open a pack of sanitary wipes from my bag. When I told her I needed to talk, she insisted we come here.
âRemember when they had that sundae-eating contest, like if you could eat the whole thing, you wouldnât have to pay for it? And Mom and Dad were freaking out because they thought we wouldnât finish, but then I did?â
Sheâs the hero of our childhood. The best part of every story. The knight in every game we played. I was the princess, and the point of me was to be afraid of dragons. But what does the princess do while the knight is having adventures? Nobody sees her.
âDo you know how many calories are in that?â I ask.
She shrugs, her ice cream half-gone already. âWhat did you want to tell me?â
Soon Iâll have to eat mine or throw it away.
âI have a thing for this guy,â I mumble.
âOh my God, Grace! What guy?â
I brace myself. âAdam Gordon.â
âHim? That guy is such a dick.â
I shrivel up. âPlease donât tell anyone.â
âDuh.â She tosses back her hair. Curly and wild. I flat-iron mine straight every morning. Forty-five minutes.
âYouâre not always so good at secrets.â
âI am too! Well, no, Iâm not. But youâre the only person Iâd get better for.â She crunches cone. âCan we go back to him being a dick, though? Nov hates him.â
âSo?â
âI trust her taste in people.â
My stomach is a hard rock. âNovember hates everybody.â
âShe doesnât hate me,â she says a little smugly.
âYouâre so special.â
âWhy are you so weird about her?â
âSheâs the weird one.â I donât like what Iâm saying, but I say it anyway. âShe was out of school for her whole sophomore year and nobody knows why. Supposedly she was into drugs.â
âSo?â
âItâs justâNovember, and Preston, theyâre both . . . kind of . . . What was wrong with our old friends? Lily and Cat? And Brodie?â I ask.
âThose were your old friends.â
âYou liked them in middle school.â
âThey stopped talking to me when I didnât get into your honors classes. And then I noticed, surprise, I didnâteven have any of my own friends, because I always hung around with yours. So donât be weird about Nov and Pres.â
How did I not know any of this?
âYou wanna know how I met Pres?â she asks. âHe hates gore, right? And one day I see Adam waving some gross picture of guts from a bio textbook in his face. So I yelled at Adam. Like, what the fuck?â
âYou hold on to things,â I say, but what do I really know about Adam? Just stupid fantasies. Nothing real, other than that five-minute conversation.
âI donât forgive people for fucking with my friends. So thatâs why itâs a big deal that Iâm gonna give Adam another chance.â
My stomach uncoils. âReally?â
âYouâre my sister. If you like him, I like him.â She smiles at me. âOr Iâll try, anyway. Thatâll be important for when we make him like you. I guess itâs kind of perfect! Adam and Cassius. Weâll have that whole twins-dating-best-friends thing.â
Could I trust her with more than just this? Iâm trying to find the right way to start when her eyes widen. I turn and look over my shoulder. The warmth disappears. November Roseby has just walked into the Ice Cream Palace.
âQuick,â she hisses. âDo I have stuff on my face?â
âYouâre acting like you have a crush.â
She shushes me and jumps up, waving and hurrying over to November. Apparently weâre not talking about Adam anymore. I get up and throw my ice cream awaywhile sheâs not looking.
November moseys over like sheâs too cool to move any faster.
âYou got my text,â Joyâs crowing.
She invited her? I
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