The Thing About Flip Flops

Chapter Twelve: I Don't Know Where Your Feet Have Been

"Hey! Come over here for a second!"

Jenna walks through the door, joining Henry and I in my bedroom. Natalia has singing lessons today and can't come until later. Her parents only pay for it because they think it'll look good on her college resumes, but the shitty reasoning is good enough for Nat.

She's not here yet, but since it's a Friday, we're all going to do a sleepover. Plus, today's detention supervisor let us out early because I'm pretty sure she had a date she wanted to get ready for.

"Jenna! Jenna, watch the light, dude," I warn my friend as she runs over to belly flop onto my bed.

She is too late to listen to my warning and trips over the lamp that was precariously laying on the floor. She falls to the ground along with the lamp and curses. Luckily, it hasn't broken and is now simply casting strange shadows around the room.

"Sorry," she says. "Why was the light there, anyway?"

I point over at Henry, who is laying on the ground, facedown a short distance away.

"Melissa called. She's coming next Wednesday. He's suffering a mental breakdown."

Jenna raises her eyebrows. "Right."

"She's visiting! What do I fucking do?" Henry shrieks.

He's excited. I can tell.

"That's great," Jenna laughs. "It'll be cool to have her here again. Wait, how long is she staying?"

My eyes widen and I look at her. "Shit, don't ask-"

Henry lets out a loud whine. "Only three days!" He complains. "How come, whenever she comes back, it's only for three or four days?" His voice sounds so sad and tired.

I want to hug him, but he's lying on the ground, so I pet his back with my foot comfortingly. Jenna follows my example.

Henry peeks up at us, rolling away quickly. "What the fuck, guys? That's gross. I don't know where your feet have been."

I stick out my tongue and he sits up, rubbing his face. His expression becomes serious. "I'm so happy she's coming," he tells us, but his expression is still sad. "I just hate that every single time she leaves, it's harder to deal with."

I say, "Yeah. That's gotta be so tough for both of you..."

I turn to look at Jenna, who's sitting next to me on the bed, for help. She makes eye contact with me, then tells Henry in a calm and sympathetic voice very unlike her usual one, "It'll work out. I know it might be hard right now, but things will get better."

I sigh, thinking of what Jenna is saying. It must be hard for her, too, to say such things while at the same time being in love with one of her best friends and thinking it's hopeless.

There's nothing I can do but wish for both of my friends to be able to work through these problems, and I really hope I'll be able to help them.

A knock comes from the door. Jeremy opens it, revealing a small girl with dark hair. Natalia is standing beside him.

He faces me. "I found another one loitering outside. I figured I'd bring her in. All good?"

Natalia laughs and comes inside.

"Hi," I say, giving her a wave. "Thanks for showing up."

"Wouldn't miss it."

Jenna tackles her in a hug. "Hey, Nat!"

Despite Jenna's huge crush, she's actually able to act fairly normal and friendly around Natalia, although somewhat obvious. I'm impressed.

"How was singing?" Henry asks from the floor.