Free The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things by Ann Aguirre

hon.”
    “Thanks.” I take the paper and figure I might as well visit Shane’s classes now. Teachers who aren’t stuck on monitoring duty will be in their rooms, working on stuff for the afternoon or writing a novel, or in Mr. Johannes’s case, possibly cooking meth, whatever floats their boats.
    In short order I get five of his seven assignments. Not bad for a spur-of-the-moment plan. By the time I get to the lunchroom, Lila has already made it through the line and is obviously looking for me. Her face lightens with relief when she realizes I didn’t ditch her. As if I would. Making an executive decision, I head over to the sophomore table where Shane and I sat yesterday. There’s only four of them, so there’s room. This time, I wave. To my surprise, they wave back, looking pretty happy to see me. Hm. When Lila joins me, they’re surprised, but they say “hey” to both of us as we sit down.
    “Who’re your friends?” she asks.
    I glance over at the four: three girls, one guy. “I have no idea.”
    A red-haired girl smiles. “Kimmy, Mel, Shanna, and Theo.” As she performs the introductions, I memorize their names and faces. If we’re sharing their table from now on, we should be social.
    Mel is a freckled, athletic blonde while Theo is small, brown-skinned, and fond of sweater vests. Kimmy is a pale redhead with an infectious smile whereas Shanna has long black hair caught up in Lolita pigtails, and her makeup enhances almond eyes. She seems like the rebel of the group.
    “Sage and Lila,” I say.
    “We know .” Theo stresses the last word in a weird way.
    I exchange a look with Lila, who shrugs. “Should I be afraid to ask?”
    “Maybe,” she says.
    Mel offers, “We think it’s really cool of you two. Brave.”
    “What?”
    “You know. Being out.”
    What the … “Let me get this straight … People think Lila and I are dating?”
    “Dylan Smith says that’s why Lila broke up with him. Cuz she’s a big dy—”
    Kimmy claps a hand over Theo’s mouth before he completes the word. I’m glad; otherwise, I’d have to smack him. “First, that’s crap. But if it were true, Lila’s out of my league.”
    She laughs, cocking her head. “I dunno. You’re looking pretty cute today.”
    Theo looks like this is a dream come true while the girls stare, wide-eyed.
    I sigh. “Don’t encourage him.”
    “True. But this is exactly why I broke up with Dylan. I mean, he told everyone I slept with him when I did not . Then when I got fed up and dumped him, he said I was a lesbian. Because, obviously, only a chick who’s into girls would let go of a prize like him.”
    “What a douche,” Mel says.
    “That explains the looks I’ve been getting all day, though,” Lila adds. “I’m sorry, Sage. I should’ve guessed Dylan would invent some shit about your breakup the minute we started hanging out.”
    I shrug. “I don’t care what people say about me. To be honest, it’s kind of novel for it not to be related to the Post-it notes.”
    “I think that’s pretty cool,” Shanna volunteers.
    I smile. I’m a little surprised, however. Of this crew, she dresses the darkest, but I should know not to judge a book by its cover. I look squeaky clean, innocent even. What I don’t tell her is that I’m beyond doing stuff because someone else thinks it’s a good idea. These days I do things to fill craters inside, filling up the bad echoes with goodness. God knows I need it.
    “Do us a favor, though,” I say to Mel, who seems the most sensible of the four. “Spread the word that it’s just gossip, okay?”
    “Not a problem,” Kimmy says, already texting.
    We make general conversation after this, and midway through lunch, I look up to see Tara and Kenny standing by the table. They both look awkward, so I try to make whatever it is easier with a smile and a friendly “hey, guys.”
    “Is it true?” Kenny asks. As usual, he has on his cherished Mario hat. Kenny is really good at two things: