Lucy: Terrible. I keep rereading the same paragraph. I’m going to school to be a nurse.
Me: Need help?
Lucy: Do you know anything about anatomy?
Me: I know where most of my parts are.
Lucy: Most?
Me: I’m sick. Some organs may have relocated.
Lucy: You should probably ask Sophie about that.
Me: She’ll call me dramatic again.
Lucy: She might be right.
Me: Betrayal.
Lucy: You barely know me.
Me: Still betrayal.
Lucy: I should really go study now.
Me: Okay. Text me if you need another distraction.
Lucy: Goodnight, Tiny.
Me: Goodnight, Lucy.
After I send it, I keep holding the phone like she might say something else. She doesn’t, and that’s okay. I set it down on mychest and stare at the ceiling, the soup still ignored, the blanket half on the floor, my body still aching.
The group chat buzzes.
Tessa: WELL? DID YOU TEXT HER?
I groan, then pick up the phone.
Me: Yes.
The group chat explodes.
Hadley: And?
Erica: Did you behave?
Scarlett: Don’t make me regret trusting you.
Tessa: DETAILS, YOU GIANT COWARD.
I look at the ceiling, still smiling despite myself.
Me: We talked some. And then we said goodnight.
For once the chat goes quiet for almost three whole seconds. Then Hadley sends a heart. Tessa sends twenty-seven.
Erica: Don’t mess it up.
