, Hayli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Published: 2022-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

I caught Charlotte in the hallway before second period. She had the door of her locker open. I bumped it against her hip. “Hi.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my god! Your hair!”

She reached up to touch my bangs, but the second she realized what she was doing, that there were people, that we were in school, she dropped her hand and curled her fingers around the edge of her locker door instead. “It looks really cute.”

Her stare bore into mine. I burned beneath it.

“Are you okay?” she said. “You look upset.”

“Brooke’s pissed at me. She says she’s sitting with her chem friends at lunch.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t call her back last night. I told her I forgot, but she didn’t believe me. I … I think I’ve really upset her.”

“She can be judgmental. If you forgot, then you just forgot. She’s your best friend—she should know you’re super honest. I mean, I do.”

As she smiled up at me, my chest ached.

She tilted her head. “Sit with me at lunch?”

“It’s okay. I do have friends other than just Brooke.” I could sit with some of the art kids.

“I want you to sit with me.”

I bit my lip.

“Please,” she said quietly. “It’s just me and Chloe and Rach, and sometimes Chloe’s boyfriend.”

Charlotte had told me in the diner that she hadn’t said anything about us to anyone, but when I found her in the cafeteria later that day, I wondered if her friends had guessed. When we first sat down, Rachel glanced between us. I didn’t know if Charlotte knew that Rachel knew, but Isi had definitely told Rachel what she’d seen the day before.

“Taylor’s in theater with me,” Charlotte said, like they had no idea who I was, like we hadn’t all gone to middle school together.

I fell into the seat next to Chloe. Charlotte sat opposite, next to Rachel. Rachel smiled widely. “Your hair looks great.

What made you cut it?”

“My inn has a lice infestation.”

Their faces fell.

“She’s joking,” Charlotte said.

“Am I, though?” I looked between Chloe and Rachel. “I’m itchy. Are you guys itchy?”

“She’s still joking.”

Chloe scratched at the back of her neck.

The cafeteria was loud and Charlotte’s best friends were quiet.

“What’s it like living in an inn?” Rachel was clearly just looking for an icebreaker. “Do you hear stuff through walls?”

I peeled back the bun of my burger to check for a pickle. “Are you asking if I’ve heard people enjoying an afternoon delight?”

Her mouth slackened. “Oh, no, I just—”

“Well, I was thirteen the first time I heard two people having sex. They only lasted about two minutes so, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t particularly impressed. However, I have to hand it to them, it was somewhat educational—I learned that come had another meaning entirely.” I popped a grape into my mouth.

Mid-bite into her burger, Chloe stilled. Eyes on me, Rachel chewed slowly. I swallowed the grape half whole. Okay, too far. Safer waters, safer waters … “So, you all went to Witchcraft Heights Elementary together? That’s how you met?”

“That’s how we met,” Chloe said, “but we really became friends when we took our First Communion together.

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