“Yes, along with his Perky Smug Sidekick!” a female voice said, sounding, well,perky. I turned...and yup. Rowan and Leanne. The Grump and the Sunshine Girl themselves. His shirt today may have been the worst yet—bright purple, with a daisy riding a motorcycle that saidPETAL TO THE METAL. Leanne’s was less vibrant—muted blue and orange bunnies. He was carrying a couple of small pots of plants, which he immediately took to his greenhouse.
“Hey, Junebug,” Leanne said, sitting next to Juniper on the sofa. “How’s it going?”
Juniper frowned but didn’t say anything.
Gia grinned. “Ah! You’re Leanne, aren’t you! I love putting a face to a name! I’m Gia—Tahira’s best friend. Love your hair. Those waves natural?”
Leanne nodded. “More work than it’s worth, if you ask me.” She ran her hand through her hair. “We’re just dropping off some dahlias for Row’s new garden bed; then I’m going to smoke him atGrand TheftAuto. You should come play, too, Junebug. Let’s show your brother that girls can loot and hijack with the rest of them.” Leanne grinned at me. “Hey, nice to see you again! You get the shit out of your shoes?” Her eyes twinkled.
I rolled my eyes. “I was just...” I was trying to think of a way to relocate this conversation when Rowan reappeared and squeezed next to Juniper on the sofa. This guy was like a zit on my chin—always popping up when I wanted it the least.
I fully expected a scowl or glare from him. But his expression was all caring concern for his sister.
“Leanne, June doesn’t like people calling her Junebug,” he scolded his friend.
Leanne looked hurt. Or fake hurt. It was hard to tell with her. “But I gave her that name myself when we were kids! You don’t mind, do you?” She pouted at Juniper.
Juniper took another cookie and mumbled something about it being fine.
Leanne was laying it on a little thick, and I couldn’t tell if she was being sweet, or mocking Juniper. There was just something I found so...offabout Leanne. She was supposedly academically brilliant, but she had the personality of a goofball frat boy. An outgoing, cheerful frat boy. I shook my head. “I can’t understand how you and Rowan are friends,” I said to her. “You’re nothing alike.”
Rowan grunted a sound of displeasure, but Leanne’s head fell back as she laughed. “Row’s my brother. We grew up in this garden together.”
I guess if they knew each other that long, it made sense. I mean, Samaya and I were nothing alike, either. Although we weren’t really friends.
“And you never dated?” Gia asked, seemingly still considering shipping Rowan and Leanne.
Leanne shook her head. “I think he’s the only person in our grade of any gender I’ve never considered dating.” She grinned. “I’m pansexual.”
“Cool,” Gia said. “You’ll have to introduce me to some singles around here.”
I frowned at Gia. “Just because she’s pansexual doesn’t mean she knows everyone dateable in town.”
Leanne shrugged. “That’s generally true, but in my case I actually do. What are you—”
“Did I hear you ask June to do the Bloom with you?” Rowan interrupted, looking at me.
“We were talking about it,” I said.
“I expressly told you that my sister doesn’t want to enter the Bloom,” he said.
I raised a brow. “Maybe she just doesn’t want to enter with you?”
He shook his head. “Why would she want to be on your team over mine? She barely knows you.”
Gia frowned. “Why don’t you just ask Juniper what she wants? She’s right here.”
I exhaled. Gia was right. My focus on getting to Christopher Chan was making me as bad as everyone else. “I’m sorry. The truth is I need to enter the Bloom for totally selfish reasons, and...” I turned to Juniper. “Juniper, I don’t think I can do it without your help.”
“Of course,” Rowan said, jaw clenching. “It’s all about you and yourinfluencing. June, you don’t have to work with her.”
“Wait, Row.” Juniper’s brows were knitted together with concern. “What’s the story, Tahira? Why do youneedto enter?”
Juniper was kind of growing on me. She wasn’t naive, just very earnest and not too cool to show real enthusiasm, which was refreshing. She was considerate, too. If she and I were alone, I would totally have told her the whole story of why I needed to enter the Bloom, and why it wasn’t just about my “influencing.”
But we weren’t alone—and I didn’t feel much like telling Grumpy and the Sunshine Girl about my failures right now, even if they weren’t my fault. I told the shorter version of why I wanted to enter. “Thisdesigner I’m really into will be at the Grand Floral Cup. It would be cool to meet him if we win.”
“Ooh,” Gia said. “Who is it?”
