Free Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

Publishers
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JEREMY
    I walked into the gym behind a group of squealing freshman girls and immediately regretted not making more of an effort to look like everyone else. Why didn’t I buy some new jeans and a fake faded band T-shirt at the mall? The irony of getting to be out of uniform of course was that everyone still looked exactly the same as everyone else.
    I spotted Mira and Sebby as soon as I walked in. They were impossible to miss, Mira in a magenta dress that twirled around her as she danced, Sebby in his fraying thrift-store khakis. They were doing some kind of tango in the middle of the gym, oblivious to everyone around them.
    I stood on the side of the room watching them, realizing that I had no game plan for this evening. My normal “stand in the corner, call Dad after an hour” strategy was not going to work if I wanted to actually participate in some way. But standing in the middle of the room staring at people wasn’t an option either. I looked around desperately for a place to go and settledon the refreshment table. I could just drink punch all night.
    Rose was sitting behind the table piling cookies into a tower.
    â€œHey, Jeremy,” she said.
    â€œHey,” I said. “What are you doing?”
    She placed a final cookie on top.
    â€œLeaning tower of cookies,” she said. She attempted to make the tower lean. It fell over pathetically. “I’m just working off some detentions. Mrs. Pierce is such a hard-ass about getting to class on time and she has the last classroom on the second floor, so I’m always late.” She picked up a broken cookie and held it out to me. “Want one? They’re free.”
    â€œOkay,” I said.
    â€œI’m surprised to see you here,” she said. “You’re not usually much of a dance guy.”
    â€œYeah. Not really.”
    â€œYou’re not much of an anything guy these days. Except Art Club. I guess you’re Art Club guy now, huh?”
    â€œI guess.”
    â€œI’m into it. We’ve got the Art Club bond now, Jeremy.”
    She held out a fist. I started at it.
    â€œBump it, Jeremy. Fist bump.”
    â€œOh, sorry.”
    I shoved the rest of the cookie in my mouth and bumped my first against hers. Rose laughed.
    Suddenly I felt hands on my shoulder and then Mira and Sebby were on either side of me.
    â€œCookies!” Sebby said. “Rose, you have cookies.”
    Rose picked up the broken pieces of her tower and let them fall through her hands.
    â€œI am rich with cookies,” Rose said.
    Sebby jumped up to sit on the table next to the cookie plate. Mira sat next to Rose.
    â€œHi, Jeremy,” Sebby said.
    â€œHey. Hi,” I said.
    â€œWhy are you sitting here?” Mira asked Rose.
    â€œI love cookies. I can’t be away from them,” Rose said. She shoved three in her mouth and then spat them out at Sebby.
    â€œEw, woman! This means war.”
    â€œNo, okay, we are not starting a food fight at homecoming,” Mira said. “That would just be too iconic or something. Come on.” She got up and took Sebby’s hand. “‘Tainted Love’ is happening. We can’t let eighties classics pass us by.”
    â€œVery well.” Sebby let her pull him up and he grabbed my hand, dragging me behind them.
    â€œHave fun, Jeremy,” Rose called after us.
    Mira and Sebby were debating which of their elaborate dance combinations to show me. Inspired by Rose’s job for the evening, they decided on Baking the Cookies, which involved pretending to be stirring a bowl of batter to the beat, then pretending to plop balls of batter down on a baking sheet, putting the baking sheet in the oven, indicating time passing by tapping on your invisible watch, taking the tray out of the oven, and eating one of the cookies.
    I did the best I could, trying to copy their moves,