Virtually Yours by Sarvenaz Tash

Author:Sarvenaz Tash
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

CHAPTER 16

IT WAS DAY SIX OF winter break and I was already bored, and boredom was the enemy of healthily moving on. Mina was at work and Mehdi was meeting up with some friends.

At the thought of friends, I picked up my phone and went to text Jeremy to see if he was around for a chat. I’d even composed a message, but then thought better of sending it. After the strange turn our conversation had taken last week, maybe it was better if I gave him some time off from me.

I was scrolling through to Hedy’s name when I passed by Prisha’s and realized that I did also have friends here I could talk to and even potentially hang out with. Maybe not neglecting them would be a good step in my “healthily moving on” program.

I wrote Prisha that I was home and wanted to see if there was anything going on over the next few days.

Mariam: Would love to see you!

She wrote back within a few minutes that she was thinking of having a small party at her house the next night, just a laid-back game night sort of thing and that, of course, I was invited.

A game night gathering meant that Rose would certainly be there, but I swallowed down my feelings of foreboding. There were only so many people I could be actively trying to avoid in a town our size. I wrote her back saying that I would love to come.

• • •

I showed up at Prisha’s with a box of Entenmann’s chocolate chip cookies and was greeted by her mom, who kissed me on the cheek and laughed at the white box in my hands. “Just like old times,” she said as she ushered me into their den.

Addison, Zoe, and Rose were already there when I walked in, sitting around the card table with Prisha and looking like they were ready to get serious. After a friendly greeting and hugs, I put my own game face on and approached the one empty seat. What could I say? The thrill of poker ran in my family. I traded my stack of dollar bills for chips and let Prisha deal me in.

Addison won the first hand pretty easily, and I folded right off the bat during the second hand. It was the third hand where things were getting interesting. Everyone except Zoe was in, and no one’s face was giving away anything. I had a full house of three nines and two twos. It was a pretty good hand, though not completely unbeatable. I kept peeking at Prisha, Rose, and Addison to see if I could glean anything from their expressions or maybe even see a face card reflected in their eyes.

“So, Rose, have you made your decision yet?” Zoe asked as she dipped a carrot into some ranch dressing.

Rose sighed. “Not exactly,” she said. “But I’m thinking I probably will drop out.”

I looked up at her. “Drop out?”

She turned her gray-blue eyes to me and nodded briefly.

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