down extra quickly in the cafeteria. I need to
go to the library and pick up a book before I
go to B24 to meet Daisy.
But then some girls join me. Two in front
and one next to me. The girl next to me
wears glasses, her blonde hair in a ponytail.
“Hey, I’m Grace,” says the blonde,
then points. “This is Faith and Destiny.”
Faith and Destiny smile and Faith says, “Hey.
You’re the new boy, Michael, right?”
They both have their hair tied back as well.
Destiny is black and her hair is straightened.
Faith looks mixed like me; her hair is slicked
down to the scrunchy she wears, and then it puffs out at
the back like a halo.
I can’t tell if it’s just because I’ve eaten
my lunch too quickly or if I’m feeling
something like dread. I decide to swallow
that feeling. “That’s me,” I say, finishing up
my sponge cake. “Nice to meet you.”
Grace asks, “So why are you new?
Why did you leave your last school?”
I pause, remembering it. “I had a fight.”
Destiny: “Oh-em-gee! Were you expelled?”
Faith: “Are you a bad boy, Michael?”
Grace: “Don’t be shy, Michael, tell us.”
I lie. “I was just defending this boy,
Alistair, who was being picked on
by these two older boys for being in the choir.
I don’t know what came over me,
