I turned and apologised to the warm-eyed girl now in front of me.
She smiled and handed me a flyer. “I just wanted to give you this. I thought you and your friend might be interested.”
I looked down at the flyer, which saidScrap Section 28in a bold font over a pink triangle. Details of a protest march were printed underneath. Elation and mortification competed in a tug-of-war inside me because I’d been seen for who I was, Francesca too.
Leather Jacket gestured towards her group of friends. They were passing around a cigarette, laughter punctuating the words of their animated conversation. “We all need to stick together, you know. Those Tory bastards are taking away our rights.”
I managed to squeak out a “Yeah.”
“Anyway, I’d better get back. See you around, yeah?”
I nodded and watched her walk away with a confidence I wished I possessed.
I folded the flyer and tucked it into my pocket, in the space left by Francesca’s hand.
One drizzly afternoon,I returned from the library to find Francesca brooding on my bed, Robert Smith’s voice blaring through the headphones of my Walkman. I shook the water off my umbrella into the hallway and dropped it by the door. She must have heard me through the music, but she didn’t look around.
“Hey,” I said, loathing my face for lighting up at the sight of her.
She lay with her hands behind her head, her gaze fixed on the slow-growing damp spot on the ceiling; the same spot I often traced with my eyes, lying awake as she slept peacefully beside me. I stacked the library books on the desk.
The bedsprings creaked as I eased down next to her. She still hadn’t moved, but the muscle in her jaw twitched. I reached over and pressed Stop on the Walkman, and silence padded the space between us.
“What’s up?”
She didn’t answer, so I softly placed my hand on her chest, hoping to calm the rapid breaths puffing in and out of her. I opened my mouth to speak again, but she turned her head and beat me to it.
“Where were you?”
I frowned. “I was at the library. I told you I?—”
“Yes, but who were you with?”
My brain slowly caught up.
“Mei.”
Francesca’s lips puckered in a pout.
“She’s my friend. We study together sometimes.” I shrugged. “It’s nice to have company other than you and Jeremy, especially because of how things are…” The last few words bristled out of me, but I didn’t want to argue with her. I was tired and cold and needed a hug.
Francesca narrowed her gaze as if she were trying to peer through me.
I bulged my eyes. “What’s the problem?”
“You haven’t mentioned this Mei character before.”
True.Instinct had prevented me from telling Francesca about my fledgling friendship, especially because of how it’d backfired the last time I’d let my two worlds collide.
“Haven’t I?” My throat tightened around the words, and I tried to adjust my pitch. “I’m sure you don’t tell me about all the people you chat to around campus.”
Francesca scoffed. “You know I don’t speak to anyone else. They’re all morons.”
I sighed and stood up, stripping off my damp sweatshirt. “Well, I am allowed to have other friends, Francesca. It’s not like you and Jeremy don’t make plans without me, is it?”
“Now you sound bitter. Are you doing this to spite me?” She sat up and swung her legs around. “I saw the way you two were looking at each other and laughing together like… giggling little girls.”
“What are you on about?” I held up my palms. “We hang out, drink coffee and study. That’s all.”
