Free Bright Purple: Color Me Confused with Bonus Content by Melody Carlson Page A

would’ve started riding my bike to school,” I admit.
    “That might be a challenge when it gets icy.”
    “Well, I really do appreciate it. And if I get a job, like I plan to, maybe I’ll have wheels too, before long anyway. Maybe by Christmas even.”
    “You still stuck on that idea?”
    “Why not?”
    “Well, it just seems such a waste.”
    “Getting a car?” I turn and stare at Mitch. It worries me that he sometimes reminds me of my mom—not something you really want to see in your boyfriend!
    “No, not that. Getting a car is cool. I mean giving up basketball just because Jess is gay. It just seems like such a waste.”
    “Oh.”
    “I mean you’re so talented, Ramie. Really, if I was as good as you, I’d try out for the guys’ team. And the way they’re looking this year, they might even take me.”
    “The guys’ team does seem to be in need of help.”
    “Seriously, Ramie, don’t you want to rethink this whole quitting thing?”
    “I don’t see how.”
    He gives me his best pep talk, and there are moments when I think he could be right, but by the time we get to school, I just can’t get into it.
    “The truth is, I think it’d be selfish for me to stay on the team,” I finally decide as we get out of his car. “I mean I was never that into basketball before. I hadn’t even played on a real team since middle school. But Jess totally loves basketball. She always has. I think she actually likes it better than softball. She goes to basketball camp every summer and she watches every men’s and women’s game she can find on ESPN. She’s a basketball junkie. And she’s the one who talked me into trying out this year. If I stay on the team, it can only create problems between us, and for everyone else. My guess is that she would end up quitting.”
    “So . . .”
    “So, Jess has made a humongous mistake in becoming a lesbian, and it’s a mistake she’s going to suffer for, especially if people find out. But for her to lose basketball on top of that? Well, I just don’t want to be the one responsible for that kind of pain. Okay?”
    As we walk, Mitch puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me toward him in a tight squeeze. “You’re really a nice person, Ramie. you know that?”
    I make a face at him. “Not as nice as you might think. I mean I can say this stuff and maybe it sounds good, but the truth is, there’sa part of me that would happily go back out for the team and play my best and be sort of glad if Jess went down. I mean if it just would make her rethink all this homosexual crud, I’m sure I’d do it.”
    “So, what if that was the case? Why not just go for it then?”
    “Because it feels too mean. Okay?”
    He smiles at me. “Okay.”
    We walk into school like this, with his arm around me, and I am so glad, and I don’t care who sees us. In fact, I hope everyone sees us! It would make life so much easier if Mitch and I appeared to be an established couple. Just in case any word about Jess leaks out. Not that it will. But just in case. As I see kids I know, I kind of nod and smile and say hey, like this is no big deal. Like Ramie Grant always has a good-looking guy with his arm around her.
    “Can I walk you to class?” he offers after I make a quick stop at my new locker.
    “Sure, if you want.” This is a very welcome surprise, since several of my friends have U.S. History first period too. Including Jess. And this gives me another opportunity to be seen with “my boyfriend.”
    We pause by the open door to the classroom to say good-bye, and then Mitch leans forward and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. It’s our third
real
kiss so far. One on the first date, one when he left last night, and now! Oh, he’s given me a few pecks here and there, on the forehead and cheeks. But this kiss, right here in public, is a real attention getter for a girl like me. And as I walk into class, I can see that several people, including Jess, were watching us.
    Okay, I’ll