M or F? by Lisa Papademetriou

Author:Lisa Papademetriou
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group

And then, like an idiot moth to a flame, I flitted straight toward Jeffrey before I could remember why it was such a bad idea. In about two seconds, I logged off as Stanley, logged back on, and sent Jeffrey a private message.

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Hi. It’s me.>>

He responded right away.

<<JEFFO: Hi me.>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Am I interrupting anything?>>

Translation: Are you talking to Astrid?

<<JEFFO: That depends. Is procrastination something that can be interrupted?>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Definitely. You don’t want to put that off. You’ll just have to do it later.>>

<<JEFFO: I’ll take my chances if you’re sticking around.>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: I’ll bet you say that to everyone.>>

<<JEFFO: Not everyone.>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Good.>>

<<JEFFO: Just the girls. (Kidding.) Just you.>>

That one barbed me a little as a non-Frannie, non-girl person. It made feel almost weird enough to stop what I was doing. Almost . . . but not quite.

<<HI_IT’S_ME: What are you procrastinating on?>>

<<JEFFO: U.S. History. I got an extension on this paper and it’s still not ready.>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: I know what you mean. Why do I ALWAYS wait until the last minute?>>

<<JEFFO: Uh—because you’re human?>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Suppose so.>>

<<JEFFO: You ARE human, right?>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Ha ha.>>

<<JEFFO: Cause you seem almost too perfect.>>

I smiled right at the screen. Jeffrey thought that I was—that Frannie was—almost too perfect. If Frannie were here, she’d want to answer with something like, “No, I’m not.”

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Thanks.>>

<<JEFFO: Was that a dweeby thing of me to say?>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Uhhh . . . nope. It made me feel really good.>>

<<JEFFO: Good. I think some people think I’m too intense.>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Too intense? What does that even mean?>>

<<JEFFO: That’s what I’d like to know. I guess I’m just a little neurotic.>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Now you’re surprising me.>>

<<JEFFO: How?>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: You seem so . . . not neurotic.>>

<<JEFFO: That’s what I’d say about you.>>

<<HI_IT’S_ME: Liar.>>

<<JEFFO: I mean it.>>

My mind was racing and excited and at the same time relaxed in a really unexpected way. I was so much more comfortable with this stuff as Frannie than I ever would have been with my own not-quite-boyfriend. A big part of it was about not having to think. I didn’t worry about every little word; I just said whatever came to mind, and somehow, it all seemed to come out right.

At the same time, though, not thinking was what had gotten me this far behind Frannie’s back in the first place. It was frustrating, because I was somewhere I absolutely should not be, but still, all I wanted was to keep going.

When I couldn’t stand the mixed feelings anymore, I forced myself to say good night and log off. It was some kind of psychic move, I guess, because the phone rang about thirty seconds later.

“I know what you did last summer,” Frannie said.

My heart thumped involuntarily. “What?”

“Worst movie ever,” she said. “I Know What You Did Last Summer. I hated it.”

Then I remembered the question I’d left on her voice mail. “You hate slasher movies in general,” I said. “That doesn’t mean it was the worst movie ever made.”

“Hey, choose your own,” she said. “That one’s mine.”

“We could do a whole bad-movie fest.

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