Page 82 of Pining for You

“We… dated for a while last year,” she says.

“Which one?” Izaac tacks on, and I know he’s doing recon for me.

“The middle,” she answers, scratching behind her left ear with her pinky and chewing her bottom lip.

“You mean the one created in Regina George’s image?” Cash asks, his eyes widening.

Eve says, “Yep.” Her p pops, and when I follow Cash’s gaze, getting a look at this girl does nothing for my confidence levels. Oof. Krista has blond shoulder-length hair and fringe bangs. Her leather jacket is Santa-suit red, and she’s wearing candy cane earrings that look like they might be crusted with literal diamonds. If that’s Eve’s type, I should probably bow out of the race for her heart now.

She’s flanked by two other girls, both of whom look like they woke up this morning, glanced in the mirror, and thought, What Would Krista Do? Overall, it seems to me that Krista is trying to be someone twice her age, that her friends are trying to be her, and that Eve is trying to forget they all exist.

“Anyway, I’m pretty sure they only hang out here because Veronica—the one on the end—works here, and I’m pretty sure she only works here because she’s obsessed with Carlos, who always hangs out here…”

I try to catch a reaction from Audra, but if she’s having feelings, she’s keeping her face as chill as ever. I’m going to need some lessons from her on how to do that.

“You think they’ll be tough to beat?” Diya asks. She looks like she’s making some mental calculations.

“Oh, for sure. They’re competitors. They couldn’t care less about Christmas—total Grinches, all of them—but they love to win.”

“I’m sorry, what kind of human doesn’t care about Christmas?” I ask.

“Well, she’s nothing like you, Strudel,” she says.

“Oh,” I say. Because I’m not sure whether it’s meant to be positive.

“She’s the most cynical,” she continues. “She doesn’t see any of the good stuff.”

I get a fresh surge of confidence.

Behind her head, Cash is mouthing Kiss her!

I’m considering going over to strangle him when DeSantos gets back on the mic.

“All right, let’s get this social experiment started!” they say. “Tonight’s categories include…”

With each click of the remote in DeSantos’s hand, a new bullet appears on the screen.

“Christmas music.”

Click.

“Christmas food.”

Click.

“Christmas history.”

And, with the last click of his device, a silent cheer rises inside me: “And, my personal favorite, Christmas movies!”

Izaac nudges me and winks, crooning in a singsong voice, “Secret weeeeapon.”

I give him my impression of the nervous face emoji, but still warm at the thought.

DeSantos continues and we learn that the game is structured in three rounds of six questions. At the end of each, the team with the lowest score is eliminated. DeSantos also explains the “lifeline” option, inspired by that old TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Here, we’re given three possible choices and allowed to poll the audience via applause, or “phone a friend.” Apparently in this case, that means asking someone in the crowd.

“Okay, friends and neighbors, first category is…” DeSantos drumrolls and pulls a scrap of paper out of a stocking. “Christmas food!”

Cash rolls up his sleeves and I rub his back. “It’s my time to glitter, people,” he says.