“That’s very good to hear,” she said, smiling.
I sat up so that Syd could reach my hair. “You must be very good at braiding,” I said to her.
“I’m, like, next-level at it,” she said, propping up the laptop in front of me. “I did braids soooo many times on my American Girl dolls. And I’ve braided your hair before.”
“You’ve braided my hair before,” I said. I reached for the soup Syd had placed on my nightstand.
The intro forWeatheremerestarted to roll, and the main character flashed across the scene.
“He’s hot,” I said.
“Yes, very,” she said.
“You’re like the sister I always wanted,” I said, closing my eyes. Her fingers felt so good in my hair.
“The best friend you never knew you needed,” she joked back.
“You. Are. The. Actual. Best,” I told her with absolute sincerity as Duke Cavanaugh strode onto the screen.
But I could not keep my eyes open, even though the Duke was hotter than humanly possible. Having my hair braided was so soothing. The soup in my stomach was so nice and warm. The pain medication was so effective.
“I love you, Sydney Thompson,” I told her.
“I love you, July Fielding,” she said, and then I fell asleep.
66.
now
Yolo is OVER IT. He doesn’t evenmehthe whole way home. I’m definitely getting the silent treatment.
When we get back from Pet Land something is sitting on my doorstep that wasn’t there before.
I think.
I swear.
I forgot to turn on the porch lights and so it’s hard to tell what it is exactly.
My heart is racing.
There.
Sitting on my doorstep.
A plastic bucket, the kind we used to pick berries, wiped out and empty.
67.
once
“What do you think?” Syd asked me, sliding into the front seat and opening up a bag.
“Wow,” I said, peering inside. “They look great.” She’d printed out all the manifestos on a parchment-y looking paper, rolled them up, and secured them with hair ties—blue and gold, the school colors—so we could give them to the other girls on the team.
“Open one,” she said, sliding the hair tie off a rolled-up manifesto. “I want you to get the full effect. This one can be yours.”
I carefully unfurled the paper. Something about the font looked familiar.
