At this, Juniper raises an eyebrow at me. “Yeah,” she says, taking my lead, “turns out we have great on-camera chemistry, just not on ice—it was kinda a mess.”
Now it’s my turn to kick Juniper’s foot under the table. Why does she have to be so truthful all the time? Kiana is never gonna let me live this down.
Kiana busts out laughing. “I tried to warn Lyric about the ice, but she didn’t think it would be that hard.”
“Yes, you were right, Ki,” I say, resigned. “Turns out my ability to stay upright on skates is almost nonexistent. You should see the bruises on my ass!”
This makes us all burst into laughter, and I roll my eyes with mock annoyance.
“I’m gonna need to see this footage, Lyric. Posthaste,” Kiana says, gesturing for me to hand over my phone.
“You will not,” I say, “because I deleted it all.”
“Boo,” Ki says, and then she gets serious again. “So, Juniper—I understand what my friend Lyric is getting out of this whole deal, but what are you getting? What are your intentions?”
“Ki, oh my god, stop grilling her!” I say, flushing.
“No, I don’t mind,” Juniper says. “I got this.” And then she places her hand on my knee. Her touch is firm, warm and reassuring, and it shuts me right up.
“Um, so after I graduate, I’m planning to take a gap year. Over the summer, I want to travel across the country in my car,” Juniper begins. “I want to try to see as many state parks as I can, and, well, yeah, I know it’s kinda hippie and all that, but we have some really beautifulland in this country, you just have to make time to see it. So, I could use some extra cash to help gear up my car and have a little more of a buffer for emergencies when I’m out there.”
This gets my attention. I’ve been so caught up in what I get out of all this, my cosmetology school goal, and making sure Grammy Viv will be good next year that I realize I haven’t followed up with Juniper about her postgraduation plans.
“Whoa—that’s bold,” Kiana says. “So, are you gonna be one of the hashtag-vanlife influencers, you know, document the journey and everything?”
“Please,” I can’t help saying. “Hashtag-vanlife is for white girls cosplaying poverty. I can’t with those fucking accounts. Instant block.”
Juniper shrugs, eyes avoiding mine. “I mean, yeah, I think some people just think it’s cute and aesthetic to live in their bespoke vans or converted school buses. But for me, it’s about safety and practicality. As a woman traveling alone, my car is safer than a tent, and plus, I don’t need a lot of things. I’m going to keep my setup pretty minimalist and functional—”
“You say minimalist—I say, you won’t catch me EVER living in a vehicle if I don’t have to,” I pipe up again. “My grandma would about have a heart attack if I told her I was going to camp in my car even for one night. No, ma’am.” I don’t know why I can’t just let Juniper talk, but Ki’s sharp glare reminds me to be quiet.
“Right. Got it. No car camping for youever, Lyric. Good thing you’re not invited,” says Juniper, an edge to her voice.
“Ouch!” I say. “No need to get all prickly. I was just making a point about privileged people who think it’s cool to be houseless and—”
“Anyway, to answer your earlier question, Kiana,” Juniper cuts me off, and turns her back to me slightly. “Being on social media a ton isn’t really my thing, so I’ll probably just go old-school and keep a journal ofmy time on the road or something. And to your point, Lyric,” she says, still not looking at me, “I’m not sure my moms are going to be thrilled about this plan either… since I haven’t told them about it yet…”
“I didn’t know that,” I say as Juniper’s eyes finally meet mine. “I mean, damn, isn’t one of your moms a college professor? Is she good with this plan? I can imagine she’d want you to go right to college.”
“Uh-huh. She sure is. I’m pretty sure she’s going to be super opposed to this whole thing—just like you are—but I need to do this for me, so I’m hoping they’ll come around. And I would have told you all this if maybe we’d had that hot chocolate last night,” Juniper finishes.
Kiana is looking between us during this interaction. “You didn’t even get any hot chocolate?! Fail, Lyric. That’s the best part of ice-skating.”
“I have to run and check on some things before next period,” Juniper says, getting up quickly. “Nice to hang with you, Kiana. Lyric—text me later, I guess? Lemme know if our deal is still on?”
With that, Juniper grabs her bag and leaves. I must watch her go for a little too long, because Kiana has to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention.
“Earth to Lyric!” she says.
“Here, hi, what did you say?”
“I said, I like her.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“She called you out, and you didn’t even get mad. She’s a keeper—even if just as a friend. Don’t fuck this up.”
I snap my head up to meet Kiana’s eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”
