Can I Have That in Writing?

Riley: Trying Out

Before any family gathering, my grandparents established a "No politics" rule. They then proceeded to break it. I had no idea why I thought this time would be any different.

It wasn't that I had no interest in politics. I just hated to see people argue, especially people that I loved. I also hated when, like today, the conversation involved someone saying that kids would turn gay if they learned about gay people. Everyone in the family was straight despite knowing gay people exist, so I don't think that argument held up well.

Sorry, almost everyone in the family.

I could've texted Vera, Sebastian, or Allison. I could have even texted Seth or Noah; if anyone would understand, it was them. But there was one person who I knew would listen, who would steady my head and take my mind off of the sick feeling in my stomach.

I snuck off to the guest room to retrieve my phone. Then I pulled up my message thread with Emily. It turns out, I wasn't the only one who needed distraction from family drama. We only texted for about ten minutes, but I already felt worlds better. I now knew that I had to try shoofly pie at least once before my time on this Earth was done.

Before I said good-bye, I asked what she thought so far about writing club. If there was anything I could be doing to make it more comfortable. I received her reply a few minutes later.

Well, as someone who's new to writing, it's a little nerve-wracking to share something in front of a crowd w/out edits or feedback. Maybe we can share in pairs first?

Of course! I couldn't believe I never thought about that. Maybe Allison and I could pair people together to share, they could take club time to focus on the new prompt or edit their old piece.

I knew dessert would be served soon, so I fired off two texts in response.

That's a great idea! I'll run it by Allison.

I got to go. But thank you, Emily. For talking with me and taking my mind off things.

I took a deep breath. I received a reply.

I got to go too. And thank you for doing the same :)

The corner of my lips lifted into a smiled. Warmth spread throughout. I never thought something as simple as an emoticon would make me so happy.

***

That week, I brought up sharing in pairs to Allison. Her eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah, we can totally do that!" she agreed. "Would we want to set up pairs ourselves or do it randomly?"

"I guess it's fair to do it randomly," I said.

"True, but what if they don't like their partner? We should probably select new pairs every week, or at least let them rotate during share time."

I smiled. "That works. Maybe new pairs every week? This way everyone gets the chance to have meaningful interactions with each other."

"Great!" Allison took out her phone. "I'm pulling up a random group generator."

"You don't have to start that right now," said Sebastian. "You can finish eating."

"It's fine! I eat fast anyway."

I exchanged skeptical looks with Vera. Sure, Allison could eat fast, but lunch periods were short. And this one was almost over.

After a few minutes of typing, Allison exclaimed, "Done! I'll screenshot and send it to you."

I looked at my phone. I received the screenshot, and since I was done eating, I looked it over. Sebastian would be with me, Vera would be with Allison, and Emily would be with Kim. Kim was nice from what I've heard and seen; she would be a good person for Emily to share her work with. The other pairs were Matt and Rose, Noah and Jacob, and Seth and Anthony.