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I step into the bathroom, where I’m greeted by the saddest little face I’ve ever seen. On instinct, I open my arms, and Legs crumples into me. The two of us stand in the middle of the bathroom, her arms circling my waist as she presses her face into my shirt and lets it all out.
Eventually, her sobs subside, and I run a hand over her matted gold hair. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She chews her lip, considering, and I sit on the edge of the bathtub. I smile encouragingly at her, not wanting to push. I remember having huge emotions at her age.
Okay, fine, I still have huge emotions. But as an adult, I’m now able to self-medicate with candy and ice cream.
Lucky me.
“Okay,” Allegra finally says. I pat the spot next to me, and she sits.
She sniffles and wipes her nose on her sleeve. I wait.
“I told them I liked Finn a-and”—hiccup—”then Georgina”—hiccup—“called him to ask if he liked me too. And he said no because I was too… weird…” Legs gasps out the last word before dissolving into tears again.
Ah, unrequited love and weirdness. Good thing I’m an expert in both of these particular fields.
After a few careful questions, I learn that Georgina was the birthday girl at today’s party, and Finn is the class stud. Apparently, he’s good at soccer and all the girls in the class gave their Valentines Candygrams to him.
“I knew a boy like Finn once,” I say.
“You did?” Her dark eyes—so like Liam’s—are full of curiosity.
“Yeah. Toby Barnett. He had, like, three Tamagotchis.”
“What’s a Tamagotchi?”
Ho-ly, I must be old.
“Um, kind of like a robot pet from the past, I guess? Anyhow,” I continue hurriedly. “I liked Toby Barnett so much, it sometimes hurt. You know?”
She nods. “Did he become your boyfriend?”
“Not even close. I made him a really cool picture in art class and put it in his locker with a note asking if he wanted to go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with me. And you know what he did? He laughed and said there was no way he’d go to the dance with ‘Weird Annie.’ All his friends laughed too. Then, Toby took the prettiest, most popular girl in the class to the dance instead.”
“No!” Legs gasps.
“Oh, yes. Her name was Hayley and she had the shiniest hair I’ve ever seen. Perfect, flat bangs, too. But you know what I realized soon after?”
“What?” She’s invested, cupping her chin in her hands as she listens.
“Just because Toby was popular and cute, it didn’t mean he was nice. Or that we had anything in common. And I realized that… maybe I didn’t actually like him, I just liked theideaof him. In reality, he didn’t measure up. He hurt my feelings, and I don’t like people who hurt others. No matter how cute they are.”
Legs shifts around to look at me better, eyes wide as I continue to talk.
“There are more important things to be in this life than popular. It’s about what’s inside, if a person’s heart is good… that’s what really matters.” I shake my head, even as thoughts of Liam dance through my mind. He was so cold and rude at first, but then I saw the soft, kind heart beating beneath. “And if Finn doesn’t like you, it’s his loss, but it’s also your gain. Better someone likes you for who you are than wants you to be something you’re not.”
Almost immediately, I realize that I’m passing on the advice my mom gave me a day ago.
I am literally turning into my mother.
“Plus,” I add with a smile and a nudge of my elbow. “Aren’t guys like Finn kind of boring? Girls like us, we need guys who are more exciting, more complex. More than just a pretty face, you know?”
My mind flashes to Liam once again, and I feel myself start to blush. Legs, luckily, doesn’t appear to notice. And also luckily, seems to have resonated with my speech because she’s smiling. “Like Hassan?”
I grin. “Who’s Hassan?”
