“Good morning, Addie,” I say warmly, “It’s not time for class yet, is it?”
She steps inside, her shoes squeaking against the floor. “No, it’s not. But I usually hang out with Em before class, and she’s got homework to finish…” She trails off, disappointment evident in her tone.
“So I saw you and Coach Wesley at the festival.” She smiles knowingly, brightening at the mention of my love life. “You two seemed pretty cozy…”
I nearly drop the palette in my hand.
“Oh, uh…” I let out an awkward laugh, nerves beginning to make themselves known in my chest. “I suppose that was a pretty public place for a first date.”
She squeals. “I knew it! You guys are so cute! I totally ship it!”
“Oh god.” I cover my face with my hands with an embarrassed groan. “Please don’t tell anyone else about this.”
“I won’t, I promise, your secret is safe with me. Did you have fun?”
“I did,” I say, smiling now that I think back to last night. “More fun than I expected. He was so sweet, and funny, and very handsome.”
“Wow,” she sighs wistfully, “that’s so romantic.”
It was.
It was everything I ever dreamed of.
“Did Coach Wesley win you anything at the festival?”
“Not quite,” I say with a smirk.
“Em won me this huge stuffed cat!” She says, her voice filling with excitement. “Like, almost bigger than me!”
“That’s so sweet. Are you two dating?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
And somehow, Addie’s face does multiple things all at once.
First horror, then disbelief, and finally embarrassment, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “What? No! Of course not! Emily’s my best friend. Since, like, second grade.”
Oh. Oops.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” I tell her, apologetically, “It’s sweet how you two are with each other. I’ve never had a friend like that.”
“Em is the best!” She perks up, the awkward momentforgotten. “And it’s okay, it’s cool that you thought that. People around here usually aren’t so open-minded.”
“I’m glad you think so,” I say, knowing too well how right she is. “Everyone deserves to feel like they can be themselves here, and they can, at least in this room.”
She ducks her head, fingers worrying at the edge of her notebook, “Um… Ms. Patel, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” I lean on the edge of my desk so we’re almost level.
“Would you look at some of my drawings?” I can see the nerves in the way her thumb continues to pick at her book, her shoulders hunched like she expects me to say no.
“Addie, I would love to.”
“Really? Because… I wanna be a tattoo artist one day. I mean, maybe. I know it sounds stupid—”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all.”
Her posture relaxes. “I just- I want to make art that matters to people. And I know I have a lot to learn, but—”
“Show me what you’ve got,” I nod toward her notebook.
