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“You got up. It’s my seat now.”
Raina ignored them, holding the phone to her ear. “Ema, I don’t think my friends can come for dinner. They’re really busy.”
“If they’re too busy to make time for you, they aren’t real friends,” Sarah Cohen’s bossy tone was as loud and clear as if she was standing in the Trinity library next to her daughter.
Her mom wasn’t wrong, but then again, Nicole wasn’t her friend, and Jesse was…well, that was a whole other issue.
“Ema—”
“Raina, they are your friends, right? You’re not having friendship problems again? Oh, I knew Trinity was a bad idea. See, this is why we don’t go to secular schools!”
Panic eclipsed Raina’s entire body, heat flooding from her cheeks all the way down to her toes. Her mom couldn’t find out about what happened with Jesse and Nicole. She would use any excuse to pull Raina out of Trinity, enrolling her in a Jewish school where she could keep a close eye on her oldest daughter.
“No!” Raina cried. “No. Everything’s all good. I promise. We—we’ll come to dinner. Everything’s fine.” When she looked up, both Jesse and Nicole were staring at her. But while Jesse at least tried to pretend that he was scrolling on his phone, Nicole was blatantly frowning at her. “Look, Ema, I have to go, alright? I’m in the library.”
“Oh good, don’t forget to look into colleges. You’re behind, did you know?”
Raina sucked in a deep breath. If she stayed on this call a moment longer, she would say something that she’d quickly regret. “Goodbye, Ema.”
Hanging up, Raina placed the phone at the bottom of her bag. If she couldn’t hear it, maybe her mom would stop calling. She turned back to her notebook, picking up her pen instead.
“What were we working on?” she asked, pleased when her voice didn’t wobble.
Nicole scoffed. “Damn, and I thought my parents were bossy. Your mom might take the cake though, Cohen.”
“Nicole!” Jesse hissed, smacking her shoulder. “Have some tact, please.”
Raina flushed, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “Um—”
Nicole ignored him, lifting her chin. “Is your mom always like that?”
Raina studied the other girl for a minute. She didn’t see any maliciousness in Nicole’s eyes, only curiosity. It was an odd look for Nicole, but if Nicole was going to be civil, Raina would do the same.
“Yeah, my mom would’ve preferred if I stayed in a Jewish, all-girls school. They’re pretty strict about the no-boys thing, and they think boys are a distraction from my schoolwork. It’s just—the customs that we follow, there’s one that says boys and girls shouldn’t touch. Some people, like my parents, err on the side of caution and try not to interact with the other gender at all.”
“Hmm.” Nicole tilted her head to the side. “Is that why you wear skirts all the time? Even when you’re not wearing the uniform?”
Almost unconsciously, Raina glanced down. “Yeah, there’s another rule about modesty. So long skirts—even though I don’t always follow the long part. Shirts need to be short-sleeved at least, nothing off the shoulder. If I was really strict, I’d have skirts down to my ankles and three-quarter sleeves or longer.”
“What about bathing suits?”
Raina shook her head. “I’ll go swimming every once in a while, but never while there are boys around.”
“That sounds fucking miserable.”
“I don’t mind. I’m used to it.”
Nicole glanced down at her own body. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a cropped t-shirt Raina’s parents would never even dream of allowing their daughter to own. “Fine.”
Raina eyed her warily. “What do you mean, ‘fine’?”
“Fine, I’ll go with you to your dinner.” Nicole gestured sharply as she spoke, exaggerating her words. “Was it too hard to understand the first time?”
“I…I guess I’m confused. You’re the last person I would expect to want to come home with me for dinner.”
Nicole flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t. But…I know what it’s like.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Raina admitted. “I…thank—”
