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“Oh, don’t thank me. Don’t get the wrong impression, Cohen. We’re not friends, and I still don’t like you.”
Raina stared at her, bewildered. She had absolutely no idea why Nicole had said yes—why she’d offered when Raina hadn’t even asked. Nicole knew what living with controlling parents was like? What did that mean? But Nicole didn’t want to talk about it, and Raina was too grateful that she’d agreed to come at all to push.
Nicole cleared her throat. “I do have one question. Actually, two. You’re Jewish, right? That’s why you have all these rules?”
“Yeah.”
“So will I be able to eat at your house? Do you have special foods?”
“You’ll be able to eat everything,” Raina reassured her. “It’s us who can’t eat everything you can, like bacon. But you can eat everything we have. Unless you have food allergies?”
“I don’t.” Nicole shook her head. “And—” She hesitated.“How do you hide your horns?”
Raina couldn’t hide her surprise. She stared at Nicole, wondering if she had heard the other girl correctly. “Excuse me?”
“Your horns,” Nicole repeated. An uncertain look came over her face. It looked very out of place on Nicole, Raina noted. “Youdohave them, right?”
Raina couldn’t help herself. She laughed, but stopped when Nicole blushed. “No, I don’t have horns. Jewish people don’t have horns. Why would you think that?”
“My dad said that,” Nicole admitted. “Erm, he also said some negative things about Jews, but…” she trailed off, a faint blush to her cheeks.
“Well, I can assure you that I don’t have horns. It’s a common anti-Semitic myth, though,” Raina explained. “If I remember correctly, there was a statue of Moshe Rabbeinu with horns, and so people began to believe that all Jews had horns. During World War Two, the Nazis were more than happy to spread that myth. But anyway, you don’t have anything to worry about. You can eat everything I can, and other than one year I was a unicorn for Purim, I’ve never had horns.”
Nicole dropped the subject, embarrassment clear on her face as she hurriedly pulled out her copy ofRomeo and Juliet. But despite their relatively interesting conversation about the play, all Raina could think about was the two different worlds she and Nicole came from.
In a way, they were like the Montagues and the Capulets—two similar people who grew up with preconceptions about the other. Raina had never hung out with a non-Jew before attending Trinity, and Nicole had been fed anti-Semitic myths she clearly believed. And honestly? Raina was glad Nicole felt comfortable enough with her to ask questions, because otherwise Nicole would’ve gone on living her life without knowing her preconceived beliefs were false. Raina may not be as religious as her parents, and she may not follow every single commandment, but Judaism was important to her. Being Jewish was a part of her; it wasn’t something she could switch on and off.
And…maybe Nicole could see that. Despite all the girl’s other faults, Raina really appreciated Nicole offering to come to dinner. Raina didn’t know why Nicole had agreed, but maybe dinner would be a step in the right direction. A way to unite two households.
ChapterSeven
“It’s that time of year again!” Mr. Kingston announced the next day in history class.
Jesse rolled his eyes, stifling his groan. Nicole, who banged her head against her desk, wasn’t as successful.
“Another one?” she complained.
Mr. Kingston grinned. “Oh yes, another one. And don’t worry, Nicole, once you’re done with this paper, I’ve got another one lined up just for you.”
“Somebody kill me,” Nicole moaned.
“But we still haven’t handed in our last essays!” one of Nicole’s new roommates protested from the other side of the room. Jesse was pretty sure her name was Ashlee, spelled with two “e’s”.
Mr. Kingston clapped his hands, striding to the front of the room. “So! We’ve been learning about 14th century Italy lately, in conjunction with yourRomeo and Julietunit in your English class. With that in mind, I’d like each of you to write about the pros and cons of being an independent city-state. This should be a short paper, only two to four pages. Any other details are on the ridiculous school website they’re making us use, because paper issolast year. Obviously.”
The entire class laughed, and a boy near the back raised his hand. “How in-depth do you want us to go about the city-states?” he asked. “Some of them have a lot of history, so would you prefer more facts or analysis?”
“If it’s complicated, don’t try to make it not complicated. Save your time and energy. Write a good thesis and base the rest of the essay on that.”
Jesse coughed to hide his laugh. As much as he hated getting new assignments, his teacher was hilarious. History was one of his favorite classes solely because of Mr. Kingston.
“I find this paper exceptionally interesting,” Mr. Kingston declared. “Which means you will as well. That’s how it works. Any questions?” When no one responded, Mr. Kingston added, “I know, I’m really awesome at explaining things, so I understand why you don't have questions. Now go. Leave and work on the essay I gave you last week, because it’s due tomorrow night, and if I don’t have an essay submitted by tomorrow night, Iwillhunt you down and force you to submit the essay right in front of me, whether it’s complete or not.”
“I’m not going to do well,” someone groaned from the back of the room.
“Yeah, I can’t relate to that,” Mr. Kingston said breezily. “Now go away.”
“I’m going to cry,” Ashlee moaned, dropping her head into her hands. “Or die. One of those two.”
