“It’s fun,” Will said, smoothing over the dig. “Like we’re at a party.” He tapped his cup to Alex’s.
She beamed at him, reaching up to plant a kiss. Tommy pretended to gag into his cup, and I giggled so hard he kicked me in the shins under the counter.
“Speaking of parties,” Alex said excitedly, turning to Will. “Did you know I am taking your younger sister out with me tomorrow night?” She peered over her shoulder to make sure neither of our parents was nearby before turning back to us.
“You are?” Will asked. I didn’t know that Victoria had already told her we were coming to the high school party.
“Mmm-hmm,” she chirped. “Her first high school party, andyou’regoing to miss it.” She playfully pointed one of her pink-painted fingernails into his chest.
Will ran his hand down the length of Alex’s arm. “Tommy and I have his robotics thing in Fort Lauderdale.” He looked at Tommy reassuringly.
The “thing” was a robotics expo, where they’d watch giant robots do crash tests on miscellaneous junk. Mom and Dad had bought them tickets for Tommy’s birthday. Will and Tommy were driving down together and spending the night at a hotel. It was all they’d been talking about for weeks. Will loved science too, though he wasn’t quite as committed as Tommy.
“Well, sucks to be you.” Alex frowned at my brother. “I guess it’s just a girls’ night then.” She arched one of her brows again. “You know, you could come with us too, Tommy. If you and Will skipped the robot thing.”
Tommy shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Will. Alex didn’t understand Tommy very well if she thought that offer would sway him. I felt sorry for him, but also wondered if he felt kind of embarrassed. According to high school rules, Tommy should have wanted to go to this party.
“I need to go to the expo for my college apps. No one gets into MIT without attending something like this. But, uh, thanks for the offer,” Tommy finally said.
Alex sighed. “I don’t know why you’re so worried about college. Will got into the University of Florida easily. You’ll befine.” Alex waved him off andtook another sip of her soda. “That is, as long as they stop letting so many minorities take all the spots.”
Alex rolled her eyes, looking at Will for support. I stared at my older brother, waiting for a reaction. I watched his eyebrows raise in surprise. I waited for him to correct her, but he didn’t. His face paled slightly, a sign he was uncomfortable, but he didn’t respond.
“Like, you heard May Liu got a full ride to Florida State?” Alex continued. “Bet it didn’t hurt that she could put ‘Asian’ on her application.” She took another swig from the cup, looking annoyed. “Meanwhile, they made me retake the SAT.Twice.”
There was silence in the room. I could feel Tommy’s eyes burning a hole into the side of my face. I took a sip from my cup. May Liu and Tommy had been best friends for years. They always studied together, and I suspected he had a little crush. But May was the kind of girl Alex didn’t like: quiet, reserved, distinctly herself without any care about what was popular.
“May’s really smart,” Tommy said. “She’s valedictorian.”
“Whatever.” Alex seemed to sense the change in the air. “I just don’t like her. She’s insufferable. As if skipping parties and homecoming somehow makes you better than the rest of us.” Alex rolled her eyes.
Tommy looked at me again. I could see his already palpable dislike for Alex growing by the second. He’d never been her biggest fan. Like May, Tommy didn’t have much to offer Alex in terms of social standing. And in Loxahatchee, if you didn’t adore Alex, you didn’t mean much to her.
Alex tipped the rest of her soda into her mouth and shrugged. “Ugh, I think I have to go home. My dad is probably staring at the clock waiting for me.” She turned to Will. “Walk me home?”
Will nodded, still looking pale. He laced his fingers through hers. “Sure. See you guys later.”
Tommy waited a couple seconds for the back door to slide closed before he turned to me.
“Well, that was kind of racist, wasn’t it?” he said, looking shocked.
I felt my cheeks burn. “I don’t know if she was beingracist, necessarily. I just don’t think she likes May …”
“What else would you call that bit about the FSU applications?”
“Yeah, that was bad,” I said. “But come on, you know her family. The Hopelys are like that. She probably just heard her mom or dad say something like it.” My stomach sank as I said it. I knew Tommy was right.
He looked upset. “Yeah. I know.”
“Do you think it bothered Will?” I asked, chewing on the end of my fingernail.
“Maybe?” Tommy shrugged. “It looked like it did. But who knows if he’ll tell her that.”
I hoped Will would say something, but knew Tommy was right. We couldn’t be sure. Will sometimes had blinders on when it came to Alex, especially if they were recovering from a fight. It left me feeling frustrated, like someone had been picking at my skin and examining it. I adored my brother, but I hated the idea that he let things like that slide. What did it say about him if he ignored statements like that just because it was Alex who said them?
“Are you really going to go to that party with her?” Tommy continued.
“I’m going with Cass and Victoria. Alex will just be there,” I said. Tommy made a face that bordered on disgust.
